Police, crocodiles and Penguins

Earlier today I submitted my Best Jobs in the World second round video. When I say today, I mean about 2am. I’m a little tired.

The whole process was intense, in a really positive way. Putting full time work together with making videos, creating social media content, reaching out to traditional media, and planning and pulling off an all-weekend outreach/stunt didn’t leave a lot of time for sleep, and when I did lie down horizontally, my mind was always churning with ideas.

This was a particularly hamstring-stretching iteration of my Quiz.

But being tired was the only real downside. I experienced an outpouring of support and endorsements that exceeded any of my expectations. I had friends who worked their connections, mates who joined me at the pub for brainstorming sessions, family proofreading my CV and getting out and about drumming up support, a gang of willing helpers who dressed in crazy outfits and were mobbed by children, and people I know (and some I don’t!) sending me endorsements from all over the world. Whether or not I make the next round, the last fortnight has been filled with highlights that remind me how lucky I am to know so many great people.

YOU were my ultimate referee – more than 160 of you! (note: the mosaic software was being a bit difficult, so I think there are a handful of duplicates and some people missing :-( But I promise I saw and appreciated every single photo!)

Plus, I wandered all over London with a crocodile and a kangaroo, talking to strangers about some of the most inspiring natural places in the world. I mean, come on! How good’s that? It was so much fun that one of my friends wondered aloud why we don’t just do this stuff for kicks, and I’m a little inclined to agree!

As it turns out, dressing up as a park ranger means people just accept that climbing up on things is the most natural act in the world.

I now have to wait until the 15th May to find out if I’m in the final 3. I think I have creatively interpreted the brief (constrained a little by not being able to work on it during normal hours) but I’m sure lots of the other candidates have come up with brilliant stuff, so I’m going to try to put it out of my mind for a week and just see what happens.

In the meantime, here’s a few of the great people I met on my travels:

This is Squash Falconer (left) and Dave Corn (right), who are travelling 3000 miles around Europe on Elliptigos (the contraption on the right). Smiling adventurers, raising money for charity – click on the picture to find out about their epic trip.

Coppafeel! representatives – a breast cancer awareness initiative aimed at younger people. It was a pleasure to have a chat with them, and such an important subject. Click on the image to visit their website.

Also, a big thanks to Officers Lee and Alex for letting me jump on their bike. It’s bloody massive!

And with that, I’m going to put the best jobs in the world to one side for a bit, and think instead about nanocellulose, optogenetics, drones and lego bridges during the day, and, well, a heck of a lot of not much in the evenings!

Oh, and you might be wondering why there are Penguins in the title of this post.

Bit of a long story.

Ranger Dave’s Queensland Quiz

Phew.

This is going to be a very short post, because 12 hours of running all over London’s busiest landmarks (often literally!) with a crocodile and kangaroo in tow has tired me out. I’ll give an update soon with lots more photos and stories of the great people I met.

So here’s a picture or two to give you a clue about what my weekend’s been like so far:

I’ve been in London for two and a half years without doing the Phone Box shot… how could I miss the perfect opportunity at Trafalgar Square? And these kids were just a couple of many who took the Queensland Quiz, with the London Eye and Big Ben in the background.

And if you want to be my Ultimate Referee, but haven’t gotten your endorsement in yet – get cracking!

Queensland: Memories and Dreams

Queensland is a state that holds many memories for me. I’ve been from top to bottom, but it is so immense that I feel as though I’ve barely explored it at all. Whether it be recalling the search for pale headed snakes at Lake Broadwater after a desert thunderstorm, or my unfulfilled ambition to visit Eungella National Park and see a wild platypus, it captures my mind.

A memory.

This photo is from the sweeping bay just southwest of the most Northern point of the Australian continent: the tip of Cape York. It was one of the highlights of my 2010 trip; the evening was calm, and the gang of fellow travellers I was with quickly found our usual childish excitement morphing into a contemplative serenity. A lonely yacht was anchored in the bay, and tiny but perfect lines of swell wrapped along the flat, sandy beach. We watched the sun set and dawdled back to the car one by one, stepping over stingray holes and staring at the sky.

A dream? Image: Wikimedia Commons/Aaronazz

From the far North to the deep West, I’d love to visit the Diamantina National Park. While the picture above isn’t the most illustrative, I like the fact that there are communities out in the desert tapping into the huge source of renewable power in the sky!

The Diamantina beckons me because it’s so remote. Australia’s inner landscape is so alien, so harsh, and so beautiful. It’s a place where you can find true silence away from cities and flight paths, and adventurous people are rewarded with experiences that few share. There’s also surprising biodiversity, especially after major rains.

Do you have any memories of Queensland, or dreams of places you’d like to visit?

Rambling in the Heath

I promise I won’t reference Adele in this post.

I had a day off work today, and decided to explore Putney Heath. It’s not the most glamorous green space in London, but it’s probably the most interesting for me.

Unlike the more manicured ‘garden’ parks of Central London, or the rolling hills of Richmond Park, the Heath has a variety of ecosystems, including the often-maligned swamp. I love swamps. They’re smelly, squishy, and full of interesting chemistry and life. You really know you’re experiencing nature in a swamp.

The dark pools were studded with freshly cut stumps, which made an interesting juxtaposition against the skeletal reflections of trees…

I tiptoed and balanced my way through the swamp, and found a brushy field of pea flowers. I’m going to be honest, it was mostly brambles and really didn’t lend itself to photography, but I found a few creepy little guys hiding out.

I’m not sure if my lens-related attention was appreciated.

I found myself wishing for my old 100mm macro lens, because most of the interesting things I found were smaller than my little fingernail. Or, wouldn’t come anywhere near me, in the case of the bunnies and birds.

The only downside was the incessant drone of automobiles. There are major roads on all sides of the Heath, and it’s under the Heathrow flight path, so it’s not possible to escape the roar of internal combustion. Rumour has it you need to go further afield for that…

It never rains

I’ve not been particularly lucky when it comes to weather in the UK. One of the rainiest summers ever, and now a winter which doesn’t seem to want to end.

A corner seems to have been turned, though. Standing in the drizzle at the end of Exhibition Road this evening, I was relieved to note that the temperature seems to have tipped over into the double digits. And Sunday has a forecast maximum of 16C, which I don’t think I’ve seen for more than 6 months now. That’s practically t-shirt and board shorts weather. Right?

It was a good moment to take a snap of a dreamy looking Natural History Museum. Working in the Science Museum, and walking past the majestic facades of Albertopolis daily, I rarely stop to take them in.

Oh, and I’d really like to see Dispatch live. The vibe in this crowd looks fantastic. “I have seen the others, and I have discovered, that this fight is not worth fighting…”