nickradford/blog

Coca Cola just know how to do Christmas

2011-12-20T20:20:00.001Z

A beautiful film.

Photos: Nepal 2011

2011-11-18T22:42:00.000Z

Nepal is a melting-pot. Influences from almost every country in SE Asia mix with a rich Nepali heritage to create a fascinating and engaging experience that has enticed travellers for decades. But for me it is the Himalayas, the greatest mountain range on Earth, that truly form the life blood of this country. They left me completely speechless and humbled. To see them and to trek in their foothills was to fulfil one of my greatest life ambitions.

Here are 25 photos that give a glimpse into our 10 days in Nepal:

There's a McDonald's for everyone

2011-11-16T09:00:00.000Z

Photos: Bangladesh 2011

2011-11-14T09:24:00.000Z

Over-populated, chaotic and under-water, Bangladesh is not on most people's list of holiday destinations. But with some of the kindest people you can hope to meet, a fascinating story of economic development, sensational food and a rich history, it offers a rare opportunity to totally immerse yourself in a foreign culture in a short space of time.

I've selected 25 photos from our trip, which you can view in the slideshow below. I'm planning a post which will use these images to tell the story of our trip and hopefully give some insights into the country.

Video: Paragliding, Nepal 2011

2011-11-13T20:20:00.000Z

Ueli Steck record speed ascent of the Eiger

2011-11-01T12:37:00.000Z

Jaw-dropping inspiration.

Unplugged

2011-07-04T14:47:00.002+01:00

It has been almost 3 months since I wrote a blog post and it might seem that I have been struggling to stick to my new year's resolution. But this time my reasons for not blogging don't stem from procrastination, but rather from a conscious choice to reduce my online activity.

I've realised in the last year that online life can very quickly become addictive. The constant stream of information and communication plays on basic human instincts. We are biologically programmed to be curious and to seek out connections with others, it is one of the reasons why we are such successful animals, and the internet gives us an endless supply of new information and connections. Blogs and news sites play their part, but social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are the equivalent of an internet drug.

Since university, like many in my generation, I've been fairly addicted to the internet. Up until recently, there wasn't a day in the last 8-9 years that I haven't been online. The level of information intake has stayed relatively constant but the level of communication with other people, and sharing personal thoughts and information, has steadily increased. At first it was just emails, then Facebook appeared, and then Twitter. "Being connected" online formed the pattern of each day, part of the fabric of day-to-day life.

However, this all came to a dramatic halt when I travelled to Africa. The laptop and smartphone were left at home and we were plunged into an environment where internet access was a rare, slow and expensive luxury. Internet cold turkey. I expected it to be a real struggle, that the cravings for human connections and information would go achingly unfilled. That expectation is perhaps testament enough of how deep it possible to get. Because the reality is that when you put yourself in a situation where you can no longer get your information and connection fix from the internet, you go out and seek it in the real world.

In Africa, without the internet, there was more knowledge and human interaction than I could have ever possibly absorbed. The fabric of day-to-day life is full of real human connections and interactions with nature. I started to realise that "online life" is a very poor substitute for "real life". The things we learnt and the connections we made were all done using the old fashioned mechanisms of talking, walking, travelling and first hand experience. These unplugged experiences were so much more valuable, so much richer and fuller than anything online.

On return to the UK I realised that this was not specific to Africa. That despite the increasingly online nature of life here, it was perfectly possible to unplug. I dabbled with Facebook and Twitter again, but I found them so much less fulfilling now that I had rediscovered the technicolor of the real world. I also began to realise that there is an inversely proportional relationship between time spent immersed in online life and time immersed in the real world. The more time I spent online, the less I was getting out of life. So I decided to go for self-imposed internet cold turkey. I didn't check my emails for weeks, my social networking for months and evidently haven't been on my blog until now. In many ways, I've never been happier than over the last 3 months. There is so much to do in life, I don't know how I ever had time for the internet before.

I guess, in the end, there is a balance to be found. While I've effectively given up on "social networking" and I'm going to continue to maintain my new dramatically reduced level of online activity, I still enjoy reading small amounts of online news, comment and blogs – and I'll continue to add my contribution to the collective discourse with posts on this blog.

Photos: East Africa 2010

2011-03-15T11:27:00.000Z

Ok, so I finally got around to sorting through the 1,843 photos that we took on our recent trip to Africa. It was such an epic adventure with so many amazing memories that it was really quite difficult to select the best shots. I decided on choosing the best 118 photos, to match the 118 days that we were away. (It's not actually one photo per day, just the ones that I think tell the best story of the trip).

