He Lies like a Rug!

Clive
Originally uploaded by darenpackham.

…Sorry…..!!

My elder brother, Clive, sadly died nearly 20 years ago, in a mountaineering accident, whilst making a winter attempt on Mont Blanc, in the French Alps. This year would have been Clives 40th Birthday.

Back in January, I decided that I would like to climb Mont Blanc myself, both in the memory of Clive and of course for the adventure of it!

The first friend to talk to, when planning a climbing trip, is my mate Cliff… Yes perfect name isn’t it!? My good friend Cliff, was the 62nd Britain, to have successfully, climbed Mount Everest!

The dilemma was, how or if, to tell my family?

So, at my mums lovely birthday party, I was avoiding talking about my up coming adventure and side stepping any references to it, like an embarrassed politician who had been caught coming out of a brothel.

When asked directly by my mother, “ You are not climbing in Chamonix are you?”
I replied, “No mum”
To which she said, “ But you are going with Cliff aren’t you?”
“Yes. Lovely here at James’ pub, isn’t it? The weather is just perfect!” All that in a, “that was my niece, honestly! Style. No one believed me but I seemed to get away with it on the surface.