It is very sunny and very peaceful here, and as Becca rightly said; “I think this is going to be one of the best holidays ever”.

Hope everyone who reads this is well and also enjoying some sunshine wherever they are.

I will be here for the next week ….and loving the fresh air, fresh seafood, and welsh country life!

OK …I have been very slack on updating this, but have been super busy with my job and also bobbing along with Becca, which is excellent :-)

Will try and get to this more often …after all, this whole medium and content therein is my job after all.

… long live the red cups! For those that do no know, I am talking about the festive red cups within Starbucks. I am a big fan of their work, but this year they made some mugs, which match the red cups … so now I have these at home, they will never not be there :-)

First big try out for the new kitchen, and with help from many others in relation to what to do and when (thanks Becca, Mother and Jamie Oliver), Sunday lunch, Chez Mark, seemed to pass off without event … although it does seem that every item of crockery, cutlery and glassware were used to deliver the whole thing!

(click here to see the pictures on Flickr)

This is the question which sprung to mind this morning, whilst helping a lady up from the gap between the train and the platform at Clapham Junction.

She had tried to squeeze herself into a train carriage, which obviously being 6″ 5′, I had not a chance in hell of getting on. As the ‘crowd’ on the train moved around a little before the train doors were shutting, she basically popped off the ledge and down the gap.

How important can getting that train be to someone? We manged to pull her out of the gap very quickly. She was fine and had not dropped anything, but was a little shaken. The next train was 2 minutes away, and we were the first in the ‘huddle’ to get on, so we managed to get into Waterloo 2 minutes behind the previous train.

I never have the; ‘oh, I can squeeze on there’ thought, as I am not the smallest guy around, but I see this kind of thing every morning, and therefore it was only time before someone did fall back out of the train. Do you blame the train company for not running enough carriages or trains? … or do you look at the person who thinks getting to the office/interview/shop/wherever on time is a life or death decision?

So, onwards and upwards into 2008 … 2007 was a busy and changing year for me, and for some of those around me, so I hope that 2008 is just as productive, but hopefully a little bit less hectic.

NYE was great in Bath with Richie and Ven (piccies here) and everyone there also looking forward to 2008 with anticipation. For Ric a new chapter begins in the world of wine, on distant shores. For Richie and Ven, they are now officially Bath residents, no longing owning a place in London, and therefore looking forward to fresh air and a great life … and for Sprocket (Richie and Ven’s dog) then more rolling around in fresh manure seems to get him going, judging by this mornings performance!
Happy New Year to everyone who knows me, and all my best wishes to each and every one of you …

I have visited Lisbon 3 times, and every time I love finding new, interesting and eye-opening things to do and see (it is good for that). This visit is based around a camera, designer hotel (think I am the only person in it actually), 3 books (The Gum Thief, Exit Music and A Short History of Tractors in the Ukraine) and a thirst to do things a little different than I normally do, and slow down.

So, I am off to see Benfica v Celtic in the Champions League tomorrow evening, and then the following evening off to the Teatro Nacional to see their production of Sweeney Todd … in between, a number of galleries, museums and generally sitting in coffee bars/bars/restaurants watching the world of Lisbon going by. UPDATE: Now also seeing the ballet at the Cultural Centre tomorrow as well, their production of Malgre Nous, Nous Etions La

See what I have been up to via Flickr, or here, as the pictobrowser will update from the set.

(no pictobrowser for you Facebook crew)

Out this evening to see the new Christian Slater/Helen Baxendale play, Swimming with Sharks, at the Vaudeville theatre, and whilst waiting on The Strand, I watched the world go by and realised that this time every day is when ‘transition’ occurs on the streets of London.

It might have had something to do with where I was waiting (outside The Savoy),  but there was a great mix of London life right there, and a microsom of the people who you pass by everyday on the streets of London.

During the 15 minutes I was there, here is a snapshot of the people who wandered by:

• Group of males off to a ball/black tie do in the Savoy, all very excited, and also included the mandatory gent in full kilt.
• Japanese schoolgirls returning from a large shopping trip (judging by the bags), all chatting and smiling, probably about there day on the town
• Groups rushing down the pavement, weaving through people, on their way home from the office
• A group of ladies off out onto the town, dressed up and ready to hit the bars/restaurants of Covent Garden
• 2 drunken, old businessmen, who rolled out of the Coal Hole and onto The Strand, bumping into a trendy youth in a world of his own, due to his iPod
• A courier riding along the bus lane, hurling abuse at all and sundry, obviously late for something
• Trendy, Mediterranean family, who seemed to be ‘promanading’ down The Strand, probably before they went to dinner someplace …

… which was then what I did, and it was the start of a lovely evening out in London, and it is only Monday.

One thing about my new flat is that it needed a new kitchen (the current one has some lovely coloured tiles and a work surface about the size of a postage stamp), so it was with glee today that I opened the door to the kitchen survey guy and his 3D design software.

Looks like I will have a shiny new place to cook food for my friends and family in the coming weeks, with all the required appliances and also some nice granite on the top.

Getting more domesticated as the days pass as I do more things around the flat. Yesterday was the bathroom door lock and sourcing some custom made floating shelves. The day before, a TV cabinet, where to get a wardrobe and also working through what to do with the bathroom (remove bath or keep it?).

Keeping me busy and the mind and body active.

I have lived here for over 12 years, and there are some places, sites and views, which people pay thousands of pounds/dollars/euros/yen to come and see.

So, to test out the new pictobrowser I thought I would use my ‘London Town’ set from Flickr. Will perhaps be adding to this over the coming weeks as I bounce around town picking up interior design tips/furniture/paint etc.