Just watched the Asgard climb again and it's every bit as scary, exhilarating, exhausting as the first watch. You know he's safe because he's on SCD, but all I can think is how do you get down off that thing? Did they sleep up there?
I heard on the radio (probably from Dr Carl, or Karl, I dunno, the R5 Up All Night science guy) that the toxoplasmosis parasite that cats catch from mice actually encourages reckless behaviour in the primary carrier (the mouse), making them walk towards cats instead of running away, and thereby completing one stage of the lifecycle for the parasite. Bear with me... I wonder if Steve has the parasite?? Apparently a lot of people do and it makes them daredevil at heart
Could be.....or maybe some people thrive on adrenaline. I hate it; makes me feel faint and weak. Others have that fight or flight feeling. Steve us such a very brave soul.
Could be.....or maybe some people thrive on adrenaline. I hate it; makes me feel faint and weak. Others have that fight or flight feeling. Steve is such a very brave soul.
He is but so gentle too... I've been foolishly rewatching all the Lost Land series on DVD (kerchinng!) and one thing I notice is how simply and well he gets on with the people they meet along the way. In Bhutan, Steve could have looked to the wiry little mountain people like the Yeti himself turning up in their village but instead everyone is smiles and giggles around him. He has a good spirit as well as a brave soul
Its interesting to see Steve looking so unsure of what to do, but they are getting along well and although he doesn't look like he has natural dance ability, he has the perfect attitude.
They still hadn't got to being entirely adjusted to each other there but I reckon that didn't take long.
Its interesting to see Steve looking so unsure of what to do, but they are getting along well and although he doesn't look like he has natural dance ability, he has the perfect attitude.
They still hadn't got to being entirely adjusted to each other there but I reckon that didn't take long.
My feelings too. I think he's going to practise and practise until he gets it into a more natural groove. It's like with the mountaineering. He points to the other guys and says they're more naturally built for climbers (lithe and skinny) but he still makes his frame perfect the requirements of the climb.
While I've got your attention, fatskia, can I pick your brains about something you said on the week's dances/training vid thread downstairs? (Didn't want to blather on too much down there because staying on topic is an 'issue' with me.)
It's that posture matter that you brought up. Why is it that strong back muscles in a guy create difficulty in getting the right shoulder position? As a non-bulky female, I've got no inward information even to guess what the matter is. Would yoga-ish/martial arts-ish training help with getting the balance right? Steve's a blokey-bloke but he's not a typical muscly guy because he's very flexible and understands about relaxation too.
My feelings too. I think he's going to practise and practise until he gets it into a more natural groove. It's like with the mountaineering. He points to the other guys and says they're more naturally built for climbers (lithe and skinny) but he still makes his frame perfect the requirements of the climb.
While I've got your attention, fatskia, can I pick your brains about something you said on the week's dances/training vid thread downstairs? (Didn't want to blather on too much down there because staying on topic is an 'issue' with me.)
It's that posture matter that you brought up. Why is it that strong back muscles in a guy create difficulty in getting the right shoulder position? As a non-bulky female, I've got no inward information even to guess what the matter is. Would yoga-ish/martial arts-ish training help with getting the balance right? Steve's a blokey-bloke but he's not a typical muscly guy because he's very flexible and understands about relaxation too.
I think that some men have more muscle across their backs between their shoulders. Its very noticeable on my friend who is a bricklayer - almost looks like a slight hump.
The judges will be looking for the man to have his shoulders back. You can see Craig criticising Matt Goss for not having his shoulders back on the Christmas Special.
Even if Steve has got his shoulders back, he won't look like he has them back as much as a man with less muscle there.
There is nothing Steve can do but keep them back as much as he can, and I guess that is what Ola means by it being more difficult for him to hold his posture because he is very muscular.
I think that some men have more muscle across their backs between their shoulders. Its very noticeable on my friend who is a bricklayer - almost looks like a slight hump.
The judges will be looking for the man to have his shoulders back. You can see Craig criticising Matt Goss for not having his shoulders back on the Christmas Special.
Even if Steve has got his shoulders back, he won't look like he has them back as much as a man with less muscle there.
There is nothing Steve can do but keep them back as much as he can, and I guess that is what Ola means by it being more difficult for him to hold his posture because he is very muscular.
Ah, I get you. I thought it was literally a physical thing about getting the shoulders into the right position, but it's as much a case of appearance. Thank you for explaining so clearly.
Your bricklayer friend is now prowling round my mind like a silverback
Ah, I get you. I thought it was literally a physical thing about getting the shoulders into the right position, but it's as much a case of appearance. Thank you for explaining so clearly.
