Robs and Shuz

A Comrades Experience

2011-06-02T06:57:00.001+01:00

A BATTLE OF THE MIND.

03h00am. BEEP-BEEP. BEEP-BEEP. (PAUSE) BEEP-BEEP. BEEP-BEEP. Chimes the alarm of my 1986 'silver-plated' Casio wristwatch. Its about as welcome as the appearance of cellulite on a swimsuit models bum. A bittersweet symphony. And unfortunately not the one sung by The Verve. Its here. There is no escape. Well there is, but you'll have to run 86.96kms to get there. Its just you and me. To the death. At least it feels that way. It may as well be.

Its cold. Its been a restless night. A battle of the subconscious, fought on the vast plains of the mind between the Positive and Negative Forces that occupy this space, ironically both led by the same leader, Colonel Clark. Master and Commander. The Negative Forces are in total control and have captured much of the little area that was left occupied by the Positive Forces overnight. Victory is at hand. Failure, it seems is inevitable.

However, deep within the depths of the nothingness, a light flickers to and fro dimly amongst the blackness. It is hope. And it will not extinguish as long as there is air in my lungs. I am tired now. I barely slept last night. Ahhh the guile of bedfellows like Paranoia, Doubt and Worry. I gingerly get out of my bed as if looking for some kind of sympathy from the walls that surround me in the pitch dark like enemies. Turn on the lights. Bright. Straight to the toilet. Turn on my phone. Slowly (read 'reluctantly') put on my kit inbetween sitting down and staring at nothing. Ritualistically preparing mentally and physically. Make some toast. Back to the loo. Sitting down again. Rocking. 04h16am. They'll be here soon. Good.

They're here. Familiar faces, Comrades taking up arms. Some blissfully unaware. Partners. Colleagues. Fear and apprehension are absorbed into the melting pot of our collective conscious. I feel better. Stronger. Hope.

We're at the start an hour early. I keep to myself whilst quietly observing the goings on around me. Its not that cold. Staring down the dark, now bustling West street, dwarfed by once familiar buildlings either side, carefully avoiding eye contact with Doubt, Fear and what seems like imminent Failure.

The anthems. Emotional. Shosholoza. Chariots of Fire. And then there's a spark. Where did that come from? I feel it burn boldy, rippling haphazardly outwards like sparks off a welders torch. And then the gun. Relief. Either way the War will be over by the end of the day, and for Humanity, thats a good thing. The Positive Forces strike a blow to the Negative Forces, sending them back unexpectedly.

Slowly, so slowly. Running away from the shores of safety to an uncertain horizon. Sailing towards a fate that is undetermined. Like the long walk to the Headmasters office once summoned. The Negative Forces have underestimated the respect shown by the Forces for Good. Every step closer, minutely eroding the once impenetrable wall that barricades Negative Headquarters. Bit. By. Bit. Step by step. The Positive Forces slowly gain strength. Every cheer from the side of the road adds impetus and inspires. Little battles are being won everywhere. The tide is turning. Focus. Was that cramp? Still a long way to go. You know this from last year. Feeling tired. Vulnerable. The Negative Forces mount their final challenge but to no avail. 16h05. Persistence, courage, strength, love and respect have proved formidable foes. The Great War is won and the taste of victory is indescribably sweet. But how long will it be 'til these remarkable enemies face each other again on this familiar stretch of road?

Just Couches and Decor, Windermere Rd, Durban

2009-02-18T13:40:00.006Z

...just stole R3755 off Robyn and I! 'Just Thieves' rather! A few weeks ago we bought (and paid a 50% deposit on) a really nice lounge suite off a friendly Scottish lady at Just Couches in Windermere road Durban. They said it would take two to three weeks to be made and delivered. Exciting times, being our first house and all that and furniture was the final piece in the puzzle for us before we move in.

Well two to three weeks later and umpteen messages left on their phone we decided to pay them a visit. Turns out, according to their neighbours, they have 'disappeared overseas and owe a lot of people a lot of money'!

If Nicola Hughes is around, please let me know whats up? Where the heck have you gone? (You can leave a comment at the bottom of this post). Aside from the money I'm really distraught at not having that awesome little lounge suite you were making for us. Not the best thing to happen to you after 5 years of living abroad. Oh well...

New Years at the Dam

2009-01-14T06:51:00.016Z

Okay so its taken me over two months to put anything up here and thats probably because these days I'm never in one of any number of places for more than 24 hours at a time.

For New Years, we spent three days up at Badgers fiance Cally's parents house, nestled away on a dairy farm about 30km's from Mooi River. The house sits on the shores of a quaint dam and is surrounded by picturesque rolling hills and pine forests.

After being away for so long it was a great opportunity to catch up with everyone in such a relaxed environment. We spent a lot of time flyfishing on the dam, with compulsory beers, and even though I didn't catch a single fish, that was probably the highlight for me. Or maybe it was Andy and I beating Tont and Campo in the best of three pool match up? I don't know, everything was a highlight, the braais, the french cricket, the hackey sack, the 30 seconds, the shooter pool, the braaing but mostly the company.

South America wrapped up...

2009-01-12T07:26:00.036Z

We've been back in South Africa for a month now and whilst its been busy and great fun it has also given us enough time to sit back and reflect on the last 4.5 years in the UK and particularly the final 2 months in South America.

Whilst 'constructing' the recent blog posts in South America I was often rushed for time and/or hampered by limited resources - a dud machine, painfully slow internet access, faulty USB ports etc etc. So I've had a look through Robyn's pics, which I often aluded to, and here is a small collection of them that I definitely would've published had I not been in such a hurry. Enjoy.

Where it began, Copacabana beach, Rio, complete with hardcore stud in the background

What do you do when the truck breaks down one evening? Find somewhere that sells cold beer.

Caiman in the Pantanal

One of the world's largest storks and emblem of the Pantanal - The Jabiru

The Red-breasted Toucan

The '2008' butterfly at the Iguazu Falls

Stick insect

Amantani Granny and Grandson

'Teething problems' at a Potosi internet cafe

Two Aymara women trying to catch a glimpse of the President of Bolivia doing his rounds in Potosi

Class photo in the Plaza de Armas, Cusco, Peru

Me and a Black-chested Buzzard Eagle in Colca, Peru

The 'Rest of the World' versus England, Puerta Inca, Peru. We lost this one 3-2, but won our first encounter in Brazil 5-4, leaving it one apiece in the series.

A bird flew into our left engine on takeoff forcing an emergency landing and an extra day in Lima.

Lima

2008-12-05T22:53:00.006Z

Plaza Mayor

Robyn trying to figure out where Parque 7 de Junio is. We never found it.

Miraflores surf

It´s big. It´s grey. It´s flat. It´s noisy. And its our final stop. Phew! We need a holiday!

Islas Ballestas

2008-12-05T22:19:00.011Z

The ´Candelabra´

´Humble´ Penguins

There´s something Alfred Hitchcockish about this pic

Pelican having none of it

Sea lion chilling

Millions of birds

´The poor mans Galapagos islands´ apparently. The Galapagos Islands must be heck of an impressive. We took a ride about 10km offshore to the spectacle that is the Ballestas Islands. Something I had been looking forward to for quite some time. And they did not disappoint.

They´re a small group of islands literally infested with all types of sea birds and sea life. Pelicans, petrels, penguins, gulls, vultures(yes!). The first thing that hits you upon arrival (other than the sheer spectacle of umpteen flocks of different types of birds circling and passing the islands simultaneously. It´s like the bird equivalent of Heathrow airport) is the smell. Bird poo. Guano. Apparently so much of it that it helped Peru out of a recession in the mid 1900´s as some clever dick discovered that guano was the secret and vital ingredient in a certain type of fertilizer. Nice work.

Sandboarding in Huacachina

2008-12-05T21:47:00.008Z

Looking like a plonker

Robyn dropping in

These dune buggies were CRAZY and probably even more of a rush than the sandboarding!

The final dune was nice and steep

And finally, a sunset pic on this blog!

The Nazca lines

2008-12-03T12:33:00.008Z

The hands

Spider

Hummingbird

The Astronaut

Surreal landscape

Many of you will find it hard to believe (thankfully I have photographic evidence) but the other day I wilingly climbed into a six seater plane (picture a station wagon with wings) for a flight over the one of South America´s great mysteries, the Nazca lines. What you will find even harder to believe is that I really enjoyed it, despite the incredible bumpiness and over-eager pilot!

The Nazca lines span a large area and are a series of animal figures and geometric shapes etched out of the arid, stony ground. They were created by ´clearing away the brush and hard stones of the plain to reveal the fine dust beneath´. No one is completely sure why they were made but it is thought ´they were probably a kind of agricultural calendar to help regulate the planting and harvesting of crops´. When you have a look at the above pics, try to remember that they were thought to have been done between 500 and 800 AD. Don´t ask me how they knew about spacemen and stuff...

Many thanks to ´The Rough Guide to South America´ for the above information.

Ah, the ocean!

2008-12-03T12:24:00.005Z

Loads of surf potential and no one for miles...

A typical lunch on the road

I´m not sure how far we´ve travelled but it must be over 10,000km. After that amount of time it´s always a pleasure to see the sea again. But it´s the first time I´ve seen the Pacific Ocean and I can proudly report that I had an epic bodysurfing session two nights ago.

Colca Canyon

2008-12-03T00:38:00.007Z

This crazy animal hopped across the rocks in front of us. It´s a mixture between a rabbit and a dassie and I forget what they´re called but I´ll get back to you.

Nevado Mismi, apparently

It seems I´ve been bandying about ´The World´s Greatest´, ´World´s Most Dangerous´ etc a hell of a lot lately. I´m about to do it again. Apparently Colca Canyon is the world´s DEEPEST canyon. It is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and at its deepest is 3300m from top to bottom. It runs 450km from where we were to the Pacific ocean in the west.

It is an unbelievable sight. It was such a shame that we didn´t get to explore it more, but here you have it. And if that wasn´t enough, we were also lucky enough to view three Condors riding the thermals at a place called Cruz del Condor. One of the Condors glided past a few metres away and I swear it was like a small plane. Standing 1 metre 20cm and with a wingspan of 3m they must be one of the biggest birds around. Awesome.

Another little bonus of our trip out to Colca Canyon was getting to see Nevado Mismi in the distance. The Nevado Mismi mountain is the unofficial source of the Amazon river.

The ´White City´of Arequipa

2008-12-03T00:17:00.004Z

Arequipa´s Plaza de Armas

El Misti volcano rises 5600m above the city of Arequipa, this pic is of El Misti, from behind

From Cusco we made our way south to the ´White City´ of Arequipa, Peru´s second largest city and home to more than a million people. It´s called the ´White City´ as many of the town´s buildings are made of ´sillar´ stone, extracted from the vast amount of surrounding volcanic rock. To be honest we didn´t have that much time to explore here unfortunately, as it was more of a base for us to explore the nearby Colca Canyon, but what I can tell you is that their main square is supposedly one of the most beautiful in Peru. I´ll vouch for that. It´s sort of like walking through the set of ´From Dusk ´til Dawn´ with loads of arches, fountains, palm trees and white stone and hardcore looking Peruvians...

I love this pic...

2008-11-27T17:56:00.002Z

The Inca Trail

2008-11-27T16:04:00.012Z

At the top of ´Dead Woman´s Pass, the highest point of the Classic trail

Sunset on Day 2

The alternative view of Machu Picchu on Day 3

View from Wina Picchu

On the day that the Boks hammered the English at Twickenham, we headed from Cusco to kilometre 82 to start the famous ´Classic´ Inca trail, four days in total and three nights camping en route in the surrounding mountains.

For the majority of the people in our group the Inca trail was the major attraction that drew them to South America. For us, it was and it wasn´t, but what I can say is that it exceeded our expectations by some distance. I think I was expecting an incredibly touristy, over crowded, paved walk to a site that maybe wasn´t as impressive in real life as it was in photos. I was partially right, it is quite crowded but not uncomfortably crowded, except for maybe Machu Picchu itself. There were plenty of ocassions when I was on my own, immersed in my own thoughts, admiring the scenery with no one around me for some distance, and to me that is the essence of hiking.

One thing that I´m sure everyone will say after completing the Inca trail is that the Porters are LEGENDS. All we had to carry was our day packs on our backs. Thats it. The Porters on avg carry 20kg of luggage each (ranging from tents, pots, pans, matresses, our duffel bags) on their backs whilst quickly jogging ahead of the group to set up various tents and have the next meal ready and prepared upon our arrival. Incredible. And the food was amazing.

The biggest highlight of our trip along the Inca trail was on day three, when our guide took us on a massive éxpeditional´ detour of the trail itself to view some ruins that have only recently been unearthed. Then to the top of a mountain pass that overlooked Machu Picchu itself. The views were spectacular and it was great to see such an incredible site from an equally unique perspective.

We arrived through the sun gate early on the 4th day to one of the most amazing views I´ve ever seen. Thanks to a massive storm the night before the weather was perfect, brilliant blue skies and not a breathe of wind. It was surreal and thoroughly rewarding after having hiked for three days to see it. I can´t imagine what it would be like just to get a train there and not do the trail but it certainly wouldn´t be the same.

Brad, I hiked up Wina Picchu, as you recommended. I have never done anything so scary in my whole life! Wina Picchu (Huayna Picchu) is the ´Sugar-loaf´ shaped mountain that stands tall behind the ruins and really is the symbol of Machu Picchu itself. What perhaps didn´t help, was that on the way up it appeared that someone had fallen off the mountain, as there was a rescue in operation, a rope hanging over the edge amongst some very worried looking people. That and the fact that we had to rush up there because we had to get our bus and train back to Cusco in a few hours time, conspired to make me a shiverring wreck by the time I reached the top, and even then I didn´t go to the very top. Nevertheless it was a great experience and the views were more than worth it.

