US SatNav Rant

The in car SatNav continues to confuse and confound:

SatNav TURN RIGHT onto Waterloo Lane Reality NO RIGHT TURN onto Waterloo Lane from Waterloo Street

SatNav Straight on into Hope St Reality Entry into Hope St only for Buses and Taxis

<rant mode ON>

The Ford SatNav is a reflection of technology in cars - it is invariably 2 or 3 years behind the technology we use in our everyday lives. It had a very ill considered user interface with inconsistent use of names Bluetooth sometimes BT others , no help or guidance along with much clutter on the screen as they mixed the Radio screen and SatNav screen all very confusing as smaller version of the SatNav is presented with the Speedometer and Rev counter making for too many confusing screens. And buttons, switches , dials, knobs  all littered around the driving wheel - confusing and ugly.

AND that reminder in the middle of the wheel I'm driving a Ford - why do I need to know or be reminded, does this help me drive better? What's needed is simplicity and beauty, to make the whole SatNav and driving experience better.

The answer is simple - replicate the iPhone's touch screen in the display then the very latest SatNav can be used along with the very latest traffic info. Not mention giving the user a familiar, friendly interface, it has to happen if not that then at least Apple designing an interface to the car removing all that  junk and clutter to create a simple , elegant use interface.

<rant mode OFF>

The Google Games

I liked the Seychelles flag's use of a bold. bright, primary colour palette - Blue Red Yellow Green. It put me in mind of the Google logo.

I then saw how the logo for the games used Google's colours:

And Seychelles neighbour Mauritius uses Google's bright, cheerful colours :in horizontal bands rather than radially. 

I have even seen Google's colours on the high street in H&M's window display so not only the Game's influenced by Google's colours. 

Not to mention the Google people at the Opening Ceremony welcoming the Athletes...

......and the Google fly pass by The Red Arrows as the Queen entered the Stadium on the Opening Night.....

My First Day....

It's my first day off today and a chance to reflect on past few days. In short they have passed like a whirl wind so much has happened and changed. It's the changes that keep you on your toes, as we all work together  to fully understand the exactly what resources we need, where they are and how to reach them working as a team to make things happen. Keeps the mind and body active!

The Village day by day is coming more and more alive as more and more countries arrive creating  an ever growing buzz. Also time to note some things I’d meant to note but haven't done so:

Meeting Village Head

I had the great pleasure of bumping into the Village Manager -Tony Sainsbury - he was kind enough to let me have a photo with him and despite being rushed off his feet even had time for a chat. He had the same role at London 2012 where he was equally enthusiastic and committed about the event - a great motivator.

I know this'll sound creepy but I complimented him on how good the food was but it was, and is, good to excellent. Always served fresh at the right temperature, texture and taste , looks good and served with smile. The catering team are doing a great job despite having to serve thousands of meals a day.

Loving The Food

The Treiaki chicken with rice and fat choi the other day was brilliant. The sauce was full of flavour, very tasty while the chicken was soft & succulent with the rice just right, fat choy is a vegetable I don't have often it went well with the  Teriaki sauce.

The Phone

Each CGA Assistant is issued with a phone, to mange expectations we were advised it would be basic - voice and text only - we weren’t surprised or disappointed!

The Nokia 106  gave me the opportunity to reflect on how much I’d forgotten about texting, how long a battery should really last and how lazy  I’d become inputing and finding stuff on the phone.

Theres a full review here 

I used to love predictive texting now I found it a chore and confusing so I switched it off.In fact I'd write the text on my iPhone and send it to the 106 to forward it on.

The 106 does what it says on the tin but it does  have a very nice radio , a flashlight aka torch and it’ll speak the time - very useful. In fact when my iPhone power failed the 106 was there - I could use its radio to stay in touch - all night AND still have enough power to get me thru the day. Incredible in the age of the iPhone with its half day , if you're lucky.

The106’s  battery is simply incredible it lasts forever quite unlike my iPhone battery which lasts half a morning at best hence I carry around a huge 13000A power pack. I've had real problems charging the power pack as there's no power at the campsite. So sadly, my iPad has been off for the past few days as there was no power for it, and so this post has taken forever to complete. But we got there, eventually!

On Holiday For The Games...

Every morning  I pass George Taylor & Co (Hamilton) Ltd - a foundry on the way to Hamilton Central Station - 5 mins walk from the Bongo's campsite.

