Robin's Bloggin's

This evening was a perfect combination of cycling, boating, lovely countryside, family time, good beer, pizza and even Indian food!  Damon and I had long been planning and scheming this adventure.  We snuk out of the office just after 16:00, joyfully leaving the hassles of the day astern, donned Lycra, collected our bikes and headed for the Hythe Ferry terminal.  After a day of gloomy skies and drizzle, the skies cleared and the sun came out.  The Queen Mary lay at her berth looking majestic.  We piled onto the small ferry and got into jocular conversation with a couple of other cyclists.  As we steamed across Southampton Water, the liner 'Norwegian Spirit' was putting to sea. We alighted at Hythe Pier and had an interesting start to our ride, dodging the gaps between the pier planks - Damon by studiously steering a straight line, and me adopting a slalom strategy.  I nearly got my wheel stuck in the gap, but just got away with it. Our ride was abs...

It's a little overcast today, but I still delight hugely in the great view from my desk at work.  As an oceanographer, it's a great inspiration to be able to look at salty water whilst sitting working at my desk, though often a distraction too. Today the Queen Mary 2 is in town, taking onboard a new cargo of rich, overweight passengers for a glamorous spin across the ocean.

As workplaces go, Solent Business Park is a rather a nice one on a sunny spring day. The landscaping and water features are lovely, and are now well matured. 

Old friends, old friends..... I’ve spent the past two days at the Oceanology conference and exhibition at the Excel Centre in London’s Docklands. Oceanology is a biennial gathering of the clans. I’ve attended pretty much all of them since 1984. In those days, it was held in Brighton, and was incredibly amateur and rustic in comparison with this week’s corporate glitz.  It’s a chance for marine sector companies, large and small, to parade their wares, and also a chance to catch up with many old friends, acquaintances, adversaries etc., etc.  Back in 1984, I was starry eyed and full of excitement about this wonderful industry that I somehow found myself working in (how that happened is another story!). These days, I’m a little more wizened and worldly wise, but still have some sense of awe about the technologies associated with working in the world’s oceans, and a strong sense of common interest with my fellow applied oceanographers. How is it that I haven’t been fou...

A brief visit to the Netherlands with work... Flower Sculpture Outside my Hotel Passing Windmill by the Motorway Lovely Dutch Architecture

Now that my knee is recovering, I'm really enjoying my morning ride to work, from Southampton station to the office at Whiteley.  This morning was very parky, but beautiful in the early-morning light.  I feel so much better after the ride in than when I battle the commuter traffic and sit in lengthy queues on the M27 motorway.  It's amazing too how you see things from the bike that you would never notice from the car... Weston Shore at Sunrise Netley Hospital Chapel in the Distance Plastic Sinkpots on the Hamble River!

At a training course in Teddington. A lovely riverside walk this morning on my way back from the hotel gym 😁