I have always been a guide as far back as I remember, As a child I grew up on a farm, I was always curious as to what was in the next field, Over the next fence, Even what was further down the road. and when I discovered something I had never seen before I was excited to share my findings and tell my family and friends, We moved to Australia in 1980 from Ireland and by eyes were so wide with new sights, new things, new ways. From the school I went to, To the local park, I was discovering new things and again excited to share my findings and adventures with my family and friends. One of my fondest memories was a find of the century, While spending time in Mount Cravatt drive park, I went exploring, I found a tree so large its was as wide as a house, Then the best bit, I saw a massive chicken, It was a person in a costume but I was young, It was a massive chicken, I ran to my parents to tell them, in disbelief they came with me, and low and behold there it was. It went my the name Red Rooster, and turned out it was a promotional chicken that was handing out coupons for free chicken at a local take away called Red Roosters, Of course I made out my family was larger than it was haha. We headed off to the take away and cashed in the coupons, The food was so good, What a find.
Later in life we moved to England UK, and again the adventure started, A new place, new sights and a new way of life. I live in a town called Weston super mare, Its a great town with something always going on. We have a world known motorbike Beach race once a year, Surrounded with stunning views and between a city called Bristol and a large town called Taunton, Both of which are a lot of fun, Bristol has an international airport and a load of History, Taunton also has a load of history and a really good vibe, Its really a mix of city life and country life. Both places a whole lot of fun exploring.
I came across the Google Guide program about two years ago, This for me was an amazing online way to share my discoveries and adventures.
To mention just a few, The coffee house here in Weston super mare, Its the best tasting coffee ever, and the staff are amazing, Kuba is a coffee artist, Agata and Natalie serve and are amazing. I really enjoyed doing their review as I want to tell the world how amazing this coffee shop is. We had another coffee shop start here at the other side of the town, Costas, I heard about it and one day finished work early and headed there. It was in the summer so I parked near a local park called Clarence park, its road side but free. Then got my Longboard out of the car and skating to Costas. This coffee shop is in a brand new building on the former Dolphin square site, It looks very stylish. I was lucky it was pretty quiet, I approached the counter and asked for the manager, The server called her over and I introduced myself, and told her how great the shop looked. I then asked if I could have a bit of information of opening times and menu options and explained I am a Google Guide. She was very happy to answer all my questions, and also let me get some great photos. She explained they were new and business had started slow, she went on to say she was very grateful I would update google maps for her. One week later the photos had received over 3 thousand views, the following week I went back to say hi and tell her about the photos, It was a similar time and same day as I first called in, This time it was quite busy, I saw her and told her about the photo views on Google maps and she bought me a coffee. This was brilliant to see the difference Google services works in the real world.
We have a new costal pathway here, It begins near a boat yard in a part of Weston super mare called Uphill, I remember when it was in the local news after opening, I thought I must go see this. I had a look online to get some information but there was limited info, So off I went, Yes it starts very close to the old boat yard, I found a dog friendly café with toilet facilities, in and out door seating and a door way suitable for wheel chair access, I was then greeted with a wooden gate, The turnstile wasn’t large enough to get my bike into so I lifted it over the gate, Only to then watch another cyclist lift a latch and open it, I made a comment and we laughed,. The pair of us then cycled along the new costal pathway together. It has a steep hill luckily only one, a nice down hill section following that and then its flat, Twisting and winding through the flat lands, Past the Sewage plant, Over the river Axe on a new wooden bridge and out to a small town called Brean, (which is a 30 minute drive from Weston super mare). It only took 30 minutes to cycle it,
I took some photos and headed back to the boat yard, I called into the café to get a coffee and have a sit down, While there I launched Google maps and posted a review and uploaded the photos. Again there was a funny moment, As I was just leaving I was walking by bike past the boat yard, I was approached by an elderly couple and the lady asked if there was a toilet near by. I explained there was one in the café, Only minutes before I had just uploaded this very information. As I said when I started I think I’ve always been a Google Guide, I’ve been on both ends of it, I enjoy sharing information about local places to help people, Just like I used Google services to help me when I went to LA in March 2018,
Steve