Trade Centre

Taken by G as we headed to her school in the morning. Sometimes I get the feeling that the powers that be are trying to block the view of our beloved Trade Centre (the white building in the middle). When the cranes in the picture have done their work and gone, this view will be relegated to history and I will be glad we took the trouble to record it.

G had her meeting whilst I sat it out at The Mall for about thirty minutes. We rode in the Volvo to test the a/c job which is OK in that you're not in the car perspiring, but it certainly doesn't feel cool. I think it will remain the evening car for the foreseeable future.

The afternoon was spent productively testing GoToMeeting - a super piece of software by Citrix that has an unlimited free version. The only catch is that you keep your meetings to forty minutes. G said that was perfect for her. The best thing is that it doesn't need a VPN to work so we can operate on full bandwidth. We even tried screen sharing where I was subjected to a Grade 1 website (eye-roll). The only thing that remains to be sorted is a decent webcam and a noise cancelling microphone; a much smaller investment than originally anticipated.

And in the evening, we headed back to the QE2 to watch England play the most boring match ever, giving themselves a slightly easier route to the final - we hope. We were joined by Patrick, his wife and a friend. The QE2's organisation and handling of bookings left a lot to be desired. Let's just say, I spent the first half mentally composing my letter of complaint to the Manager. Fortunately, I might not have to use it, as their "helpful" venue manager finally relented and gave us an empty table with nice cane chairs after half-time.

This is what I had asked for when they themselves called me to make sure I was going to attend having booked in advance, something other patrons haven't been doing. I assured them I would be there and even showed up thirty minutes prior to start time - just as they stipulated. However, we were given lousy seats where my view was hindered by two large (bald) men sitting in front of me. They had moved up because they didn't like the last row seats they had been given.

I kept getting told that the venue is operating on a first-come, first-served basis but they didn't seem to be following their own policy! I can't help wondering how long they can rest on the laurels of past achievements and great customer service which was delivered by better-trained staff. If they continue at this rate, no-one's going to bother.