Where in the World are Aimes and Hobbes?

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

We don't like summer...

We love it!

A few friends, drinks and our garden bathed in summer light

and who wouldn't - rain, rain, rain and a decent dose of coldness, what more could you ask for? Apparently three quarters of the average annual rainfall has fallen in June and July alone - not particularly conducive to those BBQ's and sinking beers in the sunny evening which we had been awaiting all winter...

However, despite the lack of summer type weather there has been plenty on recently (as generally happens when you try and cram 12 months worth of events into 4 or 5 months, as they seem to do over here). There have even been a few decent sunny days thrown into the mix, which seem to be over-represented in the photos we've decided to post, suggesting that our aforementioned complaints about the weather would seem a little unfounded....

Brett, Bec and Hobbes at Daft Punk in Hyde Park

Daft Punk crowd

Summer + Festivals = Beer

Daft Punk - can't get enough of those space suits!

In between dodging the dogy weather we have been trying to make the most what's been happening and of course we've had the usual mix of people coming and people going, working too much and trying to squeeze some travelling in between (although not particularly sucessfully recently). It's been a while since a general post, so to avoid boring people senseless you can probably get the gist of what's been going on from the following photos....

The latest addition to the extended family, welcome Archie, congratulations Sid and Simone

Men's business - racing Scaletrix

Although, before we finish it is probably worth noting that just to make our claims of being ripped off by the weather sound even more unfounded, the weather decided to turn on the best day of the year last weekend, 30 degrees and not a cloud in the sky - a perfect day for a BBQ!!! If that keeps up for the France-Spain trip in a few weeks then there wont be any more complaints from us (.... for a while).

Meeeeeeaaaaaaaaat!

Pimms replaces cider as the summer drink of choice

We managed to see a some Federer action at Wimbledon...

...but it wasn't long until the covers came out

Aimes living the Wimbledon cliche - strawberries and cream, washed down with Pimms

A full house at the Academy for Basement Jaxx

Brixton Academy signage

One of the best exhibitions of the year, Antony Gormley takes over London roof tops

Crowds at Hyde Park trying to catch a glimpse of the Tour de France prologue

Somehow through the crowds, we managed to see something, not once...

... but twice!

Hobbes's thongs (flip flops) enjoying the sun

The Millennium Dome re-opened - notable for the smooth operation of the surrounding road network

A visit to the Tower of London with the olds

Sitting back and taking in the audio tour

Monday, July 23, 2007

The Rain in Cornwall Falls Mainly Everywhere

To celebrate the 'awesome' summer we have been experiencing the past couple of months, we decided to take a trip down to Cornwall to see what rain looks like in the south-western-most corner of the country. Despite having sufficient oppotunity to assess the precipitation situation, we also got a little sun, enough for a brief swim anyway, and got another dose of quaint villages and lane driving.

Sci Fi in Cornwall at the Eden Project, St Austell

Art meets science and education

The trip started off at the Eden Project, in St Austell, and home to the world's largest greenhouses. They are indeed big, but the overriding feeling (for Aimes anyways) was of anxiety and suspicion, at the over the top efficiency and cleanliness of it all - a little like the Globex Corporation on the Simpsons, we were expecting the domes to contain some complex weapons production system, so were slightly disappointed to find them only containing some very intense humidity, which was dangerous enough by itself - to think we spent a year living in the tropics!

Hobbes proudly donning his Eden Project badge

Scrabble in the pub is a perfect way to while away a rainy afternoon

A stones throw from our campsite. The view from the rocky shores of Treyarnon Bay

We were camping at a beautiful spot on the coast between Padstow and Newquay, with a few houses, a camp ground a 'Snak Attak' and not much else. So, as per usual it was back down the road to St Merryn for nice pub dinner and a few local ales. Only problem being that the nice pub dinner turned out to be the greasiest fish and chips we'd ever eaten - I can't believe I didn't eat the whole thing!

Boats in St Ives

More boats in St Ives

The mossy roof tops of St Ives from the Tate cafe

Anyways, after experiencing some pretty heavy rain during the night (and thus being thankful that Gerg had shelled out for a decent tent - thanks mate), we woke to a pretty wet morning and headed down the coast to Newquay for breakfast. After passing some beautiful villages nestled in small coves along the coast road, we arrived in Newquay - perhaps the most unimpressive town in the whole county (of what we saw anyways). If mega-sized Walkies, Belushis and clubs named Barracuda are your thing, then get down there, unfortunately being OLD it's not ours, so after a quick pasty (being in Cornwall and all) and passing the 20th group of hung-over men with black eyes and cut-up faces we decided to move on...

Porthmeor Beach

Sunset at Treyarnon Bay

From Newquay we headed further down the coast to St Ives, which from the first glimpses from the top of the hill as we appraoched the town was definitely more of what we were looking for.... old houses, quiet beaches and for some reason lots of art galleries. After a bit of walking in circles we checked out the Tate St Ives and the beaches before deciding we were wet enough and retreating to a pub for another pint and some Scrabble :)

St Michael's Mount

Publicious

More sunset

From St Ives it was back to the campsite via Marazion, hoping to check out St Michaels Mount, a monestary on an Island in the English Channel. The pints and Scrabble had obviously been too much fun as we missed the last boat and had to content ourselves with a glimpse of the island through the mist and rain.

Us in Padstow

Padstow Harbour

Having difficulty accepting being within 10m of the ocean and not swimming (refer Belgium post) I decided that a 5 minute break in the clouds was enough opportunity to go for a swim. While not the coldest water I have ever been in (not quite Lake Jindabyne in the middle of winter) it was nevertheless cool, and the absence of waves meant that it was a quick 5 minutes before I was out again...

Aimes in Padstow

Being close to Padstow, or perhaps more aptly known by the local terminology of Pad-stein, we couldn't pass up the opportunity for lunch at Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant - afterall what is better than a non-working Monday than a non-working Monday with a seafood lunch and a bottle of good wine? Anyways, there is definitely a certain affluence to Padstow, unsurprisingly considering it's reputation as the culinary centre of Cornwall, although it should be noted that most of the restaurants (and most of the shops) are in some way related to the Stein-onopoly.

One final St Ives

Two final thoughts
1. Why are there so many places in Cornwall named after Saints?
2. I've said it before, but you have to respect the liberal use of the definite article on British motorway signs (this time, THE South-West).

One final Eden Project

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Australis

As we have recently just spent two weeks apart, and Hobbes has set a precedent of writing in the first person to document his last two weeks, I have now exposed myself as the lesser skilled writer of the two of us. I thought I would have longer to hide behind his writing, but this time has come much quicker than I expected...

To overcome such embarrasment, I am posting a photoblog with just a tad of commentary.