Our first port of call

And so, here as requested, and for a few more posts, is a mini-journal of our Great Tour to attend our friend's wedding in Fiji. Hopefully this will also provide a decent aide-mémoire so we'll be better able to reminisce about our travels long after we've returned to the grind of normal life.

Saturday saw us install the holiday custodians who would be looking after things in our absence and then it was off to Heathrow in our (upgraded to a Volvo XC70, Tom was very pleased to see) hire car. By the time we'd returned that, checked-in, got through security and had taken the trek across T1 to our gate it was almost time for us to board. The flight across the pond and beyond was very comfortable, Air NZ doing a great job as we've come to expect.

Despite worrying noises from the crew when we landed at LAX, US Immigration wasn't too bad at all and we were quickly sorted and in our hire car, this time a (ridiculously large) Chevy Tahoe. With him and her pretty much asleep I faithfully followed the sat-nav to our hotel. It wasn't until after a good hour's driving with no sign of a freeway that I realised the sat-nav had been left calculating the shortest route. This would have been great in the day as I was following the old coast-hugging Pacific Highway but as it was pitch dark I replanned to the fastest route and we arrived to our hotel shortly after.

Sunday: Up for breakfast reasonably early and then out. With the coastal weather being a little overcast we decided to have a look inland and headed for Julian and the Cleveland forest beyond. We managed to find a very quiet parking area in the woods and Tom had his first taste of taking control of an all American V8 monster; needless to say, he seemed to quite enjoy the experience. From there we headed down at a leisurely pace to San Diego and headed further south to San Ysidro, just on the Mexican border facing Tijuana. By now the sun was out in all it's force and I for one could not stand too much time in the open. As we set off north the lack of decent signage almost caused us to head towards the border - scary! We stopped in San Diego old town for a while, saw the immense Midway at the harbourside and gently headed north, eventually finding some more retail and then tea in Carlsbad.

Monday: An early breakfast again and it was off to Sea World in San Deigo. The day was overcast and almost damp. Thankfully this kept the number of visitors and therefore the queues down to very reasonable levels - I can't imagine what the place must be like when the carparks are full. The sea lions, Shamu and everything else lived up to expectations and it was easy to stay there for the bulk of the day. We called at the hotel (to dry off from the water rides) and then returned to Carlsbad to explore more of the retail we'd clocked the night before. To finish the day we ate in Ruby's all-American diner, the Fifties must have been a fun time.

Tuesday: One more early breakfast and we set off for Mojave. The drive up through LA was interesting, seeing lots of names that we recognised. Climbing up from the coast was spectacular, as was arriving at the edge of the first desert at Palmdale. I was quite excited to get some photos of an airplane graveyard at Mojave itself and it took us a while to figure out what the massive tubes were resting on the railroad carriages. Looking north-west provided the answer - they were all tower sections for windmills and I suspect I'll never see a larger farm of the things. We continued along the route of one of the settler's trails to Tehachapi and then followed the descent to Arvin. Again, the change in landscapes was nothing short of amazing and I think I understand why arriving settler's felt the need to turn to religion.

When stopped for Starbucks I'd spotted Hungry Valley on our route back to LA so we decided to investigate. This SVRA (State Vehicular Recreational Area) is a huge valley dedicated to burning around in 4x4s, quads and bikes. It was deserted and we had a fantastic couple of hours scaring ourselves silly driving around goat-tracks and tackling far too severe slopes. As it was so very empty, Tom took his next driving lesson and even my good lady had a go. Top, top fun for $5. The last stop was the Holywood hills (nice) followed by Hollywood proper (not nice) and then back to LAX to prepare for our flight to Fiji.

On the way home

An early start was the order of the day as Clint volunteered to dash to Starbucks to collect breakfast before we set out to Milford Sound. The brand new RealJourneys coach was very cool with its tiered, angled seats and massive expanses of glass. Tracey, our driver, kept us well entertained as we headed the two hours down to Te Anau under increasingly grey skies. Statistics about sheep, deer, stoats and other introduced species made a very good case for not interfering with Mother Nature's work. A brief stop for coffee revealed the temperature had dropped also. We were beginning to think our luck with the weather may have come to an end.

The remaining two and three quarter hours were interspersed with a number of stops as we headed up along the bottom of steep valleys towards the Homer Tunnel and then Milford itself. No-one really noticed the skies clearing but all of a sudden there wasn't a cloud to be seen. The scenery is the most specatular you could imagine. Remnants of recent avalanches were still mightily impressive, as was the engineering effort that had gone into blasting a tube 1270m thorough a mountain. More stories, of postmen and more wildlife, were retold and before we knew it we were down at the harbour waiting for our departure on a cruise of the sound (actually a fjord, as Tracey so rightly pointed out).

