/ Gerald Speers (pogicci)

Movember 2011

1 day (Oct 31, 2011 17:17)
1 country
1 entry (39 words)
1 photos

Every year there is a charity event I like to participate in. It's called Movember. It involves a bunch of my friends not shaving for a month to raise money for prostate cancer. I'm a man, I expect one day to be one of the unlucky members of the male population that gets this annoying disease. I am hedging my bets that some bright spark can find a cure before it knocks me off this mortal coil. So, my motivation might be selfish, but hey, lets go and raise some money for a cancer charity.

Its a Wedestival

21 days (05 Aug 2011 - 26 Aug 2011)
1 country
10 entries (1200 words)

My good and close friends Sophie and Leigh are hitching themselves together in a permanent sort of a manner. I have been kindly invited to be part of the celebrations. I can't wait :-)

The Han Solo Tour

11 days (13 Jul 2008 - 25 Jul 2008)
18780 km (11669 miles)
3 countries
4 entries (285 words)
5 photos

I have decided to leave the sunny climes of England and go to New Zealand on a solo ski holiday. This makes a significant change from my normal holiday experiences. Usually travelling with a companion. This time it's different. No-one to carry the luggage for me, organise the taxi's or make dinner reservations. I'm going Han Solo.

Some Diving Stuff

177 days (24 Oct 2007 - 18 Apr 2008)
2090 km (1299 miles)
2 countries
2 entries (120 words)
14 photos
5 ratings (6 votes)

I have been playing with calculating dive tables. I made a graph of m-Values vs hours using the ZH-L16 Decompression Model.

Blah Blah's Wedding

11 days (27 Feb 2008 - 08 Mar 2008)
18875 km (11728 miles)
2 countries
8 entries (658 words)
30 photos
3.5 ratings (2 votes)

My cousin is getting married. They have chosen to get married in what can best be described as the hardest place to get to in New Zealand. Actually that's not quite true. My good and close friend Tracy Neave got married in Stewart Island a few weeks ago. THAT I think might be the hardest place to get to (from London) in the Universe. I didn't make it to Tracy's wedding. This makes me sad. :-(

We're off to find the Stargate

9 days (26 Nov 2007 - 05 Dec 2007)
4393 km (2730 miles)
2 countries
6 entries (1854 words)
98 photos
4.9 ratings (5 votes)

Jo and I are off to Egypt to track down Daniel Jackson, check out some architecture and do some free diving. Perhaps I should be harping on about the Big Blue rather than SG1... might go and put some stargate DVD's into the TV just to get up to speed. Now where is that book on Hieroglyphs. Gotta be able to translate the cartouche (don't want to get stranded off world).

TEAM MASK LICK'ER

27 days (17 Aug 2007 - 13 Sep 2007)
251 km (156 miles)
1 country
3 entries (222 words)
59 photos
5 ratings (3 votes)

Well the PADI SCUBA Instructors exams are finally upon us. Last night we met at a local pub to go over the final preparations for the weekend long exams. 4 Hours of written exams and then open water, confined water and presentations. It's going to be a very long weekend. The decals have been put on the rental van and now its time to go and pack up the SCUBA tanks and all the other bits that make SCUBA diving such a faf.

Dive Solutions: August Club Night 2007

1 days (14 Aug 2007 - 15 Aug 2007)
1 country
2 entries (55 words)
10 photos
4.7 ratings (10 votes)

Every second Tuesday of the month my scuba diving club goes to the pub. This is where I put the embarrassing photos

The Missing Gear DM Tune-up Dive

36 days (15 Jun 2007 - 21 Jul 2007)
509 km (316 miles)
1 country
3 entries (224 words)
59 photos

I went down to Pembrokeshire with Dive Solutions for a bit of SCUBA diving. It was sunny...

Back to Chamonix

8 days (17 Mar 2007 - 24 Mar 2007)
1597 km (992 miles)
3 countries
5 entries (678 words)
26 photos
4.9 ratings (17 votes)

Jo, Tina, Darren and I are off for a week of skiing.. back next Saturday..

BoD DVD

55 days (28 Jan 2007 - 24 Mar 2007)
1 country
3 entries (73 words)
6 photos
4.3 ratings (10 votes)

After about two years of talking about it. I have finally sat down and started looking at the new products we can supply for our members. The first (I think) is going to be the BallOfDirt.com travel diary DVD that you can play on your TV or send to your relations..

Klosters - somewhere new to ski

3 days (01 Mar 2007 - 04 Mar 2007)
900 km (559 miles)
2 countries
7 entries (539 words)
88 photos
5 ratings (29 votes)

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The THANK GOD ITS 30DEGREES Tour

32 days (30 Nov 2006 - 01 Jan 2007)
40348 km (25071 miles)
4 countries
18 entries (1206 words)
186 photos
4.5 ratings (33 votes)

My girlfriend Jo and myself are going to Aussie for a bit of diving and a bit of chrismas.. oh and some hot weather and sunlight. London is taking its toll on the body clock. It's time to reset it before the new year with a quick sojourn to the Antipides. Aussie first for Great Barrier Reef, Sydders and then off to Hawkes Bay, Taupo and then back up to HK/UK.

World TeleMedia 2006

1 day (Nov 09, 2006 08:10)
1 country
1 entry (85 words)
3.8 ratings (3 votes)

It's that time of the year again when people from the Telco world all head towards telemedia. This half year its in Budapest, Hungary.

Mapping Project

2 days (31 Oct 2006 - 02 Nov 2006)
2093 km (1301 miles)
2 countries
2 entries (198 words)
27 photos
3.4 ratings (5 votes)

I have gone to Malta on the first Ryan Air flight to ever go there..

Plymouth is only a drive away

1 days (27 Oct 2006 - 28 Oct 2006)
298 km (185 miles)
1 country
2 entries (165 words)
42 photos
3.2 ratings (3 votes)

To drive to Plymouth is only about 4 hours 30 from London. Well, west London. In Plymouth there are many wrecks and cold water. If you like putting them both together.. Plymouth is the PLACE FOR YOU!!!

Club Night - October 2006

1 day (Oct 10, 2006 18:30)
1 country
1 entry (80 words)
27 photos
4.7 ratings (29 votes)

These are photos from Club Night. Dive Solutions - scuba diving club.

Back to the Hole of Blueness

3 days (21 Sep 2006 - 24 Sep 2006)
2155 km (1339 miles)
2 countries
6 entries (346 words)
64 photos
4.3 ratings (24 votes)

I am going over to Malta for a few days to a) speak to some guys about business and b) the hop over to Gozo for a few days Scuba diving. I am taking my new waterproof camera housing that Jo got me for my birthday. Hopefully there will be some images of fishies.. perhaps even the odd Manta Ray. Crikey!

Wraysbury - Scuba Lifting Trip

1 day (Aug 27, 2006 12:48)
1 country
1 entry (138 words)
40 photos
4 ratings (6 votes)

I went out to Wraysbury (nearth Heathrow) to do some lifting. I had a sore ear so couldn't get in the water... and it looked quite cold.

It's my birthday again

1 day (Aug 23, 2006 13:40)
1 country
1 entry (66 words)
1 photos
1 ratings (1 votes)

It seems only 5 and a half years ago I started up BallOfDirt.com and started putting my birthday party blogs up. Oh, shit. It is! 37 this time.

Pub Diving Championships HowTo

1 day (Aug 15, 2006 11:29)
1 country
1 entry (81 words)
3 photos
5 ratings (3 votes)

Just a bit of sillyness... no really.

Gozo Scuba Adventure

3 days (20 Jul 2006 - 23 Jul 2006)
2069 km (1286 miles)
2 countries
4 entries (687 words)
61 photos
4.2 ratings (6 votes)

I am heading out to do some Scuba diving. I am going with http://www.dive-solutions.com. Quite excited really...

