Winter looses it's grip..
Tue 21st Feb 9:45



I've spent a cosy couple of nights sleeping on the floor in the office. The giant duvets are from Japan and have been used to protect secondhand Yamaha pianos from the knocks and jolts of their long sea journey to England. We have loads of duvets now, they're bit musty and dusty but I can use my silk sleeping bag liner inside them.



This is real luxury compared to sleeping outside. I'm really not fussed anymore where I sleep. My experiment with sleeping outdoors in urban South-East England has come to a conclusion: it's really easy.

I've slept 'rough' in all four seasons of the year, in heavy rain, snow, strong winds, icy frosts, by the river, by the sea, and have enjoyed it immensely. I put sleeping 'rough' in quotation marks because, well, it didn't feel 'rough' at all! With a simple inflatable mat, a waterproof bivvy bag and plenty of other insulation, I slept warm, dry and cosy from -5°C to +15°C in all weather conditions. And I always had a nice view to wake up to. And it was always free!

Sleeping outside was an important step forward for me. Even though I have many friends, girls, family and other places I could spend the night, sleeping outdoors is my bread and butter, because it doesn't depend on anybody's permission.

The outdoors is my new home. I might stay over at friends places or the workplace, but I have no fear of being homeless, because I know that I can sleep anywhere I want.

So what now? Well I have recently been forcing myself out on cold nights just to see what it was like, when some nights I was actually offered a place to stay. Now that I've established that I can keep warm and sleep through the English Winter, I've relaxed a bit and I'm just sleeping wherever I think I'll sleep best, taking each night as it comes. If I get booted out of one office, I can find another empty one. If I'm evicted again, I can sleep in the park down the road. Or go to a mates house, or sleep by the river and enjoy the scenery. Just in case hourly don't get it, I'm free and I'll sleep anywhere I like.

Winter has lost it's grip on our fair isle and retreated back to Siberia from whence it came. The days are getting longer and brighter, and the nights are warmer. My local homeless acquaintances are all wearing a big grin. Statistically, the latter half of January is the coldest period in Britain. Our weather is very unpredictable, but it's almost March. The flowers are beginning to bloom...

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I'm in the local paper
Thu 16th Feb 17:24



I never thought I'd ever make the front page!



I never thought I'd ever be a page 3 model!

You can read this article on the Oxford Mail's website at http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/9530608.Rough_sleeping_bags_a_way_out_of_debt

your comment

A long commute..
Thu 16th Feb 14:47



Yesterday's clients kindly offered me dinner, and after we'd sat around chatting and sipping wine they invited me to sleep over. They had many interesting things to discuss and experiences to share.

As you can see from the photo of where I slept, it was a very long and tiring commute after work!

Being homeless I can take advantage of such invitations and I don't have to worry about getting back to a building that I pay rent for. I get to spend a lot more time with interesting people.

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Tea & Sympathy
Wed 15th Feb 7:31



I slept in exactly the same spot as last night. This was because the Oxford Mail reporter who had interviewed me yesterday wanted to come back with a photographer. I think they'll use my story to highlight current problems with affordable housing. This is indeed a reason why I'm homeless. I can afford to pay rent, but I cannot afford to pay rent and save money to buy a property. Many people my age are in the same boat.

But I was happy to sleep here again as it's an idyllic spot. I feel quite safe because there are no dogs, it's quite a detour for anyone to walk up to me, and long before they do I sense the rattle of the metal pier.

Or at least so I thought… before the photographer had arrived the lock keeper walked over and gave me a nudge. In a warm and deep sleep, I did not stir. Concerned for my well-being, he called the local bobby. He later told me that many suicidal and intoxicated individuals come down to meditate by these waters, so he tries to keep an eye out for any mishaps.

After the reporters had arrived and taken their fill of photographs, the police officer arrived. He was very sympathetic and we had a nice banter with the lock-keeper who was even kind enough to provide us with mugs of tea and coffee.



The officer told me that I'm the first-of-a-kind he's met in Oxford: a completely sober homeless-by-choice man who goes to work everyday. I was surprised by this, because cycling around London in the wee hours of the morning I had often noticed the odd person sleeping rough who looked tidy and organised like they were about to rise early and go off to work. They didn't look like the stereotypical rough sleeper who will just get up and drink cider and cause trouble. These troublemakers are usually the only homeless people that the general public come across, because they're in the town squares all day making a niusance of themselves.

Anyway I speculated that with stubbornly high house prices, rising unemployment and everybody tightening their belts, they could expect to meet a lot more people like me in the near future. On that thought, let me leave you with a nice window in the CofE school where I just tuned a piano:

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2°C is bliss!
Mon 13th Feb 8:22



Oh what a difference 5 degrees makes! After the last couple of weeks of freezing weather, 2°C feels like summer! Of course my sleeping arrangement was prepared for sub-zero temperatures, so in these mild conditions I slept really warm and cosy!

In fact I didn't wake up at all and slept solidly until I was woken by two friendly Oxford Mail reporters who were curious at my choice of sleeping location. Just as well because I had to go off to work anyway, so after their interview I was off to the co-op to buy some hot crossed buns.

I had been planning to find a place to sleep near my place of work this morning and already had a bridge on the canal in mind. However opportunism got the better of me and as I passed Osney Lock on the river Thames I decided that would be a brilliant place where I wouldn't be disturbed. It was the little pier opposite the towpath, where boats moor up waiting to go through the lock. So I slept on the water (well, two feet above it!)

If I fell in the freezing water during the night it could be quite dangerous, as I'd have to slacken the drawstrings on my sleeping bags before I could actually swim. However having the mats inside the bivvy bag means that I can't roll off them, and from experience I've never moved more than 6" in this arrangement, which has reassuring initial stability. In addition the pier had a low barrier on one side and a bollard on the other 'twixt me and the water. Nevertheless you shouldn't try it, it's dangerous!

It's mid-Winter and the waters are empty. I'll be surprised if one boat comes through this lock today. There would need to be about 7 boats queuing up for the lock before I'd be in anyone's way.

Seeing the beautiful river and canals devoid of any traffic always reminds me of the next lifestyle I want to try: living on a little boat. They're perfectly good navigations but so few people use them except for the height of summer.

Anyway there's no hurry - I'm learning so much just cycle touring and sleeping rough and I love the simplicity of it. A boat would be too much hassle and responsability right now. I want to continue homeless until I become super-efficient with the absolute minimum of possessions. It's a path to enlightenment, quite literally, my Nirvana is 'ultra-light' cycle touring!

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Snow
Fri 10th Feb 11:14





Gotta go to work will write more later

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-2°C
Wed 8th Feb 11:12

your comment

Homeless? Great Britain is my home!
Mon 6th Feb 14:32

The steep road down from Shotover Hill this morning

I cycled over Shotover Hill twice just to inspect a piano in Wheatley. The snow made it a bit slippery on my town hybrid bike.

The client asked if I'd come by car. I said I'd come by bike. "You mean motorbike?" "No, pushbike." "Pushbike!!?" She exclaimed, a look of horror on her face.

It's only like 3 miles and a 200ft hill. Isn't it sad how people have become so lazy. I bet you 100 years ago half of Wheatley would cycle over that hill to work or college in Oxford, and without gears.

Then I tuned a piano in Iffley Village, where they had two cute puppies.





Having spent two nights at my parents' house sleeping, eating, and sleeping some more, I'm all rested and ready for another week on the road.

I don't feel like I compromised at all when I stayed indoors on the weekend, on the contrary - like a young bird leaving it's nest for the first time, I will continue to run back to the centrally heated buildings that I was bought up to live in. As time goes by I hope to become more and more confident outdoors.

What's more I've realised that what I seek is not necessarily a life outdoors, but a life of freedom - freedom from rent, geographical commitments and unwanted annoyances; freedom to just abide wherever I happen to end up and spend quality time with whoever I meet. The life I aspire to is called homelessness nowadays, which I find quite amusing because as each day passes I begin to feel more at home everywhere!

This is especially true after last week when I was ok in the coldest of English weather. I'm beginning to feel more than ever that all of Great Britain is my home. Of course it always was, but now I can really feel it. I can't imagine life in Eastern Europe where it got down to -30°C last week. But fair Britannia looks after me, with her relatively warm temperate climate, and she asks no money of me. Now I'm quite happy to make my bed anywhere on this land and sleep like a baby.




From the 1996 Housing Act:



I feel that describes me rather well. But I'll tell you one thing: I felt more homeless when I used to rent a flat. I was entitled to occupy it, but it didn't belong to me, I couldn't change anything, and I was locked into working to pay the rent, with no freedom to travel or hope for the future. Now that I'm homeless, life is so much better: all of Great Britain is my real home, an amazing and most beautiful home that no one can take away from me!

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17°C
Sun 5th Feb 16:21

No that's not a freak change in the weather... I stayed over at my parents' house last night and have just enjoyed a roast dinner! Never has a simple bed with a duvet felt so comfortable - every time I close my eyes it becomes a four-poster in my imagination. Comfort is relative, so this is real luxury.

But there has been a change in the weather outdoors - temperatures have gone back up to 0° and it snowed last night. The next week will have some nippy nights but nothing like last week. I never imagined that I'd be writing about sleeping outdoors in -7°C - until last month the coldest I had experienced camping was +4°.

But having slept out down to -7 and not suffered and major ill effects gives me a huge boost in confidence about my choice of lifestyle. Statistically the second half of January is the coldest time of year in Britain, and every day is longer than the last. Of course British weather is completely unpredictable, but I'm now confident that the rest of the Winter will be ok, and have high hopes of the arrival of Spring in a few weeks' time.

Having experienced the coldest England has to offer sleeping rough, I will now begin to accept offers of free accommodation when convenient.

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-7°C
Sat 4th Feb 17:51



-7 is cold. Really cold. And unlike recent nights when I've managed to add a couple of degrees to the temperature by seeking outdoor shelters, last night I thought it would be a brilliant idea to sleep right in the middle of a field. It seemed cool to spend my coldest night ever on the sports field of my old upper school, Cheney School.

My weatherman brother estimates it really was about -7°C on that field last night. It was about -6 in the city centre, and -10 by the river.

I've found the limits of my upgraded sleeping arrangement. Even with the added foam mat and fleece liner, I felt some cold from above, and woke up shivering a few times. I did some sit-ups, the only exercise I could do inside the bags, but didn't warm up much. I slept there from 6am - 10am. I think my previous night at -6 I was probably experiencing -4 because of the sheltered spot I found. That would explain why I had felt so much warmer that night, as I was actually experiencing a 3 degree difference.

