are we still allowed to be survivalists?

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British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
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Gentlemen (oh, and Pete "Gary Glitter-Powell"), have we ridiculed the heat out this silliness by now ?
 

Fire Starter

Tenderfoot
Aug 1, 2005
96
0
England
Hi folks I've not been on the forum for a while now been too busy, just came on tonight to see if any one is going to the Gathering and came accross this post. CrazyDave I stand shoulder to shoulder with you, I have been interested in survival skills for over 30 years now and its only in the last 4 years that the term Bushcraft started to be bandied about.....and yes I am aware of the term being used long before Ray. No offence to the guys on the forum who have just started their journey into survival skills and know no other term, but where were you all 10 years ago and what did you call it? I have met quite a few teachers of survival skills who see Bushcraft and many of the practitioners of this new found term as new age campers who have only substituted old kit for new (led by clever marketing). Anyway I don't mean to offend anyone as this is only my personal view. At the end of the day call it what you want.To me and many others it is encompassed by "Survival Skills".
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
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Of course we had it tough! When I were a lad we ad a tiny cottage, great big holes in't roof. Half t' floor was missing and we was 'uddled in't corner for fear of falling ;)
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
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Spikey DaPikey said:
You had a cottage !! Luxury :rolleyes:

Well I say cottage, it were a hole in't ground covered by a sheet of tarpaulin (or pehaps a rather nice sil nylon Tatonka) but it were a cottage to us :D
 

drstrange

Forager
Jul 9, 2006
249
12
58
London
Fire Starter said:
Hi folks I've not been on the forum for a while now been too busy, just came on tonight to see if any one is going to the Gathering and came accross this post. CrazyDave I stand shoulder to shoulder with you, I have been interested in survival skills for over 30 years now and its only in the last 4 years that the term Bushcraft started to be bandied about.....and yes I am aware of the term being used long before Ray. No offence to the guys on the forum who have just started their journey into survival skills and know no other term, but where were you all 10 years ago and what did you call it? I have met quite a few teachers of survival skills who see Bushcraft and many of the practitioners of this new found term as new age campers who have only substituted old kit for new (led by clever marketing). Anyway I don't mean to offend anyone as this is only my personal view. At the end of the day call it what you want.To me and many others it is encompassed by "Survival Skills".

I don't think that the countless indigenous communities and peoples who haved used hunting/shelter/fabrication techniques for thousands of years called what they were doing either "bushcraft" or "survival skills". They were just living. I really don't want to pick a fight, espescially a hardened and experienced survivalist, but if we are going to get into the whole 'who was first' deal, how far back do you want to go??
I stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone who doesn't really care what they want to call it, but who just wants to do it.
 

Tadpole

Full Member
Nov 12, 2005
2,842
21
60
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Fire Starter said:
I asked a simple question ...what did you folks call it 10 years ago?
When my grandfather wrote to me, and through his letters and his encouragement I used to go camping in the woods, or walking and camping in the lee of walls and under hedge roads. He taught me fire making, (using either a single match or flint and steel) he taught me how to rig a shelter; he showed me what foods to eat, and where to find them, how to set gins, and snares for rabbit. Back then it was called rough camping, or wild camping. Over thirty three years later and the only thing that has really changed is the amount of energy wasted looking for a title to hang on the empty branding that people insist are intrinsic to “the experience”.
 

falcon

Full Member
Aug 27, 2004
1,211
33
Shropshire
Continuing Red's thoughts........"That were nuthin'.....when I were a lad we lived in't shooobox in't middle ot road....times wuz 'ard..."

Thank God for Monty Python......by my perhaps naive recollection, Lofty and others initially brought many of the day to day skills and good practice in the outdoors that we've tried to learn into the popular conscoiusness (yes, I know, the specialists were at it eons ago)..what....20 years ago. RM then woke a few more people up to this kind of outdoor experience through the nineties with some high quality TV....remember the quote from the "Rocky Mountain " survival episode where he landed a small fish with line and coke-type can.."....now that's survival fishing...".....
To the non-fanatical amongst us....those who just enjoy the outdoors and celebrate the development of skills which would definitely be useful whether you're bushcrafting or surviving, Ray's change in emphasis from Survival to Bushcraft passed without notice, save for the thought that the marketing people had been at work again. To me...survival skills =bushcraft skills and I'm off to the Wilderness Gathering to celebrate their enjoyment with a few hundred like minded people and I hope that this circular discussion will have been put to bed come Sunday evening......

......unless, of course, the wisdom of Monty Python is brought to bear. I wonder what the Australian philosophers would make of it? "Eee...manual kant was a real pi..."
 

pibbleb

Settler
Apr 25, 2006
933
10
51
Sussex, England
I can't keep away!

When my old man used to take me out as a kid we always used to call it field craft. When I'm out now adays I call it wilderness camping, but no matter what I call it, as I've already said, my mates think everything I do finishes in a barrel roll.

WhenI'm carving I call it carving, when I'm making a cup of tea I'm getting a brew on all together I'm surviving by doing my bushcraft.

Pib
 

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Tenderfoot
Aug 1, 2005
96
0
England
Scouting for Boys ..eh... I don't remember being taught primitive technologies and many other survival skills when I was in the scouts, maybe you should call it scouting for men now!
 

drstrange

Forager
Jul 9, 2006
249
12
58
London
The worst thing about cubs or scouts was church parade, it was a kind of mini version of the Nuremberg rallies as i remember
 

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Tenderfoot
Aug 1, 2005
96
0
England
Alas the old bed roll whispers in me lugs and I do need my sleep in order to absorb all those wonderfull survival skills at the gathering.

Just a thought, maybe in 10 years someone else will rebrand Bushcraft to Bushcamping and we will all have to go through this again.

Night night Happy Campers.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,715
1,962
Mercia
falcon said:
Continuing Red's thoughts........"That were nuthin'.....when I were a lad we lived in't shooobox in't middle ot road....times wuz 'ard..."

Thank God for Monty Python

We were evicted from our hole in the ground - we had to go and live in a lake. Got up at half past ten at night (half an hour before we went to bed) worked 29 hours a day doen't mill for tuppence every four year and when we got home our Mum and Dad would cut us in't two wi't bread knife

Look, badging it and arguing about abritary badges is old. We've done it, we've agreed it doesn't matter. Its dull.

PLEASE

Let it go

Red
 
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