family – Bushcraft Days

January 16, 2018January 16, 2018

Brittany Time

Over the last few years along with my family I have had some fantastic trips to France. Last August found us in Brittany once again spending some quality time with our friend Rick.

On the ferry out I caught my first glimpse of the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth – no planes as yet but a sight to behold none the less.

I have known Rick for over 20 years now and he is always happy for us to visit him in this lovely part of France – I think the kids treat him kind of like a Grandad as he spoils them, then hands them back to us to calm them down 🙂

We have a few holidays throughout the year but not often are we all away together as a family. As there is so much to do in Brittany it is the ideal location for us to spend a lovely two weeks.

I kicked the holiday off with a bit of Bushcraft. We had a barbeque on the first night and Rick invited the neighbours round. The kids heard that I teach Bushcraft so we soon had the bowdrill out and in action.

I must say that this was the first time that a Princess assisted me with this particular skill 🙂

Up to now I have been creating videos and hosting them on YouTube – Alison introduced me to Vimeo. I find that this is an excellent platform for these family type videos.

The nearest town to us was La Roche Bernard and there is a profusion of artwork on display around the town. I even managed my own piece in the top picture below. It is the shadow of a yacht with a background of oily water – kinda cool I thought.

No trip to Brittany is complete until you visit Escapades Verticales. When we first went Finlay could not do all the routes due to his age and height – this year there was no stopping him.

Alison and Catherine were also in action on the routes and I tentatively filmed some of the action with my phone (paranoid I would drop it) – I now have a Go Pro but alas, not at the time we were there.

Some evenings we would stroll off down to the river and some days around the town. If you kept your eyes open, though, there was always something interesting to see from Mother Nature – I think the mole passed away from heat exhaustion as the cats were too lazy to do much.

Beaches are not usually my thing but I do make an exception on the Brittany coastline. I can usually find a cliff to scramble or a couple of convenient trees to put up my hammock.

The heat may well have gotten to me on this trip (raising my grumpiness levels above their norm) but I really enjoyed my time in Brittany last year. This year we are off up to Scotland to visit the family so Brittany will have to wait till next year for another visit.

A final few shots of our ‘Lazy Days’.

Cheers

George

May 26, 2016July 22, 2017

10 Reasons to Bushmoot – 10/10 – Don’t Just Take My Word For It

Here’s instalment number 10 in the ‘10 Reasons to Bushmoot‘ series. For those of you who have been following the series so far you will have gotten a feel of the wide range of activities on offer at the BCUK Bushmoot. Some of you have contacted me to say you will be attending for the first time this year, which is great, however if you still have not made up your mind then don’t just take my word for it.

I contacted a number of BCUK members and asked them to send me their favourite picture(s) of the Bushmoot (either one they took or from someone else) and to say why it was their favourite.

1 Charlie — Charlie Brookes’s favourite – picture taken by George Aitchison

Charlie – This picture fully sums up the most important thing about the Bushmoot for me, which is the welcoming family.
I first attended the Bushmoot in 2007 and that was only on a last-minute decision. Having been encouraged by the willingness of the BCUK members to welcome you to the forum and share knowledge, I decided to take the plunge and attend the Bushmoot.
It was with a feeling of apprehension that I drove down the lane from Merthyr Mawr. This feeling soon disappeared on booking in, where I was made most welcome by Tony and Shelley. What followed was one of the most enjoyable few days I had spent in a long time, everyone you met made you welcome and they were willing to pass on skills. I can only hope I can continue to make newcomers to the Bushmoot feel as welcome as people made me feel.

Ian – When I was asked by George to look through my photos and send him something that says why I enjoy Bushmoot, my first thought was to my boy. He and all the children play continually, coming back to camp only for food. There is always something going on, and in an age of computer games, you never hear a child say “I’m board” when spending two weeks away from electricity.

3 Wayne Eleanor — Wayne Jones’s favourite picture

Wayne (Forest Knights)- The photo shows the spirit of the Bushmoot. Sharing skills with other bushcrafters from the novice to seasoned instructors. All come with a willingness to share their skills and learn from each other. Teaching Bhutanese bow making in such a beautiful location is a privilege. It is a joy to be part of the team.

4 Badger — Cap’n Badger’s favourite picture up at the Naughty Corner – the ‘Mammock’

Cap’n Badger – He chose this picture but cannot remember who took it (I think it may have been Lindsey Dearnley) – I remember I was chilling in the sunshine with Darsha one afternoon when the life raft was stuck into the ‘Mammock’. Also I remember it being spun around with some of the girls inside..lol..and getting thirteen people in it! I’m surprised that little tree took the strain…

5Susannah — Susannah Parsons’s favourite picture

Susannah – The photo of a group of people toasting marshmallows reminds me of a couple of great things about the Bushmoot.

