Happy New Decade to all!

This group photo was taken a few weeks back now and was used as a "Seasons Greetings" image which was sent to all the other bases here in Antarctica. As an image of unity I thought i would use it for my New Years/Decade post.

With 24-hour daylight and no fixed time-zone and so many nationalities here on base, which moment we use to celebrate the New Year is a bit of a mystery. Do we celebrate it when the clock strikes midnight in the UK, do we celebrate the actual GMT New Year for our location, the South African new year, Australian , New Zealand or designated time for the base on either Shift 1 or Shift 2. (Its all a bit of a muddle).

So tonight I've decided that as the Sun does its little pirouette in the sky, when I look up I will note its position and try and picture where in the world the shift is happening from one day to the next. As I do my thoughts will be with that part of the world and the people there wishing them a Happy New Year and New Decade and all the best for 2010 and what the next 10 years has in store.

:-)

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First Ship Arrives -The Igarka (Photo)

Credit goes to Adrian McCallum for this dramatic photo of the Russian cargo ship (Igarka) arriving at the ice edge earlier today.

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First Ship Arrives

Back in the olden days ships used to get stuck in the ice. They would remain stuck until they either became crushed or the ice broke up freeing the ship from its icey grip.

These days with a presence in these regions we have established ways to avoid this happening. With satellite technology and GPS navigation ships can now navigate these frozen seas with relative ease. That said sometimes the ice is just too thick to get through and when this happens the ship becomes stuck within a maze of dead ends and frustration. For the last week the main cargo ship (Igarka) has been battling through the conditions with very little success and the second ship not far behind suffering the same conditions.

The "Igarka" was trapped within an area of sea ice adjacent to the "Stancomb Wills" an natorious area many a ship has become trapped. The area where the "Igarka" had become trapped was also not to far from where Shackltons Endurance became stuck.

Where as Shackleton had no support these days we have a fleet of light aircrafts and yesterday one of these "Twin-Otter" planes went out to try and determine a route. After only an hour of flying a route was identified and the ship was able to follow the route and free its self from the ice. The route was communicated in the form of GPS way-points and nothing more complicated than those shown bellow: Directions given to ship:

Way Point 1 - 73° 41’S, 27° 24’W – area of 7/10 ice with circular floe in middle on bend of wake. Bearing approx. 280°
Way Point 2 - 73° 39’S, 27° 28’W – small area of open water. Bearing approx. 246° following meandering lead
Way Point 3 - 73° 41’S, 27° 36’W – large area of open water Bearing approx. 245° following leads bearing round to 233°
Way Point 4 - 73° 47’S, 28° 01’W – large area of open water. Bearing approx. 235° Way Point 5 - 73° 57’S, 28° 54’W – very large area of open water.
Way Point 6 - 74° 02’S, 28° 51’W – large area of open water just west of a large berg. Bearing approx 170° Way Point 7 - 74° 12’S, 28° 51’W – Bearing approx 160° - still following arching lead
Way Point 8 - 74° 27’S, 28° 19’W – start of open seas
Way Point 9 – 75° 29’S, 26° 54’W - Creek 3 Halley (Destination).

This morning the news came in that the Igarka had successfully made it to Creek 3. For now technology has prevailed :-)

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Way Points Image.pdf (179 KB)

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Fortitudine Vincimus - "by endurance we conquer"

The photo posted here is a classic and very dramatic photography taken by Frank Hurley during the Endurance expedition. Its a photo of the ship named "Endurance" trapped within the sea ice and currently we have a very similar situation with the two ships we are waiting for here who are currently within the same area of frozen Weddell sea. For those who don't know the story of this expedition is possibly one of the greatest survival stories of all time:

Endurance was Shackleton's third polar expedition which came in the wake of the tragic death of Robert Falcon Scott who died in his efforts to be the first person to reach the South Pole. Unfortunately Scott didn't only lose his life but also the race to the pole. With England having lost a hero and both poles to the Norwegians, Shackleton was determined to claim the final prize and be the first to cross the Antarctic by foot. Therfore only a week after the first world war had began, Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven seamen and scientists set sail on the Endurance disappearing of the map for nearly two years.

