Thursday, July 12th, 2007, 5:47 am
I wasn’t too sure what to expect when I was invited to Dreamfields 07, the ‘posh camping’ event hosted by Honda at this year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. I’ve got no problems with camping, but the weather this summer had me thinking it’d be a bit of a mud fest (one of the main reasons that Glastonbury holds zero attraction for me). I thought it could prove to be quite a tough weekend, but I’m happy to report that I was completely wrong.
Luckily, the weather was great, but even if it had been chucking down with rain, it would still have been a great weekend, mainly due to the fantastic organisation and hospitality from Honda.
Upon arrival on Friday evening we instantly made to feel very welcome. First we were shown around the campsite. The tents were really comfortable and came complete with sleeping bags, mattresses, pillows, chairs and everything else you could possibly need for a weekend under canvas. Later we were invited to the main tent where there was dinner, a bar, DJ, chillout room and games room where we spent the rest of the night mingling with the Honda folks and other guests. With the recent weather, the field was still a bit muddy so everyone had wellies for tramping through the field and flip-flops for in the tents or on the decking to make sure the indoor areas were mud free.
Saturday was a full day. We started by registering for the Saturday evening pub quiz and were surprised (and happy!) to find out that our captain for the quiz would be none other than Honda F1 driver Rubens Barrichello. Next, we went up to the circuit itself for the Saturday practice session. This is just the drivers getting used to the circuit and optimising the set up of their car for qualifying and the race. There are so many factors that can affect the performance of an F1 car that this is a vital part of the weekend for the drivers. We forgot to take our earplugs with us though and spent much of it with our hands over our ears. The noise of these cars is absolutely deafening but thrilling with it. The impression of power that you get from the engines is overwhelming.
After the practice session we were lucky enough to get a tour of the Honda pits. As a big F1 fan this was my favourite part of the weekend. To be able to get so close to the cars that I could (and did) touch them was fantastic and I got over-excited about the most random of things such as seeing the lollipop that they use to instruct the driver at pit stops. It was an amazing experience, seeing the team go through their final preparations so close at hand.
For qualifying we decided to give the stand a miss (for the sake of our ears) and sit on the grass with lunch and a cold beer. We were surrounded by a mixture of fans all supporting various drivers. It was an exciting hour as pole position traded hands several times and the atmosphere was growing, but when Lewis Hamilton took pole in the final seconds the crowd (regardless of who they supported) erupted. I had read beforehand that they were expecting record crowds due to the success of Hamilton and it sounded like that was the case.
We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out on the decking outside the main tent, having a few drinks whilst watching the huge screen set up by Honda.
Rubens led us to a respectable 4th position in the quiz and we celebrated by having lots more to eat and drink before somehow staggering back to the correct tent in one piece. I must admit I lost my wellies along the way a few times though!
So to race day! Slightly bleary eyed I got up got breakfast and was keen for the day ahead to start. I was only really focused on the race but a few other things caught my attention too, for example, the customary air display from the Red Arrows. Seeing it live was amazing and I’m still amazed at the skill of the pilots in performing the manoeuvres with such precision.
The race itself was great fun too and completely different from watching it on tv. There were screens to help us see the action elsewhere on the track but it still took some working out to find out who was placed where. It didn’t have the result everyone wanted (one of the British guys winning) but the crowd showed their appreciation for all the drivers anyway.
One thing that stuck with me throughout the event was Honda’s commitment to greener solutions. You might think that it’s hard for a car manufacturer with a motorsport interest to have any kind of interest in environmental issues but Honda are leading the way in implementing the latest technologies in this area and the weekend has prompted me to take a closer look at this, but that’s another blog as this one is waaay to long already.
Photos here
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Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007, 4:53 pm
The recent birth of my second daughter has brought back all the things I forgot about babies. As they happen I remember Jess doing the same things, but before Isla was born I'd never have been able to compile the list below. Here are 10 things I'd forgotten.
