Wednesday 5th May, 2010

More snippets

Posted by BG! at 12:41 am in Annual Wildie, Bargains, Great Escapes, In the garden, New tricks for an old dog, Plugins, Rambling on..., Shiny new kit, Wildcamping.

In no particular order...

 

  • The Aku Crodas are wearing-in nicely, they should be ready for a decent walk at the first opportunity. The soles are quite grippy now that the as-moulded shiny slip-on-yer-arse finish has worn off, and the uppers are now a fair fit to my feet.

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  • The Trezeta Peaks are now past their best, the toe-rand having worn through down past the membrane. These superbly-comfortable boots never did make it on a proper hike, but they've served well as wear-dailys for all sorts of duties.

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  • The Scarpa SLs, of course, are always on stand-by. Like dependable old friends, they're always there when you need them.

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  • I've broken a long habit of not wearing any socks other than Thor-Los... I've been trying some cheapo Crane Trail walking socks from Aldi. Tactel-lined and with a light sprinkling of Lycra, they seem to be doing rather well considering the £2.99 price-tag. I doubt that they'll cover the same mileage as my standard KXLs, but that's to be expected when they cost about a tenner less. The STs have been stashed in the kitbox awaiting the next outing of the winter boots.

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  • I'm still managing to resist the temptation of a pair of MSR Lightning Ascents in readiness for next winter. What's the betting that when the snow's back, I'm still snowshoeless?

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  • Likewise, the acquisition of a Scarp 2 has been resisted, not least because I'm still waiting on the availability of a UK-version fly as per the Scarp 1 changes detailed by Martin. Now that Alpkit are on the subs' bench in the tentage game, I'll have to wait and see what their two-person and geo offerings are like.

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  • Talking of outdoorsy stuff, we'll be off for our Annual Wildie together sometime in the next month, with the intention of bagging a few more Wainwrights. Expect details in due course.

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  • Furthermore, two family-rooms have been booked at Buttermere YHA for an autumnal weekend. This worked out quite well, as we're paying with Tesco Clubcard Rewards Tokens, our stash having been boosted by 1218 due to the purchase of a new washing-machine from said emporium.

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  • There's been much ado in the garden - the snowdrops and daffs have retired, giving way to bluebells and to the blossoms of the pear, the cherry and the plum. Remarkably, I've even got off my butt and done my bit - the lawns have been cut twice and even the hedge has been shorn. The old willow-tree is sending out new growth from where we had it hacked, so there's still hope for it.

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  • House-wise I'm back to the hell that is known as plastering. Ella's room needed a revamp, but it seems that the only thing holding up the walls was the wallpaper. Oh well, at least it keeps me off the streets...

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  • Blog-wise there are a few new things, not least the addition of a few user-options for comments. Feel free to test them.

 

All that and no mention of elections, volcanic ash or oil-slicks. Hardly news, is it?

Tuesday 25th November, 2008

Observing Report 21st-22nd November 2008 (Shooting Unicorns)

Posted by BG! at 6:53 pm in Observing Reports.
Tags: , , , ,

After the disappointment of being unable to observe the Leonid meteor shower earlier in the week due to rain and cloud, things were looking up (pardon the pun) for the alpha-Monocerotid shower on Friday night. The day had been cold and clear, and what wind there was had turned to a gentle breeze by 21:00.

I decided to make do without the hassle of setting up the mount, and made do with a static setup with the D50 on a fixed tripod, taking a variety of exposure-sets across a range of focal lengths. The MaxIm DL5 software on the lappy controlled the camera and downloaded the pics while I sat next to the tripod and watched events the good old-fashioned way. The only problems encountered were due to the cold, at -3C the D50's batteries don't perform well, only lasting for 200 shots before they needed to be warmed up or recharged. Having a couple of spare batteries is a godsend for such conditions. The cold didn't affect me, though - I was wrapped up in my Alpkit Filo, astrobreeks and Skee-Tex Original boots, nice and comfy.

The session began at about 22:00 and during the next four hours I observed 12 meteor trails (10 alpha-Monocerotids and 2 sporadics), of which 9 were fully or partly within the field of view of the camera, which took a grand total of 412 pictures.

