Early birthday celebration back at the Clog

It’s a couple of days before my birthday but this year for a change it falls on a working day (often I’m lucky and it falls on the bank holiday weekend) . So this year we thought about a family Sunday lunch and as I get to choose the venue (within reason – my Dad and Carole’s Mum don’t do “foreign” food…) I opted to go back to the Clog & Billycock, fast becoming our favourite local pub.

The Clog serves traditional, indeed mainly local, food exceptionally well and today was no exception – between us we selected a range of starters and mains including smoked salmon, fish pie, cheese and onion pie and a traditional Lancashire hotpot - delicious!

I can remember the Clog being a local pub, a bit scruffy and not really a place you'd go out of your way to. A few years ago though chef Nigel Haworth from nearby Northcote Manor took it over and turned it into a refined yet relaxed 'gastro-pub' with locally sourced ingredients and a traditionally-inspired menu.

Back at home and as if by magic a birthday cake appeared, thankfully with just the one candle (not sure I'd have had the puff to blow out the other 40 that were missing as well!), a nice way to finish a great afternoon.

Success at the L&CPU competition (the big one!)

The results of this year's L&CPU competitions were published earlier today, meaning scores for all the photographs submitted from every camera club and photographic society across Lancashire and Cheshire were available. The L&CPU competitions cover natural history, monochrome and general colour images in both print and digital formats and the standard is always exceptionally high.

The best clubs, such as Wigan 10 (an elite group of experts who's purpose is simply to win cometitions) dominated as usual but for me there's nothing wrong with that - they set the standards for the rest of us.

My club, Darwen, enters more in hope rather than expectation, but the good news this year is that whilst my entries overall had some mixed scores (some distictly average), two of my prints scored high marks and have been retained for the folios - the travelling exhibition of the best images that will be visiting each club/society over the next 12 months. This is some achievement: only one other image from the club's 44 entries was retained this year and this has been the best return by the club for several years.

There are three judges who decide the marks, each awarding up to five marks each to give a score out of 15. My best print was the Eagle Owl picture taken last summer which scored 13, meaning one of the judges must have awarded top marks. The other one retained was my black & white abstract, which scored 11.

Through this I'd also made it onto the L&CPU's list for print Photographer of the Year - being down in 49th place I won't be picking up any awards but I'm told it's the first time in recent years that anyone from the club has made it onto the list.

The L&CPU offer credits and distinctions for the best photographers (not sure of how this happens though I believe a seperate portfolio of work is assessed for this), so this is the challenge for next year - there's lots of ways I can do better next year so the work starts now!

Capturing the spray

Reading photography magazines, there’s loads of ideas around to practice different techniques or try particular effects. Having not taken any pictures for a week or so I was looking for something different to try and with the evening sunlight particularly strong tonight I headed out into the garden to look for inspiration.

Thinking about water as a subject matter, I picked up an ordinary hand-held garden spray and wondered if the camera could capture the water droplets as they are ejected at high speed.

With the camera on a tripod and the spray positioned on our little garden table, I spent a while trying to get the shot I was looking for, using a remote shutter release so that I could control the spray without behind the camera at the same time.

The best efforts were backlit by the sun but with the garden fence directly behind the water to act as a dark background. There were plenty of shots that were fractionally too early and some that were too late, but I quickly worked out the best timings and this was about the best result.

It won’t be a competition winner but it was good practice using the tripod and understanding the lighting conditions, and it meant I escaped from the usual round of soaps on the telly!

All red at the Boar’s Head

The Boar’s Head at Hoghton is an old haunt of mine from years ago when I’d often meet up there with the lads for a few beers after they’d finished a shift at the nearby Boatyard Inn. As well as being a local’s pub it’s always served pub meals too – for a long time it was a Brewer’s Fayre pub: cheap but not always particularly cheerful grub, too often bland and ordinary and clearly heated up in a microwave.

Times have moved on though and nowadays the restaurant area is modern, light and airy, and the menu much more sophisticated without being pretentious. The red decor seemed to complement Carole’s red top and her large glass of rosé wine.

It was one of those evenings when cooking ourselves didn’t seem appealing, so here we were treating ourselves – Carole picking out a chicken dish with leeks and mushrooms followed by rhubarb crumble and me a Thai green curry and then a Bailey’s cheesecake.

