I swear it was Christmas last time I walked out of my front door. Phase 2 of my Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship is upon me like a freight train. Time is speeding up. Departure in 10 days. Smart clothes ironed, suitcase packed and weighed, routes, times confirmed and the handover of “day” work to …
Author Archives: Rima Berry
Personal Reflections, until next time…
Phase 1 of my journey is completed; I’m surrounded by scribbles, papers and data. I am hugely grateful to colleagues who filled in for my “day job” and especially those who supported me in the dark week when jet lag, depression, disaster and climate nearly …nearly… dimmed the lights. I feel privileged and valued to …
The human cost of living in a National Park
So I blew into Maine, the Pine Tree State, just ahead of Dorian, now downgraded from Hurricane to Tropical Storm. True to form, (just call me “Jonah of the Airwaves”), my flight from Burlington, Vermont was delayed with knock-on effects on rapidly filling connections to Bangor, Maine. It became a mad rush to avoid a …
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Close Encounters nobody wants
To understand this post, some background. I have a thing about sleeping in beds that other people have slept in; I’ll opt for the floor or lie on top of the duvet. And I get up early. For this reason, I have camped all but 4 nights of my Fellowship travels. I’ve slept under the …
Live like a local; #walkamileinmyshoes
So part of the travelling Fellowship involves “down-time”. Time to reflect, take on board the views (scenery), adjust to time zones… I’m not very good at “down-time”, there’s always something new on the horizon. A glance at the balance of my time-sheet showed a need for more serious editing and down-time (note no punctuation now). …
A Long Interlude and advice
Extract from diary date 13/08: ” You went for a shower & as you showered the mossies were getting you – despite the netting door – yep, I’m at Carolina Beach drenched in 7% Deet and still getting eaten! Drove from Jordan Lake to here today; 3 1/2 hrs. Saw Brown Pelican, Fiddler Crabs, Lunar …
NC Part 2: More effort is necessary
I didn’t think I’d miss information technology. IT is over-rated. How we fool ourselves. My lovely (lightweight) IT notebook failed to boot. After a brief (few days of) meltdown, ranting and general bad temper, I got over myself, pulled out paper and pen and got on with it. I blame the humid heat and the …
In the beginning…
After a long tortuous journey and many personal “firsts”, let’s backtrack to the beginning. Time has glossed over nearly every delay, multiple airport cat-naps, the giant millipede and the tent in the tree incident… North Carolina, the Tar heel state, with a median family income of $65,964 in 2017 (about £ 54,250). Where I discover …
The bare heritage
What a view eh? Its Monday – bank holiday back in the UK. I’m taking half a day to re-centre before leaving Wyoming and the Grand Teton (pronounced “teeton”) National Park, and having a gentle hike around Taggart Lake and beyond. The Park Authorities (rightly) make a big thing about bears here. There are c …
The best laid plans
Nearly two weeks in and still now news from me? It’s not from lack of wanting to shout about it. 24hrs in saw a complete IT failure….epic…or in the words of a tech guy I visited , “Woow, it’s like you are homeless…”. He knew how I felt. But my plans were laid, places to …
On a Mission - learning from the CLT Movement 