An old man walking his dog

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Just did it!

Taken in Amsterdam.

The dangers of punting

We went punting along the Camb last weekend and saw a suspicious bunch of guys on the bridge ahead. Didn't think too much of it though - until we passed under the bridge and they unexpectedly "bombed" us from the bridge. We got soaked. And loved it - the girls thought the "bombers" were kinda cute and the weather was hot so a bit of a cooler off was just what we needed. Can't say that all the other punters on the river who experienced the same treatment felt as amiable as us though.

Summer evening in Gothenberg

Spent a lovely evening in Gothenberg with some colleagues, including Caroline. Also Marriane, Eric and his lovely wife who I met for the first time. Dinner on a boat, enjoying the evening sun with lots of good laughs. Great company all round. It was great to see Caroline as always. I'm so, so going to miss her when we leave Europe.

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Ivor and Janice's little one

Cute little Jessica!!!! Ivor and Janice (I&J) now call themselves I&J squared. Can't wait to see them in December.

Martin's farewell punt

Another punt down the Camb, this time as a farewell outing for Martin. It was a gloriously sunny day with temperature over 30 degrees. Seemed liked everyone in Cambridge was out soaking up the rays. Ally was in the Lake District with Rosemarie so missed the outing. Afterwards, we went back to Mats and Maria for a steak barbecue. It was a late and rather drunken night.

The forfeits you pay when losing poker at 2 am in the morning

Getting a Canon Powershot S2IS

Before I went to Canada, I bought this wonderful 5 megapixel camera with a powerful 12x zoom.  After my Ixus i, this camera would allow me to get close ups of wildlife. It was the camera I took to South America in 2006 where I would get countless wonderful photos and would solidify my lifelong passion for photography

Martin's farewell presentation

Martin, a good friend at work, is leaving Volvo next week to do an MBA in the States. We did a funny farwell presentation for him yesterday where we pasted his face onto magazine covers and other funny things and painted a fantasy picture of where he might head in life. It caused a lot of mirth in the office and was a big success.

Pretty in pink

Every day now at work I go for a walk through Duxford with some colleagues (great exercise) and the scene of this pink car outside the pink house always makes me smile. I've seen the owner of the house and car a few times - and she herself is always adorned in pink. Well, what did you expect?

Non fiction books read (Cambridge years: 2004 - 2005)

Personal Development

• Getting Things Done (David Allen)
• Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (Richard Carlson)
• The Tipping Point (Malcolm Gladwell)

History

• A Brief History of the Human Race (Michael A. Cook)

Fiction books read (Cambridge Years: 2004 - 2005)

• The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
• The Woman in White (Wilkie Collins)
• Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson)
• His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman) 
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)

Punting towards Granchester

Went for a marathon punt along the Cam today to Granchester. The river is very natural along this section - not quite as cultural (no 14th century colleges) but very peaceful. We took a picnic lunch.
 

Gorgeous photos of the family

Thanks for the lovely photos, Jo.

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Dreamland isn't far away now

I'm sitting in an internet caffee (free!)in Aalborg Airport in Denmark, waiting for a plane to Copenhagan, then to UK.

What a start to the week it has been. After very little travel over the past few months, suddenly it's exploded.

I flew to Salzberg, Austria on Monday morning - necessitating a get up at 4:45 am. Then two busy days of meetings, before flying back to UK last night - arriving home after 11 pm.

Then another 4:45 am wake up call this morning to fly to Denmark for a presentation which I had to prepare on the plane. Arrived at my destination at 1 pm this afternoon and then left at 4 pm to get to the airport. I should be home after 11 pm again tonight.

Needless to say, I shall not be rushing to work tomorrow. They'll be lucky to see me by noon - just in time for a large Volvo lunch!!

Anyway, at least the meetings and presentations went well :)

Cheshire Triathlon

Doing a triathlon was a life goal for both of us. Despite our rather lax training, we did rather well. 250 metre swim, followed by a 20 km cycle and a 2.5 km run. A great sense of achievment afterwards - and I'm now motivated to attack a longer in a couple of months time. Colleen did it with us while Steve supported with gusto. He's going to do it next time too. A great day out.

Unwinding after. Silly devils through bread.

Our new Audi: Ally got to borrow an Audi A4 from work for the weekend so we drove up to Cheshire in style. We could rather get used to a car like this!

Caroline visits us in Cambridge

Caroline and Calle visited us this weekend and it was wonderful to spend some time with them. The weather was awful on Saturday so we didn't get to visit Granchester as we hoped. On Friday night, we all went out for Nandos chicken. Thank goodness for Nandos! It's becoming very, very popular in the UK with good reason.

Ally's little ones

Ally's surrogate babies are doing rather well. Her balcony plant, which we were convinced was dead, is reviving very nicely indeed and the orchid has it's first ever flower stem so we wait with bated breath for its blooming. Ally's love and nurturing is clearly paying off...