At my first mountain bike race of the year at Stile Cop, I had wanted to shoot something a bit different to my usual head on race shot. Climbing a bank to get to an open section of track I took out my Fuji X100V, activated the built in ND filter, and slowed the shutter speed right down. On this frame I had managed to get the riders eyes and number board mostly sharp, which is easier said than done. The rest of the frame was a bit chaotic, which sums up a downhill mountain bike run to me. I had not planned to shoot in black and white, but prior to the conversion I felt there was something missing.
Spectating at the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages was one of my highlights of 2024, there were a couple of images that I could have chosen, but there is nothing quite like seeing a 911 sideways on gravel.
Despite riding a lot with Owen, we did not actually visit the skate park much, this was probably from a Saturday morning when Jen was doing Parkrun. Environmental portraits, like this, are my favourite way to capture the boys, as it avoids them pulling any silly faces, I felt that this one just sums Owen up really well.
Another from the War Memorial Park, whist Jen was doing Parkrun, except this time the boys were staying with my parents, and I had just received my X-H2S, so I explored the park on my own. this guy was meditating on a bench on the bowling green, and I liked the framing between the leaves. This photo reminds me of how lucky we are having a large park near the centre of Coventry where people can relax amongst nature.
The first of two photos from the Coventry ring road photowalk I did in November. We started here at the Canal Basin, which was like a mirror first thing in the morning, so I concentrated on capturing reflections. On this day I had actually made the conscious decision to shoot in black and white, and had set my X-H2S set to the Acros film simulation.
I took lots of photos of Henry at the local cycle speedway track in 2024, most of them riding shots, but this one of him messing about in the grass, whilst waiting for his heat was my favourite. I fell like it just sums up Henry.
The second image from the ring road photowalk, this time about halfway around the ring road, in the subway that goes to Central Six, for those that know it. On the day this was not my favourite of the more tradition street style photographs, but it has grown on me over time. The framing in the square and the silhouette make it for me.
I had these trees in mind for a sunset photo across the valley for a few years, so when weather conditions for a decent sunset combined with a free evening, I drove over to Kineton to see if I could make it work. The sunset was not quite as good as I had hoped, but the concept worked well. It was also nice to get out for the evening, watching as a sun dipped behind the horizon.
When I was sent out on a Christmas Eve mission to deliver some emergency red cabbage there was only one car for the job – my little MR2 Roadster. I had just received my camera back from a warranty repair at Fuji UK and wanted to test it out. This was a super quick shot, as I also had Owen in the car with me. It was a misty evening, and the shot I had envisioned was the MR2 parked under a streetlight in the mist. Sadly where I decided to stop – an industrial estate in Nuneaton, was not particularly misty, but I still like the shot. Rather than including the streetlight I was parked under in the frame, I went for tighter framing, using the light to accentuate the shape of the car. We were probably only out of the car for a minute, but the shot came out well.
It was still misty on Boxing Night, and having been stuck in the house all day, I decided to head out and get the misty photograph I had not achieved a few days prior. Instead of taking the MR2 out, I decided to walk up to Hearsall Common, to photograph the Hearsall Star, a local festive landmark. I had taken a few different compositions, but this one with the cars was my favourite, as the cars and their lights added a bit of an extra something that was missing from the frame. I was not sure if there would be much traffic late on Boxing Night, but I am glad that there was. Walking home from this I slipped on some mud and bashed my knee, but it was worth it for this photo.
As the sun sets on 2024 (photo from earlier in the year, the weather is rubbish tonight), I am sharing my look back at the year. 2024 has been a pretty good year, especially after the rubbish end to 2023. The first exciting thing of the year was our weekend in Manchester, for the Bricktastic Lego show. Owen and I went to Wales in the spring, then again in the autumn, riding at Bike Park Wales both times. I also went to Wales to watch a rally with my dad, which was one of my highlights of the year. We had some good holidays – Dorset with Jen’s family, the South Downs with my family, and Jen and I went to Venice, but I have been a bit rubbish at blogging, so no posts to link to.
2024 has been a decent year on the bikes, although mainly the hardtail really. In previous years I have mainly ridden on my own, but I have been more social this year. I have ridden a lot with Partho – my favourite ride of the years was when he demoed a Cotic bike in the Peak District, natural trails are great fun, but the hills are tough. In the summer I joined the local mountain bike club, the Godiva Trailriders, for a few rides, although I still struggle to keep up with them on rides. However the highlight has been riding loads with Owen towards the end of the year – his riding has come on so much with regular riding. With all the riding I have neglected workshop time – I am almost at the point where none of my bikes are rideable. More time in the workshop needed.