The Endurance - a 300 ton wooden barquentine. She was 144 feet long, built of planks of oak and Norwegian fir. Equipped with both sail and coal-fired steam engine she was, it seemed, ideally equipped to withstand the ice. Her original name was Polaris which Shackleton renamed Endurance after his family motto: Fortitudine Vincimus - "by endurance we conquer".

Surrounding the continent of Antarctica is a band of frozen sea called pack ice. For Shackleton and the men of the Endurance the pack ice of the Weddell Sea was worse than anyone had previously encounted. The Endurance began following leads (breaks in the ice) to navigate through, on route to its intended landfall (not far from where I am currently stationed). Just one day's sail from the Antarctic continent within eighty-five miles of the coast the ship Endurance was trapped and frozen fast for ten months. The Endurance was slowly crushed by ice pressure, forcing the men to abandon ship and setup camp on the ice. The men camped on drifting ice floes for five months. Then finally open water appeared. They launched their three lifeboats the men set off through stormy seas until taking refuge on a rocky, uninhabited outcropping called Elephant Island. Shackleton knew that his already weak men would never survive on this desolate spot and therefore decided to attempt the impossible and try to cross the sea on an incredible seventeen-day, 800-mile journey, in freezing hurricane conditions, to the nearest civilization - South Georgia Island. Amazingly the James Caird lifeboat miraculously landed on the island, having achieved what is now considered one of the greatest boat journeys in history. Once on land, Shackleton and two of his men still had to trek across the mountains of South Georgia, before finally reaching the island's remote whaling stations where they organized a rescue team, and returned to save all of the men left behind on Elephant Island. Not one man lost his life on the Endurance expedition and in Endurance Shaclketon really did conquer!

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Round up of week 3 of Antarctic Marathon Training

I have included the photo of the Penguins as a bit of a smokescreen mainly as this post is actually a bit of a boring one. Its quite long and I don't actually talk much about anything of any substance. It is however all stuff I felt I had to say otherwise I may loose the whole thread of these Runderland posts amidst a total lack of future focus and therefore had to pull it together. (If anyone has checked out this post and does feel a bit cheated hopefully the Penguins offer a bit of eye candy in return. These penguins visited the base a few weeks ago and there is a bit of a story to their visit which I will talk about another time!)

The audio post is basically an 11 min ramble mostly about me complaining about lack of time and focus. I talk briefly about my "Snowshadow Micro-Voice-Blog" which I will be using to send short direct audio messages through posterous and the pipes it shoots down. I also try to quickly say thanks to Steve Chopper & everyone who contributed to his pod-cast for their effort to send me some festive cheer (Thanks guys much appreciated :-) And lastly I try to mention a little bit about my running during the last week.

:-)

  
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Week 3.amr (1122 KB)

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Christmas Skidoo Ride! (Video)

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Santa Skidoo Ride.wmv (2024 KB)

A short video of the Skidoo ride that took a group of us to our Christmas Dinner. (If Santa came to Antarctica I am sure this would be his chosen form of transport).

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Round up of Week 2 Antarctic Marathon Training (Audio + Pic)

I recorded my "Runderland Weekly Roundup" last night but because of bandwidth issues I couldn't upload it. Today I decided to re-recorded the post and tried to re-send it at lunchtime (but I couldn't, once again due to bandwidth issues). Since lunchtime something rather awesome has made itself known to me in the form of a podcast from my good friend @stevechopper of Twitter and the amilewithme podcast over at http://www.amilewith.me.uk