At about 02:00 the clouds rolled in and ended the session. After clearing away the kit, I went through all of the photos, and guess what...  there's not even the slightest sign of any meteor trails on any of them, despite cranking up the enhancement levels to ridiculous levels! Typical.

So, I'm sorry, but there's no nice photo of the event to show to you. As a last resort, before binning all of the pics, I dubbed 77 of the 30-second frames together to make a small video showing Gemini rising, a few jet-tracks and the clouds that ended observations:

 

 

Get the Flash Player to see this content.

 

 

Wednesday 12th November, 2008

Bob’s Honey Stove – first thoughts

Posted by BG! at 6:57 pm in My reviews, Shiny new kit.
Tags:

Podcast Bob's been kind enough to let a select group of folk have test-samples of his new Honey Stove, and I'm one of the lucky ones. These are my first thoughts, and the results of my first attempt at testing it.

What's in the kit? A set of interlocking flat stainless-steel panels, comprising six side-panels (one of which has an aperture for accessing the interior), three grill panels (top, middle and bottom), a foil ash-tray, a cloth pouch and an A4 instruction sheet.

How much does it all weigh? The stove panels add up to 356g, the ash-tray is 10g and the pouch is 44g.

How much pack-space does it take up? Packed in the pouch provided, it's roughly 200mm x 140mm x 10mm.

And when it's assembled? 125mm high, 125mm A/F.

What's it look like? A bit like this:

Is it fiddly to assemble? Not really, I just slotted together the five standard side bits and held then in an open arc while slotting in the three grill panels. After that, I just slotted in the front panel to lock it all together. It takes 2 minutes tops, but I'd imagine that after it's been bent and dented a bit it would take a bit longer. If you can't figure it out, give it to some primary-school kids and be prepared to be embarrassed.

What about stability? Very good on a flat surface, not a hint of it wanting to come apart.

So, what fuels will this baby burn? It's primarily a wood-burner, but it's said to be versatile enough to work with a veritable plethora of fuels, see the product description for more details.

What's the difference between the three grill panels? The bottom one has small vent-holes and is primarily for supporting sticks etc. when using it as a wood-burner, but can be used for other solid fuels. The top one is a pan/mug support, so has plenty of holes to let the heat get through. The middle one is similar to the top one, but has the central section removed to allow a Trangia™ burner to sit inside. The three grill panels are interchangeable, as they each use that same tab/slot fitting. It's possible to get away with using just one grill panel if you wanted to go all minimalist, but if that sort of thing floats yer boat I suspect that you'll already have other options in your kit-stash. This stove is aimed at versatility rather than speciality.

That sixth side panel - does the aperture have to be at the bottom? No, just build the thing upside-down and you'll end up with the aperture at the top.

What about cleaning it? Eh? You clean your kit? Oh dear! Seriously, a wipe with a damp rag or through some wet grass ought to suffice. Of course, you'll have let it cool first, won't you?

So, what about that first test? I wanted to try it with my Trangia™ burner and Alpkit MytiMug, so I set it up like this:

So, how did it go? Not well. The front aperture's nowhere near big enough to admit the Trangia™ burner.  Bob's site has pics and a video where the burner's been put in from the top, and where the top grill is omitted. Fine for pans and large pots which would sit on the top edges of the side-panels, but a mug needs a support. I suppose the mug could be supported by two tent-pegs passed through some of the holes along the top edge, but I'm not in the habit of carrying extra pegs as part of a stove kit. The way around it might be to build the stove around the burner, but that's a faff which throws up more hard choices - sealing-cap off and risk spilling the meths, or sealing-cap on and be unable to reach in to take it off. Either way, if you want to use the Trangia™ simmer-ring, you'd be hard-pressed to access it through the aperture and you'd be at risk of getting blistered fingers.

What next? I was going to try it as a wood-burner next, but I want to get the Trangia™ issues sorted first.  Looks like my chosen test combi is a no-no at the moment. I'll post again when there's progress. Now, who's 'alf-inched me tinsnips?

