My close grenade encounter.

[kibeth]

A while ago I went on a trip with my school. We travelled to grave sites and other such landmarks, including the somme front line trenches. We ate our lunch in a small forested area, and as i was tucking in to a cheese sandwich, a girl sitting next to me suddenly screamed. It appeared we were all sitting next to a couple of grenades. Whether they were live or not - I cant say, but our school had a shouting match with the front office of the site. Twas a close one.

[plant-pilot]

Mmmm, if something, that is a couple of grenades have been sat in one spot for 90 odd years then siting down next to them doesn't hold much danger. Picking them up and playing with them does of course hold many more dangers.

Despite the chances of the grenades being very likely to be live, as all ammunition or weaponry should be assumed to be unles proved otherwise, I think the 'risk' has been emphasised for dramatic effect here. May I suggest a career in litrature, or even the tabloids?

A close one? Maybe? But you never know it was really a close one until sombody else gets hurt. You all manged to eat your sandwiches somewhere else.

[kibeth]

Originally Posted by plant-pilot

Mmmm, if something, that is a couple of grenades have been sat in one spot for 90 odd years then siting down next to them doesn't hold much danger. Picking them up and playing with them does of course hold many more dangers.

Despite the chances of the grenades being very likely to be live, as all ammunition or weaponry should be assumed to be unles proved otherwise, I think the 'risk' has been emphasised for dramatic effect here. May I suggest a career in litrature, or even the tabloids?

A close one? Maybe? But you never know it was really a close one until sombody else gets hurt. You all manged to eat your sandwiches somewhere else.

Funny that you should suggest such a career, I am currently writing a fantasy novel. I dont think any of us had the idea of picking them up and playing with them in mind. And yes we ate our sandwiches next to what appeared to be some sort of medical facility.

[Rich Payne]

[quote=kibeth] ... and as i was tucking in to a cheese sandwich, a girl sitting next to me suddenly screamed.

...It must have been the pickled onions !

[kibeth]

Lol, good one Well I think we all had to eat cheese, but when the teacher's attention was averted, we were drinking beer from our rucksacks... I was young.

[Kiwiwriter]

Originally Posted by plant-pilot

Mmmm, if something, that is a couple of grenades have been sat in one spot for 90 odd years then siting down next to them doesn't hold much danger. Picking them up and playing with them does of course hold many more dangers.

Despite the chances of the grenades being very likely to be live, as all ammunition or weaponry should be assumed to be unles proved otherwise, I think the 'risk' has been emphasised for dramatic effect here. May I suggest a career in litrature, or even the tabloids?

A close one? Maybe? But you never know it was really a close one until sombody else gets hurt. You all manged to eat your sandwiches somewhere else.

Be very, very, very careful if you encounter unexploded ordnance on the Western Front. The French Army still conducts the "Iron Harvest" every year, hauling off and disposing unexploded shells found by farmers and developers. According to what I've read, that stuff is considered highly dangerous, because the chemicals and explosives in them corrode and decay over the decades. Apparently they are still causing fatalities and serious injuries.

If you find such ordnance, do not handle it...tell your tour leader or the local authorities.

[kibeth]

Oh but the french take such great precations :P They scatter a few sheep around to keep the grass short and perhaps explode a few devices.

[Hagen]

Unexploded ordanance is very dangerous. When I was in the Army a leautenant and a private picked up a grenade (they think) at a training area that had been used since WW2 and blew each other to hell.

[spidge]

Originally Posted by kibeth

Oh but the french take such great precations :P They scatter a few sheep around to keep the grass short and perhaps explode a few devices.

Minced lamb........love it!

[spidge]

Originally Posted by Hagen

Unexploded ordanance is very dangerous. When I was in the Army a leautenant and a private picked up a grenade (they think) at a training area that had been used since WW2 and blew each other to hell.

Surely a Lieutenant would not pick up an unexploded ordanance!

The saying "A gun is always loaded" surely applies here too.

It is like coming across a snake and picking it up to see if it bites!