Last blog of the decade

So, this time 10 years ago we were all anticipating a Y2K collapse, with planes falling from the sky. Those of us in London were persuaded to go and see the river of fire on New Year’s Eve, which turned out to be a damp squid.

What happened next?

The web kicked off, emails became a burden rather than a way of communicating, young people can not actually speak in proper sentences, or spell, or pay attention to something for more than 45 seconds.
Everyone wanted something for nothing, abdicating personal responsibility for what they ate, what they borrowed or what they did. I am not sure whether we have suffered the full consequences of all that yet.

The last 10 years have been eventful for me:
Set up this company;Completed an MSc; Competed in European and World Championships;Got Married; Moved house 4 times; Had two children- the best things that have happened definitely.

Highlights of the decade generally?
Movies: generally poor, apart from Gladiator right at the beginning and the 3 LOTR movies, a generally poor showing from Hollywood as the lowest common denomonator and multiplexes were catered for. 2009 offered a glimmer of hope with The Wrestler, Star Trek and Gran Torino.
Books: Lots of text books, e books, and journals to read. Gambetta, Bosch, Kurz and John Jesse I still refer to a lot.
Stephen Ambrose’s history books, athough with a heavy US bias, Richard Dawkins is always good, Michio Kaku and Martin Rees to broaden the mind, just discovered Henning Mankell’s crime novels for light reading.
TV Series– Thank you HBO: The Sopranos, The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Generation Kill and Band of Brothers, also in the UK- The Office.
Travel: Money and family have limited my travel escapades compared to the previous decades, but I have discovered the local area in more depth. Devon, Cornwall and Somerset have a lot to offer and I try to make time each week to go somewhere new in the vicinity. Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas is an obvious highlight because of our wedding, but that is an obvious get away from it all place. The best thing about the Cay was that we spent a week with friends and family there. Brittany too was new to me and we will be visiting there again. I also went to Japan three times for training/ competing purposes. Tokyo is a different world, but enjoyable, Hakone park is great for feeling part of rural Japan.

I am having a 2 week break from blogging to make sure I spend more time with my family and friends. That is what Christmas means to me, the chance to chat, relax and share some new experiences with people who matter.

Have a very Happy Christmas, a great New Year, thanks to everyone who reads this blog, who comments, who has bought services from us, or who has supplied the company with expertise.