Ray Mears

Quoted message said:

So far we're pretty much agreed that he's just a big girl's party frock, then!

Regards: Jim Ford

OMG... We are getting close to Jimmy McGregor country here.....

Richard Webb

On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 21:22:55 +0100, Gordon <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Paul Cummings <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

"Gordon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jim Ford <[email hidden]> wrote
>Hi.
>
>I don't know about you, but whenever I see Ray Mears on the box I always
>think that he looks too 'soft' and pudgey to do a lot of energetic

treking!

Quoted message said:

>I don't doubt his knowledge and expertise, but he'd be more convincing to

me

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>if he had a 'stringy' Paul Hogan look!
>
>What do you think?

I think Paul Hogan is a two-movie actor.

You didn't see Croc Dundee III then.

Nope!

Quoted message said:

With the face lift that put his eye
brows somewhere over the crown of his head. I know he was looking a little
craggy, but that face lift looked ridiculous. And don't start me on the
scene with Mike Tyson. It was hard to work out who was the most wooden.

Mind you, I quite liked Lightning Jack (pre-face lift movie).

Have fun,
Paul

He is not a trekker. He is a bushcrafter.
There is a difference

John Myers <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Yes he was patronising .... lets deny them the trappings of modern living.
Ray seemed to think they didn't ought to use matches so decided he would
show them the proper way, without diluting their ancient culture. He did
qualify this by saying he was very careful and tactful with the elders as he
didn't want to insult anybody, by infering that they didn't know as much as
him about lighting fires the old fashioned way.
.

So he was patronising but in a non-patronising way. ;-)

I didn't get any hint of patronisation from him, he seemed to understand
them, but clearly he DID know more about fire-making, and it's a
lifesaving skill in some circumstances.

How far did they say they had to go for a box of matches? 15 miles, I
think....
--
Gordon

On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 14:28:28 +0100, Gordon <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Phil Cook <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Gordon said:

I think Paul Hogan is a two-movie actor.

The beer ads were better IMO. Though the beer in question is [censored].

Quoted message said:

I wouldn't like to arm-wrestle Ray Mears, and he's quite nifty with a
machete, judging by the recent episode I saw...... ;-)
I don't usually watch him, he's too Ozzie and too frenetic for me,

Strange that, Ray's English or a least he was brought up in England.
http://www.raymears.com/ray.cfm?section=aboutray

No surprise to me! My son was brought up in England too, but within a
few months of emigrating to Oz he had acquired such an accent that I
could barely understand him. :-)

Surely Ray's is an Ozzie accent?

Are you sure you have got the right Ray Mears? That old guy from the
Aussie soap Home and Away has the same name.

And yes, I am embarrassed to know that ;-)

--

Laz

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A foolproof method for sculpting an Elephant:
First, get a huge block of marble. Then, chip away
everything that doesn't look like an Elephant.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Change "nospam" to "ntlworld" to reply.

Gordon said:

How far did they say they had to go for a box of matches? 15 miles, I
think....

I thought he said it was a three week journey. Or was it 3 days?

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

Judith said:

Tracks?

That's it!

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

Paul Saunders said:

I thought he said it was a three week journey. Or was it 3 days?

Depends who they send .... me .... or Roger.

Bad knee? My foot!

Judith

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Gordon said:

How far did they say they had to go for a box of matches? 15 miles, I
think....

I thought he said it was a three week journey. Or was it 3 days?

15 miles in 3 days can be a very respectable rate of progress in jungle.

ISTR reading of one expedition that spent 3 days travelling 8 km in the Peruvian
jungle.
--
Mark South, Super Genius: World Citizen, Net Denizen

"Gordon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

John Myers <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Just seen Ray in the Amazon jungle last week on his new series, believe

it

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or not showing the local indians how to make fire using the ol rubbing

wood

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together trick.
Ray thought the Locals without being patronising mind! ought to learn the
finer arts of fireligting and go back to their roots.

John

The method he showed them is low-tech anyway. A better way is to
construct a bow (as in bow-and-arrow), then wind the bowstring a few
times round the stick you wish to spin against the wood base. Then
you can use a sawing action with the bow to turn the spindle, holding
the top by a small stone with a hollow in it, used as the top bearing,
which you always carry in one pocket of your shorts[1].
This way the spindle can be turned much faster, soon resulting in a
cheery blaze.

[1] These are the standard issue red shorts handed out to all naked
savages by film makers, in order not to shock the audience back home.

A stone for the top bearing is a good idea, but rather than having to find
one (could be pretty tricky), you can make a bearing out of the same wood
you make the spindle, bow and hearth from. A pointy top end to the spindle,
and a blunt "business" end will mean the friction is in the right place.

Of course Ray's point is that the lower-tech the better. The method he
showed didn't need string (which would have to be bought, or
time-consumingly made, and would probably rot in the jungle). As the bow
drill method would not have been indigenous there, it's probably not the
best technique.

Just started making my second bow drill fire set yesterday, as it happens. I
burnt the first one.

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jim Ford said:

I don't know about you, but whenever I see Ray Mears on the box I
always think that he looks too 'soft' and pudgey to do a lot of
energetic treking! I don't doubt his knowledge and expertise, but
he'd be more convincing to me if he had a 'stringy' Paul Hogan look!

What do you think?

Yep. I noticed that he started to get fatter shortly after his fame
level started to rise. From his small beginnings on that UK outdoor
programme (can't remember the name offhand) he started getting soft once
he got his own show and started travelling around the world.

