Matthew recently did this at Art club and I think it is great - I think we will get it framed. Seems he likes images of the rise and set of the sun just like his Dad. Well done Matt!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Snowbound in New York
“Snow bound in NY. Not funny. Airport closed. Spent the night it a sleezy hotel. No clothes or toothbrush. MAY depart tonight - if I am lucky!” “1000s of passengers fighting over few hotel spaces. Last night slept in a honeymoon suite (alone!) in a sleezy part of New Jersey. I am lucky to have got the last seat on tonight's departure......... Now just hoping it departs! Dressed in light tropical clothes and sandals doesn't help! I will laugh at this one day but currently not laughing. Reviewing a book and doing some writing........”
Those are extracts from emails sent home last weekend as my return to Devon from Panama was did not go entirely as planned. During what should have been a routine four hour stop over on Friday evening in Newark Liberty Airport became a 24 hour adventure, as they closed the airport because of a snow and ice storm. When the decision was announced it was chaos, as 1000s of travellers battled to the airline desks to try to rebook onto the next available flight. I got lucky, as with some quick thinking found an alternative desk to make my new booking and managed to get the next seat booked the following evening. The next challenge was to find a place to sleep, and as
I did not fancy a night in the airport I was determined to find somewhere. All the courtesy ‘phones to the hotels were either jammed or registering that the rooms were all booked, but I took my chances by walking ca ½ mile from the terminal to the Radison Hotel, across the snowscape in my light clothes I had originally donned early that morning in tropics! My toes froze. As expected, Radison said ‘no room at the Inn’ but they offered to bus a load of opportunistic business travellers out to wider New Jersey where they reckoned there was a greater chance of accommodation. Having nothing to lose I piled in. After about 45 minutes I was lucky to be amongst the first group to be dropped off at a rather forminable looking place called The Loop Inn. The receptionist was sited behind a glass screen and we were asked whether we wanted to book the room for an hour, 2 hours or more. Also, did I want to share with my travel mates? Hmm. Having cleared up that I was not after a gay session, my companions and I eventually managed to pay $125.00 to secure our separate rooms for the night and dispersed into the night. As I opened my door all became clear. The room was about as big as a small gym, with mirrors on the ceiling and walls, a giant jacuzzi in the middle of the room and a bed so large I burned calories simply climbing into it. And I won’t say what was ‘free’ on the telly, but I am sure you get the idea. I must s
ay that the place did seem to be remarkably clean (there is nothing worse than climbing into a bed with hairs in it is there?) but the only downer was that it did not do any food, let alone tea or coffee. Having forgot to eat dinner that day, my diet was water. Next morning I slipped my sandles on and stepped out into the snow. Having befriended the receptionist, I booked a taxi back to the airport and spent 13 hours working on my laptop and hanging around hoping for my flight to depart. Eventually it did, 26 hours later than I had originally intended and I eventually got home to the comfort of my Devon home and family on Sunday morning, just in time for a Mothers day lunch at the Tors Inn. Now there is a contrast an a half!
