Archives for 2005

Supers


Having a super-Christmas and wishing you a super new year!

Puzzler


The final move as Paul complete's one of the tricker puzzles set by Grand-Puzzler Les.

37 minutes


37 minutes of hard graft and the kitchen-shop is finally finished

Christmas Eve in Ottakers


Cake, coffee and hot chocolate surrounded by books in Ottaker's Costa Corner - finn's taking notes on the preparation of frothy milk. Updated to fix broken link

Shoes


No prizes for guessing who's is who's.

Barista Training


That's two medium latte's; fairtrade beans; with an extra shot.

One for Dan


Pork pie at Great Granny's - one just for Dan .

More week of two


"Another cake" said finn, "my, where will we put it all"

Week of Two


Finn's extended week of birthday, seen here with one of several cakes.

"Cake" said finn. And he meant it.

smoke from graemes dyke


smokefromgraemesdyke , originally uploaded by aiddy .

This is taken from Graemes Dyke Road in Berkhamsted, approx 6.5 miles from the Buncefield depot.

canal smoke


canalsmoke , originally uploaded by aiddy .

Smoke, not clouds, from a bridge over the grand union canal at Berkhamsted looking south east towards the smoke from the Buncefield explosion. Early in the morning the smoke covered the sky towards the south of Buncefield, later in the day most of the plume was east of the fire

Buncefield


The Buncefield distribution terminal (storing oil, petrol and kerosene) in Hemel Hempstead exploded this morning . This is the view from our house this morning, as the sun tries to poke through the smoke.

971


making birthday cake

Bye bye crane


They took the crane away yesterday, the houses at the bottom of the road are nearly done ('bout time too) with just the tiles and the inside fitting to do. So they used another big crane to take our one away and now our nice landmark and finn's first word is no more

Note: This post was updated on 2020-12-19 to fix broken links

Hair Cut!


Look who didn't eat their crusts this week. Finn takes top honours in the curly stakes; for now at least. Good job the forecast isn't for rain.

Slide


Top of a slide, looking down

Star Jump


It's not just for kids you know...

Frost


frost on a grass roller, derbyshire.

The view from Julian and Trudi's


The view from Julian and Trudi's, who, extremely kindly, allowed us all to descend for the weekend. Big thanks.

Some piccy's below, some more bonus material on flickr or flickr slideshow (make sure I have you listed as friends or family on flickr).

Monsal Head


Evening at Monsal Head , Roger, mad fellow that he is, cycled up from Cressbrook just for a pint.

Face Paint II


Spidermen to the rescue on the Spider Tractor

Face Paint I

Leak


Opps said Gavin. I'm not sure I should have done that.

985


Mam Tor: on the way up

980


More sunset from Litton

981


Sunset from Litton

986


Alan scrubbing hard at the sink...or rescuing the last tea bag from down the drain

Finn's First Summit


The gang on the summit of Mam Tor earlier this afternoon.

Brussels


Well, having said I never get time to do stuff when travelling for work, here's something interesting from the second trip in a row. I was in Brussels last week for a meeting, and our CEO arranged a tour of Brussels, including Brussels cathedral. We were fortunate to get a guided tour by Paul De Ridder, who worked on the 17year restoration project... 2022-04-03: removed broken link

Fireworks V


All wiped out after the firework action

Fireworks IV


The morning after

Fireworks III


The crew take a well earned break having safely dispatched all the explosives up into the atmosphere

Fireworks II


Harvey & Stan take cover on the deck as Rocket Man Paul sends up another 50lb firework.

Fireworks I


Firework night at The Chase

George Eastman House III


I don't usually get the opportunity to go visiting places when travelling for work, but last week managed to sneak a couple of hours at George Eastman House (Mr. Kodak) in Rochester, New York State. This is one of the gate posts.

Thanks to Brent for the great idea.

George Eastman House II


This is the museum extension at George Eastman House

George Eastman House I


Inside George Eastman House

The elephant was a replica of one from an Eastman safari.

Note: This post was updated on 2020-11-08 to fix broken links

Ashridge


A muddy walk with Grandad, Kim, Simon, Ally, lots of mud, a troll and a spot of hide-and-seek.

Say Cheese Cherie


Finn has his curls measured for a new wig while practising cheesey Cherie smiles

Honiton Rugby Club


Honiton rugby club (Jo's local) and yes, that is the wrong shaped ball

Honiton Carnival


Saturday: home via another stop in Honiton to watch the carnival with Graeme, Jo et al.

Padstow Sunrise


Another skyview from Padstow

Rock at Night

Padstow Sunset


The ever changing sky around Padstow, Rock and the Camel Estuary. You could sit and look at this view for hours - and we did.

Alice's Jugs


A disaster is averted when we realise a previous occupant had re-arranged Alice's jugs into a random order, thus shattering the symmetry of the flat and raising the spectre of
Sick Building Syndrome.

