ah ok lah

Work starts on Cycle Coventry Project

2013-05-21T21:39:00.003+01:00

Work on the £6.9m Cycle Coventry project has finally started. In the first phase, they are working on the route 3 which links the City centre to Longford via Henley College and University Hospital. This is a well established cycle route and I wish they had instead started on Route 1, the City Centre to Ricoh Arena, with links to Radford instead.

Sorry. The map is not very sharp

You might think that it is for selfish reasons but No! Right now there is no proper cycling route and is quite dangerous with fast vehicles on the road with a quite steep uphill climb (or downhill depending on the direction) - some of the few reasons I am still not cycling to work.

While trying to look at some alternative routes, I recently found Coventry CycleStreets page where I can plan my cycling journeys in Coventry. The new route is off the main road and relatively safer, passing by some places I have never been to in Coventry - should be interesting.

Related links: Cycle Coventry page on the City Council site

Trip to the highlands 2013 - 1

2013-05-16T01:17:00.000+01:00

Trip with my sis-in-law's family to the Scottish Highlands during the Easter break.

We really did not have an itinerary but our plan was to stay for a night at Preston. Have lunch at Glasgow and buy supplies

Glasgow

Had lunch at the Nandos there.

The journey was really long with some of the most amazing scenery I have seen in my life. It was still very cold and there was snow everywhere even though this was "Easter" - supposed to be in the middle of Spring.

And finally, Great Glen Water Park at South Laggan.

The trip: Almost 440 Miles.

Get Out of the Dark Ages and Let Light Shine In

2013-05-13T17:48:00.000+01:00

I just realised that windows on the ground floor of most of the houses in our neighbourhood, including ours, do not open at all. One of our neighbours told me that most of the houses in our row are quite old (pre war) while the ones in the front are modern. Most have changed to the modern double glazed windows.

Windows let in the light of the sun's rays and at the same time, they are some of the best interior decorating features of the home. Many people choose bow or bay windows. These outward curving windows usually have a place for a little alcove where a shelf or bench is built. On the bench window seat cushions or potted plants enhance the window's attraction.

New homes can have large windows installed at the time of building, but older homes can also have more spacious windows installed. Bay or bow windows are popular for dining rooms, bedrooms and living rooms. A casement window gives the old-world look. Some older homes have lead-glass casement-styled windows, but newer windows with a similar appearance and style are available. Window installation or replacement is a worthwhile home improvement, and letting more light into rooms can transform the interior ambience and mood.

In case you are wondering, Casement windows are those with hinges on the outer sides of the panes. A crank opens, closes and locks the window firmly in any position. Many old European-style homes have the casement window style. Modern casement windows are made with the latest in glass and design technology, but they keep the essence of the endearing style.

If a room or home is gloomy, a larger window fixture opens up a wall and lets the happy and healing rays of the sun into the room. Homeowners can choose from among numerous styles such as bay or bow window styles. Fixing or replacing old windows like bow or casement windows with the same style but with quality-made and modern innovations is a job professionals should handle.

Bounce coffee

2013-05-07T00:39:00.001+01:00

I love coffee and was delighted when Andy Grelak from Aromo coffee sent me some samples of their 'Bounce' coffee. Andy has been in the coffee business for over 20 years and apparently this is their best selling coffee.

Ground or beans

Brewing the coffee

My cappuccino

Made from 100 x 100% Arabica Aromo ESE coffee Pods, it has a really nice aroma. I am not an expert but according to their site, the Bounce coffee is a mix of Brazilian Daterra Bourbon and Sumatran Mahandeling coffee varieties.

As for the taste, it is slightly milder than the Lavazza Qualita Rossa which we normally use in our house and perfect after meals.

We had friends over one day. They were leaving the UK for Malaysia and they loved the coffee so much. I passed the beans to my friend who was delighted. He emailed me a fews back asking me to get some more of the same coffee when I visit them next time.

