Thursday, 25 June 2009
Fail
Well, total failure on keeping the Blog going through my 1st year of uni. But we'll see what we can do to rectify that this evening
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Four men and a Dog Escaped Alcatraz
No, not the prison in San Francisco but the evilness that is created every year by Chris Phillips. This years event saw an extra twist that Chris alluded to at the start. Knowing Chris we guessed pretty early on that there would be a second checkpoint. For once, we'd second guessed Chris correctly. Wow!
Also at the start there was a 2nd surprise, our team of Stu Spencer, Bob Halliwell and Darren Melling had an extra member, Darren's dog, a 4 year old Welsh Springer Spaniel. Straight away he was welcomed with a day-glo collar and armband and we set off, within 3 minutes the whole team was putting on waterproofs which set the tone for the next 23 hours and 57 minutes. With Stu navigating (mega respect, 1st ever Alcatraz I've not had to do that) we managed to avoid being caught. Until we met another team who grassed us up..... Knowing that we were fit enough to escape most catchers we ran. A cry of "Hi Carrington, Hi Stu, Hi Bob," made us realise that we couldn't escape this catcher, Richard Ramsbottom, not wanting to be caught by him, we ran towards his team mate (Ali) and gave her a big hug. This was the only life we lost as we dove (comando roles were seen) over hedges, fences and dry stone walls. After the 2nd checkpoint, with us 6km away from the finish we decided that trying to walk over a limestone pavement in the dark was a bit dangerous so bedded down in between to chunks of rock.
The rest of the "bimble" was fairly routine and when I'm awake I may get round to detailing the route but until then, sleep!
Also at the start there was a 2nd surprise, our team of Stu Spencer, Bob Halliwell and Darren Melling had an extra member, Darren's dog, a 4 year old Welsh Springer Spaniel. Straight away he was welcomed with a day-glo collar and armband and we set off, within 3 minutes the whole team was putting on waterproofs which set the tone for the next 23 hours and 57 minutes. With Stu navigating (mega respect, 1st ever Alcatraz I've not had to do that) we managed to avoid being caught. Until we met another team who grassed us up..... Knowing that we were fit enough to escape most catchers we ran. A cry of "Hi Carrington, Hi Stu, Hi Bob," made us realise that we couldn't escape this catcher, Richard Ramsbottom, not wanting to be caught by him, we ran towards his team mate (Ali) and gave her a big hug. This was the only life we lost as we dove (comando roles were seen) over hedges, fences and dry stone walls. After the 2nd checkpoint, with us 6km away from the finish we decided that trying to walk over a limestone pavement in the dark was a bit dangerous so bedded down in between to chunks of rock.
The rest of the "bimble" was fairly routine and when I'm awake I may get round to detailing the route but until then, sleep!
Thursday, 14 February 2008
A weekend on the hills
A while back Matt and I realised we had a mutually free date in our diaries. After getting over the shock, we decided that it need filling, and agreed that a wild camp would fit in nicely.
Fast forward about 5 weeks, and, after some kicking round, in "The Mill" at Network, I agreed to drive to us upto Stickle Ghyll. Then we'd walk up, past Stickle Tarn, and camp somewhere between High Raise and Harrison Stickle.
Fast forward another week, and Tom Malcolm and Emma Cairns are now joining us. Also Dad's cars in for treatment....... Poo
Find out the day before that the car is useable (much to Matt's delight). So tootle up to Matt's house to pick up the other 3. Moan at Emma, due to the lightness of her bag, and set off to Leyland Tesco, both to fill up with Petrol, and let Tom buy some food. Continue driving up the M6, and laugh as Matt gets a phone call telling him that he's lost his wallet (but someone had picked it up). After arriving a Stickle Ghyll carpark and looking at the weather and surrounding mountains, we decide to leave sharps in the boot, and set off. Manage to reach Stickle Ghyll in less than 50 minutes, pretty good going considering the weight of the gear we were carrying, and the fact that Matt's knee was still understrength.
Due to the weather, and lack of climbers, we decided to go for Jack's Rake. Walked round the tarn, and redistributed some of the gear (in other words due to Tom being unsure of how he'd react to exposure, I became a pack horse). As we started climbing, I made point of keeping half an eye on Emma, mostly because I wasn't sure how she'd fair with balance and technique. Should have realised that someone who has been dancing competitively for umpteen years would have pretty good balance, and due to the spacial awareness dancing must encourage, decent technique. This allowed me to concentrate more on Tom who, due to the width of his bag had a couple of interesting moments. Top out at 1700 in t-shirts sweating...... More like June than February. Strike off towards High Rise to find a camp-site and eat.
