May 12-24: London, Glasgow, Sussex, London and Vienna

I seem to ahve been  travelling all the time  and not having good internet access he3nce the delay in posting.
After the arrival in London it was a matter of getting oput of Terminal 5 - with very few delays despite the  awful press that airport and terminal have been getting and then on the tube to London and the flat where my sister Soo and her husband live. The apartment is located  very close to the London Eye and  so  on Saturday my brother in law Mike and I went for a walk along the river and saw this DUKW taking to the river with a load of tourists aboard.

Then Sunday it was off to the airport again  and a short flight to Glasgow. The London weather had been Ok but Glasgow was wet and grey and windy and very cold. I met a few old chums at the baggage carousel as we were all in town for the quadriennial congress on Radiation Protection.  The buses had all departed whe my bag arrived so after a short queue in the rain it was off to the hotel by taxi.  The hotel was on the edge of central Glasgow in an area that was old wharehouses and  shipyards etc and is being  renewed. The hotel desk person said it was olya short walk to the convention centre. But it turned out to be  15 minutes plus in squally rain and wind to the Scottish Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC)  and register for the event. As a memeber of the programme committee I was quickly processed but the organisation was good and nobody seemed to be waiting long. In view of the bad weather nobody wanted to go back to the hotels so we all sat around and chatted for a while until it was time to walk putside and make the trek of a few hundred metres to the science centre where the opening social drinks do was held.  Thye venue was greta witha few of the  science staff who normally entertain school children stayng on to entertain us with some games and demonstartions of physics in everyday life - great fun.
But it was an early night after that with the wind and the rain still blowing hard;  part of the conference package  was a week long public transport pass and that was useful as my hotel was only two stations away and that reduced the exposure to the elements .

The area is being renewed but already there are some  new buidlings and offices as well as the SECC itself . That is a Norman Foster design but it does evoke memories of the Sydney Opera House. 

The meeting was big with about 1500 persons attending so we had multiple sessions and there seemed to be talks all the time .  I was a session chair and rapporteur so I was kept busy. There were a lot of interesting talks as well as many chances to meet and discuss issues with old chums and new and former colleagues from all over the world.  The  main topics were communication with stakeholders and the aftermath of the disaster at Fukushima.

 Although the days were full one aftenoon was devoted to medical issues and so of no interest to me. I went off on a tour of the city on a open top bus - but taking care to sit in the shelter of the front upstairs roof rather than wholly out in the open.

All too soon the week was over and I was off to the sirprt again on Friday night and  a frlight to gatwick before  a night at ahotel there. Saturday saw me on the drive down to Sussex to look after my father for a couple of days so my other sister and her husband could take a break.  Daddy has not been very well and is very frail now but at nearly 98 years old that is not too surprising.  We watched the test match cricket and the soccer which saw Chelsea win the European title.  Those who have read this blog before will kow that there are a few "wild" birds that come to my sister's front door each day to be fed.   The Splendid male pheasant had three female associates  as before but now they have been joined by  a beautiful pair of partridges as you can see  - there are also a few other  birds that hang around for free feed including pigeons, sparrows, robins, doves and starlings, thrusshes and blackbirds.

The weekend  went and then it was time to be on the road again. Take the car back to gatwick and then the train back to Soo and Mike's in London. They hosted a dinner party for a couple of old school friends and then  it was an early night  for the enxt day's travel.

0600 Tuesday and I  was off to Heathrow again  for an early flight to  Vienna. The tube from Westminster to Hammersmith was pretty quiet but the Picadilly Line train on to the airport was packed!   The check in went OK  as it was at Terminal 3 which is a lot easier than 5. Then breakfast in the lounge before a 2 hour flight to  Vienna where it was raining when I landed.

 The journey to town was easy as always and then the hitel was Ok and before too long I was on my way out to check out the city and meet up with my old golf partner Roger at my old favourite restaurant - the Gulaschmuseum. Dinner was great and the staff were happy to see me back. It was good to catch up with Roger.

The next two days were spent at the old office at IAEA closing my ank account and sorting out work issues  with  some of my old colleagues and an old friend who is now doing my old job1 We will be having a training course in Darwin in August  and we wanted to sort out some of the details; also we got together to plan a meeting in October that will  probably be in the Czech Republic to help train some more new regulators for the  new uranium mines that are being developed in the world .

Wednesday evening was a very pleasant dinner at a riverside place outside town with friends Russell and Karen from USA who will be visiting  Darwin in June for a long overdue visist to Australia. I have been to their place in New Mexico a few times   Sadly I did not ge ta picture of the locale..

