Been a while...

...since I updated my blog. Been a bit busy over the last couple of months which isn't a bad thing as have got quite a lot done. I'm still running which is a good thing as it's getting closer to the Norwich Half Marathon, and even though it's still 3 or so months away I'm beginning to realise a lot more training is required.

August has been full of activity so far. We went down to Eve's naming day ceremony at Chris and Jen's in Hastings, which despite the 6.5 hour journey (it should take 3 hours) was a very good day. Picture below of Even getting into the proceedings.



She went straight for the beer bottle, no stopping her, and was quite perplexed or even vexed, when enforced separation occurred prior to imbibing. Despite this she seemed to enjoy the occassion, even the snail racing...or was that us, I can't remember.

Got a big project launched at work successfully which is great, a new Travel Insurance product just in time for the summer hols. It seems to be selling okay so looking good so far. And the project came in slightly under budget and ahead of timescales so a winner for me.

Just got back from Scotland after spending a few days with my parents in Loch Melfort, near Oban. Also managed to visit my Auntie Jen and Uncle John on the way which was great as it's been a while.

Despite a few rainy days it was a great mini hols, even though Lucy couldn't come due to being out of holiday. Managed to get out and do a bit of sailing on the Loch, as well as walking and fishing. With regards to the latter we caught quite a few Mackerel and smoked them in Tom's smoker; we met up with friends of the family - Tom, Julie, and Ant and Lyn. The mackerel was excellent and now have some pate made from it. Couple of pics from the holiday below.

Moored up on submarine island:


Biggles the dog having fun whilst out walking:


Dad at the helm:


The Bridge over the Atlantic:

The running man...

Well not quite, but I did start running again this evening. Got to start training for the Norwich half Marathon about now; it's in November. Ran for about 30 minutes over a course which should only take me about 24 minutes, but hey, it's a start.

Training programme indicates I should run about 4 times a week, however I reckon that will be 3 times max a week with Kendo as well, and maybe some cycling to work if the weather isn't adverse to such activities; I'm definitely a fair weather cyclist.

Mike started this whole crazy idea of doing the Norwich half Marathon, which is just outside Norwich really. We're going to try and raise about a grand to support a Cystic Fibrosis charity after Steph passed away from a it a few years ago. Seems like a good thing to do. Somehow we've also roped in Chris P and Nigel C...if anyone else is interested give me a shout...it'll be...fun...yeah that's the word.

Where did the week go?

This week seems to have gone by very rapidly, which I suppose isn't a bad thing given that it's now the weekend, and I have Monday off too. It's mostly consisted of being fairly busy at work, and reading a new book on how to make money on the Stock Market.

The book is by Robbie Burns, not the famous Scottish bard but him also known as the Naked Trader. Seems to be full of common sense methods and tips so looking forward to putting some of it into action. Just opened a self select share trading ISA so when I make my millions they'll be tax free, now I just need my shares to go up, which hasn't particularly happened this week - mostly they've gone up, then down, then done nothing, then up, then down - no consistency but then again I think it's been a funny week on the markets. Just have to have some patience whilst also remembering not to hold on to something to the bitter end in the hope it'll go up; there is a time to cut your losses and try something else. A portfolio of say a dozen different shares seems like the best bet, a few will go down, but hopefully with the right research this will be counteracted by others going up. If I can just have the self discipline to stick to some basic rules and not buy and sell too often, then should be able to make some cash. Can't quite give up the day job yet though.

Also this week, our new lawn seems to be settling in well...it hasn't died yet anyway, probably a good thing we've had lots of rain recently; I might even mow it this weekend. All the vegetables are going well too - our first tomato has appeared which means we'll be inundated in a couple of weeks with those and courgettes.

Good to see the expenses debacle is still rambling along. Isn't everyone bored of this yet and can't we just get some new politicians? I see the police might launch some criminal investigations now - probably about time some of them were held accountable by law.

Also in the news today interesting that the supreme leader in Iran called Britain the source of all evil or somesuch thing. I expect everyone will be very upset about this, however maybe it's a taste of our own medicine after the whole Axis of Evil thing, which really was an outrageous way to label countries whilst your trying to bring them round to your way of thinking. It's not very nice being called evil and you can see why normal people like you or I living in other countries such as Iran might resent that slightly, and even get driven further down the path to extremism. What with North Korea still looking explosive and Iran getting feisty it all looks a bit dangerous. It's hard to tell what's really going on in Iran and who really won. The opposition are mounting big protests however we're not hearing much from people that supported Almandinajad. I worry that our media isn't giving a balanced picture sometimes. It would be a pretty big feat for an election to be rigged to give such a decisive victory.

Anyway, roll on the weekend.

European Election aftermath

I'd like to draw a parallel between some members of the Labour Party saying they still have a chance and Gordon Brown is okay, and the Iraqui information minister when Baghdad was being invaded by the allies, who was saying everything was under control and the allies were being repulsed with American tanks rolling up their main street almost behind him.

