I’ve just spent the past week on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. It’s often described as Scotland in miniature and they’re not kidding. It’s an hour’s ferry ride from the mainland and as we arrived we were greeted with the scene from King Kong when they’re sailing through the mist seeing the cliffs looming out of the gloom. Fortunately the weather immediately improved and within 15 minutes it was actually rather sunny and so it continued for the rest of the week.

The next day we took a drive around the island (which is about 35 miles in total) and this was where the ‘mini Scotland’ comparison proved to be right. You’ve got sandy beaches, rolling tree-covered hills, more rugged cliffs along stony beaches, moorland, castles, pointy mountains and everything in between. It’s a lovely place and best of all, it’s not densely populated and there weren’t that many people around - which was the whole point.

We spent most of the days hiking up those aforementioned pointy mountains which meant that my good lady spent most of the week complaining at me for dragging her up those aforementioned pointy mountains! To be fair though, we did get some pretty impressive views of the beautiful island and some nice places to have lunch:

Annoyingly though, each time we went up the main ridge containing the highest mountain on the island (Goatfell) the visibility disappeared meaning no nice views. I’ve had the bad luck over the years that pretty much any time I stand on the summit of a mountain it’s shrouded in cloud and there is no view at all. My good lady turned back before the top of Goatfell as she was knackered and wasn’t enthused by the lack of visibility. I pressed on and while I could see the sun trying to poke through the clouds, I couldn’t see much further than 20 yards in front of me (see right). Lovely! I hung around for about as long as it took to take the photo then started running back down to catch up. It was nice to be able to bound past people from rock to rock like I’m still in my 20’s - I’m not over the hill yet! (Pun intended).

One day we went over to the Holy Island, which is an even smaller island about a mile off the south-east coast of Arran. The interesting thing about the island is that at the north side is ‘The Centre for World Peace and Health’ which has a retreat people can stay at. The even more interesting thing is that on the south side is a Buddhist retreat. We walked over the top of the island (it’s about 400m high at its highest point) and came back around the coast. On our way back we saw quite a few painted boulders (pictured right).

Now personally, if I’m trying to respect the environment and be at harmony with nature then my mindset is to not affect it and leave it exactly the way it is (or as close to that as possible). The National Trust goes to great lengths to ensure that the Lake District looks exactly like it did a century ago for the same reason (even going so far as to pay to have Lakeland sheep - which are amazingly cute - living on the hills). But painting brightly coloured pictures like this every few hundred yards in a beautifully scenic, mountainous place just smacks of bad taste and a total lack of harmony with your environment. I’m all for anybody’s right to follow their own religion but things like this cross the line for me and have no place in my country. Leave graffiti to inner cities, not the Scottish countryside.

Still, I had a lovely week off and will definitely go back to Arran next year (if nothing else than to hopefully spot a Golden Eagle that apparently can be found on the island). If you want to see everything Scotland has to offer but can’t be bothered to drive 300 miles around the place to find out, then visit Arran, it’s got the lot!

I’ve just had the pleasure of spending a long weekend with good friends and their entertaining children in Lyon, France. I wrote the last time I visited them about how my first holiday abroad was punctuated by spending a day waiting in Lyon bus station for another friend who’d forgotten his passport (unknown to us) and never made it (although he did a day or so later). As I discovered the last time I was there Lyon is a beautiful city with large parks, old and new sections and lovely weather - amongst many other things.

Despite the fact that my French gets worse every time I visit France and I come back promising myself I’ll do something about it (damnit, this time I will!!), it’s too easy as my friends speak fluent French - which isn’t surprising since one of them actually is French!

There’s always something happening in a place like Lyon and we spent Saturday afternoon attending “Les Invites” festival which was a most curious experience. We were greeted by the following scene:

As I’m sure you can tell, there are a couple of guys (several more out of shot) being led along the street in leather leashes howling like monkeys. Clearly this was some sort of artistic statement (I was guessing it was something to do with the lack of individual freedom we have as individuals thanks to increasing government interference and control making us nothing more than animals in a zoo - or maybe I was reading too much into it). As you might expect they were being led towards a cage where they spent the rest of the day howling and frolicking around:

The quizzical looks on the faces of the passers-by says it all!

I had a really great time (well, it was actually “we” since my good lady was there too - although this is supposed to be “John’s Adventures” so I’ll continue the “it’s all about me theme”) and it was lovely to be in a warm, sunny climate. To see colours other than drab Yorkshire grey. To eat good food. To experience a culture that embraces sport and activity. To see friends I don’t get to see often enough!

