Astralian Grand Adventure - Part 2 - On the Road

Under Construction

Australian Grand Adventure - Part 1 Melbourne

Under Construction

The FJ Gets a New Hat

Under Construction

Homework - From a Childs Perspective

As one of a group of keen but unskilled and learning photographers in Dubai have decided to set ourselves "homework" every fortnight to keep us snapping. This sessions topic is "From a Childs Perspective". Here are my offerings for Critique/slander:

"Spinning"
(f22 1/20 ISO 100)



"We've got a ceiling like this"
(f6.3 1/10 ISO1600)

"No, don't touch its hot"
(f3.8 1/8 ISO800)

Please feel free to add comments via the comments facility on the blog, all non-offensive criticism shall be welcomed. Offensive stuff will result in retaliation so be warned Bailey!!

Pedstrian Crossing Fail!!

A while back, during my last trip to the UK my brother Rhubarb introduced me to an excellent blogg called Fail! This is basically a collection of photos of things that are just plain wrong in ways that could only ever have been the work of complete idiots.

Now in Dubai there are any number of examples of this but I thought I'd share with you two classic exmples of pedestrian crossing fails!!

Need I say more? If you can't spot the error then maybe you are the sort of person who will eventualy end up producing a Fail entry.

A cat owners guide to packing

While packing for the Grand Australian Adventure I was fortunate enough to enjoy the assistance of Sam the cat, who apparently is an expert in these matters and with a simple sniff and a meow can confirm that this are correct and in order.

I therefore decided that I would put together some "instruction for use" for the benefit of less experienced cat owners who may not yet realise the full value of cat assisted packing:

1. Open cupboard and take out suitcase
2. close cupboard
3. take suitcase to bedroom
4. return to cupboard and remove meowing cat form cupboard
5. Return to suit case, unlock and open
6. Remove cat from open suitcase
7. Move to wardrobe and inspect clothes
8. battle with cat in the vain attempt to stop him clawing clothes
9. select clothes you want to take and load up arms;carry to suitcase
10. shoo cat out of suitcase with your foot, stamp feet and wave clothes ladened arms at cat
11. Put clothes on bed while you remove cat from suitcase, grab clothes and return to case
12. kick cat out, who has already returned to case before you
13. drop clothes in case while the cat has good rummage through your selection of clothes, checking that you have everything and that it all smells right.
    
14. Return to cupboard to get shoes, knickers and other paraphernalia, remove cat from cupboard, turn and throw paraphernalia in to case on top of cat,
15. remove cat from under clothes in suitcase
16. close case and search for keys to case
17. chase cat across the house while he bats the keys across the room because they have a fluffy key ring
18. retrieve keys return to case, quickly open one last time to check you have everything, close case and lock
19. Unlock case remove cat, curse and swear, take clothes back out and re-launder them all to remove cat hair, removing cat from washing basket, washing machine and tumble dryer in the process
20. Reload case, remove that bloody cat, lock case.
    
21. carry heavy case down stairs with no hint of assistance from the bloody cat
22. get the rest of your stuff ready and call taxi, wondering where the heck that damn cat is, probably sulking somewhere
23. Taxi arrives, pick up case and detect the faint tell tail shifting of wait in the case
24. Find case keys, apologize to taxi driver, fumble with case, get it unlocked, promise the taxi driver you will only be two minutes, open case, remove very disgruntled hell cat from case, close case, lock and run free from the house
25. Trip over cat on the steps and wonder how the hell he got out of the house.
    
26. Remove bloody god forsaken cat from Taxi, return to the house, deposit cat in house, lock up and leave
    
27. Get in taxi, and apologize once again for making him wait
28. Glance back at house to see that cat on windowsill looking victorious......with all your hair bands in his mouth which he stole from your case.
29. Consider going back but decide it just ain't worth it. That bloody cat!
30. Thank your lucky stars you are a cat lover and not a dog lover......after all a dog lover would leave you feeling guilty that you left them behind....but not a bloody cat!!
    
    

We're coming to a Land Down Under

As any of you who know us beyond the rambling of this Blog will know, the co-pilot and I are off to Australia this week for two weeks of "walk about". We are flying to Mebourne, going to spend a few days there before hiring a camper van and heading North(ish) to Sydney to meet up with Jan and Carole to take a look aroudn there too. The ultimate aim (for me) of this trip is to convince the co-pilot that we should quit the sand pit and head to somewhere more civilized.....and where in the world could be more civilised that Australia.......answers on a post card.

Anyway. Through a mix up on booking days off work I managed to have the day before we set off and spent the day relaxing, unwinding and generally getting myself ready for my holiday. Part of this included packing of course which, being a boy, I have of course left until last minute. As I was getting my stuff together and laying it out on the bed I got to thinking about all the other trips I have taken with the Co-pilot and how, invariably, it results in mountains of luggage - her being a girl after all (yes apparently four pairs of flip flops simply are essential). Anyway, I decided to take a photo of a boys needs for two weeks in a camper van:

Kit includes: five T shirts, three shirts, three shorts, 2 trousers, shoes, undies, socks, tripod, laptop, camera, ipod, few books and sunnies. No, the cat was not part of the packing, he was just there to inspect and make sure I had everything.

Anyway, I then packed all this into a small bag and waited to see what the co-pilot needed. When she returned home from work she began the disgorging of the contents of her wardrobe into a flotilla on suitcases.....honestly it would have been easier to just bolt a suitcase handle onto the side of the cupboard and take that. At the end of the packing up we ended up a lot more than a boy would have taken:

but I am reliably informed that it is ALL needed and ALL essential.....for two weeks.....roughing it in a camper van. I would hate to see what we ended up with had we not decided to go minimalist and travel light ;0)