Glad the BNP didn't seem to particularly win any more votes that they did last time, however they have unfortunately benefited from the Labour collapse and won two seats in the European Parliament. And what's the story with UKIP, can't believe they've done so well - I can understand why people might vote for them but why have so many? Anyone else reminded of 1920's and 30's when certain extremist parties started to gain influence and momentum in the wake of a major recession and public discontentment?

UKIP want us to not be part of Europe, and to withdraw from the European Parliament, however isolationism isn't the way forward. It can be frustrating that the European Parliament now determines so many of our laws, however can the Labour Party or any of our own political parties really be trusted to do any better? If we divide ourselves from Europe we'll only end up being sidelined and sinking in the long term. Maybe Europe just needs a bit of a rethink as a whole as to how the EU works, to ensure things are a bit better balanced.

Political implosions

It's been a pretty extraordinary week on the political front. I don't know if there have ever been so many cabinet resignations in such as short period of time, followed by pretty distrastrous local elections for the ruling party, I almost feel sorry for Gordon Brown...almost.

I do feel sorry for Ian Gibson who I and many people regard as a very good politician who puts the interests of his constituents first, and has a very common sense and intelligent approach to matters. He appears to have had pretty harsh treatment compared to some other politicians who have got away with worse, but there again he was a bit of a labour rebel so maybe this was just the excuse they needed to make him step down as MP for Norwich North. Hopefully he might come back as an independent, at which point he'd have a very good chance of winning, however maybe he'll just call it a day now. I can't see why anyone would particularly want to be an MP at present.

Over the past 3 weeks I think we've really seen how the media control this country. I agree that the issue of MP's abusing their expenses had to come out and be dealt with; some of them are just blatantly crooks, but I don't agree with the fashion in which it's been done, which seems to have caused more harm than good and left our political system reeling. I'm not sure how anyone is supposed to carry on with the serious job of governing the country and dealing with the economic crisis when they're constantly being hounded by the media, who's main interest (and I'm primarily referring to the Telegraph here) seems to be to draw this out for as long as possible to sell more papers. They'd argue it takes a long time to do the research so they can't release everything at once, however they could have just waited until they'd finished delving through all the receipts etc.

It's symptom of modern society, 24 hours news channels, and the Internet that everything has to be rushed out in a pretty chaotic and damaging fashion, and stories that perhaps shouldn't have as much gravitas as they do come to the forefront.

So it looks like he Labour party is going to implode on itself, in much the same way as John Major's conservative party did at the end of the last Conservative reign. It is definitely time for a change, and if Gordon Brown goes which I would have said was unlikely a week ago but now am not so sure, the only sensible course of action would seem to be to call a general election, as the current ruling party seem to be proving themselves completely incompetent at present. Although it is interesting that many other countries seem to admire what Gordon Brown is doing to rescue the British economy so again maybe our judgement is being clouded by the current media hype.

But then again we have the problem of who to vote for. In Norwich apparently Labour went from having 22 seats to having 3 yesterday, so they'll definitely go. The Lib Dem policies seem pretty good but they just don't have the support, and I'm not sure their leadership is strong enough, which leaves the Conservatives who I'd probably be better off under but I can't help feeling it might be at the expense of other people. The Green Party have a lot of sway in Norwich but I don't think they're a serious contender for leading the country - would they really know what to do if they came to power?

Unfortunately alot of the minor parties such as the BNP and UKIP seem to be gaining influence, which is a symptom of how angry people are at the moment - again the media sometimes don't help here. 'Extremist' parties always benefit from instability in a country, along with bad economic and social climates. Things could get quite scary if they start to gain more power (look to history for warnings). Hopefully people are clever and wise enough to see how dangerous they could be in causing suspicion, division, violence etc.

So in short it could be a very interesting week next week, god knows what this will do to the value of my shares however so far the stock market seems to be ignoring the political mess.

And finally on a more serious note how on earth did we lose the 20-20 cricket to the Netherlands?

Half Marathon ahoy

Just got back from my first jog in a couple of months, 3.2 miles in about 28 minutes, so not a bad time for me. I am endeavouring to get fit in an effort to take part in the Norwich half Marathon which I think is in November - best check that as quite important as far as training schedules go.

I think 13 miles should be feasible by the time we get to November; however it depends whether or not I can keep up the training. I tend to do more cycling than jogging at the moment, but 'they' say that cross training is a good thing so that's probably okay.

I reckon if I can jog 3 times a week, stepping it up slightly as we get closer to the date, that should do it. We'll see how much pain my legs are in tomorrow morning though. Not thinking about going for the London Marathon as yet even though work are sponsoring it so I could probably get a place. 26 miles just seems far to far to run without severe motivation taking place. I believe the Marathon originated from the Persian invasion of Greece, and an Athenium runner making it all the way back to Athens, only to die of heat stroke when he got back. I'm hoping not to follow in his footsteps exactly, and don't require any invasion based motivation as yet.

