Today is #GuestDayTuesday, once again, and I’m very happy to say that Jackie Lambert is visiting us again, with a great “Five More Things” post. I know you’ll enjoy this one, so let’s get going!
Five More Things You May Not Know About Me
by Jacqueline Lambert
Thanks, Marcia!
I have published six books in my bestselling Adventure Caravanning With Dogs series of memoirs, which follows the story of how hubs and I gave up work, rented out the house, and became perpetual caravan (trailer) nomads with four dogs in tow.
My new book, Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper is the true story of how we bought a 24.5-tonne army truck sight unseen from the internet and imported it into the UK to convert into an off grid, tiny home-on-wheels fit to drive to Mongolia.
Here are five more things you might not know about me:
Equestrian
My first love was horses. As a child, I pined to have a pony of my own, and went everywhere with my horse-catching rope – just in case I happened upon a wild pony to make my own. I succeeded in capturing a pony once. I named her Flicka and led her down from a hill in Britain’s Lake District. Unfortunately, a locked gate thwarted me and my friend Flicka, although I think Mum might have thwarted me further if I’d got her home!
I had to wait 28 years before I finally got half a horse – a fifty per cent share in Colonel, a handsome ¾ thoroughbred.
In horse terminology, he was a flea-bitten grey (in normal terminology, white, with cappuccino-coloured flecks), 16.2 hands high, and previously belonged to round-the-world yachtsman Chay Blyth.
Because he was a former event horse, my justification for owning him was to improve my dressage. However, whenever I got to the stables, I always had to choose between a schooling session or a gallop over Old Winchester Hill.
An old Arabian proverb says, ‘The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse’s ears.’
The gallop through the fresh, green landscape of Britain’s South Downs National Park inevitably won.
Colonel was always happy with my choice. He got so excited, it was a challenge to make him stand still long enough for me to open and close the gates before we flew across the next field!
Pool Shark
In my youth, I was a demon at shooting pool.
My uncle bought us a half-sized pool table, and my dad taught me how to play. He’s a mathematician, so he didn’t see it as a misspent youth. Rather, it was a worthwhile practical exercise in geometry, friction and the laws of transfer of momentum.
I was also an avid snooker fan who both watched and played. Besides being a crack shot, I applied snooker tactics to pool, which outfoxed many opponents. I owned my own cue, whose needle-sharp tip enabled me to apply all kinds of spin to the cue ball.
At University, I was the only female member of the local pub’s pool team, which I joined mostly because they served free food at competitions. Sandwiches, or sometimes even a hot plate of chilli con carne, was a godsend to an impoverished student!
I gained notoriety in the Students’ Union when I eight balled the Pool Champion of North Wales.
He assumed that, being female, I would be clueless.
But since pool is not a game of strength, there’s no reason a lady can’t play just as well as a man.
He was so impressed by my swift and decisive victory he stormed out of the building in a cloud of expletives.
My husband, Mark and I had a long-running pool competition – first to 18 frames. The prize was my hand in marriage. A match for a match, if you like.
During the competition, 4 x world snooker champion, Jimmy White, opened a local fete. To up the ante, I got Jimmy’s autograph on a piece of paper with “She’ll whip you’re a**!” written along the top, then posted it to Mark.
After 18 frames, we were neck and neck.
Mark beat me on the black in the tiebreaker, so I had to marry him.
It was a good match.
We’ve just celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary!
Inept Traveller
Although I have travelled independently to 6 continents and 52 countries, I don’t know my left from my right and still have exceptional moments of ineptitude.
For example, I got terribly confused about the International Date Line when I was flying back to the UK from my ‘maternity leave’ backpacking trip around Australia and New Zealand. (I don’t have children – and didn’t even have a boyfriend when I asked my boss for maternity leave so I could travel, although remarkably, he said, ‘Yes’!)
The daftest thing I’ve ever said was to the person coming to meet me at the airport:
“Will you be collecting me on the same day as I arrive?”
Yet my idiocy is in very august company.
Captain James Cook was so confused by the International Date Line that he misnamed Australia’s Whitsunday Islands.
He thought he sailed through them on Whitsunday, but he didn’t.
He sailed through them the day before.
Or the day after…
But definitely not on the day for which he named them!
The Many Moods of Matrimony…
I have never been a groom, but I have been a bridesmaid, a bride, and a best man.
I gave speeches in every capacity, even though as best man, my friend, Gwyn, told me he didn’t want a speech.
Then, just as we finished the wedding breakfast, he said,
“I think it would be really nice to have a speech!”
I hadn’t prepared anything, so I had to make one up on the hoof.
Fortunately, as many of my friends will tell you, talking is not a problem for me…
Plus, I had plenty of material.
Gwyn and I shared many madcap adventures, including fire breathing on Japanese TV, starring in a charity pantomime called Frontal Attraction, and a month backpacking around New Zealand with my ‘maternity leave’ companion, Sue.
Adrenaline Junkie
Like Sylvia Plath, I want to be everything, live every life, and try everything.
In 1994, I won adventure group Spice London South’s first ever ‘Amazing Award’ by completing ten events that challenged me. These were:
Rafting the Zambezi, one of the biggest Grade 5 whitewater rivers in the world The world’s two highest bungee jumps (at the time)
Lion & Tiger taming
Piloting a Helicopter
Microlighting over Victoria Falls
Fire Eating
Scuba Diving
Playing Polo – a lifelong ambition
Freefall Skydive from 12,000 ft (I joined the 2.3 mile high club!)
Since then, I have sampled many more adventures, from Abseiling to Zorbing, with Jousting, Standup Comedy, and Walking With Wolves thrown in. If you want to see the full list, check out my adventure A-Z on my blog. It might give you a few ideas…!
