Routemaster

Dear overseas based family - I took this today to remind you of home. Rumours of the demise of the traditional London Bus, the 'Routemaster' are slightly exaggerated. Mayor Livingstone kindly allowed a small fleet to remain, to service the heritage route from Trafalgar Square to the Tower of London, which happens to run right past my office. Sometimes I even look up from my computer and wave at the folks on the top deck of a passing number 15. And in a small way I'm doing my little bit for the British tourism industry, after that daft man the other day said he wouldn't let his party of American school kids come to London because of the risk. Remember potential visitors to Britain - No one has ever blown up a Routemaster. You're more at risk of falling off the back steps and under a passing taxi. Have a nice day.

Gran Canaria

OK, so now I can explain why it's been so quiet on the blog recently. We took a winter break to The Canaries. Actually it was only for a week and other explanations include too much going on at work, not enough time to play and sundry similar excuses. But at least I can show you some piccies to give you a flavour:

We went to Tenerife a couple of years back, the highlight being Mount Teide, the volcano in the middle of that island. We loved the place. Gran Canaria is rugged and attractive in its own way, particularly as we went in spring when everything was still green. But it wasn't quite as enjoyable, so here's a picture I took of a snow-capped Mount Teide, from the centre of Gran Canaria.

Don't get me wrong, Las Palmas was as charming and Spanish as Santa Cruz de Tenerife, or Malaga for that matter. Walking across the sand dunes of Maspalomas was fun, even if one had to avoid stark naked males posing on the crest of every dune. And the weather was wonderful of course, 25-30 degrees daily and full-on sunshine. The tan is only just subsiding now.
On our last night, we let ourselves go with an evening in one of the more interesting bars, helping the bar staff with a pub quiz they were preparing for another night. Lots of questions about musicals and starlets fom the forties. Right up our street. And I got to wear a wig - well it was that sort of bar, as you can see from the pictures behind our new friends!