Desert Oasis........

Well as I write its 43 degrees centigrade outside, humid as hell and all the sensible people have departed for a holiday in cooler climes. However, Mrs C and I decided to brave the heat and stay for the summer. So, what do you do when its 43 degrees outside? Of course, you take a staycation in the middle of the desert…but not just any staycation. We treated ourselves to a weekend at the wonderful, fabulous, brilliant, stunning (ok you get the picture that we like the place) AL Maha Desert Resort and Spa.

Now I have already written blogs about Al Maha but this time I was determined not only to enjoy all the luxury of the wonderful resort, but to try and see as much of the wildlife as possible and capture said animals with either the Leica SL2 and 24-90 Vario Elmarit or my new weapon of choice, the fabulous Leica Q116.

The Al Maha experience starts as soon as you pass through security. It is a ten minute drive from the perimeter of this nature reserve / luxury resort to reception and 2 minutes in we spot a beautiful gazelle nestling in the shade under some branches

Well that’s a good start, a keeper and we haven’t even checked in. Upon arrival we are welcomed by an army of staff who whisk us away to suite 23, a rather nice little B&B which will do nicely for a couple of days. Well done Mrs C.

Oh, did I mention that we also had a room with a view, and what a view!

Following a quick un-pack we focused on priorities and went directly to lunch. Kate was “in like Flynn” with the Gin and Tonics and was then scouring the menu with her usual laser like precision.

Well it wasn’t long before food started arriving. I decided upon a protein rich event which included a wagyu beef tartare with beluga caviar followed by Chicken Tikka with a spicy Makhani Sauce. Not bad so far and we had only been in the place for a couple of hours.

I also took the opportunity to try out the Leica Q’s Macro mode. Just a twist of the sublime 28mm Summilux lens and I am able to focus as close as 6.5 inches (that’s 0.17 metres in new money).

Having completely over indulged I was already girding my loins for an hour or so on the sunbed and a few zzzz’s. However, Mrs. C had other ideas and had already booked us on a nature drive with the wonderful Kester. So tooled up with the SL2 and the 24-90 Vario Elmarit we climbed in to the chilled calmness of the hotel’s Landcruiser and headed off in to the desert.

You know I have said before that nature just seems to thrive when humans are not allowed to muck it up. The nice thing about our nature drive is that we don’t crash about over dunes and in fact noone is allowed out in to the conservation area unsupervised. So, surprise surprise, there is a complete absence of little blue plastic bags and empty water bottles. Instead we have all manner of flora and fauna and animals living without unnatural threats to their environment and seemingly thriving.

As always at Al Maha we wanted to see the famous Arabian Oryx. In the past these beautiful animals were almost hunted to extinction but after some serious intervention from the U.A.E. authorities, hunting was banned and slowly their numbers were brought back to safe levels.These beautiful creatures are now thriving. Nobody and nothing is hunting them and they roam freely around the reserve without a care in the world.

In addition to the Oryx there seems to be a plethora of gazelle. Although clearly used to humans they are always on the lookout and remain extremely skittish. However with care and even at 90mm, it is possible to obtain some interesting close up images.

During our many visits we had never been able to see the famous Hubarra Bustard. These birds are hunted in the wild using Falcons to chase and catch them. Other than wild falcons they are perfectly safe at Al Maha although this one wasn’t taking any chances as he tried his best to blend in with the local surroundings.

On the return leg of our nature drive we stopped by one of our favourite spots, the Falcon House. They not only keep falcons but also Owls and a couple of Eagles. Lets just say the Eagle was not thrilled to see me and my Leica and I managed to catch him giving me the evil eye!

Now the Falcon’s are indeed very valuable and are treated like royalty in their own air-conditioned living quarters. They were extremely obedient models and just sat motionless as I grabbed a couple of images.

Our guide Kester is now fully trained to fly the Falcon’s. He showed us his daily logs where he records the weight of each Falcon and also their behaviour. Apparently they have no actual bond with their handler other than they know he is the hand that feeds. Therefore, it is important that they are not over-fed so that they will always return to the leash for more food.

Our final port of call was to stop by the horses. Kester is a real fan and loves to ride and took as to visit them armed with their favourite treats, apples and carrots. Indeed Mrs. C was extremely brave as she handed out the treats whilst I kept my distance and worked on getting a few keepers for my blog.

That was most probably the best nature drive that we have ever taken at AL Maha (trust me we have taken quite a few) and hats off to all the rangers who are doing a wonderful job as the wildlife are clearly thriving.

So dusty and a little weary we end our desert exploration in the spirit of Lawrence of Arabia….and headed straight to the bar. Greeted by the barman I said that “mines a large one” to which he replied “so is mine but what would you like to drink”…….Touché.

Anyways I ordered my usual, Vodka Martini with a twist whilst Mrs. C ordered a rather fancy cocktail aptly named “The Sandstorm”. Delicious and just what the doctor ordered

Our staycation continued with more food and more relaxing in our private pool and it really did feel that we were a million miles away from the hubbub that is modern, bustling Dubai. However, we had decided on one final excursion, to take Champagne amongst the dunes and watch the sun set over Al Maha. Now we had done this on a previous stay and there are two ways to get out to the Dunes.

The first is for the amateurs (a.k.a. tourists) who take a 20 minute ride by camel. Trust me the last time we did this my nether regions were numb for a week and it definitely took the edge off the champagne.

The second way is what I term as for the pros (a.k.a. for the experienced Middle Eastern Expat) and involved a five minute drive by our favourite guide Kester in his comfortable air-conditioned Landcruiser. Needless to say the astute reader has already guessed our choice and thus we were first to arrive at our “watering hole’ and were greeted warmly by our barmen who had the fizz nicely chilled.

At first he tried to offer me a bottle of water. With all innocence I asked him “why, was there a fire?”

As we sipped our ice cold champagne we noticed the “amateurs” arriving!

Those that could walk hobbled over and joined us for a cool libation. The rest asked for a towel and some ice. No, not a special desert cocktail, just something to sooth tender parts!

Of course for Kate and I we were really there for the sunset. Yes I know its all in black and white but I am sure you can use your imagination….

As for me, I passed the camera over to one of the other guests so that I could have the picture I really wanted. an image with the women I love more than anything else in the world, taken in a place that for those who have fallen in love with Arabia is simply magical. I guess we have to be doing something right in our current chaos-filled world.

Well I hope you have enjoyed sharing in our desert staycation and stay tuned for more adventures in the near future. Stay well and warmest regards from the desert.

Auntie Sarah Does Dubai………..

In the words of the immortal Max Bygraves (you have to be of a certain age to remember Max),”Let me tell you a story”.

In fact, let me take you back to Christmas 2019. We are all sitting around the dinner table in a rainy and windy Plymouth (we get that a lot in Plymouth) and we are all so excited as we planed Auntie Sarah’s proposed visit to Dubai in the November of 2020 so that she could attend the Dubai Expo 2020. Oh the best-laid plans of mice and men; what could possibly go wrong?

So how were we to know that for the first time in our life-times a global pandemic was about to hit us, we would be locked-down, subject to mandatory testing, travel restrictions, vaccinations, boosters, mandatory mask wearing and would have to learn a whole new vocabulary….the list is endless. However, and as always, the Chivs, Steeds and the Nortons adopted a Churchillian spirit, we hunkered down, we stocked up, we Zoomed in and somehow, we managed to get through it.

So, two and a bit years later Auntie Sarah’s “Great Progress” was back on. After all, lightening never strikes twice…..or does it? Well, in this case it did. Approximately two weeks before “D-Day” we all caught the dreaded COVID. We don’t know how as we are so careful but we did. Would this mean yet another cancelled trip? Fortunately and assisted by two vaccinations, a booster and some TLC and with a couple of days to spare we all recovered, got our clear lateral flow tests and the trip was back on…phew!

Now Auntie Sarah is a real star and one of those house guests you just love; adventurous, up for anything, eats everything and takes a libation when offered. On the libation front I can assure you that Auntie Sarah takes her hydration extremely seriously. So it was off to the alcohol store, ship in copious amounts of Sauvignon Blanc and have a bottle of Armenian brandy for back up. We were ready.

Auntie Sarah was joined on her trip by Mike. What a great chap he is. It was his first trip to the Middle East. He too is easy going and up for anything but most importantly he is a Fujilover and turned up with his trusty XT3. Perfect, I would have a partner in crime and someone to go out to play with.

Now I believe that with every trip you start as you mean to go on. So it was off to the trendy Filia Italian Restaurant located on the 70th floor of the SLS Hotel. Auntie Sarah was in her natural environment as she mingled with the glitterati, sampled the fantastic food and took full advantage of the wonderful nighttime views of downtown Dubai. She especially made me laugh when our waitress asked her if she had any allergies, to which Auntie Sarah immediately replied “Short Measures”! Our waitress got the message and ensured that Auntie Sarah remained fully topped up throughout the evening.

After a cracking dinner we rounded off the evening by paying a visit to Souk Al Bahar to experience the lake surrounding Bur Khalifa and of course the famous Dubai Fountains. Despite having participated with my renowned enthusiasm in the red wine, my hands were sufficiently steady to capture an arty shot across the water.

An area of Dubai which is my firm favourite is the Dubai Creek. More specifically, the area around Shindagha. It brings back so many memories for me of those days when I worked for the good old British Bank of the Middle East (now HSBC) where my office overlooked the Creek.

For me, the glitz and glam of high rise Dubai is wonderful and in parts quite iconic. However, it is this old school heart of Dubai which gives you the sights, sounds and smells of the true Middle East which I fell in love with all those years ago.

Our first destination was breakfast at the wonderful Mazmi Cafe. Just walk through Mina Bazaar (the textile Market), turn left and then stop before you fall in the Creek.

Here you will see tourists, residents and local Emiratis all enjoying a fabulous breakfast. Mrs. C and Auntie Sarah shared the local bread basket whilst Mike and I went full throttle with a bowl of delicious Shakshouka (basically tomatoes, onion, egg and spiced with Paprika). As we enjoyed our breakfast the hustle and bustle of Dubai Creek carried on before our eyes and of course, Mike was quick to take a few images with the Fuji.

I could tell that the girls were also in their happy place as there were no objections when I asked to grab an image of them. I love this image with the picture of Sheikh Rashid and Sheikh Zayed in the top left corner.

Fully fuelled our next challenge was to do a bit of haggling in Mina Bazaar and buy a few souvenirs. Auntie Sarah was “in like Flynn”. As she terrorised a poor shop keeper with her negotiating skills it was like taking candy from a baby. Poor misguided chap actually thought he had a chance. However, once he realised the futility of it all Auntie Sarah secured her price, money was handed over and the deal was done!

With the spoils of war in hands our next job was a trip across the Creek on one of the local Abras. At a Dirham a head its a bargain and is by far the best way to see Dubai from a different perspective. Today it is completely organised but back in the day it was a complete scrum-down and many a tourist ending up in the Creek!

Despite the hustle and bustle (and by the way no-one fell in) some of the Abra drivers still managed 40 winks as the temperature started to rise towards a simmering 40 degrees.

Once we reached the banks of Deira Dubai we skirted the old spice Souk and took a brief stroll through the famous Gold Souk.

By now it was simply too hot for our visitors and the Souk was rammed with tourists. So it was back across the Creek, in to the chilled aircon of the Landcruiser and off to Al Qasr for a well earned cuppa.

I must say that we were all having such a great time and in amongst all the sight seeing Auntie Sarah and Mike did mange to have some down-time and relax by the pool. However, their final day had arrived and no better way to spend it than with a visit to our most favourite place in the UAE, the Al Maha Desert Resort.

Actually Al Maha is a luxury resort that has been built as part of a desert conservation area. You have to book to get in and for those that like to enjoy a fabulous lunch, enjoy seeing wildlife undisturbed in its natural habitat and experience the desert in a highly civilised manner, this is the way to go. What I also enjoy is that at Al Maha nothing is ever rushed yet everything gets done with a quiet efficiency.

As we entered through the old doors in to the lobby I managed to grab an image of Auntie Sarah who was in Audry Hepburn mode.

Then I remembered I had taken a similar image of Eleanor (Auntie Sarah’s daughter) when she last visited. What do you think….they could be sisters!

As we stood on the restaurant veranda, soaking up the atmosphere all were in their happy place, which allowed me to once again grab some images of the girls.

Following a sumptuous lunch it was time for a desert drive with our young South African guide Kester. He was so knowledgable about the desert and the wildlife and it was clear that conservation was his passion. As I managed to capture a couple of images of the Arabian Gazelle and the Arabian Oryx, it did strike me how nature thrives, as long as we humans don’t do out best to muck it up.

What a week we had. Although Auntie Sarah did not make it to Expo we did have such fun. Once again fabulous memories shared with the people we love. Best of all we are already planning our next adventure. Watch this space!

Kalba and the Kingfisher........

As we pass through January we really do get the best of weather in the UAE; rain, wind and the photographers delight…….clouds! As a result we decided to get away from it all and visit Kalba for a stay at the delightful Kingfisher Resort.

Now Kalba is a small town located on the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates and forms part of the Emirate of Sharjah. It is pretty much undeveloped, although the local authorities have built a wonderful corniche with an eye to keeping things natural, rather than the normal blue glass hotels that we see in tourist resorts around the world. Perhaps that is why it is still such an undiscovered gem.

Flanked by an area of natural mangroves, rich in wildlife, which has been designated as a nature reserve, we were also there to hopefully see turtles and also experience that rugged, remote feeling, that only the east cost of the UAE can offer.

To get to the resort you park at the corniche and a small boat comes to collect you at a jetty. This is all part of the experience.

After the short journey we were whisked off to the main building and reception where we received a very warm welcome, before being taken to our 3 bedroom villa.

Now Mrs. C had sold this break to me on the basis that, accompanied by Seth, Claire and the boys, we would be sharing a luxurious 3-bed villa on the beach. As we approached our accommodation it looked remarkably like a large tent! Knowing Mrs. C’s views about camping, which are unprintable in a family friendly blog, I was sure that I was mistaken. Well they were tents of sorts, but very luxurious tents which were beautifully fitted out, including showers, flushing toilet and the most sumptuous and comfortable bed. They were rather what you would expect if you went on a super luxurious safari in Kenya, except that you did not not need armed guards to keep you safe from man-eating predators!

Then we walked out of our “villa” and on to the beach and it became apparent why we had booked our stay at the Kingfisher Resort. Unspoilt, no people or tourists, just as nature intended.

Our first job was to do what we always do at 3.30 pm….make a cup of tea. The boys also put some candles on a cake that Mrs. C had baked for Claire as we were celebrating her being another year younger. As always the boys tucked in with great gusto and fair to say it was delicious. Great Effort Mrs. C.

After our short repast we made our way to the Turtle Sanctuary and Mangrove Reserve. A chance for the boys to see some wildlife and for me to exercise the shutter finger with the Leica Type 246 and the super wonderful 50mm Apo Summicron. A great afternoon was had by all and here are a few images to record our visit although unfortunately no turtles. Apparently at this time of year they reside somewhere close to Oman!

What a great day first day and after a slap up dinner in the main restaurant (a limited menu but what they served-up was delicious), we retired for the evening. As I laid in our villa the silence was deafening, save for the roar of the sea in the distance. That was the last thing I remember until 6.30 a.m. the next morning, when a young Atticus was climbing on the bed saying ”come on Uncle Chunkle, we are going to see the sunrise”. Well at this point I must digress to explain that the term “Uncle Chunkle” is of course due to my athletic and muscular build…….not!

Anyways back to the point and still in my pyjamas, I grabbed my SL2 with my new 90mm Apo summicron SL lens (newly acquired and my only Leica auto-focus lens) and Mrs. C and I walked out to capture the sunrise. As all landscape photographers will testify you have to be lucky and in this case we weren’t; we got about 15 seconds of sunrise before the clouds obscured everything.

