Adventures a New

Its amost a year since I last blogged so I thought I'd better post something to show that I am still alive.

We have just finished travelling around Romania for almost a month on public transport and, having met a man on a plane (you worked in Arnhem and live near Bolton so you know who you are!) I decided to type up the diary that I have kept.

This will take a few weeks so here's a taster of the first bit - this has not been proof read so when the full version is posted it should be little tidier and there should be more of it.

Anyway - here it is....

As with all these things it started with an idea.

That idea was to spend a few weeks travelling around Romania, climb a few hills and see some sights.  That was it.  It was the same mentality that we had adopted in 1989 when we travelled around Europe by train on the old EuroRail passes, talking to locals and other travellers where we should travel to and what we should see.  This trip had been undertaken just three months before the Berlin Wall came down and four months before the execution of Ceausescu, on Christmas Day.

When we undertook the trip in 1989 all of Western Europe was open to the train traveller without any major issues, although the different currencies did create a certain challenge as you tried to calculate exactly how much money you needed for your time in a particular country (many thanks to the Bureau de Change in Oslo who got confused when we exchanged German Marks and French Francs as well as Sterling and gave us far more than we should have been given).  The best you could hope for as far as Eastern Europe was concerned was you could, if you had the right passport, travel through East Germany to West Berlin.  Beyond that the Communist East was just something that you read about in the news and, certainly, not the sort of place that you thought you would travel to.

All of that changed at the end of 1989/1990 and travelling throughout Europe suddenly became achievable, although around the same time the EuroRail system started to change and so this right of passage closed.  We did travel, by car, in 1990 and 1991 around Europe but, again, it was limited to the Western part due to time constraints.  Ten years later we did manage to tour through some ex-Communist areas and even got to Berlin before the whole of No-Man’s Land was built on.

So why Romania?  In 2015 we were invited to join a Scout trip to the area near Brasov and were introduced to a country that showed great potential for the independent traveller, an interesting public transport system and a few good hills to be wandered amongst (not the height of the Alps or other areas we had visited but the prospect of bears is always a selling point!).

What we proposed to do was an Over 50s Independent Explorer Belt based on the Scout Award that we had tried to achieve back in the 1980s but were unable to do so due to bureaucracy (although the trips did take place, independent of the Scout Association) it was to travel, visit and absorb the culture.

The initial plan was as vague as many of our other tours and sketched in the front of my diary was our timetable – it was along these lines;

21^st July          Fly Manchester to Bucharest           Hotel booked in Bucharest

22^nd July         Train to Sinaia                                  Hotel booked in Sinaia

To be confirmed

13^th August    Bucharest                                           Apartment booked

14^th August    Bucharest                                           Apartment booked

15^th August    Bucharest                                           Apartment booked

16^th August    Bucharest                                           Apartment booked

17^th August    Fly Bucharest to Manchester

This vagueness was born out of a meeting with an Australian we met in Heidelberg in Southern Germany;

“Have you been to Scandinavia?” asked out antipodean drinking chum.

“No” we replied.

“You should, while you are in the area”

The following day we started on a 12 hour, 600+ mile, trip to Copenhagen, followed by Stockholm and Oslo.  We saw places we had never really thought about visiting and it showed us the benefit of picking up information from locals, and other travellers – such information cannot be obtained while stuck in a car.

So our vague route plan before we left was to head North, via some hills, towards the Ukraine Border – then head East towards the Black Sea and then back to Bucharest.  We would pack a tent, sleeping bags and a stove.  Our budget was to be £50 each per day to cover food and accommodation (although we hoped to bring the whole trip in at under £40 each per day).

To Romania.

Thursday 21^st July – 2.15am and the alarm goes off.  Up and at ‘em!  Fortunately, for once, all the gear is packed and the rucsacs are neatly sitting in the living room.

Taxi is booked for 3am and we are outside waiting with 5 minutes to go.  House key is safely packed away (on a long red lanyard so we can find it) and we take a long look at our broken gate, which we hope will be repaired whilst we are away.

Aughton Road is very quiet and the first car to pass is our taxi which is creeping slowly along the road looking for house numbers – surprised he didn’t spot us standing outside with two big rucsacs.  Our first VW of the trip – a nice roomy estate in which our gear fits comfortably.

