Provence

This is an Algerian forestry worker I photographed on the Walk in Provence. I think his face says it all.

Netball & Provence

Rowan had her first netball match of the season this week, she was captain and they beat their arch rivals 6-3, having been 3-1 down. Everyone pleased. Today she is off to a sleepover party so we only have the dog to worry about.

Another Frenchman posing like he should, this time in Provence on the last leg of the Walk.

Francois Miro

Dropping down from the Pyrenees we stayed with the Catalan ceramicist Francois Miro in Prades who befriended us. He was an amazing and kind man who had a way of asking you to repeat what you said [he was deaf] that I can still replicate today. "COMMENT??" he would squeal. A great man.

Accordion

This old man really was playing his accordion on his stoop in the Pyrenees, entertaining passers by. Seemed like a film set but it was 100% real.

Pyrenees 2

Walking through the Pyrenees was a great experience. The mountains were far less developed than the Alps with a real sense of wilderness.

1984 still

After the Camino came the Pyrenees where we were joined by friend Thelma for a week. We are still in touch, and she'll be reading this blog. In the early days of the route we were in the Basque country with limestone mountains, flocks of sheep and vultures.

Camino de Santiago

In Spain we walked the Pilgrimage route to Santiago in reverse which meant we saw a stream of pilgrims coming towards us over the 3 weeks it took us to walk on the medieval track http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/ These three passed us on a hot arid plain wearing full habits and shades.

1984

Meanwhile back in 1984, the Walk carried on. We finished off the Alps in San Valentino in Austria, then took a train from Milan to Santiago de Compostella in Galicia in north east Spain. From there we walked east to St Jean Pied de Port in France, along the Pyrenees then across Languedoc and Provence to finish in Nice [which was from where we had started the Alps.]

This photo is from Galicia. The houses there are built from massive blocks of granite. The footpaths are made from the same stone: it is an elemental and timeless place.

London

I met up with friend Mark last week. He is a publisher so I returned with lots of books - including this series of four books that he put together for Oxfam http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ox-Tales-Earth-Tales-Rose-Tremain/dp/1846682584

The photo is of someone on the beach on the Thames

Mug

I had to get some mugshots for my badminton club membership, so here it is; me at 51 and threequarters.

My niece Sarah has got her name in cyberspace http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/Channels/Communications/Article/938107/Party-conferences-not-best-lobby-us-say-MPs/ linked to her work. Danielle came across the article through her work.

Tour of Britain

I managed to nip over and see the finish of the first stage of the Tour of Britain cycle race http://www.tourofbritain.co.uk/ on Saturday when Rowan was running. It was strange to see the peloton on roads that I ride all the time. I managed to get this shot as they wound the pace up in the final 500metres.

Whine

Thought you might like to see what Milo looks like when not in silhouette. Here he is. I was at a Wine Society tasting today with friends John Heather and Adrian, trying out overrated French wine from 2005 - good fun though.

High Jump

Danielle went a five mile run with the dog [went well], I went a ride in the Wolds on Sunday, and Rowan took part in the York Open Athletics meeting. She was in the high jump this time and won with a jump of 1 metre 30. The high jump coach approached her to suggest some specialist coaching: I don't know if she can fit it all in.

Sheep and Iron

I took Milo for a walk on the North York Moors, to get him used to sheep. If he chases them farmers have the right to shoot him, so it is an important thing. I think he is getting the message.

I went on the old mineral line at Rosedale again. The legacy of the iron ore workings is two-fold. Great tracks to walk on across the moors from the old railway lines, and interesting bits of industrial archeology here and there. The lines were only shut down in the 1920s so are not that long abandoned. The ruins even manage to look like modern public sculptures. The irony is that today an industrial railway in a National Park would never happen.

Braids

Rowan decided to have her hair braided, it makes it easier to manage, especially with all the swimming she does. A woman came over from Leeds and did it for her a couple of weeks ago: everyone is happy with it.

Milo

For obvious reasons we are not counting our chickens with the dog Milo, but so far so good. He is a lovely young dog and he and Rowan get on well. Here's hoping.

Spuds

Each year I plant out the potatoes with the best intentions of having first-earlys, main-crop etc etc. As usual the reality is that they all stay in the ground to about now when I dig the lot up. This year the Desirees [I only know them because they are pink] have done really well. The white ones [provenance unclear]are pretty good too. It is the best crop for a few years, so the British summer weather was good for something after all.

The photo is of the Snape Maltings concert hall in Suffolk. We saw Danielle's friend Jacob play here a few years ago.

Snape

Snape Maltings in Suffolk is a great place to photograph.

The final phase of our kitchen revamp begins today - the floor is being put down. It will take three days, and we are looking forward to it all being over.

Stand Up

I saw Rob in London yesterday. Always good to catch up with him. He is re-inventing himself as a stand-up comedian, which seems pretty brave to me.