I have had a great year behind the camera, helped by upgrading my camera. I feel like I have really gelled with the new camera in a way that I was not expecting to, harking back to 2009 when I bought my Canon 1Dmk2, and I felt like I produced my best work. I have shot a lot of mountain biking, mainly the local races at Stile Cop, but I really enjoy the vibe they have on the hill, and I have been getting to know the regular racers. It has not only been action photography, I have also dabbled in both landscape and street photography, including a fun morning shooting around the Coventry ring road with some other local photographers. I have found myself taking a lot of black and white photos, the Acros film simulation on my Fuji cameras is great. Naturally, I have taken a lot of photos of the boys, and also both my nieces – being an uncle is fun!
Work has been particularly busy this year, with a few projects being delivered, and some diversification in to app development, which has been interesting. It has been a double edged sword though, as I have often ended up working late into the evening when I have something to finish – I love what I do, so do not mind, but it does mean that I have not been able to work on personal projects as much as I would have liked.
Owen has had a much year than 2023, his year started off with a small operation to remove a Hickmann Line from his chest, but he has bounced back. He started getting into photography and we have enjoyed some great days out together. He has also made great progress with his karate – achieving his yellow belt, and then his orange belt. He has also competed at both regional and national level – both times being knocked out in the first round by the same lad, who went on to with both titles. However riding with Owen these past few months has been great, he rides at a good pace now, so I have a decent ride, rather than just pootling along behind him. He also enjoys when Partho joins us on rides, he feels like he is one of the boys.
Henry has also had a good year, he is a right character, and takes his role of “annoying little brother” very seriously. He is so different to Owen, especially how they dress, Henry likes to dress smartly – or to wear a princess dress. He often has multiple outfit changes a day, which is both cute and frustrating. He continued with cycle speedway, making great progress, especially towards the end of the season, and he want to ride a “proper” speedway bike without brakes next season. The biggest change for Henry has been that he can now read and write, that first year at school has just a dramatic change, over the last few days he has even started reading books to himself, which has been nice to see.
At the start of the year, I set myself some goals. I posted a halftime update in June, but here are the final results:
Spend more time with my friends
Must try harder – I have spent a lot more time with Partho, mostly mountain biking, but also various other trips out. I have found it more difficult to meet up with the rest of our group, and we did not get to all celebrate our fortieth birthdays together. We did meet Rich in Manchester when we went to Bricktastic. The photo above was from the only time that we managed to get the whole group together – for lunch and an autumnal walk in the Peak District.
Make my blog more robust
Fail – As mentioned in my mid-year update post, perfection has been the enemy of progress here. I probably just need to spend a day on it, however finding a free day to spend sat at the computer is proving difficult
Refresh my photography portfolio website
Fail – I did make a start on this, but did not finish it. It looks like there have not been many changes to Adobe Portfolio, which I use to power the pages, so it is just going to be a case of choosing some more images.
Photograph a rally
Pass – I actually photographed two rallies – a single stage rally at Donington Park and the Rallynuts Severn Valley Stages in Wales. The trip to Wales to watch the rally was one of my favourite days of the year, so I am hoping to go to another rally next year. Owen seems keen to join me.
Fail – Owen hardly did any riding at the start of the year, then we did loads in the last four months, but focussing more on quality, rather than quantity. His longest ride was actually at Bike Park Wales (spoiler for the next goal!), where we rode 21km, which did not include being driven to the top of the hill four times. Owen’s technical riding has come on so much…
Ride at Bike Park Wales with Owen
Pass – Another goal that I can check off twice! We had a weekend in Wales in May, which included an afternoon at Bike Park Wales, then we made it to the Little Rippers Halloween ride, after many years of clashing dates/hospital visits. Bike Park Wales more than lived up to the hype, it is the best place I have ridden, and I am looking forward to visiting again.
Ride at 417 Bike Park with Henry
Fail – Henry is very different to Owen, and is less of a daredevil – he enjoys riding his bike on the cycle speedway track, or on the blue graded trail at Hicks Lodge. I am sure that he would enjoy riding at 417 (when it eventually reopens), but he would hate the idea of it and I do not want to push him. I think I’ll get him to ride at Newbold Comyn, as the trails are similar in difficulty, but it is nearer and free to ride.