Cusco - The Inca capital

2008-11-27T16:02:00.007Z

Cathedral in Plaza des Armas

Plaza des Armas from an overlooking mountain

This girl followed us halfway down the mountain, resulting in this pic!

Homestay on Amantani

2008-11-20T19:35:00.009Z

The view from ´our´ balcony

The view from ´Pacha Tata´ towards Taquile island

Shy ´Mama´

Part of our time around Lake Titicaca and Puno involved a one night homestay with a local family on the island of Amantani, 38km into the massive lake. We were quite keen for this but in the end it was slightly disappointing. I think a lot depends on the family you stay with and whilst our family were perfectly friendly, unfortuantely our ´mama´was slightly reserved and neither of us felt particularly at home in her company. I think what may be the case, is that many new families have signed up for this ´homestay´ deal and see dollar signs before the cultural experience. Fair enough.

Nonetheless we had a really good time over the 24 hours on the island. I befriended a really cool donkey, lasted about 3 minutes of a football match against a rival tour company (due to being 4100m above sea level) and we both enjoyed a fantastic sunset atop mount ´Pacha Tata´ or ´father earth´. At about 19h00 that evening, after a tasty dinner, we were dressed up in traditional clothes and attended a fun dance in the local hall with all the other people and their ´mamas´. Again though, this was great, BUT our mama didn´t seem too interested and by the time the evening abruptly came to an end, she didn´t seemed to pleased when I cracked open another beer, which I eventually had to abandon to avoid any unhappiness.

Without doubt, and I won´t go into too much detail here, probably the funniest moment of the entire trip happened at about 2am that morning when both Robyn and I woke up in desperate need of the loo (no. 1) and we had to use the supplied bedpan. I doubt any of you have used a bedpan recently, but it is a heck of a lot more difficult than you would imagine, especially when you start getting the giggles and it´s almost filled to the brim!

The floating reed Islands of Uros on Lake Titicaca

2008-11-20T19:34:00.010Z

Colourful La Paz

2008-11-20T18:55:00.024Z

One of the many street markets

Outside the most notorious prison in the world, San Pedro, chatting to the only other South African we´ve met the whole trip, a former inmate (trafficking) from Jhb

La Paz´s buses are too cool for school

The main square in central La Paz, Plaza de San Francisco (I think)

The World´s Most Dangerous Road

2008-11-20T18:55:00.023Z

Starting up above the clouds...

...many of the drops are over 1km straight down

Remarkably, trucks still use this road. I have a superb video clip of these trucks negotiating a hair-pin bend about 3cm wider than the width of the trucks themselves

Looking fierce in our gear

AKA - Death Road. I´m not sure which was scarier, cycling down this ridiculously dangerous road or the trip back to La Paz in the van, up what I would rate as the second most dangerous road in the world. The driver was a complete maniac, over-taking on blind rises, taking photos and changing cds while repeatedly veering perilously close to the edge of the cliff, over 1000m straight down. I had to restrain myself from throttling him when we finally got back, but in the end I was just too happy to say that I had survived the worlds two most dangerous roads.

Train graveyard

2008-11-15T21:52:00.005Z

Yet again, Robyn got some epic pics of this place, an old train graveyard that we visited on the way back from the Salar de Uyuni. The town of Uyuni, home to the salt flats, plays an important role as a transport hub for transporting, you guessed it, salt and other minerals to other cities in Bolivia as well as neighbouring countries Chile and Peru, and these are some of their old trains. We went there to watch the sunset but it turned out that the moon rising was far more impressive.

The Salar de Uyuni

2008-11-15T21:45:00.005Z

Without a shadow of a doubt, Bolivia has the most incredible natural scenery I have ever seen anywhere. The drive up to Uyuni from Potosi was an interesting one. For the three days that we've driven trough Bolivia so far, only about 300m of road has been tarred. The roads are HORRENDOUS. Not just bumpy and unmanageable in a big truck, but most of them winding and twisting around colossal mountains that are everywhere. It's an adrenalin rush just sitting in the back. These roads make Chapmans peak or the Transkei look like the N1 from Beaufort-West to Laingsburg.

Anyway, the scenery en route to Uyuni was spectacular. All you could do was stare out the window in awe. Bugger trying to read. It was like driving through an exhibition of the best landscape artist of all time. Gigantic mountains in the distance framed by the most dramatic blue skies littered with cumulo-nimbus and whispy higher clouds, sparse plateaus, dried bushes and scrubs dotting the red landscape, cacti everywhere like armies of scarecrows, llama's - the works. Tolkien would've loved this place.

So Uyuni was the next stop, famous for those Salt flats that everyone knows about. The biggest in the world, they cover an area of 12,000 square kilometres! And 30,000 years B.C. the salt flat was once a sea-bed to a sea that stretched all the way up to Lake Titicaca in the north. Incredible, and once again I'm lost for words as to how beautiful it is and how humbling it is to have the privilege to view something so amazing. To give you some idea of the size of the flat, we drove 74km into the centre of the salt flat to a place called 'fish island'(because from afar, with the mirage, it looks like a fish). Fair enough. Fish island is famous for it's giant cacti's that grow as tall as 8m. The tallest one ever being 12m high. What is also mind-boggling is that they grow 1cm a year, so that particular cactus was 1200 yrs old!

The least enjoyable part(for me) about visiting this incredible place was the importance placed on getting those infamous 'perspective shots' that everybody has a good laugh at. Pah! Well we managed to get a few on Robyn's camera but the pics here are from my camera so these will have to suffice for the time being. I'm just not convinced by these photo's, they seem to detract from the point of visitng the place in the first place. Okay so it's quite fun but not as fun as seeing the flats themselves.

The people of Potosi

2008-11-15T21:36:00.008Z

I wanted to call this post 'The people of Potosi' because Robyn took a number of really nice photos of some of the local people here but Robyn's pics haven't been uploaded yet so we'll just have to settle for mine, which don't include many pics of the array of colourful people here.

Potosi was one of the first opportunities for us to view a town close-up and really experience it. This is why we travel after all isn't it? Not to swing from a zipline, or raft down a river - to be exposed to other cultures. To the untrained eye this town is not pretty, sitting at 4100m above sea-level and offically the world's highest inhabited city, it is incredibly dusty and dirty, but if you're prepared to look a little closer there is a lot more to it than its harsh exterior.

Potosi was once the greatest silver-mining city in the world, but those days are long gone now and the massive, conically shaped Cerro Rico mountain that looms over the city bears testiment to that, it's slopes irreparably scarred by the miners who've plundered it and moved on. Nowadays it's a relatively poor city, only making money on the export of minerals here and there and tourism.

As luck would have it, while we were there the President of Bolivia was doing his rounds and there were parades all over the show and the town was seemingly in a state of celebration. Great for Potosians(?)but kak for tourists, as most of the sights were closed for a few days and every now and then you'd turn down a street only to be greeted by a bunch of locals marching towards you beating drums, blowing flutes and generally clattering anything together to make a sound.

We pretty much walked all over the town and explored the many different alley-ways and streets which ooze character. Paint peeling off semi-collapsed walls, stray dogs all over the show, traditional Aymara women and street peddlars jostling to sell you a bangle, Potosi's own hi-ace buses doing their best to run you over at every opportunity, when not trying to suffocate you with carbon-monoxide poisening from their exhausts. All at 4100m above sea-level, so high that even getting up and going to the toilet at night will have you stopping halfway there to catch your breath! Awesome!

Up into Bolivia

2008-11-15T21:22:00.009Z

From Salta we went north up into the Andes mountains and across the Tropic of Capricorn into Tupiza, Bolivia. Tupiza is famous for being the final resting place for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and as luck would have it, the day we arrived there was a festival marching through the streets commemorating the 100 years since they were last seen. Tupiza is a very quaint town and was only an overnight stop on our way to Potosi.

Whitewater rafting & a zipline of note!

2008-11-15T13:24:00.004Z

During our stay in Salta, we also managed to get out into the beautiful surroundings and do a bit of whitewater rafting and ziplining(?). Now most of you will know I´m no adrenaline junkie but I decided before we left that I would not let my petty fear of heights get in the way of anything and I would try face my fear. Which I did as we zip-lined across a valley, 160m off the ground! I was clearly the most nervous person there but I decided not to think about it and even enjoyed the views as we zig-zagged our way down the valley. Robyn of course was the most excited person there and couldn´t wait to get hoooked in and go!

Neither of us have whitewater rafted before so we were both really keen to try it out, particularly because the rapids were a fairly mild grade 3 and perfect for beginners. Well it was brilliant and just an incredible experience to wind our way down the river with majestic mountains towering over us either side. The UNDOUBTED heroes of the day though, were the two dogs, a Golden retriever and black Labrador that sat in the boats with us as we negotiated some decent sized rapids, occasionally jumping out of the boats for a dip or when the felt like the company of people in another boat.

Salta - Northwest Argentina

2008-11-10T21:48:00.006Z

Salta is one of Argentina´s oldest towns, founded in the late 1500´s and sits in the foothills of the Andes mountains at 1190m above sea level. As far as towns go it´s really pretty and characterful and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

I love cable cars these days, most probably because they remind me of snowboarding trips, but from the top of San Bernado hill you get great views of the surrounding mountains and Salta itself. The town is also dotted with a number of colonial style cathedrals, the most impressive of them for me, being the one in Paza 9 de Julio, the main square and place to be seen in the centre of town.

Whilst in Salta we also got to experience another brilliant steak which was literally twice the size of any steak I´ve ever eaten before. I´m sure I was drunk on it afterwards and if it wasn´t for the red wine and beer that helped me through it I would definitley have been plagued by the dreaded ´meat sweats´. Salta was also good to us in another sense as it was here that I finally got my visa for Bolivia, two days before entering the country. And almost predictably, the border official didn´t even check that I had a visa as he hurriedly stamped my passport and waved me through!

The bottom pic is of me and ´Kiwi Dundee´ after our steaks.

The best steak ever? Maybe...

2008-11-10T21:41:00.005Z

As soon as we crossed the border we had to try a steak. We were not dissappointed and we both took down the biggest, juiciest steak on offer and washed it down with an amazing Argentinian Malbec Red.

Technical difficulties

2008-11-10T13:25:00.002Z

We are currently experiencing technical difficulties at every internet cafe we go into and have gone into for the last two weeks. We will do our best to fill you in on all the goings on at the soonest possible date. I did eventually get my Bolivian visa and at the moment we are in Potosi, Bolivia, the highest city in the world. Many thanks! Hope you are all well.

The Iguazu Falls

2008-11-03T14:30:00.013Z

After an 11 hour journey in the truck, 786 km south of Bonito and across a time zone, we arrived in Foz do Iguacu, the Brazilian side of easily the worlds largest waterfalls - The Iguazu Falls. They form the border between three countries, Brazil, Argentina and a slightly further up the river, Paraguay.

Not surprisingly, we were greeted by a massive storm which hampered our tent setting up process but once that was done it was time for dinner and a few beers at a show down the road called the ´Refain Show´. It started off quite bizarrely but once our bellies were full and a few glasses of wine down, we were far more receptive to the flamboyant stage show and we started enjoying ourselves.

The next day was brilliant. First we explored the Parque das Aves (Bird Park) where we got to view toucans, macaws, conures, hummingbirds, butterflies and a whole host of other birds very close up. From their we explored the Brazilian side of the falls, as we´re told, the better side for panoramic views of the 275 different waterfalls. And we weren´t dissappointed. For me this is probably the most impressive natural phenomenon I´ve seen. It is truly epic. The path takes you along the length of the falls and their are plenty of vistas and view points from which to drink the whole view in. And you need them, there is that much to see. Along the foresty path there is so much wildlife too, lizards, legouaans, coati (raccoon-like animal which is actually a pest), eagles, vultures and butterflies to name a few.

A few days later we crossed the border into Argentina where we got to experience the falls from the other side. From Brazil you ´see` it but from Argentina you ´feel´ it. We experienced the upper and lower paths which take you perilously close to the edge of the different falls. It really is crazy how you get to view them so close up. Later on we took a speed boat ride which gives you the opportunity to experience the falls from a water perspective. Again this was great and apparently I was the only one poeping myself when we were driven within inches of being obliterated by two different waterfalls.

To end off our trip of the Argentinian side of the falls we had to visit ´Gargant del Diablo´ - The Devils Throat, the biggest of all 275 falls where over a million litres of water falls over the precipice per second. Again I was blown away by how close you get it, and how low the railings were! It was like an adventure ride at a theme park: the water sprays and lurches sporadically and occasionally you get completely soaked and everyone screams and hoots: unbelievable and something i will never forget.

Onwards to Bonito

2008-11-03T14:17:00.008Z

From Passo do Lontra in the Pantanal we drove 4 hours south to a town basically in the middle of nowhere called Bonito. Bonito is a fairly young town that has grown totally out of tourism. What everyone comes to see and experience is their array of waterfalls, springs, rivers and caves. The water here is high in Calcium bio-carbonate apparently which gives it a beautiful turquoise colour.

Straight after we arrived we headed straight for an outing of 7 different waterfalls at a farm nearby (something ´da Cachoeiras?). Because everything is geared around tourism the whole experience was so well organised, you walk along wooden paths through the forest and visit each fall one by one. One of them had a ´zip-line` but to us Saffas is a ´foofy(?) slide. That was pretty cool although it could´ve been a bit higher and gone on for longer.

The next day we did the famous snorkel along one of the freshwater rivers that winds its way through the dense forest. Just like the day before, we were yet again greeted with a harsh electrical storm and some heavy rain but its so hot here that it was never really an issue. The river is packed with pretty large fish that are not at all fazed by you swimming past, one of the types, Dorado are particularly big.

Other highlights in Bonito were the waterfall at the back of our campsite for cooling off in after a long day and the massive Tarantula in the mens toilets on the second night.

We have the photos of the snorkelling down the river on DVD.

