Resources from the web site of Well House Consulaants on the subject of Places. We provide
Travel and Transport ... twin hobbies that take me to many
places, and I'm delighted to be able to mix them with business
sometime. Share with me some articles and pictures about places
I've been for pleasure, for business, or for both if I can wangle it.
(and the following sections) some of my musings that are nothing
| Articles and tips on this subject | updated |
| 3603 | Another cold night
I got home late tonight - that's two nights in a row. And it's another cold one, with the temperature down to -7°C already. Tomorrow morning will be brisk, like the last two.
... | 2012-02-03
(short) |
| 3595 | Looking up
You can walk through a city and see the street ... and you can glance upwards too and see far more than the street - some incredible architecture, both old and modern. Click on any image to see it larger.
London, late afternoon and early evening yesterday ... | 2012-01-27
|
| 3529 | Sharpness, Gloucestershire - a place in transport history
Sharpness is one of those places that's famed in the annals of public transport - it's at the mouth of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, where boats drop from the canal into the River Severn, and its also the place on the 'English" side where the Severn Railway bridge used to cross over to the Monmouthshire ... | 2011-11-27
|
| 3393 | Rodwell Trail, Weymouth
Yesterday ... more to do in Weymouth. I'll probably be there again for the next two Sundays, and certainly not running out of things to see and do. The Rodwell Trail is the path of the old railway from Weymouth via Wyke Regis to Fortuneswell and Easton. Dominic, Sion and myself took the walk to ... | 2011-08-15
|
| 3353 | Off the beaten track - non-quite-so-tourist spots
Looking back, I didn't put (m)any pictures of Ephesus up on my blog when we visited Turkey in 2004 on a "Geek Cruise". But that was a very timing week, with places to see, lectures to attend on Perl, PHP and MySQL, notes to write up, and a business to run from the Wifi connection in the ship's bar. ... | 2011-07-10
|
| 3330 | A lot of exercise this week
Sometimes, don't you just feel that there's an awful lot of climbing to do to reach your destination? This week, I'm working in Edinburgh but all the hotels are full and I'm commuting out - 2 stations - to Linlithgow. Now - the station at Haymarket looks like it's only just over a mile from the place ... | 2011-06-22
|
| 3297 | A long day, a long journey, and families and similarities the world over
Yesterday was a long journey - physically and through so many different experiences and enironments - so "emotionally" if you like to put it that way - but good, planned emotions.
At Gatport Airwick - I justed like the atmosphere shot here of some woman I don't know silhouetted against the window ... | 2011-05-22
|
| 3204 | Two views of a war memorial
Lisa and I took a trip at lunchtime today to Fishponds, in Bristol to visit a specialist store that we got to know when we were working on the restoration of our home at The Spa in Melksham. One room remains to be completed even now, 10 years later; we took on the project of Well House Manor in ... | 2011-03-17
|
| 3185 | Day Trip to Hereford, in pictures
From Melksham, via Devizes, Wootton Bassett, Cirencester and Gloucester to Hereford. Back via Monmouth, Tintern, the old Severn Bridge, the M4 and Box ... | 2011-02-26
|
| 3175 | The Rhine in winter
A grey day, dirty train windows, low sun, and bright train light reflecting in the windows all meant that the beauty of the Rhine was very hard to capture yesterday as we took the train from Frankfurt, via Wiesbaden, to Koblenz on the "superbackway" home. There would have been 10 quicker ways ... | 2011-02-19
|
| 3070 | Belfast, on a cold November evening
I know Northern Ireland far less than I do the rest of the United Kingdom - and a two day C++ course that was only half an hour from the Ferry really made scant steps to correct that; I arrived in the training room in an industrial area just after first light on Tuesday and Wednesday, and didn't leave ... | 2010-12-04
|
| 3064 | On the way to the course this week
Just a picture from this evening ... the beauty of engineering even in the evening. If you click on the image, you'll see it larger ... | 2010-11-22
(short) |
| 2985 | Right place, right season
When you go on holiday, you get to choose when, where, and what to do with your time, but that's not the case with an on site training course. So the chance of being somewhere I really want to see, at a time of year when the weather and daylight makes it worth seeing, is slim. But - just ... | 2010-10-08
|
| 2907 | Dartmouth, Kingswear and Torbay
Dartmouth, on Thursday evening ... so much has been happening since then that it feels far more than 48 hours ago!
