A rabbi’s response to our President calling Jews “lacking knowledge and disloyal” if they vote Democratic:
Rabbi Danny Maseng writes: As a Jew Since you called me out as a Jew, Mr. President, since you thought to call me disloyal or lacking knowledge by not voting for you, I’d like to respond to you personally, even though I have no illusions you will read this. As a Jew, Mr. President, I am commanded to love the stranger who dwells among us no less than thirty-six times in the Bible you claim to treasure. I am commanded to have one law for the stranger and the citizen. No exceptions. As a Jew, Mr. President, I am commanded to pay my employees on time, including undocumented workers at casinos, construction sites, or golf courses. As a Jew, I am commanded to repay bank loans and investors. As a Jew, I am commanded to never bear false witness. As a Jew, Mr. President, I am commanded to guard my tongue and speak no evil. As a Jew, Mr. President, I am commanded to never embarrass my fellow human being in public, lest I be accused of spilling their blood – including Ted Cruz or the late Senator and war hero, John McCain. As a Jew, Mr. President, I take great offense in my president attacking Denmark, a country that gallantly saved its Jews from the Nazis, while most of Europe fell asleep. As a Jew, Mr. President, I take umbrage in my Grandfather, the sainted Dr. Rabbi Harry S. Davidowitz, who inhaled poison gas in the trenches of WWI as a US Army chaplain, being called disloyal because he voted Democrat. As a Jew, born and raised in Israel, I take offense at you calling me disloyal to America AND to Israel because I oppose your inept, ghoulish, uncouth, deceitful, inhumane farce of leadership. How many tours of duty have you performed for Israel during wartime? Or, for that sake, the USA? As a Jew, Mr. President, I reserve the right to oppose Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib (neither of whom called upon the help of a former KGB operative to help them in their election to office), while simultaneously condemning your divisive, racist rants and policies. As a Jew who has proud Republican family members who I love and cherish, I am ashamed of what you have done to the Republican party; to conservative ideals – even if I do not share all of those ideals. As a Jew whose Christian uncle fought heroically at the Battle of the Bulge for our country and for the salvation of Europe – I am ashamed by the mockery you visit upon his sacrifice. As the son of a Christian pilot, later converted to Judaism, who led American pilots to glorious victory over Nazi Germany, I am outraged by your embrace of neo-Nazi’s and racists in America (that same pilot, who became a squadron commander in the Israeli Air Force, and fought for Israel’s independence). As a Jew, I am disgraced by your fawning adoration of the worst dictators of our century – you violate Christian and Jewish values by doing so. As a Jew; as a well-informed Jew who loves and cares deeply for Israel and for America, I condemn you and call you out for the divisive fool, the ogre, the ghoul that you are. May my soul not enter your council, let me not join your assembly.
And my reply…
All very nice but what about the Palestinians dear Rabbi. As a Jew do you call out genocide? As a Jew, do you condemn the willful and deliberate starvation of babies. As a Jew, do you condemn Israel’s deliberate slaughter of babies and children and their families using bombs made in America and dropped by Israel. As a Jew, do you condemn the rape of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers (they insult the word soldier)…forces would be a better word, since that is what they use! As a Jew dear rabbi, do you believe that gentiles (me and many of the people who have read this post) are less than you. As a Jew and an Israeli (double whammy there) do you believe that Palestinians, human beings in God’s image, are subhuman? Dear rabbi, are you a Zionist? I’ll answer on your behalf…yes to all above. Much as I despise the orange jackass, I despise individuals like you even more. Your skin is like parchment. You feel insulted by, and object to the words of a ghoul (in that I can agree with you). As for the rest…I’ll spare you my true thoughts as to your Zionism and your vile Jewish rhetoric about people who are ALL made in the image of God. And do I think you believe all that crap about gentiles and lesser humans, yes I do…You’re a rabbi, therefore you will have studied the Torah from cover to cover, and many of us know what lies (both aspects) between those covers. And talking about WW2, lest you forgot, many Jews collaborated with the Nazis in the genocide of Jews from Europe, you’ve used your Holocaust victim card for nigh on 80 years, and yet here you, and your lot are, committing genocide against the Palestinians in whose land Israel are the occupiers…people who gave your Jews from Europe refuge, people whose families you forcibly displaced, whose villages (over 300) you deliberately destroyed, whose families your ancestors (maybe even some of your family) killed…deliberately. And yet you have the audacity to whinge about one sentence. The orange jackass is an idiot, he’s demented, and you’re absolutely correct (much as it behoves me to agree with you)…he’s a ghoul. Put your hurty feelings under you tallit, and get over it. There are way more important issues in the world right now than your fragile ego. Signed by an Atheist who believes that ALL RELIGIONS are evil and should be banned.
