The Monthly Newsletter of Chelmsford YHA Local Group
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FUN IN THE FROZEN NORTH
Noodle Year
Gerry One Husky or Two?
Jim The best things about the New years trip… Best food: Jim's Curry, Gerry's Salad and Helen's Mushrooms, pub grub and of course cheese and ham sandwiches. Best drink: Stone's Ginger Wine. Best walk: the blizzard adventure. Best Game: The Time Bomb Best party: This year splendid thanks everyone Best dance: Colin's Ceroux Best Gossip: Assignations in the Drying room - we must be discrete! Best nights sleep: own bed 1 Jan Thank-you to everyone - it was a brilliant trip. Lynn White-out Peering through horizontal snow at two figures stumbling forwards in deep snow - a scene from Scott of the Antarctic, but it was only Helen. Lorna Looking back the highlight was the New Years Eve walk to Langstrothdale- the return leg over Horse Head Pass turned into an epic Scott of the Antarctic adventure through blizzard conditions- thankfully we managed to keep to the track so nobody had to do a Captain Oates although individuals did keep disappearing into the snowdrifts James New Year, New Member As a newcomer to the CYHA I decided that I’d get 2001 off to a cracking start by joining the group in the Yorkshire Dales for the New Years weekend. I met up with some of the group on the Friday, and we travelled north to Halton Gill, in Littondale, making a brief detour en route to Harrogate Hospital so that Roz could see her newborn niece. We reached the bunkhouse late evening to find a warm welcome and some delicious turkey jalfrezi.
Back at the bunkhouse we enjoyed piping hot showers and another good meal. To cook for 30 odd hungry walkers is no mean feat and the chefs did a wonderful job. On the Sunday we headed out for another walk but a layer of fresh snow and colder weather made everything more difficult and brought many of us back early. The lucky ones reached the bunkhouse before the blizzard struck. After another excellent meal the group got ready to see in the New Year, the real new Millennium, and games and dancing were on everyone’s agenda. The party went with a swing and needless to say the following morning got off to a slow start, but everyone pitched in to help straighten out the bunkhouse and by midday we were heading south down the motorway. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) Sunday’s blizzard had become rain and most of the snow had been washed away, enabling us to leave the dales. To sum up the weekend, Halton Gill was a lovely place in which to welcome in the New Year, the bunkhouse was very comfortable and the company was good. I certainly hope to meet up with the group at future events. If you’ll have me of course! Marion Green
New Year Trip 2001 - Young at Heart Those of you, who attended the AGM; or read the Newsletter that reported on it; will recall that I raised some concern as to the escalating average age of our membership. When I joined the group eight years ago, I was thirty-two and one of the oldest members. A thirty-two year old joining today would find him or herself one of the youngest. My intention was not to make us all feel old, merely to express my concern that if we don't attract younger members now, in five or ten years time we may resemble the Rambler's Association. The good news is; that if the New Years Trip is anything to go by; the average mental age (AMA) is well below the average physical age (APA). Give us a bit of snow and we turn into a bunch of kids. Snow balls were flying, much shrieking was heard and people, who should be old enough to know better, were to be seen sliding down slopes on their bottoms or Bivvy Bags screaming "Weeeeeeeeeee" as they raised down hills and bounced over rocks. Whilst Lesley and I help to push the average up (the APA that is) we do our bit to bring it down again by bringing Ian along. Ian has been coming on trips with Lesley and I for a couple of years now, but this time more than ever before, it seemed, even though he's only thirteen, like he was there as a member in his own right rather than an appendage. For example, he's now got some of his own equipment. He now carries his own day sack (Which is more than his Mother does) and he’s even started eating the group meals. (We'll have to get him to cook a group meal on the next trip. Hope you all like Pizza!) But most of all, he's become just like another member (This doesn’t mean you’re going to get more Subs out of me Dave), because you all treat him like one. You take the time to talk to him, to play with him and most benevolently of all, to listen to him. .jpg)
Some of you may be a bit strange, some of you a bit mad, most of you both. But most importantly, you are welcoming, friendly, kind and good fun. Who cares how old we get. If we struggle to attract young blood, we'll just have to breed our own. Some of us already have. Those of you who didn't make the trip missed a really good break and I will leave others to describe it. I will just tell you though; that my favourite moment occurred on a snow covered fell, miles from anywhere. It was the moment that our beloved Secretary, a veteran of thousands of walks, not to mention many mountain survival and leadership courses. A woman who has lectured us on numerous occasions on the essentials we should carry in winter conditions, announced, that she had "forgotten her lunch". Neil Jefferson Christmas Dinner .jpg)
Another slickly well organised feast with barely a hitch to interrupt that smooth flow of courses to the table. This year we hit an all time high of 50 mouths to feed. I hope no one went hungry as there was tons left over, some of which we made good use of at New Year…. and I think we might be having Christmas pudding at Easter! Ali Photo Competition A splendid evening of "where was that?", "who's that in the red?" and "why has Trudi got her legs stuck up in the air?" as we reminisced with photos from the last year of CYHA events. The best view category was won by Gerry for his view of Smoo cliffs taken at dawn during last years Scotland trip. The Scotland trip also produced the picture which won Tom the best caption competition. The view was of Dave halfway up a rickety ladder to a look-out platform on the remote Cape Wrath peninsular, caption: "I still can't get a signal on my mobile". The picture that best summed up a YHA event was the result of an unusual team effort. It was Debbie's idea, Lorna's camera and Gerry took the picture. The picture was again taken on the Scotland trip and featured various group members lined up so their waterproofs gave the colours of the rainbow. The winners all got Fuji film (except Gerry, who said it would burn his hands!). If this teaches us anything it's that if you want to enter next year's competition, you're simply going to have to come to Scotland! |
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