Unfortunately I can't listen to this podcast right now (again due to bandwidth issues) but I will do so the moment I manage to download a copy (hopefully overnight :-) Having read the text on his blog and having seen who has contributed to it, iam very excited to listen to it. So much that I did even consider not posting this audio and recording a new post after I had listened to it. However my logical head has told me to do this post anyway as a record a moment in time. Once I’ve listened to Steves podcast I will do a separate post later in the week and make it my special Xmas update :-)

  
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Runderland Roundup Week 2.amr (584 KB)

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Feeling the onset of Fatigue

  
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VN00030-20091216-2255.amr (403 KB)

The fatigue has started so I had to skip a run to try and combat it :-(

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Round Up of Week 1 of Antarctic Marathon Training (Audio)

  
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VN00023-20091213-1428.amr (533 KB)

This is a quick round up of the first week of Marathon training. Unfortunately I have left my Garmin back at the sleeping quarters so I will update this text tommorow with a breakdown of what we did on each day.

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Should I grow a beard?

Last time I was here in Antarctica I grew a beard. I quite enjoyed the liberating feeling of growing one but didn't enjoy the rejection I felt on returning home, after being away for over three months and the reaction of Emma (my girlfriend) when on seeing it she screamed and then ran, whilst at the same time making threats "to chop my head off" if I didnt sort it quick. Not the reunion I had envisaged and it left me I feeling like I had made a big mistake by not shaving it off before my return. I have therefore promised Emma that this time I wouldn't grow one or at the very least not return with one.

Now beards are not all bad and I find them a little bit facinating, the definition of a beard (according to Wikipedia) is : "A beard is the hair that grows on a person's chin, cheeks, neck, and the area above the upper lip. Typically, only males going through puberty or post-pubescent males are able to grow beards. However, women with hirsutism may develop a beard. When differentiating between upper and lower facial hair, a beard specifically refers to the facial hair on the lower part of a man's chin (excluding the moustache, which refers to hair above the upper lip and around it). The study of beards is called pogonology".

Even though Beards are worth studying they in them self are not clever but that said Wikipedia does go on to state that "in the course of history, men with facial hair have been ascribed various attributes such as wisdom and knowledge, sexual virility, masculinity, or high social status". However in Emma's world beards are associated with "filthiness, crudeness, or an eccentric disposition, such as in the case of a bum, hobo, hippie or vagrant". Beards are mostly associated with nature and outdoorsmen and in particular probably one of the only things that grows whilst in the Antarctic.

I have been here now for just over three weeks, and with a lack of reflective surfaces on base, I don't get to see my reflection as often as I do back home, so today I was a little bit taken back when I looked in mirror and saw that a beard was starting to appear on my face. With three weeks growth it is not a full blown beard but it is a start of something and the question is do I let it grow or shave it all off? Or do I stick to the original promise to Emma and not grow one bucking the Antarctic seasonal fashion trend and go for the clean shaven look? (Must admit I do fancy trying to go for the Kurt Russell "The Thing" look but I guess I would have to do a lot more than grow a breard to look anything like Kurt Russell. :-)

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Antarctic-Social Running VS Anti-Social Running (Audio Post)

Topic for tonights post: In a week that has seen the start of my Marathon training plan and the formation of our Run-Walking group, I have quickly forseen the potential of a future dilemma. This dilemma will be.... do I stick with the group and enjoy the social aspect of fellow Run-Walkers or if this becomes a handicap do I turn my back on them for the pursuit of my own personal goals?