Ride at Bwlch Nant yr Arian
Fail – Again. This will be carried over to next year (again), with higher priority given that Natural Resources Wales seem to be giving up on their mountain bike facilities, including Nant Yr Arian.
Ride one more of the “10 of the best XC trails in the UK” with Partho
Fail – This one is on me – Partho is keen to ride the Ladybower Loop in the Peak District, but I have some bike maintenance to do before I can tackle it, as my Orange Four is currently out of action, and I did not fancy it on a hardtail.
Sort out the boys toys
Fail – We did make a good go of it before Christmas, but then Christmas happened, and the boys got loads of toys, so the house looks like there has been an explosion in Toy R Us…
Tidy my garage
Fail – The garage is still a mess, with bikes and bike parts everywhere. I thought I had a goal to “tidy my office”, so I spent this afternoon sorting out my office, which was needed, but unfortunately does not mean that I can tick off a task.
MR2 jobs
Partial pass – As with last year, this has been hampered by a messy garage/too many bikes and not enough space to work on the MR2, however I did get some jobs done. And it got new brake callipers when it was in for service, and also the paint blemishes were sorted.
Make sure that my pensions and investments are working for me
Pass – Just about. Sorting out my pensions was a boring task that I had been putting off, but just in time for the end of the year, my old pensions have all been moved into a SIPP with Interactive Investor, which seems to be getting me better growth and lower fees. Once I had worked out what I wanted to do I thought it would be a quick process, but every step of the way seems to have been slow, especially getting money out of old pensions, but in the final days of the year the last cash has been transferred from an old pension, although it will take a few more days to arrive and be invested. I had reviewed my other investments and was happy with them, but in the last few weeks the provider has put their fees up, so I need to look into alternatives for those.
Get my weight down to 90kg
Fail – Every year. Must try harder. I had a good second half of the year, but you can tell when the weather started getting bad in October and I was not riding my bike as much. Looking at the past week or so the trend has been downwards, despite a few meals out, so hopefully I’ll be able to keep that going in to 2025.
Once again it looks like I have failed to achieve more of my goals than I acheived. I think for next year I need to try and ride (and work) less, so that I can focus on other goals.
I had a fun bike ride today at Hicks Lodge, with Jen, the boys and Partho. Hicks Lodge is Henry’s favourite place to ride at the moment, especially as the playground has just been refurbished, and the cafe does a good hot chocolate. I had also noticed the cakes in the cafe, so a plan was hatched for my birthday weekend – for me it does not get better than a family bike ride with a cake stop! My best friend Partho also came along too.
We woke up to rain, poor weather is one of the downsides to a December birthday, but the forecast was improving and Owen was super keen to ride – he actually hurried me along to get the van loaded up, asking me what he could do to help. The weather was pretty grim driving up the M42, but the rain had stopped by the time we were ready to set off. The trails were still wet and muddy though. Both boys were riding well, despite the conditions and lack of snack stops. I think we have also got to the point where Henry is faster than Jen on a mountain bike trail.
Photo: Partho
After most of our first lap Partho and I left Jen and the boys at the new playground (next to the yet to open skills area) and set off for a second faster lap, Owen had been keen to join us, but decided to stay at the playground. Stopping for a breather after the first few sections of trail, we spotted a lone rider catching us up, then noticed the bright red helmet peak – it was Owen. He had instantly regretted his decision not to join us for a fast lap and had ridden as fast as he could to catch us up! We finished the lap, taking it in turns to lead out each section – when it was my turn to start, I could just hear Owen saying “I’ll give you a bit of a head start”. Hopefully he was just copying what I do, rather than being cheeky, but he did not catch me up. On the section that Partho led out he was able to get enough of a lead that he could get a photo of Owen and I at the end of the section. There are not many pictures of us actually riding together, so that was really nice to have. Owen started to tire towards the end of the ride, but perked up when we came across the new section of trail, linking what was previously the final to sections in to one long final section – some nice flowy berms replacing a section of fire road.
