Another few weeks have passed...

Well there I was saying that I was going to bring the story upto date but as each week passes I find myself getting further and further behind so I decided that I'd update in one post and then it will be easier to post, a week at a time. Quite frankly trying to blog some 9 months in roughly chronological order in individual posts was too daunting a job and, with the best intentions it wasn't going to happen.

I'm now working at a different organisation. Its a Laboratory about 20 minutes from where I live, not that I work in science myself, I still do the same type of work that I always have but the organisation does DNA, BSE, Scene or crime forensics, drug testing etc so it's quite interesting. I also have an office (rather than an open plan environment that seems to be fashionable these days) and I can work in jeans and t-shirt rather than a business shirt and tie. Best of all, I can be home before 5:30 which, when I've been used to getting home after 7:30 for more years than I care to mention is a major bonus. As it's a permanent contract, I don't earn anything like I did as a contractor so I'm going to miss the money but with a slightly tightened belt (and with my belly these days that isn't easy or particularly comfortable.... and my trousers already leave flesh marks on my skin when I take them off. I can sometimes count the change I've had in my pockets during the day!) I should be able to get by. If I find myself skint however and my lifestyle is compromised to any great degree the I'll just go back contracting.

Right, it's time to drop in a few pics and in doing so, I can remind myself what I've been upto since coming back from Auckland.

I worked on a Christmas lights switch-on in Sheffield in early December. The lights were being switched on by the group, McFly who then proceeded to play a blistering set.



Christmas was spent in the South of France. I'd finished my contract with a major television broadcaster immediately before Christmas and I gladly accepted my elder Brother's offer of a road trip from the UK to the South of France. My Dad asked if it was possible for us to drop into the War Graves near Flers in the Somme as his Grandfather (who had been killed some 20 years before my father was born) was buried there and nobody had ever had the opportunity to visit the grave. Mainly due to none of us knowing where he was buried or even if his body had ever been identified and buried in a marked grave. This Gentleman had fought in the trenches of Somme during the Great War and died on the 1st September 1918, a mere 2 months from the end of hostilities. The picture below is the graveyard where he lies. This is known as the AIF Graveyard and is maintained superbly by the War Graves Commission and remains a credit to the 3000 plus soldiers who lie there.



The weather was very foggy which gave the whole day a really eerie atmosphere. On the plus side it did give tremendous opportunity for some fabulous photo's, some of which are below as well as the photo at the top of this post. As the day wore on the fog lifted and gave way to the beautiful sunset in the photo below.



We spent a long time in the Somme and we were surprised by the number of war graveyards there were, many from overseas forces such as Canada, USA, New Zealand, South Africa & Australia.



All these graveyards were neatly tended and the graves were all perfectly aligned and identical in every way. All the headstones were a gleaming white & certainly didn't look like they were around 90 years old. The American graveyards featured little white crosses rather than the headstones favoured by the other Nations. It was quite a moving experience really and I'm glad that we had the opportunity to visit the Somme and to visit my Great Grandfather's grave, the first people ever to do so in nearly 90 years. This is kind of sad really but it has to be said if it hadn't been for some serious sleuthing by my Dad and the wonders of the Internet, Dad would never have eventually found the location of his Grandfathers resting place during 2006.



On a more happier note, we made it from the North West of the UK to the South of France in two days arriving on the 22nd December. On Christmas Eve we went to the Christmas Market in Monaco. The best bit for me was the Ice Karting on the frozen Swimming Pool. This was terrific fun as the karts were conventional apart from chunky tyres with metal spikes embedded in them for extra grip. Despite Mark's protests which continue to this day, the history books will show that I was first past the chequered flag ! The photo's of the race were rather poor and certainly not to my exacting standard (??) so instead here is a picture of the Casino in Monte Carlo taken that same night, all lit up for Christmas Eve.



Christmas Day Afternoon was spent sledging on the ski slopes. There was very little snow on the pistes but the snow making machines had been out and created a really smooth surface to sledge and ski down. The slopes were really quiet given that it was Christmas Day, so we had large amounts of the Piste to ourselves.



