We had some visitors today

I just went to hang the washing out, and we had some squatters on the pegs...

Beeflys, I think.

I really need to get the hang of the supermacro mode on my camera...

Sarah Outen

A little over a year ago I wrote a blog post about Sarah Outen, who had just completed a record-breaking solo row across the Indian Ocean. We met her at the Southampton boat show, where she had just arrived with her tiny-looking boat. It was so small that I would not have dared to row it across the Channel, yet alone an Ocean. Then again, that is what sets Adventurers apart form us mere mortals.

At the time, I wrote:

During our chat I asked her what she wanted to do next. As I asked her the question her eyes flicked out into the Solent. Something tells me she may be voyaging out again sometime.

Well, I was correct. On April the first this amazing lady set off on her 'London 2 London via the world' trip. She is going to be cycling and rowing her way around the world, an endeavour that is going to take the best part of three years. Not only will this involve her cycling across Eurasia and North America, but also rowing the North Pacific and North Atlantic. I find it hard to think of a greater aim.

She is an amazing lady, and I wish her all the best. God speed, Sarah.

Sandlings Way

Following a recommendation from Griffmonster, I spent Monday and Tuesday strolling along the Sandlings Way. And wow, what a hidden gem it is. The trail starts just outside Ipswich, and wastes no time in finding some glorious stretches of heathland. The sunny weather probably helped a great deal, but Monday's walk past Woodbridge was one of the best I have done for some time. Woodbridge itself, nestled on the banks of the Deben, is always worth a loiter.

Yesterday's walk through Rendlesham Forest was (slightly) less exhilarating, especially as I had to turn it into a circular walk due to a lack of public transport. Despite this it was still an enjoyable stroll.

The going is easy underfoot, often with a sandy soil, and there were no ascents or descents worth the name. I can hardly wait to do the next stretch. Unfortunately, transport is once again a problem.

I car-camped on Monday night, the idea being to give my kit a test before the season starts. It was a bitterly cold night, and the condensation within the Westwind was the worst that I can remember. Time will tell if this is a long-term problem or due to the conditions on the night.

Four more walks on the website

In which I do some of the flattest walking possible.

No.	Location	Distance (m)	Date Walked
888	A circular walk from West Lynn to Sutton Bridge	24.3	24/03/2011
887	Littleport to Kings Lynn	26.6	21/03/2011
886	Cambridge to Littleport along the Fen Rivers Way	24.5	14/03/2011
885	Ventnor to West Cowes	18.0	15/02/2011

I am enjoying being back in East Anglia...

Katherine Talbot-Ponsonby

I have just read with sadness that Katherine (Spud) Talbot-Ponsonby died in January last year. In 1994 Spud walked the coastline of Britain with her dog, Tess, sleeping in a beat-up motorhome. Her book about the experience, 'Two feet, four paws' is by far the best book about the walk, and was the direct inspiration for my own walk eight years later.

Her follow-up book, 'Small steps with heavy hooves' is an excellent and poignant description of her attempt to walk back to health after a cancer diagnosis. It has recently been reissued as 'Small Steps with Paws and Hooves'.

I never met Spud, but I had the honour to talk to her by phone on a couple of occasions. She was at all times charming, and  answered my questions with sparkling good humour. I thoroughly recommend both of her books.

Libya

In my mind there can be no doubt that the current intervention in Libya is not only right, but vital.

I have listened to a great deal of TV and radio over the last week, and am getting fed up with people saying, 'What about Bahrain? What about Saudi Arabia? What's special about Libya? It's all about oil, innit?'

I find such thinking amazingly flawed. Why would France, Britain and the US want to treat Libya differently from those other countries? The answer is both easy and sobering:

• France remembers the Libyan-sponsored bombing of UTA flight 772 in 1989 (170 dead) 
• Britain and the US remembers the Libyan-sponsored Pan-Am flight 103 in 1988 (270 dead)
• The US remembers the Libyan-sponsored 1986 Berlin Discotheque bombing (3 dead)
• Britain remembers  the Libyan-sponsored shooting of PC Yvonne Fletcher.

