This was at my desk this morning. After weeks of being away in Amsterdam, it is a nice surprise.
It is done as part of a the launch of a new set of packaging and caught all office based staff by surprise.
If it is unclear, it is a beach towel from M&S with some candy tied with blue coloured straw. The cupcake had golden glitters on it. It was too sweet for my liking but did give me the sugar rush boost I needed.
The office also transformed the breakout area for summer with deck chairs on the balcony. I will spending more time there now next to the fridge for my iced cold coca-cola.
This is part of the World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) which is a campaign a to put a stop to the indecent exposure of people and the planet to cars and the pollution they create. At least that is what the website says. However, based on conversations that day, there were groups that were there to campaign against the dependency of petrol and also celebrating humanity.
London happens to be one of the major cities participating in this global event and I can see it growing in the upcoming years as there are many other UK cities participating. This years turnout was a success according to the press with thousands navigating through the streets of london and other major cities.
Other countries where such rides are organised includes Australia, Netherlands, Belgium, America, Canada and Hungary. If you are interested, check out their website as it may be occuring in your hometown.
Anyone with a bike can participate and you don’t have to bare all. Do what you are comfortable with as they have a Bare As You Dare policy. It is common for the participants to paint their body with messages.
As I was in the starting point of the event, I felt uncomfortable when everyone started to undress around me. A bit of a culture shock but it is always healthly to be out of your comfort zone once in a while. They all felt so confident, comfortable and did not mind people taking pictures and some even encouraged it. Look at the picture below, she draw attention to herself first.
I have to salute the participants for bearing it all. Not something that I am prepared to do. Some went all out with elaborate head gears, body paint and costumes.
If you need more info of this event, click here for the UK mini site.
As a conclusion, this is a surefire way to gather interests and spread a message. It would be things such as my blog post and word of mouth that would create the awareness of this campaign. As for will I change my ways after being there. I am proud to say I don’t use a car when I am in the UK and rely on public transport all the time. It is a different story when I am back in Malaysia occassionally . Well that’s all for this weekend. I will be away in Amsterdam for work the whole of next week. Take care!
It has been weeks since I ventured out during the weekend and I had many reasons to go to London, so I force myself out to visit a Thai Buddhist Temple in Wimbledon. Buddhapadipada Thai Temple is the first Thai Temple in the United Kingdom.
I got to know about this place from an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s show of best local restaurants competition. In one of the episodes, it was Thai food.
I did not take any pictures inside the main shrine as a sign of respect. The next time you are here, please pay close attention to the detailed murals on the walls and ceilings. You will see a Thai Airways flight and I believe Vincent Van Gogh.
The grounds boasts a meditation garden and also cabins to house classes.
I did not see any monks around as I was hoping to get some holy water blessing.
If you wish to visit this place, all you need to do is get yourself to Wimbledon Station which is one of the many last stops on the District Line. From there you can take bus 93 and alight at Parkside Avenue. It is a very short walk then to Callone Road where the temple is. There are quite a lot of signs.
There was a signal failure when I arrive and I have to alight at Wimbledon Park instead. It took me roughly 30 mins by foot from here.
I am watching this in the comfort of my living room. My favourite act so far is from Turkey, a band called maNga.
Last year, I was watching this in Hamburg together with my colleagues and the year before in Southampton with me exchanging messages with Song Yia on msn judging the acts. This shows how fast time flies.
The Eurovision song contest is now in its 55th year! It was the platform that launched the career for Abba when they won for Sweden. Every year, European countries would be represented by a music act to battle for the crown. The winners are based on votes and you can’t vote for your home country. (That’s the rules!) The winning country gets to host the following years event. It is the largest live music event shown with over 120 million viewers.
This years highlight included a stage crasher during Spain’s performance which granted Spain another opportunity to perform again after the final 25th act. France and Germany had upbeat tunes while Iceland and Ireland had standing ovations.
The show’s most iconic part with almost a cult status is the results announcement section in the end. Each country eligible to vote in this event will have their mini slot announcing the results of their local vote. It is also interesting to see that neighbouring countries will often vote for each other. (eg. UK voting for Ireland). Will be interesting to see who will grab this year’s glory.
Being nostalgic again, the first time I ever I heard about Eurovision was when Ruslana of Ukraine won with the following upbeat tune in 2004. Still a good performance in my records.
Well, enough for this time while I continue watching the remainder of the show.
My lucky day, I won this gift basket in a lucky draw after successfully answering two questions correctly in an office competition! It was in conjunction with a new packaging launch. Yipee! Thought of sharing my luck and celebrating it with a blog post!
