Trunk Guy Trunk Guy This is an account of what's going on in my gay life, my thoughts, my ramblings and anything else I think may be of interest. Articles
Office Narcolepsy
2008-01-05 09:50:00 It is safe to say that only a fraction of the staff have returned to work this week - which (as I mentioned in Trunk Cast 118) is probably to be expected. The majority of the people in my building are foreign and therefore have gone home for Christmas - this means these people have taken longer breaks in order to go home.This has meant that the three days I have been in this week have gone very slowly as there hasn't really been that much going on. I think everyone who came in made reference to how the time was dragging. There is however a flip side to this as we have all managed to get all those niggly little jobs out of the way and I am sure the time was spent wisely as next week things will get back to there normal rate of chaos as I am sure everyone will return to work.If you listened to show 118 I mentioned the Christmas decorations, well they came down last night and now the house looks rather bare and less festive without them. At least it's done, Io think I hate taking... More About: Office , Narcolepsy
Where have I heard that before?
2008-01-03 21:06:00 Confused by the title? Listen the the Trunk Cast regularly? Listen to show 118 to find out what I am on about - seems like it's not just the pod casting fraternity who use GarageBand to create music!I haven't blogged yet this week - mainly because I have managed to churn out two Trunk Casts in one week! Believe me this level of production won't keep up for long (not when work kicks in again).;0)
And relax...
2008-01-01 11:11:00 It's been a nice festive period although as ever it all seems to be over far too quickly.Richard and I enjoyed a nice quiet time at home where we snuggled up in front of a roaring fire, full of Christmas roast (beef not turkey) and lots of nibbles.On Boxing Day we travelled down to Devon where we visited our friends and families. Miraculously we managed to avoid Christmas dinner until Saturday when Richard and I enjoyed a turkey roast with my parents.Of course Richard's nephews had heaps of presents, as did my god daughter and her sisters.My parents have extended the family by adopting two kittens from their neighbour (long story). As you can imagine having two 12 week old kittens running about the house was very entertaining.Here I am relaxing with Jinx, the little girl.This photo was taken after our Christmas lunch on Saturday and as you can see I was very tired! In fact I think we all enjoyed 40 winks that afternoon.I've had a bit of a trauma rebuilding my iBook as my start... More About: Relax
Happy New Rear!
2007-12-31 19:14:00 I hope you have all had a great Christmas.Here's wishing you the very best yrear for 2008! More About: Happy , Rear
Happy Christmas
2007-12-22 13:18:00 It finally feels like Christmas .Thanks to a very generous gift from our boss, the whole team (50 of us) were taken to the Royal Albert Hall to see the Christmas Concert. I cannot think of a better way to get in the Christmas spirit.As you will see from this photo we had excellent seats - right at the stage, next to the choir and the orchestra.It's been far too long since I joined in on a proper old fashioned Christmas sing song and the majority of the show included audience participation.I am not sure if Milly and I look like we were ready to sing but as you can see we certainly look happy.The set included lots of traditional favourites as well as contemporary classics.I cannot think of a better way to spend my last working afternoon of the year than in such wonderful surroundings with such good company.So my presents are purchased, wrapped and under the tree. The kitchen is stocked for the big day and there is enough coal in the cellar to heat the living room for a year (well ma... More About: Happy , Happy Christmas
And relax...
2007-12-17 22:16:00 It's been a lovely weekend. I have managed to get all my presents bought and wrapped so now I can relax for the rest of the festive season (yeah right).After getting the shopping completed I just chilled out for the remainder of the weekend.Richard cooked a lovely lunch of ginger Ham yesterday with roasted squash, pecans and Cornish blue cheese (which I purchased at the Christmas market at the Tate Modern on Friday).It's definitely winter now as it has become very cold. Every morning is full of frost and we have the best way of avoiding the cold. Stay in, snuggled up on the sofa in front of a roasting fire with a self basting cat (honestly Brandy gets so warm but she won't move, she simply lays in front of the open fire and rotates in the heat - she can be too hot to touch. It doesn't seem to phase her though). More About: Relax
Big Surprises
2007-06-29 10:22:00 For those of you who haven't yet listened to Trunk Cast 95, you may have missed our big news.Monday 2nd July is Richard's 40th birthday and I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. Richard has long since mentioned that he would like to go to Madrid as it's a part of Spain that he has never visited but would love to. At breakfast on Wednesday I presented Richard with a selection of guidebooks for Madrid as we are spending this weekend in the Spanish capital. :0DI decided to let Richard know about his birthday treat early so that he had plenty of time to prepare - judging by his reaction and his plans for our holiday I think this was the correct decision.So we have literally just gotten over our trip to Paris and here we are on our way to Spain ;0)The added bonus for us is that it is Madrid Pride this weekend and we both looking forward to seeing how the Spaniards celebrate. I have no doubt it'll be a hundred times happier, more colourful and fun than London Prid... More About: Rise , Big Sur
Tres Bien!
