Robinson Crusoe

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Well folks, those that know me, also know that I believe in fate. And that I like to try and link each post in some way to the preceding one. So there I was just finishing my 23 May 2010 post about the boat and messing about on water, and what do I find? Well you never; I have my third Blog follower. Not any old follower mind you, but, Raquel Crusoé from MC in Brazil. Great timing Ms Crusoé, I doff my cap to you. For the un-initiated, MC stands for Montes Claros. And Ms Crusoé is a native of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brasil. And to trump the fate thing; I sold a pen on Ebay tonight to someone who was enquiring if I would post the pen to Brazil. It's a small World isn't it? Even without a boat.

Sports

As the opening game of the 2010 World Cup in Africa nears, it is worth remembering that football is not the only sport. Many people enjoy messing about on the water, and for our family today was one of those days. Pauline and her best friend Mandy were invited out for the afternoon on our friends yacht AVOCET skippered by Richard Denyer. Not me, as I'm more of a cafe and coffee bloke, than water and boats. A real landlubber who prefers to watch than participate. Aberystwyth beach was packed, almost as packed as those new and upgraded stadiums in South Africa shall be in only a few weeks. I can truly say that this was the most number of people that I have seen on South Beach in our 20+ years of living on the coast. I managed Orange Juice in Costa, a snooze in the car, a walk along the beach and coffee at the hut. The sun was beating down relentlessly and I can imagine that it was quite warm out on the boat. I managed to watch them with the binoculars and take a few photo's with the Sony Xperia X10 and its 8.1 digital camera. The best photographic result is included with the Blog. Needless to mention that the gang had a great time. An excellent skipper, a great host and an opportunity for friends to chat and partake in the waters. But come June, I suspect that they all wish that they have a television on the boat so they don't miss that all important game. Mmmmm. who shall I support? England or Ghana. Well that's a no brainer isn't it?

X10

Arbitration involves communicating the outcome and the rationale behind the decision. My latest communication tool is stunning! An all white Sony Ericsson X10 which I have kitted out with a white hand lanyard from mandy61199 on Ebay along with some Sennheiser speakers and when it arrives from Hong Kong, a white windscreen holder for those long journeys. Facebook and email viewing are a doddle, and the phone comes with photo recognition and a load of other easy to use Apps. A brilliant predictive text system adds the the usability of the X10. It's a joy to mess with the phone, and easy to send an email to Jeffers over in Ghana without paying to send an International text message. All in all, well done to the people at Sony Ericsson, especially the R&D Team!

Fish

I popped into a local cafe/restaurant. This restaurant is not my usual haunt, but still a nice place with good coffee and friendly service. The thing was, I accidentally hit the evening meal time and was promptly brought the menu. A bit of a dilemma really in that I only wanted a coffee and a read of another chapter of my current book 'Soldier Five'. Still, I have never been one to pass on the opportunity of a good meal, so I opted for the Sea Bass as a main course. The least said about the starters the better, but the fish was really good. In many ways it reminded me of the fish that I had while in Accra. A large portion, eaten in a restaurant, early evening and by the sea. The main difference being the use of a knife and fork to eat the fish, and not having to suffer the crushing heat of Ghana. I chomped away, while thinking of my African friends, and a trip that is now fading into a distant memory. Time stands still for no man, and the last few months have moved forward at breakneck speed, let alone the time since my trip way back in 2008. I exchanged emails with Jeffers this week, and checked out his online family photographs. I also exchanged emails with Michael regarding the UK General Election. Michael is now living in North America, but we still discuss politics. This is probably a natural outcome of our time studying at The Department of International Politics in Aberystwyth. I followed the Ghanaian election last year and Michael has found the news coverage of our election to be just as exciting. But probably not as exciting as the fish!

Arbitration is always good

My days as an International Arbiter are long gone, but arbitration is an important part of my life. Choices are important too, and in making these choices we often have to negotiate with others and seek their counsel when things goes wrong. Those that we speak too, often tell us what we should or should not do and what we did correctly or got wrong. Although this ad-hoc arbitration is not binding, it is nevertheless a form of arbitration. My recent negotiation system is determining where to go on holiday this summer and again at Christmas, as I build up towards a once in a lifetime holiday. The decision for that holiday will rest with my boss. No not back in the Fire Service as I retired a while back, no my real boss AKA Mrs. B. There was a Mrs. G back in Ghana, but at home Mrs. B is the boss and undertakes all of the arbitration!