There has been a lot of activity around the drop zone of late; we’ve had the return of summer staff in the shape of Albert and also Patrik Ingel who has come back to TTS from his native Sweden. Patrik used to work for us back in the day and couldn’t resist experiencing the bright lights of Taupo once again, hence his return. Mikey Holmes has introduced a new fixture to the drop zone in the form of a coffee machine. The Nespresso was a joint venture between staff members here at the drop zone but it still remains to be seen if equal responsibility will be shared as to who cleans the manky milk thingy on the back. I must admit though, a small part of my soul is eaten away every time I look up and see skydiving legends in the form of Mikey and Andy Godfrey sipping coffee from cups the size of a thimble and mincing on about the aromatic qualities of a certain blend, etc etc. What’s happened?

Today was exciting as Tongariro (volcano) erupted. I haven’t got any pictures to hand but check on our Facebook page for images, it was totally mega!

And finally I am pleased to announce the winner of the ‘Blue Skies Poetry Competition’ that was held recently for customers who had jumped at TTS. As mentioned, the lucky winner would win $3.70 in cash and an all you can eat meal from Hamish’s vending machine.

After reading through dozens of entries, I had to make a decision. The lucky winner was decided as Brian Clackerbottom from Liverpool, UK. Here is his winning entry about his skydive here at TTS. It’s simply called, ‘Flying with Angels’.

I’m in the sky, I feel so high
Sweaty palms upon my thigh,
Strapped to Brad I feel so safe
In him I place all my faith

Out we go tossing and turning
Earth below, looming, yearning,
Brad and I flying like a spaceship
Reality comes, and I soon have to face it

That the skydive is over and I’m back to waiting tables,
But I’ll never forget the day I went flying with Angels.

Till next time readers.

Over and out.

James

Well the boys are back in town. TTS legend Andy Godfrey is back after a year out, Mikey is back from his wet weekend in Wales, plus Abba fanboys Rob and Darcy are back from their trip to Sweden. It’s good times at the dropzone as we get geared up and ready for summer.

It’s not all been rainbows and unicorns however, as last week we had to say goodbye to two much loved friends and colleagues. The fridge and the microwave. My limited vocabulary cannot do justice to the wonderful memories that these two appliances have generated for the dropzone over the years. For some, the prospect of warm beers through summer has been too much to bear and last week we saw the exit of ground crew members Dan, Callie and Emma. Editor Leo, at being unable to microwave his meatloaf, has refused to leave the editing room all week. The new black paint job in there has yet to lift his mood.

Life must go on, however. And we must be strong. For the children.

The weather’s picking up and there has never been a better time to come on over and do a jump here in Taupo. Do it, do it now!

That’s pretty much it for this week readers, however make sure you tune in next week as we will be having a special guest on to talk about their role at TTS in a new feature that I’m calling ‘Line Twists’.

Blue Skies and curly fries

James

Usually these questions are applied to deep subject matter such as the Universe or the meaning of life. At TTS however, they are often asked by customers to our international cake mixture of staff, and the answers can sometimes be just as interesting. Most jump staff have skydiving in their blood and have always felt it is their destiny to work at a drop zone. Others have taken a more abstract route. Elad for example, was travelling with the Tel Aviv Ballet School when he came to Taupo Event Centre to perform a rendition of Swan Lake. Whilst in town he came for a skydive and knew that this was how he wanted to spend his life. Later that week he hung up his ballet shoes and the rest, as they say, is history.

The week gone by has been a quiet one as the weather has been horrendous. The rain has been non-stop and the cloud has been sat on top of Taupo like one of Donald Trump’s dodgy wigs.

Resident Tandem Master/Cameraman/Welshman Ian broke his leg on the way to work on his highly powered 49cc scooter. According to Ian he hit a ‘big stone’ but eye witnesses reported that he was trying to recreate Tom Cruise arriving at the Air Base at the beginning of Top Gun. He’s dangerous! Get well soon Ian.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, cameraman Ryan Brawley announced via Facebook that he proposed to long suffering girlfriend Sophie, and to everyone’s amazement said yes! Congratulations to both of them and we wish their future is happy and full of love, laughter and Xbox.

The sound of wedding bells have got chins wagging around the drop zone about who may be next. I’ve started taking bets and here are the odds at the moment:

Dan and Callie – 5/1

Dewi and Emma – 6/1

Alex and his iPad – 6/4 ON

Exciting isn’t it readers? Who do you think will be next? Send your answer on a stamp addressed envelope to the address at the bottom of the page and once we get the next result we shall let you know. The lucky winner will get to spend an afternoon at the drop zone where Brad will take you for a ride on his sewing machine.

See you next time on Blogging Head. Peace.

James

Well winter is well and truly here; the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder and my flip flops are going into hibernation until summer.

Not that this time of year isn’t great to skydive, on the contrary readers, these dazzling winter days are fantastic – with clear lake views and majestic mountain visuals to mesmerize your mind. And don’t worry about the cold as you will soon warm up after being strapped to one of our experienced Tandem Masters who make up an international smorgasbord of staff here at TTS.

This passed week the drop zone has been a hive of activity, with many joyous customers ecstatic at having the chance to jump out of a perfectly good airplane here at Lake Taupo. It was also a productive time for staff members too, as Drop Zone Manager Elad also managed to fix a plastic thing to the roof of the editing room to hold the cables leading to the projector in, and Marley also fixed one of the toilets by bolting it back to the floor.

I hope you enjoyed this intriguing little insight into life here at TTS, make sure you tune in for next week’s installment.

James

FACT OF THE DAY – Brad Rock has over 15,000 skydives and began jumping before official records began. TTS boffins (Marley and myself) calculated that if Brad was to have been blasted into space on his first skydive and released by the transporting rocket to begin ‘freefalling’ away from Earth, the cumulative amount of time racked up in 15,000 skydives would mean he would have passed Neptune by now and would be leaving our Solar System sometime next week. Possibly Monday or Tuesday, Marley and myself couldn’t decide.

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SKYDIVE IN TAUPO – COWABUNGA!

Today I threw myself out of a plane . . . and it was the best day ever!

There’s not much more I can say about my skydive experience. It was every incredible word you can think of multiplied by 1,000.

The freefall was marvelous and it felt like I was floating. When the parachute opened and we slowed down enough to see the entire area, Taupo and its surroundings looked magnificent. Snow-capped mountains hugged a sparkling blue lake. The sky was blue and the trees and land were green. Spectacular!

I would definitely do this again in a heartbeat. No question about it.

My dive master’s name was Alan. He helped me suit up and checked all the rigging and harnesses. We were last to hop into the plane, which meant we’d be first on the flipside. Also in the plane with me were Alba and a girl named Pia. This was a momentous event for all of us, even though Alba had jumped once before.

As the plane ascended, I had to put on an oxygen mask when we hit 8,000 feet. We were on our way to 15,000 feet and the ride actually took longer than I expected. A few minutes before the door opened, Alan had me sit on his lap so he could hook me up to him. He also gave me plastic goggles to wear and told me what would happen next.

When the door opened up, it was amazing to see how high we were. But there wasn’t a lot of time to admire it as Alan moved us over to the door and we sat with our legs hanging outside of the plane. With a quick nod to our cameraman, who was literally hanging on to the door and halfway outside the plane already, Alan and I were in freefall.

Did I tell you that this was the best day ever?

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