Spread These Wings and Fly to Clearer Skies

You Could Be Happy - Snow Patrol

2012-01-29T19:38:00.001Z

You Could Be Happy lyrics

You could be happy and I won't know
But you weren't happy the day I watched you go

And all the things that I wished I had not said
Are played in loops 'till it's madness in my head

Is it too late to remind you how we were
But not our last days of silence, screaming, blur

Most of what I remember makes me sure
I should have stopped you from walking out the door
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/s/snow-patrol-lyrics/you-could-be-happy-lyrics.html ]

You could be happy, I hope you are
You made me happier than I'd been by far

Somehow everything I own smells of you
And for the tiniest moment it's all not true

Do the things that you always wanted to
Without me there to hold you back, don't think, just do

More than anything I want to see you, girl
Take a glorious bite out of the whole world

2012-01-15T23:25:00.001Z

Check out my new photo. http://ping.fm/2WNGl

2012-01-14T23:14:00.001Z

Check out my new photo. http://ping.fm/GyNnr

Shh, It's a Secret

2012-01-06T20:40:00.000Z

We've been in London for a couple if days for a management team meeting. The question is always what to do in the evening as a team "experience". Last time we were in London we went to Dans La Noir (or something like that, the restaurant in the dark anyway). This time we got tickets for Secret Restaurant, an off-shoot of Secret Cinema. I can't really tell you much about it because then it wouldn't be secret, but the whole concept is wonderful. The company take over a warehouse and do it up to recreate scenes from a film. They then have loads of actors dressed up and acting in character. You have a couple of hours to experience all of this and soak up the atmosphere and then they show the film. It was all absolutely excellent and mesmerising. The actors do a great job and stay in character throughout, even if you're asking directions to the toilet! If you get the chance I recommend it.

2012-01-03T23:43:00.001Z

Check out my new photo. http://ping.fm/HfIMI

2012-01-02T14:16:00.001Z

Check out my new photo. http://ping.fm/PUKts

Eternity

2011-12-20T17:50:00.001Z

After every star
Has burnt its last
Every glacier
Melted clear
Every mountain
Blown to dust
Every jungle
A desert turned

I still will miss
Your touch
Your scent
Your whispered breath.

Only seas remaining
Filled with salt
Every drop
Flowed from my heart.

Ready or not here we go

2011-12-20T16:57:00.001Z

We've been loaded onto the plane at Birmingham. We're waiting to depart for Dusseldorf. But the plane isn't moving. Suddenly the pilot comes on the tannoy "our apologies, there seems to be a problem with the planes computers. It might go dark for a moment because we are going to turn the plane off and then restart it, just as you do with your computer at home if it isn't working".

Hmm. Is it just me or does anyone else think this isn't the most reassuring start to a flight!

What's That

2011-12-20T12:53:00.001Z

I've recently said to a few people that I am not a completer-finisher. One reflection that isn't entirely true. I do finish what I start. I do like to see something to an end. The issue is more that having finished something then I don't enjoy doing it again. Once I have done something then it gets packaged into a little box, neatly wrapped up, and packed away into the storage area of my brain.

It's less to do with not being a completer-finisher and more to do with a constant desire to learn. What I really enjoy is being challenged. I look for something new that will push me a bit further. That at the end means I will have new knowledge or new skills. It reflects in my work and my social life.

In the words of Jed Bartlett "what's next" Or possibly I'm just easily distracted. Oooo, shiny..........

1000 Up

2011-12-17T18:54:00.001Z

At the beginning of 2011 one of my New Years Resolutions was to get to 1000 geocaches found. That's not 1000 in a year, I was already at 500 plus a little bit on the 1st January, but it was the target number. And for most of the year I was motoring towards it. A minor hiccup when we went to Greece on holiday and I failed to get any, but most days I was getting one or two and the target was getting nearer and nearer. Then I completely stalled. In November then it suddenly became very difficult. Suddenly there was no time. What little time I had seemed to keep turning up the dreaded DNFs (Did Not Find). I was floundering. The stats tell a very sad story. Only 7 days caching in November with 11 finds, a third of the month before. December got even worse. Despite this the milestone was gradually creeping up. And today I got it, with help from the clan. An interesting cache, first having to work out co-ordinates from some questions about the Northamptonshire Library, then finding at the co-ordinates that sent you back and in to the library itself. A clever hide, and great fun. A good cache to have as a special memory. And to mark the occasion, and on getting my blue belt, these are my stats on this day:
Merlin-k has 1000 Finds on 999 unique Geocaches

Merlin-k has 1000 Finds on 999 unique Geocaches

Statistics generated on 17/12/2011

Achievement Badges

Hover cursor over a badge to view a description.

Badges generated by BadgeGen V3.0.40.

The Groundspeak Geocaching Logo is a registered trademark of Groundspeak, Inc. Used with permission.
The logo and geocaching.com icons are used with Permission.
More Information about the Badges

Generated on 17/12/2011 with BadgeGen V3.0.40

Bronze	Silver	Gold	Platinum	Ruby	Sapphire	Emerald	Diamond	You Have	You Need
The Germany Cacher
10 %	15 %	20 %	30 %	40 %	50 %	75 %	100 %	6 %	10 %
The Hungary Cacher
10 %	15 %	20 %	30 %	40 %	50 %	75 %	100 %	0 %	10 %
The Spain Cacher
10 %	15 %	20 %	30 %	40 %	50 %	75 %	100 %	12 %	3 %
The United Kingdom Cacher
10 %	15 %	20 %	30 %	40 %	50 %	75 %	100 %	93 %	7 %
The Geocacher
500	1000	2000	3000	5000	8000	12000	18000	1000	1000
The Traditional Cacher
400	1000	2000	3000	5000	7000	10000	15000	910	90
The Multi Cacher
50	100	200	300	500	800	1200	1800	19	31
The Mysterious Cacher
50	100	200	300	500	800	1200	1800	38	12
The Virtual Cacher
5	10	20	30	50	80	120	180	11	9
The Earth Cacher
5	10	20	30	50	80	120	180	12	8
The Letterboxer
5	6	7	8	10	15	25	50	4	1
The Wherigo Cacher
2	3	5	10	15	25	40	60	1	1
The Mega Social Cacher
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	0	1
The Social Cacher
5	10	20	30	50	80	120	180	3	2
The Environmental Cacher
2	3	4	5	6	8	10	12	0	2
The Lost & Found Cacher
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	0	1
The Benchmarker
15	20	30	50	80	120	180	250	0	15
The Waymarker
20	30	50	80	120	180	250	350	0	20
The Photogenic Cacher
2	3	5	8	12	18	25	40	2	1
The Ape Cacher
1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	0	1
The Micro Cacher
200	300	500	800	1200	1800	3000	4500	332	168
The Small Cacher
150	200	300	500	800	1200	1800	3000	360	140
The Regular Cacher
100	150	200	300	500	800	1200	2000	108	42
The Large Cacher
3	10	20	30	50	80	120	180	2	1
The Adventurous Cacher
1	2	3	5	8	12	18	30	0	1
The Brainiac
2	4	6	9	15	25	40	60	1	1
The Rugged Cacher
5	10	20	30	50	80	120	180	1	4
The FTF Addict
15	20	30	50	80	120	180	300	47	3
The Travelling Cacher
2	3	5	8	12	18	25	35	5	3
The Cache Owner
10	15	20	30	50	80	120	200	32	18
The Head-In-The-Clouds Award
1640 ft	3281 ft	4921 ft	6562 ft	8202 ft	9843 ft	11483 ft	14764 ft	7008 ft	8202 ft
The Head-In-The-Ground Award
-3 ft	-164 ft	-328 ft	-492 ft	-656 ft	-820 ft	-984 ft	-1312 ft	0 ft	-3 ft
The Busy Cacher
20	30	50	80	120	180	270	400	13	7
The Daily Cacher
7	14	30	60	122	183	274	365	104	122
The Calendar Cacher
100	150	200	250	300	350	365	366	333	17
The Caching Veteran
3	4	6	8	10	14	17	20	6	2
The Scuba-Cacher
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	10	0	1
The Night-Owl
4	10	20	30	50	80	120	180	63	17
The Event Host
1	2	3	5	8	12	18	30	0	1
The Author
30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100	68	70
The Long-Distance Cacher
621 mi	746 mi	932 mi	1243 mi	1802 mi	2610 mi	3977 mi	6214 mi	1847 mi	2610 mi
The Matrix Cacher
20	25	30	40	50	60	80	81	42	8
The Travel Bug
50	100	200	300	500	800	1200	1800	127	73
The Coin Collector
75	100	200	300	500	800	1200	1800	106	94