2007-06-27 17:08:00 Our trip to Paris was Tres Bien.Richard and I had a wonderfully relaxing, enlightening and romantic weekend in Paris.Of course there was also the odd large aircraft to view!You can browse the photo's at a more leisurely pace here!We had a lovely time in Paris. Richard and I ended up going on our own but that was fine as we did everything at our own leisure.We didn't give ourselves long to settle into the hotel before we got out and about. We visited a number of our favorite haunts and the location of the hotel was excellent.Le Borgeut was as big and interesting as ever. Of course this being Paris there was more than one Airbus A380 on display. This again got the most attention from the visiting public. It was nice to see the show was much better organised than last time, and thankfully nowhere near as hot! That said we both caught the sun while watching the air displays.For once I didn't come back with new clothes, mainly as we only took rucksacks so there was no room!I do ...
Maybe...
2007-06-21 23:32:00 Maybe the course wasn't so bad after all...I think the great thing about this week has been the other attendees and our excellent tutor. It was kind of awkward to have all those nationalities in one room at first (English, Swiss, Russian, German, French and Belgium), but we soon all relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed one anothers' company.I would like to think I have made some great new friends this week and learnt a great deal in the process.Roll on our next get together in September!
Pimm's o'clock
2007-06-21 08:18:00 Last night ended with a bang and this morning started with a hang over of sorts.After dinner last night we capitalized on the great clear evening and socialised in the grounds of our training centre. We introduced our foreign team mates to Pimm's no 1 and it was well recieved. By 1230 we were out of booze but all much more relaxed and familiar. It's a great group and we're all looking forward to meeting again in September. note: there are photos but I have yet to find the time to upload them. Keep an eye on Flickr. More About: Lock
Delayed start
2007-06-18 23:15:00 Well I wasn't looking forward to my weeks training and starting it feeling so rough wasn't very encouraging. I think the driver thought he was Lewis Hamilton as he drove like a bat out of hell. I choose to try and get some shut eye on the way.The centre reminds me of Cranfield where I used to work so it's pretty much my idea of hell.The fellow attendees are very nice and come from places such as Switzerland and Russia. It's just a shame I am not currently that focussed on the content. I am sure I will settle in though! More About: Start
Another Round?
2007-06-17 12:13:00 As you can see from this photo we left London rather late last night - this followed our day in town with Carol and Dave.They had had a cultural day looking around sights such as Tower Bridge and the Cabinet War Rooms, Richard went to the gym and I went shopping. By 4 o'clock we had all met at Piccadilly where we went to Richoux for afternoon tea.This was a very refined and civilized way to start our day and an excellent opportunity to catch up with Carol and Dave.When we left Richoux we decided to go walk about and gave them a tour of London.We certainly gained a lot of ground on our tour and managed to take in the West End, Soho (where we happened to bump into Lee and Elvis!) and then found our way into our first pub. From there we made out way down to the river, we tried out the new Disappearing Rooms installation on the South Bank (see above) before heading along the Thames to another pub for more bevvies and some food.All in all we had a wonderfully chilled out day, the weath... More About: Round
Nice Package
2007-06-16 09:52:00 Last nights recording of French and Saunders at the BBC was hilarious.As ever Dawn and Jennifer were even funnier off script than on it.We were treated to a bevvy of clips from old shows and lots of new material. This is because the show in production is a 20 year celebration of work. It's great to see that after that much time their comedy still remains fresh, funny and relevant.This is even more relevant as the Head of Comedy for the BBC, John Plowman, presented Dawn with a Rockie Award which she had won from the Canadian Comedy Awards for The Vicar of Dibley.As you can see from the photo, the BBC are definitely capitalizing on the success of Dr Who and have placed a Tardis outside the audience entrance, I couldn't resist getting my photo snapped inside it.Unfortunately Richard was unable to make it due to work commitments but the mirth was shared with Dan and Matt.We've quite a busy weekend ahead of us as Carol and Dave are in London this weekend as Dave is taking part in th... More About: Nice , Pack , Package
Safari on PC!
2007-06-11 22:46:00 At last the worlds best browser is now available on PCs - yes Apple have released Safari to the PC market.Goodbye IE for good!
Raw Sex
2007-06-11 17:53:00 In amongst all the recent activity I forgot to mention that I have won tickets to see French and Saunders record thier 20th anniversary special at the BBC on Friday.As I managed to get four tickets a couple friends are coming with us.I am sure it will be a riot as Dawn and Jennifer are funnier off script.At least I have a goal to work to at the end of this week. It will be a nice way to spend time with Richard too. I am on a course all of next week so I will miss my baby.Thankfully we'll be in Paris for the airshow the weekend afterwards.
