A bit of history

On a recent Time Team program they were down by The Thames on the Isle of Dogs looking at the launch site of Brunels ship, the SS Great Eastern. The ship was a massive 700ft long and was built in an area thats now over looked by Canary Wharf. The attempt to side launch the ship wasn't very successful due to subsidence beneath the timbers of the dock. All thats left now is a section the timber work between the blocks of flats and a small piece right on the banks of the river. Its something I've been meaning to find an excuse to go and see and with a job in the City it was only a couple of miles away. It was a little smaller than I had expected but very interesting to walk around as snow gently fell on me!

Windy miller

One month, two windmill photos! Whilst on route to a customers site I had a bit of time to kill and aimed for the Wimbledon Common (I didn't see any Wombles)as there is a nice little carpark in the middle in the shadow of the windmill. Built in 1817 its now converted to a museum and is something a little unusual to see when only a few miles from the capital.

First motorsport of the year

The end of January for the last three years has marked the beginning of my motorsport year. Brooklands in Surrey is the site of the first purpose built race circuit in the world. Constructed in 1907 its a vast 3 mile oval. The outbreak of World War II ended racing and the place was turned over to the war effort. The museum is situated in the buildings around the remains of the track and today was the Vintage Sportscar Club's Winter Trials, a chance for pre 1930s cars to compete in various test. On a cold sunday I found myself with Brookslands virgin Malcolm at the top of a 1:4 test hill as one of the first cars of the day crawled up. It was a struggle but then again the 1919 Grafton Cyclecar only has a 250cc engine and no reverse so he was pushing it around parts of the tests. I have a month to wait until my next race event. Bring it on.

The fleet

January marks an expensive time for us, though a series of unfortunate coincidences the air cooled duo in our lives are both due MOTs, servicing and insurance in the same month. The Passat had the good decency to wait until October to need this! So after a couple of weekends of worrying both are back at home, both have 12 months MOT and insurance (tax isn't due until later for the Beetle and the Camper is free!) This morning after a trip to Danny Fox to collect Roobarb it was time for musical vehicles. The work van went round the corner, the Passat out the front, the Beetle on to next doors double drive while they were out and the Camper into the road in front. With garage door open the 38 year old Volkswagen rumbled in onto the wood laminate floor (a left over from the previous owners office he built in the garage) then it was a matter or reversing the process until everything was tidy. Our New Years resolution is to get more use out of the Beetle than the 80 miles and one day we got last year.

Playground fun

There are plus points to being on the road at 6:30am on a friday. Following a fairly easy day on site and some admin there was an early finish. Home by 3pm, blue skies and sunshine and a daughter in need of some fresh air there was only one thing to do. Head to the park. We all walked, with tiny size 4G feet it took a while to cover the couple of hundred yards! But once in she was away, running round the area trying to get on everything including the springy horse.

Window shopping

With the elevated section of the M4 partially closed getting into London is tricky, but shooting down the M3 and in via Twickenham seemed to work today. The added bonus was a quick look in the window of Coys showroom. Aston Martins rubbed wheels with Bentleys and Ferraris and standing guard outside was this stunning Porsche 912.

Gearing up

I've been a bit bad recently, following a free service my trusty MTB has been sat idle in the garage doing nothing, no rain and mild winter means I should be out on it all the time at weekends. Lack of time means I'm not. I took my first short cycle of the year last weekend, it was only a couple of miles but everything is looking good so once I find a few free hours the muddy tracks will be hit. With the Beetle out for its MOT the garage is empty so I'm using the space to bolt on a few new bits I got for Christmas. The new tiny pump and the cycle computer are on, the bright pink squeezy horn has gone on the shelf!

cakey cake

I've worked at some right dives in my time, but occasionally you get a gem of a place. Today was that day. We were working at a cake factory and in the canteens where I was installing their signage solution they laid out free cake, lots of free cake. There was probably 5kgs of Rocky Road when we got in there.....

Blowing in the wind

Monday morning found me heading East towards a town outside Cambridge. Whilst elevated 15m in the air I took the opportunity to look around, it was a sea of houses and office buildings and windmills....Well just the one actually, but I wasn't expecting it. Once all signed off I took a detour to find Impington Mill. Built in the 1776 on the base of a previous mill but left to rot in the 1930s it has under gone a restoration and looked stunning in the clear blue sky.