Speaking of expenses

Whilst I'm still not convinced the expenses debacle is the most important thing that should be being addressed in the media and debated by parliament at the moment, it is pretty incredible, and leaves me vaguely gob-smacked.

You have to admire MP's for trying to distract the public by putting all the blame on the Speaker who's been forced to resign; the first time this has happened in about 300 years. Think the last time was in the late 1600's when the Speaker of that time had to resign over a bribery claim.

There seem to be very few MPs that didn't jump on the expenses band wagon and claim for all sorts of things they probably shouldn't have. Are we allowed to get rid of the whole lot and start again? As someone mentioned this week I don't know if the Queen still has the power to disolve parliament and call for a general election. I think the public would defintely pass a vote of no confidence in the majority of MPs at the moment.

A senior Catholic Archbishop did come out in support of the Speaker and had a rant versus MPs today, accusing them of trying to deflect attention. The Archbishop in question better take care given the recent report out in Ireland concerning the Catholic Church and child abuse, who knows where the media spotlight will turn next!

If we did have an election now I'm not sure who I'd vote for. I couldn't vote for Labour at the moment, they've just made too many mistakes and need to have that period out of power to sort themselves out, same as happened to the Conservatives. Not sure I could vote Conservative as Cameron is a bit too smarmy and I don't trust him. I quite like the Lib Dems however preferred Charles Kennedy to Nick Clegg. And the Greens aren't really worth it at the moment as most politcal parties have the right green intentions at the moment. Don't think there are any other viable contenders; the BNP should just be dissolved.

I wonder if we just paid politicians a bit more if we'd get better quality people - the sort of private sector business men and women who otherwise wouldn't be attracted to politics, but would probably be quite good at it.

Anyway enough of politics, which really can be quite aggravating. Time to get gardening this evening as probably away in Derbyshire this weekend and tomatoes need a planting.

Funny goings on

It's been a week of funny going's on I reckon.

The expenses debacle seems to have got a bit out of hand. One part of me thinks it's all got a bit silly, and there really are more important things we should be worrying about, whilst the other says MPs should have more scruples. Whilst many of them might not have broken rules they certainly didn't go with the spirit of them. The one that forgot he'd already paid off his Mortgage and was still claiming is a classic. Not sure many people would forget paying off the biggest debt you're ever likely to incur. I wish I'd caught Question Time last night as apparently it was pretty feisty with MPs nearly geting lynched (might not have been a bad thing).

Then again this sort of thing has been going on for centuries I imagine, and is unlikely to stop now, and does it really matter that much in comparison to other things? For example my God Father's son was killed in Afganistan last week, and although I haven't seen my God Father Jim Ross or his son Ben for a long while it really brings things home and makes you think - details here - http://tiny.cc/r26eQ . By all accounts Ben was highly respected and an all round great bloke.

It's been a funny old week at work too, in between projects and waiting for replies on a lot of stuff so have been doing quite a bit of house keeping and helping out with some testing work.

On the plus side quite a good week on the share dealing front - about 10% up on the previous week according to my calculations. Not quite enough to pay of the Mortgage yet though, maybe I should go into politics.

Now it's time for a glass of wine or two. Eurovision party this weekend which should be fun.

Here's some photo's from our Welsh trip - http://tinyurl.com/rb3rft

Engagements

My brother just got engaged. Pretty cool. Stag night ahoy although I don't know if they've set a date yet.

Brilliant news.

Wanderings in Wales

Just about recovered from our trip to Wales now, aside from legs that are still a bit achy and sore feet. Mike, Ian and I had a very successful 3 day hike, starting late Friday afternoon and finishing Sunday lunchtime, carrying all our kit and food and wild camping in the Brecon Beacons.

We made it up the peaks of Cribbyn and Pen y fan in a howling gale and with low cloud closing in which was quite exciting, the only casualty being Mike's sleeping mat which somehow became detached and blew away. Some fantastic scenery with reservoirs, moorland, and forest, got some pictures which I'll upload shortly. Also saw quite a few buzzards including 2 coming into roost near our campsite on Saturday evening which was nice. I woke up in the morning to the sound of green woodpeckers along with the rest of the dawn chorus.

We managed to cook up some pretty respectable meals including beef stew, pasta with spicy chorizo (which was a bit too hot if we're honest), porridge and bacon sandwiches. Lots of energy was needed to keep on going with the heavy packs up some pretty steep slopes.

Navigation wise all went pretty according to plan, utilising our ordnance survey map and some trusty compass work we pretty much always got where we were aiming to go, which was not altogether expected really. Think we probably covered about 25 miles in total, although it's hard to tell with all the up and down bits.

