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Recent content by Tim Pickering

  1. Tim Pickering

    Giving The Forum A Break

    I lurk. It's only recently I've started to participate a little more. However, this forum has always been my first port of call when I'm after information, whether that's on a bit of kit or a cave, or best practice; anything caving related, and I've usually found what I've been after. I also...
  2. Tim Pickering

    "He made me do it"

    If you want to really go for that taste of paradise, use sweetened condensed coconut milk. Yes. It's a thing.
  3. Tim Pickering

    Y-hang

    Ah-ha! I've been (quite literally) tying myself up in knots trying to work out how to tie a fusion knot based on the info on this thread. Brilliant video (with the sound muted!).
  4. Tim Pickering

    Survival bags

    Lifesystems do a bright orange polythene bag. I can't comment as to whether it would fit under a helmet as I don't possess one (I have every other type going but not the polythene ones). They are easy to come by online.
  5. Tim Pickering

    Cave snacks

    I take a bottle of Mountain Fuel or Tailwind with me, and maybe a caffeinated Voom bar for emergencies. Though the anticipation of a hot brew at Inglesport for afters is usually sustenance enough.
  6. Tim Pickering

    replacing gear

    I've just started to replace my kit. Two main reasons: I started with the usual beginner recommended stuff like Stop, Croll, Ascension etc, so I'm now at the point of knowing what works for me, and what could be improved upon. The Stop has been replaced with a Simple, the hand jammer with a...
  7. Tim Pickering

    What caving related thing did you do today?

    Revelled in the fact that I actually got a trip report submitted well before the deadline.
  8. Tim Pickering

    Flash Photography in Show Caves

    Well this is exactly why I posted. I am a great fan of fact and since I, as instructed, prohibit flash photography in the one part of the show cave where we have a high concentration of well-developed straws, would like to know if it is based on sound reason or simply hearsay. If it were up to...
  9. Tim Pickering

    Flash Photography in Show Caves

    I read somewhere that flash light associated with photography can emit light in the IR spectrum. If flash photography were permitted, going by the number of pictures visitors normally take, it would equate to non-stop flash over a period of several hours each day. We use UV light to demonstrate...
  10. Tim Pickering

    Flash Photography in Show Caves

    I recall years back reading an article on how frequent flash photography had been linked to the blackening of straws in a show cave in France. I'm aware that blackening of speleothems was once a result of sooty deposits from early forms of show cave lighting. However, this is more recent. I was...
  11. Tim Pickering

    Choice of descender (Split from "Falling on Cows Tails")

    I'm following this with interest as I am wanting to replace my old Stop before the year is out. I find the handle digs into my palm so feels more bruisy than achy. I like the look of the new Stop as that would eliminate that problem but I'm also tempted by a rack. Me being me, though, always...
  12. Tim Pickering

    Unknown: Cave of Bones

    I'm going to swim against the tide here but I couldn't make it to the end. I find human evolution a fascinating topic, and this film had plenty of potential but it lacked the depth (pun unintended) necessary to do the subject matter justice. I would like to have seen more of a comparison with...
  13. Tim Pickering

    Wanted: a home!

    It's a bit in the opposite direction to where I'd ideally like to be heading but I'm looking at all options. Do you know of somewhere?
  14. Tim Pickering

    Wanted: a home!

    Yes. Which has most likely led to my predicament. Rents have skyrocketed as a result. There's also the ongoing issue of homes in my village being bought as holiday lets.
  15. Tim Pickering

    Wanted: a home!

    Long shot but you never know. I live in Ingleton in one of the very few residential lets. Unfortunately, the landlords have put my house up for sale. I haven't been given notice yet as they are going to keep me in until it sells but as you can imagine, this has created a degree of uncertainty...
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