BIG BIRD




So this is my new best friend and life companion big bird, like any normal heterosexual male in the society we live in I’ve tried having a girlfriend and thought about getting a dog or some sort of animal but haven’t had much success and I’m not to be trusted with anything too dependent on me as I learnt from the time I acquired a cat called ‘Velcro.’

At last, flight restrictions lifted, flights changed, ash receeding, now just got to haul ass to London which is always a pain from the wilds of Cornwall. Keep your eyes peeled, I'm going to update from the road for what is a full on web feature, in the meantime here is a shot of a Volcano in Iceland, not erupting, but looking mighty pretty in a midnight, mid summer sunset.

Isn't it strange not having any planes in the sky today? A beautiful blue sky with no vapor trails cutting across it, no sound of jet engines, no distractions, just a big blue sky to stare up at and day dream. Maybe that's why they call it blue sky thinking...

I’ve been having some random conversations with Cotty lately on Gmail chat. He just came out of surgery and will be out of action for a little bit and at the moment he is holed up at home with only his mum there to look after him. As you can imagine he is quite bored. Here a few from the past week – more to come, no doubt.

Yesterday was a good day for the Brits at the Highland Open at Brimms Ness. After Sam Lamiroy smoked his heat and came first, Scottish legend Chris Noble brought home the deep-fried bacon and spanked Ricardo Dos Santos and Croyde's Lyndon Wake to become the first local competitor to ever come through the first round of the Highland Open. In less than perfect conditions at one of Chris's favourite waves, he managed to find barrels where others struggled and in front of a crowd of flag bearing local supporters, had a dream heat, winning with a 10.40.

"It's only the first round," he said. "But it feels like I won the event or something! I think the difference this year was that there was no pressure on me. I have a kid now and we're expecting a second, so whereas surfing used to be the be-all-and-end-all for me, I now have different priorities so there is less pressure. I just get to go out there and have fun. I've surfed out here for about 10 years and even though I am used to the cold, I still have my earplugs in against the cold water and the wind."

The comp is on hold for now, but hopefully should resume at 16.30 today (Thursday 15th April.) As well as Lamiroy and Chris, previous winner of the Highland Open Russell Winter and Alan Stokes, as well as Aussie/Irishman Glenn Hall have yet to surf.

From where I was standing, March could easily have gone down as the worst month of surf I've seen in ages. I was frickin freezing and mainly flat... apart from where Fergal was... again. Check out his monthly video blog filmed by Allan Wilson with some of the highlights of his March. It's not going great so far, but I'm bloody determined to have a better April than him. 

C-SKINS presents MARCH with FERG from allan wilson on Vimeo.