Just be careful out there,

I am not old at 75, not overweight, recent medical said I was very fit and nothing falling off but you know how it is, the point in life comes when everything just takes a little longer and you need to be a bit more careful doing it. Last week I was up on the roof repairing a leak, stupid thing to be doing, the roof was wet, it was a quick job I didn't bother with a scaffold tower, got away with it though.
Today I decided ( well Lady G decided) an acer tree needed pruning, tried with my long petrol poll saw which I can hardly now lift, let alone hold in place, failed and  foolishly decided the best way was to just climb the tree with a reciprocating saw and do it that way. Shall I put a harness on (nah, its only a quick job), climbing boots, nah trainers are fine.
All went well until of course I found myself hanging upside down with my one leg trapped between two branches and the other scrabbling to grip anything. I no longer have the strength to pull myself back up and for what felt like half an hour I just hung there completely stuck whilst Lady G tried all manner of ladders and methods so I could move..
I suggested the fire brigade and pretending to be a cat, then she came up with the idea of cutting off the offending branch that my leg was wedged by. Can't say I was that keen on a reciprocating saw that close to my leg, but, eureka it worked and down I came fortunately gently.

I am now grounded at the risk of divorce.

I am no H&S freak, quite the opposite but the moral here is if there is any doubt just don't do it, don't go climbing on things, lifting things and the like, just accept we are all getting older and want to continue doing so for many years yet.

I know a good one too and a bit closer to home.

https://geoffhamtreeservices.co.uk/

Glad you survived to tell the tale, GH. We're supposed to get wiser as we grow older but, being in the same age range, I’m not so sure.

Ironically our son is a qualified tree surgeon

April 2016 I was stood on the 4th rung of of a ladder cleaning the roof of the MH.  Next thing the foot of the ladder slipped away and down I went. Luckily (?) I had a stand-off bracket attached to the top of the ladder otherwise I would have broken all my fingers as I was holding on tightly, but I still suffered an exposed fracture to my left elbow and broke my right patella into 4 equal pieces - never seen before by the A&E team.  I thought it safer to stay on the ladder rather than get on the roof but looking back I think my movement with the long handled brush resulted in the ladder gently walking back on the soapy concrete.  Also glad about my fingers as I play the guitar.   Who knows what's around the corner. 
Glad you survived!
Rich..

Being in the same age group I have now learned one thing…….
My mind and my body are ageing at a different rate. I think I am going to do something  and often my body says uh uh no your not and find I carn’t.

RML wrote:April 2016 I was stood on the 4th rung of of a ladder cleaning the roof of the MH.  Next thing the foot of the ladder slipped away and down I went. Luckily (?) I had a stand-off bracket attached to the top of the ladder otherwise I would have broken all my fingers as I was holding on tightly, but I still suffered an exposed fracture to my left elbow and broke my right patella into 4 equal pieces - never seen before by the A&E team.  I thought it safer to stay on the ladder rather than get on the roof but looking back I think my movement with the long handled brush resulted in the ladder gently walking back on the soapy concrete.  Also glad about my fingers as I play the guitar.   Who knows what's around the corner. 
Glad you survived!
Rich..

Ouch that must have hurt, just so easy to slip, lift something awkwardly or drag your pickup in to the sky (couldn't resist Ian)!

Thirty years ago I was told I would never walk again after jumping off a wall and smashing up both legs, you would have thought I would have learned but no, stupidity continues to rule my life.

Fell off a roof a while back...sliding down the slates, not too bad, landing in a flowerbed, not too bad...but see when my tailbone hit the cast iron gutter? Oooft.

Left leg isn't working right yet...not been out on the bike as I can't support the weight of it when i put my foot down. To add insult to injury I also decided to fall out of the hab door in the van...had some help with that one from an over excited spaniel...

But ..why did I fall off the roof?  The 12 yr old in my head said it was a good idea to walk along the ridge to the chimney stack instead of simply moving the ladder. Yes, it was a good idea. Until it wasn't.

Glad you survived OK GH, don't suppose your wife had the presence of mind to get the camera out? Could have got you a few bob from Harry Hill

My guess is most of us overestimate our ability to undertake the kinds of things we did when a tad younger. I am no longer able to climb our "big" ladder up to clear the top gutter, partly I get dizzy and partly I don't have the strength. A few months ago I had a very sore foot which meat putting most of my weight on the heel. I was having a shave one morning and noticed I had made the bathroom tiles below me wet. As I stepped back with my good foot and........yes, you got there before me. I went  to full skating rink mode as both feet went away from me. Fortunately I landed on the floor but missed both the toilet and radiator, although I don't know how. Sometimes life is like living in an obstacle course

"A few months ago I had a very sore foot which meat putting most of my weight on the heel. I was having a shave one morning and noticed I had made the bathroom tiles below me wet".


You sure that shaving was why the floor was wet Tony?  You are getting older 

You are not suggesting Tony spilt his whisky surely!

It's not just falling off things, I managed to fall off my own feet. Council bin lorry was in the road so I rushed to put out a neighbour's wheelie bin for them. While nipping up the pavement I went a bit too fast for my own legs and crashed to the ground. One minute I'm running along, the next I'm flat on my face. Off to A&E, who x-rayed and told me I'd fractured around my eye socket in five places. I had a line of bruises on my left upper arm, which were where my right knuckles had dug in, so it seems I didn't even put my hands out to break my fall. That was a few years ago and I've had various problems on that side ever since. Made me realise that I was not as young as I used to be. A lot more careful now: put the bins out the night before!

groundhog wrote:You are not suggesting Tony spilt his whisky surely!

The trouble is, I don't spill my whisky

The mention of trees and lucky escapes brings to mind a local village garage owner removing a tree from his forecourt.
He sent his son up the tree to trim the upper branches and attach his ancient recovery truck. The guy started winching before he remembered his son was still up the tree. In panic he stalled the truck and the winch jumped out of gear. The tree wiped back accompanied by a scream.
Luckily the lad up the tree managed to hold on but had to be helped down because he said he was too scared to let go. We laughed afterwards but the relationship between father and son was a bit strained for a while.

Kdc wrote:Being in the same age group I have now learned one thing…….
My mind and my body are ageing at a different rate. I think I am going to do something  and often my body says uh uh no your not and find I carn’t.

A few months ago I thought I would remove the rear wheel of my Transit MH and change the discs and pads.
After standing on a long extension bar with a scaffold pole on the end of it I managed to undo  the wheel nuts.
I know that wheels stick to discs but even hammering the tyre with a sledge hammer I couldn't loosen the wheel off the studs.
I replaced the nuts and left the disc to rot until I could bring myself to pay  someone to do it.
That was a previous mh. I never did get new discs and brakes. Now I have a sprinter based one with electric brakes I have no hope at all. (Though I did change a wheel when I found a slow puncture).