I would say I wasn't cosy or that comfortable, but neither was I in any major discomfort or desperation. I still got some sleep, enough to go to work and do a good job. The important thing I want to note here is that a couple of degrees colder will not kill me. If I've been sleeping outside, and it gets a bit colder, too cold for my sleeping arrangement, I will still be ok for one night. Instead of being toasty warm, I might wake up shivering a couple of times but will warm up a little a sleep and survive. What would be really dangerous would be to get everything wet, even at much warmer temperatures, because water conducts heat away from your body so quickly. Hence my use of a dry bag, a waterproof bivvy bag, and random shelters at the slightest chance of precipitation.

This morning I was woken by three different gentleman on three seperate occasions, who all wanted to check if I was still alive. "Are you alright?" "Yes fine thanks, it's quite warm in here." "Oh ok. It's just, well.. you're lying in the middle of a field, you see."

Well observed, thought I. But I wasn't annoyed at being woken. On the contrary: inside my four bags, I smiled - isn't it so nice that there are still people who care in this country?



I had left my gotee growing this week as I knew it would be chilly leaving an opening in the bivvy bag for breathing. I'm not sure how cold one can go like this, but still prefer this to having condensation on the inside if a tent.

I'm very impressed with the effect of simply adding a cheap foam pad and a fleece liner to my sleeping arrangement, at a total cost of only £20. Ok they're heavy so it's not ideal, but they have increased the comfort rating by a whopping 8°C. Before I bought them I had been shivering at 0°C, last night I felt the same at -7! Anyway I'll get proper lightweight four season stuff for next Winter.

All in all I'm very satisfied to have been sleeping outdoors on the coldest nights of Winter. Every night after this should seem warm in comparison. Tonight's forecast is 0°C, similar to the rest of the week ahead, however it has already started snowing heavily. I asked my brother if we've seen the last of the Siberian cold air mass for this Winter. "No!" was his immediate reply, although I wonder if this is just wishful thinking on his part, as being a professional weather forecaster he's always been a big fan of extreme weather.

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Sat 4th Feb 1:26

Well this looks like it could be the last really cold night, perhaps the coldest night of this Winter. According to the BBC weather forecast for Oxford, it's -3°C now and should be -7 by 6am! According to the Met Office Android app, it's -8 now and will be -5 by 6am. Hmmm who to believe... perhaps they're both right for different parts of Oxford.

The Met Office app says "Oxford Botanic Garden" - if that's actually an observation then it would make sense to be a bit colder since it's right down by the river Cherwell. Tonight there's no wind so the cold sink effect should apply, where cold air sinks down to the lowest parts of the land.

Obviously I'll be heading up as high as possible to escape this effect! The temperatures I've quoted in previous posts are probably not exactly what I experienced. Those figures were the minimum temperatures generalised for the city of Oxford, which is what you get on official weather forecasts.

But I've quoted these figures because I don't carry a thermometer, and because I feel that a very important part of keeping warm in such conditions is to be aware of where the cold air is going and choose a sensible place to sleep. If I really wanted to experience cold I could, for example, go down by the river Cherwell tonight and sleep in the middle of a meadow right at grass level. The grass minimum will be below -10°C on a night like this. But I don't think that would teach me much, that's just being masochistic!

Anyway I should be grateful I'm in England - in Amsterdam right now it's -15 and in Moscow -20. I really wonder if anyone can feel the difference between -15 and -20. Beyond the -6 that I experienced last night, they're all just numbers to me!

The last couple of days has been very busy with work. I got up, rolled up my sleeping gear, stuffed a roll or bagel in my mouth and quickly pedalled down the road to tune a piano. I've done some pianos in the evening as well, so I'll try and fill in a bit more now on my recent posts below.

I am, however, determined not to fall asleep sitting here at the computer as has been a problem the last few nights. Last night I almost spent half the night asleep seated here giving myself a neck ache, and only slept for four hours lying down outdoors. They were nonetheless the coldest hours of the night, which are usually just before dawn. It's a vicious cycle - nod off sitting down, not sleep well, feel extremely tired the next evening, nod off at the desk again! I'll be sure to break it now and set an alarm for 20 minutes just in case - I really want to get a long solid sleep outside tonight to experience the coldest of nights properly.

*update* It's two hours later and guess what?.. I nodded off sitting in the office chair again! So annoying! I really wanted to try a full night's sleep outdoors! That moment when my eyes droop and I loose conciousness, eludes me and seems beyond my control. I've got to tune a piano at 10am. Oh well, 4 hours' sleep outdoors is better than none - I still feel it's long enough to find out if my sleeping arrangement is warm enough, and really experience the cold weather. The BBC still predicts -7°C for 6am which is in two hours' time, and then heavy snow tomorrow night! (it's 4am so that would be tonight). The Met Office weather app predicts the same, but has changed their forecast for tonight to say -8°C until 6am, -7 until 9am, with the added note: "Feels like -11". I'm going off to find somewhere to sleep now...

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-6°C
Fri 3rd Feb 10:44



As you may have well observed, I came back to this here my favourite porch for easterly winds. It had in fact veered to a northerly by the time I lay down but I didn't feel anything because the breeze was so gentle, almost non-existent.

I wriggled around trying to get snug in all four bags: the silk liner, fleece liner, down sleeping bag and bivvy bag, close two zips and pull four drawstrings. This would be frustrating but for the freezing cold weather - all that wriggling and fumbling actually warmed me up, I think it's quite a good exercise for core muscles.

It was first light, and before I could close the bags around me, a gentleman appeared walking his dog. I love dogs but I grew slightly nervous as it approached because it wasn't on a lead and it was a pit bull terrier from the dangerous dogs act exactly like this one:



My heart skipped a beat as it ran up and jumped on me! But instead of biting me it licked me and finally I saw it's stubby little tail and observed that it was wagging furiously. Thank God I met this dog in middle class Headington and not on some council estate, where it might have been trained differently.

I feel much safer with my bivvy bag closed around me - I often have dogs come and have a sniff early morning but they loose interest in the big black bag. Today's terrier didn't notice me at all until it got really close and got exited to see that there was a human inside the black bag!

Later that morning I was woken up again by the unnervingly close sound of a diesel engine. It was a council worker in a pick-up truck patrolling the park. Oh no, I thought - looks like I'll have to move on. But he just asked if I was alright, and if I knew where to find help and homeless shelters. I said I didn't really know but I was warm anyway. He even tipped me off on better spots to bivvy nearby, then drove off leaving me to go back to sleep where I was. Isn't that brilliant - council workers who look after all members of society?! What a nice civilized country we live in.

I slept very warm - so warm in fact that when my alarm clock went off I just switched it off, snuggled up and went back to sleep. Later I scoffed a bagel then went across the road to tune a modern Yamaha where I was greeted by a much safer looking black retreiver:



The piano hadn't been tuned for 14 years, which is probably nearly how old it is. A fantastic piano, model U3 - Yamaha's flagship upright made in Japan.

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-4°C
Thu 2nd Feb 11:41

My life has reached a new low, again! What does -4°C feel like? Well it feels like 0°C but just four degrees colder. The point is that I didn't experience any magical figure below which the cold is suddenly unbearable. No, it just feels a little colder, so a little more insulation solves the problem. The fleece liner and foam mat were enough to boost the rating of my sleeping arrangement.



I slept outside the indoor swimming pool of the Westminster Sports Centre, which was near my morning piano tuning appointment. It's a great cycle up Harcourt Hill to get there that warmed me up a little. I've found this to be the warmest indoor swimming pool in Oxford. Some keen swimmers hate it when the water's very warm, but I am not one of them. Perhaps because I've often slept outdoors, but I love the feeling of swimming in toasty warm water. When I swim furiously, I feel like I'm sweating underwater and getting a really great workout. I also enjoy swimming in the cool river in summer, it's a different refreshing experience, and much better for the environment than heating a big pool to nearly 30°C.

The building was frozen

I was on the opposite side from the main entrance and before my alarm at 0930 nobody disturbed me. I feel much safer up here than sleeping in a doorway in the city centre, where there can be all sorts of riff-raff. Up here there are only students and keen sportsmen, generally quite a decent bunch who would let a homeless man sleep in peace.

I awoke to the sound of many voices singing #the wheels on the bus go round and round# - the song echoing around inside the pool hall was from a bunch of mothers and babies swimming round in circles. There was no one else out except a pretty young Asian girl, she was jogging gently around the sunny field.

I bombed it down the hill to work. The piano was an Eavestaff miniature piano, one of their best and looked fantastic as well:



It's a remarkable feat of engineering - the British manufacturer managed to squeeze an awful lot of piano into a small space. The bass strings are overstrung at a great angle to give them plenty of length and a good growl. The keys have been chopped in half to allow the mechanism to be much lower down - referred to as a 'drop action'. The only down-side, apart from feeling a bit different to play, is that the mechanism is incredibly awkward to get to for maintenance. Fortunately, despite being 60 years old, this one was in mint condition, just in need of a good tune-up.

I finished and went off cycling around frozen Oxford on a few errands.

The canal's frozen

The Thames mill stream's frozen

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-2°C
Thu 2nd Feb 2:26

I slept warm. Very cosy in fact, despite the freezing temperatures and a gentle north-easterly breeze, I actually slept much warmer than my previous night which was at +1°C. Clearly the extra foam pad and fleece liner have made a huge difference! At -2°C it has been my coldest night ever sleeping outdoors, but I'm well chuffed at how warm I felt. There was also no sign of the cough that has plagued me recently, not a hint. I still have no idea if it's related to sleeping rough.

I cycled up the hill again to warm up and headed straight for a porch that I've been eyeing up for some time, waiting for an easterly wind. It's a disused sports changing/café building in Bury Knowle Park, Headington, Oxford. It had a nice long shelter along the WSW-facing front, which was perfect for me in such conditions. Being at the top of the hill, but completely sheltered from the icy breeze and the sky, I think I had cheated the weather again and found somewhere slightly warmer that the average for Oxford.



I spent quite a while faffing and fumbling around trying to get into the upgraded sleeping arrangement for the first time. It's not that simple with the recent additions. I keep it all rolled up together in my Ortlieb dry bag. First I roll it all out and open the inflatable mat's valve to let it self-inflate a little (but not much under the weight of all the other sleeping stuff). Post inflation, I pull out the silk liner and get into it fully. I can then slide into the fleece liner which is inside the sleeping bag, which is inside the bivvy bag. Yes that's four bags now!

After much more wriggling I get the hoods of all four bags over my head. Then I have to try and do up all the zippers and drawstrings. The Hi-Gear fleece liner has a zip on the right. The Marmot sleeping bag a zip on the left. Between them all there are also four drawstrings to tighten, the objective is to get all my head and face nicely insulated but leaving a little space for my nose and mouth so that I can expire moist air out of the bags.