More Information about the Belt

Geocaching Belts
WHITE:This is awarded if a cacher doesn't qualify for another colour belt
YELLOW:This is awarded if the following conditions are met: 100 cache finds (any type) (1000) AND 5 cache hides (32)
ORANGE:This is awarded if the following conditions are met: 300 cache finds (any type) (1000) AND 10 cache hides (32)
GREEN:This is awarded if the following conditions are met: 500 cache finds (any type) (1000) AND 15 cache hides (32) AND 1 event (any type) (3) attended AND at least one cache find in 2 distinct states (19)
BLUE:This is awarded if the following conditions are met: 1000 cache finds (any type) (1000) AND 20 cache hides (32) AND 3 events (any type) (3) attended at least one cache find in 4 distinct states (19)
BROWN:This is awarded if the following conditions are met: 2000 cache finds (any type) (1000) AND 50 cache hides (32) AND 3 events (any type) (3) attended AND at least one cache find in 8 distinct states (19) AND hosted one event (any type) (0) AND any 5 of the following conditions are met: at least 50 FTFs (47) at least one find in 4 distinct countries (5) at least 72 out of the 81 D/T (42) combinations completed one 5/5 D/T rated cache (0) 30 consecutive days with a cache find (104) 50 caches found on a single day (13) Furthest cache found 500km or more away from home (1847) 3 gold badges for container size (1) at least one cache found above 1000m elevation (7008) 3 distinct types of caches hidden(any types incl. events) (3)
BLACK:This is awarded if the following conditions are met: 3000 cache finds (any type) (1000) AND 50 cache hides (32) AND 3 events (any type) attended (3) AND at least one cache find in 8 distinct states (19) AND hosted one event (any type) (0) AND any 8 of the following conditions are met: at least 50 FTFs (47) OR at least one find in 8 distinct countries (5) 81 D/T combinations completed (42) (100%) OR one 5/5 D/T rated cache (0) OR 90 consecutive days with a cache find (104) OR 50 caches found on a single day (13) OR Furthest cache found 500km or more away from home (1847) OR 3 gold badges for container size (1) OR at least one cache found above 1000m elevation (7008) OR 5 distinct types of caches hidden (3) (any types incl. events)

United Kingdom - 974 finds in 39/72 Counties

	1		2 - 20		21 - 50		51 - 75		76 - 100
	101 - 125		126 - 150		151 - 200		201 - 500		501+

County Totals: Sort by Totals County Totals: Sort by Name

Cumulative Finds by Month

Cumulative Total
Annual Totals

Finds by Month

2011 2010 2009 2006 2005 2004 All

2011

Total finds	492
Days caching	268
Average finds per caching day	1.8
Overall finds per day	1.4
Average finds per week	9.8
Average finds per month	42.7

Month:

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Days caching:

2010

Total finds	492
Days caching	211
Average finds per caching day	2.3
Overall finds per day	1.3
Average finds per week	9.4
Average finds per month	41.0

Month:

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Days caching:

Finds by Weekday

311 Weekend Finds (31.1%) : 689 Weekday Finds (68.9%)

Milestones

Milestone	Date	Interval	Code	Cache Name
1	07/06/2004		GC8455	Keyne for Peace
50	01/06/2010	2185 days	GC1433K	The Northampton Lighthouse
100	22/06/2010	21 days	GC2AJP9	The Longest Day
150	11/07/2010	19 days	GC1YBQC	Natalie's Trail - Charlotte
200	02/08/2010	22 days	GC1ACR8	Guardian of the Cache 3 - Sian the Snake
250	25/08/2010	23 days	GC11YBP	WBC Twixt Rail and Canal
300	26/09/2010	32 days	GC1551K	Northants Churches: St Mary The Virgin, Wappenham
350	20/10/2010	24 days	GC2FRV9	Out of your depth!
400	14/11/2010	25 days	GC2181Q	Foxfield Park
450	04/12/2010	20 days	GC2FVV6	Hardingstone Trail No 8: Spirit Level Required
500	28/12/2010	24 days	GC2KP2E	D'Abby Dash #5 - Lois Weedon
550	21/01/2011	24 days	GC1Q3NR	Carry on England
600	17/02/2011	27 days	GC2087T	Benchmark Nano
650	10/03/2011	21 days	GC1YC4B	A Drive in the Country - Its Either Black or White
700	27/03/2011	17 days	GC2NX9C	The British Red Telephone Box - Weedon
750	23/05/2011	57 days	GCTNZ6	V’s own @ M4 - J13
800	22/06/2011	30 days	GC1AR90	Old A30 Revisited - Polson
850	16/07/2011	24 days	GC2WQXX	Bex & Jax's Firs Trail - Amy loves Joe
900	27/08/2011	42 days	GC28G77	Redway Rambles - No peace here
950	01/10/2011	35 days	GC2MDVE	Alphabet Challenge #22
1000	17/12/2011	77 days	GC2RT2D	Northampton Central Library

Merlin-k should reach 1100 finds in 71 days (54 Caching days) on 26/02/2012
1500 finds in 353 days (267 Caching days) on 04/12/2012
and 2000 finds in 705 days (533 Caching days) on 21/11/2013

Finds by Type

	Number	Percent
Traditional	910	91.0 %
Mystery	38	3.80 %
Multi	19	1.90 %
Earth	12	1.20 %
Virtual	11	1.10 %
Letterbox	4	0.40 %
Event	3	0.30 %
Webcam	2	0.20 %
Wherigo	1	0.10 %

Finds by Container

Finds by Miles from Home

	Number	Percent
< 10	366	36.6 %
10 - 20	231	23.1 %
20 - 30	50	5 %
30 - 40	17	1.7 %
40 - 50	38	3.8 %
50 - 100	176	17.6 %
100 - 200	66	6.6 %
200 - 500	49	4.9 %
500 - 1000	1	0.1 %
> 1000	6	0.6 %

Average Distance: 53 Miles

Finds by Month

Finds by Difficulty Rating

Finds by Terrain Rating

Finds by Owner

	Number	Percent
1 - T A G	97	9.7 %
2 - Wavvy	49	4.9 %
3 - Scott Cache Seekers	28	2.8 %
4 - Roan65	25	2.5 %
5 - Silver-Fox	23	2.3 %
6 - SCFurniss	18	1.8 %
7 - Bevaren	17	1.7 %
8 - Norfolk12	16	1.6 %
9 - korkyfoss	13	1.3 %
10 - The_Buffs	12	1.2 %

	Number	Percent
11 - Monkston Madgirl	11	1.1 %
12 - flamedodger	10	1 %
13 - Lorri-Ann & Kev	10	1 %
14 - SEJ & B	10	1 %
15 - frenchtart	9	0.9 %
16 - milvus-milvus	9	0.9 %
17 - bigbatch	8	0.8 %
18 - Hardingstone Hunters	8	0.8 %
19 - jakits	8	0.8 %
20 - TheBramblers	8	0.8 %

These didn't make it to the top:

Barry'n'Shirley (7)	Bootle (7)	brew-a-cache (7)	firemountain24 (7)
Legodude_uk (7)	Loony Londo (7)	nigel/liz (7)	We do checks and c... (7)
aliandtone (6)	NeillyB (6)

Merlin-k has also found caches placed by 362 other people

Europe - 1000 finds in 5 Countries

	1		2 - 5		6 - 10		11 - 20		21 - 50
	51 - 100		101 - 200		201 - 500		501 - 1000		1001+

United Kingdom:974, Ireland:15, Spain:7, Germany:3, Netherlands:1

Some Numbers

Overall Total Finds:	1000 finds in 491 caching days over 2750 total days (17.8 %)
Overall Averages:	2.04 finds per caching day, 0.36/day, 2.55/week, 11.07/month
Last 365 Days:	518 finds in 276 caching days over 365 total days (75.6 %)
Last 365 Days Averages:	1.88 finds per caching day, 1.42/day, 9.93/week, 43.20/month
Most consecutive days with finds:	104, from 06/09/2010 to 18/12/2010
Most consecutive days without a find:	1059, from 09/09/2006 to 02/08/2009
Most finds in a day:	13 on 20/03/2011; 10 on 18/07/2010; 10 on 13/10/2010
Best weekend caching:	15 finds, on Saturday 19/03/2011 & Sunday 20/03/2011
Best week caching:	29 finds, from Monday 14/03/2011 to Sunday 20/03/2011
Most finds in a calendar month:	81, in Mar 2011
Most Cache Types in a day:	3 on 01/06/2010
Most States in a day:	4 (East Midlands, Yorkshire, Northeast England, Southern Scotland) on 09/03/2011 Note: includes locationless caches.
Most Counties in a day:	5 (Surrey : South East England, Berkshire : Southern England, Oxfordshire : Southern England, Buckinghamshire : Southern England, Buckinghamshire : East Midlands) on 27/07/2010 Note: includes locationless caches.
Fastest 100 finds:	37 days from 12/06/2010 to 18/07/2010
Last 100 finds:	112 days
Fastest 1000 finds:	2750 days from 07/06/2004 to 17/12/2011
Last 1000 finds:	2750 days
Total cache-to-cache distance:	27535 Miles, Note: includes locationless caches. 1.11x Earth Circumnavigation, 0.115x Distance to the Moon
Maximum distance in a day:	332 Miles - 6 caches, on 14/10/2010 Note: includes locationless caches.

