The living roof.

In my attempt to get the most of being in San Francisco I went out almost every night for a month with friends. A bit unusual for me I know! Anyways during my last week I went with Scott to the Academy of Science on Thursday night. It is a vibrant singles scene with music and bars dotted around the place. The rainforest is an amazing set up and we were able to see the extreme mammals exhibit just before it was closed. Check out Scott’s pictures – the butterfly on the flower is taken in the rainforest.

So tonight I went with David to a Giants game for a typical all american experience. I haven’t been to a ball game since I was 8 years old so it was good fun to soak in the whole experience. I asked David a lot of questions and he kept on giving me information so he must not have been too bored with my stupid questions. I guess one thing that amazed me most is how much they get paid as atheletes I know they don’t have long to earn but if you were smart with your money it could concievably last a lifetime.

I guess also some of them are not that fit looking either! We had hot dogs for dinner and walked around during one of the innings visiting the side where the bleachers were. David also had an invitation to the club area before the game for a wine tasting.

There were a total of 31,000 people there tonight they just kept on streaming in all game long another thing that amazed me was how quickly the stadium emptied without any problems.

Oh BTW the giants beat the colorado rockies so David was happy!

I noticed (not that it is not totally obvious) that there is a UK flag as part of the Hawaiian state flag. So of course I had to google it and find out why. Click here it is an interesting story.

In 1975 my mother a Pan Am flight attendant layed over every few weeks at a London hotel. One trip she had bought a rug which instead of being delivered bricked so she could put in the belly back to San Francisco it arrived as a roll an hour before she was leaving. A maintenance man called John at the hotel packaged it up for her – 35 years later John lay in St Margarets Hospice Somerset fighting a brain tumor which took hold of him in January this year. John along with his wife Gerda (a German who had lived through WWII in Berlin) became our ‘grandparents’. At every major stage of my life there was John dressed as a proper English gentleman with his collar and cravet bounding around with endless energy and putting his practical talents to work. He was at our cottage in England when we came as toddlers for summer holidays, at my university graduation and the start of many races always coming bearing bags of sweets and ready to tickle me even at the age of 30 to make me smile. John wasn’t just there for our family he became everyone’s Uncle John building a tree house with the neighbors kids with roofing tiles some ass**** even turned them into planning permission! He also spent a large proportion of his pension in the last 8 years personally paying for and packaging up over 5000 parcels which he sent to British troops in Afganastan. The lucky soldier would arrive back at base to find a 2kg shoe box filled to the brim with little treats – socks, razor blades, chocolate etc and better than that a hand written letter from John someone they had never met.

On 6th June we started the Round Britain Race, on our qualifying cruise to the start we received a tearful call from my mother saying John had gone to the Hospice. We had visited him a week before and told him we wanted him to make sure he was at the start of this race as he was when I did it in 1998. Having a hard time talking he signaled he would see it on the computer screen as he was at the point of finding it hard to walk. At midday the start gun went in Plymouth and at 1pm he succumbed to the horrible tumor which felled a unique vicarous, generous man. We set up a Just Giving page before the start at http://justgiving.co.uk/TeamPerrin . To sponsor us as we race Around Britain and Ireland raising money for the Hospice.

I have been on the water almost everyday here on my brothers new little run about which is great for the kids with high sides and all. The difference from the other four times I have been here is that I am not involved in running around for a race boat in fact I haven’t even been near the yacht club. Instead lots of quality time with the three kids at the beach, in the pool or at the museum, zoo or aquarium. As it is also May it is also not as hot as I am used to. Perfect weather for me to get rid of the white antarctic skin! Off to the UK on Monday to get ready for RBIR.

I got to Bermuda today to spend a week with my family and see my dog. I had a great 10 days in San Francisco including racing on Rhum Boogie out to the Farlonnes and numerous meals with friends.

Us on the way out to sea.

My dog Draeger wont let me out of her sight and my nephew is requiring full attention and numerous hugs and kisses. Life is good for me 🙂 My nieces are shy as they don’t really know me but they are also giving me hugs and kisses and are running around the place walking. With them being identical it will probably take me a few days to figure out which one is which!

The Perrins had Christmas number II of 2009 on thursday night – crazy yes I know. However, the whole family was in the UK and seeing as I will be down south mum decided to do the full deal. Even the christmas ornaments came down from the loft and somehow mum got christmas crackers so we all wore the obligatory hats. Henry my nephew was a little confused by the whole thing but got in with the spirit. Christmas I was in May when Myles came back from superyachting as he had missed christmas.

Friday I had my HSE diving medical in Cambridge – yet another one. The weekend was spent looking after the 9 month old twins and almost 3 year old nephew which was a lot of work for my parents and I especially as they were all full of colds and got all stuffed up. We had a good time at a petting zoo and Henry thought the ferret racing was silly…

I am now in Oban Scotland at SAMS for a week of diving with BAS learning how to use full face masks and compression chambers. It is not as pleasent as in the photo unfortunately. It is the typical scottish drizzle but the water is warm and I have a new scubapro underlayer provided by BAS so should be toasty.