George Mahood > Quotes

“There was something very poetic about lying on the hay, beneath the polythene roof. This was how we had spent our first night, on the hay next to the bull in Harry Mann’s barn. During the 18 days in-between we had slept in a posh hotel, a canal boat, a student house, a pub, a tent in a car park, a hitman’s sitting room, an elderly lady’s spare bedroom, a hostel, a bunk house, a farm house, our own self-contained flat, our own house, and now we were back on the hay. We had gone full circle. Out of all of the different types of accommodation, our two nights on the hay were undoubtedly our most comfortable. Next time you hear the nativity story, don’t feel sorry for Mary and Joseph; they had it very lucky indeed.”
― George Mahood, Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain

“I don’t know, but your bike is rubbish. It must need some new bits.’ ‘It probably does, but I’ve got no idea which bits would make it less rubbish if we replaced them.”
― George Mahood, Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain

“Today was also The Grass is Always Browner on the Other Side Day - a day to celebrate what you have, and not to be envious of others.”
― George Mahood, Every Day Is a Holiday

“In Britain, you could drive 400 miles from London and be fairly deep into Scotland. In America, people drive 400 miles as a diversion. ‘Do”
― George Mahood, Not Tonight, Josephine: A Road Trip Through Small-Town America

“there really is no better way to appreciate your surroundings than at walking speed.”
― George Mahood, Every Day Is a Holiday

“A microadventure (or a #microadventure, as they are referred to on social media) is a concept championed by Alastair Humphreys that promotes the idea that adventures don’t have to be well-planned, long-distance, expensive, money-sapping, time-consuming expeditions that happen on the other side of the world. They can still fit around a normal working day. The idea being that although you might work 9-5, that means that you still have the 5-9 which can be fully embraced. A #microadventure might include going for a long walk and camping out, cycling to the coast and sleeping on a beach, or climbing a hill and sleeping out beneath the stars. ‘I’m definitely up for doing”
― George Mahood, Every Day Is a Holiday

“The plan was simple. We had three weeks to get from the bottom of England to the top of Scotland – by foot or by bike – without spending a single penny. Setting off in just a pair of Union Jack boxer shorts, we hoped to rely on the generosity of the British public to help us with everything from accommodation to food, clothes to shoes, and bikes to beer.”
― George Mahood, Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain

“A #microadventure might include going for a long walk and camping out, cycling to the coast and sleeping on a beach, or climbing a hill and sleeping out beneath the stars.”
― George Mahood, Every Day Is a Holiday

“Ben looked thoroughly depressed as he pulled the already wet bin liner over his head and climbed aboard The Horse. Out of context, that last sentence would sound very strange.”
― George Mahood, Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain

“Robert Burns House is a small sandstone house just outside Dumfries city centre. It is where he wrote many of his most famous poems, such as that one about the thingy, and that other one about that place. The man who worked”
― George Mahood, Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain

“Forget the wheel, electricity, penicillin, the internet or sliced bread; the pie is UNDOUBTEDLY the world’s greatest invention. They”
― George Mahood, Every Day Is a Holiday

“It was our first ever visit to Walmart...It sucks you in like a black hole. In Walmart nobody can hear you scream. They have no order or continutiy. Walmart just puts rows and aisles wherever the f**k it likes.”
― George Mahood, Not Tonight, Josephine: A Road Trip Through Small-Town America

“I was extremely happy. But I still had that niggling feeling inside. I needed something more. Then the realisation hit me suddenly at the end of last year; I was suffering a mid-life crisis, at the age of 33. I”
― George Mahood, Every Day Is a Holiday

“A dimpled chad is a chad that is not completely punched through, and is therefore still partially attached to the original piece of paper. Stuck in limbo, the dimpled chad is forced to spend its existence separated from its birthplace, yet not given the freedom to enjoy life on its own. However,”
― George Mahood, Every Day Is a Holiday

“It was one thing to insist on eating plain pasta when I was doing the cooking but ordering plain pasta in an Italian restaurant... in Rome, is bordering on criminal.”
― George Mahood, Did Not Finish: Misadventures in Running, Cycling and Swimming