The Particulate Filter Warning Light comes on – H demonstrates that she has listened to her father over the years and explains what they do and why they can be annoying – as we head up the M1 it goes off.  The driver says that it is booked in for a recall notice anyway so he will get it sorted then (we are not told what the recall notice is and are too polite to ask).  Any hopes of a sunrise as we cross the Pennines are not realised but we sleep for much of the way anyhow – the radio is going on about the Republican Convention.

Get to the airport way ahead of schedule, dropped off near the entrance and head inside.

Airports are wonderful edifices, regardless of what time you arrive it is always “open time” and the light inside is exactly the same (outside the sun rises!).  Check in at an airport is always an experience whose enjoyment is dependant on (1) How much time you have and (2) How tired you are!  Our queue is long but at least seems to have a logical progression, ie a beginning, middle and end.  The RyanAir one has no such logic and snakes off in both directions almost as far as the eye can see.  With time on our hands (it turns out that there is another Amsterdam flight before ours) we happily point out, “Yes, this is the KLM queue” and, “No, that’s the RyanAir queue”.

As we reach the front of our queue (Team RyanAir are still doing laps of the airport) we discover that most of our fellow travellers are waiting for the 5:55 to AMS (we are on the 7:55) and the clock is most definitely ticking away for them.  The KLM staff were getting twitchy as time was short and we are asked to step back to let the others through, which of course we do – there are big warning signs everywhere warning people about being late so I’m not sure why so many are late.  One of the passengers who we talk to is from Qatar who is flying home having come over for his graduation ceremony at Sheffield University – he is very taken with our plans and, at one point, I thought that he was going to ask if he could join us.

20 Years of Mountain Marathons

This weekend I joined a special group of people - those who have completed 20 OMMs.  I even have a special fleece to prove it.  So, what is it all about?

Well, the mountain marathon is a two day adventure race - you set off on day one and are given a map with some checkpoints.  You race to the overnight camp, then in the morning do the same again. Oh yes and in that time you and your partner are totally self sufficient.  Did I also mention that you don't know where the race starts until a few weeks before so you cannot reconnoitre the area.

So basically that's it!

Way back in the mid to late 1970s I was looking for a new rucsac, in those days there were two major suppliers of high end rucsacs (Karrimor and Berghaus), and got a copy of the Karrimor technical guide.  Once I'd ploughed through all the rucsacs (the Vallot or the Alpiniste? was the question), I found a section on the Karrimor International Mountain Marathon, a two day race in the hills requiring excellent navigation and mountain skills.  As a teenager my interest was raised but never thought I'd be up to it.

Fast forward to 1994 and Richard Bolam suggested that we enter the KIMM, we did and didn't get in.  The same occured in 1995.  Finally in 1996 a large brown envelope arrived - we were in.

The training started and I gave up alcohol for two months.  We were out in the hills every weekend and road running in between. Commemorate T shirts were ordered as were various bits of specialisty equipment.

From then on lots of interesting things happen;

On one of the early ones Chris Brasher (of London Marathon fame) and Eric Langmuir (author of Mountaincraft and Leadership) were competing together.  In the car park a large crowd had gather round Brasher but I made my way towards Langmuir and had a good ten minute chat with him about his books etc whilst Brasher was being mobbed by fans.  Certainly seemed to cheer Langmuir up.