My Parents Came to London

15 days (07 Apr 2006 - 22 Apr 2006)
11 km (7 miles)
1 country
3 entries (188 words)
55 photos
3.5 ratings (12 votes)

This is actually the first time my parents have ever come to visit. I remember I was living in Sydney (only about 4 hours away from their house in New Zealand) and they didn't even manage to come for a visit. I however went to New Zealand about 14 times in six months... so finally after bitching at them for years they finally made the effort.

The Magical Mystery Tour

15 days (09 Feb 2006 - 24 Feb 2006)
13608 km (8456 miles)
2 countries
11 entries (1157 words)
200 photos
3.7 ratings (29 votes)

Me and my girlfriend are going on a little excursion around South Africa. I haven't been there before, I am quite excited... and because I am so unorganised I have done absolutely nothing to do with organising this journey. She has done it all. Everything. Hotels, scuba diving, animal parks and even booked restaurants. I love her. Oh yeah, we are also going to some friends wedding....

The Negative 26 Degree Tour

10 days (29 Dec 2005 - 08 Jan 2006)
841 km (523 miles)
2 countries
2 entries (114 words)
45 photos
3.1 ratings (16 votes)

Me and my girlfriend are going to Val d'Isere snow skiing for a few days with four of our mates. The pre-tour ski report says that there is little snow and it was -26 C last night. Oh god.

Tina Gets Younger (again)

1 day (Nov 26, 2005 19:30)
1 country
1 entry (31 words)
17 photos
2.4 ratings (6 votes)

Our friend Tina had a birthday and we got envited. So we went out around SoHo to various bars and restaurants and nightclubs. Here is a selection of picces from the night.

Two types of Roads!!!

3 days (16 Sep 2005 - 19 Sep 2005)
2148 km (1335 miles)
2 countries
4 entries (740 words)
97 photos
3.1 ratings (46 votes)

Aparently the tourists aren't allowed to drive down certain roads in Malta. Well, that's the police told us. Malta's great!

Shopping around London

31 days (13 Aug 2005 - 13 Sep 2005)
537 km (334 miles)
1 country
7 entries (1192 words)
66 photos
4.2 ratings (59 votes)

People have been emailing me saying that I haven't put anything up for ages. So, here goes. I went to Tottenham Court Road today and walked around shops. Not that exciting, but I think its time to start keeping a track of my life...

Keys gets tied in knots

70 days (12 Apr 2005 - 21 Jun 2005)
19581 km (12167 miles)
3 countries
10 entries (881 words)
60 photos
3.2 ratings (18 votes)

My mate Simon Keys is about to wed a chinese national called Hannah. Its a few months away, but I thought I would start documenting things now, there will be a stagg doo after all, and that typically happens before someone ties the knot. So the scars have time to heal.

Back to GodZone for a bit

55 days (12 Feb 2005 - 08 Apr 2005)
49782 km (30933 miles)
6 countries
18 entries (1771 words)
73 photos
3.5 ratings (95 votes)

After spending most of the past six or seven years in the UK I have decided to try and spend a bit more time in New Zealand, so I am heading home... for a bit anyway until I get board of the peace and quiet. (it took about four months last time I tried this)...

Chrissy Time Again

79 days (21 Nov 2004 - 08 Feb 2005)
39014 km (24242 miles)
5 countries
12 entries (1890 words)
96 photos
3.2 ratings (55 votes)

I am sitting in London, England, and it is once again that time of the year to start the trek back to NZ for Christmas. I have to stop by in Jakarta for a bit on the way... soon enough I will be back in the land of the truely free... well I hope it's still the land of the free. It was slowely becoming the land of the info-mercial and tele-evangilist. The masses need their opium I suppose.

World TeleMedia

14 days (06 Nov 2004 - 19 Nov 2004)
5386 km (3347 miles)
4 countries
9 entries (1097 words)
46 photos
3.7 ratings (42 votes)

I met a fellow called Tim in London last Wednesday. He suggested I come over to Lisbon for the World TeleMedia conference. It sounded like a good idea at the time, so I changed my plans to return to Jakarta and headed over for a look...

