Gary and Catherine nearly met on a rock in 2001 when they both went climbing at Stanage Edge in the peak District.
What Catherine didn’t realise was that Gary had been watching her and was sitting on the rock waiting for her to come around the corner after her descent.
When she saw him she didn’t know he was also interested. So when she heard a voice in her head saying “That’s the man you’ve been searching for” she didn’t know what to do.
She advertised to find him on a climbing website and he answered.
They emailed for 4 months before they finally met for a weekend’s climbing at The Roaches. They had a no physical contact agreement because past experience led them to believe that this complicates otherwise budding friendships.
The relationship did develop because they found a mutual attraction.
They had a Commitment Ceremony at Sutton Courtenay Abbey in July 2008.
They got married last week when they thought it wouldn’t make any difference.
The adventure continues.
In “That’s Me!” you can read how they each realised that the other was interested, and then read their email exchange as you set off with them on their odyssey.
Relationships challenge us all. Intimate relationships offer the grandest opportunities for joyful exploration and also seem to carry the greatest burden of habitually destructive assumptions and expectations of the other gender. Catherine and Gary have found it an awful lot harder than they first imagined, but seven years on, they have a happy, fulfilling and dynamic relationship. They are now running workshops and producing online material to encourage similar couples. They have achieved things they never thought possible.
Are you the gorgeous man I saw at Stanage and didn't have the nerve to speak to? One weekend late May/early June. Short dark hair, with a fab fringe. We stared for ages, you were at the first bouldering problem alone, in shorts. I walked down from climbing with support as I had an injured leg, then sat and ate my dinner alone, after taking off clothes I had on to protect while climbing. I am tall, slim & tanned with long hair tied up to climb, wearing red top and short red shorts in the sun. Couldn't keep my eyes off you but rooted to the spot! You finally left after putting on leathers and carrying your mat down to your bike at the bottom of the hill, pausing on the way and looking back.
Where are you? Please get in touch. …
The postings continued, and I still had not had any email response from Action Man directly, which lead to my frustrated reply to Mike H of 13th November. I was not aware that Action Man was indeed the man I had seen, as the profusion of replies masked the initial response from him. Then an email arrived in my personal account. …
I tried to discover whether Gary was single, but to no avail. Since he appeared to be evading the question I felt it would be prudent not to begin. I didn’t answer his emails for a few days, until my curiosity got the better of me. Since it had taken so long to track him down, I couldn’t resist the chance to get to know him.