Alice Band

I tend to read everything to gauge what sort of site it is and estimate how long it will take me to find the cache. However, judging by occasional comments I get on my caches and what poor EspritS and others recently had to endure an awful lot of people don't bother reading the cache page at all and then leave whining logs because they simply had not read the bit that explained what else was required to find the cache, or the difficulty rating!

Yeay! Thank you for your work in getting it on the main site. May I suggest all the Scouting leaders on here consider suggesting to the HQ for either Groundspeak to sponsor the Hikes Away badges just as Ordnance Survey already sponsor one of the activity badges or better still in this day of GPS use increase (how many scouts will have one in their parent's car?) perhaps a new badge to be introduced along the lines of navigating with both GPS with basic compass training? Just my penny's worth *plink*

Irish legalises sheep poo coffee The mind boggles

Just saw this thread People will be more than happy with your second choice Mind you, with the thought of all those chickens you mention the logs will be interesting We got hit quite impressively. I was writing on my laptop at the time and the table shook so much the laptop began to rattle towards the edge. Our house now has small cracks, the soot in the chimney fell down in clumps and a neighbour's brick garden wall collapsed. Our next door neighbour's brand now conservatory roof has shifted to a weird angle. Not as bad as a Leicestershire 13th century church which has very serious damage in danger of collapse. It will costs thousands to stabilise. Isnt there a church in Oxford which had a spring revealed under their floor when the earthquake struck there?

There's also the famous dog-mess-in-a-bag Christmas trees effect one finds often on caching trails. I'm sure a puzzle cache could be devised from this

Don't they have 'Skirt Lifters' caches in America?

Speaking as a peasant/student scum/poor person who's a bus using cacher I know some bus stops are frequented by people who will be as bored as you waiting for the never arriving bus stuck further up the road. Someone looking for a cache will become the entertainment for the rest of the waiting people...

In a park in London, but its been archived. Can't think why...

I'm so pleased you had a great time, protesters permitting! How fantastic to have been chosen to carry the flame So, like past torch carriers, did you get to keep the Baguette du Flambe? (thanks to currykev who has fixed a permanent image in my mind)

Hmmm, having experienced them myself I am really looking forward to the heady perfume and aroma emanating from them when the hot weather strikes

Our scouts/cubs leaders reminded everyone again tonight about the need to raise money to modernise our hut. Myself and other parents suggested a sponsored caching event, they said no as they have done rummage sales for the last 30 years and that is what they will continue to do!! Aaaaaaaargh! grrrrrrr

Sounds like a serious case of sour grapes to me. Ignore them, as a published cache is there for anyone I've seen a couple of Nottingham cachers moan on logs when a TB is taken by a non-nottingham cacher. Some people really need to get a life!

Love the car arrow! Its been a while since I've done a distant cache like that. At least here we don't get snakes and scorpions lurking in the bushes

I've eloped from the chatroom with Hazel Its been a while I have to admit. I suppose I too should attempt to switch on my webcam which is built into my laptop - havent used it on account of possible shattering of lens due to scary cacher...

I have a few lurking around, although not as stunning as some of the others on this thread, so here's mine: My son and my partner doing his J. Depp impression at Rydal cave in the Lake district by GC38CD. And another of the same cave showing how busy it was inside: A photo taken on my phone on our way down Hardknott Pass in Cumbria. Got some nice misty moody ones of my village castle which also happens to have a cache by it

Thanks Careygang, just one of those things I suppose? We'll get it sorted. Are you missing our snow in sunny Vegas? Really could do with some of your desert sunshine right now

I have a friend who is in a wheelchair with a bolt inserted into her spine to hold her up. Because of this I've set some caches that are wheelchair friendly (also buggy friendly considering how many parents with toddlers cache). However they may not be as challenging for everyone else; some might see them as boring. But I don't mind because it means that everyone can have a go and not just the ones who can vault and leap gazelle-like over stiles! I use the Handicaching system to let people know what kind of access the site has and judging by the PM's I received people are pleased I've done this. The only thing I suggest is that more cachers are encouraged to place at least one or two caches taking people with mobility problems in mind. I'm sure people would love to see more caches appearing regardless of their difficulty!

I'm just watching the TV pictures of Dorset Gal carrying the Olympic torch through London. Its not every day a cacher has a personal bodyguard of Chinese special forces. Well done for braving the crowds after the scuffles earlier Amusing to listen to the commentators debating who you were as they didn't have a clue!

I leave either an aluminium hiking whistle or a wooden nickle with my stamp design on it. Sadly running out of whistles now. Lately have mainly found teeny caches or micros that have been too small to leave anything in. For my caches I usually encourage people to leave their calling cards in the same bag as the log book and people seem happy to comply. No messy damp bits of paper and keeps them together. I've also noticed people love swapping them around. I have to be honest and say that I prefer calling cards that have been laminated so they last. Collecting wise, I have a couple of bit and pieces including several different versions of the plastic laser engraved disks which are nice to find. Oh, and an Alibag magnet which is still on my fridge Locally to me keyrings with images of favourite caches are frequent finds. *scuttles off back to work*

My first venture onto this forum in months! Anyway, an update: Akela - not interested. Her husband, retired Akela, not interested. Infact they seem to have a phobia about people treading on their toes as they have turned down other ideas from other parents Any of you able to get an article placed within the Cub and Scout magazines respectively using stuff from your own troops? That might do the trick

Can you fling a spare copy towards a poor, cash strapped student?

Thank you Careygang for your link and for your hard work with Scoutbase. I would love to see Groundspeak sponsor the Navigator badge one day, or perhaps the Hikes Away badge just like Ordnance Survey and English Heritage sponsor some of the others. My son's Akela seems reluctant to do anything out of the ordinary and I have hit a brick wall. It has nothing to do with security as we (parents who have offered help) have all been CRB checked. She's just not keen on trying something new! I have to say this is really disappointing, especially as I have a very keen son who really wants to show the rest how to use a handheld GPS I will print off a copy of your factsheet and pass it on to her in the hope it will change her mind

Oooh! Brill I'll try to attend and perhaps bring my pirate gear Aaaaar!

Because its a stupid bit of technology that tries to be too clever for its own good I've watched it turn the compass on by itself when it doesnt get a signal lock while I'm not even touching it. Its a software glitch that I currently cannot afford to get fixed. Its a Garmin Vista but it gets a better signal than my Legend and its a joy to use so I've currently not got plans to get rid of it I just turn off the compass as soon as it turns on. Even Garmin recommend to keep it off unless actually needed as it will eat into the battery. I'm still waiting for a nice multi-millionaire to buy me a 60CSX as a present as I'm officially poor student scum Saying that, my department cooed over my Legend as they don't have any GPSs at the moment.

I've come up with a solution using the new 'Hikes Away' badge just brought in. I have offered to take the entire troop for a hike over our local wild park, and on the way I shall be teaching them how to navigate with GPS as well as the more traditional OS map and compass. And there are caches hidden there too. The leaders quite like the idea too so lets see how it goes. Actually reading up on the badge it definitely has more scope for Geocaching use than the Navigator alone, and it applies to all Scout age groups Can someone email me a copy of the Grantham Scouts geocaching guide? Ta