Tuesday 28th October, 2008

Observing Report 27-28 Oct 08 (Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!)

Posted by BG! at 2:37 pm in Observing Reports.
Tags: , ,

The recent change in the weather's been bad for some, but good for others. Last night it provided an opportunity that I wasn't going to miss - the two previous evenings had started dark and clear, but were affected by fast-moving patches of cloud by the time I was free to observe. This time I figured that it would be better - the forecast sub-zero temperatures would only be achieved without the insulating layer of cloud, and so it proved to be - nice and clear except for an intermittent haloing of the brightest stars due to high-altitude conditions, probably ice-crystal formation.

I managed to give the scope only one hour or so to cool down before pressing it into service, but I wasn't going to be doing any high-mag work so it didn't matter that much. I took more time than usual getting a good polar-alignment, so by the time I'd got properly set up, it was quite late.

As usual, there's always something new to try, this time I was trying out the camera-control features of MaxIm DL, another nice bit of software that I want to get to grips with. This software will happily run a USB connection between the laptop and my Nikon D50, allowing me to set up a complete series of exposures (darks, lights etc) and then let the lappy do the rest, including downloading and saving direct from the camera instead of writing to the SD card. The only restriction that affected me was the 30-second maximum exposure time allowed by the kit that I have - the Nikon D50 needs IR shutter-control for exposures longer than that, USB will only work up to that limit. Never mind, what I've got will suffice until I acquire said USB-IR controller.

Anyway, back to the sky...

The prime target was M45, The Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, call it what you will. It's a distinctive pattern in Taurus, and one that I've observed visually many times. After locating it visually with the scope, I checked that the mount was tracking it OK then exchanged the eyepiece for the dSLR body. After taking a few shots to verify the focus was good, I set the software to take 100 x 30s dark frames then 100 x 30s light frames (all ISO 200 NEFs), set it running and retired to the kitchen to warm up with a strong cuppa (the temperature outside was down to +1C by then).

After donning my Alpkit down jacket, I went back outside with the binoculars to have a look around while waiting for the lappy and camera to finish their business. The Hyades (Melotte 25, or Collinder 50, or Caldwell 41) were an impressive sight in Taurus, and I spent more than a few minutes looking at the Orion Nebula (M42, NGC 1976). I spotted a few other "fuzzies" which I noted for future observing sessions.

By the time the M45 frames were finished, the temperature had dropped below freezing, and the outside of the scope tube was iced up. Fearing that this meant the end of the session, I checked the mirrors and the camera, and was pleasantly surprised to see that they were unaffected. Looking at the watch I realised that I didn't have enough time for another objective that would require a 200-frame batch, but I wasn't about to pack up in such good conditions, so I picked a secondary target that wouldn't need as many exposures.

M36 (NGC 1960), a neat open cluster in Auriga, seemed to fit the bill, so I programmed-in a 50 dark / 50 light sequence and let the software do the rest while I sat watching through the binos.

As usual, the packing away afterwards was a moist affair, with the iced-up kit forming puddles on the kitchen floor and the other seemingly-clear gear (such as the lappy) acquiring an alarming layer of condensation as soon as it was taken into the warm.

Anyway, here are the fruits of my labours, after giving the raw frames a right good seeing-to with DSS, Photoshop, Noel's Actions and a few cups of Assam-flavoured caffeine, and with the help of my two trusty manservants, Benson and Hedges:

 

M45 - The Pleiades

(Nikon D50 at prime-focus on C8-N, ISO 200, no filters, 100 x 30s light frames + 100 x 30s dark frame stacked with DSS, processed in PS CS3 with Noel's Actions)

 

M36 - an open cluster in Auriga

(Nikon D50 at prime-focus on C8-N, ISO 200, no filters, 50 x 30s light frames + 50 x 30s dark frame stacked with DSS, processed in PS CS3 with Noel's Actions)

I might re-stack them in MaxIm DL later, to see if they come out any better. If they do, I'll post the results.

Why "Scooby" in the title? You work it out.

