On the front row, kneeling down on the left, is Jon Mallet.

In 2007 I attended a Desert survival course (1 & 2) and visited Morocco (1 & 2). While there I met Jon Mallet. He wasn’t from the usual bushcraft/survival family, and it turned out, that he worked in London for a bank.

I could tell straight away that he was resourceful and adaptable, and since he’d travelled extensively before, he’d be fine on a “rough it” trip like this one.

Short story long, was that we hit it off straight away, and we’ve been good friends ever since (he often travels all the way from London to join in my birthday celebration).

This year, he couldn’t make it, due to family commitments, so we decided we’d meet up and go to the lakes and he would bring some of this friends from London along with him.

Our transportation would be provided by Jon’s Landrover Discovery.

Jon and his 2 friends (both called James) arrived on Thursday night (they would be staying over in Chester, so we could get an early start).

I set everyone up with a bed of some kind, then we went out to a couple of pubs in town. The lads seemed to enjoy my choice of pubs, and we rounded of the evening with a visit to Asia fusion, where previously the famous the original “dizzy” Dave bought everyone’s curry by accidentally getting his arm burned.

We set of early in the morning. Everyone was in high spirits. The Landrover was really comfortable, compared to many of the vehicles I’ve previously travelled in to the lakes.

Our base would be Ambleside, and we’d be staying over for the next 2 nights.

One thing I realised early on (and should have been obvious, had I thought about it) is that Londoners have a lot further to travel when visiting the lake district.  For this reason, Friday wasn’t going to be our setup day, we were actually going to walk Friday and Saturday, and travel home on Sunday.

Before we headed for the Fairfield Horseshoe we stopped to get some breakfast from a nice cafe in the centre of Ambleside. Everyone else had a full English, but I went for scrambled eggs. Made with free range, it was (after Bills in Sydney) the best scrambled eggs I’ve ever eaten so I thought it deserved to be photographed.

We set of walking and passed by Rydal. We passed a campsite there, and I saw some camping pods (idea for a future trip).

While walking, we got chatting, and it was interesting to see the difference in culture (I’m from the North and they’r from the South.

Earlier, we stopped the car to get some equipment. I was concious that the car behind us was waiting on us, and that we should move urgently.

Jon said simply “we wont be long, he can wait”. That’s when I saw the London side of this crew. Yes, Londoners have a reputation for a southern chill and perhaps not being as friendly as people in the north. That said, they live and work in a massive capital city. Its just not practical to act like the district nurse in an environment like that all the time.

Overall, I felt the London banker set, were typically British. Very decent people who know how to relax, but are clear in their mind about where their going and what they want.

It took some getting used too, when we went out for meals, and were asked by the staff if we enjoyed them. Jon would simply reply no. Then after a pause he’d say it was excellent, and everyone would start laughing.

I’m not very good with names, but I decided that one of Jon’s friends reminded me of Catweazle, and the other looked like Mat Damon. Mat and Cat, that would be easy to remember.

 

We finally get into the hills.

The view from the first peak of the Horshoe, Low Pike was pretty cool.

The walk is 16 killometres, and crosses 8 fells.

Sections of the hill were very steep in parts. As sometimes happens on walks like this, we split up and regroup on the peaks.

I was really impressed with Jon’s fitness. I walk most weekends no and I’m fitter than I’ve ever been. I was no match for Jon, he flew up every hill.

We carried on, and reached the mouth of the horseshoe at Fairfield.

From here we started to head downhill. The weather was foul, but the last section of the walk had a dry stone wall, which we followed back to Ambleside.

We headed to our accommodation. Ambleside YHA is one of the largest youth hostels in the country.

It features a tv room, self catering kitchen, lounge , cafe and bar. The full time staff there were friendly and knowledgeable and best of all there was a chippy next door.

I know some people prefer smaller more intimate accommodation, but I prefer anonymity. I even bought a copy of Tubular Fell picture while I was there.

Our room worked out at £25 per person per night for a private room, with 5 beds. It was nice and warm at night, and we had our own sink for washing (just a small thing, but it means your not wandering around the corridor at night, when you want to brush your teeth.

I read that the hostel was going to be re-furbished in a few months.

Think is, doesn’t that defeat the object. I mean the idea of hostels is cheap, basic clean accommodation. That way either:

a, people who couldn’t otherwise afford it, can get away for a few days.

b, people who could afford to spend more, can choose spend less and get out more often.

If you do the place up, make it really nice and up your prices, then you’ve just created another hotel, and there are thousands of those already !.

We retired for the evening to the Royal Oak, which became our local throughout the trip.

I was introduced to the 5th member of our band, Jon (sat on Jon’s left). He and his wife Rachel had given up the city life, move to the lakes, run a smallholding and live the simple life.

It certainly seemed like a busy life. Everyone morning, he arrived after mucking out sheep, and each evening had to head back to do something in the garden. I was looking forward to seeing this project for myself.

I was also fascinated to hear that he and Rachel were both members of the Antarctica exploration society (I’d visited the Antarctic exploration museum while in Cambridge with work, and I found it fascinating.

 Its interesting to see how the town has changed over the years. A building that has been an off license, picture shop, and kebab shop was now an Italian restaurant. We decided to pop in for dinner. It was really nice.

End of a long day, off home to bed.

In the morning, full English breakfast for another day on the hill.

While people were getting ready, I saw by the lake with some hot chocolate.

I was delighted to see that you could rent canoes and I wished I’d had more time, so I could have a go.

I came upon this sign.

And literally seconds after reading it, these 2 mentalist came charging down the jetty in shorts and jumped into the freezing water.

The peace of the morning is broken, and we head off.

Today we would walk from Ambleside to Langdale and the Old Dungion Ghyll.

Less steep, the walked snakd across the lakes and the environment was constantly changing.

Catweazle had  a dodgy leg so decided to have a lie down. The remaining 4 of us plodded on.

As we wander, we discuss the classic live to work/work to live debate and seem to conclude that neither absolute extreme is desirable.

We headed up some steep hills then dropped down on teh flat and wandered through another campsite.

We saw some caravans and Mat started to tell me about the one he owns. I was fascinated to hear, that it had a remote control.

Literally, you unhook the caravan from the car, then you can “drive” and “steer” it into its designated spot by remote control. Caravans have come a long way, from the ones mum used to take us to in Wales when I was a child.

Even though I’d only known Jon’s friends for 2 days, we had gelled really well.

As we stop for a break, I pose in front of the highest dry stone wall in the lake district.

After they photo is taken, they all start laughing. They’ve made the whole thing up, and apart from it being quite tall, have absolutely no knowledge of it and have seen it for the first time 3 minutes before.

Its a nice wall anyway, so I’ve put the photo up.

We arrive at the bus stop next to the ODG.

We would have got this bus, but cw was driving over to pick us up.

I really enjoyed this walk, and I’m determined to do it again.

Once inside it was a bit drab (certainly not as alluring as their website lead me to believe) and the guy serving certainly wasnt putting himself out.

