Its getting nearer.

Over the weekend,Dave Archer and his girlfriend Natasha hosted a meeting of the expedition team for India. They were, as they always are, very hospitable, and I would like to thank them on
behalf of all those who attended. The weather was great, and we were able to do some lovely walks to the villages of Turville, and West Wyckham respectively.Most importantly, we also began to get down to the real detail of the expedition planning.This of course, includes projected costs-in other words how much money we will all need to bring! Afterwards, we went through all the various roles everyone would have. Dave and Dr.Chris Clark, continue to research the equipment.Some of the kit we tested out, such as the latest game finders and infared technology , looked very promising indeed.
Of course, there was some time for celebrations over the last successful expedition.Marlow, was as ever, more than capable of handling that!

What is the Orang-Pendek?

The scientific validation of the existence of the OP is obviously great news. On a personal point , I have been to Sumatra five times, and spent thousands of pounds of my own money on these expeditions.Each time I went ,I learnt more about the creatures movements, and refined my own techniques. I am delighted that I led such a great team, with such fabulous results.
For me ,the story now moves on to what the OP actually is. Right now I am inclined to go very much with the view that it is a variant of the Orang-Utang species which has evolved to walk bipedally, in other words ,to walk like us. The research is of course,ongoing, so we shall see.

Last week ,I took my daughter on her first roller coaster ride. We had just got on it, when some ` entertainer `jumped out and started hitting people on the head with a pretend plastic club ,grunting BOOM BOOM , as he did so. Ducking to avoid the idiot's club, my head conncted with the safety bar, resulting in a huge blackeye. The name of the ride ? King Kong!!! I have had some serious mickey taking as a result,I can tell you-no irony there, eh!

All I can say is that you may have won that round,Kong, but I won the war..................

The results are in! Orang-Pendek proved to exist!

Today , a press release was issued by both myself,and Jon Downes, the Director of the CFZ.The synopsis of it is, that after lengthy research, Dr.Lars Thomas of Copenhagen University, has confirmed that the hairs we brought back from the Sumatra expedition ARE able to be identified.Right now, it seems that the OP is probably a variant of the Orang-Utang, but one it seems, that has learnt to walk bipedally.
Its fantastic news!!

As you can imagine, things are a bit hectic today, but I will post more on the subject at weekend.In the meantime, I would like to thankLars, and the magnificent team I had the pleasure to lead on the 2009 expedition ,for all their hard work.

The moment arrives.........

That's all I can say for now.Except that its gonna be good .Really really good ................

Planning for India.

I have spent this last week compiling a potential kit list for the expedition in search of the Mande-Burung .Although we are not going until the end of October,its important to have a good idea of what kit we need now, not least because ,as we are self financed, we will need to start acquiring what we need ,slowly, over the coming months.We also need a good understanding of the terrain ,as we will need to carry what we need into the jungle, and weight will be an obvious constraint. Importantly, some of the technical kit, such as night vision technology , and cameras can also be temperamental in humid conditions. So, as well as doing our own research,I have been busy discussing this with my contacts in India.
I have also been considering other potential expeditions. As well as searches for Sasquatch and the Malaysian Bigfoot, the recent Lake Monster activity in Russia has caught my eye.There has been some speculation that the creature encountered by fishermen in Siberia may be reptilian ,but this has been dismissed by most commentators ,as the Lake is on too northerly a latitude to support a large reptilian creature;it is simply too cold in winter.`Ah, but what if it hibernates?`Is a theory that has been postulated by some. This interests me,as it compares very well with the conditions in Lake Seljord, where Selma, the `Norwegian Nessie` resides. In Winter, the Lake is totally frozen over,so the creatures must,I think, indulge in some form of hibernation. I wonder if there is any physiological comparison between the two? I will start to do some serious research on Siberia, in the coming months,to see if it is feasible and affordable to go out there.
In the middle of all this planning and musing today, my daughter,Ella ,(aged 6) came over to see what I was up to. She looked really unhappy, and had a little tear rolling down her cheek.. `Whats the matter ,sweetie? I said, obviously concerned.`Is there anything Daddy can do to help you?` `Not really, ` said Ella ,with a sigh `After all, you are ONLY a man`........

New Orang-Pendek sightings.

I have just recieved a report of new sightings of the Orang-Pendek from my friends Sahar and Dally in Sumatra. I have edited it slightly , mainly to avoid personal references, but other than that, here it is verbatim......
`Orang Pendek found by man on the small house near his Landang at 10 p.m. He saw Orang pendek was eating sugar, he saw orang pendek clearly about 1 metre from him. When he saw Orang Pendek he felt afraid and shock, he thought what is it?Monkey?Ape?Bear?Or what?Then he saw it is walking with two foots and stand up like human.
Then he stood up and took some sticks to hit the Orang Pendek, but he did not throw it because he was afraid.He made a loud sound to dispel Orang Pendek ,going out from his Pondok After he did this, it left.
After morning has come, at 6 a.m. he was still worried and he went to check, and he was shocked because he saw Orang-Pendek footprints.`
Makes me wish I was out there right now!

Things to Cheer you up..

I have got over the football now,I really have. I have nature. After it had finished, I took I walk in some meadows near my home to clear my head. Cutting around an ancient hawthorn hedge,I accidentally flushed a small rabbit from the long grass.At that point, a little Owl came crashing down from the top of the hedge, in obvious pursuit,before landing hard on the ground, just three feet from my foot. It took one look at me , then shot straight back up into its lair in the foliage. Awesome .
I have laughter. Aide from my normal Friday nights down the pub, a new comedy has hit the U.K. on Thursday night-Lee Nelson's `Well Good Show`.Its next on on Thursday, BBC3 at 11p.m. If you live in the U.K. watch it.
I have adventure. Right now I have more expeditions brewing than I could possibly go on.I am skint after paying for the flights for India to search for the Mande-Burung,but I can always save again.
So , you see I don't need football. In fact I never want to talk about football ever again!