Yeah!! It's my 1 year in London anniversary!  I arrived on the 15th of June 2006!

The new job is going good but tiring. I'm replacing Junior, a brazilian guy who is now going to go back to Brazil. After 6 years in the company he is longing to go back to his beloved country. And I've unherited of all his work....... So New job, more money but more headaches, less time for other things... That's life folks! As a friend told me:  When you are young, you have health and time but no money. When you've grown up and have a job, you have money and health but no time. And finally when you get old, you have time and money but not health!". Well, but anyway, I will try to save some little time to spend with the ones I love and to do things I like! 

Last November, I've been contacted by Sarah-Jane Dalby, an actress from Australia working for ITV in London. She wanted to update her portfolio and asked me for help with this. We then arrange a meeting in Ealing Broadway for an outdoor photoshoot. It was great and she was quite an easy person to work with. And it was great to talk about Australia. Good luck Sarah!

Pham Quynh Anh

Born on January 16, 1987, singer Pham Quynh Anh was a student at the Saint Stanislas School in Mons of Belgium, where the family has lived for a number of years. She finished her secondary studies in June 2005, and though bright enough to attend university, she decided to pursue a music career instead of becoming a doctor like her father.

Beginning at a young age, Quynh Anh received lessons in musical notation and lyrical singing at the Academy of Mons, as well as guitar lessons. In addition, she went out of her way to participate in many different types of cultural performances in her small city of Mons. Her parents noticed very early her aptitude for music and with her family, she took part in the charity Espoir (Hope), which organised performances of folk tales to raise awareness of cultural issues and humanitarian needs.

"Someday I will go there, one day, I'€™ll say hello to your soul. Someday I will go there (to) say hello to you, Viet Nam."
 For many people first hearing this song, it is difficult to keep emotions under wraps. The sweet voice of the Vietnamese-Belgian singer and the heart-felt lyrics have attracted a lot of attention, attention other Vietnamese singers would die for. All this and the song has not yet even been officially launched.
"Bonjour Viet Nam" by Marc Lavoine, a famous French composer and singer, has been making waves in Vietnamese communities all over the world since it was posted on the Internet in January. The song likely owes a lot of its success to Pham Quynh Anh, the singer, a young Belgian woman who knows Viet Nam only through her parents'€™ stories.

Original (French) lyrics:

Raconte-moi ce nom étrange et difficile à prononcer
Que je porte depuis que je suis née
Raconte-moi le vieil empire et le trait de mes yeux bridés
Qui disent mieux que moi ce que tu n'oses dire
Je ne sais de toi que des images de la guerre
Un film de Coppola, des hélicoptères en colère
Un jour, j'irai là-bas
Un jour, dire bonjour à ton âme
Un jour, j'irai là-bas
Te dire bonjour, Vietnam
Raconte-moi ma couleur, mes cheveux et mes petits pieds
Qui me portent depuis que je suis née
Raconte-moi ta maison, ta rue, raconte-moi cet inconnu
Les marchés flottants et les sampans de bois
Je ne connais de mon pays que des photos de la guerre
Un film de Coppola, des hélicoptères en colère
Un jour, j'irai là-bas
Un jour, dire bonjour à mon âme
Un jour, j'irai là-bas
Te dire bonjour, Vietnam
Les temples et les Bouddhas de pierre pour mes pères
Les femmes courbées dans les rizières pour mes mères
Dans la prière, dans la lumière, revoir mes frères
Toucher mon arbre, mes racines, ma terre
Un jour, j'irai là-bas
Un jour, dire bonjour à mon âme
Un jour, j'irai là-bas
Te dire bonjour, Vietnam
Te dire bonjour, Vietnam
More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmania.com/bonjour_vietnam_lyrics_quynh_anh.html
All about Quynh Anh: http://www.musictory.com/music/Quynh+Anh

English lyrics:

Tell me all about this name, that is difficult to say.
It was given me the day I was born.
Want to know about the stories of the empire of old.
My eyes say more of me than what you dare to say.
All I know of you is all the sights of war.
A film by Coppola, the helicopter's roar.
One day I'll touch your soil.
One day I'll finally know my soul.
One day I'll come to you.
To say hello... Vietnam.
Tell me all about my colour, my hair and my little feet
That have carried me every mile of the way.
Want to see your house, your streets. Show me all I do not know.
Wooden sampans, floating markets, light of gold.
All I know of you is the sights of war.
A film by Coppola, the helicopter's roar.
One day I'll touch your soil.
One day I'll finally know my soul.
One day I'll come to you.
To say hello... Vietnam.
And Buddha’s made of stone watch over me
My dreams they lead me through the fields of rice
In prayer, in the light…I see my kin
I touch my tree, my roots,my begin
One day I'll touch your soil.
One day I'll finally know my soul.
One day I'll come to you.
To say hello... Vietnam.
One day I’ll walk your soil
One day I’ll finally know my soul
One day I’ll come to you
To say hello…Vietnam
To say hello…Vietnam
To say xin chào… Vietnam

Vietnamese lyrics:

Bạn hãy nói cho tôi biết chăng, về họ, tên mà tôi đã mang,
về miền quê mà tôi ngày đêm luôn nhớ mong.
Lòng tôi mong biết đất nước tôi, đất nước đã có bao đời, 
Được nhìn bằng đôi mắt của mình được trở về cuội nguồn của tôi
Và tôi mới biết về đất nước tôi qua phim,
Bầy trực thăng bay trên cao, tàn phá xóm thôn nhỏ bé
Ước mong về thăm chốn thiêng
Mong sao quê hương dang tay đón tôi
Mong ước đến ngày trở về
Lòng tôi yêu mến, Việt nam.
Bạn hãy nói tới mái tóc đen, tới đôi chân nhỏ bé
và màu da đã ngày đêm cùng tôi lớn lên
Và mong sao đôi chân sẽ bước lên, tới những nơi tôi chưa từng đến
Để được nghe bài dân ca êm dịu lướt trên sông
Và tôi mới biết, về đất nước tôi qua phim
Bầy trực thăng bay trên cao, tàn phá xóm thôn nhỏ bé
Ước mong về thăm đất nước tôi
Quê hương bao năm tôi đã cách xa
Mong ước đến ngày trở về
Lòng tôi yêu mến Việt nam
Tôi sẽ theo cha về thăm làng quê, tổ tiên
Tôi đến thăm cô nông dân cấy lúa cùng Má
Trong hương khói, trong hư vô, anh tôi nơi đâu
Như cây có gốc, tôi yêu,đất nước tôi
Ước mong về thăm đất nước tôi
Mong sao quê hương dang tay đón tôi
Tôi sẽ thăm những dòng sông
Đồng quê xanh mát Việt nam
Ước mong về thăm chốn thiêng
Mong sao quê hương dang tay đón tôi
Mong ước đến ngày về thăm
Lòng tôi yêu mến Việt nam
Lòng tôi vang tiếng Việt nam
Lòng tôi xin chào Việt Nam

Photography with some other models: Sky Bliss, Jamil James & Benadette Vong. Please check my portfolio.

On the 11th of September 2006, I've joined Lidl store in Hanwell in the meantime waiting for a good job in web development and continue to accept job in Freelance. And this week I've just signed for a new job as a web developper for Marven Ltd a website creation company in Fulham. That is a great news! Thanks as well to Wrapit Ltd (online wedding list company).

Well, it's been a long time I didn't post anything in that blog.

What's up here?  Well I work for the moment at Hanwell's Lidl, just at 5 minutes from home and also working as a freelance web developper and still doing photography.

I've join a camera club in Ealing:  the Ealing & Hampshire House Photographic Society. The EHHPS is a small club but the the level is quite high. We have a meeting every Thursday night at the Ealing's Town Hall. If you want more informations, please visit the club's website: EHHPS website.

In the mean time, I had a photoshoot session with a beginner model Abdul Rehman, you can visit his online portfolio.

A plot to blow up planes from UK to U had been disrupted. London's airports have been put under the restrictions.

Thursday the 10th of August 2006. I've planned to fly to France for a friend's birthday and then another one's wedding. After lots of problems to get to the airport: delays at the tube stations, missed the coach to the airport, get on the taxi to Liverpool Street to take the train, I've arrived at the airport 30 minutes before the departure time! The taxi driver told us that there were some problem at Heathrow and Gatwick airport.

Arrived at Stansted airport to get on the RyanAir FR632 Flight, theinformations displays show that the flight had been cancelled. Theairport was crowed and there were a lot of police men. Ryan air'sinformation point was saturated, the waiting queue was hundred mileslong! We've been told to go home and connect to the Ryan air's websiteto rebook for free or cancel for total refund.

What happened? The day before, a terror plot hadbeen disrupted at Heathrow airport. The terrorists were willing to blowup planes flying from UK to US using liquid explosives that they wouldbuild on board.  UK's airports are in high alert state. From since,hundreds off lights have been cancelled, and on authorized flights,people were not allowed to take any liquid or any container/boxes onboard.

Here are some photographs taken at Stansted airport.

Well, the car's problem had been fixed! It actually was the vacuum pipe that was broken so air and water got inside!

Right after taking back my Peugeot 205, with some friends of mine, we went to Stratford saying hello to William Shakespear. It is a nice place full of tourists! We took the bus for the tour and only managed to visit 3 places of the tour because of the time we arrived.

Here are some pictures:

To get to London from Montpellier, I took my car, an Peugeot 205 of 1996. I bought that car about two years ago and really like it even if it is quite old. The fact is this car is a good one with quite low fuel consumption and can be self repaired and the componants can be find in nearly every garage.

One other thing I do appreciate in my car is that it have the 'Air Conditioning', electric windows and centralized doors locking system. This is quite rare for a Peugeot 205.

But poor little car, it run too far away from home, about 1500 Kmcarrying me and all my stuff! It is now in a garage waiting to berepaired. At first I thought it was the battery, then I've been toldthat it was the starter motor but in fact it is the alternator... wellI hope this is the final!

Here is the alternator (under the bottle of cooling liquid):

One of the things I do appreciate in London is the parks. There are a lots of big beautiful parks in the city.

I went to one of them this weekend: Richmond Park. I drive from side to side, but can't remember in which direction and it was 3Km long! One other thing that is amazing is the animals, you can see rabbits and even stags. I was able to take two of them in pictures at only a few meters away (see below).

The Park is really beautiful, the landscape is diversified. This is a great place for a walk, roller skating, cycling and picnic

Anyway, I'll be back there for some more photography.

Here are some pictures taken at the Richmond Park. Thanks to Minh-Sa for pictures of me.

London, here I am!

I arrived on the 15th of June with my little Peugeot 205 from Montpellier.
I left Montpellier on the 12th and stopped at 'Orléans' to visit my cousin her husband and their daughter and then I went to 'Le Mans' visiting one of my best friend. On the 15th of June, I headed to 'Calais' for the ferry to Dover. My car battery was down on my way from 'Le Mans' to 'Calais', hopefully I managed to make it self recharge on the way to London and changed for a new one the day after my arrival.All the trip was about 1500 Km long. It was very exhausting.

Yesterday I went to Richmond Park with my girl friend, it is an amazing place. I love it!

Today is my 5th day in Ealing. I went to the local Job Center Plus to apply for a NI number.