More recording studio / Internet radio station progress today over lunch meeting with sound engineer who is designing physical layout of room and also specking out equipment required. Plans shaping up nicely, am very excited. I also had a local musician friend come to the studio later on to help me set up the Roland TD-20 V-Drum set in the best ergonomic arrangement – he’s a very accomplished drummer who been playing for years and as well as putting me straight on how to configure the kit, I also got the hear him play an astonishing variety of different rhythms as I cycled through all the drum sounds the machine could make and he kept making up a new rhythm to match each one – was amazing to watch and hear and I had the very lovely thought that the drum set was definitely “money well spent!”

I first wrote this post in a Vodafone store in Tottenham Court Road, whilst they were kindly re-charging my phone… but by the wonders of an intermittent 3g connection, the data got lost before it could be published. Anyhow… to get more to the point; I titled this post Friendship as I was inspired to write it on Saturday evening after spending a great day with many lovely friends. A little saying I like is “Friends are the family we choose for ourselves”, and for me this really rings true and I’m glad to say that at this point in my life I feel very rich in friendship and it’s a very lovely feeling to experience. So to all my friends, of which you’ll know who you are, I would just like to say; Thank you very much for being in my life and making it all the more wonderful. (not that I’m at all soppy or sentimental at times )

Many thanks to Tony from www.aston-hire.co.ukwho kindly flew down from Grimsby today to pick me up for a meeting I had arranged with him and the rest of the Aston Hire team. I was very impressed with the set-up they have their and how well all the staff are treated. Tony has great plans for where he would like to take this and other super-car hire related companies in 2008 and there is a strong possibility that I may be involved too. Naturally I’ll keep my blog readers updated with any developments.

I had my first aerobatic training lesson today and did loop after loop after loop, together with lots of practice of how to get out of tight spins. Was an absolutely amazing experience, loved nearly every second of it (spins were a little scary at times). It was a gorgeous day in Hampshire and I was flying at 5,500 feet – well above a beautiful layer of white fluffy clouds bathed in beautiful sunshine – having an absolute ball experiencing negative and positive g’s. Money can’t buy you happiness if the most important parts of your life are not right, but my flying lesson today was money extremely well spent…. I was high for about an hour after I landed!

Had a sound engineer come to my offices on Thursday evening and we had a great time chatting about all sorts of technical sound recording equipment and what would be possible for the room I have leased. He has gone away with scale drawings of the room and a starter list of possible equipment to put his creative talents and scientific sound engineer knowledge to work and design a few possible setup for the room. We’ll be meeting again on the 13th November to discuss the options he has come up with, so it’s far to say that my recording studio dream is well under way

Just took my Grandad to a hearing specialist in Salisbury (www.http://www.hiddenhearing.co.uk/). He has had hearing difficulties for many years and changed over from analogue to digital hearing aids via the NHS 3 years ago but has never really got on with them. Anyhow… recently his hearing has deteriorated quite a lot and though he’s too polite to say or talk about the difficulties he experiences. So in my current spirit of ‘get on and get stuff done mode’, I booked him an appointment with a consultant at Hidden Hearing. I did try the private route a couple of years ago and got someone to come out the to house, my grandad wasn’t very impressed, but I’m pleased to say that this outfit in Salisbury were very much better and able to simulate how different types of hearing aid may benefit my Grandad’s hearing before having to part with any money for them. They tested many different aspects of his hearing and the difference between what he can hear with his current hearing aid and what he will be able to hear with two new ones was quite fantastic. I’m currently very excited that it won’t be too long before his hearing is substantially improved and he finds a new ability to join in with and initiate conversations.

I am currently experiencing a drastic change in life style today (currently at family members house helping them clear out their loft) compared to Thursday and Friday that I spent in London at the www.a4uexpo.comevent in full business entrepreneur mode staying on a yacht (http://www.sunbornhotels.com/english/index.html), wining and dining, networking and drinking. Personally I like the contrast in my life and enjoy both aspects, I find the alternating pace and style of life helps me to appreciate what I enjoy about both aspects much more than if I was to only experience one type of life style in my life. If you’re reading this and you were at the event too, do you share this view or have another?

A big thank you to all of 112 of you who read my blog the other day. It’s only been going a couple of weeks and finding out that that many people had read it one day was a great boost. I hope you continue to find it of interest and look forward to reading any comments you may wish to leave in the coming weeks and months. Many thanks and best wishes, Steve

I just bumped into a lady who I haven’t seen for almost a year. Last year she seemed a little frosty and this time she openly said ‘I’d rather not speak to you!’ I titled this post one-sided negative opinions as her current opinion is just that, one-sided. She’s unlikely to become a close friend, but I’m quite happy talking to her and her husband. They both work in the same industry and we used to have a fairly convivial relationship, but a couple of years ago something changed, what that was I don’t know and what they think I did or said I don’t know – but for the record if they ever read this, I have never done or said anything that would reflect negatively upon them…. and so I find myself a little foxed by her and her husband’s reactions and wonder if they may at some-point consider entering into dialogue so as we can ascertain what it is they hold a grudge about that I had no part in. It’s difficult to be everyone’s friend, but it seems a shame to have ‘enemies’ without basis.

I was having a chat with someone today who knows that in many respects I believe that you make a lot of your own luck. What are your views… please comment. Perhaps you have a view on Lewis Hamilton, I wonder if he subconsciously sabotaged himself in the final Grand Prix race in Brazil. His mistake in trying to overtake Alonso which caused him to run off the track and lose several places could definitely be put down to nerves, but was his car’s apparent gearbox failure for just one lap self inflicted? Did he press a button in the cockpit that caused the malfunction and then in a state of desperation find himself unable to listen to pit crew instructions to solve the problem in time not to drop a further 11 places in the race. He certainly came back strongly in the race, but did he subconsciously fear winning the championship, deep down does he not feel he deserves the title… who knows (perhaps you have some thoughts on the matter and I’d be interested in your comments), we’ll have to wait until next season to find out more about his true colours and whether it was bad luck or his own making that he lost the chance of making history and becoming the first rookie F1 World Champion.