A few croc piccies and bits and pieces....

I realsied that i had a few croc piccies that due to my lack of blogging technical expertise i couldnt insert into other blog posts.

The first pic here is of the snow gnome that lives in St Jean D'Aulps - he really did look exceptionally fetching in the crocs i think you'll agree and it was quite a job wrestling them from him in order to take them back to blightly!!

The second pic in a Mothers Day croc pic.... a glass of fizz, some sunshine, a nice roast lunch - what more can one ask for!! Great to see you at the weekend Mum and i promise i wont get into too much trouble in HK (have to say that really dont i...!!) :-))

Catch you all next week with tales from the 7s.....

B

Back from the Snow.......

Hello All!!

So as you can see the crocs have made it to the snow.... and lived to tell the tale!

Many apologies for the length of time between blogs, but have been running (and attempting to snowboard!!) all over the place. This sabbatical lark is alot busier than even i thought it would be!

The Alps - further away than you think (especially when driving there) having one of the best snow seasons in the last decade and a place that is full of gossip, scandal and sculduggery (some of that later!)

The main reason i decided to drive there with my very good friend Sharky was a) i was staying in his converted barn come chalet and knew that i didnt stand a chance of finding it unless i roped him in for the drive and b) to take my decks out there so i could spin a few tunes to the masses (the Bodigy hits the Alps). The drive was largely uneventful if a little long, around 10 hours from my starting point in Kent (many thanks Wooly and Jacs for putting me up the night before) to our final destination, a small village on the outskirts of Morzine called St Jean D'Aulps (i really hope i've spealt that right!) It didnt help that it chucked it down with rain the whole way and luckily the snow managed to hold off until we'd made it up the mountain (i thought that the X5 was a plucky little contender in the off road/4x4 stakes, i was sadly wrong...) What people here dont realise is that all the locals that live in the mountains have their cars fitted with snow tyres around the beginning of November before the first big dumps arrive. Not matter how big and heavy your car is, summer tyres render it pretty much unless when you hit the white stuff. By the time we arrived the roads were clear as there hadnt really been any snow for a week or so. That dramatically changed with around 4 feet of fresh powder in the space of about 48 hours.... comedy.

There was a huge upside to all this snow though and that was it would hugely aid my attempts to learn how to snowboard over the next few days. For those that dont know me that well i have a completely knackered right knee, results of rugby, skiing and drinking injuries over the years (and having a slightly larger frame, apparently this doesnt help as my knee surgeon told me in no uncertain terms last week!!) However, according to my learned mountain friends snowboarding is much better on your knees than skiing..... i can say that this is vaguely true. What they dont tell you is that the first 4 days on a snowboard is a bit like being sent to some sort of torture camp. You spend the whole time either on your face or your arse, obviously have nothing to aid you in getting up like you do in skiing ( i had a very kind snowboard instructor who spent lots of time leaping around like a mountain goat and pulling me up the numerous times i found myself lying back on the piste!) The learning curve is a hell of alot steeper though so by then end of day 2 on a board i had just about managed to get it all together, linking a few turns and not face planting even 50 yards down the slope. For those that are thinking of giving it a go (i know the whole gay on a tray thing is a big problem for those that ski) - it really is excellent when you get the hang of it. You really seem to float across the piste and not that i managed any decent off piste action on my lovely Burton (the 100 yards i did traverse between pistes scared the bejeesus out of me at the time) i can only imagine on a big powder day that a board really must be the way forward. Even my new mountain buddies were impressed with my progress, so it greatly saddens me to tell you that my dodgy right knee let me down again. The clunking, clicking and general grinding noises that now emit form it, although not life threatening, are nonetheless not good and so an MRI and probably further surgery beckon (not until i've got this sabbatical out of the way though..... its not that bad!)

Life in the Alps is a very relaxing affair i have to say and i quickly settled into the getting up not quite as early as maybe i should, quaffing a coffee, helping Sharks with a few chores here and there and generally bumming around (i can now see where the expression ski-bum comes from) The other two big events whilst staying over there were my gigs.....

