Yummy scrummy, oh my tummy!

Date: 27th August 2010

Location: Friend's house.

Chef: Best Matey, Arghhh.

I have a friend who makes the most amazing food. Every time I go to her place, and praise her to my siblings, they refuse to believe me as I never bring anything back nor take pictures, which is quite unlike me. This time however I got in before we broke into the starters. Alas, I never managed to get the rest of the mains and the desserts, the latter being something OH SO special at that.

But here are the pictures I did manage to bring back.

The Table:

 

And there's more!

My friend made this lovely concoction of Mango and icecream blended together smoothly in a yummy mixture. Loved it! Must try it at home. 

Starters in focus below:

I wish I had taken pics of the rest of the items. There was roast chicken pieces. There were curries! As for desserts, there was the caramel tarts with banana pieces. Admittedly I picked the banaces slice out of mine, heh, and it was yummeh! And she also made this item called an Eton Mess (oh how traditional English! heh).

Stock/google image below:

Except hers had toffee and victorian sponge cake. MMMMM.

Suffice to say, I came back home with a HUGE belly. All win for me then.

London to Scotland - Return

Here are a few pictures from above. I took my Bridge camera with me all they way to Scotland and back, even though it was a day trip and I never actually got to see Scotland itself, unless you're counting the inside of the airport, taxi, and the office as "sight seeing" and the real Scotland. Sigh.

But at least I have these babies!

I love clouds. I have always loved clouds. Be it lying back after a pinic under the teeming sun or at the beach with my friends playing the "cloud shape" game. It's ever changing and wonderful.

Other than the fact it makes me think of candy floss, and a kingdom far away with Princesses and the likes (okay, so I have a bit of a kiddish fantasy), it is an ever present reminder of the beauty that this planet offers us.  It is also one of the most accessible majestic views for us humans and it reminds me personally, that it's a beautiful place outside of the daily human toils and troubles. That there is so much more out there than our immediate concerns and short term views.  And most of all, that we need to take care of our planet lest we lose these beauties forever.

Okay, so I'm a bit of a worry wart with that last point, but there you have it. I'm clearly part of the Clouds Appreciation society.

This is Scotland from above. Magnificent, non?

Once again, clouds. Heh. It was a bit overcast at that point, but the sun threatened to breakthrough the covers.

London, Heathrow. I prefer it over City Airport and I got to see a beautiful sunset too.

I think I got used to domestic flights after all. Alas, no more as I have completed that mini project of travelling between London and Scotland. Partly phew, and partly awwww as the travel and pictures could have been so much more if I had been outside of a work capacity.

My Pictures: A history

I frequently find myself lusting after DSLRs and the output of others on the various blogs on the interwebz. Advances in technology and reliance of DIY photography has meant that there are now more people than ever picking up the craft and taking it much more seriously than the occasional snap. I would count myself as one of those.

For myself personally, it all began when I watched others taking pictures for their school slambook; this was back in 1999. We were coming to the end of a crucial point in the English education system, on the cusp of receiving our GCSEs, with major changes taking place soon after. Some of my class mates planned to stay on in sixth form (secondary school), whilst others - like myself, had opted for sixth form college instead, as it provided us with wider range of subjects at AS and A levels. In addition to the forthcoming educational upheaval, I had moved homes to a different area altogether before my final year, and a worry nagged the back of my mind, that these individuals who had come to mean so much to me over the previous fives years, would no longer be present in my daily life. It was a poignant thought, one that caused quite a bit of sadness, but one that I was resolute to fix with at least lasting memories for the future.

To ensure that I had something concrete to take away from my fabulous experience at school, pictures were a must, and so I badgered my parents for a camera,. Boy, did they get me a camera! It was a Vivatar APS (remember those?!) camera from abroad. I was such a proud owner of it as I snapped away my final year with many colourful outputs. Most of these have ended up in my own slambook, a book filled with pictures, thoughts from my school friends, many in-jokes, random things glued in and lipstick prints as my friends smacked away imprints of love for me to pore over many years later.  I still have the book and have looked through it many times since. It's a beautiful part of my past and I am glad I have it.

