In 2016 I (Bob) was on an IT contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers Middle East, working and living in the city of Doha, Qatar. Deborah remained back at home in Scotland running out Royal Yachting Association (RYA) sailing business, while being on hand if our girls needed a parent, while I endured long hard weekends either scuba diving or lying by the pool.
On one such weekend, needing to stretch my legs, I ended up at one of Doha’s many shopping malls to enjoy some air-conditioned respite from the enduring heat early morning heat of the sun. Spotting the familiar blue and white shop sign of a WHSmith I ventured inside in an attempt to find a book that might kill some time that afternoon while enduring another few hours by the pool.
Not being one for fiction I headed to the biography section but didn’t find any name on the self that I had any interest in psychoanalyzing that hadn’t previously undergone the treatment. The travel section seemed to be dedicated to Bill Bryson, which although not a bad thing, didn’t help much as I have already read everything he has written, some a couple of times over. The last chance WHSmith’s had for parting me from my hard-earned Qatari rials was a sailing book, sailing being the only sport that I am generally interested in reading about as well as doing.
I came close to purchasing a book by Bernard Moitessier, the chap would have been the first person to sail around the world single-handed, beating (Sir) Robin Knox-Johnston, but decided he enjoyed the experience so much he wouldn’t stop to collect the Globen Globe prize, but instead, much to the dismay of his wife, sail around it a second time. Sorry Bernard!
WHSmiths – Doha, Qatar (2016)
I was so close to buy Mr Moitessier’s book, that I was taking my credit card out of my wallet when I spotted a fatter book with a blue spine, a book that seemed to jump out of the book self. I picked it up, looked at the picture of a dishevelled looking bearded chap on the front by the unfamiliar name of Mark Beaumont, put Bernard’s book down and went over to the cashier desk to pay for it.
Back at my apartment by about 10 am I changed into my swimming gear and headed down to the pool to read a few pages of my new acquisition and get in some swimming in before lunch. By about 10 pm the pool area had cleared and I was I had finished the book.
Mark Beaumont’s ‘The Man Who Cycled the World’… I read the book a second time to form the expedition cycling shopping list, buying the same Koga bike and Ortleib panniers mention in the book. We have also since bought the Audible version and it still ranks as one of my favorite books… may be I’ll get it signed one day when we have cycled around the world ourselves!!
The following morning, I called Deborah to apologise for not calling her at all the day before, with the news that I had found a new plan for our retirement… to cycling around the world!
It was therefore amazing to have received the below video message yesterday morning…
What a wonderful surprise.
It certainly was! 🙂