Another session of drinks and pool - accompanied by some food! The food usually helps the pool-playing - by in my instance, I didn't even win ONE game of pool all night - ho-hum!

My mother arranged a reunion event at your house for a number of her old nursing school friends. The weather held out (just!), and it was great seeing her old friends together!

During what became one of the only nice sunny Summer days of August 2008 - our team held a "fun-day" at Stamner Park, in Falmer - just outside of Brighton.

Full of laughs and plenty of fun and games - everyone definitely took the opportunity to swtich off and relax!

This year, I managed to get 3 whole weeks off from work (thanks AXP!) - and due to a special offer from BA (thanks BA!) - we had a great fare from LHR to Hong Kong...the only thing is that we had to take the flight before 8th December, hence the reason why I asked for 3 weeks off - all makes sense now hey?

Anyway, I went with my mother to see her family and old friends in Hong Kong. We also had a nice 7-day break in a fab resort in Phuket - called Katathani Beach and Spa Resort (nice!). We returned back to HK and had a day-trip in Macau (no gambling for us though!) and also tried to see some "new parts" of HK - more specifically around the New Territories and one of the outlying Islands - and then we did plenty of retail therapy and eating / drinking (very nice!). We ended the trip with a Wedding of some friends of ours in HK! Just a shame I couldn't have 4 weeks off - next time, possibly?

With the Credit Crunch and the like, we had to self-fund our Chrimbo party for 2008. We decided to hold it in the Open House Pub in Springfield, Brighton.

Fun night was had, and folks defo let their hair down. I ended the nite not slaughtered, but was totally shattered from a busy week - was a wee bit worse for ware...but alas that's the affect of having a Chrimbo party in November! Ha!!

Before I left Riga during my 8-week work assignment, I knew that it made sense to try to visit one of the nearby destinations. With a work colleague, we decided to go to Tallinn in Estonia.

I was extremely impressed by the City, and it was a intriguing place full of potential and Culture - I can see why it is fast becoming the City to be seen in...especially as it becomes the "Culture Capital of Europe in 2011". It certainly didn't disappoint (except the weather on the second day!!) :)

My second stint in Riga, now involved settling into my nice newly-furnished 3-bedroom Apartment, and seeing some other areas of Latvia. (Of course, with work in the middle - 'cos that's the reason I am here, right?) Oh what fun...

An evening meal (and drinks) beside the sea, at Pevensey Bay, East Sussex - on what was a nice, sunny and warm evening in August (for a change!)

Having reduced my well-overdue holiday to 6 days (due to work commitments), I decided to visit the recommended Greek Island of Tinos - another one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. This would be my number 8 Greek Island, and I managed to take a couple of days visiting Athens as well - wonderful and relaxing break! (Just too short!)

Having spent over 2 weeks now in Riga, Latvia, I decided to take advantage of my first weekend in the City, and visit the main hub of the Capital City - the 'Old Town'. These are a selection of the photographs I took - on what was an overcast but dry Saturday.

During a "flying-visit" business trip to Zurich, I managed to wonder around the City during the late-afternoon and early evening of the first day. It was quite overcast, and I didn't have a lot of time to spend around, but here's a few of the photos I took...

I haven't been to Zurich for what must be 10-12 years! An amazingly long time indeed!

More "Business" entertainment, but this time in luvly Kiev in the Ukraine. A week's worth of work - aka business meetings, and a few opportunities to have a bit of fun in-between! Ho-hum!!

The thumbnail picture on the left, was taken at the recently opened "Buddha Bar" in Kiev, and I was must admit it was the highlight of the trip! The bar-maid was certainly very cute indeed! Ha!

During a nice warm evening, a few friends visited Marks Cross Inn in Marks Cross to relax, drink a few bevvies - and enjoy the summer evening sunshine.

I was invited to the wedding of Andrea Woodroffe and Phillip Blunsum on 12th July. Andrea - a work colleague - celebrated her wedding in St Mary's Church in Pulborough, and the after-wedding celebrations at the family home in Cokehurst.

It was a great occasion, and the weather just-about held out - someone was definitely looking down at us all! It was also good seeing quite a few of the AXP-teams present at this session - fantastic indeed!!

My work colleagues decided to schedule what is normally a risk-free social gathering...a BBQ in July! Arghhh! With the harsh rains that we experienced during the week, we were extremely lucky that the heavens didn't open and spoil the event. Phew!

I haven't been for many, many years - so decided to take this opportunity to see a few family memebrs, as well as visit the City I got to love - Milano, Italy.

We stayed at the Hilton Milan (using my "free" Hilton Honours points - bargain!) for the duration of our long-weekend trip, between 5-7th July. We also managed to venture to the City Centre, and make the most of our trip to Milano. Fantastic!

We were visiting Georgia for some "business" meetings - but enough of that business malarkey - I will just say we managed to make the most of the trip and visit some of the fantastic areas of the fabulous Capital City! Enjoy!

We had an AXP Global Team Division conference with over 750 people meeting up in fantastic Las Vegas, for the 4 day conference.

I decided to take the opportunity of extending my stay and managed to partake in some exciting adventures around Las Vegas for 3 additional days. I also managed to book a Helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon - it was worth every penny indeed! Slowly progressing my quest in seeing the original 7 Natural Wonders of the World!! Ha!

As the year was progressing swiftly, I need to plan a Time-Out break, to get some rest, as well as enjoy the sun, sea and sand, from a nice resort. We decided for that resort being in Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt.

Decided to go with a family member, and relaxed in the Naama Bay area of the infamous location on the Red Sea Rivera!! And more importantly, I had 7 days of rest!

I visited Albania for another work during 15th - 17th April 2008. This was my third trip to Albania, and I managed to locate some nice bars and restaurants with a couple of work colleagues who had joined me during the trip. Quite fun, indeed.