The Yes/No Game

I haven't seen them but it's bound to be gammons turning purple with rage and having high blood pressure induced strokes at a black gay man wearing a kilt and many references to binary/non-binary gender lol. I love Russell T. Davies lol I think once he settles into the role he'll be an excellent Doctor.

Are you looking forward to the new series?
 
Spot on with your assumptions! 😆

Yes! The fact the doctor is black will just make him more liked and famous to outweigh the racism. Therefore, the rats of racism lose and this pleases me.

Was Billie piper your fave companion?
 
Yes. Even though I wasn't born when the series were made. I've watched Ecclestone who was awesome, Tennant who was awesome plus, and Smith who was alright lol. The pairing of Tennant and Piper was sublime. She's also brilliant in the Sally Lockhart tv series taken from the Philip Pullman books.

Did you think Gillan was pants?
 
No but I would love to see Bocelli and Sarah Brightman perform in Italian live.

Have you embarrassed yourself in public?
 
Depends on what you mean by public. I made a (fortunately not dangerous) n00b climber mistake (I wasn't a n00b climber at the time) in front of half the members of the local MRT a year or so ago. I will admit to hoping the rock would open and swallow me up. They were kind about it the bastards. Taught me to check and check again though.

Have you?
 
What mistake did you make? Inquiring minds wish to know.

Yes.

Have you ever slept for 24 consecutive hours, only waking up to sip water or have a pee and go straight back to sleep?
 
I was seconding my mum's boyfriend on a pretty tricky climb and left my cleaning tool (used to nut/chock type protection out of cracks) at the bottom in my rucksack. Nothing dangerous but it meant I had to climb to belay, borrow his tool, abseil off and climb it again to reclaim the protection he'd placed. All to the cheers, applause and removal advice for each piece of the watching climbers...

No, never. The only time I've slept a long time was after a huge north face climb last year and an equally long walk off (Walker Spur of the Grandes Jorasses if you're interested). After we'd been picked up and taken back to Chamonix, I had a meal and something to drink and then went for a quick nap. 14 hours later...

Have you ever missed a night's sleep?
 
Thanks for describing all that. I'll share a spooky one in return. I was climbing this multi-tier pitch with two other people. Sort of a leap frog situation with three of us tied to one rope. Front of rope goes up, middle belays. Middle of rope goes up, bottom belays. Bottom of rope goes up and unclips out of the anchors while middle belays. It's a whole thing. Get to the top, have some lunch, self repel down. Anywhoo, second pitch, we're maybe a third way up the rock, all at the same level now, I was the last to climb. Front of the rope person is now leading, person is belaying from the middle of the rope, and I'm chilling. Leader is now part way up this climb, and belayer looks down and realizes his personals are just aren't clipped to an anchor. We had some good footing, kinda, but this ledge isn't the ground and he's just existing not tied to the wall at all. No one fell, no one got hurt, but it was a reminder of why we all check everything every time. A fall would have flung the belayer to the climber's first anchor up to the right where there was no ledge below. Or stepping off the ledge himself would have resulted in him falling a decent distance and yanking the climber pretty significantly as well. Spooky stuff.

Yes. There are sacrifices to be made sometimes, and sleep is one of the things that gets cut on a time crunch.

Do you sleep with more than one duvet / blanket / comforter on the bed?
 
I think the scariest mistake I've ever seen was this summer. We were climbing in Glencoe and the pair on the climb next to ours was clearly inexperienced and way out of their depth. They'd reached the crux pitch, were looking at a decent overhang needing some bold moves and sensibly decided to bail. We hung around in case they needed assistance as you do, and watched them set up an abseil anchor - all good so far. The second checked the anchor, tied his belay plate in and tossed the rope ends down the face except as he tossed them I noticed that the ends hadn't been knotted. I don't know if he realised how lucky he was I'd seen the mistake and shouted out, but if he'd abseiled on that it wouldn't have ended well. Properly scary.

I sleep with a single duvet.

Have you been climbing long?
 
More off than on for many years. I'll get into it for a good year or so, get decent, and then climbing partners fizzle out, and then so do I by default. It's hard to find people that you a) trust and are b) consistent. I have a lot I juggle... Work, uni, kids, pets, friends, chat, etc. and I'm currently on an off stretch. I'd like to get back into it again, but the reality is that I have no more room on my plate to take on yet another thing.

Do you ever climb indoors?
 
I'm lucky really, my mum climbs although not as much as she used to, her boyfriend is a really experienced climber, a member of the local MRT and a qualified mountain leader. I've had nothing but encouragement and support, plus plenty of partners although I mainly climb with him.

I go to three walls all with different characteristics and unfortunately a 50 mile train journey. I mainly use them to practice things like overhangs, campus moves and to build strength and stamina. I've tried speed climbing a couple of times but it's not my thing at all and neither is sport climbing. I'll stick to traditional. There's an indoor ice climbing centre reopening in Kinlochleven soon and I'll be taking advantage of that as well.

What grade do you climb to?
 
During my last six months run, I was comfortably climbing 5-11s. These days I'd be struggling up a 10 on a good day, ha. It's been a good year since I've been out unfortunately and I've lost all the necessary muscles to climb more than a run or two before I'm toast.

I'm glad you have so much support, that's a really awesome thing to have, especially at a young age. It's harder to develop those skills, muscles, and confidence as you get older. A fall really messes me up for several weeks now. I knocked a rib out of place climbing a chimney like two years ago, and I'm still super hesitant climbing them thinking it's going to happen again.

Do you have any other outdoor hobbies?
 
