Each Way Breakfast (Sept 30th 2006)

Hairyface is a bit long in the tooth really.
He is getting on a bit.
His speed up fells isn't what it once was.
I mean, he's even had a heart attack, so he's got to be nearly a gerrie. (hat trick).
But today was a new one on me.
He had breakfast twice - once in each direction!

It was a gorgeous morning, so having dumped the Screature at Higham Hall (again) we zoomed across the valley to Orthwaite, where the H had decided to climb Great Calva. This is not to be confused with that fizzy stuff they both drink out of them wired up bottles. I have heard S say, "Great Cava!" but I think that's different.

This fence was the scene for his evacuation. I doesn't look much on the photo but it's really steep!. The fence made a great hand rail for the dozy bugger, and he counted all the fence posts to see how many there were to the brow (35). His plan was to do seven posts then stop, another seven then stop, and so on. After the first seven he wasn't puffed at all so he told us to carry on - we did. By fourteen he was getting a little tired but still told us to keep going. At twenty-one he was getting a bit panty but said, "We're over half way, come on!" On twenty-eight he couldn't say keep going, but the idiot did. At the brow, he stopped; made a weird groaning noise and looked like he was going to die.

Io got very worried. She doesn't know what to do when the pack leader goes funny. He did go quite pale. He looked like he was going to fall over but then he chundered over the fence. How inconsiderate. All that warm chuck and we couldn't get to it! He sat down for a while after that and I did the head rubbing dog trick, which he likes.

Io was still all panicky but I knew he'd be OK. I used dog logic. When we don't feel well , a good chuck makes all the difference and we're right as nine pence afterwards. He musta sat there for about ten minutes then got up and was right as nine pence. Here's H's sweater art!

The top of the fell was still about half a mile away and among the claggiest we've ever walked in. On the top Hairy found an old sweatshirt which he arranged over the fence. He does daft stuff like that. The view was great but weird as we were higher than loads of skimming clouds which kept covering Knott but missing us. We came off heading south, towards Skiddaw House. It got even sunnier and in the distance you could see Thirlmere glinting. It was really great. I'd've liked to walk along the valley to Mungrisdale but H was all for hitting The Sun Inn - the great pub in Bassenthwaite. (Where we sometimes get chips from the nice Scottish man who owns it.)

Guess who won?

Well, it is a Jennings pub. (And it always has at least four different Jennings ones so Hairy can get wobbly!)