Thanks Andy.

Vintage Falcon bike restoration project update 2013

2013-05-06T01:19:00.001+01:00

I started the Vintage Falcon bike restoration project way back in September 2011. At that time, the bike was a pile of rusty metal destined for the tip until I happened to cast my eyes on it. This is how it looked then:

It sure has come a long way and now that the snow is gone and the sun is finally out, I thought it's time to start some cycling. I decided to make a few more updates to the bike. For practical reasons, I bought a pair of metal mudguards on eBay for £16 (I do not want mud or worse all over me when |I am cycling).

I also decided to bring back the old pannier rack instead of buying a new one - all it needed was a thorough cleaning with wire brush followed by sandpaper and finished off with black Hammerite direct to rusted metal Paint.

The round red rear reflector on the new mudguard is also from the original mudguards. I am delighted that I decided to keep it a well, though it took me a couple of hours to polish it to the final shining finished product. You will agree that it looks fantastic and I saved myself about £20.

Now I am all set to start cycling to work

Cycling innovations

2013-04-07T22:09:00.002+01:00

A landmark event

2013-03-20T14:32:00.002Z

My Birthday...

Card from my wife and kids

Cake

Post-it note message from my colleagues Sanjit and Anoop.

Avatars

2013-03-13T17:28:00.000Z

My avatar...

Thanks to my sis Diana.
I think she really captured my personality - though I am more of a PC person. I hate laptops.

Vintage Everite Watch

2013-03-08T09:13:00.004Z

Got this vintage Swiss made quartz watch at a bargain on Ebay (where else). Stainless steel with gold coloured plating, it still runs perfectly without any loss of time. Estimated to be from between late 1960s to early 1970s.

Found out that 'Everite' was the store brand of H. Samuel of Manchester. Many of them are either solid gold or gold plated but you can get them between £30-£100 on the net.

Favre Leuba Sea King

2013-02-03T00:24:00.002Z

I love vintage watches and while ebaying, noticed this nice looking Favre Leuba Sea King manually wound watch. I have heard of the brand before but it was ridiculously cheap.

This Swiss watch brand was really popular in India and I remember hearing that Indian company Titan bought the company in 2011. Not sure how old this watch is, the seller only mentions "vintage (1920-1970)" but I have seen another similar one on a website from 1959. Plus the fact that the seller was from India made me quite suspicious but I decided to take a punt and buy it.

It took several days to reach and was getting a little worried when I finally received it. It was nice and shiny with a brand new leather strap.

I do not really like the huge heavy watches so popular now but I think that it is a bit too small (Case is 34mm including the crown). See the comparison to my old Tissot PR50.

The face is repainted and looks ok but if you examine it in detail, you will realise that some of the dots (for the minutes) are far from professional. They are all over the place. It also does not have the words "Swiss Made" which I see on other original and unpainted Favre Leuba watches.

As for the movement, it has the Favre-Leuba 101 shock protected, antimagnetic movement.

Wound up the watch and it was ticking. However, a few hours later it was dead. I really felt cheated and complained to the seller and he was willing to refund the money but I would have to send it back. It was not worth the effort and I took it to a small watch shop in Coventry city centre. The seller refunded £5 pounds.

The watch shop took it's time but I finally got it back this week. They replaced a spring and have serviced it - all for just £30.

I first thought of selling it on for around £100 and making a small profit but after wearing it couple of times, it has grown on me.

My first vintage manually wound watch.

Where to find recycled Cycles in Coventry

2012-10-21T16:02:00.000+01:00

Updated : 21 May 2013

So far I know of 3 places where you can recycle your old bike or buy a recycled bike in Coventry:

Coventry recycled cycles

Bike Workshop

The Re-Cycle project - Coventry Jesus Centre

I have also seen nice looking bikes on the back of the scrap metal trucks several times. They might be willing to sell it to you for a couple of quid if you are into restoring.

