Tuesday 9 November 2010

I Liiiiiiiiiiiive!

Hey everyone! I'm alive!
Just thought I'd let you know that ....

I probably should have posted this yesterday, but due to a combination of lack of food/ sleep deprivation/ pain I was a little too dishevelled to do so. Still, nothing a shower and a good sleep won't sort out eh?

Anyway, regarding my trip, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. For a start, we got tents (yes! real tents, not just smelly ponchos!) and we didn't have to hunt out our dinner either. Although, I might have preferred squirrel sandwiches to that dire plastic cheese....
Dartmoor was, well, Dartmoor, so we got very wet. It was freezing too, I'll tell you that. You don't believe me? Well, I was wearing six layers, a waterproof, two pairs of gloves and a massive beanie hat and I was STILL cold.

I won't bore you with everything I did (mostly just navigation practice, trekking, getting lost and a bit more trekking) but I will tell you about our little rock-climbing escapade. The climbing wall we had was alright - most of us got to the top okay. It was the abseil that scared the piddle out of me.

Twenty foot drop. Sheer cliffs. Wet ground. Self-Belaying system.
Was I scared? Hell yeah!

However, being the brave soul that I am, I volunteered to show the boys how brave I was by volunteering myself. Everything was fine as I was strapped in (namely because I had my eyes screwed shut to keep from lookin down) and came to the edge of the ledge. "Just take it slowly" said the officer in charge. I nodded and put my foot off the edge, looking for some purchase...
And dropped almost half a metre off the edge off the cliff.

Don't worry, don't worry, I was fine. In fact, after that little episode, I rather enjoyed the experience. However, the hilarity of the situation truly became apparent when I watched the video the officer had taken of my descent. He calls it "Robson's Magic Act."
Why, you ask?
Because one moment you see me (looking very pudgy in all my layers, standing on the edge, rope held very professionally, leaning back, feeling for handholds) and then .... you don't!
You hear me though. I swear I didn't know I could squeak at such a high pitch .... hee hee!

So yeah, I had a pretty good time, wet tents and gale-force winds aside. Now all I have to do is chew my nails over the results of the scholarship papers I took today, and about the ones I have in the morning too!

Isn't my life exciting? ;)

-Spook

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