
Category Archives: Photos

Stormy Weather
It’s that time of year when anyone who can get out leaves town and posts up annoying photos of their feet, a pina colada and a palm tree on facebook – I usually love these photos but the last week the Bay of Biscay has been chucking it at us weather described on my local swell check site as ‘disastrous and catastrophic’. Icing on the cake, the bars are all shuttered up until easter and the beaches have been closed by the police. I […]
Categories: Photos, surf mama, Uncategorized • Tags: bay of biscay, Biarritz, guethary, storms, surf mama

A Year in the life of Surf Mama
Categories: Blog, events, Photos, surf mama • Tags: Art Car Boot Fair, Ballydavid, Biarritz, bundoran, guethary, Liverpool, surf, surf mama, surfbooks, surfing, travel writing, wilma johnson

August in Olatua
‘August is party season. The village is packed, the bars are packed, the wave is packed. Apart from the usual crowd you have to negotiate swimmers, divers harpooning octopus,rubber dinghies and jet-skis.’ Some people leave the village for August, the crowds are insane compared to the rest of the year, but sometimes it’s more fun to just go with it, fiestas in Pamplona, Bayonne and every other town village or hamlet in Pays Basque. Parties every night in the […]
Categories: Blog, Photos, surf mama • Tags: August, Biarritz, Olatua Surf Mama, Summer, surf, surf mama

Surf Mama in Clapham
Lovely evening at Clapham Books, aperitif and reading in the garden. Ray Gange star of cult Clash film Rude boy and Chris Salewicz author of Joe Strummer’s biography Redemption Song turned up, so when we’d finished swapping big wave stories we got into a bit of punk nostalgia. From Surf Mama . 1978. ‘Hello are you Joe Strummer? Do you want to buy me a drink?’ I asked. It was a pretty lame chat up line and unusually forward […]
Categories: events, Photos, surf mama • Tags: Clapham Books, surf mama, The Clash, wilma johnson

Surf Mama at Big Green Bookshop
Getting tropical at the Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green, it was a hot thundery night and we’d come up with the inspiration of serving Tequila Sunset at the reading. I was running late having just arrived back from Ireland, and rather disappointed to find that they don’t sell either tequila or grenadine in Morrison’s in Shopping City! Luckily they had some Cuervo at the corner store – I won’t be winning any mixicology awards, but we had a great […]
Categories: events, Photos, surf mama • Tags: Big Green Bookshop, Pink flamingoes, surf mama, Tequila Sunset

Into the West
Arrived in Dublin saturday night – only one thing to do when you get here – boost your B vitamins and iron in an old fashioned bar – like Fallons which has been serving pints to passing surf bums since the 17th century! Heading to Dingle and Ballydavid the long way round – via Donegal hoping to catch a few waves in Bundoran on my way….
Categories: Photos, surf mama • Tags: bundoran, donegal, dublin, Guinness, surfmama, surftrip