Comments on: Scaud Hill and Beyond ??? At My Leisure https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/ ...and a few more reasons for climbing mountains Tue, 26 Mar 2019 14:06:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: McEff https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-9724 Thu, 22 May 2014 11:45:17 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-9724 In reply to dabawenyo life.

Hi Loty. I don’t know about monsters but I have certainly seen strange forms of fungi in those deep places, from little mushroom-like organisms to brilliant white mold that covers rock walls and ceilings. It can be a strange environment in those old lead mines.
Many miners lost their lives in those places. As well and the obvious dangers of rock falls and explosions, lead poisoning and lung infections were also fatal conditions. The average life expectancy of a miner during the 19th Century was 45 years.
Thanks for your good wishes, Alen

Like

]]> By: dabawenyo life https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-9708 Thu, 22 May 2014 03:18:37 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-9708 Hi Alen,
Just a thought, there could be some sort of a monster or a never been discovered organism living in that bottomless-like shafts. ???? I wonder how they’d built that shaft. There must be lives that were sacrificed while building those dangerous shafts.
God Bless on your new adventure. Hope all goes well for you.

Like

]]> By: McEff https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-9511 Sun, 18 May 2014 09:14:56 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-9511 In reply to Stevo.

Hi Steve. Thanks very much for your great comment. You’ve made a bright Sunday morning even brighter.
I missed out on the Nescafe cans of instant hot coffee. That one must have passed me by like a low-flying grouse.
Middle-aged men are the future, if you ask me. We can grumble like hell but we’re not bitter with it, and we’re not affraid to have a good laugh at ourselves.
All the best, Alen

Like

]]> By: Stevo https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-9493 Sun, 18 May 2014 02:14:03 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-9493 Howdy Alen,

Stumbled upon your site while googling Bloworth Crossing, and I’ve been reading for the past hour or so. It’s 3am and I want to go to sleep, so I think that must be an endorsement of sorts.

Looking forward to reading more stories and (as it happens) unfettering my aching joints and limbs in the Durham hills soon. You may see a portly middle-aged man, howling into the void (usually about 1) the failure of capitalism; 2) my ankle; or 3) why don’t Nescafe make those magic cans of instant hot coffee any more. More usually about the first 2, to be honest. Three things just sounds better.

Sorry about the job. Hope something turns up.

All the best.

Steve

Like

]]> By: McEff https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-9039 Fri, 09 May 2014 14:55:48 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-9039 In reply to Jo Woolf.

Hiya Jo. Yes, I was released on Tuesday but recaptured by JobCentre Plus yesterday. I’ve been jumping through digital hoops ever since. The things you have to do these days to prove you’re looking for work. It’s a full-time job in itself. I hope they don’t stumble on this blog because they’ll assume I’m not spending 24 hours a day looking for work and perfecting my CV.
Ah yes, the information board. A man who has scarcely mentioned wildlife since 2009 suddenly reels off an entire eco-system. It was a bit of a give-away, I suppose. I’m glad that I owned up to it!
I shall take your advice and remain positive. I have had gloomy moments but they soon pass. There is always plenty to keep me occupied. For instance, I’m on child-minding duties for the rest of the afternoon. That will wear me out.
All the best, Alen

Like

]]> By: Jo Woolf https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-9034 Fri, 09 May 2014 12:48:10 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-9034 Hi Alen, By the sound of your replies to the above comments I imagine you have already been ‘released’, in which case I wish you hope and exciting new beginnings! I can only agree with the suggestion of looking at the wealth of information and stories here on your blog, with a view to publishing. Or approach other newspapers with ideas for regular columns, walking features etc. I’m sure you’ll have thought of that already. Do not jump down a metaphorical mine shaft! Stay positive and believe in your talents. On your post (excellent as always), I had a similar head teacher in primary school and he would spend Friday afternoons pontificating (just had to look that word up in case only Popes could do it). The only difference is that I never paid him any attention so I have no memories of what he said. Secondly, I knew for sure that you were quoting an information board, or had swallowed a bird book, before you admitted to it.
This is the time to ask yourself what you REALLY want to do, and go for it! All the very best, Jo.

