Well, maybe that is a bit of an understatement. It has been 8 months since my last post on my blog and a lot has happened during that time.
A quick summary….
- 22nd December I had laser eye surgery with Ultralase in St Albans. I have gone from a -6 prescription in both eyes to having 20:20 vision – can’t really complain at that. The big downside was having to take a 3 month break from paddling while my eyes healed
- 26th December I asked Lindsay to marry me. After her initial response of “Are you serious?” she did say yes! Wedding preparations started in earnest the following day and are still ongoing
Lindsay and I
- Visited Frinton-on-Sea in January
- Had a holiday to France at the end of February, first to Menton Lemon Festival followed by a few days taking in the sights of Paris
- Chose our wedding photographer (Innovation Images) following a test shoot – the results can be seen here
- Popped across to the Isle of Wight over the Royal Wedding weekend (very grateful for the extra day off!)
- Back in a boat for a paddling session at Holme Pierrepont in May
- Went camping in Devon at the end of May and even managed a flight in a glider! – photos
- Lee Valley Whitewater Course (Olympic Course) finally opened to the public on 11th June – I was there straight away. I have now had four sessions and would highly recommend it if you get the chance. It is a challenging course (on my 3rd visit I snapped my paddles and swam!) but great fun.
Lee Valley Whitewater Course
- I came 12th in my first visit to the Kingfisher Blastathon at Abingdon weir
- Had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend at the Tryweryn with Kingfisher at the start of July (aside from all the damn midges!)
- I have just returned from a week in Scotland with Lindsay’s family, learning about their roots.
That just about brings it up to date. Looking forward, I am shortly to embark on a trip to Canada with the aim of paddling the Magpie River in North East Quebec. Flying in on a float-plane and then spending a week paddling back to civilisation sounds like a great trip, aside from the massive (read 26 miles) lake we have to paddle across in the middle!