Conquer Club

https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite

There's another entry, tidied up and complete with pics. Do please read, and also subscribe to the blog.

Another short re-edited addition, with pics. This one also has some interesting stuff that I've researched since I got home.

https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite

jonesthecurl wrote:Another short re-edited addition, with pics. This one also has some interesting stuff that I've researched since I got home.

https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite

Once again, there's more. You kno0w, guys, it doesn't cost anything to subscribe, it just adds you to the mailing list.

jonesthecurl wrote:

jonesthecurl wrote:Another short re-edited addition, with pics. This one also has some interesting stuff that I've researched since I got home.

https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite

Once again, there's more. You kno0w, guys, it doesn't cost anything to subscribe, it just adds you to the mailing list.

Okay, found the link and subscribed. Now, if I get any calls from your Nigerian nephew, your ass is grass...

Dukasaur wrote:

jonesthecurl wrote:

jonesthecurl wrote:Another short re-edited addition, with pics. This one also has some interesting stuff that I've researched since I got home.

https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite

Once again, there's more. You kno0w, guys, it doesn't cost anything to subscribe, it just adds you to the mailing list.

Okay, found the link and subscribed. Now, if I get any calls from your Nigerian nephew, your ass is grass...

But he IS a prince, you know.

Just make an Instagram like everyone else, jones.

jonesthecurl wrote:https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite

New entry in the updated, edited, illustrated version of my Ghana adventures. Please subscribe- the more people that do, the easier it'll be for me to get writing work.

Ditto

https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite/single-post/2017/05/31/Abroad-Thoughts-from-Home

Final test entry in the Ghana blog is up. This is all new stuff, being my thoughts about the whole thing after being home in Cali for a while. I may add some photos as a gallery later.

jonesthecurl wrote:https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite/single-post/2017/05/31/Abroad-Thoughts-from-Home

Final test entry in the Ghana blog is up. This is all new stuff, being my thoughts about the whole thing after being home in Cali for a while. I may add some photos as a gallery later.

Interesting stuff, but I have to say this line unintentionally made me laugh, despite it being a serious issue:

The lack of public sanitary facilities is a way of life for the locals, and in places over 70% of homes have no sanitary facilities – but the average US or European tourist wants safe, hygenic, public restrooms and would be appalled by anything less.

Are, say, Canadians, above such problems, or just used to it?

It's been a fascinating read, Jones. What's next?

Symmetry wrote:

jonesthecurl wrote:https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite/single-post/2017/05/31/Abroad-Thoughts-from-Home

Final test entry in the Ghana blog is up. This is all new stuff, being my thoughts about the whole thing after being home in Cali for a while. I may add some photos as a gallery later.

Interesting stuff, but I have to say this line unintentionally made me laugh, despite it being a serious issue:

The lack of public sanitary facilities is a way of life for the locals, and in places over 70% of homes have no sanitary facilities – but the average US or European tourist wants safe, hygenic, public restrooms and would be appalled by anything less.

Are, say, Canadians, above such problems, or just used to it?

It's been a fascinating read, Jones. What's next?

Mea culpa, my net wasn't wide enough there. I think the world's other great tourist force, the Japanese, would be even fussier. Aussies might be OK, not because they're uncivilized, but because those who travel arte often the adventurous type for whom roughing it a little is fine.

As for "what's next", I give a hint in the last entry of something I'm working on now, and there's also a couple of trips coming up. One is to the UK, though I don't know how much I could say about that which would be new and interesting, and one is to the eclipse over the USA. I also might go back and talk about previous trips, or perhaps even go all Alistair Cooke and write about where I live from a Brit's point of view...

Japan and its toilets is worth a book in itself- a lot of places still have squat toilets, and others have full on robo-toilets that will play music so that other people can't hear you micturate. Learning to master both is a culture shock in itself when desperate.

I actually mentioned what you've been doing to my grandpa- an avid hiker before his knee gave him grief. He loves to give talks to people about his travels- it helps that he's also an excellent photographer, so he always has slides.

If you're thinking of a UK trip, Lands End to John O'Groats is a hike of his that I've always wanted to do myself. Or pretty much anything in Yorkshire.

Japan is nowhere near being a 'force' in international tourism. China, however, is far and away the world's biggest source of tourism spending:

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/12/ ... ost-money/

Symmetry wrote:Japan and its toilets is worth a book in itself- a lot of places still have squat toilets, and others have full on robo-toilets that will play music so that other people can't hear you micturate. Learning to master both is a culture shock in itself when desperate.

I actually mentioned what you've been doing to my grandpa- an avid hiker before his knee gave him grief. He loves to give talks to people about his travels- it helps that he's also an excellent photographer, so he always has slides.

If you're thinking of a UK trip, Lands End to John O'Groats is a hike of his that I've always wanted to do myself. Or pretty much anything in Yorkshire.

I tend to be constrained when I go to the UK by visiting family, with perhaps a few diversions to see old friends.

jonesthecurl wrote:

Symmetry wrote:Japan and its toilets is worth a book in itself- a lot of places still have squat toilets, and others have full on robo-toilets that will play music so that other people can't hear you micturate. Learning to master both is a culture shock in itself when desperate.

I actually mentioned what you've been doing to my grandpa- an avid hiker before his knee gave him grief. He loves to give talks to people about his travels- it helps that he's also an excellent photographer, so he always has slides.

If you're thinking of a UK trip, Lands End to John O'Groats is a hike of his that I've always wanted to do myself. Or pretty much anything in Yorkshire.

I tend to be constrained when I go to the UK by visiting family, with perhaps a few diversions to see old friends.

