This time round, I was on the other side of the table: I was not participating in the actual conference but helping out the organisers in the running of the conference. It was somewhat more physically engaging than anything else, although the most painful parts were waking up at times in the order of 6.45am to be at the venue by 8.30am, which entails a lot of effort from my part...though the endeavours were rewarded in a number of ways...
On the opening day, I managed to attend 2 keynote lectures by 2 key figures in the engineering and architectural fields: Bill Baker of SOM, structural engineer of the world's tallest building and Lord Norman Foster, undoubtedly one of the world's leading architects. Not only did I attend the lectures, but then also met the 2 of them after. Bill Baker was somewhat easier to handle; soon after the end of the talk, I went up to him and asked for a photo and had a very brief chat too. Lord Foster was somewhat more complicated. At the end of his talk, I headed off to the main entrance of the QE-II centre and awaited him beside his awaiting Mercedes. Some 20 minutes later, the designer exited, and I ran up to him, let him know of my admiration, shook the hands that designed buildings the like of the Swiss Re, the City Hall, the new Wembley, the HSBC headquarters, the Commerzbank and many more, and then asked for a photo, too! What a day that was!
On the Thursday, I was meant to be off duty, but then had a last minute call and was requested to accompany the accompanying persons on their tour to Windsor. Although I had been to Windsor twice, I accepted and early in the morning I, together with my wife, headed off with a group of elderly ladies from all over the world and took them to the Queen's castle outside London. It was a lovely day, sunny and clear and it was great to visit the castle and the royal quarters and chapel again. Following lunch by the river (very tasty bangers and mash), we briefly visited Savill Garden nearby and then back to London. It was a serendipitous day out!
Friday was the last day of the conference, thankfully; I developed signs of a cold, was tired of all the early rising up and needed rest and recovery. One last great event was left: a visit to the Olympic Park site in East London. At 8.30, the coach departed towards the east and were shown around the main landmarks soon after, albeit always within the coach. Since the last time I had been there, I can say that remarkable progress has been made, but I am still not convinced that they will finish all in time. They claim they are on track and within budget. I hope they are in the right.
It is now all over, I am in bed with a dripping nose and dead tired, but it was a good week. The same cannot be said for my work, though, since not much has been done in the past couple of days. But the thought of starting my 3rd year in a few days' time give me a lot of courage and adrenalin to get going...but not today; after all, tomorrow is another day!
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