Ah but we were evicted from our hole in the road.....

Well 'Camp Dick' has been and gone, and what a fine affair it was. The weekend got off to a better than expected start I have to say, when 'er indoors and I found out we had bagged the spare bedroom in the farmhouse. SWMBO was actually in the queue at ASDA buying a tent when I passed on the news.

We arrived on Scammonden moor just in time for the evening barbecue and a few pints of Black Sheep gravity fed from an antique barrel cradle. There then followed a tour of the camp site, and a community sing song around the camp fire. I learnt alot about camping life over the weekend, and one such was that there are two types of fires, an English one and an Indian one.

An English one roars away burning logs at a great rate, its too hot to get near and all the warmth dissipates into the atmosphere dirt quick. An Indian one, however, is much smaller, and burns away steadily producing enough heat to warm people and allow them to sit round it. It was an Indian style fire which hosted our sing song.

The singing went well, but I must remember to take a torch next time, it certainly helps to be able to see the words.

Day two started with bacon sarni's and copious cups of tea, before the battle hardened walkers set off for a yomp down to Marsden and the Tunnel End public house. We arrived at the same place some while later via the Piece Hall in Halifax, and Dean Clough mill. Everybody then assembled for the high point of the weekend, pie and peas.

Now they looked great in the pot as you can see, however, the gremlins had been at work while the hike was under way, and the peas had taken on a life of their own, and over cooked. Given there was pork in with them there was no alternative but to throw them away and obtain substitutes. Tesco came up trumps, and so the mint sauce did not go to waste, and by 'eck, they were right grand......

Then followed more singing before rain stopped play. Next morning,after another fortifying breakfast, it was the packing up of tent, and several other lessons as to how that works, the emptying of the latrines, which luckily did not get allocated to me, and the ill fated walk back up the hill. Finally were the goodbyes, and all in all a great weekend. No cats got eaten, although it was a close thing, no humans got bitten, that I know of, the children all ended up with the right parents, but probably a bit too much fresh air for my liking. I am back in the smoke now though so the status quo should soon be restored.