:grin:

Wednesday 1st October, 2008

Outdoor Trade Show 2008

Posted by BG! at 9:56 pm in Great Escapes, In the News, New tricks for an old dog, Shiny new kit.
Tags: ,

Click on any of the pics to open up a bigger version in a lightbox thingy, you'll need to wait until the page has finished loading.

Darren "whitespider1066.com" Christie called me up and asked me if I wanted to attend the Stoneleigh Outdoor Trade Show 2008 with him. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, so we arranged to meet there on Tuesday 30th September.

I'll spare you the ordeal of a full rundown of events, I won't even give you lists of kit-specs - you can get all that stuff at Darren's blog. Instead, I'll give you the edited highlights:

The first place of any note was the Inov8 stand, where we were treated to a lengthy demo of some of their lightweight hydration systems and Race Elite/Race Pro packs, and some other stuff. Nice kit, some of which is in "His 'n Hers" designs, just like in the following pic:

 

His 'n Hers pack designs - Inov8

I was impressed with the overall design of these packs, but I've still got reservations about that central zip and the way that the compression system pulls on it - I was assured that the zip's been tested and not found wanting, but if it failed, I can't see how the contents of the pack would stay inside. Oh, and I can't see the point of having a "waterproof" zip on a pack without sealed/taped seams. Maybe I've missed something there, eh?

Next up was the ARK display, where we concentrated on the OMM packs. I liked their Leanweight Link modular clip-on system, which means that you can "build" a carrying system from any bits of their range, piggybacking smaller packs onto bigger ones, and/or strapping other bits underneath. And what a great colour-scheme! This was my first encounter with the much-acclaimed Trio 4 litre chest-pouch, and it looked like a cert for a future purchase until the claim of "it'll fit onto any other pack" was blown out of the water when I offered up my Alpkit Gourdon... which has no "D"-rings on the straps. Anyway, here's a shot of a pack and belt-bag linked together in perfect harmony:

OMM Last Drop Pack and Ultra Waist Pouch

A bit later we arrived at the Terra Nova display and had a chat about their 1g_Skewer_Peg_(Pack_of_6).html" target="_blank">1g Titanium Pegs - I have to say that I wouldn't be confident in using them - any thinner and they'd be cutting their way through the ground like cheesewires in the slightest breeze. I've no doubt that there's a use for them, but I don't have that use. I might be cajoled into trying them with my hooped bivi, but that would be the limit of my adventure, as I like my shelter to be secure without having to rely on my bodyweight to hold it down in a hoolie. Just for the record, the pegs are £15 for a six-pack.

Their lightweight Laser packs looked OK, with that waspy colour-scheme again, but we're back to full-length waterproof load-bearing zips again. They're not for me.

Lightweight Laser packs

Further on, Darren was keen to dig for info about Hi-Tec's use of ion-mask technology on their footwear, I was content to keep quiet and take some pics:

Hi-Tec ion-mask footwear - upper

Hi-Tec ion-mask footwear - tread

At the Big Agnes stand we had a chat about gear-testing bloggers. A certain Mr. Macfarlane was mentioned by the staff. Seems he has the odd bit of kit from them, now and again.

Anyway, out attention was drawn away from the tentage to the Clearview sleeping-mat and the associated Cyclone SL Chair kit. I was quite taken with that mat/seat combo, it's got a certain simplicity and cleanness to it. For a short time, it was at the top of my list of must-haves.

 

Big Agnes kit

We spent a fair amount of time at the Rosker stand, being treated to a set of first-class demos of the latest Primus stoves. First up was the Primus Eta Packlite, more of a multi-person stove system, and there's a lot of bits packed away in there. A neat bit of kit.

Primus Eta Packlite

Second was the Ti-Lite, a lightweight pot/burner/canister combi:

Primus Ti-Lite

and finally there was the EtaExpress. We were assured that it wasn't a competitor for the Jetboil PCS, but it was hard to see it in any other way - the similarities outweighed the differences:

Primus EtaExpress

The conversation strayed to other items such as in-line water-filters for hydration systems, but my attention was dragged back on-topic by the kind and timely offer of a freebie pack of Reiter Vegetable Risotto which was gratefully accepted on behalf of SWMBO.

