Once In A Lifetime
Well, that was that then. The "Once In A Lifetime" chance to see the Olympic flame, as it deigned to visit us here in humble Bicester. Blink and you miss it. I guess it was fun for the kids and an opportunity to hang out with a few friends in Sheep Street, but the trouble is with once in a lifetime experiences is they rarely live up to the hype.
This was rather good fun though as I was with my bestie and we had a bit of a giggle. As we always do. Daryl was also there and kindly lifted Ollie up into his shoulders - he's much taller than me, so that got him a better view. I was holding Jamie up, but like most 1 year olds he was completely oblivious to what was going on or why.
I imagine there are quite a lot of other "once in a lifetime" experiences one can have in life that may well possible disappoint. I imagine reaching the summit of Everest is great but then you've only got to climb all the way back down again so what's the point. Likewise, having a threesome, sounds awesome on paper, and let's face it, you all secretly want to try one, but logistically it's a bit of a challenge - hard enough trying to co-ordinate two people to come at the same time let alone three.
Anyway that was the Olympic Torch coming through on the back of the Jubilee, and it will very likely be the last one we see of those as well. Now I am not being maudlin there, it's just the simple fact that the Queen ascended the throne at such a young age that there was always a good chance of her passing the Silver, Gold and Diamond milestones. I don't think there are any more to come after Diamond. Not that I am aware of anyway. Unless there's something amazing like Platinum for getting to 100 and if Queenie gets that far, I will begin to suspect that the scientists have discovered the secret of eternal life but are keeping it only for Royalty, politicians and bankers.
Poor old Charles is already 63, so will be well into his pensionable years before he makes it to the throne so a Silver Jubilee for him looks optimistic. Still I guess there's the coronation to look forward to! Which will be met with even greater apathy that what's gone before. Why? I don't know, I guess the world has changed, and with so much going on all the time, these events don't stand out as being as special as they once were.
To sum up, I enjoyed today without it being an "out of this world" experience, it was something different to brighten up a drab Monday afternoon and let's face it, it's been drab. Of course the one day rain locally would have been useful, to liven up the British Grand Prix, the track stayed bone dry.
Amid much moaning about the weather I read an interesting piece in the Times on Saturday about the fact we have now had six wet summers in a row. Apparently this is unprecedented and may be a sign of permanent climate change. How depressing is that?
Anyway - as far as Olympic things go, there is only one thing with "Olympic" in the title that floats my boat, and that is the legendary Olympic Breakfast from the Little Chef. This was my staple diet in my days on the road with Nielsen. I didn't need Sat Navs or Tom Tom's in those days - I had in my head a full computerised map of every Little Chef in the country. The Olympic Breakfast (available all day) was the perfect way of maximising use of the £7.50 lunch allowance we had per day (it cost £7.49). Sadly I gave up the Olympic Breakfast some years ago after leaving Nielsen, but for old time's sake - here's a piccie.
In other news, Aldi continues to impress. I've been enjoying an amazing Bordeaux Superieur 2010 from there over the last week or two - tastes like something that you would not get much change out of a tenner for, but in fact at the good old price point of £4.99. It's getting harder and harder to find wine at that price that's any good these days with the ever spiralling taxes and other costs. The consignment I brought back from France in February has long gone, and although I'm heading back over to France next week, it's without wheels and travelling as light as possible so no option to bring any back. Just have to make sure I get a decent fill while I am there!
If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please take a look at my books on Amazon (Paperback & Kindle), where you can read lots more of the same! Click here.
Jason xx
This was rather good fun though as I was with my bestie and we had a bit of a giggle. As we always do. Daryl was also there and kindly lifted Ollie up into his shoulders - he's much taller than me, so that got him a better view. I was holding Jamie up, but like most 1 year olds he was completely oblivious to what was going on or why.
I imagine there are quite a lot of other "once in a lifetime" experiences one can have in life that may well possible disappoint. I imagine reaching the summit of Everest is great but then you've only got to climb all the way back down again so what's the point. Likewise, having a threesome, sounds awesome on paper, and let's face it, you all secretly want to try one, but logistically it's a bit of a challenge - hard enough trying to co-ordinate two people to come at the same time let alone three.
Anyway that was the Olympic Torch coming through on the back of the Jubilee, and it will very likely be the last one we see of those as well. Now I am not being maudlin there, it's just the simple fact that the Queen ascended the throne at such a young age that there was always a good chance of her passing the Silver, Gold and Diamond milestones. I don't think there are any more to come after Diamond. Not that I am aware of anyway. Unless there's something amazing like Platinum for getting to 100 and if Queenie gets that far, I will begin to suspect that the scientists have discovered the secret of eternal life but are keeping it only for Royalty, politicians and bankers.
| Jubilee - will we ever see another? |
Poor old Charles is already 63, so will be well into his pensionable years before he makes it to the throne so a Silver Jubilee for him looks optimistic. Still I guess there's the coronation to look forward to! Which will be met with even greater apathy that what's gone before. Why? I don't know, I guess the world has changed, and with so much going on all the time, these events don't stand out as being as special as they once were.
To sum up, I enjoyed today without it being an "out of this world" experience, it was something different to brighten up a drab Monday afternoon and let's face it, it's been drab. Of course the one day rain locally would have been useful, to liven up the British Grand Prix, the track stayed bone dry.
Amid much moaning about the weather I read an interesting piece in the Times on Saturday about the fact we have now had six wet summers in a row. Apparently this is unprecedented and may be a sign of permanent climate change. How depressing is that?
Anyway - as far as Olympic things go, there is only one thing with "Olympic" in the title that floats my boat, and that is the legendary Olympic Breakfast from the Little Chef. This was my staple diet in my days on the road with Nielsen. I didn't need Sat Navs or Tom Tom's in those days - I had in my head a full computerised map of every Little Chef in the country. The Olympic Breakfast (available all day) was the perfect way of maximising use of the £7.50 lunch allowance we had per day (it cost £7.49). Sadly I gave up the Olympic Breakfast some years ago after leaving Nielsen, but for old time's sake - here's a piccie.
| The Ayres diet circa 1990 - 2005 |
In other news, Aldi continues to impress. I've been enjoying an amazing Bordeaux Superieur 2010 from there over the last week or two - tastes like something that you would not get much change out of a tenner for, but in fact at the good old price point of £4.99. It's getting harder and harder to find wine at that price that's any good these days with the ever spiralling taxes and other costs. The consignment I brought back from France in February has long gone, and although I'm heading back over to France next week, it's without wheels and travelling as light as possible so no option to bring any back. Just have to make sure I get a decent fill while I am there!
If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please take a look at my books on Amazon (Paperback & Kindle), where you can read lots more of the same! Click here.
Jason xx
Comments
Post a Comment