Winter Wonderland Hyde Park London

From Winter Wonderland - London December 2008

Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland (official site here) runs from November 22nd to January 4th. Among the main attractions is the giant wheel, ice skating rink, German Winter market and a host of smaller funfare type rides.

The Observation Wheel gets you 200feet up, and a ride lasts about 13 minutes - we got 3 rotations. The weather was fairly good for us and we could see all the way to the Gherkin in the east.

From Winter Wonderland - London December 2008

You should probably book the ice skating in advance. We got to the ticket office at midday and the next slot was 7.45pm. Luckily we met someone who had surplus tickets.

In general I would say its not very good value. Rides are generally 3 tokens per child and 4 per adult, and each token is £1. The ice skating is quite good value as you get about 1 hour on the ice.

Lake Tahoe

From Lake Tahoe Dec08
Lake Tahoe and its basin is the result of a geological fault which has caused the earth to slip vertically downwards between two mountain ranges, the Sierras to the west, and the Carson Range to the East. Initially the lake had a northern outflow, but volcanic activity blocked this outlet, and the water level rose. By the last ice age the water was approximately 800ft higher than today, which you can see when you arrive from the south because the southerly flat area is where they've built the airport.

Eventually the water level reached a level which allowed a new outlet, and this is the Truckee River, which initially flows north before wending its way east and into Nevada.

The average level of the lake is 6225 feet above sea level. During July 14-18 1907 the lake rose to its highest recorded level of 6,231.26 feet, while the lowest level on record is is 6220.26 feet on November 30, 1992. Today the maximum level is set by law and is 6229.1 feet. There is a dam at Tahoe City at 6223ft which sets the 'rim' of the lake.

As of Dec 2008 the level is 3ft above datum, the datum being 6220ft, so the water level is 6223ft above sea level, which means very little water is leaving via the Truckee River.

This page www.boattahoe.com/lakeleveldata.htm has water level history. When I was last there in July 2005 I can see the water was at about 5.5ft above datum, or 6225.5ft. This is a graph of 2005's level:

graph borrowed from above site, data from USGS. Heights are above datum (see above)

Facts and figures from Wikipedia:
Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the United States, with a maximum depth of 1,645 feet (501 m), trailing only Oregon's Crater Lake at 1,949 ft (594 m). Tahoe is also the 16th deepest lake in the world, and the fifth deepest in average depth. It is about 22 mi (35 km) long, 12 mi (19 km) wide, 72 mi (116 km) of shoreline and a surface area of 191 square miles (490 km2).

A curious side effect of the water being so deep is that the bottom is actually 92ft below Carson City, but this will change because the lake is filling in. If it continues to fill in at the current rate of 1ft every 3200 years, then assuming the cessation of mountain building remains, the lake will become a meadow.

Sunrise at Lake Tahoe

Had a spare day, so went to Lake Tahoe. Decided to see in the sunrise.

By way of preparation I used www.timeanddate.com to see where the sun would rise in the sky. Then I used Google Earth to plot the azimuth ie where the sun would rise. When I was there it showed

Dec 7, 2008 7:12 AM 4:51 PM 118° 241°

So thats east south east, and if we were at sea level, and we could see the horizon, means the sun would appear at around 7.10am. As it happens the sun came from behind the mountain at 7.25am. And it was rather cold at about 27°F!

Doozer of a hairstyle

What with all the dodgy mustaches going round due to Movember and yes I have one described by my nearest and dearest as looking like Dick Dastardly, its a funny time of the year for facial and head hair.

So there I was, walking down Oxford Street today, and I found myself behind someoe with a hairstyle that looked very much like a hat. Except it wasn't. The rings you can see are concentric cuts into the hair.

Like I said, a real doozer.

Guy Fawkes Night and Fireworks

Guy Fawkes (sometimes also known as Guido Fawkes) lived from 13 April 1570 to 31 January 1606) and has had a lasting impression on history. Thought he wasn't the leader of the Gunpowder Plot of November 1605, he was in charge of the explosives.

Here's how I took them.

Its been a busy 12 months!

October 30th 2008 marks the anniversary of my first blog post. The last 12 months have been quite busy with travel and photography.

I didn't know that I would add 3 countries to my list (HongKong, Canada and Ireland), or that I would go around the world in 6 days, or that I would fulfill a long standing ambition and see Mono Lake.