Fortunately, we were on hand to replace the jugs in strict height order, as can be seen by the above piccy.

Wheeeeeeeeee!


Friday: this was an indoor day (well, a little bit of it was indoor's)

Padstow Sky

[Deleted] Beach


Thursday:
Finn inspecting flood defenses during major irrigation works on [deleted] beach. [Deleted] beach was a real find, small, quiet, continuous water supply for irrigation digging, surf shop, and a proper coffee bar with a decent coffee machine. The name and location of [deleted] beach have been removed by request of the locals we met who said it was even better a few years back - before some silly local paper listed it as one of the better beaches in Cornwall.

[The photo's of local sign posts being 'adjusted' have also been removed - Ed ]

Sand Snipe


Wednesday:
Sand Snipe, the Padstow-based dredger, heading out of the harbour channel.

[ Padstow Harbour ]

Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to fix broken links

Eden - and the first canopy bubble in captivity


Tuesday: We had our second visit to Eden this week, lots of things have grown since we were there four years ago. They're now using a helium balloon to do pruning in the canopy.

Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to fix broken links

Rock Pool


Monday:
a short walk from the flat takes you to the beaches below Padstow. We had almost the whole of this beach to ourselves.

Dune

Sand Dune


Sunday:
we took the ferry from padstow to rock and had loads of fun on the beach.

The Angel

The Angel


Saturday: At Graeme and Jo's new flat in Honiton . The Angel is the name on the outside of the building - we think because it is the old Angel hotel .

1013


Dazzled by a new BatMan shirt

Sneaky Shark


The use of distraction to beat uncle graeme at sneaky sharks...

1015


captured conker under the spotlight

1016


finn's boots

1012


gearing up to go conker hunting

Granny Bea's


harvey has a different definition of 'smile' from most normal people...

More from LA


Street art / advertising in downtown Los Angeles

Hotel Window Views


Downtown LA from a window in the New Otani Hotel

wedding of the month


Peter & Joanne's wedding, Saturday September 10, 2005 at St. Augustines Church Southend-On-Sea

Weeeeee, click click, weeeeeee, clunk


marble madness with nana

greenbelt


causing chaos with a bubble machine during a break at .

bonus piccy's available .

Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to fix broken links

door handle


door handle circa 1972, frinton-on-sea

Giraffe


giraffe - finn's current best friend. Lost while picking plumbs at park fruit farm , but found while we were picking blackberries. Pictured here on a sandy beach, somewhere on the east coast. Reward if found.

Part Chandler


with keith daniel vicki & faith. finn was fast asleep in bed

Scooby


finn found another canine friend, meet scooby, who was enjoying a holiday with faith (at least until we arrived)

holkham beach

Holkham beach - scientists say the second best beach in england (that's england as in england, not england as in the UK).

Sources: The Times and Surrey University [1]. Obviously, they forgot to include frinton - we're off to petition Dr Dimitrios Buhal.

[1] Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to remove broken links

Beach Dance


a coordinated experimental sand dance on holkham beach Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to fix broken links

Great Granny


a great granny snap by harvey

Wipe Out


wiped out after a day on the beach at frinton

quality control


every potato was measured, weighed; then washed in chlorine and refrigerated to 2 celsius for transportation from the field to the customer.

converse


finn's new shoes

1033


this year's potato crop from two plants planted late.

1034


having fun with granny bea

1035


cooling down in cassiobury park

1036


64 years young

1037


aliens? what aliens

1038


window frame, another in an occasional series

1039


buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

1040


marge demonstrates telepathic sudoku

1041


will you still love me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64

1042


charlie, for once, is lost for frogs

one not red balloon


balloon lost above barrington

look out below


harvey takes off on the giant slide at the global graphics summer party -
police are currently looking for neil, the man caught on camera giving him a push

more at flickr

christening of the week


last sunday was ronnie's christening, ronnie is the smaller one

All Aboard

Ready for the walking bus.

Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to remove broken links

If you go down to the woods today...


down to the woods today for a picnic & a bear hunt

The art of slip fielding


harvey goes to extreme lengths to teach grandad how to slip catch properly.

next lesson: teaching fielding at silly mid on with a baseball bat

Saturday Adventure


harvey takes a breather, all the pedaling up hill had obviously taken its toll

1050

Cycling in wendover woods was probably a tad optimistic. half way round finn decided he was better off walking. [OS Map: Explorer 181]

Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to update broken links

durham cathedral

durham cathedral

drank beer with graeme & jo in sunny durham at the weekend, hence too late to get inside the cathedral .

this piccy shows a view close to the one in the painting over (great) granny's fire place.

super hero's


power ranger meets spiderman in a blur of super powers

when stan & herbie come to play


the incredibles

wedding of the month

the wedding of clever cousin robin and beautiful danielle took place on sunday at st. michaels church, houghton-le-spring

that would; of course; be this st. michaels and not this one. easy mistake to make, obviously.

Note: This post was updated on 2020-11-22 to fix broken links

1056


serious construction project. started by alice but harvey takes over after an explaination from gavin over what is a mans job.

[The picture of gavin drinking pims has been removed for legal reasons - Ed]

1055


found beautiful hemmick beach for our last afternoon

so tucked out of the way that google's map is near useless , but that's what the ordnance survey was invented for, you'll be wanting OS Explorer Map 105 ;-)

1061


deep into heligan

1059


newquay bus station - fay feels inspired

1058


west country break: flynn seriously not impressed by gavin's idea that he ride the 8 miles there and 8 miles back. needless to say flynn ran most of the way

1060


west country break: from padstow to beer rock

1057


west country break: flying flynn made friends with finn. for some reason finn thought flynn was called alice. perhaps he thought it was less confusing that way

1062


west country break: by bike from padstow past wadebridge towards bodmin. there's no such thing as bad weather, just unsuitable clothing

1063


west contry break: went sailing in and around padstow and rock with gavin

1064


west country break: bicton and around with graeme & jo

1066


very tired, very cosy, after a fun day in wallingford

1065


window frame. second in an occasional series

this one happens to be in hazel & paul's kitchen

1067


the boys do the pop art thingy

1068


whipsnade: h's goes on photo-safari; grabs his first elephant shot with a single-bore Sony.

1069


whipsnade: talk to the hand

1070


whipsnade: i say herb, is that camilla. No fin, that's a camel.

1071


whipsnade: it's a stick mummy, honest. I know it looks like something else, but that's camera blur

1072


It's balloon flying season again in the valley

1073


the boys disguised as "little bo peep" & "the amazing super spider incredible man" [1] for a thankyou card

Footnotes:
[1] The exact super hero depends on the day of the week and the phases of the moon

1074


may in the garden. slower than last year but stuff's starting to happen

may 21, 2005

1075


flower in the garden

may 17, 2005

1076


london looking east from waterloo bridge

May 16, 2005

1077


Morning trip along the canal - to the pub for lunch & back

May 17, 2005

[& yes, this was instead of venice ;-)]

Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to remove broken links

1078


an oak tree (2005)

while this appears to be a glass of water, i assert that it is in fact an oak tree

you'll need to ask it for its current state of mind, last time i asked it was slightly bemused

this is, of course, a different oak tree from that currently in the tate bankside [ michael craig-martin ]

updated: 2023-08-16 because tate.org.uk don't do permalinks

1079

London looking east from waterloo bridge. inspired by John Virtue

London, May 16, 2005

Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to update broken links

1080


this space was reserved for pictures from a short break in venice...... instead, here's a picture of an out of date passport

1081


window frame: first in an occasional series

home, may 14, 2005

1087


pleeeeaaaasssssseeeeeeeeee don't let go grandad!!!!!!!!

Romford, May 15, 2005

1088


Fin's really put on weight. It makes the see-saw much less exciting.

Romford, May 15, 2005

1086


grandad teaching the fine art of carp fishing using his purpose built fishing simulator

Romford, May 15, 2005

1085


hide and seek with grandad les

Romford, May 15, 2005

1089

September 2004 @ the otter sanctuary where, obviously, it's raining.

Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to remove broken links

1084


at the seaside in sunny november with nana & co

Cromer, November 2004

1090


who says I'm not a tidy eater?

1082


have a break, have a kitkat

Ashridge, Feb, 2005

1083


ashridge in feb, bugsey and knuckles plot strategies

Feb, 2005

1091


are you thinking what we're thinking?

1092


coat hook --- used for coats, hats, bags and the buggy

1093


sad plants because they'd been out of the ground too long

1094


replanting the back of the garden

1095


fence post in the back garden

1096


Knuckles dis means trouble, real big trouble. Get the pies, we're gonna get Bugsey.

1097


wooden planter & child barrier

1098


havering country park

1099


huts @ frinton on sea
© 2005

1100


bath time
© 2005

1101


smile

1102


November 2004: a goal in the second minute of extra time puts the home fans in shock

1103


playing the amazing new fishing game

1104


this is what happens if you have to move rooms at the hotel - your world view changes

1105


superhero caught rushing somewhere to do something very important

1106


homeless pots in the garden; looking for young plants for fun and adventure

1107


surf bubbles

1108


deck construction

1109


walking in the woods

1110


Measuring the tide using the amazing sand scale. Frinton, April 2005.

First word, Crane


First word: "Crane"

1115


Spring in Seattle. April 27, 2005

1112


Another Seattle Sheraton view. April 24, 2005

1113


View from the Seattle Sheraton . April 24, 2005.

1116


Hiding between the plant pots @ Alice & Gavin's. April 16, 2005

1114


Playing in the sand in Queens Park April 16, 2005.

1117


Lost something in Cromer