Already looking to plan our next trip which might be to Dartmoor, or bushcraft in the South East somewhere, or even canooing on the Norfolk Broads.

Political distractions

Why do all the political parties think the majority of us are interested in what some bloke wrote in an email about other members of a political party? Yes Damian McBride was a plonker for writing nonsense in an email, very childish and unconstructive, however is this really what our politicians should be debating at the moment?

Maybe they should think about solving our foreign policy issues, the current recession, and our problems on the home front before entering into playground squabbling. Stupid politicians.

However I suspect Jacqui Smith is somewhat relieved the pressure is off her for a bit. Gives her time to watch a few movies.

Easter Weekend

Well the weather turned out okay for an Easter Weekend for a change, even managed to wash the car!

Visited my parents on Friday and Saturday, down in East Sussex which was nice. Everything is growing in ernest now so their garden looked lovely. Also went out for lunch with Chris, Jenny and Eve - went to the Squirrel pub near Battle, post a wander round the town.

Easter Monday has mostly consited of cleaning the house and gardening. All seeds are germinating well so looks like we'll have some decent carrots, beetroot, peas and courgettes later in the year; good supplies should the zombie apocolypse happen.

London, G20, and the state of the nation

It's been an interesting day keeping abreast of the news from London whilst the G20 summit is going on. Funny seeing Twitter come into its own as everyone starts using it to keep track of events. I had to laugh when I saw a few City workers had been waving £10 notes from their windows at protestors, a little provocative but quite humorous.

Good to see the anti war and climate change protests or coming off peacefully so far, I have no problem with them. It's good people make themselves heard without having to cause trouble.

Do have a bit of a problem with people causing the fights and vandalising banks. What's the point? RBS is mostly owned by tax payers, so the same tax payers are effectively going to have to pay for the damage - if you're a tax payer involved in this you're effectively trashing your own stuff. Pretty stupid however there again the sorts of people that do cause the damage probably aren't tax payers as they don't have a job and don't want one. They're just there for the adrenalin rush of big crowds, mob mentality and the chance of letting off steam. When they wake up in the morning they'll probably feel slightly ashamed.

I wonder how many of the people protesting about the current finanical crisis really understand it. If they do really understand it maybe they should try fixing it because I'm not sure many people understand what's going on at the moment.

I've been wondering about all the blame we're putting on Banks and the Government for the current financial crisis. I don't think any government or modern banking institution would have done much different, as is evidenced from the way the crisis is a global phenomenon. Maybe this is more of a social problem and down in part to the Jo Public. I mean how many of the people protesting have maxed out credit cards they can’t pay off, 100% mortgages, remortgages, self certified mortgages they lied about, loans or other debts they can’t pay off? They didn’t necessarily have to get into so much debt and now suffer the consequences because the economic climate has changed. There’s been a ‘must buy it now’ culture for years which has meant personal debt has risen massively, and people that save up to buy something are few and far between. In fact those that save money are often penalised with taxes and bad interest rates, whereas those who go bankrupt or are in financial difficulty get payouts from the benefits system, all a bit upside down.

There’s a culture of ‘it must be someone else’s fault as it can’t possibly be mine’. People need to take more responsibility for their own actions and realise the excess of debt and financial difficulties we’re seeing at the moment are partly down to themselves.

I am by no means saying the banks and government are blameless, there lots of room for improvement and we need tighter regulation. Financial institutions are responsible for irresponsible lending, and packaging up financial products that entice people in and get them into too much debt – they made it and continue to make it all too easy sometimes, and we got too used to these products being on offer so didn’t really consider the risks too much. They also went too far with risky lending and borrowing and in the end the liquidity all dried up, which in turn really hurts those people that really need that load to keep their business going, or start a business, everything grinds to a halt.

However people need to take a look in the mirror sometimes and start spending within their means; you don’t have to buy that Xbox for your 6 year old! Some people also need to realise you can’t get something for nothing; us workers shouldn’t have to support people that have been on benefits for ages because they simply too lazy to get a job, so make up excuses about being too ill or something akin to that. Incidentally I don’t have a problem with supporting people who genuinely need it!

It’ll be interesting to see how tonight and tomorrow progress in London. I hope the government wake up to just how angry people are feeling at the moment and realise they can’t get away with the same old crap anymore – not necessarily just because of the economic situation, but for all the social, political, environmental and legal reasons that underlie people’s frustrations. MP’s need to start being a bit cleverer and stop trying to just score points and complete short term goals; there again who’d want to be an MP really? If you’re at all good you generally have some sort of quirk that the media pick on and get’s you the sack. For example Charles Kennedy was pretty promising however he got the shove as soon as the media realised he liked a drink or two, so we’re left with those such as Jacqui Smith – please can some-one get rid of her, do you really trust a person that can’t even check her own receipts and who doesn’t really obey the spirit of the law when it comes to expenses, with the Home Office?

