Wye Valley - why not?

Last weekend we went to Welsh Bicknor in the Wye Valley, which is actually in England but we had to pass through Wales to get there - work that out! We stayed in an old rectory that had been converted into a hostel, right on the edge of the river (apparently it was the salmon run season, but I saw none).

We met up with a friend Anna (who Sarah travelled with in Australia) for a weekend of rambling (English for walking in the countryside) and tasting the local ales and ciders.

On the Saturday we walked many miles to the next village to find a pub showing the Oz vs England rugby match. We found one full of Poms, and five minutes before the game started a dozen Kiwis turned up. I kept my mouth shut until Australia scored, but unfortunately my voice sounded unnaturely loud in the deafening silence. After that eveyone in the place knew I was an ozzie.... Needless to say, I copped a lot of stick at the end of the game. This particular village was rather beautiful though, situated on both sides of the river with only ferries (or rather barges tied to ropes) connecting the two sides.

Highlight of the weekend? We found beefsteak fungus!!!!

Goodbye old friend

My old bike has been sold and moved on to a new owner.

It was a good bike in it's time, but in recent months it just wasn't getting used enough - the short top tube meant it wasn't fun riding it on roads - it was meant for the trails. Adios good old buddy....

Ed-in- bra

Pictures now, come back for some dialogue....

V Fetival

A loooong weekend. First festival I have been to in a looooong time. It seems like only yesterday that I could dance all weekend and feel fit to go to work on Monday..... Now my back is sore by the Saturday night, and by Sunday night it hurts to move.

No, she doesn't need drugs to look like this! Just blueberry liquorice!

Best band? Undoubtedly the Foo Fighters - undescribable (indescribable?) - made me realise/remember how live music can make you feel.

Surprise act - not sure on this one. We saw Sophie Ellis Bexter (she does look like an alien) for a couple of minutes at the end of her set, it was admittedly nothing special, then as we started walking away the beats of Groovejet (if this ain't love) cut in. Truly an awesome moment! Lilly Allen was surprisingly good... I am ready to convert!

Breakthrough act (for me) - Babyshambles. Yes, Pete Doherty's band were really good - he was even rock 'n' roll enough to throw his guitar into the crowd when it broke.

Other bands we saw - the Killers - sensational (get the CD, turn it up loud and distort it, and pretend you are in an arena), Kaspian, Fratellis, Manic Street Preachers, Pink (but only for one song so that we could tell Chan about it), Snow Patrol (amazing guitar anthems), Uncle Jamm and others I can't remember.

Did I mention it hurts seeing this many bands in 48 hours?

Betting on a horse called ebay

Two days ago I bought a camera to replace the one that I used to take diving until it died, today we bought a trailer tent for when we start travelling around Europe. All this on ebay! It's meant to be a good way to shop, which it is, as we have bagged two bargains, but it has a darker side.......

Ever been to a horse race and had a wager? You know when the horses are rounding the final bend and your horse is neck and neck with another horse, and they both keep swapping the lead. You know how your heart starts beating faster, your palms get sweaty and the adrenaline floods your body as you hope that your horse wins and you can claim the prize.

Well this is the same.

You are bidding against people you can't see and you don't know how high the bidding will go. The final minutes are a frenzy of bidding, the last few seconds you debate whether you should increase your bid just in case someone slips in with a slightly higher bid, you watch the seconds count down, constantly refreshing the page so you can see if anyone else will bid higher. Then you "win" and it's all yours.

My daily tour of London

Four days every week I ride to work and back. It's just a bit more than a 20km round trip and takes about forty minutes each way, and even when it's pouring and I am saturated, it's still better than catching the tube.

My route takes me mostly along the Thames, so everyday I pass lots of tourist attractions. First I pass Battersea Power Station, which (apparently) is a very famous, decommisioned power station in the heart of London. Next I pass Parliament House.....

....... the London Eye (which is just a big glorified ferris wheel)..........

........... then Waterloo Station (the one ABBA wrote that song about!), the Millenium Bridge and the Tate Modern art gallery, then finally the Tower of London........

.......... and Tower Bridge.

As you can see I haven't managed to get photos of all the sights. I carried the camera around with me for about a week just to get these few photos, but there are some really selfish girls who ride their bikes to work, and they always seemed to appear when I was slowing down to stop and take a photo. Being male, I'm not allowed to let a girl overtake me, so I would have to speed up and continue on, missing the opportunity. Women!!!

Anniversary in Paris

We went to Paris for the weekend to celebrate survivng our first year of marriage - I suggested that I go to the Red Sea while Sarah was in Paris but apparantly that's not how it works........ We stayed in the Latin quarter because I like it!

While England was flooding we were enjoying balmy nights with the windows open to catch the breeze. Unfortunately it also meant you could hear the traffic and noisy American neighbours.

We did a bike tour around Paris for a couple of hours on the Saturday on 'californian cruisers' - very laidback!

After such a big workout I relaxed with a baguette and brie.......

........then headed back to the hotel for a quick nap, followed by a dinner of traditional french fare, topped off by a bottle of champagne in the hotel room.

Next morning off to the food market for baguettes, cheese and fruit........

.......then on to the Sacre Coeur for a picnic lunch, with views over the city (the photos do not do it justice).

We then managed to fit in a quick cruise on the river through the heart of the city, before boarding the train for home.

Hyde Park Calling

Finally a music festival! I can't remember the last festival I went to, it's been a few years I think....Hyde Park Calling was a nice reintroduction - it was a very laid back with a line up that was reflected in the crowd. The headline act was Peter Gabriel, with Crowded House and Buena Vista Social Club preceding, so there were a lot of older people and kids. First festival I've ever been to without witnessing ecstasy fuelled revellers sucking lollipops and still dancing when the music has finished!

