IMG_3071_Minot, North Dakota, USA by D. Alberto on Flickr.

States that I have visited.

Washington DC, United States

IMG_3531_Virginia Snow by D. Alberto on Flickr.

_MG_2065_Las Vegas, NV by D. Alberto on Flickr.

IMG_3071_Minot, North Dakota, USA by D. Alberto on Flickr.

Buckingham Palace. London, UK.

Aloe Blacc & The Grand Scheme | Glastonbury Festival 2011 | 06.27.2011

Enjoy our performance from the 2011 Glastonbury Festival this past Saturday.  This performance was taken a live broadcast of the festival on BBC2.  You can check out more footage & exclusive photos here.

Buckingham Palace 

Hermitage Castle by asc_ms on Flickr.

UK Weather knows how to seduce me.

I was supposed to leave earlier this afternoon, but the weather’s so nice, I had to stay.

The forecast for the rest of the week doesn’t look so bright, though, so I’m still leaving later tonight. I can’t keep up with your mood swings, UK Weather. I’m quitting you. 

Idea submitted by teamfrenchtoast.

Out of the many “serene” moments experienced abroad, few compare to sitting in Piccadilly Circus on the night before my flight home to the US. I realized that this was the last thing I was doing in the UK after being in the country for several months. While sitting and staring at London’s world famous commercial district, I thought of all of the memories I had made there and how I felt as if I was leaving home rather than coming back. I decided that I had accomplished everything I set out to do and I had no regrets or “I wish I saw this town” moments. After reflecting on the past 5 months in England, I was perfectly content and happy with the experience.

The spot where I sat for nearly 3 hours and pondered my return home.

Buckingham Palace. London, UK.

Caisteal Abhail (847m) by golden road on Flickr.

(by pruginko)

Caisteal Abhail (847m) by golden road on Flickr.

Photo

England ;)

For hundreds of years the Household Division has been the most public and instantly recognisable section of the British Army.Since their inception all Regiments of the Army have held parades trooping their colours – or flags – for the entire world to see, but it is the seven Regiments of the Household Division whose trooping remains the most famous, and who parade every year to honour the Monarch’s birthday.

The Household Division are the monarch’s personal guard, and have been for almost half a millennium.They can be seen in and around Buckingham Palace and the London surrounds every single day.Though wearing the ceremonial red uniforms of the British Army of bygone days, every member of the Division is also a fighting soldier who spends half his time on parade and the other in combat in deadly zones such as Afghanistan, fighting often at the forefront of the whole Army.

The Division is split into two Brigades, the Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry.The Foot Guards consist of five Regiments, the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards (of which my father was a proud member for many years) Irish Guards and Welsh Guards.The Household Cavalry consists of two Regiments, the Lifeguards and the Blues and Royals.Both these Regiments ride horses on parade and tanks into battle, unlike the Foot Guards who are infantrymen.

To list the histories of each of the seven Regiments in the Division would literally take a volume of books, for to do so would be to detail the history of the British Army itself.For as long as there has been an army the Guards have been at the forefront of the fighting.The oldest of the Regiments, the Lifeguards, was founded in 1658.Between them the seven have as many battle honours as the sum total of some other nation’s entire armies.

The wait. by BeboFlickr on Flickr.

“Let’s adore and endure each other” on Flickr.

Fuji chrome provia 400f is my new favourite photography filter

I love its grain, its texture, its kick to the reds&greens and its contrast - especially for night photography

A tribute to it

Scotland - 1993 by Chris&Steve on Flickr.

Sunset on the sea by little_frank on Flickr.

Malarky & Billy — Summer Breeze by Hookedblog on Flickr.

Malarky

http://www.hookedblog.co.uk/2011/06/malarky-billy-summer-breeze-exhibition.html

Photo

K20

Alan Carr with Chris Moyles by The Chris Moyles Show - Radio 1 on Flickr.

Take me back.

Last Minute Revision by Fruit-Dude-Fred on Flickr.

Free-Market Babies?

By Donna Dickenson

Posted on May 24, 2011

Does India need a new independence struggle? The fight this time would not be against British colonialism, but rather against the United Kingdom’s approach to regulating reproductive medicine. At a time when India is considering a sort of matchmaking service for Western couples seeking to hire Indian surrogate mothers, the UK government has announced the abolition of two leading medical regulatory agencies.

Meanwhile, as these countries move farther down the road to free markets in reproductive medicine, France is debating all of its bioethics laws — and continuing to stand up for a different model, focused on social justice and protection of vulnerable women. There is an alternative simply to letting the market decide, the French Assembly insists.

At some point, many countries are likely to find themselves embroiled in similar debates and controversies over reproductive rights and obligations. So it is necessary to clarify what is at stake in how we regulate — or de-regulate — in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg sales, and surrogacy.

Read more in Project Syndicate.

colorful houses line the streets in Brighton, England, UK.

Green house… only in Brighton.

Royal Pavilion and gardens in Brighton, England, UK.

Photo

This is an impressive part of the ruins of Fountains Abbey, a Cistercian monastery built in 1132, near Ripon, North Yorkshire, UK.  (by Jim Moran)

Manchester, seen from Booth Street.

United Kingdom explained

Castle Howard, England, UK