I look forward to having a four-season sleeping bag and mat next Winter, then I'll have less bags to fiddle with. One idea is to get Peter Hutchkinson Designs to make me a sleeping bag with a waterproof outer lining, then do away with the bivvy bag. This would clearly be a more simple setup and may save weight, but I wonder how practical it is? I wouldn't want to risk soiling £600-worth of custom-made sleeping bag. My Alpkit bivvy bag was relatively cheap and it goes straight on the bare ground and is so handy at keeping the rest of my stuff clean. It also keeps me on my mat all night.

Between packing all the above, cycling up the hill and getting inside and comfortable I got quite hot and bothered, which then warmed my sleeping bag very nicely. There was no waking up shivering last night. The only cold I experienced was an occasional little draft around my neck and face from the opening around my mouth. I would pull a drawstring or move the silk liner to shut it out. The silk liner is very handy for covering areas around the breathing opening of the bivvy bag because it slides around easily and there's plenty of it. Should I end up breathing into it in my sleep, it doesn't matter much as it's so light and breathable.



The sleeping bag is pictured here lying on top of the bivvy bag, the mats are inside the bivvy. Tonight I'm going to try sleeping with only my nostrils exposed to the cold, I hope to train myself to only exhale through the nose when asleep, if that's at all possible. The mouth exhales more moisture, doesn't heat inhaled air as well, and I don't see the need to have both mouth and nose exposed in freezing conditions.

It also made me think of a ventilation system for a bivvy bag. In it's simplest form, a fully enclosed bivvy bag with a small hole through which a hose could be used for breathing. A more advanced version could have a heat exchange system to transfer heat from exhaled air to the air about to be inhaled. This has obvious safety implications, but would allow one to be completely isolated from the elements.

Anyway today's spot was a peaceful one, with only a couple of dogs having a curious sniff at me. I heard one very close low growl from inside my bags, but the dogs quickly lost interest in this big black bag that was me. After I got up and packed I rode off meandering through the stately park and Old Headington then down the hill and across to Jericho to tune an old piano there. Here's a snapshot of Old Headington:



Whoops!...there I go nodding off again at the computer. About 90 min I've been sitting here dozing...so annoying! Sometimes I'm so tired, I just can't seem to catch myself before I nod off, when I should really go out and lie down to sleep properly. Looks like another half-night out... still a valid trial though as the coldest temperatures are usually just before dawn. Latest observation from Benson: -7°C! Hmmm...anyway time to head off and find a spot to sleep - I'm working in West Oxford tomorrow and I've got a nice quiet place in mind in the lee of a sports centre...

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A bed on a picnic table, a giant little brother's birthday party, Robin Hood is a Yankee and England goes into deep freeze!
Tue 31st Jan 23:00

The last few days have been interesting, as usual - let me fill you in. After my bivvy behind the Churchill Hospital, I spent three nights indoors, one at my folks', and another two in the office which is empty on weekends =) I've been busy tuning pianos and web programming as usual.



It was Sunday night and there would be no more kipping in the office as it's always busy very early Monday morning. So after nodding off at this computer desk while trying to work late at night, I finally left about 5am to go and find somewhere to sleep.

-1°C was forecast but I went to the top of Headington Hill, the climb warmed me up and I think it was warmer up there, perhaps 1 or 2° above zero. I explored the estate of the Warneford Hospital for the mentally ill, looking for a hidden shelter, but there was CCTV everywhere. Right around the back I found that only a low fence separates it from an empty plot of land between two houses on a public street, Hill Top Road.

A lovely looking shed was all that stood on this ground, it was built so solid that it looked more like a miniature log cabin. There was no door and I thought, 'ideal shelter'! I walked in the opening and almost tripped over a camouflaged sleeping bag...another homeless person like me was fast asleep!



Fortunately he/she didn't stir and I crept away with a chuckle, reassured that I wasn't the only one out there. I continued exploring, which is all part of the fun, and was reminded that cycling up hills isn't the only way to warm up on your bike - riding through mud and tall grass is just as much effort! By the time I got around the estate I was very warm indeed.

I came out onto a recreation ground that only has two rusty football goals and a picnic bench. To my joy, the picnic bench was exactly six foot long. I measure 6'2" and found that with my heels just on the table, my head can also rest comfortably on my pillow with 2" of my crown just off the table. My pillow is very comfy, it's actually my Rab Primaloft jacket stuffed into its chest pocket. I was happy because I then made the very tentative assumption that most picnic tables in this country are exactly six foot long, it would make sense being a typical length of timber. That means a hundred-thousand more places to sleep on a dry night!



I slept until 9am when I had to go off to work. Even though it started getting lighter after 7am only my mouth and nose were exposed so it was dark for me. I woke up and shivered a few times but always warmed up enough to go back to sleep. I thought my chesty cough had healed but it resurfaced again albeit only mildly. I made sure to wrap my shoes in my orange dry bag to avoid the kind of prank I had experienced before and to keep the frost off them.



Interestingly, I only really felt some cold through my sleeping bag above my body. I think the wooden table and the air underneath it, combined with my inflatable mat, insulated me quite well from below. But the occasional cold from above was probably due to me squashing my sleeping bag up against the bivvy bag in places. This is why it's important to have a spacious bivvy bag, so that the sleeping bag can loft out properly inside and provide maximum insulation. I'm hardly a little fellah, but this isn't the first time I've noticed it on cold nights and it comes as a surprise because I bought Alpkit's extra large version of the Hunka bivvy bag. That said, I do love this bivvy bag as it has always kept the wind and rain off me. Perhaps I should shake it out more thoroughly next time and make sure that I'm making the most of the extra space.

Anyway I was not disturbed by anyone and felt quite rested when I went off to Brookes University sports centre to use the loo and get some drinking water, before heading off to work. I saw some nice views out and about on my bike in Oxford:





That evening I went back to my parents' to celebrate my little brother's birthday. I say little, but at 6'6" he now dwarfs the whole family! There was pizza, tea and cake aplenty, an energetic crowd of all his friends from Church. Here are we three brothers:



We watched the 1991 version of Robin Hood starring Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman. I really couldn't take this film seriously. I enjoyed the humour and the fun action, and I liked John Little, the friar and the merry men. Morgan Freeman is always so cool that he can be forgiven here for not having an Moorish accent. But Kevin Costner makes no effort to hide his American accent and sounds so out of place in medieval Britain. I much preferred the recent version starring Russell Crowe.


Anyway back to reality, it's -1°C outside, and getting colder. According to my weather brother, we now have a cold air mass over our country that has come from Siberia, where it's below -20°C. Thank God it's not that cold here, but he reckons it could get down to -7 here in Oxford. The image below is one of the models the weather forecasters use, courtesy of my brother, showing what their computers predict for the next few days ahead. The temperatures are in Celcius and at 850 hectopascals, which is usually more than 1000m above sea level, so at ground level it won't be that cold, but it gives an idea of where the temperatures are going:



There are many lines because several similar models have been run in different places, and the grey line gives the average result. Typically the first 2-3 days' weather forecasts are quite accurate and as you can see all the lines take a big dip in concert. After 70 hours into the future there are so many variables that it's very difficult to predict the weather, especially on a temperate island like ours. However it is with great relief that I observe that all the models estimate a rise back to average temperatures by Sunday.

The red line is the average for this time of year, so we'll be getting a whopping great ten degrees below average! Apparently the frosty nights I blogged about before were just native to England, caused by a nights of clear skies and short days. What we have now is different, this is a huge, stable high pressure system from the Eurasian continent, the same type that gave us the deep freeze and snow of December 2010. Today's BBC weather forecast says it all:



I had stated after my night out in -1°C that I had learned enough and would no longer force myself to sleep outside in the cold unless I really had no choice. But I just can't resist the temptation of the week ahead. I mean, look at the little numbers above for the night-time minimum temperatures: -2, -3, -4, then -5°C! It almost seems like mother nature has created the ideal trial week for Winter camping.

No I don't enjoy feeling cold at night. But I've realised that for every degree colder that I experience a night out now, the rest of the year will seem a degree warmer. Back in Autumn I was all nervous about a forecast of 5° above zero. But after my -1°C night, a subsequent +5° night seemed like luxury. I now have such confidence in my sleeping gear and my body that anything above 3°C is laughable, I feel right at home outdoors. I never would have felt that way last year.

But having shivered around the 0° mark, I decided to try and upgrade my sleeping arrangement in preparation for the week ahead. Unfortunately my ideal Winter arrangement will not be available to me until next Winter. It's the yet-to-be released Thermarest NeoAir Xtherm four season mattress combined with a four-season 900-fill-power goose down sleeping bag from PHDesigns which I would have to wait 45 days for if I ordered it now as they're made to order.

So I went down the Go Outdoors store in Oxford to look for a cheap upgrade that'll get me through what's left of this Winter. I bought a closed-cell foam pad for £6, and a fleece sleeping bag liner for £14. They're both heavy for what they are, but I'll definitely be carrying them around this week, and add them to my existing set-up to boost its rating. The fleece liner will go inside my down sleeping bag, and the foam mat will go on top of my Thermarest ProLite air mattress. The foam mat should slow heat loss by convection (movement of air) because it's closed-cell. Then the air in the Thermarest should slow heat loss by conduction into the ground, because air doesn't conduct heat like solid ground does.



At least, that's the theory...

your comment

Thu 26th Jan 7:06

I found a disused ambulance entrance in the Churchill Hospital estate that was all boarded up, and had a nice shelter from the rain. However the friendly security guard woke me up and said I couldn't sleep there. He said someone had thought I was dead and alerted him!

I apologised, then cycled off around the back of another hospital building and settled down to sleep there. He didn't find me there, as it was right on the edge of the estate facing a nature reserve. I had a nice long lie in as well.

There must be several dozen shelters around this hospital.

your comment

Wed 25th Jan 12:00

After work yesterday I went to help a friend set up a new TP-Link wireless router as a repeater, to extend the home wireless coverage out to the garden shed. In the end it was not I who solved the problem, but a lovely girl from the Far East who was very patient with me on TP-Link's 24h customer support line. She wasn't only reading from a script, she understood how the router worked and explained what we were doing wrong.

I don't know why some people complain when their customer support phone call gets redirected to India or the Far East. I find they're usually much more patient, polite, helpful and knowledgable than most call centres in the UK. And they answer the phone immediately. I think it helps if you've grown up in London or the South East because you're used to hearing foreign accents. Anyway by the the time this kind girl had made everything work I really wanted to send her a bunch of flowers and chocolates.

We tested the connection by watching some 'Super Hijitus' on YouTube, absolutely brilliant old classic Argentine cartoons. It was quite late, so my friend invited me to stay the night there.