  
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VN00021-20091211-2211.amr (606 KB)

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My Second Antarctic Run (Audio)

  
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VN00019-20091208-2201.amr (423 KB)

My 2nd Antarctic run "Plog" ...Please note that I was distracted at the end of the recording, someone was looking at me strange because I seemed to be on the phone (not possible due to no networks)...but I have been using my Blackberry to record audio notes (hence the confussion). As a result I lost my train of thought and therefore forgot to mention that I sparined my ankle right at the end of the run :-( But it should be ok for the next run on Thursday and hopefully I can get some video :-)

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An Antarctic Fog

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VID 00136-20091208-2239.3GP (3629 KB)

Just updated my Shadowcast blog and then no sooner had I posted it, I looked out the window and saw this rather cool fog creeping in.... ...Please note also that its 11:00PM and the Sun is still high :-)

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Riding in one of those @Arctictrucks (Video)

>From: "Philip Moneypenny"

>To:
>Date: December 09, 2009 02:05:10 AM GMT
>Subject: Riding in one of those @Arctictrucks
>
>
>
>I was introduced to @arctictrucks via Twitter early this year through a good pal @cewtwo.
>
>Via a couple of tweets I discovered that a couple of these vehicles would be at the Russian base "Novo" when I arrived in Antartctica three weeks ago. So as you can imagine this has been a really exciting thing for me to see them for myself, especially as I found them through social media and the power of social networks. >
>& Way back when I first heard of them I didnt for one second think I would actually get to see them never mind ride in one (very ...very cool bits of cold weather kit).
>
>Any how I hope you like this short video, please also be aware that due to my computing problems this video is very low quality, but when I get home promise I will do a HD version. Hopefully this video will give you a feel for how brilliant these things are....also keep in mind they are driving on very bumpy ice. >
>You can find out more at http://www.arctictrucks.com/ or follow them on twitter @arctictrucks >
>:-)
>

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First Antarctic Run (Audio Post)

  
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VN00018-20091206-1847.amr (301 KB)

Start of my Audio Running Blog (Whilst here in Antarctica).

>Please excuse the wind problem, in future I will try and shelter my Phone when I record audio.

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First Antarctic Run (Short Video)

>
>This is just a short clip filmed on Blackberry phone whilst out for my first Antarctic Run today. >(3 miles in 40 mins). >
>

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VID 00132-20091206-1820.3GP (1935 KB)

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VoIP Blows

  
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VN00017-20091203-1954.amr (407 KB)

Due to a whole host of reasons its been well over a week since I last posted anything. The main two reasons have been the weather and wasting hours ring to make phonecalls back home over a satalite internet connection. The audio part of this post is a bit boring and is basically me trying to vent some frustration at the many failed attempts to phone home.

The video part of this post was recorded on my Blackberry phone so the quality is rubbish and the sound quality was even worse, but for now its the best I can manage. Because the audio was so bad I had to add some music just to mask the bad quality so please excuse the lack of speech coming from my mouth. Also because I had no editing software Ive made use of www.jaycut.com to do the editing. This is a really cool tool if your dependant on cloud computing as I find my self now my mac is dead. However because my connection is so bad (something like a a 56K) I am working effectively blind...hopefully it gives a taster of what things are like.

:-)

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Antarctic Mountains (Footage from Flight)

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Footage from flight.3GP (1060 KB)

If you have endured my 8 min audio ramble (first audio post) you would have picked up that my Mac died the moment I landed in Antarctica, and as left me a bit out in the cold (pardon the pun) with regards to blogging power.

Thank goodness therefore that I packed my trusty Blackberry, otherwise i would have been completely lost. Fortunately it uses a MicroSD card so it is compatibale with almost any computer (Windows or Mac). I can therefore use it as my backup blogging system in conjunction with one of the base computers.

This clip is a very short snipet I recorded on the plane as we flew over the Heimefront Mountain home to the "Svea" (Swedish base) and travelled Trans-Antarctic on route to our final destination the Brunt Ice Shelf home to "Halley" (British Base).

Hopefully if this post works, I will try and post many more in the next few weeks and edit all my fancy HD stuff when I get home next April.

I will also try and do a more detailed post about the journey when I get some time off from work.