I am Israel. I never miss a chance to claim victimhood while inflicting violence.
In 1947, the United Nations handed me more than half of someone else’s land. A gift I didn’t earn, from colonial powers who didn’t own it. I accepted. My neighbors objected. I called it war —and in the chaos, I began my cleansing. Over 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes—some fled, yes—but many were forced out at gunpoint, their villages razed, their names erased.
Then I planted pine trees over the ruins—to hide the memory. Forests where homes once stood. Parks over cemeteries. I made it green so the world wouldn’t see the black underneath. I called it “reforestation.” They called it erasure.
I am Israel. I have never chosen peace—only dominance.
In 1967, I launched a pre-emptive war and seized Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and Sinai. I claimed it was for security. I held onto it for power. I built settlements, one by one, choking Palestinian towns. International law said it was illegal. I ignored it. My map grew. Their freedom shrank.
I am Israel. I could have ended the occupation. Many times. But I always said no.
In 2000, at Camp David, I offered a patchwork of disconnected enclaves surrounded by walls, checkpoints, and soldiers. I called it peace. Palestinians walked away. I called them extremists. Then I built a wall, not on my border—but deep in theirs. I called it security. They called it theft.
I am Israel. I glorify militarism. I raise children to believe they are chosen.
My textbooks erase Palestine. My soldiers patrol streets with rifles pointed at teenagers. My media justifies bombings. My politicians joke about flattening Gaza. I send airstrikes to refugee camps, schools, and hospitals. Then I say they were human shields.
I am Israel. I elected Netanyahu. Again and again.
Not once, by mistake. But knowingly. I voted for leaders who vowed to crush the Palestinians, to expand settlements, to never allow a Palestinian state. My ministers speak of “the Arabs” as a demographic threat. My settlers burn olive trees. My mobs chant “Death to Arabs.” I call it patriotism.
I am Israel. I speak of democracy—but deny it to millions under my control.
I rule over millions who cannot vote in the country that controls their lives. I build roads they cannot drive on. I issue permits for them to breathe, to move, to live. I bomb Gaza, then seal it off and say it’s their fault. I say I left Gaza— but I control its air, sea, and borders. I say they are free — then I starve them.
I am Israel. I demand recognition — but give none in return.
I demand that Palestinians accept me as a Jewish state — while refusing to even say the word “Nakba.” I ignore the homes, lands, and history of those I displaced. I hold their keys in museums, not their hands. I deny the refugees their right to return. I make laws that call them “absentees,” even when they’re just over the hill.
I am Israel. I cry antisemitism — when what I fear is accountability.
I call any critic a hater. I blur the line between Judaism and Zionism, using one to shield the crimes of the other. I weaponize history to excuse apartheid. I manipulate trauma to justify conquest. I say “Never again” — but let it happen to others, by my own hand.
I am Israel. I will never stop killing and bombing and stealing land…you are next!
14 years and what do we have to show for it? Another year older and deeper in debt. A wealthier ex-Chancellor. An ex-PM that covered the walls of Number 10 in ‘gold’ wallpaper. A crop of tory pals who dished out millions to their pals for faulty or nonexistent #PPE A lettuce and Chancellor who trashed the economy in 40days. Meanwhile there are 4.3million children living in poverty and 1.2million pensioners living in poverty. Schools are crumbling. Roads are reminiscent of a 3rd world country, Councils are either bankrupt or perilously close to. And then there’s Gove; millions given to a shipping company that didn’t exist, and the ubiquitous Freeports sold for £1. And #lestweforget HS2 – wholesale destruction of ancient forests, villages laid waste and suicide of people who lost everything, only for the project to be trashed short of completion. AND WHO BOUGHT THE LAND?? And THEN of course 💩 in our streams, rivers and seas. 14 years of tory criminality. #NeverTrustATory
Hi everyone, I’m still alive. Just such long days and soooo tired I just couldn’t face anything except bed.