When my relatives come back from the US, they sort of need a break from the break. Same when I go over to the US, so I sympathise. That said, there's a good chance that they'd like to get out of the area and do something new for a few days too. Coast to coast is a bit of a big ask, but they might be up for a trip to the Dales, or the Lake District, etc.

Just discovered this interesting thread and read through it this evening. I appreciated it enough to check out the photo enhanced version on your blog and to dutifully subscribe. I, myself am pretty much a slave to my job and my bills, so I marvel at how you can manage to support yourself without being bound to an 8 to 5, yet alone be able to afford to travel so much. I also took a few minutes to read the preview of your book on Amazon and found it interesting, although not sure yet about actually contributing to your support.

Thanks again for taking the time to share this small slice of your life with us.

S

Scarus wrote:Just discovered this interesting thread and read through it this evening. I appreciated it enough to check out the photo enhanced version on your blog and to dutifully subscribe. I, myself am pretty much a slave to my job and my bills, so I marvel at how you can manage to support yourself without being bound to an 8 to 5, yet alone be able to afford to travel so much. I also took a few minutes to read the preview of your book on Amazon and found it interesting, although not sure yet about actually contributing to your support.

Thanks again for taking the time to share this small slice of your life with us.

S

Thanks for the comments. You'll find parts of the novel, not in its final form, somewhere on this forum. The final version was a bit snappier - I have a tendency to use long sentences and pompous words, which I usually can correct on rereading.

But a gift for dialogue. That's a rare thing in writers. I meant to ask, and without sounding like a fanboy- do you think that has something to do with your work in standup? You obviously have an ear for voices, which might also be your issue with description (who doesn't imitate a Shakespearean actor, or a voiceover guy intoning "'Twas a land beset by the forces of evil..." when they think of a fantasy landscape?).

I only know a few people who've done standup, and only one who still does, but it seems to me that getting voices right in telling a joke is a lot more work than people realise.

Symmetry wrote:But a gift for dialogue. That's a rare thing in writers. I meant to ask, and without sounding like a fanboy- do you think that has something to do with your work in standup? You obviously have an ear for voices, which might also be your issue with description (who doesn't imitate a Shakespearean actor, or a voiceover guy intoning "'Twas a land beset by the forces of evil..." when they think of a fantasy landscape?).

I only know a few people who've done standup, and only one who still does, but it seems to me that getting voices right in telling a joke is a lot more work than people realise.

Yes, absolutely - but I think it's because I have that ear that I'm attracted to acting writing and standup, rather than the other way around.

It's also why writing plays (in which basically you have ONLY the characters voices) is where I'm mostly working now (well, I've just sent some sketches off to CBS on spec, but they are essentially one-or two-minute plays).

It's good to get the words that people speak right - when you're live, the actual sound is important too.

When the final Harry Potter book came out, we had a long session at the local bookshop of reading out the entire series, timed to end at midnight as the final volume was officially available. I did quite a few sessions, and people really enjoyed that I did all the character voices.

Have a listen to "spray n say"...

OK, so I finally got round to adding to the blog - not about Ghana this time, more personal stuff really, as a prelude to writing about other places.

https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite/single-post/2017/11/06/Jonesey---man-with-no-roots

Oh, and also, for those of you who read the "Incident at Sea" story from my Dad's days in the army, he recalled the name of the boat involved. It was the Warwick Castle, which I discover was actually sunk the following year - from the looks of it, on a very similar mission to the one that was torpedoed while my Dad was aboard.

I think that the idea of not having roots is a bit of weird one. It means so many different things that it's difficult to find a handle to pick up the bundle (I'm pretty sure I paraphrased that from someone better, William Empson, maybe). Anyway- sometimes the idea that a person is rooted in one place can be misleading. Sometimes it's better to think of yourself as having roots that are spread out all over the place.

If you like, that it's not about the place you are rooted, but rather the roots that grow and are growing the tree as they explore new ground.

I often contrast myself with my cousin Martin - When he was small, he lived in one place with his parents and often visited the two lots of grandparents. When out mutual grandparents died, his family moved into their house. When his other grandparents died, he moved into their house. So he's had three addresses in his entire life two of which are places he was always familiar with.He thinks Wales is "God's Country", and wouldn't even imagine living anywhere else. Me, I have moved every few years all my life, and liked most of the places I've lived pretty much, but have no great desire to resettle in any of them.

jonesthecurl wrote:I often contrast myself with my cousin Martin - When he was small, he lived in one place with his parents and often visited the two lots of grandparents. When out mutual grandparents died, his family moved into their house. When his other grandparents died, he moved into their house. So he's had three addresses in his entire life two of which are places he was always familiar with.He thinks Wales is "God's Country", and wouldn't even imagine living anywhere else. Me, I have moved every few years all my life, and liked most of the places I've lived pretty much, but have no great desire to resettle in any of them.

Oddly enough it's when people I care about pass away that gives me the shock of how far people's lives mix with each other. It's a weirdly isolating experience too, knowing that other people knew them and were caught up in a different way.

jonesthecurl wrote:OK, so I finally got round to adding to the blog - not about Ghana this time, more personal stuff really, as a prelude to writing about other places.

https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite/single-post/2017/11/06/Jonesey---man-with-no-roots

And here's another blog, this time about California.

https://itsjonesey.wixsite.com/mysite/single-post/2018/01/13/The-Devils-Mountain

I'd be especially pleased if my audience got geographically wider (you can always take a look while you're travelling) - I have hits from mainly US, UK and Canada, fair
ly obviously. I also have readers in Ireland, France, Germany, Australia, Russia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya. Nobody yet from South America or Antarctica... I'd love to "collect the set" of continents...