Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal.

The Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal.

Bridge 58 and the view from Bridge 58.

Cannes.

Cannes. Morning.

The quality of the light is wonderful at that time of day.

Tegernsee.

Tegernsee. Beautiful and civilised.

Monte Carlo.

Lighting up time at Monte Carlo.

Llandegfedd Reservoir.

Llandegfedd Reservoir.

The Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal.

The Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal. The Star Bridge.

This is about 2.5 miles north of Pontymoile Basin, and an enjoyable walk in summer. Just down the road, is the Star Inn. This establishment serves excellent lunches and  beers. 

The Cyclades.

Ios. Morning.

The Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal.

The Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal.

This canal is one of the wonders of Wales, in my view. It stretches from Newport to Brecon, but the part that I am most familiar with is from Pontypool to Abergavenny. This is a wonderful walk in summer: an almost completely flat fourteen miles with something to look at around every bend. And no motorways or industries nearby, just pure Welsh countryside all the way. I have done the complete walk four times and am planning to do it again. I recommend leaving your car at Pontymoile basin near Pontypool, then walking to Abergavenny, and getting the train or the bus back to Pontypool (please be aware that the canal is a mile or two outside Abergavenny, and you may want to get a taxi into town) . Or the reverse. However, the first suggestion is best on a sunny day, since, if you start early, the sun will be behind you all the way. If this is too much for you, then walk as far as Star Bridge, and back. You can have lunch in the Star Inn, or do as I do: take a picnic lunch and have it on one of the picturesque bridges. You can also hire a boat at Goytre Wharf, and eat in the Italian resturant there.

 I'll post a few more canal shots in due course. http://www.brecon-beacons.com/brecon-monmouth-canal.htm

The Jungfrau.

The Jungfrau from The Sphinx.

 (The cables are lightning conductors.)

Cardiff Bay.

Since the construction of the barrage, Cardiff Bay has been a wonderful amenity, not only for Wales, but also for the UK.

The Jungfrau Observatory.

In the Jungfrau Observatory. Not suitable for vertigo sufferers.

The Eifel Tower.

Paris.



The Jungfrau Observatory.

The view from the Jungfrau Observatory.

The train journey up to the observatory from the village shown in this shot, is one of the great European experiences. The line passes through the Eiger mountain, and, on its way, the train stops to let you look out through windows cut into the North Face. This is definitely a must-do before you die.

Geneva 1997

Geneva. Morning.

Pelican

I have now published Pelican on Amazon. When I was told this story by one of the surviving characters, I was astounded. I thought it was the greatest escape story I had ever heard, and I felt I had to tell it to the world. Now, I have done that. I simply hope I have done it justice. I dedicate it to the man I have called Al Eckman. (This was not his real name, of course.)

Rest in peace, great venturer...

(Even though some years have passed since these events took place, I have had, in the interests of international relations, public face, personal feelings and, indeed, diplomacy, to leave some elements of this story deliberately vague. I have also had to include small amounts of disinformation. However, intelligent readers will have no difficulty in filling in the gaps, as it were, and picturing, indeed, the whole story. My main hope is that this book will prove a fitting epitaph to Al Eckman. I also hope that, sometime in the future, Hollywood will do its duty and produce a fitting tribute to this incredible man.

Where are you Mr Spielberg....?)

You can download the first chapter of this story free from Amazon. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pelican-ebook/dp/B0067M89DA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323072886&sr=8-1

Cannes

French beaches are fun.

Coming back from Hong Kong

                                I wouldn't like to live down there. Some people have very hard lives.

 

Hong Kong night.

A view from my bedroom in Hong Kong.

Tegernsee

A house at Tegernsee (one of my favourite European places). 

I've been past this house a number of times, and often wondered who lives in it.

My part of the world.8.

The Skirrid, from one of my favourite parking spots.