But I wanted to pop in and say that all is well, I’m having a thoroughly good time. This country is amazing and I will have to share it all when I am not totally exhausted.
However I have to share today’s adventure which was totally unexpected…after I had visited Bamburgh Castle and Seahouses, I went back to Belford…
And then I set off along the next stage of the Northumberland Coast Path, from Belford to Fenwick… and enroute I ended up on a completely different adventure… All went well up until that pic with the gate…a sign that was meant to be there wasn’t and after a good 90 minutes of walking, and walking and wondering when I was going to see the next signpost, I ended up at a farm. I spotted a gentleman working on some machinery, so meandered over and said “excuse me, I’m so sorry to bother you but am I on the Northumberland Coast Path?”….the answer was short and to the point “no”. Oh geez. Anyway after much discussion, he offered to drive me back to the gate where I was meant to turn off….and a teeny tiny plea from me “I don’t suppose you’d consider taking me all the way to Fenwick..only the last bus is at 6.45 ,and if I walk back, I’m going to miss it”. So blow me down if he didn’t actually drive me all the way!! It was quite thrilling actually, racing along the tracks at 60 kms per hour in a farm cart of sorts, scattering deer, and rabbits and pheasants as we went in my defence, he said that a signboard wasn’t where it was meant to be. So he took me all the way to the bus stop and we got there 5 minutes before my bus was due. The map shows where I ended up. In Holborn, and I should have been in Fenwick…which was miles away. When he dropped me off, I said “you Sir, are a true gentleman” to which he replied “I’ve been called many things, but never a gentleman “.
He also said I wasn’t the first, and probably wouldn’t be the last!! Clearly he’s had people ending up at his farm before!
Where I ended up…Holburn. where I was meant to be…Fenwick
Other than that, I’ve been to Lindisfarne (yesterday) absolutely fantastic. Didn’t get lost walking back 😂😂😂
And today I visited Bamburgh Castle – stunning place!! And the seaside town of Seahouses…so cute!!
And so the time has come 😃😃😃 With just 37!!! days (😱) till I set off on my big adventure, Pepe needs a repack. I’ll be away working for 24 of those 37 days, so now is the time!! It’s both thrilling and terrifying…this will be my longest walk/s by far. The most I’ve walked continuously in the past has been 11 days on the Camino.
Pepe looking pretty in yellow 💛 and the colour matched poncho I bought yesterday 🤭🤭🤭
This walk will be 23 days. Naturally of course, 6 of those 23 days will be devoted to exploring the areas I’m in; Berwick Upon Tweed, Lindisfarne, Bamburgh, Newcastle, Carlisle and Glasgow, but that all involves walking 🚶♀️🚶♀️🚶♀️
So whewww, I’m ready, but I’m almost certain that my feet are not at all as excited – they’ll be doing most of the work, poor old 👣👣🥾🥾 #notjustagranny #overthehillstilltravelling
I’m going to be packing as light as possible, even lighter than the Camino, and very definitely, I am planning on using baggage forwarding wherever possible and feasible. As I have said in the past, I’m not into self-flaggelation, and walking for me is an enjoyable pastime not a penance for past sins!! Camino or not!! 😂😂😂
Tomorrow after I’ve returned the tiddler to his parental unit, I’m going shopping for new walking shoes. The asics I purchased a few months ago are not quite doing it for me, and weirdly the Salomons I tried on last week felt more like mini coffins than comfy trainers, which is toats weird since I wore a brilliant pair on my Camino. Shoulda bought 2 pairs!! 🙄🙄🙄
So although that sounds pretty awful in terms of the length of time, 40 years….I didn’t always have debt.
Going back to the beginning, I got married for the first time at the age of 17. Back in those dark ages in South Africa I was advised to get married ‘In Community of Propery’, which basically meant I was my husband’s ‘property’ (49 years later I still don’t know what the benefits were, if any) – if I wanted to open a bank account or sign any documents, I had to not only have his permission, but I also had to have his signature.
