A few more pictures of Canterbury:

The Blind Dog pub, one of our local haunts in Canterbury

Sitting in front of the pub, could this actually be the Blind Dog? He was certainly the Deaf Dog, as he seemed to take no notice of me snapping his picture.

Apparently, loose women are nothing new to Canterbury.

Always the sign of a good neighbourhood.

Another excuse to take my new lens out for a test drive — a walk around Canterbury to take photos of some of the buildings around here. At least it will give everyone a feel for where I live, if you haven’t been here yourself.

I’ve decided to make an investment in the lenses for my camera. Initially, I thought I wanted a high-quality zoom lens, but after reading an article entitled The Forgotten Lens by Gary Voth, I changed my mind. I decided to buy a 35mm lens (equivalent to a 50mm lens on a film camera) and change my approach to photography. Instead of using a zoom lens, I’ll be zooming with my feet for a little while.

I bought a lens from a retiring professional off eBay, and took it out today to take some test shots. I’m really pleased with it — the image quality is great, really contrasty and with well-saturated colours; I love being able to shoot indoors without a flash; and the control of the depth-of-field is fantastic. I know every pro will tell you this ad nauseum, but it really is the quality of lenses that makes all the difference. Here are some of my very quick test shots, largely unretouched in Photoshop (autolevels, crop, image size is all I did to these)

I just looked back to my first entry on this blog, just over a year ago, and what an amazing journey it’s been. Three jobs with three companies. Travel to Thailand, USA, France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Reunion Islands, Mauritius. Nearly Malaysia and Alaska. A new house. One (careless) prang of the car. Nearly 25,000 miles around the M25. Countless birthday parties, dinner parties, and other celebrations. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Friends coming, and sadly, even more friends going.

I never kept a diary when I was younger, which is a shame. It’s amazing how much you forget. But you cover a lot of ground almost without noticing.

I don’t know if anyone else has enjoyed or appreciated my blog. But reading back over the past year, I’m glad I’ve maintained it — if only to remind myself where I’ve been.

Imagine the story it will tell ten years from now.

Just a quick note to say bon voyage to our world travellers, Sandro and Virginie, who are taking six months to travel around the world.

Sandro and Virginie looking smug about their trip

While they may look smug about their trip, and on the face of it I am very jealous, I’m sure I’ll feel less jealous when they’ve both got a case of Delhi Belly in the middle of Asia without a flush toilet or toilet paper for 700 miles.

They’ve threatened to start a blog like mine — we’re anxiously awaiting news of their travels!

Many years ago, when I was a young boy of five, my mother asked me about the highlight of my day. “Lunch,” I replied cheerfully, reassuring her that the thousands of dollars she was spending each year for my private education was money well spent. Always an overachiever, I managed to capitalise on my love of lunch and was awarded with the “Best Eater” award.

I know that Andy Warhol believes that we all get our 15 minutes of fame. I’m just concerned that by earning “Best Eater” in kindergarten, I might have peaked a little early. I’m imagining my obituary now.

But I digress. What do I love most about my new job? Is it the fact that I’m surrounded by hyper-intelligent colleagues who stimulate me and provoke lots of new ideas? Or is it the newfound responsibility that I’m enjoying most? Maybe it’s the chance to work with industry-leading clients at board level to deliver real change right across their business?

Nope, it’s the canteen. After years of eating in the mediocre canteens of some of the largest companies in the world, I’m absolutely blown away by the quality and variety of the food we have at our office. Today, for example, I had grilled lamb steak with a red wine and mustard reduction, served with sautéed baby potatoes and a trio of julienne vegetables. For dessert, I had a caramelised tarte tatin with crème anglaise. And a glass of fresh-pressed apple juice.

Frankly, it’s better – in terms of quality, presentation, and definitely in terms of value-for-money – than much of what I’ve had in many restaurants in the UK. And it’s leaps and bounds ahead of anything I’ve had in any other canteen, bar none. If the staff canteen is like this, I can only imagine the culinary delights that await me in the client entertainment rooms. I really am blown away.

So there it is. Nearly a month in the job and the highest praise I can offer is that “lunch is my favourite part of the day.”

Still, I suppose there’s something about maintaining purity of form. I look forward to my annual appraisal.