Round 1 - the National..... The best pub in St Jean D'Aulps (i would say the only pub in St Jean D'Aulps but apparently i would be wrong.....) Set up for my gig on the Thursday afternoon and returned for what can really only be described as a night of complete mayhem.... (only trumped by the afternoon we watched England beat France there which really did get a little out of hand... and understandably so!!) It was really quite comedy as you'd think the locals of The National really had never seen a live DJ before (and i know that this really isnt the case) - but throw in a girls birthday, a few too many Jaeger Bombs ( a charming little number consisting of a double shot of jaegermeister dropped into a glass of redbull and promptly dispatched in one... lovely!) and a Bodigy mix of some old school tunes and a few Ibiza classics.... well the rest is history! We had people leaping around like mad things (i didnt know that robotics was making a comeback but apparently it is!), nakedness, love, tears.... all the things that you expect from a Bod Griffiths classic gig.... by the time i was given a lift home in the early hours of that morning i had made a whole bunch of new friends and had the most fun night i've had in a long time.... thank you, you mad St Jean D'Aulps crew....!!

Round 2 - The Cavern Morzine.....Defintely not the only Club in Morzine, but the only one that would take a chance on me and let me liven it up! It didnt help that i broke DJ rule number one beforehand, namely dont go to a gig completely lashed, but somehow a few large G+Ts and a top notch meal with gallons on wine in one of Morzine finer eateries, saw me arrive feeling slightly worse for wear! Then my only two fans decided to amble home (Sharky was blaming the G+Ts, a likely excuse) so i was on my own..... and again a huge night it turned into. The place was rocking, old school and a bit of R n B (i know, i'm not a fan either but whatever keeps them on the floor!) seemed to be the order of the night and other than a touring rugby team getting thrown off stage for a little too much public nakedness (how else are you going to pull the die hard ski chicks??!!) the evening was fantastic. I did have a comedy journey home - my pre booked taxi lady was very much tucked up in bed when i phoned her at 2.30am so i spent 1/2 hour watching a bit of drunken brawling (could have been downtown Yeovil!), sitting in the freezing cold working out who on earth i knew around the world that would be up... (thankfully its the middle of the day in Asia so some people got some rather unexpected calls!!) The taxi lady did eventually arrive thank God or else i really would have been very stuck!

So thats around it really..... i did also spend a few nights downtown Chamonix checking up on my little pad there and catching up with some friends and work colleagues who were staying (thank you for feeding and watering me everyone... its not easy being on the rock and roll!!)

I also have to say that i really have learnt a hell of alot living in a small community up in the mountains with all the ups and downs that that has..... abit like living in a mountain episode of Neighbours crossed with Desparate Housewives (a programme that i was subjected to hugely against my will and bizarrely found myself really quite liking it....!) I grealy look forward to returning at some stage in the summer just so i can catch up on all the gossip!

So next stop Hong Kong for the 7s - i fly in a few hours actually and have had enough of a quiet week for my liver to be upto it i think..... the only thing i am worried about is that i have to find some sort of fancy dress outfit to take with me or else face the wrath of the South Stand....bring on the beers and some champagne rugby.... and no doubt a few tales to tell on my return!!

B

Trip to the Emerald Isle

Ahhhh, hello there, begora, bejesus, gooan, ya will and all other Irish greetings to you all (to be sure!!)

So a quick blog update now that i've recovered from my birthday trip to sunny (well not really...) Dublin! Its been a while since i've paid a trip to the Emerald Isle and much as alot of it has changed dramatically, such as the hour long taxi ride from the airport into town (i'm sure there never really used to be any traffic over there), building developments everywhere, the general expense of being somewhere that isnt Blighty, most of it is as i remember.... just like the good old days......especially the guiness.

I hooked up with a ragtag and bobtail crew at the airport on Friday night and after a few pints of the black stuff we set off to check into our exceptionally celubrious accomadation, Barnacles Hostal in Temple Bar.... who says the credit crunch is affecting us sabbatical city folk. Now i know its been a while since i left school, but 6 large, hairy chaps in a room the size of my downstairs toilet at home, well it was always going to be an interesting few days! 6 men, 3 bunks and 1 toilet... surely the makings for an excellent new reality TV show?! At least my snoring wasnt that bad (apparently... first time for everything), but the aroma of the room by the time we left Sunday certainly wasnt great. Just a quick piece of advice, never pick the top bunk (as i obviously had) as what you gain in extra head room, you seem to lose through the results of hot air rising.... and my, a diet of guiness, bulmers, kebab and chips and the obligitory fry up seems to produce a fair amount of hot air....!!

