On the Way Home...

Okay I am back and survived my first day of work..however I need to finish our adventures in the UK. Wednesday I was to do another workshop but Su was not keen on me driving down to Reading and back so I had to cancel it....sorry no more pics for now. Anyhow Wednesday was spent packing and cleaning up our house swap residence. We had booked accommodation at Hemel Hempstead for Thursday night having decided not to drive down early Friday morning for our 10 am flight. There was a threat of snow and I felt driving in the dark with possible snow was chancing it.
We set of Thursday morning to go to Robin Hood Airport to pick up our Hertz rent-a-car. There was heavy ice near the airport and police were cautioning drivers to slow down as there had been one accident on the airport roundabout already. The staff at Hertz were friendly and we had a Ford Cmax Diesel People mover. Looked just right to fit all our cases and it was automatic!
We loaded up our cases and about 11.15 after saying goodbye to Pauline and Phil we left retford heading to Hemel Hempstead. Our trip was going well until a warning light and message came up on the dash...Engine Malfunction! Okay so what does that mean? I pulled over on the A1 switched off and rested awhile. I restarted the engine no warning message..great. However a few kilometres down the road..once again Engine Malfunction! I decided to head to a nearby homemaker centre figuring it was better than being on the side of the road. The area was known as Biggleswade. I immediately decided to phone the Hertz breakdown assistance. This is handled by the AA and because I was calling from my Australian Mobile they would not take my number estimated time someone would get to us 2.40pm it was now 1.20pm. Luckily where I had stopped the Homebase store had a toilet and there was two food vans in the car park. At 2.30 I decided to phone Breakdown to see how far away our rescue was, I waited on hold whilst they made inquiries...about 15 minutes away. Just after 3pm a Dual cab recovery vehicle arrived. He was contracted to AA however could not touch the vehicle due to it being a rental vehicle and the fact it was still under manufacturers warranty. Now the fun began..I contacted Hertz Customer service which is a call centre in Dublin. They were of no assitance and did not really know where Biggleswade was. I decided to call Hertz Doncaster, Natlie was quite helpful and told me to leave it with her. Fifteen minutes later she contacted me to say the AA would be with us not a contractor. We let the contractor go and luckily within 15 minutes the AA recovery truck arrived. 
Our problems however were not solved, he was going to take us back to Doncaster It was now 4 pm getting dark and cold setting in. I then rang the call centre for Hertz who gave me Wellin Gardens to ring. I rang Welwyn Gardens Hertz as well as the Heathrow office. In both cases I had to leave a message. Ten minutes later Mark from Welwyn Gardens called can we go to Luton airport and pick up another car? Okay sounds good. The AA recovery driver then had to contact his powers to bet to get approval. After some too-ing an fro-ing we had the Car on the back of the truck and us all riding up in the cab on the way to Luton Airport. At Luton they had a VW Passat wagon but soon discovered it did not have the luggage room so we were placed in a CMax Galaxy. I managed to get a free GPS as I had no idea where I was. At 6.30 we finally arrived at our Hotel. I was worn out and we had not even started our flight home. Lucky we decided against driving down early in the morning of our flight. Now Adam says I should have kept driving but I was concerned if further damage occurred would I be blamed and worse what if we got stuck on the M25? I will fill you in on more details in my next post.

Family Snaps

Film Star - Jacob

Okay one of your toughest assignments as a Photographer is family and friends, Su's sister wanted some shots done of the family especially as Su was around. Now I brought a limited amount if gear and because of the weather whilst I would love to take a photo outside against say a brick wall, everyone standing with coats gloves and hats is not quite the look everyone wants. Inside the houses it is very small so when going to Wendy's house she had some seating set up against the stairs...the background perhaps is not the best and on reflection looking around the walls (by the way heavily covered with pictures, photos etc) I see a better spot after thee photos are taken but that would have involved rearranging the furniture...hmm not my best work but the client is happy. This is where my Photoshop skills need to come in so guess what I am going to learn in 2011?

