March 2013
1 post
Let me tell you about something...
Hello everyone. Its been a while since I last posted anything here, but then its been a while since I’ve had anything of value to say. Perhaps this is no exception, but hey. A few days ago I got word from an old friend of mine back in my hometown of Bath, UK. One of the last true free houses in Bath, The Bell, is being sold off.
If you ever meet anyone from Bath, or even better, go there...
February 2013
1 post
Promo for upcoming short 'I'm Not Gavin' →
Directed by Andrew Tidmarsh
Director of Photography: Oskar Kudlacik
Produced by Kaya Stanley-Money
December 2012
1 post
“People who interfered in your life always did it for your own good and I figured it out finally that what they wanted was for you to conform completely and never differ from some accepted surface standard and then dissipate the way travelling salesmen would at a convention in every stupid and boring way there was” - Ernest Hemmingway - A Moveable Feast
June 2012
1 post
Watch this space.... →
April 2012
1 post
Morocco at Last
Wow. So we made it at long last. With 2 days to spare. We felt it better to leave the final post for a few days to let our minds settle. Here goes.
Let me picture for you the scene In Algeciras that morning. We awoke to as miserable a day as you could ever find in the UK weather-wise. Drizzly, grey and dark. The faint smell of broken dreams hung low in the air for some reason. Yet it was into...
March 2012
23 posts
Algeciras
We awoke and checked the train times to Málaga, having decided the night before that hitching would not be an option. The distance was short, but our haste was great. Our plane back to England leaves Marrakech on Tuesday morning. The RENFE website said there were trains leaving every two hours, and we made it to the station in good time. However, Spain wasn’t having any of it, and the...
La Huelga General
So we had read (on Hitchwiki, the best thing ever) that the easiest way out of Murcia was to get a bus to a place called Alcantarillas, then walk to a service station called La Paz. All well and good, but we’d run clean out of luck; the strike meant only two buses ran that day, 7.15 and 14:00. Needless to say we were on the former, after our beautiful unbroken nights sleep. Thanks Spain!
...
El dia Malo
Today has been our darkest day, we were dropped on the outside edge of Alicante and waited in the blazing sun for about 2 hours. Then, a man offered us a lift as far as Murcia, the chat was good and the music was of a soulful nature. Todo bien.
Then the problems started. He dropped us off at a spot he reckoned would be good, just outside the University of Murcia. Bad move it turned out (not that...
Out of Valencia
So we hiked to the edge of Valencia, past the mad maritime centre, and out to the start of the autovia. The roundabout was an 8 lane behemoth, and there was no shortage of traffic, so although the wait was long (Spainards seem to have a chronic fear of hitchhikers) it wasn’t the worst.
By this point, we had decided to visit some family of mine just north of Alicante. As we had a specific...
Las tres chicas
You’re probably getting the idea by now. We woke up in the hostel, ate our breakfast and part walked, part trammed out of town.
They dont really do lay-bys in Spain, so we stood at the start of the autovia to Valencia, slowly sinking into deep, deep depression as car after car of grumpy looking Spanish drivers accelerated past and either shot us a look that would burn water, or looked in...
Zaragoza
It was cold. The tent also managed to collect all the mouisture from our collective respiration, and deposit it on our faces in something akin to Chinese water torture. Still, we had survived unmolested, and packed up our camp in good spirits.
After a brief, triumphant wait outside said overpriced Hotel, we were picked up by two Nigerian church guitarists, heading to Tudela proper. After a brief...
Los dos Entran España
As I write this, I am hunched up in the smallest tent in the world. It is, by name only, a two man tent. A tent for two very good friends (pause). Anyway, today we began late, Roman had promised us a lift to Spain as he was going there for petrol (everything is cheaper in Spain he says). So when he awoke, at about 12, we set off for Irun.
The actual crossing into Spain was uneventful, as simple...
Biarritz
So, this is it. The end of France, and says Miles: “I am sad! It’s been amazing to speak French and be understood, I have a newfound love for the language”
Anyway, Spain is quite literally on the horizon, and all of its sights, sounds and smells await us. As for our last Jour en France, what a story we have to tell…
From Langon we tried the autoroute towards Pau, but to...
Bordeaux
We awoke again at dawn’s crack (see what I did there). The weather was miserable; gloomy and rainy above our vista of long haul trucks, Tarmac and depots. We trudged down to the péage (toll booth for the Autoroute) and duly began our thumbing (pause). This rapidly became another bad one, barely any cars, cold, wet and demoralising. After a few hours of waiting and a few more of barely concealed...
Niorts
Well, Le petit dej dans Le Mans was nothing to write home about, but I did anyway (postcard should arrive about Friday mum). Pretty soon it was time to get the hell out of dodge, so we decided to sample the local municipal transport system, and got the tram out of town. €1,40 for a journey, bish bash bosh!
As we had already discovered, but clearly forgotten, hitching out of a big town is hard....
Tuesday
What a hell?! Did we already mention a learning curve? Today we learned so many lessons that it’s hard to explain them all. It was a beast of a day.
We awoke in the same place we fell asleep (thankfully), an hauled our asses down to Ouistreham ferry port at the crack of dawn to try and cadge a lift off the lorry drivers. It was the most demoralising experience in Ollie’s recent memory, I was just...
So that’s day 1 down. It was an odd start, an the learning curve is steep. We left Southampton on the road out of Swaything and made our first mistake. Having never hitchhiked before, we chose the worst spot ever. After about 45 minutes, we were given some advice to move on to a lay-by further on. Another 45 minutes and we got our first lift. From a woman named Conchita, who ended up...
WatchNo chance of a hitch so we found the cheapest room that was open….
The outset
So this it is. A hearty breakfast down, and we’re on the road to Swaythling with a view to Portsmouth. I feel like its the start of something. Which is good, because it is. 1900 kilometers to go.
Last night I panned out like so many other times: A mad dash to the co-op for more mixer. Basically, as Miles is leaving his uni halls to hibernate for easter, we felt it would be a good idea to...
Nearly there...
So, Uni has broken up for Easter. I’m sitting in my Halls room, and it’s eerily quiet here, there’s usually 400-odd people in this building, but I think it’s just me left… Spooky….
On the plus side, this means I can be as loud as I want, so my window is wide open, the sun is streaming in, and i’m listening to some huge tunes while I pack, here’s a...
EXCITED!
Alrighty.
Firstly I just want to mention that thanks to the amazing support of everyone sho has sponsored, I HAVE REACHED MY ONLINE TARGET! Exceeded it by £10 no less! I just want to say a really big thank you to everyone involved. It’s made me so happy to see that thermometer hit the top. To all of you, thank you.
So it’s past midnight, so today is sunday the 18th of March. That...
Working on something.
Watch this space….
blue-lagoooon asked: hope everything goes really well on your morocco hitch :) x
Anonymous asked: are you ticklish
betterhideyourgrin asked: This is a great idea and I'll try to donate as much as I can :) And also, I've seen you'll go through Sevilla in your journey, so if you need a place to stay I can recommend you some nice places or you can even stay at my place haha. ¡Buena suerte con el proyecto!
Anonymous asked: Hi! I saw you in the Apple Store last Sunday, I now know the significance of Cheltenham during World War 2, thank you! I've started learning the ukulele now after seeing your episode on Skins, do you still play? :)
February 2012
11 posts
Anonymous asked: do you miss playing JJ in skins?
tellygeek asked: I will donate today hopefully they accept u$d.. As far as asking you anything. I'd ask you how good a kisser Kat Prescott is but I best not! ;-)
anotheremmainchina asked: BOY! hello! hows life? haha i have the option to ask anonymously and so can insult you!!!!! i love being online again! anyway, as its public i wish you all the best for your trip! and for life in general! love Me xxx
lovemark asked: first off, i was wondering what the thing your doing is about? and secondly, i would follow you..but i dont see the button :/
Anonymous asked: JJ since when you started to keep moustache,LOL
snowflakesinmoscow-deactivated2 asked: It's so amazing the idea of your tumblr, it's a very good cause, so amazing really:) I would like to say a lot of things to you but I just talk spanish so...well, a stupid menssage of a big fan I guess haha Keep going with this! good job! :)<3
cinematic-orchestra asked: This is awesome .. I will donate when my bank account is replenished. AND you will be passing through Gibraltar it seems! You can stock up on some British food while you're here.
iam-the-jamieslater-deactivated asked: It's really great what you're doing. Will donate as much as I can :D
Hey!
So, about time I added my bit…
I’m Miles! Keen Twitter followers of Ollie may remember the time he shared my email address with you (I got 800 emails in one day, It was hilarious). Anyway, Ollie and I have been friends for good many years, and we’ve decided its about time for us to undertake an epic voyage! (http://g.co/maps/2s55h)
Personally, it’s the first time...
Welcome
As it says in the post below, every pound, penny, cent or dime is really apreciated.
If you can, please donate, and tell others. Just think, if everyone gave just one pound… All that money goes toward improving the standards of education in some of the poorest areas of Africa. Its a good cause, and no mistake.
You can donate here:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/olliebarbierihitch
I...
HITCH 2012!!!
Hello, hello, hello!
Welcome to the first ever entry in this, my tumblr!
If you follow me on Twitter, you may know that my friend Miles and I are hitchhiking to Morocco for charity!!
What? No way! Yes it’s true. Its all part of an event organized by Link Community Development called Hitch 2012 <——-click for more info
I will be using this tumblr and my twitter feed to...
