Thursday, May 31, 2007

The good Deed

An elderly lady from our church needed a lift to Brighton to see her daughter but could not afford the fare. Besides, she needed to take her wheelchair and various other items.
So I agreed to drive her down but thought we might as well make the most of it by taking along my mother-in-law as company for the old lady on the long drive and Victoria to keep me company.
It all worked out just splendidly and even the weather played along, praise the Lord.
Here are some snapshots:

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Brighton Beach

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Brighton Pier and blue sky

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Me looking at the second pier which went up in flames

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Hey!! This would make a good picture for framing!

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As long as Victoria doesn't get in the way!

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Let's explore the town

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Choices, choices . . .

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Time for coffee!

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Or a beer in the Sussex pub?

All that can be said about Brighton is that the beach is full of stones, the traffic sheer madness, the town pretty boring and there are a gazillion other seaside resorts in Britain which beat Brighton hands down any time.
So the advice from this traveller is:
Don't be fooled by the nice pictures and unless you have to go there because you are doing a good deed . . . DON'T!!!

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Zoom - zoom - zoom

Last weekend we zoomed up to the North of England to visit our friend Carol and whilst we were up there, we visited a small town called Richmond, a village called Gosmont and the seaside town of Whitby.
Here are some pictures:

Richmond

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Carol and Jan in Richmond Market Square

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Village scene

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Richmond Castle (or is it Richmond Ruins?)

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Looking up . . .

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. . . and looking down!!

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Posing??


Gosmont

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Gosmont is one end of the North Yorkshire Steam Railway track

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The 9:10 hours train pulling out of Gosmont station

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I love steam trains. They just have that special character.

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Makes you want to play with your model railway, huh??!!


Whitby

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The Whale Bones at Whitby

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Is the woman on the phone saying: "Yes, I've come to the end of land! Now what??"

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Whitby parking attendant???

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After the rain

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View from the top

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Whitby harbour

Next we will be zooming off South to Brighton!

Friday, May 25, 2007

Answer me this . . .

Greetings, friends,
One of my friends, an old colleague of mine still working at the unmentionable place for a few weeks yet has asked me what I was doing all day long now that I am not working and why I haven't updated the firefly for such a long time.

Well, Gary, here is your answer:

Since Jan, my better half, is still working to keep me in the luxury I've got accustomed to, I get up at about 7 a.m. and together with Victoria take the dog for a walk in the park.

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Here we are at the back of the house just leaving

Once in the park we let the dog off the lead to have a good run around whilst we chat about loads of things and take some pictures.

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Jamie on the loose

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Victoria snapping flowers in the field

Once we get back home we have breakfast together and after putting some washing on I spend some time on the computer dealing with emails or playing with my new software, Adobe Photoshop Element, which does all manners of photo manipulation.

For example, you can turn this
york

into this
York-Art

Then it is time to do some combination of these:
Hang some washing out, do some ironing, hoover the house, change the beds, wash the floors, clean the bathrooms, dust the furniture, . . . . .

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So, as you can see, a house-man's job is never done!

By this time it is lunch-time and Victoria and I have an excursion into town or into Milton Keynes for some coffee and light snack as well as doing the food shopping or I meet with Garry for some pub lunch and a couple of beers.

Victoria and Olivia at M&S
Victoria and Olivia (a friend of hers we happened to meet) at M&S

By the time we get back home it is about 2 p.m. and time for a little snooze in front of the telly or some more Internet surfing.
Then the dog needs to be taken out again

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We love our park with its little river

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and its greenery and with weather like this, who wants to work??


By now the kitchen is waiting for me to prepare dinner for the gang and cook up a storm for the hungry hippos!

food
Roasted Asparagus with Feta Cheese and Chilli & Garlic infused Oil
The evening is for relaxation!

Well, Gary, there you have it! The answer to your question and as you can see I just haven't got time to work!!
As for not updating the blog more often . . . I must confess it is just laziness on my part!
Sorry, everybody!!

Monday, May 07, 2007

Jesus and His Followers at the Theme Park

Last Saturday about 25 young people from our church including 4 drivers set off early in the morning to have a fun day out at Alton Towers, Englands main Theme Park followed by a Christian Concert in the evening.
It was a great day and we met old friends from other churches in our area which we hadn't seen for some time.
Here are the pictures:

Alton Towers
The Ripsaw ride

Alton Towers - Nemesis ride
The Nemesis ride

Alton Towers - Oblivion ride
The Oblivion ride

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Don't look down?? Too late!! Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!

Alton Towers
The Enterprise ride

Alton Towers
The Spinball Whizzer ride

Alton Towers - Flume ride
The Flume ride

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Erik and Victoria on the Flume ride

Alton Towers - Lunch
Meeting up for lunch

Alton Towers - Queueing
Queueing for the rides

Alton Towers
Some of the gang at the Runaway Mine Train ride

Alton Towers - Christian Concert
At the Christian Concert sponsored by Compassion UK

Alton Towers - Christian Concert
Slowly filling up

Alton Towers - Christian Concert
Ever seen 6000 people take their shoes off as the band sings:
"Take off your shoes, you're standing on holy ground!"?

Yup! I am grateful to be a Christian, saved by the grace of God!

Friday, May 04, 2007

Snap-happy in Lincoln

There are far too many pretty towns and villages here in Britain and Lincoln is just one more example of this.
I had some time on my hands when my wife needed to go to her company's Lincoln office, so I tagged along and took some shots:

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Go up "Steep Hill" I was told. "It's well worth it!"

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Half way up (here looking back) I sincerely hoped so!

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More climbing needed but nice houses and little shops

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A small chapel with spring flowers

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Bailgate with its Tudor houses

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Lincoln Cathedral shot from Minster Yard . .

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. . and from Pottergate.

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From the side it could almost pass as York Minster

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Opposite the Cathedral is Lincoln Castle with its walls

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There used to be a wall around the city as in York but now only fragments exist like this one here called Newport Arch

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Inside the castle I felt the urge to climb up to where the flag was flying and to have a walk on the wall

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This is the sight from the wall towards the Cathedrale

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Walking on top of the wall now with the Tower on the right


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Inside the Castle grounds you find the old jail and a copy of the Magna Carta

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as well as this odd looking building which is the Lincoln Magistrates Office

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As I was takeing the lst picture I heard some odd flapping and thought:
"DUCK!!!" . . . . and so it was!!

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On my way down to the town centre now, just glancing back

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Nearly down now and getting more commercial all the time

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Lincoln has worked hard to transform the area around High Street and Waterside

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This is Waterside Shopping Centre looking towards High Street

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Walking towards Brayford Wharf along a small passage

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Brayford Wharf with its many bars on the right

erikpint
Did someone say "BARS"????

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Staggering back via High Street

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A final glance of the Cathedral and just in time to pick up my wife from work

If you ask me which city I preferred - York or Lincoln - I have to give York the edge, as it is flat and does not interfere with the walking after a few pints of beer!!