Well, I’m GazChap. That isn’t my real name (D’uh – Ed) but an alias that came about in 1998. It’s stuck with me ever since, and it is still relatively unique on this big old Internet. I chose it simply because my real name can be shortened to “Gaz” (and in fact, I prefer it when it is) and I am a chap.
My real name is just as boring as the alias: Gareth Griffiths. Pretty normal really, as names go. There’s no “Gustav Alabaster III” here.
I’m rapidly approaching the wrong side of 40 years old, with a birthday in early September. This makes me a Virgo, if you’re into that sort of thing. Fortunately, I’m not.
Born and bred in Shrewsbury (the county town of Shropshire) I now live in nearby Broseley with my lovely wife.
What makes me tick?
Outside of my job (software engineering) I enjoy taekwon-do (ITF style, I am currently a 1st Gup Black Stripe, hoping to grade up to my 1st Dan Black belt later in 2023)
I’ve also started to get into running, after many false starts over the years. I completed a local Couch to 5K programme earlier in 2023, and have been smashing out park runs since then. My fastest parkrun time is 29:36, which is a lot faster than I thought I could ever be. I’ve entered my first 10K race for December 2023, so I should get off my bum and start training for that.
In June, I also looked to fulfil a life-long ambition (well, since I was a teenager I guess) by starting to take flying lessons. I’m only one lesson in so far, mainly due to various trips abroad taking up time, but I’ve already got the bug. I’m being instructed by the fabulous peeps over at Shropshire Aero Club, at Sleap Airfield.
Recovering petrolhead
When I’m not doing any of the above, I can usually be found doing something related to cars. I’m very much a petrolhead, although it wasn’t until fairly recently (2008-ish) that I started thinking of cars as more than metal boxes to get you from A to B. I change cars almost as often as I change my underpants, and plenty of information about them can be found on this blog.
Somewhat ironically, however, in September 2015 I started driving a Nissan LEAF battery electric vehicle as my daily driver – dirt cheap running costs were the primary attraction, and although it was largely a pleasant experience the lack of range caused a couple of issues, so it went back to the dealer in September 2017 and since then I’ve gone back to my old ways of seemingly changing cars every year.
I have, however, gone back to electric — at least partially. I currently drive a 2020 Nissan Leaf e+, and a 2007 Porsche Boxster S.
A different kind of shooting
I also like to dabble in photography, and although I’m still very distinctly amateur, people do tell me I have a good eye for a photo. I own a Nikon D7000 and a Fuji X100F, but to be honest I rarely use them, instead opting for the camera on my iPhone which is pretty good and comes in handy for “snap shooting” – as they say, the best camera is the one that you have with you, and my phone goes with me everywhere.
I’ve got a question for you…
Well, shoot. Contact me and ask away. I’ll answer anything. Seriously, anything. I’m one of these weird people that has no secrets at all (Oh yeah? What about that time you… *urk* – Ed)
I’ll even post any interesting questions (and their answers) on this blog.