chris-isherwood.co.uk

Lou Reed

2011-07-05T08:53:00.003+01:00

Not been blogging for a long time, but had to state yesterday was a brilliant day.

Had a lie in, went and did some food shopping, had a BBQ, then drove up to London to watch Lou Reed. Awesome day, Lou Reed was brilliant, so glad I got tickets to see him.

I've also been to London to see Mumford & Sons, Arcade Fire. And we also went to see the Lion King at the theatre, which is also brilliant.

I'm going to see Primus next week, then that's all my concerts done for the time being!

Me and Cheryl on some boxes

2011-04-04T13:09:00.001+01:00

Me and Cheryl on some boxes a video by CJ Isherwood on Flickr.

March was pretty busy, I went to South of France on another snowboarding holiday, just for 5 days this time but was nice to get away. Video attached is of us doing some boxes (Cheryl doing them for the first time).

In the past week I have moved offices and jobs, I am now in a quiet office with 5 other people, rather than an open planned office with 50+ others, so that's a nice change.

Mothers day weekend has just gone, was nice, had a nice meal with the whole family last night and now back to work Monday morning, brilliant... (not really.)

Second colour added

2011-03-16T14:46:00.001Z

Second colour added a photo by CJ Isherwood on Flickr.

After painting the entire board gloss black, I masked the edges and painted this red stripe down the middle. I have also painted further stripes, which will be in the next update. Again using the same masking technique and spray paint.

Paint it, Black

2011-03-14T08:36:00.001Z

Paint it, Black a photo by Chris Isherwood on Flickr.

After I'd sanded/cleaned it down, I added 4 layers of white primer as a base layer.

I then added 2 layers of this black gloss paint

Post Sanding

2011-03-09T14:27:00.001Z

Post Sanding a photo by Chris Isherwood on Flickr.

So, once the board has been sanded down taking the surface off, taking away the plastic/gloss-like finish, I have filled the binding holes with cotton buds to prevent paint getting in and clogging them up.

Next step is the primer, which will give the base layer and help stick the paint to the board. I will be using all surface white primer.

Snowboard Paint Job

2011-03-08T10:10:00.002Z

Snowboard Paint Job a photo by Chris Isherwood on Flickr.

Been pretty busy lately, booked a second boarding holiday this season, this time we're going to south of France for 5 days riding. Also bought 2 new (well, second hand) snowboards.

I decided to give one of the boards a new look, I bought the pictured board and another board for £80 second hand. The board is pretty old, has a few notches in it through wear and tear, but overall not bad condition.

I did a little research online on how to do it, and went and bought a few bits and pieces. I bought some primer, masking tape, and some black paint for the base start (came to about £15 total).

Firs step... sanding it down.

What's up

2011-02-16T11:34:00.002Z

Great Orion Nebula
Originally uploaded by Chris Isherwood

Took this photo the other night of the Orion constellation, and the little fuzzy patch just below the middle of the shot is the Great Orion Nebula, a cloud of gasses forming new stars.

I've got the bug back for photography, and astrophotography. I have bought an adapter for my camera so I can attach it to my telescope and get some sturdier and hopefully better shots of the moon and planets. In the long run I'd love to look into long exposures and getting some shots of deep space objects.

Other news is I may be buying 1 or 2 second hand snowboards, probably for use on the dry slope. I'm thinking of painting/designing my own artwork on one of them, but will probably need to spend a fortune on the materials etc.

Boarding again?

2011-02-07T09:12:00.002Z

A pause for chips
Originally uploaded by Christopher Isherwood

Well, I have reset myself back into my usual routine after returning from Austria. It didn't take long, and in all honesty wasn't as bad as I thought originally, probably because things have been going above average recently. Things are moving at a pace I'd like them to move at, maybe too fast if anything.

Work has got busier, social life has got busier, and things I need to do has gone up. I'm working on a video using all the footage I got from Austria and I've got nowhere with it as it takes time, which I seem to have little of right now. But, I'm not complaining, it's nice doing things all the time, it gives you less time to sit around thinking too much.

As for what's coming up, we've been looking at another boarding holiday in March, possibly France this time, though time will tell on that one. Also looking to go away in May somewhere nice, I've got my eye on Dubai but will need to look into it a little more.

Some other things I've done, I got a new windscreen on my car, I've watched a lot of good movies (The Prestige - good stuff), I've made a Katsu Curry, I bought a new keyboard for my netbook as it broke, annnnnd I'm going for Sushi tonight.

Back from Austria

2011-01-24T10:48:00.001Z

Stoopid Boarders
Originally uploaded by Christopher Isherwood

So after 7 full days boarding, and 1 day shopping, we returned from our holiday in Austria.

The snow was sufficient for the first few days, but the brilliant sunshine made things real nice. The last 2 days we got more, which allowed us to do some full top to bottom off-piste runs.