The food was very impressive, well presented and very tasty – it’s a place we’ll no doubt be heading back to again sometime soon.

Running up Everest

Although it's most definitely been a relaxing week, I've also been hitting the gym on a regular basis as well as taking a couple of runs before breakfast.

All this effort came about partly from a desire to explore Cala Llonga but also determination to come home weighing no more than when I left, despite all the fantastic food and drink available in the hotel.

Being close to the shore, my route started relatively flat, around the bay and over to the jetty across the water opposite to the hotel. From here a series of over 100 steps climbs up the hillside, past cactuses and a nunber of apartment buildings, leading eventually to a quiet road.

Previously I'd followed the road back downhill into Cala Llonga, but today I carried on towards the headland to see the view along the coast to Santa Eulalia, where we visited earlier in the week. The early morning mist over the bay was just lifting in the distance and already the sun was warm.





Back on the road I retraced my steps and then carried on down the steep hills back into Cala Llonga. My Spanish isn't great but the hills here must have inspired the council as al the roads in the town are named after famous mountains around the world, and this one is Carrer des munt Everest - and I understand why!

Exploring the island

Behind the hotel the road ends, but a track continues climbing the hillside behind. Before we'd flown out I'd seen some pictures on Google earth which suggested it was worth exploring and by now spending most of the day on a sunlounger was starting to grate too, so the thought of spending a couple of hours doing something different had become more appealing.

So by mid-morning I put my trainers on and set off to see where this track led. The climb was continuous and in places quite steep, but with the trees shading the sun it was no more exhausting than a summer's walk at home.

The track continued after doubling back on itself, and, still climbing, reached a level platform with outstanding views over Cala Llonga and the surrounding countryside - well worth the effort. The track continued further to the top of the hill before disappearing to nothing, but the trees block out any better views from there, so this spot overlooking the beach and town provided the best views.

Back at the pool I just had time to cool down before lunch, and then back to the sunbed for another relaxed afternoon.

Santa Eulalia

Today was the day we decided to take the ferry up the coast to Santa Eulalia. Carole's not great on boats, especially small ones, but the water in the bay has been exceptionally calm since the storm on Saturday so it felt like worth the risk.

We wandered over to the little jetty we'd visited earlier in the week and before long a busy boat chugged in. We sat and watched smugly as it was ten minutes before ours was due and this one was clearly going to Ibiza town in the opposite direction, but even so several other tourists herded themselves onboard before being shepherded off again.

We were soon underway on the right boat, leaving our hotel behind as we zipped over the calm waters in the bay. But once we reached the headland, the strong currents of the Meditteranean hit the boat hard making it roll heavily in the water. This set the scene for the rest of the journey up the coast and Carole was not impressed.

Santa Eulalia is a much bigger resort and first impressions from the water are impressive. The seafront here is a good couple of miles long, with plenty of bars, cafes and restaurants in between the apartments, and in the middle is a very browsable market.

There was plenty to explore and further along we found some trees to give us some shelter from the strong sun - and it's only May! Being all-inclusive at the hotel, they had prepared a picnic for us to take with us, and amongst the palms with a view across the sea we found a picturesque place to eat it.

In the picnic bag we found rolls, cooked meats and salami, cheese, pate, apples and, a little bizarrely, a tin of tuna, which wasn't so easy to identify when still in its box - I wondered if it was that weird cheese with the maggots in, but that's just me being a paranoid Englishman abroad (apparently that's Corsica not Ibiza).

We then visited the markets where Carole successfully haggled for a couple of bracelets - typical souvenirs for the holidaymakers. Heading back towards the jetty where the boat came in, we spotted a bar selling a fantastic selection of ice creams, and sitting outside there was a good view along the beach and the turquoise sea.

Suitably refreshed, we then visted the large harbour, full of rich people's toys, some of which were for sale (if you have at least €500,000 spare). This was a tranquil yet sophisticated part of town and is clearly a stopping off point for people on sailing holidays. Almost twenty years ago I had a couple of fantastic sailing holidays around some of the Greek islands in the Aegean, and this place brought back lots of memories.

Eventually it was time to make our way back for the ferry, and before long we were on our way back. The sea was just as choppy and again the waves were hitting the boat from the side, making it roll severely. Carole was mightily relieved to be back on dry land.

