1. I once did a motorbike ride known as "The Four Corners" which takes in the furthest north, south, east and west points of the UK. These are Lowestoft in the east, Lizzard Point in the south, Ardnamurchan Point in the west and Dunnet Head in the north. I did it on my first bike, a Yamaha TR1 1000cc v-twin and in October. The weather was mostly awful but the day of the October gales in London I was belting along single track roads round Sutherland in beautiful, blue skied, weather.
2. I used to play tenor sax professionally in a band playing in working men's clubs in industrial Lanarkshire. We were pretty good, even though I say so myself, and had quite a following. I consider this as indispensable a piece of my education as university. I even thought of writing a book about it but never got past the title - "Casual Sax".
3. I have busked on the Paris Metro and made a pretty good hourly wage. Standing in those long corridors on your own playing away with people rushing past is not for the feint hearted though.
4. I have done a fair bit of mountaineering and hill walking in the UK, the Alps, the Rockies, the Pyrenees and in New Zealand. I've not been doing so much of late but hope to get fit enough to go up Mont Blanc in my fiftieth year.
5. I used to be a studio manager at the BBC World Service and had the privelage of working with some amazing people. From Paul McCartney to Chief Bhutlezi to the Archbishop Of Canterbury I worked with them all but the real joy was working with some of the amazing people from the programme making teams for the 45 or so countries we broadcast to.
I hereby tag Antony Mayfield, Suw Charman, Richard Sambrook, Dave Snowden and Laurent Haug.
Well, well ditto number 3. I did that full time from 1974-6 and my favourite pitch was St Lazare in the morning, followed by Frankin D Roosevelt in teh afternoon. I wonder if you frequented the cafe Mazet in rue St Andre des Arts as well.
Posted by: Andy Roberts | December 17, 2006 at 11:49 PM
This is indeed a small world Andy. Frankin D Roosevelt was my favourite patch too though in 1982.
Posted by: Euan Semple | December 18, 2006 at 07:19 PM
....and I used to play drums in those self-same working mens clubs in Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the mid-to-late 70s! I played for anyone who would pay me, basically, so I did everything from Sunday night cabaret acts (I've now been tagged in the same game and have admitted to one act that I played for), to weddings, to ceilidhs, to Saturday night dances, and so on. Great fun....!
Posted by: John Connell | December 20, 2006 at 09:28 AM
It is indeed a very small world John!
:-)
Posted by: Euan Semple | December 20, 2006 at 05:18 PM
Did you ever play the (in)famous Fauldhouse Miners Social Club, by any chance?
Posted by: John Connell | December 20, 2006 at 09:07 PM