cherry caips

Lunch in the Met Bar with Mo and Lisa… Chicken Bacon and Mozzarella ciabbatta..6 out of 10…Spent the evening at Sill and Dom’s drinking white wine and Cherry Marnier Caipirinhias. Steven Gerrard wasn’t for blubbing about his recent exploits in Malia

Glazed vision

Up early for a sauna and then after another lovely cooked breakfast it was off to the airport.. Back in Manchester it was soon summer storm torrential rain. Watched Livorno beat Lecce 2-1 and Juve defeat Chievo in a very empty looking stadium on Bravo.. It was sad to see the game in decline with attendances so low that Juve are now offering season tickets for bambini and women for £13 a pop. When I lived in Italy in 90-92 Serie A was mega bucks and very popular maybe the premier league at present would be wise to learn some lessons as to what has happened in Italy…Interesting to see Glazier in early negative action with 20-odd Manu U backroom staff being axed

Ruby Crayfish

A Russian girl about five pushed Thomas off the slide in the play area at Breakfast but he soon recovered. The rain stopped play so Lisa and I went shopping for souvenirs.. Got a decent Malta Bus pot money box(not as cool as the real thing). Owen has been snapped up by the Magpies and I feel it is certainly Liverpool’s loss and Newcastle’s gain as they offload the unpredictable Jenas to the ambitious Spurs.
Went for a meal at Tana del Lupo.. Thomas was once again fascinated by the blue crayfish cruising along the bottom of the huge tank in the restaurant.. Had fileto ai funghi..7 out of 10. Went for a pint of Cisk.. (decent lager as it doesn't give me a sore throat like other overseas brew) in the Scotsman and then had champagne in Mum and Dad’s room to celebrate their Ruby wedding.

Monster mosta-bomb

Drove in the openbacked jeepvan to Mosta Dome(Saw the de-ctivated unexploded bomb that crashed through the dome and didn’t detonate during World War Two.. miraculous). As you can see the bomb is bigger than my Godson, Thomas.. Back in the motor for more "Shake, Rattle and Roll". and the ancient walled city of Mdina...Had lovely hot chocolates at Fontanellas and went shooting images around the place

Walking on the beaches

Hired the rickety clampitt mobile and went to busy Melietha beach... swimming in the sea…The place was packed with local weekend tourists as it's the only place with real sand for miles around.. It looks like a prime spot for development...Had a steak at Bloomers.. nothing special, no outdoor dining area and the red decor indoors didn't do it for me.. 4 out of 10..

Hungry like the wolf.

Set off to the beach but due to packed out buses we went and played squash at hotel instead.,, Did a round robin with Lisa, Jay, Dad and myself… Chilled out by the pool before going to watch City defeat Portsmouth over a few pints of Cisk at the Lava Lounge in Paceville.. Not sure if City are half decent or if Pompey are utter shite.. True Blue.. Andy Cole smiles and bags another.. Four pints later and we were back to the girls and ready for the night out..Had a superb Fileto arrosto at Tana del Lupo.. 8 out of 10.. the best food so far.

Last Action Hero

Got a Malta Bus with a mad driver that hit a curb at speed.. still we finally made it to the imposing streets of Valetta.. We had a long walk around this fascinating and ancient capital in glorious sunshine and before going back to modern day sanitized paradise we had a drink in honour of film legend Oliver Reed in his final boozer.."The Pub" now also renamed; Ollies Last Orders.. A tiny little placed frequented by sailors.. Glenda Jackson referred to Reed as, "the immaculate professional." I thought he was his brilliant villainous best in 'Oliver'.

What's up Doc ?

Lovely breakfast and then Lisa and I went to shoot pictures in Saint Julian’s Bay.. Listened to Jay’s Ipod after having a dip…Definitely getting one. The Ice machine outside our room produces quick and quality ice for evening drinks.. it must take some power to produce such decent cubes.. I’m sure it isn’t environmentally friendly. Went to Ghonella restaurant set in a lovely garden part of an ancient mansion.. Ambience was excellent but the food was okay.. I had the wild rabbit thighs.. but I also got other parts of the rabbit that were not so appealing.. such as the ribs.. 4 out of 10

Malteaser

As we arrived the BA flight steward announced; " I’m not sure if we landed or were shot down…Welcome to Malta." Our rooms at the Malta Hilton have great views of the new marina at Portomaso. After settling in we went for dinner down in Saint Julian’s Bay at a restaurant called Raffael…I had the swordfish the food was okay but still 2 out of 10 as the service was terrible, we waited for ages and had to remind the waitress for our drinks.. Still we had a lovely evening.. Thomas spent the entire time asleep in his buggy..

