Off-duty

In my too scarce off-time, I enjoy reading, writing, sailing, motor cycle tours and making music.

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Writing:
Check out the pages below for the latest on my efforts to write a book (or three):

Read and let me know what you think!

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IMG_0553
Sailing:
The current water craft is SY Euforia, a Monark 540, a 5,4 meter or 18 foot sailing yacht, built in the mid 70-ies. According to the brochure she sleeps 4 adults but you can do your own math to see if this is would be an enjoyable experience for all participants or not.
In the summertime, she lives in a y-berth in a marina in one of the Swedish Great Lakes called Mälaren, close to the lovely city of Sigtuna. In winter-time, when the lakes freezes solid with about a meter of ice, she’s safely ashore on her trailer in the same marina. You can find more info on her here.
The 540 has a well-earned reputation for being a real slow sailing vessel but is on the other hand very sturdy and quite steady. Thanks to her (lack of) length, she’s perfectly manageable for one person. As there seems to be an exponential relationship between length, purchase price and maintenance cost, this boat fits me and my wallet quite well!

Liquid links:

Contact details for sailing:
E-mail: sailing@pvdconsultancy.se

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HondaTransalp600
Motor cycle:
My current bike is a Honda Transalp XL600V, model year 1990. Yes, an old one, I know! But it is a nice one and, as I do not need a top-speed of 100+mph/160+kmh, I am very happy with it. Having a back-ground in motor-cross and having done some Sahara travel by bike as a youngster, it wouldn’t be the same with anything else than an off-road! And, again, low cost and easy maintenance and a quality build to start with – am I alone spotting a tendency here? Previous proud owner: my best mate Mart.

Two-wheeled links:

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Music:
Playing guitar and piano is my thing. And since 2018 even ukulele bass! A bit of singing whilst strumming my guitar works for me too but perhaps not for an audience so I’ll stick to my home for that. Whilst I can write you a cracking concert-booking app, I cannot be booked for any concerts with that app!

Musical tackle:

  • An 80-ies Fender Newporter acoustic built in mahogony
  • Vintage 1980-ies Roland RD300 digital stage piano
  • My early 1900’s acoustic piano (former pianola by F.Geissler from Seitz, Germany)
  • My other early 1900’s acoustic pianola (‘Autoliszt’ sold by Dale, Forty & Co, UK)
  • Vintage Earth Revival 100W tube guitar amplifier combined with my 80-ies knock-off Les Paul
  • Latest addition: a ukulele acoustic bass – great fun!

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Image result for old bookshelf
Reading:
Ok, collecting books and reading them has been really my thing for decades now. Since long ago, I own a fairly large collection of Dutch literature, perhaps (very likely) the biggest in Sweden – feel free to prove me wrong! The collection was initially built up over many years by my dad starting in the 50-ies and supplemented by me from the 80-ies. Due to my move abroad in the late 90-ies, the chances of it ever getting more complete than it is now are slim to none.
Lately, a lot of English and Swedish books have been added. The English and Swedish additions are mostly crime, fiction, travel and some of the modern classics. The authors vary from Dan Simmons to John Grisham and via Michael Connolly to Ernest Hemingway and Harper Lee – quite an American literary collection!
For various reasons, most of the collection is now in storage rather than on shelves, but I hope to change this soon. Meanwhile feel free to tip me on sturdy DIY book shelves.

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Spain:
Since the summer of 2017, my family owns a small apartment in the south of Spain just outside of the lovely fisherman’s village of Los Alcazares. It is a newly built 3-bed, 2-bath apartment on the second floor with sea-view, only 700 meters to the sea and 1 click to the sandy beach and the village. Obviously, it sports a full kitchen and living room and not only a north facing balcony (shade!) but also a spacious roof-terrace.
The apartment is located in a small closed-gate community that has a nice inner garden and a large pool. First time out we bought a pair of bicycles so we can explore the village and take small tours in the area. The place came with a sub-level parking area for a car  and a shed for the bikes.
Guess where we’ll be residing coming summers!

Spanish links:

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Apart from that:
Last but not least, I can offer considerable expertise in all things related to: