Well, that was a bit of a journey. But I’m here, as are bike and luggage, and the stunningly lovely NZ Adventure Capital of Queenstown even arranged a rainbow of welcome for us all. But not before, first, my Primus fuel bottle was halted and turned back at UK check-in security; then my pedal spanner … Read more …
Blog Posts
Right, NZ ahoy. This bike trip’s for real…
So, after the disappointment and nerve dramas of the RTW bike ride that wasn’t last Easter, Raven and I (doesn’t it irritate when cyclists anthropomorphise their bikes!) are on our way to cycle the South Island in New Zealand. And this is also my first attempt at blogging with WordPress direct from my mobile. Hope … Read more …
Climate Change and the Failure of Today’s Journalism
(Cross-posted with kind permission of Greenpeace Energy Desk) What was the most important angle in the news coverage of Superstorm Sandy? Was it – should it have been – the storm’s impact on the US presidential elections a week later? Was it the number of human deaths – the usual measure of newsworthiness – or … Read more …
Journalism and Climate Change – a wake-up call
Climate Change and the Failure of Today’s Journalism What was the most important angle in the news coverage of Superstorm Sandy in 2012? Was it – should it have been – the storm’s impact on the US presidential elections a week later? Was it the number of human deaths – the usual measure of newsworthiness … Read more …
Barbershop
Just for fun, I’m posting on this page pictures and recordings of one of the greatest Barbershop quartets ever to perform in China in the 1980s – probably because we were about the only one. The Four Tones (of course, being the high, rising, falling-rising and falling tones of Mandarin Chinese) were made up of: … Read more …
What is it with France?
A sobering quarter century or so ago, I recall appearing with our Barbershop Quartet The Four Tones in the British Embassy Pantomime (can’t remember what the nominal theme was, but it was hilarious) in Peking-as-was/Beijing-as-is with a jaunty, entertainingly xenophobic song that had as its refrain “Zat’s why you lurve ze French.” (Cliche-laden photo right of, right-to-left, … Read more …
Back in Action – and Planning a new Ride
Ah well squared. The great 6000-mile bike ride from Cirencester to Hanoi didn’t come off, but there have been compensations. Since my last post, I was for quite a while in a bit of a grim state, recuperating at home from what a lovely young German neurologist – eventually consulted at the John Radcliffe Hospital … Read more …
Dreams Postponed – the Bike Trip is Off
Ah well. It was worth the planning and the effort. But in the event, I’m not going to do the Great-2012-Bike-Trip-Of-A-Lifetime to Moscow and Hanoi. So instead of images from the road to Moscow and then from Beijing to Hanoi, let me illustrate this blog entry first (left) with the lovely balloons from Meg and … Read more …
Pedalus Interruptus
Sadly, sadly, dear friends, followers and supporters, the feared flare of neck and nerves happened in Holland, and I’m afraid to have to report that today Tuesday I am back home in Cirencester, having been retrieved from the Harwich ferry this morning by my lovely Sue. As you can see from the pictures, I did … Read more …
Farewell Blighty
In the final couple of hours before I get on the Saturday night ferry into Easter Day from Harwich to Hook of Holland, I bid farewell to England for the next six months with images of the most beautiful Cambridgeshire and Suffolk countryside and villages, reminding me why I so love this country and living … Read more …