the smaller picture

Vanessa

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:14:01 GMT

2006 I think

Beach Huts

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:31:29 GMT

Mablethorpe, July 2009

Said it All

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:28:02 GMT

A creative image

Steam Train

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:05:05 GMT

Taken at the Nene Valley Railway, October 2009:

How about a photo blog?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:49:35 GMT

Time for a rethink again.

I've decided to open up this blog and make it public again... as a photo blog.

To start the ball rolling, a couple of may faves I took in Amsterdam at the weekend:

All change please, all change

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:18:56 GMT

Recently I have had the pleasure with meeting some new people who it has transpired read my blog! Turns out that many of those who don't know me personally are interested in the angle of spending a lot of time in my Airstream.

Of course, these viewers aren't really interested in the day-to-day boring personal stuff, so I've created an exciting, shiny new blog to follow my Airstreaming Adventures.

So, if it's Airstreaming, caravanning, or touring you are after, then please look here:

http://airstream-andrew.blogspot.com/

From hereon in all public entries on this blog will cease, at least for the time being.

I look forward to seeing you over on blogger!

Rat update

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:48:24 GMT

Following the sudden passing of Fred, it was urgent to get Barney a mate asap. It kind of scuppered my plans that weekend, but hey.

It just so happened that one of Barney's brothers at the rescue centre was getting bullied beyond belief by his other brothers. In fact, they had taken such a lump out of him that he had had to be removed for his own good from the cage, leaving the poor mite all alone, just like my Barney.

But this rat was a bit special...

The reason this guy was getting picked on is because he is blind and a bit helpless. Not only that, but with his eyes being so damaged he's not the prettiest rat either. Nobody else is going to adopt him.

We put him together with Barney and they both loved each other instantly.

So... meet William!

He's such a cutie. What is amazing is that they SHARE their food. I have NEVER seen rats do that before:

Normally the Alpha eats first and pushes the others out of the way.

Barney is doing very well, even getting rather cheeky and poking his tongue out at the camera ;-)

But sadly I have already found a lump on Barney, so we're off to the vets tomorrow. His lungs are so scarred from the earlier mistreatment and they are of such poor consitution that I don't think an op will be viable. I shall just try and make their short lives as happy as possible.

Grotty Snotty

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 09:09:23 GMT

Panic over, I'm sure it's just a cold. A rotten one, but just a cold.

Oink

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:12:37 GMT

For a couple of days I've had a sore throat. It's not going away. I ache all over and can hardly stay awake for more than a couple of hours at a time.

I really DO NOT have the time for this.

£50 on comfort food in Tescoids later, I think I have enough fruit and smoothies in my fridge to give me vitamin C poisoning if I'm not careful!

Oops!

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:08:27 GMT

You know how after Daisy died I said 'NO MORE RATS!'?

Well, um... you see, it was like this...

There was this massive rat-shaped hole in my life, and I found out about these abused rats who needed a home...

My rat rescue centre had just taken in 39 rats that had been kept in appalling conditions... kept on woodchip that was so old and soaked in urine that it was turning black... overcrowded... and never fed so the poor ratties were eating the woodchip and taking chunks out of each other. They all have mites, some have eye infections, intestinal parasites... in other words they're completely moth-eaten and in a very poor state.

Not only are these ratties not very pretty (given lumps of skin and fur missing) but they are also all on medication of course, so can only go to experienced owners.

Well really, how could I not help out?

So meet Fred and Barney!

First of all Fred:

'Good afternoon! May I help you?'

Look at the state of him, poor thing:

Feeding him up:

And meet Barney:

'Ello Dad!'

See the injuries to his eyes and back...

Poor scrawny little thing:

So yes, I've been very stupid. But I'm also feeling very happy about it!

Hurrah!

