Follow The Red Plastic Path

Another dream of Ben Nevis, must look at the reasons sometime.
This time a group of us approached from sea level. After a short distance I decided to leave the party, who were intent on climbing Tower Ridge.
The slope unnerved me as it went straight from sea level to the summit in one huge sweep.
I decided to take the path which circumvented the mountain just above a beach.
The path was made of shiny red plastic with a little plastic fence on the seaward side.
It was great fun, went on for miles, past a beautiful stretch of sand, a wild rocky area, a red light district and finally as it returned to the starting point, along the edge of a deep ravine.
I then sat on the red plastic path waiting for the Ridge party to return.

Tidying Up

Another mountaineering trip. Don't remember getting further than the hotel though.
It had been a large weekend group, all staying in a massive hotel room.
Almost everyone left on the Sunday leaving me to tidy up the room.
Apart from the usual socks and poly bags left behind there was two burnt out vehicles.
One was a double decker bus and the other a much smaller vehicle.
The bus was still on fire and I noticed two unharmed children on the top deck, flames all around them.
I turned a nearby hosepipe into their vicinity, ensuring their safety.
The older child threw the baby down to me and then jumped down onto the floor.
I then unplugged the bus from the mains, maybe that had been the problem.
I wondered why the parents had left the children behind.
The baby and his parents were known to me, must have a word with them later.
I then carried on with the tidying up.

Seated in the Basin

I must have dropped off to sleep. When I awoke I wondered where I was, not in my bed obviously.
I looked around, all rocks and a breathtaking drop at my feet.
I was wearing my old tweed jacket, some dark trousers and my flat cap.
Rather uncomfortable though, I was sat on some rough and damp rocks.
Then I realised exactly where I was, ie perched in the 'Basin' of the Orion face on Ben Nevis.
Somewhere I had, unfortunately, never visited in my waking life.
Some roped climbers arrived, doing the Long Climb, and told each other there was some old guy sat on his own and wondered how the f*** had he got there.
Characteristically, I was no wiser myself.
I woke up before finding out how the problem was solved.
Perhaps I disappeared in front of their eyes.

Reality of Paintball

We were queuing for a sort of paintball gun experience. I say 'sort of 'as it wasn't paint that the guns fired but real bullets.
I therefore took my time over the purchase of tickets, finding a locker, looking at the rules and getting kitted up.
It all seemed very complicated and the staff were none too helpful.
Then chaos began to break out and I wondered what was happening.
Then I realised that these events reflected what I was thinking.
Something like having a slow thought process, reluctant to face the truth, not actually being very clear as to what was happening then mind all over the place.
Not necessarily in that order.
Time to wake up.

Ambulance Journey

I was being taken to hospital in an ambulance to get an operation to my back. It seemed to involve getting something either removed or added to the small of my back. I was a bit worried.
However the ambulance driver said that she had undergone the same operation and it was no problem.
In fact she offered to show her scar as we were driving along.
Before I could answer she had stripped off completely, as she was driving, to the consternation of both myself and her co driver.
She then pointed out her scars at the base of her spine.
At that point we unsurprisingly crashed.
The co driver was thrown out of the vehicle but we seemed otherwise undamaged.
However we were off the road in a busy shopping centre and had to retrieve our co driver.
Our naked heroine was up for the situation and leapt out of the ambulance, put her colleague on a stretcher, and with my help, unceremoniously threw him into the back of the vehicle.
Crowds stood around agape.
We drove off at speed.
Not heard the end of this I thought.

Threatening Rain

I was on my way North by train to interview a possible new candidate for our Men's Group.
As I alighted at the station I looked up at the sky and was astonished to see millions of arrows frozen in mid descent from a cloudless sky.
Hoping they might remain in a state of suspended animation I cautiously walked away from the station.
I turned over in my mind the symbolism but, typically, I was no wiser.

The Final Corner

More snow last night. Deep snow and then a good solid freeze.
I had made a New Year Resolution. More exercise.
Accordingly I made my way to Ben Nevis to climb the last great problem, the 'Final Corner'.
There was a group of other climbers at its foot assessing the possibilities.
I pushed past them all and started a solo ice climb.
It seemed easy enough, bridging up the vertical corner.
Nearly there I thought, piece of cake.
Then a rapid word association in my brain, cake, eating too much sugar, Christmas just gone, no exercise yet, unfit, overweight, should not be here ie 50 metres above the ground.
So, I fell, down, down, down into my duvet and my final corner.
Will start the more exercise regime tomorrow.

Toilet Break

Woke up during the night to go to the loo. Went into the hall en route and was confronted by a person I knew to be dead.
I almost died with fright.
Then there were others, all around.
I ran into my kitchen and looked under the sink.
I pulled out a spray can. Can't remember if it was furniture polish, wasp killer or even deodorant.
Anyway I rushed back into the hall and started spraying the 'ghosts', if that was what they were.
They partially disappeared but that was even more scary, just bits of heads etc.
Decided it was time to wake up.
It was a while before I plucked up courage to go to the loo.