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So there is a lot of talk about us drafting the high touted RB Richardson. the one and only position that we are set with... you know number 39? Sjax? that guy... now im not saying Richardson doesn't have the talent but your telling me we are going to use a top ten pick to get a second string running back? the one and only position we are set at. i dont think so.
I feel the pick would be better used in 1) trading down. the reason for this is you and i both know the rams are more needs than one can count. there's a lot of talk taking Blackmon but in my opinion the best WR in the league is Stephen Hill, he may not have turned heads in college but with great speed at 6'4 how can you not love that. And getting a mid first rounder and maybe get a value pick either this year or next. in the trade bounty. (i apologize if i made any ram fans uncomfortable with the b word aha). 2) drafting a WR. if we dont find any dance partners to ship the number 6 and blackmon is on the board i think we would take him. again he isn't my personal favourite in this draft but he is a talented kid none the less. the reason why trading down may be difficult is if a lot of teams are trying to trade down then obviously its a buyers market and thus we dont get a lot back on our trade. 3) I think there are quality half backs availble in the second and even third round this year. Names such as LaMicheal James and Lamar Miller. guys who bring a lot of the same qualities to the table of richardson but have a much better value at being availble in the early to late second round. These guys i believe would bring a great diversity to our RB and potentially be our RB for the future. 4) and finally DEFENSE. we have to remeber this is Fish's team and that mutha trucka loves a tough physical defense. Guys like Mike Brockers and Fletcher Cox (who is the fastest 300lb man i ave ever seen) fit fish's scheme and what he considers a winning formula and that is tough defense. other positions such as LB (melvin ingram or courtney upshaw) who would bring great run stopping ability as well a great pass rusher.
I mean guys lets be reasonable here. Sure, our beloved steven jackson is getting a little on the older side. but he puts his heart on his sleeve game in and game out. But hey im just your friendly neighbourhood arm chair gm. Does Richardson have the potential to be a franchise HB? sure. is he what we need right now? no. RB isnt a concern at the moment and we dont need to burn a first to get one. ask me this question 2-3 years from now and my answer may be completey different.


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As the title says, looking for a partner from Saturday the 17th until Monday the 19th. My buddy will be showing up sometime on Monday. I'll have anywhere from 6-8 of each cam and can lead up to 5.11. I'd be excited to go to any wall that's not supercrack buttress or donnelly canyon. I'd be leaving from Boulder friday afternoon and most likely looking to camp at creek pasture. Send me a message if you're interested!
hey broseph! lets climb ...INCREDIBLE HAND CRACK
If you guys are still down there early this week (Tuesday/Wednesday) I'd love to climb. I've got a green truck with a soft top-look for me if you need a partner/ want to climb. -Matt
bsteve, I'm planning on heading down there tomorrow morning (Saturday). Will you still be down there? I'll look for you at Creek Pasture. I'm definitely looking to meet up with some people this weekend down there. -Matt

subset: commoncrawl


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Estyn: Monmouthshire and Merthyr Tydfil councils face 'special measures'
The schools inspectorate Estyn says the quality of local authority education services for children and young people in Monmouthshire and Merthyr Tydfil is "unsafisfactory".
It is recommending both should be taken into special measures.
The reports say the councils have not done enough to work out where they need to improve, and how best to help poor performing schools.


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The holiday season is an especially fun time of year to deck the halls with things that sparkle, shine, and bring cheer. In the spirit of the season we've found some seasonal styles we love. Click on the images to … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: December 2012
'Tis The Season To Get Festive In Your Big Chill Kitchen
From the colors you select for your appliances to the recipes you cook up with them, 'tis the season to have fun in your Big Chill kitchen. Check out our seasonal appliance color picks and some favorite holiday cookie recipes. … Continue reading
Author Sandra Boynton's Big Chill Fridge
Beloved children's book author Sandra Boynton has penned favorites such as Barnyard Dance, and The Going-to-Bed Book. Her board books are a known for their rhythmic language and colorful illustrations, and have brought children and parents much joy. It's clear … Continue reading


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"Old Father Noah"Sent to me by
Sadie Johnson
(1) Come breathern and sisters
That love one another
And lov`ed for years that are gone
Oft times we have met in the sweet
heavenly union
That opens the way to God's throne
(2) With joy and thanksgiving
We praise him that love us
While we are fighting below
That when we're done praying
We may not cease praising
But around God's bright}? throne we
will go.
(3) Some tell us that praying
And also that praising
Is labor and all spent in vain
But we have such witness
That God's of such sweetness
From praying we cannot refrain.
(4) There's Old Father Noah and 10,000 others
Can witness that God heard them pray
There's Samuel and Hannah,
Paul, Silas, and Peter
And Daniel and Jonah we'll say
There's Jessie and Joseph, Elias and


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Movie News
SUNDANCE 2001: DAY FOUR With MORIARTY
Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
It seems fundamentally wrong to me to schedule movies for 9:30 in the morning, but if you've got to show anything, then Fox Searchlight's badass thrill ride SEXY BEAST seems like as good an idea as anything.
Robie and I managed to get a fair amount of sleep before heading out to the Egyptian, but even so, I found myself chewing the giant Trader Joe's zinc and echinacea tablets that have been our only armour against sickness all week, washing them down with Mountain Dew. I really wouldn't recommend the combo, although it gives you the strangest energy buzz as it kicks in. Or maybe that was Jonathan Glazer's debut feature that did it to me. SEXY BEAST not only has my favorite title from the festival this year, but also my favorite opening scene. The introduction of Ray Winstone as Gary "Gal" Dove is classic. He's on the back porch of his villa in Spain, soaking up the afternoon sun that's hot enough to fry an egg on his stomach, taking a swim in his truly indecent little suit. As he stands on the edge of the patio, a boulder dislodges from the hillside above and bounces over Gal, just missing his head, landing in his pool. It's terrifying, but it makes you laugh out loud, especially once Gal reacts. Winstone wins you over right away with a performance that just drips with charm. He's pear-shaped, just on the verge of letting himself go completely to seed, but there's a remarkable presence to him anyway, a physical charisma that's undeniable. When we see him interact with Deedee (Amanda Redman), his wife, there's a real sweetness to the way he handles her. They dine out with a pair of friends, Jackie (Julianne White) and Aitch (Cavan Kendall) every night. It's idyllic, even beautiful, and there seems to be nothing but joy for the four of them.
All that changes with a phone call made to Aitch one afternoon, a phone call he's terrified to bring up to Gal at dinner that night. Seems that Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) is on his way to Spain with a proposition for Gal, a job offer. These aren't the kinds of offers that you turn down, either. This is our first hint of Gal's gangster past. He keeps saying he's retired, as much for Deedee's benefit as for his own, but there's nothing he can do about Don's arrival. Aitch and Jackie pick him up at the airport and bring him to Gal's house, where the film kicks into high gear.
Ben Kingsley has never been anything like this on film before, and it's riveting to watch him shred his way through each character he encounters. Don Logan is as loathsome a screen character as I've encountered since Aaron Eckhart's debut in IN THE COMPANY OF MEN. He's a bundle of rabid energy, a bully wrapped in a little man's body, and it's remarkable to see the substantial Winstone shrink before him, obviously afraid of him and what he represents. Gal's gone soft by choice laying in the Spanish sun, and he doesn't want any part of the life he left behind in England. No matter how he tries to explain it to Don, though, Gal doesn't seem able to make any headway with him. Don is determined that Gal's going to come in on a job, a plan that he's been working on with Teddy Bass (Ian McShane) for almost six months. It's supposed to be foolproof, and part of the plan relies on using men that are tested and trustworthy, men like Gal.
Over the space of a long night and the following day, the tension between Gal and Don builds and builds, with Don dragging all sorts of personal issues into it. The first thing he brings up is his sexual history with Aitch's girlfriend, Jackie. It's hard to tell if he brings it up because he's still got some sort of attraction to her brewing, or if he does it simply to introduce chaos and hurt into the world Gal's been working so hard to build. Don uses words, fists, and even a gun to try and make his point, but Gal holds firm. It's not fear that keeps him from going back to the life, either... it's love. His love for Deedee is intense and powerful, and when Don starts bringing up Deedee's past as a porn actress, that's the breaking point.
We don't see how things are resolved, either. At least, not at first. We cut to London, where Gal shows up, ready to do the job. The heist that's been designed is visually amazing, one of my favorites in recent memory. I like the fact that we don't spend tons of time on the planning of the job. This is Gal's movie, and he comes into it late, just as we do. He's just one bit of muscle, one of the cogs in the system. Besides, how many more planning sequences do we need to see in movies about heists? Inevitably, they're just riffs on a theme, and they're never as interesting as the actual job itself. Screenwriters Louis Mellis and David Scinto did a great job of boiling this tale down to its essence, which is the struggle by Gal to hold on to something good and decent after a lifetime of anything but. Director Glazer, who's done some great work as a video director for bands like Radiohead and Jamiroquai, manages to prove himself as someone with a great narrative sense, automatically leapfrogging past many of his music promo peers in the process. Like David Fincher and Spike Jonze, Glazer has a genuine voice, and he's made a film here that should rattle viewers in the best possible way when it opens later this year.
Tom DiCillo, on the other hand, seems determined not to rattle viewers. Each comedy he makes seems to get softer and softer and softer, with DOUBLE WHAMMY marking some sort of milestone for him in his career so far. Unfortunately, it's not the good kind. As with THE REAL BLONDE, DiCillo seems to be shooting blanks, going through the motions. He's written a script that seems to have had large spaces reading "INSERT JOKES HERE," and it's as if he never went back to do the actual finishing work on the thing. It's a damn shame, too, since there's good work done by some of the cast, and it's obvious that he can put together a pretty impressive ensemble. Denis Leary toplines this film, and he's looser than he's ever been, engaging and warm, finally able to shake his image as the sarcastic bastard. I've always thought of Leary as an actor like Greg Kinnear, uneasy with the thought of giving himself completely over to a character. This time, Leary proves me wrong, and that's frustrating. I wish the film were worthy of the work that he's doing here as NYPD Detective Ray Pluto. He and his partner Jerry Cubbins (Steve Buscemi) stop for lunch at a burger joint, and Pluto runs in. As he's standing there, a crazed gunman rams his truck into the front of the place, then starts firing on everyone. As Pluto draws his gun to stop him, his back seizes up, and Pluto drops to the ground. A boy of about ten, Ricky Lapinski, (Kevin Johnson Olson) picks up the gun and ends up shooting the gunman, saving the rest of the diners and making Pluto a citywide laughing stock at the same time. Pluto's taken off active duty until he is able to prove that his back won't hinder him from duty anymore, leading him to a chiropractor named Ann Beamer (Elizabeth Hurley). The setup of the film actually works with a certain degree of confidence, and I started getting into the film, thinking that DiCillo had finally found a comic voice that worked. That feeling lasted all the way through the introduction of Juan Benitez (Luis Guzman), the super in the building where Pluto lives. It's a great role for Guzman, allowing him to display a warmth and a sweetness that we rarely see from him, and he proves once again why he's one of the best character actors working. He's sorting out his problems with his daughter Maribel (Melonie Diaz), and the way he plays off her is really lovely. He misses the times when she was younger and simply enjoyed hanging out with her papi, and the seismic shifts of teenage life seem to baffle Juan completely.
If DiCillo could have focused his energy on just those characters and the way they spun around each other, he might have had something. He can't stop there, though. No, DiCillo has to make another one of his statements about filmmaking by introducing two terrible characters, Cletis (Donald Faison) and Duke (Keith Nobbs), wannabe screenwriters who method act their bad Tarantino ripoff script as they work on it. This material wouldn't have been fresh even when every other indie film was a Tarantino clone. Done today, it's just plain pathetic. It's a waste of time and energy, and every moment we spend with them deflates the film further. Eventually, even the appealing leads can't keep this thing afloat, and we're left with a muddled mess that isn't sure if it wants to make us laugh or turn us on or move us. My final reaction? Boredom, the purest form of death for a comedy.(
Not that it's much better to be bored by a drama, especially one that purports to be about something as fascinating as the world of professional shoplifting. LIFT was evidently developed with the Sundance Director's and Screenwriter's Labs, a fact which mystifies me. How did it get this far and still not work on any level? This is a film that takes a potentially fascinating milieu and squanders it. DeMane Davis wrote the film, and then co-directed it with Khari Streeter, and both of them spend a good deal of time in the press notes explaining their intentions and the things that originally drew them to the idea. They talk a good game, tossing out all sorts of provocative nuggets about shoplifting and the effect of materialism on the family and their own personal experiences. There's one particular passage that I have to quote, though, because of how completely off the mark it is:
"Almost four years in the making, LIFT is about the search for self-love in a community with a set of values that's completely unaffordable. While most inner city films have addressed the singular male experience, this film is multigenerational and true to households held together by strong, Black women. It was inspired by benchmarks like ORDINARY PEOPLE, EAST OF EDEN, and THE LITTLE THIEF. Powerful films where a child spurned by a parent persists in trying to gain their love, and is forced into dark and often extreme circumstances. The bottom line is this: Black people make less money but spend more of it on clothes than any other race in this country. We made this film to help young Black women gain self-esteem and look within themselves to solve their problems. Ultimately, however, we learned it transcends issues of race and gender. Everyone wants their parents' love."
Hogwash. Unmitigated hogwash. The film is a series of conversational cliches, crippled by a predominantly mediocre cast. The family dynamic is muddled and unclear, with people talking around their problems and alluding to all sorts of issues that just lay there and never resolve into anything compelling or dramatic. What's worse is the idea that they think they made a film that addresses the idea of a clothes culture and the way it skews people's values. They didn't. They never go into the reasons behind anyone's actions, leaving Kerry Washington, their lead, stranded in a series of unconnected scenes and mannerisms that pass as characterization. Washington seems to be a gifted young woman, striking and direct in her delivery, but she can't overcome the material she's been given here. When she's trapped into one of her interminable confrontations with her mother (Lonette McKee), you can practically mouth the words before they deliver them. It's that pat.
The film has a certain sheen of professional quality to it, but that's to be expected. Kathy Konrad and James Mangold, both smart indie producers, and Hart Sharp, the company that brought us BOYS DON'T CRY and YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, have all turned out films that manage to communicate honestly, directly, and with keen intelligence. It shocked me to see their names attached to this film, but it does explain when it feels like there was a sharp professional crew at work behind this film. Davis and Streeter owned and operated an ad agency called Two Potato, and there are a number of individual moments in LIFT that almost work. Still, the waste of the efforts of all involved is the most bitter pill to swallow in regards to this stunningly disappointing feature.
Michael Cuesta also directed commercials for many years, but the talent on display in his new film L.I.E. marks him as a talent of note. Navigating very difficult emotional and moral waters with a sure hand, Cuesta and his co-screenwriters Stephen Ryder and Gerald Cuesta have crafted a story that is slight but affecting, that puts a human face on something despicable, and that ultimately refuses easy answers. The films starts with a haunting shot of Howie (Paul Franklin Dano), a 15 year old boy who bears a startling resemblance to our own John Robie, a fact he's spent the whole week threatening to kill me if I mentioned. He's on an overpass of the Long Island Expressway, staring down at the traffic below, as we hear him speak in voice-over about how dangerous the L.I.E. is, how it's claimed the lives of people like Harry Chapin, Alan J. Pakula, and even Howie's mother. He stands up on the ledge of the overpass, his footing unsteady, just as we move a week backwards in time to see the events that led up to that place.
Howie's feeling disconnected, alone. His mother gone, his father Marty (Bruce Altman) is dating a hot young thing and spending most of his time trying to stay out of jail due to an investigation into the shady dealings of his contracting business. Howie's one close friend is Gary (Billy Kay), a rabid little weasel of a kid who takes Howie along as he and some other kids break into local houses to steal whatever they can get their hands on. One of the houses they break into belongs to Big John Harrigan, played with real courage by Brian Cox. After seeing Cox in SUPER TROOPERS this week, it was startling to see him play something this different, something that is so ambiguous and challenging and even dangerous. The kids steal a couple of replica Russian pistols that Harrigan wants back, and he easily locates Gary. Turns out they already have a relationship since Gary's been selling his ass, and Big John's been buying. Big John, a former diplomatic attache, a respected member of his community, and a seemingly decent guy overall is actually a chickenhawk, a predator, intoxicated by boys. Gary gives up Howie as being part of the break-in, which leads Big John to become part of the boy's life just as Gary packs up and takes off with money he stole from Howie's dad.
As played by Dano, Howie is a great character, full of contradictions in the way that all teenagers are as they're figuring themselves out. At one moment, he seems like an adult, older than his years, but at other times, he's still obviously just a frightened kid, alone and in need of a friend. The fact that Big John is the one friendly face he sees should be disturbing to an audience. In their first conversation, Big John shows him porn movies, asks him how much he knows about blow-jobs, and tells him that "five inches may be a lot of snow, but it's not a lot of cock." It's unsettling, and Howie seems almost amused by Big John's obvious advances. As time wears on and Howie's situation gets worse, though, Big John's intentions become more difficult to interpret. Is he still trying to fuck this kid, or has some sort of paternal instinct kicked in? Is he genuinely trying to be the helping hand he pretends to be? Has Howie reached something real inside John, something decent? These questions and their answers are responsible for the great tension the film builds over the course of its running time.
It's not a perfect movie, and it's definitely not one that's going to be easy to sell, but I'm thrilled to see that it's been picked up for a wider release later in the year. Even if the very ending of the film, particularly where Big John is concerned, feels like a last minute cop out, there's still so much about the film that's smart and subtle and admirable. Cox is outstanding, and the young actors all do a great job. Director Cuesta is given fantastic support by his director of photography, Romeo Tirone, who manages to give the film a lyrical look without over-romanticizing the Long Island neighborhoods where it all takes place. I think this film is more sincere than the controversial HAPPINESS in its attempts to portray the dual nature of a functional pedophile, and the courage and clarity with which they approach the subject demands respect.
After we emerged from L.I.E., Robie and I headed for The Caledonian, a condo cluster located right on Main Street, which is where the SUPER TROOPERS gang was all located for the first part of the fest. We sat down with Broken Lizard hot on the heels of signing their distribution deal with Fox Searchlight and interviewed them about the elation, the work it took to get there, and their plans for the future. I'll be transcribing that interview in the next week as I decompress, and we got it all on videotape to share with you in some form in the future. The energy between these old friends on the eve of their largest success as a group so far was incredible, and it was a real pleasure to be there to share it with them. It also happened to be producer Rich Pirello's birthday, which meant that the party that erupted in the aftermath of the interview was an insane one. I ignored every bit of advice given to us by Cameron Crowe, and Robie and I stayed all night to party with the rock stars. It was incredible fun, and I have even more esteem for the members of Broken Lizard as individual talents and as decent guys after the time we spent there. Expect to see a lot about them in the year to come. With dawn breaking on the horizon, Robie and I made our way back down the mountain to try and recover for the next day's activities. But more on that later...
"Moriarty" out.
Readers Talkbackcomments powered by Disqus
+ Expand All
Jan. 27, 2001, 4:29 a.m. CST
by Gutty
Bow before me. Sexy Beast looks cool, for a review check out www.heres-looking-at-movies.com
Jan. 27, 2001, 4:39 a.m. CST
Fakkin' Handsome...
by reni
Sexy Beast is a quality film. I saw it last week. Ray Winstone never lets the side down and Ben Kingsley, I've never seen him act as intense as this... Much, much better than all the crap Brit Crime flicks we've had over the last 4 years... Quality...
Jan. 27, 2001, 10:03 a.m. CST
Sexy Beast
by Theta
If you aren't able to see it (like me), take a look at the trailer. It's more than just a crime flick; there's some genuine weird shit in just that trailer. Tiger
Jan. 29, 2001, 4:50 a.m. CST
Da beast is da business
by BONZO
When is a gangster film not a gangster film? When it is a Sexy Beast. Sexy Beast top,top film it almost makes up for the dirge of gangster bobbins that came in the wake of LS&2SB. Ray Winstone is great in what for him a virtual about face with Ben "Gandhi" Kingsley playing the psychopathic Don,the man is terrifying. Strong performances alround although I did feel that it was a bit too stylised at some points, a little bit too Lock Stock. It's just a same that Aitch died before it opened but the film is one hell of a eulogy. Go see this and forget about Snatch(tired rehash with bigger budget)
June 16, 2001, 10:46 a.m. CST
by ArchDiver
I can't wait to see it. Hope it makes it to the theater in my lil town, or I will have to make the pilgrimage to Austin, again!
June 16, 2001, 10:47 a.m. CST
by SEATTLE SLEWW
Moriarty, I've already told you I can't see you this wekend.
June 16, 2001, 12:37 p.m. CST
Gandhi is comin', and, man, is he PISSED!
by Hardyboy
Haven't seen Sexy Beast yet, but I did catch the trailer last week, and I've never seen Ben Kingsley looking so bad and buff before. I'm beginning to think there's NOTHING this guy can't play!
June 16, 2001, 3:53 p.m. CST
At last, some good films this SHITTY summer
by Spacesheik
After THE ANIMAL, EVOLUTION, SWORDFISH, PEARL HARBOR, WHAT'S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN, TOMB RAIDER, and all the other shitfests this summer, it's refreshing to see a movie as hard-hitting, unpredictable and downright enjoyable as SEXY BEAST! Ben Kingsley is smashing in this film (no pun intended) and the direction was fresh and exciting. Take note you film executive motherfuckers in Hollywood, who enjoy green-lighting $100 million fesces and who dick us over with drivel by the Michael Bays and Brett Rattners of the world. SHREK, MEMENTO and SEXY BEAST almost salvaged the fucking season so far.
June 16, 2001, 4:21 p.m. CST
by Miss Aura
I agre with you totally Spacesheik, Sexy Beast is awesome and Those 3 films are the only ones which have made a mark and put my faith into cinema this summer, so far.
June 16, 2001, 5:21 p.m. CST
Jonathan Glazer - next generation
by moviesR4proFIT
All you developement girls and gals at Newline, Dreamworks, Fox, Warner, CAA and AMG - do something that has some BALLS next time and hire a new director like GLAZER & Mike Cuesta. Glazer is incredibly talented which was already apparent in his fantastic commercials and videos for Radio Head, Blur, Massive Attack, Nike, & Guinness. He chose the right script and didn't make a film for film sake. Hollywood may eventually realise that commercial video directors are the ones to hire.
June 16, 2001, 10:27 p.m. CST
Too short
by Billy Bizar
"Sexy Beast" was pretty good. Especially the scene wherein that giant boulder in the background comes down from the mountain. Great stuff! But clocking in at 87 minutes running time i thought the film was a bit too short. I would like have to see more of the Ben Kingsley character.
June 17, 2001, 1:33 a.m. CST
Ghandi 2: Sexy Beast "He aint a man of God no more"...
by JackBurton
This should be a cool film, and no doubt, and it's been a long time since Kingsley has had a role that he could really get his teeth into so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this one. I just hope it gets a big enough theatrical release.
June 17, 2001, 7:56 a.m. CST
sexy shite
by Dudster
Sexy Beast is undeniably a good brit gangster film, but can we brits make a decent film without Ray (whose your daddy) Winstone? Also, how many times does Ben Kingsley say 'you caaaunt'
June 17, 2001, 10:23 a.m. CST
a weird name for a great movie
by CygnusX1
I saw "Sexy Beast" at the Santa Barbara Film Festival last March, and was floored by Ben Kingsley's acting... this is Ben as you've never seen him before. The other actors are no slouches, either - they create a convincing peaceful world about themselves, only to have it come crashing down when bad-ass Ben appears on the scene. Their interplay is tense and in-your-face... a study in contrasts. Do yourself a favor and check out this movie... you won't regret it.
June 17, 2001, 12:23 p.m. CST
Ray Winstone is the DADDY
by northern monkey
About time some you Americans realised what a genius Ray is. If you can track it down get hold of a copy a SCUM, it makes Sexy Beast look like Beauty and the Beast. Not for the faint hearted but when Ray goes mental chicken oriental at the end its breathtaking.
June 17, 2001, 12:42 p.m. CST
Thanks for the GAWDAMN SPOILER WARNINGS. Get on the ball about t
by Capt FUBAR
June 17, 2001, 3:26 p.m. CST
kingsley in nyc
by HeywoodFloyd
this film is decent, not great, but next to crap like ph, swordfish, evolution, etc, it looks like citizen kane. i saw it at union square in nyc last week, and after the credits were done, kingsley himself came out and gave a little talk and took some questions. he talks a lot (which he joked about), but it's ok because he's an intelligent, well spoken guy. he said that all of the dialogue came directly from the script, there was no improvisation, which is surprising because the tone of the script seemed to me to be very loose and informal. they had even specified how many times he actually said 'no' in that one scene with winstone, i think it was 13 times, followed immediately by another 8. he likened it to shakespeare and the rhythm that actors get into with his dialogue. anyway, after about 15 minutes, he cut himself off and said that there was another screening happening in the theater, and that we all had to clear out, so we did. pretty annoying to have so little time with an oscar winning actor.
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Enjoy the amazing everglades on Florida's own air-boats with tours by Miami Tours. With our entertaining and narrated trips learn about the wildlife and
participate in a nature show. With a focus on bringing the kids close with nature these tours are the perfect family outing.
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Parishville Museum
The house which contains Parishville's history, artifacts and archives was built around 1850 and was owned by the Bartlett family. Nathan W. Bartlett joined the Civil War. However, due to exposure and illness contracted, he came home a semi-invalid and was never able to do much manual work. Bartlett became a lawyer and was admitted to the bar in 1877, settled in his home in the town of Parishville and married Jennie Cook. He passed away in 1897 and she moved her two children to Potsdam. The son later became a Baptist minister.
Jennie sold their home to Pliny Clark
about 1898 and he had it completely remodeled and brought his new wife, Eva
Cole, home to this beautiful home in the year 1900. Stanley Shepherd was the
carpenter that did all of the fancy work on the house.
Copyright © 2010 CommunitySights.com. All rights reserved. EMail the Webmaster


