An insight into planet Baz: November 2008

Sunday 30th November - A celebratory note...

Despite the speed at which I have taken (or have been taken around) some of life's curves, I appear to have made it to yet another birthday. Just!

All-in-all, life is pretty damn fine. I'm lucky to to share various bits of it with some amazing people. Hopefully you know who you are and, if not, I'm sorry that I haven't made it plainer just what you all mean to me. I'll buy beer to make up for that.

Just some then - mates that I would (and do) trust with my life, sons that I think the world of, and one very special lady. In fact, Sue is so bleedin' special that she had a special birthday card made for me...

Oh well, special, but, for even suggesting I could ever "Turn on the style", not quite perfect. I hope that I'm lucky enough to have you all in my life for years to come!

Saturday 22nd November - If at first you don't succeed...

... swim, swim, swim again.

Well, swim twice. Or flop out of your boat while it slides off the riverbank with your Pelicase and a grands worth of cameras in it. And then miss your roll at Serpent's and swim properly....

Oh well, it could have been worse. Sue caught my approach to Serpent's on film, then shot 20 seconds of a riverside bush rather than my abysmal failure to stay in my boat (honestly; I'll show you the original film anytime you want to see it - oops, just deleted it!) Still, the rest of the guys did fine and we continued on down through JJs and Town Falls with no further dramas...

John powering up and away from the Serpent's Tail

Ce surfaces...

... and looks chuffed (having just dragged my boat into an eddy!)

Say "cheese!"

Say now't

Say "No - I only swam once!?!"

Say "Phwoar! (it's the PJ's), but don't pull my finger!"

And for videographic evidence that the entire weekend was not spent in tea rooms, gear shops, pubs and bars, then clicketyclick the link... http://s146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/heybaz/?action=view&current=2008_11_21Dee.flv

And finally - what happened next? You wouldn't Adam 'n Eve it!
(That is a paddler with his boat on his shoulder in the middle of the Dee)

Cheers to Nige and Bex, John and Lucy, Paul, Jo, Ce and Sue - a cracking weekend and eminently suitable early-doors warm-up for the AW mission next May.

Friday 21st November - If it sounds too good to be true...

...it definitely was!

Damn!! Eventually I met the man with the i4; the boat was immaculate and my cash was in his pocket before he could say "I'll have the cash".

Unfortunately, as I strapped my new cruiser onto the car roof, my disbelieving eyes fell on a large "M" moulded into the plastic.

"M". As in Medium. As in not Large.

As in "I will sink if you cram yourself into me and imagine I'll float on anything less dense than mercury".

As in "Oh s**t - I have to get my money back.....!

Which I did, no problemo. It then took me all of 30 seconds to get over the fact that I had "found a penny but lost a pound" as my dear old dad used to say. Still, no worries, Sue and I were of to Betws Y Coed to meet John and Lucy for a brew and the start of a team AW weekend. After a brew (though why anyone would choose to drink cinnamon and Orangutan poo tea is beyond me - I stuck to coffee, call me unadventurous!) they headed back to Corwen where John had a question to put to Lucy, while we were off shopping and then to the Swallow Falls hotel.

Sue tried on just about every drytop in Rock Bottom before dissolving in a fit of giggles (well, pool of sweat didn't sound so lady like) and giving that plan up as a bad job, so we settled on dinner at Ty Gwyn and a bottle of red to watch News at Ten by...

The really good news is that Lucy said "Yes". Huge congratulations to both of you and hope that you are as happy into the future as you so obviously are now.

Thursday 20th November - Oops! How did that happen?

Whoop whoop - new boat alert! If this deals comes off it really is too good to be true! We'll have to wait until tomorrow to see it, but, from the description, it could just be the dog's danglies - and I knocked £55 quid of the asking price.

Strange, but I feel all light headed. Maybe that's because I'm going to be spending some time locked down with a tin of Evo-Stick and a load of closed-cell foam in the near future : )

Sunday 16th November - An ickle wander through the Lickle valley

A late start and a random glance at the map; drop one car at The Blacksmiths pub, pootle along the scenic route through Broughton Mills into the Duddon valley, then walk back to the car over the tops. One of those ideas that took two minutes to form, less than that to agree too and gave one of the prettiest short walks that we have yet found in the Lakes!