The Pantanal Wetlands

2008-10-28T15:52:00.012Z

The Miranda River in the Pantanal

Diving into Cayman infested water!

On a boat trip down the river

Hi ho Silver!

Horse ride round the Pantanal

Piranha fishing!

Searching for anacondas...didn't find any though

Cayman hunting!

Paraty

2008-10-28T15:38:00.006Z

Paraty is a beautiful old colonial town just a few hours south of Rio. It pretty much poured for the three days we were there but we still had some fun on a intimidating but brilliant waterfall slide in the forest, a cichacca (Brazillian equivalent of cane) distillery and walked along a protected area of beach south of Paraty called Trindade. This area was really beautiful.

I also got some great footage of Robyn going down the waterfall the wrong way!

Rio is loco

2008-10-28T14:55:00.012Z

After a mammoth journey via New York and Sao Paulo we finally touched down in Rio. Things didn´t start too well and never really improved much during our stay in Rio either. I´m just not a massive fan of big cities these days, neither of us are.

Straight after we arrived at our hostel we threw down our bags and headed straight for the Copacabana, one of the most recognisable beaches in the world. It was cracker day and the beach was packed. We were both pleasantly surprised. The beach really seems to play an integral part in the lives of a Rio de Janerion(?). The water was freezing but refreshing.

But then the weather turned and it would be the start of about 5 straight days of rain. We visited Ipanema beach, the Corcovado, where the famous Christ the Redeemer statue sits aloft, but unfortunately the visibility was ZERO and we could barely see the end of our own fingers it was so cloudy. Disappointing. Then we went on to the Maracana Football Stadium (home of Flamego Football), the place where they have Carnaval and finally Sugar Loaf mountain, which to me was the highlight because we could see a bit more from there. Rio is an incredibly picturesque city.

One of the nights we went to a Samba party on the outskirts of Rio (pic3). It was one of the craziest experiences of our lives but I´ll explain more another time when I´m less stressed from this computer I´m typing on.

PS Brad, we had a meat Rodizio and it was excellent, although at times I wasn´t sure of what meat I was eating!

Were on our way...

2008-10-28T14:45:00.003Z

After a long and tiring build-up we were finally on our way to South America!

Leaving drinks @ The Leather Bottle

2008-10-09T11:38:00.012+01:00

Thanks to everyone who made the effort to come to our leaving drinks on Saturday night. We really appreciated it. I know I for one had an epic time and before I go any further, I'd like to apologise in advance for anything I may have said or done (during the latter half of the evening) whilst heavily under the influence of Tequila! I'm not sure what came over me, perhaps it was the thought that we won't be seeing many of you for quite some time, but whatever it was, I was one happy camper! I guess it was a fitting way to put a full-stop on our time here in the UK.

On a more serious note, it was great to see you all again and we both wish you all the best for your futures and wherever they may take you. Hopefully we'll be seeing many more of you down south on a more permanent basis.

Until then, I think only Badger reads this blog anyway, so until then Baj, keep an eye on this space for news and pics of our upcoming travels.

Goodbye England!

(PS Well not really 'goodbye'. We'll be back for two days on the 7th & 8th of Dec so let us know if you're keen for one last beer.)

'Ey up lads!

2008-09-22T16:53:00.018+01:00

The Lindley-Stringer House

Ground Zero: The tree where Kurt first convinced Toni that he wasn't like the rest of them

Last weekend Robyn and I went up to Doncaster to say goodbye to our friends Kurt & Toni. We also wanted to see their house which they bought last year and are currently renovating. We can confirm that the house is great and once finished will be a superb space to live in. Being South Africans we were both very impressed by the size of their garden and entertainment area and thanks to the great weather, we put it to the test straight away by spending most of the afternoon there catching up on the grass and drinking beer.

Other than having a good catch up we really enjoyed a scenic walk to their local pub on the picturesque River Don, where Kurt incidentally first wooed Toni almost 9 years ago! On Saturday night we ventured into town for a tasty meal followed by a few drinks, but perhaps due to the revelry of earlier in the day or possibly that three out of the four of us are now in our thirties, it wasn't long 'til we sought the sanctuary of home and a rum and coke.

Thanks for a top weekend guys, it was so good to catch up and we look fwd to seeing you next year (hopefully)!

This is what I have to look forward to…

2008-09-16T09:35:00.007+01:00

I'd far rather be in this tube

Badger, Veeds, Tont and some random on the wave of the day this morning at Wedge beach in Durban. Not a bad way to start the day is it? Beats a run before work!

Arsenal 4 FC Twente 0

2008-08-29T16:37:00.009+01:00

Robyn and I went to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night to watch Arsenal play Dutch side FC Twente in a Champions League qualifier. Its something we've really wanted to do before we head home.

The Stadium and everything about it is so 'first world' and it is beautifully designed both aesthetically and functionally. As you'd expect I suppose, from such a wealthy club who I'm tempted to become a supporter of! The atmosphere was brilliant too (for a mid-week qualifier game I'm told, crowd attendance was 59,000 of a possible 60,500!), aside from some witty verses from the Arsenal supporters the FC Twente supporters were brilliantly vocal in their corner and in a way really illustrated for me the difference between Football supporters and Rugby supporters. Football supporters are so much more expressive and arguably more passionate. It is a way of life for them. These people actually live for their side, unlike us who just watch our side on weekends. They fly to foreign countries during the week, during Winter, when they're sick, when they have no chance of winning, in the belief that if they chant loud enough they can sway the outcome of a game, and some times they do. Unbelievable.

So thankfully, as expected the Gooners beat them pretty comfortably in the end. I'm not sure how the Arsenal supporters would've reacted had they lost and not qualified for the Champions League this season, especially after losing to South London rivals Fulham the weekend before hand. Nasri got the first goal, followed by Gallas, Walcott and Bendtner.

The BIG 'Three-Ohhhhh…'

2008-08-29T13:42:00.012+01:00

Rico gets another one

Greg in blue, applying the pressure…

Rugby players always have their collars up

01:55am

01:56am

Shapeshifter: Wylie on fire!

So last week I turned thirty. Obviously I still feel the same as I did when I was 20, funny that because I'd only ever heard my parents or aunts and uncles say that sort of thing before - until now. I'll probably say that again in ten years time when at this rate, I'll more than likely be considering a mid-life crisis at forty! My word though, jokes aside it's pretty scary this ageing thing. Everybody who says its just a number is under the age of thirty!

Anyway, so it was also a friend of mines (Greg) 30th the week before mine, so a small group of us headed up to Cheltenham where Greg and his girlfriend Sam live, to commemorate the occassion. We arrived just in time to catch Grogger's pre-season warm-up match for the Worcester Warriors against a second division side who had the joyous task of trying to prevent the likes of Rico Gear and Sam Tuitoupou from running a complete riot through the mid-field and on the wings. Yes, a complete mismatch it was but it was great to see where Greg's been playing for the last year and their new stadium which is being increased in size.

After a few pints post-match we went back to Greg's flat for what turned out to be a very entertaining few hours of catching up, beers, down-downs, snacks, pizzas and champagne. And then it was off to the bright lights of Cheltenham to a club called 'Thirteen' which was surprisingly good, where (after a few tequillas) we danced the night away and celebrated being a little more distinguished and a little more wise now that some of us are thirty.

The Oval

2008-08-11T17:10:00.004+01:00

Flintoff bowls to Harris

Day four of the 4th Test against England at The Oval. Unfortunately we lost this, the final Test of the four match series, but overall we won the series 2-1 and the Proteas should be very proud of themselves. You only have to scroll down a few posts to see how poorly we began at Lord's just over a month ago but they showed tremendous character and resolve to fight back and save that first Test and then go on to win the following two tests at Headingley and Edgbaston respectively. And to achieve this all with what I would've said was a mis-firing, out of nick bowling attack and a national hero in Jacques Kallis uncharacteristically misfiring with the bat. This was a real team performance that has made their supporters proud. Well done!

Recent Reads 3

2008-08-05T21:42:00.008+01:00

'The Border Trilogy' by Cormac McCarthy constitutes three geniusely written books, All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing and finally, Cities Of The Plain.

Because I can't actually put into words how brilliant this Trilogy of books is(are?) I've chosen a few quotes (from the book sleeves) that I think best capture what I'm less able to say.

The Guardian describes All the Pretty Horses as 'One of the greatest American novels written of this or any time'.

The Sunday Times says 'The cumulative effect of McCarthy's, prose is uniquely compelling… his dialogue is, as ever, deliciously wry and laconic. When his cowboys spit, they speak volumes… At his unadorned best, he makes us feel the loss of a world we never knew'.

Bookworld says 'Turn to almost any page and you will light upon sharply observed details, painterly descriptions and the sound of real voice. Like the novelists he admires - Melville, Dostoyevsky, Faulkner - Cormac McCarthy has created an imaginative ouevre greater and deeper than any single book. Such writers wrestle with the gods themselves'.

The last stand

2008-08-04T12:43:00.004+01:00

A few Fridays ago I was lucky or unlucky enough, depends which way you look at it, to watch Waz Peddies last time out on the drums for the always impressive, super polished 'The Domino State' at a very slick little venue called The Luminaire in Kilburn, North London.

All I can say is their single 'What's the Question' is right up there with one of the best songs I've had the pleasure of hearing in the last few years. Absolutely world class. I would highly recommend you click on iTunes and purchase it immediately. You wont regret it.

www.myspace.com/thedominostate

A few hours at Lords…

2008-07-13T15:48:00.003+01:00

England versus South Africa, day one of the first test at Lords. What a setting. It has to be my favourite ground in cricket. Unfortunately England pretty much dominated the two hours I was there and I've still not seen a wicket fall at Lords. After all the pre-match hype about our justifiably rated bowling attack it was dissappointing to see the South African bowlers struggle like they did. Most unusual but if anything our cricket side has shown in the past that they do not go down without a fight. I won't mention anything about our batting then either…

England 2 USA 0

2008-05-30T09:40:00.006+01:00

Gerrard takes the corner

'The Don' and I

David Beckham receives his 101st Cap

Not much needs to be said really. England played a friendly against the USA and won 2-0 (Goals by John Terry and man-of-the-match Steven Gerrard). It wasn't the greatest game but it was more for the experience, and the tickets which were Club Wmebley seats, were free. It's a really impressive stadium too.

Diving in Dahab!

2008-05-24T21:45:00.017+01:00

Dahab strip

Lunch at El Salam - stressful

Taxi rank with Sinai Mountains in the distance

Day3 and geared up!

Robyn does the Macarena…aaaaiiii!

The Blue Hole

After an arduos 23 hour coach trip from Luxor across to Hurghada, up to Suez, across the Sinai Desert Peninsula to Taba and down a short distance from there, we finally reached Dahab. It was worth the effort. Dahab is quite a quirky little place with plenty of character and charm. It was originally a bedouin settlement, the remnants of which are thankfully still evident, which was only really opened up to the rest of the world in 1986 when some dusty traveller discovered that the volcanic reefs off it's shores were some of the best in the world to dive in.

Dahab is another place blessed with a lot of rugged natural beauty. A large mountain range resembling a collection of giant hardened mole hills, looms large a short distance from the sea, coupled with the varying view of a mountain range in the opposite direction out across the Gulf of Agada (25kms) in Saudi Arabia and the deep blue sea in between, creates a memorable setting. The narrow 'promenade' is littered with rustically presented restaurants and cafés (with great chillout areas) along the length of the small bay and the mantra for almost every one of them is to come in and chill out. I would say Dahab is still relatively untouched by commercial tourism in comparison to other Egyptian resort towns such as Sharm-el-Sheikh and Hurghada, but the signs are there that it is heading that way. One can only hope that when it does go that way they maintain the integrity of the town and it's people.

So Robyn and I did our Open Water 1 diving qualifications. This involved 3 pretty intense days of theory, drills, tasks and getting to know and be comfortable with all your gear. Days started promptly at 9am and didn't finish before 5pm. Lunch breaks were spent revising and going through our 'homework' and on the final day an exam! You may think that this doesn't sound like much of a holiday but it was and we both found it incredibly good fun and I would highly recommend it! Diving is the most surreal experience and something I never pictured myself doing for some reason but I am eternally grateful that I've tried it because it was brilliant.

Once we finished our Open Water qualification, our instructor (Sophie - who was excellent) was leading two dives a few days later and our fellow student, Jon-Paul was joining them. One was a 'drift dive' at a reef called The Canyon and the other a 'deep dive' at The Blue Hole. These dives could go towards an Advanced Open Water qualification, for which you need to do a total of 5 different types of dives. Upon reassurance that we were more than ready for it we decided to join them. Well the dives were superb and were undoubtedly the highlight of the trip.

The Canyon was I guess, a fairly routine sort of dive however at 18m you descend through an intimidatingly narrow hole into what is essentially a cave which at the bottom is just over 30m deep. One by one we descended like parachuters into the hole and once we were all there we casually swam towards an exit a short distance away. At all times on the dive we were surrounded by different types of brightly coloured fish, large and small and by this time we were feeling very much in control and comfortable with our buoyancy and breathing.

The Blue Hole was our next dive. It is famous for having 'no bottom' although it's rumoured to be around 800m deep (that's almost three Eiffel Towers deep). Diving along the reef shelf at just over 20m was once again incredibly surreal. All these new sensations twitch to life around your brain, like dusty switches that have waited a life time to finally be turned on. One of these sensations was the feeling of flying. I was at the back of the group of five and to the right and towering well into the distance above us was the life-infested reef and in front, below and to the left as far as the eye could see, turquoise blue getting ever darker to finally an inky black. In front of me, four divers gliding through the blueness. Looking upwards to the swarms of fish and finally light rays at the surface funnelling down and refracting and reflecting through the water, illuminating things on the way down. All the while maintaining a yoga-like calm, the only sound - your own controlled breathing. Magical!