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:26:01 GMT

The wind Gods delivered the goods and I had an OK 12m session at Normans Bay. Well, it was quite good. But I had to stop as I had a bad launch and a line got out of place, and I needed to come back to get my bootees on because of the pebbles. Which then had me feeling like I was trying to kitesurf in lead stilettos.

The sea was a bit of a mess and a strong current going towards Hastings. I suddenly realised... I love Normans Bay because the campsite is right on the beach. But I don't think I've ever had a really good session here. Plenty of mediochre ones and a few kitemares, but nothing leaving me 'stoked'. Not a criticism, just an observation. And you know what they day about bad days on the water being better than good days at the office...

NORMANS BAY! :-)

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:56:45 GMT

After a week in London Hell, I was due to head North and stay inland. But after such a weekend, and with good SW winds forecast, there was nothing else for it but to hitch up the Airstream and head to Norman's Bay.

And.......... ****relax!******

Deep breath and..... ****aaaahhhhhh!******

It is wonderful. It's busy, but the sound of playing kids and campers having fun is a pleasure to hear. The sky is big, the air is clean, the grass is green, and life is good.

I'm very happy.

Lost in a timewarp?

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:51:28 GMT

Just to explain to those without an LJ account that any entries that give away where I am (and my Airstream) are 'locked' (viewable by LJ friends only) until I have moved on, then they are unlocked and viewable by all. It's a security thing. That's why some 'new' entries may be a week or more old...

Relieved

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:35:33 GMT

Yesterday a friend came over on his bike, and after a lovely day he asked if I'd do some snaps of him with his camera. It's a Canon Eos 400... the main competitor to the Nikon D80 that I bought.

I tried it and hated it. OK, I know I'm used to Nikon now, but I really didn't like it. Mind you, D was happy with his snaps.

But I have never been satisfied with my 11-18mm Tamron wide angled lens. And I'm always considering upgrading my camera to full-frame. To upgrade to a full-frame Nikon D700 at 12mp would be only a couple of hundred pounds less than going to a 24mp Canon Eos 5dMkII, then of course by the time you add lenses and second batteries you're looking at in excess of £4000...!!!

But today a semi-professional snapper that I interviewed for the mag kindly loaned me his wide angled lens (Tokina) to compare. He LOVED his Tokina, and being a landscape snapper that would be his No.1 lens.

I set up some comparison shots with the two lenses. The result?

My lens is the better one. At least for what I

HURRAH!

In other words, no upgrade necessary in the foreseeable future. Hurrah and hurrah again! I'm very relieved.

I did it

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:04:42 GMT

I'm on Facebook. Like Supermatt41 says, it's not going anywhere. Could even be useful as a business tool in some respects.

As it happens, 90% of my FB friends are from work, so Journaling will continue with LJ as I like the filters and stuff. And LJ is more meaty, FB is fun and frothy.

Despite the fact I have had a caravan test to write up for 2 weeks now and I was ready for bed at 10pm last night, I stayed up on Facebook till 1am and now I'm knackered.

Job done then!

Facebook?

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:01:20 GMT

Yes or no?

I already waste too much time on 't interweb.

Kitesurfing Greatstone

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:45:52 GMT

Do you like the new avatar? Northiam Gary came over today and we played cameras. I liked this pic of me so much there was no need to artify it.

We went to Greatstone and he took some lovely pix...

On the beach...

Cruising... but look of the colour of the water compared to the turquoise of the Hebrides! At least it was warm. It just looks yukky as all the sand underneath gets churned up. And I got pretty mashed in the shore break trying to get out as it was high tide.

And Gary even managed to capture a couple of jumps on camera - yay! :-)

Really pleased as I did my highest one yet. And landed it! Hurrah.

Tesco Extra Supermarket, Peterborough, Friday...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:06:39 GMT

...and already I think I'm ready to kill someone...

She's gone :-(

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:34:21 GMT

This morning I found Daisy McPaisley dead in her cage with her head in the water bowl. At first I thought she had drowned by accident, but as Steve pointed out she had more than enough power in her front legs to get herself out of difficulty.

