Still a free spirit but not a free agent

I have just been on holiday in Turkey, visiting my sister who lives there with her Turkish husband and their little boy. It was while on holiday in Turkey a year and a half ago that I came up with the notion of giving up my career and moving out of London to a faraway […]

Newquay is coming back to life

Newquay is starting to wake up and come out of winter hibernation. Easter is early this year, which brings the start of the season forward. People who went away for the winter are starting to trickle back. The main pubs and bars are getting livelier. On a sunny weekend with decent surf, there are more […]

Working in Newquay for the summer

I’ve been in Newquay throughout the 2007 season, and now that summer has come to an end it is a good time to go through the essentials you need to know if you are intending to come down to Newquay for the season.
Finding accommodation
It’s always best to start your search as early as possible. The […]

How to buy your first surfboard

Buying your first surfboard is very exciting but also daunting as there are many types of surfboards out there and differences in shape, materials etc are a pretty technical subject.
The key thing to focus on is to get a board that is right for you, not just the latest trendy brand or shape. If you […]

How to buy your first wetsuit

I bought my first wetsuit for surfing this year. I’ve used it for a few months and it’s been great so I thought I would share with you how I bought it. There are other online guides from shops and suppliers, but mine is from a completely independent newbie!
If you are going to be surfing […]

New project - strength training website

I’ve been on a bit of a roll recently and I’m developing another website already. This isn’t either Project Red or Project Blue, which I have referred to before. It’s another small, personal site on a subject close to my heart: strength training.
There seems to be a huge gap in the market for websites that […]

Revamp of dropoutdiaries.com

I’ve been spending all my spare time recently working on this site. I’ve moved it to its own domain (dropoutdiaries.com), changed the design so that the site is easier to navigate and I am sharpening the focus of the site to make it clear that it is primarily about ways of leaving the rat race, […]

Business plan for Project Red

Could I face the dragons… and survive?
Project Red, my online project, has now begun in earnest. I am writing the initial business plan, attempting to answer such basic questions as: How does it work? How does it make money?
The site doesn’t exist yet, so I am plucking numbers out of the air based on what […]

Manifesto for business success

I’ve been having a minor crisis of confidence recently. This can easily happen when you are on your own and don’t have anyone to pep you up. I lost confidence in my business ideas, the projects I want to develop to earn an income for myself. I became temporarily unconvinced that they were good ideas […]

Surfing and money

This is the life! Went for a mid-morning surf today and I was the only person out there. It wasn’t the best session in the world as I didn’t catch many waves. I have a tendency to hover a little too far out, and today I was over-correcting this and also lurking too far in! […]

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