Luxor & The Valley of the Kings

2008-05-24T09:21:00.016+01:00

A felucca on the Nile

Felucca driver adjusting his sail

Columns at the Temple of Karnak

Statue and palm at the Temple of Karnak

Luxor Temple at night

We took a suprisingly pleasant overnight train south down to Luxor, home of the Valley of the King and Queens, Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple. Luxor is a picturesque town on the Nile river flanked by a formidable mountain range to the east.

Even though Karnak Temple was great and Luxor Temple at night was beautiful, the real highlight of the 'Luxor leg' had to be the Valley of the Kings. A relatively small area in the mountains to the east, where former Kings of Egypt have been individually entombed with their earthly treasures. This is the place where British Archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the boy king, Tutankhamun in 1922. We ventured into three tombs (tourists are only allowed access to around 16 of the 40-odd tombs), those of King Ramses the 1st, 4th and 3rd. We were truly blown away by the quality, artistic and historical, of the hieroglyphics adorning the walls, floor to ceiling and ceiling included! It is also amazing to think of the effort that would have gone into constructing a single tomb up in the mountains during 50ºC heat, 2000 years ago!

Cairo chaos!

2008-05-23T21:59:00.010+01:00

The Sphinx and Chefren Pyramid in the background

The Step Pyramid of Djozer

Egyptian Stella is fine

Cairo is without doubt the craziest, busiest city we've ever visited. Which doesn't mean we didn't enjoy it. In fact we both felt a little agrieved that we didn't have enough time to explore it more. Nevertheless it is fortunate in that it is blessed with the world's oldest and arguably most impressive historical monuments (read tourist sites) – The Pyramids of Giza (also known as the Giza Necropolis) and the oldest of them all The 'Step' Pyramid at Saqarra which dates back to 2650 BC!

We were both extremely impressed by the Pyramids but equally irate by the amount of crooked peddlars that try to fleece you every which way you turn. If you go 30 seconds without being harassed you've done well. It's a shambles! Fair enough, that's what you have to deal with when you go travelling and I'm all for it, but after a while the novelty wears off.

Anyway, our trip into the centre of Chefren Pyramid (the middle one) was quite interesting! You have to walk down though this very snug tunnel (3ft wide X 3ft tall?) at about a 60º angle, across a little bit and then up a very similar tunnel of the same length into the tomb where two 'Authentic Egyptians' greet you and compete to see which one of them can rip you off more by explaining the history of the sarcophogus to you! And I was silly enough to expect that this would've been included in the ticket price!

This entry would be incomplete if I didn't mention something about the traffic in Cairo. It truly is BONKERS! 4 lane highways accommodate at least 6 lanes of clapped out cars, trucks, overloaded buses, donkey drawn carts (driven by children), pedestrians, scooters and motorcyclists (no helmet required) who all compete ferociously to get to wherever they're going first! And to top it all off we hardly saw any traffic lights and no one seems to (know how to) use their indicators! it's a case of 'just go where you wanna go boss but give us a toot so we know where you are!' I must say, it is strangely brilliant to see and it turns an otherwise dull taxi ride into the most envigorating of expericences!

Cairo, Luxor and diving in Dahab…

2008-05-21T09:26:00.002+01:00

Coming soon!

Recent Reads 2

2008-04-29T09:37:00.015+01:00

I love the way this implies I read quite a bit! I don't, but I'm slowly getting into it and these days, if I don't have a book to read it feels a bit strange.

King of the Gypsies I really enjoyed this book. It's an autobiography about Bartley Gorman, the greatest bareknuckle fighter of all time. Not only is it a very interesting insight into the world of 'illicit prize-fighting', but it also provides an interesting glimpse into the world of the travelling gypsies around England.

The God of Small Things by Arundathi Roy
I found this quite a difficult read, however it is a very well crafted book. I found the writing style of the author to be quite unique and creatively astounding. Some of her descriptions are genius. It is set in Kerala, southern India and simply put, the story revolves around an affluent Indian family, more importantly a pair of twins (Rahel & Esta) who's lives change one day through tragedy.

Endurance: Shackletons Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic by Alfred Lansing
I found this to be one of the best books I've ever read. And when you remind yourself that it is a true account of Sir Ernest Shackletons ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in 1912, it becomes even more outrageous. I won't go into more detail for risk of ruining it for any of you who may want to read this. I will say though, that there is a great lesson here of the importance and value of good leadership and always thinking positively no matter what the situation.

One night in Cambridge

2008-03-24T13:42:00.008Z

Kings College before and after

Having spent a bit of time in Oxford, I've always wanted to see Cambridge and compare the two towns for myself. So we headed up there on Saturday, just for a night to make something of our Easter weekend. Usually we try get away for Easter, but this year we haven't had the time to sort out any sort of visa because of my own UK visa application.

It may have been the inclement weather (blizzardy) but if anything I was slightly disappointed. The college's are really impressive though, especially King's College which is an incredible architectural feat. What I found most strange was the inaccessibility of the river (Cam). I was hoping to walk along the river Cam and admire the Colleges and Punters from there but sadly that wasn't possible. You could walk along the river for a very short stretch but after about 50 metres it takes you away from the town and then, well you may as well be in any other field around the country.

R.I.P. 'XDU' (Pronounced 'X'udu)

2008-03-12T20:30:00.004Z

It was shortlived but we thoroughly enjoyed driving you my friend. It's a shame that it was going to cost more than you were worth (financially not emotionally) to get you through your yearly M.O.T (roadworthiness test). Frankly, after 133,656 miles (214,000km) we shouldn't have been suprised, and yet we were. Why? Because you were the (blue) rock.

Nevertheless we really enjoyed our time with you and our only regret is that it couldn't have lasted longer. You took us to Cardiff to watch the Boks last year and you were there with us up in the Cotswolds when Robyn and I got engaged. Not to mention the number of little trips around town and arduous runs to Sainsbury's when you so readily lugged all our groceries home with you. We will miss you.

You never mentioned whether we should sell your parts for scrap or simply take you to that creepy place down by the river where the only things that ever come out are coke can sized pieces of compressed metal. You can rest assured though, that we will do whatever we think would suit you best.

Go well XDU.

Band of Horses @ Koko

2008-02-27T20:26:00.014Z

It's hard to believe that it was just a year ago that Band of Horses came onto the scene and into my life. All I can say, is that probably more than any other band I've ever seen, these guys make me regret, almost despise the fact that I was never musically inclined as a youngster. I'm greener than the Hulk with envy that I can never be like Band of Horses. Why oh why did I never want to be a musician or in a band when I was younger? Naively and sheep-like, opting for a cricket bat or golf club instead!? My years of standing disinterestedly on the third man boundary have long since past and golf I'm afraid is a sport that will seemingly forever create more pain than joy for me. Silly, silly me…If I have one piece of advice for any youngster out there, it would be for them just to consider learning a musical instrument, do it for yourself and nobody else. Because that's the difference between music and sport.

Lead singer Ben Bridwell however, seems to be fully aware of this gift and (almost on my behalf) seems to relish and devour every second on that stage. He is the lightning conducter through which the bands music flows. It is infectious and very satisfying to see someone clearly revelling in what he was born to do. The next best thing to doing it yourself I guess.

Anyway, so as you may have guessed they were really good. Perhaps in a few years time when they have a deeper pool of songs to draw from they'll be BRILLIANT. Support band MGMT were also the find of the season for me and I wouldn't be surprised if 'Time to pretend' doesn't make them a household name in the very near future.

The 2008 Brit Awards

2008-02-21T20:21:00.009Z

'Punk' themed afterparty

Rihanna featuring The Klaxons

Kylie

Ribena

Leona Lewis

Sir Paul McCartney

Robyn and I were fortunate enough to be invited to last nights Brit Awards by the same guys I went to Dublin with in December last year. Now I'm not being fussy, because I was still fired up to be going, but it wasn't the best line-up I've ever seen at the Brit Awards. It was more mainstream pop than the rock 'n roll of recent years but it was still superb and an honour to see artists like Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue, Leona Lewis, Rihanna, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Klaxons, Mika, Mark Ronson and that Winehouse bird everyone seems to love. It was hosted by the Osbournes, who were surprisingly good but it's fair to say that Sharon dominated proceedings with what's really become a fairly predictable routine of unwitty, potty mouth comments riddled with layer upon layer of sexual innuendos.

What more can I say really, other than it was sort of but not quite, just like a normal concert but with an awards show thrown in amongst it. And then of course the added advantage of seeing a number of different acts on one night. What I will say however, is that the atmosphere and lighting was WAY better than your average gig and the sheer size of the place and amount of people crammed into the joint was sublime.

I'd love to say I rubbed shoulders with the the Foo Fighters, got Sarah Harding and Cheryl Cole's(Girls Aloud) numbers, bounced a few ciggies with the Arctic Monkey's but unfortunately I didn't! It will still go down as I night that neither of us will forget in a hurry.

Introducing Gareth Liam Clark!

2008-02-01T20:29:00.001Z

Lauren and Gareth

On the 23rd of December my brother Murray and his wife Lauren had a bouncy baby boy! His name is Gareth and he reluctantly made his way into this world 4 days behind schedule. Weighing in at a sizeable 3.9kg and sporting more hair than Sebastian Chabal! (the French rugby side's back-rower) Robyn and I were lucky enough to meet him when we were home, although between all the feeding and sleeping he was doing (note I didn't say crying because he hardly cried at all) I'm not sure he'll remember us too well! Nevertheless he is a very cute little guy!

To Lol and Muz, congratulations again and well done for bringing Gareth into the world! Robyn and I both look very fwd to seeing the three of you again soon!

The Cotswolds - Engaging!

2008-01-28T18:51:00.000Z

Had someone written a script, this would've been the spot - opportunity missed and clearly rattled

The Washbourne Court Hotel – prettier in Summer, but not too shabby in Winter either

Bullseye!

A few glasses of Champagne later…

Our car – holding it's own in the hotel car park

Broadway Tower, on the way home

As of Saturday evening Robyn and I are engaged!

Unaware of what was happening, I woke Robyn up on Saturday morning and told her to pack an overnight bag! After taking a bit of a detour (we missed our turn-off while I was sub-conciously rehearsing my proposal speech) we arrived at our hotel, (Washbourne Court) in Lower Slaughter.

The next plan of action was to go for a walk through the picturesque surroundings and en-route pop the question! Well, that's how it happened, although not as quickly as anticipated, and after a fairly lengthy loop around most of the north-east corner of the Cotswolds, just as the light was fading, I finally overcame the nerves and rather emotionally went down on bended knee on a boggy path (near a gate overlooking a field).

The rest of the evening and night went superbly and the hotel where we were staying delivered the goods. Many a glass of Champagne was drunk in celebration, but also in reflection of those closest to us who we would've loved to have shared the moment with.

Christmas in Durban

2008-01-20T19:57:00.000Z

For the first time in just under two years, we flew home on Christmas night for a very brief, five days in Durban. We had a really great time and it was superb to catch up with everyone again after a fairly lengthy period apart. As you can imagine, it was jam-packed with family get togethers, braais, babies, beers, sun and friends. Here are a few pics…

Jessica Semple reluctantly waters the garden

Jason Semple

The proverbial night at Waxies. Always good.

Jessica, Matthew (my nephew) and a rather pasty looking me

Matthew Clark

Recent reads

2008-01-20T10:32:00.000Z

Nineteen Eigthy-Four – George Orwell
This was written in 1948 (there or thereabouts) and is Orwells view of what the world would(could) be like in 1984 and features the original 'Big Brother' concept. All I can say is, thank the Pope he got it wrong because he didn't paint a very happy and smiley picture of life thirty-odd years down the line. Nevertheless, this is an epic, dark story of an individual (Winston) who cautiously rebels against the trappings of an horrific, totalitarian government on steroids. If it were a movie, it would be directed by Tim Burton starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter.

The Alchemist – Paulo Coehlo
I probably don't even need to write anything here as it seems I'm one of the last people on earth to have read this book! Nevertheless, the way in which this book is written makes it a pleasure to read, and at 180 or so pages, a very approachable read at that. It is a very simple story of a journey to enlightenment. At the same time it is also a lesson to us to be aware of what's going on, in and around our lives because there-in lie the answers to many of our most important questions.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
Without doubt, the best of the Harry Potter books. Personally, Ms Rowling has saved the best for last. It's chunky, but when the content is this good, at no time does it ever feel laboured. I'm not going to say anything more for fear of giving anything away and spoiling it for you.

Christmas Party in Dublin

2007-12-03T21:46:00.000Z

I (and another colleague) was lucky enough to be whisked off to Dublin last weekend with our clients for a sort of combined Christmas Party. The main feature of the weekend was a day at the races on Saturday at a place called Fairy Hill, about an hour north of Dublin. Well, I think it's about 10 & 0 now; the number of times I've bet on a horse/race and lost, so really, from a winning point of view it was a shocker, but that wasn't really the point, it was a fun day! The highlight being my friend Colin, who suggested we both chose a random horse (a horse that we think looks fit and capable of beating it's competitors) from the parade they do before the race and put 5 euros on them winning. And would you believe it, Colin's horse came in first, and with odds of 31-1, he thoroughly enjoyed the 155 euro's he walked away with. I attributed it to my lucky hat, but he wouldn't have any of it.

The rest of the weekend involved a fair bit of eating and drinking in Dublins many colourful restaurants and bars followed by even more drinking and eating in our hotel. Aside from the weather, which was more apocalyptic than anything nostra damus could've predicted, more tempestuous than Shakespeare could've described to us, it was a really enjoyable weekend filled with many laughs.

Wales 12 RSA 34

2007-11-25T16:04:00.000Z

The very least we could do to repay the Springboks for bringing so much joy into our lives last month, was go and support them when they played Wales for their one off 'Prince William Cup' test match in Cardiff yesterday.

