It's been bone janglingly cold here today, threatening to snow all day. We watched a few guys going off in the sea kayaks this morning, and although we were in our Lycra shorts at the time, I didn't envy them crossing the water from Lepe towards the Isle of Wight.

We took Domino (the Donkey) out this afternoon and after having to half pull him around the track with Miranda on his back, we discovered that he'd had his feet clipped by the Farrier this week - I suddenly understood what cold achy feet were!

It's the weekend!

"Yippee! It's the weekend Dad" said Greg as I cuddled him down at bedtime. That means it'll soon be time for climbing trees and stuff.....

This one taken last weekend amongst the gnarly Beech trees over between Denny Wood and Parkhill. Greg tried giving this one a good climbing but failed to mount it, despite loads of potential cling ons - maybe Wellies weren't such a good idea!

Now I am Three

This one harks back a few years ago, to when I photographed Lewis holding Miranda on the beach at Calshot, with the setting sun creating a halo in her fuzzy hair. How time flies....

This one's another of my considered portraits, which I like as a contrast to my candid shots of the kids.

Great news tonight to hear that the Worrybomb has made it safely into the world, and that Mum and Dad are looking as pleased as punch!

Something Fishy?

Tomorrow it's Mippy's 3rd birthday, and so the clan have been locked in secretive activity, making her birthday cards and cake...

Trucks, trains, Bob the Builder ..... no it'll be a Mermaid!

Who, me?

Lunchtime today I had a nice game of animal dominoes with Miranda, and she was on form, playing by the rules almost all the way to the end,...almost! She normally drifts off half way through, but today she really seemed to understand what she was doing, and whooped as she put the right piece down!

Last night we had another nice surprise, Gran worked out how to leave a message on the blog. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks... well done Gran!

The portrait of Mipp is an ongoing series of more arranged portraits - One of those butter wouldn't melt moments, which I have slightly rendered for visual effect.

Denny Wood

Occasionally I forget how lucky we are to live here, but after a walk across the forest like today, with all the autumn colours glowing, and it soon comes flooding back. It's great to play hide and seek, climb trees, watch birds and ponies and deer, and over about three hours manage to walk about five or six miles. Most of the way we hardy see any people, but boy do we have fun!

Miranda and Greg just gone to bed worn out, Lewis is strumming away in the backround as I write my post, singing his heart out .........I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes. Well love is all around me, and so the feeling grows. It's written on the wind, it's everywhere I go, So if you really love me, come on and let it show....

100 per cent...

Greg's been making very good progress with his spellings of late, and this morning he hit the jackpot! He's been having a bit of bother with shirt for a few days, but once he got the hang of it...

It's been a fab autumnal day in the forest today - Lewis and I rode over to Balmer Lawn and up through the woods to Lyndhurst. We barely saw a soul today, although the colours were fab.

My that's a big Chopper!

The boys have been on a Lego building spree of late, and most days a new creation, or a new modification appears. I don't think Greg was entirely responsible for this helicopter, but he certainly looks very pleased with it!

You might need to open up the attached image to get a flavour of the detail, but it's a nice reminder of the energy that comes from warm autumnal days, before the cold hard winter sets in. I've been reading Lewis' next James Herriot book It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet which has some amazing descriptions of battle weary stocksmen who manage to survive against all the odds. It's a very spiritually uplifting book.

Hootenanny

There was a whole lot of hooting and hollering on Southampton water tonight, as the QE2 left her hometown for the last time. The QE2 is really the last great iconic cruise liner that looks like a cruise liner, and we'll miss her old fashioned charm.

The fireworks at Mayflower Park were spectacular, and the huge flotilla of boats of every size jostling in the darkness, as she headed out to the Solent were quite a spectacle. I can't see us getting so excited about any of the modern 'container ship' replacements now in service.

Pick of the pops

Miranda captured through the sawn in half Mini at the Science Museum. The picture would have been perfect as she was peering in through the window at the car interior, as we were doing the nostalgia trip about our childhood trips in DTH455D... And just as I caught her in focus she started picking her nose, and then she looked at me!

I wasn't expecting to like the picture, but somehow it has a quality of it's own. Just another one of those candid moments....

And whilst we're on a black and white theme, I should flag up a great programme identified for me by my mother about Albert Khan, a wealthy banker from the early twentieth century who had a huge passion for colour photography and the civilisation of the world. Disrupted by the onset of the first World War he persuaded the French Military authorities to allow him to become responsible for producing a colour photo archive, and the images have become an almost unique record. The images are stored within the Museu Albert Khan in Paris and the programme can be seen via the iPlayer for a week or so here. If you need to reflect on the huge toll on human lives caused by the Great War, you shoud start with this programme...