Two and a bit hours on the water allowed us to scour both sides of the lake, the south side on the way out into the Tasmin Sea and the north side on the way back. The weather remained flawless and stunning, with the boats crew joking that they'd had similar conditions before - sometime in 1978. Seals and penguins were the main attraction and the rolling and picthing on the open water certainly made everyone hold on. The vegetation, sounds of wildlife, fantastically high waterfalls and impossibly balanced trees were really something to behold. The entrance to the fjord from the sea is a long way from obvious, a true hidden jem.

Once back on dry land, we wandered the ten minutes along the foreshore to the airport for our trip back. The coach was going to take a bit over four hours to race non-stop(ish) to Queenstown but our light aircraft trip would see us back there in under 45 minutes. Phil managed to bag the seat next to the pilot while Clint and I were left to fight with the chickens on the back row. Fortunately we were all afforded amazing views as we headed up Arthur's Valley to Lake Quill before turning left to head back across to Lake Wakatipu and home. Words and pictures are inadequate to describe what we saw, a truly memorable experience.

Getting back at a reasonable time for a beer and pizza was a great decision. The evening was gorgeous and sitting outside in the mountains was glorious. Having eaten, we managed to walk off some of our excess by hunting for some secreted Tupperware in the park next to a (unexplained) monument to Captain Scott of the Antartic. I think it's fair to say Clint and Phil won't be signing up to the sport any time soon. ;-)

The following morning saw us head up the Skyline gondola and three runs down the luge. Despite Phil's cheating, I managed to win two of the three races. My extra weight (a bag and camera etc!) proved useful as we hurtled down the hill - great fun. Then it was some light shopping and back to the airport for our hops to Christchurch and ultimately Auckland. The traffic was at its peak as we headed back to the North Shore, the only facet of NZ that needs improving.

A farewell dinner at Wildfire in Takapuna with Bex and Karen was lovely and I took the opportunity to thank the girls for so generously loaning me their men for the duration of my stay. My trip has been so very busy but so very short. It was great to see Phil's boys too and I'm stilled a little shocked at how NZified they've become over such a short time.

One last VERY early start for the airport and it was time to say goodbye once again. We had breakfast before Phil and Clint followed me to make sure I went through security, they seem to have some bee in their bonnet about overstayers.

I'm now in my hotel room in Narita, Japan before my return to Heathrow in the morning (or whatever time my body will think it is by then). No doubt I'll miss the friendly Air NZ Kiwi service. I've had the most fantastic time and it was sad to leave my friends yet again. That said, I'm looking forward to getting home to my family and planning our excursion down to NZ so I can show them what a special place it is. I'll be back!

Catching my breath

Crikey, I've been kept busy since I last blogged my progress on Tuesday. Apologies for that, I'll try to catch up now. Things may seem a little random or disorganised as sleep is trying to get the better of me as I type...

Following a Wednesday morning ¥6900 (NZ$107, £47) breakfast in my hotel room I checked out and headed for Akiba. The Tokyo Met-r-o was back to its normal busy self after the national holiday (culture day) the day before. I headed up to Suehirocho and returned to the surface in "Electric Town". This place never dissappoints and the warm sun was a good excuse to pop into many shops for a quick look round. Unfortunately, due to the fall of exchange rates, the British Pound was worth around 40% less than when I was last here so little shopping took place. The new robots took up a lot of my time and they continue to impress with more tricks every time I see them. No purchase on this trip. :-(

My midday lunch appointment with old colleagues and friends, Kano-san and Alex, was really fun and it was great to see them. We made full use of their local knowledge and had a wonderful, ridiculously cheap and properly Japanese meal followed by another Japanese tradition of Starbucks. I then strolled back down Aoyama Dori, past the office building where I had been working and down to Akasaka before taking a right and returning to the Okura hotel for my bus back to the airport. We made record time (~55 minutes) to Narita, whizzing passed lots of other coaches from the same company, I suspect it must have been our driver's last run of the day.

Queueing at check-in took well over an hour and then I spent another forty minutes in the security area while every single item in my carry-on bag was examined one by one. At least all this meant that I didn't have too much time to kill waiting for my flight. Asahi beers at 200 went down very easily and I was in my seat before I knew it. Air NZ service is second to none and I had a very pleasant flight.

Thursday morning arrived four hours earlier than my body expected and, after being processed through arrivals and biosecurity, I was happy to be greeted by both Clint and Phil who were in the process of buying coffees. It turned out these were necessary to keep us warm as we scurried back to Phil's car in the rain under very low and grey skies. Karen extended the welcome and soon we were out exploring North Shore. Lunch with the enchanting Bex was great, followed by the ferry across from Davenport to Auckland for a good look round there too. The rain, which had abated for much of the afternoon, returned with low, low cloud. Still a great afternoon. The evening was spent with Clint's parents and family for a Bonfire Night BBQ. As the cloud had stuck and the rain continued to fall, much of the traditional pyrotechnics were lost in the fog.

On Friday we set off north on the road towards Paihia. Highlights on the outbound journey included breakfast at Jack's Café, the toilets in Kawakawa, that must be seen to be believed, and a steam railway that runs in the road through the middle of the same town. When continued past Paihia to the Treaty Grounds. These were spectacular in the glorious sunshine.