The evening was spent watching - with a vast number of others, the Christmas Parade in one of the harbour side villages (Can't remember which one) where the Mayor had also organised an outside ice rink. I was too tired to skate but it did look a lot of fun and makes me wonder why we don't have these events and facilities in the UK on Christmas Day (or any other day for that matter).


Boxing Day was spent having a BBQ in glorious sunshine whilst wearing our shorts and t-shirts ! Throughout the entire week, the weather was wonderful, clear skies and warm sun, In France, Boxing Day doesn't exist as a Bank Holiday so everybody is back to work as normal making it a conventional day with all businesses and facilities open.

The following day Mark and I woke early and took Mark's Kayak out onto the Lac de St Cassion for an impossibly early morning paddle. There was an eerie mist on the water as we paddled under heavy cloud cover. It was quite cool until the sun burnt through later in the morning but it was delightful to be out in the countryside at such an early hour of the day. I should do it more often really, it's just a shame I like my bed too much ! Still... it's the thought that counts I guess.



In March of 2007, I went with younger Brother Simon and his family to the Lake District for the day. Regular readers will know that the Lakes are one of my most favourite places in the World. The weather was pretty awful but a good day was had by all nonetheless. We went to Beatrix Potters museum as well as Keswick, Derwent water, Bowness, Windermere and Thirlmere, where we had our picnic. The picnic was memorable as whilst we were tucking into sandwiches and sausage rolls in a layby on a B, or possibly a C, road in the middle of the National Park, alongside the not often visited banks of Thirlmere lake, the BBC Newsreader Michael Buerk and his wife wandered past on a hiking holiday !! Despite the inclement weather, we all had a lovely day - especially the kids who particularly love picnics more than anything else, regardless of how soggy it is or which celebrity newsreader happens to be holidaying in the area. The photo below is a rather moody shot of Derwentwater showing how bleak the weather was that day.



In the late Spring I found a cheap flight on Ryanair to Riga in Latvia. The return flight was unbelievably just over £20, including all taxes and charges and the 5 Star SAS Radission Hotel was a mere £45 per night. I was really expecting the city to be very stereotypical, Soviet Union, having been under the Iron Fist for so many years. What I actually saw was a vibrant, beautiful European City. In many parts of the City, it felt like Northern France with cobbled streets, shuttered buildings and streetside cafes. Add to this the ubiquious European tram service and the "Disney style" coloured buildings of the Old Town and what you have is a delightful little city (you can walk it from end to end in 20 minutes)that is well worth a visit for which I would hope the photo's below illustrate.



The place didn't really get dark during my stay. The night time photo's were taken between 11pm and midnight and as you can see, there is still a serious amount of light in the sky providing a dramatic backdrop to my photo's.



There were several bridges across the river and as an ardent fan of bridges, I took several photo's of them. The weather during my weekend was gorgeous, around 25 degrees with barely a cloud in the sky. The people were very friendly and the cost of living for us at least, not the Latvian's, is very cheap. Apparently the average salary in Latvia is £304 per month ! Riga is known as a hen & stag night destination, due largely to the cheap cost of the flights, accommodation and of course that most basic requirement of a hen & stag night, alcohol. Having said that, I didn't see any unsavoury antics, trouble or drunkeness and it was a pleasure to spend my Saturday night in amongst the partygoers.


The locals were very friendly and all spoke English. They hate the Russians with a passion however, and have a very emotive museum dedicated to the ocupation. This was free to get in (maybe they all are) and was an agreeable, and needless to say, enlightening couple of hours. Latvia is a very small country and is surrounded by much larger countries. In addition, it has a large natural harbour with direct access to the Baltic Sea. This regrettably makes it easy & attractive for invasion and over the years their larger neighbours have almost walked, unchallenged into the country when it has suited their purpose.



I would thoroughly recommend a weekend break in Riga. Get yourself a cheap flight by booking ahead and look through the weekend rates for the businessman's hotels and I'm sure you'll find a bargain (my SAS Radisson was £45 per night). It was a totally different city to the one I was expecting and a very agreeable one. My only criticism is that the women shouldn't wear flat soled shoes with short skirts and flesh coloured tights... not a good look ladies but apparently very fashionable given all of the young women wearing this attire. Get yourself some heels or boots and for the love of god, lose the tights or at least get some coloured ones. I don't ordinarily give fashion advice, largely due to being a fashion disaster myself, but go with me on this one.