By the time we had finished the ride the sun had come out, so we sat outside enjoying our drinks and cakes. The cakes from the Hicks Lodge cafe tasted as good as they looked on our previous visits – I had a gingerbread millionaire, a festive take on one of my favourites, and a white hot chocolate. As we could see the playground from our table, we could carry on chatting whilst the boys enjoyed exploring the newly refurbished playground – they seem to have kept all of the best bits from the old playground and added lots of new equipment, and the boys loved the new set up. Henry was really in his element – he is not the most confident mountain biker, but he really loves Hicks Lodge, it is a lot calmer than other trail centres we go to, but I think that suits him. I am pleased to see that it is seeing some investment, as it is such a great facility for the littlest mountain bikers. Even with “tame” trails, with a lot of water on them, I still had a great ride – sometimes it is who you ride with that matters more than where you are riding!
Last weekend I took the boys to Northampton Bike Park for their first junior race event. Owen and I have ridden at Northampton Bike Park a few times in the past, and it is one of Owen’s favourite places to ride, so he was entered into the “Intermediate” category, racing on the blue graded trails. Henry had not ridden there previously, so he was entered into the “Beginner” category.
Henry’s race was up first, and was held in the skills area, it consisted of a run down the “turns” line, a short back climb back to the top and a run down the “jumps” part of the skills area. After a few practice runs Henry had the downhill sections of the trail sussed out, but still had not managed to complete the climb. When it came to time for race runs, Henry was last to drop in, so had a bit of a wait, watching everyone else. Fortunately Owen was able to do some practice laps ready for his race, so was not also left waiting. Henry did well on his race run, even making the climb! However, when it came to the awards presentation, the reality of being a five year old racing in an “under sixteens” category meant that he was way down the order. However, this was not the end of the racing for Henry – there was also to be a dual slalom race, on the “1460” dual track – which Henry had not previously ridden. Henry’s finishing position meant that he had to qualify, against some of the other smaller children, so his first run down the track was actually a qualifying run – which he won! Hies second run, in the quarter finals, was against a much bigger rider (probably three times his age), so although he rode well, he stood no chance. The most important thing though was that Henry really enjoyed himself, particularly on the dual track. We will be returning to have some races amongst ourselves in future.
Whilst Henry was racing dual slalom, Owen had gone up to the top of the bike park to wait for his race run – which would be one run down the “Blue Nunn” trail, taking the jump line. As soon as Henry was knocked out of his dual slalom race, we rushed across to the bottom of the blue trail to try and catch Owen. We made it in time, as Owen was also one of the last riders to drop in. Unfortunately, on of the riders before him had a fairly big crash, so the racing had to be stopped for a while, with only a few riders left at the top. When racing resumed we did not have to wait too long for Owen to come down. It looked like he also had a good run, and really enjoyed it. He said that the wait at the top had not been too bad, as he was chatting with the start marshal and other riders, and doing star jumps to keep his muscles warm. Again, this was an “under sixteen” category, so Owen was one of the smallest riders, amongst a field of teenagers, so his finishing position reflected that.
Owen also had a dual slalom race after his downhill race. This time there were no qualification races, and Owen was straight up against a teenager. I know from experience that Owen is pretty fast down the dual track – if I give him half a ten second head start we are pretty close at the end. Unfortunately he did not get a head start in this race, and he was up against a teenager, so did not stand much chance. The only silver lining was that he had a swimming party to be at, and would have been late if we had to hang around for a second round race. Not only did Owen ride well, but he showed great independence and resilience doing his own practice, and getting himself up to the start line for his race whilst I was with Henry.
The team at Northampton Bike Park are doing a great job of maintaining the trails, and generating excitement about the bike park with events such as this – I wish that there was similar at the Bedworth or Newbold Comyn trails which were built before/after Northampton Bike Park. Whilst it was frustrating that all the categories were “under sixteen”, with five year olds (and younger) racing against teenagers, I understand why they did it. Hopefully they will be able to tweak it slightly next time they run races. Having the fun dual slalom racing after the main race was a nice touch, especially as there is space for everyone to gather around the track to cheer the riders on. The most important thing though was that both boys enjoyed themselves, and Owen got to his swimming party on time.
This year Owen and Henry are starting back at school on the same day, so I am doing a combined post and an elusive picture of both of them together – easier said than done!
Owen’s First Day of Year Four
After a busy summer holiday, I think Owen is glad to get back to school for a rest. For someone who reads a lot, Owen left his holiday homework until the last minute, and was reading “How to train your Dragon” well past his bedtime last night.