More pictures of Dartmouth [here] and of Torquay and Paignton [here]. ... | 2010-08-07
(short) |
| 2897 | The Land of the Black Labrador
From yesterday ... a couple of pictures from a visit to the "Land of the Black Labrador" - also known as Henley-on-Thames.
Planning a day out ... we had considered going down to Weymouth but thinking of the crowds, the heat, the ban on dogs on much of the beach and so forth decided on a more gentle ... | 2010-08-01
|
| 2316 | Guadalajara - a special tour of a lovely city
One hundred and ninety nine years ago, the Mexicans threw out the Spanish in the war of independence. Ninety nine years ago, the Mexican Civil war deposed a dictator in favour of democracy. And so next year there's going to be the most enormous of celebrations; parts of that involve computer generated ... | 2010-06-28
(longer) |
| 2809 | Frankfurt in 90 minutes
With just 90 minutes to change between trains in Frankfurt on Friday, I didn't have time for more than a quick walk around the city - but that was long enough, on a lovely day, to take a series of pictures. Have a look at the slide show [here] ... | 2010-06-13
(short) |
| 2808 | From home to Nurnberg - journey pictures
Rather that put the whole "slide show" of my journey last weekend on the blog, I'll just post up the one picture. If you want to see the rest of them [click here]. ... | 2010-06-13
(short) |
| 2802 | After the Perl course in Nurnberg
The human body is a very efficient heater ... and it's surprising just how much heat is put out by equipment such as laptop computers. So the last three days in Nuremberg, training a group of 20 in what I'm told is a heatwave for here has been hot. That was 21 people + 21 laptops = 42 heater ... | 2010-06-12
|
| 2799 | Nuremberg - some pictures
Aspects of Nuremberg - for all of those people who are wondering what the place is like. I'm staying in a hotel that's about five minutes walk from the Hauptbahnhof, and rather further from where I'm staying on the outskirts.
It's lovely to walk around in the evenings and take pictures, ... | 2010-06-08
|
| 2754 | At Arlington and the Pentagon
Arlington National Cemetery, in Virginia, USA - just across the Potomac river from Washington DC. Lisa's whole extended family and friends gathered yesterday for a graveside ceremony for her mother, who passed away a few weeks ago. Plenty of pictures were taken, but they're in a folder marked "family ... | 2010-05-07
|
| 2733 | Travel Troubles and Jesus again
Following on from yesterday, I spotted a name crop up again that doesn't get to much of a mention here. [see here]
It's been a beautiful evening in Cambridge; I talk a brief stroll down from my hotel, along Chesterton Road on on to Jesus Green - I was walking in towards the city; every one else seemed ... | 2010-04-21
|
| 2624 | Skyline and looking up in London
For those readers who feel I have a one track (Ruby) mind this week - here are a couple of pictures. This first taken out of the bedroom of the hotel I was in Sunday through Tuesday evenings (I've move on elsewhere in London now to my next job and the outlook is suburban by comparison.
London has changed ... | 2010-02-04
|
| 2411 | Further North - long summer days and lovely countryside
I live further north than the city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan at 50°37' [Latitude]. And much further north than Ottawa, where I was cautioned against walking 400 yards to a restaurant in deep winter because of the bitter cold. Ottawa is at 45°24'. Where I live is 51°32' North.
Living so ... | 2009-09-21
|
| 2392 | Lymington, New Forest - some pictures
A long day ... but I couldn't want for a nicer crowd to train, nor a nicer town to be in for the evening. The days are drawing in, but I did manage to get a few pictures in the last couple of hours.
More picture ... Brockenhust and the New Forest, Lymington and the trains between the ... | 2009-09-05
|
| 1307 | Troy, up state New York
I'm in Troy - upstate New York, at the tidal head of the Hudson river 150 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Troy is proud to be named after Helen of Troy, with her beauty shown on the top of a tall pillar in the town square.