The dogs had a run on the banks of the Duddon while I played with the video camera (another project that's taking shape in one of the dark recesses of my head) before we headed up the hill to the south west and over into the Lickle Valley. The walk up out of the Duddon was through bracken with broken crags dotted about, but, once over the ridge, we dropped into a beautiful valley that has been transformed by ancient drystone walls and tracks countouring grassy fields, all warmly lit by the late afternoon sun. Stunning...

Bruce being his impatient self

View toward Broughton Mills - you had to be there!

Firewood ready for collecting

Saturday 15th November - New faces on the Leven

Iain (Rockrat), Ned, Steve ed, Jack and Kris, all contacted through the DBP website met at various points around the river before congregating at Newby Bridge Halt and jumping on the Leven for my first run of the season. The river was at a pleasant level, playful enough but higher than I wanted in order to run the big weir (at least in the corner). Most of the boys ran a line down the right wall, but I wasn't up for it, not paddling the i4 anyway and certainly not after my upside down moments under Backbarrow bridge - maybe a foot too far to the right and I slid off the second boil but recovered on a hybrid brace / roll affair that got me out upright (in fairness, not just me, but also some bigger boats as well)!

Iain subbing out his Rocker below Backbarrow weir

Once at Haverthwaite, with Ned having collected a new section of bike track and nursed it down-river (don't ask!) and the rest of the guys having other plans, Iain and I decided to go take a peak at the Kent. This was a good move as we found more water than expected and enjoyed a flash from Scroggs weir down to Force Falls. Getting out just above the road bridge meant scrambling up past the bridge abutments; liberally plastered with chalk, I never realised just how good a climbing wall there was down there!

Monday 10th November - Beats the office...

Surprisingly, not only was the little beach under water, but so was the wall halfway up to the first step on banks of the Greta, downstream of the park in Keswick. That didn't stop us having a quick look at Newlands Beck, but that was looking too lumpy to bother with and so it was back to Keswick and, having dropped motor behind the climbing wall that used to be, Paul and I headed toward Threlkeld and the usual get-on.

The white mark on the bridge that signifies minimum level for paddling during November and December was out of sight, at a guess 3 or 4 inches underwater, so we jumped on with the river running at a tidy lick. I'd like to think that this was a realistic level and any lower really not worthwhile.

There were a team of open boaters ahead of us and a group of 4 kayakers jumping on as we left; hope they all had a good run, enjoying the sunshine as we did. Also - green insulating tape does work a treat for keeping a dressing in place in the wet. Far better though not to head-butt the car while brushing sausage roll crumbs off your paddling kit; the blood gets in your eyes and just isn't a good look!

Saturday 8th November - Castle Head

It has been ages, probably 15 years, since I was last on Castle Head. Unbelievable seeing that it is literally only 15 minutes brisk walk from Keswick town centre and has views to die for!

We struck lucky; despite the day being dank and dull, the sun started to break through as we arrived on top and caught a lucky couple of photos.

Cat Bells and Maiden Moor loom above a steely Derwentwater

The Heads catch a few rays with the only lake in the Lake District beyond

Sunday 2nd November - and off to Church...

Well to Furness Abbey (St Mary of Furness) in Barrow for a poke around the ruins!

Really quite an eye-opener too. Originally a Benedictine monastery founded by monks in forested land gifted by King Stephen in 1127, it grew in wealth and power under the Cistercian order, ultimately becoming the second richest in England after Fountains Abbey. The remains of the abbey lie in a wooded valley; the "vale of nightshade" described by Wordsworth in his 1805 Prelude. A small stream - Mill Beck - flows through the valley in canals under and around the abbey buildings.

The precinct and outer court are there in outline only, but the abbey church with its north and south trancepts and great west tower, originally 160' high, but now standing just 60' above the nave, form the greater part of the ruin. The chapter house, cloister and undercroft lead south, away from the church toward the chapel, buttery and kitchen.