No matter, we had a deserted beach to ourselves, the wind was in our hair and despite the light rain, the boys were having a ball. A few images of “surfer boys” having a blast and some views of why this is one of the best places in the UAE for getting away from it all. Also my favourite model, young Raif, allowed me to do some testing with my new lens.

What a relaxing break. What struck me most was that there was so much to do that didn’t involve iPads or mobile phones and I didn’t watch the T.V. once. Above all, the best part was spending quality time, out in the fresh air, with the people we love.

You know the UAE is a wonderful place and really does offer everything, you just have to make the effort to find it. Take care everyone and looking forward to our next staycation to show you the delights of the UAE..

Celebrating 50 Years...........

Having lived in the United Arab Emirates for the past 28 years, I always believe that there is very little that surprises me. Well, we have just celebrated the 50th National Day of the United Arab Emirates and to do so, the ever resourceful Mrs. C had booked us a staycation at the Chedi Al-Bait Hotel, located next to the Sharjah Creek at the end of what those of us of a “certain age” still refer to as Bank Street. I have to say that knowing the area quite well I was to say at least a little sceptical. However, was I wrong and was I pleasantly surprised!

Upon arrival I turned off Corniche Street in to what seemed from the outside like a traditional Arabic coffee shop and residence. We were met by a rather charming young lady who proceeded to provide us with a refreshing “welcome Juice” and then a tour of the facilities.

It seems that the local Al Midfa family originally had their home on the site and then the hotel was built around it in traditional Emirati style. The rooms were fabulous as can be seen from this glamour shot of Mrs. C:

For me the hotel was a photographers dream and I spent half the day enjoying the light and shadows. Here are a few images to give you a feel for the place:

So I am sure you can see this is a haven of serenity. Whilst outside of the resort’s walls the chaos of Sharjah carried on as usual, inside everything was very peaceful and Zen. Just the sort of place we needed to reduce stress levels, catch up on some reading and of course indulge myself in some photographic creativity.

Given that we were in the heart of old Sharjah, we did venture outside for a walk and stumbled in to the Al Shasaniyah Souq, just as the National Day celebrations were kicking off with the traditional Emirati stick dance:

No one seemed to mind as I snapped way with he Leica SL2 and 50mm Noctilux F0.95. It appears that my manual focussing skills are improving even though the light was extremely challenging; either very harsh or full of shadows. However, I was quite pleased with the results.

For those of you who don’t know Sharjah it is what we term as “dry” i.e. no alcohol. Actually this was a blessing as it allowed for a two day detox and surprisingly most of my images were in focus. I generally find that red wine and manual focus at F0.95 do not sit well together!

Food was also traditional arabic fare. We had wonderful fresh mezzeh and the lamb Kofta and chicken Shish Tawook were to die for.

The hotel also had a delightful cafe and we were invited for coffee and a slice of cake (at least 1000 calories a bite) to celebrate. This is the view from our corner table as I chased the light and shadows with my Leica:

This was certainly a traditional Emirati experience in spades and something that anyone coming to the UAE should try. Forget the high rise blue glass hotels, this was really a flavor of the Gulf.

What away to celebrate 50 years of a nation, by going back to its traditional roots. Even though the modern generation want to emulate many things that the West has to offer, some of the very best things involving art, culture and heritage can be found at home!

As we checked out of the hotel my last photo was this minimalist image of some flowers peacefully floating in a large vase of water. It somehow encapsulated everything I was feeling, relaxed, de-stressed and very Zen.

Memo to me, book New Year break at Chedi al Bait for post Christmas detox!

Stay well everybody and may I wish all those who frequent my blog a very healthy and peaceful Christmas break.

Viva España, home again at last..............

Due to the dreaded COVID, it had been almost 18 months since I have last seen our mum who resides in Southern Spain. Well you cannot believe how excited I was back in October of this year, when travel restrictions to Spain eased and Mrs. C and I were finally be able to book flights and set off to beautiful España.

Now I have to say that Mrs. C and I consider ourselves to be extremely fortunate in life. We have worked very hard for everything we have, we are blessed with a most wonderful family and at our time of life (of course Mrs. C was a child bride and remains within those magical 20 years that women seem to have between the ages of 39 and 40!) we have decided that we will splash out and try and ensure we have “COVID friendly” travel and whenever possible turn left when entering the plane. Damn, better put the purchase of the new Leica 35 Apo Summicron on a long-term hold I guess!

For those of you who regularly follow my ramblings you will recall that our previous COVID flight was back to good old Blighty (The U.K.) and involved ten days enforced hard labour (hotel quarantine) at H.M.P. Heathrow (The Radisson Edwardian Hotel). This time there were no such requirements. As we were both double vaccinated we just had to load the Spainish “SPTH” travel app on to our phones, have proof that we were fully vaccinated and Bobs your uncle, Fannie’s your father’s sister, the bar was well and truly open and our Spanish cousins were happy to welcome us with open arms, (well at least a cold San Miguel and an Iberico Pork Baguette).

Even better was that our daughter Anna was able to join us for the trip and it was quite emotional as we all met up. Nothing like a hug from the people you love the most to make the world a happy place.

So for us the next week had no schedule, it was simply an opportunity to catch up, eat, drink and basically make up for all that lost time.

From my perspective I was determined to include as many images as possible, not of my usual travel photography, but instead of capturing images of the people I love the most. Indeed, Mudge always complains that I have no images of her on my website although in my defense, that is mainly due to a lack of opportunity and a wish to capture her naturally rather than posed.

Given that I was after portraits I went all out on the camera front and took my Leica SL2 and the Leica 50mm Noctilux F0.95. I also bought a theft proof shoulder bag to transport my precious gear on the basis that we had to pass through Barcelona which has form on the bag stealing front, it does not look like a camera bag and was also slash proof and had all sorts of built-in anti theft devices. Its a sorry world in which we live!

Our daughter Anna wins the prize as the most willing model of the week as she was after a new profile picture and was happy to have a go in all settings. Here are a few of my favourites:

In terms of Mudge she proved more difficult in that she always wants to pose, which to me does not seem natural. However, over breakfast at La Encarcion by the shores of the Mar Menor I finally managed to capture her as I wanted to see her.

As for the elusive Mrs. C, well the image I love the most was captured in the first class Lounge at Dubai Airport. As you can see our trip was so less stressful than the last time and her morning Champagne seemed to be slipping down with consummate ease.

Having made my quota of family images I did turn my attention to a bit of travel and street photography by the shores of the beautiful Mar Menor.

The Mar Menor is basically a sea but with a narrow inlet connecting it to the Mediterranean. Indeed, it is like a huge lake. With super cloud cover acting like a huge softbox I was able to capture some minimalist imagery:

The Los Alcazares Corniche, on the shores of the Mar Menor, provides a glimpse of “old-school” Spain which is rarely seen today in the modern resorts where tall concrete monstrosities cluster to gain the best view of the beach and the glistening Mediterranean. In Los Alcazares time seems to have stood still:

As we arrived at Barcelona EL Prat Airport to catch our flight back to Dubai I reflected on what a wonderful week we had enjoyed. If only our son Simon could have joined us it would have been absolutely perfect. Alas work comes first but we will be seeing him over the Christmas break when we shall do our best to pay homage to the Chivers family motto,”Be Jolly lets crack open the Bolly”!

Above all Mum and Brian were looking and feeling great and I felt such a personal sense of relief that all was well on the family front. Indeed, it makes you realise that in the new world of Zoom calls and WhatsApp, the physicality of a good old-fashioned hug and being actually together in the flesh, can never be replaced or replicated.

So it was “Adios” for now and “Viva España” until our next visit.

Creativity in Adversity.....The COVID Traveller

Its been seventeen months since we last saw our Children and 20 months since we hugged our parents. During that time we have all become experts at using Zoom, adhering to lock-down restrictions, undergone periods of mandatory quarantine and observed mask wearing and social distancing requirements. All the aforementioned were done with our usual Churchillian fortitude, good grace and in the spirit of doing what is right for society.

Living in Dubai as we do we have also been fortunate that the Dubai Authorities stole a march on proceedings and forged ahead, at pace, with mass vaccination of the population and indeed, we have been double jabbed with Pfeizer since February 2021.

However, the UK government placed the U.A.E on a Red List and for most of this period there were no flights directly to the UK. In almost 30 years of living overseas, this is the first time that our own government has officially said you are not welcome to come home…….a sobering thought for a professional expatriate who is used to jumping on a flight at a moments notice.

However, during the last month Emirates Airlines have re-started direct flights for U.K. Nationals and even though the U.A.E is still on the UK Government’s Red List, we are allowed to fly. The mandatory restrictions in doing so are that:

1. We take a PCR test 72 hours before Boarding the flight.

2. We book in to a UK Government approved Quarantine Hotel for 11 nights, at a cost of £2,500 for the two of us.

3. During Quarantine we take a further two PCR tests on Day 2 and Day 8 of quarantine.

4. When departing the UK back to Dubai, we will have to take a further PCR test 72 hours before returning to Dubai at a cost of £140 each.

If all goes smoothly, our “Freedom Day” will be 11 days after landing at Heathrow. Well I can hear you all saying that if you want to travel during these difficult times then you have to follow the rules. I couldn’t agree more although, as I sit in my quarantine hotel room writing this blog, the world outside in the U.K. seems to be operating under a completely different set of guidelines and all we see on the news is people complaining about wearing a simple thing such as a face mask, hesitating to obtain their free vaccination and moaning that their holidays in Portugal have been disrupted by the need to isolate at home when returning from Amber list countries….Really??!! I believe some perspective is required.

The reason my Blog has been so quiet lately is that I did not want to continually write about COVID. I like to write about creativity not negativity. However, I felt some people might find it useful to understand how to approach travelling safely in this pandemic world, understand the motivations for doing so and also how to cope with 11 nights in one hotel room with nowhere else to go. Let me also be clear, COVID Quarantine is not a holiday. I can quite categorically state that if we had not seen family for so long then we would not have travelled at all and would have taken a holiday at home in Dubai.

So, let me rewind to about 1 month prior to our trip. The UK is about to open up and mandatory restrictions are being dropped by the U.K. Government. Meantime, cases of the Delta variant are going through the roof. Perfect timing for a trip from “safe-haven Red Listed U.A.E.” to good old Blighty! Well at this point Mrs. C and I would go to hell and back to see our kids (hmm might turn out to be quite an appropriate analogy).

So we booked flights and spent money on booking business class seats. Then Mrs. C noticed that we could use all those un-used air miles and upgrade to first class both there and back. Rock and roll, the bar is open and mines a large one….ooops wrong blog sorry for the euphemism:-)

So on to the hotel booking. Don’t muck about says I, book a suite at the Four Seasons says me. Mrs. C just gave me one of her shrivellers (definition of a shriveller is basically a thousand yard stare whist placing your foot across the neck of the person you are staring at…you get my drift that its not good). You log on to the UK government travel quarantine website, pay your £2,500 (in god we trust but the UK Govt wants cash in advance!) and you are allocated a hotel. There is no choice. We were booked in to the Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow. Alas my sea-view balcony suite was not to be.

Having made all the bookings and logistical arrangements the next hurdle is to have a PCR test. This was our first PCR test since the start of the pandemic and I don’t mind telling you we were rather anxious. This was taken 72 hours before departure of our flight. More online form filling ensued at the testing centre and then it was time for the test. I just looked at the young lady with my best soppy spaniel eyes and crumpled telling her I was a “scaredy-cat”. She seemed to take pity on me and and as a result the PCR test simply tickled rather than feeling like a drill searching for my brain. The next morning we got our negative test result by SMS and gave a collective sigh of relief. We were definitely flying and so it was full steam ahead!

When we arrived at DXB (Dubai Airport), first class check-in was super smooth although, at both check-in and immigration, you have to produce all you travel documentation in hard copy, particularly the copy of the negative PCR test and the formal confirmation of the quarantine hotel booking. Within 15 minutes we reached the sanctuary of the first class lounge.

A glass of champagne quickly calmed our jangling nerves and the staff in the Emirates lounge were so kind. With all that is going on in the world we certainly felt very fortunate and privileged. However, don’t think that we were throwing caution to the wind, as the following picture shows us in full travel kit; face shield and N95 mask along with the usual disinfectant wipes and sanitiser. Don’t worry what others may think, do whatever makes you feel safe, comfortable and protect yourself and those around you.

Meantime, I also took the opportunity to photograph some of the beautiful architecture of DXB. Usually, we are always racing through the airport in search of our gate and never take time to appreciate the futuristic building and the way it creates both light and shadows.

After a painless transition from terminal to first class cabin and a very comfortable flight to London (the crew were so kind and helpful and the Dom Perignon had been chilled to the perfect temperature) we arrived at London Heathrow Terminal 2 full of trepidation.

As we left the plane we were all immediately put on a bus and taken directly to Terminal 4, which is only used for flights coming from “Red List” countries. Security was super strict as we were marched to Immigration. We seemed to be the only flight in the terminal at that time and after producing the myriad of hard copies of our travel documents and being allocated a red ticket designating the Radisson Blu Hotel, (you would have thought we would be given a blue ticket but I digress) we collected our luggage and were put on to a coach with about 50 other people.

It was at this point that we were glad that we were still wearing our face shields and N95 masks as there seemed to be no social distancing regulations at all. More producing of passports and hotel tickets ensued so that they could identify who we were, where we were staying and what seat number we were sitting on the coach, just in case some of us turned out to be COVID-positive.

On the bus to our hotel - not exactly socially distanced!

As ours was the last drop-off, the relatively short journey took about 1.5 hours. When you arrive at your hotel you remain seated on the coach and they take your passport to check you in. You are then individually escorted in to the hotel by security guards, where you again fill-in a number of questionnaires, all seemingly with the same questions that we had answered many times before.

The last thing we were asked to do was to fill in our menu choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the entire ten days. A tip for young players, take your time doing this as what you put on the form is what you will get!! Following this, security escorts you to your room and you can breathe a huge sigh of relief, sort of, as your quarantine begins in earnest.

In our experience their are a number of key survival tips for the COVID-savvy traveller when trying to quarantine in a hotel room for 11 nights:

1. It is what is it, get over it, don’t complain and keep reminding yourself why you are doing it.

2. Don’t even attempt 11 days quarantine with someone with whom you don’t get along.

3. Treat the hotel room like your home. It is a small space and you have to keep it clean and tidy. Remember that you are in quarantine and no-one is coming in to your room to do it for you. You will have to do it yourself.

4. It is vital to have a structure to your day. The day is already structured around breakfast lunch and dinner but it helps to break up the morning and afternoon in to exercise (thank god for Joe Wickes TV exercise sessions), mindfulness such as meditation and Tai-Chi and creativity, whether its writing a blog, colouring-in, jigsaws, crosswords or simply reading. Of course, you have a television but I don’t think its healthy spending all day glued to a T.V.screen.

5. Having said that, take your computer, iPad and a charger as well as an HDMI cable. At least you can then screen Netflix and / or Amanzon Prime on the hotel TV and vary your viewing, thereby avoiding the relentless rolling news programs which are generally full of negativity.

6. We had a rule not to lay on the bed unless we were going to sleep. Sounds a bit strange but keeps you active and alert throughout the day.

7. Make a point of speaking to your loved ones on a regular basis as this keeps you focussed on why you are putting yourself through all of this. For us we were on the same time zone, we could use free WhatsApp phone and video calls as well as the usual Zoom.

8. Depending on the hotel, take your own washing up liquid and laundry wash for your unmentionables. Our hotel allowed seven essential items for free laundry but that doesn’t go very far.

9. The food comes in brown carrier bags and is in cardboard cartons with wooden cutlery and tastes so much better on a plate. So pack a travel set of plates / bowls and cutlery.

10. Keep the windows open to ensure ventilation and use essential oils and a diffuser to maintain a healthy atmosphere, especially at night. We bought a great little travel diffuser at Muji Dubai which did the job perfectly.

