Photobrook Photography

Why has Photobrook Photography gone a bit quiet?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 15:21:00 +0000

It doesn't take a genius to work out that things have gone a bit quite in the world of Photobrook Photography.

One large life event of loosing my dad certainly turned a lot of my life on it's head which meant that blogging and photography simply just fell to one side.

Since losing my dad 4 years ago lots has changed in my personal life.

I got married! I'm now Mrs White.

I got pregnant! I'm now mummy to a little man called Arthur.

I decided to set up my own business - Welcome to Amanda White Digital an SEO and PPC consultation service based in Cornwall.

Perhaps that last one wasn't quite the best timing, launching anything new at the start of 2020 was quite possibly the worst timing with this lovely Coronavirus doing the rounds but it's certainly giving me something new to focus on.

I want to pick up Photobrook again and get my camera out and dust off the lenses and find my passion for taking photographs again. If however you want to read about SEO and PPC then head over to Amanda White Digital for my latest blog posts over their.

Amanda

Heybridge Basin Walk in the summer sunshine

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 15:15:00 +0000

I now live in Cornwall and have done for over 10 years but my heart will always have a small place in Essex.
Essex isn't all Towie and white stilettos it has some gorgeous coastlines and although it might not be as rugged and have the same style of beaches that Cornwall has it is still lovely to spend time their with my family exploring the coast.

A recent visit was no different and after a day of rain the wet weather finally cleared up and by the evening it was actually feeling very nice.
We decided to take a drive from Chelmsford to the Blackwater estuary and walk along the river walk around Heybridge basin.

Heybridge Basin on the Chelmer and Blackwater Canal

It really was beautiful and totally different to the beauty that I have begun to take for granted when in Cornwall. The boats bobbing gently on the water and the sun glistening a short walk with my mum, sister and nephew was the perfect way to spend a summers evening and when their are two pubs spitting distance from the water it would have been rude not to take advantage and stop for a drink.

Heybridge basin Estuary - Essex

Heybridge basin Estuary with the tide going out - Essex

Evening walk with my Mum, Sister and Nephew

Next time your in Essex take the time to step away from the shopping precincts and town centres and take time to explore the gorgeous coast.

Newquay Night Surf 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 11:28:00 +0000

I've been going to watch the night surf since it was held at Lusty Glaze beach in Cornwall and this years event was not to be missed.
This year the night surf was held as it has been for the past few years at Fistral beach in Newquay. The idea of night surfing is soo cool but this event is strictly for the competitors entering the competition.

Waves rolling in at the Night Surf 2017 Fistral beach

Sun Setting at the Night Surf 2017 Fistral beach

The beach is full of spectators all waiting for the sun to go down and the floodlights to go up with an evening of watching some really good surfers showing us how it's done.

Watching the sun set at the Firstral Night Surf 2017

The beach was crowded and we met some friends and family and enjoyed a beer and let the evening unfold.

The best bit of the night surf as always is the Fireworks!
There really is nothing better than watching fireworks explode into bright colours over the sea watching the reflections in the water glow in different colours.

Fireworks off the headland at the Fistral Night Surf 2017

Watch the Fireworks off the headland at the Fistral Night Surf 2017

See you on the beach
Mandi x x x x

Caerhays Castle Coastal Walk In Cornwall

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 09:13:00 +0000

When was the last time you woke up on a Saturday morning with nothing to do?
We, like many couples live rather hectic lives with a whole host of activities that keep me and my fiance busy, renovating our house, planning a wedding, training for half marathons and both working full time. All this means we are very rarely able to spend time together, but sometimes you just have to take some time to be a couple and especially when living in Cornwall enjoy the county that we work so hard to live in.

With a few hours to spare we decided to explore some of the south coast of Cornwall and picked a place name that we had never heard of before and headed to Portholland.

What a beautiful place! Why had we never been here before??? It's so easy, when you don't get much time off to head straight to the classic tourist destinations when you get the opportunity to get out and enjoy the area. For us this usually means a trip to Falmouth, Padstow or St Ives.
But during the summer months most of these popular towns are swarming with people and they feel more like London's Piccadilly circus than quiet quaint Cornwall.

Portholland Beach Cornwall

Cool little lizardy newt chap on a bench on our walk

Picking place names off a map that we haven't heard of usually suggests that the location isn't that popular and well know and will hopefully not be too busy! When we arrived and parked the car on the front we were stunned with how beautiful the little beach was. There is barley anything in this little village, a small post office and cafe in one property and a few holiday lets but other than this the little cove was unspoilt.

We took a walk across the beach and decided as it was such a lovely day that we would head on up to the coast path and walked to Caerhays Beach and back. There was a gorgeous little cafe here overlooking the beach and stopped for a bite of lunch before walking back along the coast path back to the car.

It's only a short walk across coast path and fields, and although it is steep in some places it wasn't too far and made a really pleasant couple of hours out of the house.

Do what the Viennese do! Eat cake and drink coffee.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 11:47:00 +0000

After the previous days surprise proposal at the Zoo in Vienna and the awesome evening ice skating under the stars in the city centre today our hangovers needed a slight sugar hit and so we decided to visit one of the many grand cafe's that offer equisite cakes to devour across Vienna.

Living in Cornwall we often watch good old Padstein, celebrity chef Rick Stein and when he was doing a show specifically about his foody weekend in Vienna we just had to visit the cafe that he had visited whilst doing the show.

My fella announced 'If it's good enough for Rick Stein, It's good enough for my fiance' I love it! With not even 24 hours of being a fiance and being engaged I still feel like I'm in a bubble of happiness.

Rick Stein enters the Cafe Landtmann Vienna

Rick Stein eating in the Cafe Landtmann Vienna

We went into the Cafe Landtmann as Rick Stein had done and giggled as we were served by the same waiter. We oggled at the cake menu and my fellas eyes lit up with excitement at the coffee menu.
We were celebrating our engagment and so I decided to have just a few more bubbles. I could get used to Vienna, wining and dining and being spoilt rotten.

Inside the cafe Landtmann Vienna

Patissere counter Inside the cafe Landtmann Vienna

Sightseeing in Vienna City Centre and St. Stephen's Cathedral.

We both enjoyed some fabulous cake and relaxed in the cafe and let the reality sink in that we were in fact engaged and would be getting married!!! EEEEKKKKKK

The most magical evening of my life, But what was it???

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Sun, 09 Jul 2017 11:02:00 +0000

If your a regular follower to my blog or even a real friend in the real world then it is hard to avoid knowing that, I GOT ENGAGED.

I'm still bursting with happiness, if you want to read all about the proposal skip back to my blog post here and read all about it.

After the proposal it was late afternoon and we had already planned the evening to go into the city and go to the open air ice skating but first we had to celebrate a toast to our new engagement and more importantly tell my mum!!!

We got Engaged

We went back to the hotel to utilise the Wifi and utilise the bar and with a glass of bubbly each, I text my mum asking if she was about for a quick skype call. She instantly replied yes and that she was on skype to my brother at the same time. Perfect!
I was quite surprised that she had replied saying yes as usually we skype for several hours and she knew we were away and that I wouldn't be around for a long call but anyway, we dialled in and told them the happy news.

After a few texts and calls to the immediate family and a few more glasses of bubbles we were heading out of the hotel slightly tipsy towards the train station to get the train to the city centre.

We arrived at the ice skating rink in a bubble of happiness. There were couples and families everywhere, smiling, enjoying there time on the ice. There was a small Ferris wheel decorated with lights next to the ice rinks and there were food stalls selling everything imaginable including hot mulled wine!

Ice Skating at Night in Vienna

Ice Skating in the city centre Vienna

We worked out how to hire skates, and use the lockers for our shoes and were soon on the ice soaking up the magical experience.
However, there was one slight problem. My newly titled Fiance can not ice skate!!!! Even with a bit of dutch courage there was no way this was going to work. We laughed hysterically as a small boy skated over and offered help. 'Sir, Sir' you do it like this'

After just a few laps, my other half decided that his time would be much better spent drinking mulled wine and spectating!
I on the other hand skated my socks off. Fuelled by excitement, adrenaline and prosseco and with several rinks to skate around enjoyed an evening soaking in everything that had happened that day.