Still, the walk was complete, and had to be finished off with a pint (as god intended) so I waited my turn for slow-motion-man to service me.

As I sat with the lads enjoying my pint and sea salt crisps, I realised the walking part of the trip was over. Catweazle wasn’t around, and I was a bit worried (whether he was ok, and more importantly, how the hell we were going to get back to Ambleside).

As I’ve seen happen a couple of times recently on walks, we had no signal, but we were sure our rescuer did. Back to slow-motion-man to save the day, as he produces a landline. We wake up cw, get picked up and its back to civilisation.

That evening, I dine on fish and chips on a bench next to the lake. I walk into town for a few pints at the Royal Oak, happy in the company of good friends.

In the morning we rise early.

No cafe this morning, were visting Jon & Rachel at their freehold for breakfast.

Its right next to Shap, the first place I ever visited in the lakes, and nearby is the cottage from the film Withnail and I.

They have everything here, lambs, chickens, goats for milk and an extensive garden and greenhouse.

The place obviously requires hours of work to keep it running, but must be incredibly rewarding and the rest of the lakes are just on the doorstep.

We enjoy a full English breakfast out in the garden with copious amounts of tea and toast.

I’m used to eating food that’s locally sourced, but in this case, it was within 30 feet of where I was sitting.

Jon finishes off the morning with an impromptu Freddy Mercury impression.

Back in the car, and I’m home 2hrs later.

Overall, I spent a bit more than I expected on the trip, but why not, it was a fantastic weekend.

Thanks to Jon for being a great mate, just like he’s always been. Hi to Mat and Cat who’s company and conversation I came to enjoy greatly.

Finally a very special thanks to Jon and Rachel. They hardly know me, but welcomed me into their home, which I found interesting and inspiring.

Still busily updating johnsunter.com during my evenings.Things have calmed down a bit at work, and my next trip in the UK and abroad isn’t until December. Some people tell me I should just get on with it and put the pages up.

I disagree. A couple of years ago, I was with a girl I really liked. One evening in the pub, I leaned over and kissed her nonchalantly.

She didn’t look pleased at the exchange, and said simply “If your going to kiss me John, do it like you mean it”.

The relationship didn’t last for long, but that simple piece of advise has stuck with me ever since. Quite simply, when I do something, I try to do it like “I mean it” or just not do it at all.

An example I give was something that happened about 3 years ago.

I was working with a new assistant. We had only worked together for about 10 days, but I felt that he was cutting corners. Not intending to force a confrontation so early in my new job, I tried to use an ancedotel example.

I asked him. You know that I’m single and I live on my own ?

You know that logically, I spent last night on my own, and when I left this morning my bed was empty ?. You know that nobody is likey to enter my house today, until I get home ?, so the question is this.

If you could see my bed right now, what would it look like ?

The point I was getting at, is do you think my bed is unmade, or a mess ?. After all, why not, nobody else will see it, nobody else would know.

But that’s the point I was trying to get across. My bed is made immaculately every morning. Why ?. Because although nobody else would know, I would know.

With that thought in mind, I left for lunch. I was shocked to find when I returned, that I was invited into HR. My assistant spoke to the HR manager, and said he felt “I was having problems at home, and taking it out on him”.

That’s a story for another day, but the point is, if nobody else knows, no matter, always give and do your best work because inside you’ll know.

Gareth.

Gareth Wilkinson (the artist formerly known as mithering Gareth). Spoke to me a few months ago, about a trip to Paris.

I was delighted to help, and gave the best travel advise I could think off.

He emailed me this photo the other evening. He and Katie are having an excellent time.

Lyndsay.

It was with bitter sadness, that I said goodbye to my friend Lyndsay today.

The bitter sadness was because I really thought the lunchtime buffet would be pizza, but it ended up being sandwiches.

No matter, it saved me the cost of my lunch (even though a complete lack of communication lead to me finding out just a few minutes before it happened).

Lyndsay originally worked in accounts and we had loads of happy times. When she moved into another job within the company, I gave her a card.

We are both keen fans of Margaret Thatcher, and I was reminded of a quote from Lady Thatchers book. In it, she was talking about here friend, Sir Keith Joseph and his retirement. The book itself (the downing street years) is 1100 pages, but in just a few lines she said that once he retired, life in politics would never be quite the same.

I’m no prime minister, but my life at work would never be quite the same, once she left our office and moved to her new job. Now she’s moving to Switzerland, I feel that way more than ever.

The projects were working on at the moment, will mark the greatest achievements of my life. And my friend wont be there to see them (well, unless she regularly visits johnsunter.com).

Marjorie.

 My friend from the CDWG Marjorie (wearing blue in the picture above, and holding a camera) celebrated her birthday recently, with a weekend in Anglesey that we all enjoyed (Ill be putting up photos and more details in the coming days, but this will have to do for now).

Took Friday off, did some beach-combing in the afternoon, then a walk to the highest mountain in Anglesey on Saturday (with a cool walk along the Anglesey coastal path on the way back) and a trip Anglesey copper kingdom on Sunday.

Copper Kingdom, has a large quarry, and 70’s and 80’s version so Dr who were filmed there.

Lots of good company, nice cake, and evenings in the pub. Superb.

As a gentleman (well, some kind of gentleman), I couldn’t possibly divulge Marjorie’s age. Suffice to say, she does significantly more with her time, in later life, than many others in their so called “prime” and is an inspiration to all at the walking group.

 

This month I replaced my prized head-torch with a Petzle Tikka xp2 (the old one had to be “prised” of my head, I loved it that much).

You might wonder what I did with the old one (or maybe you just don’t care). Anyway, I was on a weekend away (I’ll be writting about that trip tomorrow, as I’m presently putting up 1 article a day for the whole week) at Wild Boar Clough and met a girl called Leanne.

She really inspired me, as she is fanatically motivated to raise money for a teenage cancer charity (the picture above, is a Teddy, that she raffled (I was annoyed, I really wanted that bear !)). She is raising sponsorship for a walk along the great wall (I’ve done that walk, and its amazing fun, but not easy at all).

I donated my old head torch, as I knew she’d need one to complete the walk and it might save her a few quid on her equipment costs.

I completely endorse Leanne’s charity, and if any of you have any spare cash, I’d love you to donate it to her website (I know some of you have offered to donate to the upkeep of johnsunter.com, but I’ve got that covered. If you’ve got a fiver (or a tenner) spare, then please donate it.

In fact, I’ll go further than that.

I’ve said several times, that I’m happy on my own, and that I like being single for the freedom and order that it gives me. Its become a cliché now, but as I always say, when I get home from work, there may not be loving arms waiting for me, but there isn’t a row either (unless the fish want some !).

However, in the last 10 days, several of my friends have commented on situations, and said that I should ask this girl or that girl out. I know that they mean well, but I’m pretty happy where I am. Loads of you have said I should open my mind, give it a try, and all the rest of it.

