"wait for the weather wait forever."
Tuesday 1st January 1974 .
"I have never kept a diary before, and my thoughts now are whether I will keep it up,or,if it will get pushed to the back of a cupboard. I hope it won't be the latter, because memorise are valuable: I let the New Year in at Debora Livingstones party .,it wasn't spectacular in any way but I quite enjoyed it.I went to bed at 1am and didn't get up till 11 in the morning.We went to Maragery's and Dorothy's for tea. The meal was fantastic ,soup with warmedcobs.Main dish , with fantastic vedgatables,followed by trifle and cake . The evening itselfwas boring(expected), we played stupid games. The thing that stuck out the most to me , was how lovely Auntie Winnie is."
Hi my name is Ricardo , I am 58 years old .I grew up Bolton .An oldish guy lived at the top of our street and two or three times a week he would set off on his bike for a days ride . I heard conversations , weirdo , no job , odd ball . My Dad stuck up for him and was one of the few people who spoke with him, only jealous he would say . Have I become that guy ha ha . Welcome to my Adventure Travel Blog where I will be sharing my experiences. My hero, or I suppose heroine , is Dame Ellen MacArthur, who I have met . One tough cookie. I dedicate this blog to my Parents who gave us a f*cking amazing childhood ,and to my older sister who ended it. My childhood ended abruptly at the age of 13 for 2 reasons,I heard David Bowie on the radio and I had my first experience of LSD (courtesy of my older sister) , I know this as A Clockwork Orange was in the cinemas . We went to see it as part of our trip , it was fun , the cigarette smoke was amazing . I don't remember too much of the film . If you had told me when I was 30 that I would know, to speak to, 5 people who had committed suicide before I reached 50 , I would not have believed you .Also if you had told me when I was 30 that a considerable number of people would have called me an arsehole or similar by the time I was 50 I equally would not have believed you . My school days ended abruptly when I was asked to leave at the age of 17. The major effect of this was having any hope of re-entering the educational system totally and utterly squashed . No 2nd chances! The upside was that I was forced to forge a very successful business career for myself .This gives me a chance to introduce one of my favorite topics ,old sayings. We have here "as one door closes" and "every cloud has a silver lining " I credit myself with inventing the following saying which is very relevant to people living in the UK , and to people wishing to indulge in Adventures "wait for the weather wait forever."
The definition of Adventure is "an unusual and exciting, experience or activity". I have missed out the words " typically hazardous" as I consider it an unnecessary and possibly negative inclusion .I will be grading the Adventures I describe thus
WHEN
WHERE
DIFFICULTY
COST
EQUIPMENT
HOW LONG
F FACTOR
TIPS
My Adventures are aimed at novice Adventures of all ages and fitness levels . I have completed all the Adventures , sometimes with companions but often on my own . A true Adventurer will find it necessary to sometimes travel alone to achieve his/her aims . I live in Rochdale England , on my door step I have The Lake District , The Yorkshire Dales and The Peak District . I will also be undertaking what I will call Door Step Adventures , ranging from shorter 2 hr. Adventures to longer 5 hr Adventures. No car will be necessary, they will start from my front door and most will be suitable for a summers evening as well as during the day. Obviously if you are not from the area they will not be Door Step Adventures for you . If you want to do your own Door Step Adventures why not e mail me and I will try them out .Also please e mail me with any comments regarding the Adventures.
As well as the Adventures I will attempt to entertain you with exerts from a diary I kept when I was young . I promise these will be unedited and at times of great embarrassment to myself .
An early Adventure
A young serious Adventurer
My older sister who supplied the LSD not long after
Family Adventure .This was my elder sisters last family holiday.
I made it ! any ideas where?
Ok lets get going with the first of Ricardo's Adventures , but first a word of warning . I am a big fan of the word f*ck , what better description is there than f*cking steep, or totally f*cked or f*cking delicious or thank f*ck etc etc.
So I don't have to keep repeating myself on all the Adventures a few basics are necessary. Always take some water a mobile phone a bit of food . Plus suitable clothing , it rains rather a lot in the UK.Oh and tell someone where you are going .
You can find me on Facebook, ricardomason25@gmail.com and twitter @ricardomason
