In the first of a many part series of short, informative films, Owen explains how to make a refreshing beverage.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ-a_HMsRi8]
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Mitch throwing it down
More madness. Owen and some of the guys from Leeds came over for the weekend, and given the monumental lack of water, we went to Stanley Embankment. I flogged my playboat at the end of the summer so I took my squirtboat. The main flow is a bit like getting run over by a small bus; powerful, and hard to control, but just beyond the bridge are a couple of super cool seams, that were serving up all manner of underwater shenanigans. Cheers to Owen for the squirt shots.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PblPVlENFq8]
Lots has happened, so rather than write a long boring post, here are some jottings and photos.
Thursday - Last ditch Vote Adam campaign for my housemate, bed at 3
Friday - 7am train to Crewe, and the Outdoors Show in Birmingham. Same old rubbish. No bargains, and every year less exhibitors
Friday night - Excellent dinner and drinking with Chris Eastabrook and chums in Coventry
Satuday - More NEC. Yawn
Saturday evening - lots of sillyness and drinking, including free booze. Certainly the saving grace of the weekend
Sunday - More NEC. Yawn. Helping with the slalom judging.
Sunday evening - Lots of snow, slow journey home, pizza, sleep.
Monday - Squirt boating, chilly, good
Monday night - more squirt, and then beer
Tuesday - More squirting.
I am always aware that a blog can become mind-numbingly tedious if it simply an account of “what I did at the weekend”, but sometimes, the best things happen at weekends!
Shudder Rudder on the Old Skool Wave
This weekend saw the National Student Rodeo 2007 take place at Holme Piere-Point slalom course in Nottingham. Threatened by high levels on the Trent early in the week, the water dropped off, leaving warm sunshine and a course ready for all and sundry from the nations finest centres of academia to strut their freestyle stuff.
Friday night is a time for arriving, pitching camp and uttering the infamous line “I’ll just have a couple this evening, got a long day tomorrow“. I don’t why, but we always seem to lie to ourselves. A plate of chips, some pasta, and far more cider than is healthy later we stumbled from the River Legacy marquee, and through the ditch to slip merrily into slumber.
Tom Parker, Saturday morning
Saturday morning came far too soon, and as top freestyle judges, we were expected to be at our stations ready to dish out marks for performance at 8.30am sharp! Dave Fairweather and I were left in charge of the old skool wave, where we awarded points for all the coolest moves including shudder rudders, pop outs, and being a German in a Microbat.
Dave Fairweather, Judging beard firmly attached
The afternoon strolled in, and it was time to go squirting. For those of you not familiar with the term, rather than being a fight with water pistols or a gentleman’s interest production, it is actually the subtle art of going underwater in a perfectly serviceable craft. Ben White and Claire O’Hara were on hand to give us some pointers before the competition got under way. A 10 minute jam format in the looping pool decided who was in the final, and thanks to an lovely smooth long head under ride, I made it through along with Dave, Oli Brown, and an eclectic selection of craft.
With this done and dusted, it was back to timing and blowing my whistle for the intermediate and advanced heats, before polishing off a quiche and getting all cowboy’d up for one of the best parties of the year so far. 500 students in a large tent, with to tunes laid down by Lincoln’s finest DJ. Truly excellent.
Roused at an ungodly hour for “up-time” Topo Duo was followed by the squirt final. After a run each on the eddy above Twin Waves, it came down to a sudden death final between myself, Dave, and Max Bilbow. After far more rounds than my already sore head could handle, it was decided that Dave could win, I would be allowed second place, and Max should come in a close third.
Ms Wall racking up the frequent flier miles
Ladies Expert was the usual cat fight between Lowri and Emily. In the end Lowri did more loops than Emily, or something, anyway, she was decided to be the winner.
Mens expert was hotly contested as usual, with Adam Spooner just pipping Tim Trew for 1st place in the looping pool. I missed the Intermediate, Novice and Open as I was squirting.
Tim Trew, Wizard of the West,
All that remained was to dish out the vast prizes, rumoured to include One million pounds and a Liquid Satisfaction guided trip to the moon. Full results and whatnot will appear at www.nationalstudentrodeo.org.uk soon!
Adam Dumolo ripping the looping pool to bits in the expert final….
….then dishing out the prizes!
An enormous thanks to everybody who made the event happen, particularly Adam and Sara. Also special thanks to the Leeds girls for keeping us in tea and toasties all weekend. Heroic! See you all next year for the NSARRRR!
P.s. Well done to Sara for winning the Des Mes sponsorship this year!
My house mate Adam is running for Athletics Union president in this years Bangor Student’s Union elections. A marvellous opportunity to get out and play with my camera, and take some more non boating shots.
Adam James
The elections are next week, if you are a student at Bangor University, go and vote, more details here!
Friday Jones running for Chairperson
There’s blood on the moon tonight.
It flows over the white, once bright as clean sheets;
now a contagion of raw yellow over a half-eclipsed sphere.
We drink shiraz,
it stains our lips and tongues burnt orange.
The next eclipse is three years away
and I wonder if your shadow will
engulf me then, burn cheeks red,
block the light.
But that would be impossible.
Our orbits would need to cross the same plane of space,
and your schedule is somewhat erratic.
My moon will never be completely dark.
I have lingering memories
of settling dust and water vapor.
A poem courtesy of google.
Dave and Giles enjoy a drop of the local stuff in Sunny Corsica
Last night was spent in Leeds, giving talks with Tom and Dave about recent kayaking expeditions (holidays). A series of quotes should suffice to explain the evening…
I am pleased to announce that on Wednesday 28th February, Tom Laws (of Team Tea fame),Tom Parker (of Tom Parker Coaching don’t you know) and Dave Fairweather (cowboy and paddling empresario) will all be giving talks on paddling in far-flung destinations. - Owen, a few weeks ago, on the LUUCC message board
Obviously anticipation was high, which is a bit worrying really, given that it was just our holiday snaps!
See you all in a few minutes (if our speakers ever make it to my house). - Paul, on the LUUCC message board, Wed Feb 28, 2007 6:59 pm
We left Bangor at 1.15pm, aiming to be in Leeds by half five. We faffed about a lot, and eventually made it to the venue about 30mins late. Fashionably late.
The talks all went swimmingly, and seemed pretty well received, which can only be a good thing, and get people enthusiastic about getting out and going for an adventure.
X in can saw. Sippode. Ring morn. Post out. - Me, via text, 2.16am Thu 1st March
We Owen, sort out morn. - Me via text, 2.23am Thu 1st March
Cheers for a good night guys, most entertaining. For anyone that cares; I found my glasses under a bush this afternoon. - Dave Fairweather
Me and Emily, Athletes in the truest form.
Read an alternative (and probably easier to understand) account on Emily’s blog,