Wilderness 2.0
November 2, 2008
Monday morning for me this week will start at 4am as i rise, wash and head over to my friends for 5am, the official start of our trip into the wilderness.
We will drive nearly 500 miles north into Scotland to Mallaig. From there we hope to be in time for the ferry over to Inverie on the Knoydart Peninsular, mainland Britain’s last wilderness.
From there who knows… We plan to hike across, find a nice spot in a wood on the northern coastline of the peninsular where we can build camp, enjoy the wilderness and perhaps even do a little fishing.
We plan to exercise our bushcraft skills and although not packing a tent, we will be taking hammocks to sleep in unless it is as cold as it was last week where we may find it better to dig snow holes.
For my friend Dave it is an extension of the kind of weekends we find ourselves on in the summer. He will be practicing his axe skills, carving stuff, fishing, hunting and general camp craft. For me i also want to enjoy the wilds of Scotland but in addition, I am keen to see if i can blog, record and capture the great outdoors by using solar power and the no doubt limited cell phone coverage.
If you don’t here from me on Twitter or through my normal channels for a week, it’s because there is no mobile signal at all. Although not traveling too light, there was no room for a satellite modem as i wanted to make sure we had enough food and whiskey.
If you don’t hear from us for longer than ten days.. Expect to hear a story about how two stupid bushcrafters misjudged the weather and perished in the wilds of Scotland.
That said.. there will be a video diary shot along the way so the news should have more than enough decent footage.
For those interested in the kit I will be taking, i have tagged a flickr photo below.
Amongst other bits and bobs, Dave will be packing the first aid kit, axe, skillet, fishing kit, and flares. I’m not sure if anyone will actually pay any attention to flares around Bonfire night..
Before you say.. “The fools.. they will surely perish out there.” I must tell you that i’ve packed a Handpresso coffee machine.. I refuse to perish without caffeine in my blood.
Please don’t email or call unless it’s important. If i can get a mobile signal i will most likely be blogging via Twitter. You can find me on http://www.twitter.com/documentally
“I’m just going outside; I may be away some time.” ~ Captain L.E.G Oats
Portable Solar Power
July 3, 2008
Yesterday I picked up a little solar panel and charge regulator contained in a handy little flight case. I love it so far.
I have been testing it with the Mac Book Air and it all works splendidly. I am looking forward to testing it further at the Larmer Tree Festival and of course my own festival Geeknbury.
This is what technology should be doing, liberating us. Check out the Qik posts below embedded in the Phreadz widget to keep them together.
And here is a recent Seesmic conversation..
The Geeknbury Festival 2008
June 30, 2008
Let’s make The Geeknbury Festival 2008 happen!!
On the 24th to the 27th of July I will be in a field near Hambledon in Surrey whether you guys want to join in or not.
I will most likely have a T-shirt on saying ‘Geeknbury 2008′ and although I don’t know exactly how many people are required to make a festival, I will be proudly stating that this is the first ever Geeknbury.. and history will note it so.
The idea for a Geeknbury is a few years old in my mind but up until a few weeks ago I had no idea how to make it happen. It was already the summer when I had decided to actually do something and bumping into Rachel Clarke and then being introduced to Rebecca Caroe turned the idea into a possibility.
Rebecca already has a private party/festival (Vann) she puts on every year and was happy to have Geeknbury as a bolt on to her event. All we need to make this happen is find bands, activities, events, inspiration and most importantly of all Geeks!
The existing festival runs from Saturday till Sunday but the Geeknbury Geeks can arrive on Thursday night and have a little extra time to strum guitars, tweet around the camp fire and burn marshmallows.
So I guess this is a rallying cry for all those people who are really interested in being a part of Geeknbury 2008 to put their hands up and minds together so we can make this happen.
It is a family (and geek) friendly festival with limited 2 meg wifi but openings for all imaginations to run riot and get creative.
Tickets are £50 for adults and £20 for all kids over 4 years old.
For this you get entry for the festival, camping, access to all the music amenities and activities and a certain amount of food and beer (Saturday night dinner, beer/cider/soft drinks and Sunday morning bacon butties plus tea and coffee.) Not to mention the good times, connections made and great memories to take away.
(There are four staff/helper positions available that will pay £50 and all the above for free.)
If you look at the Wiki at http://geeknbury.pbwiki.com/ you will see a more up to date progress list..
But In A nut.. what we have sorted so far:
Large field – 6 acres
Loos – 5 portable
Tents – 2 – one large 40 foot by 20 foot and one 20×20 foot
Food & Beer – provided for Saturday night dinner, beer/cider/soft drinks and Sunday morning bacon butties, Coffee and tea (all covered by paid for ticket holders)
Electricity – a wired spur from the main house
Hot tubs – 2 x 8 person (one for kids, one for adults) Bring your swimmers!
Wifi – is available but currently low, probably about 2 mb
Fire pitEntertainment
Making water rockets from empty plastic bottles (they fire 60 foot into the air!)
Team games – non-stop cricket, rounders, football
Garden tours – Gertrude Jeykll water garden
Band(s) for Saturday night. Main evening act (jazz/blues/soul review with singer Gwyn Allen fronting), and I think main afternoon act, Isadore & Clay (folk rock) & a classical octet.
Yoga
Tai Chi
Casper the Rocket Man (with two helicopters.)
a Monster truck that runs on rocket fuel.
Childrens activities eg play, mask making.
..and here are some ideas for things we may need:
Films, a projector and screen
More music/bands and an open mic stage perhaps?
More accessible power to charge laptops and mobiles (Solar power?)
Better wifi and a mobile booster aerial
A Silent Disco
Massage
Meditation
..and so on..
So can you help? If you have any ideas for features, shows, acts or classes leave a comment below or DM me on Twitter
Colin Rogal is the Music Coordinator but is abroad filming a documentary till the 7th of July so please bat all ideas and suggestions in my direction. (leave a comment below)
Tickets can be purchased by sending your request with an address via paypal to.. rebecca@caroe.com
..You can also guarantee yourself tickets by making a cheque out for the full amount payable to ‘Vann Summer Fest‘ and sending it to:
Rebecca Caroe
7 Vicarage Close
Waterbeach
Camebridge
CB25 9QG
So if you can help out in any way, be it with the organising, funding, sponsorship, performing, teaching or supplying of anything that can be put to good festival use.. please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
(p.s Big thanks to Derek Mantle for making a logo for the festival at super short notice.)
