Robin and a London bus

Robin and a London bus
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Yes, my prolific posting spell continues with a shot of Robin waiting at the bus stop about half an hour ago to catch the bus home. This is your average London bus - red, double decker and all that. Not the quaintest of bus stops though!

Dawn, absolutely take your point about the roads being out of use making it difficult to get aid to the New Orleans area, but I spoke to a pal of mine in Austin Texas today who was saying that the Austin police helicopters are still in the city - you'd have thought they'd have sent all the helicopters in the area to the disaster zone by now. There have certainly been plenty of distraught people on the news complaining about how no aid has arrived whatsoever, so it's not like those helicopters wouldn't be of some use.

And, again, take your point about the hugely foolish people shooting at the helicopters - but I'd say that although the authorities were encouraging people in advance to come to the sports stadium to escape the tornado, they don't seem to have thought very hard about how they'd look after/police them when they got there, so mob rule broke amidst some awful conditions.

Terry Ebbert, the head of New Orleans' emergency operations, has already said the slow response by the wider authorities has been a 'national disgrace' - so it's not like I'm the only one who thinks the response has been rather slow and the problems poorly anticipated (people were, afterall, well aware that the city is below sea level and that there was a very good chance it would flood).

But, I'm sure we're all very much agreed that they need to get relief there as soon as possible and thank goodness that seems to be starting to happen. I really hope that they can regain control of the city and help the thousands of desperate people who are in such awful trouble,

Anyway, my Austin pal was also telling me it's a holiday weekend over there in the States this weekend - hope that amidst these awful scenes you folks manage to have a peaceful weekend.

Robin on a famous piano!

robin piano
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hello folks,

Took this picture yesterday afternoon when I had to go to a recording studio in West London. This very piano, the manager of the studio told me, has been played by Elton John, Jon Bon Jovi, Freddie Mercury and, now, Robin. Well, I say played, he just jumped up and down on the keys a bit.

Like everyone in the world, we've had crazy pictures coming to our TVs from the New Orleans area. From this distance, even given the size of the hurricane, the lack of preparation for what they'd do afterwards is just stunning, as is the fact that so little relief seems to have made it through so far. I really hope they can actually start to help people before things spiral any further out of control.

Robin hits the town

robin giggin'
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Yes, just to prove that it's not all work and no play around here, here's Robin at a concert at the Luminaire in London last night by a band called The Brakes (taken on my phone, so perhaps not the best quality). It was a top night and Robin moshed his little heart out.

Also, really sorry to hear what's going on in the New Orleans area at the moment - the pictures I keep seeing on the news are just so disturbing. That and a 1000 people dying because of a stampede in Iraq makes for some of the most heart-wrenching news in years. Really hope that the state authorities can pull together and help out the people that are stuck in New Orleans and that something can be done for all the people who've lost their homes. Just devestating. Also hope none of you guys reading this have been unduly affected.

Blimey, I haven't posted in ages!

Robin at my desk
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Really really sorry not to have posted in so long, it's been one of those super-busy times I get at work sometimes. So much so that I'm sitting here at 8.39pm still chained to my computer, 11 hours after I arrived. But hey, at least I've got Robin here with me - he's always happy to hang out with his pal Money Mark (that's him in the shades).

So, I really should get straight to the competition result - and it was won hands-down by Mary, who was not only the first person to enter, but also got the exact correct answer of 11 countries with all 11 listed. Impressive stuff Mary, drop me an email with your details and I'll get that tacky London souvenir in the post.

Hope you folks are all good. I'm going to try my very hardest to post more often over the next few days, so keep 'em peeled...!

More from Ibiza...

A Robin on water
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up

Here's another Robin in Ibiza shot - taken from a boat going from Es Canar to Ibiza Town.

It's a very beautiful island - more famous for its clubbing (P Diddy and Michael Stipe were both there enjoying that the weekend we were there), but there's lots of lovely scenery if you go looking for it.

Robin, in Ibiza

robinibizatown
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hello

Here's a more scenic shot of Robin in Ibiza - this was taken up at the top of the hill in old Ibiza Town. I was experimenting with the panoramic-stitch-together thing on my mobile phone - problem was I couldn't see the screen properly cos the sun was so bright, hence the blurry repeated bit.

