Star Ferry, Hong Kong

Good morning. This is the Star ferry chugging across from Hong Kong to Kowloon. The wooden seats inside are reversible and it's full of Cantonese school children in British prep school uniforms at certain times of the day. It really is bit strange. I love it!
Hope you're well and have a good day. I am off to spend four hours on the Bass Rock with 20,000 gannets!
Take care now.

Black Faced Spoonbills

These are Blackfaced Spoonbills in Mai Po Marshes in the New Territories in Hong Kong. If you look closely you will see there are some Eurasian Spoonbills mixed in with them.  It's a breezy day here in Northumberland but we have a blue sky. Have a great day wherever you are.

County Tyrone

I love Irish pubs. This one is in Gortin, County Tyrone where I had been writing an article about The Sperrin Mountains. Very friendly people but all the conversation stopped when I walked in here. I ma supposed to be going to Hadrian's Wall today to photograph some Roman Legionaries but I feel very unwell and combine that with a 200 mile round trip and I doubt I'll go. I hope you all have great weekend.

South Tyrol

This is the Seiser Alm plateau in the South Tyrol. Although in Italy the local population speak German and one or two valleys speak the original form of Latin. Hope you're all well today. I am rebuilding my website today before going up to the rugby club to photograph the colts.

Take care now.

The Bridge at Tours

Well here we are in France. Actually this is the bridge at Tours over the Loire and is the official dividing line between the north and south of France. Hope you're well wherever you are in the world. It's a lovely morning in Northumberland.

Scara Brae, Orkney

This is one of the houses in Scara Brae in the Orkneys. Incredible isn't it that over 4,000 years ago they had dressers in the kitchen too. I think the drystone walls are amazing and this picture does not do the place justice at all. Enjoy your day. I have two hundred plastic ducks to sort out!

Surreal Fountain in Menorca

Sorry to be late putting this on. I've sent a piece to The Sunday telegraph Travel section and they liked it but I had to rewrite it in their style. I'm waiting to hear back and am slightly on tenterhooks!

I think this must be one of the most fascinating and clever fountains anywhere in the world. This running tap in Menorca seems to be suspended in mid air.

Ciutadella, Menorca

This is the meat market in Ciutadella, Menorca, the most Catalan of cities. The shops are open to the air and spread out along an arcade of arches of a former Augustinian monastery but the Moorish influence can also clearlyy be seen. The chairs are for customers or friends to sit and chat and it is not uncommon to see butcher going to other shops paying for meat and selling it to their own customers.

Cherry Orchard

This Cherry orchard is in Huesca, northern Spain. It's a shame you can't smell the blossom as it as so beautiful. 

The Alhambra

I find the patterns in the ceramics in The Alhambra absolutely amazing. If you look at this one long enough  twelve designs can be found vertically, diagonally and horizontally. There are also three layers of patterns as well as larger shapes that suddenly spring at you.

Enjoy your weekend.

Norway's Hurtigruten

I love this picture as it brings back so many memories of the Norwegian fiords. The Hurtigruten has been called the most beautiful cruise in the world and you soon see why when you travel down the 10 miles of the fiord that leads to the World Heritage site of village of Geiranger. Cliffs that are thousands of feet high with waterfalls cascading down almost the same distance, glower over you and dwarf any ship beneath them. All this against a backdrop of blue sky and white clouds whilst Sea eagles drift nonchalantly past to keep you company.

Have a good day.

Village Duck race

Good morning! I couldn't resist putting this on as it's me and Reg clearing out the burn for the duck race for village show day in September. It is strange how these things snowball as we now have a tug of war competition as well.

Have a great day and keep on smiling.

Inside Fingals Cave

This morning's image is about fifty yards inside Fingal's Cave on the Isle of Staffa. We were on a zodiac and as you can see it was a very sunny day outside the cave but you can get some idea of the columns. Chopping up logs this morning to get ready for the winter as our wood burning stove is an absolute gem. Have a good day.

Bedouin Supper

These Bedouin cooked our supper for us when we were walking across Jordan towards Petra. Notice how they are all using their right hand!  Today is all about tidying up a pitch for The Sunday Telegraph and sitting on a knife edge until they tell me if they are going to publish it. Have a great day where ever you are.