Look at the Freecycle Coventry site. I have noticed people giving away old bikes a couple of times. You will need to sign up. I once got a really nice mountain bike through the site, while I was studying at Warwick Univ.

54 Cox street demolished

2012-09-21T03:39:00.002+01:00

One of the old Coventry University buildings has been demolished. Pictures were taken on my way back home from the #13 bus.

On the 12th of September

Completely gone on the 17th of September.

On 16th of October.

What's going to come up in it's place?

Today was also my blog's anniversary. I have been blogging for 9 years today.

Boos for George Osborne

2012-09-04T11:47:00.001+01:00

Chancellor George Osborne was greeted with loud boos during the medal distribution ceremony. Is that an uncomfortable smile from the Marketing Director of BMW UK?

Lake District August 2012 - Day 3

2012-08-19T05:50:00.000+01:00

On the 3rd and Final day at the Lake District

Took the Red cruise this time and got down at Brockhole.

Amberside Pier

World of Beatrix Potter at Bowness

Knock Knock

Was a bit disappointing. I thought the ticket prices were a bit too steep and children were not allowed to touch the exhibits even though I guess their main target audience are young children. My wife found it a bit claustrophobic as well.

However, my daughter was quite happy as she was able to add two more badges to her collection.

That was the last venue on our visit to the Lake District and we then set off for home .

We will definitely be back again.

Lake District August 2012

2012-08-18T05:50:00.001+01:00

We recently visited the Lake district, a well deserved vacation and the first in the last 2 years. The last real vacation we had was our visit to Edinburgh in 2009.

Here are some pics from our trip:

The trip from our house to the hotel near Kendal took nearly 4 hours. After we had checked into the hotel we rested for a while and then drove down to Windmere, England's largest lake which is ten and a half miles long and 219 feet at the deepest part. We took the Blue cruise (also called the Island cruise).

It was a bit cloudy with light rain with intermittent dry spells but we enjoyed it all the same.

Day 2: at the Maize Maze farm

At Fell Feet National park

Rowing after more than 10 years - not easy but finally got the hang of it.

In Kendal

Following his Dreams - Khairzul

2012-08-05T15:38:00.001+01:00

How many of us have dreamt of leaving our 9-5 jobs, travelling around the World and doing something we really loved.

Well, meet Khairzul my friend who did just that - an engineer by profession, he gave up his job in one of the biggest telecom companies in Malaysia, moved halfway round the World to the Netherlands and started painting.

Koi

Looking at his paintings, it is hard to believe that Khairzul has not received any formal training - he is a self - taught artist. I have watched him evolve as he tries to find his own "style". Initially I could see the influence of Van Gough - I guess it is hard not to be when you stay in the Netherlands, but over time I can honestly say that he has matured with a style which is uniquely Khairzul.

One of his earlier paintings in water colour, also of Koi and now hanging in our house.

Can you believe that this is a letter that he wrote to his two best friends - one of whom happens to be my wife.

Check out his paintings on Khairzul's art blog and his Facebook page.

Godiva Carnival 2012

2012-08-01T01:57:00.000+01:00

Went to watch "Godiva Awakes" - this year's Godiva Carnival at the City Centre with my wife and the kids. We were a bit late and missed the part where the huge Lady Godiva put on her amazing coat.
There were loads of people and I did not get a good view of the procession until near the end.

My son was on my shoulders most of the time and he got into the mood bouncing up and down.

Some very fantastic and creative costumes.

Finally off she went leaving Coventry for London powered by 100 cyclists.

Ramadan Karim

2012-07-24T20:51:00.000+01:00

Wishing all visitors to my blog

Ramadan Karim (in Arabic)

Ramadan Mubarak (in India and Pakistan)

and

Selamat Berpuasa (in Malaysia and Indonesia).

Touring the World From My Own Living Room

2012-07-09T11:27:00.000+01:00

Guest post by Rob.

