New Mexico

Away from the Snow for a few days in Sunny New Mexico. Just outside Albuquerque, below the Sandia mountains a great setting for the work week at Sandia Casino Resort. Surprisingly enough to people from the frozen North the outside pool is closed, 15C is considered cold in this region.

Will try and find time to get up the mountain to get some better views or if its not to late a night get up early for the Sunrise over the mountain.

Call that Snow!

Or had you forgotten what real snow is like Phil!.

Where am I!

To anyone who has been absent from the UK for some time, returning to wander around London, one could be forgiven to think they had been subject to Gas through the keyhole of their hotel room and awoken to find themselves "In the Village"

I am sure I heard a statistic that there is 1 camera for every 5 people in the UK, and a few hours spent roaming London appears to confirm that. Is it that the British people are become so untrustworthy they have to watched every minute by the Watchers. Serious paranoia on behalf of the government one suspects. There are of course those who welcome such intrusion into their lives on the understanding this technology will have a dramatic impact on crime.

Well perhaps it has assisted in the overcrowding of the prisons, or with never ending onslaught of legislation from the grey men, everyone is now a criminal! Is eating a KitKat while stopped at a traffic light really an offence.. This is kind of like getting smacked in the classroom for chewing gum..

For those of you who remember the cult series the prisoner, the watchers watched everyone in the Village at all times and perhaps the only piece missing in this analogy is the Big Bag of Gas which was the enforcer......Or perhaps not. Tell me its not true.. Blair's Britain appears to be based on the public school concept of Monitors and prefects... I have observed these people in action, with a London transport prefect trying to exert his authority on some poor confused tourist! and now the litter prefects with Cameras in their silly hats.... Yee god's.

Or the one I heard and love, A voice merging from the Underground PA system, by another one of the prefects broadcasting the words.. " YOU IN THE BLUE ANORAK WHAT ARE YOU DOING". Perhaps when this kind of absurdity becomes part of everyday life its difficult for people to see the dark side of this program.

CCTV certainly has its place as a security tool, but the locations should be strategic and NOT subject to the Blanket paranoid deployment methodology observed in London.

Of course the age old problem now emerges... who is watching the watchers!!!!. and if you had ever met one of the Watcher's you would be very concerned!.

I still love London, but preferred it the way it was without the ugly and intrusive camera's and the crap modern architecture that now seems to be invading St. Paul's like a Cancer, really hard to get a full photograph of that great monument anymore.

Check our the old public washrooms by Parliament, on the North Bank. I suspect they have been privatised.. Turnstile entry and 50p that's $1.00 for a piss... Wow! and a sign that warns "THIS AREA IS UNDER CCTV SURVEILLANCE" So don't attempt to climb over the turnstile. Can one still raise a hand and shout "RELIEF" and then piss in the streets legally. If so there's another cost saving idea for the Fodors guide to London.

Anyway at least many of the great parts of London remain so far unscathed!.

Wales and Penguins

Back in the UK and time for some quality time with #1 Son. Equipped with an upgraded convertible rental car from Heathrow; whose roof deployment system failed temporally in the Rain on the M4, with my favorite digital error message this year. “Impossible to deploy roof!” “Well it was a Peugeot” but was repaired by administering a severe British beating to sort it out; we set off across the border to Wales.First stop we encountered the Breakfast Nazi at the first service station… NO BLACK PUDDING FOR YOU. SO Sans Le Pudding Noir we headed on to Porthcawl as recommended by my Navigator for the weekend. Porthcawl is a wonderful Welsh coastal town, perfect for hiking and beach combing along with some terrific photo op’s.

Hot chocolate to warm up and then onward into the past...

Caerphilly Castle is a must see if you are ever in this part of the World.
One of the great medieval castles of western Europe, the largest in Britain after Windsor, its large-scale use of water for defence and the fact that it is the first truly concentric castle in Britain. Doubtful if any of today's modern architecture will remain standing in 500 years! So much for the evolution of modern building technology.

He Man!

and a shot in the fading afternoon light!

Looking down to the really quaint town of Caerphilly. Its sad that terms like Picturesque and quaint can only be applied to such historic towns, we seem to be incapable of creating such environments these days... I guess its the profit before people driver that overrides common sense.

After a fond farewell to the Lovely Severn Beach and a perfect host of course Phil, West to Devon and the Penguins. All the times I have been in Torquay but missed this Gem , The Living coasts. An open concept coastal zoo with Penguins, Puffins, Seals, Terns, Ducks and many many more and not forgetting the RATS.

Penguin and Seal Gossip; "hmm I know.. do you think I am putting on weight, I should really stay off the fish"



Go on just one Kiss .. Honest...

Yes this container really is full of RATS!. Probably an only in England kind of story! Pretty smelly when you get inside but apparantly they leave a scent trail (eau d'Rat.) for navigation purposes, useful technique when the GPS fails you I guess.