Videos..

Who needs them: we all watch DVDs these days... So I am sorting out all my possessions, trying to pare them down so they will fit in W's none too large house, and I decide to get rid of them all, welcome to the 00's and all that.

And then I look at the titles and work out which ones I'll have to get again on DVD: Grosse Pointe Blank and A Life Less Ordinary are the stand out ones (what does that say about my film tastes!)... but then Shooting the Past is superb and was bought for me by N&D. The Last of the Mohicans I thought was excellent, and the Big Lebowski... The Dude Abides!!!

Romeo+Juliet is amazing; Leon is one of those films you don't think much of until you watch it again; True Romance fantastic; Restless Natives... sheesh I bought that second hand, but takes me back to my Big Country fan days...!

It either going to be difficult to get rid of these films, or expensive replacing them in DVDs...!

p.s. not sure how this film choice reflects on my chances of ever replacing Mark Kermode, but I've seen the greats and critically acclaimed, and it is quirky, different and basically fun films that catch the attention every time...

Risk, Confidence and White Water...

The Alps were fantastic: six rivers in three days culminating in the Gyr, a full on grade IV/ IV+ paddle of 3km which we completed in 20 minutes with only about three breakouts!

However, I was nervous on some of the rivers (and I think overly so) and it took me a while to get into things. And on reflection, I don't think I'm too good at assessing risks and balancing these against what I am capable of paddling.

On the surface, it would seem that being cautious is the best way of avoiding trouble. But kayaking on fast moving water it is also important to paddle agressively and confidently. It was hesitation on the Upper Clarée (because I wasn't in the right frame of mind) that resulted in me dislocating my arm after a moments hesitation over which side of the rock to go...

The Upper Véneon was very fast and I didn't paddle as well as I should have done. I decided to walk round a drop just before Jon swam on the lead in to it. Given his swim, perhaps it was the right decision, but I ended up being the only one on the water below the drop when I had to ferry glide across to help Jon get his paddles back. I was nervous and very uncomfortable about this, and as a result I missed a couple of break-outs and didn't make the ferry glide as I should have done.

On previous trips, the Gyr had always been a big boys river and as we had paddled well in the morning, it seemed the obvious step up to push ourselves.

And before getting on the river I was again very nervous. To counteract this, while Rob and Jim did the shuttle, I spent the time putting myself in a positive frame of mind, remembering my capabilities and other rivers I had paddled (and thinking about W). As a result, I was grinning before we got to the full on stretch, and I enjoyed the river immensely!!

The point is that is important to assess the risks correctly: if you decide to walk, fair play and walk. But if you decide to paddle, make sure you are in the right frame of mind first. You will enjoy it more, and at this level, it may hurt otherwise...!

Logistics

It all seemed so easy: book flights to Alps; pack stuff into boats; Go...!

Then we started thinking about it: will BA allow four kayaks onto the aircraft? If the kayaks are around 19kg each, how will we manage with a published baggage allowance of 23kg when we add clothes, camping and kayaking stuff? Once we get to the other end, how will we run shuttles with only one hire car?

And of course, why can you never hire a car with roof bars. The answer to that problem could be at hand though, with the inflatible roof rack. Just inflate, tie round car roof, strap on four boats and that's it: what a great idea! I hope it really is this simple, though of course for an easy holiday, we'd be off to Malaga instead ...

Fashion

I really like the t-shirts designed by Howies, Cardigan Bay's 3rd biggest clothing company.
My current favourite is this one, which recognises that well know US company producing "The highest quality, casual, All-American lifestyle clothing for aspirational men and women" (their words)...!?!

Anyway, the Aber Teifi is a fantastic river that flows through Llandyssul and includes Cenarth Falls which can be rather nasty on the river left side (grade IV+/V). I have swam both times I have tried to kayak it (both on the same day!), the last swim being a very disconcerting experience indeed. I made it through the big drop but hit a tiny but powerful eddy which pushed me back into the stopper and I capsized. As I was getting a sound inverted thumping by the rush of the water, I baled out of my boat, allowing it to float off downstream, whereas I just got sucked to the bottom of the river and held there till I was very nearly out of breath. Not pleasant at all ...!

My Nemisis Arrives...

Well, not quite, but put my name into google, and all you get are links to this guy. And then he turns up in my town...!

Lifestyle Choices

I meant to post this last week, but didn't get round to it: that's why this whole blogging thing probably won't work, but...We spend the other weekend (the bank holiday) at Woolacombe, ostensibly to go surfing, but as the surf was only about 2ft, not much surfing occurred, and instead we had a great time golfing (well, pitch and putt), bbqing, drinking and generally wandering around the beach enjoying ourselves. And when we got home, I had a quick look at the papers online and read a piece about how the retail industry has pursuaded us that they can sell us a new lifestyle, and how as a country we are busy plunging ourselves into debt trying to buy this.

And I wondered if your purchases can really define your lifestyle. If you have a plasma screen in your plush wooden floored leather sofa'ed living room what does that really say about how you live your life? And how does that compare with a fantastic weekend spent living in a tent with friends? Which says more about you as a person?

This links into my birthday a couple of days ago which I really wasn't looking forward to it as it feels like I've reached an age where I really haven't achieved as much as I should have done. I have a well paid job, but it is dull. I have a car that was brand new 6 years ago and is nothing more than adequate. And probably my biggest bugbear at the moment is that I don't own a house, although I have a deposit the size of which would have bought a nice little terraced house 6 years ago. But despite that, I have travelled quite widely, I have kayaked to a good level all round the UK and France, I have skiied, scuba dived and bungy jumped. And I have found a really fantastic girlfirend who puts me in such a better mood every time I see her.

I guess it all depends how you measure these things and what you want out of life. And it depends how you reach a point where you can say you are really happy with everything. I am not there yet, I need to work in certain areas, but I think I'm headed in the right direction ...

It's a start...

Testing 1... 2... 3... Can you hear me at the back? Hmmm.... Thought I'd have a go at one of these new fangled blogs. A major concern is of course that I will have a lack of anything interesting to write, but as I am sure the readership will be exceedingly select (to say the least), I think I shall probably cope...! I am also concerned about a surfeit of bad punctuation...!?!