Wookey Hole in Pictures

Bath Lodge Hotel in Pictures

Amazing!

Everything went off without a hitch (well, apart from getting hitched of course), lots of photos and a full write up to come! Thank you everyone! X

Update -

Match it for Pratchett

So, a good hearted blogger has suggested that anyone who has had any pleasure from reading a Terry Pratchett book (or watching one of the TV adaptations, I guess) goes and donates a pound to the "Alzheimer's Research Trust", well why not...? ;)

The Parador, Reigate - Tapas Restaurant

Hope everyone enjoyed their Easter break, I spent a bit of mine worrying about the Wedding (yes, I know it'll be fine *whatever*, but doesn't stop my mind giving me worst-case-scenario dreams), and the weather wasn't exactly inspiring - I think we can probably do without all the snow on the day (as Flyingpops keeps wondering out loud if she'll be able to cope with the cold), plus (largely) finishing my wedding speech has managed to bring the whole thing rather sharply into focus...the weather also swept us off for a rather surreal meal, eating (as we were) Tapas in "The Parador" in Reigate to celebrate Mum's 60th...(Happy Birthday again Mum!)...and watching the wind blasting snow flurries past the window outside as we tucked into our distinctly summery food -

- Now, Flyingpops and I have been here to eat about once a month since we discovered it (just wandering around town as we would do when on holiday seeing if anything took our fancy), so I have tried a number of the things on the menu before, the first time I just had to try the mixed Tapas platter (pictured at the top of the next photo) which gives you a taste of about 8 different kinds of "main" tapas dish (all of which are excellent), so this time, having had my curiosity sated by previous experience, I opted to try some of the other things on the menu, the "pimentos a padron", which are griddled spicy green peppers with rock salt (and are zingy and fresh and excellent), and you might just be able to make out the Carpaccio of Beef with lemon, parmesan and rocket salad on the bottom left, I've eaten this at the Black Duck in New York City, and frankly The Parador do it much better...even though New York was amazingly good-

- pretty much everyone else seemed to go for the paella (which again is absolutely superb) and obviously adapted according to what is seasonally available, as the collection of vegetables were vastly different to our last visit (as Flyingpops can never be tempted to eat anything other than that, she is now becoming quite an authority on it)...

- anyway, great place, great company and a great meal...We'll keep coming back... ;)

Fink's Links

So, as it's a four day week (thank you Mr Easter Bunny), it's time to share with you the LOLZ and ZOMG moments I had during the last week of interweb navigation, starting with -

A great "I'm not sure you've really thought this through" moment in internet advertising... ;)

Not the moment to realise you left the lens cap on...although quite how the camera/film survived, I have no idea...

Three signs now - A reason to offer a quick glance of thanks to heaven for living in a country sans mountain lions ("throw children", indeed)... ;)

A warm, welcoming sign summing up perfectly both the attitude and intellect of the residents of Crestwood, Kentucky (in the good old US of A)...

...and lastly "Please do not block these doors"...

The stunning view of Chicago out the window as you are coming in to land at O'Hare airport (at night)...

Following the theme, a three exposure 2 stop composite shot of New York (taken from someone's roof), making it look rather like Gotham City...

"Oak Cthulhu"...oh alright, "Angel Oak", South Carolina... ;)

How about a highly original toilet roll holder? Although I can picture visitors sitting on the throne looking around in a panic for a while before they discover it's not just a quirky ornament!

A video entitled "How not to roll cable upstairs"...

Fancy a survival kit in a sardine tin...? Reminding me of a certain episode in "Three men in a boat"... ;)

I doubt anyone missed this (but just in case) check out the absolutely incredible progress being made (with DARPA funding, as usual) with the Big Dog robot...it's just staggering...all those years and billions of yen spent in Japan, and they have *nothing* even *close*...it's 100% artifial, but the movement is 99% totally convincingly organic and intelligent (especially when it starts to slip on the ice)! (deep american voice) Watch out for them in armed combat near you...coming soon!