Its been a Lily day.

Most days I get to see Lily for a short while in the morning and a couple of hours in the evening due to work and early bedtimes. At weekends things get a whole lot better though. Saturday saw us apart as Kim and Lily went to see some friends while I played with cars till late afternoon, sunday would be a different matter though. We'll ignore the fact she slept in with us from just after midnight (teething troubles again). From 6amn we read stories together, followed by breakfast and playtime in the lounge, then to let her regain some of her lost sleep the two of us went for a walk round the estate, with a funny podcast in my ears and Lily sleeping it was a nice relaxing time. Back home some good friends of ours wowed us with their snaps from a Christmas break in New Zealand while Lily played round our feet. Come the afternoon it was time for another walk by the river with my parents then home and yet more play. As I type this the chicken is slowly roasting along with veg for sunday tea and Lily is still running round playing. If I'm lucky we'll have another couple of hours together before bedtime and the working week. So today has definitely been a Lily day.

Its alive

Back at the end of 2004 we took our first trip into classic car ownership when we bought Roobarb, our 1974 1303 Volkswagen Beetle. At last we could go to classic car shows and display, we wouldn't be confined to a white van and the carpark. It also opened up a world of VW shows and events and lead us to buy the Camper a few years later. But for three years we went everywhere at Weekends in it and often used it daily in the summer. When the Camper came along in 2007 we promised to keep using Roobarb and did until Lily arrived when it was easier to use the Passat or Camper rather than dig the Beetle out of the garage. Last year I am embarrassed to say we went out twice, once to take it for an MOT and I used it on a photoshoot in April, so after 80 miles its sat in the garage for nine months. This morning I pushed it out into the daylight having cleared the boxes off the roof and bonnet and fired it up, second time lucky we set off to Danny Fox were a service and MOT will take place and fingers crossed we'll get a fully working and legal car back and actually use it this year.

Look up

Another trip up to London today, my office for the last couple of days has been 19 floors up above Euston Rd on the UCLH tower, its an amazing platform giving views over the whole of London. From the rooftop you can see The Shard taking shape, at 310m or 95 floors tall its around five times the height.

Elementary my dear Watson

Bit of a jokey photo today. I've been watching the second series of Sherlock, the building they use for 221B Baker St and the cafe next door looked familiar. I popped into Speedys last year for a sausage and bacon bap whilst trawling round London for work. The name made me laugh as its a nickname I've had for a while so it seems appropriate that I eat there. The geeky fact is that its not on Baker St, but on nearby North Gower St. An even geekier fact is that when Conan Doyle created his deerstalker wearing sleuth the house numbers didn't go as high as 221B, that didn't happen until the 1930s, so he created a fictional address for Holmes.

Anyway, today I was working on the Euston Rd and decided to get a snap of me looking cheesy outside. A few minutes with Paint Shop Pro and I fashioned a hat and pipe to complete the look. I have too much time on my hands some days!

And the nominations are....

Got a letter through the post today. Normally anything addressed to me will be a bill, bank statement or something equally dull. But this was something different. Its from a local motor club I belong to. Each year at the AGM they honour various members, recently they introduced scribe and photographer of the year for contributions to the clubs magazine, Sidelights. Its always nice to be recognised for your abilities and I'm quite proud of my snapping and the photos I've sent to the magazine. I have to wait until the end of March for the awards night so fingers crossed.

Mmmm pie

Reading is blessed with one of the finest eateries around, "Sweeny & Todd" Yep its a pie shop and yes there is a barbers next door! We've been in for lunch with friends many times but they also have a takeaway counter. Theres nothing finer than picking up a couple when I'm in the office for tea, steak and ale is my preferred choice but today I went out on a limb with a new pie, "The 4Bs" Beef, Bacon, Beans & Beer. As the girl behind the counter said, "its everything you could want in a pie"

Engineer on a cold slate roof

The joys of working outdoors can be minimal in winter, but today there were blue skies and bright sunshine, it may have been a couple of degrees above zero but that didn't matter. A triple layer Arctic coat, hat and gloves and a scissorlift elevating me 15m above Beaconsfield and gave me an unusual view of the world. I can think of worse things to do.