:-)

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Antarctic Mountains (Footage from Flight)

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Footage from flight.3GP (1060 KB)

If you have endured my 8 min ramble you would have picked up that my Mac died the monent I landed in Antarctica. ith it I lost all my fancy video software and use of most of the peripheral items like my Sony Handycam and my iPhone. Thank goodness I therfore packed my Blackberry,as otherwise i would be completely lost. With its MicroSD it becomes compatibale with any computer and therfore i can use it as my backup blogging system. Its not the best quality , which is a bit of a blow but its something. This clip is a very short snipet I recoreded whilst on the plane flying Trans-Antarctic, as we passed over a mountain range on route to our final destination. If I can post this clip susccessfully then I will post many more in the weeks to come and I can do all my fancy HD stuff when I get home next April.

I will hopefully try and post some more stuff tommorow, bye bye :-)

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My First Audio post from Antarctica

  
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firstpost 20091125.amr (750 KB)

To be in Antarctica is one thing but to talk about it coherently for 8 minutes is something entirely different. If you do choose to listen to this audio please excuse how I ramble, its partly due to the effects of mild hypothermia and partly to do with how much detail I am trying to avoid going into due to how much has happened in such a short time. All I wanted to really to do in this 1st post was say I arrived safely and hopefully (if posting this message works) I will be able to recap on details in future posts. If any one wants me to expand on any particular detail let me know in the comments and I will try and do so in future posts. Phil 

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Tommorow is it!

We were due to fly tonight at around 11:00pm, but due to really bad weather in Antarctica, it's been put back untill tommorow at 7:00am.

When we get to Antarctica we will be landing at Novo "The Russian Base" on a blue ice Runway. We will stay there for about 3 days whilst we sit out the next batch of bad weather, waiting for our transfer flight to come and pick us up Sunday.

With regards today I spent the morning sorting my Antarctic kit and getting it loaded onto the plane, in total I ended up being 10kg over ,something I was told by the South African Agent was "totally unbeliveable".  I just gave him that blank look and played the "lost in translation" card, which seemed to work.

In the afternoon we had a free period, which I made use of by going and having a sneek peek at the Capetown Football Stadium which will be host for the World Cup final. It is nearing completion and looks very impressive but that said they will have there work cut out if they are going to be ready for next Summer. I would say that seeing it got me very excited about the prospect of the festival of football that awaits us all next year and I do think SA will be agreat host. 

Anyway I am now back at the hotel desperately trying to charge up an aray of iPods and cameras using only one charger, at the same time trying to get an early night ready for the early start tommorow. (On both counts I am failing). 

With regards to the future, other than the odd tweets tommorow morning ,this will definately be my last blog post for about 4 days. When I do get back online I will be at the British base of Halley (my destination) and will definately post a load of catch up videos, audio & blogs etc if the computer system allows me.

Best go...See you soon!

Phil

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Cape Town and Beyond!

Today was the first day and I'am totally worn out. We left Heathrow last night at 7:20PM and we arrived in South Africa at 9:30AM Local time. I spent most of the flight watching movies including "500 days of Summer" and the outstanding "UP", I then watched "Moon" and "Land of the Lost" (which was surprisingly good) and had lots of parallels between the movie and the adventure we were all embarking on.

The day was full, mostly with things like .... waiting,making expensive mobile phone calls, checking in, getting Swine Flu injections, eating , getting to know each other, sight seeing and drinking beer.

It was a great day, problem is tomorrow the flights for Thursday have been brought forward to Wednesday and therefore we will flying to Antarctica tomorrow night! :-(

Anyhow i need to go get my sleep, tomorrows ging to be be an even longer day, so i need to go get some rest.

Good Night.

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On my way!

So this is it, after months of nervous anticipation, A week of packing and two days of emotional farewells my journey has begun.

Already things are going wrong, last Friday my flight to Capetown was with South African airways, however the flight is actually with British Airways. It was changed mid week, not a big deal but I ended up going to Terminal 2 not 5. Good job I am not in a rush !

On a positive I did get to ride on Heathrow express and take this rather groovy photo with my iPhone :-)

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ptest.amr

  
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ptest.amr (25 KB)

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

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The leaving of Matlock

Well that's it, all done at the office. I have now managed to complete all my preparation work for Antarctica. I now have 4 days to get myself in order before I leave.

So pleased to be away from Matlock. Its a place that has sapped all my energy,so I am off back to Liverpool to recharge. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

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Amazon Delivers

Yes... with the country in the grip of a postal strike Amazon is still coming up trumps with next day delivery of my Garmin 405.

Now I can track my running whilst in Antarctica and preload a marathon training plan onto the watch. This is all good stuff and definately going to make my trip a lot more fun.

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Signposts

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Signposts.3GP (221 KB)

Testing my phone as a videoblogging device :-) Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

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Parallels

"The noise resembles the roar of heavy, distant surf. Standing on the stirring ice one can imagine it is disturbed by the breathing and tossing of a mighty giant below." Ernest Shackleton

Thanks to my pal Michael Kramer who sent me this quote via Facebook. I love  the poetic way that the explorers of old would described there endeavours. One of the things I am really looking forward to is getting access to the Polar Library on base. My plan will be to as best as I can find a quote or passage that matches my own situation at any given moment as the season unfolds. Not that I will find many quotes on Garmin watches and iPods but I am sure I will find pleanty with regards to Navigation and how the likes of Shackleton and Scott kept the mind occupied. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

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Nansen the Cat

If I was going to go with the "Wonderland" theme I would need a cast of imaginary characters to accompany me on my travels and to match those of the original Lewis Carol version but with an explorers twist. 

I would quite like to take Nansen the cat along for the ride, as he seems the polar opposite to the Cheshire cat. 

The cat who was named after Fridtjof Nansen who was first person to cross Greenland in 1888  & creator of the famous Nansen sledge, was the ships cat on the Belgica. 

The Belgica sailed to the Arctic in 1897 and was trapped in sea ice for well over a year. Everyone onboard became ill and depressed (as you would) and this included Nansen the cat. Apparently he spent a month in a "listless stupor punctuated by episodes of uncharacteristic bad temper" before he abandoned the ship never to be seen again. 

Poor Nansen ;( 

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Blogging out of time!

I worked out today that I have 22 days left as a functioning member of society before I leave for Antarctica.

I fly from the UK on the 16th of November and then transfer from Cape Town to Antarctica on the 18th of November. I'm due to arrive on the Brunt Ice shelf sometime around the 20th. The crux of this is that I'm fast running out of time and one of the things I am desperately trying to sort out is a podcast/blog format for recording this adventure.

The premise I had in mind was to use my time on the ice to train for a marathon. I would then do a running diary about the experience. It would be an audio diary concept with a few videos thrown in for good measure supported by a blog. The question I have asked and keep asking myself is "what do I call it"?

I want it to be transferable, ie not just about Antarctica, but I also want it to be relevant, the current title that seems to be in my mind is some sort of play on Alice in Wonderland. "Runcasting from Wonderland" or "Philip in Runderland". Another concept I feel drawn to is the words "Terra Incognito" or as it is in non latin "Land Unknown". I'm liking the Runcasting incognito idea but its also a little bit "meh".

I feel both these ideas are relevant to Antarctica as a place of the mind, and for me Antarctica is more than the sum of its physical parts. It represents a natural purity that exists as an ideal in reality and in the mind.

In a place of wonder as is the same with anything unknown, these are personal spaces that exist within the person not the actual thing in question. Therefore they are transferable and for perfect for my purpose. However how I make this into a catchy title is the real unknown and I'm fast running out of time :-/
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Shackleton's Car

I now have less than three weeks to go untill my final trip to Antarctica, and my thoughts have now started to drift towards "what shall I take"?

Last time I went I took way to much crap, lots of things I didn't use. Books I didn't read and games I didn't play. There where things I kicked myself for not taking, a belt being one.

