Welsh Rugby Scarf Travel Log in Pictures

[starbkjrus]

On Monday morning I had to return to work. Le Scarf decided it would like to see the inner workings or Corporate America and decided to go to work with me.

The scarf decided it would like to drive ...



However, seeing as how I've driven in the UK and know just how hard it is to drive on the 'wrong' side of the road in the 'wrong' side of the car and that it was morning rush hour I decided I should do the driving.

Shortly after leaving home we arrived at my office:



Le Scarf watched for a while from the cabinet with all my work fridge magnets:



but decided after a while that Corporate America seems to be a lot of typing on a keyboard and talking on the phone and got bored.

So it decided to explore:

A bit of time on the railing and watching the fountain in front of the building:

[starbkjrus]

At that point Le Scarf went to wander around my office campus and decided it was time to bask by the lake:



After it got a bit too hot (93 F with 85% humidity) it was time to come back inside:

Here is a view from my office over to the Reston Town Center (much more impressive in the fall with leaves off the trees...)



And then hiding in a conference room on the other side of the building...



After relaxing there the scarf came back to meet me for the trip home. It found a section of my cubicle that is rather dedicated to XMarks:

A little hard to see but in this pic the scarf is framing a leather representation of The Saltire from Tom (A_Hay) that was presented to everyone that attended the Ferintosh 2009 Burns Supper weekend and the newspaper article from the Dumfries local paper about the Ferintosh Burns Supper 2007

I have to say that I proudly attended both as well as two others. Lovely. :-)

[starbkjrus]

Once we arrived home this evening I was spent but Le Scarf wanted to contribute to the festivities. I was not surprised since its Welsh that there would be music involved. We had a rousing session this evening...



I should have had the neighbors in ........

Afterwards we relaxed on the deck overlooking the park (where said bike / walking paths exist) [see above]) and did a bit of a BBQ.



After that we all just crashed.....


tomorrow brings a training class for me south of the city which means I (we) will have to catch a bus and two trains to be there by 8:00 AM. It'll be an early day.........

[seanachie]

I like that you took the scarf to a thirst parlor, my time with the kilt we missed out. The Lakeside Inn looks fine. Nothing so nice after a days journey than to find a lovely pub to knock the dust out of your throat.

[LitTrog]

If the illustrious scarf could make its way to me here in Illinois by 18 August I could take it to visit Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in New Mexico when I head out there that wekend. Philmont is the largest youth camp in the world, the BSA owns approximately 214 square miles in the Sangre de Christo Range in northeastern New Mexico, and runs program for approximately 23,000 scouters each summer.

Just a reminder of Standard's request...hope things work out so it gets there. Great job on the the pics, everyone!

[Derek]

Fantastic set of pics Dee. You and the scarf have been working very hard. Thanks for all your effort.
Iechyd Da
Derek

[English Bloke]

...


...
Alas the local pub has no welsh beer or whiskey so I bought the scarf a few er......Budweisers.

You missed a trick there Dee, for I spy with my little eye, a can of Boddingtons (between the Red Bull and the Guinness). And although formerly the "Cream of Manchester", in 2005, production was moved to Magor in South Wales. So technically it's now a Welsh beer.

Sorry, I'll get my coat...


Crackin' bit of Boddies advertising from 1993.

[Derek]

Well spotted John. Also Dee, I am in that pic at the back of your desk when we met in Ferintosh the very first one I believe. I remember the weekend well. We all had a blast.
Iechyd Da
Derek

[McClef]

I didn't know that Boddies had been moved to Magor!

Great pictures Dee!

[English Bloke]

Not to hijack the thread but to answer your question Tref.

(Please skip this post if you have no interest in either the loss of a proper beer or the wanton destruction of iconic Mancunian buildings.)

Boddies was sold by the Boddington family to the Whitbread Beer Company in 1989 and so marked the start of the demise of a once great Manchester beer. Whitbread's brewing division were in turn 'acquired' by the brewing giants Interbrew (now Inbev) in 2000. Their primary concern is volume of sales and the Brewery in Strangeways Manchester (next to the famous Prison) didn't have the facility to handle bottling and canning, so it was itself canned in 2005. The site was cleared in 2007 and all that remained was the unique chimney. The landmark may have remained standing for a while but the fires had long since gone out for the "Cream of Manchester".



Bit of history for you. The site on an 1844 OS Map.



The brewery in 2005. Notice the large "To Let" sign on the wall outside.



The famous landmark chimney in 2005. The brewery building reopened briefly as a nightspot in 2006 but it was a short-lived venture.



The site was eventually cleared in 2007 and was used as an open-air car park.
Above pictures © Keith Williamson and reproduced under creative commons licence



Another view of the old brewery site and chimney with the Manchester Evening News Arena behind it.


In 2010, the task of bringing down the chimney safely was assigned to a company called Rafferty Steeplejacks, The above photo is borrowed from their website which also gives an account (and more pictures) of the demolition process here. (If you like that sort of thing). They took it down brick by brick, depositing the rubble down the stack, till there it was... gone!


A 200 room Travelodge Hotel now occupies the site. Not sure if it's open yet but work is definitely under way...



The "Boddingtons" Travelodge (err... It's not actually called that...) is right next door to the MEN Arena as I said and also Victoria Station so on the up-side it's handy for City Centre overnighter visits for gigs and exhibitions. On the down side? End of an era!!.


The Boddingtons that everyone drinks now is made at the Inbev site in Magor, near Newport, South Wales. The site is enormous so understandable how they are able to make so much of it, but to be honest... It's just not the same. Like cubic zirconia isn't diamond... like hamburger isn't fillet steak... like footy kilts are not 16oz wool. I could go on [sob!... sobsob!] but I won't.


Apologies for the interruption but hope that answers your question Tref. I now return you to your regular scheduled viewing. Thank you and goodnight.