Ashes Hollow

When Briton actually gave way to a truly rare bit of sunshine earlier in the summer, a lads and boys camping trip was in order


Half way up Ashes Hollow


The rolling hills nearing the top

There is a glider station at the summit and many were out to play

Ashley sporting his rather fab optical instrument with a lens for each eye, for viewing distant objects


Not ANOTHER rest?


Rich skillfully building a bridge to find a Geocache at the top


Luke (AKA Runtus Minimus) on the precarious planks to the cache



Eew Max - "Who fell ohhhver... who fell ohhhver!"



Harry giving Max a sound beating with a large stick, much to their Dad's despair!

How to clean your child that has slipped over in the mud on his bum...
Big Rich styleee!!!
:0)


Once back at camp, it was Andy's pancake time...


Followed by a late night cheese and red wine sesh.


The red wine was courtesy of Mike, seen here proudly showing off the rather delicate bottle of Merlot he kindly blessed us with :]
He even served it to us in coffee mugs - Pure class


Today, I'm Most Angry About: Drivers who do not give enough room when passing cyclists and think it's OK to just squeeze past - GRRR
arseholes!!!
Grrr-O-Meter Rating: 8/10

Today's Top Tip: Motor Bikers and Sports Car Drivers: Remember to give two or three hearty blips of your throttle before switching your engine off, when stopping at the pub. This will kindly remind patrons on the patio that you master a beast, likely to burst into life at any moment, of its own volition!

"I Do"

This summer saw a trip to Weymouth to witness the lovely Kees and the Silver Fox tie the knot!

Great photo! [Shame I didn't take it:]
The wedding was very cool and took place in Portland Castle

Andy, Luke and some dapper geezer drinking manly pink champagne

I think I sit here? :)

The rest of the evening consisted of drinking far too much champagne, white wine and beer

***

The next day was spent site seeing


Chisel Beach

What trip to the seaside would be complete without a go on a pedlo?

A trip to Portland Bill was also in order.
A great little place and so scenic on a nice day.

Does anyone remember the old Portland Bill animation series?

Portland Bill lighthouse.

The lighthouse lens

Amazingly, the ever rotating lens floats on 3/4 of a ton of Mercury!!!

View from the top

It was also veteran's awareness week

I managed to capture this moving shot of a young boy reading the names on a WWI/WWII memorial.


Today, I'm Most Angry About: Being itchy all day!?!
Grrr-O-Meter Rating: 4/10

Today's Top Tip: Stained clothes? White wine dabbed onto a red wine stain will clean it up quickly. Similarly, fat splashes
on clothes can be easily removed by rubbing salad onto the affected area!

Over The Hill

Four of us electric bike aficionados (including one of Pink Floyd, almost*) took to the roads of Wales and cycled out to the coast with two full batteries each and very little else.


First port of call... The Tregaron pass


The last thing you want to see is a 25% hill!


One of the most unforgiving hills I've ever seen, but the descent down the other side was much more fun, although my disk breaks got so hot they actually started to warp and distort! Scary :[]

After the pass and hills, the country roads were just great

Pondering over directions.
We had many a direction dispute :0)

We passed many entertaining place names too like Ffffffffffffarmers


YAY!!! Our half-way stop and battery top-up point.


Erm Pete. I know you like biking, but come on now, give it a rest! :]


After 45 miles we finally reached the coast - New Quay.


We had quite a sense of achievement.
From left to right...
Phil - Bike: Ezee Forza
Nicola - Bike: Ezee Sprint
Pete - Bike: Ezee Cadence
Andy - Bike: Kalkhoff Agattu


We pulled up outside the first pub we came across.
It was like the Hell's Angels had arrived in town, except our bikes don't roar, they only quietly hum :]


On the way back we stumbled upon a rather impressive dam


The second most remote pub I've ever visited.
No one believed the 'Public House' logo on the map, but there it was AND it was open.


It would have been rude not to!
A swift half for me and tea for the others.


The final leg of the tour - one amazing, long and twisty downhill.
No batteries needed for this one.



