The Angel of the North - ain't he beautiful?

Some pictures from my recent visit to Durham, to see my Dad, and took these pictures of the Angel when I was up there. Worth a visit as it is one of the few things you can actually get really close to.

The before and after shots - oh dear!

My change in life

I have been on a life changing program since August (subject of my other blog) and here is some evidence of the change to date. The first two photographs are 'before' taken on the 15th August, the first day of my new life. The second two were taken on the 12th December 2007, as I start to move into a stabilisation period...i.e. maintain this position.

15th August 2007

12th December 2007

The difference before & after?

Weight:

Before: 18 stone 7.3lb

After: 12 stone 0.9lb

Waist:

Before: 44" +

After: 34"

BMI:

Before: 37.2

After: 24.23

Wardrobe:

Before: A lot of XXL clothes

After: Wearing L or M size stuff

Wallet:

Before: Cash available

After: Spent everything on new clothes

Mood:

Before: Feeling unhealthy

After: Feeling great (note smug look above)

Outlook:

Before: Candidate for a stroke or heart attack

After: Added 10 years to my life

The moon at night

I have a new camera ( Canon 5D) with a 100-400 zoom lens so I thought I would have a go at the moon as it looked really nice while on the wane. A starry starry night all around.

I have always wanted to take a picture of the Moon but never had a lens with a big enough telephone to manage a decent shot.

Some views from my trip to Barcelona

I have just returned from a business trip to Barcelona. I managed to get a couple of hours to take a trip round the old town and take a few piccies.

Firstly, my mode of transport was a Segway scooter (pictured here, but not with me on it). These little things were amazing and with minimal effort allowed us to zoom around the town, turn on a sixpence and stop quickly when a picture opportunity was spotted.

And great fun to boot!

We were all staying at the Hotel Arts on the sea front right next to this "fish" structure. Barcelona's entire waterfront area got a makeover at the time of the Olympics, with new promenades, shopping areas and public spaces. A Frank Gehry-designed fish gleams above Port Olímpic.

It is really quite beautiful and when views from the front is in the shape of a Conquistador helmet. Have a look at the gleaming sun on the picture below.

I found this newly opened market in the middle of the old town which had an interesting wood structure but even better was the highly decorated roof which was covered with brightly coloured tiles. I imagine the roof from above must be quite amazing.

Here are two pictures of a Gaudi designed lamp post at the Placa Reial, apparently the first piece

of public work for the Catalonian architect.

Now a few pictures showing Iberican meat hanging in a restaurant, some wall damage from the French revolution and a nice balcony . Just a few nice piccies really.....

Some pictures our villa in Spain

My wife and I love Spain and we also love visiting our villa in Spain. Here are one or two pictures around the villa, including a picture of the Mirador, a look out stand right at the top of the hill our villa is built on.

Here is a view from the villa and a lovely sunset viewed from the balcony.







Finally a nice little picture showing the ceramics on sale on almost every street corner.

The Kamapla Serena hotel - September 2007

During a business trip to Uganda we stayed at the Kampala Serena Hotel. A nice hotel that had been refurbished by the Aga Khan and the one which Queen Elizabeth II is staying on her visit to Uganda in November.




The hotel had a beautiful network of pools starting within the hotel and leading out to the gardens culminating in a waterfall which fell into a pool next to the hotel swimming pool complex.

The swimming pool complex was rather nice (or quite good as the locals refer to everything). Here are one or two pictures of the pool area. Nice I think you will agree.

I did see some strange fruit or plant or vegetable growing in the grounds of the hotel. No one could tell me what it was. Any suggestions?

I also saw lots of these fine beasts flying about the air, making the skyline look like some pre-historic vista. They are cranes by the way and stand about 5 foot tall when fully grown like this little beauty.

And finally, on leaving Entebee airport, I saw this strange sight. Obviously someone had decided it would be rather nice to adorn the airport with typical Ugandan animals, preserved in cabinets for visitors to see. So you can imagine the architect of this brilliant notion explaining over the phone to the cabinet maker that he wanted a cabinet of 'this width and depth' to house a Ugandan mule or whatever it is. The cabinet arrives wit the cabinet maker and you can almost hear him say "Oh, bugger, I forgot about the horns! Never mind one small adjustment will sort this out." And there you have it a unique bespoke cabinet, using an economic amount of wood and glass for the perfect display.