In and around St David's Cathedral in St David's

In and around St David's Cathedral in St David's, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

We fell in love with St David's and this cathedral must be in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable, such a lovely surprise after a day driving along the Pembrokeshire coast.

Yellow

Yellow, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

A bright sunny weekend here in Amsterdam, but the temeprature has dipped to a maximum of about 8, when it was 20 on Monday. A lot of autumn colour about, although this was from a couple of months ago at the start of September.

Iyi bayramlar kurban/Eid mubarak

Iyi bayramlar kurban/Eid mubarak, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

A week ago in Wales

A week ago in Wales, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Looks especially nice now after spending a couple of days in the London fog... I hope I will be able to get out later this evening...

Just finished reading Elif Shafak's latest book 'Honour'

Hasankeyf - Tigris River, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Another beautiful book written by Elif Shafak, it follows a family from a small village near the Euphartes (this is the River Tigris) in south-eastern Turkey to the streets of London in the 1970's.

Sad but highly recommended, just a few things wrong about the 1970;s setting, but nothing too grating.

KBAC

KBAC, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

I opened my i-photo gallery and this photo was staring back at me. A good time to upload it was we say goodbye to our Ukrainian friends tomorrow, the connection being Kbac, which we first tasted back in Odessa gthree years ago, here being sold from a wooden barrel, whilst the Ukranian kvac is sold from a (larger) metal barrel. Well, that's my excuse for uploading a shirtless guy.

Well, also the fact that we had shirtless weather in Holland today, after a dark and misty morning we had bright sunshine and a very warm seeming 20 degrees, a last blast of summer before we get our first frost later in the week as cold winds blow down from the icy north.

A wet day in the Wicklows

A wet day in the Wicklows, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

In between all the sunny October days, we have two dull and damp rainy Sundays. Last weekend up in the Wicklows, this weekend in London, where we stayed a night after the excitement of Frankel's last win at Ascot.

Farewell mighty Frankel

Farewell mighty Frankel, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

14th win from 14 races, what a champion. For me, the best horse ever to set foot on a racecourse. Equine perfection. Good luck at stud dear chap.

here are the two half-brothers, Bullet Train and Frankel, returning to the stands, their rifders, Ian Mongan and Tom Queally embracing each other after the relief of Frankel having won his final race on the soft to heavy ground, maintaining his unblemished record.

Me and Mum outside Carew Castle

Me and Mum outside Carew Castle, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Just back from a mid-week break in Pembrokeshire, we had a lovely time.

Jumping on Tenby beach

Jumping on Tenby beach, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Spending four days in a cottage in Bosherston in the wouth-west part of Pembrokeshire on the south-western tip of Wales. Never been this far before, which is a shame as it seems to be a lovely part of the world. We spent our first day wandering around the smart, colourful and spectacular seaside resort of Tenby, where these photos were taken.
Not sure what to do today, it is quite windy outside but it is dry and the sun is shining again.

Tenby harbour looking down

Tenby harbour looking down, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Our first day in Pembrokeshire was a beautiful sunny day (after the night's storm) and we spent most of the day exploring the beautiful, smart and spectacular seaside resort of Tenby.

Let schoolmasters puzzle their brain

Let schoolmasters puzzle their brain, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

These are pictures from our morning yesterday in Dublin. We have crossed the Irish DSea and are now enjoying the delights of Pembrokeshire in south-western Wales. Not an awful lot of internet connection down here, I am now in a telephone shop run by a friendly Pakistani guy in Pembroke, who was kind enough to let me use his wi-fi. The weather has been gorgeous and the beaches/countryside stunning.

A wet day in the Wicklows

A wet day in the Wicklows, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

A misty view across to the Glendalough Monastery buildings, which date from the 7th century (about the time Islam was being founded in Arabia).

Dad took us up to the Wicklowq Moutains, just south of Dublin. It was a grey and drizzly day, just what one might expect from Ireland in October. The colours of the countryside more than made up for the drab weather.

