Tag: Cambridge
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Some Hikes in the Mud
Mum & no. 1 son hiking near the house No holiday back to the UK would be complete without some nice walks through some mud, on the way to some well-earned pints and packets of crisps. It’s one thing I really do miss in the USA; the hiking here is amazing, obviously, but it lacks the wander-off-on-you-own freedom of just sauntering across the fields in search of a destination. Here, it’s strap the backpack on and prepare for a couple of days in stunning, un-touched wilderness.
Anyway, we had some great little hikes off on the south coast, and around Cambridge – just what the doctor ordered.
Mum catches up on our annual Boxing Day hike … to the pub! 
Now to the South Coast: Various stiles and other gate mechanisms a continious source of geeky amusement for me and the family. 
Looking out down the coast 
Very windy! 
Mum makes the climb 
Dad and I in conversation 
Corfe Castle off in the distance, where we were staying for a couple of days. 
Obligatory walls 
To Anglesey Abbey – one of the local stately homes 
… and I was fascinated with this: it seems to fade in colour. 
Interesting textures on some of the Winter Garden trees 
Fading to yellow 
Reflections of winter -
UK Return
Sadly, last month we received that Granny, Catherine John, had passed away. A central figure in our family, her influence permeates through her children, her grand children and now their own families. Her creativity, humour, voracious appetite for news and love for her family, will be greatly missed.
In contrast to previous trips back home, visiting friends, spending time with family or attending weddings, this was a more sombre affair. Still, it was a fabulous opportunity to meet with family members that I have not seen in years, and marvel at the rate of growth of the youngsters, many now with their own dreams and aspirations.
One week is not a huge amount of time, but it was enough to complete a solid round of decompression and tea drinking in Cambridge, run up to the Derbyshire hills to get some hiking in, and across to Wales for the service.
Cambridge
I wanted to spend as much time as possible with the folks, Ele and Dave, and of course Benjamin as possible. So, predictably perhaps, most of my photos feature the star of the show!
Benjamin is king of the world 
Obviously a candidate for a modelling competition 
He is still in the early stages of learning to talk, so his powerful pointing finger is key in his ability to communicate. I was deeply impressed with how much information he could convey through the sign language he as been taught, though. 
Taking Benjamin on the guided bus out to St. Ives for the first time. What fun! (the bus even had wifi!) 
Butter would not melt in his mouth … 
Clotted cream, on the other hand, very much would. 
Marvelling at the physics-defying helium balloon that we had found for him. 
He was emphatic in wanting me to sit down next to him. The step somewhat suited his leg length more than mine, however. 
A view of The Fens; windmill, cyclist, and a flat landscape. The guided bus really shifts though – 60mph along those concrete tracks 
Taking Benjamin out for the day at the park 
Working out how to use the slide feet first 
Slightly less sure about spinning around and around 
Even less sure about the height of the slide … but getting more confident every day! 
On Skype back to Taiwan – do they have to try to be this cute? 
Benjamin gives me a snuggle for good measure. Wales
The ceremony was very moving, tied together with a thoughtful speech from my cousin Hannah, who managed to speak for all of us on the day.
Taking it all in – we all had our own stories 
… and evidence was everywhere that she was not too far away 
Despite the sad day, it was still fantastic to see family 
Messing around on the grass 
Family members catch up 
The local rugby club did a great job of hosting drinks after the event. 
Making a run for it! 
Picture updates of the next addition! 
Mums look proud Derbyshire
With construction on the house on-going, we managed to grab a couple of days up north, staying at The Cavendish Hotel in Baslow. Retracing some of my early mountain biking steps, we hiked along the ridges overlooking the valleys, and spent the next day sauntering over to Chatsworth before being stunned by an impromptu Red Arrows display while packing the car up. Derbyshire always delivers the goods.
Our hotel in Derbyshire, near Chatsworth was great, although it was all we could do not to continually quote Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan's 'The Trip' 
DEAD SLOW. HOOT 
Exit sign 
A walk through the hills I think was what we needed 
Views across the peaks were not spectacular, but a good reward for the climb (and even better preparation for a pint at the pub). 
Bouquet 
As we were just getting back to the house, we were amazed to see The Red Arrows fly by overhead. We were treated to a fifteen-minute display – their first day since they sadly lost a pilot – for the crowds down at the country fair at Chatsworth house. Granny would have loved it. -
Mountain Biking in the Snow
Yes, it’s that time of the year that you get the obligatory ‘going mountain biking then head to the pub’ post. But we know you love it, Michael!
Dad and I headed over to Thetford Forest, which is usually a quick blast and great for blowing out the cobwebs after eating and drinking too much during the festive period. However, this time, the melt water from the snow and ice settling nicely in the sand, and not an awful lot of human activity, meant the ground was muddy and waterlogged like I have never seen before. Two hours of hard slog for me … not sure how my Dad was feeling at the end of it!
This is how mountain bikes used to look.
Some people better prepared than us.
Naturally, Dad had a puncture in the middle of the most severe mud. Here he is trying to find the hole. Using CO2 in these conditions is always a risk, and again we ended up pulling the valve out of the tube as it froze. Great. At least we didn’t need to urinate on our own hand to release it (like one story I have heard!).
Truly waterlogged
Grinding paste.
Playing with another camera app; 360 Panorama
And an image taken with my ‘app du jour’, Instagram. Mud, mud as far as the eye can see!
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Winter in the Fens
The Fens, while almost utterly flat, carry a certain beauty that gets under your skin. It’s something in the expanses stretching to infinity that at once create calm and mild despair.
There is surely no better time to feel this than when the landscape is covered under a layer of snow, robbing it of any vestiges of life and colour. So naturally, we strapped boots, wrapped scarves and set off across the fields to the village of Toft, taking in Madingley on the way.
The Fens are … flat.
Tracks in the snow.
Christmas trees
The XX
Apexes
Tin buildings
Shivering in the cold
Snowy grove
Signs of civilisation
Some rather nice graffiti
Barbed wire delicately supports the snow.
And, almost at the pub!
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In the Bleak Mid-Winter
I am lucky enough to be in Europe for the whole month of December, joyfully mixing two weeks of work, with two weeks of time with family and friends.
The weather is cold. So cold, in fact, that it has delivered several dumps of snow and layered a delightful crust of frost over the fields on the way to the airport. To Paris!
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Wells Next-The-Sea
Hiking in the bleeding cold weather on the north coast of East Anglia.I am presently sitting in a heavy haze of jet lag with the rain coming down outside in the way that only Taiwan can muster. Got back after rather a long night flight from London yesterday and have been battling e-mail demons all day (mostly slain, I might add). Felt I needed to find a little time to write up the marvelous weekend I had in Wells Next-The-Sea (what a quaint name) with the folks and newly wed sis and bruv-in-law.
I’ll battle through the bleary vision and sausage fingers and say – great Christmas, and just what I needed to recharge the old batteries. 2009 ho!
Cold air but beautiful skies.
Norfolk is quite flat. A somewhat refreshing change from the mountains and hustle & bustle of Taiwan. For a wee while.
My delightful sister.
My old man.
Will he make it?!
Little rascals.
The sun sets on 2008, and I am looking forward to what 2009 will bring – truly.