I'm edging into E4 territory myself and checking the Rockfax conversion chart that's about 5-11 equivalent. I'd imagine it wouldn't take long to lose a lot of the muscle tone needed to maintain standard which is why I use indoor walls. We've got a couple of basic workout sets in one of our outbuildings but it's just some holds mounted on a couple of sheets of plywood and a campus training wall. Plus crash mats of course. I've only injured myself twice so far, one was a fall where I didn't get my legs out fast enough to absorb a swing into a wall and ended up with a really swollen knee from the impact, and the other was a few weeks ago when a numpty at the top of a climb kicked a rock down and caught me on the side. I got either a cracked or badly bruised rib out of that. Didn't stop me from climbing though lol.

I hillwalk a lot as well. I really like ridge walks and we have some crackers in Scotland. I also cycle and swim although outdoor swimming is off the menu over the winter. I also like wild camping which fits in with hillwalking.

Do you hillwalk at all?
 
Only really when I visit the Lake District. But pretty active on my feet most days.

Have you got an outfit prepared for Hogmanay party? or still debating 😂
 
I'll be dressed as usual but probably a bit smarter. It's all about the dancing anyway 😛

Will you be dressing up?
 
I will have pyjamas on. I cancelled plans because of this pleurisy but now it’s gone- mostly. Plus with the stabbings in Liverpool recently, I’d rather not risk bumping into a coked up knife happy idiot.

Do you get winter depression?
 
Watching it yes. Participating, no. I don’t like that headbanger spin they do. Terrified I see someone’s head getting caved on live TV.

Do you have a favourite movie of all time?
 
Also answering the prior question here because frankly no one can stop me. I run on photosynthesis. It's not so much winter depression, but if I can't spend an adequate amount of time in the sun every day to recharge my bones, it really effects me. And it's harder to get sun time in when the days are short, dark, and cold. So I suppose that's a round about way of saying yes.

Yes, Requiem for a Dream.

Do you have a favourite song of all time?
 
No, Mondays are the best day. Tuesday’s can go f itself. Plus I was born on a Monday so maybe that’s why 😆

Do you have more than 1 Bootle of wine a week? ( or whatever your tipple of choice is!)
 
No! That was my first time ever seeing or hearing that. I had no clue what haggis is. I looked it up so not never ate that. I do not think I would try it.

Do you like watching American NFL football anywhere around the world on T.V.
 
Yes!

Ice Skating, Bowling, Football and more sports.

Some college football and some NFL teams.

Maryland Terps.
Baylor Bears.
Auburn Tigers.
Cincinnati Bearcats.
And a few other college football teams.

NFL.
1ST they were Washington Redskins - 2nd they were Washington Football Team - 3rd they were Washington Commanders.

Baltimore Ravens.

Cincinnati Bengals.

Houston Texans.

Dallas Cowboys.

And a few more in the NFL teams.

Do you like Nascar racing?
 
Yes! I can't wait. I love Kennedy. I hope Kennedy wins.


Are you excited about the New Year 2024?
 
Yes! Many big plans for sure. You got that right.

Have you been to ALL 50 states in America yet or want to go to ALL 50 USA States??
 
Yes, I lived in London England, Scotland, and Dublin Ireland the whole summer of 1994. I loved those countries too.

If you go to America to visit, live or vacation what state would you love to visit first and why?
 
Who doesn't eat salads? Salad is delicious.

Yeah, walks are nice. Love is a strong word though.

Do you own anything illegal? (I'm not with the police, I volunteer for a chatroom.) 👀
 
No! I would never own anything illegal in my life. No way! Heck to the no.

Do you like shopping?
 
Yes! I love the month of January and January sales. My BIRTHDAY month as well. 🙂 My favorite month.

Do you like the month of January too?
 
Yes! I cook homemade meals at home. 100% Daily. I love to cook at home. Saves me a lot of money. I like to know what is in my food at ALL times.

Do you have a favorite T.V. show that you watch daily ALL year round? Non-stop! Never missing one show of your favorite T.V show. Especially if you have one favorite T.V. show that you watch daily.
 
Yes!

Have you ever tried to pay for a bill that was more than $100 but nothing but coins?
 
No but they're welcome to take on their own risks as long as they don't spread false crap

Is it nearly Christmas?
 
Yes I can. I can do it with friction if necessary but there's a flint and striker in my backpack for emergencies.

Can you?
 
Baked as in jacket tatties? They've got the edge over chips. Just.

Do you like baked beans in your baked tatties?
 
I'm back to studies on Monday. The answer will be 'No' anyway.

Did you look forward to going back to work?
 
happens 8th as had 2 weeks off for pleurisy. Honestly? Il fkn dreading it.

Do you have any goals for 2024??
 
Intentionally? No. Tricked? Yes.
I was compelled to respond however I am redempted.

Is your career in mountaineering?
 
No. I'm planning a career in science but I'm fairly competitive as a climber and want to push my standard up by one or preferably two grades.

Are you in the career you intended to be in when you were my age?
 
No, but technically yes. I didn't have a career in mind when I was a teenager. I don't have a career in mind now that I'm an adult. I work a job, it's good enough. Is it what I want to do forever? No. Do I know what I want to do forever? No. Not everyone has a plan in mind, some of us are just winging it day to day.

Are you happy where your life is?
 
Have on/off days but more so yes. Something is missing and I have no clue what.

Can you do maths without a calculator?
 
In maths? No. Got a degree in maths and statistics and I’ve never had to use it in working life. Waste of 4 years.

Do you have a favourite science?
 
Yes! I like science.

Do you make your bed 🛏️ every single morning for the 365 days a year?
 
Yes. It takes less than a minute. Pull the bottom sheet straight, plump the pillows, and shake out the duvet. Done.

Do you like painting walls and ceilings?
 
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