Over the Blue Moon

For the first time since 2003 Manchester City move to the dizzy heights of the top of the Premiership with an away win at Sunderland.Darius Vassell slotted the ball across Davis for City's opener and Trevor Sinclair notched with a curling right-foot strike.
We're off to Malta at 4AM and I gotta do my online check-in... Oh Happy Days...

Graf Numero 5

Graf = Trabant, Artist = Birgit Kinder, Location = Ostbahnhof, Former East Berlin, Photographer = Lisa

Went to mow a meadow

Went out for a lovely pub meal with Lisa, Mum and Dad at the Red Bridge and ended the evening with a few caipirinhias after watching Chelsea defeat Arsenal in a less than glamorous fashion...However on saying that I must concede that Arsenal did not look like scoring and the likes of Henry, Pires, Van Persie et al were made to appear ordinary against a strong and more than competent Chelski rearguard.. Effective substitutions by Mourinho livened up affairs slightly and Wright-Philips kept people busy as more chances fell to the awkward and wayward Drogba and he eventually managed to ponce a lucky goal glancing off his new whote socks.. Essien appeared bulky and boisterous but he promised a lot and delivered little.. Still three more points in the bag for the champions elect.

Slick City

Three cheers for the blues with a feisty display and result in the Midlands... Great teamwork and a fine solo goal from Andrew Cole( no longer a Man U reject) resulted in a truly good 2-1 away win for Man City. I was particularly impressed with the overall team performance and workmanlike attitude of the players.. A nice tonic after England's appalling display in midweek.. Even poor old Calamity looked like a keeper again.. Good to see Panface take a hiding as well.. Got the smarmy Man U smile wiped right off his bashed in Brummie face.

Christening

Went to James Daniel Henry's christening at Saint Joseph's church in Ramsbottom and then back to Olga and Anthony's for the party.. It was great to see and talk with old friends like Steve Brea and Joanne, David and Marisa, Ste Henry, James was perfectly behaved and didn't even cry when the stressy priest lobbed holy water on his boat.. In fact the baby was so laid back he reminded me of old Esteban the gangaman back in the eighties.

Danish make bacon

Superb sun in southport afforded me the opportunity to obtain some good stock shots.. Spoilt by England’s pathetic performance in Denmark.. Soundly beaten four goals to one… Robbie Fowler seems to be proved correct as Ericsson is unable to inspire the players and makes predictable substitutions.. The culprits in this defeat being..in order of rubbishness, 1. Ericsson, 2. Gerrard. 3. Lampard, 4.Ferdinand, 5. J.Cole, 6. James, 7.Carragher, 8.Johnson. Hopefully this is the kick up the arse they all need.. my message to all of them is apart from Rooney, Beckham, A.Cole and Owen is ; “DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE.”

Bronte Hunter

A pleasing sunny day spent shooting pix in Haworth, Bronte country, before having an Asian night of Indian and Chinese food at Jay and Margarets’.

EPL 14

The premier league has recommenced and City drew at home to WBA.. Simply not good enough. I once had a love and it was a gas soon turned out had a heart of glass..seemed like the real thing only to find.. mucho mistrust love's gone behind.. Lost inside adorable illusion and I cannot hide.. love is so confusing.., yeah! without a dream in my heart without a love of my own..Ricky and I watched Liverpool miss chance after chance against Boro in a nil-niller and I watched Chelsea break Wigan hearts with a Crespo strike of some aplomb deep into stoppage time..We went for a meal at the Bridge pub on Bridge Street, Manchester with Dominic and Priscilla.. I had the beef followed by strawberries, ice cream and Vimto jelly...Despite rave reviews in the local press it turned out to be a very average meal 5 out of 10

