Tube Daze

Exploring London’s Underground Heritage Simon Waters I recently joined those few Londoners who can say they have visited every tube station in London. Even better, I was able to record the exterior of each station building, use every entry and exit, and to walk every foot of every platform, staircase, booking hall and corridor. ThisContinue reading “Tube Daze”

Welcome

India, Greenpeace, Congo, Sahara Welcome to Writesimon.com I spent most of my life seeking adventure; from hitch-hiking alone to India when I was 16, to working with Pygmy peoples in Cameroon and the Congo. I managed Greenpeace’s direct actions from their founding office in Vancouver, climbed in the Himalayas, and Mexico, travelled in China andContinue reading “Welcome”

A shipwreck merchant’s tale (short fiction)

A tale of shipwreck in 300 words 5 minutes “As you see sir, our wharehouse is filled with a ship’s necessities. Come join me in a tumbler of this most excellent rum, while your Bo’sun secures your needs. “If I’d payed attention to my father’s words, I’d have left the village when those navy spiesContinue reading “A shipwreck merchant’s tale (short fiction)”

Climbing in the Rain

The Case for All-Weather Climbing 1735 words/15 minutes “In the Golden Age of climbing, before the ascendency of the rock jock, no climber worth his salt would allow a little rain to deprive him of a days outing. A pint, or six, at the end of a day on the rock is to be encouraged.Continue reading “Climbing in the Rain”

Emei Shan

Climbing China’s sacred mountain and Buddha’s fire 15 minutes I was visiting Taiwan in the spring of 1983, when I first heard rumours that China was open to travellers, but nobody had met anyone who had actually been there. When I got to Hong Kong, I asked around at the hostel, and was shown theContinue reading “Emei Shan”

A Hard Rain Over (the other) China

2000 words/15 minutes [After a year running a youth project in Canada’s NWT…where I lived in an uninsulated cabin in temperatures of -40c, I was travelling around the world, in 1983. I got a crack at being a journalist again, and this time, I actually sent off some articles.] Slightly smaller than Switzerland, Taiwan liesContinue reading “A Hard Rain Over (the other) China”

Slapstick (a folk history)

It was the annual Festival of the Glorious Ewe, the patron saint of Mordek, and the capital was thronged with visitors. Kopek, chief spy of the Pimpleknuckle Confederation, surreptitiously mingled with the crowd disguised as a peasant on a jaunt to town, though his monocle and well waxed handlebar moustaches jarred slightly with his shepherds smock and slouch hat.

Club Ideal Daze

Cameroon’s premiere spot for the savvy traveller 2760 words/15 minutes I went to Cameroon in January 1999 to attend a conference in the capital Yaounde. Or more accurately, I went to a conference in Yaounde to get into Cameroon. Cameroon doesn’t encourage visitors, and so getting a visa to Cameroon requires an invitation from aContinue reading “Club Ideal Daze”