Utterly done-in
13/04/06 15:36
The three days in Derbyshire were pretty exhausting
but also great fun. Meeting the other candidates on
the shortlist was a salutary experience. They are
nearly all much younger, terrifyingly well-qualified
and fearsomely adventurous. Ruth (surely an absolute
certainty for selection) has recently cycled the
length of Africa!!
Fortunately all nine shortlisted candidates were very friendly and it has been an absolute delight to meet the many others involved in the selection process, including Peter Fuchs, Sir Vivian's son. Presentations, walks and interviews followed over the evening and following day. A final meal in a local pub was a treat but what happened next was something that I really should have seen coming. Perhaps I had an inkling, because I was sufficiently cautious not to drink too much, but Phil and Ruth had their rucksacks packed and ready when we were all rudely awakened at a little after midnight. I had certainly had less than an hour of sleep and it turned out that that was all that I was going to get over a span of about 40 hours. A "rescue" on Kinder Scout in the misty darkness was followed by a game and presentations, breakfast to be prepared (it was our turn) and another long walk with many other delightful people (including Mike Sharp of A.L.E., the company that will fly the team to Antarctica). Finally, as we arrived back at the House in the early afternoon (believing that we can finally rest), Steve announced that we had to go on and do several more miles over the moors. Several of the party began to express total horror. I said "Give us a reason why we might need to do this." So Steve said, "You've been walking all day and have come to the spot where you planned to put up your tent, but a ferocious wind is blowing and you've got to walk several more miles to find a suitable sheltered site." Unfortunately, the absolute plausibility of such a situation made me see that you just HAD to accept that this wasn't mere capricious sadism on Steve's part! So off we went again, after a little over half-an-hour Steve announced that we had indeed come to the end of the selection process and could turn back (thank you!).
We had to tidy and clean the hut and I had a half-hour of interrupted sleep before attempting the drive home. In the end I was the last to leave and I certainly felt the strain of the previous three days, but it had been a great experience.
Fortunately all nine shortlisted candidates were very friendly and it has been an absolute delight to meet the many others involved in the selection process, including Peter Fuchs, Sir Vivian's son. Presentations, walks and interviews followed over the evening and following day. A final meal in a local pub was a treat but what happened next was something that I really should have seen coming. Perhaps I had an inkling, because I was sufficiently cautious not to drink too much, but Phil and Ruth had their rucksacks packed and ready when we were all rudely awakened at a little after midnight. I had certainly had less than an hour of sleep and it turned out that that was all that I was going to get over a span of about 40 hours. A "rescue" on Kinder Scout in the misty darkness was followed by a game and presentations, breakfast to be prepared (it was our turn) and another long walk with many other delightful people (including Mike Sharp of A.L.E., the company that will fly the team to Antarctica). Finally, as we arrived back at the House in the early afternoon (believing that we can finally rest), Steve announced that we had to go on and do several more miles over the moors. Several of the party began to express total horror. I said "Give us a reason why we might need to do this." So Steve said, "You've been walking all day and have come to the spot where you planned to put up your tent, but a ferocious wind is blowing and you've got to walk several more miles to find a suitable sheltered site." Unfortunately, the absolute plausibility of such a situation made me see that you just HAD to accept that this wasn't mere capricious sadism on Steve's part! So off we went again, after a little over half-an-hour Steve announced that we had indeed come to the end of the selection process and could turn back (thank you!).
We had to tidy and clean the hut and I had a half-hour of interrupted sleep before attempting the drive home. In the end I was the last to leave and I certainly felt the strain of the previous three days, but it had been a great experience.