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2008 to date

12.02.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 13th Aug 2008

I have not posted much in 2008 and that is due to a number of different reasons but I am hoping that I will be able to change that soon. 2008 has been a fairly busy year for me with a few life changing events taking place.

After returning on 19th January from my trip to Saudi Arabia I moved out of home temporarily while our house was being renovated. The work started 21st January and only finished towards the end of June and as I imagine others have experienced while we moved back in at the end of June we are still have something's which need to be sorted.

On 28th January I had a job interview and on 30th January I started work at a business travel consultancy in Birmingham. I had worked there at a temp previously so I knew of few of my colleagues but I am doing a different job to what I did when I was a temp in 2006 so I am learning new things and still trying to get use to something's there.

In February I went along with some friends to Birmingham Town Hall for an event with Michael Portillo. During the first half of the event Michael Portillo talked about his personal and political history which was interesting and funny. During the second half of the event Michael Portillo answered questions from the audience. I enjoyed the event and would go to a similar event again in the future especially since the tickets were not that expensive, the Birmingham Town Hall is a good venue and it's always interesting to hear the views of a former somebody on current events.

During February we also had the West Midlands Liberal Democrat Regional Spring Conference. This year the event was in Tamworth. The event I enjoyed most was the speech from the Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson Steve Webb MP, who was born in Birmingham. Having resigned the post of Training Officer for West Midlands Liberal Democrats I didn't have much to do at the conference however I did train the Winning in the last week module for the Agents Association with Victoria Marsom.

In March I made my first trip to Liverpool this was for the Liberal Democrats Spring Conference. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see much of Liverpool but I did like what I saw I hope that sometime soon I can return and see more of the conference. During this conference I was on the stall for Liberal Democrat Agents and Organisers Association so I didn't get a chance to attend any training or hear many of the speeches.

In March I went along to the Birmingham Town Hall again this time for an event with Tony Benn. Like the Michael Portillo event during the first half of the event Tony Benn talked about his personal and political history and during the second half of the event Tony Benn answered questions from the audience. It was interesting that this event was far better attended then the Michael Portillo event and I got the impression that the audience at this event was more diverse in terms of political affiliations then the audience at the Michael Portillo event which made the questions and answer part of the event more interesting.

During March I also got engaged to marry and while the original plan was that we would marry in 2009, my fiancée and I had to change our plans a little so at the end of June we held the religious ceremony where we were married. So from March I was busy trying to make the arrangements for the wedding.

On the 1st of May I became a permanent member of staff at work having joined as a temp in January. I was settling into my job and learning to do more having started just to make rail booking I was learning to make air reservations, Eurostar bookings, ferry bookings and hotel reservations.

For the first bank holiday in May I joined a group of my cousins and we travelled to a caravan park close to Morecambe where we stayed for three nights. We were lucky we had some good weather on Saturday so we travelled to beach in Morecambe where we played many. Given it was the bank holiday weekend I was surprised at how quite it was. On Sunday the weather was not so good so while it rained outside we stayed in caravan playing board or card games. On the Monday we travelled to Windermere in the Lake District and spent the day there again we were lucky the weather good for most of the day.

During June my cousin came over from Malawi and on a Saturday the two of us made a day trip to London being in Birmingham we are quite lucky we can get to London on a train in less then two and half hours and if you travel by Virgin Train you can be at Euston in ninety minutes. During the day my cousin and I went to Leicester Square, Madame Tussauds, Piccadilly Circus, The London Eye and Trocodero Arcade. I really enjoyed The London Eye even though this was not my first time on The London Eye. I also really liked that the queue to now get on The London Eye is much shorter then what it was like the first time I went on The London Eye. I also enjoyed Madame Tussauds but have to say that I got the feeling there more emphasis on current celebrities rather then people of historical importance. I would say that I think The London Eye flight is worth it at £15.50 (£7.75 for children) especially if its your first flight however I'm not sure about Madame Tussauds entry fee of £25.00 (£21.00 for children) especially if you have no interest in current celebrities, the Chamber of Horrors was a complete waste of time and I think Madame Tussauds should think of a better way to use that space. The Spirit of London ride is good and gives a very quick glance at London's history for those who have no idea of London's history. While in London my cousin and I also went to the Haagen Dazs in Leicester Square having been there previously I had an idea of what to expect but I was very impressed after my brownie and ice cream and I would recommend that if ever in the area make sure you visit Haagen Dazs in Leicester Square.

On 29th June we held the religious ceremony where Shaheena and I were married. I thought I would have been more nervous then I was but thankfully I managed to get through the ceremony without any difficulty and in case anyone is wondering I did get my words right.

During July I was a little busy as on 12th July a friend got married, on 19th July I went to Alton Towers with some family, on 24th July we had the Oscars (am award ceremony rewarding staff) at work and on 26th a cousin got married.

During our visit to Alton Towers I was surprised at how quite it was especially since this was the first week of the summer holidays. The weather forecast for that day had not been great and we did get some showers but I don't think I have ever seen Alton Towers so quite. I'm not a thrill seeker so I didn't join my friends and family Air, Enterprise, Nemesis, Oblivion, Ripsaw or Rita - Queen of Speed. However I did go on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Ride (was disappointed I didn't get any free chocolate), Congo River Rapids, Runaway Mine Train, Spinball Whizzer and The Flume - Unplugged.

On 24th July the Radisson SAS Birmingham played host the Oscars for our office this is an event at which our managers give out awards to those who have performed well in the past year at work. Unfortunately I didn't win any awards however my table did win the quiz and I was nominated in the category for best newcomer which was an honour.

On 26th one of my cousins got married in Leicester and the following day we had to travel down to London for a lunch hosted by he in-laws. After which Shaheena and I stayed in London. On Monday we went to Leicester Square, Madame Tussauds, Piccadilly Circus, The London Eye and Trocodero Arcade. On Tuesday we went to Harrods, on a Thames cruise [www.citycruises.com] and the Tower of London. I really enjoyed the Thames Cruise and would recommend it to everyone. I don't know what the other companies are like but we went with City Cruises and the staff onboard were really good. On our final day in London we went to the British International Motor Show at Excel London. I'm not a real car enthusiast but my wife is so while she enjoyed looking at the different cars on show I liked the Honda Live Action Arena and The Marine Experience.

On 2nd August another cousin of mine got married and I have another wedding to attend at the weekend. I was planning to go to Chessington World of Adventure at the weekend gone but the plan fell through which is good since it gave me a weekend at home when I could rest and not really do much.

Looking ahead to the future I have a wedding this coming weekend, an evening out with a friend on 20th, a trip to Manchester for the bank holiday weekend, then Ramadan starting at the beginning of September, a cousins wedding on 18th October and another wedding to attend on 25th October.

2008 to date

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