A man stands on a sandy dune, hands casually in his pockets, his rust coloured tie draped over his right shoulder.  Beneath his straw hat his bottle blue suit contrasts keenly with the deep blue sea that he is looking over, or is it the five brightly coloured balloons floating across the cloudless sky that have his attention? On the horizon pass some dark grey ships, and in the foreground a thin red flag flutters in the gentle breeze.

In the last twelve months I’ve been to some beautiful parts of the world.  Locally I’ve experienced the joys of The Mournes, where I am every week now, Trim castle in Meath that was used as the set in Braveheart, the Causeway Coast, parts of which are now known globally through #GOT...I could go on.  

I got a new toy at the weekend, a compact camera.  Until now I’ve been using my iPhone to take any photos, and whilst these are pretty good (if I say so myself), I’ve decided rightly or wrongly that I need something more.

The fell runner in me is at high alert. It is blowing a gale. It’s windier at certain times than others, and the higher we get to the top the more blowy it gets. It’s also difficult to tell where the next gust is coming from. What is certain is that something new would come along soon to make you brace yourself differently, to challenge your ability to stand, or even to keep going.

So, I have a choice. Do I go with t-shirt one where I lost my Glastonbury virginity, as it were, in 2010? There wasn’t a drop of rain that year. Or do I simply go for one that I think looks the best?

The good ole days, I remember them well, are full of sayings like ‘don’t re-invent the wheel’. Throughout my Engineering degree, and my career in general, I’ve learned that there is always something out there that has already been designed by someone that will do what you need. Or at least will be at least 90% of the way there. There really is no need to re-invent the wheel. Or is there?

So, I started a race a couple of weeks ago and wasn’t able to finish it.  A first for me and, well, I didn’t like the feeling too much!

So, I couldn’t find it. Platform 93/4 eluded me totally when I was at Kings Cross recently. I suppose I really am a Muggle. 

“Believe me, my young friend, there really is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Kenneth Grahame

I’m a Radio One listener. There, I’ve said it.

For the first time in a long time I was on a flight today where the emergency briefing was given without the need for a microphone.  The plane was so small there was only one person looking after us in the cabin.  Amy, who clearly knew her stuff, briefed us with the minimum of fuss, and handled us all very well (even though all of us had our bags stowed in the hold because there were just no lockers inside).  To be fair, it all felt much more of a bonding session than a flight, and we arrived in the Isle of Man with barely more than a bump.

A good friend of mine was round for a cup of coffee today.

A good friend of mine was round for a cup of coffee today.

Pattersons Consulting is the only Quality Management Consultancy in Northern Ireland that is a member of BSI, and one of only seventeen organizations in total in Northern Ireland to be members.

Navigating tall hedgerows didn’t allow for much sightseeing as I careered through half of Ireland’s counties in two days.  With the good roads very good, and the bad roads very bad, my poor car felt every bump, every pothole, and protected me well.