Why ?

Why we are going on this adventure is frankly an endless debate! I'll be totally honest, my standard answer to this question is "well, I'm not absolutely sure, but what a laugh!" However, I do have other answers:-

• A little ditty about being born and bought up in Odcombe.
• One about needing a challenge and wanting to raise cash for good causes.
• Occasionally I'll claim something deep and meaningful about the concept of 'moving without moving' as the reason, however this is usually retuned with a 'that's nice' type of answer.
• I often recite the 'because it's there' stock answer of climbers but what does that really mean?
• In the right company I just blame various friends for encouraging or goading me too much.
• I'm sure Michele will simply blame me!

'That's nice'

So what does 'that's nice' actually mean? I gave blood recently and this was the conversation I had with one of the Nurse/Angel/Hero type people.

NAH: So, [while I'm lying there bleeding into the bag] have you got any holiday plans this year?

Me: Well, some may call it a holiday, we are walking from Odcombe, there on the hill, [pointing] to Venice and back again.

NAH: Really, that's nice.

Maybe I should have talked it up a little but I did want her to concentrate on what she was doing. So, if I'd made a bit more of it like this:

Me: Well, some may call it a holiday, we are resigning from our well paid crap and cushy jobs, leaving our comfortable homes and going against the general 'will of society'. We are then following a vague route through seven countries covering 2000 miles without any form of transport other than that used by Tom himself in 1608. We will carry all our kit on our backs, we are not good at languages, we have not trained enough and Michele is worried about the 'toilet situation'. Yes it will be 'nice'.

I may have ended up giving more than the standard pint !!