Ash's 35th Birthday weekend in Boot!

Ash had booked us all a bunkhouse in Boot for his birthday and everything was set for a really good weekend. I mean, good friends, beer and whiskey, curry and the lakes, whats not to like about that?

Traffic, thats what, The bastard.

The second bastard of the weekend was undoubtably matt forshaw, who cannily suggested 'you might aswell go through preston once you have left mine'. It normally takes 45 pissing minutes to get to Lancaster from ours, it took me, Keir and Freeman almost two hours.

Once we finally arrived in boot at 8.30(I had been on the go since half past friggen 3) we made it to the pub just in time to get some food. Maddies passengers had been drinking for most of the journey so it was now my turn to play catch up, which always ends badly for me. A cumberland sausage baguette and a couple of pints later however I was in the zone and had totally forgot I was meant to be pissed off.

Before I go on anymore about this evening and indeed the whole weekend I should probably come up with how I think it was all defined. For me, the weekend has to be defined as 'pre band' and 'post band' and this was without doubt the turning point.

So, I was becoming gooned, so was everyone else, then the beat kicked in. I cant even remember the song but I knew there was only one other person in the room who it would have been effecting. I turned round, and there he is, wide eyed and letting his crotch lead him to the dance floor. There was no going back now.

Suddenly the whole pub was rocking(or it seemed to us it was) and this was only intensified when whitesnake came on. This band was awesome and they just kept playing classic after classic. We think at somepoint they played 'johnny be good(can someone confirm)' but who knows as we where to far gone at this point. I remember the lead singer gave me the mic and I cant remember what I sung but I probably murdered it.

We also continued our (becoming)tradition of shouting 'lionel' in between every song until they play lionel. Now in the past, this often doesnt work as no one loves lionel quite as much as we do but the lead singer of this band played along. He simply said 'hello' when it was quiet. Thats all we needed for a rendition of the chorus.

I also remember people buying us drinks, this was almost certainly awesome.

My mind from this point onwards in the evening goes a little sketchy and it only really comes back about 8 am the next morning when I wake up starring mike 'the nige' nolan straight in the face with the impending urge to be sick. I knew that I had to get up. Now, for anyone who witnessed me that morning, I looked ill but you don't know the half of it. This was probably the worst I have felt after drinking alcohol for a few years if not ever.

Thankfully west country convinced me to come on the 'culture' day out (as I had sacked off the walking, which hilariously keir continued with) , so me, Phil, Charly, Fonzie and Tom headed out to the west coast. I do not like driving when feeling sick and tom had lied when he said it was 10 minutes away. But we eventually got to St. Bees and it was alright, especially for west cumbria.

After a walk down the beach my hangover was wearing off and my apatite was coming on strong. So we headed into a cafe. West country got insulted when she asked for a scone with cream and jam and they gave her whipped cream and not clotted. I thought it was hilarious. I ordered a 35p can of energy drink and one of the dearest beans on toast that are currently been sold in mainland england. All this because they could only fry my eggs, not scramble them like I had asked for.

We then moved onto Ravenglass for some more beaches and roman culture(much to Fonzies disliking). I personally loved the roman bath house and thought it was awesome. As nice as ravenglass and the surrounding area was, my biggest issue with that coast is pretty much everywhere you look you can see sellafield, and thats a shame, as it looks shit.

We then moved onto Muncaster Castle, which I personally had high hopes for as I had been planning to go there for a while. They have a castle and owls, I couldnt see how the place could be anything but completely awesome. Well sadly, it was wank. The castle was closed and the owls(it turns out) dont like the cold so the shows are all canceled. And all of this you could have for the mere price of £6. Sod that.

On our way home, again to Fonzies disliking, Tom decided to take us by another roman fort. This time on Hardknott pass. This fort was so much better than the last one and for me was the highlight of the day. I loved it.

That night the couple charnock had teamed up to make the best night of curry ever. There was even enough that when we got in from the pub we could all have some more(infact I was still eating it at about 4am)

Matt quickly set out the rules for the evening again by stating that we had to be the last two people to go to bed. For about the 6th weekend in a row we completed this. Sadly Fonzie joined us in our last man standing final but thats because he was sleeping down stairs on the chairs.

The next morning was a rough start again.

Freeman was keen to get home for the southport game so he could watch it in a pub. We made it as far as lancaster. With matt residing in lancaster we thought that finding a pub with the football on would be relatively easy. That is until we remembered matt does not like the football and drinks in wine bars with a shirt on.

For about 30 minutes we wandered aimlessly around lancaster looking for a pub. He kept pointing out wine bars and 'classy' joints, or indian restaurants, none of which show FA cup football.

We finally found one which at first he hesitated at as the reputation was not good for students. The second we walked in I could see why, fuck me it was rough. No one in their liked us. Thank fully however me and Keir and even to a degree martin could blend in. As for matt, I have never seen someone look so middle class in my life as he did.