Anyway, that’s enough of a rant, although it was quite therapeutic. I’m not saying I’m completely right, I may well be missing something, however a lot of people feel the same way. Thoughts?

G20 Summit next week

I have been reading about the G20 summit that's happening next week (02 April). Seems amazing we have chosen to hold this in our capital city and main financial centre. It's going to be a magnet for trouble makers with all the protest marches and current financial and social climate. I can't see the day passing of peacefully, there's bound to be idiots who converge on the City looking to make trouble, and one small spark could ignite a riot.

Imagine all those people in London, all worked up, one of them passes an RBS Bank where they happened to have lots of money invested which they've now lost, and they lose their temper. Some-one throws something and before you know it it's chaos.

I just hope there are more sensible people than plonkers who think causing trouble is going to solve anything. The last thing we need at the moment is a big clean up bill, and the countries reputation damaged which could out off investment etc. Apparently there might be attempts to crash the London Stock Exchange - just what my investments need right now! I wonder what danger there is of hacking versus financial institutions and online virus' specific to the day being released, worth keeping an eye out for.

The police ought to promote an absolute zero tolerance policy for the day, and maybe the days either side, I have a feeling the majority of us would support this.

Yes I'm sympathetic to people who are suffering and finding it hard at the moment, and who may have lost lots of money or been made redundant, but a big mess on the day isn't going to help anyone.

DVT scan negatory

Went to the hospital today to have the ultrasound scan on my leg, for the suspected DVT. It was quite an interesting experience seeing the interior of my leg under ultrasonics. The upshot of the scan is that I don't have a Deep Vein Thrombosis in my leg which can only be a good thing. Looks as if it was just a pulled calf muscle after all but definitely was worth checking!

I bought Lucy Wii fit for her birthday and tried it myself for the first time today, more tricky than it looks. Wii fit age not quite what it should be but might be handy to carry on with as an aide to losing a bit of weight.

Of Mice and Men

Today we mostly cleared out the shed, which mainly involved evicting a family of mice from their various nests they'd built in old cushions and random tat. They'd been quite happy there for some time, feeding on the bird seed we had stored, but it was finally time for them to move on.

The mice are now running around the garden, however it's only a matter of time before the cats home in and nature takes it's course. Unless they all gang up to fight the cat; there are quite alot of them!

Also sorted out the garden a bit today, but didn't have time for any planting. Will have to have another go during the week or next weekend.

Should have done those long haul exercises...

My calf muscle has been hurting for most of the week since we got back to the UK; I think I pulled it whilst I was walking around Norwich on Monday in an effort not to fall asleep and thus avoid jet lag.

Anyway it was pointed out to me that a hurting leg post a long haul flight is also a symptom of deep vein thrombosis, and that I really ought to get this checked. I called the doctors and they very helpfully got me an appointment straight away, and then promptly referred me to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital for a blood test just to be on the safe side. I told the nurses that I'd just got back off honeymoon and think I'd pulled a muscle; they thought this was very funny for some reason. Then needles ensued.

The blood tests came back with a slightly raised something or other count which means I have to have an ultrasound on my leg on Tuesday, and in the meantime inject myself with Heparin as a precaution against blood clots. All a bit of an overkill as I still think it's only a pulled muscle however best to be on the safe side.

All in all was quite impressed with the British medical system today. Even though in Switzerland it probably would have all been done at the same time in the doctors surgery, it was pretty efficient here and I didn't have to wait long. Annoying that the scan isn't until Tuesday however they don't happen at weekends and are full on Monday. Hopefully I won't get a thrombosis in the mean time - not that I think I have one anyway.

Anyway in light of all that off to drink some wine now, and maybe eat un morceau du fromage, at Chris and Liz'z birthday party! Wahey.

Back Home

We made it back successfully, arriving in Norwich at 9.00am or thereabouts after driving up from Heathrow, which was nice in the rush hour traffic. Good to see British driving hasn't improved whilst we've been away with people still on mobile phones, not indicating, dropping people off in stupid places, etc etc.

Spent the day trying to sort things out in readiness for the rest of the week. Lucy opened her birthday present - Wii Fit which she's pretty pleased with. However she has been asleep for quite a bit of the rest of the day so not had a go as yet; we're a bit concerned our Wii Fit ages might not be very complimentary.

Good to see we beat the French au Rugby this weekend. I hadn't caught the result as we were in transit. Hopefully this will be the start of great things to come for the England rugby team.

Not good to see the health proposal to put up the cost of drinking - something that would penalise the majority and probably not help much with booze culture. Thankfully Gordon B seems to have realised this would be rather unpopular so I doubt it'll come to pass. Worth keeping an eye on though.

Australia - Cairns

We're up in Queensland now on the final leg of our trip - the tropical North. Staying at a place called Palm Cove near to Cairns.

