Harry's Blog

An excellent article here in The Times on how people are now too scared of our police state and the ridiculously McCarthiest paedo witch-hunt to come to the aid of children who might require the help of an adult.

Did you have a good weekend? Ours was pretty good - the weather seems to have returned to a summer theme here in Dorset. So we were able to get out and about.

The twins haven't always been easy to cope with over the weekend though - we're definitely in the middle of the terrible twos. At times it seems that our placid little baby Will is the best behaved out of the five of us.

Yesterday afternoon I took a drive along the coast between Abbotsbury and Burton Bradstock and some of the photos I took are below. I'd love to go back to these locations at a more photogenic time of day - but having small children does often make that difficult.

Photos after the page jump...

Read more »

A Sunday drive along the coast between Abbotsbury and Burton Bradstock.

It was quite hazy so I've processed most of these shots with a high-contrast filmic look.

I'd love to go back to these locations at a more photogenic time of day - but having small children does often make that difficult.

Photos appear after the jump...

Read more »

So it seems that the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing will be released on compassionate grounds to die in peace with his family back in Libya. He is terminally ill with cancer. I feel his release is a good decision.

Most of the families of British victims of this terrorist action don't believe Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is guilty anyway. It sounds like they are probably right too - al-Megra was a convenient scape-goat in a time when the US sought to befriend Syria and Palestinian groups - the more likely perpetrators.

But the reason for my post is that I heard an interview with a US woman who lost her son on the downed Pan-Am flight. She said, "Did Megrahi as he planted a bomb on a US airliner reflect on any compassion for the people he was about to blow up out of the skies and the people on the ground in Lockerbie? I think not. [He should] never qualify for anything compassionate."

Kathleen Flynn I'm sorry for your loss. But you are completely wrong. Our capacity for compassion is what sets us apart from those who carry out such atrocities. In releasing al-Megrahi (whether he's guilty or not) we are showing that we are better than those who seek to cause death, horror and destruction. The belief that people "never qualify for anything compassionate" is behind such terrorist atrocities - only by distancing ourselves from such views can good follow bad.

Yes I know I've been rubbish at updating over the last few weeks. I have some plans for the blog - both this person one and Grumpygamer, I just need to get my arse in gear and get on with them.

In the meantime here are some photos of our afternoon out to Sherborne Castle - after the page jump...

Read more »

I don't believe I've actually shared our wedding photos with you before have I?

Here are some pictures from April 5th 2008 when Jo and I got married, followed by some pictures from our wonderful honeymoon in Cornwall.

And yes the first set is much better than the second - the wedding photos were taken by a pro. The honeymoon ones by me!

Click through to see the slideshows (I've moved them inside the page so as not to slow down the front of the site).

Read more »

The blog - written between 2005 and 2007 - was the work of my late wife Lanie. She was quite the most amazing person. A prolific blogger though she was not. Following her death in March 2007 I deleted her blog...but later thinking better of it rescued most of the posts.

It has taken quite some time to repost them but you can now read her thoughts on a variety of subjects and get a glimpse of two years of her life - two years I'm so lucky to have spent with her.

I'm not making the blog part of the site again - it won't appear in the menus. But if you'd like to read her posts you will find them here.

Patrick and Kitty have developed their own belief system of late. It seems that there is a dinosaur in the sky who watches over them.

You would think this was rather scary and would lead to many a sleepless night - after all our boy Pat is afraid of next door's cat, every dog in the world, hoovers, lawn mowers, his own shadow and the creepy motorbike man at Westbay.

But you would be wrong, because both twins talk of the dinosaur in the sky with love and reverence. When it rains they are greatly concerned for their dinosaur deity - "oh no, dinosaur in sky get wet" they say.

Read more »

How's baby Will getting along? You can see the latest pictures after the jump...

Read more »

It looks like there will be a Master & Commander sequel after all. Russell Crowe is in talks to reprise his role as Jack Aubrey for another movie. One hopes that (a) it gets made, and (b) they can get Paul Betanny back as Stephen Maturin.

The script for the new movie is said (like the first film) to take episodes from all 20 of Patrick O'Brian's books, but the ovveral plot will come from one of them. This time it will be The Reverse of the Medal - where Jack Aubrey is tried for fraud after being framed by enemy intelligence agents.

This particular book features one of the most moving episodes of the whole series which I hope makes it onto the big screen. I'm also hoping we get to see some of Jack's dopiness on land (not sure Crowe will be up for that though) and Stephen's self-destructive obsession with Diana Villiers and his intelligence work.

Meanwhile you can read my little homage to Patrick O'Brian here.

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8164079.stm

No comment.

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8152002.stm

What kind of person brings children into the world at the age of 67? This woman lied to get fertiility treatment - though I can't understand why it would be right for a 55 year old woman either - and has now died aged 69. Her astonishing vanity in giving birth at such an age means that these two children are now orphaned.

For father's day I'd been bought a ticket to the Yeovilton International Air Day. Despite the arrival of baby Will, wifey was keen for me to bugger off to the event anyway. So I did.

Low cloud made for a poor grey spectacle at the air show - and it kept many planes from flying. The poor light and ugly grey sky meant that of 300 photos these are the only ones I thought had much merit.

See the picture slideshow after the page jump...

Read more »