Indonesia 2019 (and 2020)

We’ve just spent a couple of days short of four weeks on holiday in Indonesia. It’s a longer trip than we’d normally make and with hindsight would have been better if it had been a few days shorter but you can’t change history so why dwell on it.

Wales in a week: 5 highlights

We spent 5 days in Wales in August of this year. It wasn’t planned as a big holiday but grew out of an idea to spend some time with the Bradburys (my daughter and her family) whilst they were camping in Anglesey.

3 Days in Durham

This is my journal describing my recent short trip to Durham. It was written before this week’s referendum so the comment from my taxi driver on day 1 is very apposite. Despite the apparent similarities between Durham and Cambridge its referendum vote was very different.

Trulli & Sassi: Mar/Apr 16

We’re in the habit of taking a short break somewhere around the Mediterranean in the Spring or Autumn to escape the colder weather back home and at the same time to enjoy a little more of other countries’ cultures, cuisines and histories. This year we jetted off to Puglia and Basilicata down the bottom end of Italy where we enjoyed a week of sunshine, no rain, and 20 degree plus daytime temperatures.

2015: generally exceptional …

Staying with the precedent set for 2013 and continued for 2014 here are my reflections of 2015. In many respects it’s been an exceptional year and although there has been some sadness there hasn’t been the uptick that you might have expected as my friends, colleagues and relations all get older.

Damn! I love Indonesia

We were invited to a wedding, Sat 12 Dec 15. It was Juni’s cousin’s son whom we knew quite well so we had a mind to go. Problem was it was in Surabaya, East Java. Rather a long way to go just for a family event. So we decided to make a holiday of it.

Oxford and Blenheim; 22/23 Sep 14

I’ve just come back from Heathrow where I’ve been seeing my son off on an SQ flight to Perth. He’s emigrating, taking a job with the Perth police so it’s been a tough experience.

Plymouth? Ho! 28-30 May 14

Wednesday, 28 May 14: the problem with the weather at the moment is that it’s great for growing: plenty of rain, enough warmth and long hours of daylight so everywhere’s green and today’s typical. It’s been raining overnight and it’s an overcast sky but I’m sat in First Class on the 0745 Cambridge to King’s Cross.

Indonesia kembali; 31 Aug/1 Sep 12

I’ve had a long relationship with Indonesia. I lived there for a couple of years in the 70s, I’ve got a continuing marital connection and I gave my cameras, cash and credit cards to an unnamed Balinese a few years ago (click here to read about that!).

Villa Ratingen, Ratingen near Dusseldorf; 16 May 11

I don’t visit Germany very often these days so I enjoyed a quick trip over last week to visit InterPack, the big triennial packaging show in Dusseldorf. Hotels at the times of big shows double their prices and then double them again but I left it till the last-minute and got a really good deal at the Villa Ratingen, just 10 minutes from the airport.