London... take 3 1/2 (the field trip)

Yesterday was our day away from campus for a lecture in central London. It was a breath of fresh air being out of the lecture hall into central London where the venue was at the very core of probably what made London it is today. The entire cohort of MSc. in Corporate Brand Management was taken to the London Transport Museum where we were given a brief lecture of how the London Underground or London Transport in general received its reputation and identity it has today.

I guess it's one of the smaller museums you found find in London. I reckon one would finish touring the place in roughly an hour? Though after visiting the place; I can't help but wonder how in the world did they manage to get all those trains and busses into a that place. When they did figure that out, how did they maneuver them into their positions today? Interesting ei? At least I find it intriguing. No doubt it was an interesting day out.

Tried my hands on a train simulator where I successfully piloted a train on the Northern Line and ferried my passengers safely without getting any of them killed or injured. Though I did run one or two red lights along the way. Okay one or two is an understatement; probably a few. Maybe TFL could hire me as a part time train driver or something and everyday I'll go; "Please , MIIIIND the gap" (sorry internal joke; those of you who've taken the tube would get what I mean).

Now excursion over, back to Balmer's paper which is proving a real challenge.

Covent Garden Market really has a lot of interesting foods on sale. This reminds me sorta like the Ramadan Bazaar we had back home in Malaysia. The food really made my mouth water; though the price made my hunger disappear.

Hammad (the other Malaysian in class), me & Professor Balmer; yes the guy who created the 6C's of corporate marketing, AC3ID test, wrote the text book and countless journals on corporate identity .

Finally a presentation group photo for Dr. Manto's class. Tord wasn't around due to a family emergency hence the empty space beside me so he can photoshop himself in. (from L to R; Tord from Sweeden /UK, me, Mansi from India, Faria from Bangladesh / UK, Duong from Vietnam)

Ah remember the days...

Ah... remember the days, almost 2 years ago. This was probably one if not the BEST concert I've ever attended. The RM 123 I paid was totally worth it. It was awesome. I waited for almost 7 years for them to one day finally play in Kuala Lumpur. When the opportunity presented itself no way I was going to miss it.

I really hope they'll make their way to the UK within the next year or so. The only bummer part of that night was Darling couldn't be there with me. But none the less, next time I see them play live; God willing I'll pay for your ticket k? That's a promise! =)

If i go out now... I'll be Mary Poppins...

This is what ALMOST happened to me as I went out to do my laundry this afternoon. It has happened to me a couple of times in the last two or three days. The picture was taken from The Daily Mail and supposedly this guy is in Davon, England. However in London, the weather is just as bad. I can't really walk in a straight line without being tipped over by the wind. The article online can be found here.

Look at the freaking wind!!! 63 km/h!!! Well that's a pretty strong gust of wind. But it's FUN! haha...

I think if we had winds like these back in KL; squatters would definitely be homeless and the low cost houses in Bandar Tun Razak may cease to exist. It's a good thing that I have loads of assignments to catch up on which doesn't require me to leave my room.

Where's the heater modulation dial when you need it?

Shessh...

The day I visited stones...

It wasn't as hyped up as I thought it would be. I was hoping for once in my life I would be able to take pictures with world famous stones up close. When I arrived and saw the guard rail and thought to myself; BUMMER!...

We could only stand probably 30 yards away from Stonehenge at the closest point. But none the less the weather was fabulous yesterday. Judging by the weather forecast it was supposed to pour; but thank God it was blue skies and bright sunshine all the way.

Stonehenge was literally in the middle of no where. You would pass acres and acres of farm land, green grass, undulating terrain then suddenly you would see this stone formation out of no where and there you have it; Stonehenge right before you. Supposedly built over a thousand years ago; not much of it is actually left thanks to the weather and souvenir hunters who chip off part of it for keepsake. But I guess enough of it was left for you to use your imagination and make out the original structure.

After that we headed to Salisbury in Wiltshire. Honestly; nothing much to shout about this town; I just fell in love again with black and white photography cause I've finally figured out how to work the black and white function on my camera. The biggest (literal & metaphorical sense) attraction in Salisbury would be the Salisbury Cathedral or more known as the Cathedral of St. Mary. From what I read on Wiki, it's the oldest if not one of the oldest cathedral's in England; built around 1215 or so.

