BROFE'S BOLLOCKS

I have been meaning to explore this stretch of river, that enters the Tone river just at the back of our house, for a good while. I recently met a new neighbour running a little guesthouse up the road, and her and her workaway guy fancied it, so off we went. It starts just up a track (which used to be a drivable lane) but very quickly the road and the valley walls rise high above the river floor. Some lovely views and great stretches of river, but all seem very inaccessible.

I was reminded today, by social media, that a few years ago I hiked up Mt. Tanigawa with my friends Steve and Kaz. I was surprised at first not by the length of time ago (9 years) but by the time of year as it is a lot cooler here today than it evidently was that day. Anyway it was a great day out and here's a few snaps. We started from the top of the Tanigawa ropeway (going all the way up from the bottom is for nut jobs in my opinion). So, first of all, the obligatory foothi

There has been a lakeside run every year around our local lake, which was organised to coincide with the local festival, and they had an...

I have been trying to put a new neck on a cheap precision bass copy that has a neck that is warped into the Andromeda galaxy 3 billion...

I was driving along today and a tune came on in the car by the band Mosaik, created by Andy Irvine & Dónal Lunny way back in 2002. They...

Up in Fujiwara, we "have" a semi-feral cat, that we have named Stevie, who deigns to allow us to leave her food out. In return she...

Being a knackered old bastard, I don't manage the high-octane thrills that the local nutcases do (you know who you are!), but I still...

There has been an absolutely phenomenal amount of snow up here in Fujiwara this season, and up in Tenjindaira Kieron and crew are...

I haven't been boarding they this season, or snowshoeing, but I needed to do something, so I just took a stroll up to the local ski...

In early May, 2009, I was up at Serenity on my own, and I was feeling a bit intrepid so I decided to attempt a small hike up to the top of the mountain above Sugadaira ski resort. It nearly killed me but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a rocky outcrop at the top, and hikers would occasionally appear from out of this rocky bit. Most confusing. I nearly killed myself getting over there, through a big snowdrift down on the left that two women assured me was safe, and I could

Vilo and Megumi arrived, and a few others. A pretty action packed day was had up at Sugadaira. I have decided to just do this day as a photo album. Click on'em to see them bigger. As always. It was one of the clearest days we’ve ever had up there. Swings and roundabouts, no new snow, but the views were spectacular.

This is just a collection of photos really, from what was a great day down the pub. With Norm as Santa, obviously. I may as sell just wham these up here to get me started...