Nonsuch Park is an under rated park amongst the many in Surrey. Nonsuch school sits in one corner and there are times of the day when maybe the car parks are best avoided. By chance I was there this afternoon as the sun was going down, the rain had stopped but with only the I Phone as a camera. These photos attempt to capture a chill winter late afternoon. A certain amount of adult ADHD was also apparent in those attempting to leave the car park.
There are few reasons not to choose to go to Sri Lanka. Whatever one wants from a holiday can be found there. Here are a few images I took on a visit there in July 2014. Please enjoy and encourage others to visit this wonderful country. There are photos here of photos from the Tsunami museum.
On Dec 26th in 2004 the Tsunami hit different Asian countries including Sri Lanka. Very many lives were lost, at least 40,000 and because records are not so excellent there numbers may well be higher. Sri Lanka in fact was the second worst country that was hit. Since then the country had had a resurgence with a second international airport recently completed in the south and the start of a motorway system embedded in the country, meaning what was previously a 5 hour trip from Colombo Airport to the south is far nearer two hours now.
What however many people remain unaware of is that there is a museum devoted to the Tsunami. From the outside it does not look like a museum, in fact it looks remarkably like a ramshackle house that was hit by the Tsunami in the Pareliya area just back from the coast. This is exactly what it is, a house ruined that has been left essentially damaged but turned into a small museum that houses photographs, paintings and stories of how local people built up their lives from scratch. There is free entry and one can leave donations in a small box.
The aim of the museum is to keep the stories alive for future generations and show people what actually happened.
When I visited in August 2014 it has to be one of the most emotional places I can recall visiting.
The museum is almost opposite the National Tsunami Monument near Pareliya junction ( where around 2000 people on a train lost their lives that morning), and is on the main road traveling north out of Hikkaduwa around 4 km or 9 km south of ambalangoda.
Their website is
tsunami-photo-museum-srilanka.blogspot.com
Further information can be got on info@kunstkoffer.nl
Below are a selection of photos I took of the photos in the museum, I challenge anyone not to find these things quite emotional.
After not going there for almost 18 months now I am in some kind of withdrawal phase, but am guessing will be back there before too long. The reality is that the islands are beautiful but maybe 3-4 days are enough of this paradise. Make sure you go to Starfish Point too and drink beer at Royal Palms on the beach bar. Just enjoy these lovely photographs.
There is clear recognition that obesity if rife in USA. There is also clear evidence that this has translated into worrying rates of Diabetes a not inconsiderable CVD risk factor. How has this all happened? I like to keep things simple, and mostly they are in life. The USA population eats too much. How does this arise? One easy observation after 3 days in USA, the first time I have visited for many years, is that everyone expects huge amounts of food, and either eats it, takes it away in a box to eat later or leaves it on their plate beaming with delight that ” they have had value for money”. The first place I saw this was in the sky.
At 35,000 ft I can see why USA has an obesity epidemic. Breakfast. American Airlines. The omelette was large enough but hidden inside was a huge amount of high fat cheese. Hiding underneath were about 4 rashers of bacon and the whole lot was swimming around in cubed potatoes. Enough ? No. A huge croissant. Enough now? No. A side order of packet of cheese biscuits and a kit kat and biscuits for cheese and a lump of cheese. There was a look of total horror on the face of the air stewardess when I gave this back. Surely you want to keep it for later? No I do not. One passenger was quite into all this as being asked if she wanted omelette or pancakes replied both….. And I hazard a guess this is not the first time she had eaten like this….
I have also witnessed a curious conversation between two of the air stewards. Discussing what was in the cherry pancakes. And yes they offered cherry pancakes. Quote ‘ what is in those pancakes?’
‘Something like mushrooms?’
‘I thought it was a little like cherries’
I now feel that I have descended into a strange parallel universe. To make matters worse I have spent the last hour thinking he has huge blue earrings. It is only on closer inspection I can see they are earphones which strangely seem to be connected to something and I will not speculate inside the zip of his jeans. I repeat. Parallel universe.
Finally the ending to the food story. Around an hour before we are due to land the next lot of food appears. True to restaurant fashion the meal was both pizza and pasta. Yes both. But if you wanted to pretend you had the healthy option it was pasta salad but oddly without visible salad. And I almost forgot a side order of coconut and orange biscuits.
