Ten

Ten years ago I sat at a computer, signed up for blogger, typed some stuff and hit the publish button. Tonight I'm typing this on an iPhone from bed before dropping off to sleep.

Ten years ago I lived in Scotland and couldn't walk the length of myself.

Tonight I live in London and I'm fitter and healthier than I've been in years.

Ten years ago I was (probably) going to wind up a crazy old spinster lady with lots of cats.

Tonight I'm engaged to be married and have no cats.

Life moves on. People change. The world turns.

It comforts me to know that whatever happens in my life, there's a text box I can fill (or not) with my thoughts on it. Whether anyone wants to read them or not.

Ain't technology grand?

Chicken, Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Lasagne

Spurred on by the awesome Jon Topper's talk of goat's cheese and butternut squash Lasagne, I decided that the time had come to make my first home made Lasagne.

As TFH is a meat-loving bloke, I decided to improvise a little. Then, when I got to Sainsbury's, I couldn't remember what all the ingredients were, so I improvised a little more.

Ingredients:

Fresh Lasagne Sheets (or you could make your own)

For the filling:

Average sized pack of cubed chicken (or you could chop your own) 1 pack of butternut squash and sweet potato veg for roasting (or you could chop and roast your own) 1 pot of Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce (or you could make your own) 1 pot of red pesto (or you could make your own) Olive oil (I used garlic infused, you don't have to)

For the sauce:

25g butter 25g plain flour 300ml milk Salt and Pepper to season Nutmeg (if you have it, I didn't, and consequently I assume Gordon Ramsey would tut at me) Gordon Ramsey's white sauce video Cheddar cheese Grated or shaved parmesan

Method:

Put the oven on and when it's hot (around 180), put the roastable veg in a tin with some olive oil for 30-40 minutes, until nicely roasted. When they're done, take them out of the oven and start everything else, turning the oven up to 200.

Take a large frying pan or wok type pan and add some oil to it, then chuck in the chicken so it can brown.

While you're doing that, boil the kettle and put two large (or however many you need) sheets into a flat dish where they can soak for a bit, while you do the other stuff.

Try not to let the chicken burn as you get the stuff for the sauce ready.

When it's brown, chuck the pasta sauce and the pesto in on top of it, along with the roasted vegetables. Mix it all together, breaking up the bigger bits of chicken and veg, and let it simmer for a bit.

Watch the white sauce video, and follow the instructions (they work!) and when the sauce has cooked, add some cheese to it and stir it in well.

Take your dish and lob about half of the chicken and veg mix into the bottom of it, covering it with a (drained) sheet of pasta, then spread about half the sauce over the top. Repeat with the other half of the filling, another sheet of pasta and then the rest of the sauce.

Grate some more cheddar over the top and add some parmesan.

Stick it in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 200, until it's golden brown.

Give it a few minutes to rest when it comes out of the oven, otherwise you'll burn your mouth because it's so good but too hot at the same time.

This will make enough for 4 people, or two very hungry people who like eating leftover lasagne the next day.

Jack Pickard

In November 2005, I went to Manchester for an AccessifyForum meetup.

One of the people I met there was Jack Pickard, and while I don't remember much of what we talked about, I do remember laughing a lot. With, rather than at, him.

Our paths crossed a few times since that weekend, and whenever we met, he was always kind, funny and obviously passionate about accessibility.

He was someone I didn't see very often, but always enjoyed spending time with, and kind of assumed there'd be other chances to do so, so it was with no small amount of shock and sadness that I read on twitter last night that he had suddenly passed away over the weekend.

His passing is a tragedy, not only for the wife, two children and other family he leaves behind, but for the wider accessibility community. There aren't so many of us that we can afford to lose the good ones.

Rest In Peace, Jack. You always were a thoroughly decent chap.

Breaking Bread With Brad

I read blogs for several months before getting up the guts to actually start one, because I didn't think I had anything to say, and anyway, even if I did have something to say, I couldn't have a hope in hell of saying it as well as the people whose blogs I'd been reading. Eventually, during yet another sleepless night, my curiosity about this new thing overcame my shyness and I created a blog, wrote my first post, hit publish, and waited to see what would happen.