November 07 - San Francisco
February 08 - Zurich and Montreal
March 08 - San Francisco
April 08 - Hong Kong --> San Francisco --> London, Austria, Barcelona, Amsterdam
May 08 - Zurich
June 08 - San Francisco
July 08 - France
August 08 - Dublin
September 08 - Rhodes, Dublin, Zurich
October 08 - Zurich

Yes, I have a few airmiles!

Mono Lake

Normally I use Picasaweb to store and display my pictures and I was looking through some photographs from my visit to Mono Lake in order to tag them and use some of the funky new features.

This is one of the pictures I took.

Its a great place to go. Here are some more pictures from my visit. Try the new pop-out slide-show

Autumn

Such a great time of the year!


These trees seen near Uxbridge.


Quality is only so-so since I only had the N73 camera phone with me.

Barcelona

Earlier this year I got to go to Barcelona for the day. Yes a whole day. Not fair is it?

Even worse was that the flight was delayed, so no chances for photos before work, and the customer had plenty of work for me so no photos at lunchtime.

The result? Time only for 2 photos while walking to the taxi stand. And that was after the sun had gone down.


So here's the Gaudi building at night.

Dublin

Had an evening in Dublin, and in the few hours of reasonable light got a few photos.



The bridges on the Liffey feature of course.

There is so much building, as you can see from this panorama

From Dublin, Ireland

I was impressed with the GasWorks. Nice conversion!

From Dublin, Ireland

Clouds above London

Hi above London, while in the hold for Heathrow... as the sun is setting

High Above Switzerland

From Above Switzerland

Went to Zurich the other day, and at this time of the year the cloud tends to be low-lying in the valleys.

From Above Switzerland

As we climbed to cruising altitude got some nice views of the whole of Switzerland below. As we passed Basel the land gets less mountainous in the distance, the clouds get smoother, and the appearance is almost like the twilight cliffs and water.

Mulberry - Arromanche / Gold Beach

From Bayeux and Arromanche / Gold Beach

The beach at Arromanche / Gold Beach has some old decaying military relics, left over from the 2nd World War.

Its a powerful and bizarre juxtaposition, the holiday makers playing on the beach among the concrete, exercising their freedoms won by events that left the relics.

Read about them at wikipedia.

From Bayeux and Arromanche / Gold Beach

From Bayeux and Arromanche / Gold Beach

More Poppies

From widefield

Well I don't know about you, but I like poppies!

Panorama of London

From widefield

I used to have a customer in Chalk Farm, and it was nice getting the bus to Regents Park and then walking through the park to Chalk Farm because you get a great view of London.

Poppies

From widefield

Its always nice to see poppies. Here's a panorama of them. Taken near Amersham in Bucks UK.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society - panorama

From The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

While at the The Scotch Malt Whisky Society I did a panorama in the restaurant.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Found myself in Edinburgh, and the customer wanted to go to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society for lunch, well what could I do?




Its a really nice building both outside and inside, but then what do you expect in Edinburgh... gracious and elegant.

If this is your thing then the £100 for individual membership £85 if you are overseas (I wonder if England counts?) could well be the best bargain. And you can gift membership as well.

Here's the blurb from their web site:

"Freedom and whisky gang thegither" wrote Robert Burns over two hundred years ago. It's a sentiment we uphold.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society began life some twenty years ago when a group of friends clubbed together to buy a cask of fine malt whisky. It took a few years before they opened their doors wider and today the Society has three superb venues and over 20,000 members worldwide.

The Society remains true to its origins in camaraderie, retaining its personable and companionable atmosphere in its publications, events and premises. At the Society yours is the freedom to be yourself and make yourself at home. You don't even have to like malt whisky! Indeed, one of the joys of the Society is that enthusiasts blend easily with those who simply enjoy good company.

The Society's traditional home is in one of the oldest commercial buildings in Scotland - The Vaults in Leith, Edinburgh's bustling old port area."

Another semi-random photo

Here's a photo of Lancing College in West Sussex. Its a great looking place in a lovely part of the world. The river is the river Adur.

The London Underground

The BBC are saying the Tube is 150 years old... well so that would mean it started in 1858? The problem is that even the Tube's own web site says "but its history dates back to 1863 when the world's first underground railway opened in London" , and a brief bit of investigation shows that public service started on 10th January 1863.

So another 5 years to go then.