The accomodation at Chalet Alex was real nice, food was great and people there where real friendly, and our big quad room had plenty of space for our gear.

All of our boarding improved greatly, and I think we all gained confidence in our ability which helps quite a lot.

Smile

2011-01-05T15:40:00.001Z

Sea hits the sky
Originally uploaded by Christopher Isherwood

Never has one person made me smile so much.

Hello 2011

2010-12-31T10:30:00.005Z

So, 2010 is leaving and 2011 is coming. It's been an interesting year, a few lows, a lot of highs, I think if 2011 is similar to 2010 I won't complain, but I'll be hoping (naturally) that it shall be better. A main part of 2010 has been snowboarding, I feel I've improved a lot, learnt a few new things and in general got a lot more involved with it.

Its 2 weeks exactly until we (me, Cheryl, Mark and Ben) go to Austria, my GoPro HD Helmet cam (with wide angle lens) was delivered yesterday and it's super sweet, so will get some good footage with that. They seem to have had a lot of snow recently, so should be some good conditions out there. We're looking at doing some freestyle course if there are some going, to work on a few techniques and get Cheryl out of her comfort zone a bit.

Boarding Summary
In 2010 I've ridden switch, learnt to land frontside 180's comfortably, managed a few backside 180's, done an indy, melon, roast beef, tindy. Also learnt to butter, tail press and have nailed a few tail blocks too. Also done some frontside and backside boardslides and 50-50's.

In 2011 I want to be more comfortable with backside 180's, nail a few more rails, and get some more air off kickers.

Almost Christmas...

2010-12-20T11:42:00.001Z

Tail Block in the garden :-)
Originally uploaded by Christopher Isherwood

...and not long til I go away to Austria. There is now 4 of us heading out there in January, and all sharing 1 room which will be cozy.

We fought through snow and traffic last Friday to get to Milton Keynes and use the indoor slope. Was freestyle night so got a few rails/rainbow rails in the bag, managed half a backside boardslide, but I want to work on my confidence with rails, as really enjoy doing them.

Have had a real nice weekend just gone, was snowed in with a special friend so watched a few movies and stayed in bed for the most of it. Built a rather huge snow man so the weekend was a little productive in the end.

Movember and Injuries

2010-11-23T12:30:00.001Z

Look out for this guy
Originally uploaded by Christopher Isherwood

So it's all been going on recently, I shall try fit everything in.

Firstly I have been doing Movember this month, where you grow a Mo-ustache for all of November, in aid of Prostate Cancer. So far me and a few colleagues have raised over £300 and it's still growing, which is really good and I'm really happy about.

Secondly I went boarding last week on ramps and rails night, using a new board (after my current dryslope board lost part of her edge, hopefully be able to fix it). Was doing a few big kickers and surprising myself with how well I was landing them. Then things went downhill, crashed a few times, dented my confidence, then the last run I did I fell over my tail as I landed, causing me to slide down on my side - shirt/hoody raised up and I ended up losing a bit of skin from my armpit down to my hip - has now healed nicely but was pretty nasty at the time :-).

Thirdly, work, wow, an interesting blog entry about work? Really? I started my Business Diploma yesterday, my assessor was very nice and helpful, and some how I am actually looking forward to starting a bit of extra work and learning new things. I am also moving positions (hopefully, nothing confirmed) in April next year, so a post more suitable to my skills.

It is now 51 days until we head out to Austria boarding, really am looking forward to it.

And finally, a congratulations to my sister Alison and Peter who got married the other day up a mountain (as you do).

No New Posts

2010-11-08T21:39:00.002Z

I'd love to say I've had nothing interesting to post about, but sadly it's quite the opposite. I haven't had any time to sit and type since my last post a few weeks ago.

Halloween was very good, wore makeup for the first time and busted out some bad boy skeleton dancing. Have discovered a lot of new music which has been keeping my ears warm. Have discovered some people are not quite who you think they are, which is not always a bad thing, quite a good thing in this instance, but no more on that.

I have been playing guitar solidly the past week, and also spent the last 6 days eating out - mum is loving it. I am breaking my bank and probably going to get fat, but having a pretty damn good time while I'm at it.

Sad news, Shirley has lost part of her edge (my freestyle board) and so she is currently awaiting some minor surgery to get her 'ride-worthy' again.

And it was a year ago on the 30th October since Cleo left us, still missing her greatly.

Ride Machete 2011 Review

2010-10-22T09:44:00.002+01:00

Ride Machete 2011
Originally uploaded by Christopher Isherwood

Meet Maria, my Ride Machete 2011 board. She's brand new, shiny, and very pretty indeed.