I remain un-convinced, but if friends (you guys reading this), donate £50 or above between you, to Leanne’s Trek China website, I’ll genuinely give it a try and ask someone out. To make it a bit more exciting, the person who sponsors the largest single amount, can pick my prospective “Beau”.

You can contribute to Leanne’s charity here. If you guys really want me to be “happy” (against my will) you won’t mind contributing £20 to making it a reality.

One final rule. If you win, the person you nominate can’t be Leanne herself (this is a bit of fun, but its for a sincerely good cause, so no messing about on that front).

Had an amazing bank holiday weekend.

First thing that was cool, was I completed the 3 remaining “houses” of my every-curry-house-in-Chester tour over 4 consecutive days.

Thursday evening, the Gate of India with “pub” Tony. Saturday evening, Barton Rough with Dan, and Sunday evening Cafe Naj with Glenn.

I also treated myself, and replaced my Gators, my head torch (as mentioned above) and bought a really cool picture called Tubular Fell.

It maps out all the Wainwright fells, in a “London underground” format. I didn’t actually take any pictures of us having a curry, so for this section of the blog, I founda picture of these 2 complete strangers on the internet with a Tubular Fell picture.

Dan has also donated his old computer, to johnsunter.com so we are presently experiencing the joys and frustrations of Windows 8.

I also saw brilliant ultra light backpacking setup in Cotswold outdoors. The stuff I have is really light weight, but this stuff is amazing.

I’ve also been getting organised with overseas travel.

My goal for this year, is to visit 4 countries (at least 3 I hadn’t previously been to). Munich was the one I’d always wanted to go back to, complimented by Tallinn in Estonia and Helsinki in Finland that were first trips.

So, with one more country to visit this year, which should it be ?

A country I’ve wanted to visit for more than 20 years. Problem previously was, both my partners at the time (separate relationships, I’ve never been in a 3-way) , and my mother, wouldn’t let me go there, as they were convinced I’d “get killed”.

I’m happily single now (and sadly my mum’s gone) so the door is open to finally visit Israel.

I cynically put the picture above up, because that’s most peoples idea of what Israel is really like. In reality I don’t believe Israel is like that most of the time (and lets be practically, if it is or it isn’t ill only know for sure when I actually go there).

I’ve booked flights in early December, as its the cheapest time to go in a 3 month time horizon.

We’ll have an overnight in Tel Aviv, and then 3 nights in Jerusalem (loads to see on foot, and a few road trips out, to places like the dead sea and Bethlehem).

Dan and Glenn are coming, so if I do “get killed” I’ll have my friends with me, when I arrive on the other side.

On the Friday evening at the beginning of the last bank holiday weekend of the year, the walking group had their usual around the walls pub crawl, organised by Anne.

It was a special time for me, as it marked my 1 year membership of the Chester and District Walking Group (which is strange as I feel like I’ve been there much longer. The people I’ve met feel like friends I’ve known for several years, yet chronologically, they can’t possibly be).

I’d like to thank Sarah blond hair (don’t know her surname) for recommending the walking group, at a meeting of the Chester Globetrotters (the next meeting of the “globey’s” is on Saturday, I’m quite looking forward to it, as I’ve missed the last 2 meeting due to travel commitments).

Anyway, it was a brilliant evening with a chance to catch up with people I don’t see very often,  Glenn turning up in the same coat as me, and a brief visit by “pub” Tony getting into rounds, and then sloping off to buy his own drinks. But that wasn’t all. A plan was hatched to have a meet up and go cycling.

Couple of years ago, Chester council set-up a series of fun rides through the countryside around Cheshire (there are 8 all together) and up to this point, I’d only done 1 of them.

It was decided that on Bank holiday Monday, we would go out for a ride, and complete my 2nd one (I’m determined to complete them all, before the 1st of Jan 2013).

We all met up at Glenn’s unit (that guy will do anything to sell furniture).

Alex and Glenn, came dressed for the Tour de France. I however, wore my patented “old clothes” and I tucked my right trouser leg into my sock.

It was commented on later, that I looked like a paralympian with a carbon fibre leg !.

Lets clear one thing up, right away. The weather was foul. As I woke that morning and looked out of the window, I desperately didn’t want to go. But,  I never let good friends down (although none of them were going, there was Alex and Glenn to consider 🙂

Its for this reason, that you won’t see any pictures outside. It was raining, and I didn’t want to get my phone wet/couldn’t be bothered to take photographs in the rain (in fact, just close your eyes, and imagine your standing outside in the rain. See, there wasn’t any need for photographs after all).

The ride we did was called the Manley Meander.

As you can see from this photo, Alex did a superb job of navigating a series of mundane roads on a grey day (and even made time to eat a sensible sandwich, along the way).

As we arrived at Manley Mere, the woman proprietor started shouting and waving her arms as we fastened our bikes to the gate.

Turned out, that the gate didn’t open outwards as we’d thought, and opened across electrically. If we’d put them there and the gate had opened, it would have cut the bikes in half.

We hung around the Chameleon restaurant/bar a while longer, and the weather wasn’t improving.

As time ticked by, the sun (which nobody could see for clouds) went above the yard arm, so what could I do ?. I got a pint in, and like so often, contemplated life, through my reflection in the glass.

After this, we cycled some more. I realised that by adjusting the hight of the saddle on my bike, I could make riding a lot more comfortable.

With an angry mother-in-law of a day, weather wise, it wasn’t long, before we were back in another hostelry (the Plough).

Glenn treated me to fish and chips, washed down with a few more pints, before I headed of down the canal back to a warm bath and some dry clothes.

I want to say at this point, that despite all the discomfort, it was, overall a rewarding day.

I want to say that…

But it wasnt. I think my cycling experiences from now on, are going to be based significantly on the weather forecast.

still, thanks for Alex and Glenn for coming with me.

Day back at work after bank holiday, and I’m at Manchester airport. I’ve flown extensively, but I’ve never flown there and back to a place in the same day.

On this occasion, we had a meeting with one of our suppliers in Horsham. With 2 directors in tow (Tim and Helen), the time to drive there and back with an overnight hotel stay wasn’t an option, so plane it was (I tried talking them into a private jet, but they weren’t “on board” with it, so to speak) 🙂

The plane to Gatwick was barely in the air 30 minutes, before we landed. We were picked up by a chap called Stewart (again, this is work stuff, relating to a massive project, so I cant discuss details. What I can say, is that Stewart is an expert on telecommunications and one of the cleverest and most charming people I think I’ve ever met).

We arrive at their building.

As I expected, the building was List x rated, but even more cool, they shared the building with another company, Fender, the famous guitar manufacturer.

We were shown loads of cool telephony products. The main thing I learned, is there’s no such think as a phone system any-more. There is a call handling system (which handles everything from texts, to phone calls and hd video conferencing) and endpoints, which can be headsets, software programs that run on your laptop and work like phones, monitoring people in your team, and even conventional plastic phones as well.

I spent the day looking at some amazing telephony solutions using Microsoft Lync. I remember someone once saying to me, If you like computer networks, you’ll love convergent telephony, its even better. I’ve seen it, and it is.

