JACK WOOD
When my father was younger than I am now, he left my grandparents' quaint village and converted barn in Leicestershire, in the middle of England, to spend the next four years in and around Toronto, Canada. He became naturalized (thanks for the citizenship dad), met my mother and... promptly returned back to UK.
Fast forward 30 something years and here I am, currently looking out of the window of our self converted van in beautiful northern Norway. I spent the first 19 years of my life growing up on the outskirts of London, the following 3, "studying" music and sound at university in Cardiff, only to graduate and become a truck driver in Stoke-on-Trent, because...what little boy doesn't want to grow up to be a truck driver? After a broken heart and a short stint back in my childhood home, I went on an extended skiing holiday for 6 weeks to Fernie, BC. That 6 week holiday turned into almost 3 years...come for winter and stay for summer they say, and another, and another...and another. In the end it was time for a change and somehow, I found myself in the tropical paradise that is south east Queensland, Australia for 2 years. Believe it or not, slinging cocktails and pouring pints gets a little monotonous and the mountains were calling my name again, so I headed south to the Australian Alps on the outskirts of Melbourne to get my skiing fix again. Armed with nothing but my trusty Camera and a pair of skis I walked into my childhood home once again for the first time in 6 years, en route to the town of Chamonix, nestled in the heart of the French Alps. This is where the real spark for photography and the willingness to share my adventures really took off. After the year that we shall not speak of, I found myself skiing in the mountains of central Norway. Winter came and went, we built our home on wheels and set off exploring Norway and it's incredible landscapes. For now, we have made The Lofoten Islands our home, getting ready for another Scandinavian winter and plenty more "Topptur" ahead. And that is where this story currently sits, in the beginning of the novel with plenty more space for new chapters... |
|