KIMM 1996 - Galloway Forest with Rich Bolam - It rained but we are ready.  Or so we thought.  The next two days were a very steep learning curve.  As we drove away from the area it flooded!
KIMM 1997 - Kielder Forest with Rich Bolam - lovely weather all weekend.  Even ran and a section in shorts.
KIMM 1998 - Howgills with Rich Bolam - the original one with the rain, before 2008 happened.  Rich knew it was windy when I was blown off my feet on the Calf.  Got back to the start to find that our tent had been destroyed in the storms.
KIMM 1999 - Cowal Penninsula with Rich Bolam - my first retirement.  We had been upped a level to B class and it was hard.  As night descended we'd had enough.  Overnight Rich's rucsac was blown away!
KIMM 2000 - Lakes with Rich Bolam.  Back in a more comfortable class - remember a long section on road and a long descent at the very end.
KIMM 2001 - Clydes Muirsheil Park with Rick King - no date on the car sticker as it was the year of foot and mouth.  Great views over Glasgow as the sun went down on the Saturday night.
KIMM 2002 - Cheviots with Rick King.  Late arriving at the overnight camp meant that we pitched the tent on a slight slope - in the morning the site was flooded and we were fine!
KIMM 2003 - Langholme Park with Andy King - my planned partner fell ill on the Thursday before the event and my usual "back ups" were all spoken for.  Picked Andy up on the way to the event.  Sadly day two was a little too far and we were timed out.
KIMM 2004 - Brecon Beacons Park with Rich Bolam - swampy entrance to the overnight camp.  First time we managed to meet up with friends at overnight camp.
KIMM 2005 - Ullswater with Rich Bolam - An area we knew very well but we were confused by it not giving the names of the hills on the map.  Bit of a panic at the end when a large sign said "You have finished the last ever KIMM" - we were not aware of the change of branding but were reassured by the marshals that it would go on.
OMM 2006 - Galloway Forest with Rich Bolam - back to where it had all started.  Thick mist late in the afternoon and we spent ages trying to find the last checkpoint (it was on a rock face).
OMM 2007 - Lowther Hills with Rick King - late start time resulted in us getting benighted and we retired at the end of day one.
OMM 2008 - Borrowdale with Rich Bolam - the wet one - much has been written about this.  Yes, it was challenging but that's what we enter it for.  We reached the overnight camp to be told that the event had been cancelled, apparently I looked into the sky and said "Why?" We then trudged over Honister in the teeth of a gale and slept in the car.  My eldest son took part in this - it was his 16th birthday!
OMM 2009 - Elan Valley.  Last one with Rich, he announced his retirement on the way to the event and the weekend was like he was doing a lap of honour.
OMM 2010 - Dartmoor with Tom Bacon - finally get to compete with my son (he did 2008 & 9 with a family friend).  Day One absolutely glorious weather, even complained that the sun was in our eyes for the first few hours.  Day Two rain, high winds and raging torrents where once were streams.
OMM 2011 - Comrie with Tom Bacon - Tom was ill the Friday night and it was an achievement to get to the start.  We didn't get much further and retired soon after starting (top tip; don't do a mountain marathon if you are really ill!).
OMM 2012 - Howgills with John Bell-Winfrow - John was drafted in as a late replacement a few days before the event after Tom injured his ankle.  It was wet and cold, in fact I think that at one point John's hands went blue.
OMM 2013 - Black Mountains with John Bell-Winfrow - the day before bad storms were due to hit South Wales.
OMM 2014 - Cheviots with John Bell-Winfrow- very windy.  We thought that the overnight camp would have some shelter - it hadn't and we amusingly watched some people trying to pitch their tents.
OMM 2015 - Tweedsmuir Hills with John Bell-Winfrow.  20 up!
OMM 2016 ? Bring it on.


KIMM/OMM in Numbers

20 Entries
16 Succesful Finishes
5 Partners
5 Pairs of Fell Shoes (+ numerous resoles)
3 Rucsac
2 Tents (both Terra Nova Geminis)
2 Hats (both Lowe Alpine)
1 First Aid Pouch (in need of patching)

Tips?

• Always take a decent sized mug - one year we went with small light ones.  You need a good mug of tea/coffee/hot chocolate at the end of the day.
• Check your plastic bags (for your feet) to make sure that they have no breathing holes in them (postage bags are good).
• I have always taken a mountain tent rather than skimped on weight and gone the Laser route due to the time of year of the event and always got a good night sleep.  On a few occassions I've seen teams huddled up next to a wall with the remnants of a tent wrapped around them.
• Take wellies for the Friday night and so you help push out cars on the Sunday.
• Finally, have fun and enjoy it.  

Many thanks to Jenn Longbotham and all at the OMM.

Top Ten Attractions in Wales

I have just got back from a, rather wet, week in North Wales.  We were there as we were running a Queen's Scout (Gold D of E) Expedition for Rotherham Explorer Scouts.

Anyway we, the Bacon Family, have spent many a happy holiday in the area in both good and bad weather (admittedly that has involved climbing the hills in all sorts of conditions).  During these visits we resisted the temptation to spend money on many of the attractions feeling that National Trust and English Heritage membership would suffice.

So, this summer I was impressed by a leaflet called Ten Top Attractions in North Wales.  But how much would it have cost for me and the rest of the Bacons to have gone on them when we were holidaying over here.

1. Portmerion - I agree, this place is brilliant and everyone should visit at some time in their life (and watch the Prisoner).  We spent our Silver Wedding Anniversary there.  So, the cost.  For a family of four (2 adults and 2 kiddies) a family ticket = £31.