Nearest cache found:	Riddle me this, Riddle me that GCV13M
Furthest cache found:	1847.08 Miles, PICNIC (the 4 islands) GCTVNC
Most Northerly cache found:	N 57° 26.064, Never mind the Bullers GCG4W9
Most Southerly cache found:	N 28° 11.159, PICNIC (the 4 islands) GCTVNC
Most Easterly cache found:	E 8° 05.833, Das stille Gebet IX (Schwabenheim) GC19BV7
Most Westerly cache found:	W 16° 41.889, Pico Viejo - DP/EC50 GC1WYK8
Cache centroid:	N 52° 09.020 W 1° 14.827 Centroid is 14 Miles from home: England, United Kingdom

Youngest cache found:	12/10/2011, The Secret Garden GC35VV6
Oldest cache found:	13/10/2001, Accessible by Horse GC22E0
Caches found which are now archived:	106 (10.6 %)
Most FTFs in a day:	5 on 16/07/2011; 2 on 13/07/2010; 2 on 03/08/2010
Most FTFs in a calendar month:	7, in Sep 2010
Most consecutive months with a FTF:	16, from Jun 2010 to Sep 2011
Log Length, words:	Total Words: 67131, Average: 67, (Total Characters: 351853) Longest: GC16NJG 459, Shortest: GC19AZ3 3

Merlin-k has 47 FTFs (4.70 %) - Average Distance 9.7 Miles, Average Interval 9.5 days

Count	Date	Interval	Code	Cache Name
1	21/06/2010		GC2AHDT	Home Sweet Home
2	13/07/2010	22 days	GC2BBY9	Petanque Piste at Bancroft,
3	13/07/2010	0 days	GC2BDMP	Beware of Holly at Bancroft
4	30/07/2010	17 days	GC2CETF	Molly's Bury Field Box
5	03/08/2010	4 days	GC2CMJ6	Strixton Manor
6	03/08/2010	0 days	GC2CRHN	Watermeadows - Visiting grandpa
7	21/08/2010	18 days	GC2CWPW	My Mate
8	01/09/2010	11 days	GC2ED0Z	Sapphire's London Pride
9	06/09/2010	5 days	GC2DATG	Adam's Lego Bits
10	06/09/2010	0 days	GC2EJB4	Water Tower Benchmark Micro
11	23/09/2010	17 days	GC2FJX9	Quicksilver Number Five
12	25/09/2010	2 days	GC2DZQP	Quicksilver Number Three
13	26/09/2010	1 day	GC2FR3V	By Wappenham
14	30/09/2010	4 days	GC2EYAE	This Sporting Life - Sailing
15	06/10/2010	6 days	GC2FRW1	Syresham Bridge #1
16	25/10/2010	19 days	GC2GR41	The Brass Bands of MK - Stantonbury Brass
17	28/11/2010	34 days	GC2JT5G	Hartwell North
18	28/11/2010	0 days	GC2JT6Q	Hartwell East
19	24/12/2010	26 days	GC2KJV6	D'Abby Dash #3 - Syresham
20	30/12/2010	6 days	GC2KPZH	D'Abby Dash #9 - Maidford
21	01/01/2011	2 days	GC2KVWH	D'Abby Dash #19 - Milton Malsor
22	02/01/2011	1 day	GC2KVWJ	D'Abby Dash #20 - Blisworth
23	02/01/2011	0 days	GC2KVWK	D'Abby Dash #21 - Hulcote
24	04/02/2011	33 days	GC23M5G	This Sporting Life - Cricket
25	22/02/2011	18 days	GC2P6QX	Dallington Park
26	22/02/2011	0 days	GC2P6QE	What's the Poyntz?
27	23/02/2011	1 day	GC2N0Q9	The Flying Fox Cache
28	27/02/2011	4 days	GC25AQ2	The Black Spot
29	03/03/2011	4 days	GC2PF4R	D'Abby's M1 view
30	08/03/2011	5 days	GC2PVC6	Brackmills Country Park - Tipsy Birch
31	15/03/2011	7 days	GC2MVQ0	SideTracked Kempston Hardwick
32	22/03/2011	7 days	GC2QPHC	Off the rails
33	01/04/2011	10 days	GC2R8FM	On the hour every hour!!
34	01/04/2011	0 days	GC2R8FJ	Blue on the green!
35	25/04/2011	24 days	GC2TWHB	Whatever Floats Your Boat 2
36	28/04/2011	3 days	GC2MWRZ	SideTracked Ridgmont
37	25/05/2011	27 days	GC2W73W	Checkers (Houghton Conquest)
38	25/05/2011	0 days	GC2W77D	Wacky Races (Houghton Conquest)
39	27/06/2011	33 days	GC2YX6X	FM The Brampton Stables
40	16/07/2011	19 days	GC2WGMT	Bex & Jax's Firs Trail - Backs up against the wall
41	16/07/2011	0 days	GC2WQX4	Bex & Jax's Firs Trail - Not her again!
42	16/07/2011	0 days	GC2WQXX	Bex & Jax's Firs Trail - Amy loves Joe
43	16/07/2011	0 days	GC2Z66B	Bex & Jax's Firs trail Walk the log not the dog
44	16/07/2011	0 days	GC2Z664	Bex & Jax's Firs trail-EH?
45	17/08/2011	32 days	GC32CW4	Pigeons Cooing
46	02/09/2011	16 days	GC33CCK	S M's #2
47	03/09/2011	1 day	GC32993	The British Red Telephone Box - Pitsford

Average Distance by Bearing

Finds by Bearing

Finds by Year Cache Placed

Finds to 17 Dec for Each Year

Finds by Found Date

Date
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Jan	2	5	1	2	2	1	3	2	3	1	1	1	4	1	2	1	2	2	7	1	4	1	1	1	4	5	3	1	2	2	1	69
Feb	1	1	2	1	1	4	2	2	1	1	2	1	3	2	2	2	2	1	6	2	1	3	2	2	3	1	2	1		X	X	54
Mar	2	3	1	1	4	3	1	1	8	3	5	1	1	5	2	1	3	3	2	13	1	1	1	6	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	81
Apr	4								1		2		1	1	1	1	1	1	1					1	1	2		1			X	19
May	1	2		1	6	5	3					1	3	4	1	1	5	1	3	2	3	2	3	2	4	3	2	2	3	6	2	71
Jun	4	3	3	5	5	2	3	3	2	2	5	4	6	4	2	6	6	4	2	5	11	3	7	3	1	9	9	5	1	5	X	*130*
Jul	4	5	3	5	4	2	3	4	3	9	7	3	5	5	4	7	1	12	2	2	1	2	3	1	2	2	8	3	3	6	1	122
Aug	8	2	4	2	1	1		1	1	6	3	3	1	7	3	1	11	5	4	3	6	4	3	4	3	2	1	1	1	1	5	98
Sep	2	3	4	2	1	4	6	7	5	2	2	3	3	2	4	4	7	2	2	5	2	3	2	2	3	4	3	7	2	2	X	100
Oct	4	2	3	7	6	2	3	2	2	6	2	3	13	7	4	1	2	1	3	1	1	1	5	1	1	4	2	3	1	10	3	106
Nov	2	4	1	1	1	3	1	3	1	1	4	1	2	5	2	1	1	2	4	2	6	1	5	4	3	2	1	8	1	1	X	74
Dec	1	4	1	6	3	1	4	2	2	8	1	2	2	1	4	3	5	1						4		7	3	6	1	1	3	76
	35	34	23	33	34	28	29	27	29	39	34	23	44	44	31	29	46	35	36	36	36	21	32	31	27	42	36	39	16	35	16

337 Found Dates, out of 366 (92%)
35 FTF Found Dates, out of 366 (9.5%)
Green cells or black text indicate at least one FTF on that day

Difficulty / Terrain Chart

	Terrain
Difficulty		1	1.5	2	2.5	3	3.5	4	4.5	5
	1	93	67	18	7	4					189
	1.5	43	335	56	12	1	1				*448*
	2	36	95	66	16	9	5				227
	2.5	14	32	12	8	1	1				68
	3	9	23	6	2	4		1	1		46
	3.5		9	1	1	1					12
	4	1	2	2	1					1	7
	4.5		1	1							2
	5		1								1
		196	*565*	162	47	20	7	1	1	1