For all of Facebook’s qualities and faults, of which there are many of both, one of the best features of mobile application versions is by far the “Check In” feature. A couple of weeks ago, Facebook themselves went to the trouble of publicising figures showing the most “Checked In” at places in the world. My initial reaction, to be honest, was “who cares?”

However, as I live alone and had not met up with friends for quite a while, I decided to see how far I could manipulate Facebook and take a tour of the world without leaving my own home. The results were quite frightening, to say the least.

Getting Started

Now, I am going to be clear that I do not believe in using social networking on a personal level to draw attention to myself. And away with this “you check in to see who is near you” nonsense. People check in because they are vain, pretentious, and want people to know that they are having tea in Harrods, or partying on the White House lawn. Anyone who says otherwise is either a liar, or they take social networking too seriously.

It was time to take advantage of Facebook letting me “Check In” anywhere.

The Journey Begins…

So anyway, at first I thought I would start with something a little non-descript, just to “see how many of my friends were nearby.” Therefore, I checked in at the butcher’s located in town. Predictably, no-one liked my status, and I received no comments.

Time to Fly

The next day, while still at home, I checked in at the departure lounge of the airport. This drew no likes, but a few questions and comments as to where I was going. Cunningly, I did not answer until the next day, to allow me time to decide on my destination.

New York, New York

Rather than reply to my messages, the next day I checked in at a Pizzeria in New York City. This time, I took the joke a little further, by inviting my friends to join me through the “Invite your friends by e-mail” function.

Of course, had any of them came round to my house, they could have joined me for pizza, except it was from Domino’s in town rather than from Luigi’s in Manhattan.

So The Story Goes

I “landed back” from my trip a couple of days ago, and my friends are looking forward to seeing me so we can catch up and I can tell them about my trip. I’m still torn between making something up, or preparing a presentation based around not believing everything you see on the internet.

What do you think?

Clearly Facebook’s statistics could mean everything, or nothing, but who’s to know?!

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Crazy about notebooks

2012-06-17T20:59:00.000+01:00

No! I am not referring to the new generation of small laptops but the original thing. I am a big fan of Moleskine notebooks and sketchbooks and a couple of days ago I was really excited when I noticed a few in the clearance section in TK Maxx nearby and they were really having a clearance - around £5 each (normal price is between £8 -£15). I found out sometime back that these notebooks have quite a following and having tried one myself, I have to say I am hooked. I should have grabbed them then but unfortunately I didn't.

Anyway, I thought I will treat myself for Father's day today and went back to the store to see if they were still there but they were, of course, gone. However, I noticed some notebooks which looked quite similar but without an elastic band around the notebook. I have never heard of the brand 'Il Firino' (I can't even find their website) but these 'made in Italy' genuine leather bound journals looked fantastic. The acid free paper feels and looks great as well. I have no idea what kind of leather it is but I am sure they were ethically taken from the animals. I am vegetarian but unlike some people, I do not really mind leather products - is that an oxymoron.

I also bought a teNeues notebook with a black cover (I do not think it is leather) with red & white Zebra print design inside for my daughter. It has alternative lined and blank page and a great gift for my daughter who like to write and sketch as well. The best part is that both cost me only £3 each - a real steal. There were a few more and I might go back again to grab the remainder.

This happens to me all the time - I go out to buy something and end up buying something else - and regretting but fortunately today was an exception. I ended up with something even better.

Falcon cycle restoration project 3

2012-06-05T00:21:00.001+01:00

When I started my Falcon bike restoration project in September last year, I never thought that it would take me this long but I have finally done it.

Take a look at the picture of the bike when I first bought it:

And now after the restoration:

During the process, I have learnt so much about bikes, their repair and maintenance.

I found out that there are two main schools of thought with regards to bike restoration project - one group believes that we have to keep the bike as original as possible and even if you have to replace some parts, you have to try to source the exact parts.

