Monaco in February 2014

In February of this year I had the opportunity to be part of the jury for the 3rd "New Generation Festival" in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Here is a film of the day of the deliberations.

Enjoy - This first one is the Deliberation Process

Then the first half of the Gala Performance

Then the second half of the Gala Performance and the distribution of prizes

And Two PDFs - Adventures as President of FEDEC

Every year I create a photo book that covers all the obligations and trips that I had to undertake as President of The European Federation of Professional Circus Schools - www.fedec.eu - These are attached below as PDFs and are from 2012 and 2013. Please download them, they are safe.

This is 2012

And this is 2013

Since I will be stepping down as President of FEDEC, 2014 may be the last one like this. Who knows?

Christmas Day - An Autographer View

Christmas Day in 2013 with Charline home for the holidays, our traditional brunch, with my Mom on Skype and a bit of nibbles in the evening. All wrapped up with us watching "Strictly Come Dancing" on the TV.

Conservatoire for Dance and Drama Graduation at Canterbury Cathedral

Friday 22nd of November 2013. A day to go to Canterbury Cathedral to spend time with CDD colleagues and to read the names of the three students who came to collect their BA(Hons) Degree in Circus Arts.

A Day in the Life - Trying Out My New Time-Lapse Camera

Here you go - Almost all day the Monday 7 October until the early hours of 8 October

 

 

Taken with The Autographer

Some Pictures from the August Adventure

Hello All,

After nearly a year and a half of planning, I finally actually accomplished the trip I had planned to do; ten days, 70km per day, through Belgium and Holland. The whole trip exceeded my expectations and it was the retreat that I never thought I would have.

Here are some of the details:

• Bike sent to Lille on the Thursday 01 August
• I followed on Friday 02 August on the first Eurostar train to Brussels at 06h50 in the morning
• Off to Roubaix, in the suburbs of Lille to catch the canal
• I rode an average of 70km per day, but got lost every once in a while trying to locate campsites, but nothing serious. I believe I covered nearly 750km over the time I was gone
• One day off - the Sunday 11 August, so that I did not have to spend two days in Rotterdam. Dortrecht seemed like a good idea for a Sunday break. I was kind of wrong about that one.
• 12 days away and only 7.5kg of gear.
• Minor achievements - didn't get sunburned once. Changed my mudguards with the tools I had. Didn't turn on my mobile phone for three days. Kept to 20.00 Euros per day and had no physical aches or pains.
• Convinced I could do 1000km someday, but would need to set aside 17 days for it. I am not a fanatic

Use the archive links on the right hand side of this blog (in 2011 and in December of that year - yes, I have been planning it that long)to go to each day; I have edited them with extra pictures and all so that it all fits together. Hope it works, and hopefully you'll find it interesting.

Day 1 - Lille to Bernissart

View Day 1 - Lille to Grandglise in a larger map

This was the first leg of the trip and, probably not surprisingly, was one of the toughest. I put it down to little sleep (as I had to get up at 4.00 to catch the Eurostar. Then I started late in the day from Lille, like 10.30 and had to ride through the heat of the day on what many said was the hottest day in August (35 degrees). Man, when I made it to the campsite "Le Camping du Preau" - rue du Preau 1/C, 7321 Bernissart, Belgium, tel: +32 69 57 71 14, 10.00 Euros per night, plus 1.00 Euro tourist tax - I thought I was going to croak.

Here's how the day panned out (the date stamps bug me too, but it was a new camera and I didn't realise I had it set. Please try to ignore them):

4.30am at home in London:

With Charline and our cat, Casey

Then 5.00am:

(They don't let you leave your gear on your bike when you dispatch it with Eurostar, so I had to carry it all with me in a John Leis bag. Good thing I wasn't taking much.

11.00am, finally on the beginning of the canal, in Roubaix, France.

I saw a bit of this throughout the day:

And finished like this in Bernissart. 

I was so knocked out after the first day that I crashed with my feet sticking out of my tent. A couple of kids went and go their father to check on me because they thought I was dead.

Also, the campsite had a café that was the social centre of the whole place and it was rocking into the night with a pretty rowdy crowd. Which I thought was kind of funny. Though my first impression of the whole place started off on the wrong foot when I read a sign on the shower facility building which said:

"Whoever the person was that shat IN FRONT OF THE TOILETS should be ashamed of themselves. If I ever find out who did this they will be banned from the campsite FOREVER. I can't believe the nerve of some people."

Signed - The Manager



Some details - road straight from Lille Eurostar station to downtown Tournai before I stopped for a drink at 13.00 (1.00pm - I will now only use 24h times, as I am on the continent - ooh, la, la). Road to Bernissart and got there at 15.30.