Scotland snapshots

I've just finished wrestling with Web Album Generator which is fantastic in many ways but obstreperous for Web Album Editing. But anyway, my Scottish holiday snaps are now on-line here. (There's a rather heavy emphasis on birds.) Please feel free to comment.

Earlier today I tried out the bike I've 'inherited' from colleague Roberto, who has gone home. It's nice to be on two wheels but I found it harder to adapt to riding on the left than I do when I'm driving four of them. And although the left pedal was 'fixed' yesterday the whole crank broke off today when I was heading to a meeting, leaving two or three schoolgirls in stitches and leaving me pushing it along rather foolishly.

Back from holiday and resignation from Merlin Sri Lanka

Some sort of Scottish bird


Falkirk Wheel


I'm back from an awesome holiday with Sue in Scotland and (briefly) Amsterdam. Because a squirrel broke my camera before I left Sri Lanka I had to hire a new one which wasn't cheap but there were so many photo opportunities (particularly of birds) that I have no regrets.

As I mentioned in my last post I've resigned my job with Merlin Sri Lanka - mainly because I want to work somewhere with even greater needs. Watch this blog for updates.

Thanks to everybody who has complimented me on this blog! Please feel free to submit comments.

Holiday begins in Sigiriya and this year's annual camera problem

I've begun my holiday! On Friday several of us drove from Batticaloa to Sigiriya in central Sri Lanka. Yesterday we climbed the ancient rock.



School boys on catwalk hundreds of feet up the side of the rock.
June 2, 2007


Half way up the Sigiriya Rock, Sri Lanka
June 2, 2007



Some of the more than 2,000 steps to the top of the rock at Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
June 2, 2007



Early Sri Lankan erotica, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
June 2, 2007



Merlin's Doctor Khaleda Islam, Sigiriya Rock, Sri Lanka
June 2, 2007



Merlin's Vasantha Vadivel, Sigiriya Rock, Sri Lanka
June 2, 2007



Tourist at Sigiriya Rock, Sri Lanka
June 2, 2007




Tree and Rock, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
June 2, 2007



Squirrel, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
June 2, 2007

We had a lovely time but unfortunately after shooting that squirrel my camera's mirror shattered. That's very bad luck for me because I wanted to photograph birds in Scotland next week.

Anyway, I'm now in Colombo and looking forward very much to flying via Mumbai and Amsterdam to Scotland tomorrow.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka is Sri Lanka. I just received the following SMS message: "Seems 2 red cross emp from batti [Batticaloa] abducted in col [Colombo] and now found dead..." This country is full of beauty masking an undercurrent of hatred. It's tiresome and for this reason and others I'll describe in a future post, I've just resigned my job.