Keep those competition entries coming (see below) - that tacky London souvenir could have your name on it!

Robin celebrates birthday! Competition!

Robin, chillin'
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

In response to Andi W's comment last week - the answer is that yes, I probably do travel more than most British people (mainly through work), but I think we do tend to leave our country more than Americans anyway. Obviously you have to travel long distances to get to another country, whereas (particularly since the advent of budget airlines) we can get to a whole host of countries in under two hours for a cost of about $100 return.

So, yet again, I was abroad this weekend - on a work trip to the Spanish party island of Ibiza. On Saturday, it was exactly one year since Robin made his debut online, and he celebrated by lounging about in the pool.

COMPETITION! COMPETITION!

And now - to celebrate one year of Robin - it's time for our first competition since the Olympics.

Guess how many countries Robin has been photographed in since he made his debut last August. And as a tie-breaker, name them. To enter, just post your entry in the comments tab below. Whoever gets the right number of countries wins. If two people get the right number, the one who names most of them correctly takes the prize.

Closing date is a week from today. The winner gets a tacky London souvenir.

Good luck!

Robin in Ypres

robin in belgium
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

This picture was taken on Sunday in Ypres, a lovely little town in the Flanders part of Belgium.

I was over there with my wife and my grandad, who we took away for the weekend. The mediaeval city of Ypres was very much in the thick of the action during World War One (it was called Wipers by British soldiers) and we went to a very thought-provoking trench that has been preserved since 1917.

It was quite moving to walk down the trench and imagine who'd been in there all those years ago and what they'd been feeling. Around a quarter of a million men from the Commonwealth lie in grave sites in Flanders - mind-blowing to imagine.

But it was also a very pretty town and we managed to have a lovely time exploring the fair that was going on and eating some great Belgian food.

Robin and an Arsenal stadium

Robin checks out Arsenal
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

Here's Robin checking out the brand new stadium of Arsenal Football Club at Ashburton Grove in North London. Arsenal are one of the best football (soccer to you American folks) teams in England and, probably, Europe.

It's not finished yet - the team have one more season at their old Highbury ground where they've been for about 80 years - but it's going up pretty quickly and looks like it will be quite a stunning ground.

They're moving because the old ground only holds 38,000, whereas this one will hold about 60,000 (which, of course, equals rather more money through the gates). Plus, they've already got a multi-million pound sponsorship deal with Emirates airline to call it the Emirates Stadium.

Me and Robin will certainly be going back to check it out when it's finished...

Robin at Beachy Head

Robin and a heckuva view
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

I took this picture this morning at Beachy Head an amazing place on the coast near Eastbourne in Sussex (we went to a lovely wedding nearby on Friday). The view of the enormous white cliffs probably speaks for itself - if it doesn't, then may I suggest 'stunning'?

Definitely worth clicking on this picture to see it bigger.

Robin, on the tube!

robintubing
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

Yes, this is Robin, back on the London Underground - which is the main topic of conversation in London these days, after the suicide bombings on Jul 7 and the failed bombings on Jul 21.

It's quite weird sitting there every morning with people reading about bombs and bombers in their newspapers and giving each other furtive looks to check their bag doesn't look too big or whatever. But all you can do is get back to normal and keep travelling to work and hope that the police can stop it. Not ideal, but there really aren't too many alternatives.

Robin certainly enjoyed his trip (he hasn't been out of the house much recently). Look, his eyes are wide with the excitement of being on the tube!

Hope you guys are all good.

24 days till Robin's 1!

Ducky says...
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up

This is Robin's friend Duckia, whom we rescued from a Duty Free shop in Genoa airport in Italy last year.

Duckia wanted to tell you folks that on August 13 2005, it will have been exactly one year to the day since Robin made his first appearance on the world wide web (see the archive if you want to check Duckia's got her facts right) . Duckia's a nice duck, and she wanted to make sure you were all aware of this momentous occasion.

And now you are. A job well done Duckia.

Wow, what a game! (But, oops, forgot Robin)

cricket 'n clouds
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

So, as you'll see from the picture, I forgot to take Robin to the cricket match last night - and he missed a classic!