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last time we appreciated, it appeared we were about to lose our friend nick. but, in a bit of magic, nicky beat out wassermann for the final bullpen spot. and there was, shall we say, consternation amongst the SSS faithful? of course, nick then showed more of that magic and, in parallel to the white sox season, confounded expectations. however, as soxmachine points out, reality seems to be checking back in:
Has Nick Magic run its course? He'd been sporting a high WHIP all season, and his ERA is finally starting to catch up. Over his last seven games spanning 7 2/3 innings, he's allowed 16 hits, nine runs (seven earned) and four walks, with as many wild pitches as strikeouts (two). Masset did throw two perfect innings against the Rangers when nobody else had success, and that's the only point in his favor as of late.
his ERA still appears respectable at 4.14. however, his WHIP is a lardy 1.64. ozzie's experimentation with nick in slightly higher leverage roles has been your basic disaster and has contributed to the poor numbers put up by the bullpen of late.
so, on the near one year anniversary of his demotion, what does the future hold for masset?


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The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations may be remembered positively for the remarkable runs of Burkina Faso and Cape Verde, but there is no escaping the fact that it has been a tournament sadly blighted by a lack of technical quality. In part, this is down to the fact that some of the top teams have had an unusually high number of big names absent from the tournament as coaches have sought to impose ruthless discipline and crack down on any negative influences.
Clearly, the moves have not been entirely effective - Ghana, already having to cope with the absence of Michael Essien, have struggled without the creativity provided by André Ayew and Kevin-Prince Boateng. Meanwhile, Algeria have badly missed the in-form Rafik Djebbour, and the Ivory Coast could have done with the option of Seydou Doumbia. Nigeria have joined in with this policy, but it has not hindered them.
While Nigeria's two main omissions, Shola Ameobi and Peter Odemwingie, are of far less importance - neither are even certain starters, let alone key players, with the Super Eagles never having suffered for lack of forwards - it should not be forgotten that one player who was set to join them in exile was John Obi Mikel. Eventually, the Chelsea midfielder was allowed back into the team. We cannot know if it was down to a difference in attitude, or a simple dose of realpolitik, taking the pragmatic view that Nigeria have plenty of alternatives to Ameobi and Odemwingie but are desperately lacking in midfielders capable of controlling a game, but either way it has been the correct decision.
Mikel has excelled for Nigeria, giving performances which probably rank him as the player of the tournament so far. It's easy to forget how much his role has changed since his move to Chelsea - when a youngster, he was regarded as a flair player, bringing pace, creativity and electric dribbling to midfield. Predictably, the phrase "new Jay-Jay Okocha" was bandied about. Since moving to Chelsea, however, his midfield role was dramatically reduced, made simpler and duller, although it is noteworthy that at Stamford Bridge, regardless of whichever patsy was sat in the dugout that week, Mikel was one of the first names on the teamsheet.
For Nigeria however, Mikel has been given a more expressive role, in which he and his team have flourished. It is not quite the position he was talked up in during his youth, but as a classic deep-lying playmaker, producing the sort of passes about which the word "Pirloesque" would not be hyperbole. It seems to be the perfect role for him, aided in a fluid midfield formation with Ogenyi Onazi instead being the main enforcer, and Sunday Mba providing forays from deep but also getting behind the ball. The result is that Mikel can find space to manifest himself when possession is regained, and make the best use of his passing ability.
He has been joined in his excellent performances by his Chelsea teammate Victor Moses, the second key piece of Nigeria's puzzle. The winger has provided a remarkable all-round game which provides the same two assets as Mikel, in a very different way - his pace, movement and directness can easily cut through exposed teams on the counter, and he also has the ability to break down a deep-lying defence. Both were on display in Nigeria's 4-1 destruction of Mali, the former for the opening goal and the latter for the third. It is no coincidence that the team's performances have improved along with his own.
In short, Nigeria have profited from an injection of technical quality into their side which has been lacking in the team's previous failures. Combined with a remarkable balance, and a rotation of forwards rather than an attempt to cram their best eleven players into the starting eleven without thought for form or structure, it's given Nigeria a solid base from which they have built on, improving as they have progessed through the tournament.
For contrast to this sensible approach, you need only look at two of their rivals: Ghana have suffered throughout the tournament from a shortage of sources of goals, both in finishing and creating. Their over-dependency on Asamoah Gyan was finally showed up against Burkina Faso, when the star who was so crucial to them in 2010 appeared to finally buckle under the pressure, spurning a hatful of chances as the opportunity to progress passed them by.
In appeasing their technical players, however, Nigeria would appear to have something in common with their fellow perennial underachievers, Ivory Coast. With a frontline of Didier Drogba, Gervinho and Salomon Kalou, and Yaya Toure in midfield, they can't exactly be accused of lacking technical ability. Yet when they came up against Nigeria, they were disrupted and frustrated.
Yaya Toure may have excelled since being pushed further forwards at Manchester City, but because he is so phenomenally good at what he does, his limitations have been overlooked. He is a fine passer of the ball, but he lacks intricacy - when he gets into forward positions, it's his physicality and power that provides the danger. He can certainly pick a pass, but he is another who does so when sitting deep and unmolested. With Gervinho and Kalou playing more limited roles, and that archetypal battering ram, Drogba left alone up front, there was simply too much being asked of him. In a forward position, he had no time or space to supply his wingers. Against the deep-lying discipline of Mikel and Onazi, his surging runs were ineffective, and the Ivory Coast with them.
It's all relatively simple stuff, but Stephen Keshi's bravery in resisting the temptation to cram every decent attacker he possesses into the lineup and making allowances for their key players has left Nigeria clear favourites to win a trophy they haven't had success in for almost 20 years. That is to say nothing of his surprising decision to install the domestically-based Sunday Mba and Godfrey Oboabona as key members of his team - initially ridiculed as a parochial concession but looking like a masterstroke as the tournament wears on. Their reputation as a sort of West African Spurs may precede them, but in those two decades, better squads than this one have come and gone. They wouldn't have been worthier winners.


