Saturday, August 22, 2009

4.30 Technology!

Why is it that whenever I can't sleep I feel the urge to try new things - usually things that require my full brain capacity and let's face it ... 4am is not the time for THAT!!

I have been feeling that my blog needs an update. Those who know me well, know that I want to be more computer savvy, but am not logical enough for all that! I wrote a year of weekly newsletters, getting more confident with each new trick I learnt eg text boxes! Who knew!!??
With my blog - the most I have done is manage to moderate comments! So - I was very proud to have added the weather box, a counter to see how few people actually pop onto the blog and read 'me' and a link to another website. But I wanted more ....
I was regretting not having taken advantage of my cool ultra techie Danie, while she was living down the road, and thinking about how I could possibly persuade my equally cool ultra techie Jill, with her 3 month old baby, to take time out of her non-stop day to teach me some stuff ... when it struck me - change your template!
So I did!
And I lost all the stuff I had already added, but found easy ways to add other bits.
Now I have to find a way to add in the stuff that has vanished, and then go to bed a happy woman!!
Sweet Dreams - and let me know what you think of the all new, hopefully improved me!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Game, Set and Match, Mr Amritraj!

What a charming man! Six foot four, towering over most, no ALL, of the women at the IWA meeting arranged a few days ago for Vijay Amritraj, ex-tennis champ, to talk openly about anything that he fancied!

He started off with saying that it was any man's dream come true to be the only man in a room with so many many women! after the snickering died away, he went on to say how difficult the 'open' chatting would be as most of the older ladies in the audience knew his parents before he and his brother were born, many of the rest have known him since childhood! His Aunt was also in the audience and he sounded pleasantly surprised that she took time to come and listen.

I have to say - I was not expecting such a lucid, sometimes funny, humble man to talk so genuinely about his struggles, about the way Indian fans treated him when he lost a really important match (and made him cry!), about travelling abroad for the first time and encountering racial prejudice, about his charitable foundation and work, and finally about his mother and his family.

He answered questions patiently and then I asked him for an autograph for Nikh - he signed with a flourish and some polite questions about him. As I turned to go, I saw him bend almost in half to hug an old, old lady who had approached him. As he hugged her tight, I heard him say in the most humble and respectful manner, "wow, Auntie, you still look fantastic!" He made her day.
He made me think what an incredibly nice guy!

Game, set and match to him!!