Back at the airport, its been a productive day. We have a quick pint at the bar, and then it occurs to me. The last time I was in this specific airport, was the first part of my first trip around the world.

At the time, the building felt so mysterious and exciting. But now I’ve been too so many airports, that the mystery has gone from this place.

I also noticed that Jamie Oliver has a restaurant there now. Is there anywhere he doesn’t have one.

Flight back home, train back to Chester.

Back on the train to work the next day.

You can always tell the people who are getting the train to the airport and don’t often travel on the train. There noisy, disorganised, carrying to much baggage, faf around deciding where to sit, and take ten minutes to get on the train or get off it.

If you one of those people, I’d just like to point something obvious out, that you may have missed.

THE TRAIN FILLS FROM BOTH ENDS INTO TWO QUEUE’S. THE PEOPLE AT THE FRONT OF EACH QUEUE GET SEATS AND THE ONES NEAR THE BACK OF EACH QUEUE HAVE TO STAND.

If I’m behind you at the bottom of the train, and you take 10 minutes (and I’m not exaggerating) to put your bag just where you like it, just so, it means that 2 things are happening.

1. Me and all the people behind me cant get a seat until you move.

2. While your faffing around, the people getting on the top end of the train, are wandering further and further down the train. ALL the people in that queue will get seats (which is against nature) and all of us will end up standing (which isn’t very nice).

All of this so your £9.99 Argos pull along, filled with dresses from Evans, can be in the premium spot, for a 23 minute journey.

If in doubt, do what Rohan say. Travel light and move fast.

Anyway, reason for this photo, is I saw a student had put this rucksack down. Its exactly the same make as the first rucksack I ever owned (mine was orange, but that’s minor detail). Took me back and made me laugh about how discerning I am now with my outdoor geare

Ok, so its Wednesday morning in work, and I’m impressing everyone in finance with story’s of courage, adventure and tenacity. After I’ve finished telling them, I finish with a few stories about myself.

Next thing, the boss appears at my desk and tells me something important is going down. I look outside the window, and butty van isn’t there, so I wonder what he’s referring too.

Turns out, were involved in some due diligence work off-site (which, you’ve guessed it, is confidential) and that we need to drive 6 hours south of our office, where my firewall/security skills are going to be needed.

With only 30 minutes notice, were off. I don’t have any spare clothes or anything like that, but I’ve lived in the desert for 10 consecutive days, and in the Jungle for 6 so I’m mentally prepared (I just don’t have a toothbrush).

Get down there, do the deal, then drive an hour north, to a place called Newbury. I’ve heard good things about the town, but never been there.

We decide to stay over, at a superb pub called the Bacon arms (daft name, brilliant accommodation, with the 3 essential b’s being more than adequately catered for (Bed, Bath, Breakfast)).

We had a couple of pints around the town, then had a kebab for super (I’ve not had a really good kebab for ages, and this one was superb).

Cooked breakfast in the morning, where I entertain the waiting on girl, with stories of my high level/covert mission. Then the boss arrives, and I have to be quet, in case he tells her we dont really work for a government agency after all, and ruins everything.

Back at work, and impressing everyone in customer service’s with story’s of courage, adventure and tenacity…

 

First of all, let me apologise in advance for not updating this website recently.

As I’ve stated before, I’m trying to make the most of the summer by going away on as many weekends as possible and its a very exciting time at work. That all sounds great, but it lately, it has left literally no time for anything else, and more than once, I have had to buy brand new socks, as I didn’t have any clean ones in the house and eat my evening meal off paper plates, I bought for the barbecue !.

Well, summer is over. Although I continue to aggressively pursue adventure in my spare time, and build the greatest achievement in my career during working hours, there is at least, a bit of time left.

I’m putting up this page now, and I’ll be publishing pages about my summer adventures, 1 each day, for the whole of the coming week.

Monday, I worked flat out with Dan. By the end of the day, we must have done 2 days work. I was so exhausted, I was in bed by 7pm that night. The following day, I was attending the Insight event, hence the reason to sort things out.

Insight are a computer supplier I’ve used for nearly 12 years (they sell everything, and I mean EVERYTHING). Its always said, that people don’t deal with company’s, they deal with people. I’ve worked with a guy there, called Gary Siddle for 10 years. He’s never let me down,  and couldn’t recommend him more highly.

I was at their London event earlier in the year, but when I went to the Manchester (the greatest city on earth, even if people do step over you when your having a heart attack) event, I remembered my camera.

I finally got a photo of me and Gary, and by a complete stroke of luck, I ran into Peter Grice, someone I worked with a few years ago (At the time I nicknamed him Skinny Pete, but looking at this photo, anyone standing next to me, looks skinny 🙂

So, here it is. Me, Gary and Pete.

The event was hosted at the Gmex (the building you can see outside the window is the Midland hotel).

I normally find the food and drink at events like this to be a bit so so, but in this case it was superb, with an excellent mix of exotic and ordinary.

They also had some beers and wine, which was a nice touch.

But its not food and drink that you go to an event like this for.

In this room are top experts, from some of the most successful technology company’s in the world. You can literally walk up to a stand and ask any question you like.

The other thing that’s cool, is they have the very latest technology on display. In this photo, we have the Microsoft Surface table. 5 years from now, there will probably be one in every house, but right now, its cutting edge (although the touch screen movement was a bit flaky).

I got to try out windows 8 on a computer/table combination, with office 2013. I’ve looked at this before, and considered it un-feasable, but actually using it alongside an expert from Microsoft, I can see how it works (you can see what I mean by watching this.)

My main reason for attending was to research some stuff for a big project at work (which obviously I cant talk about on here).

I saw some cool stuff with interactive whiteboards and video conferencing and stuff like that, but I was most interested in convergent communications.

The idea of convergent communications, is a bit like the idea of the information superhighway. Put simply, the phrase was being bandied around, 6 years before the technology actualy existed.

Convergent comms, is real now. Put simply, it links everything from mobile texting, to hd video conferencing and everything in between under one roof in the data-centre. Even better, it uses open standards, so you don’t have an Ericson phone system, you have a back end, and then things like handsets and screens can be purchased from many different vendors.

I’m something of an expert in MS Lync now, so the one I wanted to see in action, was its rival, Cisco Jabber.

In an entertaining demo, they had a caricature artist in London, talking to people across a vid conf link. In the picture above, you can see a delegate being drawn in real time, and in the background, a couple of “Captain Picard” devices from Cisco.

After this, we had a 40 minute demo of Jabber, and I learned about a concept called full immersion.

Absolutely fab day, loads of cool tech, exactly the reason I work in this industry. Got loads of new ideas, I’d like to thank Gary from Insight for inviting me.

On Wednesday we had to visit a client site, which involved a trip down to London. I think its a real shame that Virgin are losing the franchise. Its said when they took it over 15 years ago, they had the simple idea of making a train, feel like a plane, and they’ve certainly done that.

