Making it up as you go along...

There's a scheme that's just been set up called fish2fork, intent on grading the sustainability of a restaurant's fish supplies. It's been set up by the Telegraph journalist Charles Clover and follows on from his film about the subject called "The End of the Line" (which in turn is based on his book of the same name). Now I only saw this film for the first time this week, and actually thought that, despite a few errors, it was a reasonable piece of work. Not so www.fish2fork.com.

It gives a grading score for sustainability based on a questionnaire sent to 100 of the UK's top eateries. It's a good idea in principle but dreadfully executed. Now, you would think that those restaurants who didn't reply would be excluded, right? Wrong - they're given a grading based on sourcing assumptions made by those running the website simply from the eateries' menu! How is this possible? How can you present potentially libellous information like this and get away with it? With the astonishing disclaimer found on their website:

"Content
Please be advised that nothing found on the fish2fork.com website has necessarily been reviewed by people with the expertise required to provide you with complete, accurate or reliable information.
Fish2fork.com cannot guarantee the validity of the information found on its website."

Coupled to this, the simplification of the whole sustainability issue by fish2fork (by using the MCS "fish to avoid list") is amply demonstrated by the lack of understanding by Clover, et al of the geographical differences in fish stock populations (a fact that even the MCS acknowledge on their list). This ignorance of the nuances of sustainability also applies to Clover's citing of the ICUN red list in the film "The End of the Line" (specifically referencing Patagonian Toothfish).

Not content with this potential defamation (for that is what it appears to me to be), the BBC's "One Show" picked up on it last night and perpetuated the myth that Clover actually knows what he's talking about on the fish2fork website! Needless to say, I've made my feelings very well known on the show's blog (it's post 84):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theoneshow/backstage/2009/10/what-did-you-think-of-the-one-123.html#comments

This one has some legs so watch this space...

Visit to Rolls Royce HQ

Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe

One of the car forums I frequent is Pistonheads (http://www.pistonheads.com/). From time to time they have car meets on Sundays, simply called "Sunday Services". Having seen lots of reports of these, I decided to actually go to one - at the Rolls Royce HQ on the Goodwood Estate. I went with my friend Mark and his boy Liam, who is madder about cars than any kid I've ever seen! We had a very pleasant trip down in my new BMW 760Li - Liam was in the back watching Gladiator on the TV, whilst Mark and I shot the breeze about business opportunities.


My BMW E66 760Li

Once we got close to Goodwood, all we had to do was follow the shiny metal! We parked up and made our way to the very impressive Rolls facility which is in beautiful lanscaped grounds inside the Earl of March's Goodwood Estate. Whilst we didn't get to go inside the production facility itself (the new Ghost production was being started the following day) we got to see some fantastic Rollers and fabulous other cars that the forum members bought along! No point in doing anything other than letting the pics do the talking!



Lambo Murcialago


Ultima GTR's


Zonda C12


Ferrari California


Mark and the Arial Atom


Ferrari F430 & F360

Ferrari F430 Challenge Stradale

TVR Sagaris

Needless to say, my drive home was filled with thoughts of metal yet to come!

Working at life

Hmmm, a blog? Isn't that a form of self-therapy? A cry for attention? Endless musings on topics too generic to be interesting? Does it matter? OK, that's enough of the (pyscho)analysis for now...

My small corner of the web may be of some interest if like me, you're trying to live life differently. I have no desire to work until I'm 65, retire and spend any remaining years I may have going on cruises or soaking up the sun in some retirement home on the beach - I just think that life should be more interesting than that.

This blog will reflect how I chose to live my life, why I do what I do and what I do whilst I'm doing it. I intend for it to include aspects of both my work and play and my attempts to make both areas more rewarding - in all senses of the word.

So where am I already along this journey? Well, I'm a 37 year old Englishman (who needs to get down to the gym) with my own one-man consultancy business. I live in a flat with no room for my fishing tackle or my bibliophile habit. I also have two cars vying for one parking space! A bit random, but aspects of each which go some way to explaining how I chose to order my life. A bit about each follows.

37. I am a firm believer that age has got nothing to do with anything. It's just a number. Keeping an open mind is about the only thing you should keep constant as the numbers tick round the counter...

Englishness. Nationality shouldn't define ones self because its meaning is purely geographical. The hue of one's passport does not make a man - they are determined through the choices they make. That said, the history of the country I am tied to by bureaucracy facinates me.

The gym. I need to use it. Badly. (Actually, I need to use it well, but you get the idea).

The consultancy. I set up my little one-man consultancy in 2007. Latimeria Consultancy Ltd is named after the Coelacanth (an ancient, once thought long extinct, but rediscoved fish - as seen in the pic on my sidebar). I set it up with the intention of having a four day weekend every week to pursue life and all it's got to offer. My blog will focus alot on Latimeria and how it shapes me.

The flat. I live in Horsham in West Sussex in the UK. I love my flat but it's too small - although I do argue wth myself that I may just have too much stuff. I've got plans to pay down the mortgage in a couple of years in order to give me more choice in my living arrangements.

Fishing. A constant with me ever since I can remember. My need to get down the gym gives a clue as to why my trips have become less frequent in recent years. I've made an effort to go more this year and have enjoyed it very much. Fishing isn't a way of life for me, it's a release from anything other than the water. As such, too much is as bad as too little.

Books. Books to me are things of beauty. Good books fire the synapses and should be enablers - you should learn from books - either knowledge or more about what makes you happy (even a trashy novel can bring you happiness). I principally read about my country (military history), my work (business) and my hobby (fishing). These are the areas that bring me joy and I extend my passion for them through the written word.

Cars. I'm far from being a wrench monkey, but I appreciate the unfathomable engineering that goes into a lot of them. I've just bought my first V12. Munich has a lot to answer for...


That will do for an opening salvo. Reloaded thoughts will appear on all these topics from here on in.