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muntedpumpkins · 2 years

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Larapinta Hike Day 1

First day of the Larapinta trek today, and it’s abundantly clear that this is something that could have been done as a solo venture. There is some regret at not taking this route, but on the whole I few that the camping experience is worth the cost. The people that I’m walking with really are quite extraordinary. Heide, from Austria and seventy six puts any idea of complaining fat from my mind. To be so full of life at that age, and ready to take in the world at any moment is just the inspiration I need to get myself going through any adversity I might face in this hike. To hear her exploits in Africa as a teacher, rebuilding a school herself during an off period for the kids. She reminds me a lot of my mother - but with a stoicism and tour de force that pushes anything impossible out of the way to achieve her goals. I feel that this would have been my mother if she had lived to retirement.

Of course, there are lots of old ways in Heide, but a firmness that is reasonable. I see a lot of Pa in that.

This trip is going to be an interesting one, just for the chance to interact with her more.

The trail itself is stunning and fascinating for its remoteness. It is similar so far to the cathedral ranges - but the scope is on a far grander scale. Hiking again was more difficult than I had anticipated - with a fair amount of pain in my feet, but I can work through that. Also a muscle behind my right knee was pulled a bit to vigorously and now feels tender. I think again this is something I can work through - just being gentle on it and reminding myself that I’m a hefty person and that I can’t be jumping all over the place as if I were 20kg lighter.

So upon arrival at the YHA, we were given a quick hello to our tour guides: Amy, Daymo, Kevin and Dean. Deans new and Kevin’s the support driver. Amy’s from Melbourne and probably around the same age as me, Daymo I’m not sure where he’s from, but he’d probably be in his late 30s

On the tour with me we have Heide, Isabelle, Richard, Tim and Colleen(?)

Just a small group of six, and all but Claudia and myself are in their sixties (or seventies!). Just goes to show my dad that if he put the work in, he’d still have a good quality of life to do these things. But I think he is happy being fat and just driving everywhere.

The first day has been fairly easy, with a 14km walk, completed by 3pm. We started in the telegraph station, walked through the cemetery walk and then began to approach the ridge lines. We came across some honey ants, and I had a go of one of those, it tasted like a little sour bursts of lemon, but apparently they are usually more sweet than sour. This part of the track still seems fairly connected with the society of Alice springs, as we crossed under the Stuart highway and the Ghan line with plenty of mobile reception as we did so.

It seems impossible to talk about this land without talking about the plight of the indigenous peoples, and the politics that follow them about. It does still feel like a bit of a Melbourne bubble (Amy with whom I was talking is also from Melbourne.)

To hear dad call them Bungs yesterday was startling, but I feel there’s no point arguing with him on it - this is just what he knows.

After passing over the Euro ridge and looking back over to Alice springs we descended to a camping spot on the trail and caught up with our support vehicle. Once aboard we drove further down the track, towards ormiston gorge, and the cannon from where we will do most of our day trips. It is not to be a continuous hike, but rather one of short day trips to see the highlights of the trail. Once we reached the Camp it was time to setup the swags inside tents and sit down to talk.

I would have to say it’s so easy to judge people by how they look, and many of the older crew looo very privileged, but it seems they have worked hard to achieve what they have - so it is hard to resent this of them.

They always will have some wisdom to pass down, and I think that this idea that the generations should be at war with one another needs to stop. It won’t ever, for its part of the human struggle to fight with your predecessors and successors, but that doesn’t mean I would stop wishing for it to end.

We made camp (thankfully we didn’t have to pitch the tents), Amy set about cooking us delicious chicken and tofu curries, much better than I had anticipated for bush cooking - a pleasant surprise!

Many conversations over the fire and then bed. Hopefully I’ll get to see the dark emu in the sky some time on this trip. I’m looking forward to see how this all develops!

#larapinta

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theblondegoesabroad · 2 years

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Day 72

Tuesday 12th July 2022

Rest day today. But not really. Rest from climbing but it was full on in every other way. We started our day with a run around the island. 14km in the heat. Although we were running around 6am-7am it was still warm and when the sun hit you it was hot. We were both thankful when we arrived back at our starting spot and could head to the beach to cool off. Although as much as we had dreamed about the cold water whilst running, it wasn’t really swimming weather and the water is very cold. But we got in anyway and gave the legs time to cool down. Then we had breakfast, tea and coffee. We planned to have last nights left overs for breakfast but unfortunately the hot weather and the lack of driving meant our fridge that is connected to the cigarette lighter in the car wasn’t cold enough and the heat got to our veges before we did. But nevertheless we still had cheese, bread and sausages so we made ourselves some packed toasted sandwiches. Today since it was still early we decided to head to the mainland to check out the beach front town that is rather popular. We decided to walk there and make the day of it. On our way there we stopped off for our second swim of the day as it was getting rather warm. And then we headed off across the bridge and off to the cute beach front town of Weymouth. It was a long hot walk so we stopped off in the shade of the trees in a park to read our books for a bit before heading on. Benoît read a few pages and then decided that napping would be preferable so he had a little siesta. When we did finally arrive at the town it was busy with tourists bu it was very pretty. Beach side and port side the views were lovely and all the little shops on the Main Street had a nice charm. After a bit more walking around and checking out a few shops we turned around and headed back to Portland. The trip didn’t take too long but we were definately looking forward to getting back to our car and being able to sit down! Once we arrived in Portland we stopped off at the supermarket to buy ourselves an ice cream as we deserved the treat and the cool down after all our walking. And then we made the final effort and got back to the car. We thought we had ran/walked about 25km today but when I checked it on my phone we had walked 38km no wonder our feet and legs were tired! When we got back to the car we quickly headed to the beach for an evening dip before returning to our camping spot for a light dinner and to read our books. Very glad to get horizontal this evening! So much for a rest day but we enjoyed it. Love kate xxx

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jandjmoor · 2 years

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Othello day 4 - Ourigane to Ait Ourir

A really interesting day today where we felt we saw the real Morocco. The first challenge of the day was cycling out of the hotel, it was a long steep driveway. I made the rookie error of stopping at the top of the driveway where it got a bit gravelly only to discover the road in front of me was at about 7%. Needless to say I had to walk up the road a little to where it flattened out.

The start of the ride saw us retrace back to Asni. So the beautiful descent I enjoyed two days ago was now a nasty ascent. Once at Asni we headed out of town onto a quite picturesque climb. Towards the top we went through lots of small villages. Charming as that was, the road surface had pretty much disappeared in most of the villages plus the local children loved to run along side and try to touch you. I got lots of pats on my bum this morning.

Now anyone who knows me, knows that I loathe mountain bike riding. There was a lot of that going on as the roads had been washed away by snow melt, etc. I really had to suck it up princess because after all I’m cycling through tiny villages in Morocco. I did get off and walk a couple of times but otherwise nailed it. What that did mean however, is that I was never game enough to pick up too much speed on a descent in case the road suddenly disappeared.

We finally turned onto a main road and stopped for lunch. It was a lovely spot but being a Sunday quite busy so it was a bit slow. It apparently snowed about 3 days ago so all the city folk were driving up this way to see the snow. After lunch we had about 20km of descending on this main road. It was one lane up, one lane down and no shoulder. Staying on your side of the road seems to be optional in Marrakech. This made the steep descent on quite rough road somewhat challenging. It’s now been named the road of death by the group.

Anyway we eventually turned off the road of death, passed through a quite busy town and then turned off again to wind our way through small villages with a few pinchy climbs and crappy roads. Despite the road conditions this was where you really saw the real Morocco, dodging goats, chickens and children on the road. Surprisingly the dogs barely give us a glance.

Finally we were back on a main road with a terrific surface and a bike lane for a quick last 14km to our hotel. We are quite close to Marrakech again but are staying in a smaller town with quite nice accommodation. A lovely meal tonight and I’m now sitting here writing this blog feeling like Buddha 🙄

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wingingitonwheels · 2 years

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Stage 3: Tres Lagos - Gobernador Gregores

Preparation

“Good preparation is better than hoping for a miracle.”

Sunday Adelaja (I’m not religious but why is it so many quotes come from pastors???)

When I say I wing it, this really applies to my ability to be flexible with what happens on the road. Getting here was half the battle. Getting here and hopefully having the right kit, both physically and mentally was probably another 30%. I could labor on about my kit, but I’ll loose everyone! The one piece of kit I will briefly mention is the Garmin InReach Mini, which is an off-grid device that means Mark can track and send messages to me anywhere. So now he’s stalking me. Which I kind of like 😊.

Leading into Friday’s ride, on Thursday I had a relatively easy day, giving myself every chance to succeed the next day, and took to a 14km hike towards Mount Fitzroy. Having shared about my mum that morning in my blog update, Mum was very much present as far as someone who has gone can be. If I’d had more time, and didn’t have the plan to get back on route with the help of a well negotiated lift on a coach, I’d have gone all the way, but there was only one coach and that was leaving at 4pm. The dogs in the town came to wish me well and “Suerto”, and I kissed Marley goodbye as he put his head on my leg…

It’s fascinating to have time to consider how two people manage the same scenario, particularly when they’re sat 10 metres from each other, and share the same resources. One person will be charming until they see you as a problem and look to dismiss you from their sight as soon as they can. The other will see you have a problem which needs to be resolved, and will do whatever they can to find a solution. Such was the case at the coach station. Two companies, two different people. The first shut me down and would not give me any opportunity to make suggestions, the second, phoned around, asked about the first company, and eventually created a tariff based on one third of the operator’s normal fare, as I was only going to the junction of Ruta 23 and Ruta 40, one third of the way to El Calafate. They would find a way to make the bike fit, but to arrive an hour early to ensure it was prepared and would fit. The irony was that the two companies shared the same coach 😂. The second person received siete cookies from me to say thank you shortly after our transaction was complete.

The ride: Friday Stage 3: Tres Lagos - Gobernador Gregores

Today was a prime example of both winging it and putting blind faith that things would be ok, but having the knowledge and contingency plans that if all my kit tests came to nothing, riding on trails, packed gravel, ****** roads in winter, and the only unpaved section of Ruta 40 was a bigger beast than my bike could take, the options were:

A. Walk

B. Thumb a lift

C. If a vehicle that could carry was unlikely to stop voluntarily, and things were getting desperate, to build a barrier across the road with all my kit and pretend to be dead.

D. Go back to Tres Lagos and pay someone to take me past the gravel.

This particular section was the one part of any route that scared me to death. No matter how many times you zoom in with the yellow google man, it doesn’t tell you about the patchwork boulder quilt and deep sand. I’d hoped for compact mud. But alas, it wasn’t the Forest of Dean trails! Who’d have known! I did my best to get some local knowledge in El Calafate and was told it was rideable. He was right. If you had a full suspension mountain bike or fat bike.

After setting off from Tres Lagos, the gravel seemed to appear in the blink of an eye. There were no warning signs. It was just there. I’d watched Ewan McGregor on The Long Way Up, for which they covered much of Ruta 40, to their destination in Sacramento. They’d done it on electric Harley Davisons, and Ewan stacked it on this 60km stretch of road. This was as good as research I could do. Other than through Chile, whose required avoidance border was closed, there was no way of avoiding it. It was like a dark nemesis tormenting my mind.

I did what I could. Took a deep breath and started, only to get off and walk before the first summit, as the gravel and sand devoured my wheels. Swapping to trainers, and edging forward, my intentions of just soft pedalling and getting my weight off the bike as far as possible so it could roll, were soon blown along with my back wheel. My tyre changing skills which I had been honing through painful lessons (I’ve always managed them but it would seem new tyre and wheel technology has made them a little more resistant to removal) meant the tyre was switched in record time. But what now? The road wasn’t any better. So I started to walk and hoped soon I could remount my steed. I’d brought enough water and food for a 12 hour day if it came to it. I have no shame in admitting that if someone were to pull over and ask if everything was ok, I’d blah a lift if I could. I expected to be there for hours, mournfully plodding along, but within 5 minutes, I heard an engine…really close. The window was down and inside, two Argentinians were asking WD I ok, where was I going and did I need anything. Bingo. The bike gods were with me. They opened their van, looking like they were indicating they had no space(they had two bikes in there, so we were instantly friends!), but then, Gustavo leapt into action, signalled to Monica to pass the lock, climbed on to the roof and asked me to pass my bike! Two minutes lager, bike secured, me and my new buddies were bumbling along the road from hell, boulders flying like missiles, the camper rolling into the deeper gravel as he was gesticulating all sorts of happy things, for which I had no comprehension, but oh, how we laughed!!! All I could offer them was some of my dried fruit, and my daughter’s compositions on Spotify! In that one hour, I learnt Monica was a widow of 14 years, she had an 18 year old daughter, owned a children’s carousel and half size train and carriages. She was 54, and Gustav 57, and he was divorced. They’d been together 2 years and had been on holiday for 30 days. They were shocked when I told them my age. I said “no, it’s ok, wait!” I lifted my sunglasses to show my sim-worn and wind-blasted ageing eyes. I think they were both relieved as they just couldn’t understand that I could be 49. It’s easy to see how we were friends!

As the tarmac returned, I found a way to communicate that I MUST pedal now. I think they were prepared to take me to the north of the country. The hugs I gave Monica and Gustavo could not have been more heartfelt and they me. There’s luck and then there’s this. Thank you Bike Gods!

The remaining 58 km seemed peaceful and happy once I got going. People are normally good.

So here I sit, in Gobernador Gregores, whose name, no matter how many times I say it, leaves me tongue-twisted. It’s a mining town, from what I can see, and I think I’m the first British person to have ever walked the streets. I definitely feel I’m the first nutter to have ever attempted to cycle that stretch! Proper desert, not a single dwelling for the stage. Awesome!

For the most part of the last two days, I’ve been lost in this beautiful piece of music, which seems to be the perfect cinematic mood music to have defined Argentina and the journey so far, for its scenery, the arid and windswept desert, and most notably, the view of Fitz Roy…listen if you get a chance….to La Joya by Aukai.

https://open.spotify.com/track/5nbKnom4NGsUFFSqftOZhQ?si=qm98TRXITUiCP5KauVbRhg

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lockdownuk · 4 years

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Lockdown Diary Part 3

A personal account during the lockdown in the UK due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

23/03/2020 8:30pm Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, gives a live address to the nation to, effectively, put the country on lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain, Covid-19.

Many of us have been self-isolating for days but this latest development within the UK in reaction to the pandemic feels very serious and very scary. I decided to keep a simple diary and where better but online.

Day 61: Writing this in the afternoon on day 62. An exercise driven day. Two walks and stair climb as usual plus I popped round Jeff’s early evening. First time I’ve been to his house, 1 Garden Row, Elmington. It’s further than I thought so, with walking there an back, I managed a daily total of 14km. It was good to see him and have a social (but social-distanced) beer. When I got home, @9:45pm, I made thai green chicken curry, watch The Report (a great, if worrying film) and then TikTok-ed until gone 5am!

Day 62: Typing this on day 64! Beer round Karen’s. Missed Sam’s quiz.

Day 63: Typing this on day 64! Beer round Karen’s. Again! Well, it is bank holiday Monday! Had dirty pizza for tea and watched The Heat. Again! It is the most piss funny film.

Day 64: Well, I have been feeling guilty about treatung the bank holiday w/e l;ike a bank holiday w/e. It’s dawned on me that that guilt is way too self-disiciplned. I got up about midday, usual two walks and stair climb but that’s it. I need to clean the house from top to bottom, get on top of my online courses, get the garden done, get the car fixed, go shopping…fucking hell - if only I had the time…

Day 65: Today I swapped Amazon prime free trial for about the 5th time in my life. Same card and address - will they get wind of my skullduggery. This is all so I can finish watching Hunters and catch Homecoming S2. I went shopping at Asda near Raunds. I wish I hadn’t, it’s no good for a comprehensive shop. Received an email from RCI inviting me to a Zoom meeting with Pal Mulcahy for a business update. I fear the worst. And it’s at 10:00am, FFS!

Day 66: Logged in an attended zoom forum with Paul Mulcahy and over 250 RCI staff this morning. The message was that there is going to be redundancies. I expected this and expected to fall victim. All staff that are going to be put through cionsultation would be contacted today. I however wasn’t! Very, very surpised. meanwhile, Nick Reilly asked to connect via LinkedIn (including become a LinkedIn staff team member - that’s new to me so I’ll see what it is but I accepted the invitation) Later, I WhatsApp-ed him and asked who has been affected from IT. All he could tell me was no one on Jon Rodger’s team is under threat. Also, Mark C emailed - I’ll respond tomorrow. I got up at 09:00ish and had my mornming walk before the 10:00am meeting. I am now, at 09:30pm, fucking knackered. Dinner and then bed, methinks but not before one more episdoe of Hunters!

Day 67: Typing on Day 68. Got pretty drunk last night. I’ve got blisters from walking (new boots) so I don’t think I’ll walk tomorrow (well, today!).

Day 68: I did fuck all today. Got up after 1pm, no walking. I did manage to clean the bathroom (and smash my little mirror) and do my 26 stair climb. I am typing at 9pm and I feel whacked!

Day 69: I have an abscess. It’s not too painful (today) but I am going to call the dentist tomorrow (Monday). I think antibiotics are in order. I watched a film, which I actually started yesterday, called The Voices starring Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arteton and Anna Kendrick. Fuuuuuuuuuuuucking weird. The closing credits are the most bizarre, in context, I’ve ever seen. But, in general, a very good film. Back to normal exercise regime today plus hovered the hall and stairs. Get me. It’ll be interetingh to see my Google Fit figures for May tomorrow.

Day 70: Contacted the dentist who advised salt water rinsing and ibuprofen. But, tbf, it’s a lot better today and the swelling has gone right down. The dentist I called was the Oundle House (Rodericks) one. I was not hopeful since last time I saw them they referred me to their Northampton clinic for root canal work which was quoted at over £600. However, the dentist was very nice, had my x-ray to hand from that last visit and seemed more interested in making sure I’m OK than gaining a paying customer. He still wants to see me when possible though! I must mention the weather. It has been glorious weather nearly every day throughout May (it’s June 1st today). Seriously sunny and like a holiday every day. The news mentioned it today - the level of sunshine throughout the transition from spring to summer is unprecedented, apparently. My T shirt tan is, quite frankly, ridiculous!

Day 71: Today’s ‘must mention’ is what’s going on in the US and it’s not particularly related to Trump. There was a black man killed while under arrest. George Floyd died Monday 25th May (8 days ago) A policeman, who knelt on his neck for minutes while he complained of not being able to breathe, has been charged with murder. Now there are riots and curfews and military intervention all over the country. It’s similar to the English riots of 2011. It’s worrying, sad, scary and not what the fight against the pandemic needs. Most of all, it’s racism rearing its ugly head yet again. I’ve had a normal-ish day. received an email from Jim checking in, talked to a recruiter about a promising job lead (although the hours are 8-5 which I am not happy about), talked to Barry across the road and sent Barzzy a WhatsApp. And I logged in Shaw Academy and started lesson one of module 2 of web Design. It’s been a while, so long overdue, but I only did about 15 minutes. Must try harder / do better! As I type, late (10:10pm) I have dinner cooking and a strange pain in my left side and am in the middle of No Country for Old Men. Don’t think I’ve seen it since the cinema (13 years!)

Day 72: As soon as (well, within a couple of days) I mention the weather, it turns. It’s rained a little and is a lot cooler (15° rather than mid-20s). Much better for walking, I have to say. I finished Hunters today (Amazon Prime series). While I enjoyed it, it got too surreal at the end. It is loosely based on the real story of Nazi hunters in the US in 1977 but the straying from loosely based to down-right ridiculous fiction annoyed me. If it goes to S2, I will watch it, however. Received some of my rental deposit back today (the law changed so that only 5 weeks rent can be demanded as deposit). Over £600. Nice.

Day 73: I made a short video for Marc and Clare’s 26th wedding anniversary. I ‘dressed up’ for it. I enjoyed doing it and I think it was appreciated.

Day 74: Typing on Day 75 for no other reason than I couldn’t be bothered on day 74! I received a letter either today or the day before (well, yesterday or the previous day!) from Mr Minos at the eye clinic informing me that, while there is some stuff going on in both eyes (garnered from the photo scans done at the last hospital appointment), he wants to see me in three months. Always a refief when that happens. Been getting into two series on Amazon: Alex Rider and Modern Love. One is a male Hanna, the other is soppy affairs of the heart based on real life stories (from essays written in the NY Times). Both enjoyable for totally different reasons.

Day 75: Lazyish day. Well, not really, just that I only went for one walk, alebit 6km andI got pissed on. Wehn the rain hit, it was also fucking freezing! Some of the clouds were stunning today, made for great photos. As I type, it’s 21:12, I’m listening the wonderful Phoebe Bridgiers. Now, I’m gonna make some tea and sup a few ales, I reckon.

Day 76: Done lots of walking today (over 13,000 steps) I made sausage casserole with too much chilli (scotch bonnet and birdeye). I had an online (fb) debate with Sam over whether the George Floyd murder was a racial.

Day 77: Received a new (used) wing mirror for the car. £18 with delivery, I reckon that’s a bargain. I cashed in £20 from Prolific as well, so I’m satisfied at the financial full-circle. Dropped the car off at Barnwell (Nene Valley Body Shop) and walked back - 7km. Just about to dive into tea - finishing the blazing hot sausage casserole from yesterday. Then I’m going to do some more Rubik’s cube practice with my recently acquired GoCube.

Day 78: Lots of daily walking, 26 stair climb, press-up and late nights watching TikTok (gone 3am this morning) are making for a constantly knackered Tim Stubbs. Today I made veg soup and cooked up some meatballs. Both are delish. How did I ever to learn how to conjure up such stuff? The Rubik’s cube learning is coming along except that I need good daylight to distinguish between the yellow and white faces on the flipping thing!

Day 79: Listening to Radio 6 most the day and the news is making for dire listening. Forecast of severe recession, especially if there is a second peak of the virus, which I think there will be. Plus, an offshoot of the George Floyd murder and the #BlackLivesMatter movement, institutions and town councils are being lobbied by campaigners to remove statues of anyone associated with things like slavery (one was toppled in Bristol at the w/e) and rename buildings etc. that were named after historical characters with any links to something that now is deemed wrong or offensive. I agree with it but it’s not pleasant to hear amongst other bleak news. Walked to Barnwell to collect my car - front trim reseated and new wing mirror fitted, £20 - bargain (I source the replacement wing mirror). But, also, forked out £165 on car tax! Cleaned the lounge from top to bottom. Knackering!

Day 80: Chatted with Dad and Rita - he’s pissed off with the slavery backlash but otherwise they are both OK. I saw Baz in the Tesco queue where I mentioned my disgust at the Thursday market being allowed (I found I could not maintain 2m at all times just walking to Tesco’s!) and that I really don’t want to catch Covid19 as I will probably die. Maybe a bit dramatic but he messaged me later today to say he’d been thinking on what I said and offered to shop for me. I replied that I am OK to shop but am scared at how people are taking things so much less seriously than when lockdown started yet the virus is still out there just as it was then! I am very touched at his massage. I thoroughly cleaned the bedroom and changed the bedclothes today. House work really knackers me out!

Day 81: Spare room cleaned today. Not much else to type about. It’s Friday, I making curried mince and I don’t feel like a beer. How I’ve changed!

Day 82: I did have beers last night. Ended up going to bed with daylight and dawn chorus for company. Today, when I woke, gone 1pm, I have been greeted by what can only be described as thoroughly depressing news from every quarter. This includes violence in the capital, further virus outbreak in Beijing. Fog’s political posts on FB make for depressing (but vaild) reading. I’m feeling thoroughly fed up today. Not even music can lift my mood…

…but, I am currently listening to Craig Charles on BBCR6 and, I have to say, he’s putting in quite an exceptional effort - there may be hope that my mood might lift, even at gone 8pm! I might have a beer or two and grab something postivity and enjoyment from the day after all.

Day 83: Another late one last night but up before noon today. Started watching something called Condor on Sky One. It’s OK - there’s stuff I wanna waytch on Amazon Prime but, more often than not, it keeps telling me there’s ‘a problem’ when I try to play anything. Pissing me off. I just checked and I have two weeks of the initial 12 of furlough to go. I shall started asking the questions about what might happen on the Connections website.

Day 84: Typing this on Day 85. On the way back from dropping off some shoes for Sean Davies at his brother’s (martin) I met Karen and she said why not pop round for a beer so I did. Certainly not used to a drink on a Monday so that, and the genral upheaval to my evening, while good fun and a nice change, put pay to my usual diary entry! I sorted Amazon Prime out by leaving the TV turned off for over an hour. Day 85: Tim did the garden today and it looks great. The pipes in the bathroom have been knocking loudly, on and off, for a couple of weeks now. Last night, they were so loud that today I took it upon myself to resolve it or ring Woodfords. So, having turned off the water, run the taps dry to get rid of any trapped air and then turned the water back on slowly, I discoved it’s the cistern and its pipes. Woodfords are arranging Corvee to visit. Meanwhile, leaving the water turned off at least stops the noise which is, otherwise, costant and unbearable! I emailed HR a couple of days ago about what’s happening in a couple of weeks time in terms of furlough when the 12 weeks will be up. Sue Cockimngs got back to me attaching an email Deryn sent on 15th May which I never received. Basically, they’ll extend furlough if need be and an update should be forthcoming late May/early June. Well, that time has passed, so who knows what is going to happen. The furlough scheme (CJRS) has been changed by the govenment, I’ve read, and it looks like any new people would have to have been furloughed by June 10th (it’s the 16th today) so no furlough rotation, which is annoying. The CJRS ends 1st October with employer contributions required from 1st August - that’s D-Day as far as I am concerned….so job hunting will have to step up a notch! Day 86: Pete’s birthday and he bought himself the same speaker as me. When I asked if it lived up to his expectations he mentioned it’s better through WiFi than Bluetooth. That confused me as I haven’t got WiFi available on mine…..long story short, I bought the wrong fucking speaker. I got a AudioPro AddOn T10 instead of C10. To say I am fucked off is an understatement. To think I was so pleased at the cheap price I paid. Now I feel like I have wasted €200. Bollocks.

Day 87: Finished Alex Rider last night. Another series that started off so well and ended a litte weak but, overall, not bad. I’ve started keeping strange meal times…lunch very late (4pm) and dinner really late (11pm). I need to sort it ‘cos it’s playing havoc with my sugar levels. I had a huge hypo while having my second walk today, second day on the trot that’s happened. My late dinner was Chinese chicked curry with a quarter of a scotch bonnet and two birdeye chillies. Delish.

Day 88: I have managed to be bitten yesterday or the day before on one of my walks. There are strange, itchy lumps on my right inner forearm. And I do mean itchy. I trimmed my sideburns today, I was very pissed off with them. My hair looks just a little less shit. I did a shop at Tesco in Corby today. Mainly booze as follows: 20 cans Sam Miguel £18 18 cans Stella £15 20 bottles Bud £10 8 cans Tyskie £9 3 lrg bottles Warsteiner £5 £57 Bargain.

Day 89: Lazy day. One short walk and usual stair climb. Howard and Sue popped round to give me a pressie - bottle of Monkey Shoulder. I’m building up quite a collection of whisky!

Day 90: Dad called and we chatted for an hour or so. I had to apologise for not sending a father’s day card! Dan messaged me and offered to pay for a pizza delivery which I declined.

Football has started again this past week…Prem and Championship only. L1 and L2 season was cut short and Posh missed out on the play-offs by one place. As I type, Everton v Liverpool is on Sky Sports on a Sunday evening - it’s very strange with no crowd. There’s crowd noise being played thorugh the tannoy.

#Diary #Tumblr diary #lockdown #covid19 #lockdownuk

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loiswolf · 5 years

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Day 20 June 19 Bern - Gorgier 73kms

Day 20 May 19 Bern - Gorgier 73kms

I farewelled Ralph after 9 this morning and pedalled out of Bern. It had been great staying with Angela and Ralph. They made a wonderful dinner and we talked until late last night.

Only one kilometre from the start and I was in the forest! I had expected more built up area than that! Today I decided I would just remember the bigger towns I would be cycling through and follow the blue road. It’s definitely not the way google maps had routed (below) but it was much easier to navigate.

There was a fairly long, gentle climb until about 14kms then it was all downhill on lovely long straight roads all the way to Aarberg. This morning I was passing through farmland and pretty little villages.

Once again at 23kms I saw a nice place for morning tea so I stopped. It Had great cakes so today I indulged.

Using my ‘follow the sign’ method I rode on towards Neuchâtel. At once stage I checked the map and I was definitely not on the google route.

No problem! I kept following the signs up another hill then onto the 10. I was very surprised when I reached the start of the lake to see a huge built up area with massive shopping centres. This went on all the way to Neuchâtel. Cycling through the old city I kept a lookout for a supermarket. As soon as I saw one I parked Shirley and ran in to get some bread, pastries and a cold drink.

Then I rolled down the road to this beautiful place by the lake to enjoy my lunch.

Staying there for a while I had to fight the lethargy which had crept up on me while sitting in the sun. The afternoon had become quite hot and I was glad there were no long climbs ahead. The road mostly followed the lake. I did take the bike path for a while around the lake until it turned to dirt. Then I cut through a camping ground back up onto the road for the last part of my ride.

The sign for Gorgier appeared earlier than expected. I stopped at the corner to figure out where I had to go. Oh, yes, up the steep hill of course! I can’t arrive somewhere without being all sweaty and hot. The hotel looked pretty dire from the outside but it’s fine and there is a great view from the window.

When I went out for a walk to find a supermarket ( unsuccessfully, there is nothing here) another couple of cycle tourists were just arriving. Must be a good place for us! They looked sweaty too.

I don’t think I will find anything for dinner. I ran across the road to the small post office shop just before it closed at 6:30 and spent the very last of my Swiss money on an ice cream and chocolate. They didn’t have anything else.

I can’t find anywhere to stay between here and Besancon so it looks like it will be a long hard day tomorrow. There are mountains to cross!

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jow99 · 5 years

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Busy, busy

So our plans to ride to watch the Volta didn’t happen. We got caught up getting Jose organised for his passport application and before we knew it we were running late to make it in time to see them. A shame but we went for a run instead and then watched the last hour or so on tv. So nice to be able watch it late afternoon rather than some ungodly hour of the night/morning.

Today was another day trip to Girona. On the way to the bus we stopped by a bar that I had seen made churros for breakfast. It’s become our new favourite cafe because not only does it do churros but they also have gluten free bread and beer (apparently - I haven’t yet developed the local custom for beer with my breakfast). The proprietor is also super friendly - we’ll be back 😄

Another long day in Girona with heaps of walking, nearly 14kms.

We also ate ourselves almost comatose with a 3 course, 10 euro pp lunch which included a bottle of red wine. Good thing we did a lot of walking and as it turned out by the time we got home and settled it was nearly 10pm so we just had some olives, cheese, chorizo and of course wine for dinner.

We did however arrive home with two rental bikes (there’s a chance I’ll buy mine and not take it back), a new vacuum cleaner, a bag full from Decathlon and other bits and pieces and an appointment for 2 months time to continue Jose’s passport application. A strange but not unpleasant day!

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greaseonmymouth · 7 years

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#I just want to whine about how exhausted I am #I walked about 14km today #my hips are killing me and I am very tired #did not find bralettes but did find new regular bras underwires be damned #also a nice jumper #and a cute scarf #the bookstore had run out of the books I wanted (damn) so got cute things instead #I think I'll dye my hair tomorrow #I have roots that need dealing with #also I can't decide which book to read next #one of the queer romance novels #one of my queer fantasy novels #or something else?

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tumblunni · 6 years

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Final result of the anti-anxiety daily walk super plan!

I failed at the last hurdle lol. But also sorta not?? Cos i mixed up the days and technically i should bhave finished on the 5th but i was going until the 7th. So i ended up doing 8 days and just missed the 9th when i never wanted to do 9 in the first place so TECHNICALLY i won???

And really it kinda wasnt my fault here, i didnt ditch the last lap around the neighbourhood cos of anxiety but cos the weather is EVEN SHITTIER THAN USUAL TODAY. Hot weather and britain really do not mix, we have no airconditioning and are used to cold rainyness all year round so our houses are built to stay warm. And everytging's crowded so going outside is heat hell too! Its been sweaty AF all week and im proud of myself for still being able to keep up the daily walk despite that. Probably got better exercise than expected, tho it also made it harder to be non anxious in crowds! Some days were too hot to wear my binder without fainting, and i legit have never been out in short sleeves and non baggy clothes for almost ten years. So again, very proud of myself! Icm becoming way more comfortable going into crowds as The Me and Not Dying! But today was the absolute worst hottest day in an already horrible summer, and i just couldnt do it. I did go out for a small walk technically but i literally just went 20 metres and then went back indoors cos i was Already Dead. I joined a pokemon go raid with another dude tho so that was almost a functional social interaction! XD but yeah after ten minutes of resting in the shade doing pokems it became apparant i was not gonna be able tp bounce back from this potential heatstroke lol. But i didnt count it as a walk cosi didnt even gegt one kilometre. But then again the original intent was anti anxiety rather than the most exercise, so maybe it did cpunt cos it was stressful sweaty gross day and the road outside my house was pretty crowded and all? Ehhi probably should have decided on the actual rules for this thing before i started doing it, lol...

Anyway final result was 14km walked in the super sun, and thats not half bad! Thats double the very minimal goal i set of a 1km lap of the neighbourhood each day. And i prevailed through 4 mildly socially awkward situations, which shall each be a quarter of a point, perhaps! I do not know what i win with my 15 points but i sure do have them!

But alas i might be a tad delayed on the drawing prompt monster i was gonna make at the end of the week. Its so fuckon hot that my computer whirrs up to potentially dangerous heats after just an hour of work. And my keyboard and chair are also Burning, and for the most part i can block out the screen glare but its still throwing off my perception of colours and contrast. I was absolutely heat destroyed just doing that stupid lil nintendo switch photo edit to warm up my skills :(

But i have doodled a bunch of potential designs! So if u guys wanna see this unfinished stuff in bad phone photo form, i could upload that? Or i can just try and stay up all night and hope it cools down enough in the brief 4-5 hour window of darkness we have. Seriously i havent been getting good sleep for ages, i cant sleep without a semi weighty blanket on my shoulders yet it boils me alive yet if i try and sleep without the blanket im just laying awake for hours and then i still wake up from boiling alive just slightly less so. Alas! And ive been trying to do strategies like sticking the blanket up over the window as improvised curtains cos MY DUMB HOUSE HAS NO CURTAIN RAIL but it keeps falling down even when i nail it in. I cant use proper big nails cos the landlord said only sticking up posters with tape and stuff. I think i might be allowed to paint the walls tho but thats irrelevant.

ANYWAY BUNNI IS A BAKED POTATO AND RAMBLING FROM STRESS OK BYE

Im gonna go doodle more and try and not die

#defeat depression with monsters challenge

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anonsally · 6 years

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Day 8 of In-Law-Family Vacation

Today we did a pretty long hike.

We had a leisurely morning before setting off. By the time we had left the house, bought a sun hat for Wife, and reached the bus stop, it was probably about noon, and we had to wait a while for the bus. It was hot; Wife and I each drank a can of coconut water before getting on the bus.

We got off the bus at Spit Bridge (a drawbridge), and we walked across it to the start of the Spit to Manly walk. It was about 14km (8.5mi) total with a lot of stairs up and down. We were still in the city, but the hike was really very nature-y other than the trail itself (which was partly on boardwalks and stone stairs).

Wife and I were very excited to see the lizards (eastern water dragons, I think), which are considerably larger than any other lizard I’ve seen in the wild. We ran across several of them during the hike.

It was very hot and pretty humid, though, so a very sweaty experience overall, and I drank at least 3 liters of water (luckily there were places to refill my bottle). At one point I ran out of water, though, and had to go quite a while before the next place to refill, and I was feeling dehydrated enough to get a bit worried about heat stroke. The afternoon clouded over late in the hike, which at least made it a bit less hot.

An Australasian darter flew past (it sort of looked like a heron, if herons were black) near the end of the hike. Sadly, we did not get to see any of the Little Penguins, as the beach areas were mobbed with people--and we had a bit of sensory overload when we got to Manly. Nevertheless, Wife and I both took off our shoes and got our feet sandy and wet in the Pacific Ocean. Somehow, by the time we got on a bus to head home, it was already almost 6:30. We were all exhausted.

When we arrived, we quickly took turns showering and then set off for dinner (by car). We went to a fancy Indian restaurant (Urban Tadka) that served incredibly delicious food. It was freezing in there and we had to wait for our food, so we only left around 10pm, but it was the tastiest Indian food I’ve ever had.

Wildlife spotted today: rainbow lorikeets, eastern water dragons, the Australasian darter, a pied cormorant or possibly little pied cormorant, and another superb fairy wren, I think. I thought it might be a variegated fairy wren (because I thought I saw some pinkish on it), but we’re not in the variegated fairy wren’s range and it’s an uncommon resident, so that seems unlikely.

