immanence 0 #1 August 29, 2005 Hi to all! I'm an academic / journalist living in the Middle East. I started skydiving back in 1993 and deeply love the sport, though I have yet only done 134 jumps due to being continually far from a drop zone and / or broke. Graduate study didn't fit well with a passion for this sport, and neither does being in Egypt, where there is, until now, no civilian drop zone. More on that in another post soon: a small team of us here are working to set up a viable civilian skydiving centre in this beautiful land where we have blue skies 365 days of the year. I started on rounds, jumping first at Topcliffe in the UK, and learning from some wonderful skydivers: Graham Guest, Dave Coverdale, Terry Kilmaster and Trev Dobson, among others. I then jumped at many other places, including Brunton, near my parents home, with the remarkable, soulful and sadly late Graham Marley. Tim Andrews took over that drop zone and I was very pleased to find him again last year when, after several years out, I passed my FS1 (Cat X) at Empuriabrava jumping with some astonishing members of the Spanish national team who run the Skydive Uni there. In between, I jumped in France with Marc Bonneau and Jean Texier, the United States, Australia, from a balloon in Spain, and from a C-130 (on my 100th) over the desert here in Egypt. In sending this greeting, I want to acknowledge all the inspiration I have stolen from all the skydivers I have watched, talked with, and been around over the years. Each one of you has helped me in ways impossible to summarise. I really hope that soon being back in the air is the rule not the exception in my life. Blue skies to all! ian "where danger is appears also that which saves ..." Friedrich Holderlin, 'Patmos' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
purplegirl 0 #2 August 29, 2005 you need to save some serious bucks and go head on to Dubai!!! heard that DZ over there is a heck of a facility. too bad i hadn't started jumping when i was there. we should me up there one day. let me save up... next year perhaps? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
immanence 0 #3 August 29, 2005 I'm seriously looking into teaching one semester in Dubai just to be close to that DZ I also have friends there and few excuses for not going "where danger is appears also that which saves ..." Friedrich Holderlin, 'Patmos' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #4 August 29, 2005 Welcome to the forums! Of course I'm just teasing you. I hope you find the forums fun and useful and I hope you get a chance to jump again very soon!She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man, because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
immanence 0 #5 August 29, 2005 Thank you, Andrea, for this sweet welcome! "where danger is appears also that which saves ..." Friedrich Holderlin, 'Patmos' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest #6 August 30, 2005 Greetings as well from myself, a newbie. C-130, balloon jumps, waahoo! I hope all of these are in my future in this sport as well. Its lovely reading posts from people around the world. Welcome. You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
