Since the blog is about to enter a new era I thought it would be nice to tackle a subject not hitherto mentioned here at “Where the Fatdog Walks” – bungee jumping!
Bet that came as a shock.
Bungee jumping I associate with dramatic falls from eagle-perched bridges, high above roaring cascades that crash through impossibly deep young river gorges…not from a mobile crane in a retail outlet car park just off the M8. But here we were at Braehead Shopping Centre waiting with daughter, The Bleating Sheep, while her partner Mr. Alloa attempted what I consider to be licensed suicide. Having had to share a house with The Bleating Sheep for most of her 25 years of existence – I could see where he was coming from. I had a vested interest in his survival.
Mr Alloa was in a veritable rush to plummet to his possible doom…but there was a long queue. As well as the single jumpers, young couples waited to be tied together to plunge head first to what might be considered a romantic end…except, I would suggest, by those who might have to scrape up the collective human pancake should true love fail to triumph. A couple of young lads came to regret this gesture of togetherness when their eardrums were ripped to shreds by the piercing screams of their potential life-long companions. I suspect many a relationship failed to survive this particular drop.
It was a grey day so not the best for what I had in mind…but here’s what happened to Steven (Mr. Alloa)…
I couldn’t just leave it there, could I. It took me 5 attempts to get the zoom right on the wee Fuji in video mode. That was a lot of screaming by anyone’s standards!
Here we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
.
…and here’s the no-sound version for Florene. Hopefully that will satisy the EMI lawyers. 😀
…and here’s the soundtrack for it.
Where The Fatdog Walks 
The video screen says:
“This video contains content from EMI, who has blocked it
in your country on copyright grounds.”
So there… guess I’ve been put in my place! This activity reminds me of a conference my daughter attended where you climb a very tall pole (tethered for safety), and when you reach the
top, you stand up straight, raise your hands, and fall. Your fall is caught by the tether, and supposedly this teaches you some weird kind of trust in your brethren. Would be a vertigo collapse for me!
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Shame about the block Florene. 😦
Tomorrow I’ll see if I can put it onto Flickr. I’ve never tried to upload video there. Failing that I’ll post another version without the soundtrack (which may be the problem).
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Florene – check out the bottom of the post for a soundless video and the audio track to go with it. 😀
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Got it. Actually, the music was better than bloody screaming. Thanks for the extra effort!
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LOL!!!
Suggest to The Bleating Sheep & her beloved that they should visit New Zealand and do this the proper way, off an ancient (for New Zealand 🙂 ) bridge, with the appropriate water landing.
Then they’ll really be in the ‘Bungee Club.’
Annie
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It lost out a bit on drama Annie. Plunging to one’s doom from a crane in a retail outlet car park is a bit short on style…and a bit short on actual drop. The jump from your bridge would be far more fashionable. 😀 Wouldn’t be able to do that from a bridge over here…health and safety. None of our bridge authorities would allow it. I suspect yours may be a private bridge?
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I,m up for most things but Bungee Jumping and Braehead give me the shivers just thinking about them.Once spent an hour in traffic trying to get out of that place and back across the river.I could have human canonballed myself into my house in seconds as I,m just the other side.
Now there,s a thought Ken.Dangerous sports filming!
Know what you mean about posting though.I,ve not got the same excitment either at the moment.
Best wishes with whatever you decide to do.
bob.
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Braehead is a pretty soulless place, Bob. Not my favourite spot for an outing either.
Dangerous sports filming…hmm…you mean like filming a shopping trip to the local ASDA where every step is made a nightmare by the local trolly wielding harridens – too scary for me. Maybe something less scary like tiger surfing or volcano diving. Good idea! 😉
The difficulty with blogging is that it’s easy to get into a rut. I sort of fell into the trap of producing the Fatdog “Tails” which as time went on took longer and longer to write. I’ve written close on 100 of them since they began some 5 years ago. Having set the stall out it was difficult to say enough is enough. As it happened Maisie’s arthritis and the vet’s advice regarding the type of walking she should be doing meant that a line had to be drawn under those great days in the mountains. Apart from that I would struggle to do any sort of ascent at the minute anyway.
I’m looking forward to this change – though I think change is the wrong word. It’s more like a tying together of all those wee bits of everyday posts into a coherent theme. Buggered if I know what that theme’s going to be though!
Given my somewhat erratic blogging behaviour over the past year Bob I would be reluctant to give anyone advice on how to get over a loss of enthusiasm. The couple of weeks there that I didn’t post worked for me. I wasn’t out there trying hard to find something to write about – in fact I seriously pondered over not continuing the blog – in quite an offhand way I would add. It just so happened a whole load of small things happened at that time and I thought…hmm…good post material…maybe I’ll write about that.
Keep up the good work Bob, I’m sure the excitement will return.
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I’m with Bob on this one. Bungee jumping? Braehead? Nae thanks! But if Mr Alloa enjoyed it (did he enjoy it?)… it takes all sorts, I suppose.