As today's Guardian newspaper put it, 'the venerable old Oval had never seen anything like it'. To cut a long story short, it was a 20 over (120 ball/pitch) match - which was interupted by rain, so Warwickshire, the away team, only got to face 90 balls, whereas Surrey, the home team, had faced all 120. Surrey had scored 149 runs from theie 120 bowls, so it was worked out that Warwickshire had to score 118 from their 90.

In the end, after much drama, they score 117. The Surrey players celebrated, thinking this meant they'd won. But, after 30 minutes, it turned out they hadn't - it was a tie.

Because this was a knock-out cup match, that meant they had to resort to a bowl-out, the first in the history of the competition (like a penalty shoot out in soccer)! That meant five bowlers from each team got two bowls each at the wicket/stumps, without a batsman trying to stop it. After both teams had had their 10 balls, the score was 2 hits each. So it went into sudden death.

The Warwickshire bowler went first and hit the stumps. Which meant the Surrey man had to hit the stumps with one bowl or they'd lost. Amazingly, he hit it. Then the Warwickshire man missed, which meant the Surrey player had to hit the wicket for the home team to win. He did and the crowd went barmy. The player who'd hit it - Tim Murtagh - went sprinting off into the field, peeled off his shirt and waved it around his head, like he'd just scored a winning goal.

I'm not sure if this communicates to those of you who know nothing about cricket, but this is an unprecedented way for a game to end. Murtagh was on TV afterwards saying hitting the winning wicket was 'definitely one of the best feelings of his entire life'.

Amazing. And a great way to celebrate a year to the day since me and my wife got engaged.
:)

Robin at the cricket #2

Robin, by the scoreboard
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

This was taken at the same cricket game as the posting below - it's the scoreboard (yes, really!), a key part of any cricket game, even if there's no spectators to speak of (it's handy for the players, I guess). This is quite a sweet-looking one, I thought (certainly more so than the chap taking his top off and thrusting out his stomach!).

Robin at cricket #1

Robin, by the boundary
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

Sorry it's been ages since I've posted, I've been really busy. Things are getting back to normal in London after the bombings ten days ago, which turned out to be the UK's first suicide bomb attacks. I'm pleased (and a wee bit proud) to say London has taken it all in its stride and people are back on the tubes and the buses and not letting it affect them too badly. It is still strange being on the tubes, especially when they're packed, and you can tell everybody is checking out everybody else's bags, but I'm amazed how quickly things have got back to normal really.

This picture was taken this afternoon, up at Highgate Woods about a 15 minute walk from where we live. There was a cricket game going on in the middle of the park, so I thought you folks might like to see a couple of pictures from this most traditional of English Sunday afternoon pursuits.

Do you folks in America know/understand cricket? Or do you look at it with the same mixture of confusion and bafflement that we Brits/Europeans/Rest Of The Worlders tend to look at American Football with?

Funnily enough, I'm off to a proper County cricket match tomorrow in one of the biggest cricket stadiums in the UK (The Oval) so I'll take Robin along so that you can see the difference between a little local game and the real thing.

Just to let you know, I'm okay.

It's a very sad day in London. This morning, I was just about to set off to work, slightly late, when we got a text message from my wife's mother in Athens, asking if we were okay because there'd been explosions in London. First we'd heard of it, so we looked online and, sure enough, they were saying that there'd been some sort of explosions at tube stations in London. So I rang the three people in my section at work and told them not to take the tube - all were just setting off for work - and went to get the bus into town. I took a radio with me so that i could hear the latest.

At the bus stop, the radio was saying that it was power surges in the tube stations that had caused the explosions, which seemed a bit odd, but meant you felt pretty safe getting the bus into town. Got a bus to Archway, where the tube station was shuttered up and then managed to get on a bus, which was going down to Kings Cross station. On the radio, they were still talking about the power surges - British Transport Police had confirmed that, I believe - but the eye witnesses who were ringing in on their phones were all talking about explosions. Then someone called in and said they'd just spoken to their friend who'd been in Russell Square, about half a mile from Kings Cross, and seen a bus explode. This was the first anyone had heard of such a thing - remember, we thought it was a power surge at this point - and the radio presenters were quite keen to point out that this was an unconfirmed report, but the student calling in certainly seemed convincing.

So by now I'm on the bus on the road down to Kings Cross - one of the places where the tube explosions had been - with a work colleague who'd happened to get on, and we were both listening to the radio on a headphone each. Then they said there had been further reports of the exploding bus at Russell Square. That was about a mile from where we were, so we decided it might make sense to get off the bus. By now, mobile phones weren't working, I guess because of the demand from everyone trying to get through to their families telling them they were okay.

