Journal 2002

Burns Supper Meet, Lagangarbh, Glen Coe

Present: Graeme M (Meet Sec); Tony Bl, Keith, Mark, Valerie, Richard, Willie, Steve & Debbie, Tony K, Jo, Ruth & Simon, Caitlin, Morag, Fiona M, Brian, Anne, Bob, Nicola, Martin, and Nina.

This was an exceptionally well attended meet, with 17 members and guests on Friday night and 22 on Saturday. The bunks in the Barn accommodated the overspill from Lagangarbh itself, but seating for Saturday’s meal was decidedly cramped. For once, however, the toilet paper did not run out.

Snow lay right down to road, but was judged too unconsolidated for serious climbing. On Saturday a large party went up Buachaille Etive Mòr by the rocky ridge that flanks Coire na Tulaich on its west side, and continued over Stob Dearg, Stob na Doire, Stob Coire Altruim and Stob na Bròige, then retraced their steps before descending into the Lairig Gartain. Others floundered on snowy slabs on Beinn a’ Bheithir or attempted sundry Corbetts. Rain fell for most of the day, and the conditions were soft underfoot.

In the evening, a rustic haggis was duly addressed, or at least Marked, and the bard memorialised in verse and song by Tony the “Meistersinger”. Steve’s gracious Toast to the Lassies was met with a ball-crushing reply from the feisty Miss L - no jo she, on this occasion - before M.C. Brian rounded off the formalities with a few well chosen lines. Later the ladies were in fine voice, and would surely have melted the iciest heart. Far better than any tartan tomfoolery, here was a homespun tribute to Robert Burns and the enduring weft of his verse.

Sunday saw a further ascent of the Buachaille, by the two Tonys, Keith, Richard and Graeme. At the summit, the mist swirled briefly away, disclosing a snowy prospect of the Crowberry Tower. Further west, Anne, Brian and Jo climbed Meall Lighiche, an outlier of Sgòr na h’Ulaidh, while Fiona, Ruth and Simon went home.

Blackwater Hostel, Kinlochleven, 15-17 February 2002

Present: Brian (Meet Sec); Anne; Nina; Valerie; Mark; Peter; Helen.

The hostel is on the site of the former aluminium smelter and the area is being developed to include an ice-climbing arena, scheduled to be open in 2003. Although well appointed with separate rooms with their own facilities, the walls are thin and all found the hostel noisy on both nights.

Saturday dawned overcast, wet and windy, and little was done apart from a walk to Blackwater Reservoir by Brian and Mark.

It was Nina’s birthday, and Jo had sneakily smuggled a large and tasty cake to Valerie (more or less under Nina’s nose) which duly appeared to her surprise on the table on the Friday night and large helpings of it were enjoyed washed down with rosé sparkling wine before they settled down to watch “Footloose” on Sat night in their dormitory!

On Sunday Anne, Peter and Helen set off for Sgurr Eilde Mor and Binnien Mor, but decided against visiting the high tops with the deteriorating conditions. Ann decided to continue and ascend Glas Bheinn, a lonely Corbett above Loch Eilde Mor. Meanwhile the remainder of the party headed up to Aonach Mor via the gondola and headed into the eastern corrie to climb. There misty conditions were discovered and the party waited for an improvement before heading into the corrie in two pairs. Within a few minutes of starting up their chosen routes, both parties retreated in the face of a number of avalanches within a few minutes of one another. The avalanches came horrifyingly close to Nina and Brian, who were physically swept off the bottom of the route, kept safe fortunately by a very sound belay, after which they retreated at a pace that can only be matched by the very greatest Olympic athletes. After watching other parties who had chosen to continue, all headed back down to go home.

Roshven, 8-10 March 2002

Present: Neil & Clare, Steve & Debbie, James, Calum & Fiona, Rosemary, Tony K, Nina, Simon, Scott, Brian, Anne, Ariane, Amanda, Keith, Peter.

FMC Juniors: Gavin (5), Cormack(3), Lewis(1), Heather(5 mths).

It was a busy meet and yet not a particularly stunning forecast for the weekend so it was nice to see so many faces wanting to turn up regardless.

