December photos - sunrise and fog

Friday Morning at Durham Station

see Kings Mission and Community

Blossom and Bluebells

Spring in Durham

Maps are cool

I've recently been enjoying some of the delights of Google Maps & Google Earth via the strange discoveries of the community at Google Sightseeing, whose tagline goes 'Why bother seeing the world for real?'

Highlights include:
- the Interdimensional Portal in the town of Dronten in the Netherlands - one of many it seems!
- the longest conveyor belt in the world in Western Sahara
- the Gun lake
and best of all, the Giant Alien Bug!

Brilliant!

I also discovered that although Google maps has not been updated with high-res pictures of Durham, Microsoft's 'Live Local' shows the white house very clearly!

Durham is the time, is the place, is the motion...

Isn't Durham wonderful?

Ben Witherington visits Bishop Tom and extols Durham's long tradition of NT scholarship on his blog.

The painted tomb...?

I took this picture while out in Durham last Saturday... can you guess where and what?

A bit of nostalgia

I re-discovered a page of 'Brockwell D' photos linked from Gav's website.

I believe it's actually me who took these - in the early days of my digital camera... o the excitement :-)

I miss that place sometimes! I spotted a few things that made me laugh to remember..
- rabbit fur armrest
- Pete's cake confusion
- cream and tickle fight
- the ever-present plastic goal
- Gav eating mud
- revision by the lake
- the deer on the wall (there were also badgers by the TV and a fox behind the fridge)
- Tom kidnapping Gav

Unfortunately there's no evidence of the leopard-skin fleece throw... which has strangely disappeared since! (Who do my present housemates have to thank for that?!)

Snowy Durham

Bright winter sun...

...lighting up the Cathedral!

Who do these strange prints belong to? (in the back garden!)

...not this strange beast!

Home thoughts

There's something about coming home to Ilford that makes my 'normal' Durham life just feel like a dream, though of course a good one! I feel detached from the events of only a few days ago, as if they happened to someone else. There's something about fitting into old patterns, and being around people who've known you a long time, which tends to bring out the best and the worst. I'm definitely in post-term collapse as well, which does reduce me to getting through the here and now, and in lowest gear..

What's been interesting this time home has been re-discovering yet again that life here is not where I left it. It's always slightly odd to return home and find that things have changed here as much as things have changed for me in Durham - I expect things to still be the same! At a party here this evening the people I knew were a minority. 3 or 4 people had arrived before someone whose name I knew arrived at the door! I'm glad that my family are busy in their lives and meeting new people, but it's a 'double-take' experience for me each time.

Since I was last home there have been big changes in the garden especially. Dad has built his new shed and it's all shiny new wood planking still. It looks amazing - I'll put up some pictures soon! And it appears massive, although it's a bit of an illusion because it's very wide but not very deep. All in all, I'm impressed and proud to look at it and say 'my dad made this!'

We had the opening ceremony this evening. Everyone came outside and an old friend of dad's cut the ribbon and let everyone in for a 'tour'! The Miller Bear was keeping guard outside, dressed in a santa costume.. looking as marvellous as ever.

Whitby

Miller's Amusements


Tourists and fishing


Gorgeous December sunshine


Seymour and frog



Seymour...?


James is frustrated that the Abbey gates are locked..


Whalebone arch


St Mary's




Seymour is surprised by the sudden appearance of Daleks on Whitby Pier

Festive Feast

Christmas Dinner for 14!


Chris P studies the Funday Times


A new sport


...with After Eights?


Post-lunch napping