Just like Belle, we decided to have our holiday in this country but where she went ‘down south’ – we went ‘up north’ – to the Scottish Highlands.  A bit risky some might say but instead of the usual cold and rain we had hot and sun – so instead of running out buying weather-proofs like Belle, we was buying shorts/t-shirts and sun cream!

I must admit the bit I was really dreading was the 10/12 hour journey up there with a five year old and a two year old to keep amused but the wonders of modern technology came to the rescue in the form of the car DVD entertainment system – the best £80.00 spent.  This simple gadget kept them quiet most of the way up there and back again.

As we left in the very early hours of Saturday morning the first bit of traffic we hit was in Glasgow, but from then on it went downhill – or more to the point – up hill.  My brother-in-law was in the car in front with his trusty sat-nav which took us the very scenic route, which I could only presume was the ‘High Road’.  Although the scenery was magnificent, driving round the side of a mountain with only a flimsy fence to stop you plunging 100s of feet should you make the slightest mistake, made me glad that my husband was driving.

I believe that I read somewhere that apparently Scottish drivers are less stressed then anywhere else in the country but having spent a week up there driving around I can’t see how that is possible.  We spent quite a long time stuck either behind a caravan or lorry with no way of overtaking – for instance as we left to come home we got behind a lorry and so it took us over an hour to go 30 miles!  But in saying that I also noticed that a lot of ‘local’ drivers seem very impatient over-taking in quite dangerous circumstances.

All in all we had a fantastic time, the kids loved it and we are definitely going back.

Sunday was my first Father’s Day as a daddy! I received a lovely card, a cute toy car and some other presents from my 10-month-old daughter Joanna – well, the truth is, everything is from my wife on behalf of the little one, though Joanna was the first one to open the gift box.

We got together with some close friends and everybody was saying that Joanna has my wife’s ears but everything else she has got on her face is pure Jeff.

I had such fun together with Joanna making faces, tickling her, walking her around, crawling on the carpet with her, flipping her upside down, and playing with dozens of toys…She called me ‘dada’ (not ‘daddy’, I am sure!) all day long and certainly I complained to my wife. But she said she would have been in heaven if Joanna had called her ‘mama’…oops! It seemed that I was a bit greedy…

A perfect day for a happy dad!

After what has seemed an eternity I’m now back from my second visit to China.  Unlike my first trip last year where we didn’t move from Beijing, this latest visit saw Martin and I visit no less than six cities.  So what did I learn this time around?

Well firstly that air travel within China is quite civilised.  We used a number of different domestic Chinese airlines to get about and I have to admit to being very impressed with the experience.  All flights left on time, with minimum of fuss.  Check-in procedures were simple and the airports were clean, modern and efficient.  

The next thing that struck me was the impressive road infrastructure.  Of course, we experienced some serious traffic congestion in most of the city centres we visited, however once you get on the expressway network, things start to move more freely (and quickly) on well maintained roads.   And looking out of the window during the many hours we spent travelling from one place to another, I couldn’t help but notice the sheer number of modern cars on the road, representing a huge array of both domestic and international brands. 

But what really struck me on this visit was just how ‘visible’ the automotive industry is in China.  You couldn’t move without being bombarded with some form of marketing activity from numerous automakers.  Billboards on the side of the road; in-flight magazines; in-flight TV entertainment; TV adverts; even advertising on the inside of taxis!  And if it wasn’t advertising, it was sponsorship. I tuned into an international table tennis tournament being held in China and who was the sponsor? VW.   Changed channel to watch some volleyball and guess what, another car manufacturer was sponsoring this event and so on and so on…..

The car industry hits you almost everywhere you go in China.  It’s hardly surprising though as the potential for new car sales are massive.  I’ll leave you with one figure.  While we were in China, many newspapers reported that new car sales in China are expected to exceed 11 million next year.  Now that’s a big number!