In the meantime, here's one of my favorite pictures of a Tube station, in fact Swiss Cottage, for no reason other than the lights on the escalator point upwards and give a lovely pattern on the ceiling.

One of the things that comes back to me again and again when I take photographs is that if you see it take it! Its possible it just won't be there even minutes later.

I took some more shots but something had changed, and now instead of the play of light on the ceiling... gone!


The BBC documentary described the great tragedy of the July 7th bombings.

I had a near miss. I'd just started working for a new company and I had to commute to Aldgate. It was my 4th day, and with a near 10 minute walk from Aldgate to the office, I had established that there were 2 ways to get there, but which was fastest?

I remember standing outside Aldgate tube station and looked at my watch. It said 8.51. I set off and walked to work.

Only later did I find out that at approximately 8.50 the Circle Line train behind mine was blown up, between Liverpool Street and Aldgate. I got on the Underground at Baker Street, so if I had been delayed just a few minutes at Baker Street...

Bayeux Cathedral

We were in Bayeux to see the Tapestry. As we got approached the city it soon became obvious that the Cathedral is one of the most fantastic in Europe!

From Bayeux and Arromanche / Gold Beach

Built to replace the previous wooden Cathedral which burnt down, it was built in the 1070s was consecrated on 14 July 1077 in the presence of William, Duke of Normandy and King of England.

From Bayeux and Arromanche / Gold Beach

Most of the texts say that it was here that William forced Harold Godwinson to take an oath to allow the Crown of England to pass to William, the breaking of which lead to the Norman conquest of England. If so then the oath was taken in the old Cathedral

Inside is just as amazing

Bayeux Tapestry

Being English I was only taught the Norman Conquest from one view. So it was really nice to go to Bayeux to see the Tapestry, and find the French version of events.

My first surprise was that the Tapestry is not per se about the Battle of Hastings. Its about what happens if you promise to do something, and then renege on your promise. Harold had promised to William that he would not accept the English crown from Edward, instead letting it pass to William. Harold reneged on his oath, Halleys comet put in an appearance (which was considered a sign of impending doom), and God's divine retribution was inevitable. And so Harold got his comeuppance.

You can see a quicktime VR of the Tapestry here.

Photography of the Tapestry is forbidden, so here's a photo of the museum.

From Bayeux and Arromanche / Gold Beach

The book we bought from the museum where the Tapestry is housed gave 3 more surprises:

- it says that its actually a tapestry because the design is not woven into the fabric. Its actually an embroidery.

- its says that while the Tapestry was commissioned by Bishop Odo (and William's half brother) the Bishop of Bayeux it was made in England, in Kent in fact.

- it seems that some of the Tapestry has been lost over the years.

The entry fee includes an audio tour available in mutliple languages, including Australian .

I found the pace a little too fast, and a pause facility would have been nice.

Shad Thames, London

From widefield

When the Shad Thames warehouses were completed in 1873, it was the largest warehouse facility and one of the most prosperous areas of London.

The warehouses (the largest is Butlers Wharf) were used to store tea, coffee and spices after unloading from ships.

Gradually though the ships had to start uploading further and further east, and the activity declined. The last warehouse closed in 1972. For the next 20 Shad Thames was one of the most rundown areas of Central London.

Now it has been redeveloped into bars, flats and restaurants and is a nice place to wander around.

Semi-random photo

The girls doing the Bollywood dancing had a break.

London in the Sun

It doesn't always rain in London... so to prove it here's another from the archives when I saw a film crew filming a Bollywood dance scene.

London in the Rain

Its a rainy day in London, so here's a pic from the archives - Tower Bridge in the rain.

Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm Museum

Housing the largest collection of maritime aircraft in Europe, the Fleet Air Arm Museum Yeovilton is a great day out.

But they have other aircraft as well, like the Concorde 002, which was the first British built Concorde and was used as a research aircraft.

From Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm Museum

When I was there they had a Vulcan bomber. Checking the exhibit list now it seems they don't have this anymore, but they do have the carrier display. The VR tours are really quite excellent: Hall 1, Hall 2, Hall 3, Hall 4.

From Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm Museum

Current asset list

Albatros (replica) ('D5397')
Short 184 (8359) - (side gallery)
Sopwith Camel (replica) ('B6401')
Sopwith Triplane (replica) ('N5492')
Fokker DR1 (scale replica) ('102/17')
Sopwith Baby ('N2078')
Sopwith Pup (replica) ('N6452')
Fairey Albacore (N4389)
Grumman Avenger ECM6B (XB446)
Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka II (BAPC 58)
Fairey Barracuda II (nose section) (DP872)
Fairey Fulmar (N1854)
Grumman Hellcat II (KE209)
North American Harvard III (EX976)
Supermarine Seafire F17 (SX137)
Corsair KD 431 - A Ground Breaking Project
De Havilland Sea Vampire
Fairey Gannet AEW3
Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer S2B
Vickers Supermarine Scimitar F1
Westland Wessex HU5
De Havilland Sea Vixen FAW2
Hawker Sea Hawk
McDonnell Phantom FG1
Vickers Supermarine Attacker F1
Blackburn Buccaneer S1
Westland Wessex HU5
BAC Concorde
British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS1
Handley Page HP115
Hawker P1127
De Havilland Vampire T22
British Aircraft Corporation 221
Bristol Scout D
Westland Wyvern TF1
Hawker Hunter T8M
Hunting Jet Provost T3A (XN462)
Bell UH1H Iroquois (AE422)
de Havilland Vampire T22 (XA129)
Douglas Skyraider AEW1 (WT121)
Fairey Barracuda II (DP872)
Gloster Meteor T7 (WS103)
Blackburn NA39 (XK488)
Northrop Chukar (XW994)
Percival Sea Prince T1 (WP313)
Supermarine 510 (VV106)
Westland Wasp HAS1 (XT778)
Westland Wessex HU5 (XS508)
Westland Whirlwind HAR1 (XA864)
Westland Dragonfly HR5 (VX595)
de Havilland Sea Venom FAW21 (WW138)
Westland Gazelle HT2 (XW864)
Beech T34C Mentor (0729)
Benson Gyrocopter (G-AZAZ)
Focke Achgelis FA330A-1 (100545)
Gloster Meteor TT20 (WM292)
Hawker P1052 (VX272)
Hiller HTE2 (XB480)
Northrop MQM36 Shelduck (XS574)
Saro P531 (XN334)
Super Eagle Hang Glider (G-BGWZ)
Westland Sioux AH1 (XT176)
Westland Wasp HAS1 (XT427)
de Havilland Tiger Moth T2 (XL717)
Fairey Gannet COD4 (XA466)
Westland Whirlwind HAS7 (XL853)
Hawker Sea Hawk F1 (WF219) (tail section only)
Westland Whirlwind HAR3 (XG574)
Saro P531 (XN332)
British Aerospace Sea Harrier F/A2 (XZ499)
Douglas Skyraider AEW1 (WV106)
Fairey Barracuda II (LS931) (items of wreckage)
de Havilland Sea Vixen FAW1 (XJ481)
Westland Whirlwind HAS7 (XG594)
Westland Wessex HAS3 (XP142)
Fairey Firefly TT1 (Z2033)
Westland Wasp (XS527)

Minorca

From Minorca

The Mediterranean island of Menorca has had a varied past including being rules by the British for most of the period from 1708 and 1802. There are quite a few English derived words in Menorquí (a variation of Catalan) such "grevi" (gravy), "xumaquer" (shoemaker), "boinder" (bow window) and "xoc" (chalk).

Among other acts, the British moved the capital from its ancient location in Ciutadella (pronounced suit-a-dell-a) to Maó (pronounced ma-hon), mainly because it had one of the world's largest natural deep water harbors.

From Minorca

Places to see include Monte Toro or El Toro which is the highest point at 1174ft / 358 m. There is a monastery at the top, and the large statue of Jesus.

Mammoth Lakes

I'd liked to have had more time at Mammoth Lakes and Mammoth Mountain. I didn't know what was there, and in fact was just touring around after seeing the sunrise at South Tufa, Mono Lake.


I drove to as far as I could and got views of quite a lot of the long valley caldera.

There were two things I missed out on, which I'll fix later: Devils Postpile and Hot Creek. Well its what care hire was invented for!

Yosemite - the must-see bits

Yosemite has some work famous things to see. Here's 3, presented in black and white in the style of Ansel Adams.

Half Dome

Mirror Lake

Yosemite Falls

Sunrise at Mono Lake

You can see the first light on the Sierras, and the white plant in the foreground is a plant on which the lakes salts have deposited. And of course you have the tufa. Worth getting up at 4.45am for!