Probably couldn't resist the temptation to eat all that rich food once
he could afford it. :-)

We always larf about this - and reckon that it's because at least three
times in every show he eats. ("Today, I've made wichetty grub with tang of
pine needles steamed in moss. Mmm - tastes really good."😉.

He's an unusually nice and unassuming chap, and is enormously knowlegable.
He does run the risk of most "ecology" media figues of corrupting the people
he studies, but having talked with him a little about this, that's not his
point. The way of life for these people will change no matter what anyone
does - but it's the loss of the knowledge that can be prevented. That's why
he spends a lot of time teaching in the UK (and elsewhere). He made a very
interesting point about educating our children - because if we don't help
them to understand the value and complexity of nature, they won't be able to
manage it properly in the future.

As for me, I like what he does for two reasons. Firstly, becuase he teaches
bushcraft, not survival (one is voluntary and fun), and secondly, because he
teaches reliance on knowledge, rather than gadgets. Which has had the
practical benefit of reducing my weekend pack size from 60L to 32L.

Ken said:

"Paul Saunders" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jim Ford said:

I don't know about you, but whenever I see Ray Mears on the box I
always think that he looks too 'soft' and pudgey to do a lot of
energetic treking! I don't doubt his knowledge and expertise, but
he'd be more convincing to me if he had a 'stringy' Paul Hogan look!

What do you think?

Yep. I noticed that he started to get fatter shortly after his fame
level started to rise. From his small beginnings on that UK outdoor
programme (can't remember the name offhand) he started getting soft
once he got his own show and started travelling around the world.

Probably couldn't resist the temptation to eat all that rich food once
he could afford it. :-)

We always larf about this - and reckon that it's because at least three
times in every show he eats. ("Today, I've made wichetty grub with tang
of pine needles steamed in moss. Mmm - tastes really good."😉.

He's an unusually nice and unassuming chap, and is enormously
knowlegable.

<snip>

In spite of a couple of sarcastic posts (that torch does seem very
expensive), I would add that this is the impression I have from his TV
appearances, which are amongst the few enjoyable islands in the sea of
dross.

saki

Ken <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

A stone for the top bearing is a good idea, but rather than having to find
one (could be pretty tricky), you can make a bearing out of the same wood
you make the spindle, bow and hearth from. A pointy top end to the spindle,
and a blunt "business" end will mean the friction is in the right place.

Do I detect an engineer? I should have thought of that...

Quoted message said:

Of course Ray's point is that the lower-tech the better. The method he
showed didn't need string (which would have to be bought, or
time-consumingly made, and would probably rot in the jungle). As the bow
drill method would not have been indigenous there, it's probably not the
best technique.

Just started making my second bow drill fire set yesterday, as it happens. I
burnt the first one.

LOL!
--
Gordon

Ken said:

Just started making my second bow drill fire set yesterday, as it happens. I
burnt the first one.

Kewl!! It obviously worked then!!
;-)

SteveO

NE Climbers & walkers chat forum;
http://www.thenmc.org.uk/phpBB2/index.php

NMC website: http://www.thenmc.org.uk

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 10:19:25 +0100, "Ken"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

As for me, I like what he does for two reasons. Firstly, becuase he teaches
bushcraft, not survival (one is voluntary and fun), and secondly, because he
teaches reliance on knowledge, rather than gadgets. Which has had the
practical benefit of reducing my weekend pack size from 60L to 32L.

Wow, that's a big reduction! What items were you able to remove?

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

<SteveO> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ken said:

Just started making my second bow drill fire set yesterday, as it

happens. I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

burnt the first one.

Kewl!! It obviously worked then!!
;-)

....and very proud I was too (not to mention tired and bloody, but that's
another story......).

Peewiglet <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 10:19:25 +0100, "Ken"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

As for me, I like what he does for two reasons. Firstly, becuase he teaches
bushcraft, not survival (one is voluntary and fun), and secondly, because he
teaches reliance on knowledge, rather than gadgets. Which has had the
practical benefit of reducing my weekend pack size from 60L to 32L.

Wow, that's a big reduction! What items were you able to remove?

Matches, firelighters, kindling, logs, various edible grubs and
insects.....
--
Gordon

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 19:14:54 +0100, Gordon <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[...]

Quoted message said:

As for me, I like what he does for two reasons. Firstly, becuase he teaches
bushcraft, not survival (one is voluntary and fun), and secondly, because he
teaches reliance on knowledge, rather than gadgets. Which has had the
practical benefit of reducing my weekend pack size from 60L to 32L.

Wow, that's a big reduction! What items were you able to remove?

Matches, firelighters, kindling, logs, various edible grubs and
insects.....

No edible grubs and insects? Does that mean I have to carry more
pasties??

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

"Ken" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

He's an unusually nice and unassuming chap, and is enormously knowlegable.

And he does comedy these days too. Ray's a superstar.

The message <[email hidden]>
from [email hidden] (Chris Malcolm) contains these words:

Quoted message said:

I recall discussing the kitchen skills and practices of different
cultures with a Thai student of mine. He regretted not having learnt
the wonderful skills of his grandmother, now dead.

Quite right too. There has to be a middle ground whereby native indians
or any other relatively undiluted culture can benefit from Western
technology without losing all of their traditional skills. I still
think that Ray has the idea that it would be better if all western ways
were denied the indians.

--
Cheers,
Compo

The message <[email hidden]>
from Gordon <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

How far did they say they had to go for a box of matches? 15 miles, I
think....
--
Gordon

I thought they said 15 days? Looking forward to my new NHS hearing aid
- if it ever arrives :-(

--
Cheers,
Compo