Took her out for the first time with new bindings last weekend at Milton Keynes snowdome. After first run I was very unsure, probably the nerves of it all, worried about stacking it or destroying her. Got to the bottom happily, then made a few adjustments to the bindings - as was my first time trying these out too.

Second run the nerves had calmed down and I rode a little more aggressive. This was when she started to show me what she could do. The response of the bindings/board was brilliant, I moved my foot and the whole board adapted itself to move exactly where I wanted, felt very light to menouver and turn round onto switch too.

As I continued to ride it, it kept feeling better and better, the sidewalls really make a difference (Slimewalls) and felt it was much harder to catch an edge (I tested this out and eventually stacked it flying over my toe edge, which made me and a few others chuckle).

Thankfully made it off the slope without any skiiers destroying it too which was a huge bonus.

Sadly I didn't get to try to much popping or kickers as there wern't any out, but next time we go I'll make sure there is.

Ride Delta MVMNT 2011 Bindings

2010-10-12T09:06:00.002+01:00

Ride Delta MVMNT 2011 Bindings
Originally uploaded by Christopher Isherwood

...have landed. They are beasts, made from aluminium, light as a feather, responsive, stylish. Black. 3D Toe strap is snug, main boot strap is leather and perfectly shaped. 2.5 degree wedge bases too to improve pop angles and general stance.

First impressions are good, they feel durable and sturdy. The rubber underside is a real nice touch to prevent the binding moving around as you tighten her up. The adjustable hardware runners in the baseplates also great for finding that exact stance and angle. Have set them to -16 / +15 right now but will play around once I'm out there. The highbacks are nicely padded and flexible to give good movement, and a tool-free adjuster to change your angles is a great touch.

Thank you Ride! - Board review to come soon.

How to butter on a snowboard

2010-10-08T11:07:00.002+01:00

Well, after a few complications yesterday regarding my new bindings. I ended up going for the Ride Delta MVMNT's, which are pretty much top of the range in Ride bindings, so very happy about that. They were a bit more expensive, but I'm willing to pay a little more for something that will last me a while and keep me satisfied.

Apparently they were dispatched yesterday too, so hopefully recieve them in the next few days.

Tonight I am going to the dryslope again, and going to practice buttering. Apparently buttering is where you put your weight over the nose or tail of your board, causing the opposite end to lift off the ground. Think of it like doing a wheelie on a bike.

Once you can travel along in a straight line on your nose or tail, you can start implementing turns into it, by rotating your body as you balance on your nose/tail.

A butter while on a rail or box is called a nose/tail press - so I've read. Shall give it a go tonight and keep you posted of my progression!

This week has been pretty quick, which is nice. Also looking forward to the grand prix this weekend - come on Alonso.

Bought!

2010-10-06T18:39:00.003+01:00

So, my new board (pictured) is ordered. It's a 2011 Ride Machete 155, ideal for freestyle riding and park riding. Can't WAIT to take it out to Austria, might even take it to the fridge (milton keynes) to test it out. Also got my BINDINGS (pictured in previous post), which are also Rides, LX bindings in blue. They gave me a 10% discount and threw in a free 'Skiing is for fat kids' T-shirt, which is a nice touch.

VERY EXCITED. Can't wait for it get delivered, unwrap it, stroke it, praise it, give it some love...

New setup

2010-10-06T11:40:00.005+01:00

So now that Austria is booked, I've decided to go for a new setup. I'm looking at a freestyle board for park fun, something light weight and easy to get round/up onto rails. Burton Hero was a front runner, but due to the EST binding setup, I cant get the bindings I want (Ride LX in blue, pictured). Going to keep looking though, I'm sure something will come up sooner or later.

As for boarding, I am going on Friday to work on this thing called buttering, which is basically where you ride on your tail or nose end, raising the opposite end up in the air, you can also move onto spinning round while on this end, but get to that later I think!

Switttttch

2010-09-09T22:53:00.003+01:00

So I landed a frontside 180 off a kicker tonight which was pretty sweet, being able to ride switch has def. helped a lot, will be moving on to more advanced stuff soon. Sadly I had a fair bit to drink half way tonight and it kinda ruined my ramps, landed some really nasty big air on my knees but thank god for knee pads. Tonight was good, frontside boardsliding again which is good, got over my fear of smashing my face up again.

Good night all round, lookin forward to what this weekend has in stall too ;-)

So tired

2010-09-06T07:05:00.002+01:00

I think the last week of events has caught up with me. 2 snowboarding trips, a 10k charity run and, well, nothing yesterday.

Back to work today after a pretty good weekend, Saturday I spent over near Ashford where I did my first competitive run, and I beat more people than people beat me so really happy about that, also ran my quickest 10km in 48 minutes which is pretty cool.

I have no idea what the plans for this week are, think i'm going to cinema tonighhhhttt. Going to go boarding a few days after work this week, really have been working hard on riding switch and getting my 180 jumps down, in preparation for holiday next year, which is looking like south of france at the moment......

