Simon Butcher

Articles

  • London

    The sun setting over the car park at work

    Aside from the big news, obviously A and I have spent the long weekend in London, an annual event quickly becoming a bit of a tradition.

    As with every trip to London, there's a little bit of tourism, a lot of shopping, a lot of slobbing about, and a lot of walking.

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  • La question à Dinner

    The ring (my kingdom for a macro lens!)

    A and I have been together for so many years now, the early years are starting to get all blurry. A while ago I had decided it was probably about time to formalise the arrangement with an engagement, as it would mean quite a lot to her. It's been on my mind for quite some time, but the day had to be special. It had to be a surprise. It also had to be relatively low-key, as we're both all about keeping it relaxed and simple.

    I've been seeking thoughts casually from friends as to whether or not it was really necessary — do a ring and a legal document really change anything? Or, as John puts it, “does the government really have to be involved?” Eventually I came to the conclusion that it would mean a lot to A, and the family on both sides, and ultimately it would mean quite a bit to me too. It’s a statement of commitment.

    So, I suppose you want the juicy details…

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  • London

    London from Greenwich

    Following a successful long weekend last year, we returned to London again for another long weekend of shopping, vegetating, and a little bit of sight-seeing.

    Here is a tiny selection of photos from what we got up to. I'm glad I took my DSLR.

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  • London

    London skyline

    It's coming up to six years of living in Belgium, the perfect launch-pad for travel around Western Europe due to the number of European institutions based here, and yet despite promising myself to travel while I'm here I haven't really done much.

    One of those glaringly obvious places to go is London, being just under an hour's flight away (and with the time-zone difference you land a few minutes before you take off), or just over two-hours on the Eurostar high-speed train. What excuse could I have for not going yet?

    This long weekend I've finally managed to go (following a lot of encouragement from A), so here are a few photos and stories of the visit.

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  • Benespection

    ⍨

    With my birthday coming up in a few days, I've been struggling to find some time for myself. I keep inventing projects for myself, but never actually have the time to dig into them and make any satisfying progress.

    One example is that I still haven't made any progress on my appalling level of French, and there's no hope in hell that I'll be running in the 20km of Brussels half-marathon this year.

    I suppose I need to keep in mind what Ferris Bueller once said, “Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

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