The Albert Hall has always been my favourite venue, that is after the Bath Festival showground in 1969, but I'll leave memories of Led Zeppelin, the Nice, Ten Years After, The Taste, Principal Edward's Magic Theatre and Stan Webb for another time.

Diana played standards from the great American songbook in her unique, smooth and sophisticated style, paying homage to such greats as Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee and Irving Berlin along the way. Her take on Walk on By was a long way from Dionne Warwick but spine tingling nevertheless.

The band? Anthony Wilson, Kareem Riggins and Robert Hurst are suitably classy jazz players and contributed to an evening that purred. I don't like the fact that people clap during numbers but it was hard to resist doing so with solos from these three.

My only disappointment was that she didn't play A Case of You, by my favourite Canadian, still, it's on Youtube, or I can always put Blue on.

Nerina Pallot

When I first went to see Nerina Pallot at the Junction Cambridge three years ago I was strongly reminded of Joni Mitchell,. which is no bad thing as far as I am concerned, beautiful voice, melancholy lyrics,piano, acoutsic guitar. The rapport with the audience at this stand up gig was appreciated, I don't remember Joni saying a word between songs, that was years ago in the years of hippy cool, or was it Joni turning into a diva? Mind you, Joni was outdone by Van Morrison - what a miserable git he was, perhaps still is.

Saw Nerina again recently at the more urbane and non atmospheric Stables and she was again brilliant, not solo this time but with a bass player and drummer who just about managed to avoid drowining her voice out. And what a voice it is. She played some songs from her new album but gave us most pleasure with songs from 'Fires'. If you have not heard her, then get on Youtube or somewhere like and play 'Learning to Breathe' or 'Idaho', then go and buy Fires. Wonderful

A weekend in Bristol

The Corn Exchange Clock
The clock on the Corn Exchange has an extra minute hand. This recalls early Victorian days, when Bristol was in two minds about the correct time. Today we take Greenwich Mean Time for granted but before 1880 no standard time existed in the British Isles. Every city had its own local time, reckoned by the sun and by church bells. Bristol lies 2 degrees, 36 minutes west of the Greenwich Meridian and so the sun reaches its noon peak 11 minutes later than in London. Before the growth of railways, most people spent their lives close to home and so most were unaware of any time difference.For Bristolians a change came in June 1841, when the first through train from London pulled into Temple Meads Station. Brunel's Great Western Railway began to tempt people to travel. Now they could go to London in hours rather than days.The Railways ran on London time (GMT) so if you wanted to catch a train at noon from Temple Meads you had to remember that it would pull out at 11.49 Bristol Time.
To help Bristolians catch their trains, Bristol Corporation arranged for the main public clock on the Corn Exchange to show both local and GMT with two minute hands. Other clocks in Bristol then adopted the same compromise. In September 1852 Bristol adopted GMT and Bristol time became the same as London.

I know that Manchester and Newcastle have been voted as England's best two cities for having fun (What happened to London?) but Bristol is pretty good, with lots of restaurants - including nice 'fry up' breakfast places with newspapers and large pots of tea, harbourside bars, dozens (hundreds?) of traditional pubs, i.e. real ales and no slot machines - though we haven't tried the Scrumpy yet - great walks, plus large and small music and theatre venues. Between the showers we walked the waterfront, where the SS Great Britain is berthed.The SS Great Britain was a world first when she was launched in Bristol in 1843. Isambard Kingdom Brunel conceived the groundbreaking combination of a screw propeller, an iron hull, and a massive 1000-horsepower steam engine. She was immediately successful - on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic the SS Great Britain easily broke the previous speed record.

Bristol abounds with beautiful buildings. Though not on any cultural heritage trail, the one pictured below is quite nice - Laura & Joe's flat!

A pampered weekend

Took a drive an hour north west of Melbourne to the attractive spa town of Daylesford. didn't need to visit the spas as our own beautifully equipped house had one of its own. These two have been drinking too much champagne.

It's not all antique sellers, tea shops and designer clothes in Daylesford, there's Bingo with balls for the Bogans!

No swimming? No chance!

Took a cruise down the Daintree River with a guy called Bruce. He knew where the crocs were. Doesn't this female look cute?

Marsupials are Us!

Monday 3 August 2009. The Habitat is a three mile walk from the centre of Port Douglas which includes the option of passing under an enormous colony of fruit bats hanging and chattering in an avenue of trees. We decide to run through in case it is their ablution time!

The Habitat is definitely worth visiting if you are in the Port Douglas area. The Habitat is divided into Rainforest, Wetlands and Grasslands. Apart from the crocodiles, the echidna and the koalas, the animals roam and fly freely in large enclosures. Feeding the many types of kangaroo is a pleasure. Keeping out of the way of the emu is a trickier proposition!

Mission accomplished, Trish cuddles a koala.

We don't risk the bats on the return journey and decide to catch a bus...

Sophistication and warmth

Friday 31 July. Port Douglas is beautiful. We walk the length of the four mile beach and back to our beach front apartment. The sand is spotlessly clean and the sea warm enough to swim in. However, unseasonal winds dissuade us from sunbathing. St Mary's Church has a large clear glass window behind the altar, giving worshippers a divine view of the ocean and mountains beyond.

Saturday 1 August. The Skyrail just north of Cairns is definitely worth a visit. We board a cable car for the 7.5km glide into the rain forest and looking down through the lush canopy, one realises how easy it would be to get lost down there - throw in the worry of the vast number of poisonous snakes and plants and you're really in trouble!

The village of Kuranda at the top of the mountain is mainly populated by souvenir shops but the 100 minute train journey down through Barron Gorge is marvellous. Kuranda Station must be one of the most beautiful on the planet, with its abundance of flowering plants almost covering the platforms and station buildings. Check out today's train driver!

Construction of the railway began in 1887 in order to service the gold fields and it took four years to complete. We pass through 15 tunnels, over 37 bridges and around nearly 100 curves. The railway workers and their families endured tremendous hardships shifting over 2 million cubic metres of earth. For us, the 37km ride down into Cairns was a pleasure.

Otherwise known as the Olgas

The massive series of domes gives us the chance to walk through valleys and gorges, climb passes and see some wildlife. Trish sees a dingo chasing a kangaroo. Both animals look pretty fit but the clever money is on the kangaroo to escape. Buzzards glide overhead, hoping for leftovers I guess.

The landscape reminds me of the photos of Mars sent back by the US Voyager or am I thinking of Oman?! Giant red boulders and fields of red rock abound. Our guide points out trees that contain food and those which are poisonous - the latter predominate!

We finish our trek in time for more sparkling wine and the opportunity to marvel at the striking colour changes that take place as the sun goes down over the domes.

The Australian people that we have met so far heve been, without exception, smiling, friendly, polite and enthusiastic. On the way back to our hotel the coach driver puts on traditional Aussie songs, which his compatriots sing along to. I recognise Waltzing Matilda and then there's something about kangaroos on a verandah and being stuck up a gum tree... If anyone cares to enlighten me, please do!

Sunset then Dawn at Uluru

You can see the awe inspiring rock when you fly into Ayers Rock Airport, which is just a few km from the great red monolith.

Evening at the Rock is a very sociable occasion, sparkling Aussie wine, chats with other visitors but above all else, the immensity of the Rock, the largest monolith on the planet. When you look at it the jaw drops slightly open and you temporarily lose the power of speech. It dominates all else around it, the desert and the sky. The changes in Uluru's colour as the sun sets are almost other worldly, bright red through darker shades of the same, then a rich brown and finally blackness.

Pre-dawn at the rock in July is extremely cold - take a fleece and some gloves! We are there before 0700hrs in the silence, which is broken only by the strong, cold wind. Up close, the rock is immense, hypnotic and you cannot look away. Our intention is to walk around the perimeter, which is just over 12km. The path is well marked and flat. At various points there are sacred sites which we must keep off, though there are plenty of other opportunities to explore the very lowest slopes, to see cave paintings which tell dreamtime stories and to marvel at the range of flora around the Rock and beside its water holes. We have a shivery stand up breakfast and then get warm as we walk, all the time admiring the changing colours as the Sun breaks over Uluru.

Some people are climbing Uluru and I can see the attraction because the view from the top must be incredible. To me, climbing Uluru is an enormous temptation but it would also be a slight to the local aboriginal people, the Anangu and their beliefs and law (Tjukurpa). It is estmiated that aborigines have been in the area for 22 000 years.

