saying really stupid things??

[Pete]

This is a different kind of stupidity, or is it?

My nephew very recently asked me to sponsor him on the Three Peaks Challenge in the Lake District in early May. (Forty miles in one day) I politely expressed surprise that he was doing this, and asked him how often he does long distance walks. He replied that this would be his first one.

Oh, says I, what is the longest distance you have walked in one day so far?

"Eight miles, last weekend", he said, "in Leicestershire". Apparently he has calculated that because eight miles took him about three hours, he should be able to do forty miles in about eighteen hours. Is he very fit, and participating in other demanding sports? - No. Why does he want to do this? He says that last year, to impress his boss, he agreed to drive the mini-bus for the participants, but got bored with all the hanging around that was entailed. I did not bother to ask him if this year he was going to drive the minibus and do the Challenge. I do not think I should challenge his mathematical skills. Just in case it is relevant he is 39.

Sorry to cast a firm damper on this enterprise, but this guy needs a real talking-to.

If he attempts this walk, and bonks out half way, he will need to be rescued. The weather may be bad - in May, it often is. Heavy rain, fog, or strong winds, can strike without warning - also it can get freezing cold. Mountain Rescue might be involved - diverting them from more urgent and deserving cases.

Let your nephew look carefully at the Ramblers Holidays webpage - in particular here. This is a responsible organization, my wife and I have booked holidays with them several times. They know what they're on about when they advise on which grade holidaymakers should select, and they will not hesitate to refuse bookings from anyone who they consider ill-prepared. The Three Peaks would be graded about C to C+ on their scale. We used to count ourselves (in our younger years) fairly experienced walkers and, certainly, in the past have attempted a C+ (not any more!). It was tough.

Your nephew may be able to train himself up to the appropriate level of fitness by May, but it will need plenty of work from him. I don't know him, I can't decide for him. Tell him to act responsibly please!

 

[Kirstie]

Well, she's right on that score.

Total and utter bastard might have been nearer the mark!! But yes, she wasn't far off...

 

[Speicher]

Sorry to cast a firm damper on this enterprise, but this guy needs a real talking-to.

If he attempts this walk, and bonks out half way, he will need to be rescued. The weather may be bad - in May, it often is. Heavy rain, fog, or strong winds, can strike without warning - also it can get freezing cold. Mountain Rescue might be involved - diverting them from more urgent and deserving cases.

Let your nephew look carefully at the Ramblers Holidays webpage - in particular here. This is a responsible organization, my wife and I have booked holidays with them several times. They know what they're on about when they advise on which grade holidaymakers should select, and they will not hesitate to refuse bookings from anyone who they consider ill-prepared. The Three Peaks would be graded about C to C+ on their scale. We used to count ourselves (in our younger years) fairly experienced walkers and, certainly, in the past have attempted a C+ (not any more!). It was tough.

Your nephew may be able to train himself up to the appropriate level of fitness by May, but it will need plenty of work from him. I don't know him, I can't decide for him. Tell him to act responsibly please!

I worded the my nephews intentions very carefully, just in case it was me who thinks he is being utterly stupid, and ignorant. When I said to his sister that this was not a sensible thing to try, she said "Oh, well, it is for Charity", as if this alone would enable him to complete this extremely tough challenge. As you rightly say, he will need rescuing, no questions there, in my opinion. I have tried to explain that when I was regularly doing walks of up to ten miles, if the mileage increased due to deviating from the route OR it was very wet OR it was very hot, even an extra three miles is very much tougher than you would expect. Another relative who regularly walks 12 or 15 miles, in the Lakes, said they would not attempt it. I have taken holidays with Ramblers and also with HF Holidays, and agree that they have strong guidelines about what people of different abilities can expect to achieve.

I agree he needs a serious talking to, but he is one of those clever clogs, to put it mildly, who will not listen, will not allow for other people knowing the situation better than he might. Hopefully his colleagues will try to persuade him not to compete this year, aim lower, and think about it in a few years time. His parents would be useless on this. When I said we had been on a holiday with Waymark, walking about nine or ten miles every day for a fortnight, she said "oh that's not very far"!

 

[col]

My LML was telling me about someone her friend knew,who needed a lung transplant,at tea time,she ended it with "There must be something wrong with him then?"

 

[Abitrary]

I was just sending a text to my daughter and thinking what a pain it is " wouldn't it be good if you could just speak into it" I said, "thats called a phonecall" came the witty rejoinder from Mrs (ever tolerent) BG Ah well........ Anybody else plumbed those depths of stupidity???

I personally don't know what your wife is on about. You could have been talking about voice recognition, which I imagine is possible on phones there days.

 

[Pete]

Here's a good one. A really good one. Came in just this last hour. I get an E-mail from a distant colleague, saying he's just accidentally deleted the E-mail I'd sent him earlier, could I re-send? Thing is, he sent it as a REPLY TO E-mail and the text of message he's replied to, which is appended just below his message and clearly visible to all, is the text of the message I sent to him earlier which he's complaining of having deleted.

When you've worked that out, you will correctly deduce, as I did, that this guy must have constructed a time machine. In which case I'd like the design details, I'd find one very useful myself...

Sometimes I think I'm in the wrong job. Anyone got a clown costume on offer?

 

[got-to-get-fit]

Here are some of Mrs GTGF classics


Burial at sea......? How do they dig the grave???

Me - Did you know that speed bumps are there to warn blind drivers that they are passing through a built up area and need to slow down?

Wife - what a good idea!

Wife - GTGF, you forgot to give the cat some water before you went to work, try and remember please 'she's a human being you know'

Me - I see Jeremy beadles died

Wife - oooohh really is it serious?

Me and wife looking at holiday snaps, in particular one of a plane taking off....

Wife - are we on that plane?

 

[mickle]

She can't compete with Mrs GTGF.
Mrs M upon getting to the end of the first DVD to be inserted into our new player;

'How do you rewind it'?

 

[Speicher]

Slightly OT Mickle, did you get your lightbulbs changed. You forgot to tell us how many cyclists it takes to change a lightbulb.