Over flowing

After the last weeks rain fall, it was a pleasant surprise to wake up this morning to glorious sunshine. Having finished my rooftop job and returned to the office I took a stroll around town at lunch time and ventured down to County Lock, its the lock on the River Kennet just before The Oracle. The water level at the shopping centre was just below the footpaths so I knew the3 lock would be bad. The water was a lot higher than normal, where usually there is a drop off a weir of a few feet the water was heading straight over in torrents. Its so fast at this point that the local fire brigade use it for river rescue practise.

Rain, Rain,

....Go away;
Come again,
April day;
Little Johnny wants to play

Whats yours is mine

I tired my hardest, but its another Lily & Kim photo today. My oldest mate was back in town so we met up with him and his wife for lunch in town. We opted once more for Giraffe as they have Red Stripe on tap which reminds me that I'm normally supping a pint or two of this at Santa Pod over this weekend. Instead of wallowing in mud at a VW show we were noshing on some tasty grub and catching up on the last four months or each others lives. Lily had her own plate and was scavenging bits from everyone until it came time for pudding. She commandeered Kims Rocky Road Sundae as her own, long spoon and everything.

Together again

Kim has been away at a conference all week, its the first time she and Lily have been apart for more than a night. She left early on Monday and didn't get back till late on Thursday. Fridays is always mummy daughter day as they go swimming and messy play. Its very tiring, this is how I found the pair of them when I got in from work. Sets me up nicely for a weekend together.

Artistic with a can

I'm a fan of graffiti, not the badly scrawled gibberish from some pathetic low life with nothing better to do than paint "M Khan is bent" on a wall (thats an 80s Mary Whitehouse Experience reference for those old enough to remember the comedy show!) But something with meaning, something that brightens up an otherwise dull part of a town. A couple of years ago we trekked all over Brighton checking out the art work on the walls, it was fascinating. I was taking a shortcut down an alley in Tooting when I spied this, too big to get in one photo, it stretched for probably 30 or 40 metres down the wall.

Industrial Kew

Working all week in South London, I've taken a variety of routes to and from the area. Today I came past the impressive Kew Steam Museum. Another place on my list of sites to visit when I get time it houses a huge collection of engines and the history of Londons water supply. The centre of the site is dominated by the Standpipe Tower, it houses long pipes that take up the excess water created during pumping to even the pressure out and protect the mains pipes. There is also a chance to ride on Londons only steam railway too!

Prancing horse

Made famous by Magnum PI in Targa form, the Ferrari 308 is a stunning car. not the sort of motor you expect to see parked up on an industrial estate in sunny Birmingham.

I have the power

Built in the 1930s to supply electricity to parts of London, Battersea Power Station is an icon on the banks of the River Thames. Its the largest brick built building in Europe and towers above the area. Decommissioned in the mid 1980s its become very tatty, but owing to its listed status remains an important landmark on the skyline. Its been used for countless TV programs, sporting events and album covers and I see it everytime I drive along the embankment, but I rarely get up close to it. Being south of this week gave me that chance.

All aboard

After a lazy start to the day we headed out in the afternoon. We were helping some friends out who were moving the next day by looking after their little boy, Rupert. He is the same age as Lily and they go swimming together. As our friends live just up the road from Beale Park we decided that was a good place to go. Pity about the rain! It did ease off so we got to walk around a bit, but a return trip in sunnier weather is called for. Luckily the train was still running so we took a ride around the park which the kids loved.

On the drums!

It was party time on saturday. Our friends little girl Molly was two and invited a few friends over for cake and playtime. Its nice to see all the kids playing together and sharing the toys around. Lily was quite taken with this drum. Now do I really want to buy her something noisy!

Build it up

Spotted this in the front reception of our customers building. It was huge and built from a few hundred thousand LEGO bricks at an IT expo last year. Everybody that came to the companies stand added a few bricks.

Childhood toys revisited

When we were kids, my brother and I had a vast collection of toy cars, everything from fire engines to racing cars in all sizes. I have no idea where most came from, they were just always there. As he got older, I got my brothers cast offs. But there was one set I waited ages for until finally it was mine. The JPS Lotus Elite towing the Formula One car. It was brilliant, you could tow the racer round the lounge before unhooking the trailer and racing the car. It was first released in 1976 (I would have been -1!) and was only around until the early 1980s in a couple of different schemes. I've seen them go for over £100 MiB so I was gutted when in a clear out it along with most of my other toys were packed off to charity shops and jumble sales. So years later I hunted it down again, and for £25 at a toy fair I located a very tidy unboxed example. It now sits in the study on a shelf, coming down onto my desk to be wheeled about occasionally. I will never part with it again!