2. Nature World on Anglesey - never been to this but it does have meerkats.  Family of four = £27.95.

3. Zip World - visited this as we stayed quite close.  Looks great but a little quick and it appears that you cannot just pay and go - you have to book in advance.  Family of four = £220.

4. Tweedmill Shopping Outlet - its a shopping centre so, technically, its free to get in.  Is it me but it seems a bit odd that people go on holiday to go shopping but each to there own and at least this one is free.

5. Welsh Mountain Zoo - again, not one I have visited but its in Colwyn Bay which is nice.  A family ticket? £38.10

6. Greenwood Forest Park - went to this when the kids were young and it was a great day out but its currently £46.70 for a family of four so remember to take sandwiches.

7. The Great Orme Tramway - no visit to North Wales is complete without a visit to the Orme.  However, it is perfectly doable on foot.  £22 for return tickets for the family.

8. Anglesey Sea Zoo - last time we went there were huge queues to get in and it was a good day out and at £27 is offers good value.

9. Slate Llechwedd Caverns - again a good trip but at £45.80 for the family?

10. Snowdon Mountain Railway - Never been on it, nor do I intend to go on it.  Climbing a mountain involves climbing it.  £120 for this family outing when someone who is reasonably fit can get up from Llanberis in a couple of hours.

Now I'm sure for the cost of all of these a family could go to Sports Direct and invest in boots, waterproof and a map - all that is required to enjoy the countryside.

Or is it me just being a mean Yorkshireman?

The Election

Now I'm going to have to be careful here so as not to upset anyone...so here goes.....

Some of you may be aware that quite soon (I started writing this in mid-April) there is going to be a General Election in the UK.  If you live in the UK then you have been reminded everytime the news comes on.

In fact, I think, the only time it hasn't been the first thing on the news is when Richie Benaud passed away.  But even then Sir Richie was quickly shuffled down the running order (what do you mean he was never Knighted?).... I digress.

So, you are a first time voter - who do you vote for?  Well, it appears that there are several different reasons for voting for a certain party.

In no particular order;

You vote for the person who is best dressed?  This seems to be an obsession with the media - Ed/David is wearing a Savile Row/M & S (or Matalan?) suit.  Instantly there is an uproar about them (1) wasting money on clothes, (2) trying to dress down to get t' working class vote or (3) endorsing clothes made in the Far East.  Now I had a made to measure suit when I got married, have a standard High Street suit and have one from George do I cover all bases!  Now I appreciate that people looking smart is good and that the alternative (of them wearing T shirts & jeans) opens up another (huge) bag of worms but please you are in danger of going with the "they have a nice smile" approach to voting.

You vote for the party that has one speciifc policy that you like?  Last week there was a big thing that one of the shooting/hunting groups were saying that they were going to support one party because they might repeal the killing animals with dogs legislation.  Similarly, vote for because they will stop some double yellow lines being painted somewhere.  Please remember folks, yes be attracted by one policy but you get the whole batch of other policies as well (some of the time).

You vote for someone as they did well in the leaders debate? I was lucky in that I was away when this was on and so didn't waste two hours of my life watching people trying to put one over on someone else by scoring cheap points.  All the leaders are trained in how to deal with the media and so respond in a similar way.

You vote against someone as the press said something about them?  Over the past couple of days there has been quite a few people having a go at Ed Miliband?  Why?  Not sure why they feel that it is necessary to go with personl attacks (see also "Oooh!  Isn't their kitchen nice").

You vote for the one who you've always voted for/family voted for?  Again things change.  Do you really know what the different parties stand for?  What they stood for 50 years ago may have changed.  Many parties rely on this approach with their secure seats (all parties have them and know who they are).

You don't vote for <insert party here> because of their involvement with <insert something that has happened in the past 10 years>?  This is one of my favourites, a friend's late father never voted for a party because of the Suez Crisis.  I know others who still boycott parties because of their stance on the Vietnam/Korean War.  Yes, I know that these things happened but they were a long time ago and we have moved on.

Lastly

You vote for someone because someone famous tells you too?  What about that thing called freewill?  Many years ago Pete Murray (a well known DJ at the time) was on one of the breakfast programmes during the election campaign.  He turned to the camera and said ".....a vote for the Labour party is a vote for communism, may God have mercy on your soul!"  - to be honest the way he said it scared my slightly, it was said out of context and no other back up was given.  Sorry Pete (and all the other "celebrities" who tell me what to vote) but people can make their own mind up.  I wonder what may have been said had he accused another party of being fascist?  He is no longer with us so we'll never know.