I cant say much about the reason for my trip, but what I can say, is that its one of the best hospitals in the world, it was an honour to be asked for our help (and we succeeded).

When I visit London, I normally build in enough time to walk where I’m going (I don’t like travelling underground and I prefer to get the feel of a city (lets be honest, I’m from the North of England, London feels like visiting another country, so I treat it in the adventure context it rightfully deserves)). Because we were on the clock, we ended up getting a taxi.

Travelling in a London taxi is a unique and fascinating experience. On the face of it, your driving in a taxi, so so what.

Well, this is one of the safest cabs in the world, by both design and frequent random safety checks.

The quiet guy driving, will have studied the 6 mile radius around Charing Cross for 2-4 years, before receiving his green badge. He will know the 320 runs in the area, which encompass 25,000 individual roads, which he must know from memory. Additionally, he will be highly qualified in first aid, and have an encyclopaedic knowledge of London’s attraction and landmarks.

With our 3 hours of intensive work complete, we walk back to London Euston.

We wander along the South bank of the river Thames. We have a quick look in the British Film Institute shop. I see an authentic Escape from New York t shirt. My co workers laugh when I tell them how much I loved the film all those years ago,  and if 15 year old’s could be legally tattoo’d then, I’d still have a python tatoo’d on my stomach, like Snake Plisken.

We pass by the London office of ITV and see autograph hunters waiting outside studio 3 (where Daybreak is filmed).

We visit Gabriel’s wharf, and have lunch at a restaurant called Studio 6. Its a beautiful day, so we sit outside. We can see the Oxo building nearby (apparently, it used to be illegal to put advertising onto buildings, so the designers of the Oxo building, had the letters built into the architecture to get around this.

I’m surprised to find that their “home made” burgers, really are home made, and the coffee is Italian (and someone famous from EastEnders is in the same restaurant, but I have no idea who she is, as I dont watch it).

Further along the bank of the Thames, we see London Bridge (Dan had never been to London before, so we thought we should show him a bit of the town).

In the background, is the shard, the tallest building in Europe (I read an interesting theory about tall buildings and the economy, which you can read here.)

Its funny how things meant with good intentions, can boomerang back.

As I get on the Virgin train, its a warm day, so they are giving out ice lolly’s. I decide to save mine for later, so put it in my bag.

On the way home, I’m engrossed in the report I’m writing, and forget all about it. The next day in work, I realise its melted, and completely destroyed my book on Israel.

Damn.

After a mad busy, hectic week, its Friday. My assistant is on leave, and I’m running from one job to another to get them finished.

At lunchtime, I decide to get some headspace, and walk down to the driving range (its a bit out of the way, they have a bar, and I usually have the beer garden to myself). Dan Q, is busy on a team lunch, whatever the hell that is, so I wander over on my own.

As I walk past the lake, I see 2 fish. They are at least 2 foot long, and swim with grace and poise. I’m starting to unwind now. It will be weekend soon, and I can relax. Thing is, Friday night is only fun, if you feel like you earned it, and this week I have.

They play with us for their sport.

I’ve become increasingly frustrated recently with tv shows and the company’s and executives that make them. I was reminded of the above quote by Lord Melchett from the Black Adder.

As I start watching a TV series, and I’m really getting into it, loads of them seem to get cancelled after 1 season.

The Chicago code (the best police/crime drama I’ve ever seen), Terra Nova, Alcatraz and just recently Continuum.

I’ve read comments on the internet, where some viewers will record an entire series, but wont even start to watch it until its confirmed for a 2nd season.

This just drives me mad. I know that times are hard, and early financial returns are important, but how about having a bit more faith.

As I’ve said before, I’ve always been one of those lazy people, when it comes the things like houses.

On the domestic front, I’m pretty easily pleased, and I only really make an effort, if I know people are coming to my house to stay, or attend a party.

Recently, I’ve started to use that trait pro-actively, and organise parties and things, knowing that I’d have to sort certain things out in time.

In this case, its the Barbecue I’m hosting on Saturday afternoon. Its all system go at my house at the moment.

I was delighted, when Glenn (no amateur, when it comes to furniture) and his son Jack came round, to help me assemble something.

Here you can see them hard at work.

I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks to Glenn & Jack, and how much I look forward to seeing you all this Saturday.

Haven’t said this for a while, but:

The search for adventure continues…

I still cant remember where I first heard about the Gritstone trail.

It was a while ago, and Tony and I were really keen to do it. Its roughly a 3 day trip, and the problem was originally with the cost of the accommodation. At the time, money was tight (as it always is I supposed) and £110 for a room for just one night, moved the overall cost, outside our price range.

So, we put it off for a while, and did other things.

By complete co-incidence, my friend Lyndsay actually lives in the village of Rainow, and the walk passes through there. She gave me a shout, that a new pub had opened, and they were doing a twin room for 1 night, with breakfast, for £50.

If we could do the first 2 days of the walk, and do the 3rd another time, so we’d only need train-fare, £25 each and money for food and ale (and we’d get to meet up with Lyndsay and finally see her village).

All systems go…

We meet up and Manchester Piccadily railway station (one of my favourite railway stations, and featured in 19 things I like).

The idea, is to get the train to Disley, walk to Rainow, stay over, walk to Congleton and then get the train back to Manchester Piccadily. Annoyingly, its one of those trains where they only do day returns, so I had to get 2 singles, which I thought was very expensive.

As we got on the train, at 8am on a Saturday morning, a “right on” couple were there with their 2 children. One of the children started crying, and the parents decided to raise the child’s spirits, by singing. They were actually singing so loudly, that they made more noise than the child and proceeded to take over the carriage !.

As we leave the train, we wander along. The weather is absolutely fantastic, and I’m really enjoying the trail, and catching up with Tony (I mean hearing about what’s been happening, not physically catching him, he’s not that fit !)

Hot on the heels of his 2004 production, bathrooms around the world, Tony began work on his latest installation. It has no title at the moment, but seemed to me to involve photographing just about every sign that we came to, no matter how relevant (or completely irrelevant).

We wander into the entrance of Lyme park. I think the last time I was here, I was 19 doing orienteering with Fairbridge Drake.

We wander passed Lyme park hall. I was surprised to hear, that this is the largest house in Cheshire.

Outside, there’s a sign that says coffee served in the National Trust cafe from 10:30am. Inside it appears to be closed, even thought its 10:40. We see someone from the National Trust, and ask him about it. He says “it opens at 11” then turns his back on us and walks away. I couldn’t help wondering if his bosses (trying to run a charity, in the worst recession for 80 years) knew he was treating paying customers (and members of the national trust, who pay monthly by direct debit, in my case) this way.

One odd thing about me. I have many cupboards in my house, but I never leave the house, if one of them is open.

Obsessive compulsive ?.

I don’t agree, I just don’t like things left undone or hanging in the air. In this case, I cancelled my direct debit, and emailed the subscription department to tell them why.

We walk further, and after about a mile, realise we’ve gone the wrong way. This is happened to us before, and we’ve always tried to push forward, and rejoin the route. It never seems to work, and with the benefit of our experience, we simply walk back a mile, and pick up the correct trail.

