Just Hanging Around.

Moving house is a bit like absailing. If you don't keep control of what you are doing, you land with a bit of a splat!

I was reminded of how I learnt to absail, (in my younger days), whilst potholing. For those who haven't a clue what on earth I am talking about let me enlighten you.
Absailing: climbing in reverse. you are hooked up to a rope and instead of climbing up the side of a rock face, you descend it by using your rope to control your descent. A rather more sedate way of experiencing rock faces, with the added bonus that one usually manages to 'land' with all of one's nails intact. You can of course apply absailing to buildings, bridges and potholes.
Potholing: A pothole, unlike a cave, is a steep vertical shaft / corridor that descends into a cave system. This is accessed by either a ladder or absailing. One thing to remember when potholing is no matter how much fun you have descending, you still have to climb back up!! (Or become a hermit.)


I had long fancied having a go at absailing but unfortunately I had one major disadvantage, I am afraid of heights. And so it was that I discovered the delights of potholing. You see caves and potholes don't have windows and still to this day very few have electricity so they do tend, on the whole, to be rather dark gloomy places. What more could I want, if you can't see how far down it is then you can't be afraid. There are however a few points that should be noted when considering potholing / absailing:

a) Remember to tie your rope to something secure at the top, big trees and rocks work. Cows have a tendency to wander.
b) Make sure that you take a long enough rope. It hurts if you don't.
c) Don't share your wetsuit with anyone... there are no toilets down there!
d) Always keep your mobile phone switched on throughout your expedition. That way your battery will have run out so that you can cool down with a nice ten mile hike back to civilisation when you finish.
e) Ensure that someone checks the weather forecast. If it should begin to rain whilst you are in the cave, don't worry, any feelings of panic as the water rises will soon disappear when you stop breathing.
f) And finally, if you do bump into a hermit whilst down there, always remain on pleasant terms, he may just turn out to be your neighbour if someone forgets to throw down the breadcrumbs.