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We survived , theye are beautiful and a pleasure to be around watch my next campaign [ Grey Shark Conservation ] , we just missed diving by a couple of days or twoi with the grand daughter , I believe of Cousteau himself , who did a shark shoot there last wekk, bugger [ It’s going to be on the Discovery Channel next year during Shark Week ] and popped back okay , long journey [ 6 hours each way ] worth it.

Off to Blue Mountains now for some bush walks.

Photos will be published when we get time some vid footage as well.

Wubble 69 made contact with GS, maybe hitting up next week Sydney Opera House next week.

Got to go suns up , see you , bye

Just setting up th ephone as I type, drop me a message via my email or here and I will let you know the details

All hoyt and sweaty , it seemed to take longer than it does to get to Zealand.

But I’m here with the Ninja and it looks like some serious stuff has been lined up , I’ve just seen serious shark shots.

Ninja reckons two days of dibving through caves with Sharks is a good call.

A tad tired from travelling but wide awake still as my time zones are all shot.

Not a lot going on today really.

The lovely Huxley was having a house clearout today, so she gifted me on behalf of my lovely old neighbours, who as it happens live in my old apartment a PS2 and loads of games.

The old neighbours work about 100 metres down the road from me now, so were every so happy to be gifted something so generous.

Thanks Hux, a very delighted family.

Made their day.

The studio under the stairs has now been relocated back under the stairs all the old computer stuff was starting to encroach on the living room so it’s all housed out of the way now , just a little rearrangement but it’s all sorted now.

Just got to get the internet connection back up and running on the laptop now.

Maybe it will kick in later , so I’m having to type this offline ready for a later posting.

Made some new horticultural chums today, the parents had been away in Malta and Sam [ Dad’s Parrot ] was being baby sat by Nicky and her family and by way of a gift and a little thank you , they now have have a selection of my recent crop of Tomato seedlings [ surplus to requirements ] and two chilli plants [ jalapeno & Pimentos to Padron ] and I’ve now been invited to a chilli festival with them later in the year down in Sussex and Nicky has offered to share here chilli jam recipe with me.

She has also been given the chance of having an allotment down the road in a couple of months and we have made sort of a loose agreement with plant sharing, nice lady.

I can’t see the purpose of trying to grow everything so we decided to discuss what each other is growing this year so I will hopefully be sharing some of my crop , with some of her crop.

It’s all about barter after all.

Let’s just see what will happen.

The parentals have come back from Malta and seem refreshed , so they were gifted some seedlings as well.

Mum struggles to cope with too much and has stated that she has more than enough to cope with now , but she was extra chuffed that she has managed to save some seeds form last years crop and managed [ well done ] to propagate some of the seeds from one of the toms she grew last year.

Still no decision on where I’m going on vacation to just yet.

2114 hrs.

Still no connection it does not look like I will get back online tonight.

TTFN. hope you’re all well out there in the ether.

Kato Junya San is unable to get time off , so I don;t know whether or not I will be able to venture down under this year.

Sorry guys , if the situation changes I will keep you posted.

HKH is there much to see and do in Honkers ?

Maybe Thailand , I really don’t know.

2317 hrs

Still nothing , apparently it will be sorted by 0130 hrs

0843 hrs

Still nothing

0932 hrs

Arghhhhhhh yet another phone call to Bangiastan help centre , fault in area until 1331 hrs.

Weird really considering that my parentals just down the road have a connection no problem.

1111 hrs

Still nothing , this is infuriating

1914 hrs

At last , been a thoroughly miserable day , no internet to research travel plans , [ although the parentals did kindly offer to let me have access there ] also lost TV/Radio , I know I don’t really watch it that much but even as ambient background noise , I missed it.

It was deathly quiet.

I wasn’t even inspired to remix anything.

Murray thanks for the Karma.

Yawn , started the day off with a good read from a chum who is travelling in a War Zone at the moment as an official photographer for an all female group of circus entertainers , bringing a smile to children to take their minds off all the death and destruction in their daily lives.

Dennis aka:: Borg is a relatively new chum on the block and is a part of Subsource.I met him last year at Ambient Picnic as a guest of the band and he is a thoroughly interesting chap.On first appearance he is a quite and very private man, but onstage all hell breaks loose and gives it large.

The video below will show you what they are like.

We hit it off chatting cameras and photography at a music festival and he took a liking to my super wide angle lens and at the moment it’s touring with him through Palestine.Looking forward to seeing the shots Den.So that’s my starter for ten.

A large double espresso , some vibes provided by Yazoo , Fat Boy Slim & Lenny K again and a good read.

A slight frost last night and I had to do a little test to see if my little SM [ San Marzano ] toms would endure it and by golly they have in their little little outside greenhouse.

Matron had advised me against trying just yet , when I spoke with her the other day.

I forgot they were out there on the first night but maybe they will become hardy, I cannot afford to leave the whole crop out there, for fear of losing it all.

Comb Over Sir ?

After all Little Stu & Nat need them for their low carbon impact wedding in April.

I was a bit worried about how the crop will survive when I eventually get away.

The solution seems to be that Stu will pop over every now and then to give the whole lot a mist to keep them damp whilst I am away.