Prints arrived at last

After getting the virtual copies I waited for the prints from my Lomo camera to come through. The chunky envelope dropped on the mat and I ripped it open. In print they look great, there are still lots of lessons to be learnt but I'm pleased to get a handful of good shots that show what the camera is supposed to do.

Culinary success

One of my first photos this year was of a failed attempt at Toad in the Hole. It turned into to bangers & mash as the batter didn't rise. Today I had an early finish from work so set to in the kitchen. I followed the same batter recipe and was careful with all my prep. Slotting the sizzling pan into the oven I crossed my fingers and retreated to the sofa. 30 minutes later and it had risen, boy had it risen. three inches high in parts, crispy but still soft and tasting delicious. I combined it with mash and peas and a cold pint. I was beyond chuffed and Kim and Lily polished it all off. Now I need to replicate it!

2D food

I saw this really cool piece of art in the kitchen of a Chelsea town house. It looked almost real from a distance

One piece at a time

A few weeks ago I picked up a bargain pair of front indicator lenses for our Camper. The 1971 originals having cracked and crazed in the Californian sunshine. What I forgot was new rubber seals to stop the water getting back in. I picked a set up at JK in the week and on a sunny Sunday morning set yo fitting them up. four screws each side freed off the perished rubbers and a clean up and a refit saw the front of the van looking far better.

Happy campers

My brother decided to treat his girlfriend to a weekend away in a Camper for her birthday. She would dearly love an old van so this is probably a good way to gauge how they'd get on. Sadly the first van he hired was a pup, mechanically it was knackered with gears hard to find and throttle response non existent. Finding this out on the morning you are due to go away is not good and personally I don't know how the chap who owned it can live with himself taking money for a heap. We offered our van as a replacement but it proved impossible to get insurance other than "any other car" from his policy so it was a stroke of luck that another hire company in the area who have a reciprocal arrangement with the original hirer was free. We popped over to check the van out in the morning and it was a beauty. Clean, well looked after and well stocked with all those camping essentials. As I type the sun is shining down so the weekend has been saved.

Best of intentions

I had planned on being really good today. But I didn't get away from work as early as I had planned so my idea of rustling up a delicious meal for tea went completely out the window when our friend Carole popped round. The Dominoes leaflet with voucher that dropped through the letterbox was too tempting to throw away.....

Spare parts

At the recent Volksworld Show I nabbed a bargain when I bought a pair of new lenses for the indicators on the front of the Camper. The old ones being cracked and dirty. I swapped them over soon after but discovered that the rubbers that seal them are well past it too. Normally this would mean a long wait until a show came up to get them at or pay postage. As luck would have it I was working not far from Just Kampers this week. They have almost an entire Camper on the shelf in parts and quickly found the two rubber gaskets I needed. Fitting will be a weekend job soon.

Towering above

Whilst on route to a job in London, I had a few minutes to spare as we couldn't start until after 5pm so I took a detour past the foot of the BT Tower. Built in the early 1960s it was the tallest building in London for almost 20 years. I've seen it from many angles but never from underneath. Its really quite a spectacular sight.

Boom goes the custard!

I was having a bit of a lie in on the first day back to work. Kids still off means no traffic which equals a quick drive in. As I lay dozing I heard "LILY!" followed by " You can explain to Daddy why you aren't wearing your sleepy suit now" Custard for breakfast. Whatever next!

Damp days racing

For over a decade I have been going to the season opener at Castle Combe. Kim was at Uni in Bath and we discovered the track in the late 1990s. Ever since then I have been to at least one race meet a year, often several. Today was a wash out, we drove down the M4 in rain and it went from drizzle to downpours every few minutes. It never let up. We bailed out half way through as both us and our cameras were getting too wet to carrying on enjoying it. Heaven knows what it must have been like for the drivers out on track

Easter mess

We try not to give Lily too much chocolate. She might have a bag of Cadbury buttons a couple of times a week if she is good. But with Easter comes the temptation of eggs, lots of them. She has had quite a few and they are stacked in the kitchen to slowly work her way through them. I suspect we may help her out from time to time! But her first egg from Granny she had all to herself and made a proper mess of things!

Egg hunting

Kim is always keen to start little traditions for Lily, things we can carry on for years and make certain times of the year a bit memorable. As its Easter Weekend it was Easter Egg hunting time. Its always more fun hunting with a friend so we invited Molly (and her family) over for the morning. Before the rain came in the girls, clutching their goody bags heading into the garden to scavenge for chocolaty treats. A big haul was found by them both and they seemed to really enjoy themselves scurrying round.