Ah well, back to reality and miserable weather…

I meant to mention that I had the pleasure of going on the London Eye (pictured right) the other weekend while I was down seeing Mamma Mia with friends.

One of the things I find sad about 21st century humans is how short-term their outlook is. The Egyptians built the pyramids which have stood for millenia and took generations to construct. The Romans left amazing temples and buildings throughout their empire that often took decades to build. I could go on with examples but the point is that nowadays if a building isn’t showing a return on investment within about 10 years it won’t get built. It’s sad and limits human achievements generally to those that bring financial rewards in the short term rather than something worthwhile for generations to come.

And so it brings me to the London Eye. I must say, it’s a pretty impressive piece of engineering. Anyone who found the industrial revolution interesting - with heavy machinery, precision engineering and so much power under control (you know, huge pistons moving effortlessly requiring enormous amounts of energy - that kind of thing) can’t help but be impressed by the London Eye. It’s like a giant, souped-up Ferris wheel that’s constantly in motion.

The views really are impressive (particularly on a clear day) and once you’re up top it is particularly high. As a bit of a techie and and an engineer I’m not sure if I was paying more attention to the view or the wheel itself as it slowly circled around with all its computer-controlled wizardry.

If you’re in the area it’s definitely something well worth checking out. I wouldn’t bother with a season ticket, but it’s something you should do once. I’m not convinced it’ll still be there in a thousand years time (unlike the Pyramids), but it’s a pretty impressive piece of kit nonetheless and showcases some of the technical capability of these near-sighted 21st century humans! They’re not all bad!

I spent last weekend staying in a swanky hotel in Edinburgh (the Apex City Hotel to be precise) with friends. I’ve spent many a night out in Edinburgh over the years and until recently my brother lived there, but I’d never really been there as a tourist before.

When most English people tell me they’ve been to Scotland, invariably they’ve been to Edinburgh and nowhere else. I then use my stock lecture about Scotland having so much more to offer than the big city but I have to admit, it is a great city. I’m not much of a fan of cities (give me rolling hills any day) but Edinburgh has always been one of the cities that I actually like. It’s got beautiful architecture, history, shops, restaurants, a friendly atmosphere and a real buzz about the place. All without really being that big a place.

Armed with the Scotland Lonely Planet Guide we took in sights like the Royal Museum (right, pictured by my dodgy camera phone as I didn’t bring a proper camera), the Museum of Scotland (there’s an interesting exhibit in the basement of some giant robots - I’m sure they weren’t the first settlers in Scotland!), the Royal Mile and of course Princes Street (with plenty shopping).

We were going to go on one of the ghost walks but unfortunately the weather changed for the worse so we passed and I didn’t get to get scared out of my wits. What a shame! It was a fun weekend although over all too quickly. But it was strange being there and not seeing my brother - I’ll always think of him when I think of Edinburgh. Not that he’ll be complaining enjoying the sunshine in California while we battle the elements here!

Right, here's a slideshow of the best of the photos I took in Australia and Hong Kong. Keep watching, there's some quality shots in there!

If you can't see the slideshow (maybe you're using a feed reader), then go here or here. Right, that's enough about my Australia holiday - back to normal service!

Okay, I know that Hong Kong isn't in Australia, but since we stopped there for a couple of nights on the way home I thought I'd include it in this selection of posts.

We arrived in the evening well after sunset and the first thing I noticed was the number of sky scrapers. They were everywhere and as far as the eye could see. It just made me wonder how many people live there since we were passing so many residential buildings rising so high. The view over the harbour at night is quite something:

Even the scene out of the hotel window in the morning was pretty impressive:

The harbour was amazingly busy all day with dozens of boats coming and going. I hadn't appreciated how many people live and work in Hong Kong and what a trading hub it is. Battling through the streets was quite a feat as there were so many people streaming in all directions. Apparently the young folk like to celebrate Christmas (and therefore shop) even though their parents generation still stick to the Chinese New Year.

I also found it rather strange that we could only find high-end stores like Gucci, Prada, Versace and so forth. It seems that people there spend all their money on top-of-the-line bags, clothes and accessories and take themselves and their appearances very seriously. I'm sure I looked a disgrace walking round in my jeans and t-shirt!

We were going to do a tour but since my good lady had done all that before and we'd done so much in Australia, we didn't bother. We'll pass through there again and make up for it then. So before we knew it we were waiting in the lounge for our flight back to London as though it had all been a dream:

Ah well, all good things must come to an end, even kick-ass holidays!