Ben Battye « Follow that Fire Engine

Day 214 : Its Showtime !

02/16/11 by Ben Battye | Expedition Updates, Stage 7 : Vancouver to Phoenix | 3 Comments »

High Point: The Bellagio hotel switching on their musical water fountains especially for us. Is there anything that we can’t get done with FTFE?

Low Point: “I asked for two cheese burgers but you gave me two hamburgers. Why did you do that? Where’s my cheese? Ok did you honestly just put cheese on these burgers and give them back to me?Yeah but now they’re cold. All I want is my cheese. I’m not being awkward I just want what I paid for. No, I want you to make me fresh ones not just heat them up again. Thank you. Good night.”

No Point: Playing Black Jack when the table has turned. Take your winnings (or in my case lack of winnings) and get outta there. Quick.

Day 209: Cocktail Conversation

02/11/11 by Ben Battye | Expedition Updates, Stage 7 : Vancouver to Phoenix | Comments Off on Day 209: Cocktail Conversation

Location : San Francisco

High Point: San Francisco officially replaces Vancouver as FTFE’s favourite North American city. Wow.

High Point: The fund raising bash organised by Susan and Kevin McCabe which raised over $500 for FTFE. Oh and the view from their apartment overlooking Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

High Point: Watching the sun set over San Francisco bay and the sky change through every colour in the rainbow.

High Point: Watching San Fran Police officers chase and arrest a burglar no more than half an hour after being told that San Fran has a low crime rate. Brilliant.

High point: Our headphone guided tour around Alcatraz. Crime does not pay kids but tourism does.

High point: California winter sun. Twenty degrees, blue skies and no cloud. Incredible.

High Point: Driving up and down the steepest roads known to man. Hill starts with the low diff setting on. Testing!

No point: Living anywhere else.

No point: A mango burger. I mean really?

Day 204 : Superbowled Over

02/06/11 by Ben Battye | Expedition Updates, Stage 7 : Vancouver to Phoenix | Comments Off on Day 204 : Superbowled Over

High point: Watching the Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 45^th American Superbowl.

No point: The Burger vs Sandwich debate rolls on. When is a burger not a burger? What constitutes a burger? Is a Chicken Sandwich a burger? And what on earth is an Eggplant Burger?

Just missed the point: Rob nearly running over a jogger on a pedestrian crossing within ten minutes of taking the wheel (priceless video footage available upon request).

If you were a sports loving kid growing up in the eighties there’s a strong possibility that Channel 4’s American Football coverage fronted by Gary Imlach on a Sunday night was a key part of your weekend. Whilst the UK’s love of the sport has wained significantly over the past twenty years, North America’s would appear to be stronger than ever. Settling into Vancouver’s number one sports bar on Sunday afternoon surrounded by as many TV’s as football fans, our first proper afternoon in Canada’s unofficial capital left us with no doubt how much these guys love their sport. Ice Hockey still ranks number one for most Canadians due to a small matter of being Olympic champions, however American Football clearly runs a close second. Read more →

Proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance.

07/28/10 by Ben Battye | Expedition Updates, Stage 2 : Moscow to Beijing | Comments Off on Proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance.

Day 10. Like kids in a sweetshop, the Stage 1 crew, now fully up and running and functioning like the high performing team I knew was always there, were looking forward to Wednesday with schoolboy excitement as it meant only one thing. No driving and a rest. Or so we thought.

Stage 1 : Wing Mirrors Mean Nothing To Me ! Oh Vienna !!

07/23/10 by Ben Battye | Expedition Updates, Stage 1: London to Moscow | 2 Comments »

Ben Battye :

Day 6. Following a heated debate late on Thursday regarding Friday mornings departure time from our chosen campsite deep in the Carniche mountains in Southern Austria (heated because I threw a strop at the suggested 5.30am start) we awoke on the dot of 6am (much more reasonable) and with a collective spring in our step packed and prepared Martha in a speedy 26 minutes (a new record).