First surf with the new plugs!

I'm finally back in Cornwall after 10 days away in London (trade show) then Brighton (White Air festival) - both really succesful shows, we now have some new stockists nearer London as a result which is great.

I was itching to get back in the surf and thankfully today provided the goods. My new ear plugs from Rob at www.surfplugs.co.uk arrived last week and today I tried them out in a decent 4-5 ft swell at Polzeath. As a I first paddled out the sets were thumping through and lining up perfectly. After a few pummelings I'm pleased to say the ear plugs stayed in and no water made it through - so far so good. I had 3 really fun right handers early on but then sadly Polzeath switched quickly back to what it does best - fat, rippy and a bit gutless. Still I stayed in for a couple of hours had a few more fun ones and at the end of the surf assessed the ears - pretty much dry.

So through my years of surfing trying out NHS moulded plugs, docs pro plus, blu tac, whit tac, wax plugs and sillicone plugs, I can safely say my latest pair - SURFPLUGS - are the best. Coming in a close second is blu tac, but it's nice not to have to mould the plugs to your ear every time and my latest pair get me in the surf quicker. So we have a winner, why not check them out for yourselves and keep the surgery at bay with some plugs from these guys, well worth the investment. www.surfplugs.co.uk

New plugs!

Rob from ww.surfplugs.co.uk has just popped in to fit my new earplugs. Looks like they'll be the real deal, super watertight and shouldn't let in any water. He has to make them up first, so I'll keep you updated when I get them and give them a thorough test in the water.

Apologies for the lack of block posts lately, the main purpose of this blog is to record the diary of events post surfer's ear surgery, so a daily update on my ears may be a little excessive and not the most scintillating! It all seems to have settled down now (touch wood) although Rob informs me that my operated-on ear canal is still pretty narrow.

In other news, I'm off to London at the end of the week to exhibit the Ollypop wares at the Top Drawer trade show in Olympia. Then off to Brighton for the White Air festival - a busy few weeks.

On the surf front, looks interesting this week with some potential off-shore days and big swell due in mid-week - so until the new plugs arrive I'll be sneaking off for a quick surf with my trusty Blu-tak by my side!

2nd time back in, so far so good...

Its been a while since my last post and I’m pleased to say that touch wood my ear has been OK since hitting the surf. I had my second surf last night since the op and so far so good. The waves were OK, not great – a choppy 3-4 ft – but it was so good to get in.

I paddled out nursing a hangover from the night before (a mates' stag do in Newquay) and after the first couple of duck dives the hangover was gone! Amazing how the ocean manages to cleanse you back to normal. Added to that a couple of hours after the surf I was charged back up with all the positive ions the sea seems to provide and a day later I’m still feeling pretty good – as surfers we really are a fortunate bunch.

In Ollypop land, we had a busy weekend at the Brighton Paddle Round the Pier and its now back to the sales getting new stockists and re-stocking existing ones. The feedback is good, re-orders are coming in and generally the retailers are happy - amazing what a bit of sun does and its in stark contrast to this time last year. Sadly the weather isn't quite playing ball at the moment but hopefully its just a minor blip before the summer heat wave returns!

Plenty of waves this week, lots of wind too which isn't so great, but I may just have to sneak off to a sheltered spot for a quick session or two.

Back in the water!

First time back in the water in just a over 5 weeks which was fun. Pretty mellow surf, and with the sun out it was a very pleasant return.

I plugged up with white tack which seemed to do the job, but I have to admit some water did get in which is concerning me slightly today as my ear has begun to feel a little bit uncomfortable. Its doing the itchy, occasional sharp pain thing which is usually the prelude to an ear infection...lets hope I'm wrong.

Surf looks fun again today and I'm tempted to hop in tonight but maybe that's pushing it, will make the call a bit later.

In my other world, I've been busy preparing for the Brighton Paddle Round the Pier Festival this weekend. We'll have the Ollypop stand there with all the clothes and towels. Not sure there'll be too much call for the hoodies with this heat though but the forecast is in a favour with it cooling down at the weekend.

Got the all clear, time to hit the surf!

Except there's no surf ...yet (Monday?)!

Got the all clear from my ENT specialist Ms Grobellar (nice lady) who had a look in my lug hole, grumbled a bit about it not healing as well as it should have done but the main thing is she semi-reluctantly agreed to me going back in the water.

I'm under strict instructions to plug up as much as possible, not let a drop of water in and since I don't have moulded ear plugs yet I'll be opting for my trusty old friend Blu-Tack. Tried and tested time and time again, compared with all other temporary ear plugs, Blu-Tack just wins it every time! Some whizz kid working within the ranks of the famous poster adhesive ought to repackage it with an offering for all water sport enthusiasts - Ear-Tack?!

Blue-Tack, Blu-Tack, we love you, Blu-Tack.

Back in the water this week?

Well the ear seems pretty much back to normal and I'm due to see the ENT specialist on Wednesday who will hopefully give me the all clear to get back in the water again.

So I could be surfing again this week...but no, improbable. It seems huey isn't going to celebrate my return to the water with a nice swell. The Atlantic is full of highs and there doesn't seem much hope for any swell producing lows for a while. On the plus side, at least it will be sunny!

Stag do mayhem

"Olly has to go to the urinals and pee like a 2 year old, trousers round his ankles, no hands."

This was just one of the many tasks I had to carry out as stag over the weekend. We went to Wales, for a water sports weekend with Gower Kite Riders a great outfit run by my good mate Matt Smith. The water sports side of things was a bit limited for me me given that I wasn't allowed in the water with my ear still healing, but I did get a go on the Zap cat and even managed a paddle on the stand up paddle board without falling in.

But the main events were the Friday and Saturday nights out in Swansea, where I, as the stag was well and truly stitched up! Each of my 'mates' took it upon themselves to write down 2 forfeits each for me to pull from a bag every half hour or so. These ranged from asking a burly Welsh lad from the valleys if he liked 'sheep' or 'women' (resulted in a head lock for me) to dangling my extremities in a pint for 2 minutes (the pint incidentally was nabbed by one Welsh lass who delighted in her free pint leaving all in shocked silence!). Aside from my delightful forfeits I also ended up in a wheelie bin, had my boxer shorts wedgied over my head and hung on a banister, and found myself hurled into a bush that happened to be full of bricks!

Fortunately I survived and although somewhat bruised, managed to keep my dodgy ear dry which incidentally is now almost totally pain free and full hearing recovered. Two weeks to go until I can hit the surf again...