Route Change - Boycott Wales!

With the Welsh Assembly proposing pushing ahead with a Badger Cull in Pembrokeshire the only response I can think of it to boycott everything Welsh. The cull is based on the assumption that Badgers transmit TB to cattle and ignores the fact that cattle are routinely kept in overcrowded conditions, indoors for 6 months of the year which is much more conducive to spreading disease than being in fields that badgers may also have been in. This is before being turned out for the summer into fields that have previously been sprayed with the waste products of the previously mentioned indoors cows.
So for now my Glyde Around Britain route will be replanned following the English side of the Border up through the Welsh Marches and keeping my Tourist Pounds in the land of the free (and live) Badger.

Custom Mountain King Trail Blaze poles

My new pair of Trail Blaze poles arrived from Mountain King, up in Newcastle, this weekend. They're a custom pair in plain alu rather than the usual black or purple. I use a white 'blind' cane when walking around town (as much to avoid being trampled by people who expect me to see them as to feel my way!) so would have liked a pair of Trail Blaze poles in white, but plain brushed alu was the closest the makers could offer - and as I was offered this as a no-cost custom variation I'm grateful to the team there!
So, next walk I have a pair of 117g each poles to test. This will be an interesting change from using a single half-kilo or so cheapo hiking pole that I've been using for years.
Next weekend is another mad 'fairing building' weekend (adding a lid and tail to the nose/body I build and raced a couple of weeks ago - see photo below) followed by the last race of the UK 2009 season the weekend afterwards so these sticks will have to wait until after that to be tested...

Achievements...

This week I have...
1) Won my first cycle race
2) Entered an exhibition for the first time
3) Sold my first photograph
Ok, so I am not going to be retiring on the proceeds but my hill walking is showing its first signs of return on investment!
And the cycle race was in the 'slow' class and next time I get to race in the 'fast' class but hey, it is a sign of my returning fitness...
And I did spend more on things I bought at the art exhibition that I earnt, but again hey....