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Tuesday 30 April 2013

Day 120 First day of Summer

Well not quite, but it certainly seems to be getting closer. The sky was mainly blue most of the day, I didn't get wet, and I only had 1 jumper on and no coat all day. If it wasn't for the wind, then it really would have been quiet pleasant.

That said I didn't brave the beer garden, (I just wrote bear garden and had to change it, how cool would it be if pubs had bear gardens, then if people got too unruly you could just throw them out in the bear garden) but I did have ice in my cider!


Cheers!

Paul

Monday 29 April 2013

Day 119 Thats Entertainment

It turns out that the people in the apple store will pretty much let you do what you want in their store within reason.
We were in the Metro Centre sorting out a new phone for the wife (because she is a bit of a klutz) and it was taking a little while to sort out, so Erin and I hopped over to Apple, where upon entering we were asked if there was anything we could be helped with. I replied, saying not really, the little one just wants to set all of the iPads as a picture of her pulling a silly face.
At this point I almost expected to be ejected for wasting their time, but no, the 'Genius' suggested that he race us down the other side of the table, but then a proper customer asked to be shown something.

However Erin set about becoming the face of Apple....


Apparently they aren't allowed to ask you to leave either... so that will be my next one to try out at closing time.... ;)

Sensational fun!

Paul

Sunday 28 April 2013

Saturday 27 April 2013

Day 117 Last Light

It wasn't even close to last light, and yes its another sky photo, but give me a freaking break ;)


And thats it for tonight...


Paul

Friday 26 April 2013

Day 116 Head in the Stars

Had a very cool day today, got to chill with some good friends, have some good food and watched a decent movie.
Oh and I got a new hat. Todays blog is going to come across as a bit of a sales pitch, and for that I make no apologies.

Ali Cree, runs Jersey53's UK operation and this company produce some absolutely top notch apparel for all sports. There is pretty much nothing they cannot produce for a sporting team, from bespoke underwear, through to hats and pretty much everything in between. Ali works so hard to make sure every single one of his customers is a happy one, even at one point in the last 12 months driving a 200+ mile round trip to ensure that a team had socks in time for a game.

So if you are looking for some teamwear on new strips for your team, or even a one off item, give him a look. I'm sure you won't regret it.

(https://www.facebook.com/jersey53uk or @jersey53uk on twitter)


Both the jersey and the stretch fit cap in the image are J53 products made for the North East Dekstars ball hockey team, whom I have written about before I'm sure.... (www.nedekstars.co.uk)

Have a great day people, I know I have.

Paul

Thursday 25 April 2013

Day 115 Upwardly Mobile

Today I visited the guys at Gospelware (@gospelware on twitter), who in their own words, eat, sleep and breath Mobile. Although I can confirm that they also eat cake. They are a lovely bunch of guys who made me feel very welcome and were very easy to shoot (although apparently not as easy to shoot as me coming out the lift... thanks Michael.)
One of the things that you realise very quickly is that whilst they are a very hard working bunch of guys there is a definite undercurrent of mischief within the studio. The Nerf guns littered around the place are testament to that.

Todays image shows that they can look busy as well though, but don't be fooled it was all a set up...



I have to admit, if I was clever enough and talented enough I would love to work at Gospelware. Unfortunately I am neither so I will have to make do with enjoying the things which I do well!

Until tomorrow....

Paul

Oh go on then one more image.... this is co founder Michael Dunn (@michaeljohndunn) enjoying the fruits of his labour!


Wednesday 24 April 2013

Day 114 Round and Round

They say the most stressful things in life are weddings and moving house.
I would like to add teaching a reluctant child to ride a bike. Its strange, she seems to have developed a real phobia of it. I'm tempted to reach out and ask someone to teach her rather than Christine and I but then I will feel like I have failed as a father. Surely that is one of a fathers main roles.
So for now I'll put up with the bad backs and the tantrums, (thats just from Christine) and keep on plugging away, sometime soon, I hope to bring you a picture of her cycling away on her own.

But for now....




Have a good day tomorrow, I know I will, its Payday!

Paul

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Day 113 Words and stuff.