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Enjoy it he did Sheila – at least he says so! 😉 I hate things that move about at height. Didn’t mind going onto scaffolding/ladders over the side of bridges when at work. I recall going over the parapet of the Kessock Bridge at Inverness onto a ladder. That felt a wee bit high.
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Jumping off a crane attached to some old knicker elastic – err…. No!
It’s up there with hang gliding (jumping off a cliff in a sleeping back attached to an old frame tent), and parachute jumping (jumping out of a plane attached to a duvet cover).
I did try some dangerous water sports at the weekend mind you – walking the liquid valleys in mid-wales trying not to drown in the bog
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Some very apt (and graphic) descriptions Andy 😆
The closest I’ve been to dangerous sports is opening the rucksack at the top of the hill with a, by now, exceedingly hungry Fatdog waiting to pounce. Not for the fainthearted.
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Excellent Ken. Does the blog really need a Theme? Are you trying to get massive viewing figures, or are you just using the medium to keep in touch with friends and family and relate stories, information and debate that is meaningful and interesting to You? I suspect the latter. If so, indulge and enjoy! And I for one will relish some of your entries and skip through others – that’s how it is.
I do hope you regain a bit of hill fitness though, for your own sake, whether or not you write about it.
Martin
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You’ll be pleased to hear I was back at the circuit training class last night, Martin…and lived. 😉 Hopefully that’s me started to get back into shape. Difficult to keep hill fitness – long uphill plods are difficult to mimic…especially when you factor in ground and weather conditions.
As for a blog having a theme…I reckon it’s a good idea as it gives something to feed off and relate posts to. Makes it easier to follow for readers as well.
You’re right about the viewing figures – this is and has been a very quiet blog followed by a very exclusive group of individuals. I’d love to do a survey to find out how many regular readers found this blog accidentally when searching for something else – and came back again. I reckon it would be tiny! Having done a couple of gear reviews I get 3 or 4 hits a day from those – but I doubt if anyone comes back from that and other internet seaches.
I now have more time to look at blogs on a variety of subjects so I expect I’ll find a few more people dropping in from those as time goes on.
I know what you mean about reading posts. I have to hold my hands up and admit I am one of the worst for not reading other peoples blogs. Not intentionally…I just forget…then I remember (at the wrong time)…then I forget…
I’m also lousy at remembering where I’ve commented (on Blogger), thankfully on WordPress themes I can click a button that tells me when the next comment is made on that post.
You might want to edit “meaningful” from your comment Martin. Can you recollect when I’ve ever done meaningful? 😉 😆
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You don`t have to go to NZ .Our very own version of the Queenstown jump is located about 20 miles from your doorstep at Larkhall of all places.
Google “larkhall bridge swing” 🙂
I think it is the biggest drop in Scotland so perhaps She Who Bleats should sort out some insurance policies…just in case.
It is an impresive structure and worth a visit Ken.God knows what you would make of it in your professional capacity though 🙂
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Must visit my ancestral home Alex! And a bridge! 😆
The family were Irish and arrived in Lanarkshire about the 1900 mark – I think. Then they moved to Fallin in the 1920’s.
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Ken, I can relate to virtually everything you say, and I’m sure a Theme will be helpful, even if it’s just ‘Things wot I like’. I’m not editing ‘Meaningful’ btw! [Insert smiley: how do you do that?!]
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I’ll have to write this longhand so it doesn’t do this 😀 . (colon followed by D – no space between). I always leave a space before and after so it doesn’t get confused. 😆
Other variations (no spaces between)
colon lol colon – laughing face 😆
colon roll colon – rolling eyes 🙄
colon oops colon – blushing face 😳
colon shock colon – wide eyes 😯
colon ( – sad face 😦
Hopefully that’ll work. 😀
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Thanks foir that Ken 😆
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My pleasure 😀 😆 😉 😳
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🙄
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Excellent! 😆
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Not being a very socially-inclined individual, my interest in blogs, forums, etc. is limited. I’ve always been purpose-driven…. only then can I jump in with both feet. Anyway, I do have about 3 blogs I follow. Forums (per se) are limited to help with computer problems, primarily with my Apple. Those forums are amazing…. helpful every time. Ken’s blog adventures with Maizie immediately attracted me, but it was more than the actual mountain climbing adventure…. it was Ken’s writing and photography, and what was revealed between the lines of text. Sorry I can’t be more definitive, but there are times when individuals we meet, either in person, or otherwise, “sync”. It has nothing to do with age, gender, or anything tangible. We’ve all had that mysterious feeling of kinship, in one way or another, and it’s one of the most gratifying experiences in life. There probably are other blogs, and maybe even a forum or two, that would be of interest. Time constraints preclude my pursuing them…. I have to wait for serendipity.
I believe the many immediate and supportive responses to Ken’s dilemma of “to blog… or not to blog” have confirmed his value in the blog/forum world. He has a faithful following!
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