ATI + 61 and Christmas Gifts

What joy! Wonderful! Brilliant! Fantastic! It's gone! That damn cast... gone forever; hopefully!

Things to do when a cast is removed:

1) Have a good scratch

2) Have a 30 minute shower

3) Compare limbs and wonder where the leg muscles went

4) Go for a walk to see if it hurts

 

Things not to do when a cast is removed:

1) Scratch too hard

2) Get in the shower before figuring out a way of getting out of it again

3) Worry about how to get the muscles back

4) Walk too far - 'cos it will inevitably hurt

 

Unbelievably, no supporting bandages and no physio required. In actual fact, I quite happy to complete the rest of the recovery process myself.

Today part of this recovery process involved a 40 minute walk in my new North Face Cedar Ridge hiking boots; a surprise Christmas gift from Mrs P.  ("You won't slip down ditches with those on," said Mrs P on Christmas day. "The man in the shop said so. He also said they are the best ankle supporting boots on the market.") I also got 2 pairs of Brasher 4000 hiking socks and a set of thermals.

The boots certainly did support the ankle extremely well, although I didn't try the ditch for obvious reasons. Although walking stiffly, I felt little or no discomfort. I was also ably assisted by Ashley's (naturalbushcraft) fantastic gift of a Polecat walking pole kindly donated by him during my darkest hours.

So, I hereby declare I'm fit enough for the first meet of the year; a 3 day meet this weekend down at Mark's wood. Temperature is expected to be -2C. A good chance to test out my new Alpkit 800 down bag and those Christmas thermals.

Happy New Year to everyone for Thursday.

Pablo.

ATI + 61 and Christmas Gifts

What joy! Wonderful! Brilliant! Fantastic! It's gone! That damn cast... gone forever; hopefully!

Things to do when a cast is removed:

1) Have a good scratch

2) Have a 30 minute shower

3) Compare limbs and wonder where the leg muscles went

4) Go for a walk to see if it hurts

 

Things not to do when a cast is removed:

1) Scratch too hard

2) Get in the shower before figuring out a way of getting out of it again

3) Worry about how to get the muscles back

4) Walk too far - 'cos it will inevitably hurt

 

Unbelievably, no supporting bandages and no physio required. In actual fact, I quite happy to complete the rest of the recovery process myself.

Today part of this recovery process involved a 40 minute walk in my new North Face Cedar Ridge hiking boots; a surprise Christmas gift from Mrs P.  ("You won't slip down ditches with those on," said Mrs P on Christmas day. "The man in the shop said so. He also said they are the best ankle supporting boots on the market.") I also got 2 pairs of Brasher 4000 hiking socks and a set of thermals.

The boots certainly did support the ankle extremely well, although I didn't try the ditch for obvious reasons. Although walking stiffly, I felt little or no discomfort. I was also ably assisted by Ashley's (naturalbushcraft) fantastic gift of a Polecat walking pole kindly donated by him during my darkest hours.

So, I hereby declare I'm fit enough for the first meet of the year; a 3 day meet this weekend down at Mark's wood. Temperature is expected to be -2C. A good chance to test out my new Alpkit 800 down bag and those Christmas thermals.

Happy New Year to everyone for Thursday.

Pablo.

Calendar 2009

What's in store for 2009? I've just been handed some diary dates by my secretary (ahem) so let's have a look.

We all love a bit of kit (come on, don't deny it) and I've got quite a bit to look at next year including some stuff from Alpkit, a new day sack and a new 70 litre bag (not the one pictured). I'll also be looking at that EKA W11 knife and another little gem I picked up recently. I'm looking at some titanium cooksets as well. I might do these as video reviews. The video reviews seem to be going down well.

I'm going to try and get even closer to wildlife next year. It wasn't bad this year but I felt that I could do better and get even closer. This will mean an even lower profile solo camping technique and lots of patience. I really want to get some good footage and photos.

I've got a really busy tracking year ahead. I'll continue mentoring for Shadowhawk and I'll be doing my advanced tracking course in the summer. Although it seems a long way off, the highlight of next year (and a trip of a lifetime) will be tracking with Max Maxwell in Africa during November. I've got a lot to learn before then.

As usual I'll be trying out new skills. I didn't feel I got too far this year and so next year I'm concentrating on developing the primitive skills side of bushcraft. To start me off I'm flint knapping with John Lord in April and who knows where that will lead.