Don't forget that the Monster Raving Loony Party were the first to suggest dropping the age of sufferate to 18 (from 21), pet passports, all day pub opening and commercial radio.  They also "shamed" the establishment into distributing supluses of milk and butter to charities following the revalation that the European Community (as it was) was dumping excess to maintain prices.

So, make sure that you vote (I don't care what Russell Brand says) - if you don't vote you can't complain. But make sure that you look at the policies of the parties (they are available on line).  You could even contact local candidates, in my experience they are more than happy to talk to you.

Here endeth my latest ramble.

Designer Wear

I have a designer jacket that I go walking in.  Its a Rab Alpine Jacket, is well designed, practical and I have used it on many trips (including a few mountain marathons).

Now I'm sure that someone would say that its not a "designer" jacket as its not made by <insert name of overpriced company here>.  Last year an Explorer Scout parent asked me if I could lend her son a waterproof, when I said I had she asked me if it was a good make as her son would only wear Nike!  When I explained the pedigree of the jacket she again said "...but is it as good as a Nike jacket..."

Earlier this week I suggested that everything has a "designer" but it was pointed out that this starts to become a more philosophical grumble than I wanted it to be.  So I am just going to grumble about what people refer to as designer wear without really giving it any thought.

When I got married my suit was made to measure (de rigour for the time) by a good old fashioned tailor - not sure how much it cost but I remember noting that a suit from Next (just down the road) was considerably more.  And yet the Next "off the peg" suit would probably be regarded as more designer than the made to measure one......yes, it is odd.

On a non-uniform at school a couple of years ago one lad had a hat that cost him £45.  I asked why it cost that much and his reply was "its from Hollister", I explained how much my Lowe walking hat had cost and why was his almost twice as much? The reply came "because its from Hollister".  Realising that the lad didn't fully understand my question I went through the details of the Lowe hat (Gore-tex, warm lining and how well it has worked in the hills) and again asked why his was so much.  Again I was met with "because its from Hollister"!  I retired from the discussion in defeat.  Now I know I always appear to have a downer on the likes of Hollister but when people automatically assume that they are buying quality because its expensive then maybe you can see my point.

So, I am sitting at a non-designer table drinking tea from a non-designer mug.  Of course that doesn't make sense - they were obviously both designed by someone, it's just that they are not overpriced with a big badge on them

Back to NEXT - they sell designer gear, yes?  The company was headed up by George Davies for many a year and his influence on fashion is well recorded.  But then you look at George at Asda - designer clothing?  Obviously not I hear you cry and yet its the same bloke!

I suppose this week's message is to think about what you buy?  Don't just buy a label - if you spend £45 on hat make sure it is something a little more than a 50p hat with a badge on it.....even if that badge does say Hollister.

Grumble over.

Celebs!

Every February Half Term I head north to Keswick.  Its something that I have been doing since I was 14 and for the last 25+ years has been an adventure that I share with several friends in a rented house.

I share this fact with you because everyday we buy some newspapers (normally 3 or more) that we all slowly plough through over breakfast before heading to the hills.  One of them is always a tabloid and it is where I find out all about the so called celebrities that currently rule our nation.

This year is no exception except that Kim Kardashian is now appearing in the Sunday Times under the heading "The Woman Who Broke the Internet".  Now it might just be me but I am pretty sure that she did not break the internet (or if she did break it then I missed it) - from memory this was just a publicity stunt.  BUT, I hear you shout, she is famous so it must be true!  Well, with the greatest of respect to Ms Kardashian, I would like to know exactly what she has done to be famous?  Pretty sure that she did not "invent" the internet (think that honour goes to Sir Tim Berners-Lee who, I'm pretty sure, doesn't court publicity in the same way) and a straw poll of people (of reasonable intelligence) failed to identify what she has done to help society (as I type this she is in the newspaper as she has hired a make up arist for her boobs....is this news?).