The Jakarta Project

136 days (07 Jun 2004 - 21 Oct 2004)
68484 km (42554 miles)
6 countries
38 entries (9341 words)
216 photos
3.3 ratings (220 votes)

I'm going to work on being this guy

No one will insure me

22 days (01 May 2004 - 22 May 2004)
25721 km (15982 miles)
5 countries
12 entries (2259 words)
56 photos
3.2 ratings (67 votes)

I have to go and do a bit of business in some places, so am spending a few weeks traveling around the world. Indonesia, Bali... safe places like that. There is currently a travel advisory not to travel to Bali. No one will insure me.. so no travel insurance. Ho hum. During my travels I expect to find myself in Frankfurt, Singapore, Jakarta, Bali, Bombay and London. Let the games, and a bit of work commence.

DangerBlading

9 days (26 Mar 2004 - 04 Apr 2004)
1683 km (1046 miles)
2 countries
9 entries (1687 words)
71 photos
3.1 ratings (41 votes)

This week I am skiing in Val D'Isere with some friends. Well, to be more precise I am Snowblading, or dangerBlading as it will end out being, if I survive.

Spain then Skiing

14 days (02 Mar 2004 - 16 Mar 2004)
1810 km (1125 miles)
2 countries
7 entries (1561 words)
176 photos
3.2 ratings (43 votes)

I am going to stay in Spain for a few weeks whilst my landlord moves back into his house.... it's very complex, but basically I am living in his room (he lives in a different country). So, I am moving out for a few weeks and working in Spain for a bit. Then, when I come back me and my landlord are going Skiing in Val D'Isere for a week. Rock on.

Zahi's Wedding Mach Deux

139 days (29 Sep 2003 - 15 Feb 2004)
51773 km (32170 miles)
6 countries
64 entries (10037 words)
970 photos
2.9 ratings (441 votes)

My Friend Zahi is getting married (again). This time to a girl that is quite nice. Strange but true, I think this one will last about a hundred times longer than the last. Good choice this time Zahi :-) The general plan is LHR to AKL then run around NZ then off to Sydney for some meetings and then Adalaide for Zahi's wedding. I am quite looking forward to it actually. I originaly wasn't looking forward to the journey.. I hate travelling that far.. again. Since I wrote that bit above I have been working in New Zealand and there is another wedding to go to. Budgie and Suzie are hitching the knot together. So better stay around and go to that wedding also... so I should really rename this journey two weddings and no funeral (yet).

Hippies, Trance and Druids

2 days (20 Sep 2003 - 22 Sep 2003)
240 km (149 miles)
1 country
5 entries (661 words)
59 photos
3.5 ratings (75 votes)

Over the weekend I was invited to go and play with my mate Kirsten and some of her friends at some trance/dance/bombfire party out on some estate in Dorset... well somewhere in the south of England. I went, and on the way back we went and looked at those rocks that the Druids made.. cool... rocks.

Oxford for the day

1 day (Sep 06, 2003 11:00)
1 country
1 entry (36 words)
42 photos
4.7 ratings (21 votes)

Kirsten and me decided to stuff off to Oxford and have a bit of a look around. Just for the afternoon... the weather was looking a bit grim in London so it was a good bet that further up the country it might be sunny... it was.

Henley for a day

1 days (30 Aug 2003 - 31 Aug 2003)
98 km (61 miles)
1 country
5 entries (294 words)
93 photos
3.3 ratings (32 votes)

I went and met a friend with Kirsten... we went walking around Henley.. then a spot of rowing in a small row boat around the thames. Excellent way to spend a day.

Birthday 2003

0 days (24 Aug 2003 - 24 Aug 2003)
1 country
2 entries (59 words)
7 photos
4.2 ratings (26 votes)

Well, older again.