When I used to rent a flat, after staying at a friend's I always felt I needed to get 'home' to wash, change, etc. Now I carry everything I need cycle touring, it's quite liberating not having to get back across town to that building that I payed rent for. I took advantage of this and had a shower, brushed teeth, washed socks, charged phone, and the fact that there was no spare bed or long sofa wasn't a problem as I had my sleeping mat and bag. I even got a nice bowl of meusli in the morning =P

your comment

Tue 24th Jan 9:45

I had to tune the piano in a community centre this morning. As it was chucking it down with rain I decided I'd sleep in the massive sheltered balcony at the back of the building. The caretaker woke me to move me on in the morning, he wanted me to go depiste the weather. It took some time to explain that I was actually here to tune the piano inside his building!



Well the caretaker has gotten over the initial shock and warmed to me. After having a good chuckle about our misunderstanding, he made me a cup of tea and explained that they've had all sorts hanging out there drinking and shooting up so he always moves them on. Isn't it sad that because of a few drunks and crack-heads all homeless people get a bad name? I was just on my way to work, so to speak.

Anyway lots of mature women have arrived and are practising Morris dancing, meanwhile I'm in the room next door doing my job. It's a nice piano probably the best upright ever made in Korea, by Young Chang. This doesn't apply to all Young Changs - just like Yamaha they make a full range - some poor, some good, some excellent.

Somebody once told me that many decades ago an old boy from Yamaha's factory in Japan went over to Korea and helped to start the Young Chang factory. Some of their models are very similar. This one is called a U-1, and is very similar in size and design to Yamaha's old model, also called U1.

your comment

Sun 22nd Jan 22:05

I'm in a foul mood. I got a puncture on my rear wheel, and at the same time someone has stolen my puncture repair kit. If anyone knows who stole it, you'd better not introduce them to me tonight, it wouldn't be nice.

I carry my puncture repair kit in a pannier bag which I've secured to the bike with zip ties. They've taken my brilliant multitool, my ultra light pump, spanner, repair kit et al.

With the extra weight on the back and the inner tube flapping on the pavement due to the outer tyre popping off, I decided that if I wheeled it around it would get damaged. So I carried the bike on my shoulder, along with all my touring gear, across town to my parent's house where there are tools and a floor pump, muttering curses upon the thief as I went. How can anyone be so selfish?

**update** fixed it all now - it seems my rim tape has had it. I was going to fit a new axle and gear cable while I was at it, but they've stolen those too.

Anyway, one always feels better when one's bike is repaired, especially if one does it oneself. It's a small price to pay for the freedom of cycling. Just imagine if it were a motor car - I wouldn't be able to carry that home on my shoulder, would I?

your comment

Do you mind if I air my sleeping bag?
Sun 22nd Jan 12:10

This is probably the most awkward question I have to ask some of my clients when I arrive, if it's the first time they've met me and they know not of my lifestyle. If I've just been sleeping outdoors the sleeping bag might be a bit damp around the neck and hood from my breath. The rest of the bag can benefit from regular airing as well to make sure odour and moisture don't build up. It also means the bag spends more time lofting out as opposed to being compressed, making for a warmer night's sleep. This involves separating it from my bivvy bag and opening it out over some chairs, washing line, tree branches or whatever is to hand.







I'm not ashamed of my homelessness and enjoy talking about it - but it was kind of cool before when I could show up to work all neatly packed and no-one would know that I'd just slept in the town square in front of their house... getting my sleeping bag out for air immediately sparks a few questions.

However it is very important. When I first became homeless I kept the bag all wrapped up and compressed very tightly, all the time unless I was actually sleeping in it. I did not use any liner between myself and the bag. If I stayed over at a friend's the bag remained compressed, sometimes for several days at a time, sometimes with some moisture in it from its last use. I wanted the ultimate convenience of making my sleeping kit as small as possible and only getting it out when I needed it.

The end result was a very flat, smelly sleeping bag. The down had lost it's loft and it wasn't very warm anymore. In December it was getting colder and I finally read up on it and realised that if I wanted a warm, clean and light sleeping arrangement I would have to make some effort every day to get the bag out to let it loft and breathe. But to undo the damage already done I now had to wash it. If you've ever gone through the proper process of washing and drying a down sleeping bag, you'll understand why I'm going to try to avoid doing this again.

It took two days. First I washed the bag in the bath, along with my Rab Primaloft jacket:



You're supposed to only use pure soap - I bought the most natural bar I could find and grated it. Unfortunately I couldn't persuade my little brother that it was a really nice cheese and that he should try some - he was too smart and he sniffed it first.



It takes ages for water to soak into and fill a sleeping bag, as the linings are tightly woven to prevent the escape of little goose feathers. A day and night of soaking and rinsing and squashing produced two very sad lumps of wetness, and I began to wonder if they'd ever be lofty and warm again. Just looking at them made me shiver:



Next day I insert about £20's worth of coins to get 6 hours solid in the local laundrette's drying machine. For the bag to loft properly it has to be a large capacity machine and on a low heat setting so as not to burn the liner. And yes it does take that long to dry.



I put scented tumble dryer sheets in with it to give it a nice aroma of primrose. I also included my trainers which I had just washed - the attendant laughed her head off when I explained that they were there to kick the sleeping bag to make it loft again.

Two days and twenty-five pounds. In hindsight I probably should have posted the bag to one of those specialists who can take care of down sleeping bags. Oh well, at least I met some cool people in the laundrette including a bloke from Equatorial Guinea - did you know it's the only country in Africa where they all speak perfect Spanish?

The sleeping bag grew and grew, I was amazed to see it loftier than when I had first bought it! I felt all warm and cosy just looking at it:



The whole experience gave me so much more respect for my sleeping bag. Never again will I let it reach that state of smelly emptiness. I determined to let it air and loft every day, and never sleep in it without a liner to keep it clean. A liner is much easier to wash and adds an extra bit of insulation. I got mine from Scotland from Terre Vista Trails - it's made of pure silk. I have to chuckle every time I get into the smooth silk lined sleeping bag - I may be homeless but I sleep like a king!



On nights when I stay at a friend's place I get the bag out anyway and hang it somewhere. Likewise the silk liner, and I often separate all my other stuff if I feel it's gotten damp.

I also bought a much bigger bag to keep it in - a 42-litre Ortlieb ultralight dry bag from Hitch n Hike in Derbyshire. After much deliberation I decided this was the minimum size I wanted. I keep my sleeping bag, mat, and bivvy bag all together ready to roll out and sleep. The 42l keeps the bag kind of half lofted all the time. I don't have time to make camp then hang around for two hours for the bag to fully loft - I just roll it all out, puff into the inflatable mat and go to sleep.

The big bright orange bag is another reason I can't hide my homelessness. However when strolling into the pub with it, it does generate interesting conversations and even offers of free accommodation.



Neither do I have time in the morning to air the sleeping bag outside, especially on still frosty mornings when that would take forever. I usually bung a cheese roll in my mouth then go straight off to work. But one breezy morning two weeks ago I didn't have an appointment and so hung it all on a tree:



It's surprising how quick and nimble one becomes at packing and unpacking one's sleeping stuff, and it doesn't feel like a chore getting it out for air all the time. With the addition of the silk liner, the clean lofty bag is much cleaner and warmer than it used to be and still smells of primrose. Last year I felt chilly at 4°C, now I get the same feeling down at -1°C. I'm glad I didn't invest in an expensive Winter bag this year as this whole experience has taught me how to respect and look after my stuff.

your comment

Fri 20th Jan 5:37

I'm spending a few days indoors at various places, focussing on work again. I feel I've nothing left to prove by sleeping outside since I was comfortable sleeping out in -1°C. I'll sleep outdoors as and when the need arises.

I'm tuning pianos all over Oxford area and doing some web programming work. I hope to be back in London soon.

your comment

Winter homelessness: Initial thoughts
Tue 17th Jan 10:41

Just in case you were wondering, I spent last night sleeping on an office floor. I had no need to sleep outside again last night. This month I've slept out in strong winds and rain, and on a still frosty night below freezing. I had offers from friends for places to stay, but I really wanted to test the limits of my sleeping arrangement.

Now I feel I've learnt enough and will only sleep outside if I either have to or feel like it. And believe me there are many times I feel like it, or it's just more convenient.

walk by the Thames this morning

My objective is not to sleep outside every night of the year. It is merely to roam free - free of rent, possessions, geographical ties and commitments - I don't care whether I sleep indoors or out, on the floor or in a bed. But I can only live like this because of the gear I carry everywhere: sleeping bag, mat, and bivvy bag. And now I know I can still sleep well outdoors down to 0°C, I can go about life confidently, knowing that if at the end of the day I don't end up in free accommodation, I can just roll it all out and sleep anywhere I like.

It's all about accepting help, but also being able to make do without. An opportunistic lifesyle. Being completely self-sufficient is way beyond my abilities at the moment, but a healthy mixture of help, convenience, and self-sufficiency is just right for me now.

The most I had hoped for the Winter was to be able to spend most of the day and the evening indoors in a warm place, then quickly ride out somewhere closeby and jump in my sleeping bag before the cold gets to me. A warm place like the workplace, or a public place like the Barbican Centre in London, or a pub, or friend's house. I'm writing this entry from the public library.

The key to all this is having more than enough insulation, and to keep dry and out of the wind. Especially when sleeping, so the body can generate heat faster than it's lost to the elements.

If I didn't have all these warm indoor places to hang out in during the daytime and evening, I don't think I could spend the Winter here, homeless. But then if I wasn't busy working indoors all Winter, why would I stay in England? It's only earning money and other projects that keep me here. My job not only gives me money but also provides shelter and free hot drinks during the day time. Otherwise in Autumn I'd be off South - a long way South, I'd keep riding until it's warm which would probably be by the Mediterranean sea somewhere. I could come back to England in the Spring when it's actually nice to be here.

Maybe one day I could become like one of those hardy Winter hikers who can spend days out in the snow above the tree line, outdoors both day and night. But until I'm that well seasoned and equipped, I'm quite satisfied with what I've learnt already: that with a little warmth here, a cup of tea there, nights out and cheeky nights in all over the land, I can make it through the Winter as a free man.

your comment

-1°C
Mon 16th Jan 10:52

Well once again, my life has reached a new low. This was my first night spent outdoors below freezing.

I felt a bit better last night and I wanted to make the most of the cold weather, so I slept outside from 0230-1000. I wanted to test what my brother has taught me about how on a still, frosty night it's warmer higher off the ground. However there was a 5mph easterly breeze forecast so I wasn't sure if this would negate the effect.