This irked me for many years and when I finally left him and we divorced, I then had the freedom to do whatever I pleased. I didn’t immediately dash out to get a credit card, but I did open my own bank account and manage my own money.
The years went by and I eventually met my 2nd husband, who after we married persuaded me to take out a credit card to pay for baby stuff and fluff….like eating out 3 times a week. He fancied himself a posh totty without the funds to back it up. I was at home with my baby at the time and left him (trusted) to manage our finances.
He serviced the card for a while until one day a knock at the door heralded a representative of said bank who asked to come in, and because I was still really stupid in those days, I said okay. I even made him a cup of tea. 🤪🤪🤪 He asked for my credit card and a scissors, both of which I gave him 🤔🤔🤔 like I said….I was still very stupid (or naive, take your pick,). To my horror, he cut up the credit card and told me that it was Rxxxx in arrears (R =Rands and I can’t remember how much).
I was aghast and frankly shocked. But also very afraid…of my husband who was a fairly volatile person and I was really scared about what he was going to say. He responded exactly as I expected.
Long story short, I didn’t get another credit card, went back to work in due course and ultimately we divorced after a few years.
He wasn’t a reliable man and child maintenance was adhoc and irregular, and eventually came to a stop altogether.
But I worked hard, changed companies from time to time and worked my way up from being a debtor’s clerk to Personnel and Administrative Manager for a Courier company with 5 branches and the Head Office, which is where I was based.
I bought a house (mortgage) and a car (lease agreement) and ultimately moved to the coast (East London) as Branch Manager with the same company, after my Mother died (1984), with my daughter and a few months later my younger sister who was just 13 at the time.
Child maintenance from both my ex-husband and my sister’s father was intermittent and seldom enough to support 2 children in any great way.
But my salary was decent and we lived quite happily for nearly 3 years. I opened a new credit card account with an excellent credit rating, had holidays, went out for meals, bought clothes when needed, paid school fees for both schools, had birthday treats etc and I got promoted to Regional Manager of a new Division in the company and I traded one car in for another.
Without warning, and due to no fault of mine, 6 months later the company decided to close down the new division and I was retrenched (made redundant).
Now I was stuck in a very financially poor area of the country, rent to pay, a lease on a brand new car and 2 children to support with no prospects. A chaotic time followed and a few months later I had the first of 2 nervous breakdowns. I left home. And all my debt and responsibility behind me.
Skip forward a few years. I recovered and got a new job, paid off the debt. My daughter came back to live with me. I got another new job, bought a car and a house and acquired new credit cards.
Life went on. I moved my daughter and I to Cape Town in 1997 and still working for the latest company I again improved my prospects. Over the intervening years, jobs came and went. I bought a new house, kept the car, and although we struggled sometimes, somehow I always managed to pay my debts, even if some months were a really close shave and only my powers of persuasion kept us in our house.
Fast forward to 2001 and a series of events occurred.
The company I had been working for over the previous 18 months was put into liquidation after the owners had a falling out. My daughter reached the age of consent (21 in South Africa), and my sister (the one who came to live with me after my Mother’s death), was now living in Ireland with her husband, about to turn 30 and wanted someone from the family to celebrate her milestone birthday with her. Since I had no real responsibilities, I decided to go.
Worked for the liquidators till end of contract. Left my daughter looking after the house (still had a mortgage) and sold her the car (paid off by now). Cleared my credit cards and flew to Ireland.
I loved it so much in Ireland, the freedom!!!! So at the end of my visa, I flew back to SA, sold the house, paid off the mortgage and credit cards put my belongings into storage and flew back to the UK to start a new life with my ancestral visa. No credit cards. My daughter joined me in the UK 1 year later, but managed her own affairs.
I got a job, worked hard, and after a couple of years…acquired a new credit card and life went on. I went on holidays, bought whatever I needed and serviced my debts, building up a good credit rating.
Skip forward to 2005 and a chance meeting got me involved in Multi Level Marketing. All good so far. The training recommended telling family and friends about the company and ‘ideally’ signing them up to also become distributors. I flew to South Africa full of excitement and enthusiasm about the new opportunity, but had buckets of cold water (metaphorically) dumped on my head by various members of the family. And acquired a lot of debt.