Then it happened. I was idly perusing the gear on the First Ascent display when my gaze was drawn to the sleeping mats, and to the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir in particular. It just looked right - a mat with transverse cells so there's no fighting to keep shoulderblades from slipping into chasms between long cells such as those on the Insul-Mat Max-Thermo, which was the most comfy mat I'd ever tried until then.

It had to be tried, and soon was. After having a good lie down on it, I really didn't want to get up. Now I'm in love all over again!

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir mats

For the record, the packaged one in the inset was labelled up as 20" x 48" Regular, which seems to be a labelling error. The deployed one in the main pic is 20" x 72". You can't tell from the pics, but the underside is slip-resistant, so there'll be no nocturnal migration downslope when used in anger.

One surprise was the encounter with HJ Hall. This company is located in my home town, being one of the few hosiery businesses still standing after the demise of the local industry. I took a good look at their new range of socks, especially the lined heavyweight Technical 4 Dual Skin and I'm tempted to ask them for some test-samples to see how they stand comparison to the other socks that I use (mainly Thor-Los, some others). They retail at under a tenner, which is much less than the others in my sock-stash, so I reckon it's worth keeping an eye on these.

Now I wasn't planning to visit the ENGO stand, but their product was intriguing. Blister prevention patches. Fitted to the boot, not the foot. If these work, the outlay on Compeed/Spenco/Zinc Oxide tape can be reduced. We were given some samples to test, all I have to decide now is which boots to test them in - I suspect that the Scarpa SLs will be at the top of the list.

The ENGO stand

ENGO patches

The Anatom stand was demonstrating Pacerpoles. Now I'm no lover of standard walking poles, being firmly rooted in the biped camp, but I must admit that these things have piqued my interest. The first thing of note is the camera attachment widget that pushes into the accessory hole (I've an interest in all sorts of camera attachments - yes, it's sad, but it's not as if I've an all-consuming stove-fetish like another blogger that I could mention). Then came the coup de grâce - there's another attachment that links two poles to form an A-frame, which fits to a bespoke(?) tarp, which is a neat idea, something designed for the job, rather than using odd poles and whatever tarp is to hand.

Carbon Pacerpoles with camera attachment

I'm nearly converted. My bank-manager won't like it, but at least I can use the pointy ends of the poles to fend him off.

While we were at the Anatom stand, Darren allowed himself to be talked into having some Superfeet footbeds fitted. Now I'm not saying that he really needed them, but this is what they were replacing:

Not-so-Superfeet footbed

Just before leaving we went to see the Garmin display on the Dalesman stand. I had a very informative chat about their new range of do-it-all GPS units, and I got to play around with the Oregon 300 - very nice indeed. I left with a press-pack in a shoulder-bag, and an offer to contact them about acquiring a unit to test. It wasn't until I got home that I opened the press-pack to find that most of the promo material was on a 1gig USB datastick - how cool is that?

This was my first time at the OTS, so I've got little to compare it against. For gear-heads it's better than the OS Outdoor Show, there being more "cutting-edge" stuff to look at, and more time to discuss developments and ideas. Maybe they'll let me in again next year!

My thanks go to Darren for the invitation and the good company. It was a good day out.

Cheers, Darren.

Saturday 28th June, 2008

Wassat? #2 – 3 for the price of one

Posted by BG! at 1:26 am in Just for fun, Making stuff, New tricks for an old dog, Shiny new kit.
Tags:

OK, time for me to fess up.

Last time I was out on a wildie, I lost one of my standard-issue U-Dig-It folding trowels. Well, actually, it's not really lost, it's within 20 yards of the summit of Kentmere Pike, but I'm damned if I'm going back for it. Anyway, I considered buying a replacement, but had second thoughts. You see, I'd been tinkering with a prototype titanium version for a while, but never got around to finishing the job (no pun intended).