Saturday was forecast to be the best day of the two so most people set out with great plans. Brian, Nina and Ariane went to Ben Nevis to climb the Carn Mor Dearg Arête. Simon, Scott, Tony & Fiona went to climb Streap . Pete & Anne went to climb Braigh nan Uamhachan (or at least I think they did. They never told me the name of the hill & I have a strong suspicion they couldn’t pronounce it either!) Keith went with them but climbed Gulvain instead. James & Amanda went for Roshven and Debbie, Clare & Rosemary chose the shortest Corbett in Stob Coire a Chearcaill, across the loch from Fort William. Being Mothers Day /(weekend) the Dads, Neil, Steve & Calum were left to mind the kids.

The weather turned out to be fairly dramatic. The day started with heavy rain showers and sleet. Being blustery these moved quickly on to be replaced by brief intervals of sunshine. Then the rain, sleet & snow were back. This continued throughout the day and we were constantly looking out for the next shower. I understand that Tony was constantly dressing & undressing to match the conditions but was out of sync with the rapid changes, taking off his cagoule in the sunshine just as the next storm cloud appeared. The weather was extremely localised and it was possible at times to walk only a few hundred yards and miss a shower altogether. By the sound of it Debbie, Clare and Rosemary’s hill had the best weather & views and they had to endure only a short snowstorm on the summit. The Streap party had a hard time of strong winds and snow and decided to retreat from the ridge before reaching the summit.

Keith, Pete & Anne succeeded in their walks but not in the most pleasant of conditions. Brian, Nina and Ariane’s route took them up the North Ridge of Carn Mor Dearg (grade II), from the Aonach Mor Gondola station, followed by a traverse of the Carn Mor Dearg Arête, dropping down by the abseil posts. There they assisted another party by helping to lower them down in snowy and windy conditions, before pausing for tea stop at the CIC hut. Meanwhile, James & Amanda were lucky to miss a lightning bolt which struck nearby on Roshven.

Certainly after some harsh conditions on the hills it was nice to know that there would be a meal waiting on our return. As usual Neil had put in a mammoth effort and prepared a variety of curries to satisfy both carnivore and vegetarian tastes. He had also gone wild with the ice cream maker for dessert coming up with four of his own varieties such as ‘gin and chocolate chip’! It was cosy fitting 18 adults round the table but it made for an excellent atmosphere and a great meal all round.

Sunday’s forecast was poor and it was clear that there would be no hill walking. The winds were too strong and Aonach Mor was shut for skiing as well. A few set out for low level walks, including a coastal walk by Tony; Keith; Simon and Scott, and a few headed back early as the roads were meant to be poor. (Certainly both Glencoe & Drumochter were shut for part of the day.) At Roshven itself the morning was quite pleasant and Neil & James undertook some timber felling operations. By the afternoon though the rain was lashing down and those who stayed on to Monday – Steve, Debbie, James & Amanda were treated to some pretty stormy weather.

Insh Hostel, 22-24 March 2002

Present: Brian, Anne, Peter, Helen, Simon, Rosemary

The hostel is in fact a converted bungalow adjoining the owners home, most notable for having a particularly noisy duck that was intent on keeping the hostel inhabitants awake at night.

On Saturday Peter and Helen traversed the three Monadhliath munros: A’ Chaillearch; Carn Sgulain; and Carn Dearg. Brian and Anne went from Fiacaill a’Coir an t-Sneachda to Cairn Lochain in very windy weather and thaw conditions, and then descended by the Goat Track.

On Sunday the weather was overcast, windy and mild, most of the group went home apart from Brian and Anne who ascended Creag Dubh behind Insh by the forestry tracks.

Tigh Iseabail, Kintail, 19-22 April 2002

Present: Tony K, Jo, Scott, Fiona M, Simon L, James, Amanda, Steve Ro, Peter F, Keith.

This was our second visit to Willie Nicholson’s bunkhouse at Camusluinie at the head of Loch Long, north of Dornie. The bunkhouse is small, comfortable and offers free fresh eggs!

The weather forecast was not very encouraging- after a bright start on Saturday, the usual cloud and rain was expected to sweep in by lunchtime and stick around for the foreseeable future. However the Friday night was fine, giving the opportunity to observe an interesting alignment of the planets, and a glimpse of the elusive aurora. These unusual happenings led to a fit of most uncharacteristic enthusiasm, in which a plot was hatched to set out REALLY early and get a good day in before the rain arrived.

Even more amazingly, Tony, Jo, Scott, Simon and Fiona were found heading up onto The Saddle before 7am! It was indeed a bright morning, and the ridge was gained before most folk had even started on their cornflakes. The route was the circuit of the northern corrie of The Saddle, which takes in all the tops of this splendid peak (except Sgurr na Forcan). The first peak gave a little mild scrambling, and then the main summit was gained in mist- presumably heralding the expected downpour.