I don't read enough these days. Probably because I spend half of my life behind a computer looking at numbers. Although that doesn't make sense either.
I got this book out the library about 10 days ago, and so far I have read 47 pages. Normally I'd be finished it by now, that's no slight on the book, more on my ever diminishing attention span.
I will finish it before it goes back though! I will I will I will!

Off to read another page now!

Paul


Monday 22 April 2013

Day 112 Dr's orders

This is another one of those days where the picture is lead by the blog.
As you may have noticed I've been a little under the weather recently and the latest development is a hacking unproductive cough.
I once went to the Dr's with something similar and received the following advice. Don't bother with cough syrup, there are 2 things to ease a cough, the first I wouldn't really recommend the second I most definitely would. They are Heroin and Dark Chocolate!

So before bed tonight I am going to eat this bar of dark chocolate and then take the other piece of advice I recently acquired which is to rub Vicks vapour rub on my feet.

Until next time

Paul

Sunday 21 April 2013

Day 111 Down at the Bay

Sunday morning, a morning for lie ins and lazing around the house... apparently not. This morning we were down at Whitley Bay beach for a family walk by 8am. After the warmth of yesterday it was certainly bracing. People always warn you that once you have kids then you never get a lie in ever again, they aren't joking. So if you have your first on the way then make sure you make the most of long lies, and also just doing whatever the hell you want.
Not that I would change it for the world, occasionally I would just farm her out to other people though.
So what did we see on our walk. I've always kind of liked the ice cream shop at Whitley Bay and felt that it was quite photogenic, hopefully I have captured this despite the shutters being down.


I also had a little miander along the rocks on the beach just as the tide started coming in and shot this second picture which for some reason I like.


Now to sit down relax and try to watch some sport without too many interruptions.

Have a great day people.


Paul

Saturday 20 April 2013

Day 110 Crabbing without the Crabs

Off out early this morning to try and catch some crabs, the plan was to bring you a lovely picture of a Crab similar to the hedgehog image from a few days ago.
But it was an epic fail of a Crabbing expedition. Firstly when trying to get a little bit of water in the bucket, I actually filled the bucket, which lead to the line I had used to lower the bucket into the river snapping. So I was down to 1 crabline and no bucket.
And the crabs just were not biting at all.
So what do you do to pass the time whilst waiting for crabs? Why you jump around and generally just have a bit of fun!



You can jump campy....

or you can pretend your daughter is beating you up....

and still look camp!!!
So the crabbing outcome was poor but the fun levels were still high.

Laters guys and gals

Paul

Friday 19 April 2013

Day 109 - Things that go bump in the night

Last night I slept in a real castle. It was pretty awesome. We had been warned beforehand that there is a lot of reported paranormal activity in the castle. Gina's hairdresser had told us in the morning how she had overheard a man at reception the week before asking to be moved rooms as there had been a face at their window asking to be let in, and I'm guessing it wasn't just a cold dog walker.
We were on the top floor of the castle so if any faces had appeared at our windows I would be truly weirded out. To minimise the chance of this I got a little bit tipsy, and apparently threw some pretty wicked shapes on the dance floor.
Christine and I both had an awesome day at Paul and Gina's wedding and it was great to be a part of their day.

So today's picture is an image of a rather moody looking Lumley Castle.


Have a good weekend people, and once again all the best to Mr and Mrs King

Paul

Thursday 18 April 2013

Day 108 Fit for a King

Today is all about one thing, the wedding of my good friends Paul King and Gina Frizell.
It has been a fun day so far and as I write this we are taking a short break in proceedings to recharge our batteries before the evening shenanigans commence.
As you would imagine there have been a whole lot of photos taken today, and a whole lot of fun had with the bride and groom, such is the benefit of having a close relationship to those getting wed.

Todays image is not my favourite image from today, but is one that embodies the darker more mischievous side of the groom, giving it a bit of Brucey while we try and take some photo's!

Here's to you Paul and Gina King!


All the best

Paul

Wednesday 17 April 2013

Day 107 Hello Douglas

Some days the picture comes to you. I was going to treat myself to a lovely cupcake from an amazing local bakery, but unfortunately Wednesday seems to be Tart day, and I didn't fancy a tart.
So I was back to square one, until... I drive into the street and see this handsome little fella, just tottering round in the middle of the street.
It was quite nice to see cars slowing down and go round him. So I quickly grabbed the camera, shot off a couple of frames and then left him to get on with his day.


