Perhaps the longest you've lived out of a suitcase is a two week holiday.  Perhaps you spent your twenties couchsurfing around Europe or backpacking in Asia? I'm somewhere in the middle; a while ago, I lived out of a backpack for months at a time.  In the intervening years, four weeks was the longest I … Continue reading →

The link at the bottom of my last post was a bit miniature, so here's the crash in all its glory: Great stuff! Continue reading →

It won’t be long until Dave and I make the lengthy journey back to the UK.  Frustratingly, as we fly to/from Manchester airport, this always involves a connection.  Heathrow is simply ungodly so we’re going via Amsterdam.  I can’t tell you how irritating it is to have to fly east in order to then return … Continue reading →

It was snowing when we left the truck. I had piled on the layers, adding thermal top after thermal top, and hopping from foot to foot in the muddy snow to put on my extra socks inside the scuffed plastic mountaineering boots.  I'd struggled (and mostly failed, I later discovered) to fit the newly-sharpened crampons … Continue reading →

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am on shaky ground when I start referring to Star Wars.  I am part of that select band of people who've never seen the Star Wars films; I'm in such august company as the girl behind the audio to this film, as until I saw this, I too … Continue reading →

A trip to the island: Mount Washington, BC Mount Washington is snowy. Very snowy. So snowy, that when you ride the chairlift to the highest peak in the area (a little over 1500 metres), a local can tell you that the enigmatic lumps and bumps you can see peeking through the fluffy stuff are, in … Continue reading →

Public transport in Vancouver is a mixed blessing, especially during the Olympics.  Extra buses and trains have been supplied to carry the hundreds of thousands of visitors, but regular routes have been changed and generally messed about with, to the annoyance of regular users (and the drivers). One of the quirks of the system is … Continue reading →

You know those days when you don't realise how thirsty you are until you find yourself drinking a whole glass of icy cold water or milk without stopping? Or when you don't realise how tired you are until you suddenly come to, with the newspaper on your face or the radio blaring?  You don't realise … Continue reading →

When you arrive for a prolonged period in a new country, you undergo a cultural immersion: what is the national sport? how do you use public transport? is it OK to laugh at their accents?  When you arrive in a country that is about to host the Olympic games, the cultural immersion is subtly different: … Continue reading →

The excitement has been palpably growing for the past week.  The crowds are increasing; roads are being closed; maple leaf flags and "Go Canada" signs adorn buildings and offices.  Today, Vancouver finally welcomed the Olympics to town. The torch relay, having traversed the country (from, as they like to say here, sea to sea to … Continue reading →