December's club meet held more than a taste of Christmas, with fine weather, flaming Christmas puddings, (extra strong) brandy sauce, ample party spirit and good company into the bargain. An excellent weekend!
For those who couldn't make it we had an even better New
Year ‘encore’ in January, when we were joined by John,
Keith and Dave, ‘plumbers supreme’, for some serious bathroom
planning.
On the March club weekend a good few made it to the top of Snowdon, with just a covering of snow, drawn by the once-in-a-lifetime experience of the summit without its café. Work on the new building is due to start in April.
“As you can see it's been a hectic few months which have seen lots of improvements. It's sometimes hard to grasp that this really is still a Mountain Centre, we're getting so soft on comfort these days!
First some serious bits... As from 2nd April the ban on smoking in public buildings in Wales takes effect, which will mean no smoking in the Centre at any time.
Changes are on the way too for rubbish disposal, with containers now provided for bottles, paper and cans. These need to be emptied into the recycling bins on Beddgelert car park, or taken back home for your own collection service. With a little effort the amount going into the wheelie bin can be dramatically reduced, with obvious environmental benefits.
And please remember to double bag non recyclable rubbish to help keep the wheelie clean, using strong bin liners ...cleaning out decomposing waste from the wheelie is an undesirable task for the next group!
Don't forget that (for those who can't bear to leave their laptop
at home) theres internet access at the Centre ...useful for getting the latest mountain weather forecast. The 1p a minute dial-up connection charge (off peak) is now included on the invoice sheet.
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Since the last issue we've welcomed as new affiliated members Reaseheath College, Solihull College and Arrow Vale High School. Arrow Vale made their first visit in February, as their leader, Jez Thomas reports:
“We've at last been to ‘The Legend’, that is, the Nantmor Mountain Centre! First impressions – a great setting, and a valuable experience.”
This, their first ever visit, turned out to be something of an
unexpected initiative test when it came to ‘turning things on’,
but they coped magnificently ...even successfully negotiating
the lane in the minibus, and retaining both wing mirrors
into the bargain. Not content with their February visit the
group returned in March for ‘Round Two’ when, defiant of
wind and rain...
“...we climbed Snowdon via the Llanberis path, for the
‘tick in the box’ they all wanted. Good stuff!! A great time was had by all!”
One last note ..a working weekend with a difference is coming up; 20th – 22nd April will be ‘phase two’ of the bathroom work, plumbers and all.
Helpers are needed please, preferably hardy ones as the water may be ‘off’, but the pro's are good company, fun, and you might even get to pioneer the new showers!”
Bob James
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