I loves me some gear

One of the best parts of my job is reviewing gear – whether it’s brand-new, vintage, retro or just plain awesome – I loves to test me some gear.

Below are a few of my picks over the past couple of months (as published in bmi Voyager magazine and Wideworld magazine)

Shiny and New (Courtesy of: bmi Voyager Oct 2010)

Retro Gear Must Haves (Courtesy of: bmi Voyager Nov 2010)

2010 Pick of Winter Adventure Gear (Courtesy of Wideworldmag.com)

For a closer look, click on the links to view the PDFs: October Gear, November Gear and Winter Gear

Moth Sailing in the UK

Twice a week, every week, when I was younger my parents would take my brother and me to the the Royal Brunei Yacht Club… Partly due to the sailing lessons/regattas and partly to allow for the social aspects of growing up in an expat community.

In my experience, when you are young, you do not appreciate how lucky you are to have the possibility to learn and do such wonderfully exciting and challenging activities. Having spent a few years sailing week-in-and-week-out (where I grew to be a tad handy), I can freely admit that there were times when I couldn’t wait to get back on shore for a game of British bulldog or go rollerblading – I just never got the sailing bug the way some others did.

I like to believe that should I have continued developing my sea legs until I was older,  Hydrofoiling is exactly the direction I would have gone. Put simply, this is totally awesome.

Here is my piece on a relatively new form of sailing: Hydrofoil sailing

Hydrofoil moth sailing (bmi Voyager Nov 2010). Image of courtesy: Adam May

Rising Star: Lewis Floyd Henry

Here’s to persistence, stubbornness and just sticking at what makes you happy!

For the October issue of Voyager, the focus of our Rising Star was the British musician Lewis Floyd Henry. Born and raised in London’s South East, this Jimi Hendrix doppelgänger has spent a good few years busking on the Brick Lane with his remarkable one-man-band act… being the hit-and-miss world that busking can be, things finally seem to be on the way up for this colourful character… Read more.

Rising Star: Lewis Floyd Henry (bmi Voyager Oct 2010)

Top 10 adventurous golf courses

So the strangest thing happened last week.. The entire sporting world was captivated by a nerve-racking battle between the finest competitors from both the US and Europe – the strange thing was that this ‘edge-of-your-seat’ excitement was stimulated by golf.

I mean let’s face it, golf, (despite its best efforts and ludicrous amounts of financial investment) is a bit rubbish. Normally, it’s just watched by fat men in shorts, and played as an excuse to get out the house for 4hours so that (mostly) men can avoid being bossed around doing chores.

Watching this year’s Ryder Cup reminded me of a quote from England cricketer Graeme Swann, just after England won the 2009 Ashes, when whilst elated he said something along the lines of: This is brilliant!… I mean it’s cricket! It’s supposed to be a little bit shit.

This exactly echoes my  thoughts on golf. Therefore, at Wideworld we decided on how to make golf interesting… I give you: The world’s most adventurous golf courses.

 

Courtesy of: Wideworldmag.com

 

MBAs – The Creative Masters

Cometh October, cometh the October issues.

With the fresh batch of October magazines having arrived in the office, it is again time to clutter up my room and continue to pad up my portfolio. Alongside the usual pages that I am charged to write, Voyager also commissioned me to write the annual overview on what is happening on the MBA scene, which I happily obliged.

Realizing that there is a growing  need for more flexible management in businesses both big and small, many of Europe’s business schools are opting for a sharper focus on management specialism. Click here to read the PDF, or below to read online.

Creative Masters - BMI Voyager (Oct. 2010)

Interview: Jean-Michel Jarre

Normally when meeting a celebrity it is difficult not to be a tad starstruck – even when you know deep down inside that the only reason they are famous is that essentially all they can do is kick a ball, albeit really accurately.

Then there are times when you meet someone whose career is such a masterclass of success that you somehow find yourself suggesting that his biography should be released in more volumes than there are Harry Potter books. I will admit that it was the latter when the lovely folk at RyanAir asked me to interview the synth-music maestro and champion of the grand-spectacle, Jean-Michel Jarre.

If you’re not familiar with this man’s work, then spend two-minutes skimming his bio… However, if you’re more keen on finding out his holiday habits, then click here or read the PDF.

Holiday Habits - Courtesy of RyanAirMag.com

The Puglia article

Due to its fractious history, no two places in Italy are the same.

However, with this in mind, it is almost impossible to say that what Puglia offers isn’t something quintessentially Italian.

Here is the online version of my feature for RyanAir magazine.

The Pull of Puglia - Courtesy of RyanAirMag.com

Everybody surfing now..

This year’s summer was one like any other. On those precious weeks of excellent weather over the British isles, thousands of people jumped in their cars, mounted their bikes and even chartered their choppers all to head to one destination: the beach.