Evening ice skating in Vienna

After working up an alcohol, ice skating fuelled appetite we decided to grab some of the authentic Austrian Street food and more hot wine before heading back to the hotel to celebrate more.

Thank You to my wonderful fiance for making me the happiest girl on the planet and I can't wait to be your wifey.

Vienna Zoo, the Tiergarten Schonbrunn, seeing twin baby pandas and THE BIGGEST SURPRISE EVER!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 07 Jul 2017 09:50:00 +0000

When I heard on the news last year that there were two baby twin panda bears born in a zoo in Austria, it was pretty safe to say we were planning a trip to Vienna!
Although even the best made plans sometimes don't go quite as straight forward as we would like and a month after the announcement of the birth of the baby pandas, sadly my father passed away.

One minute we were planning trips to Austria to visit the Christmas markets and see the pandas the next we were suddenly planning my dads funeral! Things could not have been more different!

As the new year started we decided that we should not miss out on the trip of a lifetime and that my dad knew how much I loved those damn black and white bears and he would have wanted me to go, so me and the boyfriend re-planned our trip to the Austrian capital.

With our five day mini break in Vienna well underway we had squeezed in loads of tourist attractions including a river cruise on the Danube river, Eating strudel in the tallest building in Vienna, Taking a trip on one of the oldest wooden Ferris wheels and experiencing architecture Austrian style! But the best was yet to come. THE ZOO, The Tiergarten Schonbrunn and seeing the two baby pandas.

We arrived in Vienna late on the Monday and decided to use the Tuesday to find our way around the city and get used to the local area. On Wednesday we had decided I couldn't wait any longer and I couldn't bear the fact that there were two baby pandas less than a mile from our hotel and we still hadn't seen them.

We got up early.... Well I woke up early, too excited to sleep and dragged my other half down to breakfast and we were soon on our way out of the hotel and on the mile walk to the zoo. Except we were following my boyfriends satnav on his phone and unfortunately he isn't the best at navigating and when we left the hotel the phone said we were a 20 minute walk away. When I started getting in a hissy fit that we we're wasting valuable panda time, I checked the phone and we worked out that we were now 50 minutes away and had been walking in the wrong direction for half and hour!!!!!

After an hour and a half of walking we could see the entrance to the zoo and I was unable to contain my excitement. We arrived at the zoo and it was really quiet.
I'm quite good at savouring any moment but with this I couldn't wait any longer and we headed immediately to the panda enclosure. Luckily the panda's are really near to the zoo entrance!

Slight anti climax! Both baby pandas were asleep in their sleeping tree and the mummy bear was chilling at the back of the cage, back to us, just sitting there. After 20 minutes of sitting waiting and not a glimpse of the baby pandas we decided to leave the enclosure and visit the rest of the animals in the zoo.

After about an hour of blankly looking at other animals I insisted we headed back to check what the pandas were doing..... they were doing the same! No sight of the two twin babies and mum just sitting yet again!!

We went around some more of the zoo and saw more of the animals and took shelter in a monkey enclosure viewing area to try and get warm, as outside it really was bitterly cold being out all day. We saw some people eating some random garlic circle things and the smell was intoxicating and we had to get in on the action and get some for ourselves. Deep fried flat breads smothered in garlic butter, well no one is healthy on holiday are they!!!!

Deep fried garlic butter bread!!!

We visited indoor gardens and tropical zones including the freakiest area with bats flying freely in a dark tunnel that you have to walk through and we saw koala bears, polar bears, elephants the aquarium.

It really is a very good zoo but we just had to get back to see if those little pandas were going to make an appearance and finally, after popping back to the enclosure several times on that last visit about an hour before closing time the mummy bear was parading around the enclosure. Sitting right up at the glass and eating bamboo and one of the babies was sitting in a tree. We did get a brief glimpse of the other twin baby panda but this one was shy and hid in the sleeping tree most of our visit.

Giant Pandas at the Tiergarten Zoo in Vienna

As the baby panda entertained us nearly falling out of the tree all the visitors at the zoo were now in the enclosure cooing and whooping at the little bear.
It really was the most amazing experience to see such a cute little panda.

Baby panda in the tree in the Tierfarten zoo, Vienna, Austria.

With only about 30 minutes left until the zoo was to close I wanted to visit the zoo shop and get my fix of panda based souvenirs. We decided to wave a farewell to the gorgeous bears and make our way to the zoo shop and as we were about to leave my fella announced that 'We couldn't leave yet' I kinda turned and scowled at him! Er, why not, I don't want to miss the zoo shop!!! He replied 'Because there's something I haven't asked you yet'
And there it was!!! A WEDDING PROPOSAL IN THE PANDA ENCLOSURE!!!

I don't think I could quite believe it, we had been together nearly 9 years and I had pestered constantly that I wanted to be married by the time I was 30 and as this had been and gone I thought it would never happen.
In a state of shock I of course replied a teary and shocked 'yes' but then proceeded to insist that we visited the zoo shop!!! HA HA HA I think this was mainly due to shock of the proposal...... OK, I admit It I really did want that soft cuddly panda from the shop.

Even now several months on and well into wedding planning I still can't quite believe that my fella had purchased a ring without me knowing, had got it through the airport without me knowing and had planned a proposal with my favourite animal in the whole world.

I really am the happiest girl alive!

Large open greenhouse in Vienna. The Palmenhaus Schonbrunn

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 20 Jun 2017 15:33:00 +0000

Our city break in Vienna has included everything from rides on Giant Ferris Wheels to rotating restaurants up 150 metre tall viewing towers and viewing insanely crazy architecture at the kunst house. Our next attraction to visit is a giant greenhouse and desert house. Both situated in the grounds of the Schonbrunn Palace gardens we decided that it would be a good idea for a nice walk through the park to totally freeze ourselves to the core before warming up in the tropical indoor gardens!

Schonbrunn Palace gardens, Vienna

Walking from the hotel to the Schonbrunn Palace and gardens


The Palmenhaus Schonbrunn Palace Vienna.

The walk through the gardens were completely and utterly frozen in places

The green house originally opened in 1882 and is filled with hundreds of plants from all over the world. It was a great place to warm up on such a freezing cold day and was full of beautiful bright colours and smells of all the flowers.

It doesn't take long to walk around the palm house but it was worth a look to imagine how on earth the building was constructed all those years ago. The construction is facinating!

The Palm House in Schronbrunn Palace Gardens Vienna

Beautiful flowers in the palm house at Schonbrunn Palace Vienna.


Flowers in the palm house at Schonbrunn Palace Vienna.

Opposite the Palm House is another greenhouse and this one was pleasantly even warmer! This one known as the desert house was full of cactus plants and even a few snakes and a lot of birds flying around the inside.

The desert house at Schonbrunn Palace Vienna

After an afternoon at the Palace Gardens we decided to walk back to our hotel to thoroughly warm up after being outside in such freezing temperatures. It's a totally different climate to being in the UK and the evenings regularly drop down deep into minus figures and the day times barely get above freezing and most days there was light snow falling in the air.

Here is one of the tributaries of the river running alongside the railway line that is completely frozen either side of the flowing water.

Frozen river in Vienna

How to make traditional Viennese Strudel

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 15:03:00 +0000

On our recent trip to Vienna when we heard you could visit the kitchen of a Viennese palace and watch how traditional Viennese Strudel is made and even taste the strudel and we jumped at the chance.

It turned out that the hotel we had chosen was a short walk down hill to the Schonbrunn Palace and it wasn't long before we were learning how to make Strudel, Viennese style. What we hadn't realised that how quiet the tourism scene is out of season. We had our own private viewing!

