Wednesday 24 July 2013

The one that got away

Just back from France. Usual pre-holiday and post holiday upheaval but what a great break.

The day before the holiday, the family car decides to have a pre-holiday tantrum involving leaking gas from the air conditioning - according to our sources and Renault, this could be as extreme as intoxication from inhaling poisonous fumes to purely our imagination (is that the same imagination that can't hear the brakes squeak during a service or is that just us?)

Anyway the car cannot be fixed before 10 am and the ferry leaves at 11am so the simple choice is risk it or take the work car? Well the work car wins but this comes with a few limitations - mainly size!

Now camping in France requires certain things - a tent big enough for 5 and big enough to take up most of the boot space! The basic camping equipment and clothes. The old adage that when you pack you should half it and half it again was not an option and we stripped (literally) down to the bare bones. We left the Glamping in the UK and went Camping in France.

Result - the best camping trip ever according to the kids and the big kids agree too! Who needs a chair, cooking equipment, or a table when you have the ground to sit on, cook on, sleep on, you get the drift!

The campsite we stayed on had a fishing lake. They conveniently sold cheap fishing equipment for those amateurs that just wanted a beer and the idea of fishing. Well I am of course (or so I told the kids) an experienced fisherman and my hunter gatherer skills have been honed from an early age!

The '5 Euro, made from bamboo, one step up from a crabbing line' fishing rod, was not going to stop me. So with three kids in tow, a hunk of dried baguette and the obligatory bottle of beer, we went fishing. After at least 5 minutes the kids had reduced in number to one, they hadn't fallen in or been eaten by a pike, but had realised that fishing involves 3 things kids under 9 just don't have. 1 - Patience, 2 -Patience or 3 - Patience (that's why you need the beer). The adventure playground proving far more exciting.

Having baited the hook and surreptitiously eyed the competition an observer might compare me to Tom Sawyer, fishing with a a stick for catfish, with my neighbours being a fully kitted Captain Birdseye the deep sea trawler after cod - the waiting game began.

Now we all have the story about the one that got away, and I would have loved to have the perfect photo of me holding a 10 kg carp (Yes I had taken the camera, but after 20 minutes, one bottle of French Beer (why are those bottles so small?) and 2 bites from fish. I was feeling more confident. a rebait of the hook and the next one was mine. You could see the fish in the water tantalisingly close.

At this point the playground had provided a much more riveting and enticing proposition for even my third die-hard apprentice, and I was left to fish alone. Now if I was to tell you that within 2 minutes of my last cast, I had a bite; I struck with the rod and the fish was hooked, the rod bent, the fish fought back and my '5 Euro, made from bamboo, one step up from a crabbing line' fishing rod, snapped in half and the fish swam off dragging the the upper part of the rod with it. As the Dutch Man next to me on the bank is my witness is was a BIG FISH (Arms Stretched wide). To laugh, to cry, to buy another 5 Euro rod or just blog about the one that got away. Believe me or not, and non believers are taking the majority, I had it and I still 'have it'. Give a man fish he eats for a day, teach a man to fish etc etc

Anyway I took loads of photos whilst away and I am going to now go and create a brilliant photobook. I know just the 'plaice'

Wednesday 3 July 2013

Speedos Please!

We're off to France for a few days over the summer holidays. 4 nights camping in Normandy, this is of course very exciting, and something to look forward to, the camera is already on charge...

Now the last time we went to France, was an extremely short stay for me (approx 60 seconds) with almost the longest journey of its kind on record to date! In a moment of madness, and a couple of pints to the worse, I boldly claimed that I could and in fact would, swim the English Channel.

Naivety, stupidity or sheer bloody mindedness and 3 years later having trained lots (and lots) I did in fact complete the solo swim from England to France in a time that was then, one of the slowest times recorded! There are various reasons why you should not attempt this and if you want to see why take a peek at the video. But let's take this into context only 1341 people have actually completed the swim across the channel, so who cares how long it took, or how seasick the support crew got!

Now what has swimming the channel and going camping in France, got in common. I know what you're thinking - smuggling - well I am a law abiding citizen and I don't think that budgies should be smuggled no matter how fluffy they are, so that is not it. But this is where being British clashes with our Continental cousins. The booking form for the campsite clearly states that only Speedos NOT swimming shorts should be worn. Now - Clearly, I will wear speedos where needs must, but it just feels fundamentally wrong (unless your either David Beckham or French) to wear speedos on holiday.

Where then shall I keep my camera to record the best bits when wearing such skimpy swim wear? When swimming the channel and going on holiday you do want to record the events for future reference. I created a photobook record of my swim for future reference (and unfortunately for the reader it appears that some smuggling was involved) and I intend to make a holiday photobook upon our return. Any way if you're short on space and want a neatly packaged way to store a camera click Neatly Packaged Bundle

Going to France usually entails eating lots, certainly swimming to France involved eating lots (see reference above - apologies to the viewer, but why do you think whales have blubber!)

This year - I think any pool shots will be taken by me, not of me, so in contrast to the French rules for swimming, my personal photo book rules state - Strictly NO MORE Speedos Allowed!

For a detailed comparison on Neatly Packaged Digital Cameras click here

Monday 1 July 2013

Go Go Gadget Show

I was going to call this blog Go Go Girls after the pop group (of course!) but having double checked and scanned my memory banks I remember a friend telling me a story about a friend of his who knew someone that had a story about a Go Go Girl and having checked wikipedia and typing the phrase into a search, I realised this was perhaps not the most appropriate of titles for a blog!

I strongly advise not typing this into a search engine particularly if you haven't added parental controls to your searches. Even if I class myself as a 'man of the world' -  it was enlightening

Moving swiftly on....

We were invited at Photoleaf this week to take part in the Channel 5 TV programme The gadget Show. We were contacted by a very friendly researcher asking if we wanted to be involved in a comparison review between us and other providers of photobooks for user experience, ease of use and of course the quality of the final product. I of course jumped at the chance - who wouldn't.

The order has been placed and the despatched in good time and we are now like expectant  parents waiting for the single or double blue lines to appear on a pregnancy test. Unfortunately we have longer than 2 minutes to wait for the outcome!

I am of course completely confident in our product but at the same time want to hear of any perceived issue - no matter how small - so that we can rectify it and get the client experience as perfect as it can be. It would of course be nice to come out on top when the review is televised - competition is of course a good thing and let's face it winning is great!

Now for those over a certain age you will remember that there was a TV cartoon called Inspector Gadget. He was a little dim and had a 'gadget' for every occasion. For a blast from the past click here. This has absolutely nothing to do with this blog at all and is a completely tenuous link to a childhood memory, but it made me smile!

In 20 years time our kids will look back fondly at the memory of Moshi Monsters!!!