I recently gave a talk at Claire's School about my working life and the way I look at the world.  After hearing  some of the tales I have to tell she said I should write a book of my experiences,  at 62 they have been many and varied.  Some funny, some frightening and some quite extraordinary.

it could, however, have been so very different.

Before you read of this I urge you to read and remember the words of another.

The reading and heed of these few words I hope will hold you in good and long stead.

"Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end."

Edward Whymper.

These words of wisdom will always stand you in good stead in whatever situation they are applied; as the following story shows.

 A Cautionary Tale

At the end of the 2nd world war munitions of all kinds were not always disposed of properly,  Often being discarded on training areas and commons used for emergency training.  This led to their occasional appearance often in the hands of children.  Unexploded grenades, mortar bombs and ammunition the most usual. They would be traded for marbles, gobstoppers, and other worthy goods until identified and confiscated by a knowing and very frightened adult.

some items were easily identified for instance rifle ammunition.  Great fun could be had by removing the bullet and taking  out the cordite propellant.  This looked like strands of brown spagetti and burned like a sparkler.  Mmmm such fun.! I knew of some lads who held a bullet in a vice and hit the percussion cap with a hammer and nail.  The potential for harm was real and in those early days it was not uncommon to read of death and injury from "unexploded" devices experiencing a change of heart....usually with some encouragement from curious minds.

I would have been about 12 or 13 when I came across such a device that aroused my already great  and unnatural curiosity.  I recall that it appeared in the house, from where I know not.  It was a metallic cylinder a little smaller than a cigarette.  It was closed at one end with 2 white wires protruding from the other.  My furtive mind conjured up circuits, electricity and loud exciting noises etc etc.  I took the aforementioned device down to the garages accompanied by a large torch battery.  I placed the device for some obscure reason into an empty milk bottle that up until then had been casually loitering nearby.  I then proceeded to connect the wires to each battery terminal.  At this point I took stock of my circumstances and the two very short wires that meant I could only observe the results of my experiment from arms/harms length.  Alarm bells distracted me from the eagerness that was rapidly over coming any sense of caution.  I then placed the bottle around the corner of the end garage.  This was out of line of sight denying me the visual excitement but none the less seamed to make sense.  I then connected the second wire.  At this point God decided to strike me with temporary deafness denying me the pleasure of enjoying the ensuing close quarter explosion (God sometimes does this).  I tried to ignore the humming in my head and dizziness as I cautiously disconnected the battery before peering around the corner. 

Apart from taken my hearing god had also taken the bottle, the device and most of the wires.  In his haste he forgot the bottle base that had been driven an inch into the hard ground. Apart from the bottle base, not a shard of glass remained.  The force of the explosion sending the fragments into oblivion.  The consequences of not being protected by the garage corner at such close range do not bear thinking of.

Detonators or initiators are used to provoke more stable explosives to ignite.  C3 C4 P.E Semptex are all common explosives.  They can be hit with a hammer, burnt, and sworn at without effect.  What they seek to realize their true potential is the reverse of their own characteristics.  i.e. instability.  A detonator will activate if thrown with force against a hard surface,  thrown without force against a hard surface.  activated chemically or with heat, in this case electricity.  Enough Heat can however be generated simply by clasping the detonator in the palm of the hand.  This test can only be repeating twice unless you have a very stupid friend.

suffice to say the information I gleaned from this experiment has been used positively to good effect thus far in my life.  Had the alternative been true my life from that moment on would have been oh so very different or, indeed, perhaps, non-existent.

                                             Climb if you will, but remember..........