The meeting in Oslo went very well.  I met the Camera crew, Venka and Ole, and between us we finalised a route.  There are still a couple of countries along the way that will be in contention.  Iran and Pakistan mainly worry us, and the route from Laos to India will be decided upon when we get to Thailand and speak to the local authorities about border crossings.  As a separate note the Globemaster trailer was delivered to my offices on Friday, a fact that I am very exited about.  I can’t wait to get to the office tomorrow, and even though it’s now nearly ten o’clock and I am on a bus from Stansted Airport. I may not be able to stop myself popping in as I pass through Croydon!

The fact that we have a theoretical list of countries that we will visit will allow me to step the preparations up a gear.  I can now approach the embassies here in London, and gather vital information.  The embassy meetings should also allow me to set up a network of contacts along the way, who may prove useful in times of need.

I was pleased to find that Venka and Ole are very like minded people, and obviously passionate about what they do.  Strangely enough Ole was Leonardo DiCaprio’s body double in “The Beach.”  This may sound irrelevant to some people, but that film somehow connects us all.  Rowan and Gabby met on Phi Phi, the island where the movie was made.  I also became closer to them both during my own time on the island.  During a party at Cabaret in London last year, Rowan, Gabby, Myself, and four other people met Leonardo.  A coincidence of huge proportions.  The girls were more interested at the time, so I didn’t get a chance to talk to him myself, but if I had, that probably would be what I would have told him. 

Anyway, enough of Leo!  Back to the route, and the plans for this year.  Now that we have all sat down and discussed the trip in detail, I feel like everyone is finally working towards a common goal.  We did discuss the financial side of things, and it was suggested that we have a short trip away together at some time.  This will help us all see the reality of what life on the road will be like, and will also allow us to shoot a pilot for the Television companies in Norway and here in England.  This should help to tie down one or more deals of intention.  Ole who is currently working on a documentary about David Lynch, was very confident that the TV companies would give the go ahead.  Venka, who is going to fly out to the Amazon towards the end of this year to film a documentary on the tribes living there, was also very confident, and neither of them could hide their excitement about the project.

When I left Oslo, Gabby was busy planning the itinerary for the journey, and was already thousands of miles into the route.  Rowan was busy trying to work out what would culinary wonders he could produce with the Cooking appliances that the new Globemaster trailer has fitted.