Come to Cumbria with a Brolly

Nuclear submarines are built over there in those large sheds (next to B and Q as it happens). Barrow also offers an Italian restaurant and non stop wind and rain.

This is the ulimate in model railway layouts for "grown" men - the Ravensglass and Eskdale intercity .

Dalegarth Force - sylvan beauty is here in Eskdale.

The exciting excursion delivered by the Tomtom on goat track mode between Ravensglass and Windermere - believed to be the Hardknott pass followed by the Wrynose pass.

Short Brothers enjoyed building flying boats at Rochester on the Medway in Kent so the Government told them to move production to Belfast out of range of German bombers. Following the catastrophic blitz of Belfast, Shorts opened a factory at Windermere!

Nikos Tours (a division of Slater-Nazi Travelodge Enterprises LLC) organised a long bank Holiday weekend in Cumbria based in that depressing dump otherwise known as Barrow in Furness. True to form it rained everyday but we all enjoyed watching telly and catching up with episodes of the Office whilst wringing our socks out.

The best place for caravans - in a museum. This early 1930's mock Tudor example cost the same as two average houses, weighed 2 tons and is now displayed at the Holker Hall Motor Museum.

Saddle Sore in Vienna

The borrowed KTM does not, unfortunately, have an internal combustion engine: View of old Vienna from the woods.

The swimming pool ship on the Donau Kanal.

Free to view modern ballet resembling martial art sign language projected through the drizzle.

On the beach - the Marzipans on their hols.

Lunch in a gasometer

Dog on siesta

grass

Hot water factory

Pythagoras never visited Knutsford

No sign of any right angles in this lot

A Weekend Across the Solent

I manage to choose the least appealing angle from which to photograph the holiday cottage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert - Osborne House

A pretty babushka mirrors an angel


Prince Albert the beloved demonstrates his taste in bronze garden ornamentation

Nikos takes a seasonal dip in the Solent

An unwelcome site for early navigators provides food for underwater archaeologists

The retired man from the Aviva ad has traded in his dull wife and Triumph twin for something prettier and bigger

The Bembridge Harbour meteorological office provides an accurate synopsis

IKEA's first floating store provides residents of the Isle of Wight with Billy bookcases and multipacks of night light candles

You Lot Asked for It

You lot have got it.

(apologies Bobskoot and Baron - you both clearly have good taste and I'm grateful that you show your appreciation)

Feedback from my post of the beautiful temple of Poseidon suggested that you felt that the place was unfinished, had concrete reinforcement bars sticking out of the roof and suggestions were offered variously indicating that:

Affer wants UPVC windows

Bikerted feels the need for solar panels (very eco but there isn't much pollution around Cape Sounion)

Little Miss Montieandme seeks stone effect IKEA deco

Well here you are my friends:-

By the pediments of almighty Zeus - this building is ugly!

Making Progress

Can I be mistaken, a car park in Crewe on a Sunday morning and not a rain cloud in sight over Pets at Home?

Third lesson of Advanced Motorcycling and I'm told how and where to overtake.

The problem is how does one overtake without breaking the speed limit - mostly 50mph on the bike sanitised Cheshire A roads: To err is an instant failure in the test - to not to be seen to be making progress is subject to failure too.

Next session will be how to carry out an advanced ride on motorways. It seems that the issue here is that at a legal 70mph we will be relegated to the slow lane err sorry, lane 1.

The Mondeo driver in a blue uniform is having a "word" with the bloke wearing leather. The rumour in the tea and butty queue is that he was only riding at 90 in a 50 mph limit.