The January Walk was a little strange this year. We were going to go to Nethybridge and do a walk devised by Ann and Neil. However, some of us awoke to snow and a not terribly pleasant morning. Being cowards some of us decided not to go and so Nethy was postponed. However, the weather was not that bad all over and some were braver than others and two separate walks took place without the knowledge or consent of the others - breakaway factions perhaps. Could this be the beginning of the end for the Dinosaurs? I don't think so as splinter groups generally require a degree of zeal and idealism and you certainly couldn't accuse any of us of possessing either of these things. The truth is, it was all confusion and muddle - hence the title of this blog.
The first group were the Smiths and the Marwicks who walked along the river Nairn at Kilravock. They had no snow, just proving that the sun does shine on the righteous - or at least that the sun does shine. Here are Sandra and Jacque crossing the bridge. I have resisted all urges to make any comment about Jacque's weight and would only point to the clear evidence of poor ground conditions which must have lead to the list in the suspension tower that you can see behind her.
Soon it was time for lunch and that was, of course, a matter for Dave to decide. Little did we know that his obsession with a one o'clock luncheon was a result of his upper class upbringing clearly demonstrated by the extended pinky. If only the fork had been silver and not blue plastic, it might have been more convincing.
This was no idle stroll by the river. There was a real purpose behind this adventure. They had been stalking the little old goblin of the woods for ages and after much sneaking around in the trees, they were lucky enough - well, judge that for yourself - to find him and here he is!
The second group of walkers were much more intrepid. So venturing out into the snowy wastes of Ord Hill went the Pollocks, Baldwins and Maureen. This was more like the Heroes of Telemark than the The Hobbit of the previous group. Here is Janet leading them through the trees.....checking her compass as she goes......
.........Oooops which way was north and where has the path gone? Just as well Mac had his flourescent toorie on, or they might never have been seen again - again I leave that for you to judge if that was a good thing or not.
Eventually, like the pied piper, he led them all to safety.
Eventually they made it to the top - and a fine view it was too. Now the Smiths and the Marwicks will have to believe there really was snow about.
Hard to believe but the view was so inspiring that they burst into song. This is Mac doing his Status Quo impression with a bevy of beautiful backing singers.
Once in a while you might be lucky enough in the forest to come across a little wood nymph - and here she is.
In reality, however, it was Maureen. No matter how much the others tried to get her to leave the tree alone she wouldn't let go, claiming that it was much more fun on a walk than David!
So there you have it - two very different walks, but they both involved strange little woodland beings. It looks like everyone had fun. With a bit of luck we will get it right for the next walk and we will all be in the one place.
Finally we need to say thanks to Sue and Charlie for arranging an excellent Burn's Supper the evening before. A great night and some wonderful and erudite poetry.
And as Memories go - this was fairly immortal!