Have a nice day folks.

Paul

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Day 106 - Almost summer

I played golf today again, and I don't have a golfing photo for you, thats because the big news is that I played in short sleeves, and I wasn't cold! So I've tried to do something that looks a bit summery.

These beach huts have already featured heavily in the blog, but time for them to appear again.
You are getting 2 pictures mainly because I couldn't decide which I liked better.



Tomorrow I'll be charging all the kit and getting ready for the highlight of the week, I will however make sure I take time out to sort out the picture of the day.

Paul

Monday 15 April 2013

Day 105 The first jump

There is a whole jumpography movement out there in the big bad world, so I will tip my hat to these wonderful people throughout the year with a few jump photo's.

Today I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a lens from a friend of mine for the wedding I have on Thursday. So I spent a little time getting used to the lens, which is absolutely gorgeous, but unfortunately slightly out of my price range for just now. What can I say I'm a sucker for those little red rings.
The cheaper option is for me to buy a cheaper lens and for Christine to slip a bright red elastic band over the end so I can pretend!

Anyway, todays picture.


Yes you see that right, there is a bit of blue sky there, and some sunshine too.... long may it last

Paul

Sunday 14 April 2013

Day 104 Spell and Eat

Not much to say about this really, thats me off work for another 7 days and this time I have the bonus that the child isn't off and and I also have a very, very good mates wedding to look forward too.

In the mean time.....


Enjoy work tomorrow suckers!

Paul

Saturday 13 April 2013

Friday 12 April 2013

Day 102 Splashing good fun

Well I've survived so far, all limbs are still intact and I have made it out of bed. So the dreaded manflu hasn't claimed me as a victim yet.
Today I have been dropping stuff into a cup of water again, with varying results. I can't decide which of the three images I dislike the least (yeah I'm not very happy with the outcome but am putting it down to being unwell)

Choose for yourself.....




Back to work tomorrow after 8 days off so I'm sure that will pose its own challenges to the blog.

Have a good weekend folks

Paul

Thursday 11 April 2013

Day 101 Harriet Plopper

It had to happen eventually, after 100 days I've managed to find myself at deaths door with Man Flu. I'm not sure if I will pull through, so I thought I'd better get an image in today before my pending death.  To make matters worse my daughter is off so rather than watching sport all day, or TV that I would enjoy, I have been forced into watching Harry Potter. I have however managed a trade off and after lunch we are watching The Empire Strikes back.
Also to get my own back for todays picture Erin kindly agreed to pretend to be Harriet Plopper, and in a nice bonus for me, I got to draw on her face. I'm not sure a Sharpie was the best idea, but thats a problem for mum.


If this is to be my last blog post and the Man Flu claims me as a victim then I hope you have enjoyed the ride.

Farewell people of the internet
cough cough
Paul

Wednesday 10 April 2013

Day 100 Life in 3D

After freezing yesterday and taking over 3 hours to warm up again today's adventure is a day out at the cinema.
I was going to just do kids club, because you know it's cheap, well turns out not quite so cheap anymore since both adult and child now get charged. To see a movie that is over a year old. So I decided not to bother with that. After all it's an Orange Wednesday, so it would be rude to not take advantage of this. So for the 2 of us it still cost over a tenner to go and see 'The Croods' in 3D. I can see why I normally just wait for the DVD.
So off to pound world we snuck for our sweets and snacks. I thought I would treat myself to a hotdog, but partly because of the queues but mainly because of the price (I could get a carvery dinner cheaper) I decided against it.
I can't review the movie as I'm posting this as we sit waiting for it to start, but I'm sure you will agree Erin and I look really cool in our 3D glasses!

Happy days,

Paul

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Day 99 - Wooly Jumpers

Well Christine headed back to work today, which means I am in charge of the sprog for the rest of the week. And to try and prevent world war 3 taking place I am hoping to head out each day.
Today was the turn of Gibside Hall, which was very pleasant if somewhat cold. but I have been itching to get a picture of a new lamb since its that time of year and as we have already discovered I am nothing if not clichéd.
So the lambs at Gibside gave me the ideal opportunity to tick this one off the list.

