Here comes February . . .

Well, it’s suddenly become February. I’m not too sure how we got here so fast. It surely can’t have been over a month since Christmas, can it? Needless to say the idea of writing something on here every week hasn’t quite worked out as I’d hoped. However I am pleased to report that my last month hasn’t just been spent tied to my desk, yay!!! The new years resolution so far is going quite well. January was spent riding bikes in the snow, snowboarding in Austria, having excessive Sunday lunches, mini breaking in the Lake District (in the snow again!) and celebrating the Unicorns sisters’ 30^th birthdays. Hmmm, when you put it like that, no wonder it went fast!!! I’ve taken over 2000 photo’s this month and a few video’s too, and had lots of fun. (Some work has been done too!)

New year - new resolutions

I always find that the days off between Christmas and new years are particularly dangerous. They’re a time for extreme over indulgence (whether enjoyed in company, or in solitude), and procrastination. This is the time, when having eaten and drunk yourself into delirium over the last few weeks, you start to reflect on the year you’ve just survived. And then based on these reflections, and under the influence of too many mince pies and glasses of sherry, you start to plan for the following year. These plans, most often referred to as ‘New Years Resolutions’, generally go along the lines of: get thinner, be more healthy, do more exercise, make more money, have more sex, be more happy and don’t be in the same over indulged and hopelessly fragile state this time next year. Then a rigorous diet and exercise regime will ensue. For most of us we will bite off more than we can chew, fail pitifully at the first hurdle, (such as succumbing to the January blues, and eating the entire contents of the fridge one Wednesday night and then spending the next three days in bed with food poisoning) and give up all hope by February. I’m aware that this maybe a slightly pessimistic and unfair outlook, some folk will make it all the way to March before giving it up as a bad job, and there are always those who will still be sticking to the programme through to early summer, by which point they’ll have just become annoying, and you’ll have removed them from your social circle anyway. However the majority of us, myself included, will succeed in nothing during January other than taking down the Christmas decorations.

So this year I’m going to look at things from a different perspective, to see if it makes the blindest bit of difference. To do so let me first reflect on 2014.

This time last year, I’d just quit my job as a designer at a major high-street brand, and embarked upon a journey of self-employment as a freelance graphic designer. A bold life change, which trumped all other resolutions; making a living took priority over fad diets and exercise. I was determined that this wouldn’t be a foolish endeavour. Needless to say the rest of the year passed in a heartbeat, working most hours God sent, and spending every hour not working, feeling guilty about not working. A whole year of this attitude has lead to a disappointing lack of holidays, mini breaks, and doing all the things that I love most (apart from designing). And obviously (and most distressingly) my waistline has suffered dramatically too, resulting in my favourite pair of jeans now living at the bottom of the laundry bin, doomed never to see light of day again.

It has all been worth it though, I love my job as a designer and I’m heading into 2015 in a very fortunate position, having successfully made a living for myself last year, and establishing a great client base, full of individuals and companies I enjoy working for.  It's time now, not to take my foot off the gas – this is never a wise idea in the design game, but to re-align the work life balance. As what is the point of making a living, if your too busy working to live?

So this year I’m going to record mine and the Muffins journeys; struggles, failings, breakthroughs and successes, as we look to re-align the work life balance.

Bring on the New Year . . .

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Sunny Scotland

Last week, the Unicorn had a birthday, which was celebrated in the usual style by disappearing off in the van to find somewhere beautiful and off the beaten track to hide for a while. 

This little adventure took us up to the borders of Scotland, to a wonderful little village called Auldgirth, and to a beautiful old farm.

The farm was literally bursting with original features, and hidden oddments that hinted to the farms former uses.

And as we looked around the old barns we found one of the resident barn owls. We quickly snapped a few shots before leaving him to roost in peace. Hopefully he wasn't too traumatised by the disturbance.

 

It was a lovely get away, and despite the definite Autumnal chill in the air in the mornings, the September sun shone on us all weekend.

Day dreaming . . .

We woke up this morning to beautiful sunshine warming the world around us, and ventured off into the local woods with camera's to take advantage of the last of the summer sun. It seems all the flora and fauna had the same idea as us, and we passed many an hour sat in the flowers watching the bees and the butterflies all around us.

Every morning in the van . . .

The recent cold turn in the weather makes it very clear that summer once more is drawing to a close. It's time to dig out the thermal underwear, stoke up the bonfire and grab a cup of something hot and chocolatey!!!

Out and about . . .

Out and about . . . from The Muffin and The Unicorn on Vimeo.

The sun is shining, the bikes are loaded, our favourite Van-Venture playlist is on, and there's miles of clear road ahead of us. Where shall we go, and what shall we do . . .

Cat Bells

It was a quick get away in-between christmas and new years that led us up to the lake district with the family. It was an over indulgent time where much eating and drinking were done. However with the weather as glorious as this it'd be rude not to walk up something.

So Cat Bells it was, nothing too strenuous, but high enough to get great views over Derwent Water, and for the mountainous breeze to blow away a few cobwebs.

Disappointingly there isn't a kern on the top for the Muffin to stand on, so he had to satisfy himself with taking panoramic photo's, and snap shots of all the other walkers who had the same idea as us this day.