They call us the wanderers

Cured my hangover with a full English breakfast and a sauna at the Cumbria Park Hotel. We went to Faugh to check out Sundance and say 'Hello' to Ron, Ann, Kath, Craig..Their log cabin at Saint Bees is near completion. Four hours later we were on the road to Bolton..Passed the Wanderers' stadium. Bought a Wonka bar and a copy of the Times for 55pence from Killington Lake services. Despite my burgeoning anticipation I failed to secure a golden ticket and the days news was a sorry disappointment.. obviously a slow news day with the less than punchy headline being; "Late drinking law in danger as rebellion gathers pace." Will round the clock drinking in the UK result in an increase of violent crime? Honest answers only please. Had a lovely meal with my parents and stuck to vino alla casa and kiboshed Mum's idea for a few pints in the pub.

Graf Numero 4

Vampire Zombies

Los Angeles

Artist = Unknown

ominous seagull crash ?

Off up to Julia and Steve's wedding in Carlisle and a seagull on a thermal drifts down towards the car. We hit it at 100mph.. Head on collision.. the spray of bloodguts, brain,etc on the windscreen was amazing.. I had to calm Lisa down as she was in shock.. We stopped at a garage and I had to wash off what remained with a sponge and bucket of water. Fortunately there was no damage to the front of the car.. I don't know if it's some kind of omen for the marriage or what? The wedding was great and it was really excellent to see Steve and Julia re-married for the second time 20 years to the day after their first marriage.

Fantasic expectations amazing revelations.

Had a coffee outside Starbucks in sunny Manchester’s Saint Ann’s Square with Lisa and Mo. I went to keyword images in the nearby internet café and then went to purchase Browny’s new single.. not out yet! So I settled for the one album of his that I missed; ‘The Music of the Spheres.’ I bought a copy of Suskind’s; ‘The Story of Mr Sommer.’ Watched Villareal outclass Everton with Ricky and a few bacardi and cokes

All ablaze

A glorious day here in Manchester spent preparing images and watching the Amp and B4 on Sky. The only noteworthy track being 'All Ablaze' by Manchester's finest son, Ian Brown. after recent success with the highly acclaimed 'Solarized' album once again the ex-Stone Rose takes care of business with a compelling track. Wanted to watch a film but found nothing.. Had to settle for a less than mediocre fix of 'World's Deadliest Gangs' and 'Big Brother'

Armadillo shooting

Woke up into the London sunshine. Drove to Tower bridge.. Shot it as I walked across it and then captured various views external and internal of the Armadillo. Took the lift to the ninth floor and the views of London were splendid. The security were ultra friendly even allowing me to enter the chambers and shoot the round table and upwards wideangle shots of the spiral staircase. I went and re-shot the Gherkin with a bluish sky as opposed to yesterday’s greyish/white one. Headed through London in gridlock traffic out to the M40 and back to Manchester in time to catch the last half hour of what was once called the Charities Shield.. In this Cockney curtain-raiser Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-1.

No Taters

Arose at 4.30am and worked on some Athens shots on the laptop. Walked to the city and shot the Gherkin and the LLoyds building and other details for stock around the City. Lunch at the seventh floor Tate Modern restaurant was a totally average 5 out of 10 affair. Got back to the flat in Westminster feeling tired. Labour politician Robin Cook died on a mountain in Scotland.

De-Congested

Drove down to London. Took the toll road at Birmingham for £3.50 and picked up the new BMW at Park Lane motors.. We managed to dodge the congestion charge by parking just outside the zone and travelling in after 6.30 pm. We had lovely paninis at Le Signore near Buckingham Palace.

Leaving Athens

Left in a cab at 1AM arrived in Amsterdam in the early hours and noticed the urinals at Schipol still include flies(target practice for weary travellers). Arrive in Manchester at 8AM and spent the rest of the day trying to recover from the journey home.. Watch a very average Liverpool defeat Kaunas of Lithuania in the qualifying stage of the Champions League

Plaka treatment

Been mad busy... Maria and Thanassis' Greek wedding took place in the village church at Panetolio at 9pm Saturday and the celebrations went on all night. The next morning after breakfast Lisa had the inspired idea to go to The Central Hotel in the Plaka district of Athens. After four hours on a coach we checked in and I was soon enjoying the delightful view of the Acropolis and the jacuzzi in the rooftop garden