Arty pictures of Christmas at Canary Wharf

Sorry, feeling a bit abstract at the moment...it's sort of liberating not to worry too much about focus (and things) for a while... ;)

The Red Lion, Northleach

...(and back to the holiday), so, starving, as we had somehow managed to completely miss breakfast, we wandered the streets of Northleach, searching for somewhere to urgently find something to eat -

- and the Red Lion pub beckoned, if only because we were able to ask the lady busying herself outside cleaning the windows if they would be able to serve us something hot...the answer was yes, as long as we were going to order something worth opening the kitchen for (i.e. not a bowl of chips), but that certainly wasn't going to be a problem, so we descended towards the front door and were greeted by a friendly dog -

- who then (sensibly) went and seated himself firmly between the electric fire and the burning log one -

- and we scanned the extensive menu (chalked onto wooden boards above the bar) and despite being rather tempted by the "rack of ribs" I quickly opted for the Irish Stew, Flyingpops the fish and chips...the bread and butter that were intended to accompany my stew arrived first, but were apparently destined to be promptly consumed by Flyingpops, so when the rest of the food came out we were forced to request more (which wasn't a problem), and my *goodness* was the food good...nothing of the chain in evidence, just superb home cooked food, the stew was incredibly rich in flavour with meltingly tender meat, Flyingpops Fish was a complete delight, impossibly crunchy batter and creamy delicate, moist fish within alongside crunchy hand cut chips...both plates went back to the kitchen wiped completely clean...

Try as we might, throughout all of the rest of the break we were drawn back over and over again to the Red Lion, even if it were just for a couple of pints of cask ale, sat by the roaring fire to read the paper in the evening...and I must have ordered the stew three times, each time being as impressed and satisfied as the last...as we settled in to our "local" so we began to notice and start chatting to other regulars, and note with a glow, that the place really was being used as hostelries must have been for hundreds of years, a place to break your journey, get out of the cold and rain, take the weight off your feet, enjoy a comforting drink, exchange a few words with familiar faces and warm your hands before setting back off into the dark...

On our last night, two of the locals, Aiden and Deb (who has been quite taken with baby Thomas) appeared with a Welsh dragon fluffy toy for him, a touching parting gift from a fantastic group of warm and welcoming (largely Welsh, as you can probably guess from the present) folk who we can't thank enough for taking us in during our short trip, hopefully we'll be back, although we might need to stay in a slightly larger cottage... ;)

Happy Christmas

I got sent this and thought it was really good, so had to share with you all... Happy Christmas

http://video.telegraph.co.uk/services/player/bcpid1529569286?bctid=5524339001

Finks Links #82

It's Friday once again, so let's check out just a couple of the cool things from the past week on the interwebs!

Let's start with the Pentagon invites you to play it's red balloon game... ;)

Come on a visit to a steampunked home...

Find out what it's like to live on the ISS...

Find out what you have to put up with to enjoy a cigarette in Thailand... (not pleasant)

An awesome exploding clockwork picture frame...! [video]

...and finally a picture entitled "Gamers mentality"...

More (hopefully) next week...! :)

Work Christmas Decorations

There we go...I've done my part! I know it's a little early...but hey... ;)

Northleach, Cotswolds

So what was the village like? Absolutely charming in fact...on our first walk we met a couple of the local residents -

- who were very pleased to see us (and made Thomas quite excited)... ;) The area, although being largely sheep free on our visit, made an absolute fortune during the 15th Century from the Wool trade and (apart from some semi-sympathetic new housing on the outskirts) most of the buildings date back to that time (and are largely unspoiled) -

- including the "Cathedral of the Cotswolds" the Church of St Peter and Paul -

- which seems disproportionately impressive considering the town it serves (for the reason of enthusiastic funding from wealthy donors) and other buildings obviously built in Tudor times -

- stone on the ground floor with a timber upper storey...

Although nothing much is made of it (oddly, as it would be a fantastic tourist draw) there are also supposed to be a great number of stone vaulted tunnels beneath the town (including, as I mentioned in my last post, the "Guggle" - purportedly some sort of underground chapel - which lent it's name to the lane where we stayed), although no-one seems to know why or when these passages were dug (disappointingly)...