42 Diff/Terr combinations found, out of 81
90 (9%) finds were rated with Diff or Terr of 3 or greater

Finds by Placed Month

Date
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2000	X	X	X	X									0
2001										4			4
2002		1	1		1	1	2	1	1	1		2	11
2003	2		1		2	1				2	1		9
2004	1		2		2				2	1	2		10
2005	3	4	1		2	2	3	1	1	1	2	1	21
2006	2	2	5		2	1	1	1	2	8	1		25
2007	3	4	2	5	7	5	8	16	10	13	10	4	87
2008	7	15	17	19	12	9	18	11	19	13	9	11	160
2009	16	9	17	13	22	10	26	18	22	14	21	5	193
2010	23	25	33	21	38	39	20	44	46	23	12	23	*347*
2011	21	18	19	16	19	16	10	4	9	1			133
	78	78	98	74	107	84	88	96	*112*	81	58	46

101 Placed Months, out of 140 (72.1%)

Highest and Lowest Elevations

Code	Cache Name	Country	State	Resolution	Elevation
GCTVNC	PICNIC (the 4 islands)	Spain	Islas Canarias	30m	7007 ft
GC1WYK8	Pico Viejo - DP/EC50	Spain	Islas Canarias	30m	6837 ft
GC1ENYZ	LA ZAPATILLA DE LA REINA (TENERIFFA)	Spain	Islas Canarias	30m	6738 ft
GC1X8DR	The Cathedral / La Catedral	Spain	Islas Canarias	30m	6643 ft
GC2A2WG	Llano de Ucanca	Spain	Islas Canarias	30m	6627 ft
GC2M7Y2	Xc Salamanca VP11	Spain	Castilla y León	30m	2673 ft
GC1C11Q	W.W. Hill Fort #002	United Kingdom		30m	1335 ft
GC16Y8E	LQ:W YORKS - Willmer Green	United Kingdom	Yorkshire	30m	1332 ft
GC16NJG	LQ: Shropshire - Lightspout Waterfall	United Kingdom	West Midlands	30m	1309 ft
GC1R9G7	A Drive in the Country - Baa Baa Ra	United Kingdom	Northern Scotland	30m	1158 ft
...	...	...	...	...	...
GC9E03	Torquay Round Table	United Kingdom	South West England	30m	29 ft
GC1G2W9	Art Deco Dublin: Townsend St. Flats	Ireland	Dublin	30m	26 ft
GC15XG7	The Smallest(?) Royal Park	United Kingdom	London	30m	22 ft
GC23GGH	Troll	United Kingdom	Southern England	30m	22 ft
GC2HZMD	Edithmead Church	United Kingdom	South West England	90m	22 ft
GC1A0EB	Supermarket Sweep - No 2	United Kingdom	South West England	90m	16 ft
GCPR1E	Up and Under	United Kingdom		90m	13 ft
GC11A9P	Tate Britain ~ Mark 2	United Kingdom	London	90m	9 ft
GC12XM3	Howzat! - Torre Abbey - Torbay Landmarks No.6	United Kingdom	South West England	30m	6 ft
GC2VXYT	Het Slot op den Hoef	Netherlands	Noord-Holland	90m	6 ft

Average elevation of all finds: 306.8 ft

		638	323	22	7	3				1											5
Elevation Chart
Elevation	< 0	0 - 299	300 - 599	600 - 899	900 - 1199	1200 - 1499	1500 - 1799	1800 - 2099	2100 - 2399	2400 - 2699	2700 - 2999	3000 - 3299	3300 - 3599	3600 - 3899	3900 - 4199	4200 - 4499	4500 - 4799	4800 - 5099	5100 - 5399	5400 - 5699	5700 - 7008

Finds Per Day

Merlin-k has also had 261 days with one find.

Owned Caches Statistics

Owned:	32
Total finds of my caches:	1306 finds in 532 total days, 2.45/day, 17.18/week, 74.73/month
Total finds I've made:	1000
Caching Karma:	1.31 (1306/1000)
Hide with most finds:	97, A Cache For Charlie GC2B7Y0
Hide found most frequently:	Every 4.2 days, Freemasons Hall - Cardiff GC2WPBJ
Log Length, words:	Average: 24, Longest: GC2BCHG 279

360 Geocachers Have Made 1306 Finds on 32 Geocaches Owned By Merlin-k

Sort by Date Sort by Finds Sort by Days/Find

Hide Archived Show Archived

Placed	Last Find	Finds	Days/Find	Code	Cache Name
09/07/2011	05/12/2011	21	7.6	GC2ZR2J	REALLY SideTracked - Blisworth
11/06/2011	27/11/2011	10	18.9	GC2Y11W	Cheeping and Chirping
26/05/2011	25/11/2011	14	14.6	GC2X0FH	REALLY SideTracked - Salcey Forest
22/05/2011	09/12/2011	49	4.2	GC2WPBJ	Freemasons Hall - Cardiff
30/04/2011	18/11/2011	34	6.7	GC2V9PG	REALLY SideTracked - Castle Ashby and Earls Barton
27/04/2011	27/11/2011	26	9	GC2V3N1	Quarter to Semi
27/04/2011	27/11/2011	34	6.8	GC2V3Q9	SideTracked - Bletchley
05/03/2011	27/11/2011	11	26	GC2PR5R	Pedestrian Access
16/02/2011	10/11/2011	15	20.2	GC2NXH2	MP
16/01/2011	24/11/2011	61	5.4	GC2MG11	All The Fun of the Fair Trail 4
16/01/2011	24/11/2011	63	5.3	GC2MG1M	All The Fun of the Fair Trail 5
16/01/2011	24/11/2011	63	5.3	GC2MG24	All The Fun of the Fair Trail 6
16/01/2011	24/11/2011	56	5.9	GC2MG2F	All The Fun of the Fair Trail 7
08/12/2010	26/11/2011	40	9.3	GC2K629	Give It Some Oomph
27/11/2010	25/11/2011	31	12.4	GC2JRTK	Like 'n Touch
24/09/2010	29/11/2011	33	13.6	GC2FN4V	Freemasons Hall - Northampton
18/09/2010	24/11/2011	65	7	GC2F9FB	All The Fun of the Fair Trail 1
18/09/2010	24/11/2011	67	6.7	GC2FAWZ	All The Fun of the Fair Trail 2
18/09/2010	24/11/2011	67	6.7	GC2FAX1	All The Fun of the Fair Trail 3
15/09/2010	08/12/2011	47	9.7	GC2F75J	REALLY SideTracked - Northampton St John's Station
04/09/2010	19/10/2011	39	12	GC2DYWP	COYS
04/09/2010	25/09/2011	41	11.4	GC2DYWT	O WENDY
03/09/2010	23/10/2011	27	17.4	GC2EHE1	REALLY SideTracked - Northampton Bridge Street
01/09/2010	19/09/2011	20	23.6	GC2ED2K	SideTracked - Bow Brickhill
21/08/2010	22/07/2011	16	30.1	GC2DT44	First To Find
05/08/2010	29/10/2011	44	11.3	GC2CWWJ	A Cache for Brendon
03/08/2010	03/12/2011	80	6.2	GC2CRJ7	A Cache for Charlie Brown
25/07/2010	25/11/2011	38	13.4	GC2C8Y0	In A Roundabout Way 1
22/07/2010	28/09/2011	25	20.5	GC2C4NZ	Springs and Spas
11/07/2010	03/11/2011	49	10.6	GC2BJEN	Giddy Up
11/07/2010	17/11/2011	23	22.7	GC2BCHG	What Colour Holds My Trousers?
04/07/2010	01/12/2011	97	5.4	GC2B7Y0	A Cache For Charlie

Cumulative Finds of My Caches

Caching Karma

Finders of My Caches

Show Archived Hide Archived

	Number	Percent
1 - Norfolk12	22	68.7 %
2 - Bevaren	21	65.6 %
3 - mk rambling rose	21	65.6 %
4 - wallacewarrior	20	62.5 %
5 - bones1	18	56.2 %
6 - runningduck	18	56.2 %
7 - mikenjess	17	53.1 %
8 - T A G	17	53.1 %
9 - Wavvy	17	53.1 %
10 - Honey_Monster	16	50 %

	Number	Percent
11 - Lorri-Ann & Kev	16	50 %
12 - zensunni	16	50 %
13 - flamedodger	15	46.8 %
14 - Nebias	15	46.8 %
15 - Bexter666	14	43.7 %
16 - firemountain24	14	43.7 %
17 - LITTLECASSIE	14	43.7 %
18 - We do checks and c...	14	43.7 %
19 - BearT	13	40.6 %
20 - MTQ2010	13	40.6 %

These didn't make it to the top:

Topsydee (13)	bingbonglong (12)	doyboyz (12)	Legodude_uk (12)
the big bulldog (12)	TheMoombles (12)	argente460 (11)	cakemaker (11)
millies gang (11)	DaveStan (10)	EJR14 (10)	frenchtart (10)
Kitey (10)	Lord_Blackadder (10)	tipplj (10)	tremar (10)
drsolly (9)	SCFurniss (9)	Scott Cache Seekers (9)	stucuk (9)

320 other people have also found caches placed by Merlin-k

Stats generated by FindStatGen3 V4.1.15 by rutson and lignumaqua, running on GSAK v8.0.0.133
Theme from pisg by Morten Brix Pedersen

Statistics generated in 41 seconds.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

The Gaslight Anthem - Bring It On

2011-12-15T19:07:00.001Z

English Rose - The Jam

2011-11-26T16:01:00.001Z

No matter where I roam
I will come back to my english rose
For no bonds can ever tempt me from she
I've sailed the seven seas,
Flown the whole blue sky.
But I've returned with haste to where my
Love does lie.
No matter where I go I will come back to my english rose
For nothing can ever tempt me from she.
I've searched the secret mists -
I've climbed the highest peaks
Caught the wild wind home to hear her soft voice speak
To hear her soft voice speak
No matter where I roam
I will return to my english rose
For no bonds can ever keep me from she.

I've been to ancient worlds
I've scoured the whole universe
And caught the first train home
To be at her side.
No matter where I roam
I will return to my english rose
For no bonds can ever keep me from she

A Morning Stroll

2011-11-14T11:36:00.001Z

I'm in the Netherlands for an antibiotics conference (I know, such an exciting life). Having had breakfast and registered I found I had a few hours to kill before the conference started. I have my camera, we are by the sea, maybe some photos then. Oh, and two miles along the coast there is a geocache. Two birds, one stone etc.

I leave the hotel and wander down to the coast. Hmm. Can't actually see the sea with this fog still lying everywhere. Never mind. This coastal path heads the right direction so I will just follow that. Or at least follow it for all of 0.3 miles at which point it reaches an end
And barbed wire. OK. Not yet beaten I head down onto the beach itself. I haven't really got the right shoes but never mind. The fog is not great for photography but I have an idea of a
Tryptych I'd like to do and it is still possible. I'm now aware that I am walking along a beach in an area I don't know but I'm not stupid, I ensure the breadcrumb mode is turned on with the GPS (a clever innovation that traces your route as you walk so you can double back at any time).

I walk along, keeping my eye open for photos. Every so often I check the gos to see how far it is to the cache. At half a mile away I start to worry. I thought the cache was on the coast like but it is beginning to look as though it is in the dunes. This could be a problem. Most of the dunes are "FORBODDEN". I now remember reading another cache description around here which comments on the network of paths and how you have to stick with them. I get to within 0.37 miles of the cache but am again faced with barbed wire. Bother. Oh well. Time to head back to the hotel.

Now, you remember a paragraph ago when I said I wasn't stupid? Yes. Well this was the point where the GPS went beep and the screen went blank. The batteries had died and I didn't have replacements.

I will leave it to you to decide if I finally did find my way back to the hotel and am writing this with a cup of coffee in hand or whether I am still out in the dunes somewhere and with my last dying breath before the hypothermia gets me updating my blog for posterity.

Hellfire

2011-11-14T11:34:00.001Z

I flew into Schipol airport last night and have to say it was an incredibly surreal experience. I fly quite often with work and am used to a lot of sights. For me, looking down in clouds will never lose its thrill, the beauty of the unadulterated peaks and troughs of snow white take my breath away. But last night was something different. As we approached Amsterdam there was a fog lying over the city. It was night time but the fog was thick enough that you couldn't see the buildings below. What you could see however was a patchwork of glowing areas where the buildings below were lighting the fog. Red mists swirled in angry winds. It was as though the land itself was burning, a desolate landscape with fires where an army had marched and razed the cities, scorched the earth. For a moment I was looking on the destruction of mankind.

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2011-10-31T18:57:00.001Z

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2011-10-27T22:46:00.001+01:00

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2011-10-24T17:51:00.001+01:00

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2011-09-29T23:47:00.001+01:00

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The End

2011-09-07T21:24:00.001+01:00

The last evening was spent trying to extend the holiday. Once we got back from the SCUBA diving then I was on the phone to the travel agents. Then when the rep turned up then I badgered her. But it was all to no avail. The room, which had been available 24 hours earlier, was gone.

Such a great holiday ended then on a sad evening. Junior had to say goodbye to her new friends and there were more tears than I could believe. Junior had made friends on other holidays but never had it been so emotional. It made it hard.

The next morning was an early start. Bus, ferry, plane. Then getting off at Birmingham airport and seeing clouds for the first time in almost a week. Yep, that's England.

Not Quite Twenty Thousand Leagues

2011-09-07T21:19:00.001+01:00

Another squeeze into the car, this time with wet but rapidly drying bottoms. The quick journey back to Skala Prinos, where we all pop out (peas and pod spring to mind). Juniors air tank needs a top up before we go - as it's smaller there isn't as much air in it. Then wade out to the boat. This time it's a RIB rather than the solid boat we had a few days ago. And getting in requires some flexibility that, with a combination of age, heat and wetsuit, does not come easily. The thought does cross my mind about how we will get back in later but there isn't much time for that. We bounce off across the waves towards the wreck of a ferry, sunk about 40 years ago. When we get there then we have to moor to a bouy, an exercise that turns out harder than might be expected and we all end up having a go, the waves repeatedly pushing us the wrong way. Finally we succeed.

On with the equipment and into the sea, one at a time. Junior is again the most elegant, but she does have an instructor looking after her personally. Regulators in and time to descend. We sink to the bottom of the sea, where we are surrounded by a field of seaweed, it's like being in long grass. We are all OK, we've made it down. Now we have to go through the safety procedures again. First Junior, who manages to get complete it. Next its J's turn. Not so easy. I know exactly what's going through her head, I had the same when I did this back at uni (before you start to think that this is a life skill for me, I never got out of the uni swimming pool). The brain just can't comprehend that it is possible to be underwater, and taking the regulator out of the mouth is a step too far. Sadly J had to return to the surface, but I still believe that technically she has been SCUBA diving in the sea.

Junior then indicates she would like to go back up but the instructor looks her in the eye and checks everything is OK. I can see her as well and there is no indication of panic so we go ahead with swimming, the instructor keeping one hand on Juniors tank. We swim around the wreck. No sign of octopi but some gigantic shellfish - if these turned up in your Moules Mariniere then you'd have quite a shock - and some beautiful blue fish (I may be colour blind but these were stunning). A wonderful experience and all too soon we are heading back to the surface (when I say all too soon, we paid for a two hour session but by the end of it we had had five hours at no extra cost).

Think back a couple of paragraphs. Remember how I thought briefly about getting back into the boat. Well I rather wished I had thought more about it. For Junior it was simple, light enough in weight to be helped in. Me, not so lightweight. No way anyone was lifting me in. The theory is simple enough, kick like fury and the flippers will spear you out like a flying fish. Hmm. No. I was more like a stranded whale. In all honesty I even sized up the swim back to shore. I am still not sure how I ever got back in. Finally I was in the boat, the instructor got in and we headed back. Waves coming over the side we took on water. Initially the instructor laughed, RIBs don't sink. Suddenly life became less jovial as he realised just how much water we had taken on. He slowed down, we rearranged ourselves to distribute the weight differently, and managed to make it back to the harbour.

An exciting experience with some wonderful people, we were lucky to find CAT and I recommend them to anyone. Junior did ask me, when no one else was around, why they wouldn't let her back up to the surface. I have explained that it was because she looked ok. There is a bit of me that feels guilty that Junior did this and says she was scared. But there is also a bit of me that is incredibly proud of her as she did so well. And when we got home and saw the photographs that they took while we were underwater, then she was also proud of what she had achieved.

Bubbles

2011-09-03T11:24:00.001+01:00

It's our last full day here. Despite the fact that today is going to be an exciting one, there is a tinge of sadness as none of us want to go. Actually, last night I sent an email to the 24 hour help line asking if we could extend another week. 12 hours later and there is no reply and the chances of staying look remote.

Back to today and the oncoming adventure. 1030 hrs we are outside the hotel waiting for our lift. A Belgian driver turns up, yes we are off to CAT again, but this time for a SCUBA lesson. We all fit in the 4x4 and its a bit of a squeeze but Skala Prinos is only 5 minutes away. Which is lucky as I forgot to bring our snorkels and masks! OK, honestly that isn't quite as stupid as it sounds. J doesn't have a snorkel and mask so CAT were providing her with them, and I had assumed that they were providing them for all of us. What I hadn't realised was that Juniors was a better size for her than anything they had. So a quick journey back to the hotel and then we are ready.