Your bricklayer friend is now prowling round my mind like a silverback
He's one of the nicest guys you could ever meet - so be at ease.:D
Absolutely a gooey moment. I wonder if the little gorilla recognised the signs of leaving and was being tender in his or her gorilla way. I've searched for a pic or a vid but cannot find the wee one, though there is some gorilla footage:
On my search, along the way, I did find a video where Steve's trunks come off in the water but the video quality is deplorable and I don't want to lower the tone ^_^
Absolutely a gooey moment. I wonder if the little gorilla recognised the signs of leaving and was being tender in his or her gorilla way. I've searched for a pic or a vid but cannot find the wee one, though there is some gorilla footage:
On my search, along the way, I did find a video where Steve's trunks come off in the water but the video quality is deplorable and I don't want to lower the tone ^_^
BIB
I wondered that too.
The gorillas are at risk of catching illnesses from humans, so they tend to restrict access and allowing small groups to stay for an hour could be something even the baby would have got used to.
If it looked like the baby picked him out to let him know that it didn't want him to leave, its no wonder he cried.
The gorillas are at risk of catching illnesses from humans, so they tend to restrict access and allowing small groups to stay for an hour could be something even the baby would have got used to.
If it looked like the baby picked him out to let him know that it didn't want him to leave, its no wonder he cried.
Every young animal must be used to being left and able to read the signs. The woodpeckers in my garden this year seemed to do a little bouncy action that I took to mean they don't want the young to follow them. Maybe Steve inadvertently (or emotionally) did the gorilla leaving signals, whatever they are, and the young one responded. It's a very moving moment, even in print; must have been extraordinary and oddly grounding actually to experience it.
ETA the other amazing thing is the trust the adults showed in letting the baby walk off alone to the strangers like that
There are some enchanting baby gorillas here (clip from The Really WIld Show) and some playful youngsters but it's not the hand-holding baby from fatskia's article.
Made me laugh! That chihuahua has really got under your skin!! ;-)
I hope they can make it work too.
Hah! The Chihuahua gets the blame for everything.:D
I can see the Samba and The Lion Sleeps Tonight - great match of dance and song, but a bit early in the competition to give a complete novice man a Samba IMO.
Then having gone with that, to want a ballroom in week 1, but having given him a Samba, a Waltz would surely be fairer, because a Tango is more difficult if you are going to teach the proper technique.
But if you have to do the Tango and it has to be a wildlife theme, then I can see how you could end up with Born To Be Wild - and Ola has a history of using Rock songs for Tango.
To me, if you start off with Born To Be Wild - you would choose a Jive if you could. Why make it harder on yourself?
If you start off with the Tango and there are no ideal wildlife themed songs then I would rather they picked one that suited the dance.
I think I said before that I would like to see them going the wildlife route when the song and dance can be matched up well, but they should also show Steve in a suit or whatever you call the ballroom outfit to show that he has that 'gentleman' side too.
Just watched the Asgard climb again and it's every bit as scary, exhilarating, exhausting as the first watch. You know he's safe because he's on SCD, but all I can think is how do you get down off that thing? Did they sleep up there?
I heard on the radio (probably from Dr Carl, or Karl, I dunno, the R5 Up All Night science guy) that the toxoplasmosis parasite that cats catch from mice actually encourages reckless behaviour in the primary carrier (the mouse), making them walk towards cats instead of running away, and thereby completing one stage of the lifecycle for the parasite. Bear with me... I wonder if Steve has the parasite?? Apparently a lot of people do and it makes them daredevil at heart
It seems they started out at 5am to do the climb and finished the climb at 1am. He said it was 27 hours continuous climbing, so they went straight back down and got back to camp at 8am.
Steve looked pretty scared to me when it was getting dark and the hardest part of the climb (at the top) was ahead. Having fallen only 30' and suffered the consequences for several pain-filled years, that has to burn it into his brain what could happen if some equipment pulls free again. He still went ahead and climbed it though - which takes more courage than just not thinking about it. I don't like standing near a big drop as they were doing on the top - I sometimes get a feeling of wanting to dive off.
When I did a bungee jump off a bridge into a river, I watched people hesitating and decided to think only of diving straight off - didn't even notice how much I was paying. 30' off the bridge - first thought was 'WTF have you done?!':D
It seems they started out at 5am to do the climb and finished the climb at 1am. He said it was 27 hours continuous climbing, so they went straight back down and got back to camp at 8am.