In addition to the mandatory photo by the front door, I asked Owen some questions, to record how he changes over the years:
Height: 123cm
Shoe size: 2.5
Bike(s): Vitus Nucleus 24 for mountain biking and United Recruit 16 BMX for riding to school and at the skatepark.
Favourite colour: Red
Favourite food: Flying Cows bacon cheeseburger
Favourite book: How to train your dragon
Favourite thing to watch on TV: Hot wheels let’s race
Best thing we did over the summer holiday: Going to the Wave waterpark in Coventry
What do you want to be when you grow up? A chemist
Henry’s First Day of Year One
Henry is keen to go back to school, although I am not sure that he prepared of the structure of being in a proper class, rather than the play focussed reception. Henry does not seem to be as academic as Owen, but I think he may play it down somewhat, as he sometimes reads quite long words unprompted. He was so keen to go in a meet his new teacher that he did not even look back or say bye to me.
Henry also answered the back to school questions, at least he has a more realistic career aspiration than last year…
Height: 101cm
Shoe size: 12
Bike(s): Orbea MX20 (Owen’s old bike) for mountain biking, Frog 52 for cycle speedway and riding to school (until the brake get removed) and a Haro Frontside 16 BMX for the skatepark and riding to school once the brakes are removed from the Frog.
Favourite colour: Pink
Favourite food: Spaghetti bolognaise
Favourite book: A squash and a squeeze
Favourite thing to watch on TV: Sofia the first
Best thing we did over the summer holiday: Our holiday in the South Downs (blog post coming soon)
What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher
After trying a Fuji X-H2S last year, it was inevitable that I would end up buying one, I just was not expecting it to be so quickly… After buying a XF 50-140mm lens last year I was mostly happy with the performance upgrade over my old telephoto lens and was enjoying photography. Thoughts of upgrading my camera had been pushed to the back of my mind. When Owen was frustrated with the performance of “his” camera at the Dukeries Rally, I started looking at options for either a cheap Fuji body to use with my old telephoto lens, or even a Canon lens to use with my very old Canon Eos 20D body, an upgrade for me was not on the radar. However, the more I looked the more I realised that there was not really such a thing as “a cheap Fuji body”, and then that my X-T2 was probably the best of the “cheaper” Fuji bodies, and that I would be as well upgrading my body and letting Owen use the X-T2, but the idea was filed away for later in the year.
Then over the Easter holidays we visited Leeds Castle in Kent, and I figured it was as good a time as any to let Owen try the X-T2, to keep things simple for him I fitted the FUJINON XF35mmF1.4 fixed lens, whilst I used my X100V. Not only did Owen absolutely love it, he was careful with the camera and took some good photos. My plan would work. When we had guests round over the Easter weekend, rather than taking photos myself, I handed Owen the X-T2 and put him in charge of photos, once again he did a great job, capturing some lovely photos of his cousin. He had proven himself, but a camera purchase still was not on the cards.
What tipped me over the edge was learning that the price of the X-H2S was going to increase by £500 from April the first. Now I had three reasons to buy the camera, on their own better autofocus performance for shooting action sports, being able to have a spare camera for Owen or avoiding a £500 price increase would not have been enough to get me to buy the camera, but all three together was a compelling case. The only catch was that it was Easter Sunday, and the price rise was the next day. Usually I would buy from London Camera Exchange in Leamington Spa, as they have always provided good service, and I feel it is important to support bricks and mortar camera stores, but I had to settle for ordering from LCE online.
The camera arrived in the middle of a busy week at work, so I did not have much opportunity to try it out and work my way through the multitude of settings, although Owen and I did get out for a brief, muddy, walk on Coundon Wedge, where I took the photo above (of course Owen had the X-T2). From a photography perspective it was not the most productive, but it was nice to get out with Owen.
It was not until the weekend that I got to really try the camera out properly, and even then it was only a quick walk around the War Memorial Park, whilst Jen did Parkrun. I only had about thirty minutes, so did not want to waste time switching lenses, so fitted the 50-140mm and went to see what I could find in the park. First I found squirrels, and being park squirrels they were used to humans, so even with a relatively short lens, I was able to get close enough to them for some decent photos. More importantly it was a good opportunity to experiment with the animal detection autofocus, which worked really well.
