Rannoch Mountaineering Club 

www.climbrannoch.co.uk

Loitering Within Tent

(Get it?)

[A Non-Member's account of the Rannoch Dinner Meet 2005]

 Right.  That's that sorted.  Now, where was I?  Ah, yes…

It was 7.30pm on Saturday 28 May 2005, the bar of The Morefield Motel in Ullapool.  Against all odds, everyone was there as planned - on time, clean (ish), presentably dressed - for all the world, a group of respectable, middle-aged (!) friends (!) meeting together for a sociable dinner on a Saturday evening.  The only visible evidence of the contrasting chaos of the previous night was a small, vivid red scar right in the middle of JD's forehead…..

Friday 27 May 

I was pleasantly surprised when Rhona arrived to pick me up at 4pm on the dot - as arranged.  Then I remembered why she wasn't late this time.  It's all the little things. 

After depositing children the length and breadth of the country, we raced on towards Ullapool where we had planned to camp on the Friday night.  We arrived around 9pm and were just congratulating ourselves on how quickly and easily we had managed to put the tent up when the B Team (JD + C) arrived. 

It has to be said, they seemed to be particularly poorly equipped and disorganised and we were required to supply them with glasses, wine, beer, frying pans, margarine, etc., etc., etc.  It was almost like having the kids to look after again.  After sorting them out, we were joined by Hutch and Fiona who had arrived in Ullapool earlier in the day.  Over a sociable glass of wine (or two), we discussed how fortunate we were with the weather.  There had been a fair bit of rain on the way up, but we were now blessed with a warm, dry and calm evening in Ullapool. 

We decided to head to a local hotel for a nightcap and were joined there by Tim, Wee Al, Carol, and the Yorkshire contingent - Gav, Dick and Anna.

Rhona and I had planned a relatively quiet evening as we wanted to make the most of the following day and to be in a fit state to keep up with the pace the following evening at the Dinner.  So far, everything was going according to plan.  Last orders had been called and, a short time later, we were heading back to the campsite and bed.  Back at the site, I crawled into my tent….only to find there were ten people crammed in there settling in for a party.  Under the circumstances, I felt it would be rude to get into my sleeping bag and go to sleep - so I stayed up and chatted over a few glasses of wine….

Saturday 28 May

I woke up in the early hours of the morning to the sound of the tent sides flapping vigorously, inches from my face.  Our guests had long since departed (finally) to their respective tents and hotel rooms but there seemed to be chaos all around.  The tent was getting buffeted violently by the wind and appeared to be in danger of blowing away.  I agreed to stay inside and anchor the tent while Rhona went out to check on the situation.  She reported back that the tent had collapsed in the wind and all the pegs had come out and that I was the only thing preventing it from blowing off into the sea.  Naturally, I treated this piece of news with great gravity and agreed to do my bit by staying where I was while Rhona re-pegged the tent.  And come to think of it, the pegs had gone in very easily the night before, and, come to think of it, none of them had quite gone the whole way in as there appeared to be a layer of solid rock just three inches below the surface. Mmm.  It was all coming back…

But was that voices I could hear?  Surely no-one else could be up at this time? In this weather?

On leaving our tent, Rhona had noticed that JD's tent, which had been right next to ours the night before, was no longer there.  She then spotted JD sitting in the car and saw with horror, as he stepped out to meet her, that there was blood on his face and a large gash in his forehead.  He also showed her his glasses which had been broken in this catastrophe.  Oh, poor JD.  To have one's tent blow down in the middle of the night causing personal injury of this extent was extreme bad luck.  However, it soon transpired that the injury had been sustained as he was GETTING INTO HIS TENT earlier on before the storm had started, when he had tripped over a tent peg and fallen and broken his glasses.  All sympathy was immediately withdrawn and replaced by scorn and ridicule as the wound was considered to all extent and purposes to be self-inflicted as a result of consuming too much alcohol. 

What was left of the night was spent trying to shelter as best we could and prevent the tent from blowing away, with Rhona pegging and re-pegging the tent while I did my bit to stop it from blowing away by remaining inside at all times.  We all have to pull together at times like this.

