6 ms·

I crossed the Alps on a space hopper

91 points by camtarn 8y ago

ConcernedCoder 8y ago
:/
- bitewhite 8y ago
  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
sulam 8y ago
I’m so confused. Is he not treating his leukemia? The entire article acts like this is a non-factor, which seems unlikely unless he’s simply decided a year to live or whatever is enough for him.
- jbg_ 8y ago
  It doesn't seem relevant to the subject of the article, and it's private, so I don't see why it should be detailed...
- madengr 8y ago
  Maybe he is taking Gleevec.
- dreamcompiler 8y ago
  Some forms of leukemia are aymptomatic and are not usually treated until they become so.
- tim333 8y ago
  A lot of cancer treatment is periodic. You do chemo / radiation for a while and then have a period off.
paublyrne 8y ago
The clause, "so on I bounced" sounds wonderfully meaningful somehow.
foobarbecue 8y ago
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kKeh7OYBh90 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kKeh7OYBh90
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
bitwize 8y ago
TIL what a space hopper really is. Danger Mouse has a spaceship by that name, and I never got the joke, being American and all.
- ggm 8y ago
  TIL americans forget toys they invented faster than danger mouse.
  - bitwize 8y ago
    We never used the term "space hopper" for that sort of ball. That is a British coinage.
    - ggm 8y ago
      Odd. I am sure the one I had came direct from the USA and was called exactly that.
      - ggm 8y ago
        TIL. So "hoppity hop" it is. Oh, the innocent joys of the sixties and seventies. we got boffing sticks from the US and silly string. I think the boffing sticks lasted longest.
notatoad 8y ago
>Most people en route dismissed me as an English eccentric that'll happen when you cross the alps on a space hopper, dressed in a tweed suit and pith helmet at the height of summer.
- ggm 8y ago
  The only word of concern is dismissed. He is of course an english eccentric, but he shouldn't be dismissed for it.
  - fileeditview 8y ago
    The whole sentence was: > Most people en route dismissed me as an English eccentric, > although many were politely intrigued. On one occasion, a > local man offered me a huge meal and homemade wine. In this context I really don't think the word dismissed should be of concern. Seems like many people treated him fine despite bouncing on a space hopper...
  - fipple 8y ago
    why not?
  - emmelaich 8y ago
    I'm reminded of the Ripping Yarns episode Across the andes by frog So good.
jmickey 8y ago
I hoped to see that the author dealt more directly with the address problem. Is there no way to set up free post boxes with a fixed address for those that need them?
- dpwm 8y ago
  > I hoped to see that the author dealt more directly with the address problem. It's a hard problem, in part because you really need the state to address many of the problems with assuming fixed address. Instead of recognising the reality that people were people whether they had fixed address or not, the UK parliament decided to simply ban vagrancy [0]. Aspects of the act are still in force today. > Is there no way to set up free post boxes with a fixed address for those that need them? The currently governing party of the UK keeps parroting the line that "work is the best way out out of poverty" whilst passing laws and fostering policies that make that make life significantly harder for anybody homeless. It's quite likely that the anti-"illegal"-immigration[1] "hostile environment" policy would view giving addresses to homeless people without proving their right to accommodation would result in the standard £10,000 fine per person the home office claims isn't here legally. If an address was simply about receiving letters, then there is the Poste Restante service[2], which I only learnt of today. I suspect that few employers would accept that address and homeless people often don't have the proof of eligibility for work that they require. What was once a universal healthcare system is actually no longer: In England, General Practitioners are required to write to patients and remove them from the register if they do not confirm receipt of the letter. This means being homeless without an address means emergency-only care, at least according to policy. [3] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagrancy_Act_1824 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagrancy_Act_1824 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poste_restante#United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poste_restante#United_Kingdom [2] It actually affected a lot of people who were here legitimately. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windrush_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windrush_scandal [3] There are actually out of hours services that will see you without a fixed address. There may also be some local clinics that reach out to homeless people, but this is not by any central policy and if certain newspapers covered this appalling abuse of hard-working taxpayer's money being potentially used for homeless illegal immigrants then it would be swiftly dealt with.
tomxor 8y ago
> I’m trying to choose between cycling across the Channel and something involving a penny farthing and a suit of armour. I can't wait :)
keithpeter 8y ago
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/modern-day-pilgrim-steven-payne-48450/ https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/modern-day-pilg... I found the pilgrimage alluded to in the article quite interesting. I hope this chap recovers.
tomcooks 8y ago
> I researched routes and found one that seemed feasible – 76 miles between Bardonecchia in Italy and Grenoble in France. Migrants from Africa use that route to die while trying to cross the border, while he hops through it wearing a pith helmet. That's so British I just shat a colony and a crate of spices.
tc_rat 8y ago
I live in Steven's home town of Chichester and just realised from the article photo that he's the same chap that can often be seen riding around town on his trusty penny farthing in his tweed plus fours and pipe, doffing his cap and saying 'good day' to all that stop to watch. Fantastic to see how easily he mounts/dismounts the farthing!