Over the next few days I was able to take photos of the boys at Junior Parkrun, and also Henry at Cycle Speedway. In both cases the improved autofocus over my X-T2 was noticeable, and I was pleased with the photos. After each time using the camera I continued to tweak the settings to my liking, which I feel will be an ongoing process. I may also have made a mistake setting up the custom modes too early, as now if I want to change something globally on the camera, I then need to change it eight times, once as the default, then once again for each of the seven custom modes. I have got a busy few months ahead, and will have plenty of opportunities to put the X-H2S through its paces, so hopefully there will be more photos appearing on this blog soon.
When Owen was in hospital last year, he was given some LEGO sets from the Fairy Bricks charity, which really cheered him up when he was feeling rubbish. So when we learned that their main fundraising event of the year was Bricktastic a big LEGO show in Manchester we had to get tickets. Spending the day with LEGO whilst supporting a charity dear to our hearts was too good an opportunity to miss!
We decided to make a weekend of it, travelling up to Manchester on the Saturday, before going to the show on Sunday. After checking into the hotel, we went for a swim – it was nice to be able to swim with both of the boys. Owen even managed to swim the full length of the pool! At his swimming lessons, they only use a third of the pool, so he rarely gets a chance to swim longer distances. Having worked up an appetite in the pool, we met our friends Rich and Anna at their local Hickory’s restaurant. We always love a trip to Hickory’s, and it was great to catch up with Rich and Anna.
On the Sunday morning, we drove into Machester, via a McBreakfast stop, and parked under the venue, Manchester Central. Jen and I had parked there quite a few years ago when I had my mk3.5 my mk3.5 MX-5, it is one of my favourite car parks as I really like the old brick archways and would be a great location for a car photoshoot.
As we entered the venue we were greeted by a lifesize Bugatti Veyron and a mermaid, both made from LEGO bricks. True to form, Henry was more excited by the mermaid! Behind these were a few sections displaying LEGO artwork, both recreations of famous paintings and original works – this was just a taster of the various interpretations of the Lego hobby that we were about to see.
Behind the art was a large LEGO trains display, with multiple trains running around a track, this was one display that we probably should have spent a bit longer at because it was really impressive. But something else had caught the boy’s attention – a big pool of LEGO bricks, all turquoise in this case, so the boys had a quick play in there.
Whilst the boys played I stuck my head around the door into the main exhibition space, and realised just how big the show was! There seemed to be a good mix of small exhibitors, and traders with plenty of opportunities to do some building too.
The Fairy Bricks stand, right in the middle of the show, had a LEGO tombola, where we each won a minifig, mine was a “punk shark man”, but the centrepiece was a huge LEGO mosaic, made up of hundreds of tiles, each consisting of 256 2×2 LEGO bricks. And visitors to the show were able to grab some bricks and a pattern to complete a tile! We did two, between the four of us, we were just given a grid to copy and roughly the correct bricks, but it was trickier to follow than I expected. It was a proud moment adding our tiles to the main mosaic though. The completed mosaic can be found on the Bricktastic Instagram.
After adding our tiles to the mosaic we looked at more LEGO creations, I liked the lineup of customised Star Wars AT-AT Walkers, each based on a different theme. Each builder had customised the set uniquely, one was a cinema projector, another dressed as a sheep, one was a botanical garden etc. I think having the lineup of different interpretations of the same set was more interesting, as you could really pick out the little details that the builders had added. Henry liked the Disney Princess Avenue display, especially as he had some of the characters in his own LEGO collection. It was a row of houses, each inhabited by (and themed around) a Disney princess, it was fun spotting them in the houses. Owen’s favourite display, which I also thought was impressive, was the Great Ball Contraption, a huge collaborative display, consisting of probably over a hundred smaller mechanisms, all passing LEGO footballs to each other in a continuous loop. We followed the balls around the tables, marvelling at the ingenuity and variety of ways balls could be moved from one to another. Some sent the balls individually, others collected them and then sent them in a batch, there was even one that sorted them into colours, releasing the balls in coloured groups. Owen and I are going to have a go at making our own ball contraption during the school holidays.
Of course, we could not visit a LEGO show without bringing back something to build. Fortunately, Grandma had given the boys some pocket money to spend. Owen bought a large Minecraft set, Henry bought a Disney princess set, with Belle and Cinderella minidolls and I could not find the Speed Champions Toyota Supra that I was after. So all I came away with was some inspiration, so stay tuned…
Today was Henry’s fifth birthday – one that he has been excited about for a long time. I think the planning for his birthday party started last summer! He is really developing his own personality, which is completely different to Owen! Henry loves princesses and Barbie, but also bikes and cars. He likes dressing to impress, be that dresses or dungarees. Since he started school in September, his reading and writing has come on leaps and bounds. That first year of school is amazing!