Troy is also proud to be the town of origin of Uncle Sam - someone else who's ... | 2009-08-31
|
| 2387 | to Clifton Down and Avonmouth
The pictures I took today are more "record pictures" than ones of any artistic merit or prettiness - we took the day out, and headed for Avonmouth because, like Everest, it's there. I didn't much know what to expect, and the threatening mills that tower above the skyline were dulled for the photographer ... | 2009-08-31
|
| 2205 | An evening walk in Carrickfergus
Yesterday evening, I walked two miles along the seafront at Carrickfergus and back. Just a dozen miles from the city of Belfast, this is a surprising gem with fishing boats, old quaysides, and a magnificent castle.
With so many pictures, made sparkling by gorgeous weather, I didn't know which ... | 2009-05-30
|
| 2207 | North Antrim Coast - a jewel thats well worth a visit
I've lived my whole life in the British Isles, and I've made a point of looking round wherever I travel - yet on this little group of islands there are still gems for me to find and take my breath away. And I've found one of those gems - or rather a whole string of them - along the north Antrim coast ... | 2009-05-30
|
| 1298 | From Leeds
3 years back, Leeds was a City that I knew little of and had hardly even visited, but recently I've found myself up here several times and I'm almost getting to know my way around. I happen to be starting to the South of the major public transport interchange, and the city centre's to the North - so ... | 2009-01-22
|
| 1837 | Alfred the Great
Yesterday, we visited Alfred the Great, who sits cast in stone in the centre of Wantage in Berkshire.
OK - the visit was really to Oxford, but we passed over the Downs from Marlborough through Axford and Ramsbury, Membury and Lambourn, Wantage and Frilford on the way to give our international visitor ... | 2008-10-13
|
| 1807 | A sad town in the sunlight
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Famous in my mind from the phrase "The Gettysburg Address", but not somewhere I had stopped / visited in the past. But yesterday we had an hour or two to stop in the town, to have a look around.
It was at Gettysburg, as recently as early July 1863, that a bloody battle in ... | 2008-09-22
|
| 1804 | Colvin and Carlisle
Colvin Run Mill, Fairfax County, Virginia ... just a few yards off the "Leesburg Pike" - Route 7 - the main run from the Washington DC area to Ashburn and on to Leesburg. Pictured in the last couple of days since Lisa and I arrived in the USA.
The mill and millers's house date from around 1809 and ... | 2008-09-20
|
| 1755 | Istanbul
I was reminded of our trip to Turkey by my previous blog - and pulled out three old pictures from four years ago ...
The bread seller walks between the traffic, with all the weight of the world (or is that all the weight of the bread?) upon his head.
A colourful wedding group outside one of the many ... | 2008-08-16
|
| 1730 | Punting on the Cam
I've been giving a Perl course in Cambridge this week and last night, driven out of my hotel room by the heat, I walked down to the river, bought myself an ice cream, and watched the couples, the tourists, and the punters go by.
You'll find bicycles everywhere in Cambridge they say. And until yesterday ... | 2008-08-01
|
| 1714 | Hillier Gardens, Hampshire
I don't have the patience for wildlife photography - which is why I'm very grateful to the Hillier Gardens, between Romsey and Winchester, for having an "Art in the Garden" exhibition on at the moment. Lisa and I visited on Saturday - a pure co-incidence, as we set out for an impulsive day-and-a-bit ... | 2008-07-23
|
| 1715 | Pictures from South Hampshire
This weekend - a 'mad' last minute decision to get away overnight within a hectic schedule, and we just got in the car with no particular destination - and I ended up taking a lot of pictures with no particular purpose; back in the middle of yesterday afternoon, I've catalogued a few that looked rather ... | 2008-07-23
|
| 1652 | Old Sarum airfield brings back fond memories
It must have been some 15 years ago that I flew with Dick (a retired flyer with rthe US military who had gone on to a distingued career managing their flight maintainance base and in civvy life) from Montgomery field in San Diego up to the back of the LA basin (I am trying hard to remember the place ... | 2008-05-24
|
| 1638 | Pictures far apart
I'll tell you something about the following two pictures ... and that's that I'm the photographer in each case. The I'll ask you how far apart in distance and in time you think they are.
