Close - but no Cigar

9am this morning. Lovely - Wailin's in the water, can't quite see him in this shot. Oh for a wide angle lens, the rainbow was framing the beach perfectly.

Now what's all this on the news last night? The great Plymouth Argyle have been hit with a winding up order from the tax office! NO! I'm sure they'll sort it all out. My boys train at the Centre of Excellence. The coaches are brilliant. For any kid living down here with a dream living of making it as a pro footballer (we have two!) then it's the path they have to take. As far as Billy's concerned his future is already mapped out - couple of seasons at Plymouth before heading up to Man Utd. And why not?

No Snow!

No Snow - not yet anyway. Feels like it's a comin' - it's settling up on Bodmin Moor, we can see the white tops. Word on the street is that there's panic buying up at Tesco! And it's so cold, the local flasher's been caught 'describing' himself to passers by! Brrr!

What I always do during times like these - is slip into my snuggerly wuggerly toastie woastie Surf's Up! Hoody! Not only do I keep warm, but I do it in style. Available in all good Surf's Up! stores. The perfect Christmas gift for the one you love! Or alternatively, the one you're going to be sending out to chop the logs! Yeah all right Janey, I'm on my way!

Bringing home the shiney, shiney!

With a trophy up for grabs, Billy was always going to be up for this one. One of the most coveted titles in the World (well South West! Okay Cornwall). Ladies and Gentleman, 'Born to Win' Champione 2010 - I give you Billyman - whoah! "Bring home the shiney, shiney" I said to him as he set off to take on the best sporting juniors in the region. Schools from around the county put forward the cream of their crop, and following a few weeks of training, assembled down in Budehaven to go head to head for the individual title - They were tested across a broad range of sporting skills including strength, dexterity, speed, eye - hand coordination etc. And Billyman won! The first time it's been won by someone from this area - very cool.

We know when Billy's gearing up for these events. Over the past few weeks he'd sneak out of the telly room, the door would close and then we'd hear the swish of a skipping rope and the boom, boom as he practiced his squat thrusts (one of the events today in which he managed 55 in 30 seconds! - that's some going!). I love the saying, "Champions are made when no-one is watching". I wish I'd had that resolve at his age! Who knows, I could have done something with my life! Anyway, we're really stoked for him.

I didn't realise that the student riots have been inspired because local shops now refuse to accept cheques for pot noddles! (A. Driscoll).

A Potter in the Midst

We've taught millions of celebs over the past 16 years - well maybe not millions, but certainly our fair share. And our policy is one of privacy. It's no big deal, come and do some surfing - we're not going to ask to have our photo taken with you and sell it to the paper, no matter who you are and how much to help to promote us, that's not going to happen. And I think the attitude is appreciated, which may explain why we stay in personal contact with many of them. I'm going to mention one name, only because it's quite interesting, it was a good while ago, maybe seven years ago and yet it's a relevant name today. No it's not Prince William, a regular visitor to Polzeath, nor his little brother Harry who was a cheeky little chap ( I had an interesting bit of banter with ginger in the surf many years ago - I recall he was quite lippy).

Anyway, a very normal and pleasant family arrived at the trailer. The parents filled in the forms while the kids took off around the back to get fitted up for some wetsuits. It was at this time that there was a buzz, a buzz of excitement. You could sense that something was going on. You get it sometimes when a well known face is standing in the queue to check in for a lesson. But I hadn't clocked who it was. I must have been so engrossed in checking people in that I must have missed them. As time went on I got a sense that rather than the queue buzzing, the whole beach was buzzing and everyone was looking towards the surf school. Never before, nor since have we had such a reaction to someone famous at the surf school.

I went around the back to get a sneaky peak - and to my surprise it was one of the girls that was the centre of attention. Not that she was aware of it - she was just being a normal kid. She would have been about 13, something like that, changing into her wetsuit and having a laugh with her friends. I went over to her parents "We've put Emma in a small group, are you okay with that?" "Expelliarmus!" they cried! You could tell that they had a dual role now, parent and manager - but they were totally relaxed despite being tuned into the attention. I guess they were used to it. Anyway, if you haven't already guessed it was Emma Watson, also known as Hermione from Harry Potter who was surfing with us that day.