With surfing being one of the Britain’s fastest growing sports,  every year hundreds of people take to the waves to join in the fun. However, what is it that really separates those pro surfers from my thwarted attempts to cut and twist the waves into submission?

Courtesy of wideworld magazine‘s “How to…” series, I interviewed four time World Surfing Championship judge Joanne Hillman, and asked her for the low down on what to look out for when watching surfing.

How to.. score a surfing contest

How to... Courtesy of WideWorldmag.com

Book Review: The Contortionist’s Handbook

It has been a long time since I last picked up a book and was instantly hooked. But after the reading the very first line of Craig Clevenger’s 2003 debut The Contorionist’s Handbook that was exactly the case..

The story introduces you to John Dolan Vincent, a man born with an extra finger on his left hand. Not only does he struggle with this abnormality, but he has led a life blighted by substance abuse and mental illness. In essence the protaganoist is a damaged man.

The novel is narrated by the protagonist as he flicks between the present day and periods of his life in the past. In the present day, Vincent finds himself within a hospital interigation room in California, where he is probed by the “evaluator” who attempts to learn from Vincent’s psyche whether the overdose that has put him in hospital was accidental or an attempt at suicide.

The author shows his cards early on by revealing that this is not Vincent’s first evaluation, but the hospital has no record of Vincent at all – as far as they are aware they are talking to Daniel Fletcher. The novel from here sees a tet-a-tet between Fletcher/Vincent and the evaluator as Vincent attempts to avoid letting slip that after every overdose he takes on a different identity, and therefore avoid being placed into either jail or a mental hospital.

Clevenger uses the psychiatric evaluation as the vehicle allowing him to flick between Vincent’s rough upbringing, where he was constantly ridiculed for his extra digit, and where he constantly found himself on the wrong side of the law.

Texan-born Clevenger’s first novel really hit a note with me. The creation of Vincent as an architype antihero is well developed. Sympathetic to his plight of years of him being plagued by ‘godsplitting’ migranes and constant trouble with the law from a young age, Vincent seems to have simply had enough. Knowing nothing else he falls in love with Keara, who gives his life a meaning and direction that he had never had before.

Creating the atmosphere in the interogation room is definately Clevenger’s strength, creating a tense mood as we are walked through the miticulous thought process of Vincent.

For a novel that would seemlessley transfer into the big screen, I would firmly sink my flag in the opposition’s corner. At only 200pages, with plot twists and enough will-he-wont-he charachters that the modern day movie goers are so enticed by, this reallly is a standout book, that can easily be devoured over a summer’s weekend.

out.

Gadget Review: V-man Power Pack

(As reviewed on wideworld magazine)

Product

Varta V-Man Power Pack

Promise

Offering the freedom to portably charge your personal high-tech devices whenever and wherever you want, regardless of whether there’s a power socket in sight.

V-man: plug-in and charge before you leave

Performance

Boop – low battery. Without a doubt, one of the worst sounds you can hear. And as we WideWorlders know, being cut off from your phone when there is no power socket around is not only frustrating, but at times can be disastrous.

With phones containing 5 mega pixel cameras, mp3 players, maps and apps, portable power packs have become essential for people heading outdoors for more than a couple of days.

While portable power packs are not a new concept, the V-man stakes its claim at the top of the heap. On appearance, the sleek white casing looks stylish as well as slim, and the retractable cord – to connect the pack to devices – gets rid of fiddly wires that tangle and take up space. The package includes eight connectors, including the versatile mini and micro-USB plugs, as well as adapters for Apple, Blackberry, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola.

Before use, the V-man’s lithium-ion battery needs to be charged, either from the wall socket or a PC – this takes about three hours. Varta claims that when fully charged the V-man can refill two mobile phones or 10 mp3 players before running out of juice. This seems somewhat ambitious, and users should consider the devices in question before completely relying on the box notes.

Some WideWorld tests saw the V-man only managing to fully charge one thirsty Apple iPhone 3G, but it did perform better on a Nokia 5800. MP3 players were the biggest winners from the testing, with six iPods charging fully before the power pack needed to be plugged back into the wall.

One negative aspect of the V-Man is the number of pieces that make up the device. It’s true, the eight adaptors allow market flexibility as they cater for a range of phones and MP3 players, but if you include the wall charger, the power pack, the USB adaptor and the retractable lead, it totals 12 separate pieces. It is also notable that it does not cater for charging either the Sony PSP or Nintendo DS.

Verdict

In terms of portably recharging your phone, the V-man ticks all the boxes. Although the stored power isn’t as enduring as Varta claims, the stylish device is versatile and should be an ever-more essential part of the traveller’s kit.

Price

£34.99