On 8 June this year, my friend Jake Simkins was killed BASE jumping in Greece. I attended his funeral this afternoon, where I agreed to share this photo from our skydiving trip to Portugal in 2009: In a world of near-universal anxiety and neurosis, Jake chose to live life fully. […]
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Via TED, Yves Rossy: Fly with the Jetman
Via TED talks (“Ideas worth spreading”), Yves Rossy talks about flying as only he can: TED is well-worth keeping an eye on for “Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world”. TED began as a conference bringing together people from Technology, Entertainment and Design. Occasionally, a politician speaks at […]
Read MoreI confess: I went skydiving last weekend
Here’s the proof (I’m second from bottom): In the last year, I had only jumped 10 times: politics had simply consumed all my time. Eventually, I decided I had to keep on living, so I put in a short weekend’s jumping. The country’s problems are huge. They were before I […]
Read MoreGreat footage from the National Geographic
Parachuted in? Only literally
I enjoyed two skydives at Weston on the Green this afternoon, in cloudless skies. For the first, I floated out stable, looking up at the plane, before surveying from freefall the constituencies represented by John Howell MP and the Prime Minister. It’s a slightly flat landscape for my liking. For […]
Read MoreOn a lighter note
I have learned that the British Parachute Association‘s magazine, Skydive, is featuring me next month, including this photo: There’s a rumour that I may be the first skydiving MP. I don’t know if it is true but, in any event, I wish I had more time for it. The sky […]
Read MoreEmpuriabrava skydiving photoset
Uploaded a new photoset to Flickr — Empuriabrava, Oct 2009: Here’s another favourite – a well-formed 5-way formation, high above the canals of Empuriabrava:
Read MoreEmpuriabrava, 19 Oct 09
Once the wind subsided, we had a great day. Eight jumps, knocked out as fast as possible: first an eight-way, then five-ways when three lads left for the airport. More photos when I’m not behind a filter blocking flickr.
Read MoreSkydive Tramontana
Skydive Empuriabrava occasionally suffers a phenomenon knows as the “Tramontana”: a strong wind from the mountains. It’s been blowing since we arrived on Wednesday but it is forecast to subside today or tomorrow. In the meantime, this is as close as I’ll get to a skydive: It’s still a great […]
Read MoreThe bus to 15,000ft
Just uploaded a few shots from Hibaldstow. Here’s the bus to 15,000 ft:
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