Sunday, March 27, 2011

Sumatra Confirmed.

The expedition to Sumatra will definately go ahead in September this year. I have just had to pay out for my flights, so I am seriously skint, and I am off to Tenerife for a friends birthday celebration Friday to Monday!
Had to be done though, to secure our places on the aircraft. I now have Dally working on the costings over in Sumatra. Meanwhile, over in the U.K. , Dave Archer and I, have been discussing what equipment we are going to be taking with us,particularly sourcing night vision kit to use at just before dawn.Meanwhile, Glen Vaudrey has also launched a campaign looking for sponsorship for trailcams.
John Carlson's paranomalist website now has that great new article I mentioned on the Orang-Pendek up, and as I mentioned previously, it is well worth a look.
I will post again when I get back from my short trip
There will be no `Monster Hunting` going on in Tenerife...........

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Dancing to the Kinshasa beat...

Last night , I went out for a drink with my old mate Andy Sanderson, who's not long out of the Royal Navy. We primarily met up to talk about the forthcoming Sumatra expedition,and particularly, to talk about what kit we would need. So ,Glen Vaudrey's trailcam appeal launched on the CFZ website, comes at just the right time.
Whilst reminiscing ,Andy reminded me about some of our old escapades together, including some lighter moments. For example, after literally having to fight our way out of Kinshasa during the civil war , we headed straight off to Rhodes ,where we won a `dance off ` to Run D.M.C , in a Greek nightclub! I can't imagine doing that now, but I am going to Tenerife on April 1st for three nights for Anthony's birthday, so you never know.
Later on in the evening, Keith and Anthony both turned up, and as I recall, Keith bought some shots with gold bits or something in them.What is that stuff? They both headed off to a club, and I have been unable to get hold of either of them today to ask!
I have been working on a new post for John Carlson's paranomalist blog.It should appear there shortly.Last year, Dutch cryptozoologist Tim De Frel contacted me and asked for some help in organising an expedition to search for the Orang-Pendek.His report will be no doubt posted on John's site, along with a few very striking observations of my own based on previous evidence I have gathered.I advise you to read it if you get the chance.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Sumatra 2011 and Bownessie continued!

Well, its been a crappy week at work ,with briefings about potential redundancies .To take my mind off it, I took a walk by the riverbanks where I live ,ironically in a place nicknamed `happy valley`. It did live up to its name this morning,and I spotted a lovely little Kingfisher diving into the water, in search of a tasty little silvery snack.
On Friday, I met up with my old friend Stuart,and together with Anthony, we discussed among other things(Stuart -I still can't believe what you said about the Teletubbies), the prospect of going up to Lake Windermere, for a short recce, to check out the contiuing stories about the alleged `monster` that seems to have a sudden taste for celebrity status in Lake Windermere.If nothing else ,it wil be a good opportunity to test my hydrophone and other equipment for when we get down to more serious matters.More of that anon..
Planning for Sumatra continues apace, with Sahar ,my chief guide agreeing that my idea of spliting the team into two will maximise the chances of seeing the Orang-Pendek.Jon McGowan, and Dave Archer will also be joining the team members already coming.
Although I am very familiar with Sumatra and its jungles,I am only to aware how quickly the situation on the ground can change, and its important not to go into it blindfolded, so I will begin the detailed process of operational planning shortly