A briefly possible conversation…
By penfold | July 3, 2008
Tuesday morning, after a near perfect head-high glassy session on the Oregon coast…
Gerry Lopez: Hey hunnybunny - you’ll never guess who I surfed with today…
Wife of Gerry Lopez: …I don’t know sugar-britches - who was that…?
GL: Just the one and only Penfold - from Surfugal…
WOGL: You’re shittin’me! Holy cow…
GL: God’s own truth! And I think I dropped in on him too…
I didn’t surf today.
Topics: surfing, brief conversation | 9 Comments »
Canoodling all over the world…
By penfold | July 3, 2008
…it’s a tough job - but somebody has to do it - Ireland, England, Surfugal, Sri Lanka, Canadialand and now the Good Ol’ United States of America. All recent venues for the ongoing chronicles of Tango and Penfold.
We’ve just returned from Oregon after a long weekend sampling the delights of the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway. Cannon Beach, Manzanita and a few days in Pacific City. We also had the good fortune to make Blogworld a bit more real by meeting Gaz and Surftwin for beers on the beach and an overdose of Mexican food.
A few mornings ago Surftwin very kindly dragged me out of bed for an early morning taste of ice-cold glass giving me a chance to see their surfing finesse up close.
I’ve discovered surfers in the Pacific NorthWest to be some of the most hardcore, crazy people I’ve met who brave freezing water all year round in the search for waves. They are also the most friendly, welcoming and generous. Complete strangers lent me a wetsuit (thicker than the one I brought), gloves (tried one session without - bad idea) and even a board (thankyou Chris - you are a star). Fantastic…
There are a few more pictures over at my flickr pages.
I didn’t surf today. I still have hypothermia but Tango has lent me a nice cardigan…
Topics: surfing | 1 Comment »
What do you think about Canadialand…?
By penfold | June 22, 2008
Several people have asked me since my arrival in Vancouver what I think of the place…
… well I’ve only been here a few days so a full and considered opinion is tricky but I can honestly say that the streets are extremely tidy and the seagulls are spotlessly clean.
I’ve survived being grilled by Tango’s Dad on my intentions and prospects. I’ve also been surrounded by her Urban Family on all flanks but so far everybody has been loverly and made me feel very welcome (I expect when I get deported they’ll do it very politely).
I’ve posted a few pics at flickr - the city and its surroundings are very photogenic so no doubt there will be more on the way. We’re heading south to Oregon in the next few days to see how cold the water is and to look for some waves (Tango is considering having surf lessons - I’ll keep you posted)…
I didn’t surf today. Canoodling trumps surfing…
Topics: Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
A really good idea…
By penfold | June 12, 2008
…as soon as you find out that there might be a fuel shortage you should rush out and buy as much as you can. Fill up your car, your fuel cans and even half a dozen or so 5 litre water bottles. Then on your way home pop into the supermarket and buy as much fresh produce as possible therefore depriving all the people in the country who have no access to television, radio or the internet (making them blissfully unaware of the situation) of food and transport for the foreseeable future…
Now that would be a brilliant idea.
Luckily I have half a box of Frosties and some stale rice cakes. Also (luckily) I have an internet connection so have made alternative arrangements to get to the airport for tomorrow morning. Luckily the Portuguese transport system is excellent (they send your ticket to your mobile - how cool is that?) and luckily the hotel will have a really good shower and aircon ‘cos it is roasty toasty today.
Nothing must stop me getting to my flight from London to Vancouver because there is some serious canoodling to be done…
I didn’t surf today. Maybe I’ll get a donkey…
Topics: Uncategorized | 17 Comments »
If you like worms…
By penfold | June 9, 2008
…then get up early.
I surfed today.