Retire into the party tent, a ruddy Heavy Hyperspace, to spend 4 hours introducing Emma to Tom's, Matt's and my sense of humour, think she got the hang of it after an hour or so, and was soon joining in both the story telling and the piss taking. End up texting, Mr. Ridout, as he was in the area, which sets both Matt and myself off about the Ardennes trip, and then causing us to realise how long we've known each other.
Bed down at about midnight after spending a while looking at the stars and pointing out a few of the constellations to the others (thank goodness I've been helping with the astronomy badge at Scouts). Wake up about an hour later than we wanted to (something about Ren-land time) and strike camp. Cache the bags, and walk up High Raise to and admire the almost 360, total cloud inversion. Collect the bags, and head for Harrison Stickle and onto Pike of Stickle.
We arrange to meet up with the Network Ramblers at Angle tarn, and so head off cross country. Meet up and head down along Mickledon Beck. Stop off briefly to give Chris Prior a pack of tissues (at his age he should really know better) and walk out with Speakman and Tom towards the Old Dungeon Ghyll (ODG). Grab a pint of Coke and a tub of Ice Cream (I was peckish). Before heading home. Get a phone call from Ken just as we reach Ambleside (first sniff of a signal we'd had) and assured him that we were all safe and well. Closely followed by our parents.
Don't know whether my body knew that it now had 5 consecutive days rest coming up, due to half term (the first time I'd had that since before Christmas), but soon after Kendal, I started coming down with the Lurgy, and just feeling generally cr@p.
Head to Nando's in Southport for some tea, before dropping Emma off, then drop Tom off, before Matt and I go to Dick's to return tents and the like. Discuss Scouting with Helen, before finally getting home late.
End up feeling very tired, but having had a top weekend with one very good friend, one passing friend, and someone I hardly knew before the weekend. Got to know them all a lot better (if that's possible with Matt) and really do need to do it again sometime.
Fast forward about 5 weeks, and, after some kicking round, in "The Mill" at Network, I agreed to drive to us upto Stickle Ghyll. Then we'd walk up, past Stickle Tarn, and camp somewhere between High Raise and Harrison Stickle.
Fast forward another week, and Tom Malcolm and Emma Cairns are now joining us. Also Dad's cars in for treatment....... Poo
Find out the day before that the car is useable (much to Matt's delight). So tootle up to Matt's house to pick up the other 3. Moan at Emma, due to the lightness of her bag, and set off to Leyland Tesco, both to fill up with Petrol, and let Tom buy some food. Continue driving up the M6, and laugh as Matt gets a phone call telling him that he's lost his wallet (but someone had picked it up). After arriving a Stickle Ghyll carpark and looking at the weather and surrounding mountains, we decide to leave sharps in the boot, and set off. Manage to reach Stickle Ghyll in less than 50 minutes, pretty good going considering the weight of the gear we were carrying, and the fact that Matt's knee was still understrength.
Due to the weather, and lack of climbers, we decided to go for Jack's Rake. Walked round the tarn, and redistributed some of the gear (in other words due to Tom being unsure of how he'd react to exposure, I became a pack horse). As we started climbing, I made point of keeping half an eye on Emma, mostly because I wasn't sure how she'd fair with balance and technique. Should have realised that someone who has been dancing competitively for umpteen years would have pretty good balance, and due to the spacial awareness dancing must encourage, decent technique. This allowed me to concentrate more on Tom who, due to the width of his bag had a couple of interesting moments. Top out at 1700 in t-shirts sweating...... More like June than February. Strike off towards High Rise to find a camp-site and eat.
Retire into the party tent, a ruddy Heavy Hyperspace, to spend 4 hours introducing Emma to Tom's, Matt's and my sense of humour, think she got the hang of it after an hour or so, and was soon joining in both the story telling and the piss taking. End up texting, Mr. Ridout, as he was in the area, which sets both Matt and myself off about the Ardennes trip, and then causing us to realise how long we've known each other.
Bed down at about midnight after spending a while looking at the stars and pointing out a few of the constellations to the others (thank goodness I've been helping with the astronomy badge at Scouts). Wake up about an hour later than we wanted to (something about Ren-land time) and strike camp. Cache the bags, and walk up High Raise to and admire the almost 360, total cloud inversion. Collect the bags, and head for Harrison Stickle and onto Pike of Stickle.
