lizzieuk

now that's information!

you might as well say "if this happened, then this, then the outcome could be that..." would be just as clear

yes I'm going to fail my course, get chucked out of uni, have to move back home 300 miles away and have no uni friends to skydive with maybe I should do some work...

1st of two, with a little sister 2 and a half years behind

really big hug

I have a little experience of the radio show and books, although I could never claim to be a big Hitchhiker's guide fan. I loved the film, was very funny, entertaining and great to watch visually. My absolute favourite part was Alan Rickman voicing Marvin the Paranoid Android.... Fantastic!! I love Alan Rickman in Harry Potter, Robin Hood, Love Actually etc, but this was a whole new level of adoration - such a cute little android, and so negative, no voice could suit that role so well (sorry if that's controversial to radio series fans!) Martin Freeman was great too, that lost look he gets when everything is just too much always makes me laugh, he's not just TimfromTheOffice any more. I giggled all the way through this film, especially at the freefalling whale Interesting fact - the film made £4.2 million in it's first week of UK release... ooooh....!

on and off sunshine and hail with lots of wind. Damn UK!

I can see Alan!!! Ok, here's a pick of me with Alan on his birthday... Man, that guy can dance!

my little sister won a tandem in a raffle last weekend... she's 16.... now THAT's a life-changing thing to win

well you guys, if we must.... some great pictures btw, so much fun to put faces to forum names I'm on the left, with my friend Lisa at our Athletic Union Ball last week...

wow, cool photos, and congratulations on AFF1, sooooooooo much fun

OOOooooooooooooooh, Chemical Brothers, Galvanise... have it on my video for my favourite jump yet, sunset lift from 15000, always makes me smile

I think it's very unfair to comment that all UK DZs are snobby, although I more than understand your situation, as I'm going through a very similar thing myself at the moment. I did my AFF out in Empuria in February, and coming back the UK without a level 8 hop and pop has made my life difficult to say the least. I have been to five UK DZs (I get around a bit due to my university club and living at two different ends of the country) and only at one have I found the situation that works best for me to do my consols. Some like a high level of commitment to just their DZ until you're qualified, so put you through tests and lots of training, some will charge huge rates as AFF instructors are not easily available, but all will be vary of jumping with a student they have no experience of, and rightly so. Video helps a lot, and I was fortunate enough to find a very helpful instructor/CCI who would jump with me, repeating my level 7 as a consol, video me and guide me through some more consols. It is definitely worth looking around to find the right place to jump - always give the DZ a call and be explicit about what your situation is before you turn up and they'll be much better equipped to deal with you. Once you know how to work with a neew system you'll see it's not so snobby - everything has it's reasons and at the end of the day, there'll always be somewhere which will suit you.

hey there! where in the North do you live/jump? Was a nice weekend up in Peterlee, but I jumped at Hibaldstow (where it was also nice!) I know exactly what you mean about not being able to afford it - my student loan and overdraft are well stretched out at the moment! Maybe see you on a DZ soon!

Thanks! Oh yes, that was one special video! Well worth a trip to Peterlee

Ok Bryn, your pic of Alan scared beats mine! And don't say that about Chris - he is supposed to be taking my sister up after all!!

Just after my first static line, in sexy blue boilersuits, woohoo!! Sooooo much fun, I'm still cheering in the pic!

WELL DONE ALAN!!! Was a great day, the beer was much appreciated, and it was also Alan's birthday - had fun learning to sign happy birthday to him Thought I'd add a pic of Alan having the tandem harness fitted - he looked the most nervous I'd ever seen him!

I think maybe there is a love of the idea of skydiving - being in the air, jumping from a plane, how the scene as a whole appeals to people who are seeking for an exciting new lifestyle or hobby, then there is a love of the actual sport, of the sensation and of the personal experience of it - the feeling that you can only understand once you have experienced it. If you make this distinction then maybe it can be clearer how people just "know" instinctively that they'll love it, after all, does the love of the idea ever really leave jumpers with thousands of jumps? I can't speak from any great level of experience, but maybe that belief they'll love it is just the first level, some may follow through and love the actual sport too, but some may not. True passion for the idea may well lead to passion for the experience itself. Just a guess - as I knew six months ago I was hooked somehow, even before I jumped, yet looking back it's difficult to understand how I was so obsessed having no actual knowledge of how it actually felt...

doesn't that mean the bigway's out??

I did AFF at Empuria in Februrary - the weather definitely guarenteed, but they were great at getting me through on the days which were good enough, and I saved enough money on the cost of AFF to actually find it didn't cost hardly anything more than it would have at my local DZ, flights and accomodation are so cheap (although a tad more expensive in June - have just booked my return trip!) Travelling only took a little longer than it does to get from some parts of the UK to the other anyway! (not that I'm at all biased about this...) Oh, and the landing area, I found fine, it's quite straightforward, but true, it's not overly wide - had a friend land on the runway. Doh!

Not EVERYONE will be naked... I will be putting a lot of work into my costume, it shall be staying on thankyou Should be a great night (it's for charity too - lots of exciting fund-raising things, including kit raffle, all you can eat BBQ, public tandem raffle...) Here's to Stu for doing such a great job of organising it all!

Woah, that's really scary stuff Bryn! Well done landing that, the look on your face in that final picture says it all - I've never seen you look serious like that! It's really reassuring to hear how you coped with that, I'm quite glad I wasn't there at the time - if I'd been watching that canopy come in I'd have probably bitten my nails right down! Well done

I friends who know I haven't even qualified yet and still ask if they'll be jumping with me if they do a tandem... ...it's easy to forget how easy it is to be clueless, but it is far too easy for some!

I started out on static line, jumped once in about four months of practically living on the DZ, and got so fed up of waiting I booked AFF overseas in Februrary... My bank balance wishes I hadn't. My heart says it's the best thing I ever did