The second place I saw this was in a Mexican restaurant (maybe one of the worst in the world I have ever visited, but thats a different story), where I ordered a burrito . And that is the operative word ” a”. What arrived was a fairly awful rendition of a burrito and not only that there were two of them. I ate one out of simple hunger, but could not touch the other. The plate was pushed away. My partners plate disappeared but mine stayed. Eventually with a look of disbelief I was asked if I had finished and if I wanted to take this appalling item of food away with me. The third place, was a much better restaurant in Nashville, and just to set the scene more positively you can see what a nice place Nashville is below. But again having ordered a meal that was actually good, chicken and asparagus ( served in a large bun, and one must ask why?. Chicken and cheese and asparagus is a decent meal alone without the need for pounds of bread accompanying it), I was informed in the same way you might be told you had won a prize, that I could have an extra side order. The size of the side order indicated it was either first prize, or was inadvertently given to me but was expected on a table of 8. Nice though it was, coleslaw, it looked like I had not in fact touched it. So cue apologies to Brittany the waitress to explain that it was good but just too much. It would be interesting to do a kitchen audit to see if anyone in a whole day managed to finish their coleslaw and if they did what was their BMI before and after eating this epic side order. So, this story will get continued as the next few days unfold. I plan to have a nice Day and do in fact have a nice Day.
Nashville, Indiana
Norway has to be one of the most civilised countries. Having been here only two days I have yet to find anyone who is anything less than polite and helpful. Anyone who serves you with food and drink has all the attitude you need and none of that surly dont care stuff either. The food is fresh and simple. Lots of nice bread, fruit and fish. Flying on Norwegian Airlines ( in Row 30 I should add economy cheap class), there was free wifi on the plane above 10,000 feet. Taxi drivers smile and are helpful. People are intelligent and interesting. Admittedly this place is not so cheap. Something like 8£ for a hot dog at the airport, but it did come with mashed potato, relish and a decent bread roll. In short I like this place.
Wifi if it is free at 10,000 feet and free in the airport and free in all hotels. Why Marriott hotels and others is it not free in UK? Explain to me also why all airlines cannot offer free in-flight wifi?
LCY is a very convenient airport and in general terms functions well. I came across it by chance a few months ago and have used it as often as possible as it frankly beats travelling and experiencing the hell that is Heathrow. That was until something went wrong. When things run smoothly then all is well but when something goes wrong in a small airport then how does it cope. LCY is a small airport. There are no lounges and or anything luxurious. A huge open space that subdivides ino a few eating and drinking areas. Last thursday things went wrong. Having arrived early and spent 2 hours there it was a happy occurrence to then find out from the departures screen ( no announcements of this happy event) that my flight to Edinburgh was cancelled long with the last of the day. No reasons given.
At that stage one discovered that two plane loads of folks, perhaps 250 maybe more, were queuing at the ticket desk which had two people working. British Airways no doubt would have employed good souls but to be placed at the back of this queue meant that I did a quick estimation that even if each customer was sorted in 5 minutes ( new flight/complaints/hotel for the night etc), I might be there for hours and in fact very many hours. Possibly all night even. so here is a situation that does not work in a small airport. This is a shame as I shall now think twice before using a small airport again , maybe the larger airports would have more staff, more flights, and a speedier resolution.
So a few photos as momentos . The queue snaked around and around and in fact like a giant conga twined itself through the 2 cafe’s in the airport.
These and more are hosted on my website
http://www.footballgroundz.co.uk
Going to weddings is not my usual form of entertainment but when they take place publicly on the beach when on holiday then maybe its ok to have a peek. This is how you do it:
Marriott Grand Cayman
The Cayman Islands have to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Seven mile beach is just that. The downside is the cost. As I understand how things work here, no tax is paid so the government claim their money on all items sold. Hence a litany of taxes and charges are added to each and every bill. An hour in the Kirk supermarket, a lovely clean supermarket that I wish we had in UK, is sadly enough to depress one when looking at the cost of food items. Think of a UK price and then increase it between 2-4 fold.
The Island itself is full of lovely coves and beaches and snorkelling reveals hundreds of fish and other underwater paraphernalia. The hateful sea urchins live surprisingly close to the shore, maybe less than 10 yards in places. Even 20 yards from shore there are moray eel type fish living in their little holes, spitting sand at snorkelers.
Starfish Point is well worth visiting , to see guess what, Starfish. In 20 minutes we also saw a wild dolphin, sea cucumber and an odd red jellyfish. The point is accessible by car but you need to know where to go and where to park. Most visitors come by boat and spend maybe 30 minutes there whilst we spent 2 hours. A hot place and there is no shade and no facilities of any kind. The official boat trips seem to come earlier in the day and the starfish are collected from a little way out and you can find maybe 6 easily in the shallow waters, maybe more. So, midday is not a bad time to go.
Starfish Point on Grand Cayman
Starfish Point on Grand Cayman
chris1957
Arcticterntalk.org 