Topics: surfing | 8 Comments »
Ask me something…
By penfold | June 1, 2008
…as long as you think I know the answer. Somebody very wise asked me yesterday - ‘what happens to all the dead blogs?’ knowing full well that I’d have to make up a convincing answer on the spot…
Well if you google that particular question (in a slightly more googly way - so as not to confuse it’s big giant googly head) then the answer is obvious - nobody has a clue. There are a humungous amounts of people writing a ginormous amount of drivel out there everyday - a vast majority of it going unread - or worse still - read and discarded like a forgotten teddy bear lying in a box on top of a wardrobe or a set of DP’s dentures going mouldy next to the bath…
But it’s my drivel and I want to write it! And I can start sentences with ‘and’ and ‘but’ and never use apostrophe’s correctly. And I can write it and nobody can never ever read it now or ever again if they like - or not - I just don’t care….
What was the question?
Maybe there should be a law against writing utter rubbish and publishing it on the internet. Hang on - I think the police are at the door…
I didn’t surf today…
Topics: blogs | 21 Comments »
They do say…
By penfold | May 25, 2008
…that one of the best things about going away is coming back home - the time and experience in foreign lands making you appreciate the reasons you live in the place you do.
A surfer will often say the same about a surftrip - travelling the world searching for new and exciting breaks, catching a few fleeting moments of warm water perfection but secretly hankering for the confidence and pleasure that only the knowledge of a homebreak can bring…
I surfed some amazing waves in Sri Lanka (wrestling a twinfin down the line on my backhand at Arugam Bay was a challenge that I’ll never forget) but in some strange way it was comforting to be squeezing back into my 4:3 wetsuit and plunging into the seemingly icy waters of Portugal. Back to the unpredictable reefs of ‘Secrets’ and the lines coming into the bay at Baleal. I had an unexpected moment of bliss at offshore ‘Hotels’ last week that welcomed me back - I dropped into a clean headhigh wave - a ridiculously lazy take off into a drop that yawned open revealing a feathering barrel that just threw me down the line. Nothing to do but take in the speed and beauty and the tiny moment of natural perfection that only a wave like that can bring…
Home sweet home - I have my son (although I wish the little ‘angel’ would get up a little later on a Sunday). I have the mountains. I have the surf. I just have to go get the girl… (did I mention I was going to Candialand?)
I didn’t surf today.
Topics: surfing | 10 Comments »
Go ahead…
By penfold | May 24, 2008
…snuff my Dad.
The somewhat shaky paternal branch of my family tree has requested that he be ’snuffed’ on fuelmyblog. This is the first sensible action he has taken in the blogosphere this year - with any luck he may be announcing his retirement later…
To facillitate easy snuffing of the old git I have made the simple snuff button above - please feel free to click on it or copy it to your blog, facebook page, myspace or just simply scribble it on the kitchen wall. Or just click on the link below…
Snuff him, snuff him, snuff him ’til he’s all snuffed…
I didn’t surf today. Too busy snuffing my Dad…
If you feel like ‘fueling’ me on the way through please do. The button below will take you straight there. Thanks…
Topics: blogs | 3 Comments »
Look what I made Ma…
By penfold | May 23, 2008
…I am a rubbish son.
My mother often asks me to take photos of work so that she can check up on me see what I’ve been doing (in a loving, maternal type way). I have not performed this simple task for quite some time so here are a few pics of ‘Quinta do Cabril’.
It’s a work in progress - so a little imagination may be needed. Oh and maybe a lick of paint…
I didn’t surf today - bit busy doing manly buildery type stuff.
Topics: building, photos | 12 Comments »
Paddling in the right direction…
By penfold | May 18, 2008
…a surf trip to a country struggling through the aftermath of tsunamic devestation whilst in the grip of civil war certainly leaves you with some intense and varied emotional responses - the most potent being at the epicenter of destruction on the east coast at Arugam Bay. At times the despair and futility of life there could be overwhelming but then miraculously overshadowed by the genuine joy and laughter of the local children playing innocently in the water that swept away lives that they will only ever know about through story telling from the survivors.