Schonbrunn Palace Vienna

At first we felt slightly uncomfortable as the lady that was showing us how to make traditional strudel was talking to the whole room even though there was only the two of us there. It was great getting our own personal demonstration but she could have just talked to us rather than on auto pilot talking to an empty room!

Making Traditional Viennese Strudel in the Schonbrunn Palace Vienna

Now armed with the knowledge on how to make see through wafer thin pastry for strudel... we continue to buy British versions in the freezer section of our local supermarket as making that thin pastry bending it and folding it around your arm looked far too complicated!!!!

The most random Architecture in Europe. Vienna

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Sun, 18 Jun 2017 14:51:00 +0000

Continuing on our Viennese mini break next on the tourist tick list is the Kunst House and Hundertwasserhaus.
Designed by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser one building is a museum and the other is residential, both houses are completely and utterly bonkers.

We decided to visit the museum first as we had heard that there was a photography exhibition currently exhibiting and I love my photography.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser Kunst House, Museum Vienna

Where on earth do I start??? The building was bizarre, quirky and totally random. Once inside the museum we were fascinated by the way the building was just completely and utterly bonkers.

My partner works at an architecture practise in Bodmin Cornwall so he was interested in the building but sadly the museum was just too random for us.

I just didn't connect with the photography on display and the museum of work was neither of our cup of tea.

We then headed on a short walk to the next building inspired by Hundertwasser and we're equally perplexed by the bizarre nature of these buildings.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser Hundertwasserhaus. Vienna

Even the pavement outside the building was completely and utterly bizarre

They are a great spectacle to see and I've definitely never seen any buildings like it before and worth the trip if you are in Vienna. I wouldn't say i particularly liked them or think that they are beautiful or would want to live in one of the properties but I can appreciate how totally and utterly bonkers the buildings are and that in itself is pretty impressive.

Read more about my Vienna trip including a ride on the iconic Ferris wheel in the Prater Park and going up Vienna's tallest viewing tower at the Donautrum tower.

Visit my blog again soon to read about how to make traditional Viennese strudel and finally getting to meet the gorgeous panda bears!

The Wiener Riesenrad.... Or, Massive Old Ferris Wheel In Vienna

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 13:04:00 +0000

Vienna was never a city on my bucket list of places to go but when the local Austrian zoo announced that twin baby pandas had been born there, a trip to Vienna was firmly on the cards.

So far our city break had been amazing with boat trips on the river Danube and sight seeing from the top of the 1960's built Donautrum tower.
We continued to utilise our Vienna Pass that we had purchased and ticked off as many tourist attractions as possible. Next on the list was the Wiener Riesenrad. This is a giant vintage Ferris wheel that stands over 200ft tall on the edge of the cities amusement park. Sadly our visit was during a period when the amusement park, the Prater was closed but luckily the amazing Ferris wheel was open for visitors.

The Ferris wheel was constructed 1897 and until 1985 it was actually the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. It was actually supposed to have been dismantled and removed 19 years after it's construction in 1916. However the deconstruction couldn't be financed and the Ferris wheel survived.

The Ferris wheel was badly damaged during the second world war and when the wheel was rebuilt only half of the gondolas were reinstated, you can see the gaps between the gondolas in my photographs. I'm not personally a fan of James Bond movies but I have been told that some rather romantic scenes were shot around the Prater amusement park and on the Ferris wheel in the film 'James Bond - The Living Daylights' From 1987.

As we got off the train at the nearest station to the amusement park we were instantly greeted by the sight of the Ferris wheel. It really did look very impressive and we couldn't wait to go for a ride on the old girl.

The Wiener Riesenrad Ferris Wheel Vienna

We used our Vienna pass that gave us entrance to the Ferris wheel and we walked around the museum section of the entrance and saw little models of the wheel and the area. After a quick walk around we were ushered on the wheel and into a carriage. The wheel actually moves incredible quickly. I think I compare it to the London eye where the wheel rotates at a leisurely pace and you have plenty of time to view the scenery of the skyline. However, this wheel moves a lot quicker but the scenery is still impressive. It's not a roller coaster but you are soon up and back down quicker than expected but still worth a visit.

View from the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris Wheel Vienna.

The sun was low in the sky and the city looks truly stunning. We were in the gondola with many other tourist and we each shuffled around the area to get different view points at different times.

Looking down over the prater amusement park from View from the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris Wheel Vienna

The gondolas on the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris Wheel Vienna


Looking out across Vienna from the giant ferriss wheel

Going on a vintage 120 year old Ferris wheel was such an awesome experience and really was worth the visit and I would highly recommend the trip to any one getting a city break in Austria.

Next on our Vienna trip is to explore the random architecture at the KunstHausWien.

The Donauturm Viewing Tower. The Tallest Building in Vienna

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 11:50:00 +0000

Built in the 1960's the Donauturm tower in Vienna is a must see on any visit to the Austrian Capital.
We decided to visit the tower in the afternoon as the sun was going down so that we could see the view in two different lights.

We got the tube train across the city to the business district of the city and started to follow the signs to the tower. We could see the tower in the distance and it looked really quite far away. As we walked we passed through what felt like the business side of the city with modern high rise buildings and lots of modern architecture compared to the traditional Viennese architecture in the city.

Walking to the Donautrum Tower though the modern buildings in the Donaustadt area of Vienna.

The pathway is lit up to the Donautrum tower that you can see in the distance.

As we moved away from the office blocks we started to pass residential flats and were soon into the entrance of the Donaupark a large grassy park filled with lots of dog walkers and untrodden snow.

As we entered the park away from the shelter of the buildings the wind whistled through us and it was freezing! We hurried across the park and reached the entrance to the tower.

The tower is 252 metres tall in total or 827ft! It took 18 months to build and officially opened in 1964. There are two lifts that run through the center of the concrete tower with a glass ceiling that lights up the tower as the lift rises so that you can see how far up you are travelling. We went through the entrance and utilised our Vienna pass to gain access and were shown straight through to the lift. The lift was manned by an attendant and we were soon whizzing up the concrete tower to a viewing platform positioned150 meters high.

We headed straight outside to the external viewing platform before the sun set and it was incredible. The view from the top was spectacular but it was bitterly cold. We hurried around the viewing platform before heading inside.

It is hard not to compare the experience with the experience of the View at the Shard in London. The Shard is a brand new building with modern lifts, modern viewing platforms and the Donauturn tower is a concrete dated tower that is nearly 80 years old but the views across Vienna were totally worth it.

At the top of the tower are two rotating restaurants one described as a cafe and the one above this that is more of a restaurant. The problem with being a tourist is that you do want to experience every element of something and as a rotating restaurant virgin I wanted to stop for a visit.
As we weren't actually hungry we decided that we wouldn't visit the restaurant but instead visit the cafe and decided on some hot drinks and some traditional Viennese strudel and vanilla creme.

In the rotating cafe at the top of the Donauturm viewing tower Vienna

Traditional Viennese Apple Strudel

At first it felt odd stepping into the rotating restaurant. We worked out that the central cafe area was fixed and we were moving around this. We got a table and waiting for the cafe counter and all the cakes to come into view before a waitress came to take our order.
As the sun began to set we were able to watch the night sky of Vienna come to life.

It was truly a new experience for me and I totally loved it however after a few rotations we did start to feel slightly odd and so made our way back down to the lift and back out into the cold. It was slightly strange being in a park in Vienna in the dark but it felt strangely safe and so we made our way back to the tube station and headed back into the busy city.

Come back to my blog soon to read more about my awesome trip to Vienna.

Boat trip up the river Danube Vienna

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 12:00:00 +0000

After arriving into the city of Vienna the previous night we didn't do much other than find our hotel and get a good nights sleep after 10 hours of travelling.

We went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast and were pleasantly surprised. The restaurant was modern and quirky and the breakfast was beautiful. A self service buffet breakfast with every possible choice of food available.