After completing the 55 mile return journey home, we were all ready for a sit down, a drink and some good food.

[*Nicola is the cousin of one of Pink Floyd]

Today, I'm Most Angry About: Only getting 4 hours sleep, as I didn't fall asleep until 1am and then my darling of a neighbour woke me at 5:05am with his big bore exhaust! GRRRzzz

Top Tip: Save electricity by shortening the cables to all your household electrical appliances.
Also, never leave an empty socket switched on; you'll leak precious electricity into the air, costing a small fortune over time!

Volcanoes

Last month, a group of us decided to go on a lil' drive...
Well actually, a 12 hour 750 mile drive down the middle of France for a few days.

First port of call: the Euro Tunnel, to get us from England into France.

Look! A train you can drive into... a train you drive into!
How cool is that.

A slightly knackered looking me 20,000 leagues under the sea.

We then had a looooooong drive straight down the middle of France with very few navigational errors... remarkable!

We passed some interesting places along the way like the Somme, for any of you interested in World War 1 like me.
I was quite impressed anyhow :]

Eventually we reach the Auvergne region.

Our home for a week was a lovely traditional French town called La Bourboule.

The centre of La Bourboule.

The architecture was fab.


An old ornate bridge.


A little boulevard running up town.


All the buildings had so much character and history.
It was like looking at a movie set at times.


In an Abby Road stylee, my fab four companions! :]
Andy, Dave, John and Roy... NOT the Beatles


THIS, my friends, is the municipal campsite's toilets!
They were something to be desired, shall we say.
It took a bit of getting used to using these 'squatters' or 'stoopers'!!!


On the subject of none-desirable things, a few menu items raised an eye brow or two, like this tripe and chips! Mmm yummy.

One evening we spotted a fish restaurant, so went in and gave it a go, only to discover there wasn't much fish on the menu... The sign outside said "piscine" meaning swimming pool and not fish at all!


I found this hound at a cafe.
Could this dog look anymore French? :0)


First expedition was to see this local waterfall.


You could even walk behind it
...and there's only one thing to do on a warm day of course...

Now that was refreshing!
It felt like I was being beaten with cold stones, but it cooled me off :]


At the top of the falls, we looked over the next days adventure.


***

On the way back down from the falls we spotted a dry luge run, so we just had to give it a go.



Come with me on a virtual luge run!


Later on in town we spotted this most amusing 'Fanny Feeling' sign on a shop window!
Now what service were they offering here exactly?
Yes, I did enquired about any job vacancies :]


***


So the next day was to ascend France's highest mountain
(that's not part of the Alps)
The Puy de Sancy


The last snow-capped slog up to the 6,188 feet peak!


Once I got my breath back, the view was stunning


Our walk started out from the car at point A.
Some of us (not me) got a cable car up to the peak [see blue line] while others walked up.
We then followed a track along many other peaks and eventually back into town at point B, where some of us (not me) went to the bar instead leaving me and Andy to walk several miles back up to the car. Pffft :0]


***


The next day was out and about and looking for some of the old volcanoes

A few morning press-ups :]

Looking into the first volcano we found.
Currently inactive, but still worrying!



Andy's panorama clip from inside the volcano!!!


When we sat to eat lunch, a rather bright green spider was spotted climbing onto our bags.
I have no idea whether it's dangerous, but I stayed well clear :[]


Our second volcano to ascend

Looking out into another old volcano


A little lizard


The area's largest volcano, the Puy de Dome


Storms started to build quickly so we headed back to the car... Just in time too, as one of the most violent thunderstorms I've ever witnessed erupted soon after.


The last day was spent sight seeing some more local villages.


Driving back was a long haul and we drove between two storms and some evil looking clouds.


Fin


Today, I'm Most Angry About: Hayfever Grrr *snuffle*
Grrr-O-Meter Rating: 6.7/10

Today's Top Tip: Daily Mail editors: Underline important words in your headlines just to make sure that your readers are clear about what it is you want them to think!!!