We actually had his party at the weekend, and I think it lived up to Henry’s expectations! There was a bouncy castle, dressing up, a soft play pirate ship and Henry’s choice of music, which is surprisingly good for a five-year-old! He seems to have chosen a really nice group of friends, and it was a good opportunity to meet them, and their parents. Henry’s cousin Sienna, who is eighteen months old, also came to the party and loved it. After the party, we had a small “after party” at home with Jen’s family.
Unfortunately for Henry, he had to go to school today, but we had a small family gathering at home after school, with one of Jen’s homemade chocolate cakes. I had the day off work, so I managed to sneak off for a bike ride. Henry was a very lucky boy and got some great presents from his friends and family, although by far his favourite was the Princess Belle dress, that he is wearing in the photo at the top of this post. He saw it in the supermarket just before Christmas and has asked about it pretty much every day since. He also got the Orbea mountain bike that Owen has recently grown out of – Owen also got it for his fifth birthday, but it looks way too big for Henry at the moment. There is no rush for him to move on from his current bike, so we will see how he gets on.
This was my favourite photo of Henry, taken when we were in Peebles on our Summer Road Trip. Owen had not been feeling very well and did not want to go out, so I took Henry for a walk to the park. The colours on this rocket worked well with Henry’s t-shirt.
I could not have a favourite photo of Henry without one of Owen too. I took this one at a friend’s barbeque in the summer, whilstt is not technically perfect, I liked how the colours of the bubbles work with Owen’s shirt and draw your eye through the image.
Another photo from our summer road trip, this time from our final stop in Saltburn-by-the-Sea. As we were finishing up our dinner, I could tell that it was going to be a good sunset, so I rushed back to the flat we were staying in, grabbed my camera kit and headed back down to the beach. This was my favourite photo from that evening – and I took a lot! It was almost totally dark by this point, but that meant I could use a long shutter speed to blur the sea.
I managed to shoot more mountain biking last year, including three downhill races at Stile Cop, this was my pick of the images that I shot at the most recent race, in December. It was the first outing for my Fujinon XF 50-140mm f2.8 lens, and it was a good job I had it, as my old lens would have really struggled in the woods on a rainy December afternoon. Of all the shots I got during the race, this was my favourite, you can tell that the rider is fast, and their red kt stands out from the dull background.
2023 has been a mixed year – the first nine months were pretty good, but the end of the year has been hard for all of us, as Owen has been ill. He seems to be over the worst of it now, so I will focus on the good stuff! The highlight of my year was our road trip to the Lake District, Scotland and Saltburn-by-the-Sea – it was not the big European trip that we had planned, but nonetheless, it was our best family holiday to date. In the spring we also had trips to Somerset and another to Legoland and to visit my brother in Kent. This month Jen and I both celebrated our fortieth birthdays, although our plan for a long weekend away in Rome had to be postponed. At home, the year started off with a new sofa, which then kicked off a full redecoration of the living room, including a new carpet, after a central heating leak. Clearing the room out, and only bringing back what we need has made as much of a difference as the new decor, but we still need to sort out all of the other stuff stashed around the house…
I have also had a good year behind the camera, shooting more mountain bike races, and even a bit of motorsport. I went on a landscape photography workshop in the Peak District, but sadly had not yet got around to processing and sharing the images, as it was the week before our summer road trip. The boys continue to be my main photographic subjects, usually on our regular walks in the woods up the road from our house.
Although my website, in particular this blog, have had a rubbish year, with a lot of downtime, I feel like I have progressed a lot as a developer this year, both at work and on my personal projects. The main thing that I want to keep on with is using Infrastructure As Code, in particular AWS CDK to define the infrastructure for my projects.
Owen is growing up and starting to get his own interests – mainly computer games, reading and history. Sadly for me he seems to be drifting away from MTB, he often takes some convincing to join me on rides. Then gets upset that he does not get to ride much. Hopefully the new bike he got for Christmas will spur him to ride more next year. His main riding goal for the year was to ride twenty kilometers, which he achieved in September. He also joined a karate dojo, and was making good progress with that before being taken ill. He will be able to restart karate in the new year and work towards his yellow, and hopefully orange belts. Of course the main thing that happened for Owen his illness and subsequent hospital visits. Thankfully we are over the worst of it now though.
