Pete Johns - Blog entries of the highest uptodateness

By the sea you’ve got sand, which is earth and you’ve got the ocean, which is water. Then there’s the sea breeze which is air and if you light a cigarette you’ve got fire too. You’ve got all the elements in one place. That’s something really special.

Camping. You really can’t beat it! This Summer Bank Holiday weekend we decided to get away from it all, with a couple of friends, and head up to The Peak District. We really were blessed with both the weather and the traffic being ideal for a stress-free break. We set up camp at a lovely site in the picturesque village of Birchover, not a million miles from The Red Lion public house! Most of Saturday was spent on the Limestone Way. It’d been ages since I’d done any ‘proper’ walking and I thoroughly enjoyed working up those blisters! On Saturday evening we drove over to Matlock Bath for the first night of the town’s illuminations. The river banks were adorned with illuminated animals and decorated boats sailed up and down the river. Definitely something to visit if you’re in the area!

After the delayed blog entry about /blog/2001/06/21/blog-entry-for-thu-21-jun-2001-09-21-11-utc/, I have finally gotten around to writing a bit about Tokyo for you. The week was amazing from start to finish. We arrived at Narita Airport at some ungodly hour of the morning, but were still met by three smiling faces, our old friends tk and sa & his charming girlfriend. After lots of mutual back slapping and exchanging of Japanese expletives on our arrival we adjourned for a quick beverage before setting off for the countryside for the day. tk and sa had the whole week planned out for us and we are very grateful to them for that. So off we went in convoy along the toll-infested highways and byways of Tokyo out to Hakone National Park where we would spend the rest of the day relaxing in one of the region’s many hot springs. This was the way to relax after a long flight, chatting with friends whilst soaking in Jacuzzis, rose baths, green tea baths and even sake baths! That evening we ate out at a lovely Japanese restaurant before going back to our hotel for some Japanese beer and a civilised game of cards. Well, semi-civilised… …there was a lot of burping!

I guess that It’s time I wrote some stuff about Sydney, given that I left there nearly a fortnight ago and that the folks guys at Fotango have sent me my (digital) pictures already (email me for details on how to see them).

Alas, my time in Perth draws to a close, tomorrow we leave for Sydney (NSW). This seems like a good opportunity to fill you in, dear reader, with what I’ve been up to. On Thursday, I was off to Fremantle just as I left you. In Freo I had lovely fresh fish and chips with thm and family. We then visited the Maritime Museum before heading off to the tour of Fremantle Prison.

G’day! Well, I suppose it’s about time I wrote something. It’s Day 5 here in Perth and I’m having a wonderful time. Perth is a fantastic city, not very big, but certainly very tall. It’s clean too. Imagine my delight when the first barman to collect our glasses said to me “Nah worries, mate!” I’ve also seen Meat Pie Floaters on a menu. This really is The Last Continent!

It doesn’t matter, where I roam, it’s always good to be back home. Perhaps these are the lyrics to a song? If not, then they damned well should be! That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy being away, I did, immensely. As some of you may know, I enjoy driving, which is good, because I’ve covered a far few miles of variably-well-surfaced road in the week since my last Blog entry. Those of you who have been paying attention (not to mention looking at the right URL) will be aware that I’ve been to Dublin. The moment that The Emerald Isle came into sight from the top deck of the ferry was an emotional one for me. As a child, I spent many happy holidays in Ireland, yet this visit with old chums ajd and cam was my first for over five years. I was glad to be back in the land where my parents were born, the land where I have many relations and indeed, the land where Guinness comes from!

And so here I am, back behind a familiar monitor. It seems like months since I last typed anything into this little window, which keeps you people up-to-date with all things, well, er… me! In fact it has only been six days. Still, here is the first entry of the year, so I guess I’d best make it a good one. I shall start by continuing where I left off… New Year’s Eve in the Czech Republic:

This is just the beginning! --paj