It took me about an hour to get the thing started, and this was using a cigarette lighter - when Ray Mears does it he rubs two sticks together and has it going in seconds, giving him ample time to look smug about it. He never fumbles about in the cold cursing at the sticks he's trying to set fire to, going 'Come on you [insert four-letter expletive], just fucking light!'.
Having got it going, I took another moment to ponder what it would be like in a survival situation. I suppose next I would have to build a shelter and find something to eat.
I took in my surroundings for inspiration.
For shelter I would probably just sleep in the shed, but food would be the trickier part. Being a vegetarian, I wouldn't be able to eat any of the Blue Tits hopping about the bird table or the Squirrel, so would likely have to take a punt for berries and leaves. The trouble there is that I don't know which pieces of foliage are poisonous and which aren't, so I would probably cook them in a futile effort to get rid of the poison. I think red means they are probably dangerous, although I may be wrong.
My point is that very few of us in this age, apart from Scouts, know anything much of the basic skills that once upon a time set our race apart from the rest. And these surely must be very basic skills, because early humans around a hundred thousand years ago were using them, and to great effect - and they were probably really stupid. So it seems a shame that today, when our lives are complexed by technology, advanced education and deep thinking, most of us are too stupid to light a fire.
Of course, it might just be me.
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