Tuesday, 29 September 2009

Game Over

morning at camp Waiting for breakfast at camp on day 3

Yepidy yep I’m back from that there Scotland. It was a great adventure and I had a grade A time all round. I certainly felt very privileged to be there and at times it felt like we were the only people left on earth – in fact had there have been an “Independence Day-esque” takeover attempt by the aliens, we would have been none the wiser!

I’ll have to get myself organised on the write up and photos and maybe it would be better if I post in stages. I’m not sure what’s going to happen on the podcasting front as I’ve not had a chance to review the recordings just yet. I’m sure I can put something together but I can recall a number of irrelevant ramblings and banter (thanks Paul) that won’t be fit for public consumption for sure!

ullapool beach “Tent fever” kicks in at Ullapool

Wednesday, 23 September 2009

....and we're off

Kit

With the kit out on the table last night and some final checks made, I packed and now I'm ready to go.

For the eagle eyed of you I'm not bringing the digital scales you see to the right! Final pack weight including water is 10.7kg after adding some extra food last night.

Our flight is at 12.05pm so some time to kill yet but once we've picked up the fuel in Inverness and re-organised the pack after the flight we're on our way.

Live blogging is very unlikely so I'll do a write up when we get back.

Until next time.......

Monday, 21 September 2009

Released with Charges – B*gger!

Just a quick one to say I got back from our short break in the Lakes to find a letter from Parcel Force. They are holding my parcel until I pay the VAT of £18.04 and a handling charge of £12.50! I can handle the VAT but what the heck is the handling charge?

Anyway, I have to accept that this is the cost of importing gear and just can’t wait to collect it after work tonight…

Monday, 14 September 2009

My Bad!

Guys, just a quick apology for a school boy error on my part. I thought it had been very quiet on the blog for comments lately and when I happened to check Blogger dashboard I found that there were 18 comments for moderation! In a moment of idiocy I don’t remember, I must have changed my comment moderation settings.

Thanks for the all the feedback folks and I’ve now responded to all of the comments that had backed up.

My Bad!

Sunday, 13 September 2009

Gorilla Lands in the UK

I’ve just checked the USPS tracking site and my new pack hit the UK this evening at 8.09pm. What remains to be seen now is if it can get through customs and to me by tomorrow as guaranteed.

More likely it will get caught up in the customs system and arrive late with massive import duty to boot. Oh so cynical and so young!

snailmail

Friday, 11 September 2009

Podcastastic - My First Podcast (Fisherprice Stylee)

Well not quite, but the first podcast from the blog should now be live. It may take a while to update and for the feed to be active but I'm hoping it'll all work by the time it reaches you guys.

It's a bit ropey as you might expect but I’m getting to grips with the software and technique, albeit slowly!

In this episode I briefly introduce the podcast and talk - for a little longer than expected - about my preparations for an upcoming multi-day backpack in the Scottish Highlands. This first one is very simple as I wanted to get started using the software and the hosting facilities so apologies for just rambling on at times.

As I said I'd welcome some feedback and comments as well as ideas on topics and interviews etc. You can post comments here or email me on alittlebitaboutnotalot@googlemail.com

OR......

You can download the file here: http://alittlebitaboutnotalot.podbean.com/mf/web/p3puvu/001Thefirstpodcast.mp3

 

The links for this Podcast are:

1. The idea for the trip: http://backpackingbongos.wordpress.com/

2. Inspiration behind podcasting: http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/page116.asp

3. The makers of my new pack, the Gorilla: http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/Gorilla.html

Thursday, 10 September 2009

Jeepers!

This is erm……..interesting! http://www.jacksrbetter.com/Wearable%20Quilts.htm

Gear of the Gossamer Kind

I won’t go into too much detail but I will reveal that a purchase has been made. Its not anything I’ve talked about specifically on the blog yet but if it arrives in time will be a nice little weight saver on the impending trip. All will be revealed in the first podcast, coming soon…..

Wednesday, 9 September 2009

Podcast Pondering

Despite the pitiful activity on this blog, things are happening folks…..oh they are happening alright!

I’ve made a few changes to the kit list since the last post but life is so manic at the moment and as you will have noticed I’m just not finding the time to post an update.

Aside from work and more work and the odd weekend car-camping, I’ve been looking into podcasting to add another dimension to the blog. I enjoy listening to podcasts on the way to work etc and am surprised at how few of us are podcasting.

My phone has a reasonable recording package that I’ve found to be great quality and makes recordings in MP3 on the move - so I’ve been experimenting. I’m not quite sure how its going to work entirely but I’ve recorded a few pieces to test the water with the technology and the content.

At the moment it may well just end up being an irregular thing but I’m hoping to post at least one podcast from recordings I’ll take on the next trip in Scotland. Having listened to all of Bob Cartwright’s TGO podcasts I think the ‘roaming’ format works. I think to start with it will most likely be me banging on about trips or gear but I’m hoping to rope a few people into phone interviews if I get any initial interest.

The first one will more than likely be dire but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it. Once I’ve edited these first pieces I’ll upload and I’d welcome feedback on what you think.