Mental

2010-09-01T22:41:00.003+01:00

So tonight was the first night in a while I've had time to sit about and do nothing. This weekend just gone I went to a snowboarding event where they had an airbag on the other side of a vert ramp which was very daunting at first but once I did it the first go it was pretty immense.

Managed half of a front flip indy grab which some professional photographer got on camera too which is good stuff.

Doing a sponsored run on Saturday which I have been training for, looking forward to that also. I have also been looking at booking a snowboarding holiday for next February/January.

Work has been going well, especially as this time next year I could be doing a degree, all paid for, which would then cut down my hours to 3 days a week but full pay. Nice!

Have been looking at getting a new car, some new bindings, a new helmet cam for holiday, and also holiday. It never appears to end this 'spending' stuff.

Quality

2010-07-24T08:57:00.003+01:00

Have had a great week, been out all over Kent showing off my hard work to different surgeries and health centres. Have been out all over kent going on walks and enjoying the fresh air and sun and the company.

Cooking a nice dinner tonight which i'm looking forward too, haven't cooked properly for a while. Also going to the zoo tomorrow morning to see some zebra and giraffe.

Went boarding last night and managed to link some turns in whilst riding switch, which is pretty damn sweet and I can now work on 180's. Also been gaining a lot more confidence riding regular and got some nice speed up last night.

I've come to terms with the fact people struggle to move on and get over things, funnily enough when they're generally not involved. Thankfully the people that matter to me have already moved on and got over it and are still there. So all is good right now.

Black or White

2010-06-29T22:08:00.001+01:00

I didn't play any PS3 today, but I went for a 2.3 mile run, without stopping or slowing down, so I am very happy about that. Had a pleasant day, mood seems to be going up and down rapidly which makes everything a little more interesting.

Big wheel keeps on turning.

What is this

2010-06-28T21:40:00.002+01:00

Life? really?

Just a bit of silliness really. Live amongst strangers, few familiar faces, die alone, afterlife of your own choice.

Right now I have come to terms that nothing is forever, nothing is set in stone, and things change over night. Your future is only partly up to you, you have little say or doing on your future. I believe your life is planned out before you're born, how could it not be? The idea of free thinking is just a novelty. Which is why I feel people should sit back and enjoy their journey, enjoy the beginning, enjoy the middle, and enjoy the ending. It will be bumpy, it will go up and down, it will be freewheeling downhill with the wind in your hair, but it will always end the same way. Appreciate the journey while your still travelling, and savour the bad times as well as the good, a happy medium of good and bad times is key to the karma of your life. If you're going through bad times, savour them, think about how bad they are, dwell on the sadness, the pain, the annoyance and anger, and soak it up, as one day it will go, and it will turn to happiness, joy, and positive feelings, which would be made so much sweeter and mean so much more if you appreciate the bad times as well.

And most importantly, make sure you like yourself, make sure that if you had to share a room, or an apartment with yourself, that you wouldn't give yourself a headache or annoy yourself. You are the only person you will spend your whole life with, so get to know you, and appreciate you, and have a good time with you.

Do it

Amelie having a bouncy boo's

2009-04-19T22:57:00.004+01:00

What I have seen

2009-04-15T01:52:00.004+01:00

Choo choo

2009-02-11T01:56:00.002Z

Here you go father.... you'll enjoy this!!

This was back in Flagstaff, Arizona

Yes

2009-02-03T21:10:00.002Z

Yes I am still alive, i've just not done much!

We travelled up the West coast of America, through San Francisco to Davis, where Ashlee lives. We done a bit of snowboarding, shopping, hanging out, watching Lost from Season 1 again and that's about it.

Going snowboarding again on Saturday and very excited!! Wooohooo

Canyonlands

2009-01-11T16:54:00.005Z

Here are a few pictures we took of Canyonlands National Park. We stayed there and watched the sunset which was brilliant.

Sunset

Ps. Mum - I've made it down safe and I am perfectly fine.

Jeeeez

2009-01-10T03:54:00.005Z

Well I think the last 3 days have been the busiest of the trip so far. Where do I start.

We went to the Grand Canyon - my god it's huge. We went on a tour with a guide called Thomas, he was from Germany and didn't like his job, yet he was a really good guide and looked after us well. We saw a lot of the South rim of it, seeing accross about 25 miles of it. So we took a lot of photos too and had a really good day.

HDR Photo of the Grand Canyon

So then 2 days after that we went with our new friend Jasper (from Denmark) in his hire car down to Sedona Vally, which was almost as impressive. It was really hot (no jacket needed) and the sun was out with clear blue skies. We drove the car round to a few different points which are great for taking photos. At one point we went on a walk around a rock which we needed to cross a river to, so I managed to step stone half way accross then rolled my trouser legs up for the 2nd part, when add came behind me he dropped his shoe in the river and it got swept down stream, luckily it got caught on a rock about 20ft further down and he managed to get it. Very funny stuff though, it looked like a raft perched on the edge of a waterfall waiting to plunge down.