Once again our warriors did not disappoint as they comprehensively outplayed a proud and very game Welsh side. We (the Boks) could so easily have fielded a weakened side but we didn't, we showed Wales the respect they deserve by fielding a side with 9 of the 15 players who lifted the World Cup just last month. You would've forgiven them for looking jaded or uninspired too, but jaded they weren't as they threw the ball around entertainingly and defended for their lives, playing and conducting themselves like the true champions they are. Well done guys!

It was a sad day too, Jake White's final match in charge of a side he's done so well in nurturing and turning into World Cup winners. Hopefully the powers that be will show the next coach a little bit more respect.

The National @ The Shepherds Bush Empire

2007-11-22T22:07:00.001Z

Courtesy of a very insightful birthday present from David Standley, I recently got to witness, without doubt one of THE best gigs I've had the chance of seeing while in London. Not that I've seen millions, but I've seen a few now, enough to know when I've just seen something special.

There's something about these guys. When brilliance and talent is coupled with a type of honesty and integrity, it makes for great listening. They won't be everyone's cup of tea though – Robyn gasped at me one Friday evening 'turn off that depressing crap'. Her loss really. What perhaps sets these guys apart from other similar bands is lead vocalist Matt Berningers vocals. I don't know too much about music, but it reminded me a lot of a Chris Rea ( circa Now thats what I call music 3 – 'This is the roaaad to hell…'), my friend (another ardent fan) Greg says Johnny Cash, and he's right, that's probably more accurate. In a nutshell, he has an incredibly deep and resonant voice and it just sets the platform. They're not particularly happy either but I like that. Hold on, let me rephrase that, they're probably happy, but their music doesn't come across to jovially (is that even a word?).

What made this gig (I say gig because it was pretty small, concerts are in arenas) special was a number of things.

1) The crowd – easily THE most mature, knowledgeable and appreciative audience I've ever seen. I was also comforted by the number of men there bearing my affliction – MPB (male-pattern baldness).

2) The band – when lead singer Matt Berninger kicked off you could see it was a big moment for him, you could've heard a pin drop, and his voice quivered ever so slightly, (like when you try get the mower going by pulling that cord and it just doesn't take) but as the music overtook their anxiety (and the mower kicked in) they never looked back. How many gigs/concerts have you been to where the band comes back for a second encore? Just one for me.

3) The location – Shepherds Bush Empire I hear you say? Ja I know it's average, but on this night it was just right. Have you ever sat upstairs? Ha, neither had I!

Okay it's passed my bed time now. Thanks Dave!

A little OTT?

2007-10-17T10:20:00.000+01:00

No disrepsect intended at all, honestly, but I think I know how to behave myself.

New Joisey, New York & Washington D.C.

2007-10-16T14:46:00.000+01:00

Last month, Robyn and I headed west for a long overdue trip to see my brother and his family in New Jersey, America. I really am going to try keep this as succinct as possible – I say this every time – but in a nutshell we had a superb time.

Brett, Chenay, Sophie and Amber live in a really picturesque little town in northern New Jersey (The Garden State) called Ramsey. It was great to finally see where they've been living for the last 4 years. In a way, it was very similar to the image I had in my mind, picture 'Who's the Boss' and you aren't far off. Wooden slat houses (complete with ubiquitous American flag), picket fences, big gardens, chipmunks, shopping malls and SUV's. From a tourist perspective, highlights (other than playing various ball games in the garden) were the Long Pond iron works and it's 'Ghost trees', a scenic drive up to Bear Mountain, where we could see the Manhattan skyline some 50 miles away (not to be confused with 'Big Bear' – Ridge and Brookes favourite haunt) and around to Piermont Pier, Brady's Pub (thankfully we didn't see Sammy Brady from Days of Our Lives there) and a few trips to the smorgasbord of shopping malls, where, ever so briefly, I felt what it must be like to be wealthy. Pounds go a a pretty long way over there.

We then headed into New York where we stayed with my second cousin Deborah, in the West Village. New York, for me was almost overwhelming. I mean, we knew, as everyone would, what to expect and yet still it exceeded expectations. We pretty much walked the city flat and did all the usual touristy things, so I won't bore you with all the details. It was also cool to get an insight of how New Yorkers live and Deborah did not disappoint with her choice of characterful restaurants and bars, all within walking distance of her apartment. Something I would definitely recommend, is a trip up the Rockefeller centre, as opposed to the Empire State building. Why? Because from the 'Top of the Rock' you get unobstructed views of Central Park, and superb views of Manhattan, including the Empire State building, which is an icon of New York.

After a few days, we then jumped on an Amtrak train bound for Washington D.C. A three hour train ride from the Big Apple. Washington was a totally different experience from the bustle of New York. George Dubya's home town is a bold statement, and rightly so, of everything American, but if I'm honest, I was slightly disappointed. I don't know why mom. Maybe I'm being super-critical, but I battled to buy into the overtly patriotic vibe. It could be, that for me, there were too many memorials in one place, or because we had just been in New York, or that after living in the UK for 3.5 years, I have a slightly different, perhaps cynical view of the American dream, I'm not sure. Nevertheless, it is an incredibly pretty, mellow legislative town, and the the Mall, which includes Capitol Hill*, Washington Monument (obelisk), the Reflecting Pool, the Lincoln Memorial and a host of other memorials, is mightily impressive. Another recommendation, should you ever find yourself wondering the streets of Washington, is the Air and Space Museum, one of the most interesting and interactive museums I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. And a 'New York strip steak' from the Old Ebbit Grill.

Now then, did I keep that succinct? I thought not.

*CapitOl and not CapitAl as a 'Capitol' is a building housing a legislative assembly

Robyn's Algarve Pics

2007-07-22T13:09:00.001+01:00

SUMMER LOVIN', HAD ME A BLAST!!!

Portugal – Algarve

2007-07-18T18:53:00.000+01:00

Last week, Robyn and I headed south to the Algarve for a long overdue holiday and some proper Summer weather. After touching down in a glorious, cloudless Faro on the Tuesday, who would've guessed that the next cloud we would see (briefly) would be on the Sunday afternoon, five days later? Incredible to think that not far from here (UK) the weather can be so totally different and pleasant.

Most days were spent lazing around in the 30ºC plus sun on a different, picturesque beach. Refreshing swims punctuated sustained periods of bathing our shockingly white bodies in the hot Portuguese sun. After a few days I downgraded from the Factor 30, to '20-minutes-in-the-sun-before-I-apply-the-first-coat' Factor 20, and it worked! And now, for the first time in who knows how long, I finally have that elusive tan! That tan that says I'm not English, I'm African!

Anyway, back to the holiday! We were really blown away by how beautiful, user-friendly and clean the beaches were. In the Algarve, the beaches all seem to have a characteristic (beautiful) look about them. Most of them are flanked by towering sandstone cliffs of varying height, and if not, you have a view of one somewhere in the distance. The impending sea has seemingly picked away at the dry, sandy coastline and left behind hundreds of little coves which over time have become beaches.

We hired a car for a day and drove westwards along the Coast to Lagos (Lah-gosh) and Luz (Loojz). Robyn managed superbly well on the other side of the road, well done Bob! Which reminds me, if any of you ever head to Albufeira in the Algarve, please do not hire a car from 'Auto-Prudente'. I can feel my heart-rate climbing uncontrollably as I type this. Just take it from us that they are the most USELESS, unaccommodating bunch of ill-mannered plonkers I've ever had the misfortune of crossing paths with.

A big thanks to Elise and Charles for letting us stay with them and for being such good hosts! We loved the BBQ's (Ribs and that tasty marinade being the highlight) and generally just chilling out on the balcony most nights sipping (very cheap) Finkbraus as the sun went down. Kent, if you're reading this, thanks for ferrying us around and generally being a pretty good tour advisor, we really appreciated it. I'm missing Sharkies already.

Pictures:
1. Sao Rafael beach (spot Robyn)
2. A beach in Lagos
3. Galle (Ga-lay) beach
4. Outside 'Marufo' chicken restaurant. Superb traditional Portuguese piri-piri (peri-peri? whats the difference?) chicken and great value too!
5. 'Submarine rock' seen from a sunset cruise up the coast

Billy Elliott

2007-06-24T12:04:00.001+01:00

The 'Moms on tour' took us to Billy Elliott last Saturday night. How we managed to organise tickets (on the day) for this show was nothing short of miraculous so when the guy at the Box Office said he had four tickets available we pounced on the opportunity. All that needs to be said is that Billy Elliott the Musical is worthy of all the praise it gets and is probably even better than the cinematic version. I'm not feeling creative or willing enough this morning to throw in any elaborate adjectives, alliteration or onomatopoeia to further emphasise how very good the production was/is so you'll just have to believe me or go see it for yourself.

Welcome to London!

2007-06-15T15:51:00.000+01:00

The Semple Mom and Clark Mom arrived safe and sound in London after a rather cramped flight! Here are a few pics to show you what they've been up to over the last week.

Welcome to London!

Semple Mom enjoying her first train ride in a very long time!

Sightseeing in London on our first night.

Admiring the Thames.

Dinner in the Cotswolds.

Arlington Row in Bibury.

More Photos of Barcelona.

2007-04-14T10:23:00.000+01:00

Not your usual beach attire!

Cable car up to Montserrat.

Easter Sunday.

Top of the funicular.

Easter in Barcelona

2007-04-11T23:18:00.000+01:00

So Robyn and I went to Barcelona over the Easter weekend. It's a city that's been on our list of 'places to go' for quite some time now and it was great to finally get there and see it for ourselves. I'm gonna try keep this fairly brief because I tend to harp on with these sort of posts. This is not to say that there isn't much to write about Barcelona because there is , it's just that I need to freshen things up a little in my approach, not stagnate creatively, raise the bar a little, evolve. So here's a list of the the things we did and liked most about Barcelona and what separates it from other European cities we've seen…

Sagrada Famila (Obviously): Barcelona's most famous building designed by Anton Gaudi. Gaudi practically designed everything there is to see in Barcelona. It's something like 120 years old and will only be finished in 70 years time. It's just such a unique structure, it shouldn't work but it does, bizarre but brilliant. There's also a great concept behind it too, if I interpreted it correctly that is.

Park Guell: Great views of the city and some interesting architectural and sculptural pieces dotted around the place. It's also stepped on many different tiers and there are a number of different winding paths to explore if you want to sneak away from the crowds.

Barceloneta Beach: It's not bad for a 'city beach' and if you're visiting Barcelona take your baggies (boardshorts) because it'll be worth a swim. There are some fairly decent restaurants/bars on the boardwalk where you can kick back, have a drink and decide whether it's warm enough to have a swim or cold enough to have another drink.

Montserrat: A Monk Monastery where apparently visitations by the Virgin Mary were reported many many years ago. It's about an hour out of town by train but this place is really worth a visit. Unfortunately we didn't have time to visit the Monastery itself but if you like beautiful mountain scenery and 'hiking' then this is the place to go.

Street/Environment Sculpture: Barcelona is a creative melting pot and evidence of this is the sheer amount of Sculptures there are around just about every corner. Some are ugly, some are cheesy, some are great but they all add character and life to the city and Barcelinians (yup, apparently Barcelinian and not Barcelonian) should be proud of this. The architecture's not bad either and you get the impression that the people in Barcelona will try anything once.

Port Olimpico: Interesting Modern buildings where the Olimpians stayed during the '92 Olympics. A welcome interlude from some of the older architecture. And the Parc de Cituadelen is within walking distance.

Chido One: A great, quirky Mexican style restaurant tucked away in the back alleys of Barcelona that no tourist could stumble on. I reckon Gaudi would've frequented this restaurant were he still alive. It literally oozes originality and character and is a mish-mash of different styles but the end result is memorable. It's like a microcosm of the city itself.

Some of the things we didn't like so much…
I'm not sure whether it's a Spanish thing or just a Barcelinian thing but GENERALLY they really seem to lack that idea of personal space. Now don't think I'm a wuss or anything, but it gets seriously irritating when almost every time you try get off a train there's a bunch of impatient people trying to shove there way on at the same time. It simply doesn't work. And don't get in the way of them walking either, sheesh the number of times I had to duck, dive, dip and dodge a charging Spaniard was borderline ridiculous. Perhaps this is why they're so good at bullfighting? Oh yes, and what's up with that weird 'mullet-like' hairstyle that an alarming amount of them sport over there? It's not like a normal mullet – 'business at the front, party at the back' – which I actually think is pretty cool, cos I've got one myself, (although mine isn't intentional) it's short back and sides all over until about 5cm from the bottom at the back of the neck and then it gets seriously long and hangs over the collar!? Come on…

Paris on Monday, Barcelona on Friday!

2007-04-11T20:32:00.000+01:00

You have to admit, it does sound kind of glamorous! I had to go to Paris for work on Monday and stayed the night so I could attend another meeting on Tuesday. I had limited time on the Monday afternoon but I took the chance to take a stroll around the gardens outside the Louvre and put my camera to work. Here are some pics...

More pics...

2007-03-24T19:36:00.000Z

Just thought I'd put some more pics on the blog to keep you entertained.

This is the first day in Andorra...as you can see it was pretty sunny!

Jax enjoying a well deserved glass of wine!

The combination of beer and snow had a frightening effect on Bradley.

Shaun was thinking "sjoe, this is lekker fun!"

Andorra - Pleasure & pain

2007-03-16T16:45:00.000Z

Robyn: So we’re back from Andorra after a really cool skiing/boarding trip with Brad and Jackie. All limbs are still attached and in good working order (well Shaun’s a little achy, but coping). I was pretty happy with my skills and am slowly getting better and more confident down the runs. Quite frankly, I won’t be surprised if the National Austrian downhill skiing team approaches me with a sponsorship deal quite soon. Ok, ok perhaps a bit of an exaggeration but I do think I can confidently go down most of the reds. This obviously excludes a run called Miguel – a red with an attitude – Shaun assured me that the one small but decidedly steep section was black, so we’ll class it as a Maroon run. I’m not too confident on the Maroons. ANYWAY…Andorra was a bit of a mish mash of culture – being a tiny principality sandwiched between Spain and France. Some of the shopkeepers would speak French to me (perhaps I look French, oui, oui?? That’s “wee wee” to the uninformed!!!) and some would speak Spanish – hola! We didn’t experience too much Andorran culture in the resort but hey, that’s not what a skiing trip is about.

