photos!

Saying hello to Helford

What's new! 

Well for starters my leg is finally getting back to normal (apart from my new pirate inspired scar). Had my cast off at the end of June and had the grand reveal of a beautiful yeti-inspired limb. But every day my leg is getting better, I have almost mastered stairs. My hobble is now a walk, but my fast walk is now a hobble...but it's all baby steps (if you pardon the pun).






June and July have seen reunions and hangs with a few old friends! My girl Petra, who I met on Koh Rong, has been in town. So we've been chilling, driving, BBQing and getting Trollied (but not how me normally do, this time it involved Aldi, a lack of wheelchair and an actual trolley). Me, Petra and Sean went to NASS a couple weekends ago. Its a BMX/Skate/Drum'n'Bass festival in Bristol and let's just say a lot has changed since my last festival...mostly me getting older. I must have missed the memo where fishnet shorts and the neon thongs combo became a thing...


Another reunion was with my old shipmate, the drunken sailor- Big Gay Will! From the dawn, to Cambodia, to the snooty fox and wherever next!

And most recently having Kirstyn come down from Glasgow, spontaneously, for the weekend! We had lunch with Nan and Grandad so she had a proper English culture exchange and witnessed a proper "Stannard goodbye" and the Nan-At-The-Window Wave. I decided to show her the sights if Crawley High Street on a Friday night and Jubilee Oak in its full glory- then a sunny Saturday in Brighton.



And as much as I hate to say it I have had a good time living back at home- surprisingly I have a tan to prove it! Its been great having catch ups with the fans, BBQ's, babysitting, dogsitting, getting drunk phone calls from mum etcetc

But alas, for now I have moved down to the West Coast for the summer and can now add the title "Pizza Chef" to my resume as I spend the next 8 weeks with my bicycle and paddleboard exploring Helford and Falmouth,  eating some pasties, and enjoying a rattler (or two).

Goodbye the Hof

May 1st

What's new? I've finally left The Hof and all the antics that I had there; snowboarding, seshing and #squadgoals. Until next year! (Watch this space). The next destination from the Alps was to Wolfsberg, just south of Graz. Aka the other side of the country. Now- you know what i'm like when it comes to spending unnecessary $£€ (especially when I'm unemployed and just had the couple weeks I've had) so backpack packed and I was on my way- round 1 of hitchhiking had begun.

These rides weren't as characterized as my 400-something KM one in Cambodia/Thailand at the end of last year. The epic millionaire/monk/back of a policeman's moto/ pick up truck combo I had going on would take a lot to beat, but I did have some nice people. Got a guy who worked in one of the bars, who I had a load of mutuals with, a friendly Serbian trucker, an Austrian Logger (complete with accordion tunes on the stereo) the only thing he needed was laidenhoses and a Schnitzel and the stereotype would've been complete. The last guy was really nice, Ivan, and he picked me up just before Germany and took me over 100km to the A9 road to Graz.

So at this time I've done maybe 300 miles...now that's not bad considering the night before was the last night in Mayrhofen and it was a beer pong tournament. Ivan dropped me at a service station and as I waved goodbye and watched  him hit the highway I had a feeling I'd forgotten something
...

Only my travel companion for the past 5 years- Bob! Ladybob! Bob the bug! My pillow pet I picked up in Aus for $2 in 2014. He's come everywhere with me. From camping in Cornwall, to Cambodian jungle to cruising the pacific. Every story I've got- Bobs been there (or at least waiting on my bed for me). But now he's gone his separate way for his new adventures across Europe with Ivan.
Unfortunately for me my adventure didn't get much better.

After 90 minutes of waiting with no luck and the sun fading, I decided to creep into the service station and set up camp...in the Wild Bean Cafe. Was it warm and dry? Yes. Was it free? Yes. Was it comfy? Absolutely not.

But the next day, the sun was out and the posi vibes were back on! Up at sunrise to catch some truckers heading south. By 7am- nothing. 8am- nothing. 9am- finally! A girl, similar age to me, says she's not going Graz but can take me a bit of the way and to a better place for picking up a ride....bullshit!

When I get there, not only has she dropped me in a terrible place, with nowhere to stop OR people going in my direction- BITCH JUST DROVE ME 30KM IN THE WRONG DIRECTION AKA THE WAY I JUST CAME.

After 3h, at 12pm, still 200km from my destination I decided to redirect my thumb to the nearest Banhof (train station) and begrudgingly coughed up the €14 to get me from Linz to Graz and get Bong Dennis to pick me up from there.

But what a reunion! Now- not sure how much I've spoke about Big D on my blog (not so big now, he's lost 30kg since I last saw him!) But he's my absolute bro from Cambo. Next door neighbor, fire spinning, bad influencing, happy cookie chomping, alcoholic, triclops adventurer and the co-creator of the cursed room. To summerise our friendship in a quote from the legend Mitchy Mitch:

"I can barely handle either of you when you're sober...but the two of you when you're drunk...?!?"

So of course, the first night said Auf Wiedersehen to a crate of beer and hallo to a 5am splash in his pool. The next five days saw us outdoor adventuring, city exploring, helping mama Dennis stock up her new bar (and taste the cocktails) and a spot of relaxing in the hot tub.

But the adventure must go on (until I come back on the weekend haha) so I am currently enroute to Budapest with my new mate Sam from Blablacar (didn't fancy hitching in this rain). A few days in Hungary, a few €1 beers and a bit more time spent exploring before I'm back to work next month.

Home, Sweet Home.

December 18th saw a shock and a very messy bedroom to the family household as I decided to make the pilgrimage back to the UK for the Christmas season!

A quick nip up to the ever-so-sunny Blackpool, Glasgow and down the Coast to Cornwall. A smooth flight over to Poland and now awaiting my flight to my next adventure. Hitting the Alps for Round 2. 2019 style!

Highlight include;

• The big family reunion! And having some decent food, and a fridge full of it! 
• And coffee and cocktail catch ups with everyone from the past few years I haven't seen. 
• Dancing the evening away to Madness in Brighton. Family bonding over some ciders and ska.
• Christmas and New Year. Even the quiet ones are never really that quiet in my family.
• Going to Blackpool and hitting the arcades, missing out on the infamous illuminations, apparently switched off for my arrival and the closed piers. 
• Spending a few nights with my Scottish family, (massive shout out for putting me up K.B, Gwen, David and Jenna. And helping me out with my Veganuary). Getting pished, almost getting knocked out by Jenna when she was flossing through the Panto, eating a whole tube of salt and vinegar pringles (okay, that's not a highlight for sure haha) 
• Condiment Chaos in Cornwall
• My bus driver getting knocked out on the way home.
• Reuniting with Karma from Koh Rong in Warsaw. Making the most of the cheap alcohol and pretending to speak wayyy more languages than I do.
• Having to evacuate my train and rejoin a new one.

A few snaps from this time, and my last trip through Thailand.

being normal at madness

snowboard squad 2016

80's night with drunk juliette

-11 at the somber Birkenau

cheers to getting pished

apparently not the eiffel tower

head first into scottish culture with some dragon soop

did someone say "flaming absynth"?

catch ups with lucy lou