One common refrain after the BNP made an appearance on Question Time last year was that if only more people went out and voted then right-wing extremists would not get elected. Of course that’s not the whole story but there’s some truth in that. Since we will have a General Election this time next week this becomes a very important point.

This got me thinking about my experience with the British electoral system. As far as I can remember, I’ve voted in every election that I have been eligible except for those when I have not been at home. In fact I was in California in this last election when Griffin was elected to the European parliament.

I’ve not been to Oxford for… um… since I was seventeen and applying to various universities around the UK. I remember having a fun trip last time but I have zero recollection of where we went and have no photos.

At first I thought that might happen again. Not because I’m suffering from amnesia but because when I arrived it was raining pretty heavily and, for a while, it seemed that the hotel might be a better option than trudging around in the rain.

As ever I had trouble with this weeks PhotoFriday theme, “Blurred.” I have plenty of blurry pictures but this implies something a little more deliberate. So, this image of a speeding car in Wimbledon.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, Pleasure.” I’m entry number 212.

I should probably apologise in advance for the puns.

This weeks PhotoFriday is “Cleanliness.” I came up with a number of ideas, a few of which I tried, most of which didn’t work. Then I decided that the various liquids kept under the kitchen sink might be suitable since they tend to be used to keep things clean. While fairly colourful it wasn’t quite enough. It needed something else.

• On Apple suing HTC – Like many people, I just don’t see Apple’s actions here being very constructive. Seems like a waste of money and good will.
• Curiosity – “Curiosity is one of the most underrated phenomena in the world. It’s ironic that people aren’t more curious about curiosity. It’s a powerful thing.”

I’ve missed the New Year celebrations on the 31st December for about fifteen years now so it’s getting beyond the point where you could consider it an accident. Indeed, the cold and the crowds both in Trafalgar Square and afterwards on the Tube don’t exactly encourage me to make an effort. Luckily Chinese New Year is at a more civilised time, is less busy and slightly warmer.

Still, it’s the first time I’ve ever made it!

Don’t you just hate it when this happens? You try to push the cork-screw into the bottle and it just ends up pushing the cork right into the bottle.

I got a lot done and with the ninety minutes I saved by not commuting I went to the gym, but there are problems with working from home…

I always associate snow with “Winter“, this weeks PhotoFriday theme, so the above was an obvious candidate for my entry. It was taken not far from home in some of the worst weather we’ve had in the UK for a good few years.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Homemade.” I’m entry number 158.

Photographing concerts is hard. This one of Blackroom at the Water Rats in London was no exception.

It’s dark and with fast movement, which is a bad combination in itself. Low light implies longer shutter speeds; movement implies the exact opposite.

But just in case you managed to figure out how best to cope with low light and animated performers, there’s the added bonus of bright, flashing lights. This throws off the automatic metering that the camera performs, leading to a dark blur or a white blur, neither particularly appealing.