What a weekend!

If you read my blog from Friday you would know this weekend started with a day off, an aborted balloon trip and a lovely walk in the country.

The festivities continued into the weekend as we spent Saturday and Sunday in London.

Richard celebrates his birthday on the 2nd July and a close friend also celebrates his big day around the same time. We had all arranged to meet up in town for some festivities and a bit of a surprise for the birthday boys.

As Richard and I didn't want to be dictated by the trains we decided to stay in town and spent the night at the Marriott in West India Quay on the Docklands. Following a quick check in we headed to Canary Wharf Pier where we caught the Thames Clipper down the River Thames to Embankment.

Approaching Tower Bridge and the Olympic Rings

The boat was quite busy and it really does offer a wonderful view of the capital. It also gave us the perfect place to see the Olympic rings which have been hung off Tower Bridge. I spotted them quite a distance away but by the time I had taken a few shots the rest of the boat were at the front snapping away. (More rings have been erected at the Aquadome, I'll try and get a snap in the week).

Shame the boat windows were so filthy!

Upon disembarkation from Embankment Pier we walked into Soho where we met up with the boys for some pre dinner drinks. Of course this being us and the location (Bar@1) it wasn't going to be a gentle ride. Two for one cocktails led to a very raucous evening with many many cocktails consumed. I remember at least 4 Tom Collins, 1 Mojito and 2 Pippins. I am amazed I could still stand, especially as I don't know if that was everything I had to drink.

As you can see we were all in very high spirits.

As you can see things got rather raucous

Leaving the bar we headed to the Charing Cross Theatre restaurant where we had a lovely meal. It's quite an intimate venue and the food and service was delicious. I'm not sure the little barman had quite expected the come on's and lewd comments from Wayne (alright and the rest of us).

The restaurant location gave Richard and Chris a little clue to the entertainment we had planned but I think they were genuinely surprised to learn we were taking them to see Naked Boys Singing. Now here's a production that does exactly what it says on the tin!

Naked Boys Singing

For an intimate theatre the guys must have some nerve to perform as they do. We were three rows from the stage and boy what a view!

The pardon the terrible pun the actors really did have balls to go up on stage and perform as they did.

I wasn't sure what the show would be about but judging by the audience reaction we all got what we went for and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I'm not sure how long it is on for but if you are in London late on a Friday or Saturday night you really should drop by the Charing Cross Theatre as the play is hilarious.

I am not sure Richard or Chris would have expected such a way to end the evening but I can guarantee that it's an evening none of us will forget in a long time

Richard and I enjoyed a very comfortable evening in the hotel and refuelled thanks to the plentiful breakfast bar (being an Amercian chain there was masses of choice).

We took the Thames Clipper back down the Thames into town and went for a stroll up Regent Street. Thanks to the archaic trading laws most shops didn't open until midday so we stopped in a lovely coffee shop off Caranaby Street commencing our retail therapy.

Setting up my Nike+ Fuelband

I decided to treat myself to a Nike+ Fuelband and was served by Ben “Athlete”. He was a very pleasent chap who was most helpful. Thanks to the aforementioned law I was unable to purchase my Fuelband until midday so he chatted with me at the till for a couple of minutes before the system kicked in.

Apparently the Sunday trading laws are being relaxed for the Olympics. Nothing like cashing in is there!

We had a quick float around the Apple store (why do we go in we never buy anything), before heading to the new Nespresso Boutique at the end of Regent Street. The place is enormous. You have to hand it to Nestlé, they really know how to sell coffee!

Richard sampled some new blend and we purchased a new stock of capsules and some lovely Pixie Cafe Latte cups.

All shopped out we decided to call it a day and headed home.

We arrived home at a reasonable time and were treated to the usual hiss from Brandy (this happens whenever we go away).

I have now setup my Nike+ Fuelband and am very impressed with it. It does look bigger than one of those charity bands but once you are wearing it you don't notice it. The display is incredibly crisp and it seems fairly accurate. A quick round of star jumps and my Fuel, Calories and Steps all increased as expected.

I think you can say I am totally assimilated into the Nike family now. I'm even thinking of joining the Nike+ London Running Club in Covent Garden (I need to be happy with my running performance before I do that though so give me a couple of weeks!).

All in all a really lovely weekend. Shame about the balloon ride (I have to rebook it), but at least I've had a lovely fun and relaxing time with my baby and friends. And we still have Richards birthday to celebrate tomorrow

What a farce!

It’s been a varied week this week, thankfully capped with a bank holiday.

My direct boss left on Friday so there were the usual hand overs, team lunches and goodbyes to contend with.

I attended the team lunch under some protest as we went to an Indian Curry House. I don’t eat spicy food and am allergic to tomatoes so for me this was torture. I should willing and went, ordering a Chicken Tikka and sharing my Directors spinach cheese dish only to be ill when I returned home that evening.

This pissed me off even more as I was already hacked off that my allergy was brushed aside so that we could instead go to a restaurant which pandered to my colleagues moral and religious beliefs.

Anyway my boss has left so I am staring into a new world (with no current replacement boss) on Tuesday.

Friday evening I attended another leaving party at the rather pretentious Corney and Barrow at St Pauls. I feel my Qype review just about summed the place up!

Typically the bank holiday weather is poor but it hasn’t stopped us getting out.

On a rain-soaked Saturday we travelled into the West End where we attended a production of Bedroom Farce. It’s a play based in the 70′s which features the lives of 4 couples. It’s quite mild and not much of a farce but we did enjoy it and appeared to laugh quite a lot.

Afterwards we caught up with some friends in the Ku Bar. I got plenty of ribbing for my meeting with Dillon but no where near as much as Richard as he bought an iPad the day before.

Our choice of restaurant was full so we took a chance and popped into Nando’s in Covent Garden. What a mistake that was! The service was dreadful. The waiters didn’t know where any of the tables were. Our food took 30 minutes to arrive and all arrived at different times. Two of our dishes went to a different table and when we’d finished we were asked if we had other food on the way. It was an absolute joke. I never did like Nando’s and this just reinforced my opinion.

It was fun in there but I am starting to feel like a middle-aged gay may (at 36!) as most of the guys look pre-pubescent! I don’t ever remember being that aware or fortunate at that age but I am pleased younger guys can do much these days. Although I am reminded by the documentaries Gareth Thomas has worked on that homophobia is still very prevalent in the UK today.

So yes Richard bought an iPad and even though I was reluctant it does have its uses. For one it’s great to own a computer which boots up instantly. The OS is nice too which gives me high hopes for the new iPhone. It’s also very fast. I cannot get use to the accelerometer in it though as it feels alien in such a big device.

I’ve been playing around with Robo.to and find it quite quirky. Basically it’s a micro site you set up so people can view all your online content in one place. I love the instant repeat videos (which work on iPhone) and the home screen icons which automatically create a photo icon of the user when saved (nice touch). Why not give it a go?

Trunkguy Candy has had a lot of interest and reblogs. Thanks for that! I decided to update Trunk Guy to reflect that new developments.

As featured on Trunk Guy Candy

I have not heard anything yet re my application of work to the Royal Academy’s’ Summer Exhibition. Hopefully I’ll find out sooner rather than later. Please keep everything crossed for me.

I write this on Sunday morning in the car as we head up to Charlecote Park. The weathers not great but it’s dry and our picnic is packed. I am sure there will be plenty of photos for you to view on our return.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, have fun.