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I live here in the lower mainland around some of the most beautifal women and I can't even bring myself to go out and sarge. And even when I do, my AA kicks in. Im 18 years old, and having been studying PU since I read the game in October of last year.
Vancouver - looking for a wing my age
I have tons of knowledge from reading The Game, Mystery's Venusian Arts Handbook, and parts of Rules to the Game, however my in field practice is limited. My practice of the game is basically limited to the parties Ive gone to in the last 7 months.
But I really want to broaden my horizons, and get over my AA for good. I want to be able to go and practice (my day game specifically) however, I need a wing for a couple of reasons. 1) So I dont DLV myself by going out sarging by myself. 2) So I can have someone that I can finally share my knowledge with, and be able to give/ recieve feedback from. 3) Motivation to actually get out there.
So to sum this up, if theres anybody out there in my age range (18-21) who who's looking for a wing. Post a reply or PM me please.


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Join Listal to create lists, share images, get recommendations and much more
Future's So Bright...
5.3 01. Jaden Smith
Born: 7/8/98
Best Known For: "The Karate Kid". Launching a rap "career". Being the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett
Recommended SPF: Still early to tell, but with a Hollywood juggernaut like Will Smith for a father, young Jaden could become quite a cinematice presence. For now an SPF 8 should offer plenty protection.
7.4 02. Dakota Fanning
Born: 2/23/94
Best Known For: God, lots of films, including voice acting (Coraline). Holding her own with De Niro in "Hide and Seek".
Recommended SPF: Sadly, "Twilight" has gotten hold of her so it'll be several years before she participates in anything of consequence. But once she returns...look out. Better put on 30.
7.7 03. AnnaSophia Robb
7.1 04. Alexander Ludwig
7.1 05. Logan Lerman
7.1 06. Emma Roberts
Born: 2/10/91
Best Know For: Some minor stuff I don't much care about including some sort of music "career"...until, she broke out in the very good film "It's Kind of a Funny Story" with a solid performance.
Recommended SPF: Yes, this is Julia Roberts niece, and she seems to have a few acting chops. SPF 15 would be wise.
7.1 07. Rachel Hurd-Wood
7.4 08. Dev Patel
7.6 09. Emma Watson
6.1 010. Kristen Stewart
Born: 4/9/90
Best Known For: The surprisingly good "Adventure Land". Also "The Runaways" and oh yeah, those damn "Twilight" movies.
Recommended SPF: Winner of about a dozen Rising Star Awards, Best Young Actess awards, and such, Stewart stays busy. Barring a crippling drug addiction she should be big. SPF 35.
Xanadon't's rating:
7.4 011. Nicholas Hoult
7.1 012. Hayden Panettiere
7.2 013. Juno Temple
6.3 014. Tristan Wilds
Born: 7/15/89
Best Known For: "Half Nelson" "The Secret Life of Bees"
Recommended SPF: While he hasn't gotten much attention yet, he certainly hasn't received negative publicity either by starring in something godawful. One of the two projects on the way, "Red Tails" should mark his breakout role. George Lucas co-wrote this historical military adventure-drama due out soon. SPF 20
7.3 015. Anton Yelchin
Born: 3/11/89
Best Known For: Young Kyle Reese in "Terminator: Salvation" Also starred in "Star Trek".
Recommended SPF: With the lead role in the "Fright Night" remake coming up as well as a return in the "Star Trek" prequel (of course you knew that would happen) things look bright for this young man. SPF 25 for sure.
7.1 016. Jeremy Sumpter
6.3 017. Vanessa Hudgens
8.1 018. Emma Stone
Born: 11/6/88
Best Know For: Her smoky, sexy voice, and classic good looks. She broke through with "Superbad" and followed up with two more winners: "Zombieland" and the critically praised "Easy A".
Recommended SPF: Emma Stone is a future star to stay, no doubt about it. With 4 upcoming projects that all show promise, I recommended the highest SPF available: 50.
Xanadon't's rating:
6.8 019. Michael Cera
Born: 6/7/88
Best Known For: Being every geeks hero, simultaneously becoming the Next Big Thing.
Recommended SPF: Interestingly Cera doesn't appear to have any film roles coming up. But you just know that he's working like hell on a comic-book with an acoustic sing-along insert CD. Cera's pale and promising enough to wear a SPF 40 year-round.
7.6 020. Evan Rachel Wood
Born: 9/7/87
Best Known For: Her multi-talented performance in "Across the Universe" and her best role so-far in Woody Allen's "Whatever Works".
Recommended SPF: Critics can't get enough of her, and if she can survive a wedding engagement to shock-rocker/media-clown Marilyn Manson, she can survive anything. Make it a 45.
7.2 021. Blake Lively
7.3 022. Katie Cassidy
Born: 11/25/86
Best Known For: Her role in "Taken" starring Liam Neeson, and being the hands-down best aspect of the 2010 "Nightmare on Elm Street" remake.
Recommended SPF: 25. Cassidy has some real talent, and the looks to back it. It would be a shame if she doesn't break out of the 'Scream Queen' pattern that's already in effect.
7.1 023. Kat Dennings
Born: 6/13/86
Best Known For: Playing Catherine Keener's smart-mouth daughter, Marla, in "40 Year-old Virgin".
Recommende SPF: After a handful of small projects in recent years, Dennings is about to receive some big exposure in next year's "Thor". Much remains to be proven though, and an SPF 15 should do the trick.
Xanadon't's rating:
7.6 024. Amber Heard
7.6 025. Amanda Seyfried
7.2 026. Michelle Trachtenberg
7.5 027. Anna Kendrick
7.5 028. Carey Mulligan
7.5 029. Emile Hirsch
6.6 030. Shia LaBeouf
People who voted for this also voted for
More lists from Xanadon't
Posted: 3 years, 9 months ago at Nov 25 5:20
i agree with u entirely. but how about elle fanning and andrew garfield?
Posted: 3 years, 9 months ago at Nov 25 5:45
Interesting list. I like how you wrote nothing for Shia. Heh.
I expect failure for the Fright Night remake. Also perhaps for the Perks adaptation (which definitely won't live up to the book).
I expect failure for the Fright Night remake. Also perhaps for the Perks adaptation (which definitely won't live up to the book).
Posted: 3 years, 9 months ago at Nov 25 12:09
@ sim7-- Thanks. I wanted elle fanning, but couldn't find a pic of her wearing sunglasses... Andrew Garfield is a good call too, but would be a full 2 years older than anyone else on the list....
@ giraffe-- thank you. Yeah, wasn't big on "Fight Night" in the first place, so not terribly concerned about how the remake goes. "Walflower" however could make a great coming of age drama if handled well. But yeah, the book set a pretty high bar. But I guess that why people adapt them into film... unless they're Twilight books.
@ giraffe-- thank you. Yeah, wasn't big on "Fight Night" in the first place, so not terribly concerned about how the remake goes. "Walflower" however could make a great coming of age drama if handled well. But yeah, the book set a pretty high bar. But I guess that why people adapt them into film... unless they're Twilight books.
Posted: 3 years, 7 months ago at Jan 17 21:45
Very nice idea. Good job ;)
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Event Home Page | Register | Program | Speakers
Locations and Hotel Information | Host Committee | Sponsors
Tickets and Sponsorship Opportunities
This year we are excited to offer Intellectual Entrepreneur Sponsorships where you can contribute to the efforts of sending a new and upcoming think tank leader to Liberty Forum and Freedom Dinner! Below you will find each Intellectual Entrepreneur that you choose from, divided into region. Your contributions will go towards travel, accommodation and event expenses of the Intellectual Entrepreneur of your choosing. When you are registering for the event, you are given the option of which Intellectual Entrepreneur you would like to sponsor and a dollar amount. If you have any questions, please contact Erin Grant at firstname.lastname@example.com or call 202.449.8444.
Latin America | Europe | Africa
North America | Middle East
Asia and Pacific
Gisele Dutheuil, l'Audace Institut Afrique, Ivory Coast
Aged 45 years, french, with degrees in law and communication, she is a founding member and director of Audace Institut Afrique (AIA), a liberal think tank based in Ivory Coast. She strongly defends the thesis that Africa has the potential to grow on basis of a liberal politics and that African intellectuals have an important role to play in this process. Through AIA, she works to promote freedoms, individual rights, democracy and peace by thought. She is also author of children's books.
Olumayowa Okediran, African Liberty Students Organization, Nigeria
Olumayowa Okediran is a dynamic Nigerian with a passion for a positive shift towards a freer economic system in Africa. He is convinced that the development of Africa hinges on the endorsement of capitalism, respect for the rule of law and individual liberty.
He is co-initiator of the first pro-liberty students' organization in Nigeria – the African Liberty Students Organization (ALSO) which is now present in several African countries. He is also Outreach Assistant, African Liberty Students Organization – Headquarters, where he assists the Director of Outreach/Publisher, AfricanLiberty.org on outreach initiative on campuses across Africa.