It was hot and dry when we arrived and Shaun wanted to swap his board for a mountain bike. The snow cannons allowed us to ski for the first few days but we were blessed by the weather gods and a big snowman took a dump right over our resort for 2 days solid! The ski conditions improved immensely and our confidence increased! Friday was my best day, a culmination of the week’s “preparation”– we ventured all the way to the neighbouring resort of Pas de la Casa cruising down some awesome wide runs. By the end of the week we were knackered, the body had been tested beyond its limits (these days, getting up too quickly from my chair can cause a muscle spasm – let’s just say I’m not in peak condition). We arrived back in London on Sunday and were fortunately greeted by glorious sunshine which helped to quell the post holiday blues. And here I am, back at work – dreaming of the next holiday…aaah!!

Shaun: Our trip to Andorra was excellent and a welcome and well-deserved break for Robyn and I. What so often makes a good trip though is the company you share it with, and it was brilliant that we got to spend some quality time with Brad '*Henry' and Jax before they jet off on their round-the-world trip in May. It was also great to see how enthusiastic and keen they both were in tackling the daunting but fun task of skiing for the first time.

Firstly, I would definitely recommend Soldeu (pronounced Sol-day-o) as a Ski Resort, especially for skiers of 'beginner' to 'intermediate' skill levels. I say skiers, because I don't believe it's as suited to snowboarders. A high percentage of the runs have flat sections in between the odd dip and at times it becomes nigh on impossible to complete a run without having to unstrap at some point and labour up to the next highest point so you can continue down the run. This shouldn't deter any snowboarders from going to Soldeu though as it's still superb, you just need to push your speed levels to new heights! (They also have the best snowboard park I have ever seen at neighbouring resort El-Tarter). The vast network of runs that are available are wide and predominantly a mix of blues and reds. The facilities are also first class, no rickety chair-lifts or crappy old hire equipment, just about everything is new. This is indicative of the amount of money that's being poured into the place through Andorra's number one earner – (Winter)tourism. I believe most of that money comes across the bars in the little town and I must say, I was blown away by the London prices in a country/principality I was told would be cheap. To clear things up for everyone concerned (including Thomson – so please update your brochures accordingly), Andorran ski resorts are not cheap, amongst other things, 4 Euro's for a small bottle of San Miguel is blatantly having a giraffe. It's an absolute shame that the Brits have practically taken over this town to, if it weren't for the surrounding setting of the spectacular Pyrenees mountains one could easily have been forgiven for thinking we were in Birmingham or Hull. Hmmmm, yes, more England and Hackett t-shirts, Reebok Classics and Argo's chains than you can shake a ski pole at.

It was also great that we got the chance to see Ben and Michelle again and meet some of their cool, down to earth friends.

My 'MVP 'for Andorra '07 had to be Robyn though, she ski'd more and more confidently all week and improved vastly from our previous trip. On the one occassion, as she said earlier, we managed to ski all the way across to the 'Mobeni of the Slopes' – Pas de la Casa, (which I think may be Andorran for 'extremely dirty place with not one single tree') probably a good 10-15km's away and definitely the ugliest resort I've ever clapped my wary eyes on.

All in all a great and memorable time was had by all. In closing, special mention must go out to Vicky, our holiday rep who showed genuine concern for our general happiness and well being throughout the trip and religiously ensured that we were always kept abreast of resort goings on. Not. And finally, thanks to the Thomson bus for arriving 20 minutes late on the Sunday morning, toilet pipes frozen and all. We all thoroughly enjoyed standing outside waiting in the icy breeze. It wasn't that chilly up there, probably only about 20 below, not counting the wind chill. Thankfully we had all just seen 'March of the Penguins' otherwise we may all have frozen to death up there. It was also a good thing no one needed the toilet during the 3.5hour coach trip to the airport either. Not. Perhaps, going forward you could install toilets in your buses (that travel to ski resorts), that don't have issues with freezing pipes, thus rendering them useless? Oh but you couldn't do that now could you because then there'd be no reason to stop at that god forsaken, culturally devoid 'chip hut' in the middle of nowhere that obviously all you sold out tour operators own and make a quick dirty buck out of!? You can't pull the wool over my eyes. Have some respect for local culture, I'd have far rather used the toilets at the Macdonalds 200m down the road. I was half-expecting Vince Vaughan (from the movie Psycho) to pop round the side of the bus and tell me it was all a dream after you'd locked us outside for 20 minutes! I was particulalry impressed to by how quickly Vicky and the customer repellant bus driver rushed back to the vehicle once they'd found out! You loafed, that's what both of you did, LOAFED! And not an explanation or apology between you!? Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse! Thomson, you need to raise your game in Andorra BIG time, you're being left behind by your competitors. And no, I didn't fill out your 'Customer Satisfaction Questionaire' because frankly I was too disillusioned and couldn't be bothered to. Plus there probably wouldn't have been enough space in the boxes for me to vent accordingly.

There, now I feel better. Now if only more people would read this blog so that I could actually make a difference in this world.

*'Henry' is a brand of Vacuum cleaner over here and is also a metaphor for the amount of food that Brad can consume in one sitting.

Andorra

2007-03-13T09:55:00.000Z

When we get a chance, one of us will be uploading images from our recent Ski trip to the principality of Andorra. Thanks to www.offshoreinfo.com for the map.

'til then…

24601

2007-02-22T10:35:00.000Z

On Valentines Day, Robyn and I went to watch the much vaunted musical, Les Miserables. Now, we've heard a great deal about this show, people who've seen it more than once because it's so good, claiming it as their favourite show, 'you have to see it' etc etc but for some reason I've never known what the heck it's about? Well we saw it and it did not dissappoint and the more I think about it in hindsight, the better it seems to become.

I battled to follow some of it, but what I did follow, and fully catch, was memorable. It's based on the book (of the same title, meaning 'The Poor ones') by French author Victor Hugo, and is just a great piece of masterfully inter-twined script-writing. The reason why I like 'Les Mis' so much, is because the subject matter and story are so real and meaningful. It's not about a lion looking for his cub, or about a hack dancer with a drug problem trying to make his mark on the LA dance scene, it's REAL and we could learn from it if we chose to. It examines the importance of realtionships and having love/passion in your heart. I won't tell you too much more, but the story is based around the long, dark, road to redemption walked by (ex-con – hence the '24601' title) Jean Valjean, who, from this day forward (even though the story is most probably fictitious) shall be my new hero. It's kind of like a rags to riches story, but also of how a person can change and reform himself if he really wants to and believes that that is the path he must take. Other than that, it contains everything you would expect from a west-end show, brilliant stage design, lighting and costumes and possibly the most emotional and moving solo (think Pippen's solo to the Steward of Gondor during the Final Lord of the Rings movie) towards the end by the legendary Jean Valjean which sent the crowd into rapturous applause.

The London Zoo

2007-02-20T17:31:00.000Z

A few weeks ago, we went to the London Zoo. I've been meaning to go for ages and for some reason today was the day. I have to say, it was a little dissappointing. Think Durban's Mitchell Park, throw in a few bigger animals and go there on the coldest day in Durban's history. The UNDOUBTED highlight of the day for us, was this Malayan Tapir…

What a legend of an animal! The whole time we gazed inquisitively over the fence at him, (wondering whether he was a giant ant-eater wearing a poncho or a miniature hornless Rhino with a crew-cut) he trotted around his pen rather disturbingly, with a crazed look in his eye! He even narrowly missed peeing on Robyn when she got too close with the camera, as he rounded the chicane closest to us. You see, I reckon he was a newbee. Quite clearly still coming to terms with the whole Zoo set-up. I don't blame him either, it must be a pretty harsh reality to come to terms with. Spending the rest of your life in a crappy cage only for people to watch your evey move. Like some sort of sick Big Brother, but without the 15 minutes of fame and a cover shot on Heat Magazine for your CV. Escape, quite clearly, was at the top of this fella's mind.

Another highlight was the Reptiles section which was/is really good. They even have a sign showing you the enclosure (which now has a Black Mamba in it) they used in the first Harry Potter film, where Harry makes the glass dissappear and his fat cousin falls in and screams like a baby. This particluar Iguana was one of the highlights. Just chilling on his dried out piece of driftwood, under the lamp in his tank. Clearly very comfortable.

They also have a few suprisingly healthy looking Asian Lions. Did you even know there were such things? I didn't. I thought they were unique to Africa. Apparently, a heck of a long time ago, these guys roamed the plains/deserts between Turkey and India. There was also a very average looking, but cute Sloth Bear, in fact I'm not even sure it was a bear, it could easily have been someone in a bear-suit. Oh and I forgot, they also had two tigers. Keep an eye out for July when they'll be adding a Gorillla to their list of attractions.

All in all, worth a visit, it's worth it just for the Tapir. Don't forget your oystercard to, so you can claim the 2for1 deal.

Look What I Bought!!

2007-02-15T12:48:00.000Z

Ooooh, look what I finally had the courage (stupidity?) to buy. I've been wanting a lekker cool camera for a looong while now and I finally gave in to temptation and bought it! I did feel a little nauseous right after the purchase, but feeling much better at present! Right, now to learn how to use the blasted thing!!
Robyn

Tales of the Golden Monkey

2007-02-15T10:55:00.000Z

I can't take credit for this one, you have to thank Eugene, sorry, 'EuJEAN Pant' for this. Great work Eugene! This'll be the last program I put up on here, just in case some of you are getting bored with this type of thing. Anyway, I distinctly remember this program scaring the kak out of Murray and I as youngsters. One particular time, I bolted out the lounge screaming and went and sat next to my mom who was on the phone to someone. Like she was going to protect me or something? As if the monkey could climb through the telly? Thankfully 'The Ring' hadn't come out then! It had these really frightening monkeys on it. I'm not sure why they were so scary, but just take my word for it, they were manky. I think they were riddled with rabies or some other such disease that made them totally crazed. Other than that, the program was pretty average, I think it may have been the first time I saw a plane land on water, which was pretty cool back then…

Oh my word, and I've found the terrifying Monkey! Pretty impressive for back then…

Dusk in Regents Park

2007-02-06T10:09:00.000Z

By Robyn
Although I must admit that this is one magnificent photo, the idea was in fact Shauns! He had, just two minutes before, taken a similar photo of a similar tree just further up the path. It just so happens that my tree was prettier than his and so made for such an awe inspiring picture! Better luck next time Shauna ;)

Snow in London!

2007-02-06T10:06:00.000Z

CHECK IT OUT!!
Ok this is a photo that was actually taken a week or two ago when it last snowed over here, but we awoke to a similar scene this morning and it's still snowing at 9:38 in the morning so it's actually thicker than the picture! Woohoo. Shaun was so excited he wore his snowboard jacket to work today!

Top Dog

2007-02-02T16:17:00.000Z

Youtube is GREAT. Recently, for some reason unbeknown to me, I've been delving deep into the darkest recesses of my brain to try and remember some of my favourite TV programs as a kid. I've attached the theme song to one of them below. The program is 'The Littlest Hobo' and the theme song is 'Maybe Tomorrow'. Ahhhh, yes, I see, I've ignited a memory! What a song and what a briliiant program it was! The Littlest Hobo was kind of a rougher, tougher, less feminine version of Lassie, and although I'm not the hugest fan of German Shepherds, I'm slowly changing my tune.

The littlest hobo was a legend, rather unassuming actually and unlike Lassie, never had any owners, hence the nickname 'Hobo'. At the end of each episode, he'd just bugger off down the street nonchalantly and go find someone else to help protect from thieves or something. And so the next episode would begin. Much like Jessica Fletcher, trouble was never far from the littlest hobo.

So have a watch, it's sure to stir up some emotion. I'm also going to list some of my other favourite's, they're all on youtube, so just punch the program name into their search bar and reminisce away.

Here are a few, in no particular order: Mr Belvedere, St Elsewhere, Different Strokes, Silver Spoons, Riptide, Thundercats, Chips, Who's the boss, The Equalizer, Empty Nest, Bob Newhart.

Stockholm

2007-01-11T17:41:00.000Z

On the 27th of December, Robyn, Dave and I dragged ourselves away from the festivities of Stanfest and boarded a plane to Stockholm, Sweden.

When we arrived, at about 14h00, the sun was already going down rapidly and by the time we got to our hotel, via the efficient T-Bana underground system, it was pitch dark, and quite frankly, I was ready for a beer. Alas no, after all it was only about 16h00, and not 20h00, as I had thought, and there was a city to explore. We headed straight for Gamla Stan, Stockholm's old town, through Sodermalm (the area we were staying in, just south of the city centre). After snaking our way through the the narrow, dimly lit cobble-stoned alleys we finally gave in to the freezing cold wind and found a very reasonable, cozy Italian restaurant to thaw ourselves, and after a surprisingly good meal, decided that that was enough for one evening.

The city of Stockholm has a population of just over 1 million people (to give you an idea of scale, London is home to close on 10 million people) and is made up of 14 islands which in turn form part of the 'Stockholm archipelago' of 24,000 islands and islets which stretch 60km eastwards to the Baltic coast. Stockholm is also famed for it's number of Museums (over 70) and galleries and they are keen creatives, taking their design very seriously. Design and functionality appear to merge there and I'm still deciding whether it's possible that the rest of the world copies there style (particularly interior/industrial design)!? For example, Dave said, if there Macdonalds branches were to stop selling burgers they could easily convert them into nightclubs. Such is the style in which they're designed. Chic and modern if you want a cliché. The only normal chair that I sat in for four days, that didn't look like it came straight out of the Bauhaus School of Design was in the Irish style pub we had dinner in on our last night (it's an expensive city and Swedish is surprisingly difficult to decipher on a menu!).

