Another Dormouse & SpeedBump r*n.

Need I say more?

OK then, if you’re sitting comfortably, I’ll begin…

A dreary, wet Sunday morning saw a damp crowd gather for r*n 290 – Bitter’s 100th.  I don’t really know what happened after that – having left it too long for any real recollection.  I do, however remember the conditions on top of Whitbarrow Scar were akin to R*n 281 – the Saturday r*n on the October 2008 Kirkby Stephen weekend.  At low level, all was calm, misty & damp but relatively still.  On the top of Whitbarrow Scar was another story.  The trail was well marked but we couldn’t hear one another shouting OnOn then OnBack due to the horrendous conditions.  Thoughts were shared as to if any emergency response teams would bother to look for any missing people and dismiss the idea that anyone would be stupid enough to set off on such an expedition.  This said, there was a cake stop once we'd moved off the tops to a place where it was possible to congregate without being blown away - the only thing the hares had overlooked was the lack of heating and 'tea and coffee facilities' in the make-shift cafe :( Bakewell slices and carrot cake were exceedingly good (courtesy of Mr Kipling).

The extensive menu at the Gilpin Bridge Inn was spread over five of the six panel booklet-thing.  The sixth panel caused much entertainment:

The name of this humble establishment was acquired from Richard de Gylpin, a Norman Knight who lived here after fighting the crusades and upon whose arrival found the local populate to be menaced by a distinctly unsavoury boar. The wild and savage beast had done away with numerous victims before disappearing into the dense neck of the woodland back to its secret lair.  He slayed the boar & brought its head back as a sign to the villagers that the deed was done.

The truth from which this story was extruded, we decided, was that there was a pesky mouse in living room round at Dick’s house & the local farm cat played with the mouse for a few hours before eventually putting it out of its misery.

Whilst in this ‘in-depth’ analysis mood, conversation moved on to a topic raised by Bitter (train related, of course):  If you jump up whilst on a train travelling at 100 miles an hour, why don’t you hurtle into the back wall of the carriage?  This was extended to another application involving an aeroplane, a clumsy person who lost grip of an in-flight light entertainment magazine and a bystander stood in the aisle as it was jettisoned down the cabin at 500mph.  The mind boggles – the dangers of modern travel.  Apply this to the rotation of the earth and one daren’t jump up for fear of landing in the next town or being slammed against a nearby solid object as the ground rotates under you at around 800mph! Shocking.

Apologies for the fortnight delay – it wasn’t worth waiting for but I did it eventually.  At least you won’t bother me to do another for a while…

OnSideways & love to you all,

MasterBaker x