travelling

It was 1972, my old mate Pete and I worked on an old US army, Willy’s jeep, we rebuilt an Austin Cambridge engine and tried to match it up with the Willy’s 4×4 gear box. After 2 trial runs burning out clutches, we admitted defeat and left the Willy’s behind. Pete bought a Norton Commando … Continue reading »

“The streets of London”? (Ralf McTell in the 60’s) I can’t get the song out of my head as I walk the streets of Newcastle England was the obvious place to go, I had to go anyway at some point and they had decided to live with this virus, “my thoughts exactly”! After 2 years … Continue reading »

It took me two months to find the van, normally, that would drive me crazy, I’m not a great fan of searching for second hand vehicles and often would just buy something to get it over with. It had to be right though and I knew the right one was out there, I just had … Continue reading »

The road south from Cairns is acres and acres of sugar cane, brick chimneys billowing white smoke and road works. I had no plans to stop anywhere apart from to sleep but stopped many times to hang around at traffic lights on the open road. A few days later I rolled into Noosa, another old … Continue reading »

It was early January when I got word, Mother had checked HERSELF into hospital so I knew it wasn’t good. She wouldn’t do that without good reason, I started to look at flights. I was expecting someone arriving to buy my house in a few days but Mother comes first. A couple of weeks later … Continue reading »

We had a few days left before Magda started work and I flew back to Newcastle. Decided to use the time for a short trip up the coast from Barcelona to the Costa Brava (The Wild Coast). It could be a beautiful drive but some bright spark in the past decided it would be a … Continue reading »

In the late 70’s I was on a flight from Bangkok to London on LOT, Polish Airlines. Every time the plane took off or landed, all the doors in the overhead lockers would fly open, the plane was shaking so much. On the decent to Warsaw it seemed worst of all, after the wheels touched … Continue reading »

After messageing me, and telling me how cold it was in Spain. The day I arrived back in Bali I was supprised with a knock on the door and there was that smile again. Magda had been wandering around some of the islands close to Bali! Gillies, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and decided to suprise me … Continue reading »

It was October 2013, they started, the build, Dave was around which was great, he could keep an eye on things while I went over to Oz. My visa was running out, my Bahasa Indonesia class was coming to an end and the Bridgetown Blues festival was a couple of weeks away. I asked Magda … Continue reading »

The first time I was in Bali was 1975, Kuta was the spot to go, a small village, dirt roads, kerosene lights, a beach that stretched as far as the eye could see, good surf and friendly locals. A very special place, with a culture unlike anywhere else in the world, in a word, spiritual. … Continue reading »