Here is a picture of Sedona Vally

On the way back from Sedona Vally we stopped off at a Meteor Crater, which was absolutely huge. Had to pay a bit to get in but it was kinda worth it as there was a museum and cinema film they showed about how it happened, it was simply just a huuuuuuge hole in the ground formed by a meteorite (American's obviously named it as a 'Meteor' is a rock that is actually burnt out whilst entering the atmosphere and therefore doesn't hit earth, a 'Meteorite' on the other hand is an object that does not fully burn out and hits the earth). Meaning the crater was caused by a meteorite, not a meteor. But I guess nobody cares.

So then we move on to today, we got up at 8am and set out forward with Jasper in the hire car, coinsidently he is on his way to San Francisco and wanted to go via the national parks, so today we went through Monument Vally. Wow. It was probably one of the greatest parts of the world I have been to. We paid $5 to get in the door, but then they gave us a map to show how we could drive round the 35km of track that goes round the whole park. There were so many interesting and amazing rock formations, just standing in the middle of nowhere. Really really enjoyed it.

An hour later we went to a 'Natural Bridges' park in Utah. We saw a sign for it on the way back and thought we'd go check it out. After slowly driving behind a herd of pregnant and curious cows, we got to the park. It was a simple track that you drive round, park, get out, walk 100 yds to the edge of a canyon and look down at these natural bridges that have been formed by mother nature. A few of them were really big and impressive, but were covered in snow and it was getting dark by the time we got there, so didn't spend long.

We have just arrived in a town called Moab which is middle eastern Utah, tomorrow I think we will be going to more National parks to see more amazing sights.

Greetings from Flagstaff

2009-01-04T23:38:00.002Z

Ok well we made the 36 (turned out to be 40) hour journey from Indianapolis to Flagstaff, Arizona. We got on the first bus with only 4 seats left as it also turns out that the US army finishes there Christmas break this weekend, meaning every soldier was on the greyhound busses this weekend. We managed to find random seats, which took us to St. Louis. Once we got there we managed to re-board, and once again, we were the last ones on the bus (very lucky). What was even luckier was the fact someone asked to swap there 2 free seats for adds 1 free seat at the front, which meant we managed to get seats together, considering it was the last 2 seats on the bus we got really lucky. We then travelled hundered of miles and hours through Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and into Arizona, where it's snowing. It's been snowing for a long time here (as its about 4000ft above sea level here) and in some stages we've stood in snow up to the tops of our legs. It's snowing outside as i type this too and not sure when it will stop.

Tomorrow we are getting picked up at 9am from the hostel to be taken away to the Grand Canyon, we have bought a tour which includes guides, hikes and transportation which sounds really good fun and can't wait for that.

The internet at the hostel is about as good as the current weather is for sunbathing, so we are currently at a really cool coffee shop roudn the corner which has free wifi to use.

Shall talk soon and upload a few photos too. We're on to Vegas next but not sure when.

Cold

2009-01-02T17:49:00.002Z

Ok well we went to an all you can eat buffet yesterday which was really nice. However I seem to have gained a cold, my throat is very sore and all my back is stiff too. What makes things better is that we have a 36 hour coach journey starting tonight at 11pm. We arrive in Flagstaff AZ on Sunday morning.

Indiana Pacers

2008-12-31T06:28:00.002Z

So we're still in Indianapolis having a great time, meeting lots and lots of really cool people who we've been hanging out with most days. We've been to see the local NBA Basketball team (Indiana Pacers) twice now, both times they lost but it's really great fun.

We're currently playing some cards with a few friends and having a few drinks ready for new years eve tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Connie

2008-12-28T19:36:00.003Z

Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T05:28:00.002Z

Well, today we got up - it was freezing and raining outside, so we didn't go into town. Garth, (the guy that runs this house) asked if we wanted to go to the supermarket with him, he also suggested we go to this all you can eat chinese buffet, which we did. So we went to the buffet and it was amazing, there was so much food, so much dessert, everything you can ask for. So then Garth took us around all of the supermarkets and stores and basically gave us a run down on allt he different places and what they sold, he was so funny too, constantly chatting with everyone and cracking jokes and messing with people. We then went to a Speedway to get fuel and had some of the 'best coffee around'. We bought a couple of staeks too, we chatted to the butcher in the supermarket called Bud about what we wanted to cook etc. he went out back and cut us 2 fresh ribeye for us tailor made! legend!