On our first day we went on the sky rail, which is like a big bubble lift akin to those at ski resorts, which travelled over the rain forest to a village called Kuranda which is higher up and hence a little bit fresher; it's very humid here. Saw lots of Cockatoos and other tropical type birds. No crocs as yet however you never know when one will turn up. The rain forest was pretty impressive - loads of brightly coloured buttterflys. Saw a big Kauri tree as well - most of these were cut down by the loggers ages ago but a few still remain.

Yesterday we travelled out to the Great Barrier Reef by catamaran - to the Low Isles. Spent the day there snorkelling and saw loads of Coral and fish of varying species, as well as turtles which we were able to swim with which was great. Sailing back in the afternoon was also good as a moderate breeze sprang up whisking the boat along.

Today we're mostly relaxing in preparation for travelling home tomorrow - flight leaves at 12.30, stops in Darwin (transfer) then on to Singapore (transfer), then back to blighty. Going shopping this afternoon, and then a nice meal at the 'Apres' bar/grill this evening.

Australia - Uluru

Today is day three in Uluru and we're just about to leave for Cairns for the final bit of our holiday, before flying back to the UK (arriving Monday morning). Seems like we've been away for ages as we've seen and done so many different things. Looks like not a lot has changed in the UK with the financial crisis still being a crisis, and I see now the government has decided to print more money to try and make things better; sounds dangerous to me.

We went on a kind of safari tour for our first two days in Uluru, camping out in the desert overnight which was excellent; we did have a big tent and a bed so no particular hardship other than remembering to check for spiders and snakes in shoes, under toilet seats etc. The stars at night were amazing; saw the southern cross and all that. Heard one dingo howling during the night but no snuffling at the tent flaps which was lucky.

On day one we visited the Olgas (Kata Tjuta) and had a walk round there. This lies several kilometres away from Uluru but is just as impressive and you can walk round more of it. Temperatures have been around the mid thirties in the hottest part of the day so drinking water has had to be pretty constant.The scenery with the red sandstone, and desert flora and fauna has been fantastic to see - got lots of photo's to bore people with, usually with either Lucy or I in but not both.

In the evening we watched the sunset at Uluru which was pretty cheesy but good to see - wide variety of colours as the sun went down on the Rock. Then we were up early again to watch the sunrise as we walked around the base of Uluru. It was lovely to do this at dawn when it was a lot cooler, and our guide dropped us off at a point where there were no other tourists so we didn't really see anyone for the first hour and a half; meant it was a lot better for taking it all in. One slightly worrying point was around sunrise when a lot of dogs started barking and howling nearby, might have been dingo's or wild dogs, or just aboriginal camp dogs. Luckily they didn't get any closer so I didn't have to fend any savage beasts off with a water bottle.

Saw quite a few people climbing up Uluru, even though there are lots of signs asking you not to and the Aborigini's find it very disrespectful. A shame really but some people obviously don't have any manners to. We certainly didn't want to, far too hot a climb for one thing. Visited the Aborigini cultural centre and read lots of their stories which was interesting. All in all an organised safari is a good thing to do round these parts.

Anyway running out of time so more updates when we get to Cairns.

Australia - Sydney Day 3

It being Sunday we're having a lazy day today; started off with a Banana Smoothie down in the harbour.

The Mardi Gras last night was exceedingly crowded and hectic, but a good atmosphere. We didn't stay too long before retreating to a bar in a quieter area, and thus escaping some of the rather more scary outfits, some of which didn't seem to involve a lot of material - lots of sequins, shiny pants, and quite a bit of gaffer tape I reckon.

We visited the Maritime Museum this morning and looked around several ships including a decommissioned destroyer - The Vampire, a Submarine, and the HMS Endeavour - Captain Cookes ship. The latter reproduction was very authentic and interesting, and considerably roomier than the submarine we'd just been on.

Of for a spot of shopping and lunch now. Tomorrow we leave Sydney to travel up to Uluru for a night's camping in the bush whilst taking in 'The Rock'.

Australia - Sydney Day 2

Quick updates today on what we've been up to. Needless to say it's all pretty Bonza, not had any barbies yet though.

The aquarium and wildlife park were both great. Walking through the underwater tunnels and seeing the sharks and rays, as well as Duogongs (a herbivorous dolphin (sea cow)) was great. Then saw lots of Roo's, Koala's, snakes and spiders, parrots of warying design. All lovely little fella's.

The Opera House was as expected, interesting to look at, however the Botanical gardens next door were better; loads of Sulphur crested cockatoo's and trees full of fruit bats. Quite lucky we didn't have any fruit pastels otherwise we'd have been for it.

Incidentally seeing the Watchmen film at the Imax theatre was great, better than I thought it was going to be - quite dark which was good. Well worth going to see if you haven't already.

Off for Mardi Gras this evening post a walk around the Chinese Gardens. Need to find some pink teeshirts to wear apparently, or a tutu; that's for the Mardi Gras/Gay Pride march not the Chinese Gardens incidentally.