6 goals in 12 minutes, epic football, unlucky southport!

The weekend could not be finished off without a good feast. This feast came in the form of The Colonel. He is really setting me straight at the moment. No matter how much of a mess I am, no matter how much of an arse I have made out of myself that weekend, I always know where I stand with The Colonel. He never lets me down.

Quote of the weekend - "are you going to molest me?"

Defining moment of the weekend - The arrival of Eric Clapton

Sorry for the sloppy blog, it was a sloppy weekend.

ONMAS 2010

ONMAS 2010 was a camp ran by Ormskirk Network to Snowdonia in North Wales. The weekend was ran as our linking event for the year with the Explorer Scouts. The organising was mostly done by me(recruitment and booking) and Forshaw(logistics and mountain stuff). The weekend was based around the idea of DESA which was a camp that used to run a few years ago aimed at getting explorers out on adventurous activities.

When we arrived on the friday night it was like a tornado was brewing outside. There was thankfully a old rickity shed near by for us to shelter behind, but this only added to suspense that we where fast becoming engrossed in a horror/disaster movie.

Although the ten minute walk was a complete ballache in these conditions I actually think it was a great experience to look back on(definitely type 2 fun). The walk made sure we all had a story to bond over and something to laugh about together as a group and there was a real sense of togetherness, once we had all got dry and warm of course.

The bunkhouse was almost everything we wanted it to be. It was really nice, really secluded and there was a real sense of wilderness which where big ticks for us. Sadly we had problems with the heating over the weekend but I certainly think it was still more than enough for what we needed.

On the saturday we knew the weather was going to be horrendous. So we all decided to take a walk up Mount Snowdon. The walk would involve us walking in two groups(fast and slow apparently) and set off up the pyg track, onto the top, and then down directly to the bunkhouse. Everyone seemed to have a good day and really made the most of the conditions. We also got some snow and hail which was nice, a telling fact that winter is on its way. I dont know what to make of the new Snowdon summit cafe however, it was a bit posh and really took some shine off the summit proper for me. It was ice to get warm and dry though. Like posh Alps but in Wales.

Saturday night we had some good food and one of the hottest fires I have ever sat near. The coal was definitely a good idea. The Bunkhouse was boiling that night which I think is what we all needed. The only downside was my throat was sore for about a week after due to all the smoke.

Sunday the weather was much better and we got to go and do our planned mass assault on Tryfan. We split into three groups this time and we would all take slightly different routes up Tryfans North Ridge. Our initial plan was to try and all meet up on the summit for photos but we never really thought the chances of that would be likely. However just before we got to the final climb to the top, all three groups met up and managed to get to the summit as one big group which was really a great moment for the trip. For the people who had never climbed Tryfan before the mountain seemed to have them pumped and fully caught up with the big mountaineering day bug(which was the intent) for me, it just had me shattered. Summit photos over we all made our way down to the bus and got ourselves on the road.

As a final and true ending to the trip we managed to spread the word of a KFC nearby to all three of the vehicles, just in time so that we could all pull over and have a group KFC. This was by far my highlight of the weekend. Emma Cairns tried KFC for the first time, Andy and Jacob destroyed a bucket between them, Charles(insisting he doesnt like chicken) at KFC on a network trip for the second time and me, Barry and Matt had a side of Chicken with our Chicken.

All in all a great weekend was had by all. We ticked most of our boxes we had set out to tick(all but break even really) and I am sure it will go on to be a bigger and better weekend next year.

Thanks must go to Ken Spencer for doing the Catering and Mini Bus driving and Julie and Andy for assisting Matt on the hill with their tickets.

The group posing outside the Bunkhouse.

Best Two Months Ever/ A New Way Of Life?

September and October has probably the busiest Scouting schedule of the year and this year I think we took full advantage. This post will be annoying as they all probably should have been separate blogs in themselves and therefore I am going to have to skim over some details. Sorry.

Starting with Connected 2010. For me this was the Birth of our new Network for Ormskirk. There was 105 people in attendance on the weekend and 35 of them where from Ormskirk and we started to state our dominance early on the friday night with heavy drinking.

Sticking to our roots of not really getting involved in anything County we quickly established our own area on the campsite and proceeded to tear up the occasion. After having the first drunk person dancing on stage we quickly moved onto murdering every classic song there has ever been on the karaoke and even managed to liaise with The St. Helen Network lot.

On the saturday people got out and did a number of quality activities, personally however I sobered up and went the football. What a game, Everton 3-1 down with 2 minutes of extra time to go and we drew 3-3! I enjoyed my drive back down the 62 with all the united fans. When I got back we started on the mother of all drinking sessions that started with a bottle of vino before 5pm. My moment for the weekend has to be me and matt being the last two people to bed and going through an un holy amount of wine sitting in the rain. It was a fantastic weekend.

Fonzie had a good time at Connected.

