Birthdays

It's birthday season in our home. It's my birthday this coming Saturday and my eldest boy's on Sunday. At the end of the month it's my youngest's birthday followed closely at the beginning of next month by my wife. So here comes the question I (almost) dread to hear; What do you want for your birthday?

I never know what to answer. Usually I can't think of anything or want something expensive, like an iPad or some other must-have device. This year I'm making much more of an effort to smarten myself up and I've already been looking for a nice suit jacket. Guess what? I was given an early birthday present today.




I've got a hat. I've got some shoes. I've got a shirt. I've got some trousers. I've got a tie. Can you tell what it is yet?

Sorry, me old China.

I've done it again and forgotten to post a race report. It's a little late to cover the events of the Chinese Grand Prix so I'll sum it up like this: On the top step of the podium was Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, flanked by Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) in second and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in third.
Short and sweet.




And so onto the Bahrain qualifying session. Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took pole position, followed by Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Alonso, Hamilton and Mark Webber (Red Bull). Both Mark and Lewis have grid penalties which will drop them into 8th and 9th, respectively.
6th place, moving up to 4th, goes Felipe Massa (Ferrari), with Force India team mates, Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil close behind. Raikkonen also moves up to 7th from 9th place and Jenson Button (McLaren) is the last of the top ten qualifiers. Which neatly brings me to my reason for writing this ahead of the race.

Where the hell are McLaren? In terms of the drivers and constructors championships they're as good as going backwards. Button, 2009 F1 world champion, sounded over the moon to make it into the top ten and his team mate, Sergio Perez (my favourite young driver of the past few seasons), could only manage 12th. This from a team that has a higher win rate than any other team in Formula 1 history!




I love McLaren but unless they get their act together they'll be left behind by Ferrari and Red Bull and overtaken by Mercedes, Lotus and (to add insult to injury) Force India.
I'll be keeping my fingers crossed all day on Sunday.

Did you see the Malaysian Grand Prix?

The Malaysian GP seems like weeks ago... because it was. I never got round to posting a report, so here is a brief catch up.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso lost the front wing under his car on the pit straight on lap 2 after a touch with Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull at turn 2 of the previous lap and went flying off the track. Race over for Alonso.




Too brief?
Alright, a little more.




Vettel showed his true colours by overtaking team mate, Mark Webber for 1st place in the final phase of the race after receiving instructions to hold position from the pit wall. Mark was not a happy bunny, to say the least.







By contrast, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg showed his team colours by doing what was asked of him. He found himself rapidly catching his team mate, Lewis Hamilton, and after several requests to overtake were denied, settled for 4th place behind Lewis. I doubt Nico was a happy bunny either but at least he has respect, both for and from his team.




Next stop China.

Travelling in style

There's something very civilised about travelling by train. I'm not talking about the London Underground, that can be a nightmare during rush hour, etc. I mean travelling in comfort, watching the countryside pass by the window, mile after mile.

I went on a trip recently and recorded some random video clips, cut them together and put it to music. This is it.

http://youtu.be/CDTuE85Vehg

I hope you like it.

Lost for words

Sometimes I just don't have anything to say.

Trilby Vs Fedora

I'm very much a hat person. For many years the baseball cap has been my headwear of choice and I have a flat cap I occasionally wear but recently I've decided to branch out and try something with a bit of class, something with character. The question is: which hat do I choose?

Trilby: Frank Sinatra, Pete Docherty, Justin Timberlake, The Blues Brothers, Olly Murs,

Fedora: Indiana Jones, Humphrey Bogart, Dick Tracey, Johnny Depp, Michael Jackson

Suggestions?