08/04/2010 by Russell.

One day left in blighty, am about to set sail (fly really) to the ends of the earth (globe which has no end) on a voyage of  discovery.  I am about to embark on football coaching for 14 weeks in South Africa, based in Port Elizabeth.  I am the only over aged numpty on this programme, everyone else are 20-25 or so.  I am the grandad.  Although there are 26 on the range of activities (cricket, rugby, netball coaching, orphanage volunteering) only 5 of us are completing the 12 weeks footy.

My jobs list before departure has been a mixed bag - I haven’t completed the decorating,  I have got my India visa, but not China.  I am outside 6 months of arrival, so thats something i will have to arrange on the road, somewhere.  I have sold my car : ( but to compound things only yesterday, my bank card has split along the chip - problem there, how do i get money out?

What to look forward to? certainly the world cup, England, Germany, Portugal, Ivory Coast come to town, but tickets are hellishly expensive, the cheapest ticket I can apply for is $160 to the Portugal vs Ivory Coast game.  How do locals afford that? A festival of football, is an expensive affair, plus you are only entitled to 7 tickets for the tournament, and have to pick up your tickets in person only.  I am sure some tickets will be available to chancers like me.

I hope to whale watch in Cape Town as well as climb Table Top Mountain and visit Robben Island.  Above all I am worried about travelling on my own from PE to CapeTown, security and all that…

From here I am off to Delhi belly in India, got my Immodium, by the bucket load, got re-hydration tablets and ‘deet’ spray and roll on! will abandon ‘Sure deodorant’ for the month. My arse is ging to suffer, but guess it comes with the sanitation and water.  Still had my Typhoid booster to combat this along with Hep A and Hep B jabs.  also got my anti bacterial wipes to clean my cutlery and plate lol! - Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Jodhpur await.

Bangkok offers mysery and golden buddha’s, people tell me it stinks and is smelly, well, I’ll head for the beach then.

Cambodia offers malaria, I have 10 days to get thru this with my tablet supply to get to Vietnam.  if you saw BBC’s ‘Top Gear’ you will have seen some of the spectacular coastline, absolutely unspoilt in Vietnam.  I thought how beautiful, when I watched the programme, I would love to see that, and here i am 2 years later on the brink of seeing all this.

From here I am going to catch a train from Hanoi - yes you can - into China, where my destination will be the Terracotta army in Xian.  That is something which I am very excited about.  You read these things asa kid, you see the pic of Prince Charles face to face with them, and it makes you think about the incredulity of it all.  Then Hong Kong, before going to Australia.  I cannot believe my luck, good or bad, as its an Ashes Cricket series. Wow!  This is where i hope to rendezvous with at least one family member.

Well I guess this compensates United not making the Champions League Final in Ronny’s backyard.

So am off to pack and stuff…you can find a dedicated travel blog at http://www.getjealous.com/rustycarno

So keep watching and reading my progress…

Love to Barry ( he started ‘rustycarno’) love to all my U15 footballers (Chesham Strides) love to Brenda (Dads old girlfriend) love to Kevin (and family) for the miles we have travelled to United, love to Simon Standish (top bloke) love to some great work colleagues, love to BB for undiminshed support without whom this wouldn’t happen, and above all love to Captain, Phillip, Emily and Gregory without whom life would be untolerable.

sa

Posted in Barry, BB, South Africa, ben Standish, Emily, kids, Greg, Kirsten, Phillip | 1 Comment »

17/01/2010 by Russell.

Posted in Emily, Wingerworth, Greg | 1 Comment »

09/01/2010 by Russell.

Went out on my travels again, the roads were very dicey, even in town, had to dig the car out first.

Obviously I upset Emily again, about looking at these postings on the web, childish, but not much to ask for? can’t help but nag unnecessarily ie take some interest in what her Dad does. Am trying my level best to get more interaction from her, but if she’s not willing to at least have a surf even when a link is sent…. then I have no answer.  I know facebook, social networks and friends are far more important, but why do I have to live at the bottom of the pecking order?  Also Telegraph leads today on A level tariff’s going up at the Universities, I hope Emily takes heed.

Looking to Ivinghoe Beacon, from the Ridgeway

The path ahead

Posted in Ivinghoe, Emily, snow | No Comments »

25/12/2009 by Russell.

Ice Skating Natural History Museum, London.  Happy holidays!

Posted in Emily, Christmas, Greg | No Comments »

23/12/2009 by Russell.

‘Let it Snow…Let is snow..’ is the line from the song and boy did it snow Monday afternoon.

Emily, Greg and I had a lovely shopping day in Milton Keynes, all under cover, no worries of the weather, we left to get a frame from IKEA about 4ish.  leaving IKEA an hour later, a few snow flurries appeared, and thought nothing of it since travelling at rush hour, plenty of traffic, no worries………….

