Art and Culture, England

Wayne McGregor’s MADDADDAM with The Royal Ballet at the ROH

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Ellie and I just returned from the opening night of Wayne McGregor’s MaddAddam with The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. It is without doubt the best ballet I have ever seen. I’M NOT BIG ON BALLET, BUT McGREGOR’S MADDADDAM IS FABULOUS Now, admittedly, that does not mean much, because, different from my good wife, I am no huge fan of ballet and have only ever seen half a dozen performances or so. What does matter, is that Ellie loved it as much as I did. Moreover, the fact that it was me, the ballet hater, who immediately bought two tickets, as soon as I heard that McGregor was behind it, must count for something. Sir Wayne can get anyone into ballet with his magic. I had turned into a Waynaficionado about three years ago, when I saw his & Random International’s “No One Is An […]

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Fun, London

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

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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 […]

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Adventure, Fun, London

The RGS Explore Symposium 2024 Expedition Workshop

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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 […]

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Activities, London, Water sports

Kayaking from Battersea to Greenwich with the London Kayak Company

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Ellie and I moved to London roughly 20 years ago, and for 20 years we’ve been seeing the yellow kayaks of the London Kayak Company on the river Thames. Every time we saw them, we said to each other, that we must book a tour with them. But for one reason or another, we never got up to any paddling. Until yesterday late afternoon. THE LONDON KAYAK COMPANY WAS FOUNDED ALMOST 30 YEARS AGO Harry, the founder, owner, and lead guide, runs most tours himself. Since 1996. For almost 30 years. He has one other guide, occasionally joining him or running tours on his behalf.     All pics, incl. feature photo, (c) London Kayak Company, kindly taken by Harry on the day. HOW TO BOOK WITH THE LONDON KAYAK COMPANY We purchased our two tickets for the regular three-hour Thames tour on the London Kayak Company’s website two weeks […]

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Adventure, NWP Expedition

Q&As Northwest Passage – Coming Back from the Arctic (Long Version)

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Have you missed the first set of Q&As, which I posted before the start of the expedition? The post-expedition Q&As at hand are self-sufficient. However, should you want to have a broader understanding about the Northwest Passage, what my three buddies and I set out to achieve, how it all came about, how I prepared, etc., then you can click here. Looking for a short version of these Q&As? Click here.   Q: Welcome back. When did you return from the Northwest Passage and how long were you there for? A: I came back in mid-September (19.09.2024). I was in the Arctic for two months, 6 weeks of which I spent on water. Q: How was it? A: Easily the best thing I’ve ever done apart from meeting my wife and getting her to marry me.         PREPARATION / RUN-UP   Q: Did you feel that your preparation […]

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