Then it was out on the water for a spot of sea fishing, my first ever such outing. We chose a small boat that took us out to the very edge of NZ. I managed a couple of keepers and went back to port very happy with myself. Our skipper filleted the catch and we were soon heading back to Auckland and Karen's culinary efforts were wonderful and greatly appreciated.

Saturday saw us head down to Pukekohe to watch Clint's cousin who races V8 cars. Things were busy in the garage as preparations were made for the start of the new season. Clint and I had a go at taking some decent pictures that could be used for promotional stuff this year and we were almost successful(!). Then it was off to the airport, the Koru Club Lounge and eventually Queenstown in the south island. Having a drink around the lake in this most gorgeous of small towns was a pleasure. However, Fergburger's "Big Al" was enough to finish off both myself and Phil (Clint wimped out with a "little lambie".

First thing this morning, Sunday, we headed over to the Shotover Jet boats and enjoyed a coolish, dampish blast down and up the river - all very exciting. Then it was back into town and to hire a car for some exploring. We headed up to Glenorchy, back via Queenstown to Arrowtown, via a bungy bridge and winery/cheesery to Cromwell and finally Clyde. The scenery throughout the day is just the most amazing to be found anywhere on our planet. Learning a little bit of NZ's history was fun and were all looking forward to finding our own nuggets of gold in this Wild West part of the World. Once again it was time to head back to Queenstown, a steak dinner, some Geocaching (in the dark with no GPSr) and then home to the hotel, bed and blogging catch-up.

Tuesday: Bumming around Tokyo

I took the opportunity of waking early to have a wander around Minato-ku, the area of Tokyo where I stayed when I was working here in '06-'07. After arriving under cloudy skies on Monday, Tuesday's weather was absolutely perfect - not a cloud all day and plenty warm enough to need nothing more than a t-shirt. The walk, and plenty of fluids from the ubiquitous vending machines, sorted out my every-so-slightly thick head from Roppongi the night before.

There's so much to see around here, and I feel extremely bad for not having found these places when I would have had time to explore them more thoroughly. Shiba Park is fun, with tannoy announcements in Japanese and English warning dog owners of expected behaviour. The Zojoji temple is a gem and generally the whole area is very nice. Tokyo Tower was busy with people waiting for buses and a concert platform being set up. There was also an impossibly large NZ rugby ball building, unexplained and quite surreal.

Lots more police than I recall around the American Embassy and many more road closures. Still, Tokyo feels like the safest place on the planet.

Maki-san and Kashima-san, two friends from my old IBM team, met me in Ryōgoku for lunch and took me to a fantastic restaurant for chankonabe, not far from the Kokugikan Hall. I'm happy to report I declined the Sumo-sized offerings and am not planning any career change in that direction just at the moment. Sitting on the floor was challenging to my old joints but fun nonetheless.

We then had a look around the impressive Edo-Tokyo museum, housed in possibly the craziest building I've ever been in. The massive hall is suspended ~50m in the air for no obvious reason. I knew when I was taking the photo that the sheer scale of the space would be lost. It was strange to see so many young Tokyo-jin looking around, I suspect not many English teenagers would willingly visit such a place if they had a choice.

From there, we took the Mizube Line water-bus down the Sumida river to Hama-rikyū and had a gentle wander around the gardens. When you're travelling around Tokyo on the Metro or in taxis you never really get to see the waterways that are in fact all around. That's another bit of the city I managed to miss in the seven months I was here.

We finished the day on 46F of the Dentsu building in Shiodome. The city view from up there is breathtaking - unfortunately the windows don't lend themselves to photography. The meal was equally impressive with fantastic gohan (my favourite) steamed in stone pots along with lots of beef, vegetables and seafood. It was sad that the day went so quickly and I'm already planning to return the favour of hospitality when my friends visit the UK. Perhaps the 2012 Olympics will tempt them to make the trip.

Today's plan is a trip to Akihabara, "Electric Town", to peruse the technology that will be on the shelves in the UK in a few years from now. Then I'm meeting some friends for lunch before heading back to the airport and another 11 hours in the air down to New Zealand.

The first hangover (it must be day 2)

300 yen beers in Tameiko-sanno went down far too easily. Conversation was fun with Peter, Keith, Robert, Gary and Shaun (Sean, Shorn etc.) who was quite eloquently arguing that "vender" is the correct spelling of the word. iPhones seem to be everywhere and their constant vibration was almost too much for Peter (as he'd lost his last Friday).

Rather predictably, Peter's idea of "old-school Yakitori" in Ebisu turned into silliness at Propaganda in Roppongi. Keith showed off his gambling skills and I ended up staggering back to the hotel in the early hours. There, my body clock should be just right by the time I get down to NZ.

Base camp one - Tokyo Okura

Sure enough, we were less than 15 minutes late into Narita after an uneventful flight. I managed to see a bit of the Western Siberian Plain before dosing off at Surgut and waking again over Khabarovsk. At 600Mph that means I must have got around four hours sleep, not bad at all.