The photo is of the hotel at Aldeburgh. It is right on the beach which is great for Rowan, who can run straight out there.

The Return

Things are all settling down a bit now. Rowan back at school, I am back at work. It felt good to get stuck into work again, I have two main bits of consultancy at the moment. One up north on Intermediate Care [trying to stop old people getting put into hospital when they don't need to be there] and one in London on re-launching teams of workers from different work backgrounds. Both major on trying to get NHS [health service] workers and local government [council] workers to work together. Not as easy as it might seem.

The photo is of the River Alde at Snape in Suffolk from our holiday.

Swim and Ride

Rowan was swimming in a gala yesterday, I went a ride with Dave to Knaresborough; he updated me on his successful end-to-end ride in the summer.

The photo is another of the visit to Aldeburgh, this shows Tom & Catherine with children Iona and Edward. Rowan and cousin Sarah are there as well.

Quaker Rap

Went to Edwards for a meal last night, John, Katie and Eleanor were there as well so we all had a great time and great food. The one down side was that we were all worrying about Howling Milo who reacts to our departure with wolf-like howls of anguish - he'll get over it.

There are not that many great Quaker raps on You Tube ... but here is one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XlMkK4_kTg

The photo is of Rowan and cousin Will striding down the mean streets of Aldeburgh

Aldeburgh

Mother kindly treated us to a few days by the sea at Aldeburgh again. It was a great relaxing week. One day Markus's relatives came over to see us all. In the photo are brother, sister in law, nephew and parents. Markus is my niece Sarah's partner by the way.

Chopper

Here is another of Rowan's photos from Gateshead - it is world champion Philipps Idowu in the triple jump.

Last night we had a police helicopter over the moor at11pm - much mystery about it all. The local paper, with its usual incisiveness tells us not very much at all --- http://www.thepress.co.uk/news/4581325.York_woman_found____fit_and_well____after_police_helicoptor_search/

New School New Dog

Today is Rowan's first day at her new secondary school - very excited. We have got a new dog after the Homer trauma. He is 10 months old, called Milo, and another rescue mixture. All going well so far. When I went to take a picture of Rowan he rushed to get in the photo too. The other photo is of Rowan on her first day ever at school, 7 years ago.

Gateshead Photo 1

So here is Rowan's first photo of Dwight Phillips the world long jump champion who was performing right in front of us.

Gateshead

Friend Paul works for Aviva in York, so he got Rowan and I together his daughter and Rowan's friend Francis, into the Athletics Meeting at Gateshead yesterday http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/8214231.stm

We had VIP tickets, a tour of the stadium, got to meet Iwan Thomas http://www.iwanthomas.co.uk/ and saw 30 of the medalists from the Berlin World Championships including Tyson Gay in the 100metres. A really good day. Rowan was in charge of the photos so I will post some in future posts.

One From Scotland

I found this one from Scotland and, once printed, out it really stood out. It is hard to tell what is reflection and what is real. You will need to click on it to really get the feel for it.

New Work

And here is another possible contender. This is from the Lakes last week. Comments gratefully received.

The Cut

Deciding which images make the cut for the next exhibition is always an on-going organic process. This is one which will be in the mix, not sure if it will make it yet ...

Rock

The great thing about the campsite we stay on in the Lakes is that it has these typical rocky outcrops all through it. This means that kids can just spend the whole time climbing, claiming and enjoying. This is Phoebe and Rowan on top of the castle.

The Lakes

I had forgotten how much I loved the Coniston Fells. The combination of the views of Morecambe Bay to the south and Scafell to the north west make for a great feeling of space and drama. We must get over there more often ... but I always say that. So much to do!

Black Coombe

Danielle came to the Lakes by train [she had to work in the day on Friday]. I picked her up from Foxfield station which was a pleasure. It is the middle of nowhere, with this view of the mighty Black Coombe looming up behind. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Combe

Blind Tarn

Our walk took us past Blind Tarn which is famous for having no visible stream exiting it.

Keswick

We came back via Keswick where I had a couple of photos exhibited as part of the Anon2 exhibition http://www.keswick.org/article.asp?id=1119018471 . Each artist had the size of a CD cover to work on, then the works were all exhibited as shown in the photo. Worth doing, and worth seeing too.

The Lakes

We have been camping for the weekend in the Lakes with friends Paul and Hilary, and their

daughters Francis and Phoebe. Francis is one of Rowan's best friends. It went really well, ranging from a great walk up Dow Crag in the dry, to a soaking wet Sunday morning escape from the campsite in the Duddon Valley.

More Wildlife

One morning whilst the others slept, I took the bike for a spin and had this dear for company as I paused for a drink. Loch Ewe in the background.

Scotch Argus

We saw this Scotch Argus butterfly at Inverewe on our Scottish holiday.