What actually happened was not very much, as (what seemed like) the entire blogging community (blogosphere, if you will…) upped and went to Austin, for SXSW 2000.

I don't remember if there was a Break Bread With Brad that year, or the year after, but I know that I'd read about SXSW and Break Bread With Brad every year, and every year I'd be consumed with jealousy at those who were there, and swear, next year would be the year I would go.

It took me seven years to make it there, and for many reasons, it's an experience I will never forget.

The day before I was due to fly to SXSW, I did a full day's work. I had to, I didn't have enough holiday, and there was certainly more than enough work needing done. After work, I went home, started packing, and, because I was so excited about finally getting to go to SXSW, I couldn't sleep. So I stayed up all night and did a quick redesign of my blog, hitting publish on the new design a whole 10 minutes before the taxi showed up to take me to the airport.

At 4am ish.

Fast forward a few hours, and I've made it to Austin, having not slept a wink on the flight. I'm completely wired from excitement but in that twitchy, been awake for more than 24 hours place too.

I should go for a nap when I get to the hotel and check in, but there's things to do and people to see and I'm in AUSTIN, BABY, YEAH!

We head out into the heat and chaos that is Austin in early March (we, being myself, Mike and Christine - two very dear friends who've made the journey from Houston to attend the conference and are serving as my guides to all that is awesome) and eventually, rock up at Break Bread With Brad.

I don't remember much of the detail, but I do remember meeting the man himself, and being greeted like an old friend, even though we'd actually met before. I know I'm not the only person who felt that way after meeting him for the first time.

I bumped into him a few times during the next few days, and each time he was the same - charming, welcoming and FUNNY.

I mean, I knew he had some game in the humour department - I'd read his blog for years, but the reading didn't even begin to compare to the real thing.

The last night of SXSW I found myself at dinner with a whole bunch of people, including Brad. Even better, I was sitting opposite him at one of the table.

I can't even begin to go into the details, mostly because I can't remember them exactly, but what I do remember is being very, very afraid of two things.

1. Of taking a mouthful of food, because it seemed that every time anyone got brave enough to put something in their mouth, someone would say something so profoundly hilarious that you'd either choke on it or spit it out.

2. Of actually peeing myself because I was laughing so hard.

Today, on hearing of Brad's untimely passing, I'm saddened, because I genuinely thought he'd go on, being himself, breaking bread with anyone and everyone, and doing it with every inch of the charm, wit and outrageousness he was known for, for many years to come. I honestly never thought that I'd only get the once shot at breaking bread with Brad.

He was a legend, and he will be missed.

…and if you didn't know him, you should listen to this audio file from Fray Cafe.

My Second Time - Brad Graham - Fray Cafe 9

Sleepless in Singapore

It's 5.19am local time and I should be asleep.

I've got a long day ahead of me and I need to be at my best.

However, my brain thinks it's 9.19pm yesterday and owing to my natural night-owl tendencies, isn't remotely tired yet.

It's not that the bed (one of two) isn't comfortable, because it is.

It's not that the room isn't quiet, because it is. I've heard barely any noise since stepping through the door, and the only noises I've heard have been people coming to my room to assist me: the lady who showed me to my room, the bellhop who brought up my suitcase, Butler #1 (I kid you not, this place has Butlers) who came to show me how to use all the features of the room and Butler #2 who brought me hot chocolate at 2am.

It's not that I haven't tried to get to sleep, because I have. I tried avoiding food when I got here, in case it woke me up. I tried having a hot bath. I tried lying down in the dark and closing my eyes. I tried not getting stressed about not being able to sleep. I tried phoning TFH because I miss him and feel very far away. I tried reading. I tried knitting. I tried phoning the lovely Butler people and asking for a hot chocolate. I tried eating something (because I was hungry and my stomach told me it was dinner time). I even tried doing some work.