Next to get kitted up. Junior is rapidly into her wet suit and looks resplendent. The two adults have a bit more of a struggle and I decide that, certainly for me, skin tight is not a good look. We put on the rest of the kit. I had forgotten how heavy this all is. Even though Junior has a small tank she is still finding it hard to stand. J is surprised that they need to load us up with extra weights, I am less surprised as I have a reasonable level of natural buoyancy aid!

This is supposed to be a two hour introduction into SCUBA. But owing to Juniors age they decide that first they will take us to a friends hotel so we can use their swimming pool for a practice. If squeezing in the car was difficult before, with all the kit we are almost bulging out the windows.

The residents at the hotel are somewhat shocked when four frogmen (frogpeople?) walk through their gate and descend into the swimming pool. It must be an amusing sight as we swim around practicing our flipper technique. Then to the deep end. We sink to the bottom, everyone managing to breath through the regulator. We then have to got through the safety techniques. Take the regulator out of the mouth, pit it back in and purge with a sharp exhale. Take the regulator out of the mouth, put it back in and purge with the air valve. Take the regulator out of the mouth, let go, lean right, windmill the right arm to find the regulator and replace in the mouth. Finally let water into the mask and then empty it by blowing out through the nose and tipping the head back.

Time to go back to Skala Prinos and out to sea.

More Boats, More Swimming

2011-08-31T23:31:00.000+01:00

I woke up this morning with panda eyes. My Oakley Jawbones are wonderful sunglasses but they are close fitting wraps. And yesterday I really did catch the sun. Much laughter at my expense when people saw my red face with pale rings around my eyes.

Anyway, today was the last of the organised trips. A day out on Captain Vasilys (that is REALLY unlikely to be spelt properly, but hey ho) Barbeque Cruise. A somewhat different boat trip to yesterdays trip with Captain Jack.

We startd with a coach trip to the south of the island. Getting old hands at this, there was no running for coaches, no getting confused or anything of comedy value I'm afraid. Simply a coach down to the harbour at the bottom of the island. There we got on a rather attractive and nice sized boat. We found ourselves a table and a seat and watched as the boat departed.

For a boat trip that lasted basically a whole day we didn't really get all that far. We covered a lot of distance but it all seemed to be back and forth, to and fro. The captain didn't seem able to make up his mind about where he was going. But this was somewhat mitigated by the fact that whenever he dropped anchor then there was an opportunity for swimming. Nothing as sedate as lowering yourself in, you were expected to jump off the side of the boat. This took a certain amount of nerve and the first time of trying Junior was somewhat hesitant. She soon got into her stride though. And it wasn't long before she had progressed from jumping to diving Without wanting to sound like too proud a parent, there were comments about this young girl diving in.

On one such stop I swam away further from the boat. All of a sudden below me I saw a cluster of fish. Wondering what they were doing, I stopped to watch. And, to my surprise, realised that they were centred around an octopus. Fascinated I watched on. The octopus would move on and then lift a rock. If a fish was feeling brave enough then it would dart in trying to grab whatever it could from under the octopuses nose (or beak). Every so often the octopus would get fed up with this and wave a few tentacles at the fish, driving them a short distance off. But as soon as it went back to hunting then the fish would gather around again. This fits into the category of things I wanted to do, ie see an octopus in the wild (this is not counting the two I saw in Menorca when I was snorkeling, to my shock I was confronted by two octopi {I think that's the correct plural} heading right for my face. It was like a scene out of Monty Python with the killer rabbit being replaced by killer octopus. But when my heart had started beating again it something didn't seem right, and looking up over the surface of the water it dawned on me that these were dead octopi attached to a fishing line being dragged by a scuba diver returning to shore), and I returned to the boat with a big smile.

We also had a chance for fishing from the boat as well. We didn't catch anything, possibly because Juniors patience wasn't strong or long enough so we kept pulling the line up too quickly. But we did get a few nibbles.

I have forgotten to mention that I had found the joys of Metaxa by this point. Metaxa 5 star is the Greek brandy, a bit sweeter than the french stuff but still very nice. And I fancied one as a night cap this evening back at the hotel. I went to the bar, but the two barmen were missing. The bar at the hotel seems to operate a strange sytem which involves two relatively professional barmen and an occassional blonde (not her being blonde that was occassional, but her presence at the bar). The occassional blonde lived up to all the rumours about blondes and was generally fairly vague about what she should be doing. The night before she hadn't known what Metaxa was but one of the guys was there to help her. Tonight she knew what Metaxa was and what glass to serve it in (proving that short term memory wasn't a problem) but was less clear about volume. Now in all the time there I never saw an official "measure", it was always, at best, guesswork. But guesswork with someone as vague as she was, was a dangerous thing. She poured. And poured. And poured. And poured some more. In the end my large brandy glass was over two thirds full. I returned to my table with a full glass and a large smile! And a very good nightcap.

Aye Aye Captain

2011-08-29T19:39:00.000+01:00

We settle in the boat, the two girls on the back seat, myself and the captain at the front. He edges out from the harbour and then floors the throttle. The boat surges forward and spray goes everywhere. I look behind to see Junior with a big grin. Speed, the way to her heart.
The captain soon indicates that I can take over at the helm. I wasn't expecting this but who am I to say no. The hat has to come off though as standing up my head is above the windshield and we are going too fast for my hat to stay on. I rapidly realisethat the reason I have been allowed to rake the controls is less for my enjoyment and more so our captain can light a massive cigar! But he's a nice guy and we get talking. First off, how did he come to be here? Turns out that he is from Belgium and before moving here he was a bodyguard at the Egyptian Embassy. And also for the Australian Embassy. Strange for a bodyguard to have amscuba diving centre so where did he learn to dive. Well that would be when he was in the Belgian version of the commandos. I rapidly decide I'm not going to tell him not to smoke anymore. And Jacque soon becomes, in our minds, Captain Jack.

We get to talking about dolphins as we are hoping to see them again. There is a possibility but we don't raise our hopes too high. But this sets him off on one of many stories. He is no green warrior but he does care about the world around us. And he recounts a trip shortly after he moved here. He had two Norwegians on the boat for a trip similar to the one we are on. Suddenly he heard a couple of bangs. Unlike most people Captain Jack decides to investigate. He finds two fisherman shooting at columns with rifles (that's the fishermen who have the rifles not the dolphins). Unlike most people who, faced by rifles, would keep their distance, instead Captain Jack sees red. He heads his boat straight for theirs, pulls alongside, jumps into their boat, grabs the rifle and then huts them with the rifle butt a few times before breaking the rifle in half then calmly getting back into his boat and setting back off. One can only begin to imagine the faces of the two Norwegians at this point!

Captain Jack is very good about making sure we put on the suncream and have regular drinks, and points out the sights as we go along. On the return trip he stops the boat in a small cove and lets us go for a swim and a snorkel. Junior has some flippers that he has provided, and we all have a bit of a swim around. After a while he calls us back and we get back on board (not the most elegant of sights in my case but none-the-less!). However we only go about two minutes and two coves more before he stops again. This time it's all rather deeper. But nearby is a 2000 year old village under the sea, approximately 10 metres under to be exact. Captan Jack suggests we all swim over there and we set off. The water is deep and the waves are big. Initially Junior is holding on to my hand tightly so I'm trying to swim with one hand. We go over some rocks, the waves taking us up over them and then back down so that they are just under my chest. We get passed those and swim towards the deeped waters. Now you remember a few sentences ago I said that Junior had flippers. These meant that she could swim quite fast. And soon, instead of trailing behind me squeezing my hand to death, she is in front of me and almost pulling me along. Then she's only holding one finger. Then that's it, she's off after Captain Jack and I am left behind.

Captain Jack stops. We gather around him, treading water. Next thing he's diving down. With the masks we can watch him disappearing into the depths. Once down there, at the bottom, he's searching around. I'm amazed how far he has gone and how long he stays down there. And when he comes back, in his hands he's holding the base of a vase and the handle of a jug. From 2000 years ago. A momentary glimpse of history.

We head back to the boat again. I'm struggling to keep up with Junior who seems to have decided that Captain Jack is the better bet. Suddenly he's off again though, diving down. And this time he returns with sea urchin shells that he gives to Junior, warning her that they are delicate and suggesting that we spray them with hair spray to maintain their colour and strengthen them.

Finally we are back at Skala Prinos. Time to get out of the boat and wade back to shore. Almost out the shoreline and J gets her foot stuck in the mud. She promptly falls over when trying to get her foot out. Junior and I cannot help but laugh. Which was completely the wrong response and we are both very very sorry that we laughed! {but between you and me, it was funny!}

A trip that was supposed to be three hours long has been four hours but Captain Jack doesn't charge anything more. And he gets one of his team to drive us back to the hotel rather than us having to get the bus. Plus he arranges to pick us up for the SCUBA in two days time.

