Sorry folks!
As most of you know I have been without internet for a period of time. This makes blogging a wee bit harder. But I now have internet and so the blog goes on....
What to talk about? Should I talk about living in Glasgow, perhaps do a Glasgow/Edinburgh comparison? Should I talk about being a working stiff, having a real job at long last? Should I recount my visit to the shady world of Miss Earth, the eco-friendly beauty pageant? Should I talk on the drama of the chain walk, the Edinburgh College of Art show, my last minute trip to see Kirsten Hersh, the comedy of feeding people sour sweets? These have been busy days, full of ideal fodder for this blog. But old news doesn't seem to me to be in the spirit of the blog.
Semi-recent should be fine though: The 2009 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
I was offered the pair of tickets won by the office (after they had filtered down of course, I know my place) to the Grand Prix on Thursday morning. The Grand Prix weekend started the next day. So I emailed my very special lady-friend who, after working out a basic plan, agreed to take the other ticket. And good tickets they were, too.
Long story short, nearest hotel we could get a room in was in Corby (a little over an hour away from the track) and, because we couldn't really set out before 9am Saturday, we missed the Friday warm-ups and the Saturday qualifiers (I was unaware that there is no access after about 2pm). Hotel was a very reasonable price, good quality too (thank you Premier Inn Corby). Wasn't overly enthused by the restaurant next door, but I shouldn't moan.
Up bright and early on Sunday, made the track by 8am. The day went as follows:
8:20am: Formula BMW Second Race (13 laps). Almost seemed like adult go-karts zipping around the course. A good way to ease in the race day.
9:30am: GP2 Second Race (24 laps). Exciting stuff. A good amount of overtaking, a couple of minor incidents (mostly tire issues as they try to make the tires last the whole race).
10:30am: Hotdog. I was impressed. That was the best hotdog I have ever had at a big outdoor event. And, at £5, it bloody well should have been.
10:45am: Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Race (14 laps). A lot of fun. I wasn't expecting much but this was perhaps the most interesting race of the day. Close competition, aggressive driving, last minute excitement, it was all I expect of a race.
11:30am: Formula One Drivers Track Parade. The drivers cruising around the track on a big truck. Not really much else to say about it.
11:45am: Formula One Starting Grid Presentation. I think this was the parade of ladies who passed us with flags. Encouraged a wolf-whistling competition amongst the classier gents in the crowd.
11:45am: 2 Seater Demonstration (1 Flying lap). Or toilet break if you're me. Man, those sardines-style urinals are desperate. I caught the very end of it though.
12:00pm: Air Display The Red Arrows. Jaw-dropping. Top-notch stuff.
12:46pm: National Anthem. So good it had everyone out of their seats.
1pm: 2009 Formula 1 British Grand Prix (60 laps). If you didn't already know, Vettel dominated. Right from lap 1. An amazing drive. Not a huge amount of excitement in the race, but not every race can be a nail-biter. Thank goodness Shell were kind enough to stick earplugs in with the ticket. It was constant, unbearable noise. Half from the cars, half from the airhorns (more on this later). Those cars go fast. So fast that the make the course look tiny. It was a real experience to see 'em first hand, but I don't think I'm enough of a motor enthusiast to go again. Unless there's another rouge pair of free tickets...
(3pm: Historic Car Challenge Race (12 laps) and 3.45pm Air Display RAF Typhoon Air Display)
I put these last two in brackets because, though I wanted to see them (esp. the historic cars), we decided to get an early start up the road as it was a long drive home with work waiting on Monday. About 90% of everyone else did the same. We watched what we could of the Typhoons in the queue to get out, and it was another hour before we got to the M1, a drive that should take only about a quarter of an hour.
A few last thoughts on the event:
i)TV gives you a better view, but not the awe-inspiring experience of the cars up close.
ii)Airhorns should be illegal. Beating up annoying so-and-sos with airhorns should not only be legal, but encouraged.
iii)Event food should be at least on a standard with what was on offer there, but better prices would be nice.
iv) Merchandise should not cost that much. £25 for a baseball cap isn't funny, £8 for a lanyard is beyond the joke.
v)Get some better ideas for traffic control. Seriously, it's not rocket science that opening all 4 lanes to outgoing traffic will not speed the flow when said road joins other roads and stops people getting in. Directing 75% of the traffic down one road instead of %50 on each is just plain dumb.
vi)Earplugs are essential for these events.
I could probably go on, but you all have lives to get on with and I want to get to bed. I will leave you with one final thought:
When eating in Burger King, don't go for burgers without veg. The whopper or chicken royale are your best bets. And the onion rings aren't worth it.