I flew back to the UK totally dejected, but struggled on trying to make a go of the ‘business’. A couple of years later my daughter saw an advert for something called ‘Millionaire Training’. In those days I still had hopes of being ‘successful’ of earning enough money to become financially independent. So I went to the training and ended up joining another Multi Level Marketing programme. Both the first and now this were excellent products and I still use the one regularly, just not as a distributor.
After a few months of minimal success it was suggested that I attend a Tony Robbins event called UPW (Unleash the Power Within) and therein lay the seeds of my downfall.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved every minute of the 4 days…it was insane. I got to walk on fire, danced and sang, went through mind-blowing processes, and had my head turned inside out by manipulation…I mean NLP.
Despite my determination to not sign up to the ‘University’ course, by the end of day 4 I found myself handing over my credit card details to the tune of $10,000.00 One word. Four letters.
And that is when money started to flow (as he promised) just not towards me, but away from.
I spent a fortune flying around the world to the different courses. Health Mastery at St Andrew’s, Scotland. Wealth Mastery in London and finally Phoenix Arizona, USA for the coupe de grace….Date With Destiny. hmmm….
At his Wealth Mastery course we learned how to use OPM. Other People’s Money. Ergo the banks. So I did.
As each card got maxed out, so I applied to another company for a new one. My credit rating was still good, and because the whole shebang happened in less than 6 months, it took a while for the banks to catch up with my spending. Despite having gone through his whole programme, I still felt like I was missing something. I still could not sell a tube of toothpaste LOL never mind make a living from the products.
And so I went to this course and that course; Christopher Howard, Roger Hamilton (about whom I shall say as little as possible so I don’t get sued for libel), Dr John Demartini (the only course that actually had any benefits), Success University and many many others…paid for this course, paid for that course, and the next and the next and the next….one after the other, and so my debt mounted. I was still working, but I had taken out loans from one bank, applied for credit cards from another 3 and suddenly I was in debt to the tune of £35k!! And I came down to earth with a bump! 6 months. That’s all it took. From June 2007 till January 2008. And now I was in serious trouble.
In my desperation to ‘find the right’ product, I joined 8 different Multi Level Marketing companies; all with different products, none of which I could actually ‘sell’. One theme that ran through all of them was ‘fake it till you make it’. In other words lie. So I tried. To fake it. But I couldn’t. It didn’t sit right with me and I struggled…still throwing my income at books and online courses (all free course now, I’d run out of money), and listened to The Secret nearly 100 times until I felt I would go mad.
Finally in 2011 whilst struggling to pay my debts that simply grew and grew due to the interest being charged on my credit cards, I gave up all pretence at trying to ‘build a business’ put my head down and took on as much work as I could.
Around me, most of the ‘friends’ I had made at all the courses, were in debt, a couple of whom were in much deeper than myself, and some of them declared bankruptcy. I put the word ‘friends’ into commas because ultimately the friendships wore down and ended over the next few of years.
Meanwhile I had reached a dead end. I could no longer cope with my debt which had now reached the not so very comfortable amount of £50k…..the interest piled upon interest, upon the original debt and I was drowning. So I took financial advice. I approached a Debt Advisor who suggested that firstly I apply to get a refund on all the PPI I had paid the banks….largely successful it reduced some of the debt. One of the companies put me through hoops before finally conceding that they did indeed have to refund me.
I was informed that I could either declare bankruptcy, and various other options that I never took, or I could set up a payment plan through a debt advisory company. I chose the latter. I could not in all honestly walk away from my debt. And so, for the last 10 years, I have diligently paid off my debt in monthly increments, increasing the amount each year and paying more as I earned more.
I still had my holidays, but if I wanted to plan a trip, I took on more work and paid for them upfront. I budgeted my income very carefully; I definitely didn’t attend any further courses (?), I seldom went out for dinner or to the cinema and fortunately I loathe shopping for clothes anyway, so managed to save a little on the side each month by being exceptionally careful with my money. And my trips were always on the ‘cheap’…cheapest travel, cheapest accommodation (sometimes in really shitty places), hardly ate anything while there and didn’t spend money on keepsakes or trinkets. My only luxury has been books. I saved all the money I earned from night calls, or working over bank holidays, and some years I worked over Christmas and New Year….double pay = more money to save. My biggest luxury this last year has been my virtual challenges, but they have also been a way to keep my sanity by pushing me to get out and walk.
