Wrong Guy

One of the funniest things I saw this year. Click

here

to read the article and watch the video of poor Guy Goma, who found himself on the wrong interview, live on BBC World news...

Midweek

Yesterday morning I was due to be interviewed live on '

Midweek

', a superb Radio 4 chat programme listened to by almost 2 million people.

The studio was about 1 hour and 10 minutes from my home and I had to be there at 8.30am. At 7.17am I woke up, looked at the clock, and realised I had overslept! Yikes! At 7.25 I was on the train. At 8.29 I was at the BBC. God bless British Rail!
To listen again to how I sounded, once I had calmed down, click

here

.

Coffee anyone?




Do you, like me, enjoy a good cup of coffee?
Well, pour yourself a cup, sit back, relax, and watch the trailer for this movie that highlights how farmers earn just 3c for each $3 cup of coffee.
"Trade is more Important to us than Aid" says one man. Can't say fairer than that...

Poem of the week

"Do you think we'll ever get to see Earth, Sir?"
- Sheenagh Pugh

I hear they're hoping to run trips
one day, for the young and fit, of course.
I don't see much use in it myself;
there'll be any number of places
you can't land, because they're still toxic,
and even in the relatively safe bits
you won't see what it was; what it could be.
I can't fancy a tour through the ruins
of my home with a party of twenty-five
and a guide to tell me what to see.
But if you should see some beautiful thing,
some leaf, say, damascened with frost,
some iridescence on a pigeon's neck,
some stone, some curve, some clear water;
look at it as if you were made of eyes,
as if you were nothing but an eye, lidless
and tender, to be probed and scorched
by extreme light. Look at it with your skin,
with the small hairs on the back of your neck.
If it is well-shaped, look at it with your hands;
if it has fragrance, breathe it into yourself;
if it tastes sweet, put your tongue to it.
Look at it as a happening, a moment;
let nothing of it go unrecorded,
map it as if it were already passing.
Look at it with the inside of your head,
look at it for later, look at it for ever,
and look at it once for me.

Brilliant

This, surely, is the spirit of bonkers travel... I can't believe he's not English!
Anyway, well done, Sir.

Photographers needed!

I am putting together a book of photography about cycling adventures round the world. Traveling by bike is an awesome way to access the world's wild places, to really connect with people, to see incredible sunsets and to sleep in very silly places. I want to reflect all this in this unique book. I want to find a wide variety of contributors to the book. All profits from the book will go to charity ('Hope and Homes for Children') so you won't be paid but it will be a great way for cyclists to get their photos published and to promote your work.If you have high quality (at least 300dpi), digital photographs from your own cycling adventures then please email me ASAP at alastair.humphreys@gmail.com to discuss. Please also forward this on to any other cyclists - there are so many that I know should be included...I am looking for a maximum of 5 photos per contributor in order to give a wide spectrum to the book. It is not only hard-core Tibet pictures I am looking for: bike rides through Europe and Ireland are definitely included!All contributors will be fully acknowledged for each picture. You must give permission for your picture to be used in this charity fund-raising book that will be available worldwide through Amazon. Your pictures will not be used in any other publications. I hope to hear from you soon.

10 More Random Acts of Kindness

1. Enter someone else's name into a competition
2. Give a homeless person a flask
3. Give your newspaper to a taxi driver
4. Say thanks to the cleaners at work
5. Top up a parking meter
6. Thank your bus driver as you leave the bus
7. On a frosty morning, scrape the ice off the windscreen of the car next to yours
8. Pat a dog
9. Sign a petition (www.amnesty.org)
10. Do something for free

With thanks to

The Karma Army

for the tips!

Getting reviewed

One of the most daunting things I have found about publishing a book is handing it to strangers and inviting them to slaughter it. Getting my book reviewed then has been nerve-wracking, given that their sacrificing of my beloved baby is done in the very public domain of the media.

Well, I have just had my first review and I have survived it more or less. The Guardian mentioned my book on the front page of their website and

wrote predominantly nice things

about me! Phew!