Emma & Fran

Fran, Su & Wendy

Wendy & Mark

Wendy

Abby



Jacob



Mason



The Clan



Mason & Isaac

Lincoln Is It!

We awoke Tuesday morning with a light blanket of snow on the ground. Our good friends Barb & Bernie had arrived the night before and today we were off to Lincoln with them.  Lincoln is about an hour away and it is a lovely city. We parked near the marina, boats were tied up in a frozen lake. First things first we made our way to a little tea house for tea and cake. Then we made our way to Lincoln's High Street. Lincoln is  City full of history and I would have to say I prefer it over York. Our first site we came across was the Glory Hole now this has been so called for years but it is nothing like what you are all thinking...dirty minds. Any how I digress we made our way up High Street albiet slow as the girls ducked into shops on the way up the  street aptly named Steep Hill to Lincoln Cathedral. I have been to York Minister and it is impressive but there is something about this Cathedral can't put my finger on it but I think I like it better than York Minister.  Maybe it is the fact it was used in the Movie The Da Vinci Code I don't know I will let you judge for yourself from my photos. 

Lincoln is a University town and has a vibrant feel about it that University towns usually have. We had lunch in a cornish pastie shop in the city centre. Lincoln has the usual main stores, Marks & Spencers, Primark etc but they also have a lot of Boutiques and local designer type of stores. It is unfortunate we found Lincoln so late in our stay, however it gove sus somewhere to com eback to and explore...hopefully in the summertime!

Pro Runner 450 AW

New Bag (not my photo)

Okay so I couldn't resist purchasing some more gear. Today I bought a Pro Runner 450 AW camera backpack. I have been looking at various camera bags. Tamrac, Kata, Crumpler you name them I have been stalking them. I need to carry two bodies, a few lenses and associated gear, laptop as well as be airline friendly. This bag for me ticked all the boxes. I have a roller Lowepro bag I bought second hand on ebay but unfortunately not airline friendly. My Lowepro  slingshot  200 unfortunately is too small. The camera backpack with wheels I brought my gear over with unfortunately broke and given I paid $50 I am not surprised. You only get what you pay for. Now my experience buying this bag is one to be told. Many a photographer has told me you need to support the photo stores as they will disappear and online will take over. Well I wish these stores would employ staff who are as passionate and understand the needs of the photographer or understand plain customer service. Today we went to Lincoln and I must admit I was excited to have the chance to go to  a branch of the London Camera Exchange a range of stores that sell new and used equipment. Well unfortunately my enthusiasm was sapped by my visit to their Lincoln store. The first time the store was busy with two customers and I studied both the Tamarac Adventurer 9 and Lowepro Pro Runner 450 AW. Now the Tamarac was appealing but did not look airline friendly. So I decided that on our return from Lincoln Cathedral I would buy it.(More on Lincoln in another Blog) On my second visit both store attendants were with customers again, I was not acknowledged, I placed the Camera Bag on the counter in readiness to buy still no" I will be right with you sir" in fact both Bernie and I were in the store for five minutes and nether shop assistant acknowledged our presence, Now I appreciate the staff were busy but I do believe they could have acknowledged I was there and would get to me as soon as possible. I walked out. Bernie agreed I had taken the right response he said I don't know why you waited so long I would have walked out earlier. Needless to say Su wore the tirade the shop assistants should have got. She talked me into going back because I wanted it and needed it. So I swallowed my pride took cash out at the ATM put the bag on the counter and paid for it. Not a word was said. I was going to buy a few other things however I will shop for these items on line and I am sorry to say London Camera Exchange gets the thumbs down. This is the second time I have gone to a camera store to buy items and found staff totally unhelpful. This lead Bernie to tell me a story about a Pool Store he knew of who had a customer arrive at 5 to 5 and say look I am here from PNG my pool pump in my rental house has shit itself I need a new Pump....Sorry we close in 5 minutes. But I go back to PNG tomorrow...yeah well sorry it is going to take me too long to get the stuff. That shop missed out on a $2,500 sale. London Camera Exchange, Lincoln does not know what it has missed out on but sadly I will give them a miss online too!.