I hardly did any archery I intend to rectify that during 2009. I also want to get my paws on Rob's Ruger rifle again as well.

I'll probably bore you with another couple of longer article posts. I enjoy looking at a subject that takes my fancy and delving deeply into the what's and wherefore's.

I'll be revealing a little off-shoot project as well. If you look hard enough, you may see the start of it already.

It's too easy to over-extend yourself and there's only disappointment when you don't achieve something, so I'll keep it simple. I'll also have to bear in mind that it will take me a while to get up to full fitness on my ankle.

Of course there's the meets. Every second month I'll be going down to East Sussex with The Tribe and hopefully Mark's meets in Reading will still be going. They're great fun and you learn so much and err... drink a bit too!

So that will be 2009.

It only remains for me to say have a great holiday and Season's Greetings to you and your families.  Have a very happy and safe New Year and I hope you continue to follow me on my adventures in the new year.

All the best for now,

Pablo.

Calendar 2009

What's in store for 2009? I've just been handed some diary dates by my secretary (ahem) so let's have a look.

We all love a bit of kit (come on, don't deny it) and I've got quite a bit to look at next year including some stuff from Alpkit, a new day sack and a new 70 litre bag (not the one pictured). I'll also be looking at that EKA W11 knife and another little gem I picked up recently. I'm looking at some titanium cooksets as well. I might do these as video reviews. The video reviews seem to be going down well.

I'm going to try and get even closer to wildlife next year. It wasn't bad this year but I felt that I could do better and get even closer. This will mean an even lower profile solo camping technique and lots of patience. I really want to get some good footage and photos.

I've got a really busy tracking year ahead. I'll continue mentoring for Shadowhawk and I'll be doing my advanced tracking course in the summer. Although it seems a long way off, the highlight of next year (and a trip of a lifetime) will be tracking with Max Maxwell in Africa during November. I've got a lot to learn before then.

As usual I'll be trying out new skills. I didn't feel I got too far this year and so next year I'm concentrating on developing the primitive skills side of bushcraft. To start me off I'm flint knapping with John Lord in April and who knows where that will lead.

I hardly did any archery I intend to rectify that during 2009. I also want to get my paws on Rob's Ruger rifle again as well.

I'll probably bore you with another couple of longer article posts. I enjoy looking at a subject that takes my fancy and delving deeply into the what's and wherefore's.

I'll be revealing a little off-shoot project as well. If you look hard enough, you may see the start of it already.

It's too easy to over-extend yourself and there's only disappointment when you don't achieve something, so I'll keep it simple. I'll also have to bear in mind that it will take me a while to get up to full fitness on my ankle.

Of course there's the meets. Every second month I'll be going down to East Sussex with The Tribe and hopefully Mark's meets in Reading will still be going. They're great fun and you learn so much and err... drink a bit too!

So that will be 2009.

It only remains for me to say have a great holiday and Season's Greetings to you and your families.  Have a very happy and safe New Year and I hope you continue to follow me on my adventures in the new year.

All the best for now,

Pablo.

ATI + 52 and a Walk in the Woods

This is the conversation that took place between Pablo and his team of eminent physicians at the hospital last Monday.

Dr - So, it's been 4 weeks now in a cast.

Pablo - It's been 6 weeks.

Dr - Oh, right. Let me see (consults notes). Ah, yes - 6 weeks. So we're going to put on another cast after repositioning the foot.

Pablo - No, we're taking the cast off and putting on a heal raise.

Dr - Well, it's a bit soon.

Pablo - I was told 2 weeks ago by the plaster technician to bring my other shoe and a heal raise.

Dr - It seems there's been a mix up on the dates.

Pablo - Really?

Dr - Yes.

Pablo - Perhaps that accounts for me attending here in week two and being told I need not have come.

Dr - Well, it does appear that there's been a mix up on the dates.

Pablo - I would suggest you never work in the Cardiology department.

No response.

[Pablo then hobbles to see the plaster technician]

PT - OK, we're leaving this cast on for another two weeks.

Pablo - No, we're taking this cast off and repositioning the foot to the normal position and putting on a new cast.

PT - Oh... right. I'd better check with the doctor.

Pablo - Yes. You'd better check with the doctor.

[Plaster technician returns after 5 minutes]

PT - Right. We're taking this cast off and repositioning the foot to the normal position and putting on a new cast.