When I got out at 2am there was barely a waft of wind so I went to the top of Headington Hill and climbed onto the roof of a shed where I knew I wouldn't be disturbed by man nor beast:



I had to cycle up and down the hill twice to warm up, climb on the roof then scoff some fruitcake before turning in. I woke up shivering a few times, but two minutes of shivering warmed up my bedding and I went back to sleep every time. I feel quite well rested.



I can conclude the limits of my three-season sleeping gear to be about 0°C for a good night's sleep. Next year I shall have proper Winter gear.

your comment

Sun 15th Jan 15:12

your comment

HomelessPianoTuner.com
Sat 14th Jan 12:32

I'm thinking of changing my domain from the TouringPianoTuner.com to the HomelessPianoTuner.com

What do you think? I realise the first impression is perhaps a bit negative, but I feel it more adequately describes me, and this blog is more about homelessness than cycle touring.

I'd be grateful for any comments.

your comment

I give up
Sat 14th Jan 5:54

I chickened out tonight. I feel a bit sick, have a big belly ache and my deep chesty cough has gotten deeper.

I don't think it's necessarily related to sleeping outside, perhaps more to unusual sleeping hours and other stresses. The last couple of days I did weights at the gym so my body's sucking up food like a sponge - if it wasn't for this I think I'd be throwing up.

I'll rest indoors for the weekend and maybe try again next week. I don't feel defeated - it's all part of the learning process, giving up and trying again...

your comment

2°C
Fri 13th Jan 15:24

Last night I passed out from exhaustion at the office and spent a good few hours sleeping in an office chair. I'm still learning to catch myself doing this and actually lie down or get up and do something. Anyway I still needed some proper sleep and was keen to test my sleeping gear, so at 8am I headed off to find a place to rest. I cycled up and down Headington Hill to warm up. The grass was nice and crunchy from the frost.



After my recent experience of the South Parks, I went further to the Headington Hill Park which is more quiet to avoid the morning riffraff from my old upper school. I found a nice spot on the open grass. I was hot from the hill climb, and almost breaking a sweat inside all the layers I was wearing.

This is exactly what I wanted - when I got in my bags and pulled all the drawstrings they quickly warmed up and I slept very cosy indeed, with only my mouth and nose exposed to the cold air. There's something special about having a very warm body whilst breathing ice-cold fresh air. The body is very efficient at warming inspired air and one breathes extremely slowly when sleeping which is perhaps why not too much heat is lost. I got up again at midday, very satisfied that I still felt warm. Last night the BBC weather forecast had predicted 0°C for 9am in Oxford. However my brother estimates it was about 2°C. Either way, I'm well chuffed, my life has reached a new low =D



What I saw when I woke up and opened my eyes:



He also taught me some useful information about cold frosty nights, which I'll share with you now, just in case you don't also happen to have a brother who is a professional weather forecaster.

Firstly I learned that the nearest official observation station to Oxford is in Benson which is a few miles away and when there's no wind temperatures can be a few degrees lower there. When you look at BBC weather observations for Oxford you get Benson.

Temperatures can be a few degrees lower because Benson is a cold sink. It's the lowest point right next to the river Thames and is surrounded by rolling hills. What happens when there's no wind at all, is that the warmer air rises up to the hills whilst the colder air seeps down into the valleys, which can end up several degrees colder. Oxford has this effect too, but Benson more so. The minimum ever recorded temperature in Oxford is about -16°C; in Benson it's -21°C - both in the 1980's.

So on a still frosty night you'd be better off sleeping up the hill than in the bottom of a valley. Of course if you add some wind then everything changes.

The principal works for even small distances above ground level. I always assumed people sleep on park benches to give an air space between themselves and the cold ground, because the wet solid ground conducts heat away from the body at a much faster rate than the cold air and wooden bench. This is of course true, but according to my brother the air at park bench level is warmer than the air right next to the ground. And if I could find a small shed roof to climb onto the air could be several degrees warmer up there.

My brother's Meteorology lecturer once tested this. The temperature at 1.5 meters off the ground was -3°C, but the grass minimum was -9°C! The 'grass minimum' is the temperature recorded with the bulb of the thermometer just touching the tips of the grass leaves, also referred to as the 5cm or 2" minimum.

However were you to go up to 3m on a still frosty night, the temperature would not increase by a further 6°C. The increase would be much less - perhaps if at 1.5m it was -3°C, at 3m it might be -1°C. The temperatures quoted on all weather forecasts and observations, unless otherwise stated, are at 1.5 meters above the ground in an open field.

The interesting conclusion is that on cold, frosty nights when there is no wind it is even colder near to the ground, and the closer you get to the ground, the more pronounced the effect. Later in the day the opposite can be true after the sun has warmed the ground. Interesting... I might do a spot of climbing tonight...

Anyway, Meteorology aside, back to the park this morning - the grand facade of Headington Hill Hall was clearly visible from the park without the summer foliage that normally screens it. It was built in the mid C19th for the Morrell family of brewers-come-landowners and at the height of their wealth the estate comprised of Headington Hill Park, it's four lodges, the South Parks including Morrell Avenue which was also parkland at the time, and some land in between London Road, Gipsy Lane and Cheney Lane where they had the finest stables in the land and grew their veg.



It was all sold cheaply to Oxford City Council in the 1950's who wanted to knock the grand house down and build offices there! Thankfully they didn't have enough money. They leased it to the infamous media tycoon Robert Maxwell, and when he fell off his yacht in 1991 it was leased to Oxford Brookes University and the last corner of the parks became public, which is where I slept this morning. Read more at http://www.headington.org.uk/history/listed_buildings/headhillhall.htm.

your comment

It's getting colder now
Thu 12th Jan 18:16



After tuning a nice Dutch piano I'm up at Brooks University gym for my weekly squats and deadlifts. I stopped by the river Cherwell on the way to enjoy the sunset.



There I thought about my experiment with being homeless in the Winter. The forecasters say it's about to get much colder. 1°C tonight and -2°C the following night. I'm going to try sleeping outside tonight and see how it goes. Don't worry, I have keys to three different buildings in Oxford where I can run for shelter if it all gets too much. (Seasoned Winter campers stop chuckling!)

I'm exited about this for two reasons. Primarily that if I can sleep outside this week and not feel too uncomfortable, I'll never need to pay rent in England ever again for the rest of my life. Secondly I want to test the limits of my current sleeping arrangement.

I'm really under-equipped for the English Winter. It's a three-season system consisting of a Marmot Atom down sleeping bag rated comfortable down to 5°C, a Thermarest Prolite mattress which is not recommended for Winter use, a silk sleeping bag liner, and wrapping around all of this a waterproof, windproof but breathable Alpkit bivvy bag (sleeping bag cover).

In December I was very tempted to buy an Arctic expedition sleeping bag I saw on ebay.co.uk rated comfortable down to -33°C, which would guarantee warmth in the worst of UK conditions. However I decided that although I'd definitely be warm, I'd carry more weight around and never actually discover the limits of how little weight I need to carry. It went for £360.

I would not hesitate to invest in the best Winter gear available, regardless of price. Why? Because at most it'll be the equivalent of what I used to fork out for two or three month's rent. The flat I rented is now being rented to someone else and I consider it a poor investment. Top quality sleeping gear that I buy is mine to keep for the rest of my life.

Unfortunately I won't be able to get hold of the best Winter sleeping gear until the Spring! Having done my research I decided that the best sleeping bags in the world are made in England by Peter Hutchinson Designs and his team of sewing grannies in an old mill up North. They make them to order so I'd have to wait 45 days to get one by which time Winter will be over. The best sleeping mat is being released by Thermarest this year, called the XTherm.

I didn't want to spend a fortune on inferior kit, so I though perhaps if I try and use my 3-season kit this Winter I'll learn what the limits are, so that for next year I can order the right weight of Winter sleeping bag.

So perhaps now you can begin to appreciate my excitement about the week ahead - I should be able to find out whether this lifestyle is possible year round, which would be a dream come true.

I've slept out in 4°C twice last year and was fine - I wore my primaloft jacket inside the sleeping bag. The bag had lost it's loft, I've since washed it and it's now very puffy. In addition I've added a silk liner inside which not only keeps my sleeping bag clean but adds a little extra insulation. So I'm confident about tonight.

your comment

Thu 12th Jan 12:28



I slept well and very warm. However it appears I made my bed upon a great civilisation of tiny little red bugs who were crawling all over me when I woke up. They seem quite innocent, don't bite, I think perhaps they were feeding on the damp wood chippings which were teeming with them. Anyway it has taken half an hour to get them all out of my sleeping gear. Note to self - don't sleep on damp wood chippings.

your comment

Thu 12th Jan 7:07

Found a nice sheltered little corner in North Oxford with walls on my north and west. It's just around the corner from the piano I'm to tune at midday. Judging by the forecast, this could be the last warm night for a while..

your comment

Oxford to Noke and back
Thu 12th Jan 3:08

On the way up Headington Hill my left pedal clipped the tarmac then I hit the tarmac! The problem is the old skool touring pedals I put on this modern hybrid - because they're wider I must have the pedal up to corner or else when I lean over sideways a pedal will touch the ground. I'm usually good about that but I was busy spinning up the hill and didn't stop pedalling to corner. Only a bruised palm and a grazed knee though.



I locked my bike at the back of Barton by Bayswater Brook and walked up the bridleway towards Beckley eating jam doughnuts.

Five jam doughnuts help a man get to work

I converted my Ortlieb bicycle pannier into a backpack with the handy accessory from the same German company. It's a bit uncomfortable after a while but much better than carying it in your hand.



Beckley

The muddy Oxfordshire Way footpath between Beckley and Noke was probably not navigable for my hybrid bike but would be fine on a mountain bike...can't wait to get one...

Noke

The first piano I saw was a lovely old straight-strung over-damped John Broadwood upright piano, one of the best British piano makers and a real pioneer. Contrary to popular belief, an over-damped piano can sound lovely and be a delight to play. I should write an article on them soon.



It needed a few hours' attention but the old dear really looked after me supplying cheese & toast, tea, Christmas cake, more tea, and finally a pork pie. And more tea.




The piano had been given them by an honourable gentleman down the road who also had a piano that needed tuning. His piano was a tiny five-octave instrument with a lot of punch for it's size, made in England by Dale Forty. When he acquired it he had wanted it so much that when it wouldn't fit into his car, he bashed in the wheel arches with a hammer and then it did fit.



By the time I finished this piano it was quite late, and the client bought me an ale back from the pub so we sat around the table with his friends and had a good banter; a further rummage around produced some coconut rum. He has built this house from scratch, it looks 3/4 complete already, and has half-meter thick straw insulation all round. There's a big wood-burning stove to burn offcuts from his carpentry work.

Yannis was a Latvian chap who was staying there and helping with the construction work. Yannis has lived the last five years in and around the Cairngorm National Park in Scotland. His stories of camping out in blizzards and summitting Ben Macdui in meter-deep snow made me shy of my camping efforts here in the South East. Yannis is a free man, when he's finished that building he's taking his bike and his bag and going to Mexico to look for a wife.

this is not Yannis

The client kindly let me sleep in the warm loft of his construction project where there was a mattress. I felt happy about my new life, being able to just go to sleep in the cool place I had ended up making new friends in.

The following morning I was kindly fed plenty of Marmite on toast and tea, it was a fine walk back the way I had come with red kites circling above. When I got back to Barton I discovered that my food pannier had been opened and they'd taken my sugar and my handy 'Light my Fire' seasoning container. Also my front light. Oh well, nothing of great value - I had kind of expected this when I left my bike here in Barton and was relieved they hadn't slashed my tyres as well. These are the sorts of things you want to test when you're close to help.

Why are some people so selfish? Why can't I just leave my stuff outside unlocked and not have to worry about it? Bicycle security is so boring. Anyway, I'm quite pleased with my system, which is basically leaving anything that's not of value on my bike so that I don't have to carry much weight when walking around. Homelessness and bicycles go together like babies and prams - let the bike do all the hard work! I've left that bag out hundreds of times, it was only opened once near Paddington in London but whoever opened it took some stuff out but found nothing of interest and left it all there. Of course the bag itself is of value, about £40, but it's secured to the bike with many zip-ties.



I was soon a happy man again as today's client greeted me with a cup of tea, a banana and a pain au chocolat =P My brothers often ask me how I manage to get offered so much food at work. Well I don't know! Perhaps I look hungry? I think it's because I tend to get the neglected pianos to fix that mean I often spend several hours at a client's house, and also because they know I've been pedalling hard to get there. But that wasn't all for today - to my joy this was followed by an omelette, tomatoes, bread & butter, and finally Christmas cake!

To cap it all their piano was a really pleasant surprise. It wasn't a familiar make (the name eludes me), it was made in Manchester - looked about 1920's. It sounded absolutely amazing! Well after 4 hours tuning and repair work that is. A massive deep bass, a meaty singing mid-treble and crystal clear top end. I'll post the make when I remember - they can't have made that many though.



Their daughter is a good illustrator and was studying funny medieval helmets as I worked. She's looking for more illustration work, her website is http://illustration-theakirby.co.uk

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What more could a man need?
Tue 10th Jan 9:11

Last night I passed out in the office again, this time on a bunch of giant shipping duvets that came with Yamaha pianos that we shipped from Japan. I was intending to go outdoors on such a warm dry night, but at 2am I felt so tired I thought I'd have a quick nap before doing some programming work. My alarm is very loud but I didn't hear it at all!



You may wonder why I'd ever want to sleep outside when I could just stay here in the office. The reason is twofold: I'm not supposed to sleep here because it's classified as a light industrial unit, and secondly my colleagues can arrive as early as 5am to work and I don't like to be in their way.

But, who cares? I slept very well, free of charge. Yesterday I went for a nice 1K swim at Temple Cowley Swimming pool, which sadly the council plans to close down very soon. There I had a (rather cool) shower. Exercise, shower, porridge, sweet sleep - what else could a man need in life? A woman, perhaps - I'll be seeing one of those again next week. A bit too busy this week.

Today I'm going to tune a piano in the little village of Noke not far from Oxford. My knees have been complaining about cycling for years, perhaps I need to have a specialist look at my cycling position? So as I have three hours to get there I'm going to walk for a change. I've always fancied checking out all those lovely footpaths between Oxford and the villages of Noke, Elsfield, and Islip, which are not made for cycling, especially on a hybrid town bike in these muddy conditions.

This is something I had dreamed of before I left the rented flat and the busier life - having the time to commute on foot should I feel like it, particularly through scenic countryside. I have much thinking to do and nothing helps me think better than a long walk with inspiring views.

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I've been robbed!
Mon 9th Jan 14:49

I slept very well without so much as lifting an eyelid but perhaps I should have because when I awoke at 1130 my shoes had disappeared! I had put them right beside me. Well if a dog had taken them, I'd expect at least one shoe to be lying nearby. One of my pannier bags was also half open, which made me even more suspicious...

Fortunately I carry a pair of slippers so that I don't have to walk around client's houses with muddy shoes. I hoped this was just some kind of practical joke. I thought my shoes might be hanging somewhere high up in a tree but... no they were both in a nearby litter bin, sitting atop several bags full of shit. I'm not speaking French here - these are the little bags people politely pick up their dog's poo with when they're out for a walk!

Fortunately for me all that shit was well wrapped up, and nothing had been binned since my shoes which were both clean.



There can be nothing more cruel than to steal the shoes of a homeless person mid-Winter. I'm lucky because even though it would hurt to loose a pair of top quality XC Goretex running shoes, I could ride across town in my slippers and fork out for a new pair - some other homeless people might be less fortunate.

I had thought I wouldn't meet annoying people early morning the park, only gentle people out for exercise. So who could have done this? Brookes university student accommodation is across the road, but surely they're too mature for such mischief. I know: Cheney School kids! They're just the type - I know because I went to school there too! That's right, they're the only rascals awake in the morning, going in to get their attendance record then jumping the fence and skiving first and second lesson. Of course, I never did that, did I...

Anyway I cheered up and chuckled on considering that in all my many nights spent sleeping 'rough' in the Thames Valley and in London, this has been the worst incident so far. Can't complain really. So I enjoyed the morning view and brewed a cup of tea.



Tea never tastes quite as good as when you've just woken up in a park and found your shoes in the litter bin.

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It's a warm night
Mon 9th Jan 6:04

It would be a crime not to sleep outside on a night like this. The full moon casts a silky light on the South Parks in Oxford, and plays patterns on the thin layer of cloud that gently flows in on a steady westerly.



It's a balmy 8°C so despite my deep chesty cough I decided to sleep into the wind so that when I open my eyes I can see the spires of central Oxford.

I made some good progress this late night working and amongst other things there's now a little code you have to enter when you leave a comment to prevent robots from abusing my blog.

You may be wandering from my timestamps what strange hours I keep, that I'm going to bed now at 6am. Well it's true, piano tuning and web programming don't exactly combine to give conventional working hours. We all know how programmers like to hack away at all hours of the night in their own little world. And piano tuners are often in demand when their busier clients are not working which means weekends, bank holidays and weekday evenings. I don't mind because it means I can enjoy the occasional weekday off in places that would be busy at other times.

I hope to sleep until about noon. It's not going to rain and most of the night was cloudy so there shouldn't be any frost or dew. I chose this public park for a lie-in because I'm assuming nobody will have the right or spite to tell me to leave early in the morning.

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Still programming away...
Sun 8th Jan 22:29

I'm still working on the comments facility of this blog - basically it's not very secure yet because although humans can write comments, so can robots. So I'm learning how to make a 'CAPTCHA' which is one of those annoying little gibberish phrases or words you have to write before you can submit any form on the internet these days.

This is to prevent robot programs from automatically adding unwanted comments, perhaps with advertising or even containing malicious use of scripting languages.

I found a very useful introduction to how to go about it here http://www.webcheatsheet.com/PHP/dynamic_image_generation.php

I had to take a break from coding so I cycled down to Iffley lock then walked along the Thames Path to Sandford lock and back.


Interestingly, I always seem to do more useful programming work walking by the river than I ever do sitting in front of a computer. Some problems are much more simple than I make them out to be. So I'm trying to get in the good habit of catching myself staring blankly at the screen and getting up immediately to go and play the piano or go for a walk. It's not healthy to be sat at a terminal for too long.

Later I went for a run back down the Thames Path to the ring-road and around the back of Osney and Grandpont back to the Thames Path at Folly Bridge. It never ceases to amaze me how after 15 years in Oxford I can still discover new hidden corners. Today it was a path connecting the Hinksey outdoor swimming pool area with the Grandpont nature reserve, to see it on a map click here. This links up conveniently with both the Thames Path and the National Cycle Route no.5. It was beautiful in the Winter sunset, unfortunately I can't take my camera when running.

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Comments
Sun 8th Jan 1:55

This blog is now open for comments, so you can all make fun of me at once :-)

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Office is quiet on weekends
Sat 7th Jan 21:35

I've left my folks' place again, with all my camping gear. Will sleep very warm on the office floor again tonight as it's empty on Sunday and I've got a lot of programming work to do here. Hopefully between tonight and tomorrow I'll also be able to add a comments facility to this 'ere blog of mine.



The office is above one of my Dad's piano workshops which is great because whenever I need a break I can go downstairs and play the piano. This is the hardest part of my day - deciding which piano to play. Should it be a 1900 Steinway model A grand or an 1891 Bechstein model V grand? Or maybe if I'm feeling jazzy a 1976 Yamaha model G5 grand? All in different states of restoration, but still all sound fantastic!



I must here thank my old man for building up such an amazing stock of the best pianos in the world. When he started out in the early '80s in Portsmouth there was any piano he could repair and guarantee to sound good. 30 years of hard work followed; now when I walk around his workshops it's difficult to find any 'average' piano, and even the uprights he recommends to young beginners are only from the best piano makers. Of course this is the point where I mention that he has a recession-busting 15% discount on this week which is not normal so if you're interested click quick! www.robertspianos.com.

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I'm not outdoors
Fri 6th Jan 20:33

I just spent a couple of cosy days at my parents'. I really needed some rest - my body was wandering what had hit it after sleeping outside and then pushing harder than ever at the gym - I still can't walk properly and now I have a cough.

You seasoned winter campers out there must be having a right old chuckle. But I have little experience of the outdoors life and I believe there's nothing wrong with running back to civilisation for help. The important thing is not to get too comfortable and set off again as soon as I've recovered.

I mean, when I learnt to swim at primary school I didn't spend much time in the water. When I got into the pool I clung to the edge for dear life. With much encouragement I would wildly 'swim' one width wearing inflatable arm-bands, then cling to the other side. Now I swim 1K thrice weekly, often in the river.

All my life I was bought up in centrally heated town terraces where you could turn a tap and have hot water and plug your electrics in. Now I'm learning to be a touring piano tuner, it's only natural that I should keep running back to the heated buildings I came from.

Hopefully I'll soon be able to stay out for longer and longer periods. It was easy for three seasons, but I believe it's also possible in the Winter. Some people go camping at the North Pole, and others go cycle touring over the Himalayas. I'm going to spend the odd night under a porch.

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Convenience
Wed 4th Jan 7:30

Last night I passed out in the office - I think I had reached my physical and mental limits yesterday. I just slept like a baby for a nice warm five hours.

