Fricking lasers

After a few weeks indoors installing for work in sweltering heat, it was nice to get up on a roof top in the pouring rain and fit a laser link once more!

Long range Olympics

With the Olympics well under way now I managed to get another glimpse of the park, this time from Highgate, several miles out!

Very late Christmas presents

Our old next door neighbour Carole, who we still keep in contact with. Is a fan of the daytrip as a gift idea, so stealing it from her we decided for Christmas last year to take her to Highclere Castle, the place where Downton Abbey is filmed. She is a big fan of the series and was very excited by the prospect. Fast forward nearly eight months and we finally had a dry (to start with) free day to go. I use to look after the security system in a former life and have been all over the building, but it was interesting to go back having watched a few snippets of the TV program to see the set.

Lily Lomo

After a very late night  (for us anyway) watching the opening ceremony, we had a lazy start and Lily had a play in the garden. With bright sunshine and having not tried it for a while I loaded up a fresh roll of 35mm into my DianaF+ and took a few shots. Lily even had a go to. I have no idea what they'll come out like but once they are back we'll see.

Pitstop for The King

On route to Bedford today I pulled off the M1 at Toddington services. Santa Pod was obviously holding an American meet as the car park had several muscle cars and in the truck stop a few drag cars on trailers including this replica of Richard Petty's Superbird.

ART DRIVE!

In the build up to the Olympics, the London 2012 Festival is putting on a massive cultural celebration all over the place. From plays and family days to art exhibitions. I'm not normally one for galleries, but when they are built inside an old multi story car park and the works on display are 16 of the 17 BMW Art Cars that are rarely together at the same time, I make an exception. I read about it on Retro Rides and as I had to drive through London to get from Greenwich to Watford I would be passing right by the door. I afforded myself half an hour off to nose around. Really I could have done with a few hours to take it all in but it was enough time to be amazed at seeing these masterpieces in the metal.

Is there some sporting event on?

After yesterdays barge full of rings I thought I better give BP a nod for this monster hoarding, spread over half a dozen billboards at Earls Court Corner and normally reserved for massive films, its truly epic with a massive torch making the centrepiece.

Olympics are getting everywhere!

With only a few days to go till things kick off at London 2012 the trip through London to our site is getting more and more Olympified. Floating in the middle of the Thames near Battersea we spotted these massive rings.

Give peas a chance

Back in the mists of time a clever artist called PEAS tagged the viaduct over the M25 near the M40 junction. A few years later some witty chaps added the extra wording to create a motorway legend. I've driven under it hundreds if not thousands of times but for once the sun was shining, the sky was blue and I was in the passenger seat.

Putting your best foot forward

What better thing to do on a sunny and warm Sunday than a walk to the shop for an ice cream and a a go on the swings. Lily is now happy to walk most of the way there and back again which eases the strain on the back and knees!

Boys day out

I've not been to Castle Combe since the first race of the season. Wet weather and other commitments have got in the way. But this weekend there was a two day event which included the CSCC Special Saloons. A championship for old 70s and 80s silhouette cars and Thunder saloons. My brother wasn't doing anything so we cruised down the M4 in his Vantage and enjoyed some great racing. Sadly the spectacle of the Special Saloons wasn't as great I had imagined. Several of the big name cars were elsewhere.But the other races made up for it and the Carlton ThunderSaloon gave me a glimpse of what the championship has to offer in the future.

Build em up, up, up into the sky

Lily rediscovered her MegaBlocks and decided to build a tower, with a little help from me on the support side it was taller than her in the end!

Crofton Beam Engine

On my way back from a job in Marlborough I spotted a sign for "Beam Engine and Windmill" Off up a country lane I drove until finally I found the chimney smoking away. Built in 1807 its the oldest working beam engine in the world.

Collecting together

Eleven weeks ago I decided to start collecting the BP Royal Mint Medals. Each week you buy a different legend from Team GB for £2 in the petrol station. It came with a free folder to keep them in with some information along side. The first one I brought home with the folder caught Lily's eye (its shiny, she's a magpie!) and she helped me clip it in place. Now every week we have the ritual unwrapping and clipping in the folder, each week she will hold the medal and exclaim "wow" then once its in place she carries it to Kim for inspection. One more week and our countdown is complete.

Anyone for tennis

Another bit of LEGO foolery. I had to Paintshop the tennis ball as I couldn't find Lilys one in the house so I may revisit the photo another time.

Olympic lanes

Just recently new signs have been sprouting up all over London and finally today the first of the special lanes reserved for Olympic cars was opened on the M4. Will there be traffic chaos? If today is anything to go by then no. It was even quieter than a normal school holiday monday morning. I was in to Central London in a little over an hour!