I won't go into too much more detail but I'll tell you of a few things that we did, that I would recommend to anyone else planning a trip there.

Definitely visit the Vasa Museum. The 'Vasa' is a ship that capsized in 1628, 100 metres from port (in Stockholm) on her maiden voyage. It really is such an interesting story and amazingly, almost all of the ship has been recovered and restored. The museum is brilliantly interactive to.

Take a ferry trip to the inner most outer islands, or you could go to Vaxholm, unfortunately we didn't have enough time.

Walk around Djürgaarden, and see all the different style extravagant houses.

Have a sundowner at the Radisson skybar, near T-Centraalen, it's reasonably priced to.

Stay at the Clarion Hotel and see how hard it is to get out of those beds. It's worth it though because the breakfasts are superb. http://www.clarionstockholm.com/

Explore Gamla Stan, possibly one of the nicest (and definitely the cleantest) old towns I've ever seen.

Take the lift (Klaanaslussen?) up to the unbelievably rickety looking platform for some great views of the city and harbour front. Nearest tube stop – Slussen. Turn right out the station.

Go to Macdonalds for some design inspiration.

Walk from Slussen (stop on the T-bana) to Skanstull, there are lots of different restaurants and bars to choose from.

Don't go to Kristine Berg beach. It's not actually a beach, but a jetty, and more an industrial area cross up and coming residential apartment area. But if you want to see a spitting image of Willie Wonker's Chocolate Factory, by all means go there.

Some useful Information:
• Pint of beer = 52 Swedish krona's = £3.70 - £4
• Average meal = 130SKr = £10/£11
• When using their public transport, the cheaper alternative to buying a 'Stockholm Card' is to buy a book of 10 (128SKr) tickets. Each ticket is valid for an hour, during which time you can use all modes of transport as many times as you like. Someone really should tell them about the 'one day travelcard' though.
• Catch the 'Vlyggbus' from Arlanda airport to T-Centralen (Central station), journey takes about 40 minutes and costs about 150Skr (return), almost half the price of the Arlanda Express train.
• Box of 20 Marlboro Lights – 30SKr (Yes, very cheap)

Stanfest 2006

2007-01-11T17:08:00.000Z

A BIG thank you to everyone involved in making 'Stanfest 2006' the great Christmas Festival it was, and to our overseas guest, Gregory James Webb, for flying out from the depths of China to join us! Thanks Gro, it really wouldn't have been the same without you.

Badger's Farewell

2007-01-11T16:58:00.000Z

Badger Ash has finally left this muddy island and is at this moment traipsing around the Far East before he heads back to South Africa. Farewell drinks were held at Zulu Bar (a local South African haunt where they sell Castle beer, Hunters Dry and have wooden African sculptures nailed to the wall - all very Zuluish). Attached are some pics that they took at the bar and which appeared on their website. Much fun was had by all!

Robyn

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-22T11:58:00.000Z

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family wherever you are in the world! May the new year bring health, happiness and everything that you hope for!

With lots of love
Robyn and Shaun

Charlton 1 Blackburn 0

2006-12-20T15:00:00.000Z

A few weeks ago Robyn, Badger and I went to a premiership game at 'The Valley', home of Charlton Athletic. A friend of ours called Marco organised us tickets and we were on our way. It wasn't the most attractive games of football but there were plenty of shots on goal which somehow all went straight to the keeper! Charlton played the better out of the two sides and I thought they eventually deserved their hard fought 1-0 victory in the end, thanks to a rolling grubber of a free-kick by Talal El Karkouri which somehow managed to avoid everyone on it's way to the back of the net. And a valuable 3 points to the bottom of the leagues sitters. Thanks again Marco!

Shuz

Bobotie Recipe

2006-12-07T14:34:00.000Z

This is great. What a global village we live in. A friend of mine at work just emailed me this image. Thanks to Jeanette! Enjoy.

Shuz

'Dons, dons, Paree dons'

2006-11-28T20:19:00.000Z

A weekend away in France for Scouty's 30th!

On Friday (24th November) night Brad, Jackie, Robyn, Eugene, Heidi, Ben, Michelle and I boarded the Eurostar for Paris and what would be a great weekend away. Our first stop – Moulin Rouge (Direct translation 'Red Windmill'). After a customary Duval(8.5% Belgian beer) and a few Stella's we were raring to go upon arrival in Paris.

Moulin Rouge was excellent, despite being harangued by possibly the rudest people I've ever come across, I easily managed to put that behind me and really enjoy the show! Thanks largely to the free Champagne. The show was really full on. At first it seemed a little shallow but it soon developed into a full on assault of the senses. Bright colours, bosoms, miniature-ponies, pythons, acrobatics and easily the highlight, Eugene being pulled up on stage to participate in one of the mimes. I'm telling you Eugene, put that in your CV!

On Saturday we took a train from Gare L'est 1.5 hours north-east of Paris to a town called Epernay in the heart of the Champagne region. Nathalie, our tour guide picked us up from the station after we had lunch and it was off to their guesthouse/Winery, Domi-Moreau, to drop off our bags and start our tour of the vineyard with her. It was great to see how passionate she was about her job and it really was an informative few hours. Nathalie and her husband Max (Maxi-taxi) make 4 types of Champagne, 'Traditions', 'Blanc de Blancs', 'Cuvee rosé' and 'Cuvee d'argent'. We tasted the first two and were split down the middle as to which we preferred. Nevertheless, we all bought a few bottles in the hopes of actually taking a few back to the UK with us. How naive of us to think that we would not drink it almost straight away? It really was good though, not that I'm a connoiseur, but the best Champagne I've ever tasted.

Check out their website: http://www.champagne-domimoreau.com/pages/welcomepag.html

After some more wine-tasting and revelry, Maxi-taxi dropped us off in Epernay, where we would have quite an entertaining dinner, thanks to our wonderful understanding of the French language! Brad and Michelle both mistakingly ordered kidneys, which they thought would be veal (voue?).

So it was a great night and our accommodation was excellent, I would highly recommend staying with Nathalie and Max should you ever find yourselves in the Champagne region, which you should. Apparently September is the time of year to visit, when the vineyards are being harvested and everything is in full bloom.

On Sunday we did a tour of the 'Mercier' Champagne house, which has a very proud history of producing top quality Champagne. Whilst it was both interesting and informative the tour of Nathalies was infinitely better.

Thanks Brad and Jax for organising everything and to Euegene, Heidi, Ben and Michelle for making it all the more memorable!

Au revoir, Shaun

Some interesting facts about Champagne and so on…

Champagne can be made from any one of only three different types of grape, that is Chardonnay (a white grape), Pinot noir(red grape) and Pinot Meunier(red grape) pronounced 'Munye' like 'Simunye Grooooves'.

Rather embarrassingly for me, because I honestly didn't know this, white juice comes out of red grapes.

Champagne undergoes 2 different fermentation processes. The second one is what creates the bubbles and is also to reduce the acidity in the Champagne.

You aren't allowed to use any machinery when farming your vineyards in Champagne. Almost everything is done by hand.

Champagne consists of only 35,000 hectares of which Nathalie and Max have 6.

Roughly 1 hectare of vineyard is valued at €1 million.

Nice one Nathalie and Max.

Robyn has a surprisingly excellent grasp of the French language and was our interpreter for the weekend.

One of the reasons why the Champagne area is so unique and conducive to producing top quality vineyards is the chalk content in the soil. Brad is currently searching Google for any similar such soil types in South Africa.

The Cotswolds

2006-11-12T15:10:00.000Z

What a relaxing weekend in the "real" England. Shaun and I, Brad and Jax all caught the train up to Moreton-on-Marsh last Friday (3 November). We arrived in the cold and dark and made a pit stop at a local pub as we waited for our personal chauffeur to collect us. Eugene arrived in no time and kindly escorted us back to our home for the weekend. The cottage was fab - a traditional buiding, possibly a converted barn with fantastic open plan lounge and dining room with a big fireplace and 4 bedrooms. Shaun and I got the kiddies room and Uncle Brad and Aunty Jax got the ajoining parents room. Our room came equipped with a baby camper bed, cuddly toys and Beatrix Potter bedspreads! That night, after Jen and Clint had arrived and after Heidi had opened her presents (30 today woohoo!) we went off in search of food. Chipping Campden was like a ghost town and the only place willing to serve us dinner after 10:00pm was a small Greek restaurant. The meal was great - possibly a little bit pricey but we certainly got our money's worth. We went back to the warmth of the cottage, full and tired.

Saturday we had perfect weather, chilly but sunny with clear skies. We awoke to find our neighbours roaming the fields in front of the cottage - the neighbours being cute, white cows and a couple of horses.

We then set off to Bourton-on-the-Water to hire some bikes and explore Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter from the reasonable discomfort of a cheap bicycle saddle - aside from the aching bum, and the replica of Polly Shorts, it was a great day and excellent way to see the countryside.

We then all went on a well orchestrated shopping spree to stock up for the evening's meal of roast pork, chicken and lamb along with all the trimmings and more. We made a roaring fire, drank wine, played trivial pursuit (the other team got the easy box of questions!) and then ate a phenomenal meal prepared by Heidi (with assistance from others). We got to bed late that night, relaxed and appropriately, well oiled.

Sunday we went off for a walk to Chipping Campden and back and almost got chased by the cute, white neighbours (let me tell you they don't look so cuddly when they're jogging toward you with a look of acute hostility in their beady eyes!). Not sure if cows jog, but anyway! After our safe traverse of the cow field and a pub lunch in Chipping Campden we made our way back. We then had a lazy afternoon of rugby, tea and biscuits then finally made our way back to London. Thanks everyone for a fantastic weekend!

Robyn

Tour de Wimbledon

2006-11-12T14:44:00.000Z

Stop laughing Dad!! Yup here it is - my new bike! A silver, red and black Trek 3500 with 24 gears - my (belated) birthday present from Shaun. I've been out, tearing up the tarmac, a couple of times and am slowly getting the hang of it. Unfortunately I haven't had the balls to hit the main roads yet because it's somewhat frightening when a giant double decker bus comes hurtling past you, millimeters from your right ear!! BUT, as soon as I've invested in some padded pants (coz my butt is aching) then Lance Armstrong better watch his back!!

The MX of Nations

2006-10-22T20:37:00.000+01:00

Get it? 'MX', 'Motor','Cross' of Nations. A few weekends ago Robyn, Badger and I, along with 60, 000 other people, headed off to Winchester (an hour or so train journey south east of London) to watch a Motor Cross event called the 'MX of Nations'. I was told by a former colleague, and MX fanatic that this was an event not to be missed and probably the best MX event that you could ever wish to watch. Motor Crosses version of The Ryder Cup I was told. That was enough for me. Basically the rest of the world though, and not Europe, versus the Americans in 3 different races of around 30 laps.

Now I've never really been into my Motor Cross, and I've never even ridden a Motor bike on my own, but this was a really entertaining day out and I can see the attraction to such a sport and lifestyle. The actual track, which is a short bus ride out of the town, sits twistedly in a 'natural bowl' between two small hills, making it ideal for the spectators. Bascally wherever you stand you can see almost all of the track, allowing you to follow the leaders all the way. This I'm told is quite unique and partly why the day would be so special.

Unexpectedly, the first race was won by a Belgian legend even I've heard of (from the old National Panasonic, World of Sport programs on Friday evenings straight after Loving), Stefan Everts, and if memory serves me correctly he won the last race to, but that was not enough to stop the Americans from taking the overall win. Ja, don't ask me how that works, but thats what happened. It really was quite difficult to follow the races, because after a lap or two, there are about 40 riders strewn all over the track from start to finish. To see them doing those jumps, in real life was really impressive and something I won't forget for quite some time. The throaty sound of those bikes, buzzing at full tilt around corners, flicking mud high into the air, makes it such an intense and rewarding spectator sport. The one jump (see pics), went spectacularly between two trees, so we positioned ourselves metres from it for ages watching the constant stream of riders fly almost directly over our heads and down the hill. It's hard to imagine how much courage that must require to do but we were all pretty envious because it looked like a heck of a lot of fun!

And that my friends is that. A day and event that I would highly recommend. The MX of Nations.

The Queen's crib - Windsor Castle

2006-09-23T14:07:00.000+01:00

Last Sunday we headed out to see Windsor Castle. It's not far from London and definitley a day out that I would recommend. We've been meaning to go there for quite some time but for some reason never have!

Windsor castle is certainly one of the better castle's I've ever seen. For starters, it really is pleasing on the eye, the brick/stone work and arched wooden window frames really seem to compliment each other. It's been restored unbelievably well, or someone cleans it fairly regularly because it just looks so clean! It's also classic looking, exactly what you would expect (in a good way) to see from a Castle, elegant turrets and fortified stone walls skirt the perimeter. Coupled with the well manicured lawns (the gardens within suggest that Alan Titchmarsh may be a close friend of the Queen), and it's strategic location atop a hill; it really makes a strong statement. Maybe it was the perfect weather, I'm not sure. It did however, seem smaller than I was imagining. It really didn't take long to do the tour and if you do do the tour (most of you probably have been there) I would recommend (thanks Dave!) the 'ear-piece' commentary for some background information. It also helps to know what you're looking at and some times what to look-out for!

After we had done the tour we walked around the ridiculously tourist-filled vilage that is Windsor and down to the river where we eventually found somewhere to have a very average over-priced tuna-sandwich and then it was time to head back. Below I've attached some information which will hopefully help those of you who may be like us, meaning to go but for some reason never have.

How to get to Windsor Castle: Trains leave from Waterloo and go through Clapham Junciton and Richmond to the final stop, Windsor and Eton Riverside. Allow about and hour for the journey. The return journey from Wimbledon station cost a very reasonable £6.70 and entrance to the Castle was £13.50. Once you're in I would also recommend that you stand in that wretched looking queue to see the Queen's Doll house. It's a bit naff but after that you can see the State rooms which house some really interesting artefacts and gifts from foreign leaders.

