Shoreline with babies

Born to slide

Off to Hogwarts

 

 

Ely with Ashley

Wolfson College Formal

Remembrance Sunday

Poppy at King's Cross

Bonfire

Thistles

Wetlands area at my work

Halloween

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave the Conker-er

Sulakvelidze

I had this name going through my head for days without knowing where it was from. I even googled it and lost sleep trying to remember where I heard it and then I sat down at my computer and saw that it was an author of one of the books I use to prop up my monitor. Mystery solved.

Nutrients from the sea

I found a place to buy my favorite seaweed snack in Cambridge. I don't have to bring it back from Asia anymore.

Suffolk Coast

Orford

Another tasty British treat

Pork lunch tongue

Fire Marshal training

Long Man of Wilmington

Chalk hill figure from the 1600s.

Law and Order UK

The lawyers wear wigs!

Serpentine Gallery

Hyde Park London

Monkey Nuts

Sometimes I think I've got British people figured out. And then I find out that they call peanuts 'monkey nuts'.

Sintra

 

 

 

 

Corrida de Touros

I wanted to see a bullfight once in my life, but I do not condone torturing and killing animals. In Portuguese bullfights, they do not kill the bull (at least not in the ring), so I thought that might be slightly better. I loved the vibrant tradition and music, but it was still pretty cruel and hard to watch at times. Here is how it works: The cavaleiros come out riding amazingly skilled horses and put spears into the bull's neck (this is the bad part). Meanwhile, the matadores wearing beautiful sparkly costumes distract them with their capes. Then the group of eight forcados enter the ring with the goal of stopping the bull. The lead forcado wears a green knit cap and calls to the bull. When the bull charges at him, he grabs the back of its neck and the others gather around to stop the bull in its tracks. One of them grabs the tail and gets spun around. Once that happens, oxen are brought out and the bull follows them out of the ring.

 

 

 

 

Nazare

  

 

 

 

 

They were celebrating the Nossa Senhora de Nazare, the legend of Mary appearing to save the Duke from following a deer off the cliff while he was hunting. They had a mass, procession and folkdancing where the music was provided by a singer, an accordion player and a woman slapping a pot with a piece of rubber.