This evening we came back and chilled out, literally, outisde is freezing and the roads are covered in ice. Tomorrow is christmas and i think we're just going to cook good food, have a good time, watch the basketball because theres a few good games on.

Merry christmas everyone

Indianapolis

2008-12-24T03:01:00.002Z

Arrived today in Indianapolis. This could well be the best hostel we have ever visited, first of all its a huge house converted, really clean, tidy, well decorated, and the guy that runs it is really nice (from England too). He picked us up from the greyhound terminal and brought us back, THEN made us a cup of tea, english tea, not american. THEN cooked us a turkey stir fry for the sake of it... we're not sure what the catch is just yet but he assures us that it was no problem atall!

We're going into town tomorrow to try get some NBA tickets for next week, then the guy is taking us to the super market so we can get some food for christmas day.

Happy birthday to Ruth too xxx

And

2008-12-18T21:42:00.000Z

I never thought i'd become an alcoholic whilst travelling.

I lied

2008-12-18T21:36:00.002Z

In the last post I said we were getting a bus to Indianapolis yesteray, I lied. We ended up staying here... and are going to stay here in Washington DC until next monday, as the hostel is so good/cheap/comfortable. We been watching Steven Seagal movies, Terminator and NBA on the big TV downstairs and drinking plenty of alcohol with doritos and pizza. Living the good life! YEAAH!!

How coooooool!

2008-12-17T15:37:00.003Z

Well I think yesterday was one of the best days we've had since we got to America. We got the bus into the city (Washington DC) and had a walk around all the monuments etc. We went to the White house, the big reflection lake which is in Forrest Gump, and also saw the war memorials. We then headed to the Air and Space museum which was entirely free, we ended up playing with all the experiment things they have out so you can have a go yourself, all free!

We then walked back to the hostel, grabbed a chinese, then later in the evening got a few... well... 24 bottles of alcohol from the liquour store and sat infront of the tv watching Independance Day, followed by Home Alone 2. Merry.

We are just hanging out today in the hostel, then catching a bus to Indianapolis this evening at 5pm (all nighter).

We also bought Obama shirts! Yeaaaaaaah!

Wash-ing-ton DC

2008-12-16T03:18:00.003Z

Well we arrived in Washington DC, have found our way to the hostel and got settled in. Its pretty nice, we're practically staying in some guys house, the beds are small double beds which are awesome and really comfortable. We just had a huge chinese dinner out of the lil boxes they have on The Sims, it was soooooooo good.

Going to head into the city tomorrow to have a look around too.

Farewell NYC

2008-12-15T13:22:00.003Z

Well I have a bit of time to kill this morning so I thought i'd quickly do my last post from New York City. It's been a great time here, tho new york is really not me at all, way too busy, way too 'in your face' and it reminds me too much of London. There's been some really cool people in the hostel with us, some Brizlillian guy came in last night and he knows a guy back home that runs the church that Kaka went to, theres Michael who is the nicest guy you've ever met, he's pretty much been everywhere in America and knows everything about it. He even bought Add a huge bottle of Becks because we gave him 2 paracetemol tablets, what a legend!

So yeah, tonight we'll be in Washington DC with George Bush and same tomorrow night, then we will be driving accross to Indianapolis, where we seriously have no idea what we will do as we don't know anything about it! Can't wait!

NYPD

2008-12-14T22:06:00.003Z

So today we went for a walk down Harlem and found a gospel choir, we sat at the back loving every minute of it, I haven't seen so many people singing 'thank you jesus' in all my life. Was brilliant!

Then we took the tube into town, had a walk around and went to Wall Street, then on to Brooklyn Bridge. Once we got there, there was a police guy standing there with his aviators on, so Add and George (our new english room mate) took a pic of him, he then came storming at us and grabbed Add's camera shouting at him to let go of it. He then shouted at us asking how to delete them.. followed by asking Add how old he was, asking 'do you wanna be 23??' once he deleted the pictures we asked him what was going on and he shouted in our faces if we would like it if someone came along and took photos of us while we were working. He was shouting everything at us and really wasn't happy. I'll tell you now i'll be glad to leave New York, it really does kinda suck in my opinion.

We leave tomorrow morning and getting the bus down to Washington D.C. where we will stay a night or 2.

Liberty/Staton island?

2008-12-12T22:26:00.002Z

Well today we went into downtown Manhatten with our friend Timo (he's German and staying in our hostel room). We grabbed some lunch then headed down to the south of Manhatten to see ground zero, it was pretty depressing to be perfectly honest and we only walked past it.

We made our way to the ferry terminal, and saw there was a ferry to Staton island at 2:30, it came, we got on, sat down. We then were wondering what island the statue of liberty is actually on... then realised we were on the complete wrong boat. So we stood up and made a run to the back of the boat where they were just pulling the barrier accross, we called out and they opened it up so we could get off and told us to 'hurry the hell up!!'.