In contrast to my idea of a foundry:  all dirt, noise, smoke & heat the main building and its grounds are very clean and smart looking: freshly painted, watered flower pots, manicured lawns decorated with  neatly painted samples of casting exercises perhaps  - Thomas the Tank Engine, a Penny Farthing made from what looks like railway wheels. 

But there is never a soul or car about - desolate - as thou the Receiver had just been called in. I was perplexed. 

Then it clicked perhaps they are on holiday. No mention on the web but I called and was advised by a recorded message:

....we are on holiday till 7:45 Monday 4th August...

They'd gone on holiday for the Games!

Profitable Cultural Fusion

On a packed Buchanan Street - the central shopping street of Glasgow - on a very hot sunny afternoon I came across these two - together an extraordinary sight.

Time didn't permit to find out who and why they were but they made a BIG sound, attracting a large appreciative crowd, who like me made a donation. As I throw my tip into very full bowl,  I recalled the famous New York Buskers request: Don't clap throw money!

They seemed to be having a great time and making a few bob - cultural fusion in action.

The SECC & Nigeria's First Medals

Finally found my way into The Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre or SECC (locally known as The Armadillo) where the wrestling & boxing is being held, amongst other sports. The previous two times I missed my way and had to drop my passengers as close as I could get, leaving them to negotiate a way thru to the venue on their own. 

Last night thanks to following a T0 driver - one of the chauffeurs for the heads of state, the ministers and other such visiting dignitaries - he showed me the way in. On level two of the car park , locally known as The Beruit Carpark due to the many random holes in hand structure making it reminiscent of bomb damaged buildings!

There I met Maggie & Anne - two very cheerful ClydeSider ladies - who were very welcoming hosts  from transport to the SECC. They showed me exactly where to stop the car so my passengers could easily reach security, opened doors for my passengers and directed me to where I should park, made accessing SECC really painless unlike my two previous disasterous visits. Had a good old chat with them comparing our different ClydeSider roles. I wanted a photo to recall the meeting for the blog In the photo Annie insisted on taking the photo rather than being in it;

............and the SECC was also where Team Nigeria revceived its first medals of The Games: BRONZE in  Women's 48Kg Nkechi Opara and it's first GOLD: sixteen year old  Chika Amalaha Women's 53Kg division (Chilka lifted more than twice her own body weight above her head to win that Gold medal) 

Katie's Hand a Metaphor for The United Kingdom of Great Britain andNorthern Ireland

I had a three hour wait at SECC the other day, which was alleviated by a really cheerful ClydeSider from Transport - Katie. At first I thought she was collecting for charity!  She had a box and some papers in her hands. Rather than asking for stuff Katie  was giving stuff away:  a tube of sweets; a copy of the Workforce World, the daily newspaper for the workers and ClydeSide Bingo card in summary something to eat, something to read and something to play. All made the wait a little easier!

The gifts were a very welcome sight but it was her painted finger nails that really caught my eye. Her fingers nails were painted in the colours of the flags of the four home countries at The Games viz. , in alphabetical order, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales.

In Katie's hands we've a lovely metaphor how much better we are united as one hand, rather than divided! 

Billy Connolly & Nelson Mandela Place

When waiting outside the Blytheswood Hotel for my next set of passengers Billy Connolly, accompanied by bell boy, slipped almost anonymously across the road to his car. Ordinarily I would have approached the Big Man for a chat and picture, as he's always seemed to be a very down to earth,very approachable. But he looked frail, very frail as he walked slowy across the road.   Nevertheless he looked very distinguished all in black - t-shirt, trousers and loafers were all black contrasting with his following white hair. 

On his way back to the hotel he stopped by two police officers , he chatted with them for what seemed an age

including posing for several photograph.  

His presence soon attracted a crowd but he continued to chat with one and all. This is where I took the opportunity to photo bomb in reverse (see above:-)

Having seen the frail Billy I can understand why he chose to record his part in the Openjng ceremony despite actually  being in the Stadium on the  night. 

Part of his piece was the Story of how and why Nelson Mandela Place - at the heart of the retail town centre Apple,  H&M. Nike, Zara et al - came to be renamed after one of the most famous & revered South Africans. 

• Glasgow was the first city in the world to honour Nelson Mandela with the Freedom of the City, in 1981, nine years before he was released from prison.
• In a bold move to send a message to the then apartheid regime, the council also renamed St George's Place as Nelson Mandela Place in 1986.  This was seen as highly significant as this then became the address of the South African Consulate, which was based there!