A Day at the R's

Decided to get Dave and Marilyn's other car out, the Fiat Punto so Adam and I could go down to London to see Queens Park Rangers(QPR) take on Bristol City. Well we should have left Su with the Fiat and taken the Peugeot as being Diesel it is far more economical. We dressed warmly and at about 9.30am set off for High Barnett underground Tube Station so we could make our way to Woods Lane or Shepherd's Bush Station. The London Underground is quite a good system but I still think Paris Metro takes some beating. Because of it being a bank holiday they were doing maintenance work on the lines so what should be a simple trip was a bit harder with line closures however we had plenty of time to get there. Adam supports Liverpool but his  late Uncle and his  Father are avid QPR supporters. Adam was a bit worried we were going the right way but we soon saw a few supporters and as we approached Woods Lane we followed those wearing the Blue and White Hoops. We made our way to the stadium and there was a heavy Police presence including Police on Horseback. I decided not to try my luck in taking my SLR and off course the 70-200mm L lens would be an instant ejection. My decision was vindicated when I got to the Stadium and in truth if I had off been more organised I most likely could have got a permit to take my camera. I used my iPhone and my little compact Panasonic despite signs saying no Cameras. It was interesting watching the pro photographers with their Humongous lens...mostly Nikons I am afraid. I saw one Canon with a cannon like size lens. At half time the photographers were madly downloading on to Laptops no doubt filling reports for their respective papers. The atmosphere at the Stadium was electric and it was great that I had managed to pick seats amongst the home supporters. Seats around us had peoples names on them.I had never experienced a Soccer (Football) Match in the UK and I have to say even if you do not follow the game the experience is worth it. Adam visited the QPR shop prior to the game to get a  few souvenirs and you can buy QPR everything, tablecloths, car dice...I don't know you name it and here it is in Blue & White with QPR logo on such is the fans dedication.
Now the seating is very snug and can understand why people stand until the Match starts not only are they snug side to side but there is not much foot room so every time someone wants to get in or out you need to stand so they can shuffle by. QPR came out fighting and would have had 80% of the possession so the final score of 2 All did not reflect the match intensity. As stated in today's Sun they made two school boy mistakes and certainly QPR should have had 5 goals but Bristol had David James ex England Goal Keeper, he saved Bristol from defeat and unfortunately when Bristol made a break for it they were more accurate and QPR were poor in defending, great in attackl but poor defending. Any way the match was scoreless at half time and QPR were well in front until the last few minutes when Bristol  levelled the score. QPR could not recover despite several attemps at goal. We left the match and followed the crowd to Shepherds Bush Station. Adam popped across to the Markets at Shepherds Bush then we made our way back to Retford. We made the mistake of stopping at a Little Chef for dinner on the way back....do not frequent these, the food and service is crap. Both Adam and I donated ten pounds each and it will be the last time. Heston Blumenthal obviously was unable to save them and I am surprised they still operate.

