Matthew, Steph, Louise, Finlay, Niambh, Ella, Rosa, Charlotte and Fred, on a try out, attended Bowden, with Nic and Ellie as coaches and the Blytonesque bonus of a dog, Astrid, Nic's beloved mxed up Golden Retriever which doesn't retrieve but, rather, takes things away.

The weather was bright and sunny with blustery wind and matters began at Sheep Pen by warming up on the boulders. then back to the start. Transformer was a popular problem for many of the attendees, whilst some trad cimbed for their first time, showing excellent gear placement in the process.

Everyone had a fantastic time, as always

The presence of Nic's dog reminded me of an incident once when I was strolling through a Fife village, the type of place where dogs freely roamed in packs, scavenging through bin bags for titbits, back in the eighties. I saw a man looking forlorn and asked him if he was okay. He replied that he had lost his pooch. When I asked what kind it was, he replied Golden Virginia.

Thanks as always to Dorothy and Alan, Ellie and Nic