Scenes from Dun Laoghaire on a sunny day in mid-October

Scenes from Dun Loaghaire on a sunny day in mid-October, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

We arrived in Dublin to uncharacteristically blue skies and a temperature of only 2 degrees, according to the captain of our Aer Lingus aeroplane as we landed.

We took the 'blue' bus to the Roya; Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire the other side of Dublin Bay. Dad came over about an hour later and we took the DART train to Howth, back the other side of the bay again!

It was good to see the old man, as I hadn't seen him for over two years, for one reason or another. He was looking well, just walking a bit slowly.

Howth was a delightful fishing village at the end of a peninsula with lots of fish restaurants andfishmongers. Mum would have loved it there. After a walk along the quayside, we went into the Bloody Stream pub, next to the station for a delicious lunch served with a bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. I had fish pie, topped with parmesan which was totally scrunptious!

After a sleepy ride back to Dun Laoghaire and a short time back in the hotel, we caught the train onto Dalkey on our way to Breda's house, the first time I had been there, where we had another delicious meal, washed down with more whote wine, this time a German Riesling, the evening ending up with my falling asleep whilst watching an episode of Inspector Montalbano.

Off on holiday again

Off on holiday again, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Half term already and we are off again... starting off with a weekend in Dublin to see my Dad... this was from last Saturday in Prague and I think we will be lucky to see similar weather in the week ahead.

Prague - A golden carpet

Prague - A golden carpet, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Apart from the odd day, it has not been a really golden autumn this year and although the sun has been shining most of the week here in Holland, it has been getting quite cool in the evenings. Even switched in the heating yesterday when I was home alone.

Portrait of a Georgian cowherd

Portrait of a Georgian cowherd, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Driving across the hills from Akhmeta to Tianeti on a bumpy stoney road which was much longer and slower than it looked on the map, one passes through hills covered in deciduous trees with a few meadows, full of wild flowers. Every so often we would pass a few cows looked after by a cowherd, this one was kind enough to pose for the camera.

What a surprise - Saudi weapons found in rebels' hands in Aleppo

The Gate of the Serpents in the entrance tower to the Aleppo citadel, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

As if Saudi Arabia has anything to say to people fighting for their freedoms, when there is no freedom for women, no freedom of thought and no freedom of religion in that desert hell hole...

Fred and his Roller

Fred and his Roller, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

We would normally be in Paris this weekend, to attend the racing at Longchamp, but I was asked to go to a meeting for work in Prague on the Thursday and Friday, so Fred came over and we have made a long weekend of it. Whilst we have been very lucky with the wetaher in Paris in the first weekend in October for the last 5-6 years, this year it rained all day on Saturday whilst in Prague the warm sun shone most of the day. Walking around these side streets under the castle, one was very much reminded of the streets up on Montmartre. What was especially nice about these streets was that they were not full of tourists unlike up at the castle and the streets the other side streaming out from the Charles Bridge.

Light

Light, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Beautiful warm sunny weather in Prague for our Saturday walk around the city, here in the sun through a street lamp.

Prague panorama

Prague panorama, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Blue bench in Prague

Blue bench, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

After a couple of days of meetings, time to embrace the city of Prague, here in a bench in the Wallenstein Palace.

A beam of sunlight in the Aleppo Souk

A beam of sunlight in the Aleppo Souk, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

It is so sad to hear what has happened to the souk in Aleppo in recent days. here is a photo from happier and more peaceful times.

All smiles in Tblisi today as Democracy wins the day

All smiles in Tblisi today as Democracy wins the day, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Let's hope the newcomer Mr Ivanishvili keeps his promises in moving Georgia more towards democracy and avoids the dictatorial tendencies of the President.

When we were in Georgia, we could find hardly anyone who liked the President, so we can imagine that there will be a lot of happy people in Georgia today.

Congratulations!

The Forty Rules of Love

The Forty Rules of Love, a photo by CharlesFred on Flickr.

Konya is the setting of 'Sweet Blasphemy' a story within the Elif Shafak novel 'The Forty Rules of Love', describing the meeting of Rumi with Shams of Tabriz. Time to step back to the photos of our visit to this wonderful city of six years ago.