Then I got to thinking about those times when I want to go lightweight and give the Jetboil PCS a rest. Mike Bell had kindly distributed free samples of his beer-can stoves (pic) during the OM Beddgelert Meet, and I was keen to try out mine. The only thing missing was a pot-stand and somewhere to stash it.

So I came up with this idea. A digging tool, stable pot-stand and windshield all in one. And just for good measure, it fits neatly into my Alpkit Mytimug, leaving plenty of room for other stuff. I think I'll call it a Win-dig. It's been suggested that it could be used as a mouse-trap, but frankly I fear for the sanity of anyone who could conceive such an idea.

This prototype's made from 1mm aluminium alloy, cut with secateurs, folded over the doorstep, neatened up with a Brummie screwdriver and curved by forming it around the drainpipe on the side of the house. OK, so it's rough-and-ready, but it works well enough to prove that the idea's worth following up. The next version will be in a decent grade of 0.5mm stainless steel and made with proper tools. I'm not sure if it's worth wasting good titanium on a final version, but time will tell.

Anyway, here's the pics and stuff, sadly there are none of it in use with the beer-can stove, as it's been terminated (I stood on it by accident):


Dig with the pointy end downwards. Use 2 hands. Think "SnowClaw" and you'll get the idea.


Stick the pointy end into the ground to stop it falling over. It's more stable than it looks.


A neat fit inside the Alpkit Mytimug.


Saturday 5th April, 2008

Alpkit goodies

Posted by BG! at 11:45 pm in Shiny new kit, Wildcamping, Wildcamping e-petition.
Tags:

Today saw the arrival of a couple of Filo jackets, just in time for the snow that we've been promised over the next few days. These follow hot on the heels of the Hunka bivi bag which I put my name down for at the Outdoors Show. My thanks go to the Alpkit team for their commitment to customer service and for their never-fail next-day free delivery policy.

This influx of new kit has rekindled the outdoors spirit in Chris - all of a sudden, she's reminding me that we've still got to sort out our annual "probably illegal" wildcamp together, and that we've got to get the kit lists sorted for our family summer holiday in Norway and Denmark.

Thursday 3rd April, 2008

Alpkit Sale

Posted by BG! at 5:04 pm in In the News, Shiny new kit.
Tags:

Just in case you missed the heads-up from those nice peeps over at Alpkit - they're having a clear-out of their Filo down jackets, the clearance price is just £50. Grab 'em now while stocks last!

So, which colour do you fancy?

Chris will be Chilli, and I'll be getting a Rocket. So, nothing new there, then.  :roll:

Monday 17th March, 2008

Our OSOS08 Weekend

Posted by BG! at 4:33 pm in Bloggers' Meet, Great Escapes.
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The arrival of Duncan at BHX heralded the start of our OSOS08 weekend and the start of the inclement, and probably appropriate, weather. After the "hail, fellow, well-met" handshakes at the terminal, we hiked through the rain to the vast car-park and, surprisingly, found the car quite easily in the midst of the sea of steel and glass that goes by the name of "Long Stay 1".

After making sure that Duncan was awake (by nearly losing the car on a tightening left-hander (I blame the shift in the centre of gravity)), we escaped the confines of the airport site and ploughed our way through the orange-tinted drizzly gloom that had settled over the M42, M6 and M69.

On arrival back at home, Duncan was introduced to Chris and Ella, vittles were consumed (including the gifted cloutie duff, thanks here to DM and his mum) and the chat went on into the night. The idea of wildgardencamping was abandoned due to the number of branches that were falling from our willow, so Duncan bagged himself a comfy(?) spare bed at no extra charge.

We were up bright and early on Saturday morning, unfortunately the weather wasn't quite as bright but at least it wasn't torrential. The mad dash to the NEC was as dull as ever until I decided to ensure that the passengers were still awake by driving over the kerb at the entrance to the car-park. It was an accident, honest, I couldn't see the kerb from my seat. Anyway, everybody else in the car-park was alerted to our arrival by the grating sound of underbody on concrete, so I reckon that our guest was quite brave to volunteer to queue to buy the parking ticket (thanks for that, Duncan) while we got our packs out of the boot.

