Olympic torch in Manchester

Coca-Cola chief marketer Joe Tripodi, "Without the sponsors, there’s no Olympic Games."

One of the things that I've been looking forward to for a while is the Olympic Games taking place this year in my home country. Writing this as a thirty four year old I realise that barring some dramatic improvements in medical science I am not going to see another take place in the UK.

Despite this interest I haven't even tried to get tickets for any events. Tickets + travel + accommodation + expenses for London are excessive even at the best of times but I will enjoy it on TV. Over the weekend the Olympic torch relay made its way through Manchester. The torch passed by just five minutes walk from my apartment. My wife and I went to check it out. There was a big crowd for the section I went to and people were clearly enjoying themselves.

Before the torch ambled down Corporation Street (a most delicious irony) we were greeted by a cavalcade of sponsors. The convoy was a rolling swamp of commercialism and capitalism so brazen it bordered on pornography. Vehicles containing (presumably) employees bizarrely waving to the crowd as if they were there on merit. Perhaps this is a touch harsh but there was definitely too much jam on the bread. There have been some truly touching stories over the last few weeks about those who have carried the torch on the way but this left a bad taste in my mouth. I wonder what the real legacy of these games will be or even if we will have one that isn't more product placement.

Off to Barcelona

In a few hours my wife and I are hopping on a plane to Barcelona for a few days break. I managed to get some very cheap tickets a few weeks back and have been looking forward to it ever since. It's our first trip to mainland Spain where I've wanted to go for years and years.

I've not done much research leading up to this but plan to relax a bit and take in as many sites as we can given time and money. The Barcelona Metro is supposed to be quite good so we think we can get around quite easily and our hotel is in a fairly decent/central area. Sadly my Spanish is nearly nonexistent but as usual I know how to order a beer. La Rambla here we come.

Kim Jong-il lookalike falls on hard times

I am a little late writing up on this but saw it a few weeks ago in the Guardian. Briefly summing it up, a South Korean shopkeeper made a nice side living impersonating the now former North Korean 'Supreme Leader' until last month and now is at a loss, perhaps in more ways than one.

An interesting quote in the article, "I feel very empty, as if a part of me died." Another article on this with more quotes and tracing the origin of his 'double life' can be found in The Daily Mail. Of all the looks to cultivate, Kim Jong-il wouldn't be most peoples top of the list.

I have always found lookalikes a most bizarre type of jobseeker. Being paid just because you often faintly resemble someone else but don't have their talent is for me a bit of a con but at least it puts bread on the table. In the UK we've had a plethora of them over the years but I didn't know they had them in Asia.

I find it a bit distasteful that someone could profit from impersonating (unless in a comic way) someone who is responsible for thousands of deaths. I didn't even know you could get away with doing this kind of think in South Korea anyway. But just for what purpose would you hire a Kim Jong-Il lookalike? To tour factories and dispense advise? Where was the demand? Perhaps he has a son who could join the family business like Kim Jong-Un.

Korean man taken hostage in lottery scam

Yesterday my wife was checking the spam folder of her email account when she alerted me to one in particular. The email, directing us to Singapore where upon arrival and after providing details etc etc, she would be in line to receive money from a relatives will. These emails are the scourge of the inbox but are easy to identify and easily dismissed. But nobody falls for those emails right? Wrong.

A South Korean man has fallen for one such scam. Worse still he turned up in South Africa in person with his daughter on the belief that he would be picking up millions of dollars and was then taken hostage. Thankfully he was rescued but was so embarrassed "traumatised" that he declined to testify in court. It is easy to ridicule someone for falling for such a story but you have to feel sorry for this mans ordeal.

BBC commentary of Kim Jong-il's golf world record

Finally proof of Kim Jong-il's world record round of golf - audio found here. Bookmaker Paddy Power thinks this round will forever remain unbeaten! "The world has lost a golfing legend. We're 1,000,000-1 for any PGA player to beat Kim Jong-il's record round of 38 under."

But what odds on the "Great Successor", Kim Jong-Un, toppling his fathers achievement? Now we really know why those 'five million' North Koreans in Pyongyang were really crying. The golfing world mourns.

In the gym with Kangaroos

Recently I joined a gym in the city centre. I'm enjoying it so far but haven't been of late due to travel plans and illness. After a few days away I settled down on an exercise bike yesterday and started to pedal. Seconds later a slow stream of men in 'better shape than me' started to enter the building.

After a while I twigged that they were the Australian rugby league team - the Kangaroos - who are in the country for the Four Nations tournament. A few went for the weights and the running machines but most of them started on the bikes, on either side of me. I continued to peddle away but it definitely put me off as they weren't even breaking sweat despite generating a lot of power and speed.

I can testify that they are all big blokes and I wouldn't like to be the one who spilled their pint! I am hoping I can use the chance encounter as inspiration to work harder and get fitter.

Off to Amsterdam

I seem to be out of the habit of writing of late (largely down to computer issues that have now been sorted). Soon to be corrected I hope. In a few hours my wife and I are off to the airport for a flight to Amsterdam. We got the flights quite cheaply with Easyjet and the cost of the hotel is actually higher than the plane tickets.

It's my first trip to the Netherlands and although we're only staying two days we're hoping to try and pack in as much as we can. The transport system seems to be quite easy to navigate so we can see quite a few things during our stay. I don't know enough about the city and country as I think I should. Time to educate myself. I'm crossing my fingers in the hope that I can try some new beers. I will now only drink Heineken at gunpoint!

If the job situation doesn't change in the next few months I may try and get one or two more cheap flights although that will depend on funds. I'm enjoying the availability of cheap air flights and a wider choice of destination that I had in Asia. Although Europe is not as exotic as Asia can at times be, it is where I am from and I hope to get the chance to explore my continent more.

Off to Spain

I've not been updating this blog lately due to the fact that I haven't been doing much, so have had little to write about. Today that changes as my wife and I are off to Spain. We're going to the Canary Islands (Gran Canaria) for a week. It's our second wedding anniversary so we're taking a trip to celebrate and to relax. I've never been to Spain and even though the area we'll be staying in isn't so representative of Spanish culture and life I can't wait. More to write about when we come back.