Dents du Midi looking moody
An escape to the hills! Continue reading
Hanging out with the Orangutangs in Kalimantan
Mother and baby – well probably 4-5 years old – delight in regurgitating banana
I am awake at 3 am. Not to find out the score between France and Belgium, but to prepare for the next stage of our adventure: a trip to Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) for a river trip to see orangutans in their natural habitat. Continue reading
Village life in Papua
My new friends on Roon island
No dive trip is complete without a shore visit. The first village is on the island of Roon where they have just had their 2018 festival. We are greeted by the village elder and his tiny daughter decked up in a grass skirt and looking overwhelmed. The welcome committee extends to a local band playing on bamboo flutes and locally-made drums, and then a procession of grandmas, sashaying along the main road, at right angles ot the extraordinary statue of a missionary that dominates the square. Continue reading
Diving with whale sharks in Papua
Me with a whale shark, Kwatisore Bay
We arrive at Manokwari after 4 flights and 36 hours of travelling, bang on time and with all our luggage. The Dewi Nusantara, just out of dry dock gleams in the half light – the rain lashing down as we motor out to her by tender. This is our third trip and the welcome is warm, many faces familiar. Continue reading
Basel Art Fair – quality or quantity?
Here we are again at Basel Art Fair. We are lucky this time in that we have Art First doyenne Clare Cooper to guide us. Continue reading
Budapest in 33,000 steps
Castle by night with Szechenyi chain bridge in foreground, built by a Scot
Our son Tommy has bought us a weekend break in Budapest as a 60thbirthday present. He has chosen the hotel, devised an itinerary and booked a Michelin star restaurant for the Saturday night. Continue reading
A weekend at the Maritávora wine estate in Douro
Looking over into Spain, the other side of the Douro river
With hardly time to breathe we are off again, this time to Portugal. At the UWS Gala dinner I successfully bid for a weekend in the Douro Valley on one of the region’s oldest wine estates. As it is a holiday weekend in Switzerland we decide to go a day early and spend a night in Porto. Continue reading
Namaste Nepal 2! Teaching the unreached
Ross and I are visiting Nepal to see the progress of United World Schools in this remote eastern region of Sankhuwasabha. After our exhausting first 12.5 hour day, the next two days are marginally less long but no less rigorous as the roads are even worse. The schools at Wana and Nagi Dada are perched precipitously on ridges overlooking glorious terraces, with misty mountains dominating the distant horizon. When it’s clear you can see the snowy peaks of Makalu and Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world after Everest and K2. Truly majestic scenery. Continue reading
Namaste Nepal 1! Celebrating United World Schools 19th school
Girls at Kalleri, 19th UWS Nepal school
Ross and I are visiting Nepal on behalf of United World Schools to make the first Trustee visit to catch up on the progress here. In just under three years we have built 22 schools and have four more under construction with the aim of reaching 30 by the end of the year. We have also opened in a new and very remote area, Gulmi, to provide education for the Dalits, or untouchables. Continue reading
Another ski season ends…
The Dents bathed in sunlight under the watchful eye of the full supermoon
This season saw some of the best snow for almost a decade, but also some of the worst weather. For us weekenders, we were constantly frustrated by the enthusiastic reports of sunshine and fresh powder on weekdays, while we were rained off for two consecutive weekends! Somehow these photos don’t reflect that – who takes photos when it’s miserable? Continue reading
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