The Yarra Valley, outstanding beauty

Sunday 26 July 2009. We take a leisurely morning drive through the beautiful Yarra valley to visit a few wineries, starting with Coldstream Hills and several glasses of fine wines, Rochford with several more glasses of fine wine and then Domaine Chandon for yet more fine wine and a most enjoyable good lunch.

The area is wooded with farms, stables, wineriesand small villages amidst rolling hills and with great views of the Dandenong Mountain range in the background. It looked nearly as good as England in summer. Trouble is, this was winter !

A must for the girls was a visit to Ramsay Street - actually Pin Oak Court. Here they are outside Carl and susan's house.

From the heat of Al Ain to an Aussie winter

Saturday 25 July.Australian Football League is really big in Victoria and I had the pleasure of seeing two games in one day with a whole bunch of 'blokes' as they're called here, including Louise's boyfriend Pete (big St Kilda fan ) and our friend Rick, who we met in Alaska, (big Geelong fan).

My intro to AFL at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was with 64 000 aficionados and what a fast and exciting game it was. Geelong, behind for much of the game, beat Hawthron by one point with the last kick of the game - 98-97.

Next up was the evening kick-off at the Etihad Stadium - the leaders St Kilda versus 3rd placed Western Bulldogs. We were 'invited' to wear St Kilda scarves - fortunately they play in the same colours as MUFC.

St Kilda 'flogged the Dogs' as the locals say 106 - 61.

Evening Roars

The now rare Arabian Oryx, a Meerkat saying "Who do you think you're looking at?" and African animals all looking at home in Al Ain Zoo. The zoo opens at 4:00p.m. in the Summer. It is pleasant and novel to look at animals in the twilight but the roar of the lions is a bit scary in the dark.

Training Night

From about 5:30p.m. each evening in the Summer the camels are taken out on the track just north of Al Ain. I spoke to one of the owners who was slowly driving alongside a group of his camels and riders who were warming up. He told me that he owned 40 camles and that once they are two years old they are ready to race. The youngsters race over 1.5km and the mature animals up to 5km. A top class racing animal could fetch in the region of two million dirhams.

The racing season begins in the 'winter' but if you want to see some fun in the Summer, get to the track at 0600hrs on a Friday.

When the going gets tough

The cliff pictured above was a tough obstacle to climb and slightly more scary on the way down. There is a reservoir at the top where local families let their children swim. I prefer to cool off in the river.

A very wet wadi

What a wet one this proved to be! There is often rain in the afternoons in July and August and there was no shortage of water in the Al Jazira wadi. No shortage of fish and toads either, though we only saw one snake. The wadi has cut narrowly and steeply through the rocks. The sides are steep and narrow and it would be easy for a person unfamiliar with the area to miss the wadi from downstream. Some of the cliff faces rarely see direct sunlight and we spy a rare growth in the Middle East - moss, with a sprinkling of orchids mixed in.

Three Mountain Passes

A tough one this week. 47C and three mountain passes to climb. We began at an oasis in

Bu aithah to finish by a cooling wadi in Khudayrah. The middle photo shows part of a falaj cut into the rock, perhaps 1000 years ago. it must have taken the villagers years to create, possibly using heating and cooling to fragment the rock in the first instance.

Wilfred Thesiger photographic exhibition

Sir Wilfred Thesiger and his two trusty companions.

You can Google Sir Wilfred Thesiger to find out more about a man sometimes called the last of the great Victorian explorers.

Al Jahli Fort has a beautifully presented exhibition of some of the 38 000 photographs he took on his travels, most notably the ones taken during his two epic and dangerous journeys into the 'Empty Quarter'.

The book Arabian Sands (1959) recounts his travels in the Empty Quarter of Arabia between 1945 and 1950 and describes the vanishing way of life of the Bedouins. If you can't get to Al Ain, get to a library or book shop and find it!

p.s. Rooftop views of Al Ain are to be had from the 'rampart' and the guard was very patient whilst posing with the Kiwis!

A wonderful place

Al Jahli Fort in central Al Ain on a July Saturday morning. The fort is quietly shimmering in the heat and it would be foolish to remain outside for too long. Fortunately, there are lots of cool rooms to explore and a picture gallery containing portraits of Royal Family members. Pictured are two Kiwi friends. The pictures are taken by Julie, who got me started on this blogging idea. As always in Al Ain museums, the staff are polite, friendly and helpful. The welcome includes Arabic coffee.