Got back this afternoon from recharging my outdoor batteries at Middlewood. I'm typing this at 3am. because I just can't sleep in a real bed tonight..
First of all, thanks to Matt for organizing a great meet. The weather was worse than we hoped for but far better than we expected really. As such it was a great opportunity to test all our winter gear and set ups without being too extreme.
There was a diverse turn out, from old hands to new faces, varying experiences and ages too. Evenings around the camp fire are always an enjoyable part of such events but perhaps due to the weather or maybe this diversity of people there was a particularly great camaraderie this weekend.
Many people have already been mentioned such as Bodge for the oak cakes which were really good, Spammel and Ratbag for the lovely game that went into the stew, Firebreather for the fire show and I should also mention the banjo playing as well. In the end it's almost unfair to pick out individuals because it is the mix of all the people that turn up to these meet ups that contribute to the unique character of each one.
I hope all the new faces had as good a time as I did. It was particularly nice to meet so many new people at such a challenging time of year. We hope you'll all make it to future meets which will perhaps be a little less muddy.
When the sun comes up it's time to unpack the van and dry off the tarps so they can be packed away until the next time... Not too far off I hope...