Hello All,
As a complete newbie to the forum and bushcrafting I didnt think I have much to say. But I thought I would perhaps launch in with the perspective of a novice who wants to learn. Having been a town/city boy all my life, I recently sold my seaside flat in Brighton and took on a live-in job at a very beautiful Hampshire woodland campsite. This was a dream come true for me and an offer I couldnt refuse.
Simples!, I thought, as I marched into the thigh-high thistles, wearing my shorts and flip-flops. I can do this - I was a cubscout <cough cough> thirty or so years ago, and I will never forget how to tie a reef knot. <thinks - left over right/right over left....is it?...hang on. Right, which one was the sheepshank?>
Im now a month in. I am still jumping out of my skin when a pheasant clatters out of the hedgerow, I have a rather fetching bunion blooming as a result of bargain basement boots, I still think that something is out there in the dark beyond the fireglow and I am still...STILL checking my iPhone to see if it has enough charge to last me until I can turn the generator on in the evening.
Last night, my three hour, sweating, cursing attempt at the bow and drill culminated in a goodly amount of heat generated - all of it inside the collar of my fleece gilet. I was so close:- the first glimmer of an ember and some promising smoke were snuffed out by an ill-timed back twinge which resulted in me kicking the whole lot off the hearth and into the wet grass. Im afraid hunger and frustration took over at that point and out came the ciggie lighter. Next time, I tell you, next time Ill have it.
Mind you, last nights fire did cook the tastiest bit of chicken in living memory. And, if you want a surefire method of locating previously un-noticed cuts on your hands - simply squeeze lemon juice on your food and then eat it with your fingers. Top tips like this are free.
I have my copy of Essential Bushcraft beside me and a Collins Gem Tree Identification guide in my pocket. Wait, is that a palmate or a lobed leaf?
So much to learn and I wouldnt change it for the world.
As a complete newbie to the forum and bushcrafting I didnt think I have much to say. But I thought I would perhaps launch in with the perspective of a novice who wants to learn. Having been a town/city boy all my life, I recently sold my seaside flat in Brighton and took on a live-in job at a very beautiful Hampshire woodland campsite. This was a dream come true for me and an offer I couldnt refuse.
Simples!, I thought, as I marched into the thigh-high thistles, wearing my shorts and flip-flops. I can do this - I was a cubscout <cough cough> thirty or so years ago, and I will never forget how to tie a reef knot. <thinks - left over right/right over left....is it?...hang on. Right, which one was the sheepshank?>
Im now a month in. I am still jumping out of my skin when a pheasant clatters out of the hedgerow, I have a rather fetching bunion blooming as a result of bargain basement boots, I still think that something is out there in the dark beyond the fireglow and I am still...STILL checking my iPhone to see if it has enough charge to last me until I can turn the generator on in the evening.
Last night, my three hour, sweating, cursing attempt at the bow and drill culminated in a goodly amount of heat generated - all of it inside the collar of my fleece gilet. I was so close:- the first glimmer of an ember and some promising smoke were snuffed out by an ill-timed back twinge which resulted in me kicking the whole lot off the hearth and into the wet grass. Im afraid hunger and frustration took over at that point and out came the ciggie lighter. Next time, I tell you, next time Ill have it.
Mind you, last nights fire did cook the tastiest bit of chicken in living memory. And, if you want a surefire method of locating previously un-noticed cuts on your hands - simply squeeze lemon juice on your food and then eat it with your fingers. Top tips like this are free.
I have my copy of Essential Bushcraft beside me and a Collins Gem Tree Identification guide in my pocket. Wait, is that a palmate or a lobed leaf?
So much to learn and I wouldnt change it for the world.
... that's a great entrance CC Welcome to the forum 
... 
:welcome1:
