If you’re still hanging in there, thanks for reading! Even so, you’ll be pleased to hear that it’s just this week I’ll be doing these self-indulgent posts. Normal service will be resumed next week…
As I noted before, this is not a post about getting stronger in your garage, so if you’re looking for something in that vein, why not check out the archives? This is about me – the things I like. Just in case you like them too.
Real food
I really enjoy good food.
Not fine dining, where you get a snail mousse with a single sprig of parsley on top.
Not fast food, where you get trans-fat fried, sugar-and-bread-loaded, reconstituted “meat” products.
By the way, if trans-fats and sugar don’t terrify you, and you still succumb to the temptation that these marketing machines put in front of you, read “Fast Food Nation”
No, I enjoy good food. Real food. And I’m lucky enough to have a girlfriend who enjoys cooking real food. You can read about her paleo kitchen exploits in her blog. The other week, we picked up a loin of pork at the local Co-operative. It went really well with oven-roasted shallots and garlic and the ubiquitous broccoli.
Animals
For some reason, I have always enjoyed being around animals. There is something uniquely supportive and bolstering about the unconditional, slobbering love that a dog will devote to you if you happen to feed it everyday. Similarly, while cats are a bit more mercenary, and ours certainly bites the hand that feeds him from time to time, they do warm a cold room when they sit purring on your lap.
This is me with my brother-in-law’s Leonbergers. They are St. Bernard and Newfoundland crosses and great fun to be around. They have a herding instinct, so they try and keep you all together. If they recognise you as part of the group, they lean on you. At 60kg (135lbs), this is not insignificant…
Wild Camping
We regularly go on walking or cycling holidays either in the UK or abroad. It’s rare that we choose to spend our holiday allowance sitting on a beach (ironically, I will be doing just that in a week). We’ve walked in the French, Swiss and Italian Alps, Scotland, the Lake District, the Peak District and Wales. We’ve cycled in Yorkshire, Normandy and Brittany and we’re planning trips to Holland and Scotland (again) for early 2010.
I cannot remember the last time we paid for our overnight accomodation (unless you count overnight ferries and even then we don’t book cabins so I don’t think it does count).
I was introduced to wild camping in the Scouts and never really lost the taste for it. There is something rewarding about finding a suitable spot on public land. Sure, the ground may be less even than a carefully mown lawn but the scenary will be a lot better. You might find yourself sharing the spot with a few more insects and creepy-crawlies but at least there won’t be lagered up idiots crashing through the site at midnight having noisy conversations with themselves.
What’s more, with a few simple tools and skills (latrine digging, handwashing without running water, water filtering, one-pot cooking) you can be quite self-sufficient and, so long as you pick your spot carefully, no-one will even know that you have been there.
This is me in Rothimurchus forest, on the edge of the Cairngorms. At the time, we were using a simple builder’s tarp (£4.95 from a DIY store) as our shelter. The poles are our walking poles. It’s a walking holiday, Garage Gym style!
I think that’s probably starting to give you an idea of what makes me tick. Don’t forget that normal Garage Gym service will be resumed next week!