Pablo - Excellent. I thought you might. By the way, what shall I do with the heal raise you told me to bring last time.

PT - Well, it does seem you've had a bit of bad luck with the dates.

Pablo - Yes. Bad luck really does follow me around in this hospital. I'm not too sure why.

PT - There we go. All done. See you in two weeks with the heal raise.

Pablo - Are you sure?

Despite yet another set back and a couple of day's pain after repositioning the foot, I took advantage of today's fine weather and walked further than I have in the last 7 weeks - but of course, keeping to the solid paths of the Forestry Commission's Broaks Wood.

Bill (who's staying with us for a while) and Mrs P. had great fun galloping ahead then doubling back while I advanced slowly to catch them up. I really must get Billy a camo jacket.

My new "tracking shoe" helped me keep my foot level to the ground and stopped the cast getting wet and muddy. Hiking socks kept the cold air off my delicate toes.

It felt great walking some distance even if I did have to rely heavily on my walking stick - the crutches were thankfully discarded on this occasion. There appeared to be no painful after effects from the exercise.

On this day of the winter solstice I took in the quiet, sleeping woods and looked forward to the time when they would awake. With any luck, I'd be there when they did.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

ATI + 52 and a Walk in the Woods

This is the conversation that took place between Pablo and his team of eminent physicians at the hospital last Monday.

Dr - So, it's been 4 weeks now in a cast.

Pablo - It's been 6 weeks.

Dr - Oh, right. Let me see (consults notes). Ah, yes - 6 weeks. So we're going to put on another cast after repositioning the foot.

Pablo - No, we're taking the cast off and putting on a heal raise.

Dr - Well, it's a bit soon.

Pablo - I was told 2 weeks ago by the plaster technician to bring my other shoe and a heal raise.

Dr - It seems there's been a mix up on the dates.

Pablo - Really?

Dr - Yes.

Pablo - Perhaps that accounts for me attending here in week two and being told I need not have come.

Dr - Well, it does appear that there's been a mix up on the dates.

Pablo - I would suggest you never work in the Cardiology department.

No response.

[Pablo then hobbles to see the plaster technician]

PT - OK, we're leaving this cast on for another two weeks.

Pablo - No, we're taking this cast off and repositioning the foot to the normal position and putting on a new cast.

PT - Oh... right. I'd better check with the doctor.

Pablo - Yes. You'd better check with the doctor.

[Plaster technician returns after 5 minutes]

PT - Right. We're taking this cast off and repositioning the foot to the normal position and putting on a new cast.

Pablo - Excellent. I thought you might. By the way, what shall I do with the heal raise you told me to bring last time.

PT - Well, it does seem you've had a bit of bad luck with the dates.

Pablo - Yes. Bad luck really does follow me around in this hospital. I'm not too sure why.

PT - There we go. All done. See you in two weeks with the heal raise.

Pablo - Are you sure?

Despite yet another set back and a couple of day's pain after repositioning the foot, I took advantage of today's fine weather and walked further than I have in the last 7 weeks - but of course, keeping to the solid paths of the Forestry Commission's Broaks Wood.

Bill (who's staying with us for a while) and Mrs P. had great fun galloping ahead then doubling back while I advanced slowly to catch them up. I really must get Billy a camo jacket.

My new "tracking shoe" helped me keep my foot level to the ground and stopped the cast getting wet and muddy. Hiking socks kept the cold air off my delicate toes.

It felt great walking some distance even if I did have to rely heavily on my walking stick - the crutches were thankfully discarded on this occasion. There appeared to be no painful after effects from the exercise.

On this day of the winter solstice I took in the quiet, sleeping woods and looked forward to the time when they would awake. With any luck, I'd be there when they did.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

Name and Shame

American Bushman, Mungo, SBW, Decado, Chris (Hike Wales) and a few others...

...you still haven't joined the Woodlife Network!!

The Network is a place to meet up and discuss our favourite past-time in a friendly, mature environment.

We have... (deep breath)...

274 members from around the globe

68 members' videos

1,125 members' photos

34 blog posts

9 specialist or regional groups

7 forum discussion categories

A chat room

A resources page

Competitions

A Trading post (members discounts from traders)

Our members include 6 (at last count) bushcraft instructors and enough experience in various outdoor categories to answer most questions.

Best still, it's a place to meet up, make new friends, share ideas, inspire each other and have a bit of a laugh. There's always something going on.

