A Simple Life of Luxury

Tales from a down-shifted family
- Making the most of modest means

A Simple Life of Luxury | Weblog

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Coast Path / Wales

Wales Coast Path Run – Redbrook to Newport

Coast Path Vital Stats Redbrook to Newport Distance: 13.96 miles Elevation Gain Today: 24m Highest Elevation: 6m Time: 2:17:29 Av. Pace: 9:51 mins/mile Calories: 1650 Totals to Date Total Distance: 662.96 miles Total Time: 123:49:19 Total Elevation Gain: 20518 Total Calories: 60752 Distance to go: 427 miles With only a couple of days away over the...

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Family / Lifestyle

Saturday Night Feast at River Cottage HQ

Anna really enjoyed her Cheese-making course at River Cottage HQ a couple of years ago. So much so that I decided to buy her another trip there as a Christmas Present. It was a Christmas present that benefitted me as well as she wouldn’t want to go on her own, so I’d just have to...

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Coast Path / General / Running / Wales

Wales Coast Path Run – Chepstow to Redbrook

Coast Path Vital Stats Chepstow to Redbrook Distance: 15.19 miles Elevation Gain Today: 184m Highest Elevation: 54m Time: 2:29:00 Av. Pace: 9:48 mins/mile Av. Heart Rate: 129bpm Max Heart Rate: 158bpm Calories: 1305 Totals to Date Total Distance: 649 miles Total Time: 121:31:50 Total Elevation Gain: 20494 Total Calories: 59102 Distance to go: 441 miles Having finished Offa’s Dyke path...

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Family

Media Appearances

Anna and I have been cropping up all over the place recently. First Anna was playing her cornet to a herd of cows for a documentary about ‘the secret life of farm animals’. This aired on BBC4 to start with but soon made it’s way to BBC1 so she’s been on the TV a few...

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Cycling / Fitness / MTB / Quadrathlon / Running / Surf Ski, Kayaking and Canoeing / Swimming / Weather

The January Doldrums

I’ve been trying to think of things to add to the blog over the past week or so, but we just haven’t been up to much really. I guess it’s just the January Doldrums. It’s cold, it’s wet, it’s miserable and more often than not it’s dark outside. We’re back at work, Christmas seems as...

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General

When Should Children be introduced to Competition?

In junior sports, competitive games make for an interesting debate. At what age should children be introduced to actual competition? Here, we shall look at the national game, football, as the example. In England, the Football Association (FA) run leagues for teams starting at an Under-7 age level, however, the results of these games are...

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General

Making the most of a Grim Day

Just from the record, I called the conditions right earlier in the week. I said it would be chilly for a Saturday Surf Ski and it was at 5ºC. Amazingly the sea temperature is still pretty warm at 11ºC though. It’s a good job really as my GoPro fell off at one point so I...

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General

Why Artificial Grass Isn’t Such a Bad Garden Option

Artificial grass. It’s one of those things that many gardeners have been trained to look down upon as not only a form of ‘cheating’ but as a poor substitute for the real thing. The truth is though, artificial grass has come a long way since the days of neon green AstroTurf that’s covered in sand...

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Surf Ski, Kayaking and Canoeing

Nice Long Waves

I was half planning on going to Colwyn Bay today to take part in the North Wales Surf Ski Series Time Trial. It’s quite a drive and I can’t really afford the diesel so instead I stayed at home and caught some nice long rides here. It has to be said when given these options:...