I've always understood the first part of that rhyme; the part where you're asking precipitation to move on. But then, why do you ask it to return another day? Waking up to the pitter patter of rain on the rooftops this morning, I had this feeling that it would be of the persistant kind rather than the odd short sharp shower. So, out with the rain-gear again. It's nice for the waterproofs to make an outing; they haven't had an adventure in what feels like weeks!
Today was the annual Fairbanks North Forest Sports Festival, and in it's 15th year, a pretty special day for the organisers I'm sure. In good sporting spirit, despite the rain, all the pre-registered competitors turned up and seemed to enjoy themselves. The first part of it was held in the Fairbanks Experiment Farm, opposite the Botanical Gardens where I visited last week. From the roadside, I could see a small crowd of bodies, all huddled together, using only a small percentage of the rather large field.
As I got closer, I got more of an insight into the theme of this festival. It's name, yes, was 'Sports Festival' but this was a festival like no other I've seen. In true Alaskan style, all of the events involved wood in some aspect, and what I thought would be a quick 'have a look and leave', turned into a day event. The first event I visited was one involving a large hacksaw and the idea was to chop this large piece of wood in the fastest time possible. One person would push and one would pull; each trying to keep a steady rhythm. The couple in the photo below did it in 1 minute 55 secs, which I thought was very good considering the fact it didn't look very easy going. Later, however, another couple did it in 47 seconds. I think they won!
Among the other events taking place, was an axe-throwing competition. You would have to throw this axe at a target and how close it landed would determine how many points you scored. It looked very dangerous to be honest; throwing an axe in the air. Back in England, the activity wouldn't even be thought about. Oh how I don't miss Health and Safety! Another activity involved rolling a large tree trunk using these funny looking sticks.
The last event for the first half of the festival was what I would call: 'Log throwing'. The idea was to throw this large log as far as you could, to your partner, who would then throw it back to you.
These were all very original ideas, and made the first half of the competition exciting to watch. The second half was taking place at Ballaine Lake (a good 30 minutes walk away for me) so I set off for it, ready to meet the competitors at the water's edge at 1:00pm. Part two's events were certainly more adventurous, although after the morning's action, I wondered whether you could get any more adventurous. The rain was still up to its usual tricks, and standing around waiting was not a comfortable one, although the situation was made more enjoyable with a free BBQ and this warm, orange coloured drink that I'd never had before. I can only describe it as drinking hot Fanta.
So, without much delay, the afternoon's events were started, and the first event on the list was a popular one. Each team would be given one relatively large log, a couple of matches, an axe, and a container of water. The task was to boil the water only using the equipment provided in the fastest time. From watching each team, I noticed each one had their own method; some were just chipping off as much kindel as they could while others were more methodical with the axe. Joe and Ethan won, creating quite a large fire, which would be later used for spectators to warm thermselves up to.
The last event of the day, equally as popular, was 'burling'. This involved standing with a partner on top of a tree trunk, floating on the Ballaine Lake, and trying to roll the tree whilst maintaining balance. I was astonished- literally- by the numbers who wanted to do this, risking the very strong possibility of falling into a very cold lake. (It was only about 6 degrees C today.) I was even more gobsmacked when I saw those wearing just shorts. After the event, I asked one competitor whether it was something he regretted, and on the contrary, he enjoyed it. He also said that the lake wasn't as cold as he originally had predicted. A very hardy man indeed.
For some, the Sports Festival was four or five hours of laughter with family and friends, whilst for others it meant beating last year's time. For me, it taught me a lot about diversity. Every event, furthermore, used wood in a different way. It demonstrated creativity and thinking 'out of the box'. I've always thought the world was a varied place, but then when you think about how many uses a simple resource like wood had today, the planet seems even more diverse.
Sarah and Bill, once again tonight, cooked up a real treat. Salmon, with Brussel Sprouts and Potatoes, followed by real strawberry icecream for dessert. As a young boy, I can remember hating sprouts; today was probably the first time for years I'd ever eaten one whole. They're actually pretty nice, and it's shocking to think I've missed out all these years!
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