There is an embedded slideshow below or you can go to Flickr and view the set and slideshow.

Why I'm no longer interested in being in politics

2011-03-14T21:41:00.012Z

Today I wrote an email to the executive committee of the Salisbury Lib Dem party explaining that I won't be putting myself forward as a candidate for them at the next election.

I tweeted last month that I finally felt comfortable describing myself as a "ex-politician" and I thought it was only fair to explain this in more detail.

In the email, I gave two reasons for not putting myself forward:

A) I can't afford the financial cost. I don't think that most people realise this, but being a parliamentary candidate is a really expensive thing to do. In the run up to the last election I spent thousands of pounds of my own money financing the campaign (and I wasn't on a great salary to start with!). I'm not sure what happens in other parties, but I got ZERO help from the central Lib Dem party. I understand the reasons: Salisbury was not a target seat. However, that doesn't change the fact that it is a very expensive thing to put yourself through.

B) I have new priorties and no longer have the time. Being a candidate requires a huge devotion of time and energy, if you want to do it properly. This comes at considerable cost to your personal life. Our trip to Africa made me realise my real priorities, and politics simply wasn't one of them. I want to focus on building my career and making sure that my family and the people around me are secure. Ultimately, I am no longer prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to stand for Parliament.

So those were the two reasons I gave to the local party. However, 12 hours after having written the email, I realise that there are in fact way more than just two reasons why I don't want to do it. I can add at least an C, D, E and F to the list:

C) Salisbury is unwinnable for the Lib Dems at the next election. The upcoming boundary review will seek to equalise the number of electors per constituency (at around 76,000). This will mean the Salisbury constituency (with only 67,000 electors) will expand and take in new areas to the North and West with high numbers of Conservative votes. This will make an already "safe" Conservative seat even "safer", and basically unwinnable for the Lib Dems or anyone else. I'm not excited about entering a contest I know I will loose. Particularly when you factor in how unpopular the Lib Dems are. Which leads me on to point D...

D) I don't really identify with the Lib Dems anymore, my political views have changed. It isn't all about winning, there is a huge amount of value in promoting the democratic process, giving people a choice and standing up for something you believe in. I still believe all this, but unfortunately the Lib Dems aren't really something I "believe in" anymore. Contrary to what you might expect this isn't because of the disastrous press that the party has received since May. I actually agree with 80% of what the coalition is doing. Where as before I would have described myself as a centre-left social liberal, I would now probably describe my views as centre-right and closer to classical liberalism, even libertarian on some issues. I've no hard feelings against the Lib Dems, they are a good group and I had fun with them. However, there is now no UK political party that represents my views. This was an unexpected result of our trip to Africa. I thought it would make me soft and woolly, but in fact it made me tougher and harder. We saw a lot of the world, how things really are, as opposed to how they are when talked about round western dinner tables - seeing these things changes your views.

E) I don't actually like politics. Even during the campaign I never enjoyed the "politics" of what we were doing. What kept me going was the idea of "running a successful project". We had set aims and objectives, but how we got there was up to our creative skill and effort. I was building something, achieving something. Yes of course I agreed with what the party was saying, and believed in much of it - and I certainly believed in and was sincere about representing people in Salisbury - but it was never the "cut and thrust" of the politics that stimulated me, in fact I really didn't like that side of it. Politics just happened to be the subject matter of the project I was running. I was asked recently why I did it, why I stood for Parliament? I answered by saying that when George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Everest he simply replied "because it's there". I stood for Parliament "because it was something worthwhile to do". Nothing more complicated than that.

F) I'm really enjoying having time for other things in my life. In all the 5 years that I was in politics, I never met a single person involved who came across as content, peaceful and happy in life. Everyone in politics is strained. I just don't think it is an occupation which puts you at peace. There is constant conflict, drama, hyperbole and everyone is always in a rush. You're always being attacked or attacking someone - it's just not good karma. It leaves you nervous, paranoid, hollow. There was no time for the simple things in life. These days I feel like a different person. I have a quiet, wholesome happiness right at my core. I know it sounds cliched but I have an "inner peace" which I never had at any point in the last 5 years. I get to read books, go for runs, make good food, research obscure topics that interest me, spend time with my family and with Eeva, dream and make plans for the future – it's like a whole new lease of life.

Don't get me wrong, I don't regret standing for Parliament, it's just that I don't want to do it again. I mean, I had an amazing experience which I couldn't have had in any other way. I created a successful project, learnt a huge amount about the world and hopefully did something worthwhile in the process. As a citizen, I stood up to be counted in the democratic process and to represent people in my community - which is a cool thing to have done. I'll always be able to look back and think "I gave it a go".

But now it is time to move on. It's time for the next adventure.

Learn to run barefoot with Lee Saxby

2011-02-25T09:00:00.003Z

Good video.

There is an amazing moment of revelation just after 2:00 minutes in where you see his foot strike change mid-stride from a heel strike to a mid-foot strike. Fascinating and practical stuff.

Learn to Run Barefoot with Lee Saxby and Terra Plana from GTB Goodtruebeautiful GmbH on Vimeo.

Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall

2011-02-24T17:38:00.009Z

I can count on one hand the number of books that I've read which have fundamentally changed the way I think about the world. I'm excited that in Born to Run by Christoper McDougall, not only have I just read another, but that this one quite probably tops the list.

The book takes you through this amazing journey where in a quest to work out why he gets so many injuries (like most runners!), he discovers the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico and how they can run distances over 400 miles, in one go, in nothing more than leather sandals. Meets Caballo Blanco, a white man who has learnt their ways and runs with them. He discovers the ultra-running community (ultra-running is about distances longer than a 26.2 marathon) and the zen-like aura that surrounds them. He exposes how modern running shoes are quite probably the cause of most running injuries and how barefoot running could be the solution. And, most fascinating of all, he details the biological and evolutionary evidence which suggests that human beings actually evolved to run super long distances in the first place.

It really changed the way that I think about running and lots of other things. I've always believe that running is unlike any other "sport". It is more fundamental to who and what were are as human beings. I've always felt when I run that "this is what I am designed to do - this is what I am for". There is something so natural, fluid and meaningful about the movement. For the first time this book has given me some of the reasons why. The thought that we are alive today because our ancestors could run, further and better than anything else, that as a species we may be designed by evolution as the ultimate long distance running machine and pack hunting animal, is a fascinating, revolutionary idea.

Anyhow, I'd highly recommend it, he has a real talent for story telling, its a great read (whether you are a runner or not!). You can get it from Amazon here.

Are we born to run?

2011-02-07T21:04:00.001Z

This is a really fascinating talk by Christopher McDougall, well worth watching.

Culture shock

2011-02-06T21:05:00.004Z

Since getting back I've been brewing some serious, insightful and analytical blog posts about life in East Africa. This isn't one of them, but is just some initial feelings, mainly focussed on our arrival home.

There are plenty of column inches written about the phenomenon of "culture shock" when arriving for the first time in a foreign country - particularly when arriving into 3rd world / developing countries. What there is significantly less discussion about is the culture shock you can experience when arriving back home in the developed world.

We spent almost 4 months in developing countries (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi and briefly Zambia) and while there we weren't trying to shield ourselves from the standard of living in any way. We gave up all western luxuries, avoided the "backpacking community" and committed to living life as close to local people as possible, eating local food, travelling on local buses, staying in basic resthouses etc etc. Before we arrived back in the UK we spent some time in South Africa on holiday, so this did soften the blow, but nonetheless since we've been back its taken us a while to get used to a few things.

It is, in itself, a fascinating thing to arrive back in your home country after so long abroad. In the one moment everything feels deeply familiar while at the same time feeling foreign, strange and new. You look at your home in the same way that you view a place that you visit for the first time. It is a hard experience to put into words, but a couple of things which have particularly surprised me:

1. Wealth. It doesn't matter how many times you read the statistics about how rich the West is and how poor Africa is, nothing really prepares you a) for the reality of seeing the depth of poverty that people live in first hand out there, nor b) realising how massively wealthy (almost) everyone is here. It struck me as I was looking at all of the cars on the road during the bus ride home from Heathrow. I was looking at thousands upon thousands of cars, all whizzing about, getting people to work - and I realised that each and every single car I was looking at was worth more than the average African will earn in their entire lifetime. Just mentally add up the value of all of the cars that you pass on your next journey, it won't take you long to get to an astronomical figure. In Africa having a car is a big deal, you are a wealthy man if you own one, and subsequently they are rare. It hit me again when we bought a couple of pints and a packet of crisps in the pub, and I realised that in that single transaction I had spent more money than we had spent in an entire day in Africa. These things probably sound mundane and obvious, but I guess it is just the scale of the differences and how readily these things are taken for granted in the West which gives you a wake up call on return.

2. Availability of food / water. It's the silly things which hit you. My Mum served us peas the other night with dinner (they were from frozen, which itself is one of the miracles of the modern world). A big bowl of steaming vegetables, that tasted clean and as fresh as the day they were picked - beautiful. Weeks went by in Africa where I would have given my eye teeth for a bowl of clean, fresh vegetables. Secondly, turning on a tap and being able to drink what comes out? Another modern miracle.

