No.313 Of Getting by Defensively

I'm an advanced driver. But I drive like a moron according to my friends. So I think it's time to slow down, use my mirrors much more and watch out for the mistake of others. When I was 17 I started riding motorbikes and survived for four years by watching out for the mistakes of other morons. Defensive driving they used to call it. It was the only way to ride. I would have been killed on three occasions at least if I hadn't.

It's a gloriously horrible day today. Rubbish for motorbike riding but perfect for doing a full day's work.

No.312 Of Hits & Stats

I awoke today to an immediate dilemma : swim, gym or cycle to work this morning? The sunshine blazing through the window answered it for me and an hour later I was astride my "Z4" of a pushbike thundering along the riverbank to work.

It was the right call. Mother nature was a big hit this morning.

On the subject of hits - on this blog they seem to vary considerably. Sometimes, according to Google Analytics there's been just a handful of visitors the day before. But they're always much higher when I mention media companies. My theory is that these organisations have Google alert trackers trawling web sites looking for their names to see what others are saying about them on-line. So what follows is nothing but my vain end of the week attempt to achieve record visitor stats for a Friday.

Hello and welcome to Cool FM, Downtown Radio, Q105, Irish News, The Newsletter, The Belfast Telegraph, The BBC Northern Ireland, Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4 and BBC World Service - a good weekend to you all.

No.311 Of The Irish News Awards

We learnt this morning that we've just been shortlisted for the Irish News Awards 2010 for two categories "Most Innovative Employer" and " Best Place to Work". The awards evening is on 17th June. The main speaker is Mark Pollock a friend of the company and someone who spoke for us a while ago in Dublin.

The awards are always great fun but fives minutes before the announcements are made there's an awful knott in your stomach and you go through all sorts of turmoil and "what ifs" before the lovely Karen Patterson finally puts you out of your misery. What it must be like waiting to know whether you've won on Oscars Nite I dread to think.

17 is a lucky number of mine and June my favourite month. Anything more than that and it feels like anyone's shout. Hey ho. Just got to wait and see like the rest....

No.310 Of Plotting and Planning

I was back in the pool with the early birds today after a break of about two weeks. My arms and legs were suffering by the 3rd length but hey isn't that why you're meant to exercise?

I can never work out that place. When its freezing cold and towards the end of the week when you'd think everyone wants to stay in bed the place is packed. This morning, on top of a glorious sunny morning there was almost no-one in.

Today, I have absolutely nothing in my diary. By that I mean zilch, zero, nada, nada "doublee" even. No meetings. No performance reviews. No conference calls booked. A great day therefore to get on with some really useful work and plot and plan the future development of the empire that is, Legal-Island.

But first a cup of herbal tea!

No.309 Of Dashing Volunteers

I was up early this morning to volunteer my services to the great Six Mile Water River clean up. Only two of us showed up. By lunchtime we were both done in. But we'd picked up 6 bags worth of rubbish from barely 200 metres of river. Some going though I say it myself.

Not only were we a little peeved that it was just us two but when a third body arrived on the scene all he was about was trying to make off with our boat! Glad he tried to talk his way out of it rather than just leg it because I couldn't have made much of an effort "to give chase" in my wet suit and overly large shoes. Funny lot round here.

No.308 Of Friday Belonging to Helen Keller

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of humankind as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing at all"

Helen Keller, (1880 - 1968) American Blind/Deaf Author & Lecturer

No.307 Of Journeys Past and Very Recent

I'm just back from a four day trip to London. I'm exhausted but I shouldn't be. I guess it's something to do with the fact that courtesy of a volcano with an unpronounceable name the return journey to the big smoke involved a longish car journey, a ferry, a longish train journey, a tube, a taxi, another taxi, another tube, another train, a plane and two taxis, followed by the same longish car journey back. By the end of last night I had tickets, receipts, currency and booking reference Nos streaming out my pockets.

Everything was a mad scrum on the trains and the ferry. It reminded me of the pre-budget airline days, when I was just beginning to travel aged 17 and you queued for everything and if you got a seat you got lucky. Birmingham Bull Ring (a major coach intersection a bit like the Crewe of the railway lines) was always the worst. It was complete pandemonium and a passenger /bus free for all. There were no stands and it was never clear whether your coach had arrived and if it had where it was and usually the driver was so grumpy or irritated by the place that you only ever asked him as a last resort.

I suppose we shouldn't complain too much when the planes are grounded. At least most of the time we get a seat, we are up in the air pretty quick and we arrive more or less stress free and pretty much on time within about an hour. Can't be bad.