BLURB:
Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper
Featuring ‘The Beast’, an expedition truck, as seen on TV
A Vintage Truck: An Amateur Team: An Immovable Deadline
In this captivating comic memoir, join an intrepid married couple as they take another wild leap into the world of nomadic living.
Jackie and Mark gave up work to embark on a permanent road trip with four dogs. However, one Friday the 13th, forces beyond their control cause them to throw caution to the wind and buy a 30-year-old army truck sight unseen from the internet.
Their goal: to create an expedition truck fit to drive overland to Mongolia.
Follow them as they dive headfirst into the daunting but thrilling task of converting this rugged vehicle into a perfect off-grid tiny house on wheels.
Yet their first ever DIY van conversion proves to be a rollercoaster ride, when they sell their house to fund the build, and Friday the 13th comes back to haunt them.
Is their confidence that, ‘there’s always a solution,’ misplaced?
With their relationship, sanity, and finances on the line, can they navigate the pitfalls of their first-ever build and avoid becoming homeless?
Filled with quirky van life friends and unexpected twists, this is an inspiring tale of perseverance, friendship, and finding the courage to conquer the challenges that face those who dare to chase their dreams.
* The Beast made a guest appearance on Ben Fogle’s New Lives In The Wild
Author Jackie Lambert
Jacqueline (Jackie) Lambert is an award-winning travel writer, adventure traveller, and dogmother, who loves history and curious facts.
B.C. (Before Canines) she hurtled, slid, submerged and threw herself off bits of every continent except Antarctica. Even though she was single at the time, she asked for – and was granted – ‘maternity leave’ to backpack around Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand.
A.D. (After Dog), with husband Mark, she gave up work to become an Adventure Caravanner. With The Fab Four, their four pups in tow, their stated aim is: To Boldly Go Where No Van Has Gone Before.
Jackie has published six light-hearted memoirs about her travels since quitting work: Fur Babies in France, Dog on the Rhine, Dogs ‘n’ Dracula, It Never Rains But It Paws, To Hel In A Hound Cart, and Pups on Piste.
Her forthcoming books will chronicle her Brexit-busting plan to convert a 24.5-tonne army truck and drive to Mongolia.
A keen off piste skier and windsurfer, Jackie is the wordsmith behind her own travel blog, http://www.WorldWideWalkies.com. She has contributed to several anthologies, and also writes articles and posts for publications such as Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Newsletter and Dog Friendly Magazine.
Fans of Jacqueline (Jackie) Lambert’s doggie/travel blog, www.WorldWideWalkies.com said, “You should write a book!” So she did. In fact, she’s written seven…
If you’ve ever considered giving up work to head off into the sunset with surfboards on the roof–or you just like dogs, travel and humour, her Adventure Caravanning With Dogs books are for you.
One reviewer described her first book, Fur Babies in France: From Wage Slaves to Living The Dream, as, “Laugh out funny and a great travel guide”. It tells how she and husband Mark gave up work, accidentally bought their first ever caravan (RV trailer), then decided to rent out the house, sell most of their possessions, and tour Europe full time with four dogs in tow.
Dog on the Rhine: From Rat Race to Road Trip; “An inspirational travelogue” follows this intrepid couple as they get more adventurous, and head into Germany, The Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy. But just to prove that Living the Dream is not all sunshine and rainbows, they return home to a huge Fidose of reality…
Dogs ‘n’ Dracula: A Road Trip Through Romania; “Armchair travel delight” gives the full low down on how Jackie and Mark set off for Spain and Portugal, but decided to turn left and explore Europe’s largest untouched wilderness. This book won the Chill With A Book PREMIER Readers’ Award 2022 and was a finalist in the Romania Insider Awards.
It Never Rains But It Paws: A Road Trip Through Politics & A Pandemic; “Her nimble writing rivals Bill Bryson and Paul Theroux.” This time, Jackie and Mark race against time to leave the UK before Britain leaves the EU. Brexit could mean their four precious pups would be unable to travel. What will happen when, a few months into their trip, the pandemic leaves them trapped in the epicentre of Europe’s No. 1 coronavirus hotspot?
To Hel in a Hound Cart: Journey to the Centre of Europe; described as ”Exuberent, sparkling with wit, insights, and well-researched historical facts.” When a local told Jackie and Mark to ‘Go to Hel!’ she wasn’t being rude, she was describing Poland’s No.1 beach and windsurfing destination. COVID-19 had left them trapped in Italy. Once released, border closures meant they couldn’t go home. Unsure where their wanderlust might take them, their adventures soon start stacking up. Dodging precipitous cliff-side roads, political unrest, and a global pandemic, will they make it to Hel in their hound cart (RV), or is that what will happen to their plans?
Pups on Piste: A Ski Season In Italy is a “Fun and interesting book” about the trials and tribulations of Jackie and Mark’s first Italian ski season, during which a ski instructor tells them, “Don’t miss the turn, or you’ll go over a cliff.”
In her first year as a published author, Jacqueline was delighted to receive multiple five-star reviews, a letter from Prince Charles (now King Charles III), an invitation to Bucharest to collect an award for Dogs ‘n’ Dracula, and Amazon No. 1 Bestseller status in the German Travel category for Dog on the Rhine. Some of her travel tales BC (Before Canines) have been featured in travel anthologies, alongside other bestselling and award-winning authors.
- Buy Links
- Social Media Links
- Contact Info
- Blog: WorldWideWalkies.com
- Email: jackielambert07@gmail.com
Author Darlene Foster
The Write Stuff 