29/04/2020
I’m not much one for social media…
…as anyone looking through my website blog, page or LinkedIn account will readily testify: only one or two posts in the last 2 years – and very little before that! My excuse is that I’ve been too busy ‘doing stuff’ to take the time to write about it – but that doesn’t really wash in the current Covid-19 lockdown – so here goes with a brief update…
During the last 2 years I have been:
until last September, working 1-2 days a week as the Waterways and Environment Officer for Canoe Wales, providing ‘expert’ advice on waterways access, liaising with a wide range of national stakeholders; and launching the campaign for Clear Access, Clear Waters in Wales;
working 2-4 days a month as the Coordinator and Company Secretary for the South Wales Outdoor Activity Providers Group, liaising with Members and regional stakeholders on a wide range of issues affecting the provision of outdoor activities by commercial and non-commercial groups in the Brecon Beacons and South Wales;
working for numerous weeks as a Freelance Instructor for
the Hampshire and Cass Foundation Mountain Centre in Libanus, using canoeing and hillwalking experiences to challenge and develop groups of young people;
the Soldier Development Wing at Sennybridge, using canoeing, kayaking and hillwalking to ‘stretch’ army recruits and develop their their mental resilience and their understanding of the Army’s Core Values; and
Call of the Wild Ltd, facilitating the leadership development of groups of apprenticeships from the John Lewis Group through a variety of indoor and outdoor exercises blended with classroom learning;
organising and running a few British Canoeing Coach Education courses including:
Emergency / Aquatic First Aid;
Foundation Safety & Rescue Training;
Paddlesport Instructor Award Training & Assessment; and
Coach Award Core Training, Slalom Coach Training, Sheltered Water Canoe & Kayak Coach Training and Assessment;
continuing to volunteer as the Coaching / Development Officer (and Chair) of Brecon Canoe Club; and as Canoe Wales’ Slalom Committee Chair (until last summer); and
occasionally helping to deliver outdoor activities for Bonedd y Bannau Explorer Scout Unit and visiting Scout Groups camping on our family farm.
I started this year with every intention of being more organised, laying out a full programme of Coach Education courses, as well as working with my wife on our new joint venture Back to Basics Well-being Weekends, combining a day of ‘mindfulness’ in our own woods with a day of contemplative outdoor activity…
…but then Covid-19 arrived and put all that on hold (apart from one Sheltered Water Canoe & Kayak Coach Training course which I managed to sneak in just before the lockdown!) – so here I am looking forward to the ‘recovery phase’ when things might start to get back to normal – and in the meantime making use of all this ‘spare time’ to get vital building and maintenance jobs done around the home and farm…and catching up on long-neglected tasks like writing this piece!
Here’s hoping that I’m soon too busy again to write such lengthy blog entries – but not too busy to keep a little more up-to-date!
April 29, 2020 at 12:23PM
…as anyone looking through my website blog, page or LinkedIn account will readily testify: only one or two posts in the last 2 years – and very little before that! My excuse is…
