From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V3 #258 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Monday, September 28 1998 Volume 03 : Number 258 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Alloy: The Kielder Challenge [IT Admin - Govt Office North West Subject: Alloy: The Kielder Challenge Hello, Elk lovers, everywhere. This is Slarvi (don't call me John Wayne, I can't help walking like this) Barglhee, back from a week-end of company competition in the Kielder Forest. This is totally off-topic again, but you might enjoy it anyway. I had no intention of getting involved with this thing, but on Friday I got a call from our Communications Manager who was trying to find someone to make up the six person team for our annual participation in the Kielder Challenge. This is a competition for companies to submit teams who will spend two days in the Kielder Forest (north of Hadrian's Wall, west of Newcastle-upon Tyne, in Northumberland) competing against other teams in a series of physical and logical exercises, with hikes totalling ten miles on the first day, a night bivouacking in the forest in a shelter constructed by the teams rather than a tent, followed by a morning of orienteering and other physical/logical exercises. I had thought about competing in previous years, but the team was usually oversubscribed. This year it we were too late with our application and couldn't submit a team. Then the organisers contacted us to say some teams had dropped out, so we could send a team after all. We tried to get a team together at short notice, and managed to get five members, but one or two others dithered, then couldn't make it for one reason or another and for some reason someone suggested me, possibly because they know I am maybe fitter than the average staff member because I cycle to work every day. So the manager rang me on Thursday morning, asking me if I was available THIS WEEK END, leaving Friday afternoon. I was supposed to be working this week end, but my boss said I could be spared if I wanted to go to Kielder, so I thought I'd give it a go. Luckily, my son had left all his camping gear here when he moved out, so I was fully equipped, except for proper walking boots, but I have some army style boots which are fully waterproof, so these would have to do. The weather forecast for Friday was OK, but we were expecting gales and rain by Saturday night. Of the six members of the team I knew two others (the Comms Manager and a Case Officer who works in my building). Of the others, one was from our Liverpool office (an ex-regular soldier with lots of camping/survival experience), a new member of staff in my building, and an outstationed officer from Kendal, in Cumbria which is about half way between Manchester and Kielder. Transport had been laid on, in the form of a 'people carrier' i.e. a seven seater Peugeot, complete with chauffeuse who normally drives visiting dignitaries, like Government Ministers, around the region. The first problem was getting six staff and their backpacks in the bus. It was a squeeze, but we just made it as there was some storage space in a roof box. We arrived at our accommodation for Friday night, the Holly Bush Inn, about five miles from Kielder at 6:30pm. As we were late submissions to the competition all other accommodation for miles around was already fully booked. The inn was a tiny pub in a tiny village which only had two proper guest bedrooms. It was a very old fashioned place, very small with one bar about the size of a living room with a log fire, and a small dining room. We were made very welcome, but three of us had to share one bedroom, while two others had beds in a corridor, and the final one, the only woman on the team, had the other room to herself. The chauffeuse had booked in elsewhere and arranged to collect us at 6am on Saturday, as we had to drive to the start and register before 6:45. After dropping our bags in our rooms we went down to the bar for a drink and to order dinner while we discussed team plans. The dinner was simple fare, but home cooked and cheap, after which we repaired to the bar again. We soon discovered that several other people in the bar were marshals for the competition who were interested to hear about our team but wouldn't give any information about the events to come. Being sensible folk, we didn't have too much to drink and went to bed at around 10pm. It was then that we discovered that we could hear almost every sound from the bar immediately below our rooms. There was no ceiling in the bar, just wooden beams supporting the planks of the bedroom floors. The assembled company were quite raucous, and the last customer didn't leave until about 3am, so we didn't get much sleep. The alarm went at 5am, and we quickly sorted out our gear into what we needed to carry (sleeping bag, bed roll, waterproof clothing, torch, eating irons, compass, maps etc.) and what could be left in the Peugeot (dry clothes and footware), grabbed a bowl of cereal and a glass of fruit juice our hostess had left for us, then piled into the Peugeot and off in the dark to the lakeside where we had to assemble in a huge marquee. We registered, grabbed the free tea/coffee and sausage sandwiches, then awaited our instructions, eyeing up the competition and trying to distinguish the experienced from the amateurs. There were 63 teams, each with six members, plus a large number of marshals to oversee the exercises, so it looked quite chaotic. At 6:45 we had to board busses and be driven to the real starting point, deep in the forest. Three or four teams were dropped at different points around the circuit so as to be more manageable. As we climbed, the morning mist closed in, but