I've got to Flag this up!

Serial killer vvvvWagner lives another day - he's murdered so many golden oldies I'm amazed he's not helping the police with their enquiries. I get the anti X factor voting thing, but the point's been made - he has to go!

The Scottish football referees are going on strike. Too much abuse apparently! I can offer some real life experience to this situation! "Would you run the line?" was the question I was asked by the referee yesterday morning, some 60 seconds before the start of Billy's match against Truro. The linesman hadn't turned up - and I was the most handsome! I have enough experience to be linesman for at least half a game, I reasoned. Enough life experience to be assertive; enough football experience to be conversant with the rules. I took the flag with confidence. How hard could it be?

Much harder than I'd ever imagined, turns out. I was rubbish. It took me ages to work out that if whites hit the ball out that meant that it was a red throw and they were going in that direction and that meant that the flag had to be pointed in that direction! Rabbit in headlights - that was me. By the time I'd sorted it out in my own mind, the play had moved down the other end of the pitch. Without the flag in my hand, it would have been simple as. The responsibility of the flag was too much! And then to make matters worse and totally confuse the players, the ref and supporters, I opted for the rugby signaling method. Raise flag with one arm, point to the team who have the throw in. This is completely about face! The assertiveness drained from my body - instead of any firm confidence inspiring flag action, I offered up a very weak half up, half down, this hand, that hand, wish washy thingy, "is it.... this way?" It was pathetic. I was pathetic. I don;t even want even talk about offsides - far too upsetting! At half time I was relieved to hand the baton over! No sorry that's incorrect - that should read, I was relieved of any flag duties, on a permanent basis!

So I have real sympathy for the the men in the middle. How easy would it be to change the culture? You would never, for example, ever see a rugby player run 50 yards to confront the ref about a decision they don't agree with. And if you did they'd be up in front of the board. And yet we see it every week on the telly and on the pitch! The captain should be able to ask in a civil manner why a decision has been made, so that they have the opportunity to understand the refs interpretation of the offence, but that's it. Any confrontation and off you toddle to soak on your lonesome in some warm bubbles with a letter highlighting a three match ban! Stand strong Scots refs, I'm right behind you! Just don't give me any flags to wave!

Here's Surf's Up! instructor Megarooney ripping it up last week. (www.360photography.co.uk.) She's back in the zone and keen to get back on the competition trail next year!

Just having a play

Now that story about the half crop circle is, as Janey quite rightly pointed out, not quite the whole truth! No. The real truth was worse - there were in fact two lawns. The second, and previously unmentioned, was the big one, right in front of the terracing, the terracing with views right across the South Downs - an impressive piece of green grass if ever there was, and an impressive view. Probably one of the best views in Surrey which was reflected most likely in the value of the property. Encountering the aforementioned mower problems on lawn number one, let's call that 'the bowling green', we had a second decision to make on lawn number two, let's call that 'the showpiece'. Well out of reach of the flymo and far too big a piece of land in any case, what were we to do? There was only one reasonable course of action. Roll it! We found in their garden shed a whopper of a roller and we discovered quite by chance that if we flattened the grass, first in one direction and then the other, from a distance you could create the illusion of a perfectly mown lawn, like Wembley. So roll it we did. It was a big old thing and needed both hands on deck. We shed a few pounds, but on completion could look out upon our handy work with some satisfaction. To the untrained eye, this was a finely manicured turf. To the owner, however, I forget his exact words, but the gist was words expressing deep, deep erm, anger. Yes that was it, anger. He was purple with rage. I'm not sure what colour comes after purple but we weren't about to find out. When we got home we told my parents that we'd done this job at this posh house and they hadn't paid us. My Dad went immediately on his way to right this wrong and have a chat. Any inheritance went out the window that day! We went back to terrorising clients with Paint Pals after that!