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Uganda and Children and young people
- Capital:
- Population:
- Size:
Check the most recent online additions, updated daily.
Content from selected partners can be found by following the relevant links in the central panel below - or check out our editor's selection of the best sector specific information from other websites.
- The BLDS children & young people collection
- Search for the latest children & young people-related print documents on this country from the British Library for Development Studies collection
- Self-reported drunkenness among adolescents in four sub-Saharan African countries: associations with adverse childhood experiences
- African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya, 2010
- Consumption of alcohol is associated with acute and chronic adverse health outcomes. There is a paucity of studies that explore the determinants of alcohol use among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa and, in particular, that examine t...
- Male youth and voluntary counseling and HIV-Testing (VCT): the case of Uganda and Malawi
- C. Izugbara; C. Undie; N. Mudege; A. Ezeh / African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya, 2009
- Voluntary Counseling and HIV-Testing (VCT) is defined as a process by which an individual undergoes counseling, enabling him or her to make an informed choice about being tested. Focusing on Uganda and Malawi, two of the world's...
- Urbanization and education in East Africa
- M. Oketch (ed); M.W. Ngware (ed) / African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya, 2012
- The objective of this book is to pull together contributions on how education provision is affected by the rapid urbanization and to highlight the practice and policy gaps in the education of those who live in the urban areas. It is a...
- East Africa Quality in Early Learning (EAQEL): impact evaluation report
- African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya, 2012
- This is an impact assessment report of an independent evaluation of the Aga Khan Foundation's (AKF) East African Quality in Early Learning (EAQEL) initiative to determine whether the initiative improves learning outcomes in the ...
- Social protection for the poorest in Africa compedium of papers presented during the International Conference on Social Protection, 2008
- 2008
- Conference proceedings from the International Conference on Social Protection, Uganda, 8th-10th September 2008. Papers cover: social protection design programmes social protection, vulnerability and right...
- Changing Patterns of Access to Education in Anglophone and Francophone Countries in Sub Saharan Africa: Is Education for All Pro-Poor?
- K.M. Lewin / Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity, 2011
- This paper explores patterns of growth in participation in six Anglophone and seven Francophone countries in SSA with Universal Primary Education programmes. The results show that progress has been patchy and sometimes disappointing. ...
- Physical and sexual violence is associated with multiple adverse health behaviours
- D. W. Brown; L. Riley; A. Butchart / Bulletin of the World Health Organization : the International Journal of Public Health, 2009
- This article, published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, examines associations between exposure to physical violence (PV) or sexual violence (SV) and adverse health behaviours among a sample of children in five Africa...
- How to choose a vocation based on market demand – a guide for youth
- K. Bidwell; C. Galbraith; L. Haddad / Women's Refugee Commission, 2008
- Vocational training is at the intersection of economic recovery, education and rehabilitation and reintegration. It is uniquely positioned to meet the demands of youth and broader goals of economic reconstruction in post-conflict area...
- How effectively do National Plans of Action address the needs of the youngest orphans and vulnerable children?
- P. Engle / Bernard van Leer Foundation, 2008
- Although it is recognised that the focus of support must be on all children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS, including those living with sick parents or in extreme poverty, the youngest are often invisible to programme planners, despi...
- Voices from children and youth abducted by the LRA, Uganda
- V. Chrobok; A.S. Akutu; L Dowdney (ed) / Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, 2008
- In the course of the 21-year armed conflict between the government of Uganda and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), in northern Uganda, thousands of children and youth have been abducted by the LRA and forced to participate in viol...
- Raising Voices
- Preventing violence against women and children
- African Friends in Need Network (AFINNET)
- Uganda based Christian organisation working to promote rural community development initiatives
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November 17th, 2012Beer and travel, Real Ale
The planes have long blazed across the hazy horizon and we follow their sky trails as we descent into moorland. The landscape is littered with shake holes and marshy ponds who scoff at the lacklustre heat of the second day of summer. It's a strange world of ochre, brown and hidden drops into darkness, a barren natural landscape pitted with the dormant pillage of man.
Soon we're back below 300 metres above sea level, trudging through the well quarried landscape under the intensifying heat of a determined sun. The stony path can't decide if it's heading uphill or downhill but gradually it aches its way lower, two steps forward, one step back.
We have to take respite in Greg's Hut, a renovated stone shelter where we find rabbit hutches, camping gear and prayer sheets in what we assume to be an Arabic script. Yes it's an odd little hut. The guestbook attests to people having sheltered here only days before from torrential wind and rain. It's a stark reminder that the Pennine Way isn't always just a majestic wander between pubs.
It's here we survey the map, calculating our ETAP (Estimated Time of Arrival at Pub), little knowing our frothy pints and plumped up beds are separated by endless miles of grouse country. It'll be hours before we see a beer at Alston.
My makeshift sun parasol has exhausted my arms (it's not easy walking whilst holding a folded Ordnance Survey map wrapped in a plastic map case above your head at just the right angle to block the sun). And just as the Way starts to get us down, we hit Corpse Road, a hard under foot lane that leads does into a glistening valley. The descent reveals a church spire and a long string of cottages glowing in the sunshine. Hello Garrigill! And there, overlooking a triangle of green land between the forks of the road, perfectly timed and with plenty of shade, The George & Dragon.
It had better be open…Tags: pennine way
November 5th, 2012Beer and travel
Morning in Dufton is heavenly. Soft light glistens on the village green, the distant hills are misty, and the birds seemingly haven't slept, instead devoting every moment, dark or light, to their celestial symphonies.
No wonder it's called the Vale of Eden. And the prospect of exploring Cumbria's fertile land spurs us to leave Dufton. That and the unenviable comfort of youth hostel bedding…
Within minutes of joining the Way we're surrounded on all sides by undulating fields of faultless farmland dressed in a glorious, consistent green. The land is all one hue, the only difference in colour between fields achieved by the sun that dances on the curvatures of the land. Nature creates art with the shadows of millions of blades of grass, a silent spectacle unfolding beneath a cloudless sky.
As we rise above Cosca Hill, fresh faced and glad we didn't win a week's worth of beer at the quiz the previous night, the terrain dissolves into the no man's land between moor and field; trees thin out, streams narrow, and hedgerows give way to the resilience of reeds and gorse. Greenery darkens, the sun rises towards its late morning perch above the verdant cone of Dufton Pike. Against a dull hill the rigid blue sky is speckled with ever watchful radomes bouncing radio waves against passenger planes in the sky.
This eerie place sits 1000 feet above Dufton. It's a tough climb for the first day, and our route avoids the curiously new road surface that curves up towards the heavenly looking golf balls. Just to spite us, the detour naturally involves the circumnavigation of a disused quarry shaft, appropriately named 'Dunfell Hush' which is exactly the sounds of falling down it when miles away from another living creature. Luckily we skip over any hidden mine shafts and the path pop us right up against the radomes. The spooky spheres are less angelic up close, coloured in roughly with worn-off white and sat atop windowless square boxes that looks like they'd blow away in a gentle gust. They look less airport security and more hideout for mad scientists trying to create a real life Day of the Triffids. On the cheap.
We're not halfway done for the day but lunch is calling. The afternoon trek towards our hostel seems an age away. We can't even begin to think of a pub yet…
Our lunch stop marks the tallest part of the entire Pennine Way so far, surpassing the more foreboding features of even the Three Peaks of Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen Y Ghent. Cross Fell's summit roars with wind and we join two southbound walkers sheltering behind the meagre walls of its dry stone cairn. The air is pregnant with cold and hot air which sweeps along the inclines of the fell and gives birth to the Helm Bar, an innocuous enough looking line of cloud that rustles the winds into a turbulent force of nature. They say Cross Fell is named for the typical English meaning of the words – think angry, grumpy wind demon sitting atop a desolate fell trying to keep pesky explorers away. "I don't care how windy it is, it's MY fell!"
Suddenly two fighter jets accelerate cloud wards over nearby Dun Fell, so low against the brow of the hill that we could pluck the pilots faces out of a police line up. But even the power and noise of their twin jet engines fails to out muster the Helm Wind which sweeps across the tops and batters us into the cold hard discomfort of the shelter walls.
Along with our fellow explorers we re-gather our strengths – bananas, dried apricots, Mars Bars, cheese and pickle sandwiches consumed via osmosis in the teasing gaps when the wind doesn't batter us blue. Even without our lunch the views from our lofty plateau lift us – a panorama of vale and fell in equal measure spreads out for miles below. From this vantage point we can track the wandering of smoke from distant factories which cloud the view towards the peaks of the eastern line of the Lake District.
We rise and turn into the wind, and very soon lunch seems insufficient and a pint seems unimaginably far away.Tags: alston, dufton, pennine way
September 11th, 2012Beer and travel
(…or 'How to lose pub quizzes and alienate local people')
Appleby and it's border of police tape falls behind us, but the sun is relentless. It pours from an open sky, an azure coloured two fingers raised up to the sun cream at the bottom of my pack. And the sunglasses that sit forgotten in my man drawer at home. The man drawer on which sits one of the three copies of OL31 that should be guiding us towards Dufton.
Sitting a few miles north of Appleby, Dufton's loudest residents are the songbirds that flutter and sing each evening as they perform their nesting rituals and celebrate another day in Cumbrian paradise. We're in no rush as we amble forwards – the hostel won't open until after five o'clock, the sun is out, and The Stag Inn is open 'til late. What could go wrong?
Mud is what could go wrong.
Under oppressive heat (not helped by hastily repacked rucksacks) we precipitate rather than perspire, and it's not pretty. In the distance Pennine hills glimmer like a Saharan horizon rather than the northern countryside. Two pints to lubricate the short walk soon seem like a bad idea…
But despite the rousing display of solar prowess it's not long before our pleasant lane becomes a narrow bog of brown sludge stretching from the fences that hem us in. Despite the hottest day of the year so far, the long trail ahead is cloaked in a slimy foot-deep puddle of danger.
"Some walk in the park this turned out to be!"
Taunts directed at my father – whose idea this whole thing was – are short lived. Mid-sentence I navigate a rocky outcrop sticking up from the mud like a mischevious iceberg, an iceberg hiding a sea of stones and pain and soggy brown shorts should I hit the deck.
And promptly I lose balance, spin under the weight of my pack and frantically grab thin air with one hand, whilst conducting a wild balancing action with the other that would have an orchestra dropping their instruments. Flapping and wobbling, my hand meets a solitary wafer thin branch and somehow I piroutte to safety. Phew.
And then I realise my right shoulder doesn't seem to have stopped moving. That's because my right foot seems to be sinking beneath me into a world of mud. Another branch comes to the rescue but this one is decorated with thorns the size of pint glasses. I look up, still sinking, just as John wobbles along the hedgerow cursing the red liquid also trickling down his arm.
It couldn't get much worse, right? There's no way that the powers that be would punish us by making us circumnavigate impassable mud flats lined with sharp as nails bramble in dehydrating sunshine and then throw us delirious into a steep sided forest of blood sucking insects clearly starved and awaiting their first feed of the summer? No, there's obviously no-one up above because that would just be pure evil.
We're not even on the Pennine Way yet and we're caked in mud, sweat, blood and bites. I mutter something that starts with 'f' and ends in 'idiot dad' as I watch the mud rise above my ankle yet again.
But an hour later the orienteering is soon forgotten as we sip our first pint at The Stag Inn. Mud, midge and map woes are long washed away with a hot shower and a cold beer. Food barely touches the sides, cool pints of Cumbrian pale ale wipe the memories clean from view. Before long dusk fills the beer garden, the village green glints and glows in the lowering sunlight, and avian evensong is the only thing stopping us retiring for a sensible rest in preparation for tomorrow's twenty mile hike to start leg 4 of 5 proper.
"Trust you'll be in the pub quiz?" an over enthusiastic voice breaks the magical spell. Wide eyed and under the influence of buxom smiles we nod obediently and throw a clutch of pound coins towards the pint glass thrust towards us. "But don't win, eh?! The locals won't like it."
Four pints later, having navigated the thorny inquisition of Dufton's premier quiz master, that voice pierces the calm again.
"Pennine Wanderers? Pennine WAN-DER-ER-ERS please?!"
Isn't that us?!
"You're in the tie break lovelies If you win you get to pick next weeks quiz master And you'll win a round of beer for the night There's just one question It's DEAD easy Immediate answer please No dilly dallying The other teams already answered so I'll crack straight on… How many bones in the human body?"Tags: appleby, cumbria, dufton, pennine way, pub quiz
August 30th, 2012Beer and travel
We practically roll down the sharp hill into Appleby, and with only a few miles stroll to tomorrow's starting point at Dufton, buoyed by sunshine and the freedom of not being office-bound on a Thursday afternoon, we simultaneously chirp "Pub?".
(The question mark completely unnecessary).
Soon a pint of lager in a glass of condensation glistens in my hand – a pint of smooth looks gloomy in John's. Someone hit the on switch of summer and our backpacks stare back at using the afternoon heat, looking heavier than when they were frugally packed last night.
On the benches outside the Hare & Hounds red-faced locals soak up sunshine with Stellas. From our shady window seat we opt against sweating our energy away before we've even started walking, instead studying the walls which bustle with a sepia tinted history of Appleby Fair in photographs.
In a sun faded golden frame a young man stares defiantly at anyone who'll look, legs akimbo on a well worked filly, bedraggled after stomping through the river. Each year the gypsy and travelling community swarm to this little town on the edge of Cumbria, and next week they come again. From Ireland to Estonia caravans roll along the A and B roads towards Westmorland. Since the nineteenth century Appleby has been a Romany mecca, though horses have been washed and traded here since a Royal Charter of 1685.
A little later, and only a little tipsy, we cross the very same river and tread its banks, taking in the calm before next week's storm. 'Do Not Park' police tape, only just yellow, loops over hedges and gates that straddle the winding road towards the outskirts, towards Fair Hill, the temporary home to the revellers. A man scrawls 'No Parking' on his driveway in chalk, looks up and celebrates the cloudless sky, and pulls plant pots closer to his porch.
We leave the quiet of Appleby discussing our jobs, our recent adventures and the route ahead. The drinkers at the Hare & Hounds raise a glass to sweaty brows and discuss fairs gone by, and the spiritual diaspora that rumbles slowly towards them.Tags: appleby, cumbria, hare & hounds, pennine way, romany, stella
OL311August 29th, 2012Beer and travel
It's not like this trip wasn't planned in advance. It's year four of five, day sixteen of twenty four. We booked the rooms six weeks ago. Without much thought or effort I could have procured all the necessary equipment, accoessiries and maps at any point in the last four years, when this Pennine adventure began.
So why am I crouched, at 12.39, on platform 5C, arms flailing in and out of my rucksack, clothes tangled in a blizzard of futile prayer to St Stephen, desperately, frantically searching for Outdoor Leisure 31 (North Pennines) as the far more prepared passengers (that is the rest of the passengers) aboard the 1245 Leeds to Carlisle service.
Of course the map that will get us to this years starting point – the short walk from Appleby to Dufton – is at home (specifically one copy is on the arm of the sofa where the cat sleeps, whilst one copy is on the bookshelf in the spare room. A third is in an envelope ready to be posted back to a forgiving Amazon bookseller after I over ordered). It's the only map in the world that I own three times and it's the only one that eludes me as the train guard prepares his whistle and flag. Sometimes I don't know how I've managed to get to twenty eight years old…
The driver fires the train up ready for it's ponderous trek through Shipley, Saltaire, Settle and Kirkby Stephen. Soon radiant sunshine pours over the ethereal moorland below Ribblehead Viaduct and the entire carriage of tourists climbs out of real life for a moment to appreciate the beautiful landscape that the Settle-Carlisle line navigates through.
For once mist doesn't obscure the views northwards, towards the unmarked graves of navvies who laid the huge pieces of rock supporting the track nor southbound, towards Leeds and my now redundant trio of maps.
The sun is bright and the view from our 22-arch vantage point prompts a blooming of SLRs from surrepritious camera bags. Lenses are detached and reattached to a theme tune of oohs and aahs and pointing fingers. No-one, not even the cynics, even contemplates the inevitable disappointment of realising viaducts are best viewed when not on top of them.
I'm still restlessly, hopelessly poking around in my bag for the elusive map as we roll into Appleby mid-afternoon. (At one point I'd caught a sprig of the familiar Ordnance Survey orange as we flew past Ruswarp's statue at Dent, the UK's loftiest mainland station; but it was a false call: we don't need OL42 until Monday, and even then it's only for the last short slog into Bellingham, 58.5 miles away from us along the Pennine Way).
"At least our sun cream and shades will come in useful" Dad offers as we tumble towards Appleby town centre under an eager sun.
Oh balls…Tags: appleby, dufton, ordnance survey, pennine way
July 7th, 2011Beer and travel
The Tees meanders along lush meadow-land; arctic flowers survive on its banks seeded from descendants that saw the last ice age, back when the river was first cutting its way over the igneous rock of Whin Sill.