Breakfast in the Royal Park Hotel Vienna

After a rather large hearty breakfast we decided to venture into the city centre to explore the area. The day was bright but it was freezing. The temperature around 1'C and there were piles of cleared snow on the ground.
The trams moved around the streets as we walked through a local park back to the tube station to get back into the city centre.

The streets of Vienna

Tram Stations in Vienna

Winter sunshine in Vienna

Walking through the park in Vienna and the frozen edges of the river

Walking through the park in Vienna

The tube station into the city centre was beautiful with stunning tiles on the floor and the elegance of the city shining through even at the train stations. The train stations were quiet although we were travelling rather later in the morning and wonder whether rush hour would have been a different story. There was no litter on the platforms or on the trains and people were every so friendly to help us when we were looking a little lost.

Entrance stairwell to the train station at Schonbrunn

Schonbrunn train station

Arriving in the city centre of Vienna we were soon soaking up the history of the area, the buildings and especially the national opera house. We decided that we would purchase a Vienna Pass. A ticket that gave us access to lots of excursions including the zoo, bus tours, boat rides and many other attractions.
We decided that to get an idea of what the city had to offer we would start with the bus tour and with our little headphones in ears we were seeing the sights of the city and learning what was what.

After a while on the bus we decided that we would get off the bus on the other side of the city and take a boat trip up the canal and back and thought this would be a great way to see even more of the city.
Interestingly the main river Danube was actually frozen solid but this small section of canal was still flowing.
It was lovely and relaxing and we were to enjoy a nice glass of wine and see the city from another angle.

Boat trip up the river Danube Vienna

After our boat trip the sun was starting to go down in the sky and the temperature was falling rapidly. We decided that we would make our way back to the hotel after being out all day and have a meal in the hotel in the warm.
So far our first day in Vienna had been amazing and really beautiful and we couldn't wait to continue our city break and especially I couldn't wait to see the pandas.

Come back to my blog soon to read about more of our Vienna trip.

Travelling to the heart of Austria on a Viennese City Break

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Sat, 10 Jun 2017 11:30:00 +0000

If you've read my blog just once, you'll probably have read somewhere or seen something about my huge love for panda bears. After hearing the breaking news that a pair of Pandas in an Austrian Zoo had given birth to not one but two baby pandas, the planning of a visit to the city of Vienna was on the cards.

I contacted the zoo to find out at what age the baby pandas were likely to be leaving their nest and how long should we wait before planning the trip. I didn't want to travel all the way to Austria to find that the pandas were tucked up in their nest asleep and I wouldn't see a thing.

We were told to wait 6 months ideally and that coupled up with falling right on top of Christmas, the idea to visit Vienna for Christmas to go to the Christmas markets and the Zoo was born.

Unfortunately this wasn't to happen as sadly my dad passed away and my life was turned upside down and unfortunately planning a holiday was off the cards.

After dealing with the sudden loss of my dad we decided the new year was the right time to go and it would be good for us both and a great distraction and so our new trip was planned and we headed to Vienna in February.

Having a bite to eat at Bristol Airport

Our trip started with a lie in at home and getting up at a leisurely pace and leaving the house around lunchtime where we started the three hour drive from Cornwall up to Bristol airport.
We arrived at the airport around 3pm and went through security and checked in and had a drink and a bite to eat before our early evening flight.

Waiting excitedly at the airport to fly to Vienna

On the aeroplane ready to take off

The flights were booked with a budget airline and we knew that with these you do not get much leg room so we decided that we would upgrade to the front seats on the plane where we would have a lot more space.
Unfortunately what we hadn't realised was that the weather on the day of our flight was horrendous and was pouring with rain. We had priority boarding so were in our seats first but this is where the problems started as with the doors open and people boarding the plane we were getting constantly dripped on and water was flicking off every ones coats and onto us. This was a minimal inconvenience as worse was yet to come.
Once the passengers were boarded the air stewardess approached us and explained that the rain water would have ingressed into the plane whilst the door was open and during take off this water 'may' drip on us!
She was not wrong!!!! Upon take off it was like somebody had turned a tap on and was leaving the tap to run and pour on my leg. The stewardess had provided us with lots of paper towels but wasn't really what we expected from upgrading our flight.

What did we expect with a budget airline? Once the water had stopped dripping we were relaxed onto the flight and reading a good book.

As soon as we got off the plane we were greeted by an English speaking rep for the local train that takes us into the city and we quickly had our tickets purchased to use the train and our adventure began.

This is where you find us in full blown tourist mode!!!
THERE IS A DOUBLE DECKER TRAIN!!!!!!
OK so we soon calmed down but there was a double decker train!!! And it was immaculate, we had seats, we had leather seats and free wifi and USB charging points. This was a far cry from British trains that are slow, run late and you very rarely get a seat and are tired and old machines.

The CAT overground direct train from the airport to the city centre - Vienna

Successfully mastering the train from the airport to the city centre in Vienna

After successfully mastering the overland train into the city we then had to master the tube system which is a lot easier than the London underground that we are used to and we quickly found the area of the city we were staying in and soon found our hotel.

Vienna tube map

Come back to my blog soon to read all about how we got on with our first night in Vienna.

Panda Tattoo

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 10:40:00 +0000

What better way to start a day than sitting in the tattooist for 2 hours being drawn on!

Getting a new tattoo is a big deal, obviously, it's permanent but I take forever to choose a new idea and wait for months and months to make sure I am 100% happy with my latest ink.

I LOVE pandas and have seen them in Scotland and Vienna and Even London Zoo many years ago and it seemed the obvious choice to get a Panda Tattoo but it has been impossible to chose 'The One' I didn't want a realistic panda as that is just not my style. I equally didn't want a childlike cartoony panda either but I still wanted a panda.

On an evening scrolling through Pinterest I came across this sugar scull panda and instantly fell in love. We tweaked the design to make the glasses more like my own and changed a few little areas to make him more personal to myself but I was soon in love and ready to take the plunge.

I booked myself in at La Famillia in Newquay a tattooist I had previously used for a tattoo on my wrist and I couldn't be happier.
Tattoo's are most definitely addictive and I'm already thinking about what are where to get inked next.

The Bideford 10km

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 10:08:00 +0000

When a friend mentioned they were running in the Bideford 10km I just knew I wanted to take part too.
I have grown up with Bideford as my second home. My Grandmother lived there and so did my cousins and Aunties and Uncles and I had spent many a happy summer holiday in the North Devon town.

Realising that I was available on that Sunday and there were still places left I signed up straight away.

The morning of the race arrived and as with most races my alarm clock went of at 6am. I jumped out of bed, fueled up and headed out the door to drive the 90 minutes up country to North Devon.

Pre race breakfast of pancakes and blueberries

My race number pinned to my bib ready to go.

It was such a brilliant drive. The coast road up the A39 from Cornwall to Devon is stunning at the best of times but this morning the sun was shining and there was a classic car show going on in Bude and the road was filled with beautiful classic cars.
Every car that I past filled me with excitement and there were a few odd occasions where I thought perhaps I should boycott the race and head to the classic car show instead!!!

I continued to the race and arrived in good time and lots of people were arriving too. It felt so lovely to be back in Bideford. The sun was glorious and it made the town look even more stunning. The sun glistened on the water and I did my usual joining the toilet queue immediately!

Being a more local race for myself there were a few other runners from Newquay Road Runners and a friendly atmosphere all around.

