In April 2022, I left London for a summer season job in Greece. I worked for 9 months as a bike guide in Vasiliki, a famous windsurfing bay on an island in the North West of the country. While I…

Now I know that if these emails are anything to go by, unemployment is one big holiday. But I spent last Thursday morning spreading horse manure over Mum’s allotment. So there. And as I scraped the horse shit across the frozen…

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…

Just a warning that this post is very windsurfery and probably not very interesting if you don’t windsurf. And if you do windsurf you were probably there today… so I suppose this email is aimed at the 3-5 people who:1.…

Aside from stumbling upon my true calling, this week was special because Tom and Alice came to visit. It was so lovely seeing them both. Best part is that I got to show them my new favourite cocktail: the Jamaican Banana. Basically a…

Helloo, Hope you are well. Adding a little preamble to this email to say thanks to Isaac for the v cool pictures that are propping up this week’s mess of an email. @isaac.herriott you are an excellent photographer. My hinge profile will…

Like a zany sociologist entering a tribe in the darkest corners of the rainforest, for a few months I have immersed myself in this community of watersports enthusiasts. I have discovered that they speak in a unique tongue: not English;…

This is a guide to cycling in Dartmoor. The rolling roads of Dartmoor offer some of the best cycling in the UK. This beautiful national park lies a little way north of Plymouth, in the county of Devon. It’s just…

Hey hey, How are you? Earlier this week I was looking down at the valley from a taverna in the hills. The recent rainfall has returned to the variegated canopy of trees – mainly olive, plane, conifer, pine and birch…

Heya, Thanks to the shape of the bay, Vasiliki bay is unusually windy. But this week was unusually windy, even for Vasiliki. We were all chuffed. Partly because we all had a fab time windsurfing, partly because the guests were…

Hellooo How you doing? Coming to the end of a corker of a week. I’ve been on a lovely little camping trip with my bike and seen the sights of Athens. Also put a lot of time into careery stuff,…

Hey folks, An early email this week because I’m off on a bike trip tomorrow and ceebs bringing my laptop. I had to work 2 days this week, but other than that I was on holiday. My mission was clear:…

Hellooo, How are you? Last week’s attempt to parody a cliche holiday thriller novel provoked more replies than I’ve had in a fair while, most essentially asking, ‘u ok hun?’ Seems I missed the mark on that one… I am…

Hey, Guess I’ve got a story to tell this week. Anyway, here goes. ‘Tssssss.’ The coach’s brakes released and it rolled away from the hotel. The patch of shade it generated went with it, and pretty quickly I was stood…

Hey hey, Coming to you live from Vasilikiiii! I got back on Tuesday after over a month in the UK! So happy to be back. Just kicking this off by saying that whereas the past couple of emails got a…

Hello, Like every man who has been raised on meat, Bond films and Top Gear repeats on Dave, I have, at some point in my adolescence, convinced myself that I should become a professional poker player. This, like my other,…

Hey hey, Hope you’re all good! You know that classic old phrase ‘home is where your hat is’? Yeah? Well, I’ve been hanging my hat in the Lake District for the best part of a week.  The lakes are very…

Hey hey, How’s yous? Well, seems I’m going to be in the UK a few days longer than expected. Waiting on this visa is frustrating, I’m getting serious FOMO whenever I think about vasiliki. Either way, I’m having a nice…

Helloo, you good? Realising that a few of these newsletters make me sound like a negative nelly. What can I say? Ya boi tries to keep it 100. In that spirit, going to plow ahead with the opening that I…

Let’s be honest: cycling isn’t necessarily the coolest of sports. Maybe it’s because of the funny outfits, or the obsession with kit, or – and I suspect this is the main factor – the MAMILs. But, in 2003, when Kraftwerk’s…

Hi! Realising that my mood and that of lots of the people here is hopelessly dependent on the wind conditions. When you’ve had a solid week of windsurfing or wing foiling, life is so good. Flying along on the hydrofoil…

Hello! Hope you’ve had a lovely week. Great week over here – small, good quality groups on the cycling, and really good wind most evenings. It’s getting very hot at the moment and we’re all trying to adjust. Current solution…

Hey, hope you’re good. How’s your week been? Its my day off again and my first lie in of the week. Nice to have a lazy morning. Cook some porridge; write this; wander around the house in my pants killing…

Hey How are you? Another week gone! It’s been quite a full on one. The first guests arrived at the hotel, and Hannah was here for most of the week visiting. Sunday evening at the mo and I’m completely exhausted.…

Helloo, Hope you’re good. Coming right at you with catchup email numero 3. With two weeks in the can, it feels like things are settling in somewhat: I’ve started making myself batches of pasta for lunch; I’ve got used to…

Hello! Hope you’re good. Thanks for your replies to the last email. Very nice to hear from you. Ditching mailchimp and sending these as a regular email so hopefully it won’t be in spam this week. Sitting in the staff…