Home is where I park it

We've done a bit of a round trip of the South of the UK seeing friends & family & also getting our home through the MOT. The MOT is always a stressful time but when it is your home it is even more so! We went to friends in Southampton to get the work done & the MOT. Mechanically there wasn't much to be done except a new back part of the exhaust but there was lots of welding to be done underneath :( This involved 3 days of Simon in the van putting out smoldering woodwork when the welding got too hot too close to our floor. Pretty scary stuff knowing your home is catching fire! At last it was all done though & the van sailed through the MOT & we were able to look forward to another year on the road :) After the MOT we visited friends & family in Bracknell & Stevenage. Then it was back to Cheltenham for Lee's 20th birthday (crickey I feel like an old mummy now!). We stopped at Haresfield near Gloucester for a couple of days before heading South. Her...

I'm sure there is people out there fed up to the back teeth of everyone having an opinion of the riots happening in the UK right now. But thats tough shit as we're all entitled to our opinions & in this digital age free to broadcast them over the net to anyone that will listen. Firstly I want to make a few things absolutely clear. I understand it is frightening for people in their homes witnessing rioting outside on the streets and I understand it is devastating to see your home, car or business go up in flames... But... People are angry & frustrated, not only at the shooting of Mark Duggan or the treatment of the crowd that gathered outside the Tottenham police station after his death but with society in general. I'm not going to pretend that I think everyone on the streets has a political motive at heart but even those just following the crowd & enjoying the thrill of rioting & looting are mostly doing it because of the shitty state of this country. I...

This amazing seed head was on its own in a field, it is not from a Dandelion as it was far too big. I got some good shots of it that I played around with in the photo editing programme... I like how you can see the other flowers in the background out of focus... I wanted some pictures of my dreads, now over 5 years old. My friend took some & I messed about with them in the photo editing programme... Thanks for looking xoxox

Simon has been doing some more tattooing since we've been back, mostly on me lol except this Reindeer on our friends wrist... My new Kokapelli tattoo :)... Turtle tattoo to symbolize our travels... Banksy tattoo to go with my other one on my graffiti leg... I love how Kokopelli comes out of my boot!... Thanks for looking xoxox

So we find ourselves back in cold wet Blighty to MOT the van & see family & friends. Actually the weather hasn't been too bad but it is too stressed out here. Everyone is in a rush, everyone is stressed & we can't park up anywhere without getting hassle from either the police or nosy locals! Anyway hopefully we wont be here for that long & we will be back on mainland Europe soon either back to Portugal & Spain or off to Eastern Europe, we're not sure yet. It all depends on how much money we spend on the van & while we are here in the UK! As usual I have been taking lots of photographs, here are some of the best... Tree roots growing around an old wall, Forest of Dean. Pine cones & leaves, Forest of Dean. Hoverfly at a thistle flower, Forest of Dean. Old canal, South Cerney. Bee, South Cerney. Visitors at the crop circle, Ridgeway path, Avebury. Young hare, Ridgeway path, Avebury. Straw bales, Ridgeway path, Avebury. Horse, Ridgeway path,...

April 2011: We crossed the border into Portugal & almost immediately everything was cleaner & greener! Spring was in full swing & the weather was mostly warm & sunny. The amount of insects about was amazing apart from when they got in the van & wanted to sleep with us! On our first day in Portugal I saw this beautiful butterfly. We visited the city of Marvao, set upon a hill & surrounded by the old city walls it is a lovely old town with narrow cobbled streets. We found a nice park up nearby in the grounds of a ruined farm. The ruin stood on a hill & at the bottom was a lake called Barragem de Apartadura. It was a lovely area & was had some nice walks as well as some lazy sunny days. Again there was plenty of wildlife around like this little frog. We also found that Portugal has many ancient sites including the clapper bridge pictured below & lots of Dolmens. Southern Portugal was full of storks, we had seen a few r...