When I stopped taking on long-term assignments I lived in shared accommodation, and for 18 months I had no dedicated home at all….but stayed in B&B’s between bookings. And slowly but surely I whittled my debt down over the years. A few years ago I offered decent settlement amounts to a couple of the banks, which were accepted, and subsequently increased the payment amounts to the others. By the beginning of 2021 I had finally reduced my debt to below £5k and today, I made the full and final payment on the very last amount still outstanding. £521.88 to be precise.
As of today, I am finally debt free. I don’t owe anyone a single penny. It is a huge weight off my shoulders.
I know this post has been different to my usual posts, but I felt it was necessary to say…for me. I feel an overwhelming sense of achievement at having finally settled my debts after 10 years, and really really proud that I didn’t take the easy way out and declare bankruptcy back in 2011.
I guess my experience could act as a cautionary tale too. Don’t live on credit. Especially don’t pay for personal development courses with a credit card, and don’t ever subscribe to the fallacy of OPM. It may well be ‘other people’s money’ to begin with, but ultimately, you will have to pay it back. I believed everything they said in those courses, and whilst I may have learned a lot, none of it paid the bills.
I have managed to live without a credit card for the last 10 years…and I will continue to live my life without a credit card. It can be done.
So hey….I did it!!! Yesterday; Faversham to Sittingbourne along the Saxon Shore Way 😁😁😁 9 hours. 30.06 km. Holy moly what a long day. If I add on the distance from home to the station and back, I can add on another 2.5 kms. The last time I walked 32km on any one day was 4 years ago on the Portuguese Camino in Spain…destination: Caldas de Reis. I swore to never do such a long walk ever again 🤪🤪🤪 Hah. I’m very comfortable with 16kms, so this is a bit of a stretch, but hey, it’s done. Now I can concentrate on the next section; Sittingbourne to Rochester….
I’ll do a proper write up in due course, but for now, what I really wanted to tell you about were all the abandoned boats I saw along the way; boats of all sizes, their rotting carcasses littering the creeks.
I wondered why they were abandoned? Who abandoned them? What were their names before being dumped, and why have they been left there to rot.
They are beautiful in their various stages of decay, but how sad. I’m sure they were beautiful craft at some time, sailing proudly along the channels, brightly painted, flags fluttering in the wind, decks alive with chatter.
And now, they’re lying there, forlorn and forgotten….too sad. This post is to honour all boats that get dumped and forgotten. In order of appearance, these boats were seen in Faversham Creek, Oare Creek, The Swale, Conyer Creek and Milton Creek.
I’d love to know their provenance and how long they’ve been lying there….
Long may they rest in pieces and provide food and homes for the fishes.
Extra image of previous two boats from a different angle.
I’ll try get my post up as soon as I’ve caught up with the Thames Path posts, the Pilgrim’s Way posts (2 years ago 😱🤪🤪) and the initial stages of the Saxon Shore Way I’ve already walked. 🤞🤞🤞 Thank you for your patience 😁😁
And yes, after walking 30 kms, I’m feeling every. single. one. of. my. years. 😂😂😂 but lots of vitamin C, Aloe Heat Lotion paracetamol and feet up…I’ll be right as rain…😉
Hahaha, yes, after my blithe words yesterday about being pragmatic about plans changing…guess what??
Yeah…..that….can I bite my tongue?? 🤪🤪🤪
So after hours working out the route, checking the days/dates over and over to make sure they were correct and I didn’t miss any, calculating the distances to make sure the days are not too long, researching accommodation, then booking the dates, and double checking the dates, I got an email this morning confirming my booking but….
“Good afternoon,
Though most restrictions are lifted from 12th April, unfortunately for public who intend to stay in hotel for leisure are allowed only from 17th May. Till this time only key workers are permitted to stay overnight in hotels. Kind regards”
Don’t you just love a big old ‘but’? Although ‘butt’ would be more appropriate now, coz I’m kicking mine…😝😝
I understood from the government website that from 12 April Members of the same household can take a holiday in the UK in self-contained accommodation.
