Queen of the Desert

Last night we went to see Priscilla at the Palace Theatre. It was fabulous. The cast were excellent, especially Oliver Thornton as Felicia. The production was amazing. The costumes were outrageous. And the bus was the star of the show.

I defy anyone to go to see this show and not feel great afterwards, however bad a day they may have been having. It is just a great show and a great night out. Highly recommended.

It's a tough life

I try to get on with my life, overcoming setbacks, dealing with emotional problems, working hard and getting some time to play. It's not always easy.

Then we have an economic crash. Not my fault, but suddenly my financial future is uncertain.

Then we have global warming. Not my fault, but suddenly the future of the planet is uncertain.

Now we have a possible flu pandemic. Not my fault, but suddenly the future health of the nation is uncertain.

And certainty becomes the most uncertain concept. I have to expect the unexpected.

But what can I hang on to? What is left to believe in? Not a lot.

Could it be stress?

Today I went back to the doctor.

Firstly I had not heard the results of my blood test. Thankfully, it was all normal.

And secondly I am still suffering from this allergy. The doctor reassured me that it was likely to be a genuine allergy rather than anything more permanent or more serious. He said that I might have had an allergy for years without knowing it, but a bout of stress could have triggered if to react more obviously. And I guess for a number of reasons I have been under some stress recently. But how I reduce that I don't exactly know.

So for the moment I continue with the anti-histamine tablets. And I try not to scratch too much.

A weekend in Scotland

Both my sister and I went up to Scotland for Easter to be with my father. It was an exhausting and sometimes emotional weekend. We did a lot. And the weather was fantastic.

On Friday I played 18 holes of golf in Keith and my Dad walked some of the way round with me and hit a few balls as well. The highlight was my 3 wood of 200 yards on the 15th which ended up 12 inches from the hole. I sank the putt for a birdie.

On Saturday we went in to Aberdeen to see my aunt and cousin and also to go to Pittodrie to see Aberdeen play Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Bit of a scrappy match to be honest, but a fun day.

Sunday saw us heading to Inverness for lunch at the Rocpool Reserve restaurant. Fantastic meal. After going to Eden Court we then headed for Dores on the shores of Loch Ness where a number of people were sunbathing and some were even swimming in the loch.

And on monday we went over to Deeside to lay a wreath on the family grave to mark exactly a year since my mother passed away. Then we headed for Braemar and back via Huntly. Another hot and sunny day in one of my favourite parts of the world. Here is a short video I took.

Protests outside the office

The AGI office is in Bishopsgate in the heart of the city and close to the Climate Exchange. So today, when the various protests took place to coincide with the G20 summit, one of them, the global warming protest, was in the street right outside our office.

I was at a meeting elsewhere in the morning, but returned to the office in the early afternoon to find the road closed and a tent city in the middle of the street. Other protests were more tense, but this one was calm and peaceful.

I was able to get into work and to get out again, although security was tight.

I took this short film on my flip video in the late afternoon.