On the edge of town is another point of interest, the old prison -

- apparently you used to be able to tour it, seeing how prisoners were treated when the building was in use -

- unfortunately it's now just a coffee shop (albeit in an unusually shaped building)...

Oh and we couldn't help but be amused by the post office (looking a little more like a farm yard than anything else)...

...the rest of town consists of little alleyways -

- a small convenience store, a dolls house shop, a bakery, some sort of wine bar, a Chinese/fish and chip shop (you know the sort of thing), a very expensive to visit private collection of musical boxes (we didn't do the tour as it was going to cost us almost £20, but the gift shop gave us a decent idea of what to expect)...oh and three pubs (including one that was rather special), but more on that in my next post... ;)

The Bolt Hole, Northleach review

Okay, here we go, sorry for the complete lack of attention lately, there was practically no signal on the mobiles, and very little in the way of internet access during the break, plus I've been a bit lazy going through the photos... ;)

Anyway, lets get back to the break! Set wayback machines to last Monday, clambering into an absolutely packed Poppy the Beetle and driving the two hours to the Cotswolds, specifically the tiny medieval town of Northleach (there is something intensely satisfying at reaching your turning and finding that the place you are going to be staying is signposted by one of those brown road signs indicating a place of interest)...

The place we were staying was called "The Bolt Hole" in Guggle Lane (apparently the "Guggle" being referred to is some kind of underground chapel, but we didn't locate it)...it was a very compact place -

- they referred to it as a "flat", but it's actually more of a bungalow (as you can see) -

- outside there is a tiny courtyard, with the main door into the kitchen/living room and these double doors which lead straight into the bedroom, but the weather wasn't going to give us an opportunity to make use of them (charming as I imagine it would be during the summer months)-

- inside, even though diminutive, the place is absolutely immaculate, the kitchen even boasting a dishwasher alongside the full size fridge, double oven and triple sink...there is a very small sofa and a tiny TV opposite (with some sort of satellite system getting most free channels), in the hall is the boiler and a slimline washing machine (very strange device that you load through the top of the drum), a very well appointed bathroom (with shower) -

- and a good sized bedroom (which we modified by putting up the travel cot and turning the chest of drawers into a changing station) -

One of the most incredible things about the place was the fact that every time we wished for anything (even sellotape) we found it just by poking through a few doors and cupboards, meaning the carefully packed washing up liquid etc. that we had brought from home didn't get used...

The size of the place wasn't really an issue either, it felt plenty large enough, even with Thomas to worry about (although this time his routine got a bit mucked up by being away from home, just because whenever he did wake up he spent ages just looking around wondering where he was)...

I'll talk a bit more about the village tomorrow... ;)

Sorry for lack of updates...

Sorry for lack of updates...
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

...having a lovely time, out at the Cotswolds wildlife park today! More later :)

Yay! Holiday!

Really looking forward to next week now, got the whole thing booked off as holiday and Flyingpops has managed to bag us a bargain cottage in the lovely little village of Northleach in the Cotswolds (apparently the town centre is largely unchanged since the 1500s)...!

Anyone been to the Cotswolds and can suggest anything good we can go and do near Cirencester?

Lego House Demolished

James May Lego House Demolition 5
Originally uploaded by Cybermyth13.

Lego House Demolition 4
Originally uploaded by Cybermyth13.

Just found these pictures on Flickr and thought it only fair to share...so there we go, full circle...it's funny to think it was only there for such a tiny amount of time and now gone forever!

Anyway, if you want to see some of my pictures and read about it being built (and our other adventures around Denbies), head in this direction...

Christmas at Canary Wharf

Oh it's definitely getting close now, the Ice rink is back (which Flyingpops is starting to make noises about wishing to come up and skate on), they had their gala opening during a torrential downpour late last week -

- Cabot square mall is all decked out in it's Christmas finery -

- yes, the same stuff as the last few years (some of it even having been dusted down), complete with the (oh so festive) signage that shocked me so much when I first started working around here...just waiting for the maintainence guys to fix the little white lights on the trees around Carluccios and the picture will be complete...!