After the trek past the lake and through the tent display area we left Duncan at the entrance so that he could meet Darren to pass on one of the tickets kindly donated by Lay, the Outdoors' Bloggers Forum admin. When we made it past security and check-in, Ella was in retail-therapy heaven. We wandered the stands and bought some bits and bobs before Chris queued to put Ella's name down on the waiting-list for a go on the zipwire.

Meanwhile I wandered off to find the Alpkit stand and try to buy the Hunka bivy bag that I had fondled so keenly at the 2007 show. Sadly they were out of stock, so I had a gander at the latest incarnation of the Gourdon (the "20", complete with mesh pockets and bungee attachments) - I was tempted, but could only justify getting one if I parted with the "25" that I was already carrying. Sadly, the Alpfolk wouldn't do me a part-ex, so I had to walk away empty-handed (but not until I had tried on a few of their Filo down jackets - they look to be excellent value for 65 notes). I met George while I was there and we managed to communicate without an interpreter, despite his use of equatorial rhyming slang. Anyway, he was the bearer of good tidings - his missus is on the mend, that made him happy. Get well soon, Mrs. LBP.

 

Alpfolk - happy smiley people. We likes them, don't we, my Preciouss? Oh yes, we does

 

We parted company so that I could retrieve Chris and Ella, then we went over to the Gear Show Case area where Ella was disgruntled when she didn't nab any of the freebies being chucked into the audience. Undeterred, after the presentation she went and remonstrated with the freebie-chucker and was invited back to a later showing.

Next to the Gear Show Case was the Gibbon Slacklining display stand, and the gymnastic side of Ella's persona just couldn't resist having a go at negotiating the tautliner straps. She did well but couldn't manage to emulate the jumping antics of the resident expert. Indeed, we were to return to this place a few more times during the day, but by the time we had decided to shell out on a set, their stock had all gone. Never mind, we'll get one somehow.

 

Tentative steps

 

Pro-Gibbon

 

Levitation

 

Then it was time for the Outdoors' Blogger Meet at the pub, where old acquaintances were renewed and new faces were matched up to names that had been, up until then, just virtual friends (I won't bore you with the full cast list). Sadly I missed Sally's killer butt, but hey, there's always next year. There were some deep and meaningful conversations to be had, with plenty of blox thrown in for good measure, and a good time was had by all. Andy tried to get some podcast material from me, but I had to decline. I'm not one for fame and fortune, you see... I'm the shy, retiring type. I did, however, condescend to appear in a group-photo of our bunch of happy campers, but alas the photographic skills of the bloke that I harassed into taking the pic left something to be desired. He has my thanks anyway, though, as this is the only group-shot we have so far:

 

Movers and Shakers... just like the cameraman

 

Of course, I was well down my second pint of dishwater (Cumberland Ale is excellent in it's natural habitat, but it doesn't travel well and it rebels at the evil concept of being served in tacky plastic plant-pots) when it was time for Ella to do her fly-over on the zipwire, so the pics are a bit wobbly, but nowhere near as wobbly as my legs would have been if I had dared to do the zipwire myself!

 

Cleared for launch

 

In-flight entertainment

 

We took in a few more stands to push the e-petition a bit further before going outside for lunch, then it was back to the show. Ella had a go on the bike at the Tourism Ireland stand, but she was never going to get far without that missing front wheel, and lifting the rear wheel was a tad unfair too...

 

Unicycling

 

After the mandatory visit to the Buff stand, where Ella got a cool Blue Fire, we nipped across the aisle to bag her some red sunglasses to complete the rebel adolescent biker look.

Hall 3 and the rest of Hall 2 were toured quite quickly, there being little of interest to us there (we're not into water-borne activities or touring the world) so we repaired to Hall 1 where Ella chatted up some of the Royal Marines. I seized this opportunity to nip back to the pub to catch up on events, and soon it was time for the E-Petition meet-up in Hall 3, where the John Hee Steering Committee did a sterling job of drawing up a plan of action for the post-OSOS08 wildcamping-legalisation campaign. Chasrle popped in to join us, and I'm pleased to report that he looks nothing like his OM avatar.

