A Tale of Two Falls

At the start of today's hike in Northumberland, England, we came upon a hiker who had slipped and made a faceplant on the street. He was elderly, and his vision was sub-par. He was bleeding from cuts beside one eye and on his wrist.

My brother-in-law had a surprising variety of wound dressings in his pack, my better half performed medical services. I held the hiker's broken spectacles, while another bystander called 999.

A NHS (National Health Service) rescue vehicle showed up in under five minutes and two paramedics took over.

The old man's biggest concern was that he was causing trouble.

Travels With Our Nephews, June 2016

Today we start an adventure with our nephews (7 and 8) and their parents.

Lost Stories

My mother-in-law has acquired a photo mat with 17 cutouts.

17 just happens to be the right number for her to be surrounded by baby photos of her children, her children's partners, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchild. 16 babies, one matriarch.

My partner's photo is a vertical-format portrait, which means he's deprived of his cranium in the landscape 3 x 5 dictated by the mat. We look like Winston Churchill dolls.

Travel Gear: Wot, No Passport?

On a recent flight from Tokyo to San Francisco, I found a Canadian passport.

Cycling Around Hakata Station

I had thirty minutes to kill before boarding a bullet train, enough time for a bicycle-themed walk.

I was outside Hakata Station, the busiest train station on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands. I tried to walk predictably so as not to confuse cyclists who shared the sidewalk with pedestrians.

About 17% of weekday trips in Japan are by bicycle. These are short trips around town. Most bikes are simple, heavy, one-speed mamachari (Mommy chariots).

Travel Gear: UK Electrical Adapter

Next month we'll be taking our nephews and their parents to the UK. Today the mother of the nephews asked me about adapters for UK electrical outlets.

I had anticipated the question and had stocked up on this necessary item. Ax-Man, a local surplus store had a supply of UK adapters at 75 cents apiece.

Journeys Through the Eyes of Children

I'm planning a June trip to the UK. We're bringing our nephews (7 and 8) and their parents.

We start in Edinburgh, Scotland, then hop on a train to Morpeth, Northeast England, near where I grew up. We're carrying backpacks and we won't be taking cabs.

I expect my nephews will revel in small things rather than big sights. Through their eyes I will see the world a little differently.

Travel does not have to be an exercise in consumption. I will never take the boys to a Disney park, but when they're about 16, I want to abandon them in a European city with enough money for hostels and basic travel. A week later, we'd meet again in a different city in a different country with stories to share.

Urban Bike: Purple Rain Tour

As I get older, I find it's best to focus on one task at a time. In fact, a task can become so engrossing it pushes out thoughts of everything else. Some would call this a deficiency of aging, I call it an advantage.

Last Wednesday, it was time for a bike ride with purpose. I wouldn't know the results of CT and bone scans until the next day, and didn't want my mind to drift to the worst possible outcomes. A bicycle tour of Purple Rain movie locations was a perfect diversion.

Bathroom Humor

My nephews will giggle when they see this sign in June.

I'm taking my nephews (7 and 8), their parents, and my partner, Dwight, to the area where I grew up. I took the photograph last year in the main train station of my home town, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

I expect a few bathroom giggles along the way. We change planes in Paris and I've explained it's OK to say "wee-wee" (oui, oui) there. They giggled deliriously at the subversiveness.

My 8-year-old nephew will fit right in. He sometimes announces in an impeccable English accent "I have to see a man about a dog." This is a euphemism in the UK for having to go to the bathroom.