It is hammering down as I type but I got back about five thirty just as the first few spots of rain were landing.. I had been out for a full day and got massesoffilm super film of the lorries near the port, the traffic was almost non stop but the trains there are slow and unreliable with a bizarre schedule. I was down for breakfast first thing this morning no shingles that I was a few minutes early, getting to the central station to catch the commuter train was difficult due to lack of signs or confusing signs which seems to be Theodor OEM throughout their transport system. I got a taxi driver who knew his stuff and had him for the whole day getting masses of trucks even saw an erf but was changing my video battery but got a still shot to prove it. Lots of classic trucks in every direction. I don't know what to do tomorrow if it is going to be fine again I'll have another go at the port on my oew it will be simpler without a shadow although he was good at getting me drinks frequently, goodness did I get dirty I had a shower, wash and bath still filthy when I tried my face. The BBC goes off when it rains at the hotel all very strange but I discovered last night that I could get all the UK soaps and had a night time catch up on corrie and emerdsle. If it stops raining I'll head to the Irish pub I think it only five minutes walk from here, I had a which when I went out at seven this morning it's slap bang in the middle of a red lightcistrictl. Anyway let's hope I get something to eat, lost a filling last night so a job to do when I get home.
Here in kuala lumpur its nearly fourfin the morning, somewhere en route id lodt aanights sleep and made upufor it lsdt night, iialmost made it through to local time and by tomorrow I'll have got yhrre. o C here to edit.its hard coming off a flight tited then purchasing transport tickets and usually the office is closed and or tucked away so you won't find it, perhaps the taxi mafia have a hand in these things. Well I did get my ticket, it lasts for two days so I suppose today Thursday is the end of its validity. Even then there seemed to be limits and a thought that it will need topping up, there is a lot of English spoken in Malaysia but I'm not that sure if it is understood as well as it is said. I travelled in from the airport on the flashy newish railway that connects the airport to the central station. Have read trip advisor and hotel reviews it looked like I next needed to get the monorail which abiut three stops would get me to the hotel. It's a fair walk poorly signed to the monorail which seemed to be operating below normal services, isn't it a strange arrangement but keeps popping up around the world like an idea which never quite gets to be perfect yet just have at the planners minds. I found I'd gone one stop forward too many so had to retract what should have been easy is difficult, you can't just leave and reenterr you have to leave two minutes between actions. When I got there it was a young Kong type of multi levelled strata of transport, shopping malls and ekevaele walkways, getting to the hotel which was just metre's away wasn't going to be essy but after asking help several times I did find it tucked away in a side street. Huge suites and nice roof top pool, too much space in a way as I need to ensure I don't misplace anything more, I'd already left my book on the first flight Tuesday. The leg from dubaD to Malaysia was as awful as the first leg had been good mostly down to it being a boejng aircraft whereas the first was an airbus so much a better experience. I fiund the bus station where the environment 500 buses operate from, I think they were about every ten minutes. No sign at all of subsequent deliveries though and the first ones have already gained a patina of wear. Obviously I recorded all I saw, quite a memorable seqences of services plus some others less frequent but a good bus spot and not far from the central station or hotel. This morning I'm having ago at trucks at port klang the main harbour port in the country out on a commuter railway line which passes through central station. A voyage of discovery as I've never filmed lorries in Malaysia before previous trips being mostly bus based. I've lost a tooth filling so another job on the to do list when I get home. There is a starbucks cafe by the monorail stop which I tried last night prices just a tad less than uk which I guess are up to expensive. The run around tickets wasn't cheap either about twenty pounds for two days but so much easier than having to search for modes of payment which for the metro include tokens, shares of eastern eastern europe and old time britain in that. I'll have a breakfast when it opens at six thirty which gives me a couple of hours to dose or ortch BBC would service. Thankfully the internet as nearly everywhere in the world is slot better than in lower peover.. illI post again tonight local time when I'll have explored the local restaurants and maybe the Irish pubs.
One of Emirates a380 aircraft with a seat downstairs near the exit, never even noticed it take off what a smoothe flight it was with good for and wine andcsussed very nice company, I watched the film's Dunkirk and Hampstead which passed the time between chatting tongue lovely Egyptian lady who lives in Southport. I'm at the gate ready for boarding the Singapore flight where I land first thing Wednesday morning. here to edit.
The weather seems ok this morning just hoping we take off before any snow arrives, it was below zero but no frost this mornjng. I didn't have the best nights sleep as I kept waking to look at the clock we got up at four thirty obviously it was a straight run to the airport but chaos there as they have major construction going on. Mandy will monitor the dvd orders this week. My next report should be later today from Abu DhabiClick to edit.