Two weeks ahead of the actual celebrations and I have lost count of the times I was fortunate to be here to witness the proceedings. However, this year was extra special as I followed the mini procession from Leicester Square into Chinatown and back.
If you are curios what this event is all about, here is the link to Wikipedia.
Here are some pics of the event worth sharing.
The Lion Dance Lead The Procession
The Chariot
Main Banner
The Queue To Bath Baby Buddha
Here is my post back in 2008 and 2007 of the same event!
As my parents are in town, I decided to spend the night in London. What better way to make their visit memorable by watching one of West End’s many performances. I decided to go for Stomp which was a performance that I have always wanted to watch since I was in University.
Stomp is a show of rhythm, comedy and dance using everyday household items such as a box of matches, lighters, brooms, kitchen sink, tubes, pots and pans.
To show you what I mean, the below video is their opening act using brooms and I believe was extracted from their DVD.
One of the highlights was that the stage at the Ambassadors Theatre has a sign stating Penang Street. Penang is of course my hometown!
I highly recommend Stomp because it is easy to follow with no plot or heavy conversations. It made my evening!
Happy Labour Day everyone! Unfortunately, there is no day trips today due to a peaceful demonstration in the town center. Public transports are not running full service due to this.
Check out the Market Square in the morning where the town center looks dead. I pity the local businesses.
This was the picture I took using my Blackberry during my visit to the town center on Thursday evening. The lions have been boxed up to protect them from vandalism I guess.
There were sounds of helicopters hovering on top of my apartment all day which I believe was due to the close proximity to the town center which made it a good spot to capture footage. I was following the status of the march using twitter which was updated by citizen journalists, the local paper and the police. The whole event ended with a little bit of violence.
Both video recordings were produced by the Thames Valley Police which did a great job in maintaining the peace.
This is probably the place I frequented most after I moved into Aylesbury roughly 8 months ago. It is a value for money day out as the bus fare is only 5.50 return and the journey a little over an hour.
Oxford is the home to the oldest English speaking University that is now over 800 years old. Imagine the amount of scholars or graduates that has walked through the cities as students and then went on to the change the world or achieve greater heights. Click here for a list of famous Oxonians.
I decided to be a tourist today and here are some of the snap shots I took of the attractions in Oxford.
Carfax Tower- The centre of Oxford City
Bodleian Library
University Museum Of Natural History – My Favourite!
The Museum Of Natural History was my favourite as it houses a large collection of Dinosaur bones. Anything with Dinosaurs are sure winners!
Radcliffe Camera – It houses the Radcliffe Science Library.
Museum Of Oxford
There are several operators that run hourly buses/luxury coach between Oxford and London such as OxfordTube.
Visit the official tourist site to download a printable map or discover more details before your trip!
I was also sad to find out that one of my favourite Oxford attraction, The Oxford Story has closed down in 2007. It was an animated ride that tells you the rich history of Oxford. Apparently, it was too expensive to refurbished. Sad…
Oh well, I am once again glad that I took a day out exploring as it would have been a great waste as the weather was near perfection.
Today, I decided to reward myself with a day trip up to Birmingham from Aylesbury. (Chiltern Railways operate trains from London Marylebone, From Aylesbury, you have to switch in Princes Risborough) I took the train and although the journey took two hours each way. I figured I could catch up with my reading on board the train which I
have indeed. Built to last by Jim Collins completed during the trip. I read Good To Great last time as the organisation that I use to work for almost used it as a bible.
Well, I arrived at Moor Street station and begin my adventure at the Bull Ring shopping center. This is where the tourist center is located at. Equiped with the map I got from here, I started roaming freely.
I headed first to the cathedral and then followed by Victoria Square. The open space was grand. As the sun was up, there were crowds of people lazing around and soaking up the rays.
Just a stone throw away is the library, museum and art gallery. All free to enter. The museum and gallery had a pretty impressive collection. This are two of my favourite sculptures I discovered. See the contrasts?
Well, after the museum, I took a stroll to the markets. It is basically a combination of open air and a few huge airplane hangars with a variety of stalls selling almost everything.
Also nearby is the chinese quarters, the local chinatown.
Birmingham as a city has a lot to offer. I wouldn’t mind living here.
I did not visit the jewellery quarters or the canals. I plan to cover those upon my return here to visit Cadbury World.
For more information and maps, visit their official tourism website.
Well, that’s all for now. Till my next post. Take care.
. Well that’s all for this weekend. I will be away in Amsterdam for work the whole of next week. Take care!
