A PAIR of accountants temporarily closed their general ledgers and balance sheets in exchange for hard hats, gloves and ropes to make safe a quarry wall in aid of charity.
Business partners Darren Gee and Chris Butler found themselves in a precarious situation when they offered themselves up for auction during their firm’s annual charity ball late last year.
The challenge came about when long-standing clients Dan and Hayley Bell, of Bell Access and Engineering Ltd, made a successful bid.
Mr Butler said: “They paid £500 for Darren and myself to spend a day with them, basically doing some of this rope access work.
“It was obviously quite daunting for us. Darren and I had never done any abseiling before. It all seemed quite funny and unusual at the event, but then actually when we went to do it, we realised how serious it was.
“There is a lot of risk, but we were in good hands with Dan and Hayley – they took a professional approach to it.”
The day started at the engineering firm’s HQ in Tebay where they underwent a safety demonstration and learned how to abseil. They then headed off to Lancaster to help make safe a quarry wall that overlooks a caravan park.
Mr Butler said: “It was quite breezy, and it was nerve jangling. I didn’t look down much, just concentrating on getting my footing right while going down the ropes. They had a little job for us while descending.
“We were to prise out, with a crowbar, any loose bits of rock from the quarry face. It was quite a serious job to help with, but they do this every day of the week.”
He added that it took about an hour for them to make their way down the quarry face. Mr Butler said: “Being accountants we don’t ever get a chance to get our hands dirty, so this was quite a big change for us – working outdoors away from our desks, away from our comfort zone. There we were facing the elements and making sure we didn’t slip or have an accident or anything like that.
“It was a really enjoyable day.”