We arrange to meet up with the Network Ramblers at Angle tarn, and so head off cross country. Meet up and head down along Mickledon Beck. Stop off briefly to give Chris Prior a pack of tissues (at his age he should really know better) and walk out with Speakman and Tom towards the Old Dungeon Ghyll (ODG). Grab a pint of Coke and a tub of Ice Cream (I was peckish). Before heading home. Get a phone call from Ken just as we reach Ambleside (first sniff of a signal we'd had) and assured him that we were all safe and well. Closely followed by our parents.
Don't know whether my body knew that it now had 5 consecutive days rest coming up, due to half term (the first time I'd had that since before Christmas), but soon after Kendal, I started coming down with the Lurgy, and just feeling generally cr@p.
Head to Nando's in Southport for some tea, before dropping Emma off, then drop Tom off, before Matt and I go to Dick's to return tents and the like. Discuss Scouting with Helen, before finally getting home late.
End up feeling very tired, but having had a top weekend with one very good friend, one passing friend, and someone I hardly knew before the weekend. Got to know them all a lot better (if that's possible with Matt) and really do need to do it again sometime.
Saturday, 8 December 2007
OOOPS (the extended version)
Got home from collage about 1700 and, seeing as parents were on holiday had to cook my own tea, very meat heavy, grabbed my stuff and shot off to try my hand at catching for the first time.
Met up with Chris P and Emma L and they, rather nicely, agreed to catch with me. Had a quick chat with Matt and agreed to discuss something at the end..........
Set off catching and dove out the car to hide up while, Chris and Em carried on to look for others. Spent about 15 minutes crouching down in a field trying to work out if that shadow had just moved. Finally see lights and hear a definite voice. Leg it across fields and find that Ricko and Lucy E had already caught them... bugger. Spend 5 minutes helping to try and find part of the team that had run off in all directions. Go back up to the road to arrange a pick up. As I'm waiting, up pops Yeti's Girls, nick their first life, and send them in the right direction.
Get picked up and find a very pissed off Emma, apparently she had been chasing a team and fallen over on the path, she screams in pain, oops, they laugh and carry on running. Much swearing appears to have come forth. On the way to get her some medical treatment Chris drops me of to try and find them, walk round for quite a while, shining my dive light at shadows and scared a few locals, oops. Get picked up, again, and start driving towards Hunters Hill, suddenly hear Emma cry, "There they are, get the b@st@rds," which, from a trainee teacher, is quite strong. Catch them and get their first life, much to the satisfaction of Emma.
Get dropped off in a similar place to where I was first dropped off and sit there as the 2 Bubbles teams virtually walk to me for an easy catch. Due to the fact that they were going to be very late getting back we arrange for them to be picked up.
Arrive back at Parbold Scout hut to hear that Matt's fallen and hurt himself, quickly get my phone out and tell him to "Take plenty of photo's." Helen, his leader, turns up and Hugh then tells her that he was stood on a wall and it collapsed, dislocating his knee, bugger. I end up volunteering to lead her to Stoney Lane, partly because I knew where it was and partly because, as embarrassing it is to admit it, I was actually worried about him...... As I arrive, Cathy tells me that ambulance has been called, shit. Started walking across the field and met Rob and Dundee and led them back the road.
Ambulance arrived and Mark asks if I can help carry him out.... hell yeah! No way am I missing out on this chance for a) A piss take, b) Make sure that he was still alive and c) Take photo's. We set off, leading the ambulance men on a little nature hike, don't think they were expecting that on a Wednesday night.
Finally see him sitting on a wall, being his normal self, if in a little pain. Out came the laughing gas, and Matt suddenly became happy, very happy. Put him on a solid streacher and are told "If your going to drop him, make sure he lands on his back." As we start carrying him through some woodland with low branches, Leigh mutters something about "These branches are a pain." Matt pipes up with "Stop Whining, I crawled through this with a dislocated knee." Straight off one of the ambulance men reply with "Right, you drop him, make sure he lands on his face." In the end we have to carry him nearly 1km over; 2 drystone walls (luckily he had managed to make the one he fell off a bit lower for us), a barbed wire fence, a stream, a stile and 2 fields. All the while he was still on laughing gas saying, "I love you all, your all very nice people." "I'll buy you a beer" and, after he was told about the 14 page accident form, "Actually it's 16 pages, at least the last 2 were." Finally load him onto the ambulance. Took Leigh and Mark back to their cars and finally get home at 2340. Knackered.