Weeeiiii!
2007-06-10 18:03:00 Well it certainly has been a busy weekend!It started with Richard and I travelling down to Southend to meet with Dan and Matt. As you may recall we went down a couple weeks ago as Dan was due to take a flying lesson - a gift from Matt.The weather originally was terrible but thankfully this weekend was much better.We had a lovely morning and Dan (albeit with two planes) managed to get off the ground.As you can see from the photo's he was as pleased as punch!Afterwards we all headed into Southend for celebratory fish and chips and a stroll along the prom.Richard had the crazy idea to go to Lakeside on the way back where we managed to get our hands on a Wii (with extra controller, Sonic, Red Steel, Wii Sports and a GT).Needless to say the majority of last night was spent with Richard and I swinging our arms around like we were demented.I can certainly tell why the Wii has been such a big hit though. It's so much fun to play and to be honest I think you easily curb the amount of tim...
PSB at the BBC
2007-06-09 23:02:00 For those of you who would like to hear the Radio 2 Pet Shop Boys concert I attended on Monday - you can download it here.Enjoy!
Recovered!
2007-06-08 18:38:00 Well I have just about recovered from the work conference. It did seem to be very intense and I think actually organising the event as well as attending just adds to the pressure.I am really pleased that everyone enjoyed the team activity I had arranged. We were shown how to sculpt with ice and were given the challenge to pair up and come up with a wine cooler.Lawrence and I took the challenge of keeping the exterior of the design minimal whilst focusing on the inside of the block - placing the bottle in the opposite way to normal whilst making a feature of the shards etc inside.I think we achieved what we had set out to do and as everyone else seemed to knock the hell out of their blocks, we were certainly the only ones to follow this route.That's not to say the rest of the team didn't do well, there were some great designs.I am not sure I would arranged an activity which gave Lawrence control of power tools though. If you follow this link you will see the other photo where he... More About: Covered
One of the Crowd!
2007-06-06 19:41:00 The Pet Shop Boys web site features a photo they took before the closed concert on Monday evening at the BBC. It's not a great picture but the circle points out where I am in the crowd. More About: The Crowd , Crowd , The Crow
Do I Have To?
2007-06-06 17:57:00 Well today has been bloody manic and I feel my away days won't be very restful.I find it odd the I have a marketing role and I appear to be doing anything but that. I am so tired I cannot wait for the weekend to arrive. I think it'll seem to take forever to arrive though.There was a small highlight in my day (which I almost forgot!). A number of us went to the Bridewell Theatre again for lunch time theatre and enjoyed a very jocular version of Twelfth Night.I honestly don't know how the production company put on such great plays and turn them around in 45 minutes but they do. It was a very welcome break from work.I doubt I will have any time to podcast this week which is annoying. Increasingly I appear to be loosing track of what I would like to do with my time.As I have a course coming up I don't think pod casts will be happening any time soon. Maybe things will pick up when Richard and I go to Paris at the end of the month.Oh well, I am going to sign off as I need ...
Going downhill
2007-06-05 19:00:00 Well today started well enough. Sun was shining, Richard treated me to a bacon bagel, my morning smoothie woke me up and I was still elated following last nights gig.I decided to get my hair cut and the day went down hill from there. To start with my request was simple enough: grade 1 sides with a trim. Sadly the barber was more interested in telling me about his move to London rather than paying attention. I now have a very short hair cut and I hate it.I returned back to the office to an unpleasant scene and within 5 minutes wondered what I was doing there.A 'chat' here and a 'meeting' there soon left me royaly fucked off. My whole day had been turned on it's head within a matter of minutes. Now I am heading home wondering why I got out of bed this morning. The prospect of two days away with the team doesn't make me too happy. At least the weekend will arrive sooner. More About: Going , Goin
Kings Cross (eyed)
2007-06-04 22:19:00 What an excellent night. The Pet Shop Boys at the BBC were superb.I was lucky enough to be right up the front where the view was amazing.The newly refurbished BBC radio theatre is an Art Deco jewel.Once again Neil and Chris were on form and everything seemed much clearer than Hammersmith. Additional numbers include Being Boring (which once again nearly made me weep) and Kings Cross which I don't think I have ever heard them perform live. If you have access to BBC Radio 2 online, listen out for Saturdays broadcast of the concert at 9pm.Going on my own was a little daunting but I have to say hi to the couple from Blackpool and Lee who I have never met before but recognised 'Trunk Guy' from my voice from my pod casts! More About: Ross
Green Men, Queershires and Buzzards
2007-06-03 17:38:00 I am starting to feel much better, thankfully my cold appears to be on it's way out now... I still have a headache, a slight sore throat and am a bit bunged up but believe me I am much better than I was last week.We had a quiet day yesterday, choosing to take it easy at home.Richard tried his hardest to get me to agree to go to the Suffolk coast today but I am sure he realises that I wasn't in the mood to go as I still wasn't feeling 100%. Plus it's a 2 and a half hour drive when the traffic is in your favour.So we went to a local Pub which was first introduced to us by Ben where we had a lovely Sunday lunch.The weather until now has been lovely and sunny. It was great to sit in the large pub conservatory and look out over the Hertfordshire/Bedforshire countryside.Afterwards we headed into Knebworth and then into Welwyn Garden City for a browse around and an afternoon tea. I honestly don;t think I have been back there since I left my job in the NHS several years ago. It's ... More About: Green , Queers
OMG PSB again!