I loved the whole process of collecting these memories and I believe this was what set me on my way to becoming the snapper I am today.

So that's how it began for me.

P.S. I just had a look at the aforementioned Slambook and I forgot all about the friendship band, the newspaper clipping where I received my GCSE results and appeared in the local paper and the random bits of chocolate wrapper, ha. Probably better with pictures, but perhaps this ones just for my eyes only.

Rabbits, From Edinburgh

Because I was surprised to see them just outside the banking office.

GRRR, they be running away from me! But you can see some at a distance.

They have sort of blended in with the underbush area.

And that was Edinburgh. I never got to see the rest of it, sigh.

Nature time, a conversation

I love taking lanscape pictures. Even amongst the concrete and buildings of London, there is greenery and all manners of natural beauty. Here are a few pics from yesterday.

Adios.

A Cake for Me

And yes, it was tasty. 

 Especially with a cup of tea. Mmmm.

Thai-licious

Venue: Gilgamesh, London

Cuisine: Thai food

Occasion: My birthday

Website: http://www.gilgameshbar.com/

D e c o r 

T h e   f o o d

Introducing: The Umbaba, a mocktail

Chicken banana wrap

Rare Beef Salad, which we asked the waiter to get the chef to cook again as the rare-ness put us off. Oops.

Avocado and Sweet Potato Tempura, yum yum. The sauce to dip it in was divine to say the least.

Thai Green Chicken Curry. The best Thai Green Curry I have had yet! And I have had quite a few in all sorts of places.
 

Egg fried rice

Food glorious food, 

What is there more handsome?

Gulped, swallowed or chewed,

Still worth a king's ransom! 

I believe in enjoying ones birthday with good food, and good food I had in abundance.

Save The Rhino!

It's for a good cause.

http://www.savetherhino.org/etargetsrinm/site/1/default.aspx

From their website, did you know: "At the turn of the 19th century, there were approximately one million rhinos. In 1970, there were around 70,000. Today, there are fewer than 24,500 rhinos surviving in the wild."
 

Boggles the mind at the sheer rapid fall in numbers. Humans, eh? Here's a random thought, I wonder if we can be classified as "vermin", given our tendencies for mayhem and destructions. Not least general annoyance all round?

I think I'm onto something.

And doing my part to raise awareness, here's a Rhino from the Save the Rhino project as sponsored by Virgin Trains. Yes, this was Euston Station.

To do your bit, here's a link:

http://www.savetherhino.org/eTargetSRINM/site/541/default.aspx

Adios.

Some flowers for the pretty lady

Because you're worth it

The Snapper

Hi.

I am a 25 year old, living in London, with a serial habit of taking pictures of anything and everything. I'm not a very good "amateur photographer", but I give it my best shot. It helps me from going insane after spending most of the day in a most uncreative environment.

Here's a random picture from Waterloo, London.

To help with releasing the pent up frustrations and toils of daily working life, I have created this internet-space for my daily snaps. I hope to put up both random mobile phone pictures and the slightly more creative ones from my regular camera when I get the chance. My cameras of choice:

1. Blackberry 9700 (Bold) for mobile phone pictures.

2. Sony Compact camera (not mine!).

3. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28. My Bridge Camera.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I.

Here are a few pictures I have taken in recent times. This ones from inside a plane, as I was coming back from Glasgow.

From the London Aquarium:

A piece of jewellery. Cheap to be honest.

And from my daily commute:

Please note, I do not claim to be a great photographer, but rather use it as an outlet to share a bit of my world and document the things I come across on a day to day basis.  Here's hoping I DO have something interesting to show along the way. Very few will be 'shopped, just because sometimes you need a bit of rustiness for that authentic charm. But lets see how that works out, eh?

Watch this space.