#personal #travel #birdwatching #food #even though there is no picture of food here

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scifigeneration · 7 years

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Dear diary: the Sun never set on the Arctic Mars simulation

by Jonathan Clarke

Jonathan Clarke has just returned from another mission to simulate life on Mars. This time he was on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic, where the sun never sets in the northern summer.

It’s all part of a project to see what some of the challenges are, should humans one day decide to live on Mars. He’s detailed some of the events as they happened across 52 days of his most recent experience.

The crew outside station. (Left to right) Yusuke Murakami (Japan), Paul Knightly (USA), Anastasiya Stepanova (Russia), Anushree Srivastava (India), Alexandre Mangeot (France), and Jonathan Clarke (Australia). Mars Society, Author provided

Day 16, Sol 1 (A Sol is a Martian day)

Can’t believe it, after more than two weeks of waiting we are finally here at Devon Island. It looks very alien, very Mars-like in appearance: stark, a visual symphony in brown, orange and grey.

We landed about 2.5km from the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) habitat, gleaming white on the distant ridge in the evening sunshine. We forded two creeks and climbed the rocky ridge to get there.

Read more: The new space race: why we need a human mission to Mars

The habitat was in better condition than we had feared, but there was still some mould and it smelled a bit musty. We opened everything up, and settled into the least grotty rooms and mattresses.

There was lots and lots of junk, lots of tidying to do. I went back with the quad bike and trailer to ferry our stuff back to the habitat while the others began to make the station operational.

Felt odd and exposed by myself in the Arctic. No bears though; maybe carrying a shotgun kept them away. Then went down to the creek with some jerrycans and collected water. By the time we were ready for bed it was 1am. Still bright daylight of course.

Unloading the the gear from the aircraft. Jonathan Clarke, Author provided

Sol 6

Today is July 20, an appropriate day for us to start the main part of our mission, because 41 years ago Viking 1 performed the first successful robotic landing on Mars.

The FMARS habitat is very similar to the unit in Utah I stayed in previously. It’s a two storey cylinder with two decks; eight metres in diameter and eight metres high. The upper deck has our cabins, galley and wardroom, the lower deck airlocks, lab, workshop, toilets, and shower. There is a small generator that provides us with power.

Going into simulation mode means we will be only going outside while wearing our simulated space suits, with a few exceptions. These include heavy engineering tasks – water management, rubbish burning and so on – and of course shotgun duty, where every outside team is accompanied by an armed lookout. A very non-Martian threat here is the possibility of polar bears.

Shotgun duty. Jonathan Clarke, Author provided

Nearby is Haughton crater. An asteroid impact 39 million years ago blasted this crater 22km across and hundreds of metres deep. Even though reduced by erosion, it’s still 14km from rim to rim.

Haughton crater is actually similar in size to Endeavour crater on Mars, currently being explored by the Mars Opportunity Rover mission.

The FMARS habitat is perched on the northwest rim of the crater, and affords us a spectacular view of the crater with its complex geology, meltwater steams and residual snow patches. From here we can proceed on foot, or quad bike to study the geology and biology of the area, much as we would on Mars.

Anushree and Paul did the first extravehicular activity (EVA) outside the FMARS this afternoon. They went to the snow melt zone below the habitat, with Alex riding shotgun. Paul was checking his environmental monitoring stations he had put in a few days ago.

I spent the day planning future work, setting up spreadsheets, planning excursions. All plans are tentative of course, being so dependent on weather and other factors. This will be less of an issue on Mars of course, as all but the most intense dust storms and solar radiation events will have little impact on day-to-day activities.

Yusuke (left) and Paul (right) carrying out photographic surveys on polygons in Haughton crater. Jonathan Clarke, Author provided

Sol 13

When I got up it was foggy and the cloud was low on the ridge, although the crater was more clear. The cloud lifted during the morning, which was good. There was no wind; also good.

Went out on EVA 6 with Anastasiya, and Yusuke as shotgun. Worked southwest along the crater rim from the habitat, and then down across the crater wall looking at some mounds. Lots of issues with helmet fogging though.

On the ridge I was sampling different limestone lithologies. On the crater floor it was a bit boggy in places, so we had to walk on the stones to avoid sinking. This usually worked, although there were some close calls in places. This is not something we will expect on Mars.

In the afternoon I worked on photos, EVA notes and field science, and emails for the family and friends. While we don’t have a specific time delay built into communications, contact with the outside world (except in an emergency) is certainly asynchronous.

The Sun came out this afternoon (hello stranger) but all too briefly. The cloud closed in again soon after. The habitat is now completely fog-bound. A bit like living on Mars during a particularly dense dust storm.

Anushree looking at samples in the lab. Mars Society, Author provided

Sol 21

Woke up to a great silence. Looking out the windows (after wiping all the condensation off them) I saw the reason: we were still enveloped in thick fog. Visibility was down to less than 200m, far worse than we would like to have on Mars, even with the worst dust storms.

It stayed like this most of the day. The ground is also very wet, pools of water everywhere, saturated by the recent rain. The depth of soil above the permafrost here is so thin that it does not take much rain to saturate it.

So no EVA again today, which was frustrating. We have lost three EVA days because of bad weather so far. The ground was too wet for trenching, the visibility too poor for driving, and even for 3D imaging, which is the simplest field task.

So we spent the day working inside. Cleaning, rigging lights (or trying to), sorting old food and equipment, writing up notes, doing psychology tests for the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow, and planning for the day when we will be able to do a proper EVA.

Breakfast in the wardroom. Clockwise: Paul, Anastasiya, Alex, Yusuke and Aushree. Jonathan Clarke, Author provided

Days like this are a good opportunity to consider the differences between life here and last year at MDRS in Utah. One of the biggest differences is the very limited power situation. We ran the generator for only eight to nine hours a day, so having more than three things on at once (two hot plates and a heater for example) trips the safety switches either in the station or on the generator.

Hopefully on Mars our equipment will be more reliable, with more abundant power, and resets more easily achieved.

At the FMARS though, it is often chilly, damp and even dark on days like this. We also have even more limited internet resources, so the sense of isolation is much greater.

Then of course there is the humidity, condensation, leaks and constant battle with mould that ensues. This can sometimes be a problem on space stations, so we are not alone in battling this problem.