2007-06-01 18:51:00 Guess who has won himself a ticket to the re-opening concert at the BBC Radio theatre on Monday night?And guess which famous pop duo will be performing?Yes (well the title gave it away)...I have secured myself a ticket to see PSB at the BBC on Monday night. I am a little dissappointed that there is onyl one ticket - I would have liked to have taken Richard or Steve.After some initial concerns and nerves about going on my own I realise I'd be mad not too - looks like there will be even more PSB chat to come!Let me know if you are going too - maybe we could meet up!
No Free Papers
2007-06-01 08:13:00 Last Friday when I left Blackfriars Station to walk the three minute journey to my office I was besieged by nine people trying to give me free newspapers and supplements.Am I the only one who is getting really tired of this? The people block entrances and exits. They stand in the middle of corridors and pavements and some have taken to thrusting papers into my hand.So far I have been polite and simply say no thank you but my patience is wearing thin.I am also hacked off because the people who do read these papers readily discard them on the train/tubes or leave them hanging out of bins. I guess because they are free people don't' feel obliged to take them home or dispose of them properly.I know the paper companies try to promote recycling but why not simply stop producing these wafer thing pieces of propaganda? When do you find a rubbish bin in Central London it's always full to the brim so where are we supposed to dispose of them?So with this in mind I came up with the idea ... More About: Free , Papers
Jealousy
2007-05-31 20:53:00 Trunk Cast 93 has just been published... More About: Jealousy , Jealous
Sun, Sex, Sin, Death and Destruction
2007-05-28 11:51:00 I didn't think the Thetford PSB show could be bettered but I was wrong.Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe put on an electric night of electronic music!The Hammersmith Apollo was jumping all night - from the opening bars of God Willing/We're the Pet Shop Boys to the finale of So Hard/Go West.This was an amazing gig and an excellent evening.I think it'll take Steve and I some time to come back down to earth...Between us we managed quite a collection of photos - a bit blurry due to all the dancing but we were close enough to the front to give you the idea...Read Steve's perspective here... More About: Destruction , Death
Sleepy but Wild Animals
2007-05-27 10:30:00 We visited Whipsnade Zoo yesterday with Richard's sister and family. I have not been to a zoo in years but not much changes - all the animals huddle together out of view! Just as well I went prepared with a large zoom lens :0)It was nice to see the children's reactions to the animals though.Tonight will feature a different set of animals as Steve and I are off to see the Pet Shop Boys, oh we're so Flamboyant! ;0) More About: Animals , Wild , Wild Animals
Turfalgar Square
2007-05-24 19:25:00 Until Sunday Trafalgar Square is covered in grass creating a temporary park in the middle of London. Of all the schemes dreamt up for Trafalgar Square, this has to be one of my favourites.It looks like it's going to be a busy weekend, bit of a shame really as it's been a hell of a week! As well as my usually duties I have also been setting up a major team event at the beginning of June. It's virgin territory for me but it's fun nonetheless. Whilst searching for venues I have been to places in London I never knew existed (and as I am planning it I have made sure it's in Central London). We're off to a fab new location on the river - I get to meet with the team there tomorrow to finalise details.Richard's sister and family are paying a visit for the Bank Holiday weekend. It should be interesting, Richard still has the scar from last years visit (quite literally!).Sunday I am off to Hammersmith Apollo with Steve to see the Pet Shop Boys in concert. Even though we saw them... More About: Turf
What a weekend!
More articles from this author:2007-05-22 18:42:00 This weekend in Cheshire with Andy and Rob was lovely.We had such a lovely relaxing time, I am really glad we paid them a visit.From the moment we arrived they made us feel very welcome and we all took ther weekend as it came, relaxing and laid back.There were no grand plans for the weekend but we did end up at Jodrell Bank and Tatton Park. Rob even let us play with his Raclette Set ;0)Watch my video of the main astronomic radio telescope moving to line up with the Earth's Axis (this is the third largest telescope in the world). A bevvy of photo's are on Flickr (in three separate sets... Cheshire, Jodrell Bank and Tatton Park).It's been a while since I have uploaded anything, find out all about the last two weeks in Trunk Cast 92. More About: Weekend 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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