Another Day, Another Bus

2011-08-29T18:44:00.000+01:00

Another day, and this time we have a private boat trip organised. We enjoy going out on boats, and the travel agents only had one, so we had made enquiries about where else we could go. If this one worked out well then it was going to lead to even more excitement as the company we were going with, CAT, also did SCUBA diving and we fancied giving that a go.

First thing is getting there though. This means getting a local bus. An added bit of adventure. Luckily after the fun a few days ago, we know knew where the bus stop was! We waited and, about ten minutes late, the bus arrived. in fact the bus had been about ten minutes late the other day as well so we weren't worried, jsut decided that this was the time that they ran to. Late is normal. We managed to get on and pay. The bus conductor who came to get our money was very nice and clearly took his job seriously. It was his job to ensure people got off at the correct stop. Which lead to great jolliness throughout the bus when he and one passenger disagreed about where they should get off. Much arguing and much stopping and starting of the bus, accompanied by a lot of arm waving. And the rest of us laughing.

No such drama for us however and we managed to get to Skala Prinos. Now to find the dive centre. A look around but nothing obvious. Head off southwards but quickly come to the edge of the village so head back to where I had spotted a tour organiser. Call in and ask. Some confusion as the lady behind the desk only speaks Greek. We can't make ourselves understood but soon her colleague gets off the phone. Turns out that we are all of one minute away but we headed the wrong way. Back out we go. We fnd the centre but we are still 20 minutes early so we sit in the neighbouring cafe, have coffee and the worlds biggest doughnut before wandering back.

The owner is one of those people who exudes confidence and everyone is friendly. So much so that I find myslef booking the scuba experience for two days time. We then try on wet suits and other kit while we wait as this will speed up the process on Saturday. Junior looks fantastic in her wetsuit. Sadly can't say quite the same thing about myself. Functionality over style.

That done we wade out to the boat with our captain for the day.

Half Way

2011-08-29T18:24:00.000+01:00

Wednesday arrives and marks half way through the holiday. No sunburn by this stage is a good thing and I can start to reduce how much suncream I am putting on. Need to get this tan showing for returning home. It's to be another quiet day, and the last quiet day of the holiday. We spend some time around the pool, reading, relaxing. Junior is about to play with her friend for an hour or two then they are off out. Junior looks ratehr disappointed with the realisation that she has her parents for company. We play for a while, then it's time to think about lunch. We decide a little exploration is in order.

We head off southwards walking along the beach. We don't know what we will find but fully expect to find a taverna or two. It's amazing how the shoreline changes, and how quickly. Suddenly there's masses of seaweed. Then the water is clear again but rocky, and loads of sea urchins. Then sandy again. All this within a 20 minute walk. We pass a taverna but it doesn't grab our attention. Next ahead of us we see a hotel and we will have to walk through their grounds. This seems unlikely to be a problem, it's all fairly relaxed here. But oh no, what's this? We're going to get arrested for stalking if we aren't careful. Because sitting around the pool is Juniors friend and her family. We remember that they said they had found a hotel with a nice pool - and it is, crystal clear water rather than the murky attempt at our hotel. This must be where they had found. Junior want's to stop for lunch here - no surprises there then. But the adults of the expeditionary party want to find a taverna not a hotel. So onwards we trek with a slightly despondent Junior.

Then we come across another taverna, right on the sea front. It looks just what we were after. So we settle ourselves down for another nice, and inexpensive meal. Junior doesn't enjoy hers so much, partly because she doesn't seem to like Greek food as much as Spanish food, and partly because she wants to be with her friend.

After lunch we wander back to our hotel and the rest of the day is spent around the pool and the beach. More reading, more relaxing. Ice cream milk shakes, beer, cherry juice. Ah, life is hard.

Follow The Yellow Umbrella

2011-08-27T13:40:00.000+01:00

While it isn't actually quite that bad, as the day progresses we decide that we really aren't the right people for a guided tour. We are taken to some interesting places - a lovely church in a mountain village (which, rather strangely, has the original banner of Richard the Lionheart from the Crusades), some ruins, a monastery - but we don't get long enough to explore as we would like to.

Lunch is in another mountain village. A special dish of chicken and pork. While we are there we see the only rain of the holiday. Well, the other two saw, I experienced. We were at a table under a roof but with no walls. I was right up against the edge so the very heavy rain managed to get my right side soaked. Once the rain stopped then I dried off quickly as it was still a hot day. Being a mountain village the restuarant was on a slope. This meant that we were sitting level with the rooves of the houses next to us. It was fun to watch the cats walking over the rooves next to us and stopping in case anyone wanted to throw them a piece of chicken.

Finally we are back to the hotel. Junior is happy because all day she has been wanting to play with her friend. And they are there, playing around the pool. We leave them to it and chat to the other parents (having got the obligatory beer from the bar). As we are chatting the children go down to the beach and sit on some of the loungers. Something catches the corner of my eye. I look again. Yes, definitely. "Dolphins" I shout and everyone rushes down to the sea to watch these beautiful creatures swim passed. Dolphins silhouetted in a sunset, a wonderful way to end the day.

Catching Moments

2011-08-27T13:01:00.001+01:00

Having to get up before 0800 hrs when on holiday seems wrong. But today we are booked on the "Simply Thassos" trip, a coach tour taking us to some of the most notable spots on the island.

We are supposed to get the bus at 0900 hrs but exactly where to get it is slightly vague. Out of the hotel, turn left, turn right and on to the main road. We get to the likely spot, which is also the bus stop (identified by a small pole with a bit of blue metal on the top). We wait. No-one else joins us which is a bit of a concern. A local is waiting for a bus but that's it. Now we're five minutes late and still no sign. We are starting to get worried. Ah, what's this coming. It stops but it's the local bus. Behind it though is a coach. Which stops at a different bus stop. Wonderful. It's just gone nine in the morning and I'm already hot and looking forward to air conditioning. We go to the front of the coach and start to get on. What's this though? Yes this is a coach tour around the island but it isn't OUR coach trip. As we are talking to the tour guide, or trying to get through the language barrier, we notice another coach stopped further up the road, probably about 400 feet away. And people getting on waving little strips of paper that look suspiciously like the one in our hands. Oh no. RUN. Its hot, it's dusty, and I have a rucksack on my back. This is not good. Junior gets there first and manages to stop them from closing the doors. We catch up. We try getting on but more problems. This isn't the right piece of paper. This isn't our bus. No, of course it isn't, because our bus has just pulled up back where we started but on the opposite side of the road. RUN.

We get to the bus. The tour guide doesn't look too happy, and neither does anyone else on the tour. I don't think we have made friends. We settle in a seat and wait to see how the day will unfold.

Orientation Day

2011-08-26T00:22:00.003+01:00

We've got only seven days to get the balance right. While Junior would undoubtedly be happy spending the entire holiday by the pool, I need to get out. Yes I have my Kindle and I will be happy reading, but I also need to be doing things. I've never been good at just sitting. So some days will be relaxing and some will be activity.

The first day will default into relaxing. We haven't had the briefing meeting to let us know what is going on, so we have a morning in wonderful sun. Junior plays in the pool. Every so often we venture as far as the sea with the snorkels. And cold beer seems a necessity in the heat. One trip in to the sea and we are collecting pretty shells. Junior sees one of interest and grabs it. A second later there is a scream and the shell is hurled far far away. Curious. I find a similar shell and take a look. Hermit crabs. Excellent. Haven't seen these before in the wild!

Midday and we get the briefing. Possibly the most frustrating part of the entire holiday is being told about a local village market that had been held this morning so we missed it. As a keen photographer, and with Junior a budding photographer (as long as she remembers that one or other of her parents are carrying her camera), this is somewhat annoying. Ah well, to make up for it lunch is another local taverna, more fish and some retsina. It's worth pointing out that in this taverna the menu is in Greek, the waiter only speaks Greek and all the other diners are Greek - a big big family as far as we can work out - not a McDonalds in sight. This is perfect. We are somewhat at a loss as to how to order. In fact, there is a fair bit of confusion as to how MUCH to order and what will come with each dish. To the extent that the poor waiter comes back and indicates that we should drop a dish or two as we have over ordered. We readily agree. And proceed to have a lovely lunch.

Then it's back to the hotel - all of a two minute walk - while commenting on the olive trees with their curiously twisted trunks.

