Drain the mine

On Thursday we had tried to explore a recently drained level, but it wasn't quite drained. Someone had suggested coming back the next night, but I thought that was a bit soon. I didn't initiate anything myself, and neither did anybody else, so that evening was spent in the lab. When I got home, though, I got a message; Edwyn was mailing around, trying to get people interested in a 7AM trip the next morning. That is 7AM in Tanygrisiau; it's a hour's drive. I went for it! And so did Phil. I gathered my kit and went to bed.

I got up at 5:15, had breakfast, and drove off. I was a few minutes early. I had had a message while driving; now I saw it was from Edwyn. He would share a car with Phil, but he hadn't materialised, and now Edwyn would be late! I had coffee and a newspaper with me, so I was happy to wait.

Edwyn phoned to say he was nearby, alone. Oh dear! What about Phil? But we kitted up and walked up, this time both with a wetsuit in our bags. It was a warm day! We scampered quickly to the siphon. I fell over along the way; I had forgot my orthopaedic soles, so I was uncomfortable in my too big and too shapeless shoes. But we got there. The water was indeed very low! We waded in, but it got deeper and deeper and I decided to put my wetsuit on. Edwyn decided the same.

In Neoprene we tried again, taking pictures along the way. It got deep and cold! But it was nice to walk where nobody had walked for a very long time. At some point the water got so deep our cameras, tripods and all, did not reach above the water anymore. We left them behind. But we got to the bottom of the incline where I had been swimming with David a long time before; we could get out there, so we fetched our stuff. We left it at the incline and explored ahead. There were some more chambers; one was the smallest I'd seen in this mine. We reached the end and went back. Edwyn decided to risk taking his non-waterpoof camera to the second last chamber, as it was photogenic and at the edge, the water wasn't to deep. By the time we were done photographing we were quite cold and keen to get out. We went back to the incline, got out, walked around to the siphon, collected the clothes we had left there, and walked out. It was only 10AM, but we already had a trip in our bags!

Nobody had seen this in probably over a hundred years!

Edwyn takes a picture in a room we normally see from above

The picture he tookin the picture above. Pic by Edwyn

 

Uncomfortable (cold!) posin. Pic by Edwyn

 

 Much more comfortable posing. Pic by Edwyn

At the parking lot we found a Go Below group; its leader was interested in what we had seen. Maybe he'd have a look too! But we changed into dry clothes, and relocated to the Lakeside Cafe for a cup of tea and something to eat. Neither of us had a message from Phil by now. Disconcerting!

After the tea we each went our way. I wanted to have a walk in the surroundings; I had driven all this way anyway, and it only was 11AM. But after my walk I still had no message from Phil. He lives in Bangor, so I decided to just pop by to see what was going on. He wasn't home, but his wife was. She said all was well! And minutes later Phil came back. He explained he had accidentally sent his message explaining he wasn't coming to some old number of Edwyn's. I suppose he hadn't paid attention to his phone since! But I was reassured, and we just had a cup of tea. The dog was very happy with an attention-providing guest. And while I was there anyway Phil suggested climbing the next day. How could I decline? So the weekend was starting to look like the one two weeks ago; filled to the brim with good stuff! My chores won't get done but I'll have a spiffing time!

Buildings looking sharp

I already blogged last year our new building was in use. It was not quite finished, but surely finished-ish. And it's even more finished-ish now. So much so it is scheduled to be officially opened next month. It seems to be a big secret who will perform the ceremony, but well, that it is secret indicates it's an important person. And there are more signs of that: suddenly all sorts of old structures around the new one are made to look spic and span. A crumbly wall has been tidied up again, a fence is being painted, and, which is a much bigger job: they painted the old, adjacent, and even connected building! It has a new wing but a lot of this building is from 1965. A lot of dirt has had time to settle on its inelegant, pebble-dashed exterior. Clearly, it was so dirty the imminent VIP could not be confronted with it!

Big, noisy cherry-pickers appeared, and men in them turned the grey building bright again. It involved not only the noise of the machines, but also the covering the windows with plastic, which flapped in the wind, and did not allow us to open the windows on hot days. We also couldn't look out. The worst was the smell, though. After a few hours in the paint smell I started to get a bit of a headache! I'm not sure if that was due to the paint fumes or to what I expect to get from paint fumes, but either way, I'm glad last Friday the men were done on that side of the building, and removed the plastic. Freedom! And it looks quite nice now! These ribbon-cutters come with nice side effects sometimes...