However it stayed dry, and the continuing ridge gave a number of fascinating peaks and dips over the various summits. As the party descended, the sun came out again with fine views over to Beinn Sgritheall and Skye. The descent was long and, in spite of the early start, it was mid-afternoon before the glen was gained. Jo, Scott and Fiona were a few minutes ahead and just as they reached the car (without a key!) the rain started. However a convenient old trailer provided an ideal improvised shelter, and before long Tony and Simon arrived- just as the downpour really got its act together. You can imagine the smug virtuosity of the party as the rain became heavier and heavier!

Sunday was, as expected, wet. Seeking salvation further east, Simon, Scott, James and Amanda headed for Sgurr nan Conbhairean above Clunie. However the weather was pretty uninspiring, and only Simon and Scott were tempted to continue to Carn Ghluasaid.

Meanwhile Jo, Fiona, Tony and Peter decided to risk life and limb on some of Willie’s boneshakers and head up the glen towards the Falls of Glomach. Tony and Peter then made an attempt on Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan, but were driven back by the increasingly torrential downpour.

Only Tony and Peter elected to stay on until the Monday, anticipating a fine day as the weather was expected to clear. However, the day dawned with the same persistent rain although the forecast suggested it would be better further east. So, expecting maybe a climb just beyond Clunie, they headed east…. and east…. and east. At Blair Atholl it stopped raining! The frustrated pair decided to make the best of it, and nipped up Ben Vrackie in improving weather.

This cloud, however, had a particularly useful silver lining, as it led to the discovery (over a pint or two in the Moulin Inn) that the Atholl Arms at Blair Atholl had been taken over by the Moulin Inn, and it now sounded like an excellent venue for the Annual Dinner… and so it turned out to be.

Camping on Rum, 3-5 May 2002

Those present: James (meet sec.); Tom D; Graeme; Mike; Ruth F; Bob P; Fiona M; Simon L; Ruth L; Scott D; Jo L; Mark L; Valerie C; Alan M

A long weekend on an island in summer inspired a large group of the FMC to make the journey across the water, however the rest of the UK seemed to have had the same idea as we joined a cast of thousands seeking the great outdoors. The advance party travelled over on Friday then, after spotting sea eagles over the bay, they imbibed and danced till late at a ceilidh in the community hall. The rest of us had to spend the night on the more prosaic mainland, some in a hostel (after glimpsing the local Mallaig nightlife) and some on waste-ground beside the road between Arisaig and Mallaig listening to the lorries thunder past. Given the required hour of our rising, it is probably marginal who had the better nights sleep.

The advance party had had the foresight to pitch their tent in such a manner as to ‘bag’ an area for our group so, having successfully contructed Ferrantiopilis, a wide variety of activities and explorations were embarked upon. Walking (high and low), rock climbing, the obligatory Castle tour, dropping camping food on the ground and having to eat it, bonfire building etc. But two stand out as worthy of particular mention. Firstly Mark for successfully culling the local trout population by one (providing a tasty starter), and secondly Tom for his “nesting amongst the shearwaters” - bivvying up a mountain near some shearwater holes/nests in order to experience being dive-bombed by them as they returned at dusk. There was also a full traverse of the Cuillin on Saturday, Simon deciding to return to the first summit for the sunset while the others returned by the coast. On Sunday there was some climbing on an uncharted crag by Simon, Ruth, Graeme, Mark and Scott.

But all good things must come to an end, and we had to depart on Monday leaving with only memories of beautiful weather and scenery, and a minimal number of midge and tick bites.

Naismith Hut, Elphin, 17-20 May 2002

Present: Brian (Meet Sec); Anne; Jo L; Val L; Tony K; Steve Ro; Tony Bl.

On Saturday Jo and Val set off for Conival and Ben More Assynt but were turned back by strong winds, so instead they drove to Lochinver to buy some strawberry jam for Brian (apparently a crisis averted) and visit the Knockan Visitor Centre. Meanwhile Tony, Steve, Anne and Brian successfully traversed the peaks of Quinag.

Sunday saw a massed visit to the rock climbing playground along the coast at Reiff, whilst Tony K headed (a long way!) north and had a fine day on Cranstackie and Beinn Spionnaidh.

On Monday it was a return to the peaks with Jo and Val in one party to Stac Pollaidh, followed by the two Tonys in another. Meanwhile Brian and Anne climbed Ben Hee, which is a lot easier to pronounce and spell than most the peaks they climb and require reporting on.

Camping at Achmelvich, 21-23 June 2002

Present: Mark and lots of people he encouraged to occupy the much favoured campsite at Achmelvich.

Some hills were climbed on the Saturday including Cul Beag, but the most memorable feature of the weekend was the barbecue, which was tackled in deteriorating conditions behind barricades used to shelter from the horizontal driving rain. Conditions improved again on the Sunday to allow yet another trip to Reiff to enjoy more rock climbing at the sea’s edge.

Far North Camping, Durness, 12-14 July 2002

Present – Brian S, Anne M, Mark L, Valerie C, Nina T

Brian and Anne headed north on the Friday evening and pitched their tent in a sheltered area of the Durness campsite overlooking the windswept Pentland Firth. On Saturday they headed off eastwards along the north coast road to the head of Loch Eriboll from where a track leads to the hills by Strath Beag and Strabeg Cottage (now an MBA bothy). A further 2-3km of walking past the cottage through a pleasant wood, fenced in to encourage regeneration, and the great crag of Creag Shomhairle is reached. The aptly named ‘Roost’ 60m (Hard Severe), takes a great line up a strenuous crack in the middle of the south face of the crag on excellent gneiss and gave the pair a fantastic afternoon’s ascent. This was followed by an exciting abseil from ‘Windy Corner’ back to the Strath and the return to Durness.

In the evening Mark, Valerie and Nina arrived having climbed ‘King Bee’ (VS) at Creag Dubh on route, and joined a midnight celebration of yet another of Brian’s birthdays! On Sunday, after a walk on the Durness Beach beside the campsite, everyone headed for the more easterly beach and took advantage of the low tide to climb on the coastal crags in the afternoon sunshine. Mark’s party headed off home in the late afternoon, leaving Brian and Anne to spend another night at the Durness campsite. On Monday they visited Glenlivet by way of a detour for an ascent of Carn Mor, the sole Corbett in the Ladder Hills.

Saturday and Sunday were both fine, although there was considerable cloud at first on Sunday. Monday was showery on the north coast but fine and warm in the sunshine further south.

CIC Hut, Ben Nevis, 9-11 August 2002

Present: Graeme M (meet sec); Brian; Anne; Nina; Sinclair, Scott, Peter I, Mark , Ken, and Graeme T.

Friday evening’s walk up the Allt a’Mhuillin was accomplished in an intermittent drizzle, with midges goading the laggards. In addition to the FMC contingent, several members of the Perth JMCS squeezed into the hut.

Saturday dawned dry and almost windless. Ken and Mark tackled Centurion, by far the hardest climb of the weekend, and reached the top in spite of locally wet rock, while Scott and Graeme T went up Tower Ridge.

Wittingly or not, the other parties made centenary ascents of two routes that were first climbed by that outstanding mountaineer, Harold Raeburn, in the summer of 1902. In those bygone days it was the summit hotel rather than the CIC Hut that afforded climbers a high-altitude base. Hither in a June heat wave came Dr & Mrs Inglis Clark, followed two days later by Raeburn, who straight away began a solo first ascent of Observatory Buttress. Perched on the Great Tower, William Inglis Clark enjoyed a grandstand view.

“… eagerly looking down we espied a moving speck on the rocks of the Observatory Buttress. It was that solitary climber, who amid the great immensities of the place seemed to traverse invisible ledges, and to climb where foot and hand holds could not be seen.”

Raeburn himself later wrote of this, his third attempt on the buttress:

“Below, was the fast flowing shadow tide; above, the blaze of sunlight, and oh, blessed thought, perhaps afternoon tea. It was enough, I went up, and, fifteen hours from the Sea, stood upon the Summit.”

Now, a hundred years later, Raeburn’s achievement was commemorated by Brian, Anne, Graeme M, and Peter, who made the ascent of his Original Route (or something very like it). Though the climb was done in two ropes of two, it fell largely to Brian to seek a line of weakness on this complex face. If an Edwardian afternoon tea was lacking at the top, a shortbread finger and mouthful of water was no bad substitute.

Two days after his solo outing, Raeburn went to the foot of the North-East Buttress with the Inglis Clarks, and climbed to the First Platform by a magnificent line on the edge between the north and east faces. This route, now known as Raeburn’s Arête and still graded Severe, was done by Nina and StClair, who then continued to the summit by the remainder of the NE Buttress.

Raeburn put up another dozen new climbs on Ben Nevis, including remarkable first winter ascents of Green Gully (1906) and Observatory Ridge (1920). These routes were his bequest to us, matching the Inglis Clarks’s endowment of the hut in memory of their soldier son, Charles.

Alpine enthusiasts will no doubt be aware of Raeburn’s fine achievements further afield, including the North Face of the Disgrazia (TD) and the first solo traverse of the Meije in 1919. He was described thus by Willie Ling:

“Gifted by Nature with a marvellous sense of balance, a wiry frame, and an extraordinary suppleness of limb, he added to these a cool judgment, entire fearlessness, and an indomitable will which refused to be beaten.”

He has sometimes been characterised by later generations as a rather humourless clock-watcher, too greatly absorbed in the technicalities of climbing. On the contrary, he seems to have appreciated the natural world more than most.

“An intense interest in Nature in all her manifestations, in wild life of birds and beasts, in flowers and plants, in rocks and the structure of mountains, gave him that keenness of observation which at once caught the attention of anyone who had the privilege of being his companion.”

As for his absent sense of humour, we can only with difficulty take seriously the following passage from his instructional book, Mountaineering Art.

“For the purpose of becoming familiar with the balance and ‘feel’ of an ice-axe, and at the same time training the co-ordinance of hand, foot, and eye, the axe may be thrown into the air, caused to revolve a determined number of times, and caught on the descent, in either hand, as a good step-cutter should be ambidextrous. This is done while running down a steep slope without stopping.”

If Harold Raeburn’s ghost lingers anywhere, it will surely be found haunting the great ridges and buttresses of Ben Nevis.

Sunday was a washout, but homage had been paid.

Glen Rosa, Arran, 6-8 September 2002

Present: Nina (Meet Sec); Brian; Anne; Jo; Fiona M, Nina, Ariane, Mark, Valerie, James, Amanda, Graeme, Ruth and Scott

On Saturday Brian and Anne climbed Caisteal Abhail and returned via the Witch’s Step. Jo and Fiona climbed Goat Fell from Corrie, while the rest of the party also headed for Goat Fell via the path from the campsite. This mass ascent of Goat Fell enjoyed bouldering on every available boulder on the way! and ended in the bar in Corrie for too many pints on empty tummies, a group “moon” for the camera at the bus stop, before getting the bus back to Glen Rosa and heading off for a sumptous meal in a local pub/restaurant.

Unfortunately Sunday was wet and a visit to Brodick Castle was the extent of the adventure.

Ling Hut, Torridon, 20-22 September 2002

Present: James (Meet Sec); Brian; Anne; Peter; Helen; Rosemary.

Bad weather on Saturday put pay to any ventures on the hill that day. In better conditions on the Sunday Peter, Helen and Rosemary climbed Beinn Eighe via Coire Mhic Fhearchair, while Brian; Anne and James traversed Beinn Dearg west to east. 1

Clying Meet, CTC Hut, 11-13 October 2002

Present: Charlie (Meet Sec); Keith; Fiona and Calum

A select meet for the cyclists, though less of the meeting as one half of the party stayed at the hut on Friday night and the other half stayed on the Saturday night.

Annual Dinner Meet, Athol Arms, Blair Atholl, 25-27 October 2002

Present: Jo L (meet sec); Valerie L; Andy R; Scott; Ann MacD; Claire; Mark L; Valerie; Anne L; Nina; Willie; Ally; Aileen; Bill M-R; Bob; Cathy; Lesley; Mandy; Anne M; Brian; Robert F; Fiona; Emma; Jamie; Gordon; Rae; Hillary; Rona; Amanda; James; Alan M; Keith; Ken; Frank; Lindsay; Nora; Neil; Clare; Gavin; Martin; Richard; Jenny; Pamela; Rosemary; Ruth L; Simon L; Debbie; Steve; Tony K; Fiona; Catriona; Elspeth; Tony B; Sheila; Rebecca; Dave; Anne; Ben; Christine; Bruce; Elaine; John; Paul; Sue.

So many people, so many things done, but my wee memory fails me when trying to recall everyone’s adventures. A few climbed hills, a few camped, all ate, most ceilidhed the night away. Many drank, but the bar closed disappointingly early (but probably saved our heads!). The coffee shop in the mill is definitely worth the visits!

