Hobby suggestion thread!

[ColinJ]

My dad definitely built some Bailey bridges after D-Day - perhaps yours taught him how!

Er, helped build some Bailey bridges... He didn't work by himself!

 

[Jameshow]

I recall a couple of bad calls of my own, though got away with it. Took a pal on a winter trip to Snowdonia, and as he'd been saying he wanted something a bit more exciting than he'd been doing local rambling group suggested Crib Goch, though warned him it was a bit airy, but he said he'd give it a go. We lent him an ice axe and off we went. Fairly soon realised Crib Goch covered in 6" of melting slush was a bad idea, and the axes were of no use at all. Anyhow he did pretty well, but when we finally got onto a more normal path he looked me in the eye and said "That's the worst thing I've ever done in my entire life, and I never ever want to do anything like that ever again" ! To be honest we shouldn't have done it at all in those snow conditions, never mind with a novice. Oops!

Another bad call was taking a bunch of (experienced) students on a particular route through a cave involving a stream section. We got to the stream and my mate, like me the other veteran caver, commented that the water was a bit high, but I felt it was OK we would only be in the stream for a relatively short bit for the planned trip, and not the fiercest bit of the stream at that. It quickly became apparent that this was a bad decision, but it wasn't safe to turn back as in high water conditions you are better off going upstream (as we were) rather than downstream as the water can knock your feet out from under you. The highlight was a climb up a 5' waterfall - simple in normal conditions but on that day it was a horizontal jet of water going some way along the passage. We had to climb up further back and traverse along. If anyone had slipped they'd have gone. Anyhow we got away with it, as luckily the lads were fit and strong. Many later some of the former students had joined our club, and one commented about the "fantastic trip in the streamway we'd taken them on when they were students". With a slightly less strong team we could have lost someone, though perhaps if I'd then known how very capable their group was I'd have thought it bloody good fun if slightly risky.

Drove up Burrington combe a couple of weeks ago and remembered the time we were stuck in one of the caves up there 30 years ago!
10 hours down a cave wasn't fun!

 

[ColinJ]

Drove up Burrington combe a couple of weeks ago and remembered the time we were stuck in one of the caves up there 30 years ago!
10 hours down a cave wasn't fun!

As far as I'm concerned, 10 milliseconds down a cave wouldn't be fun... My dread of confined spaces deep underground is only exceeded by my fear of extremely unconfined spaces high above ground (exposed heights)!

 

[Profpointy]

Drove up Burrington combe a couple of weeks ago and remembered the time we were stuck in one of the caves up there 30 years ago!
10 hours down a cave wasn't fun!

Ordinarily you'd struggle to spend 10 hours in Burrington, so apart from any injury must have been hugely embarrassing

 

[slowmotion]

As far as I'm concerned, 10 milliseconds down a cave wouldn't be fun... My dread of confined spaces deep underground is only exceeded by my fear of extremely unconfined spaces high above ground (exposed heights)!

How about cave diving?

 

[ColinJ]

How about cave diving?

I'm feeling a bit... whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooozy... (CLUNK)

 

[Jameshow]

Ordinarily you'd struggle to spend 10 hours in Burrington, so apart from any injury must have been hugely embarrassing

We were expected to come out by lunch time so only a couple of hours trip.

However iirc the beginners who went down the goatschurch cave and we with a few years experience went down Rods Pot but ended up lost! The beginners with the lead cavers presumed we had gone down another for the afternoon so didn't raise the alarm till approx 4pm!

 

[ianpallen]

I like a portable craft to do when I'm on public transport. I enjoy spindle spinning (but it gets me funny looks!) and am considering getting a hana-ami flower loom and/or some miniature looms to weave tiny squares.
Another thing I've really enjoyed in the past is making fairy and gnome houses out of junk and papiermache, but I've paused that as I'm researching making the same things, out of papercrete, or similar, so they'll be more suitable for outdoor use.

I made a hobbit house using coconut shells and astro turf for the roof and put a purple led strip light inside. It looked great in the tank. I made it for a fish tank I had baby crayfish in.

 

[ianpallen]

Have we had bellringing?

Bellringing not campanology*.

Good aerobic exercise, sociable and no requirement to be religious or a churchgoer.

*Saying 'campanology' is a bit like turning your bike upside-down to fix a puncture.

Is bell ringing like knock a door, run but with door bells ? lol

 

[ianpallen]

My hobbies have been varied,
Fountain pen collecting,
Making stuff from wood and upcycling materials.
Tropical fish tanks, shrimp tanks, Crayfish (blue lobsters, fresh water).
Lamp making
Bicycle building.
Moped restoration
Collecting and making oil lamps.
Buying and building car trailers
Building bicycle trailers from kiddie carriers
Clock making using quartz movements.
Soldering kits, clocks, radio, lights etc and building soldering stations.
Bird breeding (zebra finch and border canary).
I also collect vintage pocket radio's and also DAB radio's.

 

[simongt]

Is bell ringing like knock a door, run but with door bells ? lol

Known as chickenelly in Scotland - !

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Have we had bellringing?

Bellringing not campanology*.

*Saying 'campanology' is a bit like turning your bike upside-down to fix a puncture.

Why the fuss? I hadn't realised there was controversy in the bellringing camp(anology).

Oh and I often turn my bike over too, it's easier and I can't be arsed fannying about with holding it and so on anyway.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Oh and I often turn my bike over too, it's easier and I can't be arsed fannying about with holding it and so on anyway.

Oh, just realised my wording there could sound a bit wrong! ☺️😆

 

[ianpallen]

Oh and I often turn my bike over too, it's easier and I can't be arsed fannying about with holding it and so on anyway.

I thought the only way to work on a bike was to turn it upside down. Started doing that in the 70's. lol. I have tried to work on it the right way up, but got sick of it falling over.
I used to have a proper bike stand but it was aukward to hold a bike and tighten hte clamp. Turning it over is a lot quicker.

 

[Time Waster]

Yet to work out how to balance my recumbent upside down. Doesn't work.