91 points by camtarn 8y ago

bitewhite 8y ago
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I’m so confused. Is he not treating his leukemia? The entire article acts like this is a non-factor, which seems unlikely unless he’s simply decided a year to live or whatever is enough for him.

jbg_ 8y ago
It doesn't seem relevant to the subject of the article, and it's private, so I don't see why it should be detailed...
madengr 8y ago
Maybe he is taking Gleevec.
dreamcompiler 8y ago
Some forms of leukemia are aymptomatic and are not usually treated until they become so.
tim333 8y ago
A lot of cancer treatment is periodic. You do chemo / radiation for a while and then have a period off.

paublyrne 8y ago

The clause, "so on I bounced" sounds wonderfully meaningful somehow.

foobarbecue 8y ago

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kKeh7OYBh90 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kKeh7OYBh90

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

bitwize 8y ago

TIL what a space hopper really is. Danger Mouse has a spaceship by that name, and I never got the joke, being American and all.

ggm 8y ago
TIL americans forget toys they invented faster than danger mouse.
- bitwize 8y ago
  We never used the term "space hopper" for that sort of ball. That is a British coinage.
  - ggm 8y ago
    Odd. I am sure the one I had came direct from the USA and was called exactly that.
    - ggm 8y ago
      TIL. So "hoppity hop" it is. Oh, the innocent joys of the sixties and seventies. we got boffing sticks from the US and silly string. I think the boffing sticks lasted longest.

notatoad 8y ago

>Most people en route dismissed me as an English eccentric that'll happen when you cross the alps on a space hopper, dressed in a tweed suit and pith helmet at the height of summer.

ggm 8y ago
The only word of concern is dismissed. He is of course an english eccentric, but he shouldn't be dismissed for it.
- fileeditview 8y ago
  The whole sentence was: > Most people en route dismissed me as an English eccentric, > although many were politely intrigued. On one occasion, a > local man offered me a huge meal and homemade wine. In this context I really don't think the word dismissed should be of concern. Seems like many people treated him fine despite bouncing on a space hopper...
- fipple 8y ago
  why not?
- emmelaich 8y ago
  I'm reminded of the Ripping Yarns episode Across the andes by frog So good.

jmickey 8y ago

I hoped to see that the author dealt more directly with the address problem. Is there no way to set up free post boxes with a fixed address for those that need them?

dpwm 8y ago
> I hoped to see that the author dealt more directly with the address problem. It's a hard problem, in part because you really need the state to address many of the problems with assuming fixed address. Instead of recognising the reality that people were people whether they had fixed address or not, the UK parliament decided to simply ban vagrancy [0]. Aspects of the act are still in force today. > Is there no way to set up free post boxes with a fixed address for those that need them? The currently governing party of the UK keeps parroting the line that "work is the best way out out of poverty" whilst passing laws and fostering policies that make that make life significantly harder for anybody homeless. It's quite likely that the anti-"illegal"-immigration[1] "hostile environment" policy would view giving addresses to homeless people without proving their right to accommodation would result in the standard £10,000 fine per person the home office claims isn't here legally. If an address was simply about receiving letters, then there is the Poste Restante service[2], which I only learnt of today. I suspect that few employers would accept that address and homeless people often don't have the proof of eligibility for work that they require. What was once a universal healthcare system is actually no longer: In England, General Practitioners are required to write to patients and remove them from the register if they do not confirm receipt of the letter. This means being homeless without an address means emergency-only care, at least according to policy. [3] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagrancy_Act_1824 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagrancy_Act_1824 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poste_restante#United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poste_restante#United_Kingdom [2] It actually affected a lot of people who were here legitimately. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windrush_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windrush_scandal [3] There are actually out of hours services that will see you without a fixed address. There may also be some local clinics that reach out to homeless people, but this is not by any central policy and if certain newspapers covered this appalling abuse of hard-working taxpayer's money being potentially used for homeless illegal immigrants then it would be swiftly dealt with.

tomxor 8y ago

> I’m trying to choose between cycling across the Channel and something involving a penny farthing and a suit of armour. I can't wait :)

keithpeter 8y ago

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/modern-day-pilgrim-steven-payne-48450/ https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/modern-day-pilg... I found the pilgrimage alluded to in the article quite interesting. I hope this chap recovers.

tomcooks 8y ago

> I researched routes and found one that seemed feasible – 76 miles between Bardonecchia in Italy and Grenoble in France. Migrants from Africa use that route to die while trying to cross the border, while he hops through it wearing a pith helmet. That's so British I just shat a colony and a crate of spices.

tc_rat 8y ago

I live in Steven's home town of Chichester and just realised from the article photo that he's the same chap that can often be seen riding around town on his trusty penny farthing in his tweed plus fours and pipe, doffing his cap and saying 'good day' to all that stop to watch. Fantastic to see how easily he mounts/dismounts the farthing!