Gent: The view from our window over the City. Nice skyline with some distant cranes getting in on the act.

Gent: Strings having a Cadbury's Flake moment in the bath. The jacuzzi jets were fairly violent and I felt bruised afterwards.

Gent: A lazy Sunday afternoon. We had just eaten a substantial lunch and it was time to sit down, rest and watch the world float by.

Gent: There's always directional help for a lost Parkes in Gent.

Gent: My favourite bar. The Bierhuis was frequented by all walks of life and for good reason - the beers are varied and great tasting. Parkes and I got quite sloshed there whilst sampling the homebrews.

Gent: Parkes and Strings are crackers.

Wantsum Jazz Festival 2008

What a contrast to last year! This year the skies were grey and
unwelcoming. We popped up to see what was going on but the music was a
bit loud for Beth so we left. Fortunately by 5pm the blue skies were
back so I hope everyone at the festival enjoys!

Asparagus

Why does Asparagus make your wee smell? I really like the smell. Does that make me weird?

If there are any doctors who read this blog please advise me on either of the above questions.

Beth ready for food action.

Saturday lunchtime with Parkes and Beth. Pasta twirls, tomato and
cheese.

Gent: The Hotel Harmony. This shot was taken as we sat outside a bar and enjoyed a Leffe Blond. Parkes had spied this bar from our hotel window and wanted to give it a try - it turned out to be a gay bar. The bar was very quiet - mind you it was only about 8pm.

Test

This is a test

Latin Quarter

Photo of Paul, Dave & Raj taken at work. I am testing whether I can
email posts and this is visible then I can!!

GCSE Disgust

I see that the GCSE results are out and apparently there are a record number of passes. I sat the very first GCSE's back in the summer of '88 (where's Bryan Adams when you need him?) and every year thereafter we read about better results than the previous year. This makes me think;

1) I am not very bright.
2) My teachers weren't teaching to the best of their ability (probably more like it!)
3) The current crop of 16 year olds should be able to take this country to the next level with their massive, supercharged brains.

Get on with it, kids! I have great expectations.

Gent: Parkes hailing a tram. Trams are a great idea but are also a pain in the arse if you are trying to park your car and one hugs your exhaust pipe.

Our ferry departs Ramsgate in good weather and calm seas. Due to the amount of freight on board there aren't many passengers. This means lots of space and comfortable travelling.

Granny B in Ramsgate with Beth studying the printed word.

Belgium

Parkes and I ventured into Belgium last weekend as Granny B kindly looked after Beth. Beer and food were firmly on the radar for the weekend accompanied by some lazy mornings.

We caught the ferry from Ramsgate to Oostende on Friday afternoon which proved to be a delightful experience. The sun shone, the sea was fairly flat and the four hour journey passed serenely. We saw a dolphin/porpoise off the coast of Ramsgate (what a crazy mammal!) and also the Red Arrows were practising their manoeuvres overhead. I now see boat travel in a completely new light!

We spent Friday night in Oostende and enjoyed ourselves. It is a very modern town, clean and has a buzz about it. Parkes and I stayed in the Hotel Prado which was clean but maybe slightly overpriced. We ate our evening meal at Jan's Cafe which was spiffing. The mussel starter was delicious and the Chateaubriand was delightful. We went back to the Hotel after eating and savoured a Slippery Nipple in the cocktail bar.

On Saturday, after a brief look around the shops in Oostende, we drove to Gent. Gent is a beautiful place. Slightly less stuffy than Bruge and although there were many tourists in town it still felt like a working town. There was a 2 day local festival as well with the streets lined with tables and chairs and makeshift bars. We stayed at Hotel Harmony which was well worth the money with it's waterfront location. My favourite bar has to be the Waterhuis with it's home brewed beers and selection of other fab Belgian beers. Outside the Waterhuis on Sunday evening we watched a dude called Bai Kamara play some souly, bluesy, afroey, folky tunes on his guitar. The guy has a great sound and his music reverberated around the centre of Gent.

Our journey home on the Monday was on fairly rough seas but Parkes and I managed to hold it together. When we about an hour into our journey a Belgian rescue helicopter appeared out of nowhere and, in heavy seas, proceeded to drop two it's crew onto the deck of the ferry. It was awesome dude and certainly helped pass the time on a long ferry crossing.

Pictures will be posted over the coming week.

Beth snoozing in the back of the car last Saturday.

It's the birthday of Kaiser Keith - happy birthday sir. We went to the Monty on Saturday night and enjoyed some local ale. Here he is with a frothy companion.

What a lovely beer! My favourite from the Ramsgate Brewery.

When Do We Want It? NOW!

I arrived outside my office this morning to find protesters demonstrating about RBS and something to do with cubs or coal. Unfortunately their banner wasn't very clear so I have no idea what they were protesting about. Also there were quite a few cops outside the building to keep those dyslexic time wasters in order. That's about as exciting as my Friday is going to be. As I am on the late shift today I managed to have 5 minutes with my daughter before I left for work this morning. She gave daddy two kisses and daddy felt like a million euros.

We haven't been taking many pictures recently. I don't know why this is. Anyhoo, here is a piccy of Parkes and Beth in the back garden in front of a bush.

DIY / Personal Grooming / Shooos

This weekend was a fairly busy one. On Friday night Parkes' mum very kindly babysat and Parkes and I went out for a few beers and a Thai meal. We both felt a bit tired and groggy on Saturday morning but Beth felt fine and proceeded to tear around the lounge using her bum-shuffling technique. On Saturday afternoon we visited Grandma and Grandad Parker and said 'Happy Birthday' to Ella who is now 8 years old. On Saturday night we watched some more of Heroes (series 2) and went to bed at 9:45pm. Rock and roll!!

On Sunday we bounded out of bed nice and early due to our long sleep. Parkes cleaned the floors whilst I got stuck into some lovely DIY (grrr). I erected our first stair-gate at the bottom of the stairs. This took almost 2 hours and involved repositioning the gate numerous times. I also sealed the leak on our downstairs shower. In the afternoon we went to Westwood Cross to buy some essential bits and bobs. We bought Beth her first pair of shoes from Clarks - smashing they are although Beth doesn't seem that bothered. I then visited the Comfort Inn on the East Cliff to get my back waxed. A nice, young lady performed the deed and complimented me on my physical toughness and mental strength.