What's the closest you've ever come to death?

[Bentley Bullet]

Obviously guessing here, but to my knowledge I reckon it might have been when I was about 18 years old.

A mate of mine had been presented with a brand new  MG BGT by his parents and was planning his first night out in it. He asked me and my (then) girlfriend to go with him, and his girlfriend to the hacienda pub near Sykehouse. We agreed and arranged to meet later. However we never made it, simply because my girlfriend had lost her house keys and couldn't get ready in time, because her parents weren't at home.

Later that night they were killed when their car left the road on a bend near Sykehouse.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Driving on the Snake Pass about 25 years ago. I was working on a building site and on my way to work about 07:30. coming down a steep incline at about 60mph, I saw a truck coming up the hill the other way, and a 2CV (I shit you not) overtaking it. There wasn't room for three vehicles on the road. I suddenly realised that I was about to die. Couldn't break in time. I was bound to hit the 2CV at probably 70-80mph closing speed.

Weirdest experience I've ever had. Everything slowed down. It was like my brain was working at 1000% of its usual rate. I felt like I was floating above the whole scene, dispassionately thinking, "what a f**king way to go. I'm only early 20s. Got a lot more to do yet. Shite!" But at the same time, I was manically looking round for a way out. Suddenly saw that the kerb stones at the side of the road had stopped and there was (just) room to get my nearside wheels onto the grass verge. I hit the verge at 45-50mph and fought with the wheel to keep the car going straight. All the time, the slow part of my brain was watching dispassionately, thinking, "this is.....IIIITTTTTTTT".

The whole thing must have been over in three seconds, but it felt like half and hour. Time slowed down, or rather, my brain was working so fast, looking for ways out, it felt like time had slowed down.

I still to this day don't know how I got past the 2CV. We smashed wing mirrors on the way past, me with two wheels on the verge and him up tight against the wagon.

 There was a lay-by half a mile down the  hill. I pulled in and cried my eyes out for 20 minutes before I carried on to work.

That experience of my brain kicking in at a far fast rate than it does in normal conditions stays with me to this day. I went onto auto-pilot and my brain figured a way through an impossible scenario. Just makes you think what we are capable of doing in extreme situations.

[not on facebook]

Was working with a tower errecting gang on the plylons years back .
Eve construction .

Bascially the side of the tower or Lines  Your working are dead ,but other side is still live.

I only Been in job a week so was very green behind my ears.

1st job When we got on site was for a linesman to climb up to very top arm while he had a small running out block attached to his safety belt that had some rope fixed to it.

As he climbed up the tower leg my job was to stand at Bottom and feed out the rope as he went up.

This day was very very very Windy and i was warned to watch the D on my rope ,if you can picture it .it was Also raining somewhat.

I Kept on looking at linesman going up and up then Across to me rope
That was going in a massive D.

Linesman Get onto top arm and i see him moving Across it,take my eye off
Him to check the D on the rope,then all Of a sudden i feal all This slack as if linesman had fell off .

Turns out it was the small running out block that had broken off linesmans
Safety belt and wrapped itself round the dampers on the live side.

All me work  mates shouted 'throw the rope away  ' as they all ran into the field .

The rope had got all messed up in my feet and i could not part me sen
From the rope as it went from earth via me straight upto the live side
And the small running out block.

National grid came in and did a report .the safety belt was at fault and i was not Fried due to rope we used was Brand new and straight out Of the bag and dry,non conductive .

If we had used old rope that could have Been damp or wet ,Well
Lets Thank fcuk it was dry new rope

[RedRover45]

Back in 1994 was driving between Peterhead and Aberdeen whilst on my way to Pittodrie. On dual carriageway coast road doing 70-80, nothing else on road. Suddenly car lurched and back axle broke off. I remember car dropping and horrible metallic screeching sound as car scraped on road. I was struggling to control car and I remember back wheel going past my side window bouncing over central reservation and lucky nothing was coming other way. I spun over about three times and ended up in ditch facing way I had come right way up. Me and the wife got out of car without a scratch. Had also filled petrol up full in Dundee so was at least three quarter full tank. Still shudder to this day thinking how we got away with it.

[nice one rovers]

For me the closed I came to my heart packing in was on 27th April 2013, on Brook road Griffin Park at about 4:40. Was sure I was about to die.

[Filo]

I've mentioned this on the forum before, for me it was being present in the car park of the lakeland forum in Enniskillen when an IRA car bomb went off killing two British Soldiers in the early 80's

[BillyStubbsTears]

That back axle story reminded me of another one.

In my mate's battered old mini driving from Conisbrough to Sheffield. Came down the A630 Sheffield Road from Hill Top down towards Hooton Roberts doing about 60. Mate breaks for the sharp left hander on the hill and the driver's side back wheel went sailing merely on past us at 60mph. Wheel nuts had worked loose and the bleeding thing just came off.