We wandered about a bit, thinking maybe we shouldn't go into town - as we were so near to where most of the explosions had been happening. Around now, the radio started saying that the tube explosions hadn't been power surges after all - they'd been bombs. Nobody was in a panic where we were - Londoners have a sort of stoic air about these things - like, this is really annoying, what's going on, how will I get to work. We're sort of used to disruption. I didn't really feel at all scared, just a bit weirded out. The bus that had exploded was only about 200 metres from the building I work in.

Eventually, we decided to try and walk down into central London and get into a work - a few hundred yards away - but it was clear from the number of people streaming the other way that they weren't able to get through. We asked a woman coming the other way and she confirmed that the police were stopping people and telling them to head the other way.

So now I've walked the 5 miles home, much to the relief of my wife. We now know that there have been around 6 explosions and there are fatalities. It's very strange watching news footage of areas of London I know so well, and I'm just very grateful that I wasn't caught up in it and, as far as I can tell, neither was anyone I know.

Such a sad day for London after the joy of getting the Olympics yesterday.

www.london2012blog.co.uk - we got that too!

Yes, having reaped the benefits of having the address www.athens2004blog.com during the last Olympics, I was lucky enough to bag www.london2012blog.co.uk just after the announcement was made today. Hurrah. Seven years of build up starts here...

London 2012. We got it. Yes!

As I write, the red arrows fighter plane display team have just flown past my office window with red, white and blue smoke billowing from their tails. London got the Olympics for 2012. We never thought we would, but we have. And now we're very happy.

Where's Robin? He's down the road at Trafalgar Square celebrating...!

Robin, fulfills Titanic fantasies...

Robin, boat
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

Yes, here's Robin, making like Thingy and Wotsit in 'Titanic' (except he's on his own, of course). This was taken on Hydra a couple of days ago.

We're off back to England today - will definitely miss the Greek weather (though we did bring a few storms with us). Went for a wander in Athens yesterday, and back to the church we got married in for the first time since then - very nice to see it.

Reet, see you in England...

Robin on Greek island: no cars!

Robin on Hydra
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up

Yes, we're back in Athens after a couple of nights on the lovely island of Hydra, a teeny Greek island about 1.5 hours on a quick boat from Athens.

It's only got a population of 3,000 people, probably because everything is built into/onto hills. In fact, it's so hilly that they don't even have (or indeed, allow) cars on the island - they just use donkeys to carry things about. Really.

Lovely place, can very much recommend a visit. I'll post some more pics in the next couple of days. This one was taken looking into the main town of Hydra after a wee walk along the coast to a secluded little spot where we went swimming and enjoyed the sunshine.

Robin at Glastonbury 2

Robin at Glastonbury
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hello

Before I shoot off to a Greek island (see below) here's another Robin pic from Glastonbury. This one was taken on Sunday night, as the sun went down (happily after the crazy rain on Friday, Sun-day very much lived up to its name!).

This was taken in the main field looking down to the Pyramid Stage, where Brian Wilson had just finished leading a mass singalong of Beach Boys classics that left everyone beaming.

The festival all takes place in the fields of a local farmer, Michael Eavis, who started it 30 years ago. You can see his farmhouse up in the top left of the picture (as ever, click on it if you want to see it bigger). And you can also see how muddy his fields have become after a weekend that started with rain and then had 150,000 people trampling all over it. Where there's baked brown mud now, there was thick, lush green grass four days earlier. The cows aren't going to be too pleased when they see!

Robin at Glastonbury 1

Robin, Glastonbury, tents
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks.

I'm in Athens now (on holiday, visiting the in-laws for the first time since we got married here in February!). Glastonbury was great, but on the Friday morning it rained incredibly hard (thunder, lightning, the full works) for six hours, flooding many people's tents completely. There were pictures on the front of all the newspapers of people swimming to their tents and tents that were five or six feet deep in water! Crazy. Luckily where we were it didn't flood. But we still had to suffer the mud for the whole weekend (first as deep rivers of brown water, then as sticky brown glue). We still had a great weekend though.