Electric Bike...

Earlier this year I indulged in some lavish spending and treated myself to an electrically assisted bike!

"Wow, how cool!" I hear you say:
Yes, I think so too, and I can't convey enough how brilliant these machines really are.
OK, I won't bore you with the technical details, but now battery and motor technology has come on a lot, it's viable to use electric bikes in all seriousness, rather than it just be a gimmick or toy...
These beasts really have some serious torque now!

I purchased one of these beauties:

An 'Ezee' Forza

"How fast and how far can you go?" I hear you say:
They are limited to 15mph (24kmph) by law, so it will only assist you up to this speed and then it's all over to your legs if you want to go any faster.
You can get up to 30 miles range out of a single battery charge, but it's very variable depending on how much effort you put in yourself and how many hills you tackle.
Due to the weight and gearing of these bikes, it's not really possible to use them without battery assistance, unless it's along the flat, like alongside a canal, and then you can fly along without assistance, greatly extending your range.

"So how much are these bikes?" I hear you say:
As with all things, you get what you pay for; so you can pay a couple of hundred quid for a cheaper model, that will only give slight assistance, or you can pay up into thousands for a quality model!
Various second-hand electric bikes appear on eBay quite regularly.


I got into such technology when meeting the people behind this:

The Tour de Presteigne is the UK's premier electric bike rally and meeting, along with a whole host of other eco-friendly machines.

I volunteered myself to write a website for them with only a few weeks to go before the event, so please go and visit http://www.tourdepresteigne.co.uk/ and I would be really grateful if you guys could put a link to it on your site, if only temporarily, to get our Google position up higher in a short a time as possible :0)

I'm going to be attending the two-day event on Saturday 17th May & Sunday 18th May - If anyone wants to come along, you're more than welcome and you don't have to take part or own an electric bike, the whole weekend is mainly about greener transport and demonstrating the latest technologies.
See the INFO page on the website for a full listing on what's on!

Be there or be... square :]


Today, I'm Most Angry About: Injustices in the world!
Grrr-O-Meter Rating: 8/10

Today's Top Tip: Drivers: Save money and the environment by putting much larger wheels on the back of your car - That way you will always be going downhill, thereby saving on fuel!

Finland Pt.3

In this third and final instalment (sniff), I set out on two last adventures before returning home from Finland.

Reindeer are commonplace in the arctic circle, both roaming free and in 'use', kind of like a combination of a cow and a horse... and no, not like a corse or a how :]

We visited a local reindeer farm, where they told us all about the lives of their reindeer and then you're told to go and fetch one out of the pen.

Did you know reindeer shed their antlers every year?

White reindeer are believed to be reincarnated people and are kind of sacred up here.

They had a new stag that was very lively and slightly demonic looking.

Next we had to climb inside a sleigh and they hooked up a reindeer to it, as you do - and guess which one we got??? Yes, the demonic competitive stag :[]

There was a group of five of us racing across a frozen lake and all the reindeer were jostling for pole position, but not of them could take our lead position :)

It got very hairy at times, in both senses of the word - with antlers and hooves akimbo, you really had to tuck in and keep out of the way.

Oddly enough, these reindeer just know were to go, taking us all the way round the lake and safely back again without guidance.
Clever stuff!

LOOOSERS! LOOOSERS!
Our following.

After our triumphant victory, it was back for hot drinks and biscuits around a much welcome open fire.



***


Next up was a 90km (56mile) snowmobile trek to the snow village and Ice hotel!

660cc snowmobile *drool*
Not much finesse about these beasts, but raw power :)

Opening them up on the straights was seriously good fun.

Riding time split 50/50, as a pillion passenger it was very bumpy on the back, but I did notice this cool fisheye style reflection in Andy's skid-lid.





Brum, brum - so this is how it was for 007?


There are proper paths for snowmobiles stretching for miles and even proper road signs.


After an hour so, we eventually arrived at the Snowvillage


Inside was remarkably large.


There were 26 bedrooms, each one uniquely carved!