Those are extracts from emails sent home last weekend as my return to Devon from Panama was did not go entirely as planned. During what should have been a routine four hour stop over on Friday evening in Newark Liberty Airport became a 24 hour adventure, as they closed the airport because of a snow and ice storm. When the decision was announced it was chaos, as 1000s of travellers battled to the airline desks to try to rebook onto the next available flight. I got lucky, as with some quick thinking found an alternative desk to make my new booking and managed to get the next seat booked the following evening. The next challenge was to find a place to sleep, and as
I did not fancy a night in the airport I was determined to find somewhere. All the courtesy ‘phones to the hotels were either jammed or registering that the rooms were all booked, but I took my chances by walking ca ½ mile from the terminal to the Radison Hotel, across the snowscape in my light clothes I had originally donned early that morning in tropics! My toes froze. As expected, Radison said ‘no room at the Inn’ but they offered to bus a load of opportunistic business travellers out to wider New Jersey where they reckoned there was a greater chance of accommodation. Having nothing to lose I piled in. After about 45 minutes I was lucky to be amongst the first group to be dropped off at a rather forminable looking place called The Loop Inn. The receptionist was sited behind a glass screen and we were asked whether we wanted to book the room for an hour, 2 hours or more. Also, did I want to share with my travel mates? Hmm. Having cleared up that I was not after a gay session, my companions and I eventually managed to pay $125.00 to secure our separate rooms for the night and dispersed into the night. As I opened my door all became clear. The room was about as big as a small gym, with mirrors on the ceiling and walls, a giant jacuzzi in the middle of the room and a bed so large I burned calories simply climbing into it. And I won’t say what was ‘free’ on the telly, but I am sure you get the idea. I must say that the place did seem to be remarkably clean (there is nothing worse than climbing into a bed with hairs in it is there?) but the only downer was that it did not do any food, let alone tea or coffee. Having forgot to eat dinner that day, my diet was water. Next morning I slipped my sandles on and stepped out into the snow. Having befriended the receptionist, I booked a taxi back to the airport and spent 13 hours working on my laptop and hanging around hoping for my flight to depart. Eventually it did, 26 hours later than I had originally intended and I eventually got home to the comfort of my Devon home and family on Sunday morning, just in time for a Mothers day lunch at the Tors Inn. Now there is a contrast an a half!Thursday, March 22, 2007
Barro Colorado Island
My final couple of days in Panama were spent on the magical BC Island, a tropical research island in a the middle of the Panama canal. Ben and I spent c 36 hours there and stayed in a visitors lodge, used the time to do some writing and walked around the tropical forest to get some photos. I also delivered a lecture on the last night before I departed back to the mainland and onwards next morning for the flight home (or so I thought.....)
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
On the Causeway
This morning I had a rare treat. Ben arranged for his colleague John Christy to loan me a bike and we had a 40 km dawn bike ride along the causway between the Panama canal and the ocean. Amazing seeing the tropical sun come up. Thanks guys. All done by 8 am and now off to the lab......
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Exploring Panama City
Yesterday was Sunday and I recovered from my flight. Hosts Ben and Christie took me around the sights - seeing the canal, a terrific set of locks and some of the local coastline. Fascinating place, steamingly hot.....
Monday, March 12, 2007
Anne's email to me this morning
"Monday morning all having breakfast. Helen up during thenight 4-5 but nothing wrong with her was lying beside me singing. All going to school. Hope you havnt melted away...."
Singing! Ha!
Singing! Ha!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
The all American burger
A selection of iconic New York images I collected whilst in transit yesterday......
"Baby" (email from New York)
Extract from an email I sent to Anne yesterday whilst waiting in the transit lounge at Newark Liberty Airport ....
Sitting in transit waiting for onward connection. My flight (from Bristol) was fine I had a big man sharing my row of 3 but because he was big they left a seat between us free which was a bonus. He was a nice guy - from DC but been working in Bude for 3 weeks. He was looking forward to seeing his daughter.
Sunny in New York, but snow on the ground. NY has a nice feel about it and the people seem friendly. An airport security woman just called me "Baby"...
Onward to Panama, more to follow....
Sitting in transit waiting for onward connection. My flight (from Bristol) was fine I had a big man sharing my row of 3 but because he was big they left a seat between us free which was a bonus. He was a nice guy - from DC but been working in Bude for 3 weeks. He was looking forward to seeing his daughter.
Sunny in New York, but snow on the ground. NY has a nice feel about it and the people seem friendly. An airport security woman just called me "Baby"...
Onward to Panama, more to follow....
Friday, March 09, 2007
Three generations
Gran arrived yesterday, I caught this moment of 3 generations of Mathieson women this morning. I am off to Panama for a week from tomorrow, excited.....
Thursday, March 08, 2007
A trip to the 'homeland'
Last Thursday Angus joined me on a train trip north to stay with Grandma the weekend: I had some work with Trevor Page from Lancaster Uni on the Friday. On Saturday Dave brought Lily across to Kirkby Lonsdale to join Angus, whilst Dave and I went onward to Wasdale, for 48 hours of hill walking and fun with Adrian and friends, staying at Burnthwaite farm, a beautiful spot where we stayed 4 years ago when Angus was a new born. This is now an annual event (see March in Snowdonia last year) and the crack and the company was just terrific, as ever. We went over the Scafell range on Saturday and assaulted Yewbarrow on the Sunday. The weather was relatively mild and the lighting lovely as ever - I put some photos of the trip on the web. See stories also from Dave and Adrian - I like the story about the jeans!
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