As regular visitors to my blogs will know I am a big fan of panoramic photo's and in Riga I took many ! I enclose below several of the better one's. The elevated photo's were taken from the top of St Peter's church, arguably the highest point in Riga. The shots in the park were taken from the large recreational area, adjacent to Freedom Square, the politically symbolic centre of Riga. This is also the location of the National Opera House and was a truly fabulous place to spend a couple of hours.













At some point during the year I attended a Spearhead concert with Shorty. Michael Franti and the boys were superb as always and a great night was had. I've also seen Xavier Rudd (tremendously talented Aussie whose a one man band playing guitar, harmonica, drums, digerydoo and I can't remember what else but he was very impressive). I've also seen Beth Ditto and her band The Gossip. Thanks to Shorty for arranging all of those.



As usual with Spearhead we fought to get to the front of the audience and managed to be directly infront of Michael as he stood only 2 feet or so away from us. If you've never seen Spearhead or heard any of their music then I urge you to do so.



I bought a wood burning chimenea during the year which I love to pieces. It's beautiful to sit and watch the flames. In fact, I've two chimenea's as I bought a very small one to take camping. I now look for campsites that allow camp fires (most don't) and I take my small chimenea along with me. It's also nice to be able to boil a kettle on it and also cook some sausages, bacon and eggs. Definately one of this years best purchases.



I also bought a new car this year. My old trusty 206 was a tremedous car but it was beginning to cost me money, around £1,000 to get it through it's MOT with the prospect of a new (expensive) cambelt and an equally expensive service to come. I therefore decided that I'd rather spend money on a new car than on an old one. I subsequently had a look around the market and eventually decided that once again Peugeot offered me the best car. In this instance a brand spanking new 207 Sport.



I elected to go for a Ferrari Red (to match my eyes) coloured car and I duly placed my order. I was able to get a really good trade in for my 206, probably £1,500 more than it was worth but I'm guessing that the dealership needed sales as the new 57 plate was due within a couple of months and most likely people were waiting for that new plate. I didn't much care about the 57 plate so made the most of their geneous offer and bought the car there and then. Needless to say, I love it.



In July I went to the South of France for a week. My trip was curtailed due to problems sorting out work contracts. I was a day late leaving from Liverpool as I had to attend an interview in Bristol and then I had to leave France early in order to train my successor, pending starting work in Bristol. As it was, the Bristol job was cancelled a few days afterwards - which was a shame for two reasons, it would have been a very good job and secondly I could have stayed longer in France. Anyway, I had a great time in France, the weather as always was tremendous. I took my inflatable kayak over there and one day Mark and I went out onto the Lake for around 5 hours. I don't understand the science of it but the longer we were out on the water, the less inflated my kayak became. It hadn't sprung a leak but it was certainly going down (its something to do with temperature, pressure and air density I believe) and this was making it harder to paddle, and a little unstable. This was slightly worrying as I knew that there was almost certainly going to be an inevitable sinking occurring at some point later in the day. It was just whether we'd get back to the car before I did.



Mark on the other hand was positively steaming along in his hard shell kayak, despite him getting a blister on one of his hands and having to use one of my gloves for protection.... thereby earning himself the nickname of "The Claw". A terrific day.



In August I had a week to kill between finishing one contract and starting a permament job. I decided to go camping for one night in Snowdonia. I picked a site that allowed campfires and therefore took my mini chimenea. The weather, unusually was as stunning as the scenery. Usually when I've been to Snowdonia the weather has been awful and the peak of Snowdon has been shrouded in cloud. Not on this occasion as you'll see in the photo's below.



The campsite was excellent and all around the gentle plumes of smoke from a myriad of campfires, rose into a starry night sky, my chimenea amongst them, providing light, warmth and cooking possibilities. This is how camping should be !

