On Holiday!

So tomorrow I'm off to SA for a two-week holiday :-) I'm not sure which I'm looking forward to more... going home for a few weeks, or just being off work!

What I'm not looking forward to is the flying... don't get me wrong, I love flying (not so much the flying as the take-offs and landings), but the new security restrictions are driving me insane. Sure, they've been relaxed slightly, but it still makes life difficult. Particularly if you wear contact lenses - the maximum size container you're allowed to take on board is 100ml, but the minimum size bottle of contact lens solution is 120ml! And considering that I'm going to be flying or in airports for about 15 hours (I'm flying via Frankfurt), I really will need to take my contacts out a couple of times. But I'm not going to get started - the whole thing's ridiculous, and I just get so annoyed that I'm trying to avoid thinking about it at all.

I'm also not looking forward to flying with Lufthansa - I've never flown with them before, but I've already decided that I won't be flying with them again. They just don't reply to queries; they don't have individual entertainment sets; you can't book your seat online or via the travel agent (you can request an aisle or window seat, but it's just a request - most other airlines let you pick your actual seat!); and you can't use web checkin if you booked via a travel agent.

The best airline I've flown with is KLM - not only do they have individual entertainment units (games, tv, movies, everything), it's all totally on demand, so you can really watch whatever you feel like, whenever you feel like it. And they're constantly handing out food, chocolates, chips, icecream.... yummy :-) (Actually, the best airline I've flown with is American Airlines - but that was First Class, so it's not really fair to compare them :D)

Anyway, it's great to have some time off work (I've been working for 7 months solid, I deserve a break!) and nice to be seeing my family again - and it'll be amazing to be in a country where it doesn't get dark at 4 in the afternoon!

Cadbury World

I went out to Cadbury World today, and it was both more and less than I was expecting. Some free chocolate, a very brief view of the packing plant, and a bit of the history of chocolate. I got the impression that they've tried really hard, but couldn't think of much to do - so you get a fake Amazon jungle, and a ride with singing chocolate creatures, and some other stuff that's a bit more relevant, like Cadbury's adverts trhough the years, and the story of how Cadbury's started, and how chocolate is processed. They've certainly put a lot of effort into their presentations - they use a lot of back-projection mixed with real props to produce great 3D effects, so it's worth a trip just from the tech point of view. But somehow it alls feels a bit disconnected, like they were reaching for ideas, and got some good ones, but couldn't tie them together to form a coherent presentation. The layout is pretty good though - there's a one-way
flow throughout, so not only can you not get lost, you can be sure you won't miss anything either.

Needless to say, I came away with lots of chocolate and Cadbury's merchandise - after all, the aim of the place is really just to get you to buy chocolate, not really to teach you about chocolate!

The downside is the time it takes to get there. I'm still on the way home - it's the London General excursion bus trip, and it took about 4 hours to get there (and presumably the same back). I had no idea it was so far, although I guess that if I'd looked at a map first I night
have had some idea :) Not too many kids on the trip, surprisingly, but plenty of irritating people who don't seem to realise that you need to have some consideration for the other people on the bus - sitting with your little group spread out along the length of the bus is fine, but not if you all want to have a conversation together. And playing I Spy with your kids might keep them occupied, but isn't necessarily something the entire bus wants to hear.

But it was a fun trip, although it sucks to have to go to work tomorrow after getting back late tonight - which is why I prefer to go out saturdays, rather than sundays. The trip home in the dark is kinda nice, although boring; it's amazing how in the dark, roads in all countries look the same. The streetlights are the same, the roadmarkings are the same, the road signs are the same, the overpasses are the same. I could be back in SA :)

Lots of fireworks to look at too - although last night was the best, I could see different fireworks shows depending which window I looked out of, and they were all amazing (and incredibly loud!).

Hmmm, really don't feel like getting up for work in the morning :( I'm amazed at how cold it is already, although it's been very clear lately so I guess that contributes to the low temperature. I suspect winter's only just barely started, though, and I just hope it doesn't get too much colder! I'll have to get a scarf and gloves, but it's difficult to bundle up too much, since not only do you end up feeling like the michelin man, you have to unbundle for the bus/train/tube/office or overheat - and carry all your bundling around with you, and not lose any of it. I wonder how everyone else handles it... I'll have to learn all the London winter tricks :)

Cartoons

I love cartoons; some I read regularly (like For Better or For Worse) and Snoopy, others I read when I remember (like Dilbert, and Arlo 'n' Janis) but I enjoy them anyway.

And every now and then I come across one that's just so funny, and so right that I want to keep them forever :-) Something like this Snoopy one that I saw today: