Panama Hats

A bit like tax exiles with their endless excuses (*). Many of the big ships that plow the trade seas fly the panama flag - Flags of convenience, just like tax exiles. In some ways it is fitting for the ships as at least there is a great merchant tradition in Panama. Of course they're also thinking of expanding. A similar huge feat of engineering is being considered for the Suez Canal.

At least panama flagged vessels however "fake" and pretentious are at least nominally from Panama. Unlike Panama Hats which are from China. Oh only kidding. They're from Ecuador. Panama hats are light-colored, lightweight, and breathable, and now associated with the seaside and tropical locations. Originally from Ecuador the highest quality "superfino" Panama hat can hold water, and when rolled for storage, can pass through a wedding ring.

So I don't like tax exiles. I do like panama hats although I don't actually own one. And my sympathies begin to lie with pirates, surely they could hit some tax havens and so us all a favour. Um. Maybe the wealthy ones actually live in tax exile, maybe that's why tax domains are havens from piracy!

* Just admit it, You're doing it to be richer. You grew up in a community with all the benefits that brings and now you have the money, you want to keep more and more of it. So now its all about you and your wealth and nowt to do about being social or being part of the fabric of society. You're now entitled to it. Why? Because you have it.

Trompe-l'oeil takes affect

A modern take on those German style fake towns that have trompe l'oeil windows and doors that just look so real. Well now some inspired people have come up with complex optics to mimic the way the sun refracts through standard glass in particular situations. This could be a great architectural design feature, with the added benefits like those winter sunshine lamps are supposed to provide.

Or maybe it turns out to be more closely resembling wallpapers that show countryside views or lakes, cheap tat that does nothing for body or soul. There's some interesting articles on the graphics of design just for fun. Look forward to seeing it for real (sic) sometime soon. Brilliant idea!

Le Tour Re-visited...

Well the TdF has been and gone, and the UK stages were brilliant, followed by near-tragedy on the cobbles of the North, followed by mountain climbing inspiration from Nibali and a great final stage win for the big sprinter, Marcel Kittel on the glorious Champs-Élysées. So much better than the past

Driverless Cars

I thought there were already. Maybe it's just their actual style of driving...anyway. Looks like the UK Government have decided to go ahead with the idea and allow them on the roads (good job really as they would be rubbish cluttering up the pavements). Um so there an idea.

The new city of Milton Keynes is one of those trying out the concept. Here's more information about these MK Driverless cars, similar in concept to the Heathrow pods.

But it seems rather than some sort of real-life Scalextric we are now going for actual driverless cars. As the Cambridge driverless bus took years and never worked it will be curious to see how the new era of motoring gets off. Maybe they will have a bloke with a red flag walking in front of them!

People in glass building’s shouldn’t...

Architectural fashions change and now its suggested that glass skyscrapers are falling (no, that in that way) out of favour with the architectural elite. We have had granite and stone so if architects start to move away from glass then what’s left? Well, it will have to be a sexy new material, and expensive. Car and cycle designers seem to love carbon so maybe that will be the new one. Matt black office buildings of the future! Or maybe Apple will design one and it will be ultra-light aluminium and too thin to fit in! I My suggestion, create them out of the most inexpensive material you can find that works really well and the cover them in (no, not in chocolate) in greenery. And you still shouldn’t throw stones (among other things).

Le Tour

The Tour De France (TdF) is here, yes starting in England and winding thru Yorkshire, Cambridge and fast finish into London. To celebrate the occasion Yorkshire have set up street art along the way. What inspired thinking and relevant cycle homage. Allez allez!!

Spring Cycling

So as winter eases off and the better weather starts to arrive it was time to get out on my bike and start getting some miles in before the Skyride season begins. This spring I attended a British Cycling one-day route planning course, swiftly followed by instructions to get out and re-write a couple of routes. So that was my weekends sorted for a while. It coincided with OK weather, either warm and dry or at least dry, so managed to cycle the routes and check them out from a risk assessment perspective. You know the kind of thing, when falling off ensure you roll to your right as there is a 300 foot chasm on your left dropping to an icy-cold lake. Well something like that!

It was good to be out riding, which along with an early spring Skyride road ride, made sure I’m ready for the summer Skyrides. This commitment means I need to re-balance some time, so I have concluded my volunteer role with Sustrans, letting another member of the group come in to take on the role as group co-ordinator. It’s been good fun and interesting, but I don’t really have enough time to do it all and still have time for my other interests so it was time to refocus and make some choices.

While it felt good to help the cycle charity Sustrans, a lot of it became paper based, organising and scheduling stuff rather than being an active ranger or riding, so it wasn’t such a tough choice once I started thinking about it. One issues I had when I started was that we had an all-male group of mostly retired people. We have tried to redress that but I see why the role attracts the recently retired person, they are the ones who have the time to do it. I’ve been happy to be a volunteer but recognised if I didn’t decide to make a decisive break I would just carry on doing the same old stuff in the same old way. Maybe sometime I will return to it, maybe when I do retire! Best of all it gives me more time to be out actually cycling so that is all good.

We’re going to need a bigger spanner

The Prelude is a massive ocean going vessel under construction; we’ve talked about big buildings but these giants dwarf them. So how do they keep these huge things on the go (once they get going!) Bit like cars these also need MOT’s. Although I’m not sure where they put the tax disc.

Yoga High

Having just completed a six week beginners Yoga course, I started the year with a ready-made new year resolution to commit to doing yoga regularly. The easiest way was to attend the drop-in sessions at the dedicated yoga centre. These range from the mild and relaxing to full on sessions, like circuit training only slower, which doesn’t necessarily make it easier! But now I find the whole concept is itself a challenge.

Who would ever have thought it? Trying to make it into a moral or spiritual decision. I know, I will just treat it as a form of exercise. And carry on doing it because it certainly helps me, especially in increased flexibility. Maybe a more flexible mindset as well! Namaste.

Canoeing - The right to paddle

This article is a year old but the issue remains the same, do canoeists have the right to paddle on rivers?

For those who don't know it might be unexpected that there is an issue at all. We can all walk on pavements. Why can't we all paddle the rivers? That's without accounting for vested interests. So for now the issue is confused, complicated and prone to harassment and hostility between the different parties. Curiously enough another sport and activity I love, cycling, is prone to the same issues, with some car riders prone to shout "get off the road" and some cyclists prone to say cycle paths should not be used, as cyclists are entitled to be road users.

While being courteous and polite is good, its too easy to be challenged by the occasional hostile person and start to feel nervous and anxious which can lead to anger or just get hostile in turn. Its not a virtuous cycle! Sadly I'm now realising that running has a similar polarity with dog walkers. If not their giant extended leads that get you, its the jumping up at you with the "he's only being friendly".

It would be nice to just get out and paddle. Or run. Or cycle. And not to be shouted at while doing it.

Is it on Strava?

Strava. Like marmite you either love it or hate it.

Strava is an addictive app that enables you to track journeys, shows your route, provides time/distance data and compare with others. You can view other rides, runs and other stuff. I have even used it for canoeing trips, which I had to log as workouts as there isn’t actually a canoe option. I have taken to logging runs on it as it provides so much more data than the usual stopwatch, and there is something childishly pleasing about seeing your run appear on screen with a map and times.

I’m sure it can be used by real athletes to get credible coaching data but for now it’s a case of going for a run or cycle and setting the GPS to ready, to make sure that when the questions is “is it on strava” the answer is yes. It is. Been there, done that, and recorded it all on strava!

RIBA Prize 2013 - A bit staid or what?

Sometimes it’s good to have an outsiders view. Bringing a fresh perspective and new approach, But sometimes it’s just aggravating. The latest prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize has been awarded to Astley Castle. Its good to know a contemporary prize has gone to something as futuristic and modern as a…castle. Um. Well its been Restored. Sympathetically. It’s a 12th century fortified manor, further damaged by fire in 1978, so attention to timescales has been a big pressure on this project. So our best prize for architecture goes to a pastiche. That’s taken a tad under forty years. Great.

Mind you, it was against strong opposition. Park Hill was a refurbished tower block from the 1960’s. Er…next year can we look less far back in the past and a bit more to something that looks as though it was designed and not just re-designed? Mind you the Sydney opera house has just turned forty. That still looks cool. Possible RIBA winner next year?

Skyride Summer Cycling

The spring and summer brought the opportunity to take part in Skyride, the British Cycling and Sky sponsored programme for free local cycle rides. I had ridden a couple of these rides in previous years, on pre-defined routes led by experienced cyclists. The nice thing is Skyride offer a range of rides, from short beginner rides, normally off-the-road on traffic free paths, to longer road rides for those more comfortable and confident on their bike. So not only can it be a great introduction to cycling but can also be used for riding out with a group for those who don’t want to commit to club rides or do anything too competitive. Friendly social rides is what the Skyrides are all about and they happen throughout the country.

I was able to get more involved by doing the ride leader training this year. A one day course focused on leading a group, and the essential safety arrangements. We were taught to do the M (or W) check for checking cycles over. Group riding is different, and the practical training out on roads and paths made sure we could be responsible for the group. Traffic gaps that as a single rider you would think that’s OK, are not the same gaps suitable for a group, “imagine you’re one long vehicle” our female instructor reminded me! There are normally at least a couple of ride leaders with the group, and one of these will be the ride leader on the day, who will be first aid trained. Being first aid qualified from my other sporting activity I was able to apply for rides as either the ride leader or the assistant ride leader, the ride leader having to be first aid trained and doing the paperwork, otherwise exactly the same roles.

Once ride leader trained you have access to the back-office skyride website to find rides and apply for rides. You do this online and get notification when you have been selected. As ride leader you at least need to know the route so for my rides I went out there and rode them the week before, to check the route and the road and traffic conditions. As mentioned the rides vary and so it is easy to find the kind of ride you enjoy, everything from short slow sessions with families to more rides suitable for chain-gang roadies. The latter actually doesn’t really exist, they’re just a bit longer, and as we go at the pace of the slowest person then it depends upon the group on the day! I wanted to experience them all so applied for a mixture of rides and routes, from traffic free cycle paths through parks to a forty mile road ride. With the latter we all stopped mid-way at café for coffee and cake refuel!

The rides are great way to meet other cyclists and learn new routes. You can even use them when away on holiday or visiting. The skyride website has all the details, so next spring when its time to get on your bike, come and join us.

Cycling Capers

Being part of Sustrans I have been regularly riding parts of our national routes. As much of this is off-road it could be uncomfortable using my cycle which is a 20+ old racing bike. Off-road in this case meaning off the roads, using cycle ways and mixed routes, rather than MTB style off-road. Some of these paths are quite gravelly and can be muddy, all conditions not best suited to my bike with its thin road wheels and drop handlebars. Indeed my bike is so old that it has the gear changes on the down tube, not on the brakes/handlebars. Finally on one ride the gears jammed yet again, so the walk home made me start thinking of a replacement

Having not bought a bike for years it’s a bit of shock how much they are. Fortunately for me our company is one of those that have a cycle scheme. There are different versions of the scheme, but all allow you to request a certificate via your employer, that you then take to the cycle shop to exchange for your cycle and equipment. You can add necessary cycle gear like helmets, racks, etc. You then pay for this monthly, deducted from your salary, so saving you having one big outlay at the start. You also save as you pay this off over 12 months deducted directly from your salary, saving tax and NI, so that you end up paying less for the bike than you would if you bought it for cash. Schemes differ but mine gave me a choice of all the major cycle shops, and worked quickly and well, from joining the scheme to collecting the bike and riding away all within a month.

The hard bit is choosing the bike. I wanted a flat handlebar one as its easier to ride than my racing style one, as well as more comfortable for the kind of riding I was doing. In my cycle enthusiast day the bikes were 5 and 10 speed, with two chain rings. Now they are all multi chain sets with a huge range of gears. After riding some I found these were mostly redundant gears that force you to change quickly from one to the other. It must be a fashion thing, or easier to just mass produce, as I’m pretty sure we don’t really need 27 gears to get from where we are to where we are going. In the end I settled on a hybrid cycle from Giant, as it was comfortable and easy to handle. Once I started to ask them to add mudguards and a cycle rack they asked if I wanted to order the ready prepared version, the escape city, which comes with this and a stand. I didn’t really want a stand but they can be easily removed so ordered that one. I also added some panniers, as its far easier to commute with a set of removable panniers, than slog around with a rucksack, which is what I tended to do.

Having had the new bike for a few weeks I’m still just getting used to it. It’s a lot more comfortable on the off-road bits and really handy with a set of new panniers. In the old days panniers were either thin nylon bags or heavy voluminous cotton carts, these new ones are smart, trendy, come with lots of easy open pockets and bags and a cover and carrying strap. Great stuff. Now all I have to do is go cycling and with the better weather forecast that is looking a possibility.

Running with Wolves

Nothing to do with running with Wolves really. Just following them has been hard work as they have plummeted disastrously. Two years ago Wolves were in the top league in the world, playing the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Man City, Arsenal and Spurs, to be followed by dropping straight down and out of the championship league, to now start the 2013/2014 season in League One.

The Wolves management team have overseen the removal of Mick McCarthy, as they struggled during 2012 in the premier league. Then the replacement of loyal but totally out-of-his-depth Terry Connor who tried to keep them up, and failed. Their arrival in the championship league, for the 2013 season, where they had the intent to get straight back into the premiership, saw the appointment of what may have been a sound replacement in Stale Solbakken. Stale tried to change things but was dismissed mid-season while still in 18th place in the championship. What did Stale do? One opinion says he didn't understand English football and was a poor appointment by those who didn’t have a clue how to recruit a manager. Another view is that his vision was not given the chance to change things around, and over-paid players and a management who wanted to micro-manage meant he was isolated and became the latest blame-boy. This led to his replacement with Dean Saunders, who was took 10 matches to earn his first club win, and oversaw the by now divisive team continue to struggle and finish the season relegated. Saunders never looked like he could get Wolves playing the way they should, and led loyal fans to be critical of Jez Moxey’s astute financial management which did not translate into any football acumen.

For say what you like, Wolves have managed their financial situation well. A club with an illustrious history, they are respected as one of the founders of the football league, and the European cup. Wolves won the league title three times and the FA cup twice between 1949 and 1960, and were respected as champions against top European teams during these halcyon days. Hard times have followed since, but the modern Wolves were established with Steve Morgan owning the club and Jez Moxey as Chief Executive. Their ground is the impressive Moulineux, were they have played since 1889. A venue still just a few minutes walk from the city centre. The new Stan Cullis stand has been built during their most recent history of relegations, and seems to stand as silent criticism of the club’s football ability.

For over two years, as plenty of people never saw Mick as a premier league manager, fans have worried and fretted over who should be the manager. Between replacements, and the lack of club communications fans saw everyone from ex footballers to ex England football managers as their saviours. With relegation to League One the problem became worse, now we needed a good manager but someone who could understand the sheer relentless reality of football in league one. No more Manchester, instead Oldham and mid-week visits to Crawley. Who now? Current managers with experience of staying alive in the lower leagues, managers who were available and had indifferent CV’s but had lived through turbulent times, those young and inspiring but without the damage from shock relegations, a trusted old hand to keep everything stable and level and make sure things didn’t get worse? Someone with history of bringing in their own support teams and building a team through well-run football academies and astute loan players. Just a big name, Neil Warnock or Roy Keane. Time to bring back Stale?

Instead Wolves took some time and announced they were looking for a head coach and not a manager. Nearby rivals, WBA having achieved success with this model. Was this a stroke of genius, a sign of a revitalised Wolves or is it yet another sign of the let’s have a change and do it cheap attitude the fans have come to resent. There were deep worries. After removing Mick McCarthy in 2012, Mick went on to manage Ipswich, who are still in the championship. Rather than recruiting or replacing Mick the management promoted the ill-fated Terry Connor, who was an internal recruit having been an assistant to Mick. What looked to many as a poor football decision and/or a wrongly-advised cheap option. The appointment of Stale brought enthusiasm for new continental style football, instead within 6 months he was gone, after a poor FA cup run losing to Luton. Doncaster boss Dean Saunders, who like Terry never seemed at ease with the task, replaced Stale, and was sacked months later. So the fans worried even more about this rush to hire and fire.

Then finally right at the end of May it was announced. Kenny Jackett is the new Wolves manager, sorry, head coach! At least this appointment makes some sense. Jackett did well at Swansea and Millwall and has at least proved he can do stuff rather than just talk about it. The big club that isn't, Wolves may make his name. For Wolves fans there is hope that this is true. A worrying 12 month rolling contract may provide some sense of wariness around what management expects. At least for now there is time, to sort out the players, get a grip on the team and get a proper team playing together in those gold shirts. The new season is coming.

Design your own museum!

The design museum awards are always an interesting amalgam of what is new, with what’s considered hot and topical. It’s normally challenging and interesting to review what has been included. This year the overall design award has gone to the gov uk website. Um that’s a bit dreary and boring isn’t it? I mean a website? Among all the other things they could have selected, from the categories of Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Products, and Transport. They chose a website. It strikes me as a bit dull and un-inspiring. Mind you so is the design museum website. Looking like it was designed in the 1980’s with that tight text and links all over the page, it’s a pain to navigate and unforgivably doesn’t provide any description or images for the design shortlist. Maybe the design museum should take a real long hard look at their chosen winner. On top of that they should think about marketing the shortlist better, not everyone can get down to London and visit the place and they would be doing us all a favour. For those of us outsiders here are some of the highlights. The wind map is baffling. It takes a while to load but it’s worth it, click on the live map and view. Eerie, surreal, hypnotic. Like the early years science class with moving iron fillings and magnets. The Mando Footloose Chainless Bicycle is not just chainless but is also a folding bicycle. Innovative. Bit more exciting than a website eh? (OK i will stop now). While the aptly named donkey bike aims to be the “pick-up truck of bicycles” according to industrial designer Ben Wilson.

The weather outside is frightful…

For those of us of a certain age to hear “VIKING. Southerly or southeasterly 5 to 7, occasionally variable 4 in north. Slight or moderate. Snow showers. Good occasionally poor” brings back memories of listening to the shipping forecast on the radio. What it meant nobody knows, when was it on, seemingly always. I’ve recently started reading a book about the iconic BBC shipping forecast, and first of all it’s apparent that there are people who do know exactly what the forecast means, those professional seafarers who need to know what they are heading out into. One of the attractions was the feeling that you were listening in to some private conversation, like listening to a foreign language conversation, that although you couldn’t understand it, the intonation spoke volumes and told you this was important. Something significant was happening out there. Reassuringly you were safe, and even if VIKING become “hurricane force 12 or more”, it was happening somewhere out there, to people who understood what it meant and where equipped to deal with it. More importantly it wasn’t suddenly going to come crashing through your radio loudspeaker and flood the house.

But with the advent of digital radio the shipping forecast is lost. No more four times daily broadcasts on the radio, unless you happen to be able to tune into Radio 4 Long-wave. If the latter then you can listen in to the arcane forecast and don your sou’wester. But along with digital comes web access, so actually you can listen to the shipping forecast as well as get access to it online. And if you don’t have a copy of the book you can even look up the shipping areas (Tyne, Dogger, German Bight) and find out what it all means.

To do so, would it be like Mark Twain learning to navigate the Mississippi , would it dispel the mystery and magic. No. Somehow the shipping forecast is too ingrained, too much part of our national psyche to be so easily dispelled. That, plus the fact that there is too much majesty and exotic romance in Forties, Bailey, Rockall, Fisher; and to really understand it and penetrate the mystery you would have to be a child of albion brought up on the sea. So it is fitting that the only shipping area to be named after a person is FITZROY, which replaced Finnistere in 2002. Fitzroy founded the shipping forecast, along with the MET office, so it is to him we owe our thanks. Westerly, veering thankful to moderate.

Railway Mania

The recent revitalisation of our railways is very welcome, albeit a little unexpected. Leaving aside the day-to-day fiasco’s of delayed trains, overcrowding, expensive tickets, as well as the usual day-day exasperations. Or the HS2 debacle of an entire new planned (sic) route that will take thirty years to build, on the promise to save a half hours journey time (presumably sometime within that time period) and obliterate entire green belts in the process. Beyond all that - there are encouraging signs that the railways are no longer the forgotten and under-valued public transport it seems to have been regarded in the past decades.

For a start there are revitalised lines. After a short campaign of some 41 years, a restored train service between Swanage and Wareham is to happen by 2015. This is a picturesque line in the tourist county of Dorset with Enid Blyton type views of the dramatic Corfe Castle. Should be a great tourist attraction as well as practical rail route. While up in Whitby the Coastal Communities Fund is investing in the North Yorkshire Moors Railway which will fund a new platform at Whitby for this heritage railway. Along with other renovation work this will hopefully boost the tourist economy. Rumours that the Dracula line is to be dug up are untrue say local reporter Bram Stoker. OK I made that last bit up!.

