Author Archives: spikekalashnikov

As  you know, there has been a devastating fire North East of San Francisco. Many have perished in the worst recorded forest fire in California history. I head straight towards it to have my 4 Wheel Camper fitted. https://fourwh.com  Strange … Continue reading →

San Francisco is covered in smoke from the deadly forest fires across the Bay. People wander around wearing  facemasks. Schools are closed. I had to go to the DMV to renew truck documents and find a milling, vaguely dangerous crowd. … Continue reading →

So, I am now in the USA and will remain here until March 2019. I have finally got a computer so can start posting again. Farewell Ginowan Marina. I have spent a memorable 10 months there working on the boat. … Continue reading →

The Okinawan climate is very hard on boats. The worst culprit is intense sun that dries out and bleaches all the woodwork. At the start of the project I gave all the wood 6 coats of wood treatment stuff and … Continue reading →

My jeans are always grubby. Just putting them through the cold wash, only option on Japan, does not remove the grime. On  a recent visit to the university, an esteemed colleague immediately comments on how grubby my jeans are. I … Continue reading →

The boat came with all her running rigging, right quality, right lengths, right eye splices  but the rope was black with mildew and generally tawdry.  Only the best for the Norfolk Gypsy!  So I decide to replace the old rope … Continue reading →

I go for a glorious morning walk along a beach close to the apartment.  The beach is strewn with big shards of pottery. Okinawa is covered in family tombs where ancestors’ bones are placed.  Early tombs were in caves and … Continue reading →

Almost exactly 20 years ago, I went to the Campbeltown Folk Festival. The lead bands were Shooglenifty and Flook. I had the opportunity to talk a lot to Brian Finnegan, one of Flook’s flute folk. During the concert he had … Continue reading →

I am feeling very proud of myself as I succeeded in getting stuff from Japanese Amazon. This what I got. I am nearing completion on my new crown. Today was fitting. It took 90 mins of exquisite adjustment to get … Continue reading →

The last 10 days or so have been dominated by typhoon stuff. The first, Trami, was  a mega, ultra typhoon. The second, whose name I have already forgotten, was less kapow but it did rain like crazy.   I set … Continue reading →