Just like old friends

We've had a nice day out with old friends Duncan and Vanessa, and their girls Freya and Carys, at the Science Museum. The candid 'tete a tete' captures a careless moment as Greg chats away with Freya at the cafe, after we'd nearly worn ourselves out. Thanks for a nice time, guys!

Unfortunately the rain put paid to our attempts to have stroll along the South Bank, so instead we managed to fit in supper at Blubeckers on the way back home. Even Lewis fell asleep in the car!

Looks familiar...!

As she swaggers around the house with a message for someone, she often has the mischievous look of a little monkey. She delivers the message, and then quick as a flash, she's gone again.

The sun goes down

This one taken on Sunday at Lepe, as the sun came down on the weekend. Not sure why Miranda looks so much like a pixxie, but she does!

Yes we can...

After listening to Barack Obama's emotional oration on the day he convinced his fellow Americans of the integrity of his vision for the future, ...we have the considerable satisfaction of a third consecutive day of progress towards continence ...!

Teamwork and perseverance, as the great man says, is the key. And together we can reach our destination.

Yes we can!

Mippy on the throne

The look of quiet contentment as Mippy progresses towards a whole day with clean pants. Looking at this frame (which I was very lucky to capture) I could see the lavatory seat halo which nearly made the picture complete, and it reminded me of my old mate Dai Doc from Carmarthen. He had been caught relieving himself at the bus station, after a night on the beer. Was he not aware that there was a public lavatory only 100 yards from the scene of the crime?

"Ay nnnow, bhutt I Kcann't reech from year mun..."

Lewis by Gregory

This one's the last in the series, all completed within about the space of an hour. This one was the first to be completed whilst Lewis was eating his breakfast. Every time I look at the pictures I am amazed by how much character and detail he's managed to squeeze in.

Onwards, Upwards!

I think this has to be my picture of the day. We were at Lepe, and Greg was climbing the equipment like a ferret shooting up a trouser leg.

Momentarily I caught his gaze and shot a frame, but as the light was dropping and I was using a manual focus lens my confidence in a usable image was not great..

And so I have been rewarded with a picture that captures the essential plucky charm that is Gregory!

We watched another episode in the 'Railway Walks' series tonight about Weymouth and Portland on the iPlayer. So very shortly we'll be taking a trip to explore the Rodwell Trail to see what we can learn about Portland stone quarrying history. Amazing to think we go kayaking here quite regularly, and didn't know about the disused railway track.

'er indoors

Happy Halloween!

When I got home tonight there was a lovely welcome through the window. The clan had been busy making a lantern.

Halloween is the time we add another notch on the belt, and this year we come of age, as they say! Twenty one years.

Drawing inspiration

Lewis giving Miranda a helping hand with her wax crayons as she attempts a rendition of a Fifi portrait.

Number One

The third in a series of family portraits by our master draughtsman Gregory, as i devour my breakfast. With his ability to strip his subject down to their essential qualities, he seems destined to have a lucrative career as a cartoonist.

Before and after

We are a family of pie eaters, and by inclination, pie makers. This is from the weekend, and as you can see, is a celebration of all things good in life - cars and guitars!!

Lewis will have had a hand in this then...

Must put in a good word for a car I have been driving today (on loan from Heritage VW garage) which has returned an average of 62 miles per gallon including motorway driving up to London at fair speed, and endless traffic in and around the city. I can heartily recommend the new Bluemotion VW Jetta..., and if you want to know where I've been check out the Zara here

Young Dog

Greg wearing a very snappy tee-shirt, which you probably won't notice is back-to-front! I'm surprised he didn't draw it up-side-down as well...

I think he looks more like Mr Magnolia here - very dapper don't you think!

Little People

The kitchen was a hive of activity this morning, and the theme was portraits and self portraits. So for the next few days you're going to see Greg's fantastic pictures, starting today with his portrait of Miranda.

Autumn colours

It's been a very gray day here today, with a cold wind. It's also been very quiet, with hardly anyone about in the forest when we riding this morning. The autumn colours are lovely and I wished I'd had my camera with me. Today we had lunch at St Nicholas' Church in Brockenhurst, before riding through Rydon Woods passing Boldre Church before crossing Beaulieu Heath.

At St Nicholas' Lewis was most impressed to find the graves of about a hundred New Zealanders who gave their lives during the First World War. Brockenhurst it seems was the location of a New Zealand General Hospital serving convalescent troops from at the time.

It makes you stop and think when you see quite so many grave stones in the middle of a sleepy graveyard, on a winter's day....

Flashback - The Tin Trail!

I had a call from Gran earlier enthusing about a programme on the TV by Julia Bradbury tracing the history of an old railway line in Cornwall. Turns out that it's exactly the trail that we followed on our summer holiday from Devoran to Portreath (except we did it both ways!)

Anyhow I've just watched the programme on iPlayer and it's a great presentation of the history of the area, which I'm sure the kids will want to watch...