Like

]]> By: McEff https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-9017 Fri, 09 May 2014 10:05:06 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-9017 In reply to Greg..

Hi Greg. Good to hear from you. Thanks for cheering me up ??? as always.
Whacker Whilkes sounds like a proper teacher. He sounds very much like Mr Ramsey, the type of person who could talk for hours and fill your head with all sorts of snippets of information that you could never learn from anywhere else. Great blokes. We had another called Totty Lindow, a maths teacher with a wooden leg. Very strict on the outside, but when you got him talking the hours just passed like minutes. Those were the days.
When I need a rim putting on a cart wheel I’ll drop you a line.
Cheers, Alen

Like

]]> By: Greg. https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-8992 Thu, 08 May 2014 22:53:41 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-8992 Hi Alen according to the Tory press you will be much better off on the dole. No, hang on a minute, you have to be an immigrant. Damn.
When I was poorly I had no enthusiasm for anything, including walking, so if it helps get out there.
It took me a while to feel better, but when I see school kids now I wonder how I stuck it for 21 yrs.
When you publish your book I’ll definitely buy one, I’ve said for ages that your writing is much better than the rubbish in the outdoor mags.
Although from Tebay I went to Kendal Grammar school and my inspirational teacher had the old fashioned nick name of Whacker Whilkes. I think he had been named years before as he had come back out of retirement and was a throwback to a bygone era. If you got him going he would spend a full lesson telling stories and puff away on his pipe. I still know how to put a metal rim on a wooden cart wheel thanks to Whacker.
Good luck, I don’t always comment but I read them all with great pleasure and admiration.

Like

]]> By: McEff https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-8888 Tue, 06 May 2014 11:55:23 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-8888 In reply to David.

Hi David. You’re absolutely right about the management types. I’m officially out of it today and feeling better already. I have been ahowered with positive advice and I mean to act on it.
I was back up Teesdale a couple of days ago for another great walk. I didn’t realise there is so much of interest and antiquity to see. Great Stony Hill sounds like it should be climbed for the name alone. I see I passed within a short distance of the summit. I really should have made the effort and visited the trig point.
All the best, Alen

Like

]]> By: David https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-8876 Tue, 06 May 2014 06:33:55 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-8876 I recon all schools had a Mr Ramsey, our was Mr Bell.

I suspect a lot of the clones that pass for higher management nowadays don’t even care about the impact they have on peoples lives. No doubt they will wake up one day and realise they have wasted their whole lives on work and it serves them right.

Your redundancy will probably be the route to a better life, even if you have to be careful with money. I simply walked out of my last job as a teacher after getting attacked for the second time in a year. It is amazing how much easier it is once the strings of the old job have been cut. You can move forward once that happens.

If you are up in that that part of the Dale again the trig point on Great Stony Hill is a nice viewpoint.
Good luck for the future.

Like

]]> By: mountaincoward https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-8803 Sun, 04 May 2014 21:40:02 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-8803 In reply to McEff.

I think it’s the sort of thing that would just come out. It’s getting so you have to watch every single thing you say nowadays, especially if it’s on TV or whatever – I personally think it’s going way over the top now.

Like

]]> By: McEff https://becausetheyrethere.com/2014/05/02/scaud-hill-and-beyond-at-my-leisure/#comment-8786 Sun, 04 May 2014 11:11:18 +0000 http://becausetheyrethere.com/?p=7781#comment-8786 In reply to Chris G.

Hi Chris. Your Mr Maw sounds the absolute double of Mr Ramsey, right down to the dry sardonic sense of humour. Teachers like that left lasting impressions on us and changed our lives. The world is a much better place for them having passed tthrough it.
Thanks for your comment, Alen

Like

]]>