Can't help but feel though that the whole texture of Christmas is going to go through a very rapid alteration over the next couple of years, now that little Thomas is with us! Making me feel very excited indeed at the prospect...! ;)

Three month old baby - nappy habits

Disclaimer - If you are grossed out by the very thought of dealing with dirty nappies, then please look away now, this is a frank account of my experiences so far...

What I always imagined was going to be a fairly simple and unexciting maintenance aspect of enjoying time with the "cute" portion of my beloved Thomas (i.e. the end that smiles and makes "Ah goo" noises, the end that over the weekend uttered an adorable chuckle in generous exchange for a simple gesture of mine, quite unworthy of such praise, in my opinion)...Yes - the nappy, and contents thereof - has actually turned out to be an unexpected source of some considerably unpleasant shock and dismay...

In the first few days, just after Thomas had been born, even though his little tummy was the size of a walnut and he was only drinking a handful of millimeters a sitting, his tiny nappies were pretty regularly filled with a substance that resembled overcooked broccoli, albeit broccoli that had been all mashed up with a good French grain mustard - it was a bit nasty and rather sticky (roughly the consistency of bovril) requiring a good clean with warm water and cotton wool balls...I suppose this lasted about two weeks, a little bit worrying to be cleaning something literally green from around your babies bottom, but as the nurses didn't seem to be grabbing him out of our arms and running towards a doctor, we just sort of went with it...

Weeks three to five things suddenly got very dangerous indeed, I can remember draping muslins down my front (in the fashion of a diner tucking in his napkin before a fine meal), and with a look of grim determination preparing 5 baby wipes, setting a white flannel within easy grasp, pre-opening both the new nappy (ready to rush into position) and the E45 pot, taking a deep breath and then (as fast as possible) - undoing the old nappy, folding the front down out of the way, grabbing Thomas' feet in an attempt to stop them going into the poo (and failing), grasping for the white flannel to stop him peeing in his face, my fingers finding empty air as he knocks it onto the floor with a flailing arm, starting to cry as the wee gets in his eyes...fumbling for a baby wipe to try and do the job instead as poo then squirts out in a two meter long arc from Thomas' squirming bottom missing the muslin and going all over my trouser leg, socks and the carpet...wishing I had two more pairs of hands and finally yelling out in panic for Flyingpops to come and rescue me (as Thomas is sick all over his baby grow)...

Thankfully, this stage didn't last terribly long...the new "normal" is for him to save up all the poo for an entire week (every nappy is just wet and heavy), until suddenly he scares the absolute hell out of us by crying like he is about to expire in burning agony and then refusing to breathe for two minutes while we contemplate how quickly we can get to the hospital if we choose not to bother wasting time putting shoes on, just hauling open the front door with half a coat dragging on the floor, when suddenly there is an almighty blast of flatulence and his nappy line explosively expands by about 3 inches...followed by a happy "Ah Goo" and Mum and Dad exchanging looks containing equal amounts of relief and reluctant resignation...

Fink sends a pleading glance towards heaven...

Fade to black...

Finks Links #81

It's Friday! It's Link time -

So let's start with an English church, rebuilt in Japan (at the top of a skyscraper)... [pics]

Meet PETMAN, BigDog's two-legged brother [video]

Well I could have told them that!

The great vodka tragedy of 2009 (or more forklift fun) - although you probably already saw this in the news [video]

Improved arm mounted flame thrower...

Colour footage of London from 1927 -or- Fancy seeing London without all the skyscrapers! [video]

How Mr Q manufactured emotion...

Miscatonic Valley Fine Art...

...and finally a great safety fail...

More (with luck) next Friday...! :)

Baby Thomas playing with his mobile

Hehe...not *hugely* acurate (yet), but obviously having soooooo much fun even just trying to interact...!

I could watch him do that for hours... ;)

Although it's not *all* such hard work -

Bonfire Party

So on Saturday night we headed over to Flyingpops folks to join in celebrating Bonfire night, to be enjoyed with an evening of watching all the neighbours firework displays (too many little ones to fancy risking actually setting any off in their garden), starting with the lighting of the Chimenia-

- which, while just spewing out a load of smoke to start with, became a little like a blast furnace once it got going(!)