Newquay road runners ready for the Bideford 10km

Arriving early for the Bideford 10km

Runnerrs assembling ready for the Bideford 10km

Waiting for the race to start amungst crowds of runners

Everyone crowded on the pavements waiting patiently to assemble at the start line on the road. Before not too long the road was temporarily closed and we flooded onto the road. The race was off and we headed along the river bank towards the old bridge before crossing the river and following the road to Instow.
It was such a lovely day but it was hot. The trees lined the road and kept any breeze away and the sun was beating down on all the runners creating a crowded bubble of heat slowly running along the coast road.
On arrival at Instow we turned off the road and headed back on ourselves along the Tarka trail back towards Bideford. Although, heading back towards Bideford the little white town looked really far away but for the return leg of the journey we fortunately had a sea breeze to cool the runners down.
With a water station and the breeze I had a second burst of energy to complete the race finishing with a time of 00:54:26 which was another PB beating my previous time at the Cardiff Bay Run by 1 Minute and 23 seconds. That might not sound like a long time but for me that was a brilliant result and meant I was running around 15 seconds quicker on each mile on a 10km race course.

Finished the Bideford 10km with my race medal

Over the moon with the result I collected my medal and collected my race T-shirt and decided to head to the near by beach at Westward Ho! For a little rest in the sun and refuel before getting back on the road and heading back home to Cornwall.

Westward Ho! In the Sunshine

Putting my feet up for a rest after running the Bideford 10km

It was a really good day out and a really well organised race and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My only criticism is that the race wasn't UK Athletics registered meaning that the time doesn't officially go on my power of ten records and therefore doesn't officially count as a personal best!

Making a home made camera bag

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 14:57:00 +0000

Being into Photography I often have a dilemma with what camera to take out with me. I have a nice Digital SLR with a rather weighty lens on the front and I have this awesome camera back pack with loads of compartments with extra kit and it has rain covers and chest straps and a clip for my tripod so If I'm doing a job or just a day out with my camera I'm pretty sorted.

However, there are days when I am out and about just doing regular day to day things where I wish I had my camera with me. Driving to work for example, I don't take all my camera gear with me everyday but then some days there will be an epic sunrise or sunset and I just wish I had my big camera with me as taking a picture on my mobile phone just doesn't cut it.

Move forwards several years and suddenly my digital SLR is getting taken out less and less. The technology within mobile phones is becoming incredible and now the results you can get from mobile phones are really impressive.
OK so the control that you have is no where near that of a digital SLR but it's often easier to capture events on a mobile phone that's always with you than planning to take your large camera on the off chance that you might want it.

So what happens when you go on holiday? Do you take the big camera knowing you will want to use it? Or do you just stick with the mobile phone to save on luggage space especially when flying on hand luggage only?

I've decided to make a padded camera cover so that I can put my digital SLR into a normal backpack so that I can have it with me without looking like I'm going on a photography exhibition with all my gear.

I've not made a camera bag before, and if I'm completely honest have only ever made items by following patterns so this is all a bit new to me.
With the help of my partner and lots of cutting and sticking paper templates I finally had a rough idea of what I was doing. With a lot of trial and error.. OK with a lot of error, frustration and whinging that this is impossible and why didn't I just buy a camera case online I finally have a beautiful padded camera case so that I can put my camera in my regular bag without all the extra bulk from my proper camera bag and hopefully this means that I can fit everything within my hand luggage when I go on holiday.

What do you think? Do you like it?
I'd love to see your homemade bags?

What do you do when you go on holiday when your a photographer and have to make the choice between camera gear and clothes??

The Cardiff Bay Run 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 14:49:00 +0000

I'm going to start this blog post with worrying where on earth the year is going? I had all the intentions in the world to keep writing regular blog posts and keep my blog updated with regular posts about my life and so far my life must appear to be very boring as my blog is so very quiet.

It is actually the complete opposite in my life and I am so busy away from the computer that I barely have time to blog anymore. When the weather turns nasty and the rain pours down the window I peer outside and don't want to venture anywhere. Suddenly, writing a blog post with my feet up on the sofa seems like a much better idea.

Back in April, I took part in the Cardiff Bay 10km road run. For some reason I have a real love with road running in Cardiff as this was where I took part in my first ever half marathon back in 2015.

Like with any event I train each week and hope that the injuries and illnesses stay away and that the weather is kind and the Cardiff Bay Run couldn't have been more perfect.
Setting the alarm clock for 5am and piling into the car and leaving Cornwall the sun was just starting to rise. It was a beautiful morning and we were on our way to Wales.
Unfortunately I suffer from IBS and I have no idea when it is going to effect me or not and for some reason whether it is stress or excitement this morning was full of a terrible stomach ache.

After a little sleep in the car whilst my partner drove and I rested, we were arriving into Cardiff and into the car park alongside hundreds of other runners.
Then the excitement starts to hit and the adrenaline starts whizzing around my body.

I pinned my running number to my vest and headed to the start area for the race and soon started to realise that this was a pretty big event with thousands of runners. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud in sight. The atmosphere was fantastic.

Waiting for the start of the race

After a ritual of using the loo what seems like a thousand times I was then herded into my starting pen ready for the race to start. Luckily being a large event it is chip timed and so starting near the back and hearing the starter klaxon go I knew I wouldn't be starting to run for a little while.

With thousands of runners waiting to start

Nervously waiting at the start of the race

As the runners started filtering across the start line I started to jog and gradually picked up to a run to officially begin the run.

It was hot! I tried to tactically run in the shade where possible but it was such a busy race this was hard. The race was whizzing by and I was pushing hard. I ran my way out of the city onto the sea wall for the out and back and the atmosphere was amazing. Whilst I was running on my way out, hundreds of runners were already passing me that bit closer to the finish. There were good water stations available and a brilliant atmosphere that kept my speed up.
I managed to complete the run in an official time of 55:49 which was a 10km PB for me.

Amanda Brooks official result

I'm over the moon and super pleased with the result as my IBS was playing up and I had a stomach ache the whole way around and felt like I had to hold back on sections as I was in so much discomfort.

I would highly recommend the Cardiff Bay Run as it is a well organised event, with good crowds, a lovely medal and an awesome T-shirt and most definitely worth the drive up from Cornwall.

Super proud with my medal and my time

Cardiff Bay looking stunning and the perfect place for a run

Crowds at the Cardiff Bay 10km run

The sun beaming down after finishing the run

Chelmsford Park Run

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Wed, 31 May 2017 16:30:00 +0000

Saturday saw me attend my 38th Park Run.
Since going to my first Park Run in 2014 I have really fallen head over hills in love with running but that love of running has seen me sign up to lots of events and that has seen me drop Park Run on Saturdays in favour of saving my legs for long runs on Sundays.

This week whilst in Essex my training plan allowed me a recovery run at Park Run. It's incredibly hard not to want to run fast and push for a PB but sometimes it's nice to take things a bit easier.

Although after seeing my time maybe I took things a bit too easy! My sister lives in Essex and is a bit slower than me and as I had run around 18 miles already that week I decided I would run with her and I would go for a nice easy run.

The weather was scorching and was already over 24'C in heat at 8am in the morning and the air felt thin. With a beast of a headache and sweat already forming I was greatful to be running slowly.

Me and My Sister At Chelmsford Park Run

As we started on the 5km route the crowds started to spread out. At the Chelmsford Park Run there are well over 500 hundreds each week that all turn up, run and dissappear as quickly as they arrive, It's fantastic.

After about half way the clear blue sky that was there when we started started to fill with clouds and the seccond half of the run was slightly cooler. I think I had wished for the cooler weather a bit too soon and before we knew it we were running to the sound of thunder crashing and lightening striking in the the sky.

A very hot and sweater 'After' Park Run Photo

Storm Passing over Chelmsford

The Lake at Central Park Chelmsford

The Storm Passing Over Chelmsford

I find Park Run fascinating. One minute there are hundreds of runners, spectators and marshalls and then the park is empty again. It's a brilliant event to be a part of and although I was 7 minutes slower than a previous PB at Chelmsford Park Run I had a wonderful run and a great social run and chat with my sister.

Although I do Park Runs few and far between I'm getting closer to getting my Park Run 50 T-shirt!!

I LOVE Running

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 17:00:00 +0000

It's impossible not to notice that this weekend hosted the 37th London marathon. Even if you are not a runner it was impossible to avoid the event and the stories that came pouring out of the event.

