kim ruined it
fantastic giant writting in the sand. i walked along it slowly working out what each letter was. it eventually said “kim ruined it”. which is nice.
as from now on
my colleague harry came rushing in to my office yesterday lunchtime saying he’d spotted these excellent signs. i followed his instructions and found them. they are indeed magnificent.
‘as from now on’ is a bit wordy though isn’t it ?
nora batty
jane spotted the lady that plays Nora Batty in Last of the Summer Wine walking by when we were in Bournemouth. She, and her male companion stopped near where we were walking to look at the view.
i approached and asked nicely if i could take a photo and the bloke’s first answer was “well, how much are you going to pay me”. i was taken a back and said “er nothing, sorry” so he said “who do you want to take a photo of” and i said “i don’t mind, both of you together perhaps” and he said “well, what are you going to do with it” and i said “put it on my website” and before i could explain any more he said “well, in that case, absolutely not”.
he wasn’t very friendly really, but i suppose they must get hassled lots when they are out and about. i had my big camera so i probably looked like a paparatzeeee. i’ve no idea if he was famous in his own right. he looked a bit like paul daniels (but he wasn’t).
so instead, here’s a picture of a person we saw by the beach made of sticks, pebbles and a plastic cup.
litter
we sat and watched people grabbing plastic cups of water from the drinks station. open cups of water for runners is a bad idea and there was much fun to be had watching water and cups going flying as the runners failed to grab them properly.
esther spotted the noise that the runners made as they ran over all the discarded cups. it was quite fantastic.
windsor half marathon
we went for a family cycle ride in Windsor Park yesterday. we didn’t realise but it was also the windsor half marathon so we planned and timed our journey so we could watch the runners as we had our picnic. in reverse order:
here are the main body of runnings coming up the hill (about a mile in to the run)
here are the front runners
and here was the start an hour and a half earlier.
turkish bin men
here are some turkish bin lorries (sent by john)
little and large
will we ever tire of viennese dog signs ? i know i won’t.
greetings from bournemouth
we had a family trip to bournemouth yesterday. it’s my favourite time of year to go beaching. not too warm (jumper weather) and as a result not very busy
i fiddled with this photo to try and get the contrast right but it went a bit retro, so i thought i’d turn it in to a wonky old postcard instead.
it’s a classic british scene – old lady in a big bikini adamant she’s going to lay in the sun, even though it was too cold. husband, reading the paper, shielded by the windbreak, a parasol and his hat. neither of them said anything to each other (except when he helped her get changed on the beach by holding a teeny weeny towel over her – jane and i turned our chairs to face the opposite direction at that bit!)
my wife still surprises me
esther spent most of the time on the beach the wrong way up as she practiced hand stands and cartwheels.
after a while jane got up and showed she could do it too ! i had no idea. here’s a hand stand:
and here’s an eternal cartwheel:
hassock of the week
from brother edd. is this chap threatening the snakes with a rolling pin ?
what are the chances of that ?
you go to the beach and sit down on a wall only to find the three people sitting next to you are wearing exactly the same skirt and tops (and even shoes). unbelievable.
chocolate cake
today i’ll have gone three weeks without eating a chocolate bar ! that’s quite amazing for me.
yesterday we ate at Harry Ramsden’s fish bar in Bournemouth. i had battered fish and this giant chocolate pudding with chocolate ice-cream. i’m intolerant to eggs so it wasn’t a great idea and i felt really ill all the way home.
but it’s not a chocolate bar as such, so according to my own rules (which i made up) my diet is still working.
bucket and spade
yesterday i said i trusted the man with a beard more than a mad dressed up as a clown. but now i’d seen the colonel on the beach i’m not so sure. it’s all a little too eery for my liking.