And yes, the beds are made of ice!!!

The mattresses are not ice, of course, and pretty comfy too :}

The whole place was filled with amazing ice sculptures, like this mammoth.

The restaurant with it solid ice tables!

The Finlandia vodka bar with its huge bottle sculpture.

Even the glasses are made of ice!!!
No need for... ice.

I spotted this on the way out!

Now that's health and safety going a little too far.

***

...and a post of this length just wouldn't be complete without something for fans of my bottom...

Easily ranking in the top 10 'coldest things I've ever done' - I took this shot of my bum and the aurora in sub -20c temperature! Cold, butt worth it :0)
(Ahh, see what I did there)

The last evening consisted of a plenty of beer and a Finnish karaoke bar - probably one of the most surreal evenings I've ever experienced!

[FINN]



Today, I'm Most Angry About: Learning my car has almost halved in value in the two years I've owned it! Bummer :'[
Grrr-O-Meter Rating: 6.3/10

Today's Top Tip: Feeling cold indoors this winter?
Simply pop outside for a few minutes without your clothes on.
When you come back inside you will really "feel the benefit".

Finland Pt.2

A trip to Lapland just wouldn't be complete without visiting some huskies, so I partook in a 15km husky sledding excursion, across a vast frozen lake.

The husky farm was home to no fewer than 115 dogs of mixed breeds - As you can imagine, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven :]

The hounds are very lively and bark excitedly when they know they are about to go on a run.

A gorgeous Greenland dog.

An Alaskan husky with piercing blue eyes.

Our team of huskies.

And they're off...


A very civilised form of transport.

An out of breath Malamute came and rested its head in my lap!

The dogs get pretty hot and roll in the snow afterwards.


I crouched down by Luppo here and she walked over and placed her paw on me.

I wanted to take her with me :[

The farm had 3 new arrivals 6-weeks ago.


Blue eyed puppy.


Pant

Shnoz to shnoz.


A beautiful bi-eyed Siberian husky.


I got howled at...

Probably the most camp clapping I've ever seen too :]


***

On one of the evenings, we went on a Lappish night.
Having no idea what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised by the fun we all had!

A fantastic open fire in the middle of the hut.

Our entertaining host for the evening.


Drinking black wine... Bleh, eww, ugh :[]


Ah, I was (un)lucky enough to be picked out and had to play this drum for a whole song!
...and I genuinely fear being picked out of an audience, bah...

At the end of the night, we all had to kneel on the floor and receive a reindeer blessing.
Basically being made to make a noise like rutting reindeer while being drawn on with charcoal from the fire.

Looking goood!!!

When we all left the Lappish night, the northern lights had come out to play!


That's it for the penultimate episode of Finland folks.

Today, I'm Most Angry About: Still having a hangover two days after a night out :(
Grrr-O-Meter Rating: 3/10

Today's Top Tip: Dog owner / sci-fi fans: Four empty kitchen roll tubes covered in tin foil and then pushed over your dog's legs make for a futuristic 'space-dog'.
For a really space age look, slip a fifth tube onto your pet's tail!

Finland Pt.1

Last week, a friend and I embarked upon some amazing adventures in a place called Levi in Lapland - North Finland in the Arctic Circle.

I was at the top of the 'F' of Finland.

Flew out on an Airbus A321.
35,000ft at 500mph!

Arriving at the hotel(li) is comforting in this very different land.

-21'c! (-6'F)
The temperature in Lapland rarely ever goes above freezing in the winter months... Brrr

The language barrier was a little problematic at times.
3 house-points to whoever can decipher this catchy little headline!

Levi town centre.

Time to hit the slopes and continue learning snowboarding.

Extra balance is provided from the ears... honestly :]

Me boardin' buddy Andy.
We talk the talk far better than we board... erm... the board?



Warning!!! Extreme crash footage follows.
NOT for the faint-hearted!


When I said "hit the slopes" I meant it!
Serves me right for such temerarious behaviour :)

A very frozen lamp-post up top.

