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Outdoors - November 2009
The nights are drawing in, winter is on the horizon, and the already-gorgeous English countryside is turned absolutely majestic by the blaze of colours that heralds the arrival of Autumn.
What better time to get out the walking boots than this?
Mind you, some folks seem to want to sanitize even the simplest of walks, to render them ‘safe' and thus make themselves ‘un-sue-able'. My favourite dog walking spot is around Whitcliffe in Ludlow, and the Breadwalk and surrounding paths apparently, according to dog-walker-gossip, have a new owner. This new owner has charged one of their staff with the task of using a quite high-powered leaf blower to get rid of any deadfall on the paths, so no-one can slip over on them. Never mind the amount of dust and debris this hurls into the air; on a wet Autumn morning, what would you rather your boot met on the ground: exposed and greasy stone, or the cushioned softness of moist earth? In trying to render the paths safe, they've made them considerably less so. Even their staff have questioned the wisdom of doing this - and apparently, it all came about after someone did actually slip over. They didn't hurt themselves, but they did threaten to sue, and so we all get to suffer the company in question's over-reaction.
As a certain newspaper might cry, it's political correctness gone mad, we're in a nanny state, etc... Well, kind of.
Enough of my burble. This issue we look forward to ispo in January, have a chat with Ward Robertson and Ricky Chandler about their Freedom Buying Group, and find out more about the Columbia brand's growth. Oh, and there's news and new products, to boot.
Enjoy the issue - as ever, criticisms and suggestions should be sent to jonbruford@yahoo.co.uk
Jon Bruford - Editor
SGB Outdoor
01584 877177