Couldn’t the government have been a little more specific andadded “you may not stay in hotels “. For people like me 😁😁😁
Apparently hotels do not fall under that category 🤨🤨🤨 Who knew?? 🤣🤣🤣 I think I misinterpreted that little clause because I am fed up now with not being able to travel, and want to do my walk.
I know there are still Covid related issues, but seriously, the hotels and places like that are taking so many precautions and they are sterilising their premises and following guidelines for masks etc, that I think its quite ridiculous that we can’t yet travel locally. I get all the overseas restrictions and precautions etc, but the virus is invariably spread by close contact in enclosed environments, big crowds, or feckless people not taking precautions, and you’re seldom in close contact in a hotel. Especially the bigger chains.
So yeah, that’s my little whinge 😏😏😏
I have a headache 🤕🤕🥵 Ugh. I had other plans for today. Or maybe I shouldn’t use the word ‘plans’ for the foreseeable future.
Note to self…
I’m now in the process of reworking all my dates, because I have my actual work dates to reschedule as well.
Reading through this information, I’m left thinking that some people need their heads read!! I know I push myself and I’ve done some crazy shit when on my long-distance walks, but I would not want to do any of this. Thank the lord it’s a virtual climb and I don’t ACTUALLY have to do this 😁😁😁😄 instead I was whizzing around Salisbury
Exploring Salisbury – far more my style ☺
Starting out with an easy hike, I nearly missed the iconic yellow and red sign against a huge boulder simply stating “Way to Everest B.C.” with a big red arrow beneath the words pointing towards base camp. At least I was certain I was on the right path.
After what felt like hours of trekking, the treacherous Khumbu Icefall loomed into view spilling its way down the valley between Everest and Nuptse. Khumbu Icefall sits at the head of Khumbu Glacier, a constantly moving sheet of compacted ice. As the glacier makes its way down the valley it fractures, creating deep crevasses that are always in motion and large towers of ice called seracs that are known to suddenly collapse. Making the final ascent I arrived at the cairn adorned in prayer flags with its rudimentary sign signalling that I have arrived at Everest Base Camp (17,477ft/5,327m). It was located on a scree-covered section (loose broken stones) at the foot of Khumbu Icefall. I settled into one of the yellow tents and mentally prepared for the high altitude acclimatisation process I would begin to endure.
As sea-level dwellers our bodies are not designed to live at high altitude but we are certainly capable of adapting to it through appropriate acclimatisation. The higher we go, our bodies go through physiological changes by producing more red blood cells in order to carry more oxygen to our muscles and organs whilst combating the thinner air.
The acclimatisation process on Everest is lengthy taking up to a month and done by exposing the body to higher and higher altitude then descending to sleep, recover and overcome any signs of acute mountain sickness due to sudden changes in altitude.
High altitude sickness can affect any person regardless of fitness or age. Ignored or left untreated altitude sickness can have serious consequences including fatality by developing either into cerebral oedema or pulmonary oedema which is fluid build-up in the brain or lungs. Some of the immediate ways to treat altitude sickness is by taking specific medication, supplemental oxygen and/or descending.
During that month I climbed and returned to base camp three times with each climb going higher. It looked something like this: 1. Base camp to icefall, return to base camp. Have a day of rest. 2. Base camp across icefall to Camp 1 and stay; then Camp 2 return to Camp 1 for sleep; then Lohtse Face return to Camp 2 for sleep; and descend back to base camp. Have four days of rest. 3. Climb to Camp 1 and stay; then Camp 2 and rest the next day; then Camp 3 return to sleep at Camp 2; and descend back to base camp. Have five days of rest and wait for the right weather to summit.
The anticipation was over and the much awaited good-weather window presented itself for the final part of the expedition: Summitting Everest.
Starting in the wee hours of the morning, geared up and harness on I negotiated my way through the camp under the light of my headlamp to Crampon Point and attached my crampons to my boots.
Staring out at Khumbu Icefall with a good dose of mixed emotions I began the perilous yet now more familiar climb across. Crevasses were crossed on horizontal ladders and towering ice blocks on vertical ones. Some crevasses were so wide that more than one ladder had to be tied together to bridge the gap. For safety I was clipped into fixed lines. If I was to lose my footing on the ladders and fall the fixed lines would help break my fall. Climbs in some areas fluctuated between 20 to 60 degree angles but there was no time to dwell as the ongoing shifting and settling of the glacier and icefall was a constant reminder how unsafe the area was and moving quickly was necessary.
