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Fat boy climbs the mountain T H E FAT B OY I N T H E T I T L E I S DA N N Y D O H E R T Y , B A F S A’ S R E P R E S E N TAT I V E I N S C OT L A N D W H O TO O K O N T H E C H A L L E N G E O F S C A L I N G T H E W O R L D ’ S H I G H E S T F R E E S TA N D I N G M O U N TA I N …
alcohol is a terrible thing. Have you been there? ... When you’ve opened your big mouth and signed up for something in a drunken state? Then once it has been verbalised the genie is out of the bottle and there is no going back. Foolish pride just doesn’t allow it, as its completely against the grain. So, there we have it, in a drunken state of bravado I’ve signed up to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Thousands have done it so what is the big deal! The peak of the mountain stands at 19,341 feet above sea level which when said quickly isn’t too bad. Some of you reading this may already have stood at the top of Kilimanjaro
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and can beam haughtily over your previous achievement. I just wish we had spoken before I opened my big mouth. So, that is how I found myself signed up to climb this mountain with two of my ex fire service colleagues, one of whom is probably one of the fittest guys I have ever met. The other is a fan of the great outdoors, which is definitely not my strong suit, unless of course it involves a wee white ball and a golf course. Hill walking, mountain climbing, or camping is not my idea of fun. And at this juncture it is worth noting that since retirement from the service, keeping fit or indeed anything strenuous has not been top of my priority list.
Rather, good food and nice wine interspersed with the ‘occasional’ gin has taken over the focus in my keep fit regime. I now understand why the helpful young lady in the outdoors shop nearly choked when she sold me my new walking boots. When making polite conversation, she politely asked ‘why the new purchase?’ Her face said it all, I won’t be going back. But now I’m committed! I’ve put a Just Giving page up and money is flooding in for Maggie’s Cancer Centres. I cannot bail out now, although I am convinced that they are only pledging cash because I won’t make it! So, the perception is that if ‘Fit Boy’ or ‘Bear Grylls’ doesn’t make it up the mountain