A very geeky measuring jug...check the bottom picture...

A practical approach to clearing up the mess after a beer delivery lorry crashes...

81 year old Aussie (with only the care home to look forward to) spends his last days designing and building an intricate "Heath Robinson contraption" in order to (very successfully) commit suicide (unfortunately the design of his "final solution" is being kept under wraps)...details of the story are here...

And finaly, the very amusing "Everyone kills Hitler on their first trip"...

Previous entries here, more links urm...not sure...maybe in a week or two, what with the Wedding thundering up as quickly as it is (see how we go)!

Dr Who Exhibition - 2005 Retrospective

Well, how is this for tardy? It was back in *2005* when I posted this proclaimation of excitement...was visiting the (then rather small, stretching to the pub half way up the front) Brighton Breeze (now *very* large, stretching almost from Brighton Pier to the marina!), had seen everything there was to see and then decided to go and have a nose around the other attractions -

- spotted this upon coming out of an "Olde English Drinking Establishment" hovering over the sea -

- and was helpless but to pay my money and wander around - had a camera, obviously, and fortunately only one bored looking memeber of staff seemed to be in attendence in the entire place, standing on the door, chewing gum and issuing tickets (with half closed eyes) only expressing any sort of sign of quickness by occasionally raising an eyebrow in the direction of pretty ladies passing by)...I shrugged, suprised he had even managed put out a hand to collect my money, and then walked into the gloom...finding I had the whole place to myself, and no-one to tell me I wasn't allowed to shoot...excellent... ;)

Believe it or not, I even got so far as posting the pictures onto Flickr, didn't catalogue them, or put them in a group though, so they kind of got forgotten and never made it as far as the blog...(well, until now anyway)...wonder how many others are lurking, forgotten (time to spend some time in the organiser, perhaps)! Oh well...It wasn't a huge place, and I'd say at least one sixth of it was taken up by a store selling merchandise (which although now *inescapable*, was fairly uncommon at the time)...anyway, turning right at the entrance, the first thing to greet me was this solitary "classic" Dalek -

- (sorry for the low-light shots, these were taken way back in the Fuji A201 days when low-light and digital cameras were fierce enemies, and I owned nothing in the way of a tripod) some Robots from (I think) the episode "Bad Wolf" -


- although it's a while ago now(!) then we walked into a *partial* replica of the interior of the Tardis housing an original concept model from the (slightly defaced) Art Department -

- and the Doctor and Rose's costumes -

- then along a walkway, past displays talking about the Doctor's various enemies, noticing a leering threat from way up on the ceiling -

- more Autons (on the rampage) -

- and then the very prop bin (although of course it changed to CG when it actually *did* anything) that ate Rose's other half (complete with suspicious stains on the carpet) -

- and his (highly unimpressive) decapitated head (really didn't work in real life, and thus probably wouldn't work in HD either), all from the pilot episode "Rose" -

- next it was through a doorway and into an ancient tomb where the recently departed were laying on the cold slab from the episode "The Unquiet Dead", threatening (at any moment) to rise from the grave and attack! Quite spooky actually... ;)

- next into probably the largest area in the exhibition, a large number of aliens of various species (along with make-up) -



- lots of spectacular modern Dalek props -



- including this one which was "flying", well suspended in some mysterious fashion (walked all round it and couldn't see quite how, but that doesn't mean it was a "Dalek Levitation beam" or anything) -

- and an absolute classic, from the first Dalek motion picture, which looked rather like it had been stored at the back of someone's garden shed (under the mower) since that time though -

- and then it was into the last of the rooms, past some Slitheen from "Aliens of London", looking a bit fat and stupid -

- and the transformation skin casts used -

- and then finally some special effect models, like this one that was taken to bits when the aliens crash landed in London -

- and some full size props from "The Empty Child" (another really spooky episode)...

...and then it was into the shop, and back out into the sun...

So there we go, better late than never...just wish I had been there at the opening, apparently they had Daleks all over Brighton frightening people! ;)