Thanks too for all your birthday greetings. We went straight from four nights camping to a very posh country hotel/spa about 20 miles away - which was a real treat. And then the next day we flew off to Greece - I was intent on making sure that the post-Glastonbury/30th blues didn't kick in!

Today I'm off to one of the Greek islands for a couple of days as a surprise treat from my lovely wife. Naturally, Robin's coming along too...

Hope you folks are good, wil probably post again on Saturday when we're back in Athens.

Robin in St Petersburg, again

robin, big square
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

Here's Robin in the main square in St Petersburg on a rather gloomy day. Nice square though.

We're all off to Glastonbury music festival this weekend - the best music festival in the whole wide world (seriously, 2 million people tried to buy the 120,000 tickets). It all takes place on a farm near Stonehenge and is still run by the same farmer that started it 30 years ago. More info at www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk for you American folks that might not have heard of it.

Also, I turn 30 on Monday. So feel free to leave your birthday wishes here making me feel better for leaving my twenties behind!

Kit

It's not all luxury...

robin daredevil
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Yes, Robin may hang out in a limo from time to time - but it's not always an easy life for my globe-trotting pal.

Here he is, about to be blasted into Finland by this tank thing outside a museum in St Petersburg.

But check out the look in his eyes. That bird is fearless.

Robin in his limo...

robinlivesitlarge
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

When you're a worldwide megastar like Robin, there's really only way to travel.

Here he is, in St Petersburg, in his limo, asking the driver to turn down the air conditioning a little...

Robin in Moscow!

robin in moscow
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

Yes, here's Robin with Moscow behind him - as taken last Saturday morning from my hotel room.

Sadly, I was only in Moscow for 16 hours so I didn't get to take his picture in Red Square, but I've got plenty more that I've taken in St Petersburg (we were there for longer).

Moscow is a weird place - seemingly built on sex, money and alochol. You'd see couples walking down the street drinking beer at 10am and our (nice) hotel was full of prostitutes and a pretty seedy strip bar. Weird place. A bit in-your-face for my liking (although, as I say, we weren't really there long enough to see the nicer side of it). St Petersburg pictures to come...

Robin and Chris Martin (the second shot)

chris&robin
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Seeing as Coldplay are in the news with the release of their new album 'X&Y' (which looks like to break sales records over here) I thought I'd post the other picture of Robin with Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin, that I took back in April.

Meanwhile, me and Robin are off to Russia tomorrow - will try to post some pictures from there...

St Bees adventure #5

IMG_4146
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

So here's Robin on the beach at St Bees, with the cliff in thr background that the other picture was taken at.

As for Russia, of course I'm taking Robin (I haven't actually got him a visa, but I'm assuming his international fame will mean they'll be pleased to have him there).

The sun is shining in London this morning. That doesn't happen as often as it should.

St Bees adventure #4

Clifftop Robin
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Oops, sorry - I know I said that I'd post this the other day, but I've been a busy bee (as ever) and never quite got round to it at the end of last week.

Anyway, here is the long-awaited (well, sort of) picture of Robin up on the clifftop at St Bees, overlooking the lovely beach on a gorgeous day. If you keep walking about 3 miles in the direction Robin's looking you get to a gorgeous old lighthouse.

Hope you folks are all good. I'm off to Moscow and St Petersburg this weekend - any of you got any Russian experience?

St Bees adventure #3

IMG_4144
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Here's Robin outside an English country cottage in St Bees, the little village that we went to for a weekend away last weekend. We didn't stay in this cottage or anything, just thought it looked lovely - particularly liked the wild garden.

Last two St Bees pics tomorrow - down at the seafront...

St Bees adventure #2

IMG_4094
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Evenin' folks

As I sit watching England play soccer against Colombia in New York on TV, it's time for the second in the series of St Bees shots.

This one was taken at the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway - a narrow-guage steam railway between Cartmel and St Bees. The railway is affectionately known as The Ratty. We didn't actually go for a ride on the train (I've not been since I was about 8), we just pulled into the carpark to have a wee look. If you want to read more about the railway click here

And while we're on the subject of websites, click
here for the American website for the sticky toffee puddings I was talking about yesterday. It's amazing the number of shops it lists that stock the pudding in the States!

Oh, and we're liking the idea of Sept 1 being Robin's name day.

