Making Friends With The Neighbours

Bec Woods is an incredible woman and surfer.

Cloudy Rhodes (via BWG Mag )

Yeah Carissa Moore! More images here at the US Open Gallery .

Jodie Barsby shredding in the Maldives. Photos via Jodie's blog .  Not sure of the photographer, but I think it is Swilly .  Sincere apologies for the limited info!

This video, Kelly Says, is awesome. Starring, filmed and edited by Hannah and Dannie in Newquay, it is (in their own words) a "what-u-mentary by two girl surfers who are not the best surfers by far... we're not the best filmers... and we quite often struggle to get the surf report right". Pretty much a bio for me too. In fact, watching this clip reminds me of surfing with my own girlfriends and all our own dork-iness. It's so great! You can follow them on Twitter:  @kellySaysSurf , and you can read a longer interview with them over on  Surfer Dad  (which is where I found this clip).

(via Parafina )

Since watching the debate about the apparent inability of major surf companies to represent women who surf as surfers, I've been keeping my eyes peeled for current images and clips that show how it can be done without having to sexualise the women. I mean, I've been keeping my eyes peeled more than usual. And since I've not been writing much of late, I'm going to try and reignite my energy for contributing to an ever-growing archive of awesome images and video and stories of women surfing on this blog, which was part of the original intention anyway. I mean, the way I see is that there are an ever-growing number of bikini-clad images, so the more images and clips I can point to that show women's surfing is awesome whether sexualised or not, the better. I'm going to start with, Say No More , which I saw over on Surfsister's always great blog . This film is  showing at Carlsbad Village Theatre tonight  and looks like its got some awesome surfing in it. Sa...

Thanks to Facebook (hi Dallas!), I just discovered a whole genre of surf erotica that I never knew existed. Obviously, if I'd thought about it for more than a second, I would have assumed this existed though. (Sorry for the Amazon promo. I'm to time-poor for photo editing today). This gay erotic novella is set on the California coast among college-age surfers. The story follows Joey Verona who is the second son in a highly conservative family. Joey has turned 18 and just had his first beer. He's on his way to college, mainly to get away from his super religious parents. Joey finds that life on his own is a whole lot more than he'd ever hoped. Little does he know it when he leaves home, but he also finds himself in bed with his big brother's best friend, Dusty. Thirteen tales of gay romantic erotica to make you swoon! Includes three stories never before published. Set in locations from Hawaii to Florida and New York to outer space, these stories will...

So, despite my promises, I have not yet commented here about the now-infamous promo for the 2013 Roxy Pro (shortboard) in Biarritz. (I'm not going to link to it here. If you want to watch it, you can look it up in the usual places.) A lot of other people have been talking about it though with especially thoughtful pieces by Bec Woods , Cori Schumacher , and Tetsuhiko Endo . As I've (slowly) gathered my thoughts on this clip, I actually have been talking about it in other places , and I have most certainly been talking about it with other women, especially other women who surf. One of the most telling moments was at a social event I went to where there were female surfers a-plenty. When I showed one of them the clip (a competitive female longboarder) she stared and gasped and kept turning to look at me wide-eyed and silent in disbelief. Then she turned the phone to the other women who all watched it one by one or in groups with the same responses - awkward laughter, head shake...

Gerry Wedd: Clever clogs. This would make a delightful companion to the one I already have . Hmmm... Check out more of Gerry's recent work  over on his blog .

I know I said I'll write about the Roxy clip, and I will. But in the meantime, this is hilarious. Nicely played, Phil Jarratt.

Yesterday I went to have breakfast with friends at a cafe. They were, as ever, running late. I had been sat at a communal table, where I was right next to a young couple who were alternating between chatting and playing on their phones. I didn't spend time listening-in to their conversation - I'm opposed to conscious eavesdropping - but my ears did pick up on the guy's response to a comment from his girlfriend that I didn't hear: Him: You don't even know what a grommet is! (Extended silence.) It's like, a surfie dude with long hair. I had to repress laughter at his patronising her and then, when it came time to divulge the knowledge, clearly having no real idea himself. We were sat right next to each other, and while I was sorely temped to speak up, I stayed silent and carried on reading the paper. P.S. I would like to acknowledge that I have not (yet) commented on the Roxy thing. I will. I am. I promise! I just needed some time to think through why thi...