So I have decided to do some research into past explorers and "the equipment they could have done without"!

For anyone who knows the story of Ernest Shackleton and his amazing tale of Endurance, I am sure that you like me would be shocked to find out he took a car with him on one of his trips.

When he left for the Antarctic in 1907 on his Nimrod expedition, he carried on board his ship an Arrol-Johnston car. It had been donated for free and according to the company press release " it would sprint to the Pole".

This was the first time that a car had been taken to the Antarctic, but in the event it took a lot of time and energy to keep it going, for little reward. It would overheat leaving Shackleton and his men standing around in the freezing cold waiting around for it to cool down.

Needless to say I won't be taking a car, but I am wondering if I should go heavy on the tech, laptops , cameras, GPS devices etc or just travel light iPhone and not much less, the less barriers between you and the experience the better :-)

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Crisis Management

"We had pierced the veneer of outside things. We had suffered, starved and triumphed, groveled down yet grasped at glory , grown bigger in the bigness of the whole. We had seen God in all his spendours, heard the text that nature renders. We had reached the naked soul of man". SOUTH, ERNEST SHACKLETON

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Worked out I can do status updates on Runcast.TV using ping.fm this is rather cool

So tired today, i had a big dinner so hopefully that should give me some energy for tomorrow!

A Psiloritis Runcast

Passport Hell

At this moment in time there is a plane just making it's final
approach to the Greek island of Crete. I should have been on that
plane but iam not because my passport is no longer valid. I now have
to jump through various hoops to make it valid.

These consist of things to do:

1. Go to the post office to get an application pack.

2. Then the hairdresses to loose my Beatle doo. Or ask my Girlfriend
is she would cut it for me. Its important as Passports last 10 years.
Therfore my current look I will still be rockin when I am 41. I think
i need be looking a bit more respectable.

3. I then need to go raise the £114 that the Government wants so I can
prove I am British ( I guess only us Brits would pay that!) Again
hoping Emma will help out here.

4. Next stop supermarket to get Passport photos taken.

5. Have dinner

6. Bed, as i am up early to drive cross country to Peterbrough for my
9:30 passport fast track appointment.

7. Wait 4 hours and it should be done!

8. Pack ...still haven't packed :-(

9. Fly to Crete on Friday 3 days late!

10. Happy Holiday

Sent from my iPhone

Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968)

It seems I could learn a thing about simplicity from Marcel Duchamp the French painter of the Dada movement.

It has been said that his wife Teeny Matisse, once said she was struck by "how little space he took up."


I on the other hand demand more space than I have available. I need to start deconstructing the clutter I surround myself with.

This goes for travel you would think I would have minimalisim sorted but anything but, where as old Marcel was a master...

On weekend trips his baggage was :

Never a suitcase

Two shirts worn one atop the other

A toothbrush in his jacket pocket

That's it!
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Journey of Simplicity

This Tuesday I embark on my first adventure of the year,I going to my parents place on the Greek island of Crete. After 8 months of what I can describe as feeling as though I've been trapped in a vice, finally I have wriggled my way free. I now have two weeks holiday and I am looking forward to enjoying it.

Question is what do I take with me. I've booked it on the cheap ,and because of that I can only take with me one item of hand luggage. What's worse its got a 5kg weight limit on it so I really have to think long and hard about what I take. Where as Big was once beautifull, now its all about small. I really want to take my Macbook but I think its out the question. I allso want to take my Cannon 20d and Sony HD camcorder but again its just not going to be practical.

I need to Micro-pack with maximum punch, I find myself striving for simplicity yet hooked on complexity. I think I am going to struggle with this one, so I am off to find some inspiration and to find out if my phone will work at the very least.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Resting in the Rain

I found out this week that I am potentially going back to Antarctica this November, a month earlier than expected.

Therefore in the time that I have left I am going to try and record as much of the society I will be leaving behind in a bid to have a personal point of reference to refer back too.

