Rope
Never having been a member of the Scouts, maybe I always felt I’d missed out on an important life experience. Whatever my motivation, once I’d bought a copy of Des Pawson’s ‘Pocket guide to knots and splices‘ a few years ago, I set about making up for lost time by tying knots in anything I could find that was even remotely knottable. As a result of my over-enthusiasm, I have several pairs of old shoes whose laces I still can’t untie. I’m just waiting for Des to bring out a pocket guide to getting out of a tangle, but he seems in no hurry to write one.
This week, though, I did finally manage to tie one of Des Pawson’s more fascinating knots: a four strand crown sennit. The book shows it tied with four different coloured cords, but I managed it using just two kinds of parcel string. For anyone who doesn’t have the book yet, here’s how the knot should look from above. I’ve also shown (at the end of the post) what you get if you do a lot of crown knots. If you’ve ever fancied making your own skipping rope, now’s your chance.
Des Pawson’s little handbook contains several knots that are normally used by rock climbers. I’ve practised some of these, too. If anyone’s feeling brave and would like to try abseiling off the balcony outside Frumplington Towers, I’d be only too happy to try out some of my knots on their climbing ropes. Leave us a comment to arrange a suitable time and date. Oh, and remember to take out lots of life insurance; I do still sometimes put left over right when it ought to be right over left. Nobody’s perfect, though, are they?
