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Heels 1967
The Gentle Art of Bludging — A Panygers
The Gentle Art of Bludging — A Panygers
'The orthodox scheme for training budding trampers and "other idle persons" had been centred among other things around the subtle arts of fire-lighting, and bocking, and on the less important arts of route finding and river ereasing.
Recently, however, a tradition of great importance has grown up among the very best trampers, and [unclear: rechomerts] in the techniques of this tradition are daily increasing.
- Beginner:'I say, do you have any sugar, so I can put it on my peaches and cream?'
- V.S. Man:'Gee, sorry mate, I haven't got any, but will tell you what. I've got some real juicy baricot bears for breakfast and I could swap you some of them for some of those peaches and cream - Gee it looks nice! M-mmmm!
- Beginner:'Er - well, okay, but thanks all the same for the beans but I've got 21bs. of Porterhouse steak for breakfast and some eggs, which are too heavy to take back, so I'll have them.'
- V.S. Man: 'You're dead right there - shows that you're a weight-conscious tramper. By the way, I've got me frying pan, so we could use that to cool them - couldn't we?'
The power and drive of the top class [unclear: bludgers as] apparent here, but he applies these techniques in all aspects of the sport of tramping.
To sum up then, the beginner is advised to watch closely and study the way experienced bludgers perform and gradually put the techniques learnt into practice either for protection or profit, though by its nature, bludging must be offensive, not defensive. Remember always, however, that it is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
| 1) | Go on trips with people less experienced than yourself if possible. The dangers of tramping with "very Servere" bludgers are very real. On the other hand, you may [unclear: thus] [gap — reason: illegible] education at some cost.page break |
| 2) | Beware of taking excess or luxury food on a trip, but always take enoughfood for the trip (otherwise you will be breaking an even more important rule of tramping). |
| 3) | Always accept (and if necessary grab); anything offered (bar-ring red hot embers etc)! You can always give it away to someone else if you don't want it, and thus preserve the philanthropic image. |
| 4) | If someone has something (food) you want, offer him something (a big hand of oatmeal or an onion) in exchange for it. If he refuses, offerto cook it for him. If he still refuses, glance sadly from your offering to him, then back to your offering, sniffing uncontrollable, and let slip a mumbled "ingratitude". Only a hardened heart will refuse you now. |
The expert bludger is essentially a strong-[unclear: willed], ruthless fellow, but it is important that an ethical balance is maintained.
He must be prepared to do any camp/hut work required, he must be cheerful and well tempered, and it helps to be fit, so that he can encourage the unfit, burdened down by excess food, to deliver some to his pack. By this strategy, he will endear himself to his tramping fellows, who will feel offended if he does not share their material felicities with them. The creation of this happy (and communistic) society is the right and proper end of Bludging and as such is a part of Tramping itself.