29-Feb -2008 Sunny getaway

Travelling gives you the freedom feeling sometimes, away from the day to day humdrum, new places, new faces. Boarding times and "What would you like to drink, Sir"? Foreign travelling, abroad, passport, Hotel, eating out, all good fun. This combined with hours of waiting in airports, long taxi drives, overcrowding on the airplane, and screaming children kicking you as you fall asleep, eating the wrong stuff at the wrong time, or not eating at all (as happened at the customer this time) all goes to give mixed feelings. Simple last minute business travel because you have to is one thing, but planning a cheap holiday in the sun is another. Thompson travel is the gateway to many in the UK for such getaways. I always cringe when I see the lines at check in for these Allicante getaways or similar. Massive suitcases, kakki shorts already donned in readiness, one nationality moves on-masse to anothers territory. Familiar faces in an unfamiliar place. Some home comforts at least.

23-Feb-2008 Lelystad Naturepark on a Sunday morning

Flevolandschap oversees the upkeep and maintenance of Lelystad Naturepark, and I am a member of that foundation, so I get to use the car park for free! I can get my bicycle into my car, a Fiat Multipla, so off I go. This morning I saw the red deer, the Mousse, and the wild pigs up close. Here is a picture of the wild pigs.

I also saw the carcase of a dead Buzzard, and feathers of a black bird nearby. The blackbirds feathers can be seen in the middle of the bicycle path, and the body of the buzzard can be seen directly above them, just off the path on the verge. There was no sign of the blackbird's body, but the carcase of the Buzzard is shown here in the photo. The flesh was still red and "fresh", and was probably killed this morning. Here is a photo of the dead buzzard.

22-Feb-2008 Start of the blog - there no end to it, is there, this internet stuff

I suppose I never was really good at keeping a diary, and this blog thing is really one of those isin't it. This seems more fun though, even though people can read it and you wouldnt want anyone to read your paper diary now would you? I can put a nice photo in too if I want. So here is one of Ardmore, a lovely seaside village in Ireland.

This is the earliest known photo of me, Neil J Bourke, as a baby in my mothers arms, on a beach, probably Banna Strand, in Co. Kerry, Ireland, together with from left to right, my father Michael F Bourke, John Henry, Ann Deirdre, Michael Patrick, and Mary my sister, and finally uncle Paddy.