11. Take your daily exercise. We were allowed an hour a day outside. We called security and were escorted to the hotel car park. It is exactly 220 steps around the perimeter with guards at the entrance and at strategic points. Trust me you are not getting out but I did laugh when Mrs. C started whistling the tune to the Great Escape as we did lap after lap. Fortunately the weather was scorching hot (were we really in the U.K.?) so we took advantage of getting some fresh air and much needed natural vitamin D.

12. That reminds me, make sure you take sufficient supply of whatever medicines and supplements you need. For me it was daily vitamin C plus weekly vitamin D.

13. There will be security everywhere. You cannot leave your room unattended and without permission and all corridors and exits are guarded 24/7. This is not a hotel stay but enforced quarantine. I think it is also good to remember that these people are generally trying to help you so treat them kindly and with respect. They are just doing their job and have the same problems and worries as you. They are generally very friendly ad they make life much easier for those people that treat them with courtesy.

With all the above in mind we set out to practice what we preach. As usual I had my camera (as you see from the imagery) and it did give me time to update my website and write a long-overdue Blog.

Mrs. C is very organised on this front. She is an avid Dissectologist (i.e. a Jigsaw person) and so had taken one with her as well as lots of reading, podcasts and a colouring book. Not your usual run of the mill colouring book mind but with the resultant pictures suitable for framing!

I had brought along my Leica SL2 and the manually adapted and super-wonderful Leica 50mm Apo Summicron M lens. I then set about trying to step outside of my comfort zone to create some quarantine imagery.

Environmental Portrait - A Cry for Freedom.

Still Life

In exploring the different photographic genres I hesitantly suggested to the ever camera shy Mrs. C that given we were effectively living in a bedroom, how about trying a bit of Boudoir photography. Well I nearly broke my jaw as it hit the floor when Mrs. C immediately acquiesced to this tentative suggestion, saying what a great idea it was! Rock & Roll, the bar is open and mines a large one…..Ooops wrong Blog again!

Naturally I immediately thought break out the “Happy Birthday Steve Nightie” and started planning a number of “artistic” poses. After all, if it was in the name of art it would all be totally acceptable, especially given that I had Leica’s highest resolving M mount lens with me coupled with a 47 mega pixel sensor that would reveal all in the minutest detail.

Alas, my muse, my best friend and the love of my life knows me only too well and was already a minimum of 5 steps ahead of me. When it came time for the shoot she reasoned, in a form of cold, concise logic, which seems to be inherent in the female of our species, that given we were in the middle of a global pandemic and undertaking enforced lock-down, that the images should also be in a COVID-friendly format……Denied!

I felt crushed but really should have known better. Whilst regular readers know that I am King of my castle and of course am in full control of proceedings, I decided that it would be best to humour Mrs. C in the spirit of entente-cordiale and that it would be easier taking the images if she took her foot off my neck! She’s a feisty one is our Mrs. C.

Suitably deflated after our COVID Boudoir experience, I thought things couldn’t possibly get worse….enter the arrival of the mandatory day two PCR test! How difficult could this be……..?

Crikey, it is one thing to have someone else root about up your hooter with an oversized cotton bud but it is really something else to do it yourself. In the U.K. it is a multi-part procedure:

1. Rub the swab over both tonsils for 5 seconds each, without touching teeth, gums or your tongue….absolutely impossible and almost saw the return of my breakfast twice!

2. Using the same swab stick up both nostrils and twizzle for a further five sends each. Equally impossible as I couldn’t see for the tears running down my face.

3. Once this is done place the swab in the liquid filled tube provided and seal.

4. Then make a cardboard box from the kit provided and seal everything inside (this was the Krypton Factor bit and thank goodness Mrs. C was there as she always takes charge of technical issues).

5. Finally follow the instructions, (always a challenge for me as like all photographers I never read the manual) login on the NHS website, register the test and appropriate barcode number and “Bob’s your uncle, Fannies your brother’s sister” you have completed the exercise. Leave the box outside the hotel door, phone security, they will collect and you get the result within 48 hours…..or not!

Well that was that then, security stopped by and collected our tests and we crossed our fingers hoping that all would be well. Disconcertingly, about two hours later, a security guard stopped by and asked why we had not left our tests out for collection. After a few frantic calls on the walkie talkie he told us not to worry and that he was sure all would be fine !

48 hours later and still no test results. Our worst fears began to materialise. Mrs. C was already fearing the worst as I tried to calm things down and went in to Dad’s Army mode….”Don’t Panic Mr. Manwering” (you have to be British and of an age to understand that joke).

So I didn’t panic and against all instincts I followed the procedure in the instruction pack and dialled 119, The NHS Test, Track and Trace hotline. I spoke to a delightful young lady who must have been all of fourteen years old and who was super helpful. However, after speaking for 15 minutes and providing all manner of information she thanked me profusely and then said that alas she couldn’t help and would have to escalate us to level 2 (By now DEFCON 2 in our room I can tell you). The only problem being that the response time from the DEFCON 2 team was currently running at 36 mins and rising so the young lady politely asked if we would we mind holding? “Needs must when the devil drives” and of course we didn’t mind as our impending freedom was in the balance and being threatened!

55 minutes later I was finally put through to the the DEFCON 2 team who proceeded to take down all the details I had previously provided to the first young lady before giving us each a case number and telling us they would call us back, all things being equal, in the fullness of time and at the appropriate juncture?!

At 10 p.m. that evening we both received sms’s from NHS track and trace to say our tests results were both negative. If I had had a bottle of Bollinger in the fridge I would have cracked it open. As I didn’t, we settled for a cup of peppermint tea instead.

Next morning the DEFCON 2 team called us to apologise that they still hadn’t located our tests. Between gritted teeth I calmly and helpfully told them that the results had now been received and that they could remove us from their “Priority List”. The young gentleman on the phone seemed genuinely very pleased and we were very relieved. However, we only hoped that our final Day 8 PCR test would go a little smoother and would come back on-time and negative, thereby allowing us to avoid an enforced extension to our quarantine experience.

The next few days passed without incident as we quietly “did our time” and made the most of this enforced down-time. Then the big day arrived, ourf Day 8 PCR test. This had to provide a negative result and be delivered back within 48 hours for us to have our “Freedom Day”.

We took great care in taking the test, sealing the submission box, filling in the forms and of course registering everything online. Having triple checked everything we placed both kits outside our hotel room door. 15 minutes later there was a knock and the security guard confirmed pick-up. Everything was now out of our hands.

The next morning, as we sat in bed with our cup of tea whist watching the Olympics on the TV, Mrs. C’s phone sprang to life. The ensuing text confirmed that her Day 8 PCR test had been received and yes she was negative!!! Alas, my phone remained deathly silent for the next six hours as Mrs. C continued to reassure me that even if I had to extend my stay in quarantine, she would be sure to look after the kids and make sure we did not waste all those dinner reservations. I then dropped the bombshell that the rules stated that unless both of us were clear, none of us were getting out. The look of panic on Mrs. C’s face suggested that a call to the DEFCON 2 team might be the appropriate course of action. Then, saved by the bell, my phone went off, a text was received and I too received my negative test result. It started to sink in that we would be leaving.

Up until day 8 everything had actually passed very quickly but the time from day 8 until the morning of day 11 seem to take an absolute age. Our subsequent release was somewhat of an anti-climax as Security checked our negative PCR results, escorted us to the car-park gate and politely asked us to leave. That was that and we were free!!!

Two hours later we were at Colliers Wood tube station waiting for our daughter Anna. As she came through the turnstiles both Mrs. C and I let out a shriek of Joy and quite openly tears of Joy were shed by all. Just to hug our daughter after so long was such a wonderful feeling and worth all the turmoil of COVID travel and quarantine.

Over lunch at a pub in Merton Abbey Mills we continued to laugh and cry and shared our COVID-Travel trials and tribulations over fish and Chips and a glass of something fizzy. Do you think Mrs. C looks happy?

Later that evening we also met up with our son Simon and again more happy tears were shed. As we sat in the garden of Simon’s local hostelry, (The Selkirk Arms) our wonderful family was once agin re-united, all was very happy in our little world and I finally got the picture I had so dearly wanted.

These past 2 years have been a sobering reminder of how fragile life really is and above all, how important it is to share as much time as possible with the people you care about and love the most.

For me, as I press “file save” and publish this blog I have a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes as I recall how wonderful it was to be with our children.

One thing I can promise you, It will not be another two years before we are together again!

Wadi Bashing..........

As regular readers will know after 27 years living in the desert we have finally developed a spirit of adventure and decided to make the most of what is on our door-step.

Having already tried off-roading on sand, our next adventure was to hit the Wadi’s, Wadi Tayyibah to be exact, located in the Hajar Mountains of Fujairah. What could possibly go wrong with driving across a rocky dried up river bed which is prone to flash floods when it rains?

Once again my Lawrence of Arabia instincts kicked in and tooled up with the Leica Type 246 and the 50mm Summilux, a picnic and accompanied by Seth, Claire and the boys, we set the sat-nav to Fujairah and made sure everything was crossed!

As always it was a pleasant drive through the desert in the Emirate of Sharjah but as we get closer to Fujairah there is a dramatic change of scenery as the Hajar Mountains rise above the shimmering sands.

However, first stop is one of the road-side markets so that Seth, who is always up for a bargain, could hone his negotiating skills and pick up some of the local fruits and produce. For me, it was an opportunity to take a couple of candid shots of the local market and of course, the master negotiator in action!

Now Claire took the lead with her trusty wadi guide book (the only thing being older was the Hajar mountains themselves). As we wound our way through the village of Tayyibah the road disappeared and what can only be described as a rocky passage emerged. I am sorry that I don’t have many pictures of this stage of the journey but as I gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, trying to gingerly pick out a path that would avoid the sump being ripped off the Landcruiser, I prayed that what was running down my legs was perspiration!

Now at this point I will leave you hanging and delve in to a bit of history. The Wadi itself is a seasonal watercourse (my guidebook did not say which season and how much water) and runs from the village of Tayyibah to join the Dibba Plain. Prior to 1960, Wadi Tayyibah provided the main route from the town of Masafi to Dibba. This route was superseded in the 1960’s when the Trucial Oman Scouts built a new road by dynamiting through the mountains. Naturally, the local tribe got a bit miffed with people blowing up their mountains and the workers were attacked on numerous occasions. Thankfully for us the locals are now extremely friendly and welcoming although it is fair to say that we were the only vehicles driving down in to the Wadi. Did everyone know something we didnt?

Now Seth is pretty adventurous at the best of times and appeared in his element. However, I prefer to maintain the policy that “distrust and caution are the parents of security” and I was becoming increasingly worried about:

(a) How we would turn around to get back out of the Wadi.

(b) Assuming we could turn around whether we could then actually get out of the Wadi.

(c) How much it would cost to repair all the damage to the Landcruiser if we did eventually emerge unscathed.

Now some of you may be thinking that I am exaggerating a little. Well, once if became impassable this is where we ended up parking for a picnic. Please note the absence of both a road and any other human beings!

Phew, all good so far and my spirits rose at the thought of tucking in to our picnic. As for the boys this was one great adventure and the following Image is of my favourite model Raif, who is always obliging and concentrating on keeping still whilst I manually focus and young Atticus, who never keeps still and was intent in showing me the size of the sausage roll he was about to eat!

I was now eating sausage rolls, salt and vinegar crisps and corned-beef sandwiches so was back in my happy place. With everyone watered and fed I took the opportunity to grab a family portrait of Seth, Claire and Family. As you can see Atticus is miles away, still thinking about that sausage roll!

And then I made the mistake of looking up!:

As you can see the clouds were massing, clouds meant rain, rain meant flash flood and flash flood meant…..I didn’t want to think about what flash flood meant! So we packed up the gear and ably directed by Mrs C, which involved a 38 point turn and much swearing on my part, we were now headed in the right direction and gingerly made our way back to the main road.

Phew we finally made it. Don’t know what all the fuss was about!

Well that’s another thing ticked off our bucket list and it didn’t involve replacing the suspension of the Landcruiser. Stay tuned for more adventures!

My Lawrence of Arabia Moment..........

Following extended periods of lock-down, Mrs. C and I definitely had itchy feet. As a result, once restrictions eased and we had the opportunity to get outside and have some fresh air, we grabbed the opportunity to take advantage of the desert area of the Emirate of Sharjah and get out in to the great outdoors.

Now having lived in the United Arab Emirates for the past 27 years, you would have thought we would have had our fill of the desert. However, if I am honest, we are guilty of not spending enough time taking advantage of everything that the desert has to offer.

Regular readers will already know that we are not in to camping, or even glamping and Mrs. C has laid down the law that the only camping she will consider is a suite a the Four Seasons!

Even though I am my own man and King of my own particular castle, in these circumstances compromise is definitely the way forward. So, with our besties Seth, Claire and their boys, we did a bit of research and decided to head for the great outdoors and visit Fossil Rock.

Fossil Rock - LEICA SL2 with 75mm APO Summicron M

Now I haven’t done too much research on Fossil rock other than determine that it got its name because it is a big rock where you can find lots of fossils. As regulars readers will testify my blogs always contain a wealth of detailed information :-)

Of course we always knew where fossil rock was located, we have just never been brave enough to fire up the Landcruiser, drive down the highway and then turn right in to the desert. So we did, although with my limited off-load driving experience we decided that caution was the key word and kept to the relatively firm tracks at all times.

We eventually found a nice dune, parked up and we did what all English do, have a cup of tea and break out the sausage rolls.

Setting up camp - LEICA SL2 with 75mm APO Summicron M

Mid-way through our picnic we sighted a local camel herder, gave him a wave and much to our delight he was happy to come over to let the boys get up and close to his beloved camel.

Forearmed is to be forewarned and as I have had prior experience with Camels, I was well aware that they have teeth like a chain saw, are prone to spitting and can more often than not be described as pungent. So the 75mm App Summicron allowed me creativity at a safe distance!

Over here mate! Honest, we really were in the middle of nowhere! - LEICA SL2 with 75mm APO Summicron M

Old School versus Hi-Tech Desert Transport - LEICA SL2 with 75mm APO Summicron M

Ship of The Desert & her Captain - Leica SL2 & 75mm APO Summicron M

Up close and personal - Leica SL2 & 75mm APO Summicron M

It was really quite a dramatic area and we were considering chancing our arm and heading off across the dunes to get much closer when we noticed a car approaching and then suddenly get embedded in the sand.

Now at this point and given that the driver was a French lady attired in nothing but her gym-kit, I am sure you would have expected Seth and I to rush to her rescue. Absolutely not! We had just started on the corned-beef sandwiches and seeing as Claire was the only one of us who has done a desert driving course, we felt content in the knowledge that she was the best person to sort out the young lady's problem. After a bit of advice from Claire, which involved engaging 4WD with diff lock (it actually sounds like I know what I am talking about), much to the relief of the driver the car suddenly popped out of the sand. However, it was enough to show us that before going all 4WD mode you need to have a few cars together, a shovel and a tow-rope along with a substantial supply of corned-beef sandwiches just in case you get stuck and have to wait it out for rescue to arrive.

After all that drama I was exhausted and decided that we just needed couple more images to complete our creative excursion. At this point Seth whipped out his selfie-rod (no its not a euphemism) and decided it was time for a selfie.

Loving this boots Mrs C! - LEICA SL2 with 75mm APO Summicron M

Whilst Seth’s image was definitely one for the archives I finished my day with a very pleasing portrait of Seth and Claire. One for Leica Store dubai’s print service I think.

Seth & Claire - LEICA SL2 with 75mm APO Summicron M

Watch out for our next desert adventure!

The Roaring Forties

They say that the best years of a women's life are the ten years between the ages of 39 and 40!

With that in mind and not forgetting my New Years resolution to spend more time capturing images of family, friends and the people I love the most, January got off to a flying start as we celebrated the 40th birthday of Claire, one of our closest and dearest friends and part of what I like to call our "Dubai Family".

