In the run up to the 2010 UK elections I thought I’d run a series of posts highlighting the major issues that the UK currently faces. First up and probably not for the last time, debt! If you are not alarmed by our national debt, then you should be (I also invite you to have a quick look at your bank balance to make sure it’s ok) it is up to you to pay it back.

£899 billion owed, so only £14,000 for every man women and child in the …

Escaping Lyon, throttling the car as fast as it could carry us we soon arrived in the bends and turns of the hilly Ardèche. Never will driving be as much fun as it is here, tackling the endless bends and cranking through the gears is enough to warm any city drivers soul.

Later that day we arrived at our final destination. Through the country roads we drove to the house of remote surroundings. A most excellent friend and host offered his abode for us to enjoy what France is really about, …

Every once in a while, random events in life throw you some real gems, and you end up meeting some crazy people, which makes for the best nights. This photo is pulled from one such random event and follows my Lyon and soon to be follow up post.
Life is beautifully typified in the connections that people make, the friendships that bond over time. This picture for me exquisitely captures both friendship and human expression.

Downing a glass of Cognac will make pull a face like that every time. See a full …

Excitedly we left for France’s second biggest city, Lyon, a trip cobbled together in the last moments as pre arranged plans gushed away without prior warning.  Cruising in a Citron C3 towards to the city felt so right and as we happened on to the streets of the inner city we were greeted with a magnificent sight of the cathedral, known as the Notre-Dame de Fourvière Basilica, which was purchased on top of the hill presiding over Lyon’s town centre in the valley.
As a driver, the first thing you note is …

Returning from southern France has given me a whole new set of pictures for this section of the blog, so now it’s time for me to catch up.
This photo is called ‘the leap’, named simply as a description of what is happening. Slightly annoyed that it came out so dark, and a little annoyed that I wasn’t taking it in a burst mode, as to get the jumper (Raph) right over the body he was trying to clear. Love watching people do silly things like this and enjoy it even …

A minor update on the site today with the meebo bar being put across the site. I have been meaning to do this for ages and now that the site is about trying to be more socially orientated, whatever that means, I thought this would be a timely addition to the site.
I’ll post the results of the interactions with the bar as time moves on. I really do wonder what difference it will make to the user (your) experience and if anyone will even use it. It is on the …

Taken in South Korea’s Jeju island this picture sums up the entire holiday, both exquisite and exiting. I’ve touched a few times on the importance of water in some of my posts, but never does preservation of the environment become more apparent more desperate and more important when you visit somewhere of such natural beauty. Cheju (Jesu) is a wondrous place and am very sure it will appear in subsequent pictures of the week.
To see a larger version of this picture simply click on it, and if not my magic …

This winter saw a trip back to Berlin, possibly the coldest place on earth that I have ever been thus far. At -15 at night and -8 during the day, Berlin seemed a fairly inhospitable place. For all its charm and chic, Berlin could not fight the piecing cold, leaving the streets emptier than I have ever seen, and those that did brave the weather, scurrying along to the nearest cafe, of which there are plenty.
This image is taken right where the Palast der Republik stood, soon to be …

Job titles as I have found and as meaningful as they are meaningless. They appear to give status but often don’t reflect the a persons true importance and value, yet many define themselves by this title that has been bestowed upon them by their pay masters. Is this wrong? I’ll let you come to your own opinion on this matter. I really want to tackle the injustice of the British title against an American one.
The Americans with a Federal Republic kept to convention when they were dreaming up job …

It’s 2010 and recently I’ve been thinking more about what seems like a shift in foreign policy and global politics. I love conspiracy theories, from aliens to JFK, the Beatles to 911. This post largely will centre around the theory that we are slowly entering a 5 state ruling political system. 1984, great book, great author and an interesting social commentary on what might come to pass. Extreme as 1984 is, the book worked so well because I could immerse myself in the belief that this isn’t too far removed …