Fun – Berkeley Square Barbarian

We did it! We won the RGS Christmas Quiz! YAYY!!

December 18, 2024 4 Comments

It’s only about three months now, since Ellie & I started attending events at the Royal Geographical Society, most of which are open to non-members. So far we loved all of them: lectures, such as a recent one about the Northwest Passage, various whole event series about expeditions like the Everest expedition of Mallory and Irvine or Ranulph Fiennes’ Transglobe Expedition, a two-day expedition workshop called Explore Symposium. Last night three buddies of ours and the two of us took part in the RGS Christmas Quiz. And we won!! The tickets had cost £25 per person and included plenty of snacks and either one glass of wine, a bottle of beer, or a soft drink. You could buy more drinks and snacks from the bar. Pictures clearly taken during the quiz, incl. pics above, feature photo, Royal Albert Hall (c) BerkeleySqB. Rest (c) Pexels free stock photography, except where […]

Adventure, Fun

Our two-day Outdoor First Aid (Level 3) Course

November 17, 2024 No Comments

Ellie & I have just completed a two-day Outdoor First Aid Level 3 Award Training Course with AM Outdoors (£100pp). I had been following Aaron Mitchell, the owner of AM Outdoors, on X for some time. He’s an interesting dude. Former medic with the British Army, served in Afghanistan and around the world, then spent a year and a half riding his motorbike around the world, seven years ago, before settling down back in Old Blighty. MAKING A PROPER WEEKEND AWAY OF THE OUTDOOR FIRST AID COURSE (LEVEL 3) The course took place at Summit House in Gillingham, near Rochester in Kent. Normally Gillingham station is a mere 40 minutes by train from London, and would have been easy to commute to. However, the trains had been having plenty of hiccups on this route lately, which is why Ellie & I had decided to make a proper weekend away […]

Fun, London

The Joker’s Trap at Breakin’ Escape Rooms, London – Soso

November 4, 2024 No Comments

Three good friends of ours joined Ellie & me recently for The Joker’s Trap at Breakin’ Escape Rooms in Islington. There had been a mix-up with the bill at the near-by Italian restaurant where we had enjoyed dinner just before the escape room experience, so instead of 15 minutes before the official start time, as recommended, we only rocked up 7 minutes before then. Our bad, of course, and definitely a no-go, that had not happened to us, before. STRAIGHT-FORWARD INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE JOKER’S TRAP AT BREAKIN’ ESCAPE ROOMS The staff were quite relaxed about our faux-pas and didn’t make a big fuss about it. We did not get the impression that they rushed the initial instruction, and there was still enough time to put our coats and jackets into lockers. The instructions were very straight-forward, perhaps shorter than at other escape rooms, but overall very similar. Don’t use force […]

Adventure, Fun, London

The RGS Explore Symposium 2024 Expedition Workshop

November 2, 2024 No Comments

Over the years Ellie & I have occasionally attended events at the Royal Geographical Society here in London and always enjoyed them. Recently, at Ranulph Fiennes’ Transglobe Expedition series of events, I got to chat with the RGS’s Expeditions and Fieldwork Manager, Tom Allen. This is how I learned about the RGS Explore Symposium 2024, in essence, an expedition workshop for anyone who is interested. There is no other requirement, no previous experience necessary, you don’t even have to have a plan to do an expedition in the future. At £125 per person, with discounts available for students and others, the event is very reasonably priced, too. TURNING ELLIE INTO AN EXPLORER, STEP ONE Almost a bit to my surprise, Ellie immediately agreed to join me at the Royal Geographical Society, when I pitched the Explore idea to her. I was rather pleased (and still am!). It is my […]

Fun, NWP Expedition, Travel

Northwest Passage Expedition – daily update 19 September 2024

September 25, 2024 2 Comments

Missed the last update (16 September)? Click here. From last Tuesday morning to Thursday morning I flew from Paulatuk via Inuvik, Whitehorse, Vancouver and Montreal to Heathrow. I took some footage along the way. TRANSFORMATOR TO BE FIXED In Paulatuk we had to wait for electricians to hop off the incoming flight, fix a transformator in town, then hop back onto the outgoing flight. All other flights delayed or rescheduled, too. HYDRAULIC ISSUES WITH THE PLANE At Inuvik our plane had to be replaced because of hydraulic issues, leaving us passengers stranded in a Breakfast Clubesque situation throughout the night at this Arctic outpost. BREAKFAST CLUB IN INUVIK A bunch of construction workers ended up playing cards with a 70-year old Inuit lady and her 15-year old grandson. Three ladies were playing basketball. Two kids and one of the construction workers were chasing a chihuahua […]

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