Evesham Cats Protection, Sunday, 29th September, 2013.

No, sorry. No room up here for anyone from down there.

With Socks, the worlds oldest and boniest cat.

Yes, yet another September morning of balmy sunshine is most welcome, thank you.

View of the complex from 'Tail Cam' (possibly).

It's a grey world, Thursday, 26th September, 2013.

Vicky arrives back at base having taken our Lancer in for a service and so is now the driver for the day of a BMW 320i. You'd think she'd be pleased but she's not impressed. Pah! says David. I'll drive it back with you later on and give it a bit of a test run.

You know what? Vicky's absolutely right. OK, it's comfortable and goes ok but the power steering is laborious with a nano-second delay that takes some getting used to. All *rs* and moustache in fact. An olde man's car. I'm olde but I don't want an olde man's car! 

Worse, it's in grey. Now we think of it, what's that all about? Did the world's car manufacturers get together about 15 years ago and decide to purchase a money-saving super-vat of grey paint and proceed to spray 90% of their cars in the cowin' stuff? It certainly feels like it to us. Everywhere we go, grey people in grey cars in a grey world. Awful.

We're glad to get back in our humble high-mileage Lancer Auto (in black) with it's nice handling and light power steering. Albeit slower in a straight line than the two years younger Beemer but nimble thru' the bends and.........in black!

We have spoken.

Birmingham, Saturday, 14th September, 2013.

We've driven up to Birmingham today 'cos Vicky has bought 2 tickets for a play at The Rep which, as you can see from the photo above, is handily situated right next to the newly built and now open Birmingham Public Library - the biggest in Europe, no less - which gives us a chance to have a shufty 'round and check out whether it lives up to the hype.

Of course, what with all the publicity an' all, the Library is rammed to the rafters with plebs just like us going up and down the escalators and taking photos just like this.

Is that a halo above Vic's head? Hmmmmm.

We're on the second floor balcony now and this is a shot of the inside of the outside 'cladding'.
It's a mindbender!

It's like a roof garden but it's not on the roof. Lunacy!

Splendid panorama of Birmingham looking south across Centenary Square with, from left to right, the olde library, the Hall of Memory, that ice-scraper office block which was built years ago and has never been filled, The Registry Office, The Hyatt Hotel, the Convention Centre/Symphony Hall, and the Rep right next door.

Howard is both well-travelled and well-read (oh yes).

Birmingham is a wonderfully confused mish-mash of olde and new architecture. In the left foreground we have a corner of the classic Baskerville House while, on the right, is the appropriately sober Hall of Memory. Then again, in the middle, is the diabolical late '70's olde Public Library. A 'carbuncle' as Prince Charles would say. 

Wonder what will happen to it now and, more worryingly, what will replace it? 

Back inside now and ascending yet more escalators. 

Look! There's some actual books in the far distance.

A view from the inside up here of the outside down there.

 Surrounded by books as we travel back towards the ground floor. Unfortunately, these books can only be accessed by the staff. Must be very valuable. Not to mention olde. Very olde.

This central space with it's escalators and travelators dominates everything. 

It's all very grand, but what about areas for quiet study?

Child and parent interaction area: no modern library is complete without one.

Leaving the library now via the link to the Rep.

We're going to The Rep to see the matinee performance of the fairly Bennettesque 'People' by Alan Bennett which features Livia from I Claudius, one of those dead 'ard blokes off Eastbenders, Thelma from The Likely Lads, and the very slightly disturbed and disturbing Mrs Tishell from Doc Martin. In fact Mrs Tishell walks right past us whilst we are in The Reps foyer whilst we are searching for a snack. She's in disguise but she doesn't fool us just 'cos she isn't wearing her ubiquitous neck brace. It was definitely her.

The play was alright. We enjoyed it. It was a darn-sight better than the meal we had in the Homemade Burger Factory-place we had afterwards anyway. Blige, that place has gone downhill. Shan't go there again.

Nevermind. Win some, lose some. Nearly six o'clock now and it's time to head home via the weekly shop at Morrisons in Droitwich.

Exciting life, eh?

Evesham Cats Protection, Sunday, 1st September, 2013.

Up at 6:30am today. A thirty minute lie-in. 

Cowin' 'eck, mutters David, it's an outrage. An outrage, I tell yer!

Yes, yes, yes, so yer tired. Gerover it. Just feed me and leave me to me kip. An' shut the door behind ya on the way out.

Blige, we're tired today. Walking 'round Silverstone carrying a 'big lens' and stuff really takes it out of one. It's now approaching midday and this is our first photo. Just couldn't be bothered up to now. 

This is our cat of the day or, rather, our family of the day. Too many of 'em to properly fit into one shot.

They'll have to be separated to be re-homed. Shame, but that's how it goes.

Yeh, I'm a whole six kilos. So what, wanna make something of it?

When yer cream-crackered there's nowt better than a little rest with a lovely feline friend to fuss. And this one loves a fuss (and the cat).

Later, back at base, Emlyn is put out. The swines have had a rest and are now full of vim and vigour. Look, one of 'em's trying to suck poor Emlyn's brain out through the side of his head! 

Put me down, yer scrote.

British MotoGP, Silverstone, Saturday, 31st August, 2013.

