There is that warning on the wing mirrors of cars in the States about things in the mirror being closer than they appear. We don’t need that in Europe as we know the difference between reality and a mirror. But there is one faculty if that is what it is, that we can all get fooled by and that is the weight of an object. More specifically, here I am talking about ” how much you think something is going to weigh before you pick it up compared to how much it actually weighs”. I am sure there is a word for this and it will be a long one at that even in English and a paragraph in German. Moe in the Simpsons has to quickly get rid of a whale he has stored in the taverns cellar “Jeez, who’d have thought a whale could be so heavy” is one of my favorite lines of all time, as he trys to pull the whale to a place where he wants to dump it . That discrepancy in expectation over reality is what I am on about.
I have been caught out in Ikea by this effect when I lifted what I thought was one flat pack when in fact I had hold of two. My back was in agony for over a month as my body had in a split second prepared itself for a load of x instead of 2x that I had in my hands. We went straight home without a meat ball treat.
My pots and pans for the journey are Titanium. The pots are by MSR and are a real joy, with a handle that clicks into place with reasurance that I still thrill to. We had trialed the Exo 2 2.4 litre pan and loved it but wanted a second pan to nestle inside. I mailed Paul Holtom at theoutdoorshop.com. By the fifth email I was confused ” Paul are you sure that the MSR Titanium Quick 1 pot will fit inside?”. “You will see from my first mail that it does” and sure enough when it arrived it did. Top marks Paul at the outdoorshop.
A frying pan in Titanium was not going to be so easy. I am not good with those grab handle things that most pans come with and nor am I with those thong sandles that you keep in place with dextrous movements of the toes. That for the time being was less of a problem. Time spent on the web turned up Evernew and my number one shop of all time backpackinglight. I feel terrible any time I buy anything elsewhere. I know Bob and Rose will take my disloyalty personaly and when I ordered the pan and got a dispatch confirmation mail pinging into my inbox at 9.45 on a Friday evening the knowledge that Rose had pressed send just seconds before was humbling. It sat on a table in the kitchen for a few days and I picked it up every time I went past just for the shock of its lightness. It fools those senses I told you about and this time brings a joy that makes me forget if only for that brief moment what a stupid amount of money I have just spent on a frying pan.
“Does it do Bannock? ” was a question that needed to be asked and yes, sterner test lie ahead but on Sunday we found out. Roughting Linn in Northumberland’s Cheviots is one of the most special places you can get to in just a short Bongo drive from Musselburgh. The waterfall though not big is one of the most beautiful you will ever visit and a photographers dream location. It was in the past almost a secret and is still unsigned. What is even more of an insiders secret is the example of Rock Art just a few hundred meters away. This is the best of it’s type in Northern England and in France would have a coach park a cafe and interpretation centre. Cup and Ring Marks are the main motif but there are more complicated paterns here than at most other sites. Again this is unsigned but here the site is of world importance and perhaps needs that anonimity. 3000 years ago or more this was a very special place and we honoured it in our own way by making Bannock in an space age Titanium Evernew frying pan. It worked a treat and has a none stick surface more slippy than a well buttered ice rink. Which is another of my favorite lines.
THE SPORTSWOOL DIARIES 
That looks a great place but I can’t find it on my maps for some reason.
Now Bannock is something new to me, please tell me more and provide a recipe!
I will do a little blog this evening giving more detail about locations and recipes. Hope you are back up to your fighting weight and feeling good.
There you are then a little blog about Rock Art and how to find it. Plus how to make Bannock. Boy did we have a problem with a bug in wordpress that fought us all the way. Which is what you get when you stitch three images together.
Excellent. A couple of days on the hill sorted me out no end and cleared the lungs. Unfortunately at work now feeling physically knackered but in a good way if you know what I mean, that post weekend afterglow!
In bike terms I refer to the bike as “Dr Bike” as it sorts all that is wrong with the human condition. You only have to be on public transport for 10 mins to hear the ” not feeling well” or “I am so tired”. Get out in the countryside, ride a bike if you can and if you have tried everything else then as a very last resort go and play golf.
Unfortunately, the photos that go with this blog (apart from the pans) don’t load – tried a couple of different machines to no avail!
Well spotted. There is a bug in wordpress we think that fails to find the image file. It is about 1 in every 10 computers or less. Some op system problem. We will move things around this evening to con the system into working. Why are computers so fragile?
Such an enjoyable read, especially as I was up there last week wandering over the Cairngorms. Love the pictures in Polaroid style and it brings back the damp thrill of it all 😉
We are thinking of putting a real food cookbook together to go with the Honey Stove and Frying Pans etc. There’s loads you could do, as long as you don’t mind a little extra weight with ingredients.
Bugger!! I’m hungry again now ……. 😉
Bob
Now I know you have the cook book on your hard drive. The world needs it. The polaroid style is achieved using free software called poladroid and just dragging and drop and others are taken using an iPhone with the app hipstamatic. You still need to point the camera and press the button at the right time.