We Do Adventure

If yesterday I pulled my van over to snap a view I was particularly enjoying today I was indulging in a bit of drive-by shooting! Okay, technically, this picture is actually the result of a ride-by: I was out cycling by the lakes in Jajce, soaking up the last of the autumn sun as sunk slowly behind the mountains. I don't know what Ansel Adams would have thought of the digital revolution. Did he ever grab a photo one-handed whilst riding a bike? I doubt it. However, he did create art . Nevertheless, I'm not complaining about this image. Under the circumstances it does a great job of capturing the moment. Less than an hour later the moon was up, but those photos won't find their way online!

Rowan and I were out last night with friends. Come the end of the evening and I’m dropping people home. With the last person in the Kombi we have ten minutes to cross town to beat their curfew! We turn left at one of the bigger junctions in Mostar almost to run over one of two police officers who’ve stepped into the road. I indicate and pull over. While you never quite know what to expect in these situations there are two things you can guarantee. You’ll need to show your licence and the papers for the vehicle. I reached for my wallet; my passenger for their seatbelt! The office said something that was probably: let’s see your licence and your papers. I handed them over anyway. He wandered off – they always do that. I thought we were undoubtedly heading for a curfew busting delay. Surely there’d be questions about if we’d been drinking – we hadn’t – and they couldn’t fail to comment on the sorry state of the kombi. They did neither. Our quiet conversation was interrupted by an ‘izvoli...

It’s cold. We’ve have snow and wind this week. Plenty of both. And in a city predominantly without central heating you really notice it. I certainly do. Our house in the UK was an 80s era Wimpy ‘Superwarm’ home. It was mid-terrace and lived up to its name. Here we have three external walls and no insulation, at least none I’m aware of. Without central heating you notice how the whole building just stays cold. We do have new windows, so it could be worse. The air-conditioner doubles as a hot air blower – nice for drying the eyes out but does little to change the underlying chill in the air. The comfort in all this is knowing that in a few short months we’ll doubtless be posting about how hot it is and how the air-conditioner does little to alter that!