So.. what happened...

[HillBill]

A slight side track but not down hole: It is a pity that fewer and fewer people learn things like this from elder generation. My grandfathers belonged to a generation when the Finnish "erä" (a concept that does not translate well, includes hunting, fishing, trekking and generally surviving) tradition was still unbroken from heaven knows when. Learned a lot from them. Learning from written text is better than nothing but learning by doing from an example is better.

Been a long time since that was a UK thing. the US, sure, Scandinavia, yeah.. Plenty of Europe.. maybe This country was tamed/restricted too long ago, and i hate that fact. We are a tamed land... boring... uninteresting for your average man.

 

[HillBill]

And then of course there is the "camel toe" brigade with their hacks and skimpy outfits, not that I would be caught watching.

Course not mate... none of us would... Getting caught would not go down well with the Mrs.

 

[HillBill]

It does seem to me that 2008 was a good year for joiners!!

I was thinking this site is quiet. Once I used to have to come on here every couple of hours to keep up with discussions. Now it is maybe once a week at most!! However the value of the content can be very good or of no interest depending on your varied interests and POV. I think I will continue coming here but the frequency will remain lower until things start to pick up to 2008 levels. I hope it happens.

I am on Reddit too. I think Reddit has taken over where forums have lost out in the modern world as it is now. Some reddits are highly active others are 13 member strong zones of online death though. If you hit the zeitgeist you will do well. When it leaves you then you are left to the hardcore remainers. On here those are very knowledgable people. However I get the impression some older members have lost interest as things repeat themselves over the decades people end up visiting here. I will keep dropping in and out like all the forums I used to find were busy but not now. Some less so as they are still busy but with political warriors not talking about the subject of the forum unless they can get an argument going. This becomes tiresome at times. This is not here fortunately so I will come back.

PS in case you have not found out about it, you can ignore me if you so wish.

2008...Defo the peak of all things BCUk lol.

Things wont pick up, if we just wait for it to happen Paul. Ever.

All of us older (membership wise) lot, must have 10 years of stuff to talk about we've never mentioned.. easily. Doesnt have to be repetitive. Might not all be bushcraft related, but we have a section for that. Forums don't thrive when restricted to a sole topic, Even though said topic is the reason the forum exists.

 

[HillBill]

Although I do not post so much these days I visit at least twice a day (except when I am off in the woods...
I still find plenty to look at...

So why not tell us what you've done/found in the woods? We never stop learning John. What have you learnt, that's new to you in the last year or so? Do you still write for magazines? I still have the copy of Gunmart on my book shelf that you reviewed one of my Eagles in.

 

[HillBill]

Funnily enough, I've noticed a lessening of engagement too. Some threads take off, others elicit very little response at all.
Mostly adverts for kit and much less general chat. I've been here since 2018, so nowhere near as long as some members. But I do check in several times a day to see if anything interesting has been posted, and always try to make a response of some sort if I'm able. It happens a lot less often nowadays sadly.
What has happened to the idea of a challenge thread earlier this year? I reckon that might get people's juices flowing a bit. I've been avidly waiting, and wondering if it will happen.
This is my only social media, I don't do face book or anything else. So I won't be leaving. I enjoy what interaction there is, and have made good friends with, and met several members in real life, so it has made life a bit wider for me. Which, especially during the lockdown period was mentaly beneficial, and a lifesaver, as I was on total lockdown due to health issues. So I had very little interaction otherwise. I feel after this period was where things started to change a bit, after life got back to normal, and people became more involved in trying to make ends meet after all the struggles and price rises.
It's still a wonderful forum, and to me the best place to be.

Some things are interesting to many, others to only a few. It's always been that way. IF a post is a bout some hi tech gizmo, only a few will care, if a post is about something more general which most can relate to, or at least contribute to, it will do better. Kit chatter is kinda boring, bushcraft chatter is kinda middling, other chatter is more relatable to all of us. Needs to be a balance of each... as i said before, people are people, we all have lives, and lives are often similar. threads like How to keep energy costs down... or, i have a load of apples, what can i cook with them, how can i preserve them... apply to more people than someone needing a certain torch with a billion lumens and a battery that lasts for days.. which might only matter to a couple.

Cant have the good threads if people dont ask the questions... and even with the good threads, theres always gonna be the more specific niche stuff. Standard forum life.

Only reason theres a lack of the better threads, is because people have stopped asking the better questions.

 

[HillBill]

I’ve been about for 15 years and still post drivel regularly. 15 years ago it was all Ray and Bear, making shelters, hammocking, firesteel firelighting etc. I’ve still got 3 hammocks, but you wouldn’t find me out in the woods under a tarp scraping away at a firesteel and tinder. But I do still post pics of walks, or campervan life and outdoors stuff. Today, to cheers Mark up, the closest I’ve got to bushcrafting .

View attachment 91599View attachment 91600
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I’m sat in this hut with the dog eating a sandwich. I have with me a tiny Ti stove, a pot, some Bovril, and water but it’s not a cold day so I’ll not bother with a hot drink.

Also on board is an ESSE3 knife, a FAK, and a folding walking pole.

View attachment 91604

That does help lol. Nice photos mate. and that barn/hut and bench are awesome. Rustic as they come. Love the log crotch window. Spent many a night in a campervan or static the last few years... our lasses parents are mad for them. Bit small for me... being 6'3. The beds tend to be a little on the shorter side, but still, makes a nice change. Hope you're well mate. Good to see you still around.

 

[John Fenna]

So why not tell us what you've done/found in the woods? We never stop learning John. What have you learnt, that's new to you in the last year or so? Do you still write for magazines? I still have the copy of Gunmart on my book shelf that you reviewed one of my Eagles in.

Fully retired now but still making stuff - see https://bushcraftuk.com/community/threads/my-covid-19-and-later-projects.154805/

Still going into the woods - next trip starts tomorrow - but do not post about my trips as none of the others I go with are members of this site and there are "privacy Issues"...
When I do post stuff then it tends to get a little footfall https://bushcraftuk.com/community/t...fire-windlass-and-more-things-to-make.166634/