Far Peak

Huge summer Saturday of a day. This shot shows the mid-section, at Far Peak outdoor centre in Northleach. Lea Anne and I had planned to go climbing on real rocks in the Wye Valley, as part of a group, but unfortunately our leader had broken his collarbone, in a mountain biking accident. So, as LA had arranged childcare already, we chose to revisit Far Peak, as it's not far from where our friend Eileen lives. She's the one who got me into climbing, this time around.

I managed to complete the blue route, which you can see above the face that's above the blue car. Overhangs scare me witless so I was proud of that. The holds on the tower have a tendency to move or spin, which is disconcerting, and the tower is 14 or 15 m high, that's 3-4 m highter than at the Warehouse in Gloucester, where I normally climb indoors. Those extra metres really make a difference.

However, that aside, I also learned to use the auto-belay devices, which are a sort of pulley device so that climbers can practise alone without a partner to belay them. Crucially, I learned to lean back and let go at the end of the climb! Last time I was afraid to let go and ended up down-climbing. What I notice about auto-belaying is that it's very easy to give up on a climb when there's no one below shouting advice or encouragement. No team work required!

Before travelling to Northleach with LA, I'd been part of a WEA group walk along the canal in Stroud to Fromehall and Lodgemore mills, led by Stuart Butler, a local historian and teacher with a wealth of knowledge about the nature poet John Clare, and the textile workers' riots in Stroud and further afield. The walk took in both the sites of the Swing riots and the poetry of John Clare, whose anniversary is on 13th July. Fascinating tidbits were handed to us, and Stuart's even given me his notes so I can rework them and lead future walks. He is keen to lead us to further places, which is useful. The WEA social group's membership is advancing in years and it's sometimes difficult to find activities that are suitable for all levels of mobility and interest.

On my return from Far Peak, I had a rest then geared myself up for a pizza party down the road, in someone's garden. They'd recently built a pizza oven and expanded their shed into a summer house. Dough was provided for people to roll, and toppings laid out, then a team wielded the paddles to bake the pizzas. I brought my own g-f base, which stuck to the silicon mat that I'd brought it on, because of the heat of the oven! I tried to hide the evidence from the Stroudies. The Florentines I brought were a great success, as was some salmon that another guest managed to smoke in a foil barbecue tray on the chimney of the oven!

Among the guests were our local MP who seems a nice guy when off duty (I've crossed swords with him on a number of occasions. He really seems to have been interested in politics all of his life, which shows some stamina), and a Japanese man who was visiting Stroud on his bike, on his way to Iceland via Denmark. He said he likes to stop to admire the view, so the trip so far has taken him about three years!

The party broke up about eleven, and I got home in time to realise that heavy rain was forecast for the middle of the night, and my washing was still on the line! I dashed out and retrieved it, though fat drops had already started falling.

I write all this because I want to remember, when I look back from the depths of winter, that it really is possible to pack a whole parcel of people and activities into one summer's day, and still have time to read a bit of a book in the bath.