Nick...these are beautiful I'm so glad you had such a wonderful time

I hope your kids look like Mon.

Oh, it looks like you had a really dull time. You must be from one of the ex colonies, right?

CortestheKiller said:

Me too.

I think I should reply to everyone individually.

Natisse said:

Thanks Natisse. And I know you were disappointed we didn't arrange to meet you. I can only say I'm sorry and hope somehow you understand. It's a fault in me.

Oh, and sorry about that 'likes to brutally murder prostitutes' comment.

Shanti1 said:

Thanks Val. We're going to get the pics printed up soon. These will actually be the first hard copies of pics we've had for years.

Ok, it would be horribly self-indulgent to reply to all the posts separately (unlike the rest of this thread), so this makes more sense:

BlueOrchid: Thanks. I drank a lot of tea on the trip, and even with milk sometimes. I just thought "hell, why not?" Maybe I'm not such a tea snob after all.

Jers: Yep. Back since the 5th. Back to family drama and some perfect weather right now. Sums up my life in Thailand pretty well actually. How are you?

Heiress: Thank you. Yes, despite me the overall attractiveness average ends up still quite high.

SureThing: We had a ball. Thank you. That was during a long walk up the hill that my father dragged us on.

Carrie: Thanks. I was bummed that I forgot to fix my camera before the trip. I don't think the pics turned out too badly though considering I had to use my father's old 2MP camera. Was very happy with them in the end.

Shanna: Thank you.

Virginie: Thank you. I did me best.

Apples: Hello you! And thank you! Words can't explain how amazing it was to be back with my family and with Mon there! It was surreal. Just having breakfast the way we do in the UK, or stopping for a pint in a pub whilst out driving round the Cotswolds was great. Everything took on an extra meaning and was more enjoyable for seeing it through Mon's eyes for the first time. That and we just had a ball going to London and stuff.

dribbler: ex-colonies? no. But you're right, it was dull as anything.

Those are great!
I love to see more!

littlemissG said:

Thanks G. Give me a few mins. I'll see what I can do.

ok, last lot

xmas tree in the lounge at my parents' house:



visiting the vineyard where my brother bought my father a vine for his birthday. He has a sign with his name on it in one of the rows, but just gets deals on the wine, of course, rather than actually owning a vine and only getting his wine from those particular grapes.



My father and I:



The London Eye and Thames river again:



Mon outside the front of my parents' house in her winter get-up:



My father and mother at a Thai restaurant in Cheltenham the night before our flight back to Thailand:

cool pics! do you miss living in the u.k. at all or was it nice to be there but glad to be home?

Great pics, mate.

Agree with Mach; that soft focus is applied right. Esp the cab pic.

Even though she looks like; "Take me hooooome" LoL

Mon is gorgeous, Nick.

Glad you enjoyed home soil.

I'll see you in Thailand.

Spookymuffin said:

Cheers!

It's a gorgeous morning here. I no longer yearn for the (mildly) cold weather of England. I've had my fill.

Fauxie said:

England's not cold enough these days...just miserable - it sucks!

Spookymuffin said:

I was surprised how mild it was. Mon was trying to go out without a jacket on, though I insisted she did. It was only 8 or 9 degrees colder than here most days (that is, compared to the mornings here this time of year).

I didn't find it miserable because I was on holiday.

Fauxie said:

Ok - well it is now you've left. Grey and rainy! I like freezing but sunny.

Spookymuffin said:

Perfect timing then. I like it cold and sunny too. The weather was like that nearly every day when I went to NZ in the winter. Not sure if it's always like that, but it was great.

Christopher said:

I got a little emotional on the plane back because I missed my parents and how much fun we'd been having staying there. Every time I'd been back in the last 6 years I was so caught up in missing Mon and wanting the time to fly by so I could get back to her that I, rather shamefully perhaps, never missed my parents or felt bad when leaving. This time she was with me and I wanted to stay there longer. I think I also realised that I've been neglecting my parents while living out here, not emailing enough, let alone phoning them (which I hardly ever did). It just suddenly struck me how disconnected over the last few years I'd become with their day to day lives, for 6 weeks having spent time with them again seeing how they live, what they do, where they go, how they feel about things, and made me wonder if I could have spent even more time with them while I was there. To be honest, I felt pretty down for a few days when I got back here, but have settled back in now. Mon shared lots of the same feelings as myself and we just had to cheer each other up. It's a testament to what an amazing time we had and how good my parents were (and are) to us.

Great to see your pics. Very nice

This is a great shot of your wife...



I bet she's thinking, "One more Guinness? One more Guinness my arse! But I love ya so I'll just stare at you with this pretty face as a subtle gesture to get your skates on!"

I like the one of her in the cab and at the tea shop too. So glad you introduced her to grass roots football as well That's my boy

The one of your father on Cleeve Hill is a beautiful frame. It so quintessentially speaks of rural England. It's deserves to be larger in size.

This one's nice also...

senik said:

Thanks Senik. I really like that one of Mon too. And I think the other one's a particularly nice pic of my parents.

Mon loved the football, but there was some guy with a santa hat in front of us blocking her view some of the time. Cheltenham played some great football and went two up before half time only to surrender two goals, the second in the final minute. Still, good times.

About the larger size of the trees pic, I wish it were in better resolution, but unfortunately my father's camera is only 2MP with a maximum size of 1600 x 1200. Shoulda remembered to fix my camera.