Immigration was swift, the fingerprints and photo done by a quite amusing NEC gizmo and my bag appeared amongst the first few. A customs officer with no English didn't waste any of his time on me, neither did the Friendly Airport Limousine lady who made me wait four(!) minutes before I was being whisked into Tokyo centre.

Quite a lot has gone on in two and a half years since my last visit with lots of changed buildings and new roadways. Some things I'd forgotten about remain the same; every employee of the coach company bowing to every departing coach, crash barriers painted white and spotlessly clean on both sides, spotlessly clean high polish chrome effluent tankers and the ever popular announcement on the coach "please do not use portable phones as these annoy the neighbours".

The Okura is exactly as it was, and perhaps has been since 1962. It's nothing short of embarrassing having to say "good afternoon" individually to the thirty or so bell staff littering the "robby". I suppose this is the price of being treated like royalty.

Now I've got an hour to compose myself before I head out to meet my Suzuka 2006 GP buddy and a number of his chums. It seems I make a good excuse to go out for too much beer and "old-school Yakitori", whatever that may involve.

Waiting for the call

I sorry to report I've already suffered my first flight delay. The inbound flight is roughly 30 mins late, so shall be our departure. However, I expect a little gentle speeding over the Arctic will see us arrive in Tokyo on time(ish).

The business lounge is remarkably quiet. As usual, I'm outnumbered around 7:1 by my Nihonjin brothers and sisters. Including me there's only two Brits so it seems JAL's imminent request for government help is indeed most earnest.

Didn't manage a photo of the quizzical totty who helped me fill out my thoughts on the service I've received so far. Probably for the best. Instead here's one of aeroplanes - Cool!

Final systems' check

Not done the email-to-blog thing before from this phone so I thought I'd take the opportunity of walking the beast to do just that. The woods are lovely at the moment and all the fallen spikey tree fruit keeps her to the paths so we don't end up heading home all dirty. At least that should be true if I don't fall down any holes while I'm typing.

This post will also reveal to me how attached photos get formatted. Check out those eyes!

Getting ready for the off

Getting ready for the off, certainly, and getting ready for a short flurry of blogging activity to keep the extended family back home appraised of progress on my short trip to the other side of the Globe.

On this page, in the right-hand column, you'll note my recent Twitterings are displayed. Brief, and perhaps pithy, updates should appear there frequently, should anyone be worried about exactly how far I've got.

In around 18 hours I will be setting off down ever faithful M1 to Heathrow and the first leg of my trip. Before then it might be a good idea for me to do some packing, buy some essential travel toiletries and medicines, get some foreign currency, walk the dog, have some sleep and a hundred other things, many of which I should have done weeks ago. I need to write this now so I can be sure my technophobe audience can find these ramblings before I leave the UK, I've no desire to be dishing out PC support from a hotel room thousands of miles away.

Working (relatively) close to home in recent months has resulted in me carrying far too much stuff around with me. Regular flying was a good discipline in keeping my shoulder bag down to a reasonable weight. When I came to look at its contents at the beginning of the week I was nothing short of amazed just how much rubbish had accumulated in there (do I really need to carry 1.3TB of external disks?!?). Rationalising my travelling IT has been a bit of a mission but I think I have now only what I really need to reliably remain in touch.

Foreign currency has proved to be a bit of a sad story. While I was getting nearly 240 Yen/£ in early 2007, the best rate I can find for cash today is 145 Yen/£. I hope the price tags in Akihabara are similarly 40% less! Same story for NZDs, 2.81/£ in early 2007, 2.18/£ now. It looks like I'm going to have to choose the cheaper of the caviar whenever I get the opportunity.

Oh well, that's enough for now. Needless to say, I'm quite excited to see some more new places and some old friends. Fingers crossed I'll have some nice weather too.

Houdini hound

We're not sure if this is a consequence of Belle's "current condition" but we are very sure that in recent days she's become quite adept at escaping from her cage.

As she's still a puppy, Belle sleeps in her cage overnight and goes in there when we leave her home alone. It's quite her favourite place and she gets anxious when the door's closed and she's left on the outside. The cage apparently "provides territorial reassurance" and limits the area she has to guard when we're out and about.

Unfortunately, she's learnt how to break out of her confines by either flexing the door sufficiently that it bursts open or by forcing herself out through one of the corners. Either route must be very uncomfortable for her, particularly the latter.

Once out, and on her own, she immediately feels responsible for looking after the whole of the downstairs and it seems she finds this very stressful (as well as very exciting). Even more unfortunately, she manages to calm herself by jumping up on the settee and eating huge chunks out of the arm rest, scattering fabric, foam and hardboard all over the living room. After four episodes she's managed to make a whole big enough for a football to comfortably pass through, or indeed a significant part of me as it's at my end of the couch. :-|

I suppose we should think ourselves lucky that this is the only bit of furniture she's taken to "modifying". We've attempted to spoil her fun with the liberal use of cable ties (on the cage!) and, hopefully, this has put an end to her destruction. I'd weld the thing up if we didn't have to fold it down once in a while for transporting.