As a man whose year of birth was a rather excellent vintage for Port (not giving too much away there then) forty seems so young. When you see Claire she does not look old enough to have had two children, whilst holding down a high-flying career in corporate strategy. Just like Mrs. C. she must clearly have been a child bride!

Determined to make her 40th birthday a year to remember, Claire, who never does anything in half-measures, had organized two celebrations during the same week; a meal at the super fabulous Hoseki Japanese Restaurant at the Bulgari Hotel Dubai, followed up by a weekend at the luxurious Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, in the midst of the Liwa Desert.

Now I love Japanese food and at Hoseki they take it to a whole new level. Hoseki literally translates to "Gemstone" in English and it certainly is a gem of a restaurant .

When we arrived at the restaurant the whole decor and feeling is super cool and super smart and we were escorted to our table by a charming traditional Japanese waitress.

Konbanwa! (means good-evening for those of you whose colloquial Japanees is a bit rusty.

The restaurant itself was truly stunning. It only seats a maximum of 9 people per sitting and overlooks the wonderful Dubai skyline.

Trés Cool

We were personally welcomed by Chef Masahiro Sugiyama who provided us with a unique experience as he prepared and presented each dish in front of us, with an explanation of the dish itself and most importantly how to eat it.

Chef Sugiyama

The Master in action

Now I am a regular Sushi eater and I thought I had experienced everything. However, not only did we have the traditional cuts of fish but these were interspersed with a couple of more exotic numbers involving sea urchin, monkfish liver and the coup de grace, a delicate sperm sack of male cod fish! .......Crikey! Whilst sometimes it may be better not to know what you are eating, Shirako, as it is known in Japanese, has a delicate milky taste and is absolutely delicious. Washed down with a glass of fizzy Sake and the assembled gathering were all in their happy place.

Loving that Sperm Sack Mrs. C!

The whole meal lasted about two hours and was a wonderful experience that I shall never forget..

Following dinner we popped next door for after-dinner cocktails and as I sat there with my Vodka Martini with a twist, shaken not stirred, I grabbed a picture of Claire with cocktail in hand which included a furry looking object which I am a reliably informed was candy floss! As far as I am concerned if its your birthday you can have whatever you like!

Given the evening involved a lot of low-light photography I used the Fuji XH1's IBIS to the full and combined it with the wonderful XF16mm F1.4 lens. As we left The Bulgari to board our waiting Limo I had to finish on an arty note.

The next day we headed off up the Sheikh Zayed Road, turned left at Abu Dhabi and set course towards Saudi Arabia. What could possibly go wrong? A silly question really as I was on Sat-Nav duty and not paying attention; the girls were giving plenty of advice from the back-seat and Seth, in his usual calm and relaxed manner (Not!), turned right instead of left. After more advice from the rear seats we were soon back on track and an hour later we drove through the wonderful dunes of the Liwa Desert to arrive at Qasr Al Sarab. Quite a charming little B&B really!

After 25 years or so in the U.A.E. I thought I had seen everything. However, set amongst the dunes of the Liwa, in the heart of a desert conservation area, Qasr Al Sarab can only be described as out of this world.

As I walked on to the terrace of our two-bedroomed suite I merely had to point the camera at some truly stunning views:

As you can see this is a get-away-from-it-all sort of place and the only noise you could hear was the gentle crackling of ice as it melted in my gin and tonic. Yours truly was well and truly back in his happy place.

However, it was not all lazing around drinking champagne by the pool (although we tried hard) as Seth and Claire have two young boys who have boundless energy. So we decided to climb the large sand dune directly in front of our room.

Now whilst my artistic composition does make it look like the north face of the Eiger, I think the people at the bottom and the top of the dune put the scale of our task into perspective. Of course, most normal folk would head off in the cool breeze of early morning. Not us, lets leave at 11.15 a.m. so that we can arrive at the summit spot on mid-day!

Hang-on Mum!

Good old Dad!

Last but not least - Good training for Gov Games 2020

Mrs C said it wasn't a competition but that if it was....She wins!

The family have summitted!

Just to prove I did it - Even though I looked and felt completely knackered!

Having well and truly walked-off breakfast we then retired for a cold beer and lunch after which the boys, still full of beans and boundless energy, eventually found the play-area.

Juice Boy!

Well, with the champagne chilling we reached the end of Day One and yours truly was completely knackered. However, as the sun began to set I did take the opportunity to take a few extra scenic shots with the XH1 and the XF55-200 mm.

On our final morning I was expecting a lazy morning in bed followed by a sumptuous breakfast. A knock on the door at 7.45 a.m. by the boys put paid to that idea as we were all going sand-boarding. Well, when I say we, I mean Claire, Seth and the boys were going sand-boarding whilst I was on camera duty and Mrs. C, in a moment of panic, very rapidly nominated herself in the role of my creative director!

I don't know why anyone was worrying as this sand-boarding malarky looked like a piece of cake. As we stood on the edge of a large dune we did ponder the safety of this endeavor. So, we did what any responsible adults would do, we strapped the two year old to the board and pushed him over the edge! Its surprising how fast a two year old strapped to a sand-board can go and when he got to the bottom, Atticus was not over the moon about it!

Shell-shock!

After a bit of screaming....well actually quite a lot of screaming and a bit of bribery we managed to get everybody on film having a go.

Mrs. C in her capacity as "Health and Safety Officer"!

Well there you have it. What a wonderful week. Thanks to Claire we celebrated her birthday in true style but above all, we were together and creating memories with the people we love.

Stay tuned for our next adventure!

A walk on the wildside......

Well, as we progress through August and temperatures rise in to the mid-high 40's, we are constantly looking for things to do inside, other than retail therapy, which does nothing but aggravate my bank manager! Indeed, our best friends have two young boys and so for them the need is even more pressing.

So, Mrs. C delved in to the memory banks and suggested we visit Arabia's Wildlife Centre, which is based in the desert just outside of Sharjah and take a walk on the wild side!

Our kids are now grown up but when they were at school a visit to Arabia's Wildlife Centre was a firm favourite for school trips, with all the kids excited to see the Baboons and their pink bottoms! Funny the things that kids get excited about. I am normally against zoos but what I like about this centre is that in the main, it is the public that are caged in and the animals which roam free. Perhaps there is a lesson there to assist animal conservation the world over.

The drive is about an hour from Dubai and with kids entering for free and adults for AED 15 each it is a real bargain.

You can really divide the centre in to three sections:

1. Reptiles

2. Birds

3. Big Cats and Baboons

Reptiles:

Given that I hate snakes I was thankful that these were all well and truly caged in!

However, given that all of the species in the Zoo were indigenous to the Middle East I think I would like to firmly reconsider camping trips to the desert and a 200mm lens is as close as I would like to get to most of these.

Birds:

Interesting the birds were all flying around in a very large warehouse sized room and seem quite un-interested in the public. However, it was an opportunity to grab a few close ups with the Fuji XH1 and the excellent XF55-200mm zoom.

Big Cats and Baboons:

Ofcourse for the kids this was the highlight of the visit. As it was early afternoon the temperatures were soaring and so most of the big cats, Arabian Leopards and the Cheetahs, were very docile and taking the opportunity for a well earned siesta. This was also good for me as it gave me an opportunity for one or two close-ups which would otherwise have been quite difficult.

Finally we came to the Baboons. As expected they caused much excitement as they played and started fighting amongst each other and seemed to take great delight in "mooning" the crowd with their bright pink bottoms and various appendages! Don't worry, I have censored the images and despite their antics managed one or two nice shots.

All in all a great day out and you were even allowed to take your own picnic! So, if you happen to be passing through Sharjah and you are wondering what to do with yourselves, visit Arabia's Wildlife Centre and take a walk on the wild side!

The New Normal.......

Well here we all are. We have just spent the past three and a half months hunkered down in lock-down as we try our best to avoid the dreaded COVID. Now we are told we can re-emerge, albeit with our new vocabulary of, "The New Normal", "Covid-Aware", "Social Distancing" and of course "All Masked Up"! So what does this now mean and how do we feel about our "New Normal"?

Well my blog has been strangely silent for these past months as I did not want to keep writing about this dreaded virus which has claimed the lives of so many people and irreparably damaged so many families. As I re-emerge into the brave new world I thought it was time for a bit of catharsis as I share some of my thoughts and emotions.

Having experienced enforced lock-down, for the first time in my life, whereby permission from the authorities was required to simply go out and buy food, now being told that one is free to move around as normal, albeit wearing a mask, was first greeted with relief, followed almost immediately with a fear of what might lie outside. Indeed, we had become so used to hiding away indoors that every person with a cough, sneeze or sniffle was treated with suspicion as the Covid continued its relentless journey.

Before COVID, our British news programmes were dominated by BREXIT and we longed for something else to be reported. Oh how we must be careful what we wish for as now it has been nothing but COVID, statistics, speculation and rumour (although BREXIT is coming back with a vengeance!).

However, there seems to be a glimmer of hope on the horizon and as we move forward, in our new cautious and COVID compliant manner, we once again start to enjoy some of those everyday things that we took so much for granted:

A visit to the Barber

Its all about the Style...even at age 5!:

I never thought that such a simple chore as a haircut would become such a luxury. The kids had their go and then it was my turn. Funnily enough Mrs. C said she liked my hair long and curly. My barber, Masoud, just looked at me in astonishment. As I walked into a socially distanced hair salon, the last time I remembered looking like this was in 1976, when shoulder length hair was cool, my waist was 28 inches and Southampton won the F.A.Cup! Fortunately I am now neatly coiffed and normal service on the grooming front has now been restored.

Our weekly visit to the Mall

Now you might think this is a strange thing to miss but living in Dubai, when the summer temperatures average in the mid 40 degrees centigrade, the Mall becomes a weekend destination; somewhere to eat, somewhere to meet friends, somewhere to exercise in an air-conditioned environment (in Dubai malls are huge and worth a good 5000 steps a visit) and of course for me, an outlet for my photographic creativity, whilst Mrs. C engages in a therapy which is more retail in nature!

Early morning reflections - Dubai Mall:

Loving those silhouettes - Dubai Mall:

Fashion Avenue - Dubai Mall:

The perfect model - Good light and happy to sit for hours!:

A new breakfast destination

Now anybody who knows us well could always find us each Friday morning enjoying breakfast at the wonderful Assouline in Dubai Mall. However, it seems that our "oasis" has now closed down, perhaps a post-Covid casualty? We shall miss this Friday morning treat, where our table was already prepared and waiting, where we enjoyed a wonderful coffee from the immaculate barista Chris and of course Haneen, our Tunisian waitress, with her lovely smile and always so caring and attentive.

Our biggest regret is that we did not get the opportunity to say goodbye to either of these lovely people. We hope they are keeping safe and that they succeed at whatever they decide to do next.

Our new favourite breakfast destination is the wonderful La Duree in Dubai Mall's Fashion Avenue. It is elegant, the surroundings are minimalist and always draw the eye but above all, the poached eggs and coffee are simply wonderful. They also make the most wonderful Macarons. They are not giving it away but our socially distanced Friday breakfast is once again a real treat.

La Duree - Dubai Mall:

A Staycation

Now the kids are all grown up and have flown the nest Mrs. C and I have some time on our hands and at least once a month we either had a staycation within the UAE or travelled for a long weekend to a destination of interest. If the reader reviews my earlier blogs then you will see that we were quite active on this front. Of course, COVID stopped all of this in its tracks and certainly made us appreciate our previous ability to move around freely. However, now that lockdown in the UAE has ceased, we grasped an opportunity to have an overnight stay at the wonderful Oberoi Resort in Ajman.

Now, bearing in my my current paranoia about keeping safe and well, we decided to throw money at it and booked a private beach-front villa, with own pool, so that at least we could have a change of scenery and try and restore our confidence levels in a relaxing yet secure socially distanced environment. We were joined by our "Dubai Family", Claire and her two lovely boys. What a wonderful time we had. The villa was so elegant and spacious, the kids loved the pool and the hotel itself was a joy.

Its design is minimalist, with lots of verticals, horizontals, rectangles and water features and above all super friendly staff. The library, just right for chilling out.

Claire making a a mask look elegant on the catwalk:

So what lies in store for the rest of the year? The answer is clearly that no-one knows. Our immediate priority is to be able to get back to the UK and to Spain to see the people we love the most, our family. We miss them all so much and whilst we are regularly in touch by Zoom, it is still not the same as a hug and being there in person. Until such time as quarantines are removed and the testing regime becomes easier, I fear air travel will be for emergencies only.

I have to say that I am so proud of our son and daughter for the way they have coped with this difficult period and the way that they have supported each other. This is a lesson in life; to know that they can always rely on each other in difficult times.

Also to all our family, who have made such a tremendous effort to have regular weekly Zoom calls, Mrs. C and I thank you all. You cannot imagine what a help you all have been. As we all become active and go back to our new normal we must make sure that we all zoom at least once a month. After all we now know the benefits of keeping in touch and supporting each other.

If there are a couple of thoughts to take away from all of this it is perhaps that we should make sure we take nothing for granted and above all that we cherish the time we have together with our loved ones and make the most of every minute that we have together.

A time for reflection:

Please all keep well, stay safe and see you all soon in the new normal!

The Falconer........

The Falconer...........

Well Mrs. C and I have now been living in the Middle East for over 23 years. You might have thought that this would mean that we have seen and done most things. Well far from it and during a visit to one of the many desert resorts (prior to COVID19 I might add) we took an opportunity to attend a Falcon show so that we could get up close (closer than we expected) and personal to experience one of the sports that remains to this day, integral to Emirati culture.

Living and working as we do in the Middle East we often take some of their heritage and culture for granted. Indeed, hunting with falcons, particularly the Peregrine Falcon, has been a much enjoyed past-time in the Gulf Region for thousands of years.

My first real experience of the falcon came back in the 1980's when I used to travel to the U.A.E. on business from the U.K. In those days we used to transit from Abu Dhabi to Dubai by air and I was sitting in business class, (those were the days!), wondering about the reason for the delay. All of a sudden a chap in local dress boarded and entered business class. He was carrying a plank of wood on which was perched three beautiful falcons. He then proceeded to place the plank between two seats and sat down next to his precious cargo. We then departed and this only goes to show the importance that is placed upon these wonderful birds in local Emirati culture.

Sarab, our Falconer for the day, was a delightful chap and took great care of us and even greater care of his precious female falcon, whose name was Sheikha. Now if anyone has ever been up close to one of these beautiful birds there are two striking features that immediately draw one's attention; a razor like beak and some very sharp looking talons. As a result I was mildly surprised and a little apprehensive when the whole show was conducted with us only some twenty feet away!

Man and Bird in Harmony

As Sarab, our Falconer, started to explain about how he catches and then trains his falcons, you could see and feel the awe and affection in which he holds his birds, notwithstanding the fact that they are extremely valuable.

Even though the sport of falconry can be traced back to 2000 BC and still uses many of the traditional pieces of equipment, you have probably guessed that in todays high-tech world, technology now plays a key role with an Iphone App and GPS now being essential Falconry Kit.

Indeed, so as to track their falcons in flight, as they often hunt over large areas of wilderness, each falcon has a GPS transmitter fitted on to its back which then feeds back to an iPhone App! So as Sarab told us, what could possibly go wrong? Hold that thought........

As he continued to explain the various techniques used to ensure that the falcon remains at its optimum hunting weight, maintains a healthy appetite and is encouraged to return back to the falconer, Sheikha sat passively on his arm.

All of a sudden Sarab removed Sheikha's hood and with a couple of blinks of her bright eyes Sheikha went in to active mode.

And we are off!

In a moment Sheikha was in flight and as you can see was heading straight for me. I was using the Fuji XH1 with the battery grip in boost mode with the XF55-200mm lens and as I held my nerve and kept pressing the shutter, I could feel the breeze from her wings as Sheikha flashed straight over my head.