Nothing has worked.

It's not that I'm hugely excited to see Singapore in the morning, because I doubt I'll see much of it between here and the office where I'll be spending two days working.

It's not that this room doesn't provide the perfect conditions to relax and rest (because it really, really does).

I wondered, when I found out I was coming here, whether I'd wind up in a kind of Lost in Translation-esque combination of jetlag and culture-shock, and it seems I was half right. So far, I haven't felt much culture-shock at all. Most of the signage is in English, as was the radio station playing in the taxi from the airport and most of the TV stations I've flicked through on the telly. Even the plug sockets are the same as back home.

The only real sense of culture-shock I'm experiencing is the luxury of my surroundings and the myriad of nice touches which are combining to make the experience of being here something special.

For example: there's a panel of light switches by the door, with pre-set lighting levels for the bathroom and foyer (I can't think of a better way to describe it) of the room, and one of the settings is "Welcome".

There's a pillow menu with fifteen kinds of pillow that you can request.

The tea menu has ten different kinds of speciality tea in addition to freshly brewed filter coffee, espresso, latte, cappuccino and hot chocolate, available with whole or low fat milk.

In addition to two leather bound notepad and pen sets, there's a stationery drawer, which contains writing paper, a pencil, a stapler and staples, a teeny post-it pad, eraser and sellotape dispenser.

In the bathroom, the toiletries are luxurious, and the amenities provided are way beyond those offered in any hotel I've ever been in (toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss, shower cap, nail file, q-tips, cleansing pads, tissues as well as soap and lotion) and that's not even getting into the joy that is the deep, free-standing tub and wall-integrated television. That said, I am a little freaked out by the telephone mounted on the wall next to the toilet pan.

It's lovely, and I can't think of any need I have that hasn't been catered for.

I could really get used to this, but I really hope that I never get jaded by it.

Going to Singapore

Somewhat unexpectedly, I find myself going to Singapore for a business trip this week. I had no expectations of a lot of (or any) business travel for the near future, so it caught me by surprise when it was mooted, and I refused to believe that it was happening until it was confirmed.

I don't know much about Singapore, other than lots of people saying that it's pretty sterile and not as much fun as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok or Tokyo so it never really touched the top ten of my list of "Places I Want To Visit", at least until it got a spot on the Formula 1 calendar and decided to make it a night race.

Then it got my attention. Because, really, how impressive is this:

(as an aside, if you're not regularly looking at The Big Picture, you're definitely missing out)

Unfortunately, I'm only going to be in Singapore for about 54 hours, so I won't get much time to explore, and the Grand Prix Calendar is done for this year, but I'm looking forward to the new experience (even if I suspect it'll be more than a little Lost In Translation-esque due to jetlag and general tiredness).

So here's to new experiences, opportunities and challenges… and to laughing in the face of jetlag.

Spots

The view from above

I've always loved seeing things from different angles. In fact, one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me was getting my Nikon Coolpix 995 camera with ace macro function and swivel body. Suddenly, I could see detail I would and couldn't have seen before (the underside of flowers, etc.).

A few years ago now (five and a half, to be exact), I was lucky to be allowed up to the top of a very tall building in the centre of London. I was there to take publicity photos in advance of a charity abseil. I was very lucky to be allowed to do this (and also that they didn't make me read and sign the inch thick document most photographers are asked to sign before being allowed to take pictures at the top of this building) and I still love the pictures I took up there. I remember being totally blown away by details which I'd never seen before (and would, most likely, never see again).

I was reminded of those photos by the fact that I'm working in a very tall building at the moment. I unfortunately don't have the time I'd like to stand and gaze out of windows on high floors, but the time I do have is taken up by a childlike sense of awe at how amazing London is when seen from such a high vantage point, removed from the hustle and bustle of the rat race. It energises and inspires me.

I never got round to posting the photos I took that day, all those years ago, but I think it's time that I shared them.

For all it's grimness and grime, London is still an amazing city.