As I sit here in my soho office, looking out the window onto grey walls my mind drifts back to sunny moments throughout winter.... as luck would have it, uk summer time is upon us and winter will slowly be just a memory.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Friday, March 08, 2013
Morroco winter 2012/013
Morroco winter 2012/013, a set on Flickr.
Here's my pics from a great time in Morroco this winter too.....
London snow picture of winter
We took our resident rocking ram for a spin over winter in Brockwell park.
Derrick and Rayn both enjoying themselves here....
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Yet another cloud on the horizon.
I'll be updating my blog as soon as i've written up about the cyclone. In the meantime heres a taster of what's on the horizon.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The project visit
The project is one of ICT's original ones, they've worked with them since the early 1980's. The project is a re-intergration centre that houses up to 200 children up to 16 years of age. The children may have lost parents in the civil war, the tsunami or been abandoned by parents fleeing poverty or government.
The happy but painfully shy children presented us with a show of local dancing and singing, with costumes they'd made in the dressmaking centre which forms part of the project.
The centre's buildings have been part funded by ICT and a Dutch charity, the well built builidings are set in the jungle, without another building/road in sight.
Down towards the large reservoir is a cleared sports area, with space for running and volleyball and especially for the national pastime of Cricket. We took the young locals on in the afternoon. We held our own and did well with a few comedy bowls that got the crowd laughing and cheering. The locals have some smashing batsmen that quite regularly hit 6's when our bowlers could get a decent ball to them.
After a few teary goodbyes we left our newfound friends to get on with tricky business of leading their young lives into adulthood, hopefully with a better start than they had previously been dealt.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Day Five
Stayed at a beautiful place, woke feeling a wee bit tired and achy. The first hour of the day on long distance cycles is always the toughest, the body wants a day off or rather it needs a day off. By day 5 though, you can feel yourself getting fitter, getting used to the early rises. Today was a good 70km, not masses by any stretch but the second two thirds of the road are very bumpy as we enter the previously wartorn district of Tricomolee. The road turned pretty quickly from smooth fast straight road into bumpy potholed-ridden gravel with expressionless faces starring at us from the shadows of the trees.
A quick stop at one of the small convenience sheds along the dusty road, confirmed that the locals were definitely shy and wary of us, but they were at least welcoming. As we realized it was shyness, the stereo went on and we danced on our bikes and smiled the biggest smiles, they were replied back with smiles and waves, and even a comedy water throw from the road construction workers.
I had to swerve from two large snakes, about 4-5 foot in length, green with flecks of brown, taking over the road. Reminding me why I'm wearing my boots.
A quick stop for lunch, sheltering from the rain in a locals house, they were kind enough to offer the three of us chairs, we declined but I made sure they had enough of croissants and cakes that we'd pilfered from breakfast.
A dusty busy road was our first sight of Tricomolee, the air started to have that salty feel to it, that feels so homely, we were getting closer to the other coast.
After approx 413 km across some of the highest most beautiful country I had ever seen, we were finally there, with a slight hiccup of a few of team getting lost upon entering the city and having trouble finding us and the final hotel. We regrouped for the last km and we crossed into the beach and they we could see the bay of Bengal.
We've made it. Now its time for beer and a beach party. Happy days, Sri Lanka.
Day Four
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Day Three
Monday, November 14, 2011
Day Two.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Day One
Meet Up
Saturday, November 12, 2011
leaving Hikka
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Hikka Heaven
The water is full of turtles, first time one of them popped up to say hello, it was quite a surprise, but now they are so abundant it would be a shame not to see them. They like to play in the surf as much as we do and regular sit out the back waiting for the big sets.
Our training for the ride consists of surfing hard all day every day. Its a tough life.
The cycle begins in 5 days and it's looking likely that we'll be in top form.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Waiting for the plane at the gate. Dull as you imagine.
I was lucky enough to be nursed back to health by the lovely Ali, who stuck by me through the feverish nights. We think the typhoid injection mixed with over-working created some sort of hyper-fever-cocktail that left me slightly delirious and void of much humour.
Mind you, pacing the house through the night trying to find random places to sleep/rest seemed rather comical to say the least....in the morning.
Anyway, I've moved my office to its spiritual home back at the parlour and it's lies in wait for the photos and footage I'm about to shoot/collect/take/(or if french, make)
Jons lent me his GoPro HD waterproof camera, which will fit into and onto my surfboard and bike. Fingers crossed we should be able to get something half decent...
So the weather in Colombo looks delightful, let's hope it's not a deluge like Bangkok is at the moment..... I'll be surfing with Mike and Rach for the first 10 days or so before the ride, so hopefully pretty chilled, healthy, and fever free...
Just heard over the tannoy, the plane is delayed by 30 mins. Might sneak off for a pint...