More seriously, many of our great train stations are being restored. There is the newly rebuilt St Pancras station in London. A great restoration of this grand gothic style building. Nearby King's Cross station is also been revitalised. What used to be a dirty scruffy looking area has been re-modelled to represent our traditional railway architecture in an impressive contemporary setting. The Grade 1 listed building, designed by Cubitt in 1852, has been restored in partnership with English Heritage, retaining and displaying many of the original features. With a stunning new concourse, the largest single-span structure in Europe, along with its glass mezzanine walkway already built, the final phase is due soon with the removal of the tatty old green signage and the installation of the new public square, bringing a European feel to the place.

The new London Blackfriars station, to be built on the Victorian bridge of 1886, is set to be a landmark, being the first station to span the river Thames. An innovative roof, made up of over 4K solar photovoltaic (PV) panels will provide over 50% of the stations energy needs, and will reduce CO2 emissions. There will also be a rain harvesting systems and sun pipes for natural lighting. While in Birmingham New Street there will be a whole new larger concourse, as well as a giant atrium, allowing natural light throughout the station and to all 12 refurbished platforms, which should be completed by 2015.

Further afield the Grand Central terminal in New York has just celebrated one hundred years, the brainchild of William Wilgus who is reputed to have said "It was the most daring idea that ever occurred to me”. And it is not just trains and buildings. Recently thousands of people applied for the 18 jobs as train drivers on the new Borders to Edinburgh rail route. Scotrail says that they are dealing with the sheer volume of applications, representing that 125 people applied for each post. It seems affection for our railways is endemic and at last our national institution is being looked after.

You get the high street you deserve...

There have been big high street casualties before – it’s still a surprise not to see a Woolworths on the high street. Recently Jessops (the camera people) have gone into administration in January, now so have Blockbuster and so have HMV. Following Comet’s failure at the end of last year it’s a huge impact on the high street and a devastating impact on all the experienced people working in these stores. While many economists can talk dispassionately about “effective business models” and “slow to respond to market changes” analysis, maybe there is a more worrying trend, that is also more personal, showing up here.

Repeatedly consumers are proudly boasting that they see an item in high street shops and then buy it elsewhere – saving money and often (or even exclusively) purchasing online. It might seem economic suicide not to adopt this model – I mean we all like saving money in these hard times. But for many years I return to the same shop to buy new running shoes. The reason is the service, they know about running, they provide helpful advice and guidance, and by supporting them I am keeping them in business to continue for me and others. I can definitely take all the details of the exact running shoe that I like, and have tried out, and they have taken so long to advise me about, and go home and shop online and save lots of money. But I don’t. And I’m not sure that I agree with those that so obviously do.

It’s not just bad manners. In some ways I feel such people are almost abusing some tacit trade-off between buyer and seller. So while I recognise that companies that don’t change or provide poor service or charge inflated prices don’t deserve to stay in business; I don’t agree with a model that adopts a "view for real and then buy online". Maybe as a society we truly will get the shops we deserve. As such shops disappear and we don’t have any choice but to shop online maybe there will be a business boom in smaller specialist shops again. And in a final irony, quite often at my favourite running shop, they nip into the back and re-appear with a pair of identical shoes I’ve chosen that are last year’s colours and offer them to me at a big discount.

Just going for it

Ideas like let’s run from the top to the very bottom of New Zealand. Oh and try and do it in record breaking time.....

It’s one of those ideas that probably starts with a kid and a map of the world.

But to actually do it - well that’s something else. Jez Braggs is running from the very top to the very bottom of New Zealand. Really just on that traditional principle of because it is there. But he is also going to try and do it in the fastest time - some 50 days of running in diverse terrain of over 1,800 miles.

As well as the exhilarating run along the Te Araroa (The long Pathway) he will also be taking a canoe interlude with an 80-mile canoe trip down the Whanganui river, halfway down the North island, and a paddle across the demanding 17-mile Cook Strait expedition. It helps that Jez is one of those ultra-runners so should be fit and experienced enough to actually be able to do it. As he says “in training for the big trail races, I noticed that the parts where I had the most fun was when I was on long runs in remote places; I really enjoyed losing myself in the runs where the journey was more the point than the destination”

The greatest thing about such expeditions is just the sheer boy-hood (you can replace that with girl-hood if you prefer) adventure of it. It’s just one of those things you wish you could do yourself. Next best thing is to read Jez’s adventures about it. Enjoy!