My Lucky Escape

[PeteS]

Thank you for being concerned! And thank you for the hauling you do to help other women!

In my defense, I'll just say that I was very, very young back then, and hence way too naive. Needless to say, I never told my parents, as I thought it could give them heart attacks retroactively.

Your advice to stay safe is something I've paid close attention to since then, of course, and especially now that I use some dating apps. I always meet at a restaurant and refuse to go someplace private after the meal, always arrive and depart under my own steam, and give my roommate the person's name and telephone number (and address, if I can google it in advance). Happily, I've been good at filtering out the weirdos and have met and dated some interesting people who were quite respectful.

Sounds as though you're being careful. I must admit to shuddering at times when I hear of women I know using these dating sites. There are some strange people out there! (both male and female). Good luck though, not all are weird.

 

[Kate In The Desert]

Thanks again! Yes, I've come across some real doozies recently! One of the ways of being careful is to use a throw-away phone number (Google Voice) which rings on my phone with a special ring. I can ditch the number anytime and get another one. I also use "disposable" email addresses.

 

[Dick Turpin]

It didn’t really happen to me but I was there at the time.

As kids a group of us used to play in a derelict old pub - actually I may post a spooky experience one of our group had in there.

The top storey of the of the pub had a huge room with a fireplace at either end, and we used those fireplaces as goals for a game of five-a-side football - but using a tennis ball instead of a normal sized ball.

The pub was in a very bad state of disrepair, missing floorboards, large gaping holes in the roof, and sharp electrical wires hanging from parts of the ceiling.

After school one evening, we were up there mucking around as usual, when the floorboards gave way in a part of the room we were playing in.

One of our crowd fell right through the floorboards landing in the room below, unfortunately those floorboards also gave way, which sent our mate crashing down and landing onto the stone floor of what was the pubs main bar area.

Off we went running down two flights of old stairs, which were shaking and threatening to come away from the wall, and when we got down there we could see him lying in a heap in the corner of the room.

We gently turned him over so he was laying on his back, and called his name a few times, and after a few seconds we saw his eyes flicker and then fully open – I can’t begin to tell you of the relief we felt that he was alive.

We picked him and brushed him down, but apart from being filthy dirty with dust and goodness knows what else, he was absolutely fine, not even a scratch the lucky sod – for many years after, his nickname amongst our group was the fall guy lol

 

[Kate In The Desert]

It didn’t really happen to me but I was there at the time.

As kids a group of us used to play in a derelict old pub - actually I may post a spooky experience one of our group had in there.

The top storey of the of the pub had a huge room with a fireplace at either end, and we used those fireplaces as goals for a game of five-a-side football - but using a tennis ball instead of a normal sized ball.

The pub was in a very bad state of disrepair, missing floorboards, large gaping holes in the roof, and sharp electrical wires hanging from parts of the ceiling.

After school one evening, we were up there mucking around as usual, when the floorboards gave way in a part of the room we were playing in.

One of our crowd fell right through the floorboards landing in the room below, unfortunately those floorboards also gave way, which sent our mate crashing down and landing onto the stone floor of what was the pubs main bar area.

Off we went running down two flights of old stairs, which were shaking and threatening to come away from the wall, and when we got down there we could see him lying in a heap in the corner of the room.

We gently turned him over so he was laying on his back, and called his name a few times, and after a few seconds we saw his eyes flicker and then fully open – I can’t begin to tell you of the relief we felt that he was alive.

We picked him and brushed him down, but apart from being filthy dirty with dust and goodness knows what else, he was absolutely fine, not even a scratch the lucky sod – for many years after, his nickname amongst our group was the fall guy lol

A two-storey fall onto a stone floor, yikes! That's really a close call.

Did you and the others decide not to play there any more, or did you continue to tempt fate?

 

[Dick Turpin]

A two-storey fall onto a stone floor, yikes! That's really a close call.

Did you and the others decide not to play there any more, or did you continue to tempt fate?

Yes he was bloody lucky Kate, but I guess the floorboards from the 1st floor broke his fall.

We were all in the same year at school at the time, the eldest was no older than 13, and the youngest of our group being perhaps 12, at that age you don’t really think of the dangers in playing in derelict buildings, so yes we continued to play in there until we sort of grew out of it.

There was another time in that old pub that the same kid fell into the cellar, which was flooded at the time due to recent heavy rainfall – we had to fish him out.

Some years later, I must have been about 18, the pub was completely renovated and reopened as a trendy bar.

Many a time on a Friday and Saturday night, I’d see the same kid (now 18 of course) try to chat up as many girls as possible but without any success whatsoever - he didn’t have much luck in that old place did he LOL

 

[Kate In The Desert]

Yes he was bloody lucky Kate, but I guess the floorboards from the 1st floor broke his fall.

We were all in the same year at school at the time, the eldest was no older than 13, and the youngest of our group being perhaps 12, at that age you don’t really think of the dangers in playing in derelict buildings, so yes we continued to play in there until we sort of grew out of it.

There was another time in that old pub that the same kid fell into the cellar, which was flooded at the time due to recent heavy rainfall – we had to fish him out.

Some years later, I must have been about 18, the pub was completely renovated and reopened as a trendy bar.

Many a time on a Friday and Saturday night, I’d see the same kid (now 18 of course) try to chat up as many girls as possible but without any success whatsoever - he didn’t have much luck in that old place did he LOL

Sounds like he was a glutton for punishment!

 

[IbisNibs]

The top storey of the of the pub had a huge room with a fireplace at either end, and we used those fireplaces as goals for a game of five-a-side football - but using a tennis ball instead of a normal sized ball.

That sounds like so much fun! Too bad the building didn't hold up so well under all the stomping feet.

Your friend was also lucky he wasn't injured in such a way that getting turned over didn't result in irrepairable nerve or organ damage. In movies you always see people grabbing victims and heaving them up so they can speak their lines for the camera -- in reality, if there's a broken bone and the injured person is jostled, it could poke a hole in a kidney or liver or spinal column or something.

It's really amazing what children can survive. I don't understand why parents don't all die of heart attacks while trying to raise their families.