David Currie

I had a meeting in Oslo yesterday and flew out on Sunday evening so I could be there in time for the mid-morning start. Unfortunately we were about two hours late boarding our BA flight from Heathrow and then sat on the tarmac for another half an hour waiting for a slot to take off. Apparently the strong winds meant bigger gaps between aircraft landing and taking off and hence delays. As a consequence, we arrived at Oslo airport at around 1:30am. The train in to the city centre stops at midnight and the taxi desk (where you can normally get a fixed price trip) was deserted. This left me little choice but to get in to the only taxi at the rank outside for the 50km ride in to town. He generously stopped the meter just short of NKr 1200 (around £100)! The return journey on the train was faster and around a tenth of that price.

452I’ve spent most of the past week working in Madrid hence the general lack of postings. It’s the first time I’ve been there on either business or pleasure. The weather was very pleasant – blue skies and temperatures around 20 degrees during the day – although I’m told it was unseasonal. Sadly, the forty minute walk between the office and hotel that I took each day didn’t take in much in the way of tourist attractions (unless you count the Bernabéu stadium – home to Real Madrid). It was only on the last evening that I had a chance to pick up a street map and head south for a long run around the old town in the dark. I will have to find a chance to go back when I have more time as there was plenty to see. I also had the rather surreal experience of watching the Sony Ericsson WTA tour on TV. The EuroSport commentary was English but was layered over what was obviously a German recording (German commentary in the background and German ads). Why was this so bizarre? The tournament was taking place there in Madrid!