From The Archive
Created | Updated Sep 10, 2008
The Post has been lucky to attract many contributors over the years and, thankfully, all
their articles are lovingly preserved in our extensive archives. This series aims to introduce you to some
of them.
Personality Number Five: Pseudemys
The Journey Begins
I think that I first encountered Pseudemys on h2g2 when discussing my relocation to Holland. As an
Englishman who had lived in The Netherlands for the previous 2 years he was the ideal person to
advise me of general procedures and local requirements, so it was wonderful to meet him in person at
The h2g2 Real Life Birthday Party - With Cake in May 2000.
It wasn't too long afterwards that Pseudemys visited us here in Alphen, constituting possibly the first Dutch Mini Meet, and I persuaded him that, as probably the most travelled person I had ever met, it would be great if we could feature his travelogues in The Post. He didn't journey far for his first few offerings, introducing his readers, and me, to the delights of The Netherlands. We learnt about tulips and ice sculptures in Beautiful Holland, sand sculptures in Almere Sand Sculptures, were introduced to the finer points of Utrecht, staggered along on an impressive pub crawl in A Drinking Weekend in Holland and partied at the Venlo Carnaval. Oh, and we were away with the fairies at Efteling and on the beach at Zaandfoort/Rotterdam/Arnhem.
Just occasionally, Pseudemys returns to his roots as we read in Coast to Icy Coast when he undertook a winter dash from Whitby in the east to Appelby in the west of Northern England, arriving just in time for the scheduled New Year Eve celebrations. As this was a particularly cold winter, expect thrills and spills along the way.
Europe
Not content with exploring the more familiar places, we were soon whisked off to other countries on mainland Europe. The Wine Valleys of Germany actually took in Belgium, Luxembourg and finished in Switzerland. In the first series of 'letters from' Luxembourg was revisited. A quick trip to France resulted in A Letter from the Loire, another to Germany in A Letter from Berlin. There were longer sojourns in A Letter from Italy and A Letter from Macedonia and some island hopping in A Letter from Mallorca and A Letter from Malta.
One of the more unusual journeys which falls under this heading is to Akoslompolo. 'Where is that', you may ask. Well, it is 100km north of the arctic circle in Finland!
Much Further Afield
Under this heading we accompany Pseudemys to most corners of the globe. Having just linked you to a rather cold place, let's start with another in Canada through A Letter from the St Lawrence River.
Too cold? Right, let's saunter off to the Mungo Desert. Maybe volcanoes are more your thing or perhaps sailing on a Lake? Of course, with Pseudemys residing in Australia, there are plenty of 'letters' based around Australasia. My personal favourite is Collector Pumpkin Festival which details how a little ingenuity goes a long way.
Looking east, another letter arrived from Singapore closely followed by one from Shanghai. This is some serious world travelling.
Sense Of Adventure
If there is one thing you can say about Pseudemys, it is that he never backs away from a challenge. How can anyone actually write A Letter from 10,000 Feet? Coming down a little closer to earth, share the fun of Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Awesome Foursome encompassed bungy jumping and Jet Boat, Helicopter and White Water Raft riding. Prefer abseiling? Then check out Benighted in the Kanangra-Boyd. A slightly safer pursuit may be Skating the Rideau Canal .
Cruising
Alongside enjoying the travelogues and adventures from across the globe, we have been able to watch a dream slowly take shape. As Pseudemys puts it:
'How did it happen that two landlubber computer programmers, on contract in the far corners of the world, decided to exchange their perfectly good if somewhat hectic lifestyles for the uncertainties and trials of bluewater cruising? This is the tale of the how. The why you can figure out for yourselves.'
With this introduction we started a roller-coaster journey through all the twists and turns of buying a sea-going yacht; learning how to sail it, maintain it, finance it, live on it and prepare for the ultimate trip. This series has stretched to 20 episodes so far and is taking a short break before the biggest adventure of all; Crossing The Pacific. Personally, I can't wait to read that chapter of the story of The Pindimara.
You can find links to all of the Post articles from Pseudemys by going to his archive. If you have enjoyed his work for us, then perhaps you would consider voting for him at the New Scientist 2009 Calendar. His picture is under 'Reinhard' at the bottom right of the page.
