events | Richard Hart / Hates_

Christmas karting

23-12-2006

This year we went karting for our Christmas do. I’ve never been before but that didn’t stop me mouthing off in the weeks running up to the event that I was going to claim victory! I was pretty exhausted come the day though as I was so tired from the drive down from Scotland the day before and was still feeling pretty worse for wear from my cold, but that didn’t stop me putting up a good fight. The format was a quick 15 minute qualifying session, followed by two 20 minute races. During the races I felt at a real weight disadvantage as I was struggling to keep up with the front runners. The only way I could gain ground was in the corners. In the end I came third out of 18, after my boss who’d been plenty of times before and Colin who used to have his own cart. So for a first timer I’m pretty chuffed I managed to get into the top three. I’m especially proud of my trophy. Being bronze means I look like I’ve been Han Soloed!

The karting bug has already bitten the office. I think we’re going to try and go again in Feb! I can’t wait!

Scotland is far away.

By: Richard

20-12-2006

events, places

Emma and I went up to Scotland for the weekend and even though I was ill with a cold I managed to do the long drive there and back. We rented a beautiful cottage about an hour out of Edinburgh for a few nights. The scenery was really great and the weather was good, although pretty cold, so much so that the roads were frosted over in the evenings and mornings.

Went drove into Edinburgh on Sunday and went down into Mary King’s Close which is basically a preserved section of the old Edinburgh beneath the main streets and buildings that are there today. It was amazing to see how people lived only a few centuries ago and it made me glad that I didn’t have to live back then. Maybe a few centuries from now people will think the same about how I live today!

As we were coming back down on the Monday we didn’t have time to do much but we managed to take a look at the harbour in St Abbs and go on to Roslyn Chapel where Darren Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code ends. I had only seen the film and the building wasn’t what I expected at all. For a start it was a lot smaller and a lot more bare. As far as chapels go though it was very nice. The stone work was pretty impressive too.

All the trip photos are here.

Pizza Express & Borat

By: Richard

08-11-2006

events, movies

Saturday was pretty eventful. We (Me, Emma, Sam, Laura, Luke, Nelson & Patrick) all met up for dinner at Pizza Express Olympia before the film. Sam had been told that they didn’t take reservations but we were told that wasn’t true when we got there and had a 15 minute wait for a table to come up. When one finally did there was enough cutlery for three of us nicely dumped in a pile at one end of the table. Then we met our waiter. What a complete dick. I don’t know what his problem was but customer service was definately not his strong point.

After ordering we were waiting ages for it too arrive and with the film start time growing ever closer we started getting anxious as to whether we would actually recieve it or not. Laura complained and the waiter got all shirty about it, so we just left. On our way out Sam was called a “Fucking Cunt” which is probably not an inaccurate description tbh. We were all pretty amazed afterwards at the waiters behaviour.

The next day Laura and Emma complained. As Laura went down there in person she got a free bottle of wine. If they offer a free meal, I’ll be damned if you’ll catch me back there. The manager said he has a bit of a reputation for this type of thing. I wonder if he’ll lose his job or not.

I suppose I should write something about Borat. Although the only thing I can think of saying about it is it’s *beeping* funny. The film is just so wrong in so many ways.

2007 Flora London Marathon

By: Richard

18-10-2006

events, health

I got confirmation last night that I’ve been accepted as a Merlin charity runner in the 2007 Flora London Marathon. 26.2 miles (42.1Km) of pain, sweat and fun! I’ve got six months to train which is more then enough. I can’t wait!

Merlin is the only specialist UK charity which responds worldwide with vital health care and medical relief for vulnerable people caught up in natural disasters, conflict, disease and health system collapse. Find out more here: Merlin.