Happy Birthday

Today, this blog is one year old.

Sun's out today, and set to stay out for the next week or so, which bodes well for the annual gathering of relatives out at Tallören. Less so for the practical part of the Rescue Diver course that starts on Friday. Sarah and I are simultaneously doing the Dry Suit Diver speciality course, and the combination of dry suit and mediterranean heat is not ideal. At least we both scored full pot on the oh-so difficult Rescue Diver theory final exam. Part of PADI's business model seems to be to make sure that no one ever fails their courses, which is good for PADI's bottom line but perhaps less so for the diving community. Saying that, sport diving in Sweden has an exemplary safety record, with the number of deaths per year countable on one or two fingers. It is not considered a 'risk activity' in insurance terms here, whereas it was the most expensive component in our BMC travel insurance.

Slowly working my way back into climbing, too. No convenient crags nearby, but a reasonable Entreprises-style indoor wall, which is super-steep - and top-rope only. The idiocy of this should be apparent to anyone who's ever climbed anything, but it's a product of some misguided safety thinking. One at least has time to reflect on life, the universe and everything as one embarks on yet another massive swing brushing the opposite wall, all in the name of safety. Big signs reinforce this by stating that no leading is allowed (it's so dangerous), and that all those lovely bolts are there only for show, not for use.