Great Friday

Its now a Good Friday tradition that we clamber aboard the Camper and drive over to Rushmoor Arena in Aldershot for Wheels Day each year. Now in its 38th running of the event its a massive gathering of American, Classic, British, Japanese, Volkswagon, Hotrod.....in fact anything goes really. We avoided the mistake of last year when we cruised in late with LTV and spent a couple of hours in a hot queue. This time with Malcs and Family in the Spilt, us and Auntie Nette in the Camper and Steve in his 911 we had a Flat 14 convoy from home. Parked by 8:30 we were noshing on bacon rolls by 9am and walking round soon after. There are probably 2000+ vehicles there and I took a few hundred photos so picking just one is very tricky. But this Dodge Monaco was parked along side us all day so this will do.

Can I have a number 6, number 14 and the duck please

After a couple of long weeks it was the start of a long weekend for Easter. A combination of double bonus and lots of overtime meant a treat was due. So instead of slaving away in the kitchen we walked over to the local Chinese. Kei's is brilliant. We went there when Kim was heavily pregnant to celebrate her due date, secretly hoping the spicy food would speed things up. 11 days later we were able to put that myth to bed! Today was Lilys first sit down Chinese and she made the typical school girl error or filling up on prawn crackers and starters. She just about had room for some duck pancakes before admitting defeat!

Let it snow....again!

After a couple of weeks of blue skies and sunshine I was hoping for more as I headed 250 miles north to Leeds for work. Sadly it was drizzling as I left home but worse was to come. As I joined the M1 at Donnington it turned to snow that began to settle. The traffic got heavier and I decided to pull off to grab some supplies and a prepare myself should I get stuck in it for a while. This is the scene that greeted me as I pulled in to the services. Luckily it didn't get any worse and by the time I was heading home to Reading it was back to sunshine again.

The Cube

Todays jaunt was up to Birmingham. I had some survey work to carry out in a building called "The Cube" Heres what the buildings website says.

Inspired by a visually enchanting jewellery box.

Standing tall on the architectural world stage, The Cube, has transformed Birmingham’s skyline, raised its global profile and signifies a new era in the city’s evolution.

Inspired by the vision of award winning architect, Ken Shuttleworth, this most prestigious landmark building animates the canalside offering cutting edge design and breathtaking views in a designer neighbourhood.

Situated in the thriving Westside district of the city centre neighbouring The Mailbox, the intricate glowing tessellations blanket the exterior façade, to be admired from afar. Inside this fascinating ‘jewellery box’, a rich mix of slick residential apartments, exclusive retail, extensive office space, boutique hotel, private spa, a hi-tech automated car park and the city’s first rooftop restaurant reside.

Paying homage to the city’s jewellery heritage, Ken Shuttleworth and his talented team at Make architects visualised a shimmering structure, hovering above a glazed base with bold, geometric form.

The building twists upwards, creating an asymmetrical lightwell central to the public space. Terracing on the upper levels embraces a gem-like courtyard and internal courtyard spaces are lined with glass.

The Cube now sits comfortably in Ken Shuttleworth’s impressive portfolio, alongside prestigious, world famous architecture such as London’s Swiss Re building widely known as ‘The Gherkin’, Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank and 55 Baker Street. A confident statement for a confident city.

Its certainly different.

Off to the Lomo lab

I used the last few shots from my DianaF+ this afternoon and set about getting them processed. After the failed attempts at BOOTS I've opted for the Lomo lab in London. They can cross process to give the vivid colours and contrasts, they can print to the edge of the negative so the sprocket holes will be visible and they can scan them in as well. All for £16. I've applied for the packaging to send them off then its a case of wait and see. The added bonus is they upload them online so I get them quicjer before the prints arrive back.

Edit: The last few shots were round the house. I still need to work on the flash and getting the most from the style of photos the camera should produce. I feel a change of film to something with a higher ISO may help a bit too

Keep on running

For the first time we had somebody to cheer on in the Reading Half Marathon today. Two people in fact. Kims cousin, Jo was running as was Lynette. A work friend. With several thousand people coming past its very difficult to spot anyone you know, eyes flick back and forward like a barcode scanner looking for the right colour number and then checking the faces to confirm. It was tricky and we missed getting a nice shot of Jo as she sped past in a big group. Luckily Nette was in a part of the massive group that had thinned out a tiny bit and with lots of pairs of eyes we saw her with a few seconds to spare. She was smiling as she passed by and with good reason. Her target time was about two and half hours and she completed it in 2hrs 33 mins.