6:00am alarm call.

8:05am departure.

9:15am parked up at the circuit after a bit of a queue to get in. Signs are, there's gonna be a bigger crowd than last year.

9:45am. We've had our home-made cold toast washed down with a cuppa tea and we're now sat in the Abbey Grandstand in time to watch the end of the Moto3 session. Not taken a photo here since before they spoilt things by building the dreaded 'Wing'.

10:00am. We've walked up to the inside of Brooklands for the start of the morning MotoGP practice and this is top CRT-fella Aleix Espargaro getting his knee down on his Aspar ART. 

Difficult to get a spot with enough elbow room for panning so we decide to walk under the bridge and try some shots on The Wellington Straight.

10:20am. They're going too fast Vic! It's time to get the big lens out.

10:25am. Ah, that's more like it.

Lorenzo on his Yamaha going about his business. No histrionics. Just awesome speed and accuracy at all times. 

If only David's panning had the same qualities.

10:40am. The trick is to get to the refreshments just before the MotoGP session ends. 

It'll be swarming here in a few minutes!

11:00am. We're now between Village and Farm and Moto2 has started. The MG Mobile riders were never more than this far apart in either Moto2 sessions. Simone Corsi is leading Alex DeAngelis on this occasion. 

11:20am. Back on The Wellington Straight now and Danny Kent gives it some wellie (groan) on his Tech 3 Moto2 'bike.

11:40am. We've walked over The Bridge and into the 'infield' to get a shot of a 'bike going from left to right. This is late-entry Jason O'Halloran on a Motobi.

12:00. Now we are between Copse and Maggots and the national support riders are out on track. This is James Ellison on the BSB-spec Yamaha. He's an over-whelming favourite for the race win later today (and tomorrow).

12:20pm. Time for lunch! We head for the Paddock Cafe which is open to the public even tho' the Paddock is not. As we walk past the paddock perimeter fence we have to squeeze thu' the hordes of Rossi fans hoping to get a glimpse of their hero. Gerralife, we mutter grumpily.

12:45pm. Having realised that the Moto 3's are out qualifying already and having no time for a cuppa tea to wash down our baked potatoes, cheese and salad, we are now severely de-hydrated as we stand at the inside of Copse and watch Maverick Vinales hurtle past. David is in trouble, he's taken his eye off the timetable and we need to find some refreshment pronto!

1:00pm. Having walked under the bridge at Copse we are now opposite the Pits and the Moto 3's have got their elbows out and it's still only qualifying. Gawd knows what it'll be like in the race. Luca Amato and Romano Fenati are the guilty parties for those of you making notes. For our part, we are still looking for a drink.

1:10pm. We are now sat in the National Pits Straight Stand but it's rammed and there's no room for panning in here. We leave almost as soon as we arrive (took two photos) and we still need a drink!

1:30pm. The Moto GP boys are back out on track but we don't care - we saw 'em this morning! So we're going to have a rest for a few minutes and have a cuppa tea before trying to find a seat in the Woodcote Stand. But, that's rammed an' all. So we walk a towards Luffield, have another cuppa tea on the way, and intend to try to get a seat there. Oh, the optimism of fools. No chance, so it's a steady plod toward The Wellington Straight, via yet another cuppa tea at the Moto GP 'village'. At least we're getting re-hydrated now.

2:25pm. This is just the sort of thing young (and the not so young) people like to do when they get their hands on a powerful motorbike. Grow up! Yonny Hernandez, report to The Stewards Office immediately!

2:45pm. We're getting down to business now. Things are starting to get serious. This is that pesky Spanish-fella Marc Marquez sticking the Honda on pole right at the death.

2:46pm. Cal Crutchlow (the Dave 'Crasher' Croxford of the modern era) does a practice start at the end of the session after putting his cobbled together Tech 3 Yamaha on the front row. Splendid effort that man.

2:50pm. With Moto GP finished for the day, the hordes exit the stands and head for the refreshments.

3:30pm. We're back at Abbey now and Britain expects! With a lovely new paint-jobbie for his home GP, Scott Redding chases a pole time on his Marc VDS Kalex. He almost did it an' all. Fingers crossed for tomorrow. The pressure he must be under doesn't bear thinking about.

4:30pm. Most folk have gone home now or have headed to The Stage area hoping for a glimpse of a 'star' rider but they are missing out on the annual drama that is The Red Bull Rookies race. Here the field hurtle thru' Farm on the way to Village and The Complex on lap one. 16 laps later some young whipper-snapper had won after much squabbling over every place and the inevitable tumble or several. Great stuff. Those who stayed to watch in the Abbey Grandstand (and all 'round the circuit) gave every rider a standing ovation as they tootled past on the slow-down lap. Karel Hanika from The Czech Republic won for the record.

5:00pm. Time to head back to the car park and have some home-made cobs and juice to keep us going for the journey home.

David remains over-excited and knackered (he's not as young as he was). Vicky will have to drive home.  

We leave the circuit at 5:45pm and get home at 7:00pm. 

That was one of the best MotoGP days we have ever had.

Roll on next year.

Now then, just the small matter of another early start and Cat's Protection in the morning to contend with. That should be interesting.