Once Sheikha was in flight we were amazed at the speed and grace of this beautiful bird. Not as amazed as the flock of pigeons that were until that point basking in the afternoon sun on the roof of our hotel. They immediately went to DEFCON 3 as Sheikha made a beeline for them, sensing what might be described as a target-rich environment!

Meanwhile, Sarab remained calm but I sensed, behind his dark Ray Ban sunglasses, a flash of panic in his eyes as Sheikha had possibly gone rogue. Swinging his lure and frantically whistling and checking his GPS app, Sarab wandered off in to the desert to try and get the errant Sheikha back to base.

However, as the saying goes, the show must go on. Indeed Sarab was a consummate professional and soon managed to coax Sheikha back to where the show was taking place.

Now I do not usually use sports mode as I am built for comfort not speed, and I am more of a single shot man. However, with Sarab frantically swinging his lure Sheikha homed in and made several low-level passes at incredible speeds.

Whilst my skills did not enable me to nail focus on the bird, I did my best to capture the breathtaking speed at which the falcon operates and certainly makes you understand why the entire flock of pigeons had heart failure when they realised they were on Sheikha's food radar.

I was now completely in the zone as I tried to capture the action and failed to notice Sarab, who had seen me taking images, throw the lure in my direction at which point Sheikha homed in like an Exocet missile.

At This point I began to sweat and then I got the 1000 yard stare!

Thank goodness for in-body image stabilisation! As Sheikha clutched onto the lure, only a couple of feet away from me, she glared at me almost daring me to try and take it away from her. I did not move a muscle!

In a moment she was back on Sarab's glove and duly rewarded with a meal of fresh bird meat. Apparently they can almost eat their body weight.

It was exciting stuff and as the show came to an end Sarab was very gracious and allowed those who wished to pose with Sheikha for a picture. Mrs C did nit have to be asked twice.

As I sit indoors on day six of our Covid19 lock-down, looking over these images was a welcome distraction from day-to-day events.

When this all comes to an end, and it surely will, I have a feeling that we all might live our lives a little differently. Certainly it will be an opportunity to maintain the community spirit which has developed through adversity and hopefully people will continue to appreciate and enjoy the simple things in life.

Please all take care during this difficult period and watch out for friends, family and those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

Regards from a very quiet Dubai.

City of Joy........

Well its that time of year and our family travel season is well and truly in gear.

So, as the festive season approaches we like to fly back to a European capital city and visit one of the Christmas markets. This year we decided to maintain our theme of visiting a destination for the first time and chose the wonderful Romanian city of Bucharest. I am led to believe I that in Romanian the word Bucharest literally translates to "City of Joy", so what a perfect place to visit at this time of year.

By now anyone who has become a regular reader of my Blogs will know that Mrs. C plans these expeditions with what can only be described as military precision; for which of course I am extremely grateful as it is a complete juxtaposition from my daily routine, allows me to concentrate on recording memories with my trusty Fuji and also allows me to focus on other crucial elements of the trip such as what wine goes with what local delicacy etc!

Now as we advance in years (of course according to Mrs. C she was a child bride and is much younger than me….thought I better get that in early on), one of our many objectives is to try and stay and feel young and to do that, we must remain as flexible as possible. Of course, Mrs. C likes to put this in to practice metaphorically, whereas I am quite happy to take a more palpable approach….but thats for another blog!

So you can imagine that on the morning of our flight, when we received a call from our besties Seth and Luvbug, stating that they have had to cancel their family trip to Singapore and could they join us, we readily agreed as accompanied by their boys, Raif and Atticus, we could think of no better way to spend a long weekend in Europe.......other than of course being joined by own children Chipmunk and Anna as well. That would have made everything complete and perfect.

Now it is fair to say that Mrs. C and I like to travel light, with hand luggage only, and for this particular visit I had decided to go covert and take my trusty X100F, which had not seen a lot of love recently. Also I packed a few clothes as well….got my priorities in order then!

Now whenever we arrive somewhere new, first order of the day is to have a friendly chap waiting for us with a gleaming Black Mercedes. Sure enough our friendly driver, lets call him Ivan for the sake of legalities, had been dispatched by our Hotel and within minutes we were being whisked away.

Actually whisked is rather an understatement. As our driver was turning back to talk to us, whilst I might add he was doing whilst at the same time driving forward at a considerable rate of knots, he gave us a toothy grin and said not too worry as there were no speed cameras in Bucharest and that you would not get locked up us long as you did not drive more than 50 kmh over the limit. Given that we were already above 60 kmh, you start to get the feeling of how this journey was progressing. Does the word "Clench" start with a K or a C ?

Having seeing my pained expression (actually this was the point when we narrowly ran a red light) and in an attempt to reassure us, he then told us that even if he did get caught he knew most of the local constabulary so with a little "attitude adjustment" he would be fine and we would be sure to have a wonderful stay. So that was all good then!

I neglected to say that we arrived in Bucharest at around 10.30 p.m. so by the time we reached the hotel it was just before midnight. As we were ensconced a very comfortable room on the 11th Floor of the Intercon Bucharest, which I have to say was a great hotel and very centrally situated, I walked out on to the balcony and grabbed my first image of the trip.

Now the Intercom has one of the best Executive lounges we have stayed in and from the 22nd Floor provides a wonderful vista of this great city.

As always we were up bright and early, cup of tea in bed at 6.30 a.m. courtesy of "She who must be obeyed" followed by family breakfast in the lounge at 8.30 a.m. Ably assisted by Seth and the boys we kept up the family tradition of having at least one portion of pork product a day whenever travelling. Indeed the Intercon's cooked breakfast was a real treat and not to be missed.

Although the Intercon Bucharest may not be an architectural masterpiece, the rooms are great and above all the staff we encountered were a wonderful bunch and the service really was first class.

Now with only a couple of days in Bucharest and much to do, we set off with our usual route-march; Mrs. C leading and acting as chief tour-guide whilst providing very helpful "guidelines" as to what images I should and shouldn't capture. As regular readers will now know, I am absolutely king of my particular castle but, for the sake of good humor and in the spirit of good health, mostly mine I might add, I regularly acquiesce.

I have to say, whilst not as grand as Budapest you can clearly see that Bucharest has a long history and is full of grand buildings, wonderful architecture and many beautiful churches, all of which made it a photo-rich environment for me.

Of course along the way I was helped by my able-bodied assistants, “The Cheeky Chappies” - Don't you just love them!

By late morning we had a thirst on and we managed to locate a very charming bohemian cafe, the Artichoke Social House, that made the most delicious hot chocolate.

I was in my happy place and as the delicious hot chocolate warmed my extremities the old creative juices began to flow and I did something I don't normally do and grabbed a discrete image of a couple who seemed very much wrapped up with each other. What was their story?

What is he thinking? ‘She loves me or loves me not?”. Well, we will never know as we had to press-on around the old town and its grand soviet era buildings.

En-route we found a really grungy location with a bit of graffiti and so managed to stage a bit of a photo-shoot with Model Seth which I entitled “Graffiti Shoot”.

Unfortunately due to the near sub-zero temperatures we had to skip the swim-suit section of the shoot. Luvbug was rather surprised as allegedly Model Seth is normally more than happy to get his kit off at short notice.... but thats for another blog after the watershed!

Our lunch destination was the Caru' Cu Bere Restaurant (literally translated means the beer wagon) so you can guess we weren't going there for a coffee.

Clearly it is on the tourist trail and we did well to get there early as it was soon full and you knew it was going well when you hear that healthy buzz of laughter and animated conversation. Definitely a touch of old-school Bucharest.

After a very large Chicken Schnitzel and local hand-cut fries, washed down with a couple of glasses of the local grog, I was once again back in my happy place.

It was a bit dark inside and I didn't have my speed-light with me but I hopefully have been able to capture some of the atmosphere of a bygone era.

Actually I found taking images quite a challenge as the light was very flat. However, the architecture and buildings were very much to my taste and hopefully I managed to capture a feeling for the "Old town".

Now one destination that you have to visit is the Cãrturesti Carusel, located in Strada Lipscani. This place has everything. It is quite magical inside and combines a bookstore, gift shop, art gallery, photo-destination and has a wonderful cafe on the top floor. Literally there was something for everyone.

On the way back to the hotel we decided to take a quick look at the Metro and I grabbed a moody images but in this instance and with two tired young boys in tow, we preferred to stay above ground. The Metro would be for another visit.

That evening we thought we we head for the Christmas market as the kids were looking forward to seeing the Christmas lights.

After a 20 minute hike back through the old town we eventually found the Christmas market.

It was actually located slap-bang in front of the Parliament building. However, it was absolutely throbbing with people, there was a rock concert keeping people entertained, the temperature had dropped and it started to rain. So we decided to try again the next monrning and what a wonderful morning we had.

It really is better visited in the day-time, lots of stalls with lovely things to buy, mulled wine to sample (and we did!) and even an ice rink. The kids loved it and so did the big kids.

I am also keen to sample some of the local delicacies and so I followed my nose and headed-off towards the protein sector!

It all looked very promising until:

1. I started to regonise what they were cooking.

2. I wished I hadn't recognized what they were cooking.

3. If I wanted some (and I didn't) it was served very neatly in the cooked intestine of some un-fortunate animal.

Fortunately Seth saved the day and found us some of their lovely hot chimney cake. It is warm with a crisp outside coated with sugar and a delicious soft inside. Perfect with a coffee and where better place to enjoy a warm drink on a cold December morning than a touch of culture at the bohemian Van Gough Cafe:

No they are not real but very good copies….

A young man who clearly enjoyed his hot chocolate!

So how can I summarize our first trip to Bucharest:

1. What a great place and can't wait to return as there is still lots to do.

2. It is a very inexpensive place and great value for money.

3. The people are super friendly and we received a warm welcome wherever we went.

4. Above all its about sharing experiences and memories with the people you love. It was so much fun having our besties with us, even though everyone we met thought they were our children and that their children were our grand-children! I can honestly say that we would be delighted if they were, although Mrs. C was still telling everyone that she was a child bride!

All in all the trip was a great success and we really managed to pack-in a great deal across a weekend although for some, it was all just a little too much!

As we move ever closer to Christmas and 2019 draws to a close may I take an opportunity to wish one and all seasons greetings and lets us hope that 2020 brings us peace, health and happiness.

With warmest regard

Steve.

From Lisbon with Love.....

Well its that time of year again; yes Mudge is about to celebrate her 28th birthday... for the third time, although she has been telling everyone she is only 58! Well this time we decided to all meet up in a location we have never visited, sunny Lisbon!

I have to say the prospect of our annual November family trip had me very excited, not only because we were all getting together to celebrate Mudge's birthday, which of course would involve copious amounts of food and alcohol but also because it was one of those increasingly rare occasions that we were all visiting a new country for the first time.

Now call me cautious but as every boy scout would attest, the best way to be prepared is to be prepared. If I shut my eyes tightly I imagined that Lisbon was going to be a balmy 30 degrees C with copious sunshine. However, back to reality I expected that it might be a tad cooler and that there was potential for precipitation. So rather than pack my trusty X100F, I tooled up with the XPro2 and the 23mm Fujichron. A perfect combination for some wet weather street and travel photography.

I have to say that Lisbon is a most wonderful capital city to visit. Mrs C and Auntie Jackie had done their research and the whole trip was planned to military precision.

A tip for travellers, when arriving at the airport be prepared for a bit of a hike to get through customs but once through, taxi's are a plenty, the drivers very friendly and the 15 minute ride in to the centre of Lisbon costs about Euros 20.

Our residence for the long weekend was the hotel Turim, located in the heart of lisbon and a 5 minute walk from the Praça Do Comércio. The rooms were quite spacious and very comfortable and at Euros 100 per room per night it proved to be a great choice.

I knew Lisbon was going to be a great destination for street photography as the moment I stepped out of the hotel I bagged my first keeper. A definite promise of things to come.

As usual on any trip, Mrs C had us up very early as we set off to grab tickets for public transport for the day whilst the rest of the family slept soundly. First destination was the wonderful Praça Do Comércio

It was then on to the Ferry Terminal to buy everyone a 24 hour travel pass. This is highly recommended as for Euros 6.50 you can hop on and off buses and trams and also it gives you free entry in to The Elevador de Santa Justa....more on that later.

As we arrived at the ferry terminal the light was very moody and it allowed me to capture one of my favorite images from the trip. Lisbon awakes!

It was at that moment the rain started so it was a quick sprint back to the hotel to meet everyone and a short walk around the corner to the charming Portela Cafés, where we enjoyed a coffee, croissant and a Pasteis de Nata (a wonderful little custard tart for which Lisbon is famous) all for Euros 1.95 a head. As Delboy would say, "You know it makes sense Rodney" but you had to get there early as by 9.00 a.m. it was standing room only!

Having had a good breakfast our travel co-ordinators had planned that we would return to Praça Do Comércio, jump on the 15E tram and head-off on the 30 minute journey to the famous Tower of Belém and the Jerónimos Monastery.

Well as you can see the Praça Do Comércio was no longer deserted and having joined the queue for the 15E tram (being British we are good at queuing) we patiently waited for 30 minutes as three trams passed, so full of people that it was impossible to get on!

However, standing in the queue did allow me some creative time and as the skys darkened and the rain threatened it provided some "moody" imagery.

Moody Lisbon at 10.00 am in the morning….

Not quite the balmy 32 degree C I had been hoping for…….

However, sometimes a touch of rain adds some gloss to the street from a photographic standpoint….

Well needs must when the devil drives so Uncle Phil and I took an executive decision, decided to throw money at this problem and hailed two cabs and we were off to Belém.

It was at this point that the rain started to fall in what can only be described as biblical proportions and i was getting quite concerned that we actually might not get there due to the roads flooding. However, with the usual Dunkirk spirit and my chin set firm with Churchillian fortitude I promised our driver a tip the size of Portugal's GDP, which provided the required incentive to press-on regardless.

As we arrived at Belém there was a short break in the weather and I managed one image of the Belém Tower before the heavens opened with such force that Noah would have been forced to don his life jacket and give the order to abandon ship!

Now I am a great believer in the fickle finger of fate and as i managed to hail one of the few taxis brave enough to venture out in this weather, (actually I stood in the middle of the road so he either stopped or ran me down), I opened the door and to my astonishment it was the driver who had collected us from the airport on arrival. With a toothy grin and knowing that a significant tip was in the offing, he was very glad to brave the storm and take us back to our hotel.

Well so far our first day was no quite shaping up to be what we had expected. Nevertheless, as the rain slowed to a mere monsoon status, we decided to do what La Famille Chivers always does in times of crisis, head off in search of food and alcohol. For sure with the promise of a glass or two of rosé Mudge and Brian suddenly had a decernable spring in their step!

Our destination was the Timeout Market, a place where rumour had it, we were assured to find distractions of a restorative nature.

A Table for seven please waiter…..I think not sir!

Mines a large one please….. Ooops sorry wrong blog!

Standing Room Only!

At this point desperation was setting in but as we exited one of the side doors we found an excellent little restaurant that served some delicious Iberico ham, a very interesting cheese platter, delicious Pizza and a cold beer. Not particularly Portguese gastronomy but just the job! This Chap new exactly what I was after.

In the end it turned out to be both a delicious and creative lunch-break.

Fully fortified and with the weather looking decidedly better, we made a collective decision to walk-off a few calories. So armed with google maps we set off for The Elevador de Santa Justa.

With his nautical training Uncle Phil volunteered for sat-nav duty. I am not sure we took the direct route but as we walked through the streets of Lisbon it was definitely what I would term as a photo-rich environment.

Eventually we arrive at The Elevador de Santa Justa. This marvel of engineering dates back to the 19th Century and stands elegantly amongst the buildings of the Baixa district. However, be prepared to spend at least an hour queuing as this is one of Lisbon's most popular tourist attractions.

Other than being popular, the other reason for the long queue is that the lifts only allow 20 people at a time on the way up, and 15 on the way down? You can also pay Euros 5.30 on entry or like us get free entry using our 24 hour travel card.