Our first night really passed us by without any real events (i know i have to adhere to the "what goes on tour stays on tour" rule aswell, dont worry i wont be naming names). A great game of rugby (France really did deserve to beat Wales), 12 pints of guiness (i have to admit i was chewing them down by the end of the evening), a lovely kebab and then the stroll home through the rather rowdy and racous area that is Temple Bar. Merrily tucked up in bed by 2am. Happy days, until the ones that had turned in early were woken by the late night stragglers around 3.30... all part of the fun.

Saturday morning, my birthday, 39, and i wake up feeling only as one should, pretty rubbish. Nothing a full Irish breakfast couldnt sort out, followed by a stroll to yet another Pub (we hadnt been in this one yet tho i dont think) and a fantastic game of no emotion spoof with bulmers as the forfeit. (as a quick aside, i think that we're becoming rather soft in our old age as the no emtion part of the spoof certainly wasnt enforced as strictly as it used to be in the good old days). It was at this stage that certain events happened that would change the rest of the day. Namely, we bought some tickets for Engaland vs Ireland at Croke Park off a tout whilst rather lashed up outside the pub. Our great crew of 8 (2 were not staying in our lovely dorm btw... v poor form!) only had 5 tickets between us, so it seemed perfectly reasonable to buy 3 face price tickets from our happy go lucky tout, what a kind chap he was..... It was only later, after a very charming Korean lunch (didnt know that Dublin was big on Korean restaurants i have to say) and a stroll through the bantering crowd to the gates of Croke Park that myself and my 2 other tout ticket holders realised the error of our ways.... obviously the tickets were fake, along with about 4997 others (that was the estimate from the policeman that took them off us.) Bugger. What a pain. But given we're not the quibbling type we did what any English rugby supporter would have done and headed to the nearest pub.

Cue 2nd event that would change, well not necessarily the day, but certainly watching a game of rugby. I have a very good friend who is Irish and from Dublin. Having bumped into him on Friday night he gave me one piece of advice that i promptly ignored. This was dont go into any of the pubs that are near Croke Park. It really isnt in the best part of town, there seems to be a bit (huge understatement) of a drugs problem and the locals really arent that keen on us English folk. Having been in the pub a matter of minutes and sitting down behind a rather large group of what can only be described as pikeys, the insults started to fly. I cant really print what we were called throughout the game as i know my mum will read the blog, but general atmosphere really wasnt that good. In a bizarre way i'm glad England didnt nick the game with a late drop goal (as i hoped would happen when sitting on my barstool in a rather annoyed drunken haze) as i'm not fully sure we would have escaped from the pub alive.... but as a good friend always tells me, its all part of life's rich tapestry. That's true, as long as you stay alive that is.....!! We left the pub rather promptly at the end, being jeered by a big group of girls that had amassed at the pub during the game.... all rather bizarre.

The rest of the evening again followed without any other life altering events (other than 2 of our party falling asleep in various Public houses and having to be red carded home) The highlight for me was singing 2 little boys to an applauding crowd in one of the pubs as the Irish said the English couldnt sing... how wrong they were!! (those of you that know me well know that i will always sing 2 little boys at the drop of a hat, so to a packed Irish bar... perfect!!)

Another 2am finish, another hangover, another fry up. How simple life can be sometimes. I spent Sunday stumbling around Dublin with the other people that were on later flights, had a charming lunch with an old work colleague and headed to the airport feeling very much the worse for wear. Mental note to self always get the earlier flight. On arriving home i have to admit i went straight to bed and slept for about 10 hours. That just about sorted me out...

So now i'm in the rather snowy Alps (its dumping as i type) just up the valley from Morzine, staying in a friends chalet in St Jean D'Alups (i'm pretty sure thats how its spealt). I've helped shift 3 tonnes of logs (earning my keep!) got a snowboard for my 2 hour lesson tomorrow (going to be v painful i'm told) and am about to head to the local bar to set up my decks for my gig this evening..... whoever told me that taking some time off to go and enjoy life was just so right!!

I'll update you all from the snow shortly. Until next time.... have fun out there....

B