Journal Entry 11 - Echoes from my loft.

While running through the site for the final time in 2011, I realised that it was a long time since anything was entered for the journal. At a similar time I was clearing out the loft and came across a couple of things that reminded me of archery over 20 years ago. So this journal entry is about the two things I uncovered. FIRST, I should remember just how it was when I started archery. We (my original club) had limited resources and were helped over the cold winter months by 'Arthur' who managed a pharmaceutical supplies company allowing us to shoot between the rows of the warehouse storage.

The picture of the punctured leg was from a medical periodical of the time and shows why alcohol and arrows don't mix. I apologise if you're in the middle of a nice ham sandwich when you discover this page and I perhaps should have titled the page, "This page shows tissue damage", but I didn't think of it until now! I've often mused what exactly 'Alcohol Sedation' actually is and why anyone would shoot themself other than by accident? Also, just how much alcohol does it take to allow this to happen. Anyone who excells at 'Risk Assessment' is welcome to produce one.

I do note that it is a cross-bow bolt and not a conventional 'arrow' but non the less it does act to warn that accidents can happen. Now to the effect of arrow penetration. I do recall that bosses (the circular straw variety) were only 3 and a half inches thick. Carbon arrows were in their infancy (often Beman's as I recall). It was some time later that the thickness and density of bosses increased as arrow penetration and speed increased. Now we have layered foam bosses all that arrow trouble shouldn't happen...... or will it? Next we have the old 'hand-signals' once used at competitions!

  Here we have the page from the book that described the hand signals used by judges when trying to communicate over the length of the range. This was obviously long before two way radios were common at competition! Maybe you should try a few out and see if the current judges can understand what you're trying to pass on?

These weren't a bad idea until we all realised that many of the judges didn't have the eyesight to know how many fingers were raised, and many of the remainder used the signals so infrequently that they could no longer remember what they were supposed to represent?

What else did I find in my exploration of the loft? Well I did find a compound with steel cables and 'teardrops'. Enough to scare many a new compound archer. You haven't lived until you've had the teardrop snap off the cable and find your beloved compound in bits at your feet! Now THAT'S equipment failure. I also found a 'springy' rest for the compound. Pre launchers or 'drop-away' thingy's these were the first compound rests. and were exactly as I have written. Just a coiled spring that flattens at the end to provide the rest area. Many of the compound archers of the day could still shoot 1300 with them so they couldn't have been that bad?.

What else did I find? Nothing that we have totally left behind. An old G.N.A.S. rule book (pre- ArcheryGB days) So small and thin compared to todays version and not a SAP to be seen. I found a 'joke' picture from the British Archer that poked innocent fun at 'competition colour requirements' or 'dress regulations' as we called it at the time. Not for presentation here as it depicts a nude lady running across the range and two judges musing that it didn't contravene the dress regulations. Not like now where competitions can look like "massacre in the pitza kitchen" (other opinions do exist so don't be offended!).

Journal Entry List.