By the time we reached Dunstable, it was settling and it was a slower pace of 20mph.  And we ploughed on up the hills to Tring, which we liked so much, we decided to take it steady and take in the Christmas snowscape.  We waited patiently, and moved and waited all the while the snow lay deep and crisp and uneven.  Wilst we slewed to the Total petrol station in Tring, one kind gentleman asked me to pull over so he could park outside his house, queues of traffic in each direction, numpty! we had already crashed into a kerb by this stage in Dunstable.

Well we waited and waited (hour and a half later) then we made our move, being kindness itself we let a Vauxhall (front wheel drive) out from the petrol station, bloody numpty number 2, he came to a standstill at the r-about, when we we cruising nicely…20 mins later after pushing him up the hill to Tesco’s it was my turn.

Out Emily & Greg went into the snowstrom, push and push with others, and I was off, I ain’t stopping - see ya! Santa’s sleigh ain’t seen anything like it - Emily and Greg chasing after me…once on the flat I went back to help others, but once we were on the flat, we saw a huge queue of cars in the opposite direction, amazing for a slight incline in normal conditions suddenly becomes the North Face of the Eiger.  Cars all over the place.  We stopped to help a car up the hill, the next car in line to tackle the hill (well more like anthill) was a Z4, uhm I knew he wasn’t going to make it, my rear wheel drive was suffering, so I knew what was in store for him.  Oh dear!

We abandoned the Merc on the high street and walked 5 mins to the sanctuary of tv and jacket potatoes. 3 hours later, for a journey of 50 mins
Sadly there was one person who I know would have loved it, my Dad.  He and I have great memories of snowy escapades, Wingerworth 1967, Lavender Hill, handbrake turns in a van, Chesterfield to Manchester 1981, such fun…where are you Dad? I hope you are smiling up there!

Posted in me, Emily, Grandad, Greg, snow | 1 Comment »

27/08/2009 by Russell.

Emily, Emily Emily, what a great set of GCSE results:

PE                   A*

English Lang A

Dance             A

Art                  A

Science           BB

Maths            B (equalled Phillip’s grade)

French           B

English Literature B

History           B

Enough Said - fantastic and am delighted for her

Posted in Emily | No Comments »

14/06/2009 by Russell.

Emily’s too expensive for you, but if you can offer that kind of money, well Emily’s worth even more than that!

Posted in Emily, Greg | No Comments »

09/06/2009 by Russell.

Thanks to Barry I have, he’s rekindled my thoughts of photography.  I used to have filters, tripods and stuff for my olf SLR, now with the advent of digital SLR, there is every opportunity to develop even a better crop of pics.  I have downloaded Elements 7 for a 30 day trial and here are a few of my early fiddlings, more vivid, more colour, more sharpness, and more realism to the shots.  In Vegas and the Grand Canyon, the light is very bright, so have increased the contrast to remove the glare.

Just click on each pic to see full size

For this photo, have added a blue Sky and toned down the glare from the Sphinx, it was far too washed out before…

.

Joshua tree cropped and green ehanced and given greater definition

Tint of sunset enhanced whilst reducing the spikey Joshua tree washed out from the flash photography

Increased contrast and deepened the contrast of the rock formatio in the foreground.  The greenery against the river enhanced

The sky has been increased in its hue. Looking over a sunset on Lake Mead, Nr Las Vegas.

Posted in USA, Photoshop, Barry, Emily, Greg | No Comments »

26/05/2009 by Russell.

Here she is with friends on her last school days before studying for her GCSEs.  sweet 16 eh?

Posted in Emily | No Comments »

26/04/2009 by Russell.

All to play for and all to lose, will United be the bride or the bridesmaid over the next month?

Penalty! some are given others not, united had a stonewall penalty agaist Everton - I was there at Wembley sitting over 60 yards away and of course in the red end, we screamed penalty only to denied by Old Mother Riley, yesterday we all repeated ourselves in the East Stand - penalty - and this time it look conclusive until apparently tv replays from ‘n’ angles disproved.  We saw it at the same speed as the ref, our concern was whether Gomes would be sent off.  Thank goodness he wasn’t otherwise there would be more hot air wasted over the penalty. i.e. video replays for refereees etc. One week you get a pen the next you don’t, as they all claim it evens itself out over 8 moths.  yesterday was United’s evening out.  Penalty - Ronaldo - goal.. nuff said.

United win 5-2 and it is about time they played like Champions, they have been searching for performances like this for 15 home games.   Now can they sustain it for at least 7 more games?

Off to OT for the Champions League Semi on Weds versus Arsenal, hopefully it will be as nerve wracking and exciting as Saturday versus Spurs.

Can they do it? yes! will they do it? yes! will it be close? yes! will I have egg on my face? yes! - thats the unpredictability of sport.

Last U14 boys get together on Saturday 2nd May - player of the year awards ceremony, who will win? wait until Sunday.

Then theatre to see ‘An Inspector Calls’ with Emily and probably to Derbyshire for hedge trimming etc.

Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/picturegalleries/5220449/Premier-League-action.html

Posted in Ronaldo, Man Utd, chesham strides, Emily | No Comments »