Sweeping meadows peppered yellow, white and purple are slowly thinned as the terrain becomes rockier under foot. The wide meadow path becomes a narrow trail, rising, falling and twisting as the countryside morphs from arable to uncultivated.
Low Force, a series a low level marauding rapids feels more like the Canadian wilderness than somewhere north of Yorkshire: tall dark evergreens and bare slippery rocks are in abundance; the scenery lacks only growling bears waiting for leaping salmon. There's even a creaking rope bridge hanging over the gorge that the falls have carved behind them. Is this Indiana Jones country or county Durham?!
Our goal was Langdon Beck, where we're told a weekend beer festival lies. It's the shortest walk of the entire trek at just 7 miles. A veritable walk in the park.
In fact, it was indeed a walk in a park, a nature reserve park to be specific. With no rain, gentle sunshine and spectacular scenery, it soon became the slowest 7 miles on the Way too.
It didn't start quite so easy though: within ten minutes of leaving our muddy legacy at the hotel door we faced not only that rain that soaks you right through, but a bull that might just have speared us right through too. Our track record with cows in fields was dubious and we quickly hopped the dry stone wall and skirted the young calves. Naturally we had to face barbed wire to get back on the Way, but our reward for surviving the bovine threat was two hours of cascading waterfalls and breathtaking views.
High Force is every bit as surprising as the North American scenery: falling from its igneous bedrock into a limestone chasm, a lagoon of white spray that puts the fear of god into parent's picnicking with their little rascals. Teetering on the edge is no place for men with rucksacks fighting their balance against a mischievous breeze.
Continuing along the Tees we quickly descend from Appalachian grandeur to mining outback. A quarry on the river bank opposite us; on our side the wide flood plain sitting below windswept moorland and facing the wind of Sauran or Saruman; think Total Recall just less red and colder. No sooner than we'd got used to the extreme gusts and we're over the tops and rejoining the curves of the river a few twists and turns upstream. Jekyll and Hyde strikes again, and we're back in luscious meadows and low lying farmland and … calm.
A day of contrasting landscapes ends at Langdon Beck, and yes, they do have a beer festival on. The Langdon Beck hotel houses a geological room (amongst other quirks), a perfectly quaint setting to sit down, mull over the days landscapes and sample as many halves as the afternoon allows.
Imbibed we amble away at 6pm to home cooked food and a wide selection of bottled Allendale beers. The youth hostel is as busy as the pub and we nestle into the evening, reading, reflecting, listening to the lapwings swooping and flirting through the silent countryside.
More photos at: http://flickr.com/photos/fletchthemonkeyTags: langdon beck hotel, pennine way, teesdale
June 22nd, 2011Beer and travel, Pubs & bars
So the hotel didn't have a drying room, and in a half hearted tantrum of half hearted petulance we walked up the stairs and threw the muddy boots and soggy packs vaguely towards the radiator under a completely inadequate layer of quality drying paper. Or the hotel welcome brochure as it may or may not have been.
It was one of those provincial hotels, smart and classy from the outside, but inside brimming with big-fish-in-a-small-pond syndrome. Antiquated decor, about as aesthetically pleasing as a pair of shabby walkers stepping in from the rain, couldn't paper over the hollow product offering and hi-falutin' charm, nor stop the building creaking under its own despairing inability to embrace the modern world.
Well at least we could look forward to a beer and the Champions League final, eh?
If they had have had a drying room I'd have swapped it for a reasonably sized telly in an instant. I'd have probably traded in the rain cover plus my new and flashy laminated OS map if they could guarantee Sky coverage…
Low and behold, no footy, not even ITV, plus an uninspiring beer selection. Great. We headed out to find food.
The chippy seems crawling with snarling boys and girls in woolly training pants and hip-hop zip-ups, the males greasy and the fairer sex not much different (or fairer), oozing slightly more perfume and modelling marginally longer hair.
The local bar/bistro was empty; the local pub described to us as a veritable den of iniquity. We saw the snarling youths head off in that direction jettisoning chips and curry sauce in their wake and ruled the pub out.
Unprepared to give up on football, but increasingly concerned that the night would be spent sitting in our shabby hotel room, we slip into an unassuming cafe advertising evening meals, hoping to fill our bellies and devise a plan for beating the odds of missing the biggest match of the season.
A beaming smile greets us; our host, the owner, proudly shows off her continental beer selection. There's a feisty glint in her eye and a warming grin when we order lagers and ask for menus
Cold beers arrive slopping on the table; specials on the board are recited with a smile. "My husband might be bringing the telly down for the match in a bit" she announces.
We ask for a tab.
Two hours later, robust, fatty meals devoured, port and cheese and bread and butter pudding accepted eagerly, and the cafe is bursting at the seams; in one corner a romantic meal for two couples (the women had arrived early and ensured the blokes would have their backs to the screen, every other customer in on the joke and waiting for the look on their faces when they arrived); at the bar two friends who'd tried half of every beer at a local beer festival (which just so happened to be located at the village we planned to stay at the next evening, what luck!); an assortment of friends and couples vying for the 'fancy Japanese lager' and the attentions of various members of the opposite sex; and even at various points dog walkers rounded up with shouts out the door and convinced to nip in for a coffee, a hot chocolate or a perfectly chilled pint.
And us, perched at the back thoroughly engrossed in the magnetic whirlwind of Lionel Messi. Joined by the owner's father, a Nottingham-lad born and bred, we spend the evening coining increasingly dramatic cooings at each graceful twist and pivot of Barcelona's talismanic midfielder, and 'Ooo' at every completed pass from his comrades in attack.
The cafe is alive, welcoming and entertaining. We're part of the fabric of the evening; we're embraced, entertained, well fed and gratefully watered, and presented with a remarkably inexpensive bill as we rise early to sleep off the evenings excesses.
Behind us a homely din emanates from the cafe, a hub of life and love and laughter. It's exactly what the local pub should be, and for one evening we glimpse the real soul of someone's community.
Strange how the best pub evening on The Way was found in a cafe in Teesdale.Tags: cafe, pennine way, Pubs & bars
June 14th, 2011Beer and travel
"By my calculations we'll reach Tan Hill Inn at… Oh. 11.15. Shit."
Best laid plans for lunch and beer at England's highest inn are scuppered, because it's a 22 mile day and we're keen to arrive at Middleton in time to watch Messi & co in the Champions League final. An 11 o'clock pint stop probably isn't the best way to ensure safe passage over some of England's most remote and boggy moors.
It's a freezing Saturday and gloomy too. Keld and Swaledale are covered in mist as we rise above them past swelling waterfalls and dull sheep pastures. It's 9am and there is no sign of yesterday's resurgent sun.
Through the rain we can't see much of the small uninhabited valleys; the electric squawk of the curlews only serves to reiterate our isolation from all but nature and ruined limestone barns.
By 10.23 we're crossing on the most northerly roads in Yorkshire. This is Tan Hill and its famous inn, the highest public house above sea level in England. We stop all too briefly to change the map in the porch – awkwardly our next 4 miles takes us along the cusp of OS Explorer OL30 and my folding abilities are tested to the max (if there's a record for 'getting in the way of a busy public entrance' then my ineptness at folding an Ordnance Survey into a plastic map protector broke it with ease).
Tan Hill Inn is buzzing with stretching residents and sweating passersby: a motorcycle club, a cycle race and pursuers of various water sport activities are filling up with caffeine or stopping for glucose.
Reluctantly we walk on leaving England's most remote public house to cross one of England's remotest moors. Strangely, the next hour is a surreal march against hundreds of spinning wheels and dazzling leotards as weekend cyclists make the most of the mild weather racing conditions.
To our left, due north, Sleightholme Moor stretches out as far as the eye can see, boggy and unkempt. In the distance, cars barely move along the A66 which we pass under later in the afternoon. It's a wilderness, the only signs of human interference the stone tracks, occasional cairn and sporadic grouse butts. Oh and of course the moors themselves: man-made but forgotten by all but conservationists and game shooters. Leggy heather dominates the landscape. Small patches are burnt to the ground to allow new growth; the result appears as a strange lunar desert in a parallel universe where it was once occupied but left in a hurry.
The moorland gets to your after a while, so much so on a brief foray into arable enclosures we lose the trail whilst thinking about our stomachs. Lunch is devoured on uncomfortable stones and thistles and straight after we soon come to a dead end: a gorging river on one side and a sheer cliff face on the other. Ahead a farm behind barbed wire. The compass suggests that the only option is the cliff. Cue a hands and knees scramble 60 feet to the top. Our packs suddenly feel heavy.
At the top of the cliff dirty hands have to deal with unavoidable barbed fencing that separates us from the comfort blanket of Pennine Way way markers, so over we go and somehow avoid falling backwards to an undignified end.
Some hours later we've finally crossed the caravan-laden A66 (much less glamorous than its American namesake). We're rising to the moors final test, another 600m above sea level from yet another valley bottom. Every mile represents two in this part of the world thanks to the terrain and the weather. The Way becomes non-existent and we keep on the trail only by recognising the thin black lines that represent walls and fields on the map. Bog takes over, boots start to feel damp. The entire sky disappears under deep charcoal clouds.
It rains for the next hour and the bog becomes marsh for much of the long slog over Bowes. Welcome to Durham County. For some reason I'm find myself adapting Bruce Springsteen lyrics for the Pennine Way. The moors will do this sort of thing to you…
We've done perhaps 13 miles already and still ahead of us are the first of the Northumberland reservoirs. Then we hit surprise sunshine and a glorious plush valley picture perfect as if waiting to become a Nikki Corker postcard. Hannah's meadow is here, once home of Hannah Hauxwell, the daughter of the Dales. We pass nature reserves, farmland and meadows, but still there's 6 miles to go until Teesdale and more hills to test our legs. Football and beer seem like a promise that the day never intended to keep.
At last though, dizzy with fatigue the final few hundred feet are climbed and Teesdale opens up below, Middleton in the middle and windy meadows everywhere in-between.
Not content to let the terrain have all the fun, huge clouds are edging through the valley on the prevailing wind, with wisps of raindrop-heavy mist below, acting as the infantry to the cavalry above.
We're for another soaking and can only hope that the hotel has a drying room and decent beer. Talk about tempting fate…
More photos at http://flickr.com/photos/fletchthemonkeyTags: keld, Moor, pennine way, teesdale
June 9th, 2011Beer and travel
Day one starts with meadows and gentle fields punctuated with the endless curves of streams on ox-bow trajectories, and meandering roads that leave Hawes for the far corners of Wensleydale. Farmland gives way to sheep enclosures; muddy tracks give way to open access boundaries. Before long the gentle slope matures into the lekking grounds of High Abbotside, and the steep and rocky ascent of Great Shunner Fell.
At 1,000 feet the heavy sky suddenly seems closer, but grouse are nowhere to be seen. At fifteen hundred feet the pregnant clouds are voluptuous and imposing, rubbing up against the rising landscape with contempt. And the grouse are still hiding.
At 2,000 feet Wensleydale is a green corner of a skyline dominated by swathes of brown gaming moorland. Once barren moors – restored to full health by private ownership and dedication – weigh down the hill; hills that would be rugged if they weren't so smoothly carved by glaciers and weather.
Suddenly, atop the fell, the winds change and we're treated to a chilling breeze for elevenses. The legions of clouds become agitated; they maraud above us, a snail's pace juggernaut oblivious to the dales beneath.
After a gloomy morning's climb Great Shunner is defeated; the reward is the northward descent, a landscape of Tolkien proportions. Turner could paint a scene of a thousand blues and browns; Hockney might emphasise the startling definition between the skyline that hugs the endless horizon of moss and grass.
By afternoon we've descended from Middle Earth into the Shire via rocky tributary lanes towards the dormant village of Thwaite and past the ancient farm outhouses of Swaledale along paths strewn with rabbit corpses.
Soon we're above the valley again, following the snaking path of the Swale. From our vantage point the history of the river is laid bare – every stealthy, eroding year, every rock that was too strong for the youthful water. The valley floor is an ancient wandering nomad's paradise, and pondering the distinct lack of civilisation the sun wins its battle o'er cloud. We have no need to settle near the banks of the Swale, we have tea in a flask and Mars bars saved from lunch. We roll the rain covers away in a burst of afternoon optimism.
Out of the blue we see a pheasant stag poking its head vigorously through the shallow foliage, in a small edge of forest clinging by the scruff of its trunks to the hillside. Iridescent in the sun and unmistakable, he is joined by a shy hen and there rituals are watched by a small flock of seemingly amused sheep.
The sky suddenly creaks and groans. It can't be thunder, why did we pack the covers away? But then no, its an engine, a plane surely? We look up and there's nothing but clear blue sky, before, in a flurry of menancing power and bravado, a dark green winged machine bursts through the valley, taunting gravity, wings perpendicular to sea-level. Its whoosh is gone almost as soon as it appeared but for a few seconds Swaledale reverberates and then… silence. The valley seems even quieter than it was before.
The brute force of the plane is in stark contrast to the most graceful of grouse, swooning out of the sky and gliding towards Keld. It's a secret view, looking down on a bird flying, and a rare easily-spooked bird to boot. Grateful we trudge on in its wake. "Keld must be just around this corner".
Five or six corners and a few miles later the small and, until recently, dry town pops into view behind green and luscious fields.
At Keld Lodge, responsible for the village's new found alcohol license, curried banana soup is ordered for starters, with lamb to dine on. 40 winks before tea, then a sneaky pint to whet the appetite (as if 12 and three quarter miles across varied altitudes and unruly terrain wasn't enough).
The soup does what it says on the tin: banana + curry sauce. Pilsner Urquell and bread substitute for the fish shop chips that might have been the perfect accompaniment, whilst Black Sheep bitter washes down local meat and potatoes. After tea we retire to the drinking room with pints of Riggwelter, a sleeping potion for walkers crafted from the finest fruitcake and chocolate Horlicks.
Nodding off we count our blessings as three groups of Coast to Coast walkers share tales of horrendous conditions in the Lakes a few days ago: ferocious winds, men lifted off the ground, couples on cliff edges and roads closed to flooding.
As we cradle our nightcaps the Pennine Way seems a doddle. And then we remember that the following day is a 22 miler….
More photos soon at http://flickr.com/photos/fletchthemonkeyTags: hawes, keld, pennine way, swaledale, wensleydale
June 7th, 2011Beer and travel
The curlews at Garsdale Station welcomed us with real razzmatazz, presumably well aware of the impending downpour that hit the station just as soon as the train had dropped us on the platform and disappeared around the bend towards Kirkby Stephen.
We hadn't expected to use the built-in raincovers on our rucksacks quite so soon, at least not until the next morning when we were due to start walking. But Mother Nature was determined to give us a taste of things to come…
It's year three of a five year plan to conquer the Pennine Way with my Dad, breaking the 20 day trek into five stages of four days each. And stood in the rain we reflected on how glad we were to not be able to take 20 days off work to walk The Way in one sitting.
We're heading for Hawes, the small Yorkshire market town where we finished last years leg: Garsdale is the nearest stop by rail, 6 miles down the winding A664 that links Cumbria with Wensleydale.
It's here we meet Raymond, a lifelong railwayman from the heart of the Dales. He turned out to be a lucky charm – we waited an hour for one of the two scheduled bus services before a clocking-off signalman took pity on Raymond and us and dropped us into town on his way home.
Hair dried and spirits warmed with hot tea, we head out into Hawes for the evening. We cross the Ure, hidden between thin stone houses and the narrow one way loop that bridges the fast moving water.
First stop is the the Crown. Dripping pints of Old Peculiar straight from a fresh cask brimming with rich plum tart and apple fudge are an olfactory flashback to the places we've visited along the way so far, of windswept trails, muddy boots and welcoming pubs.
We avoid Raymond's local, partly from choice but mostly because the White Hart is shut down and for sale, and I felt a pang of guilt for not being too surprised.
Next stop is Chaste, a small ever-evolving bistro in the heart of the town. Since last year Belgian beers have made their way onto the inventive menu and Pilsner Urquell adorns the bar, and so it was that Chimay Red accompanied our grilled chicken dishes.
7% beers were unsustainable the night before attacking Great Shunner Fell, the highest part of The Way above sea level so far. So Pilsner Urquell – lacking some of its usual herbaceous aroma – helped fill the hole that abstinence from desserts left.
Two pints later and we're talking to the only simultaneous winner of the J. Sleightholme Trophy For Largest Cod and the Dr King Cup For Other Fish, a feat not rivalled since 1984/5. The Fountain is a drinking pub compared to the pastel-coloured gentrification of the Crown, but fishing hasn't been on the cards since the turn of the millennium.
It's Black Sheep not Theakston's now, a which-one-will-it-be lottery that you have to get used too pretty quickly in the Dales. But for our sins were drinking very cloudy and poorly poured Blue Moon followed by crisp pints of Copper Dragon Conqueror – freshly nosed and quenching.
The crowd gets younger and the bottles of Becks are starting to dominate the empties on the bar. Luckily the juke box hasn't come to life yet, though by the looks of its age it's more comfortable with rock and roll than the dub step that the youngsters are reciting in the corner. Seconds from announcing retirement to the B&B Dad throws the gauntlet down with a last gasp round. Two pints of something else hit the beer-drenched bar towel; was it Black Sheep bitter, or perhaps an Old Peculiar nightcap?
Bending down to tie our laces the next morning we both groan, perhaps a little in the way that my grandfather – dads dad – has perfected over the years.
"Shouldn't have had that last beer last night, should we?"
And with that we head for the high road and start the long slog up Great Shunner Fell. 6 pints down, just 4 evenings, 60 odd miles and god knows how many gradient lines to go…Tags: black sheep, Copper Dragon, hawes, pennine way, Theakstons, wensleydale


