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Trevor shows off his T shirt presented to him by club members for completing the Scottish Munroes.( He wasn't expecting having to buy everyone a drink.)
Dennis is congratulated by club members on completion of two rounds of the Wainwrights ( could not remember if he had done them all the first time so thought he better do them again to be sure ) well done
Dennis congratulates Trevor on completion of climbing all the Scottish Munroes October 07 ( He was just 16 years old and 6ft 5 when he started ) well done.
The following are some archive pictures of club members over the years
even in the early days drink has always played a big part in the clubs activities
Early Victorian images of founder club members frollicking in the snow
Three fine figures
Gillian complete with curly perm
Lucky it was'nt his drinking arm
Crocodile Dundee misreads the weather forecast
One of the many group activities organised by the club

Alston Weekend 6th - 8th November 2009

The club weekend at Alston YHA was enjoyed by all. There were 2 days of walking in the South Tyne Valley, north from Alston, partly on the Pennine Way towards Slaggyford and one day walking south from Alston to Garrigill. Although some felt this last walk was a style to far (and too high and too many and too muddy), throughout, the weather was reasonably kind with sunny intervals and just the odd shower.

The evening's entertainment didn't have the show performances of previous years, thank goodness! They would never get passed the first round of X Factor. However, the evenings were fun with a variety of activities. Shirley made a great job of persuading people to hand over their money during the auction. Dorothy kept everyone confused as the bingo caller before handing over to Dennis, the pro, for some entertaining calls, eg, two fat WAAFS 88, two can chew 69, two crutches 77. Add to that some quizzes and games and it all made for an enjoyable evening. Eddy Campbell was most surprised when he was presented with a birthday cake for his forthcoming 70th birthday. Apparently he had told Justine he did not want a fuss - no chance! From all the activities, over £170 was raised for this year's nominated charity: The Air Ambulance.

One talking pont of the weekend was the very loud snoring in room 2 from someone, who will not be named, and who drove the other John down to the lounge, with his duvet, for a quiet night's sleep leaving Fred red-eyed from lack of sleep.

Alston YHA is a very cosy hostel and the highlight of the weekend was the welcome from the warden and her team as well as the excellent food at every meal. The only complaint heard was that there was too much food and it was too nice to leave on any plate.

Fred, our esteemed Chairman, thanked Justine and Eddy for organising the weekend and everybosy's contribution to its success. The hostel team was also thanked for their hospitality and they responded by expressing their pleasure in having such a group as ours in their hostel. Does that mean we can come back next year?

PS The next club event is the Christmas walk and lunch at the Cottage Inn at Dunstan on 13th December.

 

Congratulations and best wishes from all the club. They say that life begins at 70, just ask the other Eddie.

WASHINGTON RAMBLERS CLUB

Christmas Walk 13th December 2009

For the second year running, the Christmas walk was along the Northumberland coast, this year from North to South, finishing again at The Cottage Inn at Dunstan near Craster, and in keeping with tradition a variety of Christmas hats were on display.

The long walk started at Beadnell and followed the coastal path South.
The middle and short walks started inland at Embleton. Unfortunately the route to the coast for the middle walk was across muddy fields so it wasn’t long before boots were twice as heavy as normal. The short walking group were wiser and followed minor roads to reach the coast.

The middle group having stopped for a coffee break at Low Newton, were accosted by a large group of mainly teenagers in fancy dress who were collecting for the charity St Oswalds Hospice and also spreading Christmas cheer in the form of selection boxes for those who had donated (not bad return on 50p).

From Low Newton all groups walked the beach above the receding tide for a couple of Km before turning inland at Embleton Golf Club and on to the coastal path to Dunstanburgh Castle, keeping an eye out for flying golf balls.

At Dunstanburgh Castle, a grey seal was spotted stranded in a flooded part of a field. How it became trapped in this area was a mystery considering the distance from the sea and the rocky area in between.
From Dunstburgh Castle, two km of easy walking led in to Dunstan Village and The Cottage Inn with each group arriving within minutes of each other and at the appointed time. Good planning from the walk’s planner and leaders.

After a couple of drinks every one sat down to a very nice three course Christmas meal. This was followed by a raffle of donated Christmas presents, well organised and run by Jean and Dru. Puzzling was how many lady type gifts were won by men, no doubt these will appear in their partners Christmas stocking . The raffle raised £73 to add to our donation to the North East Air Ambulance.
The celebrations ended with the traditional speech from our Chairman, Fred, who thanked Eddy and Pauline for organising the meal, Jean and Dru for the raffle, the walk leaders and finally John for introducing quite a few people to the Club and who have since become members.

It was a quiet sleepy group on the returning bus to Washington where on arrival they became more lively exchanging good wishes (with a few kisses and hugs) for the Christmas period and a good walking season in the New Year.