In tomorrow's pic we finally reach St Bees itself...!

St Bees adventure #1

Robin at the pudding shop
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up folks

Yes, this is the first picture (of 5!) of Robin from our bank holiday weekend adventure up to St Bees in Cumbria - a tiny seaside village that I last went on holiday to in about 1983 when I was 8. I took my wife up there for a surprise anniversary weekend (we've now been together 5 years and 1 day!).

This picture was taken outside Cartmel Village Shop, in the south of England's Lake District - a shop which has become extremely famous for its sticky toffee pudding - which is absolutely superb. Actually, I remember reading that Madonna gets it exported to the States. For more info on the shop (and to see a picture of the famous pudding) click here

More pics from our trip coming over the next few day.

Also, we're trying to find out from the Greek rellies when St Robert's day is - if indeed it exists on the Orthodox calendar. My Elvis-loving brother will no doubt be interested to hear when it is, because that's his name too!

Oh, and the other big news - me and Robin are off to Moscow, Russia in ten days. Should make for some great photo opportunities!

Hope you folks are all well.

1 x Robin, 3 x Elvis

Robin meets the King
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hello folks

After all the excitement of our British food pictures over the last few days, me, Robin and the missus have come away for a long weekend and are currently in my brother's flat in Manchester - where this picture was taken.

My bro's a bit of an Elvis nut and this is a massive great picture on his living room wall. I'm hoping the trio of Elvis dudes are not going to shoot Robin in the back. That would be lowdown and dirty.

Will post more from our weekend away in the next few days.

Oh, and it looks like there is no St Robin day - so not sure how we're going to celebrate his name day. Any ideas?

To go with the spotted dick...

Robin and Ambrosia
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

We haven't eaten our spotted dick yet, but as my mother said on the comments below, the choice of custard to go with it is very important. She suggested Birds - and I'm guessing she was talking about making it herself from custard powder, in a saucepan, with milk.

We prefer the easier route of buying a can - and our favoured brand is Ambrosia Devon custard. As the commercials say, 'Devon knows how they make it so creamy...'

As for beet pickled eggs - when people ask if I'm a fussy eater, I usually tell them that the only thing in the world I haven't eaten and will never eat is, yes, pickled eggs! I'm not sure that dying them purple would change my mind...!

Robin and some spotted dick

Robin and a pud
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Yes, our cultural culinary exchange continues apace, with Robin showing you folks some proper British spotted dick. Well, I say proper - obviously *proper* proper would be if it was homemade, but Aunt Bessie offers a reasonable (and reasonably-priced!) alternative.

My wife, who attended a British boarding school a la Harry Potter, confirms that spotted dick was sometimes on the menu, but neither of us have ever actually tried the pudding before - so we're looking forward to tucking in. As the packaging says, it's a 'suet sponge with sultanas, currants and mixed spice'. Sounds tasty. Will let you know how it is.

Aunt Bessie, incidentally, has a fan club - which you can join by clicking here. Personally, though, I've always thought she looks a bit scary. There's something dark about that smile...

Robin and a 'Full English'

Robin. Full English.
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Yes, for those of you who were asking, here's Robin with a 'Full English' breakfast. Well full-ish. There's no sausage or black (blood) pudding, but I think my lovely wife did me proud with my Sunday morning breakfast otherwise! I think she was in a good mood because Greece won the Eurovision song contest last night. For those that don't know, it's literally a Europe-wide contest for best song, watched by hundreds of millions and entered, this year, by 39 countries! Next year's will be held in Athens because Greece won - we're definitely planning to go.

Oh, and the Greek woman who won it is called Helena - so her victory was on her name day (see below)! Re name days, yes Dawn if people don't have a saint, they usually go for one that sounds similar. I shall ask my mother-in-law what she'd recommend for a Dawn - she's a bit of an expert on such things.

Happy Name Day Eleni!

It's a special day!
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Yes, today is a very special day - it's the Name Day of Eleni, my sister-in-law and a very close friend of Robin. Hope you have a good one Elz! With lots of love from me and my lovely wife.

(For those of you who don't know, the Greeks celebrate name days as much as they do birthdays. Name days are celebrated on the Saints day of the name you have. Today is the saint day of St Eleni (or St Helen), so it's Eleni's turn to celebrate.)