This is what I find so great about the nomadic life - there are no rules and I can just sleep wherever I end up. If you really want to get some work done, you can't get more efficient than settling down to sleep at work and waking up at work early next day. Gone is the whole routine of commuting both ways and faffing around in that other building where you always sleep. It helps me to focus on what's important today.

Because I now carry everything I need (which isn't much) everywhere I can take advantage of every situation where I can get a shower, brush my teeth, shave, wash clothes, cook, charge phone, send an email, etc etc. My sleeping bag and mattress transformed the office floor into a luxury heated tent. My little supply of milk protein powder, multivitamin pills and porridge oats meant I could have a fantastic breakfast at the office this morning.

My muscles have a very pleasant dull ache that reminds me of the great work out at the gym yesterday and of the big fish stew I ate... my body absorbed it like a sponge and I was hungry again this morning.

I was bought up thinking porridge had to be brewed over a low heat with full cream milk and topped with muscovado brown suger. Well, that is very tasty, but I've recently discovered that you can just chuck some boiling water over dry rolled oats and on stirring they quickly thicken up to a nice hot creamy porridge. If you've ever had to scour your camping pot clean of burnt porridge you'll appreciate the significance of this - add the oats after boiling the water. Together with some brown sugar and black pepper you have the most convenient, cheap and healthy meal known to mankind. All that for 10 pence.

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Gym
Wed 4th Jan 0:38

I had a fantastic workout at Brookes University Sports Centre - I don't know where I found the energy from but I was stronger than last workout on Christmas eve. Maybe it was all the sugar I put in my protein shake that I downed when starting the workout.

I always have about 70g powdered skimmed milk at the beginning of my workout mixed with water, whole oats, and loads of brown sugar. It tastes great!

It takes about an hour from swallowing the protein for it to actually be broken down enough for there to be free amino acids in the bloodstream. I want amino acids in my blood when my muscles are all pumped full of blood at the end of my workout. An hour later and they'll have cooled down. That's why I eat protein and complex carbs at the beginning of my workout. I'm no expert though, it's just my theory - anyone care to correct me?

Milk protein is great because it's 80% casein which is a protein that digests really slowly for about 6 hours. This means I don't have to down another protein shake every couple of hours. For the powdered milk I currently use MyProtein's unflavoured Milk Protein Smooth.

The whole rolled oats are great at releasing energy slowly for post-workout recovery, and the demerara brown sugar not only tastes great but helps to mix it all and most importantly gives a massive sugar rush for my workout (I put loads in there).

A couple of times when I had no powdered protein I tried to drink the equivalent in fresh milk. Needless to say it was difficult to hold down all four pints at once.

I carry a small 500g pot of protein everywhere which I refill from the 4Kg bag that MyProtein sent me.



Brookes Sports Centre has nice hot lively showers. I came out feeling like a million dollars. Now I'm eating my favourite post-workout stew: cook rice then chuck in tinned spicy mackerel, salmon or tuna, and sweetcorn, for a meal high in protein and Omega 3 fish oils. Be sure to include all the oily juices in the fish cans and add plenty of black pepper so it really hits the spot. Proper bachelor's tinned food meal, I know, but it's quick and simple and tastes great! Princes 'Mackerel fillets in a hot chilli dressing' have the highest Omega 3 content I can find for tinned fish: 6g/100g.



Now I'm at the office for some late-night website programming while it's all quiet. Time to try and get my head around jQuery...

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Tue 3rd Jan 18:40

After all I wrote last night, I have been feeling quite tired and sleepy today. Hopefully I'll become accustomed to sleeping outdoors again... going to Brooks uni gym now that's sure to finish me off.

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Tue 3rd Jan 10:39



Woke up again feeling refreshed. I'm glad my Alpkit bivvy bag is waterproof. At work now.

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I don't sleep much
Tue 3rd Jan 7:22

I thought to myself, nobody will come and use a boat club on a miserable morning like this... I was wrong - it turns out this is the porch of the Falcon boat club and they're a very dedicated bunch!

They gave me a cup of tea and let me look at all the fantastic skiffs and kayaks, then invited me to continue sleeping in their porch. I love the Falcon boat club! Back to sleep now...

But first for one of my major revelations since I started this lifestyle: I don't need much sleep! I always firmly believed that I needed seven or eight hours, but I've discovered that I can thrive on four five, even three is ok for me.

a gaggle of geese are waddling past as I write

In October I slept outdoors almost every night for three weeks in London. The first couple of nights one can be a bit twitchy and uneasy, but then fatigue accumulates and one sleeps well on subsequent nights. After four days of between 2-5 hours' sleep I felt good but thought it was too good to be true and that I might soon collapse or fall asleep at work.

On the contrary, I gained energy and health as the days went by, and I worked very well. I wonder how many years of my life I've spent sleeping unnecessarily? All I was missing was the joy and excitement of life, a sense of adventure and purpose.

So as the birds announce the dawn of a blustery new day, I'll go back to sleep now, to the sound of dripping water and of boating folk counting their exercises inside the clubhouse. And I bet you I'll be as fit as a fiddle for my 10am appointment!

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I don't sleep outside much
Tue 3rd Jan 4:15

I don't often sleep outside, it seems. The last couple of nights I stayed with a French young lady and then at my parents' again having played a late night computer game against my brother (our annual Christmas 'Age of Empires I' match, which I won :-). And my last trip to London was only three days long just before Christmas, when I spent two nights at different friends' and only one night outside at Little Venice. It was the longest night of the year, but still a warm night.

However I'm really not fussy about where I sleep anymore. Sleeping outside is not my goal in life. What I'm really after is this life of freedom where I can just sleep wherever I end up, for convenience, and for free. In fact staying over at mates' is the whole point...it's all about less time running around in the rat race and more time for the people I love.

Aaah...drizzle in my face...feels nice but I mustn't let it soak my sleeping bag. I just had to do a very awkward shuffle to edge my whole sleeping system deeper under this porch without clambering out of it. It's the porch of a rowing club by the Thames in Oxford. Yes I am indeed outside tonight having studied the rainfall radar closely for the rain to let up so I could make a dash for this shelter.

The wind blows occasional droplets into the porch - perhaps I should've slept under Donny Bridge. Oh well, I feel too comfy and cosy to bother moving now. Despite it having rained quite hard earlier the clean concrete floor is still dry so it should be alright - the porch faces north but the wind's a southwesterly.

It's fantastic to hear the roar of the wind in the trees while I lie here, and the constant dripping and splattering of rain from the roof of my shelter. I'm very glad to be living here tonight and not on a boat in the north Irish sea - my brother predicts there will be 80 knot gales there by morning. My brother's a weather forecaster.

What's most important to me is having the option to sleep outside whenever I feel like it, whatever the weather. Last time I was homeless I was 23 and it wasn't planned - I couch-surfed quite successfully but I always had a nagging fear of having nowhere to go.

Now I'm 29 and it's so different. I might indeed spend most nights with friends or family, but I never fear for where I'll sleep tonight, I just roll with it and see where I end up. Well I'm still learning to really. It's nice to be outside again tonight.

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Proper bank holiday
Tue 3rd Jan 2:04

New Year's Bank holiday Monday was cold, windy but sunny so I guided my Argentine friends David and Adriana down the Thames Valley National Cycle Route no.5 from Oxford to Abingdon.



Adriana hadn't ridden a bike for three years but she smashed her lifetime distance record today with a whopping great 10 miles! My parents and friends met us in Abingdon as they had come out for a walk and they took Adriana and her bike back in a minibus, while David and I rode back to Oxford by bike in 45 minutes, back along the scenic route.



This cycle route is fantastic and it's mostly free of motor traffic apart from a busy bit between Kennington and Radley. It takes you out on the Thames path from Folly Bridge, central Oxford, past Iffley Lock, past Kennington, through Radley, then some lovely gravel paths through the gravel pits to Abingdon, many of which have been filled in to create lakes and nature reserves:



This is the route I normally use to get to London. Some kind gentleman had already plotted Oxford to Reading out on Google Maps so here's a link: http://g.co/maps/swu78. You can view and follow this route on your Android phone or tablet, which you can attach to your bike's handlebars with something like Ultimate Addons or maybe just some strong glue and carved up bicycle lights.

Just open this blog from your phone's browser, click on the above maps link and select Google Maps when prompted. If you're not prompted you may need to clear your defaults from settings --> applications. I'm assuming you can do the same on the Windows or iPhone.

I use the GPS on my Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000 as backup if I get lost, but I keep it switched off and just follow the blue signs for National Route 5. It's much safer to be looking for signs than looking at your phone's screen, and you pay more attention to the scenery. The signs are almost all there.

The day ended deliciously with my fourth roast turkey dinner of the week at my folks'.

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2012
Sun 1st Jan 13:41



New Year's eve was great fun. I ate a lot more turkey and gravy with family and friends at Church then went down the Half Moon pub on St Clements to see the New Year in with more friends and some fine ales. Big Jim played a very cool reggae rendition of 'Born to be Wild!' And I enjoyed relaxing playing the the old Hopkinson upright piano that I tune there.

At midnight I was actually on my bike with all my touring gear riding through the warm night surrounded by fireworks. This was quite symbolic for me. Last New Year I was still renting a little flat in Pimlico. I had huge expenses, huge debts and other commitments, and no idea how long it would be until I broke free.

Now I have none of these, I'm a completely free man, and me and my bike can just pedal off anywhere I like. I was unhealthy end of 2010 but over the last few months I've been quickly getting back to the strongest and fittest I've ever been in my life. It feels great!

It's very tempting to stay on at my parents' cosy house but I really wanted to start the New Year back on the road, feeling great hope and exitement for the year ahead.

Some might question why I don't just live with my parents. Well I have been, on and off, but perhaps I can explain why I don't want to live there. I'll be 30 this year. Similar to most young people in this country at age 22 I moved out of my parents' house into rented accommodation to be independent and discover myself. I paid rent in various forms for six years. Then I moved out of my rented accommodation to become a touring piano tuner to save money, save time, get fit, and have more fun.

So it's not that I've gone bonkers and shun my parents' cosy house for the street. It's more like I've shunned my rented flat for the great outdoors. If I wanted to live indoors again I wouldn't go and live with the folks, I would rent a flat. But that would be boring.

In addition to this my parents are ministers at Church and have very strong evangelical Christian views which I do not share but which they are very, very keen for me to believe. I'm trying to find my own way in life so don't think it's good for my poor little brain to live with my folks, as much as I love them. It's lovely to visit them for a while and to eat together, but here I am today back on my bike:

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I am a hairy man
Fri 30th Dec 13:10

Before Christmas I was letting all my facial hair grow wild in the hope that it would keep me warmer. Particularly the gotee area because when sleeping out in my bivvy bag in colder weather this is the only part of me left exposed, so as not to expire moisture into my sleeping bag. I think the hair on my head must be better than any synthetic insulator and relatively quick-drying. But having lots of hair has it's disadvantages so despite it being mid-Winter, last night I shaved it off again.


I decided that the extra warmth of hair could be sacrificed to make washing and drying faster. It's important for me to have very quick showers as I often have very limited access, and sometimes they're cold. This also saves a significant amount of water and energy. Must explain all the shaved heads in the army.

I bought a nice balaclava made by Berghaus from GoOutdoors that not only keeps my head warm but my ears and face also. It can be pulled down around my neck as an effective neck-warmer. When used over my head it will also keep my neck warm so long as I have a tight collar around my jacket.



My brothers will testify that I've never really cared much about what people think of my appearance. They nick-named me 'Cave Man' long before I ever lived outdoors, so the number of their jokes has been increasing exponentially of late. But it's good fun.

I used to get really embarrassed and blush when I was a little kid, until one day at the age of 9 I decided that feeling embarrassed in public was embarrassing and I should stop. I was surprised how quickly I toughened up. This is important when living as a nomad among the towns and cities because you often have to change clothes and brush your teeth in public or find dry wood and boil water on a park bench. Feeling self-concious is just not convenient. I do catch myself doing things in public too quickly and nervously sometimes, and have to take deep breath, and remind myself of all the benefits of this new life and that I'll probably never see the strangers around me ever again.

I therefore have absolutely no problem with doing everything differently from everyone else and can understand perfectly well why many old men never cut their hair or beards. When I grow my beard I like it and my girls don't really mind. However now I've shaved it all again, apart from simply making hygiene more practical in cold weather, I often wonder if it wouldn't be better to look 'normal'.

This has practical advantages for example if I'm clean and tidy looking it's easier to get a free shower, charge my phone and generally get help from strangers. Perhaps it's slightly discriminatory, but I do get served better everywhere. Many remark that I don't look homeless at all. But there are possibly more important reasons to appear 'normal'...

I mean, I'm questioning so many things in life and already have to stand out in many ways, perhaps there's no point in pushing it unnecessarily. If I do most things just like the majority of my countrymen and appear completely sane, perhaps others will be more likely to notice the few things I do do very differently and question the way they do these things. Important things like not running around chasing the consumer culture, having more time for people, and looking after the environment.

Despite all this it's good to be a hairy man, it makes the base layers on the rest of my body that little bit more insulating!

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Fri 30th Dec 2:55



This Christmas I received a very kind gift of two lovely jumpers. However long before Christmas I had made it clear to my loved ones that I didn't want any gifts unless they were either edible, or a contribution to my new bike fund.

My brothers gave a generous contribution about 5% the price of my dream bike - thanks boys! Now I feel obliged to buy one, which is great! :-) I also received chocolate which has since all been devoured.

But, despite my request, a very kind person gave me two jumpers. Just like last year, and the year before that. There seems to be a recurring trend here...

It was very sweet of her, she just wants me to be warm and handsome. The problem is, being a nomad I can't carry a whole wardrobe around. The other problem is, I already have a number of similar garments collecting dust at my parents' house. Crucially, I can no longer wear what ever just looks nice because I don't always have the luxury of central heating and tumble dryers.

For most of my life I have worn denim, cotton and managed to get by with an average of one visit to clothes shops per year. Even then it was carefully planned - I knew where I could get something cheaply so I was in and out of the shops in 10 minutes. I never saw reason in fashion so I thought all this was a complete waste of time. These clothes did a poor job of keeping me warm and dry. When denim or cotton gets wet, it can take one or two days to dry using only your body heat.

I keep very few clothes now, and all the clothes I carry around have an important purpose:

- The outer shells are waterproof but breathable, and windproof.
- The innermost layers are thermal, moisture wicking, and very quick-drying.
- In between I have optional insulation.

Search the net for the 'three layer system' of clothing if all this is new to you - it really does work. On top of all this my clothes have to be comfortable and practical for cycling long distances whatever the weather.

I've suddenly come to enjoy clothes shopping. It now has a purpose, and there's a very good reason for every item that I own. Shopping means spending quality time in outdoors shops oogling at all kinds of cool kit and meeting the interesting staff who are often lovers of the great outdoors with valuable experience. The last one I met at Cotswold Outdoors had just come back from cycling and camping all around South America with her husband. Now they're saving up to do the Himalayas!

I've also leant to shop properly. This means ignoring the urge and pressure to buy the first thing that seems good. I've learnt to walk into a shop, have a good look at items of interest, learn something new from the staff, then walk out without buying anything. This is a very good exercise in defying the modern consumer culture, and it means I end up with only the best, saving a lot of money, time, energy and raw materials.

So I'm now very fussy about what clothes I own. Anything new has to be much better than what it replaces, or the old beyond repair. Any more is too much to carry, and replacing something just because it looks better is bad for the environment.

Clothes are responsible for 10% of the carbon emmisions of the average person in the UK.

This includes footwear, and it's more than the average emissions from flight travel, according to the Independent's article on the breakdown of our emissions. Almost half these emmisions are from production, transport and packaging, so buying less new clothes is better for the environment. The other half is mainly washing, drying and ironing. However good synthetic or Merino base layers need only be hand-washed and air dried, and I find a substitute for using warm water is to use cold water and just leave it to soak for longer.

So after having received the gift with a smile on Christmas day, I had to explain, apologise and give it back today. If anyone else has a kind urge for my birthday, take note: please don't buy me clothes! Or stuff! Just food, or beer, or better still good company - this is all a touring piano tuner needs.

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Tue 27th Dec 13:03

Yesterday Boxing Day was really fun with uncles and cousins in Surrey


My gorgeous cousins and a board game called 'Cranium' and a spot of trouble with North American vocabulary and so called 'famous' songs


My brothers sing a song and my dad has 40 winks

A rare occasion when you'll see me wearing 'civilian clothing'! My brother always jokes about my cycling and outdoor clothing. I can only carry one change of clothes (what I'm wearing) and the clothes are all breathable, moisture-wicking and waterproof. So on the rare occasion I wear cotton or denim my brother says I'm in my 'civvies' :-)

It was also the opportunity for my third and final motor car journey of the year, from Oxford to Weybridge in Surrey and back. It was quite pleasant watching the counties fly by as my brother drove us there. As the car was packed full of people we each had the same carbon footprint as going by train. There was a traffic jam on the M25...long time since I've seen one of those without chuckling about it and cycling off into the distance....

Now I'm well fed and rested and psyching myself up for more of the outdoors.

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Mon 26th Dec 0:30

Christmas day and I'm with my family in Oxford eating, sleeping, and eating some more!

I'm pretty cosy here and living indoors for a couple of days, but not everyone is - I saw this tent by the river Cherwell this evening:



My camera's rubbish in poor light but I can tell you the tent looked smart and the stuff highly organised outside in watertight boxes, no rubbish anywhere. Camping on Christmas day... a keen fisherman perhaps?

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Sunrise at Green Park
Sat 24th Dec 8:13



Slept very well in Stratford at Mehdi's who had whole roast duck waiting for me! What less could I expect from a head chef?! Needless to say after all that cycling yesterday my body absorbed that duck like a sponge!

We cycled in together early so he can get to work in Café Concerto Green Park. The streets of London were so empty and beautiful at 7am today. Time to find a good gym that's open Christmas eve - I always like a proper heavyweight workout Christmas eve it makes all that turkey go down so well...

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Fri 23rd Dec 20:10

I guess the photos had better be landscape then...



Meeting old friends today lovely to hang out again.. gonna stay at my mate's in Stratford this eve, Mehdi the Algerian head chef of an Italian restaurant!

Always a beautiful ride from Vauxhall along the Thames path to Limehouse, and up the Limehouse Cut and river Lea navigation all the way to Straford traffic-free. On a mild dark night like tonight it's a nice break to look at the lights and breeze on the waters and reflect on what good friends I have.

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Fri 23rd Dec 14:27

Cycling back into central London along the lovely Dollis Brook National Trail.



hmm you have to look at it sideways

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Fri 23rd Dec 9:04

Woke up feeling refreshed, unfortunately not early enough to brew a nice porridge... time to cycle up to North Finchley to fix a piano my dad sold.

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It's warm
Fri 23rd Dec 2:44

I feel very warm & cosy here in my sleeping bag in Little Venice. It's such a warm night... 22nd December but minimum +10'C!

Last night I stayed with my old friend Shama in Elephant & Castle. Many a night I have slept on that sofa, but this is going back several years to my last 'homeless' phase, when I was basically couch-surfing going to and fro between many lovely patient friends to whom I am eternally grateful.

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Sleep outdoors in the Winter
Wed 21st Dec 14:03

Having spent a cheeky two months staying in my cosy parents' house in Oxford, I'm on the bus to London where several pianos await me. A great opportunity to try sleeping outdoors in the Winter, especially since today is the shortest day of the year.

If I don't like it I'll still be satisfied because I was very comfortable sleeping outdoors from April to the beginning of November, so perhaps there's only three or four months of the year when I need accommodation.

But if I don't not like it (let's face it, I'm not expecting to thoroughly enjoy it) I'll be over the moon because I'll never have to pay rent ever again for the rest of my life.

I'm lucky with the weather, it has really warmed up today and I'm just in my base layers. The coldest night will probably be Friday night when it's predicted to go near freezing; Christmas eve I go back to Oxford to spend Christmas with the folks.

I'm very confident because a few days ago I slept out in field in Oxford and was warm enough, it was about 3'C. I wore warm clothes inside my sleeping bag. I've since washed the bag and it has really puffed out and lofted out nicely. I've also bought a silk liner to use inside the bag which will make it a bit warmer. This and my inflatable mat all inside my bivvy bag should hopefully make my sleeping bag which is rated comfortable down to 4'C good for a few degrees lower. Note that the average December minimum for London is 4'C.

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Hello World!
Tue 20th Dec 14:33

This is my first ever blog entry, anywhere. Having had several requests from friends, I've decided to start keeping a web log because:

- Writing will help to organise my thoughts and
- I want to share my experiences because I think they might be useful to others, especially my experiments with living outdoors.

Before I moved out of a rented flat for the last time, I spent countless hours on the internet researching the feasibility of living outdoors. There was plenty about living in boats, plenty about camping for a few days, but precious little about living outdoors as a way of life in the United Kingdom.

When recounting my mini-adventures I've also had people suggest that I could write a book. However I feel that I'd loose many of the benefits of writing, because I probably won't get around to it until I'm old and wise. Or just old.

Keeping a web log helps me organise my thoughts today, and may also be of benefit to others, today. I can also receive instant feedback and learn new things - I'll soon be adding a comments feature so you can all make fun of me :-)

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HELLO!