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Millie

,
Happy New Year! New Years day dawned far too quickly! I got up relatively early even though I wanted more bed rest. Su's friends Terry & Shelia (Clare's Parents) were coming for lunch. I was going to pump out yet another cheesecake along with cooking Meat and veggies for Lunch. The day was once again dreary and cold but all the snow has now melted. I knocked out my signature Cheesecake (White Chocolate and Raspberry) despite not having familiar ingredients or cooking surrounds. Adam & Christine were due back from Wath, lunch was set for 1pm.
Terry and Shelia arrived about 11.30am with their second granddaughter Millie. Millie is two and a half years old and I soon found a new friend and was making cheese sandwiches. Su was hopping Terry would bring their latest Lhasa Apso pup, however Terry said he was far too boisterous to bring over. Both Su and Pam were disappointed given they are missing Cleo and Monty. I managed to serve lunch on time and hot. Shelia had also brought a Rhubarb crumble for dessert so we were soon letting our belts out. We  have certainly eaten well whilst on holidays, must be the cold. I hate to think how many chocolates we have consumed and Terry and Sheila have generously given us another tin of Roses chocolates. We are leaving the empty tins for Dave & Marilyn don't know what they will think! We had a great afternoon with Su,Sheila and Terry sharing stories of Su's father and his adventures or misadventures as they may have been. Millie, who for her age is very advanced, was a very good girl and whilst she had a few toys had fun drawing and singing her rhymes along with puppets. I decided to get the camera out but quickly learnt that a moving child is difficult to photograph and I certainly need to hone my skills in children photography. Maybe I should have got the camera out when she first arrived and was a little quieter and perhaps had some shyness. A really enjoyable day with family and friends...hard to think in a week our holiday will be over.

Sheila & Millie

What are you doing?

Finally Fifty...and a Happy New Year

I woke up Thursday Morning in Paris Older..50 to be exact. Hard to believe fifty years has passed by in my life. After our continental breakfast we set about on our trek back home to Retford. We caught the Metro back to Charles De Gaulle Airport. Now one thing with flying and going through various airports is the way each airport/country interprets the security measures. We had one case to check in the rest was carry on baggage. Now in my case most likely topping the 10kgs allowance, was two cameras and a netbook . I had to take teh cameras out of the case, the netbook, remove my belt, shoes and of course place the toiletries in the mandatory plastic bag. On the way over from the UK I did not have to go through all this palaver. It appeared I had too many toiletries in my plastic bag so I had to decant material into a second bag?? After getting through security and redressing myself I went to duty free to see whether my chosen after shave etc is reasonably priced. A quick check of the Currency converter on my iPhone and I was buying up. One thing I have learnt is that when you see fragrances cheap, buy never think you can get it cheaper somewhere else. Shortly we were  making our way to our Airplane by airport bus....immediately I think of that Sandra Bullock movie Speed. When we had got up in the morning the sun was shinning and the Eiffel Tower could be seen from the Railway Station at Cabronne, however the cloud and fog had now rolled in. Our flight back to the UK was uneventful however we had to fill out entry cards...something we could have done on the plane, When I made the suggestion to the girl from Jet2.com at Leeds Bradford airport she basically told me to go F*&^ myself. Hmm I won't be letting that matter rest...a stern letter will be sent to their Complaints Officer!!
The weather in Leeds was slightly better than we left however there was still fog and mist. I set off carefully for Retford. We were home in no time and after unpacking made our way back to Wath to celebrate my Birthday with Su's Sister's family. A lovely pub meal was had a few drinks and wearily Su and I returned to Retford. The kids, Adam & Christine were staying in Wath in readiness for New Years Eve.
New years Eve was spent doing our domestic duties, washing, shopping for food and I had my first meal of soggy Fish & Chips for lunch. The evening was spent with Phil & Pauline, neighbours of our house swap owners, Marilyn & Dave. Phil & Pauline are very friendly and an inspirational couple. They have 5 adopted children and have fostered numerous children. At the moment they have one Foster child Sam. Sam is autistic, doubly incontinent and 14 years of age. They have had him for seven years. Sam cannot talk but does some signing and took a shine to both Su & I hugging and kissing us. May be because we gave him two massive Next Catalogues which are his latest obsession. Sam sleeps in a safe room at night and both Su and I take our hats off to Pauline & Phil. Pauline cooked a nice meal and of course I introduced them to one of my cheesecakes. Midnight was observed watching the fire works on telly from London. By 12.30 we were tucked up in our bed.

Fireworks on the Eye

Big Ben 2010/2011