well... this is fun!

i'm in marseille at the moment, just finished up 2 weeks of sailing events here in le sud de france. took a lithuanian opti sailor for a test run in the new rig i've been helping to develop - was the day of his life even though there was no wind. every third car on the road in Cannes was moretti... spent 3 beautiful evenings with my friend's family in st. raphael, and just finished watching the finals of the world match racing tour in marseille... watching my ozzi friends unfortunately not sail so famously. better luck next time boyz!

here is some FUN from a photo shoot back up in the north of england... always up to something!

bonjour Cavalaire-sur-Mer!

sailing in southern france - taking out the norwegian sailing team

to taste the 29erXX, the sailboat i'm promoting for the Olympics in 2016!

it was ridiculously strong and shifty breeze (in sailing shifty=shitty) which

meant a lot of fast manoeuvres, and wipeouts!

good recipe for adrenaline and smiles...

view from the apartment i'm staying in for the week.

i called the yacht club the week before i left england thinking,

i need to let them know i'm coming - and need a place to stay!

Louic runs the yacht club and he gave me sa copine's numero de telephone.

céline est une ange, she arranged an apartment for us in the vacant

luxe-holiday apartment complex. in the off-season there are only 6k

people who live in Cavalaire-sur-Mer, in summer, 60k.

she has become my best-friend-on-the-ground, and doesn't speak

any english at all, so it's excellent for my french!

really, i'm having just a terrible time...

quelle vie!

Dear Daddad

A letter from you once began,

Liz, my love,

I know you are having a wonderful time on the high seas. I doubt if I would have the courage to do it. At a younger age I flew off carriers but they were much larger... Mammo only sailed on the Hudson. I took her out on my cousin's sailboat in 1947. It was not an exciting adventure since the river was almost like glass - boring. She wasn't sold on the idea of sailing and that was the end of our nautical capers.

Thanks for the picture. I got a glimpse of my lovely granddaughter and another glimpse of my mother's beautiful blue eyes.

Oceans of love. Daddad

You were impressed by the adventures I might have had at sea, but you knew I couldn’t do any of it without the boundless energy, strength and inspiration I draw from you.

And I might still be off in far places, but you are always near, especially as I construct gliders out of styrofoam and fibre glass with my airplane fanatic friends! We had a flying contest after Christmas breakfast off their balcony. I could almost smell the balsa wood models and rubber-band propellers over the warm July grass. And in the not too far distance I could hear sea planes coming or going, but either way their engines murmuring memories of you.

As I sit and write now, I remember a report I once gave you on Willa Cather’s Song of the Lark, a birthday read thanks to Uncle John. I was enthralled by her craft and still am - how she weaves the delicate strings of pain that tie love and joy together.

I want you to remember, that although we miss you and feel a pang in our hearts, we will always love and celebrate you. Thank you for all the stories, memories, history and genes – your blessed presence will forever enrich our lives.

For not a day goes by that I don’t start a proud story with, “Well MY GRANDFATHER…”

it's a girl!

¡ in the boatyard packing up my new baby girl !

took 20 different people out sailing this weekend at my first regatta here in the UK... come Sunday was known by all as "the enthusiastic american girl".

Are we surprised?

it was heeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaps fun!!!

: D

soy 2 clever for my shirt, so clever it hurts...

from time to time one needs reminding of the word 'coalesce'. so a quick trip to dictionary.com to see that yes, it really does signify what i thought it did, and its seductive sibilance truly requires an s and c.

and lo! a question of the day, how fun!

What is the difference between flaunt and flout?

well... i had a think...

enjoyingthe tickle of firing electrons as my mind hunted the answer!

.... and finally, ah-ha!

"an o"

the 2 letters exchanged with the 1 to create the new word.

i'm so terribly clever!

so i click to glean my reward, knowing i had achieved the riddle, and what do i discover?

"Flaunt and flout are sometimes confused because of their superficial similarities. Toflaunt is 'to show off; to display ostentatiously', as in "If you've got it, flaunt it." Flaunt's origin is unknown. To flout is 'to treat with contempt or to show contempt for,' or 'to treat with disregard', as in "Nevertheless, do not flout the rules." Flout may come from a Dutch word fluiten 'to play the flute' or 'to mock'. Got it? Flaunt it!"

hmmm. i think i win!

another case and point for my ongoing life's works:

!go loca or go home!

to market to market

Market day. Really just an excuse to get out of the house and go into town. Which is actually referred to as the 'village'. Whenever I say I'm heading to 'town' people think I'm heading into Newcastle, a 20 minutes train trip. Of course I provoke a bit more surprise when I say "I'm just going to run up and take of my pants". My work pants are bulky and covered in various forms of paints and epoxy. I don't like to wear them at home. But its an awkward thing to say when 'trousers' are what you wear on top, and 'pants' are what go underneath.

find the merchant

I picked this one up and it bit me!

can you find a dog, a yawn, a small tin cup?

How much for the water?

bored of bowling, the gypsy had no time for rice.

Lunch was a Peas Pudding and Ham sandwich followed by a raspberry chili scone.

all for pun and pun for all!

"Vague Pronoun Reference Conflates Fiction with Military Policy: Confusion Ensues"

or

whaaaa?

Were you aware?

Here in the UK, elevators are referred to as "lifts".

Is this

a) inappropriate

b) wildly entertaining

c) British

d) All of the above

She blinded me with Science!

Does anyone else think this is so hilarious that you would have run across the truck stop at 0700 hrs in zero degrees to snap a quick photo, or do you have to be a Rountree?