Category Archive: modern life

Ice Bath Nightmare

icebath2

Spring is on the horizon so today we went to the house to check the water situation. We switched off the mains supply over a month ago, before the temperature plummeted to minus 20, and we left the taps open. Unfortunately, the tap in the bath was dripping, although we have no idea why. Fast […]

The Wanton Bishops

wantonbishops

Now this is a band with music close to my heart. The Wanton Bishops. What really blows my mind is that they’ve captured the late 60s, early 70s blues-rock vibe and voice yet they’re from Beirut, Lebanon. They’re lead by Nader Mansour. They also do an excellent cover of one of my favourite pieces of […]

Never Ending Winter

svidnikwinter

The view of the town of Svidnik from my office, although more snow has fallen again since then. This Winter is really dragging on. Freezing temperatures, permanent grey sky. Happy happy joy joy…. I’m supposed to be writing an article for the Spring issue of Bushcraft Magazine but there’s no sign whatsoever of Spring. Then […]

Mr Benn tattoo

mrbenntattoo

Today I fulfilled an ambition I’ve had for several years – to get a tattoo of Mr Benn. He has been a great inspiration to how I live my life. Sadly, he is a neglected aspect of my childhood as, compared to modern cartoons, the artists who drew him were graphically challenged (and animatorily challenged). […]

DJ Shadow – Nobody Speak

My younger boy, Alex, introduced me to this tune last night while we’re we were driving back from Presov in the Discovery. Good stuff. The video reminds me of a session of the Ukraine parliament.

Back on two wheels – BMW F650GS

f650gsedwardotoole

  This year my old bike, Feisty, an Aprilia Pegaso 650, went past the MOT deadline and I was stuck looking for parts. I decided to sell her because she spent far more time in the garage (or in bits) than she did on the road. I needed something more reliable and, when my friend […]

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

We get plastic Irish pubs out here but they don’t even know it’s St Patrick’s Day and I don’t fancy sitting in a half-empty overpriced establishment watching Rhianna on a widescreen…. I miss the days when there were queues to get into a pub on St Paddy’s Day and it involved lots of drinking, poon, […]

England Trip (Wilderness Gathering) 2016

wildernessgatheringcampsite

Wow! What a cool little adventure. In the last couple of weeks my kids have slept in a hotel, a converted stables/barn, a tent, a hammock, a modern detached house and a ship’s cabin. They’ve eaten in restaurants, in the kitchen of a 400 year old thatch-roof farmhouse, on a patio, in fast food joints, […]

Croatia Trip 2016

sunsetcroatia

As we regularly do, this year we decided to spend a week in Croatia relaxing by the sea. There’s nowhere in Europe quite like it – either for the varied and spectacular scenery or for the crystal clear water. This year we returned to the Isle of Pag, a few miles from the resort town […]

Bushcraft Magazine Spring 2016

bushcraftspring

Make sure you order a copy of Bushcraft Magazine. This Spring 2016 edition is the 10th anniversary issue and features both an article of mine (Watch out, there are boar about!) and a couple of my true forest horror stories. You can order a copy here – http://bushcraft-magazine.co.uk/. Like it says on the cover – […]

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