Na zisis Eleni! (as they say in Greece)

These, KJ, are crumpets!

Robin, crumpets
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

They're sort of spongey, bread-y things, a little bit like what Americans call English muffins, that you grill and then smother in butter and jam (jelly) or whatever. The packaging of these ones tells me they're made from wheat flour, water, salt, vinegar and raising agents and a few other bits and bobs. And they are very nice indeed.

Do *you* have an English food you don't know about and would like to see a picture of Robin next to? We'll be only too happy to oblige!

Robin and the Queen's house

robin, swans, castle
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

This one was taken on Sunday, when we went to Windsor for a day out with some friends of ours who were over from Sweden.

This is the river that runs through the town, with lots of swans on it. In the background you can see Windsor Castle, which is where the Queen calls home. We tried knocking on her door to borrow some teabags, but she didn't answer.

That's quite a view!

robin look out over toronto
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up

This is the third in the trilogy I like to call 'Robin: A Small Bird And A Large Tower'. Here he is at the top of the CN Tower, looking out over downtown Toronto. Well, actually, he's looking at the camera. If he was looking out over downtown Toronto you'd only be able to see the back of his head and you might think he was ignoring you. Safe to say, moments after the photo was taken, he span round and had a good old gawp.

Robin. A glass floor. A big drop.

robin on the cn tower's glass floor
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up

This is Robin lying on the glass floor at the top of the CN Tower in Toronto, below which there's a sheer drop about 130 floors to the ground below. Quite a spooky feeling to walk on it - though it didn't stop me joining in with the schoolkids jumping up and down on it really hard. We'd have looked pretty silly had it given way...

Robin and a very large tower

Robin and CN Tower
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Yes, I'm back in London (straight into work from overnight flight - feeling slightly dazed).

As you'll see from the pic, yesterday myself and Robin went and explored Toronto - this was taken down by the harbour and the weather was gorgeous.

We also went up the tower (tourist-y, but surely worth it on a clear day like that...). Pictures from up there to follow...

Robin and me are in Toronto...

...but sadly, my USB chord isn't - so don't think I'll be able to share any pictures till I'm back (on Friday).

Anyone got any top Toronto tips? I've been once before, but was literally in the country for less than 14 hours, so my expertise is minimal.

From where I'm typing, I can see a massive revolving ice hockey player on the roof of a bar across the street. That seems typically Canadian, somehow.

Robin, chillin'

Robin on the Heath
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

So after we'd released Robin from the door of the phone box (see below), we took him up to the extremely lovely Hampstead Heath, which is a bit like London's version of Central Park, except hillier, not in the centre and with ponds you can swim in.

As you'll see, he buried himself in the grass and enjoyed a relaxing few hours catching some early-summer rays...

Robin! Phone box!

Robin in a phone box
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Yes, it's Robin poking his head out of the door of a traditional British telephone box. There aren't too many of them left in operation these days (they're usually modern plastic ones) but this is one of the old school types - as spotted in Hampstead, a particularly upmarket part of London.

Robin, a fish and a giant metal head

robin and a big metal head
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

This is the last of the Robin shots from our Scottish trip, taken in a wee (see, I picked up the dialect) town called Kilmarnock.

We stopped off there for a couple of hours before getting the flight home (Dawn, it wasn't a work trip - it was a fun one, crammed in among a busy time at work).

It's not the most glamourous town, but the sun was shining and everyone seemed very friendly. And all down the main shopping street they had these little scupltures built into the street. I've tried to find out more about them online (because I think they're ace) but, as yet, to no avail.

There, that's four postings in 24 hours - we haven't been this prolific since the Olympics!

Robin at Loch Lomond

robin and a loch
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

This one was taken on the way back from Mull to Glasgow Prestwick airport, when we stopped off at one of the viewing areas for Loch Lomond.

Loch Lomond is approximately 23 miles long, and up to 5 miles wide, with a maximum depth of about 190 metres (620 feet). It is the largest body of inland water in Great Britain.

The loch famously features in Andrew Lang's verse, The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond, published around 1876.

You might know the chorus:

Oh, ye'll tak the high road, and I'll tak the low road,
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

See, robintherobin.com - not just fun, but educational!

