Like many others, I've a number of hobbies of which some I'm involved with more regularly than others. I'm using this site to either outline my hobbies or in some cases, go into greater depth.

If you're able to see the pictures, those are not only pictures but also links to specific hobbies. Beside the linked picture, you can read a brief description of the topic & within that, you can see underlined word or words. Those too are links to the topic so by getting to them, click on either the picture or the underlined words.

As mentioned above, I've only written an outline to some of my hobbies so what've done is used a separate link to a page which itself has a link to those hobbies. The reason behind that is throughout this site you'll see navigation buttons that, if clicked, will take you to that area & I felt it's easier to have limited buttons than too many.

A picture, like this flag , means a new article & this bouncing, will show, as the name says, there is an update. To help you locate the article it's also used within that topic. There are other odds & sods inside the site so I hope you think they're OK.

You can send us an e-mail by clicking here however to try to stop those who like spamming people, I've typed AT not @ so before sending, revert it to that is required.

ALB, in the title, is I & I'm the main author & Web designer for this site. A number of others have helped me out by adding things, proof reading, making suggestions, etc, & to them, a big thanks. By clicking on author you can read my auto-biog, which not only mentions my wife, Sally, my son, Graeme (GSB is him) but include details of my two brain operations. The details might be unpleasant so perhaps consider the effect it might have on you before you go to read.

Ally Bain, pix taken 2006 at Cheddar Gorge

Diplomacy is a board game based on Europe in 1901 with seven Great Powers. To win, a country has to control Europe! Initially the game was played face to face & as many enjoyed playing, it became obvious that it can be played by mail. They still continue however via the Internet there are many sites that host the game & the communication is through e-mails. Due to that you might be writing to people who come from any country.

Tropical fish is an enjoyable hobby! More often than not the eyes are distracted from watching a TV programme. Does that pose a problem? Nope! You might laugh to know one tank is in a bedroom. Having five tanks certain fish have to be in one & not the other due to the fish requirements. The link should outline the reason as well as having pictures.

Cacti are succulents but not vice versa as some succulents are not cacti. If you're lost, it'll be explained therefore link to the page. Within the page, certain non-cacti succulents will be shown however most are cacti. Everyone has a personal feeling but mine is that flowers on cacti are more attractive than normal flowers.

Within the hobbies within this page will have details about them but not as much as is listed in those above. The reason why they're not as in depth as the above is either that they're self-explanatory & therefore I don't have to add any more, e.g. postcards, or my involvment in them is not as high as above.

Miscellaneous Links has a list of Web Sites where people we know have their own site or have an involvement in with the site shown. The reason they are in this section is due to their site has little to do with the above topics but are worth looking at. It's true that some of them listed helped us fix any problems we had with writing this site.

The Message Board has topics related to the rest of the site & new things like some interactive games. Please join in by either playing in some of the games or write more or less what you wish or both. NB, remember that this is a family site so be careful with certain words.