Boules in the Park

Leaving work at 4pm on Friday Ali, Brad, and myself made our way over to Queen Square in Bristol to take part in the 2007 Architecture Boules Tournament. For those who don't know what boules is it is basically lawn bowling with smaller balls. All you have to do is get your ball closest to the jack (conochet). Yes it really is that simple in theory but not that simple in practice.


With a crate of Fosters beer in hand (yes you can drink in public areas here) we started our first game and came out on top fairly quickly. The 2nd game was against another Faber Maunsell team and we quickly knocked them out of the tournament.

Our 3rd game was a lot harder and with a few skilled shots and a battle that lasted just under an hour we put this team in their place. By this time I had to leave to meet up with a few friends up in Clifton so I had to leave before the final game. A member of another Faber Maunsell team stepped and the team continued the winning streak and came out on top in the final game. A trophy and bottle of Champagne was the prize but the bragging rights around the company are worth a little more than that.


Brad is just happy he has a pint of Fosters in his hand.....(its his pride and joy of his home country)

The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff

On the weekend Brad, Nada, and me went over to Cardiff for the day. I have been to Cardiff on numerous occasions but this time we had one of the major attractions booked ahead. After a quick lunch in city centre we went over to the Millennium stadium where the Welsh Rugby team, Football FA cup final, and major concerts are held. The stadium has a capacity of 74,500 people and was the first retractable roof stadium in the UK. It costs only £4 in power to open and close the massive roof which is pretty remarkable.




The tour lasted about an hour and we got to go in the dressing rooms, VIP lounge and seating areas, and down to the pitch. Since there was a Rod Stewart concert coming up they had taken the grass away and we were left with a concrete slab and a red carpet to admire instead. It was pretty disappointing but I am planning a trip to do the tour of Old Trafford (Manchester United's stadium) at the end of the summer anyways so hopefully they will have the pitch down. To bring a new pitch in from Holland costs just over £200,000 to buy, install, and take away again. Not exactly cheap.

After the we did a few jumping shots and made our way into the rest of the town.



The rest of the day was spent walking around the shopping area, Cardiff castle walls, city council buildings, and the natural history museum before we went back to England where Nada cooked a meal for us and we watched the 400th episode of the Simpson’s.

Moving house

Well last weekend I finally moved into my new flat. It is in the heart of Clifton village on a road called “Royal Crescent” which is one of the nicest areas in Bristol (at least it is in my opinion). The fact that you can buy a postcard of “The Royal Crescent” must count for something.

I am in a shared house with 9 other people and the ones I have met so far I get along with really well. So it should be a lot of fun over the next few months. Luckily it’s a huge house with 2 big kitchens and 4 bathrooms. My room overlooks the local bar (15 sec walk home), a view of the Mendip hills, and has its own balcony. By far the best part of the where I am living is that now I am only a 20 walk away from the city centre and my work. No more driving to the park and ride and spending £80 a month on commuting.




There are a lot of parks, restaurants, bars, stores, etc basically on my doorstep. And for those of you who have already been over to visit me in Bristol, I probably took you to see the Clifton Suspension Bridge which is now literally 5 min around the corner for me which is a great place to cross over to the countryside to get away from the city life.

I have a few more trips coming up as well with the next one been a day trip to Cardiff and then a weekend trip to Dublin. Pictures of those trips to come...