Once everyone had wrapped up warm enough to venture outside a colossal number of sparklers materialised -

- making for some very interesting light painting camera opportunities, then we finished off proceedings with spicy chilli beef, tomato soup, sausages in rolls with onion and a very fine bonfire cake -

- which was even marbled in the middle with red giving the impression of swirling flame!

Freezing Fog and Jubilee Line Fire

Ah well, here we go, the proper proper cold weather starts here...Well actually to be more precise, it started on Friday night when I was attempting to get home...got down to the Jubilee line (having dashed through the torrential downpour between One Canada Square and the tube entrance) only to be met with reduced gate entry and a huge queue...not a good sign...when I got down to platform level things were even worse, 3/4 of the space was taken up with people trying to get back west, so I hopped on a waiting eastbound service (thinking I could cunningly switch back after one stop and skip the wait, maybe even get a seat if I were very lucky)...when the train pulled away the driver came on over the tannoy system - "Just a quick announcement, if any of you happen to have friends or colleagues following on the train behind, they are stopped at Canada Water with reports of a strange smell, so they might be delayed a while"...

At the O2 I flew across to the westbound platform and jumped onto the waiting train which, two minutes of uncomfortable waiting later, my worst fears were confirmed "Sorry folks, the Jubilee line is now suspended in both directions due to a track-side fire at Canada Water"...wonderful...so everyone on both the trains headed upstairs, into the freezing rain, to try and figure out which bus to get...as I was checking signs I missed a bus that said it was going to Waterloo (argh!), but when the next one pulled in, no-one seemed interested in getting on, checking the front it said it was going to Greenwich (which I had a hunch had a DLR stop and a mainline station), so I hopped on, really just to get out of the rain (but there were also enough grumpy commuters waiting to fill two double deckers, so it could have been a bit of a wait)...

About 15 stops later, at Greenwhich high street, lots of people hopped off, so I followed suit, asking as I trudged, getting more and more drenched, which way the station was, and finally found it...but not before I was freezing cold and absolutely soaked...I got up onto the (extremely windy) platform and found that a London Bridge train was due in 10 minutes (delayed), so finally made it to London Bridge about an hour and a half later, and much colder than I should have been...

Today it's freezing fog (which had me walking up and down the platform to stay warm) but at least it isn't pouring with rain...

Nursery finished

Actually, I've got a funny feeling I've said that before - "the nursery is finished" - (perhaps even more than once) and it obviously wasn't quite there on any of those occasions...but I think this really is it this time (Fink glances around nervously for something disastrous to happen to contradict him)...nothing?

Well (he continues cautiously)...over the weekend we finally got around to putting together the proper cot bed, as Thomas is already getting a little bit too big for the rocking crib that is currently sitting in our bedroom (cliché warning - they grow up so fast!)...so once again we are in a situation where Thomas looks completely lost in his bed rather than threatening to spill over the sides... ;) Not that he's going to be sleeping in there at night time quite yet, but Flyingpops is getting him used to sleeping in it by using it for daytime naps (if he can find any room to fit in there around all the plush animals who zoomed in there the very second the new mattress arrived from John Lewis)...so I guess this is the first step towards Thomas actually taking up residency in his own room! How exciting!

Building Brockham Bonfire

So, as we happened to be in the area anyway (on our way to a kids Halloween party on Saturday afternoon), we thought we would stop over in Brockham and take a look at the preparations for the bonfire/fireworks for Guy Fawkes night in the village (as they usually, weather permitting, put on rather a good show), noting that the last time we actually saw the bonfire during daylight hours was back in 2005 - and it is looking as impressive as ever, however, I think that's about all we are going to see of it this year, as we have a bonfire party of our own to go to at Flyingpops' folks house (although Brockham is only just about 3 miles away from where we will be making merry, so it might just be we can watch the display from where we are)...! ;)

Los Gigantes - landslide death

Bit scary...the place where the recent fatal accident took place is the *exact* same place Flyingpops and I enjoyed a little (after breakfast) walk during our last holiday to Tenerife...that tiny, peaceful beach and 300 meters of splintered rock suddenly crashing down upon dozing sunbathers just doesn't bear thinking about...I mean, the beach wasn't exactly packed when we were there (as you can see), but thank goodness more didn't die...

The Adventures of Lil Cthulhu

A great introduction for the little ones to the Great Old Ones... ;)