There were special feedings arranged for our group, and we were able to stand inside the outer walls – the same access [...]]]> Pip bought me a wildlife photography course for Christmas.  I went to Port Lympne in Kent, with Photographers On Safari.  We spent most of the day with the gorillas.

There were special feedings arranged for our group, and we were able to stand inside the outer walls – the same access as the keepers.

Port Lympne’s special feature is that most of the herbivores roam free on a large hillside park and you take safari drives through it, on off-road trucks.  You won’t get much of a shot from these as they don’t stop very long at any point. We had an open-sided land rover which didn’t have to stick to the regular route or schedule, so we got closer to the animals and more time with them.  I still didn’t get any good shots from any of the drives though.  If you get the right angle, you can photograph a large African herbivore (rhino, giraffe, zebra, gnu etc.) with a thatched cottage, two nuclear power stations, a small-gauge steam railway, a lighthouse and the English Channel in the background.  I don’t know why they don’t make more of a feature of this possibly unique possibility.

Anyway, the day was good – I went because of the tuition, but others went because of the privileged access, and both groups were satisfied.  The only disappointed customer was the woman whose batteries died.

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Photos on Flickr.

We stayed in a huge old farmhouse villa outside Soller, near the hillside village of Fornalutx.

The [...]]]> We’ve just got back from a week in Majorca.  We went with the Griffiths/Prentons, the Hendriks, the Derbys, the Silkys and Dr Duncan.  That makes 11 adults and 10 kids under five.  Very relaxing!

We stayed in a huge old farmhouse villa outside Soller, near the hillside village of Fornalutx.

The villa was great – set in the mountains, it had its own vineyard (we drank a case and a bit of the fruits), two donkeys and a hammock.

Driving was a little hairy – we were in the mountainous quarter of the island so there were plenty of hairpins in every direction.  Plus some idiosyncratic automatic gates which ate Fiona’s car a few times.

Pip made team t-shirts for our Los Locos kids, in birth order, and every night was party night.  All ten kids fitted in the bath at the same time.

Most of the rest of the time, we were on various beaches.

All my Majorca photos are on Flickr.  Clare P’s are on Facebook.  The Darby’s are on Dropbox.  I guess everyone else was too busy looking after children.

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

Click here to view the embedded slideshow.

Here’s Laurie eating a Choc Star chocolate dipped frozen banana at the Towpath Food Festival. And the Regent’s Canal walk back from Dalston to Limehouse.

Some photos from Bishopsgate (after Spitalfields market, we didn’t go there specifically)

Indie at Westminster on our (well, Sally’s) pilgrimage, the standard [...]]]> Some photos from October.

Here’s Laurie eating a Choc Star chocolate dipped frozen banana at the Towpath Food Festival.  And the Regent’s Canal walk back from Dalston to Limehouse.

Some photos from Bishopsgate (after Spitalfields market, we didn’t go there specifically)

Indie at Westminster on our (well, Sally’s) pilgrimage, the standard Horniman jellyfish photo, and Laurie and I before the dinner with Phil.

Finally, Zoe Elliot’s baptism.

We returned from our four-week Canada trip last weekend. The photos are now on flickr. There is a Canada page, a set of all photos, and a set of my favourites.

In the end we covered 5,996 km in 27 nights on the road (the 28th was on the plane). We had about [...]]]>

We returned from our four-week Canada trip last weekend.  The photos are now on flickr.  There is a Canada page, a set of all photos, and a set of my favourites.

In the end we covered 5,996 km in 27 nights on the road (the 28th was on the plane).  We had about four days when we drove for over six hours, and we got through two sets of felt tips and five princess colouring books.  We only had two tantrums – one from Pip and one from Laurie.  The accommodation only didn’t work out one night.  We stayed in four B&Bs, three cottages, one hostel, two rented houses and with two cousins at their homes.  We kayaked, fished, hiked, swam in rivers, lakes and oceans, watched sunsets and moonrises, starry nights and shooting stars, barbequed and picnic’d, ate lobster, chowder and poutine, and Indie learnt to crawl.

Bath-time now (err, for Indie, you understand) so I’m signing off but what I’m trying to say is it was fantastic!

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Ginny’s photos are here.

update – Londonist photo of the day!

She’s not picture of the day anymore, obviously, but here she is.