We then made our way to the correct ferry terminal and got a boat accross to liberty island and took some photos. Was good.

Hi there heat

2008-12-10T13:22:00.002Z

Ok, so its 8:25am and I've been up about 20 mins. It was really hot in the hostel room last night and I woke up covered in sweat. We went down and told them it was so hot and he turned the temperature down, probably half a degree as it made no difference. So I had a shower, a cold one, at 6am. Got back in bed, woke up at half 7 covered in sweat again.

Probably the most pointless shower I have ever had. Funny stuff.

I'm now writing this in my pants stannding next to the airvent mounted on the window. Nice.

Don't feel tired at all so it's not so bad either, going to go watch some champions league today at lunch. Add's laptop isnt working properly so we're taking that back too. Brilliant.

New York, New York,

2008-12-09T20:58:00.003Z

Landed in New York JFK yesterday. After the awfully mapped out train from the airport into downtown Manhatten we found our hostel, right in the middle of Harlem.

It's pretty damn cool, yesterday we walked through central park, took way too many pictures of the squirrels. Wandered down to Times Square which was amazing too.

We were asleep by 8:30 last night due to the jet lag. Were up at 7am this morning so left he hostel to go for a walk again at 7:30. Took another stroll through central park, then down to the Rockerfella tower, took some good pics at the top of there.

Come back to the hostel now and just relaxing before we go into the city again to go up the tower again at night (night shots here I come!)

Week off work

2008-12-01T11:26:00.003Z

Well I left work, last friday. It feels very strange to be home on a Monday with Connie Jean here all day. This time next week i'll be on a flight to New York!

Here is a video my mum took of Connie

La Fille Au Cheveux De Lin

2008-11-20T21:54:00.004Z

Thought i'd upload this.

Where am I?

2008-11-18T13:26:00.001Z

Ring of rainbow
Originally uploaded by Chris Isherwood

Well I haven't updated this for quite a while... I been too damn busy to be honest.

I have under 3 weeks until I go travelling for a year and it's coming round fast. So much to plan, so much to pack and sort out, which is the reason I haven't been on here.

But everything is going well, been messing about with my camera a bit, getting used to all the settings before I embark on my journey.

That's about all I have to say :-)

San Francisco

2008-11-17T14:02:00.001Z

DSCF0123
Originally uploaded by Chris Isherwood

The greatest place on earth. I miss it.

Amelie Maria

2008-09-23T11:22:00.002+01:00

Ok well its 8 days until I go to San Francisco and I`m very excited.

I been taking a lot of pics of the moon recently too, which can be seen on my new `flickr` account page here

www.flickr.com/photos/isherwoodchris

Last but nowhere near least, my sister gave birth to Amelie Maria on the 22nd, so I now have 2 nieces. Awesome stuff :) well done her

The lights go down in San Francisco

2008-09-12T11:02:00.010+01:00

Ok, So I booked a flight to San Francisco to see Ashlee. *smile*. I also downloaded the Bee Gee's 'Best of' and it doesnt even have the lights go down in massechusets, which is awesome song (reason for title).

It was pretty cheap and I am selling my xbox 360 to help pay for it (in order to keep track on with world travelling in December (which is only 86 days away now)).

I am very very excited as never been to America before. I can't wait to have a chili dawg.

I been working alot, talking to Ashlee alot, aaaannnd thats about all really. Not alot exciting.

Ohhh yes, I went to London Zoo which was awesome. Giraffes are awesome. Going up to London again for Nina's birthday in a week or 2 to do some kareoke and visit some random Ice bar? No idea.

wwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Oh and its harvest moon soon, so look out for it being all orange n sheet.

And finally, I discovered the magical world of 'In the night garden'. Its bloody brilliant! Its a tv program my niece watches, well, I say 'watch'... we sit her infront of the tv playing with her toys while we watch it. It has the Pontipine's, who are the most awesome family ever.

Here they are!

The pontipines are friends of mine,

Although they're only small,

Even when theres ten of them,

They're hardly there atall!

Mooning

2008-08-26T10:23:00.004+01:00

Long time no blog, indeed.

All is fine, went to London again with my Ghetto homies which was awesome once again, never fail to have a good time. South East rail suck, majorly. I think i'll walk next time I go up there.

Finally confirmed our flight out of the country in December, the 8th to be precise, at 8:20am. Nice early start. Boomshakalaka.

Been out taking some pictures of the moon aswell, and also moved my furniture around my room for a bit of a channnnnge.

Here is Mr. Moon. In his full.

No More Bets

2008-07-28T10:56:00.004+01:00

Great weekend has just passed.

Saturday I went to Canterbury and paid off the rest of my holiday flights, so thats now done and dusted, time to move onto saving for the remaining time I have left in the country.