Peg Dolly

Tonight we're going to bang the drum for Miranda, who's trying very hard to make sure she finishes the day wearing the same pair of pants, as when she started the day! The incentive is a family of peg dolls that Mummy made, which make an occasional appearance but then withdraw to safety, .... before making a re-appearance!

We want to see the whole family Mipp...!

Whilstr we're on the theme of giant steps, check out a great portrait I stumbled across tonight by Sean Salyards.

Halt, who goes there!

Miranda brings a stick to add to the defences of this forest cabin, as Greg does some dusting on the inside! They could play all day in make believe land, and it can be great fun watching them, or having a nap in the sunshine while they chatter away.

Tonight Miranda wanted a little story when she awoke from her slumbers, so we had the one about a little girl who lived under the root of a big fir tree, with her naughty brothers - and it reminded me of this photo from the weekend before last!

Hit the trail

As Gregory had a birthday party this afternoon, we decided to squeeze in a bike ride first. And as we've heard a lot about the Castleman's trail we thought we'd see how far we could get before we ran out of time...!

The track was great leading out of Ringwood, and very clearly signposted (which was handy as my maps of the area were not comprehensive) and we had a variety of excursions into the woods and countryside along the way. Our trail came to an end somewhere near Wimborne where the signs stopped abruptly, and a very busy road looked like the only option. Anyhow it was time to return, so we had to call it a day. Next time we will have the proper map, and a whole day to conquer this trail which leads down to the sea at Hamworthy.

Highlight of the day for Lewis and Greg was a killer skateboard and BMX park that we found along the way, but for me I think it was cycling over the top of the A31 and seeing all the stationary traffic stuck in their jamjars - bring on the age of enlightenment!

Glazed expression

There was a very cold nip in the air this morning as we set off across the forest for a bike ride - it was sunny but there was a strong hint of winter. Lewis pushed hard most of the morning, especially so when he spotted a tractor steaming along behind us .... "Come on Dad we don't want to be overtaken by a tractor!"

We did a fair old distance taking in several circuits of our BMX track through the woods at Hardley and across towards Dibden Enclosure, before spending a while on the downhill yumps at Kings Hat, perfecting our jumping technique. Lewis wanted to stay there all day he enjoyed himself so much. Afterwards we hit the trail going through Pig Bush and Rowbarrow through Denny Wood Enclosure to Brockenhust. We then went North to Bank and came back through Pondhead to Denny Wood. It was past lunchtime by the time we got home!

This afternoon we've been down to the Marina where the kids played hide and seek in the bushes by the 'lighthouse'

Do the jangle

I'm not sure who invented the triangle, or why it ever caught on, but for some reason it creates enormous pleasure for those who wield the mallet. Noisy it is, and musical it ain't, but as you can see here, fun is nearly always had.

Hairy McLarey

Miranda looking cute in her winter coat - this one's been sitting in my outbox looking for a suitable opportunity to post; so today, as she's been a good girl, it's going to be published!

Old Photos

I was talking to Lewis about old photographs and the origins of photographic images last week, so tonight I'm loading a beautiful daguerotype of Asher Brown Durand, an American landscape painter. This image which was created within a few years of the 'beginings' of photography (1846) holds a beguiling amount of detail, and makes an extraordinary portrait of the man.

The daguerotype's only downside was it's uniqueness, and the lack of a negative (and therfore reproducibility) was the cause of it's demise.

Check out some other great images here

Also check out Lewis' post on his blog to read all about his cross country race performance

Shady characters

I grabbed this one as we were heading back towards Moon Hill. It looks arranged, but we were walking and I fired off three frames. "I know what you're doing" said Greg .... "You're taking a photo of our shadows!"

This one might become one of my favourites....

My Turn...

It's only a matter of time before Miranda joins the end of this particular queue. With most things that the boys do, she thinks she is capable of pulling off. She does have a go on a few rope swings, but this one carries a bit of a drop and it's into water so she sits on the bank patiently!

Greg, naturally, is totally fearless....

Monkey Man

Something of a pea souper this morning as we set off for a walk with the donkey. However it soon cleared and we were left sweltering in our fleeces by the time we came back along Shore Road.

This afternoon we've had a nice walk around Stubbs Wood and Rowbarrow, and back through Frame Wood and Moon Hill. I say walk, but we spent most of the time swinging like Tarzan or climbing trees - it was just the most perfect of autumnal afternoons.

Beaulieuful Day

Lewis and I had our bike ride this morning out over the forest, but as it was blissfully quiet and sunny we headed off down the Beaulieu River. The tide was up and the water as smooth as a mill pond, so there was bird life all around us. I could have stayed there all day, and probably would have if we'd brought the kayaks with us!

After heading down through St Leonards and Sowley we stopped for a while where Tanners Lane meets the Solent. The light was fantastic, and the sea equally tempting!