For people like me that love running, watching the event televised all day was absolutely amazing and was a complete and utter emotional roller coaster journey. There were stories how running had changed peoples lives. There were stories of wonderful people running to raise money for charities that fight to cure cancer or provide support for so many ailments. There were people that were running to save themselves and others that were running in memory of others. It was just one after another of incredible people who have trained for months and months to get to that race on Sunday.

What is probably the most moving aspect of the race this year was when one runner, David Wyeth from Chorlton Runners which is a Manchester based running club, was so close to the finish line when his body started to give up and didn't want to run any further. Several runners carried on running past him but Matthew Rees from a Welsh club the Swansea Harriers stopped and helped David Wyeth to finish his marathon.

It was such a selfless thing to do and Matthew Rees really won the hearts of so many and made me proud to be a runner and a part of the amazing running community.

When I was a teen at school I loved running. I ran for my school and then I ran for my county at the Chelmsford Athletics club based at the melbourne stadium in Chelmsford. I loved it then, I competed in the cross country, the 800 and the 1500 metres and It was all I was interested in. Training several times a week on the track and out and about on the local roads and competing at the weekends it was a major part of my young life.

But then as with most people growing up things change. Priorities change and suddenly I didn't want to dedicate my time to running and training and going out with friends and drinking soon became where I wanted my time spent.

Several years passed and I did less and less running. I moved away from Essex to Cornwall and my life was changing. After more than ten years had passed my sister invited me to attend a Park Run with her. My life changed at that one park run event!!!

It was my first run in years and I fell instantly in love with running again. Since that first Park Run in 2014 I've been addicted to running ever since and run a half marathon several 10km events and now joined a running club and I'm so proud to be a runner.

I'm so proud to be a member of the Newquay Road Runners who not only are the most friendly and encouraging bunch but are also the reason that I have achieved so many PB's. I look forward to my weekly runs with the club and feel privileged to be welcomed into the club.

Then seeing events on the television like Matthew Rees's selfless act of kindness it shows that running isn't just about getting fast times and running your own race it's about being part of a community and helping others to achieve their goals.

It's impossible to express how much running has changed my life in the last two years. I'm the fittest I've ever been. I have structure to my weeks around exercise and see so many friends out running. I look forward to running and don't drink as much alcohol that I used to knowing that it doesn't help with running hydration.

It's not always easy and some runs are hard, some runs are during gruelling weather in pouring rain and strong winds and sometimes I wonder why I am doing it. But then other runs I pass another runner and we smile at each other. The sun will break through the clouds on a lonely country road and I feel a huge sense of achievement being out on the roads seeing such beautiful scenery and realising that If I was just sitting at home watching TV or down the pub I would easily miss these special moments.

I'm a runner and I'm part of the running community and I'm proud to do so.

Mandi
Newquay Road Runner

Questioning why? Dealing with grief and the loss of my dad.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 04 Apr 2017 15:28:00 +0000

I often find myself wondering why?
It's now been nearly 7 months since my dad passed away and I keep thinking why?

Not why did you have to die? everyone has to die at some point and a lot of people die a lot younger and in tragic accidents or through long and painful diseases. When I think about my dad leaving us by having a heart attack and suddenly going it was probably painless and quick and I suppose that is something to be grateful for. But it doesn't make the shock any easier for those left behind

I'm grateful that he didn't suffer long, I'm grateful that he very nearly made it to 70 and I'm grateful that he and my mum had many years together and found each other. Some people don't find love and many don't have families so in some ways I'm happy with the life my dad achieved.

But in other ways I am left empty and questioning why.

Why did you have to leave us before my sister had her first baby. You left us all just two months before you were to be a grandad for the first time.

Why did you have to go on my brothers birthday? Of all the days to leave us you went whilst on holiday on your beloved boat with mum on my brothers birthday. I just wish you and mum had had your holiday and you had gone at the end of your holiday to at least give mum one last holiday with you and not have been taken away from her on the first day of your holiday together. It just seems so unfair.

We survived the first Christmas without you and it was OK. It did feel like there was something massive missing but we tried to carry on and we got the family together and our first Christmas with the new addition of my sisters baby but the first one without you and it seems so unfair.

Now I am going to be selfish and ask why you had to leave us before I got engaged. I've been with my partner for 9 years and I know you approve of him but after waiting so long he finally proposed but now I don't have you there to give me away and walk me down the isle and it makes me so sad.

To be honest, I feel sad for all of us, as all your three children are engaged to be married and you aren't there for us and that breaks my heart every day.

I know it will get easier with time and as the occasions go past we will get used to a new life without you but I will still question why you had to leave us when you did.

Miss you dad. x

January the month where everyone starts excercising!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 09:42:00 +0000

You know the score, Christmas happens and everybody indulges. By Christmas day itself most people have had at least 5 full Christmas dinners and are mostly sick of the sight of turkey.
We indulge in extra alcohol, late nights and a constant supply of cake and nibbles in nearly every work place. But it's OK as calories don't count in December, right?

But then January arrives and it's a complete and utter shock to us all, with no idea how we've all put on a stone in weight. Suddenly the adverts on television for gorgeous platters of food and family buffets have completely disappeared and suddenly our mind space is subliminally seeing adverts for weight loss, diets, healthy eating and of course new years resolutions.

I unfortunately fall into the bracket of piling on the weight over Christmas and I'd like to think this wasn't because I was greedy during Christmas and stuffed my face but more because, on the 1st of December I busted my knee!!!!

Suddenly I went from running three times a week to nothing! No exercise and no matter how hard I tried to stick to healthy eating and small portions it's rather impossible during the festive season to be good all of the time.

Now that January has arrived and I've done the regimented six weeks of rest my knee is feeling a lot better. I started the new year with a new regime of Pilate's 2-3 times a week to try and strengthen me back up for running and then this week excitedly went for my first run. I managed 2 miles!!! I wasn't a lot slower than I was prior to injury so pretty pleased with my effort.

The following week another few Pilate's sessions and my next run. This time 3 miles and again this was a success. Getting excited to be getting back to the running bug that I totally love I went out again, this time for 3.5 miles. Now I'm a sensible person and I didn't want to go out crazy and throw myself into too much too soon. However, in the back of my mind I still have a place for the Plymouth Half Marathon in April, that I had to pull out of last year due to injury so quite keen to increase the mileage slowly.

But during my run, there it goes, a twinge in my Achilles. I continue to run thinking, I'm going to experience twinges as I've not run properly for six weeks?
But upon finishing the measly 3.5 miles I stretched and realised that this wasn't really a twinge and on arriving home could barely weight bear on that leg!!!

I'm devastated as now I'm back to the injury bench which is where I spend most of my running life. I have done the sensible thing yet again to try and aid recovery and am now resting, icing, keeping compression socks on and using a tonne of deep freeze and booked an appointment with the physio to find out what is going on and why I spend more time on the sofa injured that out on the road doing any exercise.

It's hard not to stay positive when you keep getting injured. Just doing simple things like popping to the shop means passing tonnes of runners out enjoying the slightly lighter evenings and getting fitter ready for the spring running season whilst yet again I'm struggling with my injuries and putting on more and more weight.

Fingers crossed that the Physio next week goes well and I will be back to my happy running self very soon.

The year I lost my Dad.

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 10:49:00 +0000

It's been far to quite on my blog lately and I want to explain where I've been.

Sadly I have had to deal with one of the hardest times of my life and only now do I feel strong enough to write about my experiences.
I loved my blog, sharing what I've been doing and sharing my passion for photography but after recent events I have lost all interest.

On the 7th of September 2016 my Dad passed away.

He wasn't sick or at least we didn't know he was sick due to being a stubborn very British gentleman who just wouldn't go to the doctor willy nilly.

I myself am in the doctors nearly weekly! I've had more antibiotics in the last three months then I think I've had in the last 5 years and since being diagnosed with Asthma in my adult life have even more reasons to visit.I certainly do not take after my Dad on this respect.

