Super Slow-Mo

Check out this super slow-mo barrel on YowTube from the BBC South Pacific series. I watched most of these but must have missed this one :'(

It's worth watching in HD, if your pooter and connection can handle it...

Making My Own Fin - Part 2

Hell what a busy weekend - Peter Kay, snowboard buying, a "B" and, yes, I have finished my fin :) See part 1 here... Given that I was clearly never going to be able to use it, it will be used as a nice decorative piece in the lounge.

I borrowed Pete's (the father-in-law) circular sander and got to work foiling the edges. I took it real steady so as not to screw it up and slowly got the finish I was after. Have a butchers...

This is the pre-varnished look:

And this is post-varnish:

It looks real nice :)

Things different next time: Make a better finish on the initial cut and possibly foil a bit further in towards the centre of the fin.

So I need to get my hands on another nicely shaped fin. This shape was kindly donated by Danny (who we will be seeing later in the year for Paddle Round the Pier in Brighton). Might see if the guys at finshack will shout me an outline ;)

How Could We Be Thinking of Snow?

Summer seems to be here in force (certainly his weekend!) - what a scorcher :) But as mentioned previously Nic had spotted a snowboard she liked. We headed to the dome and made the purchase. Bargain :)

It's a Rome Vinyl 152. We're pretty sure it's exactly what she's after. Roll on winter!! (Well sort of - if ya know what I mean!!!)

Peter Kay - Last Night at the M.E.N.

Saturday afternoon saw us heading up to Manchester with Alex & Caz to go and see the last night of Peter Kays tour. What can I say? He was funny :) Not sure about the choice of support he had on before though...Rick the Dick Astley (note no link there!). What a bag of wank! We were the only 4 sat there not going mad for him - bizarre :S

That aside - a great night :)

If Jesus Can Do It - So Can I - Walking on Water

This is pure dedication! Clearly the bible is 100% correct in saying that Jesus can walk on water (never read it - but I hear on the grape vine that that was the case!!)

Sun(ny) Holiday

Jo & Andy from Cornwall managed to arrange another super duper Tommy Cooper cheap Sun holiday again this year :) So for £17.10 each we had 3 nights and 4 days in a caravan at Ruda in Devon - bargain!

Now, normally we would have done the usual of heading down Thursday night, stopping in a lay-by and making sure we there first thing Friday morning. Not this time! Nic wanted to go via the Snowboard Asylum at the Snowdome in Tamworth to see if they had the new snowboarding jacket she was after. So Friday morning we headed off. And sure enough the jacket was there - and purchased! She also spotted a snowboard that was on sale (quite a bargain!) so she has her beady eye on that now - watch this space ;)

The journey down to Devon was a wet one. It rained all day until around 18:30 which is when Jo & Andy turned up. Perfect timing! We got the "B" going and made the most of the sun and the pear cider we had :)

Having not gone in the sea on Friday, we headed over to Saunton near enough first thing. It was pretty rainy on and off all day, but although the surf was pretty small we still had a great session. Nic, for the first time, paddled out with me and got some cleaner waves out back. It was a hard day and the waves were making you earn them! None the less, we both had some great surfs. Jo turned up after a while, having already been in and not seeing us. So she was further down the beach. She paddled out to us as well! Good work!

Once again by the evening, the weather got better. Even though it was a little chilly on the willy, we rigged up the "B" again and knocked a few ciders back.

Sunday was super sunny all day :) We headed into Braunton on the morning and had our usual Chai and Latte at the Wild Thyme Juice Cafe. I forced myself to not go into the Gulf Stream shop and put a deposit on a new board...Saunton was looking the best, although small again, so we suited and booted and had another nice session. It's kinda nice when it's small - you don't get smashed about so much and the sessions last longer - more energy.

Some big news here, as I did my first proper noseride! OK, so it was only for about 2 seconds, but none the less I did it! the board was positioned well and planted - hoohah :)

Jo & Andy left us Sunday night to go back to the depths of Cornwall. We stayed having wisely booked the Monday off work. We tidied the van up and scooted round, again, to Saunton. Puts wasn't happening at all and Croyde was just messy. It was sunny again so we both made sure we had plenty of cream on. Nic was already looking a bit rouge from the previous days - hehehe ;) I got Nic to use my longboard thinking that she would find it easier to catch the smaller waves. This meant that I was having a go on hers for the first time - eek! After a couple of nose dives, Nic was away and enjoying the relative ease of getting the wave and that extra stability. With some furious paddling I was getting the odd nice wave too :)

After our last outing (with Paul & Ivan), I'd had some kind of minor ear infection - I think. And this time, I'm feeling a little wierdy again. I think I'm going look at getting some earplugs...

Going Loco in Essex

Last week saw my first ever trip to Essex! I couldn't believe it - there wasn't an XR3i convertible in sight!! We had a few days with my good friend David and his Mrs. I went down there on Thursday morning and we knocked out some work together (big things ahoy! watch this space...). Nic joined us on Friday night after a gruesome trip down on the train.

Weather was a bit naff (come on summer - kick in!), but we still managed to sneak out in between the rain and pot some tasty scones and clotted cream in a nearby village :) Oh, and we had a fantastic meal at the Treo in Harwich (David: I think their site needs some pimping...).

It's odd really, Essex always seems to have bad press. I never hear of it in a positive light. It's always chavs and dicks with twatty cars. Is it any different to anywhere else? We went to some great little places :)

Round 2 2010 British Superbikes at Oulton Park

Quite often on a bank holiday we don't do anything - too many people about - you know how it is...

But not this time! Before Christmas we entered a competition with the good guys at Fuchs Lubricants who make Silkolene (a top grade motorbike oil) and who sponsor the British Supersports races. The prize was two VIP tickets to a BSB race of our choice - we only won :)

So off we trotted, first thing, yesterday morning to Oulton Park for our VIP day. And what a day it was! Everything was laid on for us including VIP parking in-field. We were in the Fogarty Moss building and had a great view over that part of the circuit.

The racing, as always, was great although the change in weather did bring up some tyre selection issues for the BSS and second BSB race.

Nic managed to get a photo with Big Ed which she was totally made up with! And we were lucky enough to get a grid walk before the BSS race! That was ace. I even got me ugly mug on Eurosport - I did the obligatory look like a bell-end pose ;)

The photo with top tea drinking man Guy Martin didn't come out too good (Nic had her eyes closed while she was laughing with him), so we're going to have to go the NW200 now to try again ;)