The distillery we visited was Loch Ewe, and very nice the single malt tasted too. http://www.lochewedistillery.co.uk/

World Champs

We all went down to London at the weekend. Rowan was running in an invitational schools biathlon at Crystal Palace that was part of the World Pentathlon Championships http://www.pentathlongb.org/mpwc/ . It was very exciting [she was on the track that Usein Bolt had run on last month], and she came fourth.

We stayed with friend Cathy [in photo with Rowan] in Brockley, South London and had a great weekend. Really good to see her, sitting in the garden drinking wine, watching Jessica Enis win gold on the TV.

Ride It

We had a brilliant bike ride one day in Scotland. From Gairloch a road goes north all the way to a lighthouse at the end of the peninsular. The sun shone, Gannets plunged, the road twisted, we even had a disposable barbecue with us so it was bangers and spuds for lunch. The only downside? I forgot my camera.

Wilderness Day

One day Rowan and Danielle stayed at the chalet and had a potter day. I went on a walk in the wilderness area behind Aultbea. It is a fantastic plateau with endless lochs and lochans. I walked to Fion Loch on a track then went off-piste across an area known as Bad Bog [it was] before dropping down to Poolewe. I had the place totally to myself, and saw a Sea Eagle [magnificent, near and a bit scary] and a Black Throated Diver on a lochan. A really great walk.

Inverewe Gardens

Day one of our Scotland holiday we cycled on one of the Destitution roads in the area to Inverewe Gardens http://www.gardens-scotland.co.uk/inverewe.html just down the road from where we stayed. It was great to see the gardens again [lush, sheltered, palm trees etc].

As you can see the gardens were designed for the little people only.

Aultbea

After the Wales trip our Celtic connection continues with a week in a self catering place in Aultbea in Scotland. This is the area, Wester Ross, that Danielle and I visited 12 years ago when Rowan was an internal guest. So when people ask her if she has been here before, she replies "well, sort of".
Self catering has certainly come on since then. Our chalet is fantastic, [washing machine, cafetiere, digital TV etc] with views over the loch and so on. Lots of news from the stay to come. Highlights so far have included seeing a Sea Eagle and visiting a distillery [in that order I hasten to add]

Veg News

having blog problems at the moment.
The dwarf french beans have been the big failure in the veg garden this year. They grow to just the right height for pests to get them: resulting in hardly any for us. The brocolli (protected by netting ) is great though

Kitchen

Another photo from the Festiniog railway.

We are having our kitchen done at the moment, so have migrated upstairs to the microwave, kettle and David and Gwen's camping stove. Suffice to say it will be good when it is finished.

Netball & Running

Rowan has been at a Leeds Carnegie Netball camp for the last 2 days. It was for 12-14 year olds, but her teacher sugested she go for the older age group to have a more challenging time. She loved it. It was so strange to see Rowan as amongst the smallest in the group! that has never happened before.

Danielle did the York 10k run http://www.runforall.com/york/ on Sunday and had a good time. Next year I will join her [honest]

The photo is another from our walk from Aberdovey.

Aberdovey Day 4

We persuaded Rowan to go a walk with us one day. [The days of dragging her up Cadar Idris are long gone]. The route took us from the hotel over the hills, across Happy Valley then up and over into the Talylyn valley where [amazingly] the steam train was arriving in time to take us to Tywyn from where we walked home. Good stuff.

Aberdovey Day 3

One day we drove to the dunes that we can see from the hotel across the estuary. It is a beautiful area of dunes with a wooden visitor centre hiding in the sand and marram grass.

Aberdovey Day 2

The one really wet day we had, we went on the train to PortMadoc, then took the Festiniog Railway http://www.ffestiniograilway.co.uk/index.asp to the slate town of Blaenau Festiniog. I had made the trip here from the north when I was 11 with my friend Mathew. Two little boys making a train journey on their own from Preston with about 4 changes each way - wouldn't happen now. Blaenau was just how I remembered it - grim. But interesting.

Pendle Pedal

Dave is away cycling Lands End to John O'Groats with some friends / family, so I did the Barnoldswick Sportive today alone http://www.pennineevents.co.uk/PendlePedal2009Details.html

It was a great route, probably the toughest I have yet done, but only 100k. It went up Pendle Hill twice and countless other climbs. The longer the time since I finished the better it gets.

It was a strange experience because many of the places were very familiar names from my childhood [Trough of Bowland, Chipping, Dunsop Bridge, Longridge Fell, Jeffrey Hill, New Drop Inn, Clitheroe, Hurst Green] which I have visited very little since. It really is beautiful country and great for cycling.

The photo is another from Aberdovey - Rowan pulling some shapes.

Day 1 Aberdovey

Danielle came a day late to Aberdovey, she was making her way back from her father's funeral. It went very well, with over 200 people attending the memorial service at Aunt Sheila's church.

Danielle got the train from London to Aberdovey, this is her train arriving with Rowan looking for her. She is carrying the plastic petanque set that proved a big success on the beach this year.