I recorded this video this Saturday whilst I was sat in the rain doing not very much!

We Carry On->

Regime

Before I last went to Antarctica I had an established regime. It was a regime that I had developed for my Triathlon that involved swimming on Sundays and Thursdays, Cycling on Wednesdays and Saturday and Running Tuesdays and Fridays.

It was perfect but then two things happened , firstly I injured my self on the trail run stage of the Xttera. (My running never recovered ). Secondly I left society for 4 months and everything, and I mean everything was erased. Therefore my regime evaporated and I have since redefined it as follows.

• Monday: Rest from Running (Streching/Yoga Moves)

• Tuesday: Home gym session as a warm up. 2 Mile Jog , 30 Mins @ Marathon pace followed by a quick Mile at 10K Pace, 1-2 Mile warm down. Stretches

• Wednesday: BRICK workout: Bike ride followed by a Run at a slow 30 to 60 Min. Stretches

• Thursday: Home gym session as a warm up. Run 30 t0 60 (Half at slow jog and half at predicted Marathon Pace) Stretches

• Friday: Rest from Running

• Saturday: Home gym session as a warm up. Run 30 to 50 mins with minimum 8No short 100m stride included. Stretches

• Sunday: Long Run increasing length by 10 per week up to @ 75 to 100 % of predicted race time. Followed by a Swim. Stretches

Now the above is my ideal, training regime. Due to lack of an established habit and time constraints i struggle most of the time to achieve the above but its what Iam striving towards.

Last but not least I increase intensity for two weeks then drop down to the pre two week millage for the third week. I then drop back in where I left off but with a 10% increase.

As I train to get myself in shape the following will be the blueprint I report against, so let see how I get on.

:-)

Matlock

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Emailing to my blog

Ok, the dust has settled and I now have excepted that O2 are not interested in my love of all things Apple. For me to get my hands on the latest 3GS phone I would need to buy myself out of my existing contract :-(

The only perk in doing this will be to get video on my phone, so my plan is to hold out at least untill I return from Antarctica next March.

In the meantime going to keep on loving the 3G phone and going to be using my Blackberry to compensate for the failings in my iPhone. 1 advantage of this is the QWERTY keyboard which I love and makes blogging via email easy. Hence this email test.


Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

economy of the mind

I was thinking tonight whilst on my run, something is terribly wrong, so much so that i decided to type and post this on my phone as I cooled down on my warm down walk.

As I pass through a cross-section of society, one min running past million pound homes and the next skipping over shopping trolleys on the fringe of a council estate, I had these thoughts, haunting thoughts.

I fit somewhere in the middle ground of these two worlds no way rich but I have a decent job that pays a decent wage yet from where I am, I see something is wrong. Something is wrong with a system that encourages all people to spend money they haven’t got, buying stuff they mostly don’t need, to impress people they mostly dont know let alone like (who i must add all seem to have lots more than you).

The money you do have, then gets used to pay back the money you didn’t have, at the cost of not seeing or spending any time with the people who do matter (and you do infact like).

You then find yourself clinging to a job you hate trying to make ends meet, in a society that has flipped from haveing plenty (more than you). To suddenly having nothing, but yet in having nothing people seem to still be better off than you.

You stop and look around, and when you do everyone seems to be facing the other direction. There hiding their faces, avoiding eye contact. You shout and now you see their hands over their ears , you grab someone turn them around and their face is blank..they cannot speak..they offer no help…they cast no shadow. In a whisper the wind changes direction and as it does the figures turn to dust and diapear in front of your very eyes.

You find yourself alone..you and all your stuff…thats all there is!!!

….now this is just a distorted view, a metaphor of sorts, a product of a tired runners mind. How much of this is actually representative of reality ,depends on the economy of your own mind.

I am off for a shower..see you later!

Here we go again!

This is where I will be casting my shadow for the next few months.