I took my hard shell kayak with me (as opposed to the inflatable) and took it out for a paddle on the lake, Llyn Gwynant, adjoining the site. You can see the lake in both of the photos below and if you view the enlarged pictures, you can make out the campsite at the head of the lake. Llyn Gwynant was beautiful and the wildlife was all around. Unfortunately I didn't see any otters or kingfishers but it was a terrfic way to spend a morning. Later in the day I went to the foot of Snowdon and looked down the valley. You can see Snowdon in the 2nd photo below. I could live there quite easily.





I travelled around the National Park calling into Trawsfynydd, Betswy Coed, Bala & Blaneau Ffestiniogg (what a scruffy place that is ! Enormous heaps of slate all over the town and hundreds of feet high as well. Either the slate miners were very fussy or not very good at it given all the slate that had been discarded). I also dropped in to Swallow Falls on the outskirts of Betswy Coed. I was quite suprised to be charged £1 to view the falls though. Maybe my time in NZ had made me expect that these natural views would be free for all but no ! The falls were very impressive all the same, despite the cost and luckily for me were in what looked to my untrained eye, to be in full flood.



Further down the river the waters were much calmer and as I had my kayak on the roofrack I decided that I'd have another paddle. Once again this was a beautiful way to spend a couple of hours, no noise apart from the babbling waters, the birds, the rustle of the leaves and just occasionally, the odd motor boat.



I had a very engaging weekend in West Sussex at Simon's new house. The house was great and the area is beautiful. They'll be very happy there once they settle in. I'll take some photos when I'm there the next time and post them here.

Finally, I think I'm turning into Bill Oddie ! I find myself sitting in my kitchen watching the birds on my bird feeder (In other words watching the birds peck at my nuts !!) ha ha. I don't know where it came from and Lord knows where it will end but I suddenly got this strange urge to buy some bird feeders and a pole to hang them on and each day I sit and watch the birds in the garden.

I've even started getting up early to feed them before I go to work !! As I say, I can only assume that I'm turning into Bill Oddie !! Please tell me if I start to grow a beard and whistle "The Funky Gibbon" at every opportunity ! Arrgghhhhhh. It's a mid life crisis I'm sure. On the other hand the birds are only little and it's going to get very cold out there in the next few months so I'm doing my bit for nature. I think that since going to NZ I've really rediscovered Nature (I'm convinced my new found interest in birds, kayaking, camping following my trip to New Zealand are all related). The more I think about it, buying a kayak so that I can paddle through the countryside, going camping, feeding the birds ... dear me, it's not very rock and roll is it ??



Just to prove the point, I've bought myself a pair of Fischers lovebirds. Their names are Yogi and BooBoo.... although their middle names are Colin and Betty !! Yogi is Pastel Blue and white and BooBoo is a truly stunning Orange, Red, Yellow & pale Green with a hint of blue on his rump. They're very comical little birds, if rather loud and I have to sometimes give them one of my best Paddington stares to get them to keep the noise down. They don't yet appreciate the concept of neighbours. They're like a couple of naughty schoolboys though, always up to mischief. As I'm writing this they're both taking a bath but the bath isn't big enough for both of them so a squabble has ensued and the water's going everywhere. Tsk Tsk birds hey ?

So all of that kind of brings me upto date. From here I can now write regular posts. I've missed out lots of other events but time and space means that I can't include them all. I've other events planned for the future including a trip to Paris, a trip to West Sussex,a trip to Southern France and a trip to Berlin. I'm going to see Billy Connolly and I've another paranormal investigation at the Galleries to do later in the year. I'll also have lots to tell in the future I'm sure. Thanks for reading and for getting this far !

PS Lovebird update: Bathtime has now ended, largely due to a lack of bathwater (which is now all over my laminate floor) and they're currently sitting in their food bowls intently watching telly ! It's true, I've just taken the above picture showing them glued to the football. In fact Lovebirds are supposed to have the intellignce of a 3 year old child. Time will tell if this is correct or just nonsense but I'm not doubting it yet.

Late Update: The birds have taken themselves off to bed which is a fleece tent - called a snuggle hut - that hangs from the cage roof and the birds cuddle up in that for the night... Just took this picture. Bless.