Then it was back to Hall 1 and a session of buying more bits and bobs (now don't laugh, but I bought a travel hair-dryer... it's for removing condensation from the scope optics, not for my lank locks and bristles. Honest!). Ella had been back to the Gear Show Case and had fluttered her eyelids and sweet-talked the freebie-chucker into throwing her a T-shirt and a hat. He got a hug from her as his reward.

We met up with Duncan again and went to watch the fallers... sorry, that should be climbers... in their attempts to (occasionally) defy gravity and complete the testing route to the suspended car. Meanwhile, Ella had been queueing patiently for a go on the not-ice climbing wall, and watching her ascend the synthetic verglass I reckon she'd got the right idea. Looks like that's yet another set of kit to spend money on in future years, eh? :-(

 

Front-pointing

 

Planting the pick

 

And that was it. After losing Ella yet again (don't go there!) and bagging a pressie for Annabelle (who was spending the day with Grandma) we made our way home, collected said pocket-BG, and sat in expectation of a relaxing wind-down evening and a tasty meal.

But it was not to be...

Our chosen Nepalese restaurant had cooked a fine selection of dishes for us, but had entrusted delivery of them to a bloke who couldn't discriminate between arse and elbow... several polite but firm phone-calls to the restaurant confirmed that the vittles had been despatched on time, but they arrived nearly two hours late (hmm... the restaurant is only five minutes away by car, 15 by foot) and the food was, well, tepid, despite claims that it was still hot. Duncan will vouch for the fact that I was just a little put out by this. Next time I will be serving my own dehydrated meals, or we'll invade their establishment and eat on the premises.

After shooting the breeze until the small hours, we got some shut-eye before I had to ferry Duncan back to BHX for his return flight. Suffice to say that it stopped raining soon after he boarded the plane, and when his "I'm back home now" text arrived, the sun came back out.

So, by way of a summary, we had a great time with good company, we made a few new friends, and we ended up richer for the experience, despite being poorer for the purchases. Top stuff!

Tuesday 13th November, 2007

Blatant Promotion: The Outdoors Station

Posted by BG! at 10:08 am in Blog on Site.
Tags:

Bob Cartwright of backpackinglight.co.uk seeks promotion of his latest venture, The Outdoors Station. So, just to help him out, here's some info ripped directly from his site (so if it's wrong, you can blame him, not me).

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Welcome to The Outdoors Station

The home of UK based audio and video podcasts for outdoors people everywhere!
Now with weekly outdoors blogging and podcast news updates,
outdoor links and listener feedback!

 

The Outdoors Station has evolved from a seed of an idea which started 12 months ago. Following a very successful pioneering series of podcasts produced for the uk based backpackinglight website, we have been inspired to continue the work and gather more audio and video information about everything to do with the Outdoors World, for your FREE entertainment.

 

It would appear that the outdoor enthusiast is hungry for information. Much more information! Programs presented in a fun practical style that tell them more about products, how they can be used and general outdoor inspiration are in great demand.
This station has therefore been created as a central hub of new media information in the form of podcasts, to allow the industry to talk directly to the end user, and explain all relevant aspects of their products. Plus a series of independent programs for entertainment thrown in!
And best of all, it’s all free for the end user to view, to incorporate in their blog or website and to pass around!

Bob Cartwright
Producer

 

Want to know more?

Outdoor Enthusiasts click here

Bloggers click here

E-tailers click here

Retailers click here

 

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So, there you have it. Check it out! He's got independently targeting particle beam phalanx. Vwap! Fry half a city with this puppy. He's got tactical smart missiles, phase-plasma pulse rifles, RPGs, he's got sonic electronic ball breakers! He's got nukes, he's got knives, sharp sticks... err, sorry, no he hasn't, my mistake... but nip over there now and you can enter one of his regular competitions, currently up for grabs is an Alpkit 400 Pipedream sleeping bag. There are some interesting interviews (Ordnance Survey regarding digital on-line mapping, Alpkit for their Colab 08 competition) plus a quick review of Camping and Trail Magazines.

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