Upon stepping in to the lift and starting our ascent with a significant jolt, Mrs C had inadvertently crossed the Rubicon and entered her "Discomfort Zone". As we reached the viewing platform I sensed an initial sigh of relief as it was enclosed and felt quite secure, only for the realization that we then had to climb up a narrow un-enclosed winding staircase to the open air-viewing platform. Mudge and Brian sensibly declined but sandwhiched between me and our son Simon, Mrs C bravely closed her eyes, thought of England and pressed on. Not for the first time I might add :-) Ooops wrong blog again!

Once at the top we were treated to a truly spectacular vista of Lisbon.

Well that was certainly worth the effort and fair play to Mrs C for making the effort. I definitely felt a record of this event was necessary and managed to snap this photo of team Chivers to prove it.

Left To Right - Uncle Phil, Mrs C, Simon and Aunty Jackie

Whilst at the top I persuaded Uncle Phil to do a bit of modelling and I managed to grab this environmental portrait. He is a good looking boy! My Little Bruvver….

Well, after all that excitement (Mrs. C prefers to call it trauma), we collected Mudge and Brian who had sensibly waited on the level below and headed-off for a well earned cup of tea. Yes you can actually get a cup of builder's tea in Lisbon. Hooray I hear you all cry!

We took our afternoon refreshment on a charming terrace next to the The Elevador de Santa Justa and were afforded a tremendous view of the city. What a great way to end day one of our Lisbon extravaganza.

We finished the day with a super meal at one of the local restaurants which Mrs. C had booked through he 'The Fork" app. Food was great, fresh tomatoes and feta cheese follow by grilled lamb chops, all washed down with copious amounts of the local vino. Due to booking through the app we were afforded a 50% discount and with the final bill at Euros 100 for 7 people, I was definitely in my happy place again. Unfortunately no pictures were available due to me having problems with my autofocus, or was it my focus? Anyways, this seems to be an affliction I often face after the second bottle of red. I must write to Fuji about this!

Day two started with our usual local breakfast and then we were to catch the infamous Number 28 tram and visit the famous Castelo de S. Jorge. Once again we waited patiently as tram after tram passed us by and after 30 minutes it was clear that the tram was not an option.

I then mistakenly suggested that a brisk walk up to the castle might be in order. Mudge uttered a matriarchal mutter mentioning something about crampons being required as she gave me one of her 1000 yard stares. Whilst Uncle Phil and I were firmly in charge we immediately went back to our usual problem solving double-act of throwing money at the situation, hailed two cabs and we were on our way.

On arrival at the castle we Brits felt very much at home as we stood patiently at the back of a long queue. Entry is about Euros 10 per head but it is definitely worth the visit and provided more spectacular views of the city with the Vasco De Gama bridge in the background.

Time to get a little arty!

The Elevador de Santa Justa from a different perspective.

With such a stunning back-drop I even managed to persuade the birthday girl to pose for a photo.

As we walked around the castle grounds I was greeted by a small Japanese gentlemen, who had about $40,000 dollars worth of Leica gear around his neck. He had seen the Fuji and as a fellow "range finder" devotee seemed to give me a nod of approval and suggested that I might like to have a try at a reflective shot that he had taken earlier. I was quite pleased with the result if I say so myself.

Seeing from a different perspective! Clever fellows those Japanese. Then A different view of artifacts in the castle museum.

Well, as the Grand Old Duke of York famously said, as we had marched to the top of the hill it was time to march back down again. Once again and in anticipation of feeling Mudge's 1000 yard stare burning in to the back of my neck, I quickly suggested to Uncle Phil that he get back on to Google maps and find the nearest tram stop so that we may take a ride on the elusive No.28 tram. No worries he replied, follow me, as it was just around the corner. The only problem was that everything seemed to be at an angle!

Some twenty minutes later and after a bracing walk there appeared to be some muttering from the assembled party constantly referring to a "Clucking Bell"? Thankfully we eventually found the tram stop for the elusive No. 28. Problem was it was just around the corner from the hotel! Something about being able to cut the silence with a knife comes to mind!

Anyway, the Chivers family never gives in and it is fair to say that when Aunty Jackie has the bit between her teeth, we were going to have a ride on that tram. So we again waited and eventually we took a ride to the Praça da Figueira.

Once again standing room only!

Arriving at Praça da Figueirawe spotted a food market. No better place to replenish stores. Absolutely wonderful sights and smells as we toured around the various stalls. My favorite was the suckling pig quiche, an absolute treat.

Can't you just smell that grilled pork?

Anyone for Cheese?

As we walked back to our hotel we came across a most wonderful shop selling all manner of tinned fish. So colourful and old school. They had this wonderful old cash register still priced in Escudos.

They let me taste some of the fish, smoked trout, sea bass, Black Cod and king Fish, to name but a few. Absolutely delicious and the head chef was kind enough to pose for an image.

As some of our party took a well earned siesta, a few of us walked back up towards the castle to visit the Lisbon Cathedral.

The surrounding streets were so typical of Lisbon and another opportunity for me to have fun with the Fuji.

Well there we have it, our November adventure drew to a close. They always say that I am never in any of the pictures; thats because I enjoy taking them so much. However, just occasionally I end up the other side of the lens.

Yours truly - looking a bit dishevelled but very happy after a great Lisbon break

I believe that there is nothing better than getting together with family and sharing good times over a glass of wine and delicious food. I constantly tell everybody it is just about making the effort.

I also believe that our Mudge has sacrificed a great deal over the years, she has always put family first and indeed continues to do so, has been there to pick us up when we have fallen down and we have both laughed and cried together. We only have one Mudge, we love her so much and she means the world to us all.

From Lisbon with love.

A Day At The Races.........

During our summer vacation in the UK we visited my little brother Phil, who lives in the South of England in the New Forest.

Now a visit to Phil's house normally means about 3 kilos in weight gained as he always serves the best food (his seven veg roast dinner is legendary) and of course, there are those wonderful Dorset Glory sausages, which none of us can resist.

As usual Phil did not disappoint and this visit was very much business as usual on the calorie front. However, this time the eating and drinking was interspersed with a visit to Salisbury Racecourse for their Ladies Day.

Well I am the first to admit that I know nothing about horse racing other than, Shergar was never found and as a result I stopped eating take-away burgers!

Nevertheless, Ladies Day was going to be a great day out on two counts:

(1) Mrs C and Aunty Jackie love a bet and were already scouring the racing form on the basis that they couldn't lose, although I wasn't holding my breath about buying the XF 200m F2 lens with my share of the winnings!

(2) I assumed, correctly as it happened, that this would be a target-rich environment for the Fuji and so I loaded up the Xpro2 with the wonderful XF 50mm F2. This combo is just like me, discrete and fast (hehe) plus the XF 50 F2 produces great black and white imagery.

As you would expect, in the UK and in order to have a successful Ladies Day at the races, you need three key ingredients: sunshine, ladies and something cold and fizzy. As you will see, Salisbury Races offered all three in abundance. (note the absence of horse-racing from my list).

When we arrived we met up with some of Phil's close friends and I have to say all our "fillies" (see I do know a little racing terminology after all) were very finely turned-out.

Its called style darling!

Seeing as it was Ladies' Day my focus was going to be on the fairer sex so where better to start than the charming ladies at the entrance kiosk. It seems that no-one ever asks them for a photo and without any prompting from me an immediate instagram pose was produced!

Despit my charms I still had to pay for the race card.

Well for me the day had started on a great note. England glorious England...the sun was shining, I was in the middle of the wonderful Wiltshire countryside and of course, there was plenty of ice in my gin.

Now you have to remember that we live in the Middle East and so being respectful of local customs and cultural sensitivities I very rarely walk up to people in the street and ask for their pictures. However, Ladies Day at Salisbury Races was the complete opposite and the Fuji and I were in demand.

First things first, it was important to get the bets on as I was already counting my winnings, googling the specs of the XF200mm F2 and imagining what it was going to look like on the front of my XH1. It was then that I noticed the look of disbelief from the Tote cashier as Mrs. C announced her choices for the first three races. Alas Mcduff, another dream shattered!

Whilst Mrs. C was betting on the four legged fillies, I was off on my wanderings to see if I could capture some images of the two-legged variety.

Well, if I say so myself, I don't scrub-up too badly and in my blazer and chinos, with my entrance tag dangling from my lapel and the Fuji discretely slung around my neck, I did turn a few heads. Actually, I looked remarkably like the official photographer and within five minutes I was dragged in to the hospitality tent as a group of race goers wanted me to "capture the moment". Never one to disappoint and wanting to make the most of the opportunity whilst everyone was still standing (read sober), I was happy to oblige. “Best instagram pouts please”!

Having managed to extricate myself from hospitality I was then on the look-out for anyone in a hat and I was not disappointed. I spotted this charming lady, told her she looked stunning and that I wanted to take her picture. She said "Of-course, how do you want me"! Oooer; I immediately upped the shutter speed to compensate for shaking hands and was pleasantly surprised with the result.

Now that is what I call a hat and a wonderful smile to go with it.

What next? Well, the locals were arriving, (fresh out of the local pub I believe) and with them came the fancy dress crowd. When these two likely lads saw me with a camera they immediately struck a pose.

I had only been in the place for 30 minutes and the only thing that was more active than the Fuji was Mrs. C on the betting front! During my photo-walkabout there had already been two races and to my dismay Mrs.C still had not bagged a winner. However, in racing parlance, its fair to say that Mrs.C is a tryer who always goes the distance and as always, was relentless with her catch-phrase, "A fiver on the nose please".

I thought I ought to turn my attention to the actual racing and so I wondered over to the paddock area in order to study the form.

Can you believe it...home from home!

Having checked out the field it was down to the trackside for more people-watching. The place was throbbing with three times as many race goers as usual. I love to people-watch at the best of times and for me it was like street photography but on a race-course.

They say that every back tells a story…..don’they?

Kelross Turf Accountants offered odds and took your money with a touch of elegance and glamour.

Now he looks like he knows what he is doing.

The final furlong….

Phils mate Malcolm is a member at Salisbury and actually knows what he is doing and to my surprise and delight was the sponsor of one of the races. He is also a complete gentlemen and invited all our ladies to accompany him in to the paddock to choose the best turned out horse.

The "Judges" (a.k.a. our ladies) retire for a glass of fizz with Lord Salisbury.

Whilst all this was occurring, I took up position on a terrace on top of the Tote building which gave me a perfect view of the final straight where I spied “Billy No Mates” - Its a lonely life being the race commentator.

Looks like a photo finish

Alas, as the sun began to set and the ice in my gin finally melted, the racing drew to a close. Only one thing left to do and that was find out who was the best dressed lady. I had taken this next picture during the judging and regrettably this was the only winner I picked all day. Cracking image though even if I say so myself.

A like to call this a "Hollywood" moment, as my lens was drawn to the eventual winner.

Alas Mrs. c was unlucky on the betting front and so I will not be buying the XF 200mm F2 any time soon, but a great day was had by all!

A Desert Staycation.......

A Desert Staycation………

Now the title to this blog implies a camping trip in to the wilderness. Well, it is fair to say that the notion of camping and mention of Mrs. C in the same sentence is a complete juxtaposition. Indeed, Mrs. C's idea of camping primarily involves a deluxe room on the club floor at the Four Seasons!

So when we decided to indulge ourselves and celebrate our forthcoming 32nd Wedding Anniversary by enjoying a romantic desert staycation there was only one option, the wonderful Al Maha Desert Resort.

Al Maha is our most favourite place to visit in the entire U.A.E. It is the perfect spot for a quiet Friday lunch and a destination where we always take visiting friends and family. So when we decided to treat ourselves and have a quiet weekend away from the hustle and bustle which is modern Dubai, we could think of no better place.

What we love about Al Maha is that when you arrive you truly feel that you are in the middle of the Desert, albeit in 5-star luxury whilst being only a 45 minute drive from the heart of Dubai. More than that, it is the genuine welcome you receive from the lovely staff, the fact that nothing is rushed and that everything appears to be available to you at your convenience.

Our private chalet was rather splendid. When you enter everything is sort of old school but in in a luxurious sort of way.

Mrs. C embracing the Holiday spirit!:

Then, as you open the patio doors on to your private pool, you have the view, and what a view!:

For us the highlight of the trip was to be two activities:

1. A visit to the dunes at sunset by camel.

2. An early morning nature-walk.

Now just like camping, you also rarely mention camels and Mrs.C in the same sentence. Indeed, it is fair to say that in 25 years of living in Dubai this was to be only the second occasion that she would agree to participate! However, she was so glad she did.

Like everything else this was done in "Al Maha Style". We were asked to gather at around 5pm in the main building, where the staff had considerately laid out a full afternoon tea to ensure we were suitable refreshed and fortified before our desert adventure.

Our guide then took a party of about 20 people down to the edge of the desert where our trusty steeds were quitely waiting for us. Our particular "ship of the desert" was a spritely looking filly who appeared particularly relaxed, right up until she saw me trying to clamber on board and realized that they don't call me Chunk for nothing!

Up close and personal with our trusty steed:

Naturally, I had the Fuji with me as I needed proof that Mrs. C actually did this and as we both sat astride our trusty steed I reluctantly handed over the XH1 to the camel driver to take a few shots. How difficult could it be…..very! After five minutes of cursing in Arabic, the fervent pressing of buttons, about 15 attempts and despite continuous autofocus engaged and 5 point in body image stabilization active, our camel driver eventually got one shot almost in focus (whilst cutting off the head of our camel) and here is the proof. I think this one will go up on the Chivers Wall of Fame!

Then we were off. Our only other camel expedition had involved a two minute ride around a dune and then back for a gin and tonic. This was to be a much grander affair involving a 30 minute trek in to the desert and as I clung on to the saddle for dear life, I had what can only be described as a Lawrence of Arabia moment, as I imagined myself leading the bedouin army in to battle. However, I was soon brought back to reality with a jolt of searing pain as our trusty steed went in to a gentle trot, resulting in certain parts of me, that will remain un-mentioned, getting crushed against what may loosely be described as the saddle. I think our camel driver thought I was having tears of joy!

Actually fair play to the XH1. Despite what some Youtubers might tell you it is actually quite superb and I managed a couple of shots of both our camel and camel driver, one handed, as we crashed through the desert.

Eventually we arrived at our destination. As i gingerly dismounted and the circulation gradually crept back in to the depths of my nether-regions, we were greeted by a charming steward who proferred a refreshing glass of Champagne. Well what else do you drink you drink when venturing in to the great un-known?

Anyone for Crystal?:

Whilst our group was enthusiastically quaffing back the fizz I grabbed the Fuji and set off to record the sunset across the virgin sand and rolling dunes. As most landscape photographers will tell you, nothing ever goes to plan. Whilst the setting was perfect the sunset did not play ball and in fact never actually materialized, as there was significant cloud cover and the light was pretty flat. Nevertheless, there was enough light to put together a composition and in the circumstances I was extremely pleased.

Suitably refreshed we returned to our trusty steed, who was already girding her loins (can camels gird and do they have loins?) to carry us back to HQ and our gastronomic dinner.

The lovely thing about Al Maha is that it is a conservation area and is fenced off from the general public. So the desert is natural and un-spoilt and the wildlife is free and can roam un-fettered and without fear. It is surprising how well nature copes without un-wanted interference from humans.

Gazelle for dinner?:

That evening our romantic anniversary dinner was quite delightful, consisting of a deep fried scallop drenched by a delicate pea voloute to start, followed by lightly steamed Cod in a rather cheeky lobster bisque with a king prawn gently resting on top screaming devour me! This was all washed-down with a delightful South African Shiraz. All was very well in my world and it was fair to say that this little adventure had firmly re-kindled the old magic and Mrs. C had a very good chance of getting lucky!

Then of course my cunning plan collapsed before it ever began and it was off to bed for a bit of kip as Mrs. C reminded me that we had to be up at 4.45 a.m. for our dawn nature-walk!

