Are you dried out yet? OK, the weather was not what we’d hoped for but the weekend, as a social event, must surely go down as a success. After years of Anglo-Scottish battles in Keswick, this year it was all change of course. The changes were brought on by Jack Bamford’s decision to take a back seat after his prolonged spell as chief organiser, plus a general disenchantment expressed by many about diminishing standards at The Derwentwater. So it was that Captain Hockney earmarked The New Dungeon Ghyll, tucked away at the head of the famed Langdale Valley, as a likely alternative. This proved to be an inspired choice in the opinion of the great majority judging from the feedback so far received.
The main drawback was that accommodation there is limited and we, together with the South Manchester C.C. group, filled the hotel to overflowing. In fact six worthies had to be shipped out, with their kind permission of course, to the adjacent Millbeck Farm for bed & breakfast, joining us for dinner and socialising at the hotel. And therein lies the rub, as it led to slight overcrowding at the tables and placed extra pressure on the service. We also had Jack & Lynn join us for the meal on Saturday, giving rise to an additional eight diners to test the efficiency of kitchen and servers alike. A few niggles surfaced as a result but I thought the staff coped admirable against the odds and were extremely pleasant and helpful at all times. You might say that any problems were self-inflicted. Sometimes in trying to satisfy everyone you satisfy no-one. In order to minimise disappointment amongst our members we tried to cram as many as possible on the trip, which led to this straining at the seams.
From what I can gather the four course, varied menu and the standard of food impressed the great majority, as did the accommodation in general. The after-dinner quiz filled a hole on Saturday and Jack made a good fist of lightening the mood. The aforementioned shortage of accommodation had necessitated a journey of one and a half hours each way between home and hotel for the Bamfords who had joined us by special request in recognition of past services. And with Jack having to sing for his supper, their meal was well-earned!
Remembering that this was a photographic weekend, the keen ones took their cameras out for a walk in the rain. There was mention of Tarn Hows and Blea Tarn being conquered to name but two. Richard and Penny led a cheerful group of us on a circular walk from Elterwater to Skelwith Force. Watch out for the winning pictures which are bound to appear as a result.
All in all, it was great to be sharing a weekend, even a wet one, with such a happy group of like-minded people from our club and from South Manchester. We must find a way to continue with these annual social events to the benefit and pleasure of as many as possible.
