Left Over Right, And Then What?

The first module of the course I'd been sent on was 'Field Engineering'. This entailed learning how to tie different bits of rope together, lashing bits of wood together with the rope and doing something useful with it.
Oh and we were taught how to use power tools as well. As if a man needs any instruction on the use of power tools. Using power tools is something that comes naturally to us men. That's why we never look at instruction manuals.

But anyway back to the lashings. I've never been a natural as far as these sort of things go. Whatever I did with the rope (or cordage as it is properly known) it never quite seemed to match the diagram or demonstration we were following.
The course progressed at quite a rapid pace. Quite quickly we were not only expected to tie pieces of rope into various strange shapes we were also expected to be able to lash telegraph poles together and create devices for lifting things, carrying things and moving things across large gaps.

It was all a lot of fun but a little voice in my head kept asking why. I'm fairly sure the techniques we were learning had been in existence for centuries but try as I might I couldn't think of one practical application of what we learning.

But rest assured if I'm ever stuck by a large gap that I need to move something across and there just happens to be a few telegraph poles and some rope lying around then I might be able to cobble something together.