The next day, we were not feeling as refreshed and rested as we had hoped.  In fact, I had a raging hangover which wasn't my fault at all and was extremely tired due to lack of sleep.  To make matters worse, the rain was now lashing down.  We broke camp and headed to The Ceilidh Place for food and shelter and stayed there quite a long time debating what to do with our day.  We were joined at this point by Gordon and Angela who had stayed at the Morefield Hotel the night before.  It was decided that the best plan would be to head for the hotel and check in to our rooms as soon as we could.

The hotel looked not too bad as far as these places go and the menu looked fantastic.  All that seafood and stuff. Right up my street.  Shame I was feeling so bad that I couldn't eat a thing.

Plans were made:  C and Wee Al set off at noon in the rain to try and bag two Munros [C had already confirmed that the decision had been made to go for a third round - all those still on their first round better get a shimmy on or they will be lapped (yet again)].  Other people were running somewhere around something (in the rain?).  Rhona was waiting in the bar until her room was ready and she could get the key and I was borrowing a room from Dick and Anna and having a kip.  Gav, Dick and Anna would simply continue drinking in the bar.  It was all going well so far.

Determined not to write the day off completely however, Gavin, Dick, Anna, Rhona and myself set off later in the day for a vigorous walk on the shores of Loch Broom where we walked the walk, talked the talk and got well and truly soaked. 

By this time, Rhona and I were on a strict schedule - back to the hotel by 5pm, sleep till 6.30pm then up, showered, changed and in the bar for pre-dinner drinks by 7pm - as arranged.

When we arrived in the bar of the hotel, we found that the rest of the team had arrived - Liz, Sophie and Freya, Big Al and his travelling companion, Willie, Alasdair and a few others that I didn't really know but who were obviously old mates/members of The Rannoch.

The meal, which I thought was excellent, took place to the usual accompaniment of content-free conversation and alcohol-fuelled merriment.  Back in the bar after the meal, we were joined by a couple more known faces and everyone had a chance to catch up.  Apart from Rhona that is, who, to be honest, never really seems to catch up at all, regardless of the circumstances or situation.  Just one of those things I suppose.

There was a wee afterhours party for the diehards which I eventually left when Gavin's 'after dinner conversation' became a bit too much for a lady such as moi.

(Bastard Squad Sink Selection: "You Choose")

Sunday 29 May

Breakfast was at 9am which turned out to be way too early for me.  Made a valiant effort to be there (unlike some, namely Wee Al) but felt the need to retire back to bed when it became clear that I had peaked too soon.  It was suggested to me later by someone (namely Big Al) that perhaps it was not the fact that I had got up too early that was the problem, but rather that I had gone to bed too late……I do wish people would mind their own business and keep their opinions to themselves.

Took us a very long time to get from Ullapool to Inverness (where Rhona was picking up her children at her sister's house).  Decided to exorcise some old ghosts and stopped off at the Aultguish for lunch.   Our visit was somewhat less dramatic than last time but we were still underwhelmed by the general ambience of the place.  Afterwards, we went for a walk to Rogie Falls.  Following that, we drove out to Rosemarkie to look for the dolphins (didn't see any but had a pleasant walk along the beach).  And then we dropped in to see Roger and Fiona…almost seemed as if R was in no hurry to get to her sister's for some reason. 

The journey back from Inverness was uneventful and that was the Rannoch Dinner Meet over for another year.  Thanks once again to JD for organising it and for graciously allowing me to be there, albeit that I am not (technically) a member (not that this is ever an issue).  Thanks to R for doing all the driving this time - found that to be a much better arrangement than last year. Good to meet Dick and Anna for the first time and to hear Dick's tales of the Antarctic.  And to all the folks that didn't make it….Mary, Andy, Pud (non-member squirrel killer), Chris (Running Man), Brian, Wee Iain, Nodrog (Kylie Hillbilly non-member), Anoif (glamorous Kylie non-member), Mark (who? Agressively Aspiring Member - watch this space), Nick (FEB), Calum (Viking non-member poster of dodgy photos), Roger, Fiona  - to name but a few…at the end of the day, it's all a question of priorities - Get it Sorted.  Next major event is Achnahaird, August  2005 - sunkissed beaches, spectacular views, the sound of the waves lapping on the shore, nightly barbeques, activities to suit all - be there, or be talked about - the choice is yours.

Shaz (Non Member), June 2005