Grandchildrens visit to my home town of Grimsby

Had a lovely time with my grandchildren as they loved the north east coast. Pictures and comments to follow.

A trip to the lovely countryside of Mid Wales

Been away a bit so I have some more pictures to show. So watch this space.

Well I was told how lovely it is in the mountains of Mid wales starting not far from Lampeter. being on the mid to west side of Wales , the countryside is very green and lush.

As we began to ascend up to the hills I noticed a small herd of cow and I thought it would make a nice picture. Well, if I did, they looked at me and must have thought, ah ah, there`s some food gang, lets go over and see whats on offer. So, slowly and gradually the meandered over to have a look  at me. A couple at first then all of them.

So I thought I had better get on to my destination which of course was those lovely hills. I travelled on through the country lanes.got completely lost as my sat nav decided to have a blip and kept taking me round in circles, maybe it couldn`t understand the Welsh names in the area. I then did something quite different and followed the road signs which got me to my destination, which was probably the most remote

 telephone and post box in the UK.

So off now to the top of hills and see what is waiting for me. Well, I wasn`t disappointed it was absolutely magnificent.

It had been a long day so I decided to depart and go home. I will return another time and spend a few days there as there is so much more to see. On the way I did stop cos I saw some birds that I thought might make a good photograph. It was taken in the evening and I have made it into a nice black and white.

Famly visit

Well I haven`t been on my blog since I came back from the USA. Not a lot happened really apart from a visit by my son and grandchildren from Eynsham near Oxford. I love it when James and Maddy come down, you know having silly fun with your grandchildren, its what makes the world go round.
Well Maddy wanted to go to the beach and stay overnight in a tent. Good idea but Garry my son thought, seeing as they hadn`t stayed in a tent before it might be better to put it up in the garden and sleep overnight there just in case they didn`t like it.

We had a BBQ with a rainbow trout as requested by Maddy which she cooked and it tasted delicious.
More to follow as we looked for faces in the rocks at Rest Bay, Porthcawl. You will be amazed at the pictures  taken.

So here they are getting the BBQ ready and then Maddy cooking her Rainbow Trout which was really nice. A great evening was had by all.                                                                                    
Of course the tent had been put up with great difficulty but Gary and I managed in the end. So after the food and a couple of pints for the grown ups it was time for bed.
I was lucky as I was allowed to sleep in my own bed, but Gary had to sleep with the children. We had a double and one single blow up beds and three sleeping bags so it wasn`t that primitive. It did rain all night by the way but the tent held up and remained dry.

The next morning after we had eaten a hearty breakfast the rain finally stopped and we set on our way to the seaside. Woopee.

We went to Rest Bay at Porthcawl and the kids started playing on the beach with their buckets and spades while dad and I had a little rest on some portable chairs we had brought with us.

After a time we all decided to go exploring on the rocks near the beach, generally looking for crabs and any other life forms living in the rocks or the pools of water within the rocks. The kids thought it was great fun and as we were looking among the rocks I suddenly started seeing shapes of faces and animals carved out by the tides. So I drifted off on my own and took some pictures and found the images quite fascinating. See what you think.

This one looked like a small mammal with a tail.







I looked into this one and saw nothing until I took a closer look and I was amazed what I saw in the little pool near the centre of the picture. Check this out and I should point out that all these images are rocks and not what they appear to be

The one on the left looks like a small bird peeping over the rock.



The one on the right I can see so many faces but the main one seems to be a mans head on its side






Well this one on the left has to be a Gorilla or a Hippo in the water.

The one on the right a horse of course.




Look theres even a ghost on the left and sponge bob on the right

I don`t know what this is on the left but I just liked it. I`ll call it the blob.


The one on the right well it`s got to be a tortoise.


So there you are, just remember to look in the rocks next time you are at the beach as you never know who or what you may meet.

Chilling out

Just two days to go before I go home. It`s going to be unbearably hot today as it`s 88 degrees and very humid at 8.30 am. Too hot to sit outside for any length of time, so we are just CHILLING OUT. Thank god for air conditioning and the tele.  




