Tuesday 24 November 2009

Nov 23

Storm clouds.. the whole week is going to be wet and windy.. typical autumnal weather...

Monday 23 November 2009

22 Nov

Today the winds are much stronger: blowing at a steady 35-40 mph with gusts of up to 50 mph! It is difficult to keep standing but exhilarating at the same time. And the colours of the sky and the ocean are beautiful:


(forgive the blurry blobs in the shot, they are raindrops!)

Andy measuring the winds, standing on top of the cliffs:

Bit blurry, as too hard to keep camera still in these winds.

As it now starts raining heavily, we give up on standing in the wind and rain, and decide to leave the coast and head home via Salisbury Cathedral:


(as you can see, the weather was much better here than at the coast)

It was built in just 38 years, between 1220 and 1258! Astonishing that they could accomplish this in such a short time!
More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury_Cathedral

It houses one of the 4 remaining copies of the Magna Carta (signed in 1215AD) which has come to symbolise of the rule of law in England, protecting the rights of the individual. Its basic principles have been used in the constitutions of the USA, the former USSR, Japan, Germany and many Commonwealth and other countries.

There are some really ancient graves and gravestones in there:



Here another shot of the cathedral:


and one of the many gargoyles that adorn it's walls:

22 Nov - the Jurassic Coast of Dorset

I can't choose just one picture: we saw too many places/things today! So yiou get several, as long as you'll excuse the haze in some of them: it was flying seaspray/mist/rain:
The weather lived up to it's forecast of strong winds and rain!
The winds were blowing at a constant 25-30 mph and the gusts were up to 35-38mph. (we have one of those hand-held wind gauges)
Excellent weather for standing on a cliff top! :)


OK, so this is just funny: tree in Lulworth Cove, about 400 yards from the seafront:



They just hung all the leftover buckets from the beach in the tree by way of decoration. Very colourful!

Lulworth Cove: I could not get the whole bay in the frame, but Andy stands by the information stand that shows the shell-shape of the cove. Holding the camera still is tricky in 25mph winds!



Stair Hole: The holes on the right look just like a pair of eye sockets, don't you agree?

The light is beautiful, but it won't last long...

This explains all about Stair Hole:



Then we drove over to Durdle Door - and you can see the weather is getting worse:



By the time we had finished looking around at Durdle Door and drove out of the car park; the rain started... and it was forecast to keep raining all day....

But it didn't stop us from driving down to Portland Bill where we stood in the winds (and rain) at Pulpit Rock. It was almost impossible to get a decent photo due to the strong winds and the sea spray and the rain... but the one of the lighthouse was not too bad.



It started yelling mist warnings before we left there...

And what kept us there I hear you ask? Well... we took some shelter from the rain and decided that a "cream tea" was just the thing to fortify us till dinner time!

YUMMY!! - and no, please don't tell me there are wayyy too many calories in there.. I already know :)

21 Nov - off to Dorset!

We've gone off to the coast of Dorset for the weekend to celebrate that we've been married for 6 months already :)

We stayed in a B&B in West Lulworth: our room for the weekend - with Andy acting silly:


Sunday 15 November 2009

Nov 15



This is one amazing ceiling!

Nov 14 - before and after delivery...

Before the delivery..:



(Ignore the curtains - they will be replaced in due course.)

Our new bed arrived!!

We are still deciding about what to do for a headboard, and we need to decide on a valance (colour?!) but the bed is here! Woohoo!!

Nov 13

Nov 12

Tuesday 10 November 2009

Monday 9 November 2009

Nov 9 - Royal Marines

They gave a demonstration of fighting techniques at half time during yesterday's match:

Nov 8 - London Irish vs London Wasps

Nov 7 - Fireworks display








Nov 6


Flooded road being pumped dry!


Nov 5 - Guy Fawkes Night

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes

Nov 4 - goldfinch having lunch

Nov 3


One of the rooms in Stowe School - the kids had lunch in the Garter Room.. which used to be the State Bedroom. It's a grand mansion to have for a school, that's for sure!


Nov 2 - The whole Berkshire Squad

They did a good job yesterday, and played some good rugby! Well done Berkshire!!

Sunday 1 November 2009

Nov 1 Berkshire County vs Oxford County rugby match


BERKSHIRE WON!!!

The match was held at Stowe School, which is just beautiful. They got to play on the front lawn, on the 1st team's pitch :) Made for a nice backdrop for the photo's...

Final score: 26-7 to Berkshire


Oct 31 - Halloween outfits

Oct 30



OK.. I did not take a picture today... Elko took this one last weekend!