Australia - Sydney

Made it to Sydney just in time, apparently there's a Cyclone headed towards New Zealand; it was pretty cloudy and raining as we were leaving.

Checked into our hotel which is in Darling Harbour. This morning we're going to visit the Sydney Aquarium, and then have a general wander maybe to the Botanical Gardens. Might go and watch the new Watchmen movie at the big Imax theatre as seems like too good an opportunity to miss.

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras in Sydney so that should be fun.

Best go and find Lucy now - she' shopping somewhere!

New Zealand - Waihi Beach

We left Rotorua early today and drove up to Waihi Beach, a small seaside town popular with surfers, but quiet at this time of year as it's getting close to the end of the season.

Drove through acres of Kiwi plantations on the way, and stopped briefly in Tauranga which is a big port but still retains character with lots of restaurants, bars and cafes; not to mention several Deli's and Sushi bars where we stocked up for dinner.

Waihi Beach is a lovely place to stay, on the Pacific Coast, with lovely beaches and a great coastal walk we did this afternoon; took us to an almost deserted beach just to the North.

Last night in New Zealand. We drive back to Auckland tomorrow morning to drop the van off, before getting a flight over to Sydney. In just a few days we have seen amazing caves, forests, mountains, waterfalls, lakes, geothermal terrain, some beautiful countryside and now finally the pacific ocean and a stunning beach. Everywhere has been very laid back and the driving was quite easy. There was so much more we could have done however we can save that for next time.

Rotorua - Bog of Eternal Stench

Well actually it's not that bad once you get used to it. However the Geothermal Park we initially visited on the way down from Taupo was pretty stinky - lots of Sulphur!

Great to see bubbling pools of mud, steam vents, amazing mineral deposits of varying colours - yellow, red, green etc, and volcanic lakes that can be deep blue, vibrant green, or just pretty murky.

We're in Rotorua at the moment - just recovering from a very nice Curry (great Tandori Chicken). We visited a Maori centre today and saw two of the biggest Geysers in NZ - the Prince of Wales and Pohutu (spelling could be iffy on the latter). They had a wood carving and weaving school at the same place; was interesting to see the traditional techniques they use and what goes into making the amazing wooden carvings and statues you bump into all over the place.

Had a wander around Rotorua for the rest of the day taking in the lake and several souvenir shops. There were several planes taking off and landing on the lake which was pretty cool.

Off on the final leg of the NZ journey tomorrow, up to Waihi Beach for the night before heading back to Auckland and catching the plane to Australia on Thursday.

New Zealand - Fellowship of the Camper Van

We're in Taupo now and just about to leave for Rotorua, bit of a crappy Internet connection so only a quick post. Spent 30 mins on the phone to my bank this morning getting them to unblock my card after they'd put a fraud alert on it as I tried to use it here; this is after I'd phoned them to tell them I was going away and signed up for mobile text alerts whilst away; very annoying but sorted now.

Yesterday we climbed up a bit of Mount Doom to Ithilien, and saw some nice waterfalls (Waitanga falls I think). Next we drove North to Taupo; Lucy drove the beast (aka the Van) down some pretty windy passes which was quite 'exciting' on a couple of occasions.


We went out for a late afternoon sail on Lake Taupo and saw some Maori carvings next to the Lake. The boat was an old Ketch once owned by Eroll Flynn; it had been rebuilt once after it sank in Auckland harbour, and then transported to Lake Taupo. A very nice sail in the evening sunshine - we managed to avoid the torrential rain of earlier in the day. Had a nice meal down on the waterfront as the sun set.

Off for some rambling through geothermal parks now, plus maybe some jet boating, and an outside chance of a bungay jump although Lucy isn't convinced by the latter.

New Zealand - Touring part 1

From Auckland we travelled down to Waitomo in our camper van, pretty easy drive through the country side, with it gradually getting less and less busy.

The camp site was excellent set amongst limestone hills covered in ferns, forest, and quite a few cows. Visited two sets of caves this morning - Glow Worm Caves and Aranui Caves. Excellent to see the glow worms in the dark as we floated down an underground river on a boat. Also saw some Cave Weta; particularly large and ugly insects which Lucy says can only be removed surgically if they latch on.

From Waitomo we travelled South and are now in Ohakune, which seems pretty deserted at the moment but apparently gets busier in the ski season. It's right next door Mount Ruapehu aka Mount Doom, and we intend to go on some 'tramping' (hiking) tomorrow in the National Park, also taking in Ithilien, better watch out for Orcs etc.

The journey down to here was pretty exciting as it's been pretty stormy - windy and rainy. Got blown about a bit in the high sided vehicle, and there were several trees down. At one point we had to stop as a tree was down across the road. It didn't last long as lots of locals appeared with chain saws and proceeded to annihliate it.