My bags are packed and I'm ready to go, early tomorrow plus fingers crossed re snow tomorrow morning but the long distance stuff tends to get priority if there is any doubt, I'm on Emirates and change at their hub then onward to KL so I can blog en route. I need to make a move soon as it's my ministry course session at Chester hence the flight out on a Tuesday - it's our half term for two weeks then we start the last module of the course. I've loaded on a few more clips to our Youtube channel which should satisfy many until i return with the footage from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. The first two will include double deck buses and all three lorries ( I hope) . So keep safe until we chat again, Dave We had a superb night out at Clonter Opera competition last night although it was the first time in all the years we have attended the competition that the winner wasn't either our first or second choice and I thought both selected by the audience and panel were not logical decisions and I know that all our table also shared my bafflement. The runner up I thought may have been recovering from The Bug and is probably much better than it came over the actual winner was so out on a limb as to make it laughable not that they weren't all good singers but it was just so unexpected. The meal was good although it's annoying that you have to take your own nibbles for pre-performance drinks when the meal is quite expensive and the wine has crept up yet another £1. Beware biting the hand that feeds you is all I could think. It was an early start after a late night for the 8am BCP service which can be quite a depressing affair then home for breakfast, Sue left to return home then back to St Oswalds for the 11am family communion service which requires a change of attire to look sufficiently church wardenly! Then a chance to catch up on the DVD orders and got some clips of trucks in Australia to load on our Youtube channel which although not doing badis a bit in the doldrums perhaps it will do better when I vanish Tuesday for a couple of weeks in Asia. Mid afternoon it was time to head to Over Peover and Messy Church for our sister church St Lawrences where we were yet again blessed by continued trends of upward growth and I think after our teething troubles last month we felt more organised and confident, Jane had to dash back to St Oswalds and leap back centuries in liturgy for another BCP delivery. Tomorrow is the last Ministry foundation session before the half term, hence my trip then to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Here are some shots at Messy Church appreciate, lively and engaged throughout. The humble Robin seems a seasonable addition to my garden bird survey, it has been rewarding day for birds.
Birds galore this morning including Siskin and Reed Bunting, here is a picture of a Siskin, we get them in the winter but infrequently, we have a rather bedraggled one perched on a feeder now for ages, another sleeker specimen has vanished. I've managed to get all our latest DVDs on to our EBay shop plus of course they are all on our own shop and most on Amazon. Here are the covers for recent releases. We are waiting for our friend Sue to arrive, we are out at Clonter Opera comptetition this evening. I've just been playing around with an image I need for on of our church projects, I created it on my video editing suite, St Oswalds, I nipped out and sketched it earlier today( ho ho). Actually I did some cleaning up there this morning, I met our old neighbour Carol Smith, it was her husband David's anniversary today, he died very quickly from a brain tumour - very sad so young just 60. Nerris and her daughter were busy changing the flowers and cleaning, it takes so many people to look after an ancient building. I got a much better nights sleep as the last vestiges of Australian flu pass through me and when we were ready with the DVD orders we dropped these off and carried on up to Manchester to get my Russian visa bio-metrics ( aka fingerprints) done at the visa application centre where despite using a pre checking service at considerable cost they had managed to let through invitation letters with a different passport number on to that used for the application. Anyway there was obviously a close relationship as bother parties were on first name terms and I guess revised accommodation vouchers / invitation letters were sorted by this afternoon but it explains the necessity of having more than one passport when you visit countries which require a visa. I think the next one we have this year will b Madagascar in the autumn. I had my Friday afternoon meeting with vicar Jane and progressed my training for for Reader ministry but still have at least one more to fill in, the C of E know a lot about bureaucracy as befits the established church. We got ourselves sorted ready for our second delivery of Messy Church at Over Peover on Sunday. I also need to sharpen my pencil as I prepare to preach at the 'normal' church services. So a lot going on but no time to slacken as I must get ready for my Asian travels when I leave Tuesday morning for KL and then on to Singapore and a side trip to Indonesia. My Russian trip is also coming up in May and then Ukraine at the end of June. Somewhere along the way I'll fit in vehicle rallies and UK film trips. When I get back from Asia Mandy and Sue will be getting ready for their Sri Lanka trip, two weeks in the sun and no buses! Our tweet of the day from our back garden goes to the humble Wren which despite being the most numerous garden bird in general is often the least seen due to shyness, small size etc. Fingers crossed that snow on Tuesday doesn't upset my flight plans! back to our North Wales trip and we arrive at Caernarfon Safely back from a pleasant short midweek break on Anglesey catching up with relations. I've done most of the paperwork which I needed to complete and have received the form for our stall at Detling rally at Maidstone in April which we always look forward to although whether we get a bargain room at Leeds Castle again remains to be seen. The Detling show will be one of the few chances our customers will be able to meet us this year in the far south east and it will of course be an opportunity weather permitting to get some film work done in Kent. It's a bit of a mad dash catching up plus I've got to get Mandy trained back to cope with the DVD orders while I'm away in Asia. News today of more specialist model buses to come from Hong Kong, we seem to be heading for a bonanza of new models on very popular contemporary subjects which should be very detailed and appeal to many collectors which reminds me I need to source the new 'shed' for housing my collection, no progress as yet. Tweet of the day is back, the Reed Bunting we usually see a few times each year and must come from the nearby ponds which are where the old salt workings have collapsed, the Meres as they are know. Lets have a look at the last two days on the road, my cold is starting to diminish and I'm in better condition and feel much more energetic than I did which is good as we have to be in Manchester to get my Russian visa fingerprints taken tomorrow morning! Here are the first batches of pictures taken yesterday morning at Bangor. |
PMP Sponsors the North West Vehicle Restoration Trust at Kirkby.
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