Zee Farderland Blog

3 days (20 Aug 2003 - 23 Aug 2003)
1631 km (1013 miles)
2 countries
6 entries (992 words)
58 photos
1.4 ratings (2 votes)

I am going to go on a quick trip to Frankfurt, Germany for a few days. Thought I would blog along the way.. just for something to do.. always like snapping piccies as I walk about the place.. sorry if most of you find this boring. Sort-a-travel, mostly not. Blog, blog blog blog. Blog, blog blog blog. Wonderful blooooooog.

Running In Tunbridge Wells

2 days (16 Aug 2003 - 18 Aug 2003)
106 km (66 miles)
1 country
4 entries (235 words)
17 photos
2.7 ratings (34 votes)

I went down to Tonbridge Wells for the weekend with some friends. They went running. I had a broken foot (lucky) so just got to watch :-)

Flying around England

0 days (26 Jul 2003 - 26 Jul 2003)
312 km (194 miles)
1 country
5 entries (363 words)
63 photos
3.7 ratings (60 votes)

My mate Patrick and myself went flying for the day around England.

Wine and Food Fesitval - London

0 days (12 Jul 2003 - 12 Jul 2003)
10 km (6 miles)
1 country
2 entries (105 words)
58 photos
3 ratings (61 votes)

It must be summer in London and time to get the shorts and sunnies on and watch some polo.

Opening your Tivo

51 days (06 Feb 2003 - 29 Mar 2003)
1 country
3 entries (1042 words)
19 photos
3.2 ratings (60 votes)

This has actually nothing to do with travel at all, but I have been meaning to put an ethernet card into my Tivo for about 6 months now. All the Tivo FAQs don't really explain how to open the case, easy you may think but it is the trickiest box I have had to get into... hence... this...

France - the new boots tour

8 days (08 Mar 2003 - 15 Mar 2003)
1481 km (920 miles)
2 countries
7 entries (1001 words)
152 photos
2.5 ratings (136 votes)

Got a new pair of ski boots so it is time to go and check out the slopes and see if the extra 40 quid for the custom molded foot arch support is worth it...

War - 2003

0 days (15 Feb 2003 - 15 Feb 2003)
9 km (6 miles)
1 country
3 entries (553 words)
68 photos
4.4 ratings (17 votes)

Finola (girlfriend) and myself decided to become hippies for a day. So, we went on a march.

The Crack in Cardiff

1 days (01 Feb 2003 - 02 Feb 2003)
216 km (134 miles)
1 country
4 entries (392 words)
72 photos
3.3 ratings (38 votes)

Myself and some Irish friends went to Cardiff for the weekend to watch some rugby. Ireland v Wales. To cut to the chase, Ireland won - hence 'the crack'.

Katys Birthday

0 days (23 Nov 2002 - 23 Nov 2002)
10 km (6 miles)
1 country
2 entries (82 words)
38 photos
2.8 ratings (74 votes)

My mate Katy Luffingham had a birthday, I took some piccies... here we go.. hang on..

The great Cabin-boy tour 2002

10 days (14 Oct 2002 - 24 Oct 2002)
2570 km (1597 miles)
2 countries
10 entries (1866 words)
207 photos
3.2 ratings (226 votes)

Myself and my 'friend' Finola, my mate Deano and his 'friend' Jacqui decided to rent a boat and sail around the Greek Islands for a week. Intrepidness indeed....

BOD Launch Party

2 days (10 Sep 2002 - 11 Sep 2002)
11 km (7 miles)
1 country
4 entries (157 words)
53 photos
4.2 ratings (48 votes)

Well after a few years of development work we finally decided to have a launch party. We invited a few folks around to my house and had.. well.. I suppose the best way to describe it is a 'launch party'. Not the sort of glitzy glamor event with lots of celebs and media. More a booze up for the people that had been involved.

My Birthday 2002 - France

3 days (23 Aug 2002 - 26 Aug 2002)
795 km (494 miles)
2 countries
10 entries (757 words)
102 photos
3.4 ratings (235 votes)

My girlfriend (Finola) decided to shout me on a tour of the Loire valley in France. Not one to miss an opportunity (and I would have looked pretty stupid sitting on my own in London) I decided to accept her very generous offer.