Some lambs are happier than others!
I know that the farmers tag their sheep for identification purposes, but I do often wonder if they hold Farmer Bingo sessions, if so I really hope they don't put them in a giant ball and spin them round.

Anyway thats me for the day, I'm still trying to defrost.

Paul

Monday 8 April 2013

Day 98 Tuppence a bag.....

Erin has over the last year or so started taking a real interest in the birds we get in our garden. I think now that we actually get live ones rather than just the dead ones the lodger used to bring us, they are a bit more interesting.
So about a month ago my mother asked if she would be interested more in getting a bird feeding station for the garden than in an easter egg, I said possibly not as she is a child, but do it anyway as she would end up with more than enough chocolates at easter.
So after a weekend away today we arrived back home and the first port of call was to get the bird feeder set up, then Erin sat and patiently awaited the arrival of her first birds.

Erin was sure it would be a blue tit or a robin as they were the most common visitors at grandma, but no we seem to attracted a large volume of thrush's.

Erin doesn't care though, its something different!



And there is no way that bird food is only tuppence a bag!!

Paul

Sunday 7 April 2013

Day 97 Soccerball

Today I took Erin and Christine to their first ever Rangers game. We went with my brother and my father. And the Rangers put in a champions performance seeing off Queens Park, 4-1 at the home of Scottish football, Hampden Park.
Erin really enjoyed the singing and the noise, especially when Rangers scored.
I think she may want to go to a game at Ibrox next season.

All in all another great family weekend.

Now for a roast beef dinner!





Saturday 6 April 2013

Day 96 By Royal Appointment.

Another day another golf course and another sky.
The Grand National is about to start so I'm not going to write much other than to say, today's picture is from the magnificent Royal Troon golf course. Oh and can you believe I didn't bring my clubs because my brother told me it was going to rain, I've only seen about 5 clouds all day!!!



Oh go on then, here's a sneaky shot of a lucky (or skilful if you prefer) splashing out of one of the greenside bunkers at the famous Postage Stamp hole.


Good luck if you have a bet on, enjoy your winnings!

Paul

Friday 5 April 2013

Day 95 Western Promise

I've headed across to the west coast of Scotland for the weekend, which is always great, some time with the family, and it gives me a chance to shoot sunsets rather than sunrise. The wife and I went for a walk along the beach and by the time we got back sunset had given way pretty much to night. So another chance to shoot a star scape. It was such a clear night it would have been a shame not too.

So today I give you a sunset, and a star scape. I really do spoil you guys! But then images recently have been a bit poor so I guess I owe you really!

Sunset over Arran

and about an hour or so later......

Doonfoot Stars
Have a good weekend people.

Paul

Thursday 4 April 2013

Day 94 - Night skies

I believe I said a while ago that one of the things I wanted to get better at was night photography. Well I'm going to define that a little more. Star scapes is something I would like to get a whole lot better at.
So today's image is kind of a starter image for where I'm at now and hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to share something much more stunning.

Today was my last day at work for 8 days too so hopefully I will be able to share some much more grand photo's over the next week.


Lessons learnt, 1) I either need a sturdier tripod or need to ground the one I have more securely, 2) Don't have any street lights in shot, 3) try to avoid planes taking off from the airport, and 4) keep on trying!

Have a good one, if I don't post for a couple of days don't worry, I will still be snapping away.

Paul

Wednesday 3 April 2013

Day 93 Blergh

Today has been totally rubbish. However at least I get to finish the day with this.....

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Day 92 - Precious Moments

Tonight I got to do something that I don't get to do very often on a work night.
Luck conspired in my favour that I got to put my daughter to bed tonight, and read her her story....


Sweet Dreams everyone.

Paul

Monday 1 April 2013

Day 91 - Enough for a pair of trousers?

I saw a very strange thing today, so decided I had to take a picture of it....


It was only a little bit, but it was definitely there!

Enjoy it, fingers crossed its here to stay for a while!

Paul