Pop over and have a 'shufti'. It would be great to see you.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

Name and Shame

American Bushman, Mungo, SBW, Decado, Chris (Hike Wales) and a few others...

...you still haven't joined the Woodlife Network!!

The Network is a place to meet up and discuss our favourite past-time in a friendly, mature environment.

We have... (deep breath)...

274 members from around the globe

68 members' videos

1,125 members' photos

34 blog posts

9 specialist or regional groups

7 forum discussion categories

A chat room

A resources page

Competitions

A Trading post (members discounts from traders)

Our members include 6 (at last count) bushcraft instructors and enough experience in various outdoor categories to answer most questions.

Best still, it's a place to meet up, make new friends, share ideas, inspire each other and have a bit of a laugh. There's always something going on.

Pop over and have a 'shufti'. It would be great to see you.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

I've Escaped!

I wrapped the plaster in a polythene bag, put on some waterproof trousers, and pulled a boot onto my good foot. I packed a flask of tea and few bits in my day sack and wrapped up against the cold.

I bribed Mrs P to take me to the edge of the most accessible woods and, after a few minutes under her watchful eye to see if I could negotiate the initial muddy ruts, I was into the woods. I'd escaped!

I hobbled in about 100 yards and sat down on a log. The first thing that struck me was that all the leaves had gone. I had trouble comprehending that it was at the end of October when I was last here. The sun was shining through the bare branches and I soaked up it up as though I'd never seen it before.

I knew I'd get cold if I didn't move around, so I set about erecting the tipi I'd recently bought from Dawn. I've always wanted one even though I prefer tarps, but I couldn't help being impressed by this ultra-light Titanium Goat (the makers) Vertex tipi. It took a while, but I managed to set it up although obviously it wasn't as elegant or as taut as it could have been. I'll certainly make use of it and I'll talk about it more at a later date.

It was too nice to sit in it and so I went back to the log and had a cup of tea and watched the wood. There didn't seem to be a lot of activity although I did notice a pheasant, the odd squirrel and the usual noisy rooks. Although the sun was bright, there was a a cold north-westerly wind. I was glad I had my swaani underneath my old wax jacket and the shemagh wrapped around my neck.

I was conscious that my allotted two hours would soon be up, so I packed away the tipi and proceeded to go on a hobble-about. The good thing about travelling this slowly is that you don't miss much and perhaps a lesson even for me who walks slowly anyway. The slower you go, the more you see. I picked up some old mutjac tracks and some smaller rodents, probably rat and squirrel tracks. I had to concentrate hard to make sure I didn't slip but even so, after 20 minutes, I was surprised to see that I had actually come so far.

I spent the last quarter of an hour sitting down with my back to a tree as the light started to fade in the hope I would see some muntjac; but nothing emerged. I was duly collected and returned to base feeling elated. It was so great to be out in the woods again, albeit for a short time, and I'd actually achieved something by setting up the tipi. One small step... and all that.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

I've Escaped!

I wrapped the plaster in a polythene bag, put on some waterproof trousers, and pulled a boot onto my good foot. I packed a flask of tea and few bits in my day sack and wrapped up against the cold.

I bribed Mrs P to take me to the edge of the most accessible woods and, after a few minutes under her watchful eye to see if I could negotiate the initial muddy ruts, I was into the woods. I'd escaped!

I hobbled in about 100 yards and sat down on a log. The first thing that struck me was that all the leaves had gone. I had trouble comprehending that it was at the end of October when I was last here. The sun was shining through the bare branches and I soaked up it up as though I'd never seen it before.

I knew I'd get cold if I didn't move around, so I set about erecting the tipi I'd recently bought from Dawn. I've always wanted one even though I prefer tarps, but I couldn't help being impressed by this ultra-light Titanium Goat (the makers) Vertex tipi. It took a while, but I managed to set it up although obviously it wasn't as elegant or as taut as it could have been. I'll certainly make use of it and I'll talk about it more at a later date.

It was too nice to sit in it and so I went back to the log and had a cup of tea and watched the wood. There didn't seem to be a lot of activity although I did notice a pheasant, the odd squirrel and the usual noisy rooks. Although the sun was bright, there was a a cold north-westerly wind. I was glad I had my swaani underneath my old wax jacket and the shemagh wrapped around my neck.