Oh baby its cold outside

So far winter has been quiet mild. By this time the last few years we've had a couple of inches of the white stuff and some bitterly cold days. Instead Christmas day was a balmy 12°c and I've been wandering round in a t-shirt most of the time. But the weather has turned, the last week temperatures have dropped and the scraper has been deployed on the windscreen a few times. With Lily needing a walk to doze on and me fancying a stroll we went down by the River Loddon near us, even at 11am the frost was still evident.

Taking aim

During the week I'm struggling to get a chance to use my Canon for this photo a day project. Its a bit bulky to carry to work and not safe to leave it anywhere on site so I make do with the reasonably good camera on my phone. The weekend rolls in and after a morning sat inside on a speed awareness course I wanted to get outside. So that's why we found ourselves on a family walk through the graveyard of St Andrews Church Sonning and along the side of the Thames to the lock nearby. With Lily snoozing in her buggy and enjoying the fresh air (5°c!)I was on pushing duties and Kim took charge of my Canon for the afternoon. I rarely let it out of my hands as I love using it, but she seemed to enjoy herself snapping away and playing with the settings. Lots of good scrapbook and blogging fodder was saved to the memory card and once again I resorted to the old faithful phone camera.

Friggatriskaidekaphobia

Fear of Friday the 13th. Not a good day to have a black cat cross your path or to walk under a ladder or to step on the cracks in the pavement. I'm not really superstitious so I'm happy to flaunt all the above! Its just about 8pm on the 13th and I'm still here so I must be doing something right.

Come fly with me

Built just after World War One as Londons Aerodrome, Croydon was in use right up to the end of the 1950s. After World War Two, Heathrow took over the bulk of its flights and it became a short haul airport serving the Channel Islands and a few flying clubs, closing for good in 1959. The old terminal building still stands and is now a visitor and business centre alongside the A23. Towering over the carpark out the front is a DeHavilland Heron, sporting the colours of Morton Air Services. Its a replica of the last passenger flight out of Croydon and an interesting landmark on an otherwise dull day collecting some faulty equipment from one of our customers.

CTRL-ALT-DEL

When we moved house in 2010 we left behind a lovely next door neighbour (we inherited some nice ones too at the new house) Carole was our first neighbour and has a special place in our hearts, we've been there for each other through the good times and the bad times and when we moved (only a mile or so up the road) we vowed to stay in touch....we can't get rid of her now! Todays picture is what I have been mainly looking at, her laptop. I was on it when I woke up and when I came home from work. Its now hopefully working fine, has loads of freed up disk space and will provide a few more years service. My payment(not that I want any) a slap up lunch in a local pub before Christmas. Mmmm

I like driving in my car

I've been into cars for as long as I can remember. Anything motorised with wheels does it for me, so it was inevitable that Lily would be exposed to some cool cars from an early age. She had her first ride in a classic car (the camper) on route to her first classic car show when she was just three weeks old. Now every child needs their own set of wheels sooner or later and every little girl loves something pink (well our little girl does!) so this combines the best of both worlds. I was over in France for work earlier in the year and spotted these metal bodied ride on toys in a little shop in Calais and thought one would make a nice Christmas present, roll the calendar forward a few months and the online search was turning up some expensive prices in the UK, a chance hit on Amazon led to a French shop that imported them, when combined with some Nectar points and the sale of my old PSP the car cost me £10, bargain. It was built in the kitchen and stored in the garage until it was wrapped and slid under the tree. Ripped open on the 25th Lily was a little nervous at first but soon started pushing it round the lounge and finally getting the hang of slinging her leg over the seat and riding it. Its a pedal car next and then we can start looking at engines!

Old meets new

What was once a bit of a dive is now a pleasant place to walk. Forbury Gardens has been around since the 1850s. The Maiwand Lion was added in the late 1880s to commemorate the deaths of members of the 66th Berkshire Regiment during the campaign in Afghanistan. Its the site of the first meeting of Lily's Great Grandparents over 50 years ago as well so it has some significance for the family and its a place we want to take Lily in the future so she too can enjoy the area. Towering over all of this is The Blade. A 14 storey glass and steel office building that was completed a couple of years ago. Some consider it an eyesore, but to me its progress and a sign of an ever evolving town.

Mile deep paint

The bulk of my photos each year are of cars and as we go to loads of Volkswagen events its mainly Beetles and Campers so the first car of the year is unsurprisingly air-cooled, but unusually a Type 3 Squareback. It was a stunner, ultra shiny paint and loads of gleaming chrome along with a monster drop on air. Like buses a second and then third Type 3 appeared during the afternoon.

Auntie Nettie

When I was a child I should have had three Aunts, my dads two sisters and my mums sister in law. But like the Peter Kay routine about Auntie Sandra, "she wasn't my real auntie, she just cut my mums hair!" I had loads of people I called Auntie. Lily is going to be the same with loads of friends we seem to be referring to as Aunts and Uncles. Kims work colleague Lynette has become Auntie Nette and Lily loves her. The added bonus of lots of Aunts and Uncles is we can drink a coffee in StarBucks in peace!

Comedy signs

I had one of those desk top calendars in 2011, you know the sort, 365 different pages with something amusing for each day. This one had signs from around the world with hilarious writing. Well today I found my very own comedy sign in Hereford. On route to a site there for work the Sat-Nav was a little slow and we turned off too early and ended up at a dead end facing this sign. All the fields on the way in were submerged so it was no surprise to find the carparks by the river were as well.

Men at work

Inspiration comes from the most unlikely sources. Whilst flicking round the internet the other night I came across the Daily Mail website, in amongst all the Z list celebrity bashing and angry moaners I saw a piece on a chap who used tiny Hornby figures in photos. Not having any railway figures or a proper macro lens I picked the next best thing, LEGO. I'm looking for a cheap but good quality macro lens for the future, but in the mean time I'm quite pleased with this shot, expect more to come.

Hidden gems

I'm often up in the Big Smoke for work, mainly just going to a site in the van and back again, but occasionally when no tools or kit are required I hop on the train to Paddington and then Tube it round followed by a nice walk. Having a wander along the back streets and side roads usually reveals something unusual and today was no exception. With time to kill and needed to burn off the sausage sandwich from lunch I took a stroll around the block before my 2pm. Lots of boring industrial units and a council estate but hidden at the end behind a café was today's hidden gem. An old Fiat 500 scrapyard. It was the front to an Italian car specialist and was full of slowly decaying classics, some ripe for a restoration, others ready to give up their parts for others.

Tea time

The subject matter today is something very close to my heart, food. More specifically "Toad in the Hole", its a tricky dish to master as I have a hit'n'miss relationship with batter, but after some festive TV catch up I gathered a new batter recipe from Jamie Oliver and was keen to try it out.

Recipe:

In a square baking tin pour some oil and add six nice sausages, place in top of really hot oven for 15 minutes.

Break three eggs into a glass and measure the level.

Measure to the same level as the eggs for milk and plain flour.

Pinch of salt.

Mix all the above and leave to stand for a few minutes.

When the oil is smoking hot and the sausages are browned, pour the batter over and place back in oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and risen.

Its the last bit that rarely happens and the same was true today, I was in a rush and I don't think the oil was hot enough coupled with perhaps a touch too much batter mix in the pan. But it tasted good and had risen evenly albeit not much. Plans are in hand to try again over the weekend in place of the usual roast. Time to prepare and hopefully get it right.

New Years clean up

I know the twelfth night isn't until friday, but with Lily running round the house and getting into everything it makes sense to pack away when she isn't around. So with her dispatched to my parents till the afternoon we set about de-festivefying the house. Within a few hours the cards were down, the decorations packed and reloaded into the loft and the tree dispatched outside ready to be recycled. It signifies the end of lovely ten days off, relaxing with the family and seeing old friends. Back to work tomorrow.

Getting started

Its something I've been meaning to do for a few years now. Take a photo every day for a year. Now last year I must have taken well over 35000 photos, that's getting on for 100 a day, but these were at various shows, meets and trips out. What I'm aiming to do is capture a little bit of me for 12 months. I'll be keeping my trusty Canon 400D handy as well as my Galaxy S mobile and anything else that takes a snap. Some photos will be just a snapshot of the day, where time permits I can focus on different styles of photography, hopefully improving as time goes by and also picking the best shot from a weekend away or a trip out. Its going to need dedication to keep it up, but there's only 364 photos to go now.....just remembered its a leap year. 365 to go!