I have some pictures that look similar that are taken at similar times ... and then others where you say "they're ... | 2008-05-12
|
| 1639 | Minehead Marauder
A lovely day out in Minehead yesterday ... an excursion by train from Westbury, organised by The Railway Children Charity, on a train loaned free of charge by First Great Western for the day, track access costs waived by Network Rail and by the West Somerset Railway, time given for free by all the staff ... | 2008-05-12
|
| 92 | Hard work, Hard sell
Got home, 9pm last night, from Venice and our Mediterranean Cruise. It was very hard work and we get back exhausted, but I think that's going to be a hard thing for me to sell to anyone who happens to be reading "The Horse's Mouth".
I can tell you of a revitalised enthusiasm for PHP, and for MySQL ... | 2008-05-11
|
| 70 | Red Luas - early life and times
A little off-topic, but it's been suggested that I post this piece to save it "for posterity". Hmm - not sure that this website will be around in 20 years time let alone posterity, but here's my account of part of a week that's unlikely to be repeated
It's been a long time in coming, but Red Luas was ... | 2008-05-10
(longer) |
| 66 | A Taste or Ireland
I get a chance to train in Ireland 3 or 4 times a year, and it's a trip I enjoy. Ireland is like a sibling country to Great Britain; there's a close relationship and much is similar, and yet in some aspects there's a deep seated rivalry (not sure if that's the right word) that wouldn't be tolerated ... | 2008-05-10
|
| 1624 | From Freddie the fallow
Hi, I'm Freddie the fallow deer and I would like to introduce you to my home at Dyrham Park.
Some of the older trees in the park have fallen and newer trees have been planted ... and there's plenty of grass for me and my friends to eat!
Avenues of new trees disappear over the horizon and there's ... | 2008-04-28
|
| 1617 | Steam Engines at Bressingham
I think the copy of "Steam Engines at Bressingham" - written by Alan Bloom - is still on my shelves at home. It was certainly a book the I read, and reread as I struggled with English which was my weakest vital academic subject. It told of a man running a horticultural business with a passion for steam, ... | 2008-04-21
|
| 1590 | All Change, Portsmouth Harbour
It's so long since I was in Portsmouth that I was quite taken aback by the changes I found there yesterday - a trip to meet a friend of several years standing, and make two new ones. I learned that "The Pyramids" swimming pool, built just 20 years or so ago, has roof problems so severe that it's to ... | 2008-03-23
|
| 1537 | To Wales - where theres still a toll on the bridge
As I drove to Cardiff this morning, I paid my £5.30 to cross over the Severn into Wales, and thought of the luck of the Scots who have just had the tolls lifted from the Forth and Tay bridges ...
... | 2008-02-11
(short) |
| 1536 | A Weekend in Liverpool
In fact a WORKING weekend in Liverpool, as I was up there to have a look at some web server issues for someone on a day that the web servers weren't being hammered with live traffic - but that's a comment for another thread. I'm writing this late on Sunday afternoon, having missed out a Saturday post ... | 2008-02-10
|
| 1524 | Nottingham - just text!
I'm in Nottingham - giving a Tcl course - for a few days. No pictures yet - sorry. Firstly, I arrived at the venue in a rush (that's another term for a car that has got seriously held up in the traffic) and left in the dark. Secondly, I left the vital cable to link camera to computer beside the bed ... | 2008-02-02
|
| 1460 | Christmas fare in Ljubljana
Our last evening in Ljubljana - and we took the bus into town and walked through the Christmas Market - so many colorful pictures yet as it seems in this city it's the people who make it ...
... and on for a meal in the old town - traditional Slovenian Fayre, perhaps?