Heading into Winter

It seems I'm reminded every single day that Christmas is fast approaching. With teacher training days, autumnal illnesses and school half terms, we rarely seem to have a child free house or indeed a moment's peace and quiet. I'm very happy to report my personal shopper is doing a great job of getting everything ready for the festive event, so I suppose I shouldn't complain too much(!).

We're contenting ourselves with planning holidays for the next year. First will be another boys' trip high up into the French Alps. The star-studded guest list has the boy and I very excited, it will be good to catch up with all the foreigners (yes, even the one from Basingstoke). After that will come a two family trip to sunnier climes in Cyprus at the far end of the Mediterranean. The only depressing part of this is the £/€ exchange rate at the moment, fingers crossed that will bounce back a little before we travel.

Work for me is quite fun at the moment. I've just about got back into the routine of 9 to 5 and of going to bed at a reasonable hour. My journey to the office involves a 50 mile trip across the Pennines and Peak District. This trip can be very pretty, especially some of the sunrises and sunsets, but can also be pretty hairy with the heavily loaded quarry lorries and other locals / lunatics who choose to drive without lights in all but the pitch dark. The weather can be pretty spectacular too, so much so I've invested in chains and socks just to make sure I am able to make it home every night. I've not needed them - yet.

Belle's integration into family life has continued, pretty much to plan. She now knows her place in the pecking order and is generally a good deal more relaxed for that. The back garden still looks like we regularly host speedway races with an oval muddy track cut from corner to corner. We're having some fun and games walking her at the moment as, at just over eight months, she's currently "enjoying" her first season. This will also prove to be her last as she will be visiting the veterinarians in the New Year for a jolly good dose of spaying.

Other than that, not so much news at this end. How about you?

A quiet September

Whilst not so much has happened in recent weeks, gentle prompting has again persuaded me that I should provide some sort of update for a few distant friends. (For the record, I don't very often give in to nagging!)

Last month's torn calf muscle took a fair while to heal and only in the last few days have I really been properly back to normal. Just of good measure, at the start of the month I snapped the nail on my little toe against a wheely bin, not something I would recommend. And to top it all, I managed to sting both my ankles silly with poison ivy with the itching taking a good week to subside. Had the Piriton not been so effective, I think I may have considered amputation.

Belle has continued to grow in size and character. She's now had three "holidays" at two different kennels and doesn't seem to mind one bit. She's very keen to show off her full set of adult teeth and (thankfully) she's now got some idea of how hard she can bite without being immediately banished to the garden. Unfortunately for the rest of the nearby canine community, she's yet to understand what "I don't want to play" means.

The boy's school routine is now properly re-established, as are the daily activities such as swimming and piano lessons. He's started walking to and from school with a couple of his friends, something his Mum and Dad will appreciate when the cold weather arrives.

I've gone back to school myself this term having signed up for some further education in the form of twenty evenings of City & Guilds Introductory Welding. Rather unsurprisingly this has turned out to be fairly hot and hard work, although just as much fun as I expected. If only I had something at home that I could practice on - perhaps an old Land Rover or the like... ;-)

For the last weekend we went away with two other families to Sherwood Castle, only about 45 minutes from home now that the A1 is roundabout-free in these parts. The weather and accommodation was great, the kids pretty much entertained themselves, the company was top notch and I didn't get into too much trouble for watching the Singapore F1 qualifying on Saturday and the full race on Sunday.

As the evenings have started to draw in, we've been busy booking holidays for next year, one warm and one cold for starters. We'll be taking a trip to London in the not too distant future as well. I'm not sure Belle's so excited at the prospect.

The six week holiday

As we approach the end of the summer holidays (he's back to school on Tuesday!) I thought it was high time for update for family and friends. I haven't had too much spare time to blog as we were going along so here's the more significant happenings from the last few weeks.

I've embarked on quite a few mini-projects during August (fixing a friend's electrics after a break-in, demolishing another friend's wall and then rushing to hire some Acro-props(!)) but my greatest achievement has been in the field of carpentry. A trailer for the boy to tow behind his new go-kart is the near-perfect product of a borrowed mitre saw, a scientific calculator (with the original batteries that got me through my A-levels) and my unlikely remembering of some fairly complex trigonometry. Pictures will have to follow once I've completed some of the modular decks for carrying children, dogs, BBQ coals etc.

Speaking of dogs, Belle has continued to grow in size and confidence at a frightening rate. Her re-enactment of the Great Escape is repeated frequently at the back fence, although she's yet to make it to freedom. Training is progressing well and she's moved up a class - clever girl! So clever in fact that she can now from time to time open doors, her cage or anything else to which she applies herself. We've distilled a collection of toys that can withstand her chewing and she seems to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

We spent a fantastic weekend with Adrian and family in Bristol to witness the Balloon Fiesta. After meeting up in Shrewsbury on the way down so the girls could visit the QVC Outlet shop (even they had to admit it was a miserable pile of junk), we made a brief stop at the excellent RAF Cosford air museum. Unfortunately the weather in the South West was far too wet, windy and muddy for any balloon watching but this did nothing to spoil the trip. The hotel pool and four hour meals in various restaurants were great fun for all.