Stage 1: the wing on the right has received one coat of paint, and the wing straight ahead now has white bits around the windows

Progress: part of the wing straight ahead now has paint on all of the walls

Exciting night

A fair amount of Cwmorthin, the mine we spent more time in than in any other, is submerged. At the time it was pumped but, of course, no more. Nobody gets to see the submerged bit, unless they dive. And we have a submersible, but the captain of it has never got it back to working order after our trials one and a half years ago. But Miles, the man who runs Go Below, had hatched the plan to siphon a normally flooded level out. And we'd go and see if we could explore it now. But he had warned us he could not promise we could, so he had also mentioned he would give us a go on his free-fall machine if the water wasn't low enough. The free-fall machine! The thing that scares and fascinates me! I have been quite interested in the idea of overruling my instincts with my determination. Jumping off something high is probably the most basic version of that. And I really don't like it. I was never a fan of the high diving board. I was reminded that I don't like such stuff when I had to do survival at sea training. I sometimes struggle with auto-belay machines in climbing walls. This machine, which is a lot worse than both, would really put me to the test. Of course I could go sky-diving or bungee-jumping, but the first is a bit elaborate and the second involves bouncing a few times, and I think that would turn my stomach. This would be my chance!

We gathered, and walked up to the entrance. Miles let us in and we walked briskly to where he had placed his siphon. The water was still rather high! I had brought a wetsuit, so I could explore in water too, but there did not seem to be very much head space, and that's not very nice. Edwyn had already put his wetsuit on in the car park, so he volunteered to get the siphon and move it to a deeper part of the level it was in. I volunteered for standing in the water, posing for pictures.

 

The siphon in the level

 Me posing twice

Edwyn also crawled into a rat hole as we was wet anyway, but then we gave up. We would have to come back after the siphon would have sucked the level empty down to the lower level, and then try again. And with that decision made we split up. The free-fall enthusiasts went with Miles, and the rest went towards the Lost World. I wasn't sure I'd dare! But I was keen to find out. Soon we came to a cute hobbit door which protected the free-fall machine from all too inquisitive mine explorers. I put on my harness!

Miles asked who wanted to go first. I heard no other voices so I volunteered. I clipped in and stood on the edge, letting the ~16m drop sink in. The adrenaline was rushing! And jumping off when the bungee is slack is rather counter-intuitive indeed. I had to gather myself a bit. And I felt it was a momentous occasion so I didn't want to just jump off like that.

After a while of hesitation I stared straight ahead and stepped off. The free-fall bit was very short! And the machine caught me, and lowered me gently. Once you had stepped off all was well! Better than in Blackpool. I first thought I'd go straight back up (walking around), but I figured I'd then miss the view of the next person (a guest called Dave) coming down. I stayed to watch!

Dave couldn't do it; he hesitated a bit and then decided against. Then Llion had a try; I thought he'd just hurl himself off. He didn't! He hesitated and hesitated and then unclipped as well. Blimey! In the meantime Edwyn had appeared out of nowhere and asked if he could have a go too. Of course he could! In no time he was up there. In the meantime Llion had had a cigarette and that gave him courage. He jumped!

Then it was Edwyn's turn. He clipped in, checked the karabiner, and just jumped off. Of course! Nobody else would jump, so we walked around to retrieve our bags and walk towards the entrance. At the top of the incline Miles said goodbye; he was heading home, but he wouldn't leave before he would be certain we had a key too, so we could get out. Very considerate of him! But we had a key (David had it) so all would be well. And while we sorted that a lot of the others appeared. They figured Miles would go out, with our guest Neil, and with Edwyn who was cold, and en masse they decided to go with them, to sit outside in the fresh air. Only our other guest Dave and I headed in the opposite direction, to the others in the Lost World. He had never been!

When we got to the pitch we saw the lights of the others. They had only just arrived! We joined them and went to the dig. Dave was impressed. We scraped around a bit but it was getting late, so we soon went back up. I had to help our local Scouser Brian on the traverse, but otherwise we came out without problems. And soon we were outside!

This had been a lovely, three-pronged night. A siphon, the free-fall machine, and the dig! What more could one want? We intended to come back either the next day or the day after, but for now we were very satisfied. Even the walk back to the cars was beautiful, in the last remnants of dusk. And we had something to look forward to!

Half a PGCertHE

It should have been April, but it ended up being June! That's how things go. I didn't submit my stage I of the PGCertHE in spring, so now I have to do it in autumn. You only get a year to do it so I have to now, whatever happens. And that's OK! I finished the portfolio. It can now rest in my hard disk for a bit until the file submission opens. And I intend to leave it for a few weeks, and then read through it rather thoroughly again; I'm sure I'll make some minor changes. But it's nice to know I have the complete file ready, and even if I have not a minute of time between now and the deadline I can deliver.