The 7th of September was a Wednesday, not just any Wednesday but it was my younger brothers 28th birthday. It was also the first day of my Mum and Dads holiday together on the Norfolk broads. Everything was perfect! The sun was shining and I had finished work and was on the way to meet my brother at the beach for surf but I kept getting missed calls from him. I was driving from work to the beach, so pulled over and called him back. He kept banging on about meeting as his first. Did he not understand the tide was not only on it's way in but the swell was also dropping so we needed to go straight to the water!!!

He insisted that I came to his and I insisted that I didn't and realising something was wrong kept on pressing him until it was blurted out.
I still can't get the words out of my head now. "Dad's had a heart attack" My instant thought was, OK, not too bad people recover from heart attacks all the time and that hopefully that'll be a wake up call to him to do more exercise and perhaps loose a bit of weight. Whilst off in my own thoughts thinking of all the ways this could be beneficial to my Dads health the words slapped me around the face. Dad's dead!!!!!

Now words like that aren't easy to digest, I sat in my car for a few minutes in complete shock and then started shaking. What on earth was I hearing? surely this can't have happened? As I processed what I had heard I started to ring my boyfriend.

Why do blokes NEVER answer the phone. I was literally screaming at my phone at this stage willing him to answer and getting so angry and why on earth was he at work and working and not picking up his phone. Eventually after what felt like ages he answered and I just screamed at him that my Dad was dead. I just kept shouting at him over and over.

After a moment of being calmed down and him offering to come and meet me and realising this was going to be at least an hours drive we decided to both head to my brothers and in a trance I drove to meet my brother.

Arriving at my brothers we had an odd hug, it was kinda sad but equally things hadn't really sunk in and after all, it was still my brothers birthday. His cards and gifts were freshly opened and a cake and candles were on the side. He began to explain what had happened.

Mum and Dad own a boat and they keep it moored up in Norfolk. Just like me and my partner and our love for our camper van my parents loved weekends away on their boat and this week they had planned a full week on the boat together.They had arrived in Norfolk the night before and enjoyed a drink at the pub and some dinner together. The following morning they were ready for their weeks adventure. They did a food shop, a drinks shop, they went to the newsagents and Dad even put a bet on the horses at the local bookmakers.

They returned to the boat with all their supplies for the week and had their breakfast ready to start their journey up the river. But this was sadly never to happen.
My Dad sat down on the back of the boat and just went. Just like that gone. One minute he was their with Mum planning their trip together and the next nothing.
Mum desperately tried to help him, she called an ambulance who talked her through CPR and they tried to find where she was which is very difficult when being moored up on the side of the river as the ambulance crew needed a road name but she wasn't on a road but on a river! They eventually arrived and took over but it was too late.
They took dad to the hospital in Norwich and took Mum to the Police station in Wroxham. This would be the very first day of them being apart.

My sister was called who lives in Essex and her and her partner drove to pick up my mum in Norfolk and bring her home.
It's utterly heartbreaking to think that one minute your about to start a weeks holiday with the man you have spent years of your life with and the next you are heading home alone.

Meanwhile with my sister and her partner bringing my Mum home me and my brother were joined by our partners and we decided that as it was still my brothers birthday we should all go in the sea together. I'm not sure this is what your meant to do when you are grieving and in shock but it seemed like an idea and we didn't know what to do.
We all went in the sea and for anyone that knows me my partner he DOES NOT go in the sea. We all went in the water together at the beach where we'd last seen my dad on holiday a month previously and watched the sunset, which for a short while took the pain away and things didn't feel real.

We then got what anyone else would do in this situation and we bought booze! We headed back to my brothers and sat and drank and talked and tried to understand what on earth we do next.
Me and my Brother are in Cornwall, my Mother and Sister are in Essex.

We couldn't drive that evening as had all had a drink plus after the shock of that news wouldn't have been the best idea to drive 6 hours in that state.
Me and my partner headed home in a daze and went to bed. I didn't sleep and it got back out of bed about 5am, before I woke my partner saying we needed to go to Essex right now.

The strange thing is myself and my partner also had a weeks camping holiday booked on the Friday and already had the van partially loaded for a weeks camping so we threw in a few clothes and went back to my brothers to pick up my car and see how they were doing. Silly question really, how does anyone do after their dad has just died unexpectedly!

My brother agreed we all needed to get back to be together as a family and were going to sort out a few things themselves at home and were then also getting on the road. We left separately and arrived in Essex in the early afternoon where we found my Mum and Sister drinking tea in the garden. There were lots of tears and lots of questions but the words just weren't there.

As the days went on things started to fall into place but it was hard. Things seemed so complicated. Dad was still up at the hospital in Norfolk and needed a postmortem and until that was done we couldn't register the death and until that was done couldn't plan the funeral. As if dealing with grief isn't hard enough none of us had done this before and none of it was straight forward.

We found a funeral home on the Internet and booked an appointment and as a family we all went along to go through the process together. It was horrible and hard but it was also quite easy in the sense that Dad had always said he wanted the Hythm 'For those in peril of the sea' played at his funeral and as a huge West Ham fan 'Bubbles' also needed to feature. The readings were chosen, the coffin even needed choosing but to be honest none of this was going to bring him back or heal the pain it was only making it all more real.

Once we had a few things in place all we had to do was wait for the postmortem to move things along. My Brother and his Fiance and my partner all returned to Cornwall and my Sister returned to her own home and I was left with Mum. It was so hard being back at the family home seeing all of Dads things and him not being there. It felt like he had just popped out and would be back at some point.

We finally got the news from the coroner that Dads death was caused by a heart attack and this had been caused by heart disease. This made things real. This meant that his body could be moved back to Essex that the funeral home could embalm him and the funeral could proceed. There's a part of me that could handle the in between stage, me and Mum taking each day at a time, drinking lots of tea and taking one day at a time but this made everything real and I had to deal with emotions once again.
When dad's body was ready Mum wanted to say a proper and personal goodbye. I walked down with her and it was such a heart wrenching moment seeing someone in so much pain. I can hold her hand, I can hug her but I can't bring Dad back. The lady asked If I wanted to say goodbye to Dad but I didn't want to.
I didn't want to see him in any other way than how I was used to seeing him. I wanted to remember him as my Dad and not lying in a coffin.

The days continued to pass and we waited for my Brother and Fiance and my Partner to return from Cornwall for the funeral. I had missed my fella more than anything and I needed him to hold me but then I felt for my mum, she had just lost the person that would hold her through hard times. Every emotion was questioned. Every thought was questioned, was it normal, was it acceptable to feel certain things.

With my Brother and my Partner back it was time for us to visit my Dad in the funeral home and say goodbye. This was the worst experience so far. I couldn't look at him, I glimpsed through the corner of my eye and it wasn't Dad. Well it was but it just didn't feel right. My big tall Dad lying their, pale, lifeless, his colour was wrong, his nose looked different everything was just horrible. I couldn't do this! My partner held me so tightly and we chatted together about my dad, we lit a candle and I had to leave without really looking at him properly. I want to remember my dad in my memories and within photographs and not like this.
After this experience, me and my partner went to a Danbury lakes for a walk. Somewhere we used to go as children. I don't think it helped, I was unable to remove the image of my Dad in a coffin out of my head.

We eventually returned home and had another day before the funeral. The day before we took photographs down to the venue for the wake and did a last few jobs and waiting for the following day to come.

The day of the funeral arrived and I had been dreading it. How could you not dread going to the funeral of your own Dad! It was incredibly hard and it felt like I was there for someone Else's funeral. It was awfully sad but I also felt like I was in a bubble that I just wanted to be brave and strong for my Mum and didn't want to let the day in.

Once the funeral was over and drinks were had at the football club the time arrived to head back home to my Mums. It just felt so bizarre. We were at home, all dressed in black, with the coffin flowers and left over buffet food on the table.
What happens next?