Over then Bank Holiday weekend we set an alarm for 1:30am so we could head over to Meadowhall to witness the demise of the Tinsley Towers. The boy and I were joined by another family and 8,000 or so other people who thought being out in the middle of the night was a good idea. Right on schedule at 3am, the towers disappeared into a huge cloud of dust. Once this cleared there were cheers from the crowd for a 100 foot chunk of one of the towers that was refusing to lie down quietly. We headed around via Kimberworth to get a better view (here) and to allow the masses of cars to disperse before we headed home. The nibbler drivers certainly earned their danger money as they razed what was left.

For this last week I've been limping around after tearing my calf muscle. "Just one last time" of launching the boy on his go-kart across the tennis courts in the local park resulted in the classic symptoms (I thought the wife had thrown half a paving stone at the back of my leg!). Thankfully it was only a minor injury with most of the pain subsiding after only a couple of days. Seven days on and it's nothing more than uncomfortable, although stairs are still not my favourite thing.

We're now looking forward to Sunday when the boss and I will become godparents for the first time. Proper bedtimes will then be restored and the countdown to Christmas will begin in earnest.

Progress of the beast

Seven weeks with our new companion seem to have, quite literally, trundled by. I knew having a puppy would be hard work but, to be quite honest, I didn't think it would be quite so tiring. We've been very fortunate I'm sure, managing to have Belle toilet trained almost from the start, sleeping for most of the night in her cage and accepting the same confinement when we have to go out, leaving her behind. She's continued to grow at a frightening rate and we're beginning to wonder just how big she's likely to get.

Last weekend we found the first puppy teeth on the carpet, hopefully signalling the start of the end of the biting. Belle has been responding to our controlled play and whilst she still enjoys a good gnaw on arms and legs if she can get away with it, at least she now has some appreciation of how hard she can bite down and for it still to be fun. Her chewing on the furniture, woodwork and table legs has just about been brought to an end and her barking always seems to have good reason.

The boy should be awarded a "NoBelle!" prize for his attempts to instil some discipline into our girl. It seems she interprets his shorter (than adult) stature as meaning he is more of an equal, seeing this as an invitation to chase, wrestle and bite him. He keeps plugging away reasserting his authority and, sometimes even through teary eyes, I can see he really likes her.

Our back garden has taken a bit of a beating in recent weeks. Belle likes nothing better than depotting the hard work of my green-fingered wife and digging holes in the lawn that seem to be joining up (imagine puppy-scale WWI trenches!). With hindsight, Horiko ("堀子" meaning "digger girl") would not have been a bad choice of name. She doesn't mind getting dirty either and we've had to hose her down more than a couple of times. Sadly, she thinks this is a great game and I'm sure she gets herself dirty just to play it.

Other moments of horror have included finding Belle gently chewing on the "skin" case for my iPod Nano 3G, having somehow removed it from the device all by herself. Amazingly, neither the case nor the iPod had any visible damage but for the thick layer of canine saliva that had to be carefully washed away.

Puppy training will continue this weekend after it was rained off last Sunday. We're going to try to accelerate her learning, particularly her walking to heel which is not quite(!) there yet.

The sun shines on the righteous

Despite a few showers on the drive down to RAF Waddington air show and the fifteen minute monsoon as we progressed through the checkpoints into the parking area, the boy and I have managed to stay reasonably dry all day. By 11am there was no more than drizzle and by 12:30pm the precipitation had ceased altogether.

We'd followed TomTom's shortest route that brought us into the village from the West and we headed down Mere Road and Manchester Road, maintaining a straight line until we managed to park not 50 yards from the front and bang in the middle of the runway. To our right on the old cross runway was a B-52H and just in front of that was the reason for our trip, the Avro Vulcan XH558 attending her first air show in 15 years after a mammoth restoration project. I couldn't quite believe how lucky we were, having almost the same view as the Vulcan Trust VIP area.

The air show stayed pretty much to schedule and was action packed to say the least. A departing Typhoon, heading for the competing Yeovilton air show, was spectacular even in the rain. The first few displays were limited by the cloud base being not much more than 1500 feet, the Red Arrows being the most noticeable casualties. We had a good scout around in the hangars, found a great example of a British Leyland Allegro and had a clamber around a Shackleton cockpit. By the time we emerged into the daylight once again it was bright and blue was beginning to spread across the sky.

Shock and awe was the order of the afternoon. The French AF Mirage 2000C was stunning, a Chinook followed by a Royal Navy Merlin both did things helicopters just should not be able to do and a second Typhoon accompanied a Spitfire before blasting around the heavens in a superlative demonstration of the meaning of agile. The Spanish CASA 101 display team put on a good show but by then everyone was waiting for the main event.