It was massive! No mosque back home in Malaysia could beat the size and the beauty of this thing. Part of it was under restoration work when we arrived. I've uploaded some of the photo's I like best and as always if you want more; they're all on facebook.

Boom Boom Pow!

Though not too late to post these up. Brunel had its annual fireworks show out at the cemetery pitches by the sports complex. They don't call it cemetery pitches for nothing; cause right behind the field is the Hillingdon-Uxbridge Cemetery. I think the 'boom boom pow' going on that night probably woke all the cemetery residents up.

As I mentioned to Victor; it's a show put on by Brunel to see how many creative ways they can make our tuition fee's explode and light up in the night sky! But bow was it cold. It's the first time my winter jacket was put to use and I think it makes me look fat. Oh wells who cares.

As usual; more photo's are on facebook.

London... take 3...

London take 3 was meant to be officially the 3rd time I've ventured into London for the sole purpose to look around and explore more of this beautiful city. Though this time around it turned out to be longer and more enjoyable than I first planned it to be.

A large part of it was due to the fact that I've had the utmost pleasure and delight to have the Darling come down to London over the weekend for a language conference in Kensington Olympia. Initially the plan was just to walk over from Kensington to Hyde Park, catch the tube from Marble Arch to Manor House where I would meet Ian for lunch and meet back again with darling in the evening. However; darling's conference ended earlier than I expected so I had the privilege of exploring Hyde Park and other parts of London which were not in my original itinerary.

Judging by the distance travelled in google maps, I travelled roughly 10 or more kilometers by foot in central London. But I guess it's the best way to see this city first hand. There are a lot of things that can be missed when taking the tube or by bus. My travels took me from Kensington Olympia down Kensington High Street to Hyde Park. From there it was from the Albert Memorial adjacent to the Royal Albert Hall down Kensington High Street to Harrods. From Harrods to Hyde Park Corner down Coronation Hill to Buckingham Palace. From Buckingham's down to Tralfagar Square up to Leicester Square for ice cream and to China Town for dinner and finally to Piccadilly Circus before heading home.

Things are just better when you can see them up close and with your darling. I particularly enjoyed reading a book at the round pond in Hyde Park while waiting for Su Ann to arrive. I'll let the pictures do the talking. There are more on my facebook if you are interested.

Round Pond

Hyde Park

Royal Albert Hall; it'd be a dream to perform or to watch an orchestra here.

Harrods; the Museum of over priced goods.

Called on the Queen for tea at Buckingham Palace but she was at a mamak stall for teh tarik.

I tell you the truth; this guy was falling asleep on guard. I don't blame him. Being paid to be a tourist attraction.

Admiralty Arch

Ended the night / day at Piccadilly Circus.

Ok-to-berr

Updates for October will be up soon. By the way who says everyone has 24 hours in a day? I had 25 hours on the 25th! The clock has been turned back, the sun rises at 7-ish and sets by 4.30pm hence it's a clear signal; colder days are yet to come. Which ALSO means, my assignments and papers are about due in a couple of weeks time. I have yet to start writing as I'm still struggling with the amount of reading required.

The highlight for the month?

Someone came to London for the weekend!!!

It's been too long..

More updates on the weekend will be up soon.

10k!!!

Argh...

All of us have been in the scenario before. Most of us will get pretty annoyed when it happens. I know I feel like stuffing a sock into it at times. It gets pretty annoying at times when you have that ONE individual that just won't SHUT UP!

I shall refer to the individual as 'IT' so I don't make references to anyone. IT won't stop yacking. IT will not cease to grab every opportunity to boast, brag, show off, belittle others or even challenge the professor. Who cares if you have a cool ride, or worked in a luxury clothing firm, have done a postgraduate degree before or been to the moon? (though the last one would be very interesting).

For goodness sake just zip it. Not everyone wants to hear your voice. I think I should introduce the scarf method. I can tell IT in it's face;

"SHSSSSS!!!! You don't have the scarf.. no talking!"

Gosh I can't wait till the day that IT doesn't speak for a day....

A new and fresher look...

I was too lazy to continue reading my journals this morning so I decided to do a little spring cleaning to my blog as I was having some problems posting pictures and video's up to their correct size and such. So I decided to change the entire template. There are some new links up and some stuff which were taken down as well as some new stuff too.

Feel free to look around. I would love to know how you peeps think of the new layout!

Cheers