Back In The UK...

We returned from Ibiza on Saturday. Despite my dad not being with us, we had a very nice time. The weather was great for the first few days and then changeable for the last few, but it did not dampen our spirits. The kids had a great time playing on the various beaches we went to. They especially loved digging the sand and making piles and things. If the weather had stayed hot and sunny I would have said that it is the perfect time of year to visit Ibiza because the clubbing season is almost completely over. There are no crowds at all and yet the water is still relatively warm and the weather is quite good. The worst of the weather though for us was saved for the last day. For much of the afternoon and evening it poured down torrentially. But it actually made for quite a fun time. The kids loved playing in the puddles and drips, and the adults amongst us just sheltered under the awning of a restaurant and drank beer/coke/miscellaneous beverages. There will be photos soon.

We returned home in time to see the Rugby World Cup semi-final between England and France. Oh boy was that a tense affair. With England managing to defeat the heavily favoured hosts 14-9. It followed England's fine 12-9 victory over Australia the week before (again against a strongly favoured foe), which we were able to see in a restaurant in Ibiza. Now all that remains is a final confrontation with South Africa. England will once again be heavy underdogs, which might actually work in their favour. If England manage to win, they will be the first team ever to retain the Rugby World Cup (after winning it in Australia in 2003).

One last item: my dad appears to be almost fully recovered from the bike accident. He went to work for a little while yesterday morning, which - even though he still needs to be careful not to over do things - is a good sign.

Off We Go...

So, we're off to Ibiza early tomorrow morning. Leaving the house at 3:00am in fact. That'll be nice.

My dad will definitely not be coming with us, which is a huge shame. But it does look as though my mum will be coming - it all depends on what the doctor says when they go to see him this afternoon. We have car hire all booked for when we arrive and we have a pretty good idea of how to find the resort, so... see you in just over a weeks time - hopefully with lots of good photos!

Bye.

On the mend...

News on the condition of my dad first. After one slight scare, which included a trip back to the hospital, it appears he is making a gradual but steady improvement. He is still in pain thanks to his ribs and collar bone, but does seem to get better a little bit each day. He dislikes being a patient but has been advised to take it as easy as possible for about a month - only time will tell whether he will be able to do it! Unfortunately his injuries mean that he will be unable to come to Ibiza with us next week. It is still up in the air as to whether my mum will come with us, but either way it is a major disappointment for all of us.

Of course, I am still looking forward to going to Ibiza (even though it is tainted now). I hope it will provide many opportunities for me to continue my new favourite hobby, photography. I have managed to acquire a couple of lenses quite inexpensively and now have a reasonable array of equipment which will allow me to take advantage of any photo-ops that arise while we are away.

Recently I have been taking a few photos of urban scenes and details (mostly thanks to a Pact I made with a fellow Flickr member, greg.turner) and have been mostly pleased with some of the results, here are a few of my recent favourites:







I should also announce that I have created a new "portal" site to act as a gateway into all my other web areas: www.sunfacethirteen.co.uk. It is very simple but hopefully acts as a good starting point.

The twins continue to amaze and infuriate us, they are really coming along nicely with their speech and other development. Just this lunchtime Morgan started singing the Bob the Builder song even though we have never shown him Bob (he must have learned it at nursery or at the child-minder's). Here are a few recent photos:







You will also notice that I have changed the layout and look of this blog. It was just time for a change really and gave me an opportunity to match it more closely to the new portal site I mentioned before.