May 10-11: Travelling

Thursday morning was bright in Edmonton and he timing for the day allowed me one last leisurely cooked canadian breakfast before packing up and checking out. The hotel had been pretty good and the airport shuttle arrived on time. The drive back to Edmonton International was out across those same flat prairies but now with a few storm clouds gathering. It seems spring has not quite settled in in Alberta just yet!

the check in went Ok and then the usual charming experience with the US Homeland Security people - where do they choose them from? This time the guy was going on about what souvenirs had I bought in  Canada and where was I going in London. All very tedious and bizzare.  Still soon enoough I was boarding the Horizon/Alaska Airways  DHC Q 400 flight to Seattle. Over  the Rockies again, still snow covered but a lot cloudier than the trip last saturday.

 Afer 90 minutes we landed in a sunny but cool Seattle and then it was off to find  a boarding  pass for the leg to London.  I found my way to the British Airways lounge and found  that the BA lady would not arrive for another 2 hours and that the plane could be late. Still, I was shown to the First Class lounge and  sat there in solitary splendour  for a few minutes looking out onto the runway.  I was even able to see my DHC8-400Q take off on another flight. 

Then a steward appeared and began a long trail of Bloody Marys  to keep me refreshed until the BA lady came.

Slowly over the next couple of hours  a few more people started to arrive until the small lounge was finally full!  The plane was not as late as they thought and so we  finally got away less than 30 minutes behind schedule ,  Another elderly B747-400 with those funny alternating BA business class seats where the window passengers sit facing backwards - I had an aisle seat which is not my preference but it was OK.
A long night  with 9+ hours flying and arrival at Heathrow Terminal 5 at 1200 midday.

Expecting the worst after the tales of  the long queues etc over the past few days I was surprised when it all went reasonably smoothly  and only 20 minutes wait for the passport check and the baggage arrived soon after that. Then the oyster card  and the tube train arrived as I reached the platform; and an hour or so later I was trundling my bag through the crowds of tourists on Westminster Bridge and reaching the apartment of my sister Soo and her husband Mike at County Hall.  It was good to see them and they made  me very welcome.  A lot of family chat and then it was time for dinner and an early night as the jet lag started to catch up with me.

9 May: Edmonton, Canada

Today was the last day of the conference and with a few papers being cancelled and   the afternoon being devoted to talks on operating equipmnt I left at lunchtime and walked around town for a bit.
To start with I took pictures of the escalators at the "center".

I found the Churchill statue at the square and then went into the Art gallery of Alberta (AGA)  which lives in this striking building  at the side of Churchill Square.  About half of the gallery space was being re-organised buu i did see  some great Picasso pieces on loan  from the national  gallery of Canada as well as  a range of local  works and a few more modern pieces including a Warhol.  Then another walk to find a barber and get a haircut before  a wander around the shopping mall downtown.

Then back to the hotel and  time to catch up on emails etc.

And finally a dinner in the revolving restaurant to mark the end of a pretty interesting and useful few days in Edmonton. Tomorrow it is back on the trail...

May 6th: Canada, again

Well after a good night's sleep I looked out of my window on the 17th floor of the Crowne Plaza (conference hotel)  and enjoyed the view of the North Saskatchewan River a long way below me.

My View: not sure what the boat is, nor the 4 glass pyramids in the distance

  The weather was clear and bright but when I ventured out after breakfast I found it was quite cool in the breeze and almost chilly in the  shade.

North America means a return to the land of prooer bacon, especially in Canada so it was away downstairs to have a cooked breakfast and read a newspaper. Then  after a bit of sorting out papers and   washing etc I went off to walk the two blocks or so to the  " convention center" where the meetings will be. The walk is partly along the top of the river terrace and is very pleasant.

I found the venue and the registration desk to collect my name badge , satchel and all the usual stuff-then bumped into the only person I know here. My old mate Chuck Edwards who was about to end his year as president of the Canadian Mining Institute.

Those who have been reading the blog for a few years may recall Chuck was with me in Brazil a couple of years ago and is also the owner of that red Ford GT  that figured in my blog from Saskatoon in 2010 (last canadian visit).  We had a chat and then I let him get back to presidenting while I strolled around the City centre until the reception opened at City hall at 1400.

The square in front of City hall is called Winston Churchill square and was full of mining machines as part of the publicity for this very big meeting (1400+ participants).

The city hall has a very modern glass pyramid (like the others across the river) and a very loud, modern carillion bell tower at the side. I did not see a WSC statue so I will have to go back and check.

 A few drinks a nibbles in the very smart lobby then it was time rush of to another reception at the "center" .  We also had a grand opening ceremony with  some excellent "japanese" drummers from Edmonton who were very animated, very athletic and very loud.

  All very tiring after a long flight all this free booze. Still the Canadian do limit you by putting only two free drink tickets in the bag and then you have to buy the rest - I can't see that working well in Australa. The "center" has some terraces you can walk out onto and on one of them I found this really great sculpture of a bison - not as good as the real ones my friends Tim and Wendy are seeing on their drive across the USA ( see http://www.malibutosavannah.blogspot.ca/ ), but pretty good I reckon.