Phoned up his mum on Thursday and asked how he was, apparently they won't be able to tell exactly whats up with him for another 3 weeks, too much "internal bleeding," bruising to me and you. For the time being he's on crutches and grumpy. Must admit I'm slightly worried as there are a lot of very important ligaments in that area but, fingers crossed, he should only be out of action for a couple of months.
Get well soon buddy.
Met up with Chris P and Emma L and they, rather nicely, agreed to catch with me. Had a quick chat with Matt and agreed to discuss something at the end..........
Set off catching and dove out the car to hide up while, Chris and Em carried on to look for others. Spent about 15 minutes crouching down in a field trying to work out if that shadow had just moved. Finally see lights and hear a definite voice. Leg it across fields and find that Ricko and Lucy E had already caught them... bugger. Spend 5 minutes helping to try and find part of the team that had run off in all directions. Go back up to the road to arrange a pick up. As I'm waiting, up pops Yeti's Girls, nick their first life, and send them in the right direction.
Get picked up and find a very pissed off Emma, apparently she had been chasing a team and fallen over on the path, she screams in pain, oops, they laugh and carry on running. Much swearing appears to have come forth. On the way to get her some medical treatment Chris drops me of to try and find them, walk round for quite a while, shining my dive light at shadows and scared a few locals, oops. Get picked up, again, and start driving towards Hunters Hill, suddenly hear Emma cry, "There they are, get the b@st@rds," which, from a trainee teacher, is quite strong. Catch them and get their first life, much to the satisfaction of Emma.
Get dropped off in a similar place to where I was first dropped off and sit there as the 2 Bubbles teams virtually walk to me for an easy catch. Due to the fact that they were going to be very late getting back we arrange for them to be picked up.
Arrive back at Parbold Scout hut to hear that Matt's fallen and hurt himself, quickly get my phone out and tell him to "Take plenty of photo's." Helen, his leader, turns up and Hugh then tells her that he was stood on a wall and it collapsed, dislocating his knee, bugger. I end up volunteering to lead her to Stoney Lane, partly because I knew where it was and partly because, as embarrassing it is to admit it, I was actually worried about him...... As I arrive, Cathy tells me that ambulance has been called, shit. Started walking across the field and met Rob and Dundee and led them back the road.
Ambulance arrived and Mark asks if I can help carry him out.... hell yeah! No way am I missing out on this chance for a) A piss take, b) Make sure that he was still alive and c) Take photo's. We set off, leading the ambulance men on a little nature hike, don't think they were expecting that on a Wednesday night.
Finally see him sitting on a wall, being his normal self, if in a little pain. Out came the laughing gas, and Matt suddenly became happy, very happy. Put him on a solid streacher and are told "If your going to drop him, make sure he lands on his back." As we start carrying him through some woodland with low branches, Leigh mutters something about "These branches are a pain." Matt pipes up with "Stop Whining, I crawled through this with a dislocated knee." Straight off one of the ambulance men reply with "Right, you drop him, make sure he lands on his face." In the end we have to carry him nearly 1km over; 2 drystone walls (luckily he had managed to make the one he fell off a bit lower for us), a barbed wire fence, a stream, a stile and 2 fields. All the while he was still on laughing gas saying, "I love you all, your all very nice people." "I'll buy you a beer" and, after he was told about the 14 page accident form, "Actually it's 16 pages, at least the last 2 were." Finally load him onto the ambulance. Took Leigh and Mark back to their cars and finally get home at 2340. Knackered.
Phoned up his mum on Thursday and asked how he was, apparently they won't be able to tell exactly whats up with him for another 3 weeks, too much "internal bleeding," bruising to me and you. For the time being he's on crutches and grumpy. Must admit I'm slightly worried as there are a lot of very important ligaments in that area but, fingers crossed, he should only be out of action for a couple of months.
Get well soon buddy.
Thursday, 6 December 2007
OOOPS
Mini-moonlight tonight, was good fun catching, not sure if I want to do it on the actually event though....
Also recovered a broken Matt.......... (get well soon buddy)
Absolutely bollocked (technical term) will write more later
Also recovered a broken Matt.......... (get well soon buddy)
Absolutely bollocked (technical term) will write more later
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