Summer meet 2018 (pictures and write ups )

Nice write up Paul
Roll on the next one

Few more pics taken by Emily

Hagrid said:

Few more pics taken by Emily
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Nice pictures The middle picture is stunning

Tick Tock @WildWood1965

PART ONE:

Here are the highlights (Well the ones I can remember anyway) from the Summer Meet. There is not a lot of new info here as the main points have already been mentioned. As I have a brain made from Butterscotch Angel Delight & Chivers Strawberry Jelly topped off with a can of Tip-Top cream some of the events mentioned will be out of order.

In the days leading up to The Meet there was much exchanging of p.m's from He Who Must Be Obeyed regarding a Friday p.m start or a Saturday a.m start to get the chute up etc, etc. I favoured Saturday & it was going to be Saturday until Friday arrived & out of the left field came a tennis ball with the word " CURVE" written on it . Against my better judgement I caught the furry green spherical object & before I knew it I was outside the gate to the venue !

On the other side of the gate was a herd of fearsome looking s that presented this townie with his first conundrum which was how to get RAY (My trusty CRV) into the top field without letting the cows out. So I beeped the car horn a couple of times & shouted over to Matt & Gav who were in the bottom field. Naturally they knew what my issue was & they had already decided that I needed to solve the issue myself. So after much thought I leapt over the fence & started waving my arms around & clapping at the beasts until they eventually MOOOVED ! I then drove the car in & jumped out to close the gate before being greeted by my so called chums rolling around on the grass laughing their heads off (Hopefully getting covered in ticks & cow dung ) whilst reminding me that it was all part of my training .

We were soon on site & set up & as the memory of RAY'S undercarriage being scraped along the track faded away I drifted off to sleep !

Stay TOONED for PART TWO (When I can be bothered to print it)

WildWood1965 said:

PART ONE:

Here are the highlights (Well the ones I can remember anyway) from the Summer Meet. There is not a lot of new info here as the main points have already been mentioned. As I have a brain made from Butterscotch Angel Delight & Chivers Strawberry Jelly topped off with a can of Tip-Top cream some of the events mentioned will be out of order.

In the days leading up to The Meet there was much exchanging of p.m's from He Who Must Be Obeyed regarding a Friday p.m start or a Saturday a.m start to get the chute up etc, etc. I favoured Saturday & it was going to be Saturday until Friday arrived & out of the left field came a tennis ball with the word " CURVE" written on it . Against my better judgement I caught the furry green spherical object & before I knew it I was outside the gate to the venue !

On the other side of the gate was a herd of fearsome looking s that presented this townie with his first conundrum which was how to get RAY (My trusty CRV) into the top field without letting the cows out. So I beeped the car horn a couple of times & shouted over to Matt & Gav who were in the bottom field. Naturally they knew what my issue was & they had already decided that I needed to solve the issue myself. So after much thought I leapt over the fence & started waving my arms around & clapping at the beasts until they eventually MOOOVED ! I then drove the car in & jumped out to close the gate before being greeted by my so called chums rolling around on the grass laughing their heads off (Hopefully getting covered in ticks & cow dung ) whilst reminding me that it was all part of my training .

We were soon on site & set up & as the memory of RAY'S undercarriage being scraped along the track faded away I drifted off to sleep !

Stay TOONED for PART TWO (When I can be bothered to print it)

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Happy memories then

Looking forward to part 2 me mucker

PART TWO:

Having had 2 tick encounters within the first 48 hrs of The Meet I implemented tick checks on a regular basis & this led to me forgetting to keep a day to day diary of events. I will therefore give you an insight into the various people & parties who attended. So in no particular order here we go !

Joe aka Joecole:

Kept the fire ticking over, was almost like a hired grandpa to the youngsters & offered good advice when the need arose. Took the banter around the campfire in his stride (However small that might be ) & gave as good as he got. He played the role of Chef on Thursday with his now legendary curry & he was kind enough to give me some onions & garlic when I needed them. He also let me borrow his stove one morning to heat up some water. Thanks for all your help Joe !

Paul aka Ichneumon:

My first ever meeting with our very own ( I hope) Traditional Bushcrafter who gave The Meet a totally new flavour with his skills & knowledge. Bow & Drill, Flint & Steel, Char-cloth making, Foraging, Tree I.D & Traditional ink production being part of his much appreciated & valued repertoire. He was also very entertaining around the campfire in the evenings as we all sat & tried to put the world to rights, as you do ! I think that I can speak for everyone who attended when I say that we sincerely hope that you will attend future gatherings of our " tight knitted clan ". You pulled out all the stops to make sure that every one of us took some pearl of wisdom away with that we didn't have in our heads before we met you. Thanks very much Paul & we all hope to see you again soon.

Bill aka 1 shot willie:

Well WILL. I. AM. you were the life & soul of the