On the other hand, there are a number of bike restorers who take the bike apart, completely striping it down to the skeleton frame, and rebuild the bike with modern parts.

I guess I am somewhere in between - I have tried to keep as many of the original parts as possible and apart from treating and repainting some badly rusted patches, have left the bike pretty much as I got it. However, I had to replace the tyres, the brake pads, the chain and also got myself a new comfy Brookes saddle as well.

My new made in India Brookes saddle. Leaving it in the rain was a bad idea.

.
New chain

Alligning the side pull brakes were a real pain but a few YouTube videos later, I finally got them centered and working perfectly. I have removed the pannier rack which was badly rusted (but might be salvageable) and the mudguards. The gears are terrible but I have left them on.

I still do not know the age of the bike - I have tried contacting the Falcon cycle people on their website but have not received any replies so far. However, I think this is just the beginning.

The bike rides beautifully and I love it but I have realised too late that it is probably a bit high for me - this might be a problem while driving in city traffic. Now I am also wondering whether I should have gone for a new paint job - completely stripping the old paint and have it powder coated as opposed to conventional liquid painting. I would still prefer to have it in black but probably with some custom made stickers. I might also replace the gears for something more modern and practical. The same goes for the brakes as well. They are not really effective in stopping the bike when I am going fast. I guess that's the trade-off - between keeping it as original as possible and having a bike which you can use everyday.

First interview on Radio 2

2012-05-25T11:30:00.001+01:00

You can listen to the recoding of the Annie Othen show here. I do sound nervous and I was.

I talked to my wife soon afterwards, and her first comment was "Why didn't she refer to you as Dr. Mutum while Annie referred to the other participant as Dr Joan Harvey".

I didn't even realise it that time and I don't think it's a big deal.

Thanks Ez, I know you are proud of me.

First interview on Radio

2012-05-23T10:25:00.001+01:00

I was just on the BBC Coventry & Warwickshire's Annie Othen Show. I was asked my opinion on whether I thought whether some businesses are taking advantage of the Jubilee and Olympics celebrations to hike up prices of their products. A great experience.

Be grateful

2012-05-14T11:39:00.001+01:00

Found this piece of paper lying on the floor today morning. It was a page out of "The Secret: Daily teachings" and talks about being grateful. Some great words which I would like to share with you:

Criticism can be very subtle in the way it creeps into our thoughts. Here are some examples of criticism to help you become aware of its subtlety, so you can eliminate it from your thoughts:

The weather is awful today.
The traffic is terrible.
The service is really bad.
Oh no, look at the line.
He/ she is always late.
how long do we have to wait for our order?
That motorist is a lunatic.
It's so hot in here.
I've been on hold for so long!

These are subtle things, but the law of attraction is listening to them all. You have the ability to appreciate something in every circumstance. There is always something to be grateful for.

Just in case you are wondering what the "law of attraction" mean, go and read the book or watch the DVD, The Secret.

2nd visit to West Midlands Safari Park

2012-04-18T13:20:00.000+01:00

Warning: Image heavy post. The kids are now having their Easter break and last weekend we decided to take them to the West Midlands Safari Park. The park is about an hours drive from our house in Coventry and this was our second visit.

The first time we visited the Safari Park was in 2008 when my wife's cousin (read my old post: Visit to West Midlands Safari Park). Our son had slept through the entire Safari during out last visit but he was fully awake and really excited his time - even feeding some of the animals (Yes! It's allowed) though the car window though he got really spooked after the Giraffes and refused to lower the window.

Cheetah

White Royal Bengal Tiger

Deer

Zebra

Ostrich

Elephants

This guy didn't want to eat . He simply wanted to interact

The Giraffes

Up-close, you suddenly realise how tall these animals are.

Eating off my hand

Besides the Safari, the place has other attractions including an amusement park.My daughter tries out rock climbing and learns that it's not as easy as it seems

The Sea Lion show

Penguins

Meerkat

Lemur