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FRANKFURT — Say what you will about the eurozone's quarreling policy makers. But they can claim at least one achievement during 2012: Their common currency still has a heartbeat.
A year ago, many people seriously doubted whether the euro would still exist by now. On the threshold of 2013, the debate is more about how long it will take for the eurozone economy to recover and what must be changed to avoid future crises.


text:
Opening Hours of Ncp National Car Parks Wembley, Wembley Park Station
1:, CRTelephone:, CCTV: Y. Car park features: credit card, CCTV, Manned.Additional information: This is a pay and display car park, Height restriction: 1.9m. Parking at this car park can be paid for using cash, credit & debit card. Please be aware that you may incur a 2.5 surcharge when paying for your parking with your credit card.
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Wasatch Range (South) > Spanish Fork Peak > Climber's Log
Spanish Fork Peak Climber's Log
[ Sign the Climber's Log ]
|Crowd Ridge
Date Climbed: Mar 6, 2010
|March 6, 2010 - Route Climbed: Crowd Ridge. The snow was crusted and punchy with sugar under the crust so we had to use snowshoes for the majority of the climb. Bit windy on the ridge, and foggy from the false summit to the true summit but the fog burned off a few mintues after we summitted. Took 5 hours 40 minutes to ascend.
Nov 7, 2009 - Route Climbed: Right Fork of Maple Canyon. Had the place to ourselves. Views from the top were great.
Aug 26, 2006 - Route Climbed: Right Fork of Maple Canyon. Not a lot of grande views until you are nearly at the peak. Saw bear scatt on the trail.
|Posted Jul 16, 2007 4:35 pm
|Maple Canyon
Date Climbed: Jul 14, 2007
|A hot day to do this hike but as a result I pretty much had the mountain to myself. I did meet two others who were returning from the summit as I was heading up. Tremendous views and a long hike of 12 miles and close to 5000 feet of elevation gain by the time all was said and done. Probably close to 90 on the summit. I needed all the water I carried, 4 liters.
|Posted Jul 15, 2007 10:22 am
|Right Fork
Date Climbed: Jun 9, 2007
|Up to two feet of snow in some places along the trail made for a long hike, but the weather and scenery made up for it.
|Posted Jun 10, 2007 2:51 pm
|Right Fork of Maple Canyon
Date Climbed: Jul 1, 2006
|This was the third time that I've climbed the mountain. It is a tough hike, in my opinion, tougher than Timp and Nebo. Although part of the reason is that each time I've hiked it I have started in the late afternoon. I need to hike this one sometime in the early morning.
|Posted Sep 12, 2006 5:25 pm
|route climbed: Right Fork of Maple Canyon
Date Climbed: Jun 20, 1987
|climbed this one with my brother, Eric. Took a swim in Maple Canyon Lake and enjoyed perfect weather on the summit. My 1963 VW bus' tranny broke while crossing Right Fork of Maple Canyon Creek on the way home - had to get a tow home.
|Posted Apr 6, 2006 5:39 am
|Route Climbed: Right Fork Maple Canyon Date Climbed: Oct 8, 2005
|I had the mountain to myself. I tricky mix of mud, slush, and hard packed snow made the trip interesting. Nice views thanks to the recent snow and fall colors.
|Posted Oct 8, 2005 5:26 pm
|Route Climbed: Crowd Ridge Date Climbed: March 2002
|Crowd Ridge is a good winter route.
|Posted Feb 27, 2005 7:22 pm
|Route Climbed: Right Fork of Maple Canyon Date Climbed: 6/17/2000
|It's a long hike, not nearly as scenic as Timp or Nebo, but worth doing at least once.
|Posted Dec 16, 2004 12:39 am


