This membership allows to get into some rather pretty and beautiful properties, and venues that the UK has too offer.  With that, we have now been to Wicken Fen [photos] and Wimpole Hall [photos] – not that we haven’t been before, but our membership is forcing us to get out.  So that can only be a good thing.

I arrived at AMS, and was impressed with the airport.  Clean, open, fresh; unlike say LHR, LGW etc.  My bag was out by the time I got the baggage reclaim belt. Cool.  Then onto the train to Amsterdam Centraal.  Apart from waiting for over 5 minutes for someone to find the English button my transition to the next link in the transport chain went really well.

I opted for fairly short 10 minute walk down the canal to the hotel, and then was given my room upon checkin, shortly after 10:30. Again, cool.

This morning, Nick and I did our TAC bits and welcomed the applicants who arrived today.

My week is going to be hectic, but fun.

Whilst there we met up with niq for dinner at a local pub - The food was great, as was the venue.  Down some winding little roads, into what felt like an abyss.  It wasn’t far off at one point where a foreign driver decided to try and do his level best to write off the back end of my lovely car.  Thankfully he missed.

Alice and I took a walk through the grounds of the castle, and then through into north Bovey and back right around one side of the estate. Lovely.  I’m sure we’ll go back one day. Don’t know when, but I’m sure we will.

The weather is incredibly hot, I have not seen a single cloud since we descending through them on our approach into the airport on thursday.  From here I can see 3 large tankers waiting to empty their cargo of fresh drinking water [1] – they dont seem to have moved in over 2 days. Odd considering the state of the water in Cyrpus.

I leave tomorrow afternoon, which wont be a moment too soon.  Whilst I am away on business trips I dont really feel all that relaxed and with the extremley slow pace of life in Cyprus I just dont like being here.  Bring on tomorrow afternoon, and my 5 hour flight home.

Hmm home.  Proper tea, wind, rain, English sun, and my wife.   Yeah.. hmmm home.

[1] – http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080716/od_nm/water_dc

So we may have to sta at home, or worse pay over the odds for a rather generic break.

Any suggestions where can take ourselves? We’re not beach lovers, or hotel pool hogs, so 2 weeks in Majorca probably wont be top of our list.  We have been looking at a break in Croatia, and perhaps another Eastern Block country, to pick up a bit of atmosphere.

I will be flying with BA, passing through T5 at LHR.  It seems that the initial bugs have been ironed out, and baggage seems to be making it to same place as the passanger.  Which is a good thing, the heat in Cyprus at the moment is quite staggering and fresh clothing is going to be a must.