Dreams and Nightmares

About the Book

Having spent 25 years as climbing bum, paid for by bouts of time spent as a university technician, Vic found himself fighting a different world: his very own pulmonary embolism in both lungs. The doctors are baffled and can’t understand why your man is in their intensive care ward. On the long road to recovery, Vic recounts some of the many odd and hilarious climbing stories which marked his way to the doctors and nurses of University College London Hospital. As the silent and unseen internal blood clots dissolve, the realisation of challenges of harsh vertical winter routes in Scotland, the Alps and British Sea cliffs plus London’s transport pollution have to be left behind. On a chance recommendation: ‘the air in Ireland is clean and it hardly ever rains, well hardly ever’. The author exchanges his world for one of science based academic career in Dublin and a new life in Ireland. On a very wet day in Dublin the true love Trish comes passing by and they married on a warm summer’s day. They now spend their new lives on the island of Crete, where they explore the eastern Mediterranean and travel through the Euro-zone back to the British Isle’s and Ireland to visit family and beloved friends: happy ever after. Not so. Today’s (2010-2013) austerity: brought about by the European bankers and politicians, desk clerks, managers, security measures and incompetent airport authorities, all have made travel difficult and arduous. Long gone are the days when you could drive across Europe and Asia to the Far East and onto Australia. This is a book of climbing horror stories and misplaced faith in the travel industries. Friends cannot believe the troubles they have encountered but dreams do some times turn in to nightmares!

About the Author

The author was born in the East End of London-England in 1957, from where he escaped to be a climbing bum for 25 years, paid for by bouts of time spent as a university technician. Traveling through Europe in a converted ambulance, and university Mini-bus and private cars, the author is well placed to recount modern climbing stories and the horrors of travel through Europe. Having found his world turned upside down due to suffering a massive pulmonary embolism in both lungs the retelling of personal climbing stores has become a healing cathartic journey. Through this journey, the realisation of challenges of harsh vertical winter routes in Scotland, the Alps and British Sea cliffs plus London’s transport pollution have been put aside. He has exchanged this world for one of science based academic career in Dublin and a new life in Ireland where he married Trish on a warm summer’s day. They now spend their new lives on the island of Crete dealing with the twice daily sheep rush hour in their adopted Cretan village, from where they are exploring the eastern Mediterranean. Their semi-retirement would be ideal if it was not for the dealings with: desk clerks, managers, security measures and incompetent airport authorities who continuously block their journey through the austerity ravaged Euro-zone.