Robin on the isle of Mull

Robin on Mull
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up

Here's the second picture from our Scottish adventure. This was taken on the seafront in Tobermory on the isle of Mull, an island off the west of Scotland. All the buildings are painted different colours making for a place that looks like a toy town - which may be why a popular BBC kids show called Balamory is filmed there.

To Robin's right is the gorgeous seafront/harbour that the town is stretched around. It's a very beautiful place - well worth a visit if you're ever up that way.

Robin hits the Highlands

robin back to nature
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hello folks, hope you're all well.

Sorry for not posting for a while, I've been (as ever) rather busy.

We went up to Scotland for a few days last week (Fri to Mon) and this picture of Robin was taken on the gorgeous drive up from Glasgow to Oban (passing Loch Lomond), where we caught the ferry to the isle of Mull. Absolutely lovely scenery and, as you'll see, the weather was great.

More pics from our Scottish adventure coming soon...

www.robintherobin.com

robin addresses the world
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Those of you who come to this blog via the www.athens2004blog.com might've noticed that although you can still get to the site, you now get an annoying pop-up from UK2.net.

The best, pop-up free way to get to the blog now is to come via www.robintherobin.com - which is pretty easy to remember, even for a toy bird.

STOP PRESS: Just to clarify, using robintherobin.com will still divert you to www.athens2004blog.blogspot.com (the overall holding page for the blog, and that address is fine to use still too). But if you were using www.athens2004blog.com you will now get a pop up from UK2. Hope that makes sense.

Spring seems to have turned up

A robin and a pear tree
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

After the cloudy, grey skies in London the other day (see below) spring seems to have arrived today - as the sun shines and the sky is a deep shade of blue. Whether the thousands running the London marathon are pleased about this heat is, of course, another matter. But myself and Robin are very pleased - which is why we took this picture out of the window of our flat.

Robin meets Chris Martin from Coldplay!

christopherrobin
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Yes, a few months after he met Kylie, here's Robin going nose to beak with Chris Martin from Coldplay. As you'll see from the pic, the lovely Mr Martin was quite awed at meeting such an international star (this despite the fact he's married to Gwyneth Paltrow!) and the two chatted for a while, swapping tips about things like how to avoid being bothered in the street (Robin's advice was to 'just fly away').

Robin. And London.

robinontheroof
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up

Thought you might like to see a shot of Robin on the roof of the building where I work, which I just took during a hasty lunchbreak.

If you look very carefully you'll see the Millennium Eye big wheel over on the left and Big Ben somewhere over on the right. If you look not very carefully, you'll see clouds. Where did Spring get to?

Robin is cool!

Robin the cool dude
Originally uploaded by athens2004blog.

Hey up

Long time, no post - sorry, I've been flat out busy with work and then went to Hamburg for a few days but forgot to take Robin (that's what happens when you have to get up at 5am to catch a flight!). I did take a couple of 27 pics though if you want to see them (see 27 site link over on the links bit). Anyway, as I've not posted in ages, here's a bit of a catch-up.

The picture's of Robin in his trendy new leather jacket, about to flutter into town to wow the local chicks. (Okay, okay, he's sitting in the top of my leather glove, but you've got to admit it suits him).

I liked Vix's idea the other day about trying to think of what Robin's fans should be called. Any ideas gratefully received.

I'm also trying to think of another competition along the lines of the ones we had during the Olympics - so look out for that soon.

Any other big excitements? Well, tomorrow a bunch of us are going for an 8 mile country walk as kind of a wedding reunion - nice to get our mates back together for the first time since Athens. Oh, and Prince Charles is getting married today, but nobody that I know gives a monkeys. Was very surprised that his wedding was the top headline on the news in Germany last week. I think Brits are more excited about the Grand National horse race.

And finally, in smoothie news, this morning we had banana, milk, honey and a bag of frozen forest fruits, which worked very well blended up together - and was nice and cold because of the fruits being frozen.

That competition will be up within the next few days (just trying to think of something everybody can join in with, where's there's a definite answer at some point...)

STOP PRESS: For the benefit of Andria in Texas, and anybody else who doesn't know - forest fruit is the generic term for a bunch of fruits, usually berries, that you might find if you went wandering in a forest. We're talking blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, redcurrants, raspberries, that sort of thing. You get yoghurts, sweets (candy) and various other things in forest fruits flavour. Do they really not have that term Stateside?