I was conscious that my allotted two hours would soon be up, so I packed away the tipi and proceeded to go on a hobble-about. The good thing about travelling this slowly is that you don't miss much and perhaps a lesson even for me who walks slowly anyway. The slower you go, the more you see. I picked up some old mutjac tracks and some smaller rodents, probably rat and squirrel tracks. I had to concentrate hard to make sure I didn't slip but even so, after 20 minutes, I was surprised to see that I had actually come so far.

I spent the last quarter of an hour sitting down with my back to a tree as the light started to fade in the hope I would see some muntjac; but nothing emerged. I was duly collected and returned to base feeling elated. It was so great to be out in the woods again, albeit for a short time, and I'd actually achieved something by setting up the tipi. One small step... and all that.

Thanks for the visit.

Pablo.

Who do you think you are?

Who are we, or more pertinently, who do we think we are? The major invasions of Britain came from the Romans, Vikings, Anglo Saxons and Normans, so you can really take your pick from that little lot. But who were the original Britons and more to the point, were they Britons at all?

It has been suggested there was no such thing until the 17th century, when James I of England and VI of Scotland sought to establish a pan-British monarchy. Until then Britain was just a geographical entity and the people of Britain were just a constantly shifting base of multi-cultural groups that had migrated to the Isles over a period of several thousand years with little single identity.

There is evidence of migration into Britain as long as 700,000 years ago although it's thought that the changing climate of retreating and advancing ice and intermittent  land access from the continent assisted in the many failed colonisation attempts. The last attempts 12,000 years ago were more successful.

Around 6000 BCE the British Isles was finally and permanently separated from the continent. Until about 4000 BCE it was covered by woodland and the inhabitants were hunter gatherers who lived in small family groups. At around this time the hunter-gatherers started to clear the woodland which was helped by a huge outbreak of Dutch elm disease and methods of using fire to hunt. It was thought that communities had to emerge and enlarge to assist in the vast undertaking of creating clearings. Agricultural practices had started, which originated from what we now know as the middle-eastern countries. It took thousands of years to reach Britain and thousands more to become fully established.

Although these early people left no account of themselves, it is suggested that they were mainly caucasoid as were the tribal groups of Europe. Perhaps regional environments or tasks changed their features over generations, and it is certainly true that there was much regional diversity in terms of appearance, biology and customs by the time the Roman first invaded as reported by the Romans themselves.

Between 300o BCE and 1500 BCE the communities continued to swell and monuments, burial sites and pottery were developed at least leaving a visible legacy. Farming and domestication of animals were the main source of food and it's suspected that many settlements or tribes immerged, merged, split or simply phased out. Conflicts and contact was made with more distant groups.

By 700 BCE it was suspected that there were a number of large tribal areas made up of increasingly bigger settlements. The land had been divided up with banks, and track ways which were used to move animals. The first eye-witness accounts of these tribes came from Julius Caesar himself who invaded in 54 BCE. Although he may have lumped many of them together for convenience, there is no doubt that there were identifiable tribal communities because of similarities in customs, traits, language and appearance. It is the Latin names given to these tribes that are familiar today: for example Trinovantes, Iceni, Silures, Cornovii, Selgovae. It appears (surprisingly) that the one thing they were not... is Celtic.

"...[Celts] was an invention of the 18th century; the name was not used earlier. The idea came from the discovery around 1700 that the non-English island tongues relate to that of the ancient continental Gauls, who really were called Celts. This ancient continental ethnic label was applied to the wider family of languages. But 'Celtic' was soon extended to describe insular monuments, art, culture and peoples, ancient and modern: island 'Celtic' identity was born, like Britishness, in the 18th century."

So says Dr Simon James in Peoples of Britian. He goes on to say that the preceding bronze age did not arise out of waves of continental 'Celtic' invasions however there would be similarities in respect of culture, language  (called Brythonic language - the nearest is apparently like today's Cornish) and connections; but to call the culture 'Celtic' as a whole is (and has been) misleading.

So, we leave ourselves at 43 CE just before the second (main) Roman invasion, which would immerse our tribal culture  into a Greco-Roman one but still without significantly changing the face of the population. This huge culture change would eventually swamp whatever culture the inhabitants of the Isles would have had. So I am suggesting we return to the pre-Roman "tribes" to look for our true ancestral "island" identity.

So, what tribe were you? Have a look here to find out.

The excellent drawings are sourced from:

http://www.framearch.co.uk/t5/