Just had a play on the Imac with some postcard ideas - quite pleased with them. Might get a few done.

One small step for man

Jobs a goodun! Sky's back on - not only that, but it's amazing the deals you get when you speak to the cancellations department! Turns out the engineers were good lads. One of them plays golf - we had a good half hour chat about his course Trethorne, I've played there only once but we managed to discuss pretty well every hole, pond and out of bounds! It wasn't until he'd left and I googled Trethorne that I realised my mistake - I was talking about Tehidy! You just have to laugh!

I have a lot of ladder experience. Me and my mate Guy, set up a painting company when we left school - Paint Pals we were called. We got a load of leaflets printed up and dropped them through letterboxes far and wide. This was when I lived back in Surrey. To be honest, we weren't that good and there are many tales to be told. Anyway the ladder we had back then was a wooden one - if you used the full extension you could just about reach the top of a three story building. It was quite hairy at times. The higher you got, the more bowed it became and the more vertical the climb. Get up the last few rungs and you were dealing with an overhang. And it was so bouncy, I think it's how I developed motion sickness. You had to load the brush as the bounce took you away from the building, and then apply on the return! Hilarious. We quoted jobs on the anticipated bounces per hour! My Dad always said that our unique selling point was that we always left a ladder after every job - his!

Our first ever job, well to be honest it was a poor start. We had to gloss the window frames of an entire house. We did a good professional job, good clean cutting in, no splashes on the panes. However, when it came to leave the homeowners were no where to be seen, so being security conscious we made sure that all the windows were shut tight before we left. Didn't want anyone breaking in. If my memory serves me right, it took them a week to get the air circulating again! We didn't get paid for that one... or any referrals.

We became were very good at fitting windows. Not necessarily as part of the original spec - more as in haste to 'put things right' before the owners returned. Accidents will happen. One owner only found out that we'd had a small accident when the entire first floor of windows fell inwards during a breezy night. We should have used quick drying putty! I forget what the cause of the initial accident was.

We hauled (I could go on all day) Guy's brother in for one job. A prestigious restaurant in the centre of Dorking. We got the contract for inside and out. It fronted the main pedestrian walkway so neat and tidy was the word. I was on the flat roof, three storeys up, leaning over to paint the top bits when I heard this quiet voice. "Erm, boys. I've had a bit of an accident!" I left my position and went to look over the other side of the building to see where the voice was coming from. He wasn't there. He'd carried on around to the back! It was easy to find him. He'd spilt a whole pot of paint on his feet, on the main street, outside the front door of the restaurant! In trying to find us, he'd walked the entire way around the property, leaving bright white footprints in his trail. From my heady position, let's just say he was easy to find! The owner was particularly uncharitable on that occasion.

Our attempts at grass cutting were less successful! We were called out to a very posh house near Guildford to cut the lawn in preparation for their daughter's wedding the next day. Bit last minute, but we liked a challenge. The lawn was large and flat - the grass was long, a cut would make it fit for a Queen and perfect for guests to enjoy their champagne and canopes. We would of course come with our own equipment. To cut a long story short, both of our mowers broke down. So in their absence we borrowed theirs - a flymo! A flymo at the lower spectrum of Flymos - with a short extension lead. Hm, what to do! In the end we felt that it was better to do as much as we could rather than none at all. The resulting trim was met with very poor cheer! We argued, on deaf ears to be honest, that the garden party could go ahead without too much stress. The half circle with it's axis point being exactly at the point of where the kitchen window was open, gave the impression of an early crop circle. The short grass contrasting well with the long. We should be paid for our efforts under the difficult circumstances, we argued. He was a bad listener. Happy days, very happy days.