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Discover the Yellowstone River KIDs Activity Booklet$1.25Part of the popular Kids in Discovery series, the award-winning Discover the Yellowstone River activity booklet is packed with fun, hands-on activities that teach students about the geography, geology, biology, hydrology, regional history, and economics relating to this remarkable watershed. Learn More
Discover the Waters of Nebraska KIDs Activity Booklet$1.50Discover the Waters of Nebraska invites readers to spend a day as a Nebraskan farmer; to investigate a tornado through the story of storm researcher, Dr. Josh Wurman; to travel the "Flyway Highway" as a Sandhill Crane; or to photograph the state's "water wonders." Other topics include the Ogallala aquifer, Nebraska's 13 watersheds, wetlands, water history (e.g., glaciers, Native People, Lewis and Clark, windmills and the Dust Bowl) and the protection of the state's precious water resources. Discover the Waters of Nebraska is 24 pages filled with colorful, fun activities and stuff you just never knew about this amazing state. If you're not a "Cornhusker," you may want to become one after discovering Nebraska and its waters. Learn More
Discover the Red River KIDs Activity Booklet$1.25Filled with fast-moving activities that stimulate young minds in the areas of math, science and culture, it's a many-hued look at an amazing body of water. Learn More
Explore Oceans KIDs Activity Booklet$1.25Mysteries of the deep—such as why the ocean is blue and why it is salty—come to the surface in this splashy activity booklet. Learn More
Healthy Water, Healthy Rio activity booklet (PORTUGUESE), PDF EBOOK$0.99Colorful and engaging student activity booklet (printable PDF ebook) written for students in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Part of a four-piece module that includes a poster, a coloring book and an educators' guide. Learn More
Colorado River Watershed Map, PDF DOWNLOAD$4.95This 26" x 38" downloadable wall map of the Colorado River Watershed shows tributaries, water management infrastructure (dams, diversions, canals, pipelines and reservoirs), cities, reservations and national parks. Water allocation, population information and color photos included. Learn More
Discover a Watershed: The Watershed Manager Educators Guide, PDF EBOOK$19.95This downloadable guide contains 19 science-based, multidisciplinary activities that teach what a watershed is, how it works and why we must all consider ourselves watershed managers. Learn More


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