Walking farther, we arrive at Bollington. There are a couple of nice pubs here, so we pick one, and then text Lyndsay, to tell her where were going to meet.

Overlooking the town, is White Nancy (don’t make the mistake I did and call it The White Nancy. The locals will all think your an arse). It was originally built to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo (or I think more accurately, to commemorate the British victory there, it would be pretty pointless if we’d been trounced by the French and then started celebrating it with monuments !).

it at the top of an enormous hill. Tony decides that instead of taking the path that “snakes” up the hill, were going to walk up it in the straight line. Due to his excellent fitness, he is of course able to dance up there, whistling as he goes, while I gasp for breath.

Once on top, there are spectacular views all around, and we see that wn has been painted up for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Back down the hill, we get lost (I know you must be wondering how on earth that can happen, but once your back in the built up part with houses and factories, its pretty easy to do). A local woman, laughs when we tell here were lost (she looks at our expensive boots, walking clothes and trekking poles as she does this).

I bite my tongue, thank her for her help, and head to the pub, to meet Lyndsay.

We find a friendly pub called the Cotton Tree in Bollington which has recently been done up. We sit there for a couple of hours chatting about various things. I always consider myself lucky, that I have interesting friends, and they all seem to get on with one another.

Lyndsay fascinates us, with stories of her trip to Kilimanjaro, which Tony has been itching to do for ages.

Its a beautiful day, and we’ve don’t some great walking, talking and drinking. Its time to head back to Rainow, and Lyndsay leads us up a country lane, she regularly jogs up and down during the evening.

Rainow really is a beautiful village.

I can imagine a place that small could get you down a bit, with everyone knowing your business all the time, but in balance, its practically crime free, I didn’t see any litter, and everyone I met was friendly and helpful (looking back, it reminds me of the green and pleasant land reference in the Olympic opening ceremony).

They have a competition each year, to design the best scarecrow, which a changing theme each year. This year the theme was obviously the Olympics, and we saw some of the “creations” as we walked back to Lyndsays house for dinner. Apparently, the winner gets £50, so it would be well worth the effort to the winner.

 

We go to the Robbin hood pub, and get the keys to our room. Its spotlessly clean, and very tidy (2 unwittingly destroy the 2nd of those traits within a few minutes of arriving).

Boots off, trainers on. Good wash, and a clean shirt, and were set for the evening.

We wander over to Lyndsay house. Its a cottage made of local Gritstone. Lyndsay has beers, and we eat Chilli (her own recipe).

I have a really good time, and am later accused by Tony, of constantly talking about work.

Folloowed up with Sticky Toffee pudding, for desert, were setup for the evening.

I ask what time they do breakfast the next day. Obviously I want to take time and enjoy the walk the next day, but the train from Congleton is the problem. There’s a train at 4pm, and then the next 1 is at 7pm. I really want to make the 4pm train if I can.

They say simply, that the Chef works 7 days a week, so on Sunday, breakfast is served from 9:30. Im usualy up early, but on this occasion, I’ll have a lie in bed, with no guilt.

We get a couple of pints, and are introduced to a chap at the bar, who’s wife used to teach Lyndsay at school. Tony and I get talking to him, and he knows the area really well, having previously been a park ranger.

Just as well, every time someone under 35 walks in the pub, they hug or kiss Lyndsay and as here what she’s been doing, so she’s monopolised for most of the evening (but no matter, these are old friends, not like the hangers on, that frequent my favourite pubs).

Its been a long day, so time for bed. Brilliantly, because its such a safe area, we dont have to walk Lyndsay home (although obviously we offer).

Tony some sh*te on the tv, but I turn it off (to my mind, its like taking heroin away from an adict, and done for his own good).

In the morning, we sit down for breakfast and its certainly worth it. I cant remember 5 English breakfasts that good, in the last 10 years.

We return to the trail, and wander up a steep hill, bidding rainow fair-well (mobile coverage is terrible here, so Lyndsay doesn’t get out great-full thanks for another few hours).

We head onwards to the Teggs nose country park (takes its name from an early Norse settlement).

I end up asking directions from some mountain rescue people on exercise. I’m surprised when they ask to see my map.

Turns out, there actually from Derbyshire. We have a bit of a chat, and they show us their radio and other equipment. Just like the lifeboat crew I mentioned in Tenby, I have nothing but admiration for these people. If you have an extra cash, please consider contributing here.

More windy paths, and then we walk through some forests.

Beyond here, we wander along several open fields. the weather throughout was fantastic.

Time is agains us now, so we cut short part of the walk up onto a high hill and head for Congleton.

Tragicaly, we arrive about 20 minutes too late, and spend the next 3 hours in the pub waiting for the next one.

Back home by 10 oclock, and this leg of the walk complete. Only 1 day of the Gritstone trail left before we can actualy say we’ve done it.

A quick thanks to Lynday for looking after us, and Tony as always for his willing companionship.

By special guest editor Sue Coughlin.

Hello world. I’m presently in the Derwent Water independent hostel enjoying a glass of fine wine with my friends.

Keswick is pretty quiet this evening, but there is endless excitement in the hostel, as Team GB have just won 4 additional gold medals.

The considered opinion of the group is that John looks like Boris Johnson.

John probably wont let me on this website again, so I just like to say a quick thanks for reading and bid you goodbye.

Sue C.

 

 

 

While I was unemployed (and for a while after I started work again !) I had literally nothing. Occasionally though, I would treat myself, and I bought simple items which I could use for camping.

The reason for this, is however bad things were (and although I couldn’t afford to at the time) I knew with certainty that I would get out camping again. It was just a matter of time.

My friend Sue did a superb job of organising a camping trip to Llangollen a couple of months ago, so when I heard she was planning something for Tenby, I couldn’t wait (it would also give me a chance to try out some of my camping gadgets (*2)).

I had originally intended to do Saturday to Saturday, but it didn’t end up working out. Luckily, Alex was driving down early on Tuesday, so we travelled there together and shared the petrol.

Halfway there, realised I had left mobile at home . Luckily, my mobile synchs with outlook, so once I could find a computer, and connect back to work, I had a number for Dan at work (in case of emergency’s) and Steve (to make sure my fish didnt starve).

It was a weird feeling throughout the week, as I kept feeling like I should reach in my pocket and check something, but there was nothing there 🙂

We met up with everyone at the Meadow farm camp-site. There are normally spectacular views of the bay from here, but the weather was awfull and you couldnt see more than 100 yards.

I’d packed light, and it was the 2nd outing for the Zephros 2 tent which performed superbly once again.

Alex had brought an enormous tent, with all sorts of accessories, and it took us 2 hours to put it up.

We headed off to see a bit of the town.

In native welsh (is there any other kind of welsh) Tenby means little fortress of the fishes.

Tenby is mainly known for its beautiful beaches and 13th century medieval wall. The most striking part of which, Is the 5 arches barbican gate shown above.