Firstly, woodland TV. There’s nothing like a fire for socialising, quiet contemplation and a general feeling of well-being. I do nearly all my cooking over a communal fire for the entire week, even my breakfast coffee, I love the smell of woodsmoke, sharing food around the fire and the flavour – everything seems to taste better!

Secondly, this picture was taken on a night-time photography course in 2009. What you can’t see, is that this group of people had kindly allowed around 15 paparazzi to surround them and their fire to practice taking night time shots – a great testament both to the range of courses you find yourself doing and to the friendliness and helpfulness of the people you meet.

6 George — George Aitchison’s favourite picture

George – I put this little collage together after asking Mors Kochanski to sign my Bushcraft book at the Bushmoot. He asked me what I wanted written in it and I said whatever he felt like. Apart from his signature line of ‘The more you know the less you carry’ he signed it to ‘a fellow instructor’. That one line has stuck with me ever since.

I worked at both Bushmoots Mors attended and as well as me attending his classes he visited some of mine too. We spent many an evening sitting around the fire shooting the breeze and drinking beer.

7 Tony — Tony Bristow – Collage from BCUK Members’ pictures

Tony – The Moot is a happy place, it’s also a relaxed place where we’re involved in sharing and creating, discovering and growing while making friendships and memories, where else would you get a group of guys excited about sewing machines, the loveliest pizza hand delivered and kids (actually it’s probably all of us) that go to bed tired, happy and looking forward to the next day of adventures.

Well that is it for me in this series. As Tony said the Moot is a ‘happy place’ so I am looking forward to once again attending this year with my family, seeing my ‘Bushmoot Family’ and having a few adventures along the way. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Cheers

George

March 29, 2016

A Colourful Winter

As winters past have gone this last one here in the southern part of the UK has proved to a bit quiet on the snow front. However even though much of nature has been lying dormant there was still plenty to see and do here over the last few months.

The following ‘grouped’ pictures are some of the favourites I have taken (apart from one taken by my wife Alison) since last December. I have spent as much time as I could outdoors with my family however I feel that it could have been more (work has kept me away from home a lot recently). We are definitely a digital family however we try and balance all that screen time out with some quality dirt time.

Photo 29-03-2016, 17 21 30 (1) — Family Fun

I use a Nikon D3200 Digital camera and shoot in RAW format so that I can use Adobe Lightroom to its fullest. I like Lightroom as it allows me to extract from the images (I am still learning about all the settings on my camera) I take something closer to what I saw originally or in some cases something slightly enhanced.

The sunset below was certainly not as dark as that originally however Lightroom allowed me to produce this moodier shot. The blue skies in the bottom picture were like this on the day however the shot I took the blues were all washed out. With a few tweaks though it was looking good again.

Photo 29-03-2016, 17 21 30 — Dramatic skies

The snowdrop and the forlorn looking hazelnut were both taken in mid winter but the wood anemone was shot just a few days ago. I included the wood anemone as it is one of the first woodland spring flowers to pop up and to say that winter is now over.

All beautiful in their own ways and all photographed in different weather conditions.

Photo 29-03-2016, 17 21 31 — Beauty in the detail

I took both these pictures with my Sony Z3 mobile phone as the weather conditions were to bad to bring out my Nikon. The top picture was a bit of an experiment with the guys lighting up the inside of our group parachute with their torches making it look like a downed UFO.

The bottom picture was taken inside a group parachute while we were huddled around the fire on a cold evening awaiting in anticipation for the feast to come being cooked by Dave.

Photo 29-03-2016, 17 21 32 (1) — Parachute time

Mountain time this winter was limited to only one weekend however it was one to remember. The wind and the rain was incessant however this did not dampen the spirits of any of the guys I was walking with – in fact they seemed to revel in all that rain (might be due to the fact we are all either Sea or Royal Marines Cadets instructors).

Photo 29-03-2016, 17 21 32 — Mountain madness

My daughter Catherine is a keen photographer and she really does think about what she wants to shoot and how to approach each shot.

The top picture was taken by my wife Alison and I like how it contrasts with the one I took of Catherine lining up for her shot.

Photo 29-03-2016, 17 21 33 — Photographing the photographers

I have been experimenting with low light level photography so I do not have to rely on using the flash all the time.

I have found that a great time for that is when there is a fire going. These two photographs were taken on cold winter nights however I have fond memories of both evenings. The young boys had a great time learning to light a fire and the slightly older boys had fun putting the world to right around their fire.

Still on the fire theme I have to mention ‘Fire Faces’. I have been photographing flames for years now looking for faces or figures in the flames. Two of my favourites this year were of the Roadrunner (top left) and a Dove (on the right).