He's shouting "shite, shite, shite" and wrestling with the car. I'm sat on the passenger side dashboard trying to keep some weight on the front near side corner and away from the rear offside. Somehow he managed to control the car and bring it to a stop.

That was quite a funny one in hindsight.

[Dagenham Rover]

I've mentioned this on the forum before, for me it was being present in the car park of the lakeland forum in Enniskillen when an IRA car bomb went off killing two British Soldiers in the early 80's

Funnily enough I've a few and all of them involve paddy's and argies trying to blow me up or shoot me.

[RoversDave]

 

For me the closed I came to my heart packing in was on 27th April 2013, on Brook road Griffin Park at about 4:40. Was sure I was about to die.

You should have had that checked, the penalty was about 10 minutes later.   

[RoversDave]

The nearest I ever came was going on 50 years ago. I was sent to the shop for something just as my favourite tv prog was coming on, I was so mad I punched the pantry window in. I didn't cut myself, but I was scared to death going back home.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Had someone die on a construction site where I was a young engineer. That was a sobering experience. The guy was replacing wall cladding on a 4 storey high building. He had to push hard onto a drill to drill new holes for the fixings into the steel frame. He was on a portable scaffold tower. Idea was that when he'd finished one area, he'd come down, push the tower across to the next area, fix the tower securely to the building, then get on with the cladding.

Turns out he was saving time by not securing the tower to the frame. And as he was pushing hard to the drill at the top of the tower, he overturned the tower, fell 40 feet and broke his neck.

Ever since that day, I've had no time for people who moan about Health & Safety and protective equipment. If that bloke had stuck to the method statement that had been given to him, his kids wouldn't have grown up without a dad.

[donnyproletarian]

I was attacked with a knife by some nuttter for no aparent reaon as I was out waking.I took of my coat and wrapped it around my arm to act as a shield. As I dodged his lunges and his mates cheered him on I remember thinking i am going to die.Then the strangest thing happened, his mam shouted him in for his tea.

[not on facebook]

I was attacked with a knife by some nuttter for no aparent reaon as I was out waking.I took of my coat and wrapped it around my arm to act as a shield. As I dodged his lunges and his mates cheered him on I remember thinking i am going to die.Then the strangest thing happened, his mam shouted him in for his tea.

Should have gone round and put every house Window in

[The Red Baron]

June 2013. Severe case of pneumonia. If I hadn't gone to hospital when I did it might have been too late for me to be treated. As it was I was in hospital for over a fortnight and it took me over 6 months to get over it completely.

[not on facebook]

What are the symptons Of that mate

[BillyStubbsTears]

Amazing what we take for granted health wise these days. A decade back I had a severe case if cellulitis in my arm. An infection in my elbow suddenly went mad. Within 2 days the arm from my shoulder to my wrist was twice its normal size and bright red. Oral antibiotics didn't touch it. Ended up having one night in hospital on an IV drip with very strong antibiotics. Sorted it out in 24 hours.

Struck me that 70 years ago, I'd have had my arm amputated as a best case scenario, and there was a decent chance that the infection would have killed me

[Bentley Bullet]

Not being morbid but it wasn't long since they used to bury people in coma's, because they assumed they were dead.....Hence scratches found on the inside of coffin lids when the 'deceased' awoke!

[Glyn_Wigley]

Not being morbid but it wasn't long since they used to bury people in coma's, because they assumed they were dead.....Hence scratches found on the inside of coffin lids when the 'deceased' awoke!

How many have they dug up to look at the inside of the coffin lids of..?

[The Red Baron]

What are the symptons Of that mate

I had a high tempearature, was short of breath and had an intense pain in my back (at the bottom of my lung). I started to feel ill on a Friday, coped (not very well) through the weekend and saw my doctor first thing on Monday. He sent me straight to hospital.

[Bentley Bullet]

Not being morbid but it wasn't long since they used to bury people in coma's, because they assumed they were dead.....Hence scratches found on the inside of coffin lids when the 'deceased' awoke!

How many have they dug up to look at the inside of the coffin lids of..?

I doubt anyone has ever counted, but maybe some evidence was discovered when fresh coffins were placed in family graves, or when graves were exhumed for some reason.

[Dutch Uncle]

Like many above mine was a traffic incident, about 20 years ago, which still frightens and angers me in equal measure.

It was a couple of days before Xmas in The Hague, leaving work early, about 1500, having closed for the holiday, and it was brilliant clear sunny weather. We had short private road to a traffic light on a large major road, which had a bend at that point. There was no traffic anywhere as I waited at the red light. As it changed to green I hesitated thinking did I close everything down properly in the office and that two second hesitation saved my life. I was about to turn left across a traffic lane as my dedicated greenlight allowed when from nowhere around a bend came a policeman doing about 100k/h in a 50 zone, he shot the red light and would have completely taken me out had I not hesitated.     

It was not a vehicle on its way to an emergency with a flashing light - it was a police dog-handling van (they had a police dog training school next to our office, the only other building in the private road) just returning routinely to his base. He swerved slightly when seeing me, and very nearly rolled his van, but he didn't - and then he just kept on driving.

Ten minutes later when I got home the shakes started. I did report it to the security people in our building, mainly as a warning to my colleagues, because it was totally obvious to all of us that any official complaint would be counter productive and we would be subsequently targeted.

   

[dn6red]

I can't think of any near death experiences for myself although I once got stuck up a cliff in Cornwall and my Mam would have killed me if she had found out but my cousin and her husband were on the Lockerbie flight. They had travelled from Germany to Heathrow where they got off and then the flight carried on to America...

[Wild Rover]

Obviously guessing here, but to my knowledge I reckon it might have been when I was about 18 years old.

A mate of mine had been presented with a brand new  MG BGT by his parents and was planning his first night out in it. He asked me and my (then) girlfriend to go with him, and his girlfriend to the hacienda pub near Sykehouse. We agreed and arranged to meet later. However we never made it, simply because my girlfriend had lost her house keys and couldn't get ready in time, because her parents weren't at home.

Later that night they were killed when their car left the road on a bend near Sykehouse.

What year would that be BB.

PS Hacienda was at Kirkhouse Green, THATS closer to Stainforth than Sykehouse. Just saying like.

[Filo]

Obviously guessing here, but to my knowledge I reckon it might have been when I was about 18 years old.

A mate of mine had been presented with a brand new  MG BGT by his parents and was planning his first night out in it. He asked me and my (then) girlfriend to go with him, and his girlfriend to the hacienda pub near Sykehouse. We agreed and arranged to meet later. However we never made it, simply because my girlfriend had lost her house keys and couldn't get ready in time, because her parents weren't at home.

Later that night they were killed when their car left the road on a bend near Sykehouse.

What year would that be BB.

PS Hacienda was at Kirkhouse Green, THATS closer to Stainforth than Sykehouse. Just saying like.

The Hacienda was the nightclub of choice after the pubs shut in Stainy, I knew a few people that lost their lives on that road back to Stainy after a night in there. There used to be some good old battles with the Askern or Thorne lot in there as well

[Bentley Bullet]

WR
Strangely enough I wrote Stainforth first and then changed it to Sykehouse!

It happened about 1973, although I could be a year or two out.

[Filo]

WR
Strangely enough I wrote Stainforth first and then changed it to Sykehouse!

It happened about 1973, although I could be a year or two out.

The Hacienda was called The Royal Oak in 1973

[Highland Rover]

 A local 'nutter arsonist ' set a fire in the cellar of our block of flats in Moenchengladbach and the smoke spiralled up the main external  stair case which was our only means of escape . Fortunately the local fire brigade were quickly on the scene and dealt with the fire and no-one was injured .We never did get an emergency fire escape !!
In fact the guy had already tried once before but had been unsuccesful

[Bentley Bullet]

WR
Strangely enough I wrote Stainforth first and then changed it to Sykehouse!

It happened about 1973, although I could be a year or two out.

The Hacienda was called The Royal Oak in 1973

Maybe 1975 then, I'm struggling to put an exact year on it.

[Filo]

A local 'nutter arsonist ' set a fire in the cellar of our block of flats in Moenchengladbach and the smoke spiralled up the main external  stair case which was our only means of escape . Fortunately the local fire brigade were quickly on the scene and dealt with the fire and no-one was injured .We never did get an emergency fire escape !!
In fact the guy had already tried once before but had been unsuccesful

Did he leave his mobile phone at the scene of the crime?

[Wild Rover]

Obviously guessing here, but to my knowledge I reckon it might have been when I was about 18 years old.

A mate of mine had been presented with a brand new  MG BGT by his parents and was planning his first night out in it. He asked me and my (then) girlfriend to go with him, and his girlfriend to the hacienda pub near Sykehouse. We agreed and arranged to meet later. However we never made it, simply because my girlfriend had lost her house keys and couldn't get ready in time, because her parents weren't at home.

Later that night they were killed when their car left the road on a bend near Sykehouse.

What year would that be BB.

PS Hacienda was at Kirkhouse Green, THATS closer to Stainforth than Sykehouse. Just saying like.

The Hacienda was the nightclub of choice after the pubs shut in Stainy, I knew a few people that lost their lives on that road back to Stainy after a night in there. There used to be some good old battles with the Askern or Thorne lot in there as well

Very True Filo. Derek made a lot of money from that place, then lost the lot . Not many of the "Family" left now. Derek, Joan, Anton , John all gone to the great beyond. Vic, Stefan and Kieron remain, I think.