The Long Road Home

I am delighted to welcome Crosby Capital Partners to the Long Road Home project as a priority sponsor! Crosby, with dual headquarters in London and Hong Kong, was established in 1984, and is now Asia’s leading independent investment banking and asset management firm. Crosby has a substantial and diversified client base in Asia, the Middle East and Europe and is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market.

Many thanks to Rory Leader and the whole Crosby team. Looking forward to share the ‘Long Road Home’ experience with you!

I’m also very happy that Lloyd George Management HK has also made a donation.Thanks a lot! With such great support, it seems it will really be possible to build sports facilities and playgrounds for 1000s of underprivileged children in Pakistan and Cambodia.

DELIGHTED that my trip bike arrived yesterday! It has been prepared by the team at Beeline Bicycles, Oxford, which is a lovely, friendly, large independent cycle shop, where I once worked.

Inside the shipper’s box was a Specialised Tricross Sport, adapted for use on the trip. The team at Beeline had pre-fitted front and rear pannier racks, a cycle computer, and a pair of lights, and changed the wheels, tyres and bars from the original specs. Everything is black. I’ll put details on the kit list in case you’re interested. In the box was also a beautiful double pair of Ortlieb bags which I’ll carry all my stuff in, a choice of pumps, spare gear and brake wires, a great little multi-tool bristling with allen keys etc, and even a pair of blue polka dot socks. Was like Christmas!

I reassembled it all listening to Bruce Springsteen, and then went out to see how it rides. Quite strange to be in Lan Kwai Fong on a bike at 10pm. Never done that before. Rides pretty well, v stable and solid. Thanks so much to Luis and the whole Beeline team! You even set the cycle computer to Hong Kong time for me. I noticed it this morning. Beeline has done all this for nothing. Please think about using their super shop if you need a bike or accessories!! They are on +44 (0)1865 246615.

I will post a photo of MY NEW DOORSTOP in the website gallery. I am quite happy with it. It was given to me by a US national karate champion who used to train members of The Royal Hong Kong Police, Special Branch.

Why am I happy with my doorstop? Well, in two hours this weekend Robert Campbell of the Action Asia Foundation taught me a whole bunch of useful tips and techniques to make sure I help myself stay safe on the trip.

And he gave me a doorstop. It is an ingenious thing. At night it is for making it hard for people to open doors if I’m on one side of them and they’re on the other. During the day it’s for poking at people I don’t like. Pretty handy!

But it was hard to explain to Marta, a nice evening league lady, who noticed me fingering it whilst having a coffee at the tennis club later today. It was also hard to explain why I suddenly stood up pushed Ka Kee to the floor. Not a nice way to treat one’s double’s partner!

But I can see the simple stuff I learned can really work. Thanks Robert!
Robert didn’t teach me any karate, or kendo or live blade sword fencing, or any other martial art. But he could have, as he’s mastered about 18 styles. He went to Taiwan to study Chinese opera in the 1970s. Opera? I also was puzzled. Well, Rob knew that Taiwan’s opera performers were actually the top martial arts fighters in the world, taught by masters from China, who’d moved en masse to Taiwan after 1949. Under their guidance, and after stints in tough places in Japan etc, Robert went on to become US national karate champion.

Robert now works for the Action Asia Foundation as well as for his mentor and friend of many years, Gordon Oldham at the law firm of Oldham, Li & Nie.

Thanks A LOT Robert and also to Gordon Oldham at the Action Asia Foundation. I hope I don’t need some of this stuff too often, but will use your tips and have the best chance to stay safe!

Great news! Please welcome Deutsche Bank and Prudential onto the Long Road Home project.

We’ve only been actively soliciting corporate sponsors for a few days, but these first two great corporate sponsors have already stepped up:

Deutsche Bank have already agreed to donate US$10,000 and are in dialogue to confirm the final amount.

Prudential Corporation Asia have donated US$10,000.

A BIG thankyou and a WARM welcome to the donors.

We are also in dialogue with a whole bunch of other firms, and with people who want to join a section of the ride. In fact the response has been overwhelming.

As well as thanking the donors who of course play an essential role, I must also say thankyou to the many people who are helping on all sorts of things. You can see some of them on the ‘who’s helping page’. Please take a look.

With enthusiastic inputs large and small from everyone, we’re off to a really great start towards making the adventure, and the children’s sports facilities in Pakistan and Cambodia a reality.

Getting more jabs today… thanks Ben for setting up this site.