Firstly, an apology for the long time between this newsletter and the previous one. We meant to get one out before Christmas, but several outbreaks of flu in various families prevented this. Better late than never!
The newsletter is being made available on the World Wide Web at this
URL: http://www.pumphrey.free-online.co.uk/pnp.html.
This is
updated as soon as we receive any new material.
If we have your email address, then we will email you a copy of any
new edition of the Newsletter instead of sending a snail mail copy,
unless you tell us otherwise. You'll know that we have your email
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type paper to anyone who wants it. Please let me know if you have an
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Finally, there has been some concern that addresses or other personal contact data will appear on the web. Let me reassure you that addresses and phone numbers which appear in the printed copy won't appear in the on-line version unless someone requests this specifically. Do please tell us if we somehow make a mistake about this with your address.
Finally finally, many thanks to my tame techie.
Any suggestion that interest in huts is waning was firmly squashed at this weekend. The hut was stuffed - with adults, kids, toy trucks, rucksacks, coats etc.
What a great place - this hut must have the best location of any PPMC have used in recent years. If you can find it in the dark, it is literally the last building in the beautiful Borrowdale valley and offers walks from the door to suit all.
The idea that small children should do easy walks and tough sorts long strenuous yomps was turned on its head. Ben Barber and Jack Booth put the hard men and women of the club firmly in their places by climbing Scafell Pike under their own steam, although I'm sure they'd tell you a little rocket power helped. A spot of hand-holding was noted, but no piggy-backs. These guys are going to be awesome....! Their siblings, Jonathan and Joe, submitted en-MacPac, and a prize should go to Julie B, who carried Joe all day. Guess she's started the training for backpacking early. A little light geological relief was supplied by Dr. Campbell for those interested in volcanos. She is available for lectures, weddings and Bar Mitzvahs.
Another first was Eleanor Pumphrey, who along with the family Buddle and others walked down the valley from the hut and managed four miles under her own steam. Lucy reports that this is 300 yards short of four miles longer than anything she has ever done and there was much credulation (what? -ed) in the family.
Intellectual heights were reached as never before on Saturday evening. When dominoes failed to hold the attention (we never did find the double-one) Linda picked up the entertainment baton with selected readings from the Reader's Digest. Whilst this wasn't quite the cosy family reading round the fire of yore, the jury is still out as to whether it was the subject matter or Linda's approach that caused so much hilarity. The sensible did a jigsaw in a corner.
Sunday dawned grey, but when the sun came out it was another beautiful day. The team split with a posse heading for Whinlattter forest to hunt badgers, others for a spot of rock climbing with John Buddle. Paul, Steven and Jessica are budding rock athletes and very keen.
In summary, this was a great weekend and shame on those of us who haven't made the effort to go before. It was great to see so many faces. My understanding is that the weekend is booked for 17-19 November 2000 (that's what the secretary says! - ed) and I would suggest that you put it in the diary ready
Fiona Widdowson
We don't normally carry adverts, but this is really an announcement of an event in a good cause.
Further details available from Linda. Beds and floorspace available at Linda and Simon's, depending on numbers. Anyone on for a walk up Kinder Scout some time that weekend?
Hello all you PnPers!
I hope you're well and enjoying the hills with the vast and growing band of Peaklets! I'm back living in the Arctic-not Svalbard this time, but still Norway, I'm up in the north in Tromsø. I'm doing research into reindeer grazing and climate change, so my fieldwork in the summer is on Spitsbergen, in a camp for 3 months. I have been in this job a year (from 22.2.99) and will probably stay another 2 years up here. I have a Dutch Masters student working with me measuring the growth of lichens! I'm learning Norwegian, (slowly) and have one third of a cat, shared with my housemates. I tried to talk them into having a husky, but they weren't so keen..
We have just emerged from 2 months of darkness. I had thought it wouldn't be so bad, having survived 4 months of complete blackness in Svalbard a couple of years ago, but it was tough even so. On Monday I saw the sun for the first time here since mid November, and it was fantastic! It was very low in the sky, but I stared at it for a full 5 mins before it disappeared! Since then no ones seen it because its been pouring with rain, but at least it has been light in the middle of the day. The rain has turned all the snow (we had over a meter) into slush and it is horrible walking in it, often over ankle deep. If it freezes it will be very slippery, but I bought some special spikes ('shoe crampons') to put under my shoes and give me more grip. I haven't done much skiing this winter, sob sob. The first day that we had enough snow to ski on was 14 th Dec and I went out very excitedly and skied on a track around a lake. It was wonderful! But unfortunately, on the way home I managed to ski over a stone and fell badly, tearing a tendon and rendering me unable to walk. So the whole of Christmas I was using crutches, and still on them now, more than 6 weeks later! ha! no skiing this season...
It was very wet during the mørketid (dark period). Everyone says this is due to climate warming as its usually around -10C then which is a great temperature to go out in, as long as you put enough layers on. When its clear the stars and moon and northern lights are really fantastic. When its rainy, its ten times worse than UK because there's not even any light, and at least in UK there are sometimes decent programs on TV and little shops around the corner selling chocolate bars!
I was last back in UK briefly at the time of the annual dinner..I'm returning briefly again in Feb, this time coincides with Matterdale! But I wont be coming up as I'll be in Cambridge for my cousin Joe Turner's wedding. Joe and Jonathan, his brother have both been to Matterdale with me in the past, and are PnP members.
I'll send some pictures to you via Lucy..dont know if its possible to print them out! (We'll try to put them on the web if Lis agrees. A photocopier won't do them justice! -- ed ) OK, enough ramblings from me. I'm always pleased to hear from anyone, on email or snail mail or phone.
Bye for now, Lis. Lucy Pumphrey Last modified: Mon Feb 7 22:21:57 GMT 2000