Bang to rights

Was this man guilty? To his great surprise he was arrested during our walkers' Christmas party and a court was set up immediately to deal with his misdemeanours. Since we have 2 retired solicitors in our group, they were in their element as prosecution and defence barristers!

It seems that he committed a fraud by trying to use someone else's bus pass earlier this year. The bus driver gave evidence as did his doctor, who wanted us to believe he suffered temporary insanity as a result of eating one of Billy Bell's sausage rolls. The best sausage rolls in the world and sold in Haltwhistle.

The judge summed up but asked the jury aka everyone else at the party to say if Roy was guilty or not. Although not a unanimous verdict, the result was overwhelming. His sentence was to lead the whole company in 2 verses of The Wheels of the Bus.

It was a great party, with a super buffet after a short walk on a cold, bright day. There was a lot of hilarity. Certificates were awarded for categories like the wettest walk (the Golden Flipper), the best lunchtime entertainment on a walk (Dennis' fireworks at Ashgill Falls), the wettest tea shirt (poor Christine, who has since purchased Paramo!) and I had an award for my superb navigational skills on the day I could not find the starting point for the walk.......

I'm in Newcastle at an airport hotel. It's an early start for Vienna in the morning.