Henry has also had a big year – starting school being the highlight, I think he preferred nursery, but he is doing well with his reading and writing, and seems to be making friends. Outside of school he has joined our local Cycle Speedway team and enjoyed going to the weekly training sessions. He continues to be a right little diva – he knows what he wants, and he makes sure everyone knows about it.
At the start of the year, I set myself some goals. I posted a halftime update in June September, but here are the final results:
Pass the AWS Certified Developer Associate exam
Pass – This goal was carried over from 2022, but I managed to get it done in the summer. I then started studying for the AWS Security Specialist Certification – I was almost ready to take the exam when Owen got admitted to hospital.
Fail – I did look in to this, but was disappointed that there was not much manual customisation available on the Adobe Portfolio service, which powers my photography portfolio. I have started to select some new images for the portfolio, but did not get very far.
Photograph more bike races
Pass – I shot four bike races this year, the Cannock Chase Winter Classic XC race, and three downhill races at Sitle Cop downhill trails. This is by far my favourite type of photography, and I am glad that I have been able to do it more often. I even sold a few images, not quite enough to pay for my new lens though.
Take a wildlife photo I am happy with
Fail – I put this on hold, as I have realised that to get an image that I will be happy with will require time, in addition to a much longer lens. Whilst I could have borrowed the lens, time was the bigger constraint, so I made an effort to concentrate on sports photography.
Complete at least three 50km bike rides
Fail – I did not manage one. I had planned one, including route and childcare, but the weather forecast was rubbish, so I wimped out. I did manage one ride over forty kilometers, with the Godiva Trailriders, and given that was at a much faster pace than I am used to, I am sure that fifty kilometers is doable.
Fail – Owen did not ride much earlier in the year, so I did not feel that he would have the bike fitness for a summer trip to Bike Park Wales. We had booked to join the Little Rippers Halloween ride there, but had to cancel as Owen was admitted to hospital.
Ride at Bwlch Nant yr Arian
Fail – This one is on me. I still want to ride there, I just need to pick a weekend and go! I will be carrying this goal over to 2024 for sure.
Ride some more of the “10 of the best XC trails in the UK” with Partho
Fail – We did not manage to get too many full days together to ride, so it was just the odd ride at our usual spots, Cannock Chase and Sherwood Pines, as always though, it is just good to be abke to get out together,
Tidy my office
Pass – Given the current state of my office, I am only just scraping a pass. But for most of the year, it has been a lot tidier than it was. My excuse is that towards the end of the year I need some mess in there to disguise the christmas presents I have stashed. Ideally I will give it a quick spring clean tomorrow before I restart at work though.
Tidy my garage
Fail – I have got too many bike projects on the go, and too many bikes in general. This year I think I sold two, and added three, only one of which was for me. This is another goal that needs to be carried over to 2024.
MR2 jobs
Fail – Again, I had too many bike jobs, so wil need to carry these over to 2024.
Van upgrades
Pass – I had the interior of the van insulated and carpeted, a Loaded Bikes system installed to transport the bikes securely and an awning rail fitted. The interior is a nicer place to be and it is easier to get the bikes in and out of the van. However, we have not managed to have the days out in the van that we would like. The boys and I (minimal help from the boys) managed to get the awning set up to give us some shade on a very warm visit to Mallory Park. I think it is one of those things where we need to get dates in the calendar reserved for van days out, otherwise something else always crops up. The van was great for our trip to Scotland though.
Monthly blog posts
Fail – My blog was offline for two months, so those months were missed. I feel like I have been getting better towards the end of the year, so hopefully I can carry the momentum forward to 2024.
Flagged emails
Fail – I have just checked and I have 639 flagged emails, more than I started with. Hopefully none of them are too important… At least I have been making a concious effort to address them though.
Get my weight down to 85kg
Massive fail – Again! Looking at the data from my Withings Scales Amazon affliate link, I was losing weight for most of the year, but put a load back on this month. At one point, whilst Owen was in hospital, my weight dipped below 90kg, but I’m not sure that being so stressed you forget to eat is really a sustainable weightloss strategy.
Once again it looks like I have failed to achieve more of my goals than I acheived. I think for next year I need to try not to over commit myself, but given the past few months I am mainly happy that we are ending 2023 without daily hospital visits and two (mostly) healthy children.