Once the  reception was over it was a twilight walk back to the hotel and  another good sleep. Chuck had chnaged the programme so I will be speaking on Day 1  and not Day 2 - time to prepare...

May 5: Off again Darwin-Sydney-LAX-SEA-Edmonton

Another early start with the 0145 Qantas flight Darwin to Sydney as I set out on my Round-the-World (RTW)  " holiday".  This first leg will be from Darwin to Sydney to Los Angeles en route to a conference in Canada. So for the second week in a row I am in the First Class Qantas lounge  in Sydney having had a lovely fresh cooked breakfast and waiting to board the A380 flight across the Pacific.

The view along the First Class Qantas lounge in Sydney

This is the A380 I did not get on!  It is actually the one that blew up an engine over Singapore last year and has just come back into service
 Seems I have a First Class upgrade so that will be a very good flight hopefully. Funny I was in Auckland last weekend, Michael   was there the day before yestereday  in the Citation 7 and then back to Canberra yesterday and is off to Perth today for only one night then back to Brisbane abd home.  We are all in the air it seems!

AH well I was wrong - the upgrade was to First but the plane was a 747. Still OK but really not as nice as the 380.  The flight to LAX was  a long 12 hours plus and then the joys of US Border entry and having to carry my bag around to another terminal to get the Alaska Air flight to  Seattle. That was a first Class seat too, on a B737-900. A cheap airline despite having a First Class, no screens or entertainment at all. Still it was not for very long. Seattle airport was OK apart from 90 odd minutes to wait and get a Dash 8 Q400  with Horizon Airways for the 90 minutes to Edmonton.  Plenty of snow still on the Rockies but  I had no camera handy. Horizon are a funny mob but it all worked otu OK.

Canadian immigration was breeze, so much better than the USA. The bag arrived with me and so it was off in the taxi to the hotel. The prairies are very flat and windy  and of course it was light although it was  7.30 PM. It stayed light until 9.30 or so. I went straight to the revolving restaurant on the roof for a margherita and a steak, watch the sunset  and then straight to bed.

April 26-29: New Zealand Weekend

Just as April looked like being an aeroplane free month I found myself on my way to Auckland new Zealand for the Annual Congress of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM).  I am a fellow of thye AusIMM and was going down/across to Congress as  half of  a 2 person delegation from teh darwin Branch. With my colleague  we eft darwin at 0145 on the day after ANZAC day and saw the sun rise over Sydney. the tarnsfer waas the best ever in terms of timing for the bus and lack of queues at the border. I took Dave up to the Qantas First Class lounge (a benefit from years of too much travelling) and we sat in the elegant surroundings of the lounge and ate a fresh cooked breakfast.

Then it was off for another couple of hours across the Tasman to hit Auckland on a grey afternoon. The bus was waiting for us, and a lot of other delegates, and we soon found ourselves at the waterside downtown in the Hilton Hotel, our base for the stay. That evening we had an informal drinks  party in the hotel bar before ehading off to one of the nearby waterfront resstaurants for dinner. Sadly it was just too breezy and chilly to eat outside but the crayfish still tasted very good.

A  car carrier coming into port

Friday was a day of workshops and working sessions on institue working arrangements, branch and section reports and discussions of big issues for the mining industry professionals of today.  Certainly we were very busy.  The weather was more like Melbourne with clouds and rain one minute and bright sunshine the next. 

View from my hotel room " a harbour view" acording to the hotel

0830 Friday morning-view from the coffee lounge

same view , same day at 1100!

There was a short break in the  afternnon which enabled me to stroll aroound the area of the waterfront and see the super yachts moored up all around us.

Then in the evening the local Branch hosted us all to a BBQ on an old steam tug  sailing on the harbour. It was dark and it rained a bit so the undercover are of the deck was a bit crowded. Still we could go and look at the engine room and even stoke coal if we wanted!

Saturday was brighter but we were still in the working rooms hard at it. At the end of a very good day for work we had a formal dinner. I was surprised to be presented with a 20 years membership award - I had not been counting. Dave got one too and a third colleague got a 40 year award. We also had a magnificent cultural display by Maori dancers and singers  - who naturally included a Hakka for us.

 The Congress will be hosted by us in the Darwin Branch next year so we will be looking for a local cultural display to match this - a hard act to follow.

Sunday was the AusIMM AGM and we elected a new president for 2013 and agreed anumber of formal items as  organisations like this must each year. Then after lunch it was time to make the return journey to Darwin, via Sydney. I finally got home at 2400. A very worthwhile weekend but the travel was a bit tiring and I am off to Canada next weekend on one more of my "conference holidays"!