Simply Paul

Suspension? What suspension? For those of you wondering (wandering? More appropriate for cachers!) that's just by Dan & Pid's The Secret Garden cache near Buckingham. A great location, especially when the sun's shining! SP

I can understand MCL's viewpoint, and in many ways I agree. They are places of meaning, dignity and importance and should always be treated as such. On the other hand... how many of us would visit these public places if it wasn't for geocaching? Is geocaching disrespectful to the dead - people who, I like to imagine, might have enjoyed a good treasurehunt themselves, in their day. I have placed caches in churchyards - well away from 'tended' graves themselves - and have used older graves as points of info gathering too. I'd not use graves from this or the last century though - somehow that seems wrong. Another experience I had was seeing the recent graves of young children and babies while setting a cache - away from that part of the graveyard, mind. One had a solar-powered light on it, so no one would need be afraid of the dark. That almost had me in tears, I'm not afraid to admit. It made me bloody thankful for the life I've been lucky enough to have. It can't be a coincidence that graves are kept in a graveyard all around the church - the focus of life in many villages and towns for centuries, rather than tucked away where no one has to walk past them to a christening or marriage. None of us has a choice, we will sadly, one day be joining their ranks. I actaully find that strangely life affirming. And I think that's the idea. So the debate goes on. SP

Same here. But the good weather is coming and at last I'll be able to put the Jag (4ltr and single-figure MPG in town ) away and jump back into my one true love (other than geocaching, of course) SP

Nice one Andy. Good to see you're not a numbers man Seriously, that's a LOT of caches you've done there. Well done! SP

Excellent showing! Well done folks, and good luck for your next 500. Happy Caching! SP

Brilliant, entertaining reading, fascinating stats and honest opinions. Who could ask for more? Congratulations to all involved! Now, what about a book? Dave Gorman hasn't cornered the market on strange adventures I'm sure. (For those who don't know, Dave travelled the world meeting 54 other Dave Gormans [Gormen?] and got involved in Googlewhacking. Go look on Amazon!) I'm sure there's more than enough material for a slim volume. SP

I'd like to add my hearty congratulations to this growing pile. It's been a pleasure to have you do some - most - all (tbc!) - of my caches on your way to 800+ and I hope - expect - you'll be the UKs second 1k cacher soon! It's a brilliant achievement, made all the more impressive given the 'other' demands on your time from the caching community. Thanks again for all your efforts, in whatever field! SP

26th November here. The same as Tina Turner. She has the better legs though. Anyway, please count me in as an interested party. He shoots, he scores! He snoozes, he snores! SP

Almost *too* firm. SP

Sorry to add the oxygen of speculation to this sad business, but since most the caches hit have been in the Brum area, and cut down is a rather hard target to find if you hadn't done it before, would it be wrong to imagine this person is an 'ex' cacher with a grudge? Does anyone know of anyone in that general area who might fit that description? SP

Black and white you say? Humm. I think I know what that is. It's a half-timbered late Tudor phone box. As you can imagine, they're pretty rare. If such a site was to be targeted by terrorists (or woodworm) it would be a tragedy - a real loss to our cultural heritage. Fingers crossed there then. SP

Just like David Beckham... I'm not hearing a firm denial! SP

Come come now Pid, I thought you were a Nightcacher! And what about weekends? Anyway, there's no shame in being at 218ish. It's four times as many as I've found SP

Reminds me that I went to school with a girl called Vicki Brunt. Sad but true. How that poor girl suffered... SP

While in London on Sunday I spotted one of those oval white GEO stickers on the back of a silver VW Golf or Polo - It's got hard to tell them apart. I think it was M reg. and it was parked in New Street, N7. Does anyone here remember being in that area at about 4pm? To jog your memory, it was parked a 2 minute walk from the London Fetish Fair, which I had to attend for professional reasons(!) Personally, I'd say latex and PVC were ideal materials to geocache in. Actually, anything waterproof might not be a bad idea... SP

It amused me the word w**k doesn't mean much in the States. There's a famous episode of Mork & Mindy which doesn't often get shown in the UK, because the nature of the show is that it's usually scheduled before the 9pm watershed. All through the episode a Mr. W**ker is referred to. What laughs Full of useful information, me. SP

'Their' - Now I'm one of those 7 who point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs. Hehehehe. SP

Stay tuned for my 'Needle in a Haystack' cache. Technically it'll be a Virtual, but it'll also be a Literal. This will be one cache to bring gloves too SP P.S. I like the idea of sub-miniture caches, but where will it end? Nanocaching, anyone? I think 'bring own scanning electron microscope' might make that a five-star cache.

Not me, and I'll kill any man who says it was with this rifle I got mail-order. Oops. SP

We're all thinking it...

I don't think anyone hides a cache for the hell of it. I've visited great, good, average and bad, yet none of them struck me as being a 'pin in a map' effort. A dull cache isn't fun to do, fun to set or fun to write/read about, so why would anyone do it? More than that, it also hurts the hiders reputation and may discourage visitors from bothering to do another (hopefully better) cache of theirs in the future. I did suggest Dan add a 'Bucks best and worse caches' section to his site, but I think he was worried that his appearing in either category might i) seem egotistical and ii) draw attention to some of his early, not so developed placings. Anyway, I hope I'm not a 'numbers man' when it comes to setting...Does anyone have a finger to point? It's been a dull Monday and I could use a good online row... SP

The British Telecom Tower (formerly The Post Office Tower) is one of the tallest and most recognisable buildings in London. It's exact location was a state secret until recently and was since its completion in 1965. FACT! You don't believe me?... Read this - near the bottom - tiz very funny SP

All the perfect spots around here were snapped up by Dan&Pid months ago! I have to be a bit more creative and cunning. A lovely view is nice enough (Creature Feature) but a rude carving (PPC1-Rude Lady) is a joy forever! I agree the ratio isn't very relevant, but it's been hard to take criticism about one of my caches from someone who's never set one themselves, and thus has little idea of the possible problems and demands of doing so. If they had placed one, they may have had more insight... Or have I gone off topic? SP

I'd say if you have a bit more of an adventure doing a cache than is suggested by the description you should: i) Point this out in the log in clear terms, highlighting the specific problem or problems you had. ii) E-mail the owner and ask them to add a clear note it the description of the hazard. Highlighting in bold or red or even both is easy to do with a little HTML code. iii) If they refuse, ask they why. The hazard shouldn't be the 'surprise element' of any cache, as this could mean cachers with kids might have a wasted journey, only to have to turn back having used their good sense. Parents tend to be better at saying 'I'll rather walk away than risk that' than younger, single, sprogless cachers. iv) Whatever happens, don't write a letter of complaint to your MP. The last thing caching needs is a 'This May Be Dangerous To Your Health' stamp. They'd be taxing it next... SP

56 Found, 26 hidden. Ahem What I enjoy about setting caches is sharing an interesting location with other cachers, and I guess over the years I've got out and about and explored a lot. Hence I have some very attractive or plain odd places to leave a cache. Childhood took me to some fun local spots (such as Claydon House and Tingewick Wood) and others I've discovered while cycling (like The Phoenix Trail) or otherwise poking about. As for numbers and ratios, I think it's good for anyone to put something back into the sport if they take something out of it (sounds familiar!) and so long as the location has appeal of one sort or another, and is an appropriate spot, then it's fair-game for a cache. I can see why 1:25 or 1:20 would look about right. Says he with a 1:2.15 H:F ratio, lol! Happy caching, and roll-on-summer! SP