Surprisingly the only people to turn up at 4.45 am for the nature walk were Mrs. C and me! Our South African guide, Kharlich, told us not to rush as we enjoyed a cup of tea and croissant on the Hotel veranda overlooking the oasis in the distance:

Then it was off on our trek. Actually, it was more of a gentle stroll in the desert rather than a Bear Grylls type experience.

Indeed, we were informed about the Ghaf tree, the national tree of the UAE, the fire bush and were shown how the Bedouin tribesmen rub the dry branches together to make tinder for their fires and Kharlich explained about the local wild life and how the wardens try and interfere a little as possible with the "circle of life".

Gazelles roam free and are extremely tame:

Other than the beautiful Gazelles and Oryx that roam free across the whole estate there are of course the usual desert creatures, two types of venomous scorpions, ants the size of your big toe that can give you a rather nasty bite and of course two species of venomous vipers which are apparently highly camouflaged and very easy to step on!! Needless to say, once this information was imparted by our trusty guide I stopped fiddling with the Fuji and my eyes switched to "lazer-beam mode". It is fair to say that I was on red-alert, especially when we came across the grizzly skeleton of a gazelle, which had clearly succumbed to one or other of these predators!

We also learned to differentiate the tracks of the various animals and insects. I was particularly keen to learn about the tracks of the vipers, scorpions and man-eating ants!

We then arrived at an oasis, just as Dawn began to break, where I found my shot of the morning. In photography sometimes the planets do align and everything comes together and for me this is one of the images I will take away from Dubai, when we eventually return home to the South West of England and which will always remind us of our wonderful time at Al Maha.

Well there you have it. Such a wonderful weekend and it all passed by so quickly.

Should you ever decide to pass through Dubai then I whole heartedly recommend a stay at Al Maha. Yes you will have to save-up as it really is a treat, although you can be assured that it will provide you with experiences and memories of Dubai that you will never forget.

For me it was also a wedding anniversary I shall never forget. I consider myself so fortunate in life that 32 years ago I succumbed to the seductive charms of Mrs. C (reader please note that Mrs. C claims she was a child bride and has an entirely different recollection of the seduction episode!). She has given me two wonderful children, she has been a mother to us all, she is my soulmate, my best friend and will always be the love of my life. Best decision I ever made!

Pearl of the Orient.......

April was to be an exciting month in our household as accompanied by Mrs. C and Aunty Sarah, I headed off for a four-day visit to Hong Kong, better known as the "Pearl of the Orient."

This was also to be a trip of firsts:

1. The first time Mrs. C had actually visited Hong Kong.

2. The first time that Aunty Sarah had returned to Hong Kong since she had lived there some 35 years ago.

3. The first opportunity for us to visit cousin Michael, his lovely wife Elsie and their two boys Max and Charlie.

This was to be a truly exciting four days.

I was determined to record as many memories as possible. So, as we had decided to travel with hand luggage only, I decided to go all "Ninja" and take my beloved Fuji X100F with the Hyperion wrist strap for maximum portability and stealth.

We met Aunty Sarah in the business class lounge at Dubai Airport and following a very smooth flight to Hong Kong, courtesy of Emirates Airlines and a comfortable limo ride in to central Hong Kong, we arrived at the Novotel Century in Wan Chai just before midnight.

After a very efficient check-in the girls headed straight for the hotel bar as hydration was the order of the evening and we needed to discuss plans for the next day.

After a couple of Maghueritas for the girls and a vodka martini for me (shaken not stirred and served with a twist) all was very well in our world and we retired for a good nights rest.

The next day we decided to start where it all finished, well at least for the British Empire, and a visit to Golden Bauhinia Square which, in 1997, marked the handover of Hong Kong to China, by Prince Charles, on behalf of Her Brittanic Majesty's Government.

The Bauhinia is the floral emblem of Hong Kong and this image, flanked by the national flag of the Peoples Republic of China, perhaps reflects the modern day relationship between Hong Kong and its mainland parent.

Next stop was a trip to Lantau Island on a mission to visit the Tian Tan Buddha, or as we called him, "Big Buddha".

Three choices to get there; car, ferry or the MTR. We decided on the latter and headed off to Wanchai MTR Station to purchase 3 returns to Tung Chung.

How difficult could it be!?

In fact the MTR is a fantastic way to travel, clean, punctual and excellent value.

A return ticket to Launtau was approximately GBP 6 per person. After a 35 minute Journey we arrived at Tung Chung.

Now at this point I must stress that Mrs. C has two phobias, cable cars and heights. Well the only way we were getting on to Lantau was to take the Ngong Ping 360 cable car. This is a 25 minute cable car ride and at its highest point is 585 meters above sea level.....Ooops must have missed that during the trip planning stage! Fair to say Mrs. C was going to be out of her comfort zone and as a result we opted not to take the glass-bottomed cable car!!

Tip for young players, get there early as the queue can be up to an hour and if you can, avoid the queue and book your ticket in advance. We didn't do either!

The views from the cable car were dramatic with Hong Kong International Airport on one side and Tung Chung on the other.

Unfortunately we had a cloudy day and strong winds which made the journey "interesting" to say the least, which did not help Mrs C's nerves. To make matters even worse, there was a young man in the cable car who kept commenting about how high we were and how scary it all was, whilst the wind howled through the gaps in the doors and I precariously dangled the Fuji out the window to get a better shot of Tung Chung.

Lets just say that when we arrived at our destination, Ngong Ping village, had they served double gins then Mrs. C would have ordered a triple!.

Lantau is very popular with the tourists and on arrival at Ngong Ping village it was already starting to get busy. Meantime, I was rubbing the lucky drum as we still faced the return cable car ride!

Ngong Ping Village:

We then proceeded past the restaurants and souvenir shops to Big Buddha although the weather was proving to be a challenge with a great deal of low-level cloud / mist.

However, by the time we had climbed the 268 steps to Big Buddha we were grateful that it was not blazing sunshine, the mist had cleared and we stood in awe as the Buddha gazed solemnly down at us.

We were also presented with some tremendous views of the neighbouring Po Lin monastery.

As we walked around the grounds of the Po Lin Monastery it provided not only a sense of calmness and inner peace but also a burst of colour amidst the mist and blown-out sky.

Impromptu modelling photo-shoo with the girlst:

By the time we had walked around the grounds of the monastery and perused the various souvenir shops, it was time for lunch and noodles and a glass of the local grog,Tsingtao. A perfect end to a great mornings sight-seeing.

That evening we met Cousin Michael and Elsie at the Star Ferry (more about that later) and they took us for a wonderful meal at a restaurant called Hutong on Kowloon side. We had a fabulous view of the harbour and Hong Kong Island but try as I might I couldn't get a picture because of all the lighting and reflection. It would seem that still need to work on my photographic skills or perhaps have one less glass of Shiraz or perhaps both?!

Now Michael and Elsie make a great team. Elsie is a dab-hand with the local lingo, primarily because she is from Hong Kong and proceeded to order a veritable banquet of great Chinese dishes. Meantime, Michael takes after his father, Big John, and specialists in hydration, ordering gin and tonics followed by a wonderful Shiraz. There is nothing like good food, good conversation and above all family, to complete a wonderful evening.

Day two was equally exciting as we had planned a visit to the Victoria Peak. Standing at 1,811 feet, this is the highest point on Hong Kong Island.

Over breakfast Mrs. C. and Aunty Sarah already had the map out and we decided to set off for a leisurely walk (a.k.a. one of Mrs. C's 30 minute route marches) along Hennesy Road. For me it was a great opportunity to undertake some street photography before eventually arriving at the Peak Tram Station.

The journey to the top of the peak takes a shade under 10 minutes and a return single is about 90 Hong Kong Dollars. It is well worth it as I understand the bus journey takes about an hour and trust me you definitely do not want to walk!

Arriving at the Peak:

Once at the top you can walk out on to the Peak Tower Sky Terrace and it is fair to say that the views of Hong Kong and Kowloon are absolutely stunning.

This was the second day that Mrs. C was outside her comfort zone and fair play to her, she was incredibly brave to walk out on the terrace. She even agreed to pose for a picture, which in itself is very rare. You can see below the girls posing on the peak terrace. My instructions were "chest out and your best Instagram pout please". As you can see, Mrs. C is being extremely brave and telling me to get on with it through gritted teeth whilst Aunty Sarah gets full marks for enthusiastic participation!

Sisters - Instagram Pout Please!:

After a refreshing afternoon's siesta and a couple of glasses of restorative Prosecco, we were ready for a great evening. In fact it was Elsie's birthday and we were to meet at the Hong Kong Cricket Club for a family dinner. So we decided to grab one of the many local cabs.

Now this was the only time that we had encountered a language barrier during our visit and the driver took us to Craig Haven Cricket Club, Hong Kong Football Association, Hong Kong Jockey Club and eventually, once we had run-up a sizable bill on his meter, we miraculously arrived at Hong Kong Cricket Club, at which point his English also miraculously improved especially when it came to asking for his fare!

HKCC would appear to be a focal point for the local Happy Valley community and most certainly the sporting and recreational facilities looked superb.

Pitch inspection at HKCC:

We were then treated to another sumptuous banquet rounded off with the most delicious Peking Duck. Once again the hospitality of La Famille Hurle was over and above the call of duty.

Following Dinner we jumped in to a taxi and headed off to the Hong Kong Jockey Club to catch the last three races of the evening.

Hong Kong Races - Throbbing!:

The girls had been studying the racing form in the South China Post all day and so my expectation of backing a few winners were high. Unfortunately, the only such thing as a sure bet is that there is no such thing as a sure bet.

After following the pundits predictions for the first two races we were never in the frame and also HK$ 100 down. So, I stepped in with a double or nothing bet on the aptly named "Midnight Rattler", a sure-fire outsider at 100-30.

Needless to say, the only time I saw Midnight Rattler was when they pushed him in to the starting gate. He never featured in the race after that, probably something to do with the fact that they forgot to un-hitch the cart!

Day three featured two treats, an exploration of Kowloon Island followed by a sumptuous afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel, courtesy of Aunty Sarah.

Rather than our usual route-march we decided to take a tram to the Star Ferry and our crossing to Kowloon Island. I simply love the Hong Kong trams; at HK$ 2.60 (about 26 English Pence) they are so inexpensive and there is no better way to travel whilst viewing town from a completely different perspective.

We then arrived at the Star Ferry for our trip to Kowloon. The history of the Star Ferry dates back to 1888, when a Parsee merchant, Dorabjee Naorojee Mitaiwala founded the Kowloon Ferry Company. In 1889 the British businessman Sir. Cathick Paul Chater bought the then fleet of four ferries and the Star Ferry Company was born.

Since that time the star Ferries have been a regular daily sight as they ply their trade across Victoria Harbour. I would say that they are one of Hong Kong's great traditions and iconic tourist attractions and no trip to Hong Kong would be complete, whether on business or on holiday, without a crossing on the Star Ferry.

To me, Kowloon is what Hong Kong is all about. I love the madness and hustle and bustle of Hong Kong street life. Following a spot of retail therapy in one of the large and very plush malls we headed off to Kowloon Park.

An Oasis of serenity:

This is truly an oasis of calmness and serenity and allowed us a moment of respite and calm before once again stepping out in to the wonderful frenzy which is Kowloon.

Back to Reality:

As we made our way along Hankow Road, I took the opportunity to try and record local street activity.

Hankow Road:

I also tracked down veteran shirt make and tailor, William "Sandy" Cheng & Son.

My dear friend Ralph Shipley first took me there some 15 years ago and I had shirts made by Sandy, which were subsequently delivered to Dubai within a week! Now that is what I call service.

Had we not been on a mission to arrive early for our afternoon tea appointment then I would have popped in for a fitting. However, I fear that he would have needed a little more material than was required 15 years ago!

Finally we turned the corner in to Salisbury Road and came across the Peninsula Hotel, a little 5-star pub that allegedly serves a very nice afternoon tea.

As we walked in to the lobby it was clear that the Peninsula was definitely my sort of establishment.

Our charming waiter, Jason, showed us to our seat and we were subsequently treated to a glass of chilled Peninsular Champagne followed by the most delightful afternoon tea.

What else does one do in Hong Kong on a Thursday afternoon!

After all that food and drink we headed off back to the star Ferry which once again provided many opportunities for street photography and vistas of Hong Kong Island.

If all that excitement wasn't enough, our Thursday evening would then include a night out in Lan Kwai Fong, led by our Hydration Coach Michael.

We had noodles and Dim Sum at one of the local restaurants followed by cocktails at the old prison (more of that later) before ending up the evening for even more cocktails at the roof-top terrace-bar (40 stories up) at the Hennessy in Wanchai. Mrs. C was out of her comfort zone for a third day running although suitably anesthetized from the evening's libations. I am afraid I don’t have any Images from this soiree as they seem to have been mysteriously deleted from my computer!

Our final day involved a return to Lan Kwai Fong so that we could record everything in daylight. It was great to walk along the bustling streets full of street vendors, tourists and of course workers, as they travelled along the series of mid-level escalators.

They apparently travel in a down direction in the morning as they travel to work and then reverse during the afternoon for the journey home. It all seems very sensible to me and they are free.

I then wondered in to what I can only assume was the "Medical District" of Lan Kwai Fong. There seem to be many establishments offering "traditional massage Lah'…presumably with happy ending?

We then continued our journey to the old Hong Kong Victoria Prison. Established in 1841 and located in the aptly named "Old Bailey Street" this was Hong Kongs longest running prison.

It may have once been a prison but now serves a great Martini!

I understand that one of its most famous "guests" was the Vietnamese Revolutionary Ho Chi Minh who was an inmate between 1931 to 1933. Our visit to the cells showed how very tough the environment must have been back in those days.

Victoria Prison was officially decommissioned in 2006 and following an extensive renovation was re-opened in 2018 as the Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts. A great place to while away a couple of hours.

Sadly our visit to Hong Kong had drawn to a close. What an exciting time we have had.

We send our thanks to the lovely Michael and Elsie for their kind and generous hospitality and extend open invitations to Dubai and Plymouth respectively.

Like all nations Hong Kong continues to face the stresses of change as its mainland parent increasingly flexes its political muscles and influence. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Hong-Kongers are adaptable, resourceful and resilient and to my eyes, Hong Kong continues to be a welcoming and wonderful place to visit and remains The Peal of the Orient!

Qasr Al Hosn......

Qasr Al Hosn......

Whilst living and working in Dubai, a vibrant and fast passed city and regional hub, when we want to get away from it all, we strangely find ourselves gravitating more towards the federal capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi.

As Abu Dhabi has developed its cultural district, located on Sadiyat Island and more particularly completed the wonderful Louvre Museum, we like to visit Abu Dhabi to be pampered in one of their excellent hotels whilst also taking some time out for a "cultural" break.

Our last visit provided an absolute gem, the Qasr Al Hosn. Although only just re-opened after extensive renovation, we took an opportunity for a fleeting visit and now can't wait to return for a more extensive viewing.

The Qasr (Fort) is the oldest structure in Abu Dhabi. It was built around the 1790's in order to to protect the then growing settlement of Abu Dhabi as well as Abu Dhabi's only fresh water well.

The Fort comprises two buildings, the inner structure, constructed in 1795 and the outer palace, constructed between 1939-1945. Over the centuries it has been home to the ruling Al Nahyan family, the seat of government, a consultative council and a national archive.

Our visit was far too short but it did allow me an opportunity to give a workout to my Fuji Xpro2 and my new Fujichron, the 35mm F2. There is something about the architecture and lighting that just lends itself to photography.

I hope this short Blog and corresponding images will give you a flavour for this wonderful national monument and I will write a more extensive piece when we make a dedicated visit, later in the year.

Meantime this wonderful building and museum can be found in the centre of Abu Dhabi, and is a fitting tribute and memorial to the nation's history.

A Tale of Two Cities........

