Posts Tagged ‘Travel’

The number for today is 5

Posted: June 28, 2012 in Uncategorized
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I only need one hand for counting now.

The number 5 is the symbol of the perfection in the Mayas.

The number 5 is apparently used to Symbolise the force and the limits of the man in his control on the Universe (!).

The number 5 is also the number of the life and the nature, according to Aeppli.

For His Podgeness, the number 5 really means:

5 more sleeps to go;
5 more sleeps to cruising;
5 more sleeps till the big fella gets on that boat,
with his bird and her boy;
5 more sleeps to cruising.

To add to the excitement, I’ve just realised there’s going to be firework displays as each ship sails out. What with the Red Arrows and the Princess Royal coming along to view me (she’s viewing everybody else as well I know but, permit me my dreams) I’m not sure how much more excitement I can take. I may just need a drink or two to calm me down. Actually, the Bombay Sapphire is looking quite enticing even now….

Do you know what, I think I’m starting to get quite emotional. Hmmm, must ‘man up’…

Wait: a horrible thought has just crossed my mind: after the cruise what will I do? No more countdowns 😦

Ah ha, no worries, after her indoors rescued me from the river recently, I apparently owe her a cruise. Possibly one in September. Yay. Another countdown could be on the cards. Better still, I think I may have conned her into paying.

Won’t be the same as the Grand Event though :-(.

Single Digits – At Last

Posted: June 24, 2012 in Cruising, P&O, Travel, Uncategorized
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The number 9 is seen as the number of the man, as a numeral symbol of his gestation (nine months).

The number 9 is the expression of “the power of the Holy Spirit”, according to Etchegoyen.

The freemasons have made the number 9 the eternal number of human immortality.

The number 9 number was considered as sacred in Egypt and in Greece.

To His Podgeness however, the Number 9 simply means:

9 more sleeps to go;
9 more sleeps to cruising;
9 more sleeps till the big fella gets on that boat,
with his bird and her boy;
9 more sleeps to cruising.

And after that 9th sleep, there shall be much rejoicing and coming together of all P&O’s l_u_v_e_r_l_y cruise ships and I, His Podgeness, will be one of the chosen ones who will be joining the historic celebrations, along of course with She Who Must be Obeyed. 😉 plus of course, many many others.

Today, I will be venturing into the loft / roof-space / attic, to retrieve the many cases and carriers that I just know we’ll need. As a minimum, I reckon we’ll need 2 full size suit cases, 2 medium size suitcases, 1 hard shell suit carrier, 2 ruck sacks, 2 (bulging at the seams) camera bags, and a couple of carry on bags (hand luggage). within these items there will be at least 7 hand bags with, each no doubt, matching shoe’s and of course some serious shopping bags with good strong handles. 😉

The preparations are now in full swing.

It’s Now Just 10

Posted: June 23, 2012 in Cruising, P&O, Travel
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At the Mayas, the number 10 represents the end of a cycle and the beginning of another.

For Pythagoras, 10 was the symbol of the universe and it also expressed the whole of human knowledge.

For his Podgeness, 10 means:

10 more sleeps to go;
10 more sleeps to cruising;
10 more sleeps till the big fella gets on that boat,
with his bird and her boy;
10 more sleeps to cruising.

Blimey, I’m so excited I can hardly sleep.

Previously, I announced that I’d packed my wash bag. Well, I’ve now also packed all my drugs (prescribed) for the week + an extra day (you never know).

Now, get this, we’ve estimated the number of cases that we’ll need and have come to the conclusion that we’ll need to take two, yes that’s right, two cars. When Debbie and I finally retire, we WILL be going on a world cruise: just think of the number of suitcases we’ll need then 😉

For all those taking the Oceana out tomorrow (24th) down the Atlantic coast, I hope you have great trip (I wish I was with you all). But, please, please bring her back in one piece.

That Was The Summer That Was…..

Posted: June 9, 2012 in Cycling, general, training
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Back in April, and full of hope, I posted that I had decommissioned the Tacx iMagic Turbo and put back Colnago Bling Machine back on the road. Well, unfortunately, this was never going to work out, and in truth I should have known.

With the long awaited arrival of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Weekend, I (His Podgeness) decided to make a week of it and took the rest of the week off, which by the way is why there have been no joy of travel updates :-). The intention, as I’m sure you will have guessed was not just to enjoy the Jubilee Celebrations (which I did) but also to get in lots of carefree cycling miles. How naive could I have been. Having basked in glorious sunshine the week before, most of which I either spent on the train [of which i wrote plenty] or in the office, I was greeted with a week of blithering wind and rain and then more rain and wind and then some more.

So, I’m sad to report that His Podgeness did NOT get out in the road at all :-(. So, there I was feeling very picked on and generally in a sulk I decided that I was going to play bikes one way or another and looked to tinker, but this achieved little. In the end, I bit the bullet and dismantled my old Ribble Stealth and built my new De Rosa Tango Stealth [check it out here]. That done, and looking at the weather forecast going forward, I gave in and brought out the iMagic and reinstated the Colnago back to the role of chief turbo bike while retaining the De Rosa for general road use.

Buoyed on by the  knowledge, and subsequent envy and pride of course, that Swifty Matt Conner has just spent the same week in the Alps and thought they while there, he’d just pop out and complete ‘La Marmotte‘ route as part of his training. Given that the route takes in the  Col du Glandon, Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier and finishes on the Alpe d’Huez this is no mean feat, so cracking job Matt: well done and yes, I really do envy you. But, you have spurred me on. I have the Ventoux route on the iMagic, and yes, I will do it, maybe not this week but it will be this summer. So now, I’m off to the turbo.

Look out for my next post on how I ended up in the raging torrents of the Shalbourne Brook. 🙂

Go Podge, Go.

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