Now, I have nothing against Ms Kardashian and her ilk but can't help feeling that we are missing the point with people who we look up to in the world.  Jonathon Ives is British, a very modest bloke and the man who designed the iMac, iBook, iPhone, iPod, iPad etc etc. and yet many will look towards "celebrities" for inspiration rather than people who really achieve things.  In America an ex-Playboy model is currently telling everyone not to let there children have the MMR vaccine because of a report that was, long ago, discredited! Result?  It is likely that a measles epidemic will cause havoc in America - what are her qualifications to say this?  Has she read this very complex report and fully understood it?  A similar incident occured in the UK when a TV presenter said that she wasn't having her children vaccinated - again the result was people stopped having their children vaccinated.

Are we, as a society, slowly crumbling into this "celebrity" world?  My old mate Beckham went to the BAFTAs last week and then appeared on the front page of all the newspapers the following day - why?  No, I don't know either.  Obviously he was in a film that I missed.  I appreciate that Beckham has done loads for English National Football.....pause for effect........ but he never lifted the World Cup, or for that matter the Euro thingy either so why is he placed on such a pedestal (please don't say about him being the best dead ball kicker in his day or I will remind you of him missing the penalty!).

As a mountaineer I have had the pleasure of meeting many "celebrities" of that sport.  These are people who are at the pinnacle of the sport and have achieved more than can be imagined by most mere mortals - Chris Bonnington is still climbing in his 80s, leading numerous expeditions to the Himalayas etc and done so much for this country that he has been recognised with a knighthood.  I have met him on a few occasions, I called him Chris and he called me Gary (no Sir Chris required).  The respect is there, not a forced one caused by the media.  Alan Hinkes is the first (and so far only) Brit to climb all of the world's 8,000 metre peaks (less than 40 in the world have done so) and yet I have chatted to him without a gaggle of publicity people gathered round or people keep telling me that he is a celebrity because he has appeared on <insert name of pointless TV programme>.

So, what am I suggesting?  Well folks (for those of you who have read this far) I suppose I am saying GET A SENSE OF REALITY.  If someone has achieved something then respect them for it, if you have to be told that they are a celebrity then they are probably not (and appearing on a reality show does not make them one).

I'm not going to suggest that you all start thinking that Robert Falcon Scott was a great celebrity who should be worshipped? But maybe look at what people have done.

Here is a list of acceptable celebrities; Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Billy Connolly, James Martin, Sir Geoffrey Boycott etc.

You get the idea.  Ernest Shackleton was knighted for getting closer to the South Pole than anyone else - that was before the Trans-Antarctic trip!

So, world, get things in perspective!

Here endeth this rant.

Oh yes, quick hello to Tracey & Mo for reasons I will not specify.

Friends (not the TV series)

During the past year I have experienced all sorts of emotion and put a huge strain on friendships that I have had for years but like to think that I have come out of it a better person and hope that it has strengthened the friendships.

So, how long does a friendship have to be before it is "special" and similarly when does a casual acquaintance/work colleague take that epic step to being a friend.

Some time ago I read some research (yes, I am that sad that I am fascinated by statistics) and, to paraphrase, it said that by the time you got to 40 if you had 15 good friends then you should consider yourself lucky and the average was around 8.

What does make a good friend?  Well, in my case when I think of some of the tricky (ok dangerous) situations I have been in the only thing that has kept me going is a high level of trust in friendship.  I suppose I should give examples so here are a few;

Sitting in a rally car going at stupid miles an hour heading for a little gap which was obviously not bit enough for the car to get through (thanks Charles).

Wild camping in the Dales in the middle of winter and having to battle to get down safely (Owen).

Climbing silly ridges in winter conditions (John).

Mountain marathons (Rich, Rick, Andy, John).

Winter crossings of the Three Peaks (Tracey).

Surviving kebabs in Huddersfield (Kev).

This is by no means a definative list - others have been there to take me to the pub after messing up on my A Levels, offering me support when things have gone wrong on long distance walks, buying me a pint after a race and so on.

Then there is the issue of family - when I once commented that my wife was my best friend I got a response that almost suggested that I was not allowed to say such a thing.  Similarly woe betide any suggestion that I would regard my sons as friends (although both of them could be placed in the list above).

Are Facebook friends really friends?  I suppose some are, others are casual acquaintances but others are just a virtual presence.   Similarly Twitter followers (although Mrs B always refers to them as my Twitter Friends) have the same fate.

Maybe the phrase "A Friend in Need......" should appear on Facebook before you send a friend request?

So, folks, that's this week's message - look after your friends because one day they will repay the favour.  I know because I have been there.

My friends - I salute you all.