Several hours passed crossing the icefall till I made it to a large flat expanse of snow with more ladders to climb all the way to Camp 1. Situated at 19,390ft (5,910m), Camp 1 was in the middle of the Western Cwm (Cwm is Welsh for valley), a broad and flat glacial valley. From here I could see the Pumo Ri Mountain to the west and Lhotse Face straight up the valley. I then climbed on to Camp 2 about 1.74mi (2.8km) further up from Camp 1. Located at the base of a gully on scree, Camp 2 was well provisioned and is often considered as Advanced Base Camp. I stopped for a day of rest.
Early next morning I began making my way across the Western Cwm to the base of Lhotse Face where I had to cross a short ladder over a bergschrund (a deep crevasse where the steep slope meets the glacier). Lhotse Face is a 3,690ft (1,125m) glacial wall of blue ice. Sections of Lhotse Face average 40 degrees incline thereby needing to kick my crampon points into the ice to secure my footing. Throughout this climb I was clipped into a fixed line which was attached to the face with ice screws and anchors. I could feel the altitude change, my breathing labouring as I slowly and steadily climbed my way into Camp 3. I was now at 24,015ft (7,320m) gaining an elevation of 6,538ft (1,993m) from base camp. There were several camping spots here, essentially wherever one could find a flat spot to pitch a tent. I remained fixed to my safety line. The sun was up bestowing me with glorious views of the valley below, the peak of Pumo Ri and the others beyond.
Quite honestly, that all just sounds like a lot of hard work – so for me, its a no thanks. I’ll stick with my virtual journey and leave this to someone else. Seriously?? Why would anyone want to do this??
I’m not sure if I mentioned this before 🤔🤔 but I’m walking the Thames Path for my birthday…its a milestone birthday in as much as according to the government I can officially retire!!! 🤪🤪🤪 if only.
Initially I really wanted to walk from source to sea, but have not been able to find a good relevant guide book. The Cicerone books are excellent but they only had a sea to source guide, which has been irritating me. So I’ve been pondering how I can turn this around so I can enjoy the walk instead of feeling like I’m doing it the wrong way around…
And I just had an idea 💡 ping the old 🧠 woke up….I shall pretend I’m an explorer 😁🕵️♀️🕵️♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️ who has just stumbled upon this great river, and now I have to follow it to find the mysterious source hidden in the jungle….in reality it’s in a barren field and the stream is mostly dry,🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️ but who’s checking 🤷♀️🤷♀️ this is my adventure and if I say it’s a jungle, then it’s a jungle 🐒🐒🐒🐆🐅🦏🐘🦒🐊🤪🤪
Sometimes it helps to be on the verge of senility, you can make up all sorts of 💩🤣🤣🤣
Thames Path…I shall 👀👉 in April well that’s the plan anyway…the PM may scupper those plans once again, unless I go incognito.
Walking the Thames Path has been a dream of mine ever since we lived in London, and I’m actually quite excited that finally I can bring my dream to fruition 😃😃 Hoorah
Gravesend The O2 Bermondsey City of London – Commemorating the 1666 Great Fire of London in 2016Westminster Chelsea Richmond lockThe Great River Race 2016 RichmondThe Gloriana processing along The Thames during the Tudor Pull near Teddington Teddington Lock (during my 3 Days in London days)
Over the years I’ve walked sections of the Thames Path from Gravesend to Hampton Court and I initially toyed with the idea of skipping this section, which will take me 3 days of solid walking at approximately 20/5 kms per day, BUT I know myself too well…I won’t feel as if I’ve ‘actually’ walked the whole Thames Path unless I walk the whole route.
So, according to the guide, the path starts at the Thames Barrier, so that’s where I shall start my adventure…
The Thames Barrier
Did you know that the River Thames, a tidal river, is considered to be part of the English Coast right up until Teddington Lock ….
All I need now is for everyone to 🤞🤞🤞 that we don’t go into another lockdown before 20th April…thank you 😉
Not Just a Granny 
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