Secret Life of a Rambler
Pamela Duesbury, Rushcliffe Ramblers
I was born in Sheffield but reared in Harrow. My parents took one look at me and shrieked in unison 'Never again!', so I am an only child. I studied languages at university then travelled to Copenhagen to start a world hitch-hike, but stayed five years, so delightful were the blonde males I encountered. My career has been an eclectic mix of PR, Alumni Relations, translating and teaching. I have one daughter and two grand-daughters in Carlisle, and a dead husband. I spent 16 happy years in Canterbury but ended up in Nottingham on account of my husband's job. We lived in Dallas for a year on a teacher exchange, having requested the east coast. I enjoy creative writing, the cinema, the theatre and concerts, and try to keep the brain alive with cryptic crosswords and Scrabble. I'm not sure this strategy is successful, but the body remains vertical.
Why did you join Ramblers?I joined Ramblers because my husband had died and I was seeking something which would take me out of myself, allow me to talk or not according to my mood, give me multiple injections of exercise and fresh air, and spirit me to places I had never explored before, all with minimal effort on my part aside from the purchase of a pair of walking boots and a modicum of energy. There can't be many pursuits which tick all these boxes. I should add that two years later I met my current partner on a New Year's Day walk, proving that rambling can bring you romance, too.
How long have you been a member? 14 years.
Where is your favourite walking destination? Far too many beautiful places from which to choose, but I do like variety on a walk, especially some tinkling water.
If you could walk anywhere in the world, where would you choose? The Inca Trail, although I would have to devise some way of not contributing further to the erosion, or Santiago de Compostela.
What is your most memorable walk? One where I started off daintily picking my way round random puddles only to end up wading knee-deep through a raging torrent.
Who would be your ideal walking companion(s)? David Attenborough for the expertise and Sandi Toksvig for the humour and the Danish.
How do you relax? My life is one great lurch from place to place, but every morning I treat myself to some reading in bed.
What is your favourite meal? A vegetarian or fish curry with full accompaniments.
What is your guiltiest pleasure? Now voicing that would be a 'step too far', though were you to press me I would admit to stirring a teaspoon of Nutella into my Americano.
What music would you like played at your funeral? Yesterday by The Beatles.
Sum up your personality in three words. Zany Nana-Pam.
Written by James Mcgill, April 2019