National Memorial Arboretum

I took a day out to head up to the National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield, Staffordshire and was quite surpised by what I found!

To quote the website "The National Memorial Arboretum was conceived as a living tribute to the war time generations of the twentieth century and as a gift to their memory for future generations to reflect upon and enjoy."  But it's so much more ...

First thing to say is that visiting any memorial on this scale is a humbling and sobering experience.  To walk through The Armed Forces Memorial and to see all the names engraved on the walls ...

British Grand Prix!

It was a spur of the moment thing ... driving to work on Monday morning I thought about going to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on that Friday, practice day.  "Why not" I thought, after all I haven't been to a Grand Prix for many years.  So I checked the weather forecast and it wasn't good - rain all day.  A good omen I thought, after all, they usually get it completely wrong!  Onto the Silverstone website for a ticket - 50 quid, just for Friday! Ouch!  But hey, it's not every week is it ...

Another 'Boys' Post .... Boys Toys

I'm heading quickly towards one of those milestone birthdays that includes a zero, in my case preceded by five ... yes, the big Five-Oh. Hard to believe given my youthful looks!! Anyway, my beloved has offered to splash out on a radio controlled aircraft, something I've wanted since I was a lad, but never got around to. So I popped down to my local club to get the lowdown on starting this new hobby, but of course I took my camera along ....

The Old and the New - Manchester Photography Walk

To buck the trend of recent posts, this one is bang up to date! Yesterday I went for a wander round Manchester on an organised photographic walk. And it was a real mixture, from the new chic canal-side apartments to the derelict factories of a bye-gone era. But this gave some fantastic opportunities to show the juxtaposition of old and new ....

Lens Comparison: Canon 100-400mm Vs Sigma 150-500mm

I've recently bought myself a new lens, the Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM, to use instead of my trusty Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 DG APO OS HSM.  I love the Sigma lens, so why the desire to change ...??

Watching The Sun Rise .... Portland Bill, Dorset

Although the circumstances of our recent trip to Dorset was not what you would wish for (funeral of a close and much loved Uncle on my wife's side of the family), staying overnight and being a natural early riser gave me the opportunity to head down from Dorchester to Portland Bill to watch the sun rise.

Look Mom - I'm Blogging!

Well, after many tests and trials to see what works and what doesn't, here we go - the big launch into the blogosphere! Is this going to revolutionise blogging and become one of the best read blogs out there? Absolutely NOT! Then why do it you ask (I'm sure you thought it even if you didn't actually ask it - besides, it'd be a bit strange if you did sit there and actually say it out loud - I can't hear you after all). Well, . . . .