even so it was not too cold. The mood was boisterous and good natured as we were dropped at the first point, where we were given our first set of instructions. A twenty minute hike along forest tracks to another point on the map, where we would have to undertake the first exercise. In all we had eight hikes and exercises to undertake during the day, the hikes totalling about ten miles. Some of this was on 'roads' i.e. tracks used by forestry vehicles, but a lot of it was through 'rides,' rough footpaths through forest clearings, or paths through the trees, up hill, down dale, through firm and muddy ground, and across streams. We made good progress on the hikes, getting to the events with time to spare, so we could have a drink of fruit juice which was provided at each stop, and eat from our provisions when we felt the need. The first exercise involved fishing metal tubes, with rings on top, out of a hexagonal cage with a circular hole in the top, using ropes, pulleys, a bent nail, string and a few other bits and pieces, without touching the cage. We constructed our lifting device, and managed to lift one tube, but it dropped off before we could get it out. We modified the lift, but ran out of time. Then it was off to the next exercise. This carried on all day, the exercises varying from bridging a stream with scaffolding, traversing a 'ravine,' assembling rectangular shapes from slotted planks, and traversing a set of see-saws without touching the ground. Not having proper walking boots, my feet began to get sore, but I'd donned two pairs of socks to try to stave off blisters, and this was successful, but I had trouble keeping up with the rest of the team, and was always the last to arrive, though this was always well within the time available. After the last exercise we had to make our way to the bivvy points in the forest, construct our shelter from the materials provided (poles, plastic sheeting, string) and anything else we could use from the forest, then cook our dinner with food provided. It was still light when we began to build, and although the grass in the clearings was damp, despite there having been no rain, it was dry under the trees. Construction went without a hitch and the shelter was finished in about half an hour. Later we tarted it up with foliage to try to keep it stable if the gales materialised. Dinner was chicken and broccoli stew with pasta, which tasted wonderful after a day's outdoor exercise. After eating, we worked on word and logic puzzles which would help gain extra points during the orienteering on Sunday, then turned in at about 10pm. It's years since I last camped, and never in a building of my own construction, so this was something new for me, but I was so tired that I slept quite well, waking only once or twice. We were up before dawn, made breakfast (bacon sandwiches and scrambled eggs), then broke camp, leaving everything as we'd found it, then assemble in forest clearing where we left our packs to be taken back to the marquee while we did the morning's exercise. We'd split up the checkpoints between us, the three experienced orienteers taking the difficult ones, while we three others took the 'easier' ones. My feet were now so sore that I was allocated only one checkpoint, very near the assembly point near the marquee, as it'd take me a long time just to walk there. As luck would have it, I had to do some air rifle target shooting at the checkpoint. I used to do quite a lot of this when I was younger, so I was able to make five scoring shots out of five, then make my way back to the marquee, find my bag, have a hot tea and then some soup while I waited for the others to arrive. Then we had one more exercise to do, which was to make 26 words of five letters or more, from strips of letters issued to the orienteers when they reached each check point. This was handed in in plenty of time, then it was a free bar-b-q and bar until prize presentation time. As we had a long journey back, we left before the presentation, so I don't yet know what position we came. On the whole, I'm quite pleased with my effort, though my legs are aching a bit now, hence the John Wayne walking style. I have no idea if I'll be able to walk tomorrow (later today, really) but I'm due at work as usual, so we shall see. I'm glad I finally did it, but I think I'd have to get proper walkng boots before I try anything like it again. Slarv ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 20:59:39 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Alloy: Failed Attempt (& music alert) ohhhh... my head... I just tried to watch the Hot Sauce video again... I was determined this time... but I still reflexively covered my eyes for one key moment of the video. damn!! My poor little brain can't handle it (but I'll keep trying anyway But... I also wanted to recommend a cd I just picked up this weekend, if you like really unusual, beautiful and classically-based stuff (with a bit of headbanging thrown in on a couple of tracks), then RUN to your local music store & get the newest Rasputina cd. This is my lovely "Ladies' Cello Society" - - three cellists, one vocalist & a drummer (and a bit of programming on this one). You won't believe the way the cellos sound on some of these tracks. The beautiful "Rose K", the historically fascinating "Christian Soldiers", the melodic and haunting "MayFly", "Watch TV", "DwarfStar".... oh just buy it! :) And if they come to your town on their tour, then go to see them for heaven's sake! They'll be in Boston on October 16th... I'll be there in the front row, drooling at the sight of the beautiful cellos... Robin T ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V3 #258 ***************************