Next spring I will have to submit the second part. I have already started! I hope to get as much as possible done this summer; after summer things may get busier and it's good to get things out of the way. And nobody knows what happens when my contract expires; I hope to have the next portfolio ready for submission when that happens. Then that's out of the way and I can focus on whatever it is I am doing then! And you can submit if you're not am employee of the university, so even if I have a job as a grave digger by then, I can still get qualified for teaching in higher education...

Death of an appliance

When I left home my father did the same. Or rather, when my father left home I had to do the same thing. He had sold the house I had grown up in, and he was moving in with his then girlfriend (now wife). So where would I go? I vcould choose between going with him, or moving in with my mother. I chose the latter. It would probably not be for a long time; the only thing I still had to do in secondary school were my final exams. University was waiting on the horizon.

When my father and I both set off in opposite directions we both moved into fully equipped households. We didn't have to bring much! But my father wished to later move, girlfriend and all, into a bigger house, and I anticipated a place of my own, so all the stuff from the old house went into storage. Me and my sisters were encouraged to run through all the stuff and place a sticker on anything we wanted. In practice, that meant only my eldest sister and me; the middle one was abroad and not in the position to go stickering. It worked well for me; I stickered furniture, lamps, crockery, cutlery, pots & pans, household appliances, and whatnot; as soon as I found myself a room in Amsterdam I had everything shipped and voila; a place of my own. Perfect!

A lot of that stuff still serves me now, 23 years later. I still have my old desk + chair, my old cupboard, a standing lamp, and most of the contents of my kitchen. And I still have our old vacuum cleaner. But that will soon end.

Some time ago I was hoovering, when suddenly the machine started to make strange sounds. It then proceeded to emit a trail of smoke, accompanied by an awful smell. That wasn't good! I immediately unplugged the thing, and dragged it outside. I tried to open it to get to the problem, but it was somewhere you couldn't reach without unscrewing things. I just left it there to sort itself out. Some day I'll bring it to the recycling centre.

I think this machine is from the early eighties. My guess is it's almost 35 years old. It's done its term! I won't try to fix it or have it fixed. I just bought a new, more energy-efficient, and smaller and lighter specimen. It sucks bigtime, as they say! It also smells less bad (this is a reference to its default smell; not the one-off smell of burnt plastic), which is nice. But still, I think the old one served me well! And I still delight in all I still have which I took from home. I think the lamp and the old mixer are now the senior electrical items. May they last long!

The deceased old hoover

 Its successor

Visit to the Netherlands

My father's side of the family consists of him and his two brothers, and all their descendants. Since a long time ago, they come together every year to catch up. We're not a very tight family; we don't beat a path to each other's doors. And the family day is never complete. I wasn't in the habit to show up for a long time, but then, slowly, I turned a bit away from the fast life of living somewhere else every few years and building a new social life every time, and focus some attention on the people I knew since birth. My interest had been heightened by nice family dinners with cousins only, but last year I joined the actual day. It was fun! I decided to do this more often.

As our family is not the most harmonious in the world it is understandable one seeks solace elsewhere, but with age comes the realisation the best thing to do is to make the best of the situation. You only get one family; enjoy it as much as you reasonably can! And no, perfection won't be found there, but then again, where would it. So when my sister announced the date for the 2016 episode I booked tickets. I had intended to visit the Netherlands a bit earlier in spring, but well, life got in the way.

My first port of call was, of course, my mother. Last time I visited her she had recently been knocked off her bike, and that had certainly not done her any good. This time she fortunately was in a better state! And rather excitingly, we went to buy an iPad together; she had tried a (different) tablet before, but got fed up with it. This time she'd buy an iPad, on purpose, as she knew I have an iPhone; as they pretty much work in the same way, I could provide tech support. So now she can read my blog! (Hallo, Lien!) And of course there was time for buckets of tea, and a beer in the sun. Always good!

 Modern architecture in Amersfoort

The next day was the family day. I found my father and stepmother on the railway station, and in Hilversum we met my sister and her family. From there we would bike to where the rest of the family would gather, but there was some misunderstanding about where I would get a bike from. In the end I hitched a ride with her husband who was bringing in the food for all 18 people, which is a bit too much for bike transport, even for a Dutchman.

