As my project to stretch my Defender 110 “Elsa” progressed, it became clear that I’d have enough bits left over to make another vehicle. Elsa was stretched by taking my existing 110 Hardtop and combining it with parts from a donor 130 crewcab. So logically there would be plenty of stuff left in the mix… Read More 110 Soft top project – Nightingale

So for over a year, along with Ben Stowe at Black Paw 4×4 in York, I’ve been developing and working on the rebuild and refit of my faithful old 1991 ex-Army 110 “Elsa”, now 400,000 miles old and a veteran of African and European overland trips (as well as the war in Kosovo!) She started… Read More 130 stretch project – Elsa

In October I was lucky enough to visit Lebanon again – one of my favourite places in the world. For me, it combines the best parts of the Middle East and Mediterranean Europe, a land rich with history and culture (it is, after all, ancient Phoenicia) and with a progressive, friendly and welcoming population. This… Read More Lebanon

I was lucky enough to travel round the beautiful, world-weary southern African state of Zimbabwe in the summer (which was the southern hemisphere winter!). The purposes of the trip were several – to research ex-Rhodesian (“British South African”) Police Land Rovers, to find Series Land Rovers for my friend Mark to potentially buy, to visit… Read More Zimbabwe

Apologies – its been a busy couple of months. Having flown back to the UK I then got my head round various Defender conversions…. As a recap – my much-loved Defender 110 “Elsa” has just rolled over 400,000 miles, and I feel I owe her a rebuild. For years I’ve been toying with stretching her… Read More On the road again, plus Defender rebuilds

I’m about an hour or so away from some of the biggest dunes in the world, south of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I’ve pretty much avoided them since I arrived however, with one or two exceptions, because I was spoiled by the deserts of Egypt – for me the open desert is a quiet place,… Read More Dunes

So my rebuild and refit of various Land Rovers is moving along. Ben Stowe of Black Paw 4×4 in York is masterminding the whole thing with his usual expert and perfectionist eye. (www.blackpaw4x4.co.uk) The plan now regarding the Defenders I have in the UK is to have one as a potter about/daily drive/weekend camper on… Read More Car developments

Lebanon is a country of surprises. I first visited four years ago, and was wowed by the people, the landscape and the diversity of the place. I loved it, and vowed to return as soon as I could. Life got in the way a bit, but I was able to zip back there last week… Read More Lebanon

Living in Middle Eastern countries is, for me, all about getting out into open spaces. Desert, for preference. In the Egyptian desert I had three or four favoured boltholes out in the Sahara that I used to go to most weekends, with names like Dew Camp, First Drop Camp and Three Rocks Camp. The view… Read More Midnight at the Oasis – almost

As a kid, like many of us, I often had my imagination fired by the Greek myths – in particular the adventures of Jason and his ship the Argo. One myth in particular stuck in my head – the tale of the Golden Fleece. Jason and his Argonauts sailed to Colchis, a land of dragons,… Read More Georgia