Off for cheese burgers now.

New Zealand - Auckland

Arrived in New Zealand and met up with Norman and Sheila (Lucy's parents) successfully at the airport. We're staying with them for a couple days whilst we explore Auckland, prior to picking up the camper van. In the evening we went out to a traditional sort of venue...an Irish Pub in the Viaduct Basin; a harbour in Auckland. Very nice steak and a pint of Speckled Hen at O'Hagans, certainly cheaper than Hong Kong. Lots of very expensive yachts and motor cruisers to look at.

Today we took the ferry over to Devonport and climbed Mount Victoria, an extinct volcano which isn't as high as the name suggests; a very short clamber to the top where there's a disappearing gun - a relic of when New Zealand was expecting to be invaded by Russia and they installed cannons on the Mount to repel invaders. The disappearing gun is a huge breech loading cannon that could fire a shell up to 5 miles, enough to deter any invaders perhaps - it was only fired once and then the locals all complained because the bang broke their windows.

We will probably be walking to the Auckland Museum in a bit for some culture, and hopefully to work off the large meal we just ate in the food court next to the harbour - GB should have food courts like they do out here, they're great.

Picking up the camper van tomorrow morning to start our travels around North Island, first stop Waitomo. Looking forward to having long queues of traffic behind me!

Hong Kong Day 2

We successfully ascended the Hong Kong Peak yesterday; via the tram that is, walking it looked a bit on the energetic side. It's been pretty cloudy here since we arrived so we were lucky the sun came out whilst we were up there, giving some good views of the Island and city.

There were several big birds of prey swooping around the Peak and Sky Scapers, not sure what they were; maybe Kites of some sort, or perhaps just pigeons! They seem very into their birds in Hong Kong with all the parks we've visited have an aviary of some description. The park near the peak had a great walk through aviary. Also visited the Zoological and Botanical Gardens; lots of monkeys and two Orangutans which were unexpected. They are running a breeding programme there.

In the evening we went down to the harbour and watched the Symphony of Lights which was quite impressive. Lots of lasers and lights positioned on the sky scrapers and buildings around the waterfront on Hong Kong island, which all go off in time to music. It was a bit of a brand advertising exercise really however 
worth watching; the Bank of America building was quite small in 
comparison to many others! (relevant for work).

Off to New Zealand via Sydney next. 

Hong Kong Day 1

We arrived successfully yesterday morning and are installed in our hotel on Nathan Road, Kowloon; a Novotel which is very nice. Had a walk around and saw the harbour and numerous shops. Must have been offered tailored suits, shirts etc about 25 times during the course of the day.

Have seen some interesting asian culinary delights so far; people eating chicken's feet in the park which looked particularly unappetising, and assorted testicles which I think we'll give a miss.

Today we're going to have a further explore and visit some of the older streets, as well as the odd temple, before perhaps going up the peak on Hong Kong Island. It's a bit cloudy and misty so limited visibility. This evening we'll go and watch the lights show down at the waterfront, near the clock tower, which we're looking forward to.

T minus one day and counting

One day until we set off on our travels now. All looking good - bags packed nearly. Passports not lost which is always a good thing. Just tried using Twitter via my mobile which seems to work well so should be easy enough to send updates to my blog whilst away - subject to network coverage and not being lost somewhere!

Question is, what have I forgotten? Bound to be something.

Pretty uneventful day in Norwich today. Busy at work trying to get everything ready and handed-over for whilst I'm away. Got some good back-up colleague wise so should be fine.

RBS shares seemed to bounce back today which is good, wondering whether to sell or hold. Should be able to place a deal from somewhere whilst I'm on hols but might set a target sell price. Could lead to more money to buy souvenirs made from various bits of Kangaroo anatomy!

Travel schedule reviewed

Reviewed the travel schedule tonight. We fly out to Hong Kong on Saturday and spend 2 or 3 days there; looking forward to ascending 'The Peak' and having a general wander, and seeing the lights show they put on around the harbour in the evening. Can't help thinking Hong Kong is going to be a bit like Blade Runner in it's look and feel.

Post Hong Kong we're off to New Zealand where we pick up our camper van to have a chug round North Island. Lots to see and explore there. Then off to Australia stopping in Sydney for a few days, before going onto Uluru and some bush treking and tucker, then Cairns for a few relaxing days. After that it's back to GB via Singapore. Lots to fit in over just 3 weeks so should be lots of photo's.

Well, first post on this blog. I’ve started this as an aide memoir, a place to organise ones thoughts, and to record anything exciting I might be getting up to for posterity.

For example my wife and I are about to travel to Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Australia on a 3 week holiday; we’ll it’s really our honey moon after getting married in August last year. If I can make it to the odd internet café I’ll be able to update this blog. If not it will be down to twitter updates via my mobile…if I have time between the various sight-seeing and exploring activities we have planned.