See more stuff on top of things here.

Crib y Ddysgl

Once more we found ourselves a trig point, shrouded in cloud, battered by the wind and generally damp from the relentless drizzle, but it didn't deter the Muffin at all. This time we are on the top of Crib y Ddysgl, a mid point in our days scrambling adventure.  We'd started out up Snowdon in the morning and were making our way across to Crib Goch in a nice little loop back to the pub for a few drinks. Accompanied and generally encouraged by our friends Pete and Stu (the sensible* ones with their feet on the ground)*I use this word in the loosest of terms.

The jaunty angle here isn't a pose, but an indication of wind strength as the Muffin tried to stand up straight. I've heard a rumour that the views on this route are great, but they weren't anywhere to be seen this day. Maybe next time? 10th March 2012.

See more things on top of things here.

Campfire cheese toasties

 Cheese toasties, they're warm, quick to make, filling, and don't leave much in the way of washing up, making them perfect camping food. Either cooked up for breakfast when heading out early, on the smouldering embers of last nights fire - or as a afternoon snack after an adventurous morning whilst waiting for the campfire to heat back up. The toastie is perfect. But this doesn't mean it has to be boring! With so many delicious cheeses in the world it'd be rude to keep things too simple.

 My personal favourite is a blend of blue stilton, mozzarella, double gloucestershire and red leicestershire. If there are any tomatoes, beans or mushrooms leftover anywhere then these are great to add too. Baisically you can't really go wrong - the molten cheese cooks everything pretty proficiently.

Heated in the good old traditional camping way, and eaten whilst still too hot to be safe - perfect.

Valentines day 2014

Our first date consisted of venturing off footpaths sliding down sheer scree slopes to secluded beaches, climbing over sea defences, and watching the sun go down over our own part of the world. Needless to say it was the best date ever. This little stowaway from my boot was the perfect keepsake of the perfect day, and makes a very fitting adornment to this years Valentines card. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

On top of things - Coniston Old Man 2012

Here's more of the Muffin, on top of things again. 

We hadn't planned on climbing mountains this day, we started off the morning lazily drinking hot chocolate and coffee in the van, enjoying the unexpected good weather, and the beautiful views at the foot of the Old Man. We'd arrived at a little known wild camping spot well after dark the previous evening, and had no real bearing on where we were. But, one thing, as it usually does, lead to another, and before we knew it the summit was in sight, and it would have been foolish not to pop up for a photo opportunity.

This time the moutain top is The Old Man of Coniston in the Lakedistrict. 

See more stuff on top of things here.

Happy birthday Muffin - the adventure

These were the weather conditions the greeted us at the start of our surprise birthday adventure. 
When making the plans I had foolishly imagined mild spring weather and fresh breezy days. Days that would lead to mild evenings, where we could gather round the campfire for warmth, and talk well into the night. 
I am however a realist, so had prepared for April showers and typical windy conditions, but not the record levels of snow that we received. This made things interesting, and was a good indication that this was not going to be a normal adventure . . .

Happy 30th Birthday Muffin

Despite all the best efforts of friends and family, Richard Shaw, more commonly known as the Muffin, reached 30 years of age in March this year. Such a momentous occasion required great celebration, and a new adventure. (The perfect opportunity to try and finish him off once and for all!!! . . .)

This was the proposed plan, and was kept a complete secret from the Muffin until the very last minute.

It involved all the Muffins favourite things, gathering with the family, climbing mountains, smashing down hills on bikes, and consuming lots of fine food and drink.

However, as all best laid plans go, there were one or two minor hiccups, which meant the plan became more of a guideline, and much improvisation ensued...

Another video . . .

Elland Woods from The Muffin and The Unicorn on Vimeo.

Here's the Muffin on his own bike shaped creation - the Clown bike Mk2.

Bank Holiday shenanigans

Cragg Quarry - red route from The Muffin and The Unicorn on Vimeo.

Here is the muffin, doing his thing, and getting some air over at Cragg Quarry. A nice way to spend the bank holiday. I thought I'd use this opportunity to firstly catch my breath, and secondly take my first tentative dabble into videography. The result is this . . .

Skiddaw 2011

This picture was taken on top of Skiddaw, in the Lake District National park mid March 2011.

It looks cloudy, damp and generally unpleasant up there on the top of the 931 ft peak. That's because it was!!! What the picture does fail to portray is the relentless wind, which expertly cut straight to the bone. It was a sharp contrast to the rest of the Lake District below us (somewhere through all that cloud), which was of course bathed in sunshine.

There was one cloud in the sky that day, and it decided to sit on top of skiddaw with us. Still - undeterred the Muffin clambered to the very top, and we had a celebratory picnic of mini Mars bars and Ribena cartons before heading back down.

As many of us are aware mountains can be difficult and challenging places. On this windswept foray up Skiddaw we discovered a completely new and unanticipated challenge – mountain vs. hair. As you can see the mountain won.

This look has since been called “Mountain Hair” and it’s a very common problem for the unicorn.

Mountain Hair. (noun) colloquial.

A phrase used to explain the dishevelled and excessively rebellious appearance of a persons hair after they have been on, up or anywhere near a mountain.

See more stuff on top of things here.