A beautifully barren wasteland of ice, snow and trees.

The main north slopes back down into Levi town.

The temperature really plummets at sunset.


Reindeer roaming free on the fell.


There are many of these little huts called Kotas dotted around the hill.
Inside there's always a fire burning to warm up by.

This, believe it or not, is a bar!!!
Much to my surprise (and in a Tardis style) I opened the door to see a handful of people merrily drinking beer and even a waitress serving behind a little bar!


Extreme public toilets :0)




By the end of the week, I was riding with the aplomb of a pro boarder... Almost!




***

Probably one of the most breathtaking experiences of my life!
Witnessing the northern lights - The aurora borealis!


Priceless

The aurora continually changes shape and size and silently dances around the whole sky


The aurora streaking across the top of the drag lifts


At the top


Against frozen trees


Looking North over Levi


Swirling over the peak


Dancing over the valley mist


Flowing out over the clouds


***


That's it for part 1 folks.
Don't miss part 2 next week!


Today, I'm Most Angry About: Getting caught blatantly staring at a woman's breasts in today's circuit training class! :[]
Grrr-O-Meter Rating: 1.1/10

Today's Top Tip: Air travellers: Spice up the mundane task of going through airport security by walking bandy-legged like you're concealing something up your bottom*.
[* Will not be held responsible for any 'probing' that may follow]

Snowdome

Last week I went on a 'Learn to board in a Day' course at the Snowdome.
Apparently "The UK's premier real snow centre"!

Much to my surprise, I was actually snowboarding at the end of the day... gingerly... but snowboarding.

I go skiing every year, but I've finally had enough of having four things to worry about and having to wear ski boots that can only be described as torturous.
Snowboarding, although considered 'the dark side' by skiers, is a lot nicer and the boots are just big comfy boots :]

Is that a plank of wood strapped to your feet Phil... Hmm... Yes it is!


Tomorrow morning I fly out to Lapland to continue my snowboarding and embark upon many other exciting adventures.

See y'all soon...

Today, I'm Most Angry About: Teenagers who feel it's obligatory to shout things at cyclists!
Grrr-O-Meter Rating: 7/10

Today's Top Tip: Dog owners: Never lose your TV remote control again. Simply Sellotape it to the back of your hound, and hey presto... Whistle and the device is at your beck and call!

Vocation Vacation...

After much deliberation, and a gentle nudge from an 18 month headache, I've decided to take a career break and resign from my job at XTA as Research & Development Engineer

I've been at XTA right from the very beginning; a grand total of 15 years.
I saw the company start in a friend's spare bedroom and then grow to become a world class leader in audio processors.

An amazing success story and I'm proud to of been part of it, but as with everything in life, nothing can last forever.
I'm not burning any bridges, but I feel it's time to move on to new adventures and break the 9 'til 5 lifestyle.

My fantastic office at XTA

I've learned so much in my time at XTA and have gathered countless fond memories and made so many friends - I wouldn't change a thing!

I'm now enjoying some extended time off and spending quality time with my NBF...

***

My picture was taken on my last day and I was asked to pose like this!
Why..? See the news story on the XTA website HERE :0]

Also see the 'subtle' editing on the XTA contacts page here

...and they were not lying.
I did indeed receive a commemorative plate!
A superb tongue-in-cheek leaving gift :0)

I also received a handmade card that everyone had signed with lots of touching good luck messages

I even got a helium balloon that I ceremoniously released.



BUT best of all, and much to my surprise, my real leaving present was an iPod Touch!

...aka my NBF...aka my New Best Friend.
Talk about well chuffed!!!

If you've not seen an iPod Touch in action, check out this short clip *drool*



Today, I'm Most Angry About: My body breaking out in red blotches, from head to toe, after eating shellfish*
[* Next time I'll be more considerate - BOOM BOOM 'ahem' sorry]
Grrr-O-Meter Rating: 6.7/10

Today's Top Tip: Deaf people: Wearing oven gloves outdoors is an ideal way to stop strangers from eavesdropping on your conversation.