We got to the country park-ish place and waited for the other relatives. It was a lovely day, so that was nice! We admired the resident frogs and storks, and I caught up with my eldest nephew's school achievements. After lunch we went geocaching, or rather, we went for a walk, and had the children find some two caches. The non-children tended to not be overly keen, and none of us had downloaded the premium version of the geocaching app, and one of the keener children cooled down a bit when he realised we were not finding actual treasures. But nothing wrong with just a walk! That also allowed for some updating. How are everyone's jobs, children, relationships? And more of that. And some silliness that helps maintaining the bond too.

 

Geocaching on a beautiful estate

 

Arty pic of my father reading an information board

 

The three patriarchs

 

All the ladies, doing an optional and not-very-synchronous jump

When thunder approached we jumped on our bikes and into our cars to go to my sister's. I got to borrow my other nephew's bike. Once there we did a special family day puzzle made by my niece, and then we had soup and quiche. And then people started to leave. My sister was knackered after a day like this, as it had also been busy at work, and she was in bed at a time that's even early for me. That allowed me for some more tea and discussion with her husband until it was bedtime for me too.

The next morning I got up with my niece. It seems to happen more often that I get up with the kids, and then just make myself some coffee and settle down with something to read until more adults appear. It's a relaxed time; the children that appear tend to also just settle down with something to read, and it's quite relaxed and calm. They're not always that quiet!

After breakfast I went to Amsterdam to see Roelof. We caught up and then had a picnic lunch at the Amstel. Lovely! And then people started to join. That way I also got to see Sløtl, Monique, Erik, Henco, and Maaike. Good! We solved all the world's problems, had a pint, and some of us then went for dinner.

The Amstel

 

 

Pretty flowers (onion?) at an Amsterdam front door

That already was pretty much the end of the trip. The next day I breakfasted with Roelof, and then walked off to go and buy cheese in the Utrechtsestraat. From there I went to Schiphol, where I had some time to read as my plane was delayed. Such happens! But I hope I'll be back within a few months. One only gets one family! But the first next family encounter will be in Wales. My sister will visit! Watch this space!

Self-made man

I read something in the newspaper. A review of a book. It had something to do with gender roles I think. I don't remember, but I do remember the reviewer mentioned a certain Norah Jones had studied gender roles better in an earlier book. Now that sounded interesting. I immediately ordered it. And read it rather quickly! No classic this time, but that's alright.

I am interested in gender roles. I am a woman with rather male-leaning habits and preferences and a growing eye for differences between males and females in society. I am very tired of the male gaze in movies, I call people out when they speak of women as if they're inanimate objects, I see how female staff are treated differently than male staff at university, my neck hair stands up when women say their husbands are babysitting their own children, and so on. I am upset by the treatment women (and other non-white-Christian-straight-males) tend to get online. Not all of this is equally objective and testable. Subjectivity does sneak in; most of us die with the gender we were born in and will get little experience of either being there when only people of the other gender are around, and will never experience what it is like to be treated like the gender we don't have. Sometimes I could imagine one might be tempted to blame unpleasant interactions not on one's own failings but on unfair treatment due to one's gender. But I think that's a minor factor; I do believe people really do get treated differently.

This lady puts things to the test. She fabricates a new identity as Ned, a bloke, and explores a few male bastions of her choice. She tries a male bowling club, visits strip clubs, she dates as a man, she joins a monastery, she works as a man, and joins a male support group. She does not become a man, but she manages to pass for one, and in that way she at least finds out how man behave if they think there are no women around, and she finds out what it is like to be treated as a man. That's going a lot further than most!

I found it very insightful. She starts out a bit suspicious of the men; how loutish would they be in her presence? But she soon gets a lot of both empathy and sympathy for men. Not that she becomes uncritical; she starts seeing difficult patterns that seem to result from the typical differences between men and women, which are detrimental to both but hard to change. She also sees the different ways men and women behave, but she starts seeing the pros and cons of both. She can also confirm for sure that at least she gets treated very differently depending on whether people think she's a man or a woman. Several times she fears the response upon revealing her true identity, but more than once she finds out being some sort of hybrid (a women the men have got use to seeing as a man) is welcomed; then you can span the best of both!

During her exploits she is never discovered, but there are two environments where she chooses not to reveal herself. And in the end she has a mental breakdown because she has been faking things for too long. I enjoyed this book! It's rather American but that didn't bother me too much. I recommend it to anyone, whatever their initial thoughts on gender roles are. I dare say everyone would read something new in this book! Unless they've done a similar experiment...