More playing in the pool by Junior. But she has also spotted someone of her age who could be a good playmate for the week. Too shy to go and say hello, I am roped in to assist. Now, if you know me then you will realise that this isn't a strong suit. Ah ha, time to enlist the hermit crabs. We go into the sea and stand close to the potential friend and her mother. I find a hermit crab then comment loudly enough to be overheard. We give the crabs names (Herbie the Hermit Crab, Herbie the Hermit Crab Two, Herbie the Hermit Crab Three, Herbie the Hermit Crab Four - you get the picture), comment on their size etc, all in the hope of attracting attention. Much to my surprise, rather than getting me arrested, it works and we are able to chat a bit. The two girls start to play together. Good job done by daddy I feel.

The afternoon passes pleasantly and then back to the hotel room to freshen up. That evening back on the decking them we spot Juniors new friend on the beach with her parents and sister. Junior is desperate to go and play with her but still too shy. In a step beyond the call of duty (in my opinion) I go down trying to think what I can talk about. Luckily there seems to be a thunder storm on the mainland and we can see the lightening over the mountains. So this seems a good ice breaker, I can comment on the lightening and how fantastic it looks from the beach. For a moment it looks as though Junior isn't going to avail herself of my generous sacrifice but then she joins in and they all start playing. The problem being that I am now stuck talking for the next hour or so while J is sat by herself on the decking. However this turns out to be the beginning of a good friendship not only for Junior but for us as well.

They head off to bed but we stay up. Back on the decking, another beer in hand. Enjoying a lovely warm evening. The other two are fine as I'm attracting all the mossies. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the wind gets up. For ten minutes we can't play UNO because the cards keep getting blown away. And then it all dies down again. And time for us to head to bed.

Arrival

2011-08-25T00:38:00.001+01:00

3 hours or so later and touch down. Not the biggest airport in the world. In fact if there are two planes at Kavala then it's busy, and that's including the Greek air force. Instantly hit by the heat. It's OK for the other two as they are in shorts. But I have to travel in the DVT stockings so I have trousers on. Maybe I should have packed shorts in the hand luggage.

Greeted by the rep who tells us how wonderful our hotel is. Excuse me for being cynical but she's hardly likely to say it's horrible. We get on the coach and watch our bags being loaded on a rather dilapidated lorry. We are taken to the local port where we have to get the ferry to the island. I am about 500 feet from a cache but between me and it is an expanse of water. We try walking around but there just isn't time (this was to be a recurring theme which lead to a bit of ill so this is the only time I will mention the failure to get a cache during this holiday). Getting on the ferry is an interesting exercise in itself, avoiding the cars that are loading at the same time. We quickly find the bar and decide to try a local beer, Mythos, which certainly goes down well in the heat. Then out on deck to enjoy the 30 minute crossing, to revel in the sun, and to watch Thassos get ever closer. And I am pleased to say, to spot the luggage lorry as well.

Another short trip by coach and we are dropped at the hotel. We get a ground floor room, clean and tidy, right next to the pool. The other side of the pool is an area of decking, then the beach, and finally the sea. From our room to the sea is probably 300 feet at most. Perfect. The rest of the day is spent enjoying the pool and the sea, along with another beer or two.

In the evening we walk along the beach a short distance to a taverna for a lovely meal full of tsatsiki and fresh sea food.

The only thing that is a slight culture shock is the discovery that you aren't allowed to put paper down the toilet. No paper at all. That's right, even THAT paper. Bins take on a whole new meaning.

On Our Way

2011-08-24T16:27:00.005+01:00

The brief to the travel agent had been a simple one - "we loved Menorca, we hated Tenerife, we want local tavernas and no McDonalds, so what can you find for us". After a lot of searching and going around in circles they came up with the little known island of Thassos. This island is small, relatively untouched by tourism, and only accessible by ferry from the mainland. Sounded good, but wanting to fly from Birmingham we only had the option of going for 7 or 14 days, not the 10 originally planned. After the rather painful experience of Tenerife we didn't want to risk a fortnight, so 7 days it was. And we were booked.

Flying from Birmingham is a relatively nice experience. I say relatively because no airport is exactly fun, but compared to Heathrow or {shudder} Stanstead it is at least bearably painless. Speed is of the essence, and the smaller numbers mean the queues do not get excessive. The drawback is that flights seem to be incredibly early! This meant getting up at around 0330hrs. Junior did try to convince us to let her sleep in her clothes but we veto'd that one. However, the excitement took over and getting up wasn't difficult, then in the car with nice quiet roads. Straight into car park 1, which is all of a one minute walk from departures. Through check in, all the time looking around to see who might be our companions for the week. A couple of children around Juniors age, no-one that fits into that "avoid at all costs" bracket. All looking OK. Soon loaded onto the plane (sorry, that should be boarded, but loaded seems a lot more applicable). And take off towards hot and sunny climes.

2011-08-08T23:12:00.001+01:00

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2011-07-30T10:37:00.001+01:00

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Benjamin Francis Leftwich

2011-07-27T19:56:00.002+01:00

Go For It

2011-07-05T12:10:00.002+01:00

Cat Playing I-Spy

2011-06-26T19:53:00.001+01:00

Dreamtime

2011-06-22T07:58:00.000+01:00

Last night I had a dream (sorry, not about to call all Martin Luther on you). First I was at a meeting in the Netherlands. I had just enough time to check in and then I had to rush to another meeting in Germany. There I met with some friends and we needed to come back. I got confused and couldn't remember the station I needed to go to. Everyone left me.

That is one of the best summaries of my life in a dream that I think I have ever had. Manically rushing around and not able to rely on friends. Great.

2011-06-09T16:04:00.000+01:00

We could craft this thing between us
Make stars of brightness
Rivers
Mountains
Forge in solidity
Unbreakable from outside

Or we can twist it
Bend beyond recognition
Till it drips
Between
Outstretched fingers

2011-06-06T23:11:00.001+01:00

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2011-06-05T18:57:00.001+01:00

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2011-06-05T18:47:00.001+01:00

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2011-05-30T18:20:00.001+01:00

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2011-05-27T23:06:00.001+01:00

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2011-05-19T10:21:00.000+01:00

Ah those days in love
Mindless careless
Ever free
Of walking in rain
Laughing
As clothes cling
Of timeless days
That are only time
Of every smile
Every tear
Of lying in fields
Watching clouds
Form myths and legends

Then
Turning the path
Finding lying
The unicorn
Heart rent
Blood spilt
To dream no more

Amazing Horse

2011-05-11T22:47:00.000+01:00

This is simply weird!

2011-05-06T19:30:00.001+01:00

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2011-05-02T19:12:00.001+01:00

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2011-04-29T10:20:00.001+01:00

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2011-04-27T23:16:00.001+01:00

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2011-04-25T19:24:00.001+01:00

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2011-04-25T17:42:00.001+01:00

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Adoption

2011-04-21T08:35:00.000+01:00

I sometimes wonder if weirdness follows me around on purpose. A little while ago I blogged about being in London and coming across a woman being "chased" by a man. Well, yesterday I decided to take the daughter to Drayton Manor. She's now over 1.3 metres tall and a new set of fast rides are therefore available. As a speed freak and adrenalin junkie, at eight and a half she wants to go on the fastest rides possible. Problem is that J doesn't want to see junior on the fast rides! So as I was in charge yesterday and J was working, it was an ideal opportunity.

Up until lunch all was normal (if you count an eight and a half year old girl enjoying "G Force" as normal). We had lunch, short walk around the zoo to let the food go down (and I can't go there without seeing the tigers) then decided to go on the Bounty (pirate ship that swings back and forth until you are hanging looking straight down feeling weightless). Standing in the queue Junior gets to taking to this other eight year old girl. That's fine, happy to encourage her to socialise. We are let on to the ride and they rush to the back. There isn't room for me and I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of sitting in the row in front but hey, she's made a friend and the parent is in the back with them so it can't be too bad. Ride over and we walk out. The two girls say they want to go to Stormforce. No problem. But where is the other parent. It is at this point it dawns on me that the "other" parent was completely unrelated to this girl, instead we seem to have adopted an 8 year old who is wandering around the park by herself. Apparently her father is building a new ride and she is just left to herself for the day. So somehow I end up in loco parentis. What could I do? I wasn't comfortable with her being left alone in the park so it seems better that she comes with us. At one point she's supposed to be back with her father but he rings her (a plus is that she has a phone) and tells her she doesn't need to go back. I end up buying her tea (she did have money and was very polite but I couldn't take a twenty pound note off a child). And she stays with us until the park closes. When I still can't just leave her so walk her back to the ride being built and then spend half an hour getting the attention of her father, who appears more irritated at being disturbed than grateful that I have kept his daughter safe all day.

Of course what I now realise is that there is hours of CCTV coverage of me walking around the park with a girl who I only know by her first name. Anyone seeing us would have assumed she was my daughter as she was hugging me and playing just as "A" was.

All very strange.