The world was told that this country had been rebuilt and that the millions of dollars that left the western world found it’s rightful place sheltering and feeding families but we saw little evidence of that - a half built housing complex with a billboard thanking ‘Oprah’ or dozens of unused fishing boats. It seems a lot of good things were started with the best of intentions but many projects still remain unfinished…
What we did find were a few good people taking small but vital steps towards rebuilding a forgotten corner of the planet. One being Tim from Paddle 4 relief - a Devon surfer that has made Sri Lanka his home. Disgusted by the horrendous mishandling of funds he started his own charity - organising sponsored paddling events and small gigs in the UK to raise cash that would go directly to the people that needed it. A new pre-school has been built, water supplies cleaned and roofs mended. A plea in the West country for used surfboards produced the start of the Arugam Bay surf club and swimming school.
Of course it’s not all about saving lives and digging wells - Tim still finds time to drop in on a few mates at the point every day getting his 9′ 6″ nicely slotted into the face of one of the best rights in the Bay of Bengal…
I didn’t surf today but I did sneak a few off the locals at Abay a couple of weeks ago.
Walling, peeling, walling, peeling, walling, peeling, hmmm…..
Topics: surfing, on my mind | 12 Comments »
A good blog post…
By penfold | May 10, 2008
…is it a rambling footpath through the inner workings of somebody’s warped and troubled mind (possibly mine)?
…or is it short incisive comment on the state of the tiny corner of the universe that we live in - appalling in content but leaving us with hope and a small feeling of pride in humanity?
…maybe it has a title that promises large perky breasts and buns you could bounce quarters off but just delivers a feeling like a slightly used kleenex?
…or perhaps a photograph of Daddy P in his youth with ‘art college hair’ and all his own teeth (mostly)?
There is the possibilty that a short list of random questions is the answer I’m looking for - but I doubt it…
I didn’t surf today.
Topics: blogs | 23 Comments »
A little blue…
By penfold | May 7, 2008
… sometimes when you’ve been away for a while things just don’t seem to fit for a few days.
You get that feeling that some tiny core element within you has been changed forever and your home environment is tragically unaware of it. You wander through the day with an air of displacement and surreal loss - going through the motions yet knowing that something essential is missing or an element is out of place (a little like Daddy P at a writing convention or a humour award ceremony…)
Of course this feeling soon dissloves and daily life slowly regains its vibrancy and depth enhanced eventually by the memories of an amazing journey …
It won’t stop me missing Tango for the next few weeks (did I mention that I’m going to Canadialand?) but it will make the time flow a little easier.
I didn’t surf today (maybe tomorrow).
Topics: on my mind | 17 Comments »
If it doesn’t fit…
By penfold | May 5, 2008
…don’t force it.
Japanese watermelon manufacturers have developed a way of fitting a round peg into a square hole - making refrigerator use just a little more efficient.
Personally I feel if an orifice is the wrong shape then no amount of genetically enhanced lubrification will ease a peg’s passage…
I didn’t surf today.
Topics: on my mind | 12 Comments »
A few days ago…
By penfold | May 2, 2008
…I was here.
My life was all about surfing in board shorts and factor 50 sun block - Tango in bikinis (grrr) and Huwj in a hammock - banana pancakes and seer fish curry - crazy tuk-tuk rides and endless military checkpoints…
Crows, chipmunks, elephants and peacocks. Banana trees, banyans, palms and papayas. Corrugated iron, mouldy concrete, dirt roads and mobile phone billboards. Poverty, destruction and the biggest smiles on the planet.
A month of sensory overload now dissipating in the decompression chamber of my parents apartment in Eastbourne. One minute I’m in the pearl of the Indian Ocean next I’m getting insulted by Daddy P - it’s a strange life…
I didn’t surf today but I did manage to find a decent cup of tea for a change…
(Loads more photos at flickr)
Topics: surfing | 10 Comments »
I’ve surfed twice today already….
By penfold | April 8, 2008
… so I may have to go in again later. Times are hard…
I surfed today. Warm water, palm trees and Tango waiting for me on the veranda. Yay.
(photo is a local kid at Hikkaduwa ripping it up in the shorebreak - very nice…)
Topics: surfing | 21 Comments »