Here`s one I took before I left the UK. It was taken at the Eynsham cricket ground just before or after it rained and then it stopped and rained again and again.
Oh my god am I looking forward to coming home to this. Mmmmm. At the moment with this heat and humidity it does look very inviting. We`re a funny lot us Brits aren`t we.
The good news was that Eynsham WON. The cricket game, remember.

102.2 in the shade at midday, that`s about 110-115 outside in the sun. The door handles are even hot to handle. Not going out today. I mean do you blame me!!!

Last minute shopping

Well only 4 days before I come home, so as usual I start to worry about things. I`ve already started packing would you believe. Did a bit of shopping for some little ones back home as I`ve already been asked if I think I might be bringing some presents back with me. ha ha.

Here`s a couple of pictures I`ve taken at Simons and Leighs.

This one is a bit of a photo lesson. Now that I`m approaching semi pro status I thought I had better have a sophisticated marking system between different locations. Now I really shouldn`t do this as I`m giving away secrets of the trade, but that`s just me generous to the end.
As you can see I have very cleverly and accurately focused on my little finger to denote that one photo sequence has ended and another will start, clever innit. This did of course involve shooting and focusing single handed. I have been thinking of developing this " COOKS ACTUAL PHOTO SEQUENCE INDEXING METHODOLOGY ( CAPSIM)" further by using the left hand for the end and the right hand for the start of a sequence but I haven`t carried out any field trials yet. Any suggestions on simplifying this system would be appreciated.




The next one is of that very famous Ed Davison residing with Simon and Leigh as he tries to hide from the Paparazzi (that`s me actually).

I got him, there`s no hiding from me. Ha ha its really Kelly and Meghans other  Grandfather.







This final one today is a picture of a sculpture of an old camera which can be found in the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton NJ, USA and is a taster for when I finish my blog for these grounds in a short while.

Last minute shopping

Well only 4 days before I come home, so as usual I start to worry about things. I`ve already started packing would you believe. Did a bit of shopping for some little ones back home as I`ve already been asked if I think I might be bringing some presents back with me. ha ha.

Further adventures at the Delaware Water Gap

Ok, so having walked at least 3 miles of the 2500 approx. miles of the Appalachian Trail I decided to explore the Water Gap and take some more pictures of the Delaware river and surrounding landscape. I got back in the car and found my way onto the River Road, which, believe it or not, ran along the river not that you could see it, which would have been too much to ask.

It was a quite narrow, winding and quite hilly road, just like being in Wales really except it wasn`t raining. Then something happened which really made me feel at home, " A DIVERSION". Well I followed it for some considerable time and eventually got back on the right road and then it happened. I drove round this bend and I couldn`t believe what I saw, I slammed on the brakes, nearly causing the car following to crash into my rear end,  and after another friendly chat with the driver, I backed my car into this little opening on the side of the road.

Here`s a great photo opportunity I thought, not really on my theme for day, but I got my camera gear out of the car and got ready to take some pictures. Can`t wait to tell you about the last one. Ha ha.

If you were looking for a great location to buy a holiday home, I thought, this is it. The first property, situated near the road and surrounded by trees would be a snip and all it needed was a little work on the roof.

The second home was next to the above one and in similarly excellent condition but this time needed no work on the roof. I must say that I was overjoyed at my find.

I know what you`re saying why do I always have this kind of luck. But it gets better and this next one really put me in a situation where I found it impossible to choose as it was absolutely unique.

Go on then, I challenge you to tell me where you would find a "detached Chimney" in its own grounds.

Ok, I was just joking and I bought this one instead. Yerrrrrrrrrr I wish.

Frogs and snake

It was a beautiful day outside as we sat on the deck watching the squirrels play in the trees in the forest behind Simon and Leigh's house. The birds were singing, the branches of the trees were swinging in the gentle breeze, so although it was quite humid it was also quite pleasant as we chatted amongst each other.