Hannibal's on the Jazz

This gets better and better! B. A. Barracus and John 'Hannibal' Smith have arrived - and I kid you not, kitted up in helmets, harnesses, ropes, the lot! They are now drilling, yes drilling holes into the side of our house as fixing points for the ladder! I'm going to try and get a photo - the money shot. This is pure gold, I can hardly contain myself. I can see them now, yep they're scaling the wall some, let me see, they must be some 3ft up. Maybe three and a half! It's hard to pick them out through the low cloud! We're going to be at full stretch, right on the max when I pass them their coffees! Hannibal is definitely on the Jazz!

'Hold the ladder, fool!"

It's been one hell of a week that's all I can say. For different reasons. A lot came together for us over the past few days - one area in particular that will have a huge impact on Surf's Up! from here on in. Basically we've completely restructured the business. We perhaps should have done it a while ago, but we didn't so we're not going to dwell. It's put a spring in our step and we're really looking forward to the coming year. Feels like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders.

What will it mean for Surf's Up? - the surf school is the core, participation is what we're about. Teaching beginners and improvers on the beach is where it all began for me and Janey, so that part of the business is the most important. We had a crazy idea earlier in the year to move the surf school operation off the car park in 2011 and up to the Beach House (to save on licence fees), you'll be pleased to hear that we're staying put. But we are going to shake it up quite a lot. Despite being the leading surf school in the UK for many years now, it's in our blood to keep improving.

Hang on, the Sky engineer is here. This should be a classic. Wait for it... and yes, same old story, scratch of head. Everytime there's a problem and we call for someone to come out, I ask the operator to check the notes of the last visit and make sure that the engineer knows he'll need someone to hold his ladder. Can't be me - needs to be someone with a ladder holding badge! And every time the engineer arrives, scratches head "Hm I'm going to have to call my boss......." Yes I know, I know - you need someone to hold your.... coffee, your shoes, your pencil behind your ear ... argh! Anything to make it more difficult.

The last time, "I'm going to need a different ladder." No mate, all you need is a ladder. It's just a bit higher than a jump, any type of ladder. A box perhaps, get on my shoulders, mate, give me the part and I'll get up there myself. I'm six foot two, few more inches and I'd be able to run my nose along the rusty dish.

Okay, he's gone. "I've spoken to my boss..." he said. (Wait for it this is classic)".. and we're going to have to bring in the special heights team". How can I be angry, they've just made my life so much better. Hilarious, you couldn't make it up! "Special heights team"! Oh dear, I'm going to have to calm down before my spleen bursts.

The issue is this. Our house is built into a hill (which sounds incredibly grand). The side that faces the road is single storey. The other side is two storey. The sky dish is on the chimney right on the apex of the roof. On every previous occasion the engineers have gone up the single storey side - yeah obviously. But now, due to Elf and Safety ('tis the season to be merry), he's assessed that the only way to make the repair is to go up the two storey side. Speechless. I really don't know what to say anymore. As I said, it's been one hell of a week.

Right back to business. Yep, surf school, few changes to make, few upgrades for next year. There's no doubt that we've got the key players in position, just need to do a bit of tweaking.

As for changes in other areas, well it's a bit hard to say on here. You never know who's reading the old blog and word gets out pretty quick around these parts. It's all good though, it's all good.

All good except for my Sky dish! The 'A' team should be here this afternoon. I can't wait. What, are they going to abseil out of a helicopter all dressed in black? Should be quite a show. My bet is that it'll be the same engineer, same van, same ladders, but he'll come back with a mate who has his 'competent ladder holder' badge! Guess I'll just have to sit here now and wait for Mr. T. to arrive at his earliest convenience. He better not give me no jibber jabber! "Hold the ladder, fool!"

All that glitters...

These are exciting times. We've got loads of new stuff coming into the shop next year - here's a sneaky peak at some wristbands that may even make it into the shop by Christmas (fingers crossed). Caroline works with contemporary aluminium - we got to know her when she stayed at the Beach House last year! She's incredibly talented and it's only her love of the ocean that has helped us to persuade her to take some time out from her busy schedule to do a special series of wristbands! Really cool.