Guiness Storehouse, Dublin

My visit to Dublin coincided with the i-conX social club outing to the world famous Guinness Storehouse (brewery), so naturally I had to see what it was all about. Quite an informative and well presented tour of the old brewery, with all the history of the renowned brew, folowed inevitably by a sample of the actual stuff in the brewery's 7th floor bar, which has one of the best views in all of Dublin.

This was followed by an enjoyable night out with the team at a local pub-restaurant.

Chesham Cycle Ride

View Chesham, Buckinghamshire in a larger map

We met up with some of Alison's cycling buddies for a leisurely country ride around the Chesham/Amersham area. At least, it was reasonably relaxed for those of us who too the shorter route avoiding Tring and its steep hill. Ideal day for cycling, not to hot or too cold, and the rain held off until after we had finished. the weatherman turned out to be right for a change. Great pub food at the Hampden Arms, half way round the route.

Latitude, Day 3

Relatively lucky with the weather all weekend. The serious rain only arrived on Sunday afternoon, and merely spoiled our ice cream.

Thom Yorke's midday set probably the highlight of the day. The Editors also put on a great show (see video below).

Latitude, Day 2

These are the 'dog kennels' in which we stayed for the duration of the festival. Definitely a step up from camping, with the added bonus of good toilets and showers in the exclusive Tangerine Field.

We sampled virtually every type of entertainment on offer at the festival, including cabaret, poetry, literature, ballet, and all genres of music from classical through to heavy metal folk. The comedy tent appeared to be the main draw for many people, and it was impossible to get inside for the whole duration of the festival. Even the overspill areas outside were packed, so we only got to see a few snippets from some of the many comedy acts at Latitude, many of whom were rehearsing for their forthcoming Edinborought Festival shows.

Saturday's main sage headline act was Grace Jones, who I had no particular desire to see. I opted for Spiritualized on the Uncut sage, who put on a compelling, if sometimes overindulgent, performance.

Latitude Festival, Suffolk

Do not adjust your monitor. These sheep really are pink and green! One of the many features of the Latitude Festival.

The day one highlight for me was Mew's performance (see clip below). I always thought they sounded good on record, but their live set was a truly epic experience. The next set on the Uncut stage, from Squeeze, was a sure fire crowd pleaser for us oldies. I also elected to stay on at this stage to see the headline act - Bat For Lashes - but regretted my choice. Miss Kahn' may be hailed as the new kate Bush, but after two or three of her songs, the format became rather predictable and started to grate, at least to my ears. I managed to catch the final number from Pet Shop Boys, who were headlining on the main stage. In retrospect, I should have opted for this act to close the day.

Mexico City

I found myself in Mexico City on a very last minute work trip. The flight over was made much more pleasant by an upgrade to Club Class, presumably because no one was going to Mexico on account of the swine flu pandemic. Strangely, on entering the country, the Mexican authorities had introduced all sorts of health declaration forms and a temperature screening system, presumably to stop infected people coming into the country. A bit late for that if you ask me!

I only had two nights and two days in Mexico City, most of which was spent in customer presentations or preparing for them. As a consequence, I did not get a chance to see much of the city until a couple of hours before it was time to go back to the airport. I had the use of a very helpful driver who used this time to give me a lightning tour of the old part of the city. I have to say that I was impressed by the how clean and ordered and traffic free the place was. I had expected it to be somewhat third world in character but it came over as being not too dissimilar to Madrid in appearance and general ambiance. Unfortunately most of the archaeological sites were closed so I did not get a chance to see much.

I would certainly not mind spending a few more days in Mexico if a repeat visit were ever on the cards.

Oasis, Wembley

This was rather a last minute event as far as Alison and I were concerned, thanks to Jessica being left with two unwanted tickets for the concert. It was my first time to any event at the new Wembley Stadium, and it was certainly an impressive experience. The Oasis audience generally tend to behave more as a football supporters crowd, so plenty of singing along, beer throwing and general loutishness. The band's set was well performed, with a fairly predicable mix of their old and the new.

Glyndebourne