Cleaning out the cage I discovered a lot of blood from her wound. Either she passed away as she went to drink, or she decided to call it a day herself.

I buried her this afternoon on Cockle Beach on the island of Barra. Her grave is marked with her name in shells and a daisy.

Vodafone has NO coverage at all, but thankfully o2 does. So I can post this with my iPhone but pix will have to wait.

I didn't expect Daisy to be coming on this trip with me but she's been wonderful company.

No more rats. At least not for the time being.

She's still with us...

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:51:18 GMT

After all that. By the time I got Daisy McPaisley to the get she was quite chipper. We discussed the options, and it turns out that on Barra there is no vet. I said we should go ahead anyway to which the vet replied 'Are you really sure?'. Of course, then I blubbed and he told me to go away and consider it. So Daisy is back in the Airstream and currently tucking in to a piece of pasta. My nerves are in tatters and she's doing great.

Attention-seeking cowbag! ;-)

My vegetable and chickpea madras...

Sat, 23 May 2009 09:04:49 GMT

Especially for Notsogreynomad, my really easy curry receep:

1 med-lge chopped onion
Small head of broccoli, chopped
400g tin chopped tomatoes
240g tin chickpeas
250g washed red split lentils
Half a jar (150g) Pataks madras curry paste

Soften onion and broccoli in a pan for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients plus the empty tomato tin-full of water. Cook for 40 mins to an hour. That's it!

Overheard in Ayr High Street

Fri, 22 May 2009 14:33:54 GMT

'...so I looked up the Egyptian hyrogliphic for F for Fiona, and it's a slug...'

Rest in Peace Wilfie

Sun, 10 May 2009 20:37:04 GMT

Poor Wilf. He made it through the night but this morning he was quite distressed and gasping for breath. Rats cannot vomit, but he looked as if he was reaching, so desperate was he to try and breathe. There was only one thing I could do, and that was find an emergency vet...

So at 11am Wilfie took his last car ride wrapped in a blanket just draped over my knee. We had one last snuggle and he was put to sleep. Of course, I was in a bit of a state.

And then this afternoon I drove across the country to Norfolk.

Wilf's full obituary is here:
http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/community/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=119341

one handed entry

Sat, 09 May 2009 21:33:26 GMT

i'm having to type one-handed as the other is occupied with a very sick rattie.

wilf is having a very bad time... his breathing is laboured and he can hardly move. he likes being vertical as it helps with his breathing, so has spent all evening on my chest with his head on my shoulder.

last night was the only night i had to leave them in 7 weeks as i was overnighting at steve's before a day at work. it was a very tough call and i was worried sick. i hardly slept of course which is stupid, but no matter how much we reason we still worry. i really didn't expect wilfie to still be with us when i got back, but he hung on in there.

i left work at 1400 and got back to my rural site in the middle of nowhere on the staffordshire shropshire border by 1545... that was pretty amazing. train to stafford was non-stop and took 75mins.

off to norfolk tomorrow... if wilfie makes it through the night and through tomorrow i think we may have to see the vet on monday. very sad. here we go again. then that leaves daisy, also in very poor health, all alone. but i don't think that will be for long either.

then no more ratties for a while. at least as long as i can manage without ratties.

Go, Susan, go!

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:22:15 GMT

Hardly an original subject for a blog this week, but I'm adding my twopennorth.

Last week on a British TV Talent show, a 47-year-old unemployed woman from a tiny Scottish village came out on stage and announced that she'd like to be like Elaine Page. Her middle-aged curves and natural appearance had the audience sniggering.

Then she started singing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk&feature=related

Once she had finished, nobody was sniggering any more. This woman has overnight become one of the hottest properties in the Western World.

It's such a lovely story and I keep watching the YouTube clip to hear her sing. If anyone's debut album is guaranteed platinum in its first week, it's hers. Go Susan go!