Then we saw it, a small grass snake was attacking one of our pond frogs and had one of its legs in his open jaw. Simon and I ran down to where they were, took some pictures and then proceeded to shake the snake with a small stick until it released the frog. The frog immediately jumped into the pond and the snake wriggled back into the forest.

So, feeling quite pleased with ourselves, we did what all men would do after having a great battle to save our frog, we decided to have a quick drink before going to bed. As you can see we threw our empty cans or bottles in the outside bin.

A satisfying day after all !!!!!!

Visit to the Delaware Water Gap

Today I`ve been planning my forthcoming trip to the Delaware water Gap. I booked the hotel for my overnight stay which was a bit awkward with my British debit card and address but with my sons help we got there eventually.
So, we have the hotel, now we need to plan my trip. Thank god for Google.

One of the first facts that I found was that the Appalachian Trail passes close the Delaware Water Gap. It will be great to take some pictures of this world famous trail.

So, here we are and ready to go at 8.00 am and its a beautiful morning, sun shining and 80 degrees f in the shade. I`m sat in the car setting up the GPS and checking that I have packed everything. Re-adjusted the mirrors and ready to start the car, hang on where`s the steering wheel gone???  Oops. get out of the passenger seat and get into the left hand side of the car where of course the steering wheel is  in the USA,

On my way now, and remembering to drive on the right hand side of the road make it to the Expressway without any problems and expecting a journey of about two hours all being well. Ha ha I didn`t take account of the wrong turn I made after the tolls which led me onto the NJ Turnpike, which I shouldn`t have been on. It was of course the GPS`s fault. It told me to turn right didn`t it but there were two sort of rights and I got the wrong one didn`t I!!! I saw the right one as I was passing it and all these NY drivers were chatting to me as I slowed down to check my way. It was really nice of them. " hey waddare you doing A...hole" so I waved two fingers at them mainly because they don`t know what it means. Anyway for the next half an hour I had a lovely trip round the outskirts of NY, and eventually, with the help of my friendly GPS I got back on the right road.

I eventually arrived at my destination after 3 hours which included a half an  hour delay at roadworks just 4 miles from the Delaware Water Gap turn off.

I was absolutely starving so I called in the local diner a couple of hundred yards from my hotel for a very well earned lunch.

Although I had done some limited research I thought it would be a good idea to check in with local Tourist Information Centre, which incidently was next to my hotel. As I approached the desk this lady asked my if I needed some help and proceeded to give me mounds of information and directions. Isn`t it true though, wherever you go, these attendants at these centres are the friendliest people you could wish to meet. What a lovely lady. So laden with all this information and new found knowledge I set on my way.

I decided to look for the Appalachian trail as it passed the town quite close to where I was. Back in the car and a short ride past the Dear Head Inn, which I duly noticed for tonight`s dinner, I took a turn into the visitors car park, not before I had got lost again and was very tempted by this beautiful golf course I had entered by mistake. Quite excitedly I got my camera gear out of the car and proceeded to my first look at this most famous trail.

DDaaaaa, well it may not look that impressive to you but I`ve just traveled 3500 + 200 miles to show you this. Anyway this is the continuation point for the trail as it goes through Water Gap Township and at this point it follows the Delaware river and I was told by some lovely hikers that if I had followed the trail for only another hour or so I would have got some great pictures of the gap. So seeing that was why I was there I decided to ---- wait and find it by car later. Ha ha you thought I was going to walk the extra hour or so didn`t you, Wrong.  It`s quite interesting actually because I thought the trail would be quite well laid out and although very long would be quite wide and manageable. As, myself and my two new friends the hikers found out, it took some following as it wound through the woods with only the trees with small white markings showing the way. The next few pictures show the diversity in the trail as it passes through the woods. 

More to follow.

A bit of nature in New York

Trip to Sculpture Gardens in Hamilton New Jersey

Lady in Poppys

Spent time in the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton New Jersey which is really worth a visit as there are lots of wonderful sculptures on show.
This one took my fancy as I was walking past in the sweltering heat. Loved the flowers and although they were artificial they looked lovely.

More pictures to follow.