Shuz

North Wales - 25 August 2006

2006-09-08T16:46:00.000+01:00

Our long weekend began at 18:30 on Friday evening when Shaun and I were loaded into a mini van along with 14 other strangers for a trip up to North Wales. The driver (Dave) attempted to ease the awkwardness of usual introductions by asking us to chat to the person next to us and then introduce our new acquaintance to the rest of the group. Although it felt slightly like a primary school ploy, it did break the ice and we discovered that we would be sharing our weekend with 6 Aussies, 1 Kiwi, 2 Poles, 2 Malaysians and 1 Chinese. The long journey ended at 1:00am when we arrived at our hostel and all disappeared to bed.

Saturday morning after breakfast we were loaded back into the van and our first stop was Bedgellert – or “Gellert’s Grave” in English. The story goes that Prince Llewellyn went out hunting and left his infant son with Gellert (his trusty dog) – apparently an acceptable form of child care back then – anyway, on the Prince’s return to the house, Gellert came bounding up to him looking happy with life, complete with blood stained mouth and paws. The prince saw that his son’s crib had been overturned and without thinking he plunged his sword into Gellert’s side. A moment later he heard the child’s whimpering and discovered his son was perfectly fine, lying next to the crib and nearby lay the body of a ferocious looking wolf. The prince was filled with dread as he realized what he had done. He built a little shrine for Gellert including a statue of his best friend and legend has it he never spoke again (perhaps a little bit overboard?). From there we went to a picturesque little town called Betws-y-Coed. A river runs through the middle of the town and a forested area stretches along the one side. It made for some beautiful pics.

Next on the itinerary was Conwy - a medieval style walled town on the coast. Conwy Castle is the main attraction (although we didn’t go inside). The smallest house in Britain can also be found here. After a bit of lunch we drove to some semi secluded spot and went on a 30 minute “nature walk” to find a beautiful waterfall at the end – and some sheep. We then had a quick stop over in the longest place name in the world “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch” which is located on the island of Anglesey – try say that after a couple of pints! The town decided to change the name a while back in order to increase tourism to the island...which is quite understandable because there’s nothing else to do in Llanfairpwllg (as the locals know it). After a long day of sightseeing we were treated to a “barbecue” at the hostel. I was pretty impressed with the spread of food that was laid out for us and we filled up before going to the local pub in Tremadoc. Here we experienced the delights of local culture - we were served at the bar by a dodgy looking bird in leather pants, crop top, short spiky hair with pink fringe. Her colleague was a scary looking elderly lady who refused to serve you if she was on her 5 minute ciggie break – cool!

Day 2 began in Caernarfon where their castle of the same name dominates the town. The Prince of Wales was inaugurated here many years ago and pictures of the young Charlie and his Mummy adorn the walls in one of the rooms. The castle itself is quite impressive and we had fun exploring the many nooks and crannies and Shaun especially loved climbing to the top of one of the towers and leaning over the edge!! From Caernafron were driven to the highlight of the weekend – the ascent of Mount Snowden (the highest peak in England and Wales). We arrived at the starting point as a rather scraggly looking bunch of non-hikers. I felt a tweak of apprehension as we were passed at the beginning of the trail by a gaggle of hikers with boots, waterproofs, hiking sticks (or whatever they’re called) and maps tied round their necks – perhaps we were taking this a bit lightly? Anyway – we soldiered on and there were some exceptionally steep bits where we had to clamber over rocks and work those quads to the max. My legs haven’t been punished that much since our last skiing trip. The only slightly disappointing thing was that it seemed that every man and his dog were spending their bank holiday weekend on the path to the top of the mountain and at points you had to queue to pass thorugh narrow bits of the trail. The scenery was beautiful however and luckily the rain held off. Unfortunately 3 quarters of the way up we were surrounded by a thick cloud of fog so couldn’t see the view from the top. The top of the mountain was white and very windy – score! The way down was just as tough as the way up – my knees and hips were aching by the end. Luckily the fog cleared and we were able to enjoy the views on the way down. By the end we had to run down the steep bits because it was just easier than walking (?). All in all it took us just under 4 hours up and down and we celebrated our achievement with a couple of pints at the hotel pub nearby.

The final day began with sharp stabbing pain in my calves as I creaked out of bed. Ooh I was stiff! First on the agenda was a short train trip on the Ffestiniog steam railway which was fun but short. The town of Portmeirion was next – what a strange place. It’s a little “town” that was built using various architectural styles but it simply contains shops, cafes and hotels and is right on the sea and offers lovely nature walks in the forest surrounding it. It is a very pretty place but it felt quite contrived – it just didn’t feel like it belonged in the middle of Wales (you have to pay an entrance fee to get in which makes it feel somewhat like a theme park!). From the make believe town of Portmeirion we drove to Black Sands beach (the sand was not black). It was very windy but we managed to get a few games in which unfortunately involved running – my aching pins were not enjoying another day of exertion. That was our last stop before our long – 6 hour – drive home. It was an enjoyable weekend in which we covered a fair amount of North Wales and met some interesting and some not so interesting people. I would definitely recommend a visit to Wales to take in the beautiful scenery.

Robyn

Album of the month – CIVILIAN

2006-08-30T09:16:00.000+01:00

'Civilian' by 'boy kill boy' is my Album of the month for August. So what or rather who do they sound like I hear you ask? Well, their sound is by no means new or different, kind of a slightly more upbeat 'Interpol' meets 'Arcade fire' cross the 'Editors' with the catchy melody of say a band, like 'The Strokes' or 'Muse'? Yup, makes a lot of sense doesn't it.

So, where was I? Oh yes, track 2 'On & On' is quite simply…brilliant. Teetering perhaps a little too close to the 'Editors' at first, but folks, it steadily builds up and moves away to a chorus that just makes you want to stop whatever it is that you're doing and frikken sing along with your jaw clenched. It really is excellent, so hard to put into words or describe with my limited vocabulary and knowledge of musical instruments, but there's a piano in there somewhere and it's being tapped away at furiously! Accompanied by a set of drums being clattered at high speed and a plethora of shrill guitars being manipulated, jerkingly but then full-on and fluid as it breaks into the chorus.

The rest of the album also delivers, in fact I'm listening to it right now and enjoying it even more than I was earlier. I also need to mention that this is by no means a one track album. 'Ivy Parker' is another cracker. I won't even try describe it, it's slower but in no way less powerful. It's absolute class, anthemic(?). And then there's 'Suzie', 'Six Minutes', 'Civil Sin' and more.

It has to be said, their were a number of worthy contenders for August's 'Album of the month'. 'Razorlight' and their highly anticipated follow-up album self-titled 'Razorlight' is a good buy. 'The Zutons' also delivered something special in the form of their follow-up album 'Tired of hanging around' and last but not least, 'Snow Patrol' who perhaps ran away with the best single of the month, 'Chasing cars' came pretty close with their 3rd album 'Eyes open' but it just wasn't consistent enough to pip boy kill boy's 'CIVILIAN' to the post.

Not very modest I know…

2006-08-24T18:22:00.000+01:00

I'm sorry but I couldn't resist putting this photo up, so I added a few others of our ski/snowboard trip to Italy in January.

Oxford for the day…

2006-08-20T14:45:00.000+01:00

On Saturday, Robyn and I went up to Oxford to see Brett, Chenay, Sophie and Amber one last time before they head back to the States on Thursday. Oxford is about 80 miles (128km) North-west of London and only about an hour-and-a-half trip on the Oxford tube (which is actually a bus not a tube) which leaves from Victoria.

We arrived around lunch time and strolled through the bustling city centre, passed a few of the colleges (Trinity, Magdalen) down the main high-street and through the botanical gardens to possibly the most impressive Colleges of them all, Christchurch. Oxford is definitely one of the prettiest, most photogenic towns I've had the pleasure of visiting in England. Not that I've been too many, but still. The weather was a bit iffy, as you no doubt will have noticed in the photo's, so we decided to head somewhere cosy and dry for a quiet pub lunch. However, not before stopping for a quick monkeying around session in the kids park! Some of you may remember seeing photo's of Robyn and I playing silly buggers in a park last year in Oxford, well we went to that very same park again and dominated all the rides…again!(Coincidentally, the hotel where Brett, Chenay and the kids were staying, was opposite the B&B where Robyn and I stayed last year).

Oxford has so many really classic English pubs, it really is quite difficult to decide where to go. The Isis, The Trout, The Head of the River and the list goes on. So after much discussion we went to 'The Bear and Ragged Staff'(no jokes) but ended up only having a pint there because their kitchen was closed. Wollies, great pub though. So The Fox it was. After a really good catch up and some tasty food the time had come for us to say our goodbyes and make our way back to London, and that was that.

Thanks for a top day guys.

Shuz

August Supper Club – The Blue Elephant

2006-08-18T11:16:00.000+01:00

Being my birthday month and all, it seemed quite fitting that I should have to organise this months Supper Club. Each month, through random selection, one of us gets to organise where the group will dine. In the past, we've mixed it up in Brick lane with an Indian, gone Turkish in Oxford street, eaten Polish in Kensington, Italian in Wandsworth, Japanese in Chelsea, Pizza in Covent Garden and had a pretty average meal in Piccadilly. Who says you need a British passport to get around the world?

Anyway, as I was saying earlier, I had to organise Supper Club this month, so we ended up going to The Blue Elephant in Fulham. Now The Blue Elephant has been rated in Londons Top 10 restaurants for quite some time now and once you've gone there it's very easy to understand why. As you walk through the main entrance, the chaos of Fulham High Street dissappears quickly behind you, and thank the pope for that because Fulham high street is a bustling, busy and strangely frustrating part of town at the best of times. Instantly you feel as if you could actually be IN Thailand. The décor is that convincing. Shrubbery, vines and foliage hang and burst out from every conceivable cranny to create a very convincing Thai jungle scene. It's as if you've by mistake stepped onto the set of 'Missing in Action' but without the bloodshed, gunfire and of course Chuck Norris. The faint trickle of water and soft ambient music eases the senses, it's kind of darkish, candle-lit and surprisingly fresh and cool. The restaurant is 'naturally' bissected by a small stream (The River Kwai?) and dotted with little ponds fulled with Koi fish. Navigating your way round there can be a little tricky but it's great fun.

The food was excellent, I had a 'Samui Crab' starter (A mixture of chicken and crab served in the shell of a crab) and a super hot 'Thai Green Chicken curry' which had an incredibly high Chicken count. Robyn also had the Samui Crab starter but went for a Chicken stir-fry main. Overall everyone seemed very happy with their meals.

It has to be said though that The Blue Elephant is not your average, everyday restaurant. It should be reserved only for special ocassions. We were fortunate enough to eat off a pretty well priced set-menu (thanks to Top-table) but if you wanted to dine there normally, your meal and drinks would cost in the neighbourhood of £50, probably more. Dave reckoned it would be worth it just for the 'cute' Thai waitresses. Whichever way you look at it I reckon it would be worth every cent…

Shuz

Royal Ascot - 24th June 2006

2006-08-16T20:45:00.000+01:00

Posh frocks, hats, drinks, a few horses, a few more drinks....

Standing around waiting to board the coach to Ascot, sheepishly sipping my first beer of the day, I looked at my watch - 09:32 am; and thats when I thought to myself – sheesh, this is going to be one heck of a day. And was it ever.

It was so well organised. Like clockwork, Swiss clockwork. A friend of a friend named 'Anne' played way out of her boots to organise two coaches to cart about 60 of us to Ascot and back. Gone were the fears of having a nightmare trip back to London on the trains after a day of drinking, praying you don't pass out only to wake up in Brighton.

After a pleasant trip on what had slowly become a brilliantly sunny day (depsite predicitons of rain) we made our way westwards, passed Heathrow towards Berkshire and the Ascot Racecourse. Upon arrival we all sat together and had one almighty picnic. Blankets unravelled everywhere like great sails on an old pirate ship. The sound of Champagne bottles simultaneously bursting open echoed through the air. Cans of beer and cider fizzed open, the smell of Pims and lemonade filled my nostrils. I looked for shade, some respite for my now burning bald head; drat, I had forgotten to pack sunscreen…

Somewhat mellow and chomping at the proverbial bit we made our way up towards the main (newly refurbished) grandstand. The first race (of only 6?) kicked off at 13h30. This is what it was really all about. Time check – 13h40 – pick up the pace. It was hot. Dammit why was I wearing a black suit?

What happened from then on becomes slightly blurry. Racecards were studied, bets were placed, jockeys examined, their jackets scrutinised, 'Intrepid Jack', 'Amadeus Wolf', outsiders, trifectas, sweeps, looking for connections, something, anything to go on, but nothing. Five races later it was all over and I hadn't made a cent. In fact I was down. Literally and figuritively. You see, for me horse-racing is too much about luck, the roll of a dice, a lottery ticket. There are so many variables that it almost becomes painful. And yet, that feeling you get when your horse runs passed, second from the back, is so strangely unique. Blind hope is what it is. It's the very opposite of the feeling people who live on the San Andreas fault line experience. 'It'll never happen to me'. 'It's going to happen to me'. Well it didn't happen to me and I still had fun.

Once the final race was over, in true British style we were herded like cattle back towards our Coach, and in no time we were on our way back to South-west London and the after party that awaited. In closing, some of you may be wondering how the Durban July compares to Ascot. Well it squares up pretty well, personally I think the July is just as good. For starters there are way more races (14?) and the after party/ies continues way into the night. In Durban you are also made to feel far less aware of your social standing, (there's no Royal box and areas aren't demarcated by living class), and that's a tribute to the laid-back South African way of doing things.

And that's where I'll sign off…

Shuz

Let the Blogging Begin!

2006-05-26T13:36:00.000+01:00

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