Frank Montgomery's Personal Pages
Summary of 2007
Sent: Friday, December 21,
2007 10:33 PM
Subject: Season's greetings
Dear Friends and
Colleagues,
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year.
For me 2007 was a
year of changes, when I swapped DLT for CIA (possibly), became
chair of IHT EdB, helped organise a
one day conference on
PT,
and resolved to stop using so many
TLAs.
I also had a course of physiotherapy to loosen a stiff hip
(caused by falling on ice on Christmas Day 2005), and realised I
will qualify for a
bus pass
in 18 months.
Other notable events
of my year:
Visits to Leeds
by: GC Kim (all year), David Turner (June), Dave Pye (Oct),
NH Wan (Sept), Derry O’Leary (Oct), Neville Patterson (Dec).
Most Guilt-Laden
Task: Cutting down 2 cherry trees in my back garden.
Most Frustrating
Journeys: 26 June – couldn’t get to London due to floods; 28
Sept couldn’t get to Rome due to high winds.
Worst Timing:
when my central heating broke down in November. Combi boiler so
no hot water either. Discovered that four saucepans and a kettle
does not fill a bath.
Closest Call:
Accident
in Huddersfield
involving two cars and two bicycles (me on one). Both cars were
write-offs and occupants were injured. Both cyclists were able
to ride away with only scratches. As
Harry Hill
would say, ’What’s the chances of that happening then?’
Most Enjoyable
Experience:
Sailing in the Baltic
with Cap’n Karl Bang and Nick Marler. My first ever yacht trip.
Most Stupid
Decision: not taking a seasick pill before crossing the
Baltic in 3m waves.
Most Scary Moment:
when the foresail of said yacht became detached. And a couple of
minutes later when two massive waves arrived while taking the
sail down.
Most Impressive
Guards: The
Swedish Palace Guards
were excellent, but not quite so good as the
Greeks.
Best Bike Ride:
From Stalybridge to Wakefield via Snake Pass and
Strines Moor
in perfect cycling weather.
Worst Bike Ride:
Leeds to Worsthorne via Halifax & Hebden Bridge on 2 Sept.
After struggling up a ridiculously steep hill onto the moor
above Hebden Br, and a further half hour uphill in thick mist
and into a strong wind, we had only covered 3 miles. 'Is anyone
enjoying this?' I asked. The answers were lost in the howling
gale, but the outcome was a shortcut down to Todmorden for lunch
in a warm pub, then home by train.
Weirdest Film:
Werner Herzog’s ‘Wild
Blue Yonder’
Like a toffee wrapper, it was annoying at the time, and still
sticks with me.
Most Interesting
Discovery: After two ‘blind’ tasting parties (Scotch in
January, wine in June) it seems that the variance of Scotch
whisky is much greater than that of red wine. (Ashamed to say I
couldn’t tell one wine from another, and the consensus of 10
tasters was that the best wine was a Valpolicella!)
Best Concert:
Gamelan concert, and Brahms German Requiem.
Worst Hotel:
Hotel Cavendish, Gower St London (See
my comments under ‘Anonymous on 08 Jul 2007)
What Was All That
About? Either 1) A senior architect ‘explaining’ city
regeneration using lots of coloured circles and petal shapes; or
2) a management consultant ‘explaining’ the similarities between
ITS and a Seattle fishmongers.
Most Common Email
Subject: Your mailbox is over its size limit
Best Wishes
Frank Montgomery
Frank Montgomery