1 Feb, 06 – 20:35
Q from James Oglethorpe: ‘You are selected by NASA to go to Mars. Which explorers (alive or dead), would you pick as your fellow crew members? 2 women and 3 men.’
A: Well, somebody live would definitely make a more useful member of the crew! 🙂
I’m going to expand this to include adventurers and travellers, partly because my knowledge of explorers is woefully inadequate, and partly because it’s debatable whether it’s still possible to be an explorer in the geographical sense in this day and age, when most of the earth’s dry land has already been charted.
So, with all that preamble out of the way…
1,. Captain Joshua Slocum, who built his own boat and sailed it solo around the world in (I think) the late 1800’s. Resourceful kind of chap, and seemed to have a good sense of humour.
2. Michael Palin (who is also coming to my hypothetical dinner party). Good team member and would probably be very good at handling any delicate negotiations if we ran into some unfriendly Martians.
3. Tom Avery, polar trekker – because he’s cute!
4. Rosie Stancer, who has trekked solo to both Poles. I’ve only met Rosie once, for dinner at her house, but we got on famously. She’s feisty, determined, and fun, definitely an asset to the crew.
5. Klondike Woman – I read a book recently about the female Gold Rush pioneers. I may not admire their motives, but I couldn’t help being impressed by the way these doughty Victorian women hitched up their petticoats and trekked up the notorious Chilkoot Pass through appalling weather and hostile terrain, while many of their male counterparts fell by the wayside. If they could cope with that, I reckon they could cope with anything Mars could throw at them.
Other stuff:
Have been concerned to hear about the problems other crews are having in hitting Antigua – especially sorry to hear about Row4Life losing their boat. As a solo rower in a boat that has proved vulnerable to being blown around, I could be in trouble unless the winds decide to deliver me right to Antigua’s doorstep. I am in the hands of the weather gods.
The breeze had been shaping up quite nicely for about 24 hours… until this afternoon, when following a brief squall an all-too-familiar calm settled once again over my patch of the Atlantic. Lucky I’m so zen and calm about life now, or I’d be crying with frustration…
Diana Hoff (thanks for the vote of confidence – I, too, am looking forward to being your fellow solo rower!), Mariya (hola, chica! Hope the surfing in Hawaii is better than here in mid-Atlantic), Carol in Chicago (fingernails not looking good), Roger Gould, Bridget Rumley, Caroline Haines (the nutritionist and the creator of toasted Mars Bar sandwiches are, believe it or not, one and the same person!), Clarkie, Aase-Kathe and Flemming from Denmark, Tim Ratbag, Tom Moore (see you in NY), Jeff (biggest ensuite bathroom – made me smile!), John T, DB, Westie (thanks for the top tip – tempting!), HSS, AJ.
Rita Savage