1. They are not always asleep when you think
they are (1)
We’ve always tried to put Isla into her cot
awake as we find it helps her (and Jess before her) get used to her cot much
quicker. However, there have been times when that’s not been possible and I’ve
found myself walking about cuddling Isla when she’s trying to get to sleep.
After a little while I think she’s dropped off to sleep and I lower her into
her cot but the absolute instant her head touches the mattress she wakes up and
lets me know exactly how she feels about the situation.
2. Dancing calms them down
By this I mean me dancing round the kitchen
while holding her. Maybe it’s just the cuddle while dancing but there seems to
be a definite connection to the dancing as not all songs work. For example,
Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake is a sure fire winner at the moment, but Amy
Winehouse doesn’t help at all. Those of you who know me, please don’t try to
picture this.
3. They're not always asleep when you think
they are (2)
When they’re dropping off in your arms at
nap time or bed time you think “ah there she goes, I’ll put her in the cot now,
bless”. However, it’s not always noticable but they check. If you keep looking
at them you’ll see one eye open very briefly to check that you’re still there
and then close again. This will happen until they either drop off for real or
you put them in the cot, see point 1 for further information.
4. Milk drunk
I love after a feed when the baby is so
stuffed full of milk nothing else works. They loll about all over the place and
struggle to stay awake, sleeping while being burped, changed, dressed, etc.
However, this soon ends if you try to place them in the cot, as per point 1
5. They have a built in altimeter
Sometimes, if restless, tired, etc you need
to comfort the baby by walking around, cradling him/her in your arms and
singing or talking in a soothing voice. Most of the above will work depending
on the situation, but don’t dare stop walking around and trying to sit down. Oh
no, as soon as the baby drops below the ‘3 feet above ground level’ threshold
then it’s back to screaming, wriggling, rigidity and generally giving us
parents a hard time.
6. Knowing when to smile (or just being plain
cunning)
Our latest daughter has pretty much woken up
only once per night since she was born but occasionally has an off night. One
such night occurred a few weeks ago where I basically managed a couple of hours
sleep on a Sunday night and spent most of the Sunday night/Monday morning
walking up and down the bedroom cradling Isla and singing or shushing. After
waking up on the Monday morning tired, grumpy, etc I decided to go to Isla (who
was awake) and make my feelings perfectly clear. As I peered over the top of
the cot and made eye contact I was greeted with the most enormous smile and
instantly forgot the night before. She knew what she was doing of course.
7. They're not always asleep when you think
they are (3)
It's so difficult to tell. They lie in the
cot, lookign fast asleep and as cute as anything, but as parents we just don't
know.
On one night an entire Pipe
band (that’s bagpipes) could march through the bedroom playing “Who let the
dogs out” and they’d sleep through, but on another night you could drop a
feather onto the carpet and they’d wake up in a flash.
8. Their timing is impeccable
No sooner have you sat down to start dinner
then they wake up. You’ve just changed their nappy, mopped up all the poo, got
a new nappy on then you hear some strange rumblings from their bum and you have
to do it all over again.
9. Snuffling for truffles
When they’re hungry and you (or partner) is
getting ready to feed they are desperatly searching for food it reminds me of a
pig snuffling for truffles. Jess and Isla both did this so I assume (hope) it’s
all babies.
10. They're brilliant
They take up all you’re time, they’re
tiring, they’re demanding, they’re noisy, they can be difficult to take places,
etc. but you wouldn’t change them for anything. Brilliant.
I'm sure there'll be loads more things coming out in the weeks and months ahead that I've forgotten about but it'll be interesting to see if she continues to behave like Jess did. Especially as Jess does some strange things at the moment like call me 'father'. "Welcome home father", "good to see you father", etc. We have no idea where she got this from.
Anyway, that's all from me for a while as I'm off the the British Grand Prix this weekend courtesy of Honda who are taking care of me for the weekend. Woo-hoo!
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