At the camp ground in Tamanrasset there was a group of five Italian junkies who had decided to hitch-hike across the Sahara to get off heroin. Tamanrasset is the southernmost town in Algeria, sitting almost in the middle of the great desert.
Author Archives: Simon Waters
Rajas, Palaces and Tiger Hunting
Shrubbery filled the narrow space between street and tall gothic windows. The front door was wide open, so I poked my head in to have a look. A large hall with a high ceiling was filled with trophies of numerous animals: rhino, buffalo, antelope of all kinds, a lion or two. I was fascinated and went in to see better. Walking towards the great wooden staircase, I saw to my left a long, high-ceilinged side room, where numerous tiger heads snarled from the panelled walls.
The International Academy of Hosiery Studies (Hackney)
There will be an exhaustive series of talks and papers on numerous aspects of hosiery, and specifically its unexplained absence. All our work will explore this profoundly topical subject from an historical, cultural, philosophical, post-modernist, Marxist, and literary perspective.
The loss of a sock is both a profound moment, and a mundane interlude. For some it may even be a transcendental experience.
Partners for Life
15 minutes I once said to a long standing climbing partner, ‘We’ve spent some of the best days of our lives together’, he looked at me with surprise, paused for a few moments and then replied, ‘You’re right we have!’ A climbing partner shares some of our greatest moments: the excitement, the fun and theContinue reading “Partners for Life”
Yukon Adventure
There are strange things done in the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold; The Arctic trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold;
Refuse the Cruise
Protesting Cruise Missile Testing in the Canadian North 20 minutes In the winter of 1984 Jim Bohlen, one of the founders of Greenpeace and then Greenpeace Canada anti-nuclear campaigner; Kevin McKeown, Greenpeace Canada action coordinator; and two others chained themselves to the only entrance to the Cold Lake air force base 150 miles NE ofContinue reading “Refuse the Cruise”
Boris and Bill
In 1993, when Clinton and Yeltsin met in Vancouver, Greenpeace Canada had no action team in the west, and I was hired on contract when an action coordinator was needed. So Steve called me into the Greenpeace office and told me he wanted to do an action to get ending nuclear testing back on the table when the presidents met.
Norway, Let the Last Whales Live!
As I swung dangerously out across the water, I hoped I had properly proteced my rope from wearing on the bridge above. We were protesting Norwegian whale hunting with Greenpeace…
Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering-3
Knots in Manali, and War with Pakistan 15 Minutes [Following our ascent of a 17,000 foot ridge overlooking Tibet, we return for exams at the Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering, Manali.] We packed up our tents at high camp, leaving three foot high pedestals of snow where our tents had stood, showing us how much theContinue reading “Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering-3”
Bear Hunting, Goat Sausage and Views Over Tibet
The Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering Part 2 20 minutes. Part 1: A Princess Or An Ice Axe is the first piece on the blog. If you haven’t read it, now is the time. After ten days at the Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering, we set off to continue our training in the mountains. The day afterContinue reading “Bear Hunting, Goat Sausage and Views Over Tibet”
writesimon 