30 Days & 30 Nights Challenge - Complete!

Well there we go - with over five days to spare I got my 100 caches for my first challenge cache! 64 Traditionals, 20 Multis, 10 Puzzles, 2 Virtuals, 2 Letterbox Hybrids, 1 Earthcache and 1 Event later and I can stop going out and doing dozens of caches at a time. Now just back to the 365 Days challenge... Hehehe.

FTF Geocacher Pathtag

Today I received a pathtag in the post. Here in the UK, they don't seem to be all the rage like they are across the pond. They're mentioned in pretty much every issue of the world's first printed geocaching magazine, FTF Geocacher. I am an avid fan of this Texan publication even though most of the articles have a distinctive American spin on the hobby. I mean when am I going to have to beware of bears when I go caching? Our "cache 'n' dashes" are their "park 'n' grabs" though, which is simple enough to translate (although I think our phrase is catchier!)

I was quite surprised that my article would even be considered for an American-audience magazine when I was writing about my 500th find up a wind farm in rural Wales but to my delight it was there in print in Volume 1 Issue 5. Four issues later and I find that my editorial on self-coined "georienteering" has also been published. Well, orienteering is fantastic and geocachers are likely to enjoy the hobby so I thought I would use this platform to introduce more people to it. I have since submitted two more smaller bits and perhaps they will feature in the next issue? I just can't help myself! I like writing and sharing stuff, hence this blog, so even if no one else cares, I at least feel like I've managed to arrange my thoughts!

As a literal token of his appreciation, FTF Geocacher creator and editor Keith Petrus (ckpetrus) sent me a path tag in the post (sorry, mail) which is now amongst my treasured trackables collection. It's not a trackable, but it looks a bit like a little geocoin so that feels like a logical place to keep it! Thanks ckpetrus! I'm really glad you like my submissions. I shall try to rein in my enthusiasm though and let others get a word in edgeways! LOL

Two legends' graves...

It wasn't until recently that I realised that both Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writer of the Sherlock Holmes books, and Victorian nurse, Florence Nightingale are both buried in Hampshire. With regards to the former, I like the little touch that there is a pipe at his grave stone. It's elementary!



Florence Nightingale is buried with her family at a small church, St. Margaret's, west of Romsey. She grew up in the area and requested that she was buried there. There is a virtual cache at the location and the listing describes how she came to be there thus:

"Florence’s relatives declined the offer of burial in Westminster Abbey, as she left directions that her funeral should be of the simplest possible kind, and that her body should be accompanied to the grave by not more than two persons. She is buried beside her father and mother. The body was borne to the grave by six of her "children" of the British Army-sergeants drawn from the several regiments of the Guards. Her desire that only two persons should follow the coffin could not be fulfilled. The funeral arrangements were kept as private as was possible; but there was a wreath of flowers from people of every kind, age and degree, and the lane and churchyard were filled with a great crowd of men, women, and children, most of them poorly dressed." What an inspirational woman!

Industry at night

I don't know how unusual this is, but I love industrial structures. Well, as said below in my Spinnaker entry, I love tall buildings. But this extends to tall structures (e.g. cranes, towers, chimneys, pylons, masts etc.) and large structures (e.g. huge ships, huge bridges, huge mountains even). I can't help but gawp at industrial structures as they are usually large and spectacular, even if a lot of people think they're an eyesore (unsurprisingly I love wind turbines!) I love Port Talbot's steelworks, the cooling towers at Didcot, the oil refinery at Fawley... Well if there's one thing that makes huge industrial structures even more appealing to me, it's seeing them at night. I was so captivated by the sight I got this evening of the cranes at the docks in Southampton that I had to try and get a photo - not easy at night; could have done with a tripod! By the way, that eerie colour of the sky was less apparent in real life, but I think it looks pretty good, actually.

30 Days & 30 Nights Challenge

It's about time I stopped setting challenges and started doing one! Well, admittedly I am working towards my 365 days of caching, but that won't be finished until June (hopefully!) but then last night I was looking at a very popular local challenge, 30 Days & 30 Nights. I was going to put it off, but I figured why not go for it now? January is half empty on the caching calendar so I'm going to have to cache a lot this month anyway. Add to that the fact that I intend to get a lot of unusual cache types soon (Letterboxes and Virtuals), and there aren't many around here I haven't done yet, then I should combine getting them with qualifying for the challenge. I made a start on the challenge after work today, getting a measly 7 out of the required 100, but hey, it's a start...