Sails in the sunset

Good morning, well it's not to bad anyway. Looks like it's rained earlier on. Today's picture is the luxury sailing yacht Royal Clipper off Martinique at sunset. If you get the chance do go on her it is an incredible experience.

Kippers and Cobles

A bit  nearer home this morning with a picture of Craster. I like the small coble like boats on the left. It's a great shame there are no cobles left fishing in this village when once there were thirty not so long ago. There is still a fisherman who uses a coble for potting living in the village but he keeps his boat at Beadnell.

They stilll smoke kippers here, very successfully, and the pub has nice windows and a terrace overlooking the sea.

Today is gong to be dedicated to trying to get a piece in  Coast and BBC Wildlife. Have a great day wherever you are.

Murals in Sardinia

I just love this mural in Sardinia. Notice how the scene behind him is in black and white but while he and the lamb are waiting for the bus they are in colour. Can you see too how his actual trousers have been incorporated into the design? My first follower how cool is that! Thanks so much. Have a great day.

Grapes and boots in Sardinia

Raining this morning and Mark and Shelly are here to go to a wedding. It's the rugby club opening game today so I'm going to take a picture of the First XV. I hope all's well with you wherever and who ever you are. This morning's picture is of a pair of boots and grapes outside a private house in Sardinia. Most of the villages seemed to have little production lines in small sheds. This one was in Magadomas, a hill village on the west of the island near Bosa.

Lobsters on Holy Island

Well the first bike ride for the the pair of us together for a long time went well. Neither of us fell off. I'm spending today working on a pitch for Food and Travel. This morning's picture is of Sean bringing his lobsters ashore on Holy Island. I love the Island especially in the winter when the tourists aren't there and it become a lovely little community again.

Cagliari, Sardinia

Up at 4 a.m. again. I don't know why this is happening! I just wish I could sleep in like babes does until 8! Skoda Yeti coming to day to review for the mag so I'm looking forward to that. Then of to Berwick to buy babes a bike.
Today's picture is of the arcade in the Via Roma, Cagliari, Sardinia. It's about half a mile long and used to be warehouses, now it's hotels, cafes, restaurants and up market shops. One good thing about getting up this early is that Doris gets extra long walks. The wheat in the top two fields has been harvested so we ca walk around the edge of those now and she can generally disturb pheasants and bunnies when they were relaxing after their morning feed.
Have a good day!

Sardinian Murals

Today's picture is one of those amazing murals in Sardinia. Sometime the whole village is covered in them. My favourite is the man waiting at the bus stop which I'll put on tomorrow. Hope you're all well reading this. I've got a day of pitching editors and chasing payment. The joys of being a freelance!

Tresco, Isles of Scilly

Well today's shot is the sub tropical gardens on Tresco in the Isles of Scilly. Fascinating place I hope you like it. Am taking the gorgeous Mrs Hogg for lunch today to thank her for getting my own lovely lady some olive oil from Spain. The am taking Caroline out for a meal tonight. So that'll be the diet out of the window for toady. Mind you I am repairing the chain on my bike today as well so I can burn off the calories tomoorow!

South Pacific Sailing

What cheeses me off about this job sometimes. even though I love it, is when it's pouring down in Northumberland and I'm writing about lucky so and sos cruising on a tall ship in the South Pacific.

This is a picture of the Soren larson in Tonga. Wouldn't it be cool to be there? Oh well back to pitching editors about my mecurial talents! I've put the full piece on the blog at http://timespentatsea.blogspot.com

Puffins Galore

Just come back from the Farne Islands working on a piece about the wardens who live on there. Amazing place to say the least. My bikes not working properly so that was this morning's ride out of the window. Beautiful day in Northumberland I hope it is the same wherever you are. Loads of work coming in this week and I'm spending a lot of time putting stuff on the timespentatsea blog.

Mind you I wouldn't like to be on the Farnes on a cold wet day especially when the storms can cut them off for anything up to a week at a time. Won'tlet me load an image today. I'll try later.