... | 2007-12-06
|
| 1457 | A day in Ljubljana
It's Tuesday morning, and I'm in Ljubljana to give a Python training course. Unusually, I traveled out 24 hours early - rather that arriving at something approaching midnight last night after a Monday that was wasted with travel anyway, we (Lisa and I) came out on Sunday and had a look around what is ... | 2007-12-05
(longer) |
| 1456 | Right up to the top of the City
Today was a day's holiday - a very rare day's holiday - before I start Python training first thing tomorrow morning, and a chance to see a little of the city of Ljubljana.
Many pictures taken - many of them spectacular, but I need a while to sort through and find a handful of the best that portray ... | 2007-12-04
(short) |
| 1425 | Melksham v Ely
From Ely last weekend - some things that we could learn for our town? Some of these things are being talked about already, some may be longer term, but I suspect that all are practical.
* A train service that's vibrant even though the station is on the edge of town and in amongst some industry
* ... | 2007-11-11
|
| 1244 | FolksFest Bristol - German beer, Bratwurst and music
Yesterday ... a trip to Ikea in Bristol (for tables for an event we're holding this week) left us frustrated and speechless, and Ikea loosing themselves some business. Yes, they had what we wanted. Yes, there were 24 in stock. But no, we couldn't have them as they were stacked on a high rack and ... | 2007-06-25
|
| 1229 | Where am I?
This might be quite easy (and there are some clues around ...)
Travelled yesterday (so it's NOT Wiltshire), checked in to a hotel, training nearby today. ... | 2007-06-11
(short) |
| 1204 | Spot the difference
Two views of the river in Cambridge ... from almost the same spot, but do they tell different stories?
See more pictures of Cambridge where I have been these last few days ... | 2007-05-26
(short) |
| 1147 | A picture (mostly in words) of Helsinki
It's a while - a long while - since I wrote a travalogue of one of my journeys - things have gone from busy to mad to manic over the past year and that's hardly a suprise - in the last year we have bought a house, refurbished it into a high quality hotel, planned all the rooms, staffing, systems, opening ... | 2007-04-15
|
| 886 | Signs of Leek
A brief evening breath of fresh air around Leek shows me signs of spirit, community and humour. I don't know the history of this pub sign, but there are those out there that will tell you that a Quiet Woman is rare in the extreme. I expect that a very old name indeed, associated with some even centuries ... | 2006-10-04
|
| 778 | Weekend in Ireland
Greetings from Ireland ... it feels almost like a regular trip, arriving at first light on the boat at Dublin Docks.
This weekend's been a little different; rather that head all the way back from Liverpool to home late into Friday evening, just to set off again during Sunday (and perhaps via Liverpool!) ... | 2006-06-30
|
| 685 | A couple of days away
No "Horse's Mouth" yesterday nor this morning - Lisa and I have been up to visit a potential supplier of everything from bollard lights to tables chairs and reception desks for Well House Manor; delighted with what we saw and more posts to follow on the subject, no doubt. On the way, though, we took ... | 2006-06-05
(short) |
| 713 | Pictures from my travels
In the last couple of weeks, I seem to have been all over the country and I've just uploaded a whole raft of pictures ... with the addition of accommodation to my "brief" this year, I'm collecting a whole load of Wiltshire snaps to use the very best on our new sites, and you'll find much of the new raw ... | 2006-06-05
|
| 730 | Reading the newspaper and working with other restrictions
Refered by a contact to an article in "The Sun" concerning trains and politics, I was given the screen above when I tried to follow the link yesterday. And that's not the first time I've seen that page since I got here {Saudi Arabia] late last week.
In an earlier, long, blog I talked somewhat of my ... | 2006-06-05
|
| 740 | Finishing up in Dhahran
The end of a long two weeks ... I'm writing this blog in the reception area at the Dhahran International hotel, ready for posting after an overnight flight back to the UK. My car arrives in about 60 minutes ...
Today has been spent shrinking. Clothes and possessions gathered this morning and fitted ... | 2006-06-05
|
| 727 | A journey, an arrival, a people
It's a long, long time since I sat down and wrote a "travelogue"; although I enjoyed writing about places and people, there was getting to be much of a similarity in what I wrote - indeed, the world is a smaller place year by year. But yesterday, I flew into [place to be named later] and although the ... | 2006-05-22
(longest) |