Almost perfectly on cue, the sun started to shine down from an uninterrupted sky. Vulcan departed in age old style by giving it a huge amount of beans to climb steeply and deafeningly. She lurked in the background as a Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane put on a great show. Vulcan then slotted in behind the Lancaster and pursued it on a circuit of the airfield - a scary sight to have in your mirrors! A quick flash over her open bomb-bay doors preceded her signature gear-down go-slow along the display line before once again finding the on switch to lurch skywards in immense fashion. On landing she also managed her usual party trick of decelerating with her nose wheel high off the ground until she was at taxiing speed. Just before shut-down the pilot ran up the engines to 80% with the brakes hard on to give us one last treat and shake. To be honest, it was all a bit too safe and short but I suppose they're wanting to be ultra careful with the old girl, so new from her rebirth.

Many started their journey home once Vulcan was safely down but that was a mistake. They missed a "tactical scenario" enacted by a Chinook, an Apache, an AWACS E-3 Sentry and four utterly terrifying Tornados as they dropped smoke bombs and generally caused sensory mayhem. A Lynx helicopter display followed and to finish, the first Typhoon returned from its other engagement and took advantage of the now clear skies to rampage around without limits.

Amazingly, most of the 1127 photos (3.26GB!) from my DSLR are in focus, reasonably well exposed and actually have a decently sized subject. Admittedly there are a few duplicates in there but I reckon I'll have about 800 keeps. With the snaps from the compacts we had with us, I fear a storage review is going to have to be on the cards.

All in all, a brilliant boys day out. I wonder if I could get away with returning for day two tomorrow...

Exciting Sunday

We were expecting a quiet one this weekend. Perhaps we should have better understood the portent of what we found when we returned from having tea out on Friday evening. Our "darling little puppy" had managed to escape her cage and then had rampaged around our living room, knocking over just about everything and making a fine old mess. Fortunately, she had been most occupied by "recycling" a pile of newspapers so the damage looked far greater than it actually was and the clear-up operation took only a few minutes.

A good dose of man-flu saw me stay at home on Saturday for some recuperative time while the rest of the family headed over to visit my in-laws. Unfortunately, Bellezepup stayed at home with me and seemed to be possessed for all but ten minutes of the day. By evening I was exhausted, as was the supply of plasters and ointment needed to patch up my shredded hands, arms and feet.

On Sunday, fifteen week old Belle attended her third puppy training class. At least she's made some good friends from her fellow students over the last couple of weeks. Sadly, academic progress has been somewhat less of a priority for her and we're going to have to change her collar to something that will cause her to listen just a little more. As the tuition takes place on a show ground, the equine, bovine and other animal smells seem to prove far too distracting for our beast.

After bacon sandwiches, the boy and I headed over to Sheffield with our bikes (in the back of the car) to join some friends for a ride out in the forest. Although reasonably fine as we set off, the sky got increasingly dark and angry and as we arrived the heavens opened. Whilst we don't mind getting wet, and it certainly wasn't cold, we weren't prepared with a change of clothes and accordingly we had to wimp out. We headed back down towards civilisation.

As we travelled to our friend's house, a full size, saddled and riderless horse came straight across our bow. She was clearly very frightened, easily outrunning her pedestrian pursuers. We followed for over a mile along country lanes, trying as best we could to warn oncoming traffic. After a few scares at major road junctions, she eventually took a wrong turn and was arrested around the back of a barn. We drove back to where the pursuit had started and flagged down the local constabulary to tell them where she was.

By the time we got to a kettle for a much-need brew, the sky was absolutely beautiful with not a cloud to be seen, it's true what they say about Sheffield's weather. We had a sit down and relaxed further by following the password recovery procedure of a misbehaving appliance while we recanted our adventures.

Then, on the motorway travelling back, just as we reported our anticipated ETA using a non-distracting phone car kit(!), a folding caravan that was being towed by a car about 200yds ahead of us decided it would be a great time to rear-up and scatter itself across all three lanes of the carriageway. We managed to avoid running over any of the debris and were glad to finally return to the safety of home. Phew!

Day 24 in the house

Three and a bit weeks seem to have flown by and Belle is now a fully enrolled member of our family. Her indelible mark is easy to find around the house, in the carpet and furniture, on the wood of the back door and in the garden where she's taken a liking to the potted plants, manure and general large-scale excavation projects.

Although her kennel name is Akiko ("明子" meaning "bright/cheery child") we have wondered whether Kibako ("牙子" meaning "fangs child") might be somewhat more appropriate. For an hour or so twice each day we are visited by Bellezepup, Belle's more challenging (demonic?) alter ego, who enjoys sinking her puppy teeth into anything she can reach, humans limbs most definitely included.

Having already met a handful of dogs belonging to the rest of the family and on the local park, today she attended her first puppy class. Being kept on the lead curtailed her wilder instincts and she had a great, if not not a little cautious, time with some new friends. She even managed to respond to some of the instruction, perhaps a glimmer of brightness that we can work with.