It wasn’t always like this. The English civil war and a plague that killed half of the residents, laid ruin to the city. The visiting John Wesley wrote: Two thirds of the old town is in ruins or has entirely vanished. Pigs roam among the abandoned houses and Tenby presents a dismal spectacle.

Shortly afterwards, Sir William Paxton started investing in the town and today its one of the busiest tourist seaside areas in the country.

We wandered around a couple of different pubs. The town had loads of character, and after less than an hour, it was growing on me.

Not everyone could make it on the trip. No attenders included Brian (Salisbury plain) Glenn (working) Dan (told me it would rain and I was mental). Present, were several people from the Chester and district walking group , the Chester branch of IVC and some personal friends of Sue’s.

My tent held up perfectly throughout the night, despite terrible weather. In the morning, it was awful, and I thought seriously about hanging around the town doing some cultural research (which means sitting in pub all day).

Although there are dozens of walks available around the area, there are 2 main walks, along the cost. One runs from Trewant back to Tenby, and the other runs from Tenby to Saundersfoot.

We decided to do the first one, and got the bus out to Trewant (in my experience, if 1 leg of a journey is to be done by public transport, always do that first). This would mean that the walk would end back at Tenby, rather than everyone having to wait for a bus, at the end of a 13 mile walk !.

As you can see from the picture above, the early part of the walk was interesting, but coastal views were no existent. The weather was terrible, but as Billy Conolly said, in the UK, theres no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing.

The Pembrokeshire coastal path we were following, is Wales only coastal national park.

We stop off at Swan Lake bay (I don’t know why its called that, as there weren’t any Swans are anything).

We had a go at beach combing and I had 1 of my sandwiches (ok, so if your getting the idea it was a bit dull, once we stopped walking, your on the right track).

Just as we entered Manorbier bay, the weather picked up.

The sun was beaming, and those that could changed into shorts. I realised that I only had my fleece and hadn’t packed a T shirt, so I baked for the rest of the day.

As we walked into Manorbier, to meet the rest of the group , we passed Manorbier castle. It was used in the film I capture the castle.

I was interested to see that they run writing courses there. I cant think of a more inspirational setting.

Once in the town, a few people visited a nice tea shop, and had soup. I went for a pint, and in between, ate the superb packed lunch I’d purchased from Sainsbury’s.

At one point, I’d actually considered buying a picnic from Carlucios. When I realised how much it weighed, I changed my mind.

Fed and watered, we continue on our way.

We had to head inland from the coast to continue the walk, as a military base is located there.

Air defence range Manorbier, is the only range in mainland UK from where the High Velocity Missile (HVM) employed in the anti aircraft role can be fired.

Its actually called the Starstreak missile system and is the latest in the design progression from the Blowpipe (used in the Falklands) to the S15 Javelin (deployed in the first Gulf war).

They fly radio controlled planes that are bright orange, and than practice trying to hit them (although I presume they practice near misses, as replacing all those planes must be expensive). When finished, the plane is flown back, the engines are cut and a parachute lets it descend slowly to earth (we watched this with fascination).

I decided not to take any pictures of the missile or its launcher.

I’ve seen spooks and I didn’t want to get bundled into a white transit van on my way back from the chippy.

Its 4 years since I did the Anglesey coastal path. I remember commenting at the time that I’d never seen anything so spectacular, but this was even better.

I had expected to see some “wrecks” around here, but there weren’t any.

I cant stand ambiguous signs. I always think that signs should be obvious, and you should know instantly, the information being conveyed.

We were walking along the main path, but I small path closer to the edge had been eroded. The writing on the green part of this sign, tells you not to go this way, but I thought the graphic at the top, communicated the message superbly !.

The top of the path, overlooking Lydstep.

The area was more caravan park than town, and if the prices in the shop are anything to go by, the residents there must be particularly wealthy.

As we leave Lydstep, we walk along this sort of peninsular.

Once we’d walked to the end, it dropped down and from here it was just a matter of walking a few miles down the beach to Tenby.

I noticed that people started to spread. Walking is a bit like that. Sometimes you stay with the pack and chat, and other times you find some space on your own. It had been an amazing day, and in the last couple of miles, even a cynic like me, was in a reflective mood.

Back in town, a few people decide to head back to the camp site, and get ready for an evening out (they would later change their minds, and exercising the hight of alfresco decadence, order pizza’s to be delivered to the camp site !).

The 2 David’s and I decided to relax with a pint. We find a nice pub with a beer garden . It was largely taken over by its regulars, and “tourists” like myself were tolerated rather than welcomed.

Still, character trumps hospitality in my book, so we had a couple there, and decided it wasn’t worth heading back.

I’ve never been a big fan of sea food.

If you invited me out to celebrate your birthday, and we were eating at a seafood restaurant, I’d come along, but I’d eat the food in the same way I’d eat worms on a Survival course (and in case your wondering, I’ve done it !).

The exception to this, is Sea-bass and traditional Fish and Chips from the chippy (the latter not to be eaten to often, for the sake of my health).

The chip shops around Tenby were superb. The thing I especially liked, was how every fish was fried fresh. There were no battered fish, sat behind glass waiting for someone to buy them, like there is at home on Friday night.

I must have eaten Fish and Chips for lunch or dinner on about 4 occasions throughout the trip, and wasn’t disappoint once.

I’d heard you have to be careful eating in the street, as the gulls can be quite aggressive.

We decided to do an experiment.

All around us, gulls were perched on rooftops watching us eat. As we sat down on a bench, they moved in closer, and started to perch on nearby cars.

I had about 15 chips left on a tray. I walked over to a bench about 15 feet away, got my camera ready and stepped back.

The gulls attacked the tray (thats the only word I can think of to describe it). In seconds all the chips were gone, and they tray lay in tatters in the corner.

We decided to have a few more drinks in town, and its then that I discovered a brilliant pub, called Normandie. I went back a few times during the trip.

Next day up bright and early, we decide to visit the Island of Caldey.

When I’d seen the island from the coastal path, the day before, I was convinced it was the one from Torchwood. In fact, thats Flat Holm Island of the coast of Cardiff.

Its a couple of quid by boat for a return trip.

As we were sailing out, we passed the lifeboat station.

Tenby had the first slipway equipped lifeboat station in the country, installed in 1905.

It was replaced in 2008 by a more modern facility, and the original was sold to be used as a domestic residence and was featured on Grand Designs.

We take the piss quite a lot on this website, but there are exceptions.

To my mind, the kind of guy who gets out of a warm bed at 4am in the morning and puts to sea in horrendous conditions to try and save someone else’s life, is in a league all of his own.

I’ve included a link to the crew list. These guys are made of iron, if you have any spare money, please do consider donating to the RNLI (and pray that you never need to use them).

We arrive on Caldey Island.

On the top left of the picture, is the abbey where the monks actually live. The monks themselves, are featured on facebook. A situation so ridiculous, that I have nothing else to say about it.