Steve looked pretty scared to me when it was getting dark and the hardest part of the climb (at the top) was ahead. Having fallen only 30' and suffered the consequences for several pain-filled years, that has to burn it into his brain what could happen if some equipment pulls free again. He still went ahead and climbed it though - which takes more courage than just not thinking about it. I don't like standing near a big drop as they were doing on the top - I sometimes get a feeling of wanting to dive off.
When I did a bungee jump off a bridge into a river, I watched people hesitating and decided to think only of diving straight off - didn't even notice how much I was paying. 30' off the bridge - first thought was 'WTF have you done?!':D
You're pretty intrepid yourself! My sense of vertigo is weird. It kicks in when I look up at heights but not when I am high up looking down. Mind you, I've never yet thrown myself off anything. Wonder if I dare??? :cool:
I like how he hasn't shaved, cos, it's only Strictly... Better watch out though. Wardrobe will add sequins to each whisker end and he'll end up like one of those filament lights
You're pretty intrepid yourself! My sense of vertigo is weird. It kicks in when I look up at heights but not when I am high up looking down. Mind you, I've never yet thrown myself off anything. Wonder if I dare??? :cool:
I like how he hasn't shaved, cos, it's only Strictly... Better watch out though. Wardrobe will add sequins to each whisker end and he'll end up like one of those filament lights
BIB
The advice I'd give having watched some of the bungee jumps before mine, is 'Wearing a sweat shirt and a bra only helps when you are the right way up!'
The point I was trying to make was that you can blank things out and do something, but Steve is wise enough to do an honest risk assessment before hand. I think he was smart doing a re-assessment as a lot of climbers have died when they pushed on because they were close to the summit, but they should have turned back. That's why he survives and why he stays calm when things are going wrong.
My guess is the whiskers will be off for the show tomorrow.
They have 2 tough dances, so my guess is that Ola will have simplified things and the Tango won't be great, but the Samba is where they are maybe going to do better - just before the voting.
That's what Ola did with the first two dances last year - made sure the second one was good.
Comments
Could be.....or maybe some people thrive on adrenaline. I hate it; makes me feel faint and weak. Others have that fight or flight feeling. Steve us such a very brave soul.
He is but so gentle too... I've been foolishly rewatching all the Lost Land series on DVD (kerchinng!) and one thing I notice is how simply and well he gets on with the people they meet along the way. In Bhutan, Steve could have looked to the wiry little mountain people like the Yeti himself turning up in their village but instead everyone is smiles and giggles around him. He has a good spirit as well as a brave soul
Found some friends for you
http://youtu.be/pi3KPf1LuLM
They still hadn't got to being entirely adjusted to each other there but I reckon that didn't take long.
My feelings too.
While I've got your attention, fatskia, can I pick your brains about something you said on the week's dances/training vid thread downstairs? (Didn't want to blather on too much down there because staying on topic is an 'issue' with me.)
It's that posture matter that you brought up. Why is it that strong back muscles in a guy create difficulty in getting the right shoulder position? As a non-bulky female, I've got no inward information even to guess what the matter is. Would yoga-ish/martial arts-ish training help with getting the balance right? Steve's a blokey-bloke but he's not a typical muscly guy because he's very flexible and understands about relaxation too.
I think that some men have more muscle across their backs between their shoulders. Its very noticeable on my friend who is a bricklayer - almost looks like a slight hump.
The judges will be looking for the man to have his shoulders back. You can see Craig criticising Matt Goss for not having his shoulders back on the Christmas Special.
Even if Steve has got his shoulders back, he won't look like he has them back as much as a man with less muscle there.
There is nothing Steve can do but keep them back as much as he can, and I guess that is what Ola means by it being more difficult for him to hold his posture because he is very muscular.
Ah, I get you. I thought it was literally a physical thing about getting the shoulders into the right position, but it's as much a case of appearance. Thank you for explaining so clearly.
Your bricklayer friend is now prowling round my mind like a silverback
He's one of the nicest guys you could ever meet - so be at ease.:D
So are silverbacks, by all accounts!
Another gooey moment?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/steve-backshall-the-adventurer-on-swimming-with-great-whites-holding-a-gorilla-by-the-hand-and-his-failed-relationships-9144490.html
Aww, wild or not, they are wonderful creatures and so misunderstood
*melts into a puddle*
Thanks fatskia!!
.....and round mine.....:p
Absolutely a gooey moment.
http://youtu.be/7QcCnB9n6L4
On my search, along the way, I did find a video where Steve's trunks come off in the water but the video quality is deplorable and I don't want to lower the tone ^_^
BIB
I wondered that too.
The gorillas are at risk of catching illnesses from humans, so they tend to restrict access and allowing small groups to stay for an hour could be something even the baby would have got used to.