On my own crop front , the redcurrants, blackcurrants, gooseberry plants are all shooting out little shoots , all apart from one that is , obstinate little bugger is holding out on me, maybe it will come into it’s own later.

Wildflowers from last year have started to push through in the front garden to accompany the herbs that are already in situ, I have added some others that will attract bees and the like, Male Parental insists the front garden should be flowers to welcome people, I’m with Matron on this unless you can eat it, it’s really a waste of time, but with wildflowers and mulch/fertiliser/green compost type plants and the fact they encourage butterflies and bees I’ll break my rules, they have their role to play.

The newly planted little gem lettuce and spinach beet seem to have survived the chill , and seem to be happy in their recycled cloche city , their mini Tokyo.

Some chillies have now come through as well , Jalapeno – Telica & Pimientos de Padrón are all poking through, nothing from Long Slim Cayenne / Cherry Bomb / Big Sun Habanero [ Very hot: 250,000-300,000 scoville units ] or Ring Of Fire just yet but hen again nothing to look forward to if I get them now.

My seedling seem to appreciate their Roof/Window view , so the Aubergine [ Black Beauty ] , Tomatillo and the tomato seedlings seem to have settled in well to their new home and are growing at a steady rate.

I may have to gift some of these or use them for people to raise funds for whatever , it’s just great to grow something.

On a more militant front , I have been annoyed of recent [ what’s new ? ] that the monstrosity that is the new hotel they’re building down the road have now tagged almost 50 trees to cut down.

So I took a leaf [ pardon the pun ] out of some chums and took matters into my own hands and continued with my guerilla gardening stance and planted out 5 new plants in the rear unadopted walkway at the rear of mine, 5 extra redcurrant plants for the birds to harvest on later in the year.

My elderly neighbour chuckled at my idea , but has sworn himself to secrecy , he’s a great help on all tips in gardening , much like matron a seasoned Veteran.

Anyway I have waffled on long enough for now.

Lenny K is still rocking away in the background time for another espresso.

Peace Out.

0945 hrs.

Better start sorting stuff out for my OE today.

6 Days off flies past, but I can guarantee that the next 5 at work will not reciprocate.

The early morning frosts have not let up yet, breathing in ice cold air first thing hurts the throat and the best way to describe it is ‘ like having ice cream head ‘ after the cycle ride to the station.

I have been musing over some ideas with a matronally [ is there such a word ? ] figure about doing some study to improve my chances of emigration.It’s been ages since I have undertaken any proper sort of study and I am quire hesitant, this normally start of well, with the initial novelty factor and things get ‘in the way’.So I have to look for something that fills all the following

1. Is stimulating

2. Is realistically attainable

3. Is beneficial

4. I can do distant learning

5. I can fit around my employment

6. I can afford, adult education is not cheap

Not a lot to ask then.

To try and get the head space right I’ve started today in some deep meditative brain sync stuff , to see if that helps in any way.

I know I’ve been slack with a distinct lack of colour on the blog of late but I did actually take the camera out the other day and took some journalistic type shots of a piece of architecture I found in my local woodland, only to be accosted by some security person , whose acne was healing up quite nicely.

Informing me no less that it was a secure area and that I shouldn’t be taking photographs in that area.I could have enquired as to when that had come into play and under what legislative powers, especially as I was not on private property, in which case it would only have been a case of accidental civil trespass.It might have been something to do with the fact that I was on the X and recovered some property from the woods that had been discarded that could utilised at Chez Zebra, rather than damaging the native flora and fauna in it’s fly tipped earlier position.The picture when posted will better illustrate.

It was definitely one of longer loads and had turned a few heads on other cyclists and ramblers on my route rightly enough and I had managed to pass out some X propaganda to anyone that enquired.

Had the security guard just wanted to be nosey ?

I am heading into ‘The Smoke’ now, partaking in a fresh large coffee from a wonderful new machine at the station, not one of those that normally provides some sort of warm liquid if you punch in a selection of numbers, but a proper fresh ground coffee, a tad more expensive but with this cold weather it is very warmly [ pardon the pun ] received.

I haven’t worked out a way of securing a thermal mug to my commuter bike otherwise I would have made my own.

0557 hrs

I am hoping that work will have made a decision about my leave when I get in, I could and should be elsewhere at this time of year and if they had sorted it I could have been away from the frosty UK from Valentines Day / Last Day Of Scallop Fishing.

Who can tell ?

Next stop home of cricket , so better go get ready.

TTFN

0603 hrs

So where was I ?
Well work has finally given me my leave so as of tomorrow I will be on leave until the 7th of April. Hooray

powered by ODEO

Work has been dithering about whether I can have my annual leave until April 6.

6 weeks it has taken them to make a decision.

And now it turns out they have given it to the Sgt that supervises me, because he signed the bottom of the form.

I could have been booking flights accommodation et al in order to make some surprise visits to some chums.

Now I will waste days looking for flights, when in real terms I could have been out of the country tomorrow am.

And as it’s V Day.

For the ladies out there a suitable quote for you.

“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightfowardingly, without complexities or pride. So I love you because i know no other way than this…” Pablo Neruda