Had a Wagamama for lunch which was lush, then chinese for dinner which was even more lush, I think I may have overdosed on noodles however.

Then in the evening I went to the Casino, it was awesome. Lost 40 quid but won 35 quid so only 5 down. Happy with that!

Then, sunday, I did nothing!

New laptop, All's good

2008-07-18T09:33:00.003+01:00

Bought my badass new laptop.

It's aweeeesome.

Things are going well at the moment, i've done a hell of alot of exercise which probably helps. Been out on my bike alot and played a fair bit of football too.

Nothing much to report to be honest, just living life I guess.

Life

2008-07-11T18:11:00.001+01:00

My life is officially now back on track.

Appologies if you have been effected by my negativity recently.

I can now gladly say the phase has passed and I am now better than ever.

Thank you to the ones that have stuck there.

Freedom

2008-07-05T16:05:00.006+01:00

Today I felt free. I cycled 6 miles to a beach, and I sat on a bench and read. I forgot about a lot of stuff going on at the moment and I felt really out there in the open world. It was awesome.

So thank you beach, thank you bench, thank you book, and thank you bike for helping me feel free today.

Rock on!!

Whilst cycling back I gained a puncure. So I got off, I took the wheel off, i patched it up, put it on, pumped it up. Hell yeah, it worked.

Great sense of achievement, cycled home.

I swear this is what weekends are all about.

Guitar hero is AMAZING

2008-06-29T20:32:00.004+01:00

I bought guitar hero today, Aerosmith edition (Aerosmith ROCK) and its UNREAL.

I LOVE IT.

I also realised its so much more fun when you rock it out.

So yeah, all afternoon i've been rocking it out with my **** out

Helium Usage

2008-06-27T11:51:00.002+01:00

Place: Frankie and Benny's

e-Monkeys night out fooding and bowling!

Awesome fun!

Coconut? or Bear egg?

2008-06-23T15:30:00.005+01:00

Its Monday. I had a good weekend. Saturday I worked all day, was busy, some crappy wedding occurred.

Sunday I watched the grand prix, well done Massa. I also realised I have Lego man hair.

I have also set up a random spin-off site which is amusing to say the least.

http://beareggcoconut.googlepages.com/

Hooray for the Lonely Heart's Club. A portal for completely made up people to look for absolutely nothing. Entirely pointless. But amusing none the less.

Goals

2008-06-19T16:23:00.010+01:00

After a very... eventful weekend, I have been thinking recently about life in general and I have a few things on my list I set to achieve before I lose the opportunity.

become good friends with an HB10 - Done
climb a high hill/mountain and dance at the top of it
gain confidence to a point where I don't care about appearance
look good
grow a beard - Done
have a son called Charlie
have a daughter
get married
have an affair
own a zippo lighter - Done

I think thats about all I can think of, I had more earlier but... now that I'm here typing they seem to have disappeared. Maybe because its hot and I have nothing but Irn Bru to keep me occupied.

Tattoo's... Yay or nay?

2008-06-08T21:02:00.008+01:00

7th June...

18:30 - Board train to London
20:30 - Meet Rob + Erwin
20:40 - Spread Eagle

....Drink....

23:00 - Leave pub
23:15 - 01:30 - Walking around London, mostly Leiscter Square, walking up to random groups of people and asking for there views/opinions of things.

90% Success rate....

Awesome time.

03:00 - Head back to Rob's
04:30 - Walking through some random town back to Rob's place, sun is up
05:00 - Guitar hero, I sucked at Cliff's of Dover, Rob rocked out with his pants + socks
05:30 - Alan Partridge on (awesome quote in vid below) - fall asleep

07:00 - Feeling like shit, too hot, head hurts, stomach hurts - bad times.
08:45 - Wake up, get dressed
09:00 - Leave Rob's - get bus, then tube.
10:00 - Parting words to Rob, get on another train
10:30 - Extremely tired, get on the wrong tube train
11:00 - Correct my tube train selection - almost fall asleep standing up
12:00 - Arrive at Victoria station
12:30 - Bought 2 Donuts from Krispy Kreme - Good choice.
13:00 - Leave Victoria - get woken up by a gentle poke from the ticket guy
15:00 - Get back to Dover.

Awesome.

Phrases of the night:

'Maybe just have a beefburger for ya palm ya' no'
'Tattoos.... Yay or nay?'
'We need a hoover in here!'
'Gennaro Gattuso Gianluca Zambrotta Anrea Pirlo'

Blogging?

2008-06-05T09:46:00.002+01:00

I start blogging. It's Thursday the 5th of June and I decided to start blogging.

So I'm at work, doing the usual.

I'm looking forward to the weekend, I'm also looking forward to the KFC we're getting for lunch today.

Saturday night I'm going to London out drinking with my home boi Roberto.

Doing some Serginho'ing