On the right of the picture, is the shop and museum. The main source of income for the island (aside from selling salvation I suppose) is the chocolate and perfume that they make.

The chocolate was very nice. The perfume, one of the foulest stenches I have ever endured. I can only presume that the monks don’t go out on the town often, and have therefore become confused about what perfume should actually smell like.

I think if I was female, I would rather go out for the evening wearing insect repellent.

On the plus side, there was a small cafe on the green and the tea was really nice.

We wandered around exploring.

As we walked towards the lighthouse, I looked back and took this picture. From a distance, the Island looks pretty small, but you can see how big it is here.

For no particular reason, we started discussing the wall on the right. Sue reckoned that the grouting on this building needed work.

I thought it was at least 100 years old and should be condemned.

As we reached the lighthouse, we decided to stop for a break.

One of our party had sat on some mud or something. There was some discussion about how “serious” the problem was.

Since nobody had a mirror, I was called upon to photograph the area, for review by the “victim” of this mishap.

Martin Sheen in Wall Street, said “When a guy gets old enough, he’s seen everything”. After taking that picture, I believe that I have.

As the offending backside was was forced into my face and I was instructed to take the shot, I fought the urge to scream. Instead, I unwittingly exclaimed “Christ on a bike”.

This was unfortunate, as someone religious was passing, and they took a dim view of my comments.

I’ve deleted the photo now. Like the true face of god (which this most certainly wasn’t) some things are never meant to be seen.

From the lighthouse, there was a nice coastal walk.

Were weren’t able to do it, as the last boat back is at 3pm so there was no time.

If you miss the last boat home, they will send you a charter boat and it will cost £50.

Back from Caldey, we have a couple of drinks around the Esplenade.

Its full of Victorian era hotels and has loads of character (if I’d been here on a romantic sort of weekend, I’d probably have stayed at one of these).

It afforded a superb view of St Catherines Island and Palmerston fort built in 1867.

There was talk of converting the fort into an esclusive hotel. I’m no engineer, but it didnt look like an easy job to me.

The path up to the fort was closed. Inspired by urban adventure I thought we should do some sort of “James Bond” thing, sneak over and jump the fence once it got dark.

Surprisingly, I couldn’t get any volunteers to come with me, so gave up on the project.

If anyone is wondering, this is what it actually looks like inside.

In the evening, we continue our tradition of contributing to the local economy through pub and chip shop.

Wine bars are, to me, for people who want to go out for a drink, but don’t want to look like drinkers. A nonsense really.

Some of our group are ensconced there and we meet up with them. Flash looking from the outside, its surprisingly dreary on the inside. There’s even a singer !

Its normally younger “musicians”, who confuse good music with loud music and turn the volume up to headache inducing volumes in order to compensate.

I’ve included this picture, to show that older people can be stupid as well.

 

A brilliant thing about the camp-site, is its location right on the Pembrokeshire coastal path.

The following day, we got up, got ready, wandered down the drive, and there we were, ready to walk to Saundersfoot.

It was really muddy underfoot but the scenery was superby. The rest of the group decided to walk a bit further, but Alex and I had lunch in Saundersfoot (what do you know, there’s a chippy !)

and then took the bus back.

In the afternoon, I just hung out in Tenby, wandered around the shops, bought a t shirt, then found somewhere quiet and started jotting down some notes for adventure opportunities I’d thought of.

Later I meet up with the group, and we have a couple of drinks and some dinner at the 5 arches (beef & ale pie and chips for £8).

Of course none of this would have been possible without a lift from Alex, so I treated him to dinner (and like any decent bloke, he didn’t take the piss and order Steak 🙂

 Were going home the next day, and I feel a bit sad.

We wander around Castle hill. Its dark now, and very quiet. We sit on a park bench, and someone spots a Seal (or an old car tyre, depending on who you believe).

I wander around some more, in a reflective mood. Lots of things have changed over the last couple of years.

I’m constantly striving to get life back to what I consider normal. But what does that actually mean. Well to me, it means big budget overseas adventuring. Or so I thought.

Trips like this one to Tenby are meant to be a temporary compromise aren’t they ?

Its then that it occurs to me, as I look out to the ocean. I’m not looking at the Taj Mahal or the Empire State building.

I’ve seen both of those things up close. When I think back to the experience, it was no more special then, than this moment is now.

Its then that I realise. Its like when you work with someone, you see them every day and you fall in love with them without realising it (*1).

I’m where I want to be and my life is already back to normal. Life has re-aligned itself while I wasn’t looking.

*1
Dan asked me to point out, that this was hilarious and incredibly cheesy. I didnt think so, but for full disclosure, promised to mention the comments.

*2

Unfortunately the weather was so bad, I never got to try out any of my camping gadgets (that’s why there are no pictures of my tent or the camp-site or anything).

A brilliant week away and I would definitely recommend Tenby. That said its people and places that make experiences memorable, not just places.

I’d like to thank everyone that came along, with special thanks to Alex for transport and Sue for organising. Without them, this trip wouldn’t have been possible.

Mad busy at work the last couple of weeks, and away camping for a week, and stupidly left mobile phone at home. Therefore, sorry the website hasn’t been updated recently.

Message from Sir Chris Bonington.

If your anything like me, your post normally falls into 3 categories.

1. Free newspapers which go straight into recycling.

2. Bills (even though I repeatedly ask for them digitally).

3. Letters telling me that bills are about to go up !.

I got an envelope in the post the other day, that didn’t match any of the above 3.

Turns out,  after my amazing chance meeting with Sir Chris Bonington, Glenn actually emailed Sir Chris’s company and explained how much significance our meeting had held for me.  By illustration, he sent them a link to this website where they could read about it.

Inside the envelope, this fantastic photograph in the post with a hand written message from Sir Chris.

I have a poster from the ascent of the Ogre. Its signed by Doug Scott and Sir Chris Bonington. I always say, that if my house caught fire, once my fish and japanese plants were safe, its the only thing I’d carry out with me. Now that I have this, Ill need to keep an additional hand free, should that unlikely scenario happen 🙂

I haven’t found a frame worthy of it yet, in the meantime, I’ve taken a quick photo so you can have a look.

Other Stuff.

As well as the running blog which your reading now, your probably aware, that when I do trips away, I normally write them up into specific articles with a sort of checker board format of photo/words (you can see a sample one here).

You may have notices, that I haven’t done them for Lisbon, Munich, Tallinn or Helsinki. Paradoxically, the reason for this, is that I’ve been that busy going out walking and pursuing adventure, that I’ve had no time to do it. Julie should be a quiet month for me (I’m only away 2 weekends) so I should have them updated quite soon.

Its 5 years since the launch of the IPhone. Industry “experts” of the day were asked for their thoughts (for full disclosure, I was an IPhone sceptic for the first year they were out).

Found a website called Changeblog. I think its impressive and especially like the 24 daily habits.

Glenn found this fascinating website about motorbiking through Chernobyl.

Money saving expert downshift article should release some badly needed money for adventure.

Saw this video on BBC news about a couple who converted a bus into a flat.