Quote Of The Day

"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake - Chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower (1887-1956)"

Monday, March 30, 2020

Friday, March 27, 2020

New Country....

List of Covid-19 infections by country as of today Friday 27th March. And down the list a bit, nestling between India and the Philippines....  oh?




Thursday, March 26, 2020

Beautiful Isolation...

Stuart and I waited for sundown to do our one brief exercise outing of the day. A short walk. Lovely deserted streets.










Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Working From Home : The Reality...

Work video meetings are pretty funny today. Little miss saying “whose that? whose that?” “No, Daddy’s talking. Sorry guys.” Etc etc.




 

Friday, March 20, 2020

Splendid Isolation : Yoga....

YouTube has some great, simple, and short yoga classes. 
And comedy value too as it gave Stuart a good laugh as I huffed and puffed on the carpet. 

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Dark Times in Islington....

Dark times in Islington. Fresh out of Quinoa. Reminds me of the Sun-Blushed Tomato Famine of ‘94 and of the Polenta Riots of ‘96.  Luckily Majestic is still managing to keep the shutters open. #covid19 #islington 





Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Home Working...

Whole office sorted for Home Working from scratch in just over 24 hours. Phew! Exhausted. 
As the office empties out some of the thanks and goodbyes from colleagues seem a little too heart-felt and teary. Like they would never see me again! 
I hope that isn’t the case! 🤨🤣 

Monday, March 16, 2020

Back home - panic stations!..

Well, that holiday was over fast!

Back in the office and we have 24 hours to set up home working for everyone!

Fingers crossed!


Saturday, March 14, 2020

Hawai’i : Oahu...

So here we are, on our last Hawaiian island. Oahu is the home of the lovely (but perhaps a tad over-developed) Honolulu, the world famous Pearl Harbour, and equally lovely AND famous Waikiki Beach. And very friendly people. Very. 

We had random people (tourists mainly) come to to us and say, “Hi guys. Cool shirts. Great socks. What are you up to later?”  “Hey you two. Loving the accent. You about later?” Pat us on the back in the street, tell us they used to live in the UK, ask us all sorts of stuff about our visit, and where we were drinking later. So basically it’s a very, very friendly place. With great sunsets. 

Tomorrow we head back to the UK. It will be sad to leave. It‘s a been a great holiday. 





























Friday, March 13, 2020

Hawai’i : Big Island...

Stuart and I have spent the last four days on the third island of our Hawaiian trip: The Big Island. And it has been incredible. 

The Big Island is bigger than all the others put together and used to be known as simply “Hawai’i” but it lead to some confusion whether people were talking about just this island or the whole 137 island archipelago. So how is is just called Big. 

The place is perhaps more laid back than some of the other islands - more rural, perhaps - and covered in lava fields, lava flows, as well as tropical rainforests. But it is equally impressive. 

The volcanoes are epic. The observatories plentiful. And the coastline simply stunning. 

They have golden beaches, black beaches and green beaches. Amazing fish-infested coral reefs that we swam to from the shoreline. Unforgettable night swimming with manta rays. Lava tubes.  Vog (volcanic fog). Micro-climates of showers and sun - sometimes at the same time. And rainbows. Lots and lots of rainbows. 

Even the evenings were alive with colour. We would watch the magnificent sunset with its reds and yellows and oranges in the crystal blue sky, green palm trees were swaying, and golden yellow sand was running between our toes. 

With hula music wafting along the beach and a cocktail in hand it is nothing short of paradise. 




































Monday, March 09, 2020

Hawai’i : Kaua’i...

Stuart and I have spent the last four days on the second island of our Hawaiian trip Kaua’i (pronounced like Hawai’i but with a K) and it’s been amazing. 

Kaua’i is the oldest of the Hawaiian islands  geologically and is also known as the Garden Island - with good reason.  Although it’s a volcanic island it is a lush place. Everywhere you look is a frenzy of dazzling green tropical flora. Being such a remote place a lot of the wildlife here is endemic too. Weird plants. Weirder animals. And lots and lots of wild chickens. 

And while much of the island is covered with tropical rainforest, the coast has beautiful beaches - complete with golden sands, swaying palm trees, and surfers enjoying the thunderous waves. A definition of paradise for many. 

But it is not only the flowers that are beautiful, there are awesome tree tunnels, dozens of epically high waterfalls, secret caves, hidden coves, a  spouting horn(!), the world famous Na Pali coast, and even a ten mile long / 3000ft deep Grand Canyon. 

The human history of the place is no less amazing. The construction of the ancient fish pools, the historic ruins, the old sugar plantations, the lighthouses, the sites of the inter-island wars, the stories of the eccentric land-owners, the influx of nudists, and the invasion of the hippies. 

Unsurprisingly lots of films have been shot here too; Blue Hawaii, King Kong, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Descendants, South Pacific, Jurassic Park, Lost World, the list goes on and on. 

Famously Elvis was a massive fan of this island too - so we had to pay a visit to Fern Grotto. You might not of heard of Fern Grotto before but Americans squeal whenever you mention it. It is *the* place where people come to get married in Hawai’i. Stuart and I went there and we rolled out eyes at the tackiness of it all. But secretly rather enjoyed it. Not that you should read anything into that!

So tomorrow to head on to island number three. And more adventures.