8 Feb 2011

Chirps, Caches, Seeker and London Again


 Hello again and welcome to the latest update on the blog.

Chirps

The week started with a notification that a chirp cache had been published. We had only just updated our GPS in order that we could locate Chirps so were more than happy to go and search for this local one http://coord.info/GC2N16D As you have gathered this is the first of this type of cache that we have found. Not sure how the much they are going to take off as they are only compatible with Garmin devices at the moment, but we'll see.

I already have a Chirp here on my desk which will be going out within the next few weeks, once I have found a suitable location for it.

Caches

So what have we found cache wise this week. Well as I have said it has been a quiet week for us with just 5 caches found. The previously mentioned Chirp cache was the first, followed by Call of Duty 4 http://coord.info/GC1ZRF6 here in Nottingham, Metal Monster http://coord.info/GC235ZF over in Flint, North Wales and then Warrington Parks 1: Queens Gardens http://coord.info/GC1GR1P and Golden Gates http://coord.info/GC29GPX both in Warrington.


Golden Gates ~ Warrington

Golden Gates got a favourite vote from me, basically because it is one of those where if you look at the cache page for long enough, you will find the final location of the cache. Enough said, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.

On my personal cache front, there are a few new ones to tell you about. My Flash Mob which I think I mentioned before is called Winter's End Flash Mob http://coord.info/GC2MWZC which takes place on March 6th. Hope everyone who attends that is going to be in good voice.

The other new caches of mine are a tradional (multi). I had to call it a multi for the reviewer, even though the final is hardly any distance at all from the first part. That one is called Leslie Phillips http://coord.info/GC2MWHV This hasn't had that many visitors as of yet, but I am pleased to say that most people who have found it have enjoyed it and it has already got 4 favourite votes on it.

I have also put out three puzzle caches in the last few weeks, the first being Top Of The Pops http://coord.info/GC2MKKA, the second which I have to admit is a difficult one is Values http://coord.info/GC2MT9X, this one is staying low on the radar at the moment, people either aren't attempting to solve it, or are attempting it but not getting very far and failing to contact me for extra help. The final puzzle cache that I have put out is called Moor's Knot http://coord.info/GC2N8KH in order for people to find this cache they need a paperback version of the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

Things must be improving for cachers, both weather wise and time wise as both my CW and CCP series have been well visited over the last weekend.

Seeker

For those people who aren't members of the Geocaching Association of Great Britain (GAGB) I thought I would tell you that we now have a new bi monthly newsletter. Called SEEKER it is full of up to date information, not only of what is happening in the GAGB, but also news, interviews and reviews. Well worth a read, the first edition has an interview with Collin French who runs the UK Geocaching podcast. Again, if you haven't listened to that it is also worth a listen to. You can find the GAGB at http://www.gagb.org.uk/ and the podcast at http://www.ukgcpodcast.com/

Other good news for members of the GAGB this month is that we have managed to secure a 15% discount from the outdoor shop Blacks. To apply for the discount card all you have to do is become a member and even better news, membership is free.

Whilst on with GAGB news, the 2011 mileage challenge is doing well, with over 40 people now participating, as I type this, my own coin has now covered 1088 miles.


My own GAGB mileage coin

I am currently planning on how to follow this on next year and have some ideas which I still need to put forward, however, I do know the coin that I will be using and it is this one.

My Jeep 2012 Mileage Coin




Why this coin, two reasons, I like Jeeps, and I drive a couple of blue ones as well.

Wemog's 2012 Landy Coin
Keith (Wemnog) doesn't know it yet, but he will be using this coin, for similar reasons, he likes Land Rovers, although he doesn't drive one, he used to. This is going to be one of his Christmas presents this year! Talk about planning ahead. 

London Again

Just a couple of things that I forgot to mention about London in last weeks blog.
Firstly, our 550t performed really well, even with all the tall buildings around, it didn't seem to confuse it at all. We even used it for finding all sorts of other things, such as museums, where the nearest tube station was and even where the nearest Tesco's was. This leads me on to the second point. If you are thinking of having a cheap day out in the capital, you really can. Don't drive all the way in to the centre of the city. Do as we usually do, drive to Watford, park up there and then get the tube in. It is a lot cheaper than parking in the centre, and you will miss out on paying the congestion charge as well. Secondly, you can eat really cheaply while you are there, all we did was find a Tesco Metro, buy a couple of warm pasties and ate them on the hoof, no need at all to pay extortianate cafe prices. You can even get a cuppa from most of the Tesco shops down there.

My Geocoin Collection

Over the last couple of years I have collected a fair few geocoins, they haven't been activated and are still in mint condition. I have decided that I am going to sell them on Ebay shortly. Why? Because they just sit here in a box, not really doing anything and by selling them I can raise funds to have the next coin made. There are some nice ones in the collection, some of which have long since sold out, so if you are interested, keep an eye on the Ebay page over the next few weeks.

Finally

We are going away this weekend in the van. Not far, just going to park up overnight and do some caching in the day. We know where we are going and we are looking forward to it, fingers crossed for decent weather. We plan to go caching around an old WW2 aerodrome and forest. From reading some stuff about our destination, it has been used in the past for filming Dr. Who and Torchwood. There should be some good photos to be had. I'll be telling you about it next week and posting some photos I am sure.

So have a good week, hope you get some caching done.

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