Back in the hotel, we'd booked a meal tonight in the hotel's Japanese restaurant, one of three evenings over the course of the week where we could eat in one of the hotel's two themed restaurants. This was a new experience for us so when we saw the menu listing a series of cold sushi and another of hot, we weren't sure what to do!

With the waiter's help we made our selections (seemingly it's one dish from each list per person), but whilst the food was delicious and beautifully presented it didn't particularly fill us up. At least there was a dessert course (fried banana - eastern cuisine doesn't really do desserts) and this just about filled us up. Lovely food and a great experience (although being outdoors in the evening was bracing), but perhaps not one we'll try again.

Back indoors, tonight's entertainment was a one-man show by a chap named Jesus. But after a couple of numbers where he alternated between playing a synthesizer, 'singing' and running in and out of the audience so that he could give himself applause we decided it wasn't for us so we upped and left and took our drinks back to our room to relax after our hectic day.

Show me some of that Spanish dancing

The beach at Cala Llonga requires some work on it, judging by the team of workmen moving and sifting the sand around ever since we've arrived.

It got us thinking, cynically perhaps, that maybe the beach isn't all it seems. There's no tide in the bay but there's a pronounced lip where the beach meets the sea which doesn't seem quite natural. Are the workmen simply removing any debris accumumated over the winter or are they adding new sand and levelling the beach for the summer season?

Whatever the reason, there were plenty sunbathers on the beach and in the water during the day and the heavy machinery stayed well out of the way.

We broke off from sunbathing and snoozing to take another walk in the town during the day this time. Carole wanted to see if there was anything of interest in the shops, so off we went to explore before siesta time.


Back at the hotel, and after another excellent meal (the food here is really fantastic) we were entertained in the bar, firstly by the resident hotel entertainers with their multi-lingual bingo (great if you're trying to learn the numbers 1-90 in German), and then the highlight of tonight's show, a group of flamenco dancers, who kept us entertained with their distinctive dancing late into the evening.

Relaxing in the sun

The plan for today revolved around relaxing by the pool, liquid refreshment, food, perhaps a little sleep and maybe a little swim. The sun was out and the temperature was pleasantly warm, though at this time of year it takes a brave person to jump in the pool early on.

Last night the cloud had thickened up whist we were eating our evening meal, and by the time we'd finished and made our way to the bar there was an impressive thunderstorm raging outside that lasted an hour or so. It seemed to do the trick though as throughout the day today there hasn't been a cloud in the sky.

Facing east, the sun sets inland over the town and the hills behind, so there's no sunsets out at sea to witness. The light in the evening was fantastic though, and as the sun started to go down we took a stroll into the small town centre to find our bearings and see what was there.

Cala Llonga is only a small place, just a few bars and restaurants as well as a handful of stores selling beach stuff, sun cream, clothes and souvenirs. From the centre, streets lead off, each housing a number of apartment blocks. This is only the second week of the season and we got the impression that throughout the winter the place would be almost deserted, but by now though things were coming together and the restaruanteurs were optimistic, advertising their fayre along with the obligatory Sky Sports. With most of the guests at our hotel being all-inclusive, they would be hoping for plenty of custom from guests in the many apartments dotted about.

Walking round the beach, the road heads out towards a small jetty, that we'd seen from across the bay from our hotel. All day the local ferries had been calling in here, bringing locals and tourists along the coast from Ibiza town further west to Santa Eulalia to the east. We'd heard about this earlier in the day from the local rep and the trip to Santa Eulalia was something we planned to try later in the week. For now though, we saw out the last light of the day before retracing our steps back to the hotel and a refreshing drink (or two) back in the bar.

Ibiza-bound!

We're both looking forward to a well-earned break in the sun, and having booked our holiday only a few weeks ago it's come along surprisingly quickly. It was an early start this morning - 1:45am alarm - but it's amazing how the thought of a relaxing holiday gets you awake even at that time of day!

Our destination was Ibiza, one of the Balearic Islands about 100 miles off the coast of Spain. Ibiza has a lively reputation but our hotel was in a quieter part of the island in the small resort of Cala Llonga.

Landing at the airport the weather was disappointingly overcast and no warmer than Manchester, but the holiday reps who transferred us to our hotel promised the forecast for the rest of the week was good.

The advantage of a really early flight is that you can be out by the pool by early afternoon, and even though the cloud stubbornly remained, it was thin enough for the sun to warm things up. Let's hope for some good weather for the rest of the week!