Logged off: Carl Ackers, Built Environment Consulting
How does Carl Ackers from Built Environment Consulting relax at the weekend? We found out…
How do you relax at the weekend?
My son and I are season ticket holders at Derby County, so we spend our penance in various states of emotion at Pride Park during the football season. We also attend several away games, as we cannot get enough of the emotional turmoil at Pride Park.
I am also a keen golfer, being a member of Scraptoft Golf Club on the outskirts of Leicester, where I play most Saturday and Sundays.
My wife and I are also keen walkers, so we try and escape to Derbyshire or the Lakes as often as we can.
How many hours do you work at the weekend on average?
It really depends on what is outstanding from the week. I am a ‘finisher’ by nature, so cannot leave tasks incomplete over a weekend if a few hours invested would complete them.
I try hard for work not to interfere with family time during the weekend, so if I need to get up early to complete a task and to ensure the day is not wasted, then I will.
It is all about balance and being aware of the needs of others at all times.
What’s your favourite:
– holiday destination? Too many to mention really, we do travel quite a lot, making use of Avios (Airmiles), and loyalty hotel programmes where we can.
We spent many years in France camping when the kids were young, for as a young couple it was the most we could afford, so I suppose if I was put on the spot I would say France, if only for the wonderful memories.
– book? I do read quite a lot, so while I could not possibly name a single book, if pressed, perhaps Bernard Cornwell, and his style of mixing historical fiction and fact, which is probably my favourite genre.
– album? My wife and I are very much into music, with our taste being on the heavier side. As teenagers and 20 something’s in the 80s and 90s, we attended countless gigs around the country and quite often were found at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester to see ‘whoever was on at the time’.
We have seen some amazing bands from AC/DC during the Bon Scott days, to some terrible bands, with 20 fellow punters, where the bar was more of a draw after a couple of songs.
If I had to pick an album for ‘impact’ and which still resonates to this day, it would be Pearl Jam’s first album ‘Ten’.
Earlier than that, Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish Was Here’ was also an album which is still able to make me stop what I am doing and listen to it.
– food? You will gather from the answers before that I am not a single entity sort of person, so again, with food, I like all types, and the occasion or moment in time will make one type my favourite at any given time.
If we are going out for a ‘posh’ meal however, I suppose we default to a nice Italian.
– TV programme? Given a choice, programmes such as Game of Thrones or perhaps the early Homeland series would be my default choice.
– website or app? I use websites and apps on a need basis, no real loyalty, other than perhaps Hotels.com and Avios.
How do you usually spend Sunday evenings?
Sunday evenings are generally our ‘do nothing’ time as we often just watch some TV or a film as a family.
Most evenings in the week are busy one way or another, and we are out quite often on Friday and Saturday evenings, so Sundays are really pretty traditional and tend to include a good Sunday dinner.