We've been enjoying deciphering the semaphore of Belle's ears. Last week both were up and crossed so she looked like she was wearing a bishop's mitre. A few days later her left ear was standing erect like an adult's with her right ear completely down. Now they're both floppy once again and she looks as cute as is ever likely. She's starting to change colour too with light fur appearing on the top of her forelegs and the bottom of her back. She's putting on weight fast and has grown an amazing amount in the short time with us. I should be running a book on how big she's going to end up - not too big we hope!

One week later

After seven days with our new mini BabyBelle, I think we have the measure of our new nugget of pressed cheese. In fact, I've even managed to capture her essence in a photo as you can see to the left. Most of the time she's an adorable bundle of fluff but from time to time, especially for the first two hours or so of each day, she's nothing short of a mad and mean destructive bundle of razor-sharp teeth. I think that's what's known in the trade as a training "opportunity" and we've already started saving for when we replace the downstairs carpets.

Settling in doesn't seem to have been too much of a problem to her and we've already got a pretty good routine instilled. Bedtime is shortly before 11pm and only a few minutes of howling precedes solid sleep. Each morning she's been waking up a little later, from 05:45 on the first morning to 07:00 today. And she's certainly been making the most of her rest as she's already a degree bigger than when she arrived. Her ears change everyday and it won't be long before they're both standing to attention all the time.

Travelling in the car has proved to be a little bit of a challenge with short trips to a National Trust park being enough to cause some sickness. Each time she has appeared to be a little more relaxed and she obviously enjoys all the new smells that the woods have to offer. Maybe the trees, stones, snails, shoes and other detritus she's eating is not helping.

Yesterday Belle endured her first trans-Pennine (sleepy and sickness free) journey to meet her adopted grandparents and two new canine friends. The first of these, George, is a large Pointer cross who used to be Cocoa's best mate. He was quite confused by his new acquaintance and Belle was overawed by his size and bark. She did find her own voice for the first time, a sign of things to come.

The second was a young chap called Alfie, a 20 week old Border Collie, and he was much more fun. After a few minutes of polite and respectful sniffing, Belle launched into full speed and volume GSD play mode, giving her opponent, nearly twice her own age, a good and proper kicking. I'm sure they both had a great time and expect they'll be friends for life. However, I also expect Alfie will get a shock when the two of them next meet as Belle will have gained a good size advantage by then.

There's a dog in the house

After many hours and days of deliberating and arguing over a new name for "Vernabell Akiko" we all decided this morning that a Belle would be coming home with us.

As soon as we arrived at her kennel, where she was sleeping with her brother and sister, she clearly knew this was her big day. "Number 31" was the only one keen to return behind bars while her siblings were messing around outside on the grass. She was very clingy with her breeder as we completed the paperwork but then it was time for her to take the car journey to her new home.

Not being so sure of her new travel crate and having never been very far at all in a car (just two trips to the vets), she settled down without too much fuss. Unfortunately the weight of traffic on the M1, the warmth of another sunny day and a big breakfast all came together to result in a little bit of travel sickness. The first of many little accidents I'm sure that we will have to deal with over the coming months.

Following a quick exploration of the garden and a scout of the downstairs of the house, Belle collapsed into her first sleep on her new bed. She seems to be quite content with what she's found so far. She even entertained some lunch, with some spectacular encouragement from her new mistress, and is now going to spend much of the afternoon being fussed over as she starts to meet the extended family.

For a little girl of only ten weeks, she's already a fairly sizeable dog as you'll be able to see from the pictures. For those of you who haven't seen the boy recently, he's huge too!

As she only had her second vaccination yesterday, Belle won't be meeting any new canine friends for a week or so. We'll register her with our local vets before then too.

A new addition

After my first full day of rattling around in an empty house and the unbearable silence when our postman walked by the front window, I too had come to the conclusion that our family needs a dog.

Had Cocoa stuck to the plan and lived to a riper age - I had expected her to be with us for at least another three years - I would have kept with my view that we should have a pet-owning holiday to allow for some serious travelling with the boy when he would be old enough to appreciate it. However, stick to the plan Cocoa did not and none of us wanted to be dog-free for such a long time.

This evening we all headed over to Derbyshire to meet a prospective family member, at the moment living with four of five her siblings and both her parents. I'm very happy to report that the meeting went well and "Number 31" will be coming home with us on the 23rd. By then she'll be 10 weeks old, fully documented and inoculated and will hopefully have learnt all there is to know about how to be a social and well-mannered dog from her mum.

It was a pleasure to witness the family pack playing together. Her German father and local mother are both very handsome, friendly and playful beasts. All the dogs are clearly very well looked after, much loved and content. The puppies are growing quickly in an idyllic rural environment and are having a wonderful time.

The moniker "Number 31" comes from the tattoo number in her ear and is currently the only reliable way to tell her apart from her sister. Whilst we already have some good ideas, we're taking suggestions for names. If you happen to have a moment of appellative inspiration, please don't hesitate to send it on.