Memorable days
In Europe there used to be a scheme called TaxiStop for hitching lifts with people already travelling somewhere. I travelled with a couple to the South of France but my lift back didn’t go quite so smoothly. irI travelled by car to Geneva where my second taxi stop fell through then took the TGV up to Paris. The last leg should have been simple - a quick ride to Brussells and a local train home. I sat next to a Kurdish kebab seller who explained how to determine the quality of a kebab, his overall outlook on life - which was very positive and several stories - we both accidentally missed the stop travelling across to Amsterdam accidentally. The kindness of a stranger helped me get back home to face a local train strike in Belgium. I eventually made it home with my tattered rucksack and sun burnt cheeks - relishing the adventure of the detour.
Bar be cue on West Dale beach, facing the setting sun & shore break followed by a stroll back across a moonlit field
Twelve pitches of rock climbing to the summit of Anika Kuk, it's half past nine, the sun is about to set - the clearly marked path is disappearing in the dusk and we're benighted (No, not beknighted). A cold May night with coiled rope and dry leaves for a blanket turns into a new dawn and a new day - we drop down into the valley and drink beer for breakfast.
Stepped out of academia and presented my Masters thesis research at Internet World Show in 2002 and was subsequently invited to present to Amnesty International's Secretariat team. A follow up lunch with Amnesty International's communications and campaigns manager made me appreciate the sheer determination and patience involved in changing vocation from Nigerian soldier to volunteer to team lead for an International charity.
I remember the little details of climbs rather than the mission to the top. Humanility where I felt ‘humility’ staring up at the two caves thinking we’d perhaps gone far enough, having dropped the water and felt the exposure being so high above the beach. I was handed the abseil ropes and had a moment of doubt over whether to tie an overhand or Fishermans tie-over - overhand was fine but it felt more precarious at that height.
Sitting taking in the view from a welsh hill fort on a sunny summer’s afternoon.
A cardiologist taught me about consequences of software design and development. The taxonomy in his appointment booking software didn't differentiate between the problems he specialised in and those of his colleagues. With his patients freed to choose appointment slots they needed, they didn't necessarily receive the specialist attention required. Feedback mechanisms and loops are vital.
Trowbarrow quarry an SSSI with routes named after David Bowie lyrics and embedded corals.
Meeting a couple of local Chengdu businessmen over spicy noodles for breakfast and attempting to hold a conversation in Mandarin. Both refused to believe I was English stating that my Mandarin had an eloquent French accent.
A community art fair in Louvain-la-Neuve, organised by a.s.b.l. CETH where I supported art, ceramics and bakery classes.
Watching a tall German drink a pint from a huge hospital FRMI magnet - for the purpose of recording the BOLD responses of my mirror neurons.
First out in the water but rapidly disuaded by the fins of a poisonous unidentified fish, shooting pains, pool cues for crutches, foot in steam bath, pouring over dive books trying but failing to identify the culprit hidden in the sand.
Coronation Street, October 1st, leading two pitches in one, bypassing the Shield, continuing on up, passing tourists wearing a full rack but no shoes on the way back down.
A fist sized sandstone rock falling off as I belayed a friend on Lunakhod at Sharpnose - a near miss followed by a route with a ‘thin’ walk off on the edge, then ducking around the tides to fetch a cake we’d left in the bay between.
North Devon beach crawls and coastal path walks. A bed and breakfast with mastiffs near a rugged coastline.
A week on Safari at home - creating giant collages of tigers, zebras and giraffes then modelling a safari truck from a bed base, washing clothes horse, chairs and blankets
Learning to surf waves in an estuary abroad - long rolling surf, sunny days and mosquito bites
Cycling from Torrington to Instow and back - Tarka country and a beach dune picnic