Making Cakes

Over the past couple of weekends Ellie and Gemma have been making cakes.

Last weekend they made Jam Tarts :

 

And this weekend they have been making Chocolate Krispie Cakes, we’ve got to use up all of the Easter Eggs that Ellie was given somehow!

 

Here’s Ellie after cleaning out the bowl, mmmmm, chocolate:

They were all lovely, and there aren’t many left.

Another Year Older

Its my birthday today, reaching the grand old age of 33.

I spent the day as usual in work, a really thrilling experience. But I was cheered up by going out for dinner with Gemma and Ellie.

I met them at the pub after work, and we had a lovely meal. As it was my birthday, I even treated myself to a pint .

Thank you to everyone who sent me cards, and especially to Gemma and Ellie for my present. I really love it.

Here’s to another year.

F1 Comes Home

From 2009, coverage of the Formula 1 season will return to the BBC.

This is fantastic news.

No more advert breaks to ruin the action. There have been numerous occasions when vital action has been missed. “While you were away this happened….” and a replay of the incident is shown. Last season there were over 4 hours of adverts during the season according to Jon McKnight. This works out to be around 15 minutes during each race. Imagine if there was 15 minutes missing from the coverage of a football match!

Could this also spell the return of the original F1 theme tune? Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” is still associated with F1 racing, even 12 years after it disappeared from our screens when ITV got the rights to F1 coverage. In that time ITV have had four different theme tunes! The BBC got it right first time!

The next question is, who will be the commentator? Murray Walker will always be the No1, but he has said that he’s getting too old to be doing a lot of races each year. James Allen from ITV, in my opinion, is not going to move across, as he is not very popular amongst fans. I do hope that Martin Brundle is signed up by the BBC, as his invaluable additions to the commentary are superb.

In addition to the TV rights, the BBC will also be broadcasting on all platforms, TV, radio and online. Perhaps we’ll even get the coverage in HD too.

Might have to start saving the pennies to invest in an HD TV!

Gemma’s Pregnancy - Week 25

The week’s are counting down quickly now.

Its been a few weeks since the last instalment on the pregnancy, so I guess it’s time for an update. To be perfectly honest with you, there is not a huge amount to update you all on.

Gemma’s bump is growing at a rate of knots, which she gets told many times during the day by people. She is a bit conscious of it now, but I think she looks fantastic.

The baby is continuing to give Gemma a good kicking, making life all the more uncomfortable for her. It is certainly giving Gemma a few sleepless periods during the night.

At least Gemma can look forward to starting her Maternity Leave soon. We’ve decided to take it earlier than initially planned as I will be starting my new job in a few weeks. I will be travelling a greater distance to and from work, so it will be a struggle to get back in time for Gemma to go to work. It works out that Gemma can start her Leave on the same day that I start the new job. I’m sure that Gemma won’t be complaining.

It won’t be too long before the little guy appears, and we are both counting down the weeks until that day. It’s very exciting!

DC’s Comments from Australian GP 2008

For those of you who missed David Coulthard’s (RED BULL) comments after being taken out by Felipe Massa (FERRARI) :

It’s always good to hear what they really think!

UPDATE : CLIP IS NOW NOT AVAILABLE

Another Little Milestone

Another little milestone was passed yesterday on my blog.

My blog passed through the 5000 views barrier. As I said when I passed the 1000 view mark in September I didn’t think that many people would take much interest in what I had to say, but I’ve been surprised.

It took me nearly 6 months to get that first 1000. The next 4000 have come in about the same time. I guess I must be doing something right.

Here’s to the next 5000….

A New Job, A New Start

Yesterday I handed in my notice at my current employer because I’ve got a new job.

The new job has come out of the blue, I didn’t even go looking for it, it came looking for me. It’s great because in effect, I’ve been head-hunted. That is a really great feeling.

So, I’ve got 5 weeks left here before I start my new job as a Contract Designer. I will still be involved in the automotive industry, but now I will be designing exhaust systems.

It is a little scary as I will be employed as a contractor, rather than a permanent member of staff. It is going to be an exciting time.

There are plenty of things to sort out before I start. There is the contract to sort out, how I’m going to set myself up - whether that is as a Limited Company, or as part of an umbrella company. My initial thoughts are to go with the umbrella company, as it will remove a lot of the initial hassle and paperwork that would come with setting up my Limited Company. If I enjoy the life contracting then it will be something to look at in the future.

The new company is near Preston and so I’ll be commuting. Hopefully this will not be too bad. When I went for the interview it took me about an hour, and this was when the roads are at their busiest. I hope to leave earlier than that when I start so that I can beat the traffic. It should be possible to do in 45 mins.

In the meantime I’ve got a few loose ends to tie up. I need to get the CAD system upgraded before I leave and make sure that everything is in place for the next CAD Engineer coming in. I’ll also need to give a helping hand to finding a replacement.

So a busy few weeks ahead, but it will all be worth it in the end.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

It’s Mothers Day today.

And as it’s Mothers Day, Ellie and I greeted Gemma with breakfast in bed this morning. Hot, buttered crumpets and orange juice. Mmmm!

Ellie walked in carrying Gemma’s card and present, announcing “Breakfast, crumpets!” It was one way to make sure Gemma was not asleep! We bought Gemma some flowers, picked by Ellie, and also a DVD, “The Bourne Ultimatum“, one of Gemma’s favourite films.

I’d also like to wish my Mum a “Happy Mothers Day”, and I’ll pass on Gemma’s best wishes to her Mum for a “Happy Mothers Day”

We’re off to visit our Mums today, and spend the day with them.