Libya has admitted responsibility for all of these events, and paid compensation. They are not in dispute. In addition:

• Britain remembers that Libya funded and armed the IRA (an unquantifiable number of dead)
• Spain remembers that Libya funded and armed ETA (an unquantifiable number of dead)
• Africa remembers the Chad-Libya conflict (8,500 dead)

Gadaffi has repeatedly sponsored terrorism and wars in the past. This marks the difference between the situation in Libya and all of the other countries mentioned: the leader has killed thousands of people, and sponsored terrorism and wars both within and without his borders. There can be no doubt that, if we did not intervene, he would kill those within Libya who are against him. His troops were preparing to attack Benghazi - a city of one million people - as the air attack was launched.

Vengeance is wrong. However, last week we had two choices: we could stand back and do nothing, or help those who want a freer and hopefully fairer Libya. Doing the first and allowing Gadaffi's troops to kill and maim unaided is unthinkable.

I supported the previous government's attempts to bring Libya back in from the cold; it was the right thing to do. Normalisation of relations made it less likely for Gadaffi to attempt similar atrocities. I did not - and do not - support the release of the Lockerbie bomber. The best solution there would have been for his appeal to go ahead.

This does not address the end-game. UN Security Council Resolution 1973 specifically does not allow regime change. It does, however, allow wide action to protect civilian lives. A potential solution is for loyalist troops to leave the immediate areas around the rebel towns that they have attacked over the last few weeks - for instance Misrata, Ajdabiya and Zawiya.

This could lead to a ceasefire could lead either to a split in the country, or alternatively encourage his lackeys to overthrow a weakened Gadaffi. A split in the country could possibly be unstable - who would get the oilfields? - and lead to further conflict.

One thing is certain: the end-game is firmly in Libyan hands. Resolution 1973 does not allow for an invasion, and it is doubtful whether any of the combatants would want to get involved in another painful ground war.

As for Gadaffi: tyrants should realise that countries of honour have long memories. We in the west should realise that the people of Afghanistan and Iraq also have long memories. Hopefully doing the right thing in Libya - as we are - may undo some of the harm that has been caused over the last ten years.

The move

After four weeks of chaos, we are now safely ensconced in our new house in Cambourne. Like our old house it has three bedrooms, although it is much larger and feels exceptionally roomy.

The move itself went fairly well, hindered (or perhaps helped?) by the fact that Şencan disappeared to her parents' house in Turkey for the week. Good planning on her part, methinks. Fortunately the moving company (Bradbeers in Romsey) did an excellent job, meaning that I only had the problem of packing up all of our belongings.

And boy, do we have a load of stuff. Numerous boxes stuffed with books (including Şencan's Iain Banks collection and my Ian Rankin), plus, of course, my hundreds of maps and walking books. Then there was all the kitchen stuff, but at least we have got rid of two coffee machines since our last move, when we discovered that we had three between us. Our many DVDs and clothes also filled numerous boxes - I will have to go through them all and throw out all the trousers that (ahem) no longer fit me.

We got a cleaning company to go through the old house. They did a good job, especially as they had to work around a few of our remaining belongings. The gardeners were less impressive, although it would have been hard for them to make a stellar job of it given the time of year and the waterlogged ground.

Şencan has started her new job, and she is now faced with a fifteen minute walk into work rather than thirty minutes along main roads. So all in all a vast improvement.

One other note: in our previous two moves we had terrible problems with Internet connectivity. Virgin were bad enough in our second-to-last house, but they seem like Jeeves when compared to the hellish experience we had with TalkTalk. Every communication we had from them was like having teeth pulled, including frequent (sometimes daily) cold calls from them.

It was therefore with a little reluctance that we ordered Internet at our new home from BT. Frankly, we were expecting a poor experience. It is therefore with pleasure that I must say that we got connected in under a week - a day earlier than they stated - and it worked first time, out of the box. What is more the wireless connectivity was simplicity itself, and the hub had several neat and self-explanatory features. Time will tell if their customer service continues in this manner, but initial indications are positive.

Well done BT.