Summer is Here

Cheese Rolling in Gloucestershire

There are certain high profile events in the UK that make you realise summer is here like the cheese rolling in Gloucestershire, the man powered flying machines at the Birdman of Bognor and the very serious boating event, Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight.   However, not all the boating events during Cowes Week are as prestigious as the class events but with unrivalled enthusiasm, the competitors of the Cowes Cardboard Boat Race take their event very seriously and last year drew a larger crowd than some of the main racing events.  Now in its third year and raising money for UKSA, the Cardboard Boat Race takes place on 7^th August at 3pm.  Seemingly, when you register for the race, you are given a free starter pack which according to the instructions “contains everything needed to make a boat.”  Hmmm some duct tape and a cardboard box maybe?  

Cardboard Boat Race (Photography by Dean Wright)

Armchair Adventures

I remember laughing at an advertisement in Cusco airport in Peru; it filled the entire billboard above the luggage carousel and was advertising bottles of oxygen.  While we waited for our luggage to be tossed from plane to trolley to conveyer belt and chute, I felt compelled to verbalise my thoughts about the advert to my fellow travellers.  “Look at that,” I said, “I thought we got ripped off in the UK where they try to sell us bottles of water, here they try to sell you bottles of air.”  Little did I realise that a few hours later, I would have paid any amount of money for a bottle of that oxygen as I found myself floored with altitude sickness and suffering from the mother of all headaches.  It was so bad, that if someone had offered me a guillotine at that time, I’d have volunteered to put my head in it.

Air for Sale

An interview with Mel & Michelle

Mel & Michelle

Melanie Joe and Michelle Ellison are two remarkable ladies who recently completed a challenge that not only involved physical and mental strength but also an incredible amount of tenacity to overcome all the barriers and
red tape that had prevented other people doing what they did.

They paddle boarded the lenth of the Thames from source to sea, a distance of 206 miles.

The navigable part of the River Thames ends at Putney and by law, no one is allowed to pass Putney Bridge.  Mel and Michelle were curious about what it would take if, one day, maybe not their day, but someday, someone was allowed to complete the rest of the journey through central London to Southend Pier.

Muddy but Magical

Muddy but magical - The day I spent running with Elise, Becky, Terri and  Charlotte.

Becky, Elise and Terri

 

10 Quick Questions with Dave Cornthwaite

Dave Cornthwaite

 Dave Cornthwaite is a record-breaking adventurer, author, filmmaker and entertaining motivational speaker.  He is a big believer of SAY YES MORE and also very generous with hugs.

Following a summer series of SAY YES campouts where he invited his Facebook friends to become real friends and come wild camping somewhere near London with him, he started work on the first ever Yestival, an October gathering around a campfire in a field near Guildford where the air of positivity was palpable. 




Shortly after Yestival, I met with Dave and asked him a few questions about the event and his forthcoming 1000 mile walk across the Middle East with his friend, adventurer and film maker, Leon McCarron. Walk The Masar

A City Break in Reykjavik

Iceland is perhaps not the most obvious place to go for a city break but with a flight time of only 3 hours from London, less from Glasgow, you could find yourself exploring the world’s most northerly capital city, Reykjavik.

Reykjavik Harbour

Great Ambiance in Brading's Old Wax Museum

You may be forgiven for thinking that breakfast at an old wax museum might taste a bit...fake. But Brading's old wax museum has been transformed into a chic new table service cafe serving locally produced food.  And as a bonus, there is also a chocolate factory and shop next door.

Waxworks Cafe

 

Inside the Waxworks Cafe