A few days later I got a phonecall with an offer of some more television work. This time down in London. I quickly booked myself a first class return ticket and went down. Thankfully Adam and Luke had said I could come and stay with them which was good because I had not seen them in a long time. It was good to catch up. We played alot of fifa and ate too much pizza.

The work was really good. I had stepped up from been a runner in my last job to the role of tech assist in this one. The show is going to be called 'the modelling agency' and it will be on channel 4 in the new year.

The Gathering 10 was without doubt the best Gathering I had ever been on. I am really getting more out of scouting from helping that I ever did as a participant. I did some awful things on the Gathering this year, like drink a bottle of expensive wedding present wine, and eat Ken Spencers fairly expensive cheese(even though I am not too keen on cheese) but neither of these will be my lasting memory from this weekend. This award goes to Fonzie for his epic serving hatch stunt.

Dave Ridouts Final Walk was a big BIG weekend for me. Dave Ridout was a massive influence on my life and someone who I know I am going to miss. Saying that though, what an chance for everyone to come together and remember this great person. We all met in the pub the night before, drank whiskey, told stories and generally reminisced(and offended minorities). The walk the next day was a good one, one I had never done before, culminating in Daves ash's been scattered on top of Pillar Rock(his last unclimbed mountain in England and Wales). Me Matt and Jesus carried Dave up the mountain in Matts rucksack, taking turns. The day was emotional and hard on everyone but there was a real sense of achievement and satisfaction at the end.

The guys a top of Pillar, ready to scatter Dave's ashes.

There have been many more telling events of these last few months but I really feel like I am rambling on now and its getting boring.

The big thing to come out of these events though its a new way of life for me and other certain members of my close friends. This new way of life is faster, drinks harder, sleeps less, abuses more and is becoming compulsive/addictive.

An Interesting (all be it moist) Summer

So, my blog has been rather neglected as my last post was in March. The reason for this started out as me been to busy and then rapidly descended into me been far too lazy.

So therefore these next few blogs(that I aim to knock out in double quick time) will be sloppy and more of a catch up of my life since March, rather than a quick witted update of my weekly doings.

I called this blog 'an interesting summer' and thats because it probably was the most interesting I have ever had. It started out with me putting the final pieces together on a 10 day long trip to the alps that had been a while in the with Matt. That was until I got home after work and was sitting watching South Park when I got a phone call that changed everything.

Dragonfly TV where on the phone and wanted me to start working for them straight away on the recommendation of a friend that was already working for them. This was it, a chance for a foot into the TV industry door, but first I had a lot to deal with.

I was upset at having to let Matt down for missing the alps trip but it could not be helped and thankfully he understood and still went out and had a great trip. I also had no where to stay at a days notice so I came prepared to camp out at GT but really hoped I didnt have too in the torrid weather we where having. Thank fully I ended up spending most of my nights on the couch in the ecology room free of charge and that was good. I soon managed to get myself a flat up there courtesy of a friend and this made me 7 weeks much more manageable.

The work in the Lakes for Dragonfly was amazing. I dont think I will ever have 6 or 7 weeks like that in my life again. I love living unpredictably and there was certainly lots and lots of this. The skills I got to learn and the people I got to meet was fantastic and actually getting to live in the lakes and losing that sense of been a visitor was undervalued at the time as I really missed the place once I had left.

The Gallery for 'The Hotel'.

In amongst the 7 weeks work in The Lakes was 'Red Rose'. I had originally been down to help on the week long camp but with the work I could only help out where and when I could but I think everyone will agree I took full advantage. Finally I had plenty of people I knew on my doorstep and I had a social life after a few weeks of almost social recluse. In truth I probably over did it in the beer and lack of sleep department but I got through it ok...just. Without doubt though one of the best moments of my life. For the whole week I didnt have a seconds rest and was always busy and having a great time. Quote of the week "How am I meant to drive when I cant stand up" which was said by me at about 4.30 am.

Ken Doll takes a rough landing.

After the work in the lakes I was soon back there on a bit of a holiday this time which was exactly what I needed at this point. On the first day we went for a walk. I took the group up and onto Striding Edge on Helvellyn, a route which I have done a few times before. The day was really nice for it and everyone seemed to have a really good experience. For everyone but me it was their first time scrambling and I think we only had one person who had any vertigo issues.

The next day of the trip we went to a small pebble beach next to Lake Windermere. Once we where bored of this a few of us went and played football on the grass a little further from the shore. After spending all afternoon there we set off for home when I asked one of the lads to chuck the ball up in the air so I could control it with my chest. As I went to do this my right foot gave way and I hit the deck in a rather embarrassing manner. I quickly jumped up in an attempt to save some pride and tried to run the pain off, about 50 meters down the path however I knew I was in trouble.

I genuinely thought I had broke my foot and as it turns out I had 'strained some tendons' in there instead. Great I thought, that cant be as bad as a break. But as I sit here and write this, over 11 weeks later, my foot is still in alot of pain from one of the stupidest things I have ever done. Moral of that story, dont be a show off.