Sanitation is also somewhat primitive; we pee into a funnel that runs into an outside drum, and we poo into plastic bags that are then incinerated. On Mars solid waste would most likely be incinerated as well (despite what was shown in The Martian film), but urine would be recycled, as is already done on the International Space Station.

The rest of the crew availed themselves of the shower this evening (after a few of us washed yesterday), so we are all clean and human looking again. Due to the cooler temperatures and higher humidity we don’t get as grotty as we did in Utah.

Day 48, Sol 32

We are now out of simulation mode, in preparation for our leaving. In the morning we received email confirmation that the first flight out was midday. I was on the first flight, with the samples and the trash.

Leaving Devon Island. Jonathan Clarke, Author provided

Mixed feelings on leaving – sad to leave Devon Island, the end of an experience I will mostly likely never repeat, satisfaction at a job well done by all of us.

Day 49 and after

It’s sad to leave the Arctic, but the changing weather and the start of sunsets tell us it’s time to go.

As we fly out separately there are sad farewells to the rest of the crew. It’s the breaking of the fellowship, and these people over the past year have become like family.

As I fly south, it’s strange to see fields again after two months of desolate landscape. I become aware of how humanity has transformed the surface of the Earth, for better and for worse. Maybe that’s one reason some of us want to go to Mars: to find a new world, apply the lessons of the old and perhaps avoid some of the mistakes.

Speaking of lessons, what have I learned about Mars missions, and indeed myself? We have completed our mission despite delays, bad weather, and various other problems, and are a closer and better knit team than when we have started.

Our success has shown, through an operationally realistic analogue mission, that a crew of six can, over 30 days, perform work that on Mars would cover more ground, study more sites and find out more than all the unmanned Mars missions to date.

A twin otter aircraft flying over the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island. Mars Society, Author provided

Jonathan Clarke is an Associate member of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at UNSW

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

#science #planetary science #mars #space #space exploration #Astrobiology

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vass-goals-diary-blog · 5 years

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17.03.2019

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Today I walked 14km and did 100 pushups so I'll count it again as a weak workout day.

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ultrablindouniverse · 5 years

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29.11.2018 // remembering dad

dad once licked clean a spoon we’d used to serve dog food, grimaced and complemented mum on the bolognaise she was cooking that evening.

you taught us to shoot in our suburban backyard in lindfield with an air rifle. you made us swords so we could pretend to fight dragons and you helped us refine the design of our blow darts up until we put a nail into a friend’s foot. you always bought us fireworks on the way to the mountains, to teach us how to use them responsibly. mostly that was blowing up ant hills, or throwing tom thumbs in-front of people cars. when i was 3-and-a-half you thought it reasonable to take the family on a 14km walk in the warrum bungles and had to convince me i was a motorbike to keep me going.

you were the guy that people always mistook for russell coight, except you were the only one that could actually get the chainsaw going again, light the fire in the rain or catch a trout with a stick, string and bent safety pin. things would mostly go to plan, except when you let us leave coins on the ghan railway track and the train actually came, that time you supervised someone pulling the bull-bar off a car on fraser island or we broke the rear electric window and had to drive home from lithgow in freezing mid-winter.

despite that, you still ended up as the head driver trainer at the 4wd club of sydney. you somehow mc-guivered a two-day recovery of a car from a salt pan in the lake eyre wilderness and once managed to roll our car, swear us boys to secrecy so mum didn’t find out, then awkwardly win photo of the year at the club for the incident. for chis cringle last year your contribution was three boxes of cow shit - and people fought over it.

i’ll never forget the 25kg misshapen boulder you managed to skim three times at curl curl headland. or the time you reported me and haydn to the gordon police when you found out we were nicking perspex panels from phone booths to make skateboards which we were selling at the skate store in manly.

somewhere along the way you became a historical authority on decommissioned electrical insulators from inland powerlines, the snowy hydro scheme and internal combustion engines. you could use a psychometric chart to derive relative humidity from wet and dry bulb observations and only two weeks ago jumped in to help my colleagues with questions on section h of the building code of australia.

you taught me that salt folded up in a leaf of iceberg lettuce is a legitimate snack. you arrived in pymble one sunday with a hogtied orphaned calf in the tray of the ute for me to look after for the next 3 months. we called it gumby and i convinced you that the most humane thing we could do for it once it grew up was to butcher and eat it here.

when i was 7, you took me to the bathurst 1000. that year there was collective outrage as police had limited revellers to only one case of beer per person per day. that day i saw grown men spewing from a motorised sofa and women stripping on a caravan roof whilst i diligently tended to the health of my tamagotchi.

at night we used to ask you to tell us “things and stuff”. you shared stories from your youth, of catching and skinning rabbits, taking the cattle to the mountains, of building paddock buggies, and the characters around tumut.

last year dad gave me two coat hooks and a door handle from his first house in glebe to install in the tiny home i built in the back of a removalist truck. somehow, after 35 years he still only needed 1 minute to find them.

dad your favourite meal was pea and ham soup and when we were younger you tried cooking it for us once, but we never let you do it again. but to make that a crude metaphor, you were always like the crouton floating on the top, always able to offer perspective and advice whilst i’ve meandered my way through the cosmic soup of life.

dad always spoke with both economy and lucidity. he could cut through the things that the rest of us danced around verbosely with just a single word. he had a clarity of thought and a singlemindedness. clarity in his ability to prioritise, and singlemindedness in his ability to focus on the task at hand, amid an always enormous to-do list.

from their decrepit terrace in glebe to the work he’s done on this property, a six-month, one year or 5-year fix was never good enough. dad built value in everything that he had. in 10 years, mum and dad have bought so much life to this place. they’ve fenced the creeks and dams, beaten the fireweed, improved the health of the soils and extensively replanted our native vegetation. dad died ensuring the water security of the property. his pride of place was a remarkable thing.

they delivered hundreds of kilos of meat to my friends in sydney, and did so with a message of respect and connectedness to land. the connection to nature he instilled in me is a huge part of what i have become today. dad grew up with that thrift and rural frugality that you only learn in the country, he never took more than he needed and what he touched he regenerated. it is best summarised in one of his sayings that many of us came back to when writing these speeches, “... always return things in better condition than you received them”.

dad truly was a custodian of this place, in the same way he was of his family history in the mountains. but he never did it for himself. for dad, this was always for mum, for scott, haydn and i, for his family, for the valley, for his friends, and to leave this big bowl of soup a little better than when he arrived.

#2018

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