The evening was surreal and after several nights of not sleeping we all went to bed slightly early.
The following morning we all got up early and went to the local Park Run in Chelmsford. Me and my brother ran together I even managed to get a PB and I believe I did this for my dad.

Since the sad news broke I had spent a month living with my mum but the time had come and I had to return back to Cornwall. This was hard yet again to drive away and leave my mum totally alone 300 miles away from me.
I know things will get easier in time and life goes on but right now life has got hard and I feel for many of our family, life is on hold and life will certainly not be the same for my Mother for a while to come.

The wonders of technology mean that I can video call my Mum regularly and we can be face to face but it's not the same as really being together. This Christmas, will be the hardest Christmas as it is going to be the first one without Dad and there is a huge chunk missing from all our lives but I'm grateful that we can all be together and be strong for each other and together we will help each other through. There will be some days that are harder and days that are easier but dealing with grief is easier when your family is around you and you can be strong for each other when your not feeling so strong.

To my Dad
John Brooks

Bristol Volksfest Show Review

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 09:02:00 +0000

In 2003 I went to my first ever classic Volkswagen car show. With a few friends from school, an old metro, terrible tents and drinking Jack daniels straight from the bottle this was my first introduction to a whole scene of cool cars, cool music and wonderful people.

Since this introduction I was able to buy my first classic vehicle, a gorgeous 1974 beetle and met my lovely partner James, also through this classic car scene. Although the cars have been and gone to fund bigger and better things in our lives and pay for a deposit on a house we continued to attend loads of classic car shows.

However since buying our renovation project of a house we have not been able to find the time or the money to attend as many car shows as we would have liked. With my lovely man's birthday approaching we decided after several years away from the scene it was about time to attend a Volkswagen show and so we were off to Bristol Volksfest.

We're not quite sure how but in our 13+ year love affair with the humble Volkswagen beetle and camper van we had never attended the Bristol Volksfest, especially after hearing so many friends talk about how lovely the show is.

We booked the Friday off work and loaded up the van with our camping gear and headed out on the road up to Bristol. It's only a three hour drive to Bristol but after one thing led to another and a minor detour for a shopping trip and the slight drama of loosing our exhaust back box on the M4 we finally arrived at the show about 7pm. However it then sadly took us a further hour of snaking our way through slow queues through the fields before eventuially paying our money and getting a wrist band and assessing the site and setting up camp for the weekend.

It was annoying seeing everyone else camped up enjoying a beer whilst we were crawling through a tour of the site but can completely understand the event organisers queing all the dubbers in their farm rather than blocking the small country roads around the event and annoying the neighbours.

Camping at Bristol Volksfest

Once parked up in the quiet family camping, yes we are both now over thirty and although we don't have a family we aren't the massive party animals that enjoy staying up until 3am drinking our body weight in booze anymore and although we like a drink we like a sensible drink and a good nights sleep at the end of the night.

We went over to the live music area and the main stage and found food, drink and some live ska and danced the night away before heading back to our van for a good nights sleep.

Live music at Bristol Volksfest

As Saturday arrived it was time to see what the rest of the show had to offer and although we planned a quick walk around the show and back to the van for lunch we didn't return back to the van until early evening for a change of clothes before heading back out for the evening. There is so much to do at this show from Graffitti artists working around the farm to low rider car dance offs, more live music, trade stalls and even a wall of death. It was an awesome day seeing all the new gifts and gadgets available on the scene for our cars and a massive highlight was seeing Bad Manners play on the main stage in the afternoon. By the evening we decided to go and see the wall of death and I have got to be honest I HATED IT. It completely and utterly freaked me out, the bikes were scary and travelling so close to where we were watching. The whole area shook as the bikes went around and the fumes from the bikes in the small space were over whelming. I know it's called the wall of 'death' and if it wasn't a sheer terror to witness it wouldn't be called that but I couldn't help think of our dear friend that was sadly killed during a travelling stunt show and fear that although they are professionals and do that same show several times a day things sometimes go wrong and the over sensible worrier in me told me that I didn't like it and was glad when it was over!

Entrance to Bristol Volksfest

Graffitti at Bristol Volksfest

Camping at Bristol Volksfest

Enjoying some sunshine and live music at Bristol Volksfest

Cars on airbags dance off at Bristol Volksfest

Off road track for buggies and bajas at Bristol Volksfest

Outside the wall of death at Bristol Volksfest

Inside the wall of death at Bristol Volksfest

Evening music venues at Bristol Volksfest

Dancing the night away on a farm at the Bristol Volksfest

On a slightly happier note we finished the evening drinking in a barn listening to a set curated by DJ Yoda playing from a set of decks inside an ice cream van with a car on the ceiling! Yes it really was quite surreal.

After a fun evening and another good nights sleep we were up early to see the main event the show and shine cars. Although this is a weekends classic car show event there is so much more to do than just look at cars but the Sunday is the main day to show off your pride and joy vehicle.

As the weather was forecast to turn a bit nasty on the Sunday afternoon we decided to do the yet again sensible thing and see all the show cars in the morning and then leave the festival before the rain sets in and the mass exit starts at the event.

Gorgeous rat look early bay

Awesome looking bay window pick up

Split screen van line up at Bristol Volksfest

Custom paint on Volkswagon split screen van

Gorgeous classic white VW beetle

Red t25 volkswagen van at Bristol Volksfest

Beautiful Fiat at Bristol Volksfest

Yellow classic taxi beetle

Razor edge VW at Bristol Volksfest

VW Splitscreen Panel van at Bristol Volksfest

VW van interior inspiration at Bristol Volksfest

We popped into Bristol to do some obligatory shopping before getting on the road home and ending a really enjoying weekend camping at a festival.

If you are a vw classic car enthusiast then you'll love this show, if you love a festival and good music then you'll also love this show and if you haven't yet been to Bristol Volksfest yet, then go.

As for me now, the flame has been reignited and although I no longer have a classic beetle and the scene has changed quite a bit and theres a lot more modern cars in the scene than the old ones I still love it, and as we are now in a more modern 14 year old T4 van it actually suits us quite nicely I can't wait to start planning the next festival to attend.

Man nearly swept into the sea in Newquay storm swell

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Sat, 20 Aug 2016 23:22:00 +0000

Today, like many other days when a large swell is forecast I've headed down to the local beach to photograph the crazy power of the ocean.

The difference today is that this huge storm swell has come into Cornwall during the middle of the six weeks summer holidays. Usually to get waves of this size would be during a winter storm and certainly when there are a lot less tourists about.

Sadly when the storm began to arrive last night a family were swept out to sea at Fistral beach. The RNLI did a fantastic job and managed to rescue the family but tragically the father of the family didn't make it and died. This has left the whole of town in shock and has really shook up a lot of people.

I go in the sea on a very regular basis and although I often go in the water with friends or family and often whilst lifeguards are on duty I occasionally get frightened by the odd wave. If a wave is bigger than I am comfortable riding or a wave holds me under for slightly longer for those brief few seconds my stomach turns and i'm reminded how dangerous the sea can be. Maybe i'm a bit too safe and don't push my surfing enough but it's days like today when you hear about another death due to the sea and realise you can never be too careful.

My thoughts are with the family of the man that lost his life, it really is just awful news.

Yet this evening I witnessed many people just getting that bit too close to the sea when it was huge and dangerous.

I witnessed a man travel down the stairs to rescue a dog from the water. Within seconds of the man grabbing the dog by the scruff of the neck the next wave had come over the top of them. Another man had ventured down to help the first man and suddenly both men and the dog were hidden under a huge crashing wave.

Luckily the two men and the dog made it back up the stairs and away from danger but this could have been so different so quickly.

Please if you go in the sea make sure you respect the water. Make sure you swim at a lifeguarded beach and learn about the tides and swell before going in. If in doubt speak to the lifeguards and ask the locals for advice.