“There is no shame in a Did Not Finish, because behind every DNF is someone who started. Someone who signed up, committed, and gave it a go. And a Did Not Finish is always preferable to a Did Not Start.”
― George Mahood, Did Not Finish: Misadventures in Running, Cycling and Swimming

“we made it back to the main road and once again were able to appreciate the incredibly smooth and beautiful road surface that those bastard rainforest destroyers had built.”
― George Mahood, Travels with Rachel: In Search of South America

“Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away’.”
― George Mahood, How Not to Get Married: A no-nonsense guide to weddings... from a photographer who has seen it ALL

“said”
― George Mahood, Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain

“and I don’t think it is possible to get up for the sunrise and regret it, even if the sun is hidden. You feel like you are winning the day before it has even started.”
― George Mahood, Travels with Rachel: In Search of South America

“Rather than reaching July 1st and thinking ‘where has the first half of the year gone?’ why not turn it around, and remind yourself that you still have half of the year - that's ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FOUR DAYS - remaining. And it's all irrelevant anyway, because as one year ends, a new one begins, and the whole thing continues as before.”
― George Mahood, Life's a Beach: the laugh-out-loud sequel to Every Day Is a Holiday

“I did wake up feeling glad to be alive, but on many, many different occasions throughout the night. When I eventually did get up with the children at 6.15am, I was so tired and grumpy that death was almost preferable.”
― George Mahood, Every Day Is a Holiday

“Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador, behind Guayaquil and Quito, and is considered by most Ecuadorians to be its finest. It became a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, due to its beautiful maze of cobbled streets and its striking Spanish colonial architecture.”
― George Mahood, Travels with Rachel: In Search of South America

“And most of all, I love the look on a groom’s face when he turns to see his soon-to-be-wife walking down the aisle in her dress. It gets me every time.”
― George Mahood, How Not to Get Married: A no-nonsense guide to weddings... from a photographer who has seen it ALL

“Grand Teton literally translates as Big Tits National Park. The area was named either by French-Canadian explorers or a Native American Sioux tribe (depending on which version of events you believe) because of the peaks’ resemblance to a pair of breasts. If the National Park Service renamed it Big Tits National Park they would undoubtedly see a dramatic rise in visitor numbers, but it might perhaps leave a few tourists feeling short-changed.”
― George Mahood, Not Tonight, Josephine: A Road Trip Through Small-Town America

“A honeymoon doesn’t need to be an exotic, luxurious trip to some far-flung paradise island, though. It just needs to be a chance for the newly wedded couple to enjoy some quality time together at the start of their married life.”
― George Mahood, How Not to Get Married: A no-nonsense guide to weddings... from a photographer who has seen it ALL

“blue”
― George Mahood, Not Tonight, Josephine: A Road Trip Through Small-Town America

“The first thing that struck me about the runners at the start of the Rome Marathon was that they were predominantly men.”
― George Mahood, Did Not Finish: Misadventures in Running, Cycling and Swimming

“Kelly’s Island was fabulous. It was still early in the season and there were very few people about. We spent the day riding up and down quiet little lanes and exploring every inch of the island. We visited several beaches, I swam in a disused quarry, we played crazy golf – this time, a more traditional (crap) British style, complete with a windmill that you had to putt through – and we ate many ice-creams. We returned our bikes late afternoon, much to the delight of the tyrannical lady in charge of rentals, and boarded the ferry back to the mainland, before driving to a rest area further along Lake Erie.”
― George Mahood, Not Tonight, Josephine: A Road Trip Through Small-Town America

“Travelling in South America had opened my eyes to how passionate people can be about life. From the market stallholders, to the tour guides, to the bus drivers, to the street cashiers and jungle cake sellers, and the many other travellers we met during our journey, they were all so full of enthusiasm for everything they did. They were passionate about where they lived, passionate about their job – whatever it entailed – and passionate about their existence on this earth. I hoped some of this had rubbed off on me and would stay with me forever.”
― George Mahood, Travels with Rachel: In Search of South America