James Spry

Last week, I found out what it’s like being a house cat. Hannah invited me up to Aberdeen for the week, and for those few blissful days I was the ‘house man’: needy; domesticated; reasonably well trained. Hannah was out…

Having spent 6 years living in London, among go-getters and city slickers, I thought I’d seen the fastest walkers the UK had to offer. But this weekend in St Andrews has shown that the truly speedy pedestrians live north of…

I arrived in Manchester airport on Thursday night to a truly quintessential English welcome. I went to sit down in the railway station, when someone said I should probably move: some kids were above us, on the balcony of the…

The other day, I convinced myself that I should move to Wales and spend the winter windsurfing, walking and cycling, living off nothing more than a paltry freelancing/tutoring wage as I continued to attempt to make a career as an…

I’m writing to you this week with exciting developments from my ongoing sociological research. As you know, for the past few months I have integrated myself into a group of watersports enthusiasts in Vassiliki, and made a written record of…

On Sundays I start at 9 rather than 8, so this morning I’ve risen early, cycled to a town a few km away, and sat in a cafe to write this. I’m in the town square, by a church that’s…

Since I’m now part of a team of four bike guides, I’m spending less time cycling than I’m used to, and more time attending to the bike shed, which is positioned in the hotel car park, right in front of…

Coming to you from Rhodes! Myself and 6 others from the Vass crew arrived here on Friday after spending the whole day travelling. But oh boy were we travelling in style. Stage 1: a minibus ride from our house in Vasiliki…

One Friday night, I was sitting in a beach bar in Vasiliki, Greece, looking out across the water. The island of Kefalonia was floating on the limit of the horizon. I’d been in Vasiliki for three months, living and working…