November has been a very exciting month from a travel perspective.  Mrs C and I took the opportunity to take a family holiday in the South Yorkshire town of Sheffield, so that we may visit our son and daughter who are both at University in the Uk, as well as to use this central location to bring family together for a great weekend.

Following Sheffield, Mrs. C and I became tourists and flew off to the wonderful European capital of Budapest.  It was so exciting to visit a new country for the fist time, to visit a capital city so full of history and culture and to have no schedule other than to take full advantage of what this wonderful city had to offer.

In addition to all the above, yours truly was looking forward to a photo-fest. However, we were traveling light and so the weapon of choice for this trip was the wonderful Fuji X100T.  The question was, could I cope without my trusty Xpro2 and a myriad of lenses?

Flying in to Manchester we  had about an hours drive across the Pennines.  The wonderful Emirates Airline limo service and our cheery driver made for a very pleasant and relaxing journey.Indeed, coming from the sands of Dubai it was a complete juxtaposition.  Autumn was in full flow, the hills and forests were alive with  colour and at last we had some real weather!

Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire and its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city.  Sheffield has an industrial background and was famed for its steel industry and even today Sheffield United, one of the two local football clubs, sports a nickname of "The Blades".

Sheffield has now moved away from a its industrial past and has been transformed in to a modern, diverse city and can be said to have a truly eclectic range of architecture, ranging from:

The classic city centre but with some very traditional English features: note the traditional phone box and post boxes along with the last remaining police box in Sheffield. Shades of Dr. Who!

Modern:

Futuristic:

The centre of Sheffield has a very trendy quarter, is full of busy restaurants, bars and coffee shops and of course, this wonderful futuristic architecture.Above all, Sheffield provided me with an opportunity to undertake some street photography as living in the Middle East, one is constantly aware of the cultural sensitivities of being photographed without permission.

In the UK this is not such an issue but even so, my style is not to shove a camera in to someone's face, which is something to which I would object. Instead, I seek to try and descreetly observe, document and tell a story from our everyday environment.  Indeed, in many cases these are scenes which local residents simply take for granted.In that respect I found Sheffield to be a mine of interesting subjects, as well as edgy street art, and I really look forward to a return visit in the new year, now that I am more familiar with the city, for another photo walkabout.

Having had a great time with family, consumed many calories, sampled the local beverages to excess and given the Fuji a good work out, we boarded Jet Air for the short flight to Budapest.Without a word of Hungarian between us but armed with some local currency, the Hungarian HUF (Florints), a determination to see all the sights (thanks to Mrs C planning a sight seeing tour with what can only be described as military precision), and my determination to give the Fuji another thorough workout, we were greeted at Budapest International Airport by a smiling driver with a shiny Mercedes, all provided by the lovely people at the Marriott Budapest.

After an hour or so driving through rush hour traffic we arrived at the Marriott, located in the very centre of Budapest on the Banks of the Danube.  Now, they say that the terrace of the Executive Club is the best place to take a photo of Budapest, primarily because the Marriott is not the prettiest building in town and is by definition, not in your photo!

Arriving at our Hotel at 8 p.m. we decided to immediately take a stroll along the Danube to try and get a feel for our surroundings.  This was an opportunity for me to up the ISO on the Fuji and see how it coped with a bit of night photography.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how well the Fuji performed.

The following morning, after a delicious breakfast, I walked out on to the the terrace of the Marriott at 8 a.m. and found the view quite breathtaking.

Then once again it was  off along the banks of the Danube and across the famous Szechenyi Chain Bridge to our destination,  Budapest Castle.

Now a walk up to Budapest Castle is not for the faint hearted and given the usual funicular railway was out of commission, I was feeling both faint and did not have the heart!  Fortunately, Mrs C was already prepared and had located a "free" escalator situated some five minutes walk from the railway that nobody ever seems to advertise!

Built between 1749 and 1769 Budapest Castle and ts surrounding complex is a combination of the castle itself, museums and Galleries, the presidential residence (Sandor Palace), the beautiful Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastien and a wonderful "Old Town" Area.  

The light was fantastic, the weather beautiful and it was just a perfect environment to take in the history and beautiful surroundings. Indeed, Buda Castle reminded me very much of the Old town in Geneva.  There was a bustling community in amongst all this history and of course it is a mecca for photo enthusiasts.  

We were lucky; an early start meant that there were relatively few people but I can only imagine that during the height of Summer it is mayhem and full of tourists.

After a couple of hours of walking it was time to find a quiet hotel and to sit outside for a cold beer and a few rays.  Can you believe that this is mid-November in Hungary!

From the Fisherman's Bastien and the castle walls the view of "Pest" and the beautiful Danube is truly amazing:Trust me, the walk back to the Danube is a long way down and just as hard as the walk up although, the vista is equally wonderful as can be seen in the following image with the Parliament Building in the background.

Now one recommendation I must give to any potential visitor to Budapest  is to make sure you have a comfortable pair of walking shoes. Yes, this is a modern city and there are trams, taxis and buses but if you want to really see this town you have to walk.  During our first day Mrs. C clocked up 28,000 steps!

Our next destination was to head back across the Chain Bridge and walk towards the famous Heroes Square.  Along the way the light was so good it allowed me to switch out of tourist mode and take a couple of arty shots of Mrs. C, who was clearly enjoying herself as she doesn't normally like to have her picture taken!

What I love about Budapest are the large grand streets / avenues and everything seems to be laid out in a grid pattern, so if you are lost just keep turning left!The grandest of all these avenues was Andrassy Avenue.  

It must have taken us 45 minutes to reach the end but when we did we arrived at the magnificent Heroes Square.

By this stage we had been on the go for almost four and a half hours and yours truly was ready for a well earned rest and a good lunch.  As it happens and much by chance, a stones throw from Heroes Square we found the delightful Varosliget Cafe.  This was full of as many locals as tourists which is always a good sign.We had a lunch of braised beef with vegetables (they like their meat and two veg in Hungary) and a starter of broth with dumplings, the broth being made with the juices in which our main course was cooked.  Absolute Heaven.  Washed down with  a couple of glasses of the local beer and all was very well in my world.  Service was brisk and friendly and at Euros 15 per head it was great value for money.

At this point my feeling of well-being was rudely interrupted by the thought of a 45 minute walk back along Andrassy Avenue.  Fortunately Mrs. C had already spotted my look of desperation and dragged me towards the entrance to the Metro.  With not a word of Hungarian and only armed with a handful of HUFS this was apparently the no-stress option!Once again Mrs. C steamed in, negotiated 2 tickets to I am not sure where and we clambered on board; only to then be told to get off and then be told to get back on.  This happened about three or four times over a ten minute period but all the locals seemed quite calm about it and so we just shrugged and complied as only the British do.

Now the Budapest Metro is the oldest electrified underground railway system in Europe. At times during our journey it felt like it but we arrived safely at our destination, my feet were saved and all was once again well in my world.

Next stop on our whirlwind tour of Budapest was St, Stephens Bascilica, named after Stephen, the first King of Hungary.  

Just to prove it they have the remnants of his hand inside which can be viewed for a small fee! Although we passed on that one we did make a donation towards the up-keep of the building.The Basilica is magnificent, it is the largest church in Budapest and can hold up to 8,500 people.  As we arrived we took a seat at a pavement table of a coffee shop directly facing the Basilica.  This is definitely how you drink a macchiato! Once inside, the serenity of the Bascilica and the detail of the decoration was quite breathtaking and well worth a visit.

Next on our list was the Hungarian Houses of Parliament. Due to security you cannot enter without being part of an organised tour.

The Orszaghaz (which literally means house of the country) is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary. It seems to have been modelled on the U.K. Houses of Parliament in London and inside the decor is truly magnificent.

Following the tour of Parliament, we took lunch at the delightful Mak Bistro, located in Vigyazo Ferenc Street.  What a find!

We had reserved online and as we walked through the door we were warmly greeted by young and enthusiastic staff and were then treated to superb food, attentive service, in a really relaxing environment.A starter of local fish with crunchy pumpkin and a  poppy seed twirl (Mak means poppy) followed by a deep-fried ravioli of ox-cheek accompanied by a very robust Hungarian red wine and ending with a quince desert and glass of the famous sweet Tokaji, rounded off with an expresso, all for Euros 15 per head. When can I return please!

Our daughter had visited Budapest earlier in the year and had told us that we must visit the ruin bars in the Jewish quarter.  Being of an age, Mrs C and I decided we would pop in for an afternoon coffee rather than a late night rave.These bars are apparently the ultimate in trendy drinking and are basically makeshift bars located inside dilapidated pre-war buildings and furnished with all manner of quirky furniture.  They are über cool so Mrs. C and I fitted in perfectly.....NOT!  We decided to visit the most famous known as Szimpla Kert, located on Kazinczy Street, allegedly the most iconic of the bars.

Our final destination was the Great Market Hall, the oldest indoor market in Budapest.Inside this vibrant market, it is full of what Hungarians like best, meat and vegetables.

Let us say that the Hungarian cuisine is what one might call a protein rich environment.  Indeed this chirpy butcher was very happy for me to take his picture as he tried to sell me the bits of a cow that I mistakenly thought were consigned to the waste bin!  Apparently they make a good stew.

So what is my tale of two cities?  Well, they are complete opposites in terms of layout and architecture but share a common theme in that they are both vibrant and interesting places to visit, so long as you are prepared to put on a pair of walking shoes and make the effort.My real Tale of Two Cities is depicted by the following two images:These two images tell a very real and sombre story.  The entire visit was undertaken across the Armistice weekend and indeed we attended a very moving service in the centre of Sheffield on 11th November.The first image is of an ex-serviceman selling poppies on a Sheffield street corner.  He appreciated the donation we made and we proudly wore our poppies in memory of those who have given their lives to ensure that others remain safe and secure.

The second image is located on the banks of the Danube.  It is a sculpture conceived by film director Can Tolgay and created on the east bank of the Danube River by the sculptor Gyula Pauer, in memory of those individuals who were killed by the fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest during World War II.  It was a very moving tribute and one that I desperately tried to capture in as sensitive a manner as possible.

So my final message is very simple. To all those who seek to create change through civil unrest, dividing and ruling and causing harm to others,  let us not repeat the mistakes of the past and let us try and create more harmony between nations and their populations, so that all this hateful effort and wasteful energy can be put to a more productive and beneficial use.Time is a great healer but memories are often short, so let us not forget the sacrifices made by previous generations.          

Down on the Farm.......

This Summer the whole of our family (on my wife's side), celebrated the 60th wedding anniversary of my in-laws, Maureen & Robert. (see earlier Blog entitled "The Summer Game").

I have to say I am never happier than when I am surrounded by the people I love. As a family we are very fortunate in that we all share some common loves; food, drink, cricket and of course each other.

So bringing 16 or so people together under one roof became an operation in logistics but we managed it by renting the beautiful Pound Farm, located near the sleepy village of Bishops Lydeard in deepest Somerset.

For those already living in the UK and in particular the West Country, it was only a relatively short journey. However for the Chivers clan, a flight from Dubai, followed by a tortuous 4-hour journey on the M5 from Birmingham, with yours truly putting in the incorrect address in to the Sat-Nav and my wife offering some thoughtful yet amplified advice from the rear of the car!,  it meant that we were both exhausted, relieved and exhilarated when we finally arrived at the beautiful Pound Farm.

I am reliably informed that the farm dates back to 1708 and is situated within a working Sheep Farm in the foothills of the Quantocks, ten minutes walk (30 minutes after you have visited the local Quantock Micro Brewery) from the sleepy village of Bishops Lydeard and a 15 minute drive from the county town of Taunton, better known by those lovers of "The Summer Game", as the home of Somerset Cricket Club.

Well, although I am originally a country boy from deepest Hampshire and I love the countryside, when we first booked Pound Farm I did wonder what all our young people, "Les Jeunes", might do with themselves.

However, an indoor swimming pool, outdoor jacuzzi, games room with a billiards table and table tennis table plus a fridge stocked with cold beer and prosecco meant that I need not have worried and all was good in the world of Les Jeunes.

For those of us of a more sedate and  maturing disposition, Pound Farm provided us with a complete detox from the stresses and strains of everyday life. Other than a TV (essential piece of equipment to watch the Test Match and Countdown) and slightly un-reliable wifi, it provided us with a low-tech no-tech week in the country.

The rules of the house were that there were no rules, other than us more mature folk would ensure breakfast and dinner (read catering on a biblical scale) was provided but it was every man / women for themselves at lunch-time. Meantime, everyone was free to do what they liked.

Here we can see La Tante Sarah and my wife Kate, totally entering in to the spirit of things and working very hard at doing very little!

However, for me, this meant that the Fuji was going to get a thorough workout. I had a portrait assignment from Pholaorate to complete, hence I had brought my trusty Xpro2 along with the 16mm and 56 mm lenses plus my Godox Xpro trigger and TT350F flash, Additionally I had brought my newly acquired Fuji X100T which was going to be my carry everywhere weapon of choice.

First order of the day was to take a few artistic shots of the Farm house, gardens and surrounding countryside.

Next task for me was my Pholaborate assignment. In true Plymouthian style I invoked the "Minerva Rule" and press-ganged a few "volunteers", namely my daughter Anna, nephew Joe and his partner Eliese.

I have to say everyone was extremely patient and tolerant with me. Ofcourse, I am my father's son and had neither read or brought with me the instructions for my newly acquired Godox Trigger and flash. I mean, how hard could it be!?

Anyway "when needs must the devil drives" and after much pressing of buttons and use of the Somerset vernacular (of which I am completely fluent!) we got it all working and I was indeed very happy with the results.

Whilst I am clearly the King of my own particular castle, I am always happy to take considered advice and SWMBO (She who must be obeyed), a.k.a. my wife Kate, had given me an afternoon to get this done as it was supposed to be a family holiday not a camera expedition.  As always when faced with a tight deadline (actually this should read "wall of panic") we girded our collective loins and I think the results were quite pleasing for a first attempt at off-camera flash. However, that is for the reader to decide not me!

In fact after what became known as "The Camera shoot at Pound Farm", my mother-in-law volunteered for a spot of modelling and I think she has missed her calling. Very Gloria Swanson!

Now like all boys, given unlimited free time I could have played with my toys all day. That was until I was told about the local Quantock Micro Brewery, situated in our very own Bishops Lydeard.

This gave cause for a major expedition and Les Jeunes did not have to be asked twice. The result was a delicious lunch of fresh-cooked pasties and scotch eggs, procured from the local farm shop, all washed down with several pints of the local ale, brewed with water from the heart of the Quantocks.

I am afraid to say that after several pints of the local brew the Fuji had to be set to Program Mode as the light in the brewery made it a little difficult to focus correctly........!

Following our lunch time feast some of our party felt the need to walk off some calories whist others, and I don't wish to point fingers (La Tante Sarah), needed to clear their heads!

Nevertheless, a gentle walk through the village took us past the Old Mill, in to the heart of the village where next to the post-office and small village store was situated the beautiful Church of St Marys.

Now that we had better light (read "sobered up") the Fuji was back in her familiar aperture priority mode and I was happily snapping away. Finally it was back through the fields to our wonderful Pound Farm.

I needn't have worried about finding things to do. We had a day out to the sea-side courtesy of the West Somerset Steam Railway and of course, our wonderful day out and anniversary celebration at Somerset Cricket club.

We also visited a local National Trust Property, Fyne Court and spent a wonderful day walking through beautiful woodlands and countryside and walking off the numerous calories that we had been consuming.

In amongst my ramblings about our time at Pound Farm there is also a message to "Les Jeunes". Please, please ,please make an effort to come together as often as possible as a busy lifestyle is just another excuse not to do something.  Look after and care for each other.  Whilst it takes an effort to organize and arrange these get-togethers, the results are memories and experiences that will always be cherished.  Above all, remember the importance of family.

After a wonderful week, we left Pound Farm refreshed and rejuvenated. For me it was a complete juxtaposition to our everyday lifestyle and environment in Dubai.

You know, sometimes in life a change really is as good as a rest!