Any Colour You Like

Some annoying persons have asked for a picture of my sleek and slightly sleazy new haircut:

First off, Cata I am really sorry I didn’t call yesterday or today, it has been a bit stupidly hectic but that is no excuse because there is always time to remember a five minute phone call. I will make it up to you on my imminent and obligatory visit after christmas! Hope you enjoyed your visit from your parents.

You will doubtless be board of dance competition posts but it is really all I do so you may have to put up with them. This weekend we got into the team jive final which is unbelievably good and our best result ever. The adrenaline will not be wearing off for several days so I am going to have to go and get drunk to celebrate and neutralise the effect. Oh and Bristol A-Team won again.

Well done to my cousin Stephen who has just started dancing beginners for Southampton Uni and had a very successful first comp in my opinion.

My christmas present book tip of 2008 is going to have to be Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I haven’t actually finished it yet (it is the longest fictional novel in the english language) but somehow despite this, and without any action, it manages to be one of the most gripping books I have ever read.

The title refers to questioning what would happen if the fabric that holds up society were to suddenly give up and disappear - metaphorically speaking Atlas who holds up the world shrugging and deciding not to bother anymore. The book is all about morality and the role of work, intelligence, creativity and industrial progression in society. The plot hinges around the building and running of railroads in America and I can imagine the politics will not be to everyone’s taste. But it definitely gives food for thought and will make you think carefully about our modern political spectrum.

What is the best book you have read recently??

Super stoked with this weeks competition results! Warwick is a massive comp early on in the year with all of the best unis present i.e. oxbridge… Well done to Bristol A for reaching the finals of division 1 and Bristol C who really deserved to win division 2 – scandalous you guys were only given fourth place. Good effort Bristol B which surprisingly enough was me this week. We got through some rounds in Division 1 but no final this time. Next week at bath on the other hand…

Thanks ever so much Sammy for some great dancing this early in the year. Out of hospital friday night, four and a half hours practice Saturday and a twelve hour competition on Sunday and I don’t know how you did it! We didn’t do so well in the intermediate ballroom in the individual competitions; we performed an awesome waltz (easily the best we have ever done) but we somewhat let down by our quickstep so we didn’t get through any rounds. Best we actually learn our steps for next week…

We got to the quarter finals in the novice latin individual competition though, with the hottest, steamiest, sexiest rumba of the novices in our massively biased opinion. We though our jive was shockingly bad, but on the videos it actually looks pretty good! Again, we better actually learn our steps next time!

And obviously congratulations to our fantastic beginners who wiped the floor with oxbridge in the latin, and did a great job supporting Bristol D in the team comp. Can’t believe I have only six days to learn a tango and a cha!

Had sushi today in a chain restaurant in Bristol’s shiny new shopping district. It was one of those places where all the food goes round on conveyor belts and you grab what you want and get distracted when eating as something else nice goes by. It was pretty tasty, especially the slivers of sweet ginger and the aubergine thingy we had, but I can’t help thinking it would be absolutely amazing in Japan where the fish would be super fresh.

I really hope flights stay somewhat reasonably priced until I finally get to go traveling and see a bit more of the world. I can’t wait and am getting pretty impatient for graduation to come along. Should probably start saving, especially as I am going to need a massive food budget for the asia part of the trip!

Especially from Microsoft. They are now going to start offering free anti-virus software to everyone instead of charging a monthly fee. And what is more, they have actively tried to design the software to be small and take up few system resources. What is going on? Have they turned soft, and started admitting mistakes?

On a more serious note, my dance partner was admitted to hospital yesterday with suspected meningitis. I am pretty worried about her and hope she has a speedy recovery. Get well soon

After dancing practice last night I became the proud temporary owner of a somewhat dodgy dark navy tail suit. I was not fat enough for any of the nice black ones but I am first on the list when they go and buy more.

Will be dancing B-Team Jive this weekend which is a massive honour but massively scary. I am supposed to be on the ballroom team and we are not very good at jive in our opinion. Also only the best unis will be at the competition: Oxford, Cambride, Imperial, Warwick

Apparently I have now got to go and get my hair cut  =(

Due to popular request (ok due to several requests) I will have to explain this blog’s title and the pictures above.

The title is taken from track seven of Dark Side of the Moon which is entirely instrumental, and hence offers no explanation for its title either. But mine is supposed to be a combination of that and the famous Henry Ford quote ‘you can have it in any colour you like, as long as it is black’.

Top right is the University of Bristol Wills Memorial Building. It is often said to be the world’s most modern gothic masterpiece, having been started in 1912 and finished in 1925. The architect Sir George Oatley was knighted for his effort.

Top left is a combination of the sheaf of five arrows from the Cameron Clan coat of arms and some random squiggles. The arrows would usually be surrounded by a belt and underlined by a wreath. Around this belt would be the Cameron motto, which i Gallic is ‘Aonaibh ri Chéille’ which is a very long winded way to say ‘Unite’.

Cameron Coat of Arms

It is amazing to me that the automobile with its internal combustion engine has only existed for a little over 100 years. The complexity and sophistication of a modern engine are testament to the number of exceedingly clever people that have worked in the car industry over the years. Rapid but incremental steps have been the order of the day.

There is no doubt that congestion and emissions are a massive problem that needs the work of another set of exceedingly clever people – I think car CO2 emissions are supposed to be an order of magnitude more significant than everything else except farming and energy at the moment. But we have got to preserve our industrial heritage as well. No where can the highlights of technological, aesthetic, and emotional achievement be more clearly seen than in the progression of personalised transport over the last century.

The most beautiful car at the NEC classic car show in my opinion:

1954 Jaguar XK140

Possibly second place but there were a lot of cars that could vie for such a title:

1966 Ferrari 275

P.S. Stu says hi to everyone who reads this =)

Somedays I get so annoyed at humanity and wonder why people are driven by all of the wrong reasons.

But somedays (and these days are nearly always sunny, bright, a little crisp, but nicely colourful) everyone seems to lift their heads, smile at strangers and hurry a little less. It is unbelievable what a difference it makes and the general good will nearly always propagates. The legendary big-issue seller outside sainsburys was on top form today as well with some ambitious dancing and a lot of compliments for the passers by. He insists that everyone has a really good day whether they buy the paper or not – and you never know, I might find something to read about in this one compared to the last issue I bought about the ‘pussy cat dolls’!