If it looked like the baby picked him out to let him know that it didn't want him to leave, its no wonder he cried.
Every young animal must be used to being left and able to read the signs. The woodpeckers in my garden this year seemed to do a little bouncy action that I took to mean they don't want the young to follow them. Maybe Steve inadvertently (or emotionally) did the gorilla leaving signals, whatever they are, and the young one responded. It's a very moving moment, even in print; must have been extraordinary and oddly grounding actually to experience it.
ETA the other amazing thing is the trust the adults showed in letting the baby walk off alone to the strangers like that
Steve tweets
Bit of a break through day today, it almost felt like dancing. Almost. @The_OlaJordan you are Yoda to my Skywalker...
:cool:
He tweets some pics too
https://mobile.twitter.com/SteveBackshall/status/514488317560516610/photos
S t r e t c h y
https://mobile.twitter.com/SteveBackshall/status/514488181782487040/photos
Bit Deadly
https://mobile.twitter.com/SteveBackshall/status/514488122743484419/photo/1
And RT, here's this pic from Sophia Herod (radio presenter... I don't know who she is, I confess, but she posts a nice pic of herself and Steve):
https://mobile.twitter.com/SteveBackshall/status/514488122743484419/photo/1
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00mk75w
"OK - Jive is tough for a first dance, but Steve is fit."
"No - the first dance is a Tango."
"A Tango? A TANGO?? Are you SURE???"
"Yes - the chihuahua picked it out from a selection of dances we stuck in the ground - knocked it right over - there was no doubt about it."
Anyway, it is what it is.
Hopefully it won't matter and Ola can come up with a good match for the song.
Made me laugh! That chihuahua has really got under your skin!! ;-)
I hope they can make it work too.
Hah! The Chihuahua gets the blame for everything.:D
I can see the Samba and The Lion Sleeps Tonight - great match of dance and song, but a bit early in the competition to give a complete novice man a Samba IMO.
Then having gone with that, to want a ballroom in week 1, but having given him a Samba, a Waltz would surely be fairer, because a Tango is more difficult if you are going to teach the proper technique.
But if you have to do the Tango and it has to be a wildlife theme, then I can see how you could end up with Born To Be Wild - and Ola has a history of using Rock songs for Tango.
To me, if you start off with Born To Be Wild - you would choose a Jive if you could. Why make it harder on yourself?
If you start off with the Tango and there are no ideal wildlife themed songs then I would rather they picked one that suited the dance.
I think I said before that I would like to see them going the wildlife route when the song and dance can be matched up well, but they should also show Steve in a suit or whatever you call the ballroom outfit to show that he has that 'gentleman' side too.
It seems they started out at 5am to do the climb and finished the climb at 1am. He said it was 27 hours continuous climbing, so they went straight back down and got back to camp at 8am.
Steve looked pretty scared to me when it was getting dark and the hardest part of the climb (at the top) was ahead. Having fallen only 30' and suffered the consequences for several pain-filled years, that has to burn it into his brain what could happen if some equipment pulls free again. He still went ahead and climbed it though - which takes more courage than just not thinking about it. I don't like standing near a big drop as they were doing on the top - I sometimes get a feeling of wanting to dive off.
When I did a bungee jump off a bridge into a river, I watched people hesitating and decided to think only of diving straight off - didn't even notice how much I was paying. 30' off the bridge - first thought was 'WTF have you done?!':D
You're pretty intrepid yourself! My sense of vertigo is weird. It kicks in when I look up at heights but not when I am high up looking down. Mind you, I've never yet thrown myself off anything. Wonder if I dare??? :cool:
Pic of Steve from the online presenter Nikki backstage at the rehearsals today
https://mobile.twitter.com/nikkideano/media/grid?idx=10
I like how he hasn't shaved, cos, it's only Strictly... Better watch out though. Wardrobe will add sequins to each whisker end and he'll end up like one of those filament lights
BIB
The advice I'd give having watched some of the bungee jumps before mine, is 'Wearing a sweat shirt and a bra only helps when you are the right way up!'
The point I was trying to make was that you can blank things out and do something, but Steve is wise enough to do an honest risk assessment before hand. I think he was smart doing a re-assessment as a lot of climbers have died when they pushed on because they were close to the summit, but they should have turned back. That's why he survives and why he stays calm when things are going wrong.
My guess is the whiskers will be off for the show tomorrow.
They have 2 tough dances, so my guess is that Ola will have simplified things and the Tango won't be great, but the Samba is where they are maybe going to do better - just before the voting.
That's what Ola did with the first two dances last year - made sure the second one was good.