Muddy boots

With the localish car show cancelled we decided as it was sunny and blue skies to head back to The Lookout in Bracknell again. The Camper made the perfect transport so we piled in. Sadly the brakes had seized on, no doubt a legacy of the atrocious conditions we drove in the previous weekend, a bit of rocking soon had them cleared with a bang and we were off. Following a go on the swings and the rest of the playground and a long muddy walk it was off with the boots and wet jeans for Lily.

Patriotic shopping

With the Jubilee and Olympics this year a lot of the shops in town have the bunting up and the flags out. John Lewis (or Heelas to everyone over the age of  25!) went all out this weekend with a massive Union Flag slung under their impressive frontage.

Towering above

Working in East London today and hearing that the M25 and South Circular were pretty busy I decided to do the only sane thing.....drive through the centre of London and pop out on the M4 to get home! On my route I passed all the famous landmarks including The Shard. I couldn't resist taking a tiny detour to the base to look up all 309m of it. Its properly huge!

Full steam ahead

I've pulled off the M5 at the junction for Quinton far too many times as one of our regular customers is nearby. Each time I see a sign for a steam railway and never get a chance to hunt it out. Turns out its actually for the Severn Valley Railway in Kidderminster which is 10 miles off the M5! Luckily it was worth it as this was sitting in the station waiting to leave.

Free beer

Staying away for work again this week. Just the one night and this time in Birmingham. Sadly there were no car meets nearby, but they did have Tribute on tap! Plus I mullered the wifi by watching several hours of TV online!

Olympic torch relay visits town

The London Olympics are nearly upon us. With a couple more weeks to go the 70 day torch relay has finally arrived in Reading. It was passing within a few hundred yards of my office at about 6pm. Kim left work a bit earlier to collect Lily and we parked in the carpark and walked up to London Rd. Finding a good spot opposite the Royal Berks we waited. After about half an hour the tension was building and the first of the convoy drove past, soon there was a cheer and the torch came into view. Ducking down I fired off a few shots and took in the fantastic atmosphere as thousands of people waved it through. We were lucky enough to be right at the front and the bearer could only have been six foot away. All too soon it was over and the crowds dispersed. Quite a memorable day.

Gymkhana 1/64th

In honour of the release of Ken Blocks latest video, Gymkhana V. I decided to muck about with my Hotwheels Fiesta and some daft paintshopping!

Rare sunny morning

With the British GP on this afternoon we again decided to make the most of a rare break in the weather, the downpours were replaced with a bit of blue sky and sunshine (but only for an hour or two) So we drove out to Bracknell and The Lookout. Set in acres of forest land its got MTB trails and walks as well as a coffee shop and playgrounds. With her all in one waterproofs and wellies on, Lily ran around and had a ball.

Making the most of it

With an unexpected free weekend we decided to try and fill it with some fun stuff. We headed over with our Camperjam convoy buddies , Malcolm and family to Jungle Mania. A massive soft play area nearby and had a couple of hours running around like mad things and swinging and sliding around the place.

Camperjam of fail

We were all packed up and on the road before 11am, there was a few spits of rain in the air but we were going for it. Camperjam in Weston Park was the destination, just 150 miles of motorway between home and a chilled weekend away. Within a few minutes the rain got harder and by the top of the M40 when we pulled into Warwick services we were faced with a monsoon! We about turned and drove back in even worse conditions and aborted out weekend away. Photos and reports from site were mixed, some had loads of fun and a dry camp, others were ankle deep in mud and being towed out. We just didn't fancy dealing with it.

On the move

On long drives up and down the country, one of the few ways to amuse myself is spotting cool old and new rides. Theres normally something interesting on route. This time it was a tidy Split Camper.

Away from home

Every so often I have to stay away for work, fortunately we get put up in Premier Travel Inns so you know what you're getting. Work pays for food and drink and as I was finishing off some work, internet as well! Some careless soul in the hotel forgot to lock down the VGA port on the TV so the DVDs I brought with me won't got to waste as the laptop is now hooked up to the big screen!

Wet Welsh Wales

£6, that the amount I had to pay for the privilege of getting into Wales across the Severn Bridge, luckily its free on the way out!

Unimog progress

After making a good start over the weekend I've pushed on nicely with the mighty LEGO build. The first two instruction books are finished and theres now a rolling chassis sitting on the kitchen table! Still a long way to go.

Weeeeeeee

With a free day ahead and the weather not too bad we decided to meet up with some of Kims work friends at the Thatcham Nature Reserve. After a slightly damp lunch by the lake we headed for the playground for some fun. Lily was all about swings and slides, having several goes on each.