We arrived late as we were primarily going just to see Crowded House, and it had been raining most of the day. The sun had come out and everything seems relatively dry, but there were threatening purple clouds on the horizon. We caught a bit of The Feeling, watched the end of the Borne set, then went and waited for Crowded House who were playing the main stage outside.

Crowded House were fantastic, but as with all festivals, there was a conflict in the schedule - Buena Vista Social Club started playing on another stage in a huge tent half way through the Crowded House set, and I wanted to see them. We decided to head to the tent for a couple of songs, then go back to Crowded House. After a couple of songs the heavens opened up outside and it started pouring, so we stayed for a little bit longer. Eventually we decided to brave the rain and go see the end of Crowded House, but as we were about to leave the tent we heard that it had finished early due to the rain! We stayed and boogied (salsaed?) to the Social Club.

When the rain stopped there were saturated people everywhere, the ground was sodden, and there were puddles galore. Thank god for waterproof boots! I think the highlight for Sarah was when she found herself with a beer in one hand and fairy floss in the other!

Peter Gabriel was crap...... We waited and waited for him to do 'Sledgehammer', which he finally did, but we had to listen to quite a bit of his new garbage to get to it.

Check this below. Looks like seats don't they? The puddles underneath should give it away......

They're not seats, they are portable troughs in the mens toilets!

Almost halfway

I turn 35 tomorrow. The last 24hrs have seen two big changes in my life - neither was planned with my birthday in mind, it just occurred that way - and both may lead to a mid life crisis!

Firstly, today I rode my bike to work. I haven't been riding much for a few years but recently decided it was time to get back on the saddle. I expected a lot of pain, but so far I'm alright. The plan is to ride four days a week and catch public transport on the fifth day when I will take a weeks worth of shirts etc into the office. It's great to be back on a bike again!

Secondly, I had my thyroid hormone levels tested last week and got the results yesterday. Everything was fine, but I have raised cholesterol levels. So now for the first time in my life I have to go on a low fat diet.

Doesn't seem that long ago when riding a bike was the norm and dieting was something only other peple had to worry about..........

Red Sea diving

Got back late last night after a week at Marsa Shagra, Egypt, diving and sleeping in tents on the beach.

The diving was fantastic (21 dives in 6 days).

There were onshore winds though, so there were plenty of jellyfish around....

I'm not pregnant!

Whoa... Hold on on, don't get excited... Read it again.... This isn't about Sarah.... I't s about me.....

I bought a pair of new board shorts the other day, and after much worry about getting older and fatter, I still fit into a size 36!

Horsea again!

Diving two weeks in a row! Spring is here!

Great vis!

Hampton Court Palace

First day of the long weekend we decided to go to Hampton Court Palace - it's about ten minutes drive from our house but we'd never been. It was where Henry the VIII lived so I guess that makes it very old. But as with all things old, there have been that many extensions over the years it 's hard to find the old parts.

One claim to fame of the palace is that it is meant to have one of the most famous mazes in the world. After experiencing it I would say it is only famous for how disappointing it is. There are so many people in it you soon realise that if you are going against the flow of people you are going the wrong way. As you near the end of it there is even a sign directing you to the centre of the maze just in cases you missed it!

Another claim to fame is that the palace has the largest grape vine in the world - it even has a Guinness Book of Records certificate to prove it. It is also (allegedly) the oldest grape vine in the world. We followed all the signs and found this......

How disappointing! No vine in sight! But as we turned away we noticed this.....

The whole glass house contains one vine that goes around everything to a length of over 200m (I think).

I'm starting to realise that I just don't appreciate old houses. I always love the gardens, as there is hundreds of years of planting and landscaping put into them, but the houses........?

Heatwave!

Yes, London is in the grip of a heat wave!

Just in time for the easter long weekend the cold winds have died down , the clouds have parted, and the sun has been shining! Yesterday when I left work I even had to take my suit jacket off, and the atmosphere on the tube was warm and humid. I got home, whacked on a pair of shorts (they still fit!) and lay down on the lounge with the windows wide open so that I could cool down. Yes, the temperature had hit 20 degrees!

Update

It's been a few weeks since i've updated, cause there hasn't been a lot to tell. On the weekend we did manage an almost Sydney sort of day - diving in the morning, Thai for dinner, rest of the evening playing pool (I will miss English pool halls!). So Karen, just for you, here is some news......

That white stuff again

It snowed again last Thursday; they were predicting up to 6 inches, but (thank god) it didn't eventuate. Expecting a huge snowfall I woke up a few times during the night and looked out the window, and was finally rewarded around 5:00am with the sight of flakes flying horizontally through the air and everything covered in white. I even managed to leave the house with a smile on my face!

Unfortunately by the time we got to the bus stop the snow was turning to sludge, and the reality of living with snow was setting in. The sludge makes it incredibly slippery underfoot, and the snow flakes eventually melt and soak you through. Your shoes get saturated and your toes feel frozen. You know the transport system is going to fail, and that you are going to be short staffed at work with all the people who are snow bound.

Surprisingly, it was probably the fastest trip I've had into work this year - there was just no one around! I actually walked across Victoria Station concourse without having to dodge anyone, which is totally unheard of. Everyone in London had expected the worst so no one was relying on public transport, which meant there where no crowds to slow everything down. As Alanis says, "isn't that ironic, don't you think?"

Once in the building at work you could look out the windows and appreciate the snow, falling past the window and covering all the buildings. Below are photos of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, taken from my floor at work (bad photos, lots of reflection from the lights in the building).

Below is the rooftop lawn on the building outside my window. A couple of hours after this photo there were about 20 people having a snowball fight there, but I forgot I had the camera so didn't get photos of it!