Contrast

Clear blue sky? That's a heat haze. Bet you never thought you would be reading that about good old England.

This is the view over the downs after a very nasty ascent. Deceptive how sudden the hill climbs are. Especially when your near 40 and your getting back into the exercise regime! Heart was hitting 180 beats per minute by the time i got to the top. 2,000 calories burnt though.

Now wheres the nearest McDonald's?

Half way point

22C clear blue skies. What a sales pitch and i bought into it. 2hrs on the MTB over the South Downs towards Winchester.

1/2 way point was cheesefoot head - a welcome stop!

Lost something?

it's probably under the bed !

A little hand

It's amazing where you find a little helping hand ! :)

Size apparently is everything!

After a little experimenting looks like blogspot does not like large-sized JPEG's when you upload them.

The original of this photo is 1.65M in size JPEG, but will not upload properly, but with a bit of adjustment with Photoshop down to an 8in by 12 in image the file size is reduced to 165k high-res JPEG.

Wierd!

Technology problems #2

Sorry no photo's. Tried to upload a photo Friday and experience problems, thought it was the session. Just tried again and same problem! Caps a bit of a crappy weekend as i discovered the reversible screen on my canon pro-compact is smashed, and i managed to flood one of the bathrooms on Saturday night......i think i have had my 3 problems in a row now.

Productivity Tools

Seem to be having problems with various "productivity tools" at the moment - Treo smart phone, broadband connection, etc. These things are great when they work, but a pain when they don't.

Wonder if workers in a bygone era had similar problems with their work tools?

Feeling Perky?!

In response to a concerned "member of the public" who emailed me lambasting me for not keeping the blog up-to-date - i dedicate this picture too him! ;-)

Trains are not that bad

For the last 2 weeks over easter Network Rail have been ripping up the old track and signals around Basingstoke. A major chock point for trains from Hampshire, Dorest,Wiltshire and Somerset on the way North to London. You know what? They finished on time, with normal services resumed. Great project management. You got to love a plan when it comes together. The commute into the office by train was great today. Long may it continue

Insight!

The Chinese believe that cats have the ability to detect evil spirits.

Back to work tomorrow after a glorious weekend of great weather (26C). I wonder what animal could tell me the winning lottery numbers next weekend?

Someone to look after us

Qualified for a trip to presidents club in Costa Rica :) The only problem is we can't find anyone to look after the kids for 7 nights! Offers on a postcard.....

Success

4 weeks ago i passed the Advanced Motorcycle test. I now make progress safely :)

3hr bike ride today across Salisbury Plain via Upavon, Pewsey and Marlborough. Fantastic weather, very little traffic, great roads. One very tired rider by the time i was finished.

Oi Cheeky!

Met this young lady at Queen Victoria's summer pad - Osbourne House, IOW. The cheek of it!

Ferry across the solent

Spent the day on the Isle of Wight today. 0930hrs ferry out and then we managed to get on the 1730hrs back. This shot taken as we leave Fishbourne, IOW for Portsmouth on a lovely spring day.

London Bound

Day trip to london. Park up in park lane, through hyde park, buckingham palace, the mall, changing the guard at horseguards parade, trafalgar square, open top bus ride around central london, green park, hyde park, the london underground for the 1st time for short people and an ice cream at speakers corner.

What do we remember most?

Lunch at the rainforest cafe!

Tomorrow we go by ferry to bandit country or is it banjo? Can never remember :)

Builders!

Holiday home still needs a bit of work to finish it off!

Fowey

The lovely town of Fowey. Only a few miles down the road from the St Austell Brewery. Proper job!

And through the round window.....

For those of you who remember a famous childrens programme, tonights story will be from the round window!

The only way is up!

We've been on holiday in Cornwall for 4 days. Fowey to be precise. Lovely small town built on a hillside.

Great family hotel on the top of the hill.

Great coffee shops at the bottom of the hill!

What goes down must eventually come up!