My friend Fraser gets his face included as he always seems drawn to the fire when the camera comes out – kinda like a moth I suppose 😉

Photo 29-03-2016, 17 21 35 (1) — Fire, fire and more fire

My last two pictures were taken just at the end of winter at the Vyne National Trust property in Hampshire. As many of the trees and flowers were dormant they set up a ‘Wild Wicker Trail’ in the grounds. There were plenty of wicker figures to spot including a heron, flowers and a fish however these two stood out for me – the Hawk and Mr Fox. Both beautifully crafted and positioned in the woodlands.

Photo 29-03-2016, 17 21 35 — Woodland wonders

This last few days (been resting up with a torn calf muscle) I was thinking that I hadn’t gotten out as much as I would have liked this winter however after looking through my albums I must admit that when I did get out and about – they were good times.

Cheers

George

December 16, 2015December 18, 2015

Memorable Moments 2015 – Family Time

Carrying on with the Memorable Moments theme I thought a post on my favourite family pictures of the year was due. Each of the 12 pictures I have chosen have some special memories for me.

Starting off with my beautiful daughter Catherine who has the most amazingly curly hair. I captured this picture early in the year of her backlit by the morning sun. The moment caught individual strands of hair framing her perfectly.

We had a lovely day trip to Winchester in the spring. While we were relaxing in one of these small cafe’s you find in the Medieval backstreets I caught Alison looking perfectly relaxed with a cheeky little Finlay snuggled up to her – quite a beautiful moment you could say.

One of my favourite pastimes is to head out for a Bimble around our village of Bramley. I spend a lot of time photographing what I find. Catherine spotted some Chicken of the Woods fungus one day and was really taken with its colour.

The resulting picture taken in such a dark coniferous woodland I found both striking and beautiful.

A moment of joy is how I would describe this picture. We were visiting our friends Tracey and Neil on an RAF base one day and after a lovely barbie Alison decided it was time for for some gymnastics with the kids.

This picture reminded me to always be on the lookout for the unexpected – excellent style by the way Alison.

While visiting our friend Fraser from Coastal Survival we spent an afternoon on Chesil beach in Dorset. Someone had decided to build themselves a mini Stonehenge on the beach. Myself and the kids were very taken with it and it made for some great pictures.

Once I got down low to the mini monument the whole look of it changed transforming it into a picture I wanted to keep.

When we go camping as a family we can mostly be found sleeping in hammocks. Alison insists though that before she gets up that a cup of coffee is produced. It is a bit of a tradition now this coffee business but one I am happy to maintain – needless to say Alison is in full agreement with me.

Last June I took part in the 30 Days of Wildness organised by the Wildlife Trust. I blogged about my nature adventures for 30 days. On one of these little adventures I was exploring the ruins of the Roman amphitheatre at Silchester with my daughter Catherine.

We stopped for a rest and Catherine spotted a beautiful thatched cottage through the trees. She sat there and told me later that she had found her ideal home. To me this picture is like a painting and I can sit and look at it for a long time without getting bored.

As memorable moments go there are plenty to be found at the BCUK Bushmoot. We go every year and it is a great location for families.

I caught my son Finlay mucking about with some stocks ( they belong to the Live Action Role Players who use the site as well) and as I took the picture the parachute set up beside it suddenly puffed up with the wind. Not your typical outdoorsy picture but one I felt lent to a bit of B & W manipulation.

I took a lot of pictures while on holiday in France this year of some really beautiful places however it is this simple picture that sticks with me.

We were walking through a small industrial estate to get to a river walk when I grabbed this picture of the kids walking along holding hands. A little moment in time so easily missed you could say.

My friend Paul Kelly runs his own canal boat hire company called Thames Boat Training and I have been out twice this year to photograph his boats for his web site. On the last trip we moored up waiting for a lock to open when I snapped this little moment in time. I like the picture for its feeling of depth and sheer peace.

Remembrance Sunday was a lovely day in Bramley. After the service I took some group shots of all the Scouts, Cubs and Beavers however my daughter Catherine wanted to take some pictures with her iPhone.

I think Catherine has an eye for photography and I am keen for her to explore this talent of hers. Catherine took this slightly dark picture of Alison and myself with one of these Instagram filters you can load onto your iPhone. Not often anyone gets what I think is a good picture of me and I think Catherine did well here – As for Alison, well – she always looks good 🙂

I started with Catherine so I will finish with Finlay. He has been keen on Karate now for a year now and I was very proud to watch him recently get his Orange belt. Finlay is only 7 and can be as mischievous as any other young lad however when he applies himself to something he can show some excellent self discipline – so well done son.

The next instalment in the Memorable Moments series will be on some of the nature photography I have taken this last year.

Cheers

George