Ash Green’s cluttered little mind

Off with the groom, the best man, Carl, Dom, Matt, Carl the Hanky and Roger to a National Trust house on the flanks of Skiddaw.  Up friday night for meeting people, wandering around the place, getting fires going and supping ales which was good fun as ever!

Sat we headed from the cottage/house/mansion straight up the back and onto Skiddaw via a little-known route.  Weather was a bit touch and go on the way up – the top was clagged in with a pretty intense wind blowing over, but we dropped off the top for a bit of Jo’s Tiffin (ta muchly!) and then piled off the back of the hill, down to the YHA place in the middle of the northern Fells.

Generally lounged about having lunch in the middle of the footpath on the Cumbrian way, then bimbled round the side of the hills, back round the top of Keswick and back to Millbeck.  Awesome day, the weather had perked up later on and we got some stunning views looking south (see the pics). 

Back to the Towers, grabbed 30 mins kip then the catering machine whirred into action.  Me and Roger (both self-admitted crap cooks) managed to get away with the easiest course – the soup.  At only one point did Hugh get worried and tell us what to do very carefully, which was probably for the best.  And I didn’t put any Chilli in it, and Roger didn’t put any chocolate in it, which likewise was a good thing in hindsight.

Following our soup, which suprisingly worked and killed no-one, we had some interesting bits of meaty thing on a green salad (with fizzy stuff), then meaty and bloody lamb with the thickest gravey known to humanity (damn nice though), then Apple Crumble (Carl peeled the apples and was a VERY proud CC), then the cheeses, then the chocolates, with gallons of wine, dessert wine, and the rest besides.  Ended up rather bloated, unable to move and trying to come up with interesting stories of embarrasment for the Best Bloke.  The inevitable happened ,out came the whiskey, then the guitar, and after everyone else had caved in, me and Hugh finally realised we should stop talking about Life, the Universe and Everything at half 3 and staggered to bed.

Today, up, breakfast (VERY full now), clean the place, play guitar, and bimble back.  Via GT to meet Stig with 8 knackred drying machines on his trailer, to stick the inflatable assault course on there and nip back to mine, then out to Tawd to meet him get it dumped up at the Training hut. (hopefully).

Top times!

Been all week in Altrincham, South Manchester being trained in Microsoft Exchange.  Very interesting, and am learning a hell of a lot, but it’s a bit death by powerpoint.  I’ve never had chance to play with Exchange before, but it looks like many of the schools in LCC are running installations of it, that I’ll probably have to un-screw at times.

So, doing this course is pretty cool, if heavy going at times.  Staying awake is a mission.  Caffiene utterly rules my body at the moment.  It’s not due to lack of interest, more warm room, lots of food and ppt slides for ever.

Hey ho, it’s given me lots of opportunity to plan stuff this week!

Should really be Mick and Charissa’s Big Day, but I figure most wouldn’t know who Charissa is.

A manic, although good fun weekend. Friday was … er … busy doing something somewhere which – if I remember rightly was tiring. Ah – I remember – the gig for Ricko. He’s invited me and Lucy to do some tunes with him on stage at a musical evening for a Lourdes reunion. Met Luce after sitting in Leyland for a few hours killing time, then the gig, then back home.

Up early sat to bob in at Pete Freeman’s for talking trophies, then grabbed Lucy (plus brew), then to the parents to drop off prezzie for the brother and pick up ticket, then to collect suit from dry cleaners, then to Preston to get measured for Hugh’s wedding. After finally finding Moss Bros we headed for Westview, where they’ve stuck some new walls up for the climbing on. Spent about an hour and a half throwing ourselves at plastic rock, then zoomed over to Fleetwood to an adequately dodgy B&B.

Pressurised Luce into getting ready inside 45 mins rather than the original 2 hours requested (result), then off to the wedding.

Cracking doo, Bob looked the part, Mick was grinning like a loon. A HUGE amount of Scouting bods there, really, really good fun. Service went really well, had good fun singing Jerusalem at volume, then off to the Marine Hall for beers, speeches, food and the dancing. All went really well, speeches were excellent, and the Austrians got us dancing like loons at each other.

A great many beers were consumed, with just the one whiskey which probably was the one too many. Staggered back to B&B – most staggering done by Lucy I hasten to add – then collapsed into bed.

Up the next morning, ate, packed, left, bumped into Clare and JFK – Clare sporting a sizable bump – then up North to the Lakes. Met Dave J in Windermere, then up to St Johns in the Vale to climb on Castle Rock. Got a couple of VDiffs and a Severe in, all good fun, Lucy amazed and worried us by climbing barefoot. Excellent day out, then back down south.

Top weekend – although tiring!