If you have read "The God Delusion" by Prof. Richard Dawkins of Oxford Uni, or have seen "Root of All Evil?" on TV; or have read "The Selfish Gene" or if you've just generally been swept up in the craze, you will understand the significance of this. Otherwise, just enjoy Oxford's splendid copy of the bridge in Venice!

And then, just yesterday, we we back in England's other great university town, Cambridge. We were informed that Trinity College here is the 3rd biggest landholder in the UK after the Royal Family and the National Trust, with assets of over £2 billion. Not bad for just one of the 31 colleges here. You should see their gardens!

And such warm weather in Scotland too!

Just a small part of Edinburgh, truly one of the most magnificent cities in the world. There's nothing quite like having a huge castle in the middle of town surrounded by centuries old architecture to give a place character!

Ahhh Perth, Scotland. Just like home, in a sort of 16th century kind of way.

And they're not at all afraid to let you know about it.

And this is where you are in Ireland, but not in Ireland, if you get my meaning.

Ahhhh Ireland....

No trip to Oxford would be complete without a punt on the river. And it is a highlight, although in the rest of the world they have invented much easier and more efficient forms of propulsion. Like paddles.

For sport, on an idle Monday afternoon, the English are want to chase a 'Green Man' down a hill, do a silly dance around him, then slay him, releasing the spirit of summer.

We were told this only happens once a year. I'm not so sure...

Contrary to popular opinion, it is actually always sunny in England, especially at the beach, seen here at Hastings (...you know, 1066 and all that). Yes, that is a sunburn on my exposed head, and yes, those are people swimming in the background, but, no, that is not sand, it is gravel. I think all of this explains a lot about the Brits.

But jetlag or no, we must soldier on, and as we did, we noticed that despite London's size, you always seem to end up at Trafalgar Square. Oh and The Queen has nice digs too...

That half smile is due to the beer - first real English ale. It hides the monumental case of jetlag that we were both developing, having barely slept for 36 hours at this stage.

They have big churches in England, and they don't come much bigger than Westminster Abbey. The queues befit its size too.

Westminster is particularly interesting, having memorials to both Newton and Darwin; ironic considering what they have done, in effect, to religion.

The United Kingdom - a catch up

This is the first time we've had chance to post some pics of our trip, so here goes, the British Isles section. But first, the photo above was, naturally, taken in a cactus garden in Changi Airport, Singapore. 'Of course!', you say, a cactus garden, in an airport, in Singapore, where else would the first photo of your trip be taken?

Then, on arival in London, after breezing through customs and collecting our luggage without incident, we stepped out into the warm English sun. I kid you not, the airport was easy and the sun was out!