All hail the grit!

After getting back from the clubs freshers weekend away to the Lakes I have come to the conclusion I don't like multi pitch! Controversial I know, but hey it's my climbing, I'll enjoy what the hell I like! Reasons for not liking multi pitch-
1) The walk in is nearly always up a big hill miles from the car park, if I liked walking I'd go on walks, I don't. nuff said!
2) You have to carry all your kit on said walk in! I only have short legs so trying to keep up with all the lanky men damn near killed me!
3) The route may be 80m long, but actually contains 5 or 6m of real quality climbing. So you can spend 3 hours for 2 minutes good climbing!
4) Other peoples ineptitude, catching someone up part way through a route and then being stuck behind them is just bloody annoying and cold!
5) Mountain routes are nearly always a pile of crumbling stuff, small chunks I can cope with, after all I wear a helmet, but blocks bigger than my head, er no thanks!
6) Absolute arseholes who seem determined to moan about everything. I wasn't there but on Sunday someone actually had the cheek to email the union safety officer about us "chucking rocks down the crag". We only let people go climbing on weekends who can lead and second multi pitch, so in theory could go by themselves. The crag was loose, no one chucked any rocks anywhere, someone dislodged some stuff as they led a route, It's a hazard of multi pitch. If I ever find the person who decided to cause such a huge amount of hassle for our committee then I will take huge pleasure in inserting my largest hex where the sun doesn't shine, after I have shoved a large cam in his mouth to muffle the screaming.

Anyway lesson learnt, I will be avoiding multi pitch stuff unless it's road side! At least it gave me a break from work, only 1 more weekend till I can go away again!
the photo btw is of me at the top, finally at 6.15, it was 7.40 by the time we got back to the minibus, and yes we did have the keys, yes everyone else had been down for ages (sorry guys!), and yes it was very very dark!

Well after a long boring summer university is about to start again... or is it?
For the first 6 weeks I have 1 lecture a week, even after that it rises to a maximum of 7; 7 contact hours a week and that's it. Considering I have just gained another £1200 of debt to pay my tuition fees I am kind of wondering what I'm getting for my money?
So as a result I'm just going to have to work really hard at my project for the first bit of term to prevent insanity. Speaking of projects, I have discovered my project supervisor, I got sent an email on friday, officially I go to a meeting today to find out, but hey at least I now know. Anyway I'm really pleased with who I got, my 2 housemates spent the sumer working in her lab and say she's really nice. I think it's safe to say I will be doing something to do with flies though!

Freshers week is al over, I have handed out hundreds of fliers for the university climbing club, and spent lots of Friday dangling from a harness in front of university house. Freshers climb on sunday was very uneventful, no one needed taking to hospital, no one turned up in wildly unsuitable clothing, so all in all rather boring really. The midge bites I have from the trip to the pub though are driving me crazy.

Mud, mud, glorious mud

I just spent the weekend at Chatsworth Country show helping Buxton Mountain rescue team fundraise. It wasn't the most successful weekend ever! Constant rain on Saturday meant the show was deathly quiet, but at least it stopped for the barbecue in the evening. Sunday was at least nearly dry but by that time the show ground was a giant mud bath. What was most amusing was seeing people turn up on Sunday not realising that it had rained all of the previous day!
I basically spent the weekend trying to persuade people to buy ducks for the duck race we were running. This wasn't as successful as last year, partly due to the weather! However having the race down the actual river on the estate was great fun, even if the ducks did go through the holes in the netting!
I was very good and didn't even spend that much money, though I do now have a very posh looking leather hat, and a bargainous joules jacket!

Bugger

I've spent all day making some delicous looking rosemary foccacia, which I found on my new favourite website, http://www.aspoonfulofsugar.net
Unfortunately I mucked up, my hand slipped while adding the salt, I thought I'd persevere and see if it was edible, but I have to report that it really wasn't! I thought I was going to have a lovely tea with my favourite tomato salad, just tomato slices, salt, pepper, and my secret ingredient sugar! All mixed up and left to stew in the lovely juice.
It looked fab though, I'll definitely try again, maybe tomorrow in fact as I still have a mountain of rosemary left thanks to Just Naturals generously sized packs!
I seem to be in a culinary mood at the momment, I made an apparently delicous plum tart the other day with some over ripe plums, I got 1 slice and Lex promptly demolished the rest despite informing me it looked yuk!
I also seem to be on a banoffe pie streak at the momment! However I never have any digestive biscuits in so mine have a twist, the base is made of lovely coconuty nice biscuits, apparently they add a lovely twist according to my willing tasters!

It's raining

Well so far I am a bit unimpressed with the weather. When I was working loads the weather was boiling hot, now I don't have much work it's decided to rain. Me and Lex went on holiday to my parents to get some climbing done and actually did quite well, one very good day at the Roaches, one ok day at Castle Naze, and then a day of being ill! Yay! Anyway the past week Lex and I have tried to get out climbing lots, and the weather has been wet, or looking like it was going to be wet, so we went indoors.
Today I really want to go in to town, but it's absolutely pissing it down, maybe it's going to stop, or I could be getting very wet! However as I threw away all of Lex's holey socks I'd better buy him some new ones and some Lush bath bubbles to make up for it!

All homely

Yet again I'm at home. The parents have gone away for the week leaving me to look after the climbing wall and the house. As a result of being at home I've become all grown up. Wandering round the garden watering things and picking my own fruit and veg is making me desperate for my own garden. Tonights tea is all home grown, peas, french beans, and roasted courgette! Together with fresh strawberries and Rasberries, they taste so much better than ones from the shops.
I keep wanting to do all sorts of nice things, on the ukc forums someone was talking about making their own cheese and yoghurt, I woudl love to do things like that but living in a crummy student house means I have no garden and I don't think my housemates would like having fermenting cheese around. At least I can cook cakes though, I found this blog called a spoonful of sugar, just thinking about it is making me want cakes! http://www.aspoonfulofsugar.net/blog/baking_cakes/

The picture at the top is a flower arrnagement by my Mum, very talented lady I think! Yet another thing I woudl love to do, at least I know who can do my flowers for any future wedding! (sorry about the crappy photo, had to take it with the iSight on my Macbook)

I'm never living at home again!

For this week I'm staying back with my parents while I do some work for my Dad at the climbing wall. The work part is fine, in fact better than it used to be, I think I've got more chilled out as I've got more experienced. However living at home is a nightmare, don't get me wrong I love my parents dearly but living with them, you have got to be kidding me!
Anyway I get to go home at the end of tomorrow, and get to see Lex again.
I'm guessing he's still alive but as the silly boy left his mobile phone charger at mine I have no idea. He also didn't text me his new flat phone number so I have no way of getting in touch with him. He does have my home number stored on his pda, but knowing him the battery has died on that to, either that or he hasn't thought of that! Anyway I have sent him an email, and we'll see if I get a call tonight! Would be lovely to hear his voice today.