Originally to be held at The Sun Inn, the 2001 Pint and Peak Annual Occasional Dinner was in fact held at The Snooty Fox in Kirkby Lonsdale on Saturday 31st of March, 2001. The main reason for the change in venue was the dramatic decrease in expected attendees, hardly 24 hours before the appointed time. (Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that a good pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord was available at The Snooty Fox.)

At 1930 hours, P+P members gathered downstairs to dine, and consideration of club matters to be discussed was undertaken. One pressing issue brought up in absentia by El Presidente, (apologies for absence from the Gardiner Family, noted), was that of the inability of the Club's funds to continue meeting the cost of BMC membership. After some brief and succinct discussion, it was voted unanimously that we should discontinue these payments immediately, if the present arrangements for Club income are to be retained. However, one member noted that perhaps this decision needed to be postponed since the present meeting was not quorate, having a total number of attendees of 2 (Simon Roberts and Linda Campbell). A break in the proceedings then followed on arrival of the starters; Simon had the smooth confit of duck with a Thai sweet chilli sauce, and Linda had the broccoli soup.

Some light entertainment then followed at the next table, where a lively bunch had been carefully seated by the very camp, very courteous, and very purple waiter. The women realized that their legs would not fit under the (old) table, and that they weren't going to sit side-saddle for the rest of the evening, so the whole lot of them got up and hijacked another table before the purple waiter could return. We refrained from telling them that, shortly before, I had done some seat-swapping due to finding myself with an extremely uncomfortable chair.

During the main course, (steak, medium-rare, on a bed of creamed spinach for Simon, and steak Diane, medium-well-done, for Linda), it was noted that this was not the first occasion on which attendance at a P+P meet had been 2 or less. The Duddon Valley camping weekend in 1992 was recalled, where, in fact, the sum attendance was 1, since Simon had not yet joined the Club. Linda then began to wonder whether it was about time she should change her brand of deodorant.

Puddings: Simon had the chocolate parfait with a raspberry sauce, and Linda had the chocolate pecan pie with creamy maple sauce. Following a good pot of tea, the participants decided to have a late stroll under the stars and moonlight out to the old bridge. No ducks were seen, and all the bikers had dispersed by that time. Further exploration of the village was undertaken before arriving back at The Snooty Fox for Last Orders.

As no footpaths were available due to Foot and Mouth Disease sweeping the country, White Scar Caves were visited on the Sunday morning before the scenic drive back to Derbyshire.

Conclusions?
Snooty Fox: Good food, poor furniture.
P+P members: poor show!