Jason Smith's The Ed

Java Time - The best start to the day...

Anyone who knows me will know that I have a very soft spot for good coffee. Those little beans create a thing of wonder, Mother Nature's very own Go Go juice, and no morning is complete until the coffee pot has done its thing on the stove. After the demise of my battered little double shot espresso maker I've been making do with the BIG bucket load version, until Saturday that is, when Mrs S presented me with a brilliant new Stellar version. A vision in chrome and stylish design. Works a treat too.

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Paddle Perfect Sunsets

For some reason my local paddling spot at Rutland Water seems to be particularly blessed with fine sunsets and sunrises, which makes for very sweet early morning or late afternoon paddles. I can't help myself and always end up taking a shot or two (see gallery album) before I load the boat back on the car. Nice

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Double Trouble

Thanks to a hot tip from Simon, CKUK's Publisher, I hit up the Cavells Outdoor/Mountain Hardware end of season clearance sale on Saturday and bagged an awesome MH Meridian jacket worth £300 for a mere 50 squid, plus a load of other outdoor bargains including a much needed new hat (Mrs S says that my old Palm fleece beany looks like a noddy hat!) The purchase of all this lovely new gear led to heading out early on Sun on a long hike around Rutland Water with Faye and the dog. We bumped in to Rutland Canoe Club landing on the beach near Barnsdale, just getting off for their halfway paddle brew stop. We had a chat and then headed on. Shortly after we bumped in to some more walkers out with their pair of Labradors. It was nice to see the way the dogs played and our Jack Russel Ruby joined in the fun. As we walked on we discussed the possibility of getting a little friend for Ruby and a new member of Team S. By the time we'd finished walking we'd decided to go and have a look at the notice board at the big country supplies store in Melton. There were a far few ads for Jack Russel puppies and before I knew it we were heading off to a farm near Hose to just have a look. Needless to say the car had one more occupant on the way home and Holly, a 9-week old Jack Russel Pup has joined the Smith household. So be warned, think twice before you buy that new Goretex because you never can quite tell where it'll lead...

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Testing the NEW Perception Expression Kayak

Last Friday we had a visit from Matt of Perception Kayaks at Canoe & Kayak UK Towers. Matt was here to talk about lots of cool things fro 2011, but he also had the first two Expression touring kayaks strapped on to his snazzy looking Team Perception/Wave Sport van. Matt had brought them up so we could do an exclusive test on them. After a warming coffee to fortify us against the Baltic conditions we climbed aboard Matt's van and headed for the River Welland. As we got changed in to our boating kit the wind was like razors, but it takes more than that to stop us boating. The water was icy but right from the off it was obvious that the Perception backroom design bods had put in some serious time on the Expression. We paddled off in to a stiff head wind and there was no hint of weather-cocking what so ever and it was quick and lively. I'm not going to go in to loads of detail because you can read the full 'First Look' Tried & Tested report in issue 119 of Canoe & Kayak UK, but I will say that I'm looking forward to getting out in the Expression again soon.

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Weather Woes

I love a bit of snow, especially at this time of year, but it's getting a bit much now. Had another big dump of snow last night and woke to find at least another foot covering everything. So far it's just about been OK to get around locally, but this morning was horrendous. Plans to head to the South west for the G17 Adventure Paddlers' Weekend have had to be shelved, so I'm gutted. At this rate I'll just be glad to be able to get out of the lane over the weekend, let alone a motorway. Looks like it's going to have to be bombing the hill at the local golf course instead!!!!

Posted by Jason Smith