“There’s a seaside place called Blackpool...”
Those of you of north English heritage may recognize this as the opening line of “Albert and the Lion”, a poem often and eloquently recited by John Lishman. John was a long-time member of our club who succumbed to cancer this past summer at the tender age of 74.
A man of many interests and talents - singing, painting, woodworking, etc. - John had a particular passion for hiking. Although I can’t claim to have been an intimate friend, I frequently enjoyed his company on the trail. He was a Yorkshire man with a quiet, subtle wit - a true gentleman!
I particularly recall two hikes with John, the first of which was an assault of The Wedge in 1993. As you drive south on the Kananaskis highway past Nakiska and the Village, it looms to your left like an axe-head, blade up. The final scramble to the summit is a heart-thumper, with lots of loose scree. When we finally reached the ridge and looked over the precipitous back side, John turned to me and said softly, “My God, Barry, I must have been out of my mind to have followed you up here!”
A year or so later we were up on Wind Ridge near Dead Man’s Flats. At that time I was employed by Three Sisters Resorts as a planning consultant. I was fully aware that John had spoken out at a public hearing against their proposal to develop the Wind Valley, an important grizzly bear habitat that lay below us. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, I whimsically remarked that the valley would have been a sensational setting for a resort complex and a couple of 18-hole golf courses. I then ducked quickly, in anticipation of one of John’s broad forearms swinging across the beam! We both chuckled about it afterwards, as I shared his sympathies on the matter.
Mr. Lishman, I can only hope that you’re regaling the heavenly host with your inimitable renderings of “Albert”, “Runcorn Ferry” etc. We miss you!
Barry Simpkins