Sunday 25 February 2018

A New Year brings new adventures!

With the New Year well underway and the promise of spring just around the corner the mind is already starting to plan new adventures. Right now its very cold here in the UK and the threat of snow looms as the “Beast from the East” as the media has dubbed it breathes its icy wind all the way from Siberia. Cold air is being pushed east to west across the UK with daytime temperatures due to be hovering around zero by midweek. Yet, if you find a spot out of the wind the sun does have some warmth in it. A warm kiss on the cheek ,the days lengthening, and for the keen eyed the early stirrings of the natural world brings the promise of warmer days to come.

But not to let winter beat me I have already managed some small adventures. I continue with my running and swimming. The swimming in particular has really helped rebuild my core and lower back muscles that have taken such  battering over the last few years. Im pretty sure that the subsequent back problems I suffered after my operations for Pseudomyxoma had something to do with the imbalance if the muscles in the core. I think  there was always an underlying issue there but the operations didn’t help. However the exercise definitely seems to be working and I’m feeling really well at the moment!

I have also been back underground and taken a colleague of mine on his first caving trip! Piotr had shown an interest for some time and it was great to finally get him underground. The weather that weekend was awful with torrential rain and flooding so I had to rethink where we were going to ensure the trip was safe and able to go ahead. This meant a trip back to a cave where I first started out; Goatchurch Cavern in Burrington Coombe in the Mendip Hills.
It’s a small, short cave and is a favourite for beginners so was perfect for Piotr's first trip. The nice big entrance soon gives way to narrow passages and rifts and interestingly named obstacles such as “The coffin lid” and “ The drainpipe”!



I have also managed some short walks over the winter. Its one of my favourite times of the year. With nature largely dormant and fast asleep its a peaceful, quiet time of the year. With “golden hour” at a reasonable time in the morning and early evening it makes capturing those amazing sun rises and sun sets so much easier with the camera.

Talking of camera’s I have now added a new dimension to my film and photography allowing me to get shots from the air using a drone! Ive only managed a few short  clips whilst I get the hang of using it at present . I’m a big kid at heart and this is a great toy to play with and I have lots of plans to use it to help add a different angle to future films of my mini adventures! So watch this space….!



The family are well and both Jess and Chloe are growing up too fast! Jess has secured a full time job an is working in a marketing department for a large company using her graphics and multi media skills whilst Chloe has managed to secure herself a place on a course at Bristol zoo studying zoological management. Whilst Chloe was at her interviewed I also managed to grab a couple of hours with the camera snapping some of the residents!





I’m really lucky that my health continues to be good. With my next scan not planned until October I can hopefully just get on with life and enjoy it. I do plan to get a blood test done in the next month or so just to keep tabs on my tumour markers between now and the scan. 12 month is a long time to wait for a scan when you know that you do still have cancer lurking deep inside. So far its stayed stable and not done anything. Long may it continue……as I have plenty more adventures planned for the summer!