So with just 72 hours at home after returning from Toronto, it's back on the road. Or more accurately, back to the airport - Gatwick this time. I've been tracking the weather forecast and Bratislava currently has some very unseasonal thunderstorms, so it could be fairly unpleasant. However, I expect to be working pretty much continuously, so it probably won't matter! There are few direct flights to Bratislava, and even fewer at sensible low prices. However, Vienna is only 40 miles away so I'm flying easyjet to Vienna instead and planning to catch the bus. A word in favour of easyjet: they're the new British Airways in my view. The flights are sensibly priced, on clean modern aircraft, with friendly crew. BA in contrast run tired old planes staffed with bored looking crew. Ryanair spend all ... read more

Look, if you can think of a better title, perhaps you should be writing this blog! I left Richland on Friday evening and after a week there, I'd become quite attached to the place. Most of my previous US trips have been to the big cities (New York, Washington DC) so it was unusual (for me) to visit a relatively small town. I'm guessing but I reckon the population of Richland can't be more than 70,000. The traffic is quieter, the people are friendlier and (this may be the clincher) the weather last week was brilliant. I wasn't sure how long it would take to reach the Seattle hotel so I grabbed an early cheeseburger at Rosie's deli, next to the Hampton. True to form, the staff were friendly and the burger was delicious. Anyway, moving ... read more

Straight back from India, then out to San Diego on business for 5 days. That didn't go smoothly, so by the end of the week I was totally exhausted and ready for home. The only high spot was Saturday when I got the whole day free, so caught the ferry across the Harbour to Coronado, then rented a bike and cycled round to the Pacific shore. Just sat on the beach, thinking "Next stop, Hawaii". Still, here's one of our few group pictures from India - I don't need to tell you where it was taken! From left to right, (back row) Holly, Pete, Ron, Malcolm, Sher, Mandy (front row) Sue, Pam, Rebecca, Ann. Dave unfortunately didn't make it. Hope the photo looks OK via my scanner. the rest of my photos are on Picasa at ... read more

Writing this on Tuesday afternoon but not sure when I’ll post it. There is an internet connection at the hotel but I don’t think it’s too reliable. The flight was fine so I can recommend Turkish Airlines for the future. But the journey from the airport to the hotel - well, it lived up to my expectations! After changing my money, I decided to pay a little bit more than usual for the taxi, hoping that the promise of “radio cabs” and luxury A/C cars” might mean the drivers also had a map. I’m just too gullible! When they say “radio cabs” it probably picks up a couple of stations but that doesn’t help to find the hotel. As always, the driver knew the right sort of district - but that’s it. He then resorted to ... read more