This story underlines for me how warm@generous people of Glasgow. 

Catherine & Dalmarnock

That's me with Catherine a lovely 80 year old lady who lives on the short road that leads into the main Village entrance. As this is the main entry point into the Village virtually everyone entering the Village on foot or by car passes her house. 

Catherine is out there most days, leaning on her wall, enjoying the constant flow of visitors & workers & athlete coming & going. Couldn't resist stopping and having a chat with her. 

Catherine's a warm, friendly lady, I was amazed to find that none of the families who live on the perimeter of the Village - right up against its fence - have been given a thank you from the Games. I say that as I am sure her life and lives the people of Dalmarnock  have been turned upside down with the arrival of the Glasgow 2014 Athletes Village literally on thier doorsteps. Not to mention the restricted access to thier homes as roads are closed and check points in place to secure the Village during the course of the Games. 

Later I recognised her on the TV as Scottish TV interviewed her over her wall, questioning her on the Games impact on her life. Catherine was a brilliant advert for the folk of Glasgow - full of praise and a welcome for the Games, no justified anger or compliants. 

Carherine's an engagjng, friendly lady who I always stop a say hello to when ever she's out. 

Another Old Friend from London 2012 & Pins

Surprised and delighted to bump into Bill an 'old' face from London 2012 I remembered well. Bill worked next door to the NGR Office in the Seaside area reception area, in the Village he helped to resource/find keys, trolleys & all the other stuff needed to make the stay of Team NGR in the village happy - great guy!

Bill's working with Northern Ireland in the Glasgow 2014 Village. He gave me my second pin of the Games:

I've decided rather than collect pins for the sake of it, every pin I have on my lanyard'll have a story. This is unlike London 2012 where the game was collect all the pins one could regardless of method of collection - begging, borrowing but not quite stealing. IMHO a pin should be a medal of honour a mark of some positive act for someone, and so should invoke a pleasant memory. Pin collection should be about quality not quantity!

For the record I've 3 pins so far.....

Governor Visits Wrestlers

The governor of Bayelsa state visited the wrestling team, sadly time did not permit all the necessary protocol and paperwork up be completed to allow the Governor to enter the village. So ever resourceful the team arranged for them to meet him just outside the village in the shade of some trees - it was one of the hottest days of the Scotland's Summer. 

The Governor an ex-wrestler himself governs his home state which is renowned for its wrestlers; nine of Team Nigeria come from Bayelsa and he is a strong supporter of Nigeria wrestling. 

The Glasgow City Chamber

Much to my embarrassment I drove to not just one,  but two incorrect postcodes trying to find Glasgow City Chamber for NGR's delegates to attend a meeting there. As I write that I can see the eyes of my Glaswegian friends & ClydeSiders rolling  and their eye brows raising, as it's slap bang in the Center of town on George Square and one of Glasgow's most iconic buildings! I had to resort to my iPhone's SatNav app to find it. 

While waiting for the meeting to finish I had the chance to look around this magnificent, imposing  building that dominates the square - the headquarters of Glasgow City Council. 

The magnificence continues inside with the vestibule with its multi domed ornate mosaic ceilings and floor,  Ionic capitals on marble columns and two huge wooden doorways with glass panels  either side of the lobby, each doorway is flanked by a pair of imposing Greek female caryatids. 

The  caryatids on the left door frame carry the symbols of peace and victory - the laural and a laural reef.  The doorway leads in to a huge marble clad reception area and an equally dramatic cream & shades of tan marble staircase, which when viewed from the bottom looks like an Esher fantasy piece - magical.

Those caryatids on the right carry symbols of power the sceptre and orb, they too lead into a marble and wood reception area and staircase but this is not as imposing as the equivalent space on the left. 

The difference in the reception area staircase is because the left lobby entrance was specifically for the use of Glasgow's Mayor and council members. While that on the right was for the council workers. 

Glasgow's buildings continue to impress!

Official Commonwealth Games Chippy?

Seen just off Buchanan Steet in the centre of Glasgow:

The Opening Ceremony Rehearsals

Busking in the Village - Danny Neo

Came across this guy busking with his guitar by the faux Sea Monster - Danny Neo - self styled  "wee daft busker" he was brilliant mined me of two my favourite Guitarists Andy McKee and Adrain Legg as as slapped, fingered, tuned and detuned, damped, and generally beat up his guitar to create a great individual sound. He's back in the Village next week so hopefully I'll catch him live again.