This afternoon we've been back out on the bikes again, racing around the woods and swwinging on the Tarzan rope - which would have been the photo, if only I'd had my camera....

Tonight I'm listening to Seasick Steve - check him out! Y' all! And quite by chance I've also watched a great little programme called A Village called Caio - click on the link to be transported back to the sixties when I lived at a place called Blaen Bowy (Bowy Villa) not too far from here.

Take aim!

The boys have been very keen to impress upon me what they've been up to in school of late - it's nice when they volunteer the information, rather than having to go look for the detail!

Greg seems especially keen to impress me with him numerical and literary prowess, and Lewis this evening proud of his achievement of being in representing the school in the forthcoming the Cross Country event at Gang Warily.

This one's for the Bumble Bee...

Bumbl bees live in maws howls and craks in rox. Thay live in colnies of 20 to 150 bees. Thay bild a nest awt of polin and resin and wax and the queen lays eggs...


Greg and I were chatting last night about the terrible effects of a virus that is devastating Bee colonies - apparently if they disappear we will follow them within 4 years. Now there's a doomsday thought for a dreary Wednesday night, as we watch the world fall apart!

Scrubbing Miranda!

I found this picture delving through my recent folders of images, as I was doing some cataloging. So as Miranda's been a bit remiss in the personal hygene department today, I am posting it for Mummy. You might get a clue from the sleeveless shirt and suntan that it was taken during our summer holiday.

The winner takes it all

Lewis' latest music homework is to practice playing some Abba tunes, so I am shamelessly adding Youtube links for The Winner takes it all and Mamma Mia for anyone who wants to relive the visual feast. Lewis, of course will focus mainly on the inane techno pop, I'm sure!

Me, I prefer Dancing Queen... and in case you're wondering I prefer the blonde one!

The Owl and the Pussycat

It was rather damp this morning so we stayed in until lunchtime. Much like Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood, we watched out of he window as the water levels got higher and higher, before deciding after lunchtime that it was time to go and explore.

We went to Beaulieu Road Station and walked towards Denny Wood. It was a top afternoon, especially as we saw a lovely family of oldspot pigs foraging - if only I'd taken my camera... The colours were fantastic, and barely a soul out walking - but boy was it wet!

The boys have been making Lego, so keep your eyes open for some work in progress on the blog this week....

Clippedy clop

There was beautiful sunshine this morning when got up, so as Mummy was feeling poorly we decided to get out and walk Domino the donkey. There was an icy wind it has to be said, but by the time we'd walked for ten minutes it turned to heavy rain. This morning Lewis walked Daisy the goat on a lead, whilst I took Mipp Mop on Domino.

We don't half get some funny looks and comments from people as we walk along! Even more surreal this morning the army cadets were doing manoeuvers in the woods, so we kept bumping into packs of young lads (and ladesses) in camo stalking around with wooden sub-machine guns. Secretly I pretended to be a member of the Taliban with my mule, but no-one twigged!

When we got back Lewis and I made soup and cheese scones, and for supper we made lasagne and jacket potatoes, followed by Apple turnovers which Mummy managed to strain herself out of bed for....

Mission Impossible

When I got in tonight the chessboard was ready in front of the fire, and Lewis was ready to do battle - I was somewhat less so! However it's nice to be spurred into action, even if sometimes all I fancy is a glass of wine and a sit down....

Supper was accompanied by a series of tunes, all of which now have a slight influence from Sungha Jung, as Lewis is impressed by his slightly showy guitar playing style. It's great to see him developing his own sense of determintion, even if it's not always the direction you want him to concentrate on.

The Chess was good, but we need to do it more to develop his killer instinct.... then he can practice on Mum!

Today the weather has been very chilly, but still fairly sunny, I have just looked at the weather for the weekend (which is unusual for me) and it's saying we should get 70mm of rainfall in the west of Hampshire over the weekend. I guess it's going to be wet then....!

Chase me Charlie

The kids always enjoy stopping at the lookout at Hythe Marina, it's got all the ingredients of great entertainment, and it host one of the best views over Southampton water and the Cruise Liners. And yet in all the times we've been there we have never shared the space with anyone else...!

Miranda chasing Greg down the conical path, with Lewis I suspect not far behind, driving them to a frenzy.

Jonny at Luttrell's Tower

On the basis that you can't have too many pictures of yourself having fun, I'm posting this one taken on the Solent with Luttrell's Tower in the background. It's a beautiful structure associated with Marconi's first wireless experiments at communicating with his boat Elettra, moored somewhere near where I am situated!

This photo taken courtesy of my good friend Chris, who has loaned me his underwater camera (despite my reputation for testing them to destruction), and who has a great collection of Folly photographs, including the above structure....

If you get a chance check out his excellent account of his trip to Greenland