Roshven, 15-17 November 2022

Present: Neil & Clare, Steve & Debbie, Callum & Fiona, Rosemary, Tony K, Steve, Simon & Ruth, Brian, Anne, Tony & Sheila, Martin, Tony Bl, Jo.

FMC Juniors: Gavin (6), Cormack (4), Lewis (2), Heather (12 mths), Rebecca (8mths)

It was a very popular meet, and for what I think is the first time, resulted in a ballot being drawn for those attending. We had set a limit of 18 adults. Had only one or two more tried to book on we would probably have squeezed them in, but when 23 put their names down we felt we had to draw a line somewhere. So sorry to those who were unlucky in the end and lost out in the ballot.

To make things worse for them they missed out on a stunning weekend. The forecasts had been changing constantly from gales & torrential rain to just OK, but in the event none were quite right as it was brill. We had gorgeous autumn sunshine, crisp days, fab views and not a drop of rain, or at least not until late Sunday evening.

As ever a variety of pursuits were followed – a few Corbetts climbed, (including a successful return to Streap; An Stac; and Sgurr Ghuibhsachain beside Loch Sheil), some low level walks with kids (well they were high level from the kids perspective), cycling, visits to Castle Tioram, and fishing. Even the fishing was successful with a good catch of keepers, and Gavin reeling in his first ever catch!

As usual we had the cosy meal for 18 on the Saturday night cooked by Neil. Gallons of vegetable soup, enough coq au vin to feed the masses, and heaps of rich chocolate torte to finish us all off! Despite some long days I’m not sure any of us had done enough exercise to justify all we ate. However it was an excellent meal followed by an evening for mellowing out.

It was testament to how good a weekend it was that at 6pm on the Sunday there was still a full complement of people at the house / coming off the hills. None of this rushing back early ‘cos of crap conditions. Steve Reid & Debbie, Tony & Sheila, Rosemary & Steve Roberts opted to stay on for a day or two to make the most of a good weekend break.

To soothe Mark’s wounds at failing to get on this meet, Nina and Mark made an alternative little trip up to Creag Meagaidh for a solo trip up Easy Gully? (I) in exciting conditions (very mushy snow on slabs at the bottom, but lovely neve on top half of gully), before heading back to defrost in the warmer climes of Edinburgh and see an incredibly scary movie in the cinema!

Christmas Dinner Meet, Muir of Inverey, 6-8 December 2002

Present: James, Bob, Neil & Clare, Steve R, Pete & Helen , Rosemary , Steve Ro, Brian, Anne, Hillary, Richard, Martin, Tony Bl, Mark, Valerie, Tony K, Keith, Tiana, Jo, and Sarah.

Friday night saw the FMC heading north laden with enough bicycles to start a shop (at least one each!), enough food to feed an army (large) and a not inconsiderable amount of drink. The weather had a moderately wintry feel to it, with snow above 600m.

On Saturday, various parties set off for widely separated objectives. Brian, Anne and Hillary cycled up the hill track above Invercauld and ascended Culardoch and Carn Liath - both summits, allegedly, surpassing 2500’. The descent was accomplished (eventually!) in the dark, with both Anne and Hillary taking unscheduled excursions into the outer darkness beyond the track.

Tony, Richard and Martin also cycled off, heading up Glen Quoich towards Beinn a’ Bhùird. The track above the Quoich has now been filled in, part of the National Trust’s policy to restore these areas. The subsequent ascent to the summit proved an excellent opportunity to practise navigation, as the top thousand feet or so was wholly snow-covered and in mist - although odd glimpses down into the corries gave some impression of the spectacular scenery below.

Jo and Sarah cycled up to Derry Lodge and ascended the hill to the north, while Pete and Helen ascended Carn na Drochaide. As for the rest of the party, I’m afraid details are lacking… but suffice to say the cooking was well attended to.

The usual monstrous turkey was duly roasted and welcomed by Helen in her re-configurable tee-shirt- which at this point read ‘Merry Xmas FMC !’ but was later re-configured to convey a quite different message (exercise for anagrammers)! The dinner was also notable as it was the occasion of the 20th Ilieve Christmas Pudding, an event commemorated in the usual flaming style. However the most unusual event of all was that Keith was back in time for dinner!

In spite of the usual excesses, some activity was observed on Sunday - Brian and Anne bagged Carn na Drochaide, Hillary, Tony and Martin cycled up Glen Derry, but other activities failed to be noted by the meet sec.

Another memorable dinner!