Having just spent a week on the west coast of Ireland taking on all the Altlantic could throw a me, i am back in the office and contrary to Linley's depressing winter fears, there seems to be a real buzz in air.

Bookings for all our trips are ticking along nicely and we are as ever taking our time to make sure that all those that sign on to our trips know exactly what to expect and are as excited as us about the prospect of spending the winter in the sun, sea and surf with Ticket to Ride.

Lots of school talks and gap fairs to go to meaning Tim is a busy boy going all over the UK in the TTRide Truck. Which if you see him or catch him on the phone, don't forget to ask him about his antics last night when he decided to put 20 litres of unleaded petrol into our DIESEL TTRide truck. Nice work Tim!!

Nevermind, though Tim is highly embarrassed, and at the end of the day we've all done it???? Well i haven't, Linley hasn't, but my mum has and so have a lot of other people's mothers.......!

Finally i have an added spring in my finger tips as I write this entry on my new macbook which is all part of our office technology makeover. Lots of wires, flashing lights and shiny new databases, printers, fax machines, just gotta work out how to use it all. All very exciting though.

Better go, Tim needs his error highlighted again.( I think an hourly reminder is best)

W

It's getting to that time of year when you slowly start to realise that any hopes of a late Summer resurgence have well and truly gone. The calendar's turned to October, the nights are closing in, and your journey home will be exactly like your journey into work, grey, cold and dreary (and perhaps your only time outside in the day.) The trees are now bare, leaving the pavements brown, skiddy, and damp. Your skins lost any hint of sheen, hairline more seemingly retreated, and your eyes start to sit upon a couple of dark little sacks.

The luxury of the "Endless Summer" lifestyle has not hit us here yet. We find ourselves inside, staring at computer screens, working past dark, pulling our hair out as our over worked computers fail to run at the same speed as frantic minds, and arguing over who has managed to spent the least on lunch but is sitting there the most satisfied (there's never an easy conclusion.)

October can be a tedious month, probably because September can be such a great month, the last chance to savour some sunshine, and ride the waves you've been waiting for all Summer; but with October the reality that you will not be able to take to the water without your 5mm, hood, and booties is starting to sunk in, and with the exciting prospect of a few Summer months ahead still fresh in the mind, it really can feel cruel.

Still we're not in the best position to complain, as we're fortunate to have the prospect of a few sun drenched months in the the Southern Hemisphere ahead so things are never that bad.

Will (fresh from his triumphant return taking on monster swells and litres of the black stuff in Ireland) and I are off to see our friends at the Surrey Enterprise Hub tomorrow, and Tim's taking the truck to Wellingborough School to find a handful of recruits, in the hope that this time next year we'll be riding the best of the Southern swells, and guiding people into the start of another Summer.

Linley, over and out...

It's been a good couple of days putting together the final touches for the coming Gap Year Season. It kicks off tomorrow with the Teddies show and we've just got our new posters and brochures through that are looking good. It'll be fun to get back on the road and back to meeting people again....It should be interesting to see how many new companies have popped up too.

Then it's into the weekend and it should be a fun one. Will's out in Ireland and has been for a while, surfing the known and lesser known spots. I'm over to Paris to see if England can cling on till the Quater finals and Linley will be watching at home on the Big Screen keeping the TTRide flag flying in the U.K.

We'll hopefully see you at the Teddies show tomorrow, otherwise there'll be another entry at the beginning of next week

Over 'n out for now

If you're reading this then welcome to Ticket to Ride. We've had this blog going for a while now but in truth, it's been fairly inactive so we've decided to pick it up. Hopefully whatever appears over the coming weeks, months and hopefully years will be of interest - there's lots of trips coming up and the aim is to share what goes on in South Africa with as many people as possible. Obviously we're not always out in South Africa and Ticket to Ride keep pretty active in the U.K surf scene - we'll be using this blog to bring you news from past and upcoming events throughout the year as we did recently with Earthwave down in Polzeath a few weeks back.

So what's been going on in the past couple of weeks? It's been pretty hectic in the office, obviously school's go back now and as a gap year company, things go into overdrive as we move back into the school year.

Obviously September means swell and we've been off chasing a couple of classic swells, nipping off early a week or so ago to catch some epic waves on the east coast and ducking out to the Cornwall office mid week to polish off the new brochure and catch a few waves. If you're prepared to spend a few hours in the car there are some world class waves to be had right on our doorstep, and usually they're in the last place you'd look.

Pippa meets one of the pupils at the Salesians Institue, Cape Town. Another of Ticket to Ride's community project on the 2,000 mile adventure along Africa's southern coastline. There is alot more to the trip than surfing.