3. Having coins in your pocket. In many African countries inflation has been running so high for so long that coins have completely fallen out of common circulation. It happens because Reserve Banks will almost always issue new high denomination notes, but will not match it with converting low denomination notes to coins - therefore the number of notes steadily increases and gradually edges out coins from use.

4. Toilets that you can sit on. Enough said!

The difference between "traveling" and "a holiday"

2011-01-10T18:02:00.001Z

Just a quick indulgence in semantics - largely stimulated by an ongoing debate between me and my mother.

Firstly, everyone has been on a "holiday". It conjures up images of lying on a beach/pool lounger, reading copious numbers of books, pottering around and going to bars/restaurants, and broadly, enjoying the fact that you are not doing very much. This isn't an exclusive definition of holidays, many are more active than this, but my point is that this is the widely accepted image of "a holiday".

"Holidays" are almost exclusively focused on minimizing discomfort and maximizing pleasure. "Traveling" on the other hand is quite different. It is focused on maximizing your experience of a different country or culture, often at the expense of your comfort and pleasure. The things that you do when you "travel" are very different from when you are "on holiday".

So, for example, sitting in a half-functional 14-seater minibus, crammed in with 23 Africans, in 40 degree heat, on a seat with zero padding, traveling at a death-defying 120 km/hr on a road littered with potholes, goats and other recklessly driven vehicles, is not - I would strongly argue - relaxing, fun or in any way pleasurable. However, you do it because it is an experience (and because you need to get somewhere!). It is in the same way that the coackroach ridden resthouses, squatter toilets, and dubious local food are not enjoyable, but they are also all part of the experience. You don't travel to relax, you travel because you want to learn more about a country, about the local culture and the way that local people live. The only real way to do this is to get your hands dirty and live life in the same way local people do. I would actually argue that quite often, and certainly on a day-to-day basis, traveling is not actually enjoyable at all. It is difficult, uncomfortable and frequently dangerous. But when you look back at it, and in the longer term, you are glad you've done it and grateful that you now know something that you previously didn't. The pleasure comes later.

It is worth stating that despite this traveling is by no means "work" (unless of course you are the author of a travel guide - surely one of the greatest jobs in the world?). Given the choice between being sat in an office or exploring the wilds of Africa, despite all the discomfort, I would choose the latter every time. So traveling and holidays share the fact that they are both an indulgence, but I maintain that there is a difference between them.

What Eeva and I have been doing for the last 3 months, as we made our way down the Rift Valley, was most certainly travelling. However, now we are in South Africa, we are enjoying a much appreciated holiday :-)

An imperfect blogger

2011-01-05T18:01:00.005Z

New Year's resolutions. I can't decide whether I am a fan or not. I do enjoy the start of a new year - that feeling of intrigue at what the year will hold. Psychologically, it is an excellent time to make a fresh start - but then we've all committed that cliche of making resolutions which 3 weeks later we've forgotten about. It makes me question the honesty of the "new year's resolution" if part of us knows that the chances are we will have abandoned them in a few months time.
Nonetheless, I have already made a mental list of things I'm going to do in 2011. One of them (and the point of this post) is that I'd like to make a renewed attempt to blog more.

While I was a parliamentary candidate I got into the habit of regularly updating my political website, and I always wanted to actually "blog" during that time aswell. There were loads of insights and thoughts that I had, but the problem I found was that it would take me literally hours to write a blog post. I'd normally get the words down quite quickly, but then I would spend forever agonizing over whether it sounded right, reading and re-reading what I had written a hundred times and tinkering with it. It would normally get to the stage where I wouldn't even publish what I had written and spent hours over, because it could never match up to this perfect ideal that I had in my head. This paralysis continued after the election and my hopes of blogging on a more personal level were stymied.

I thought that this trip to Africa might have provided the stimulus to break my mental block (I'm writing this from Lusaka, Zambia). However as some of you may have noticed, Eeva and my attempt at a blog of this trip fizzled out rather quickly. I am sorry about this, I would have loved to publicly share and record the experiences that we've had over the last 3 months. They have been mind blowing and my understanding of so many issues has been changed massively. Maybe I'll write a "retrospective blog series" of reflections on issues in Africa.

The main problem on this trip has been access to the internet, but I will be back in the UK in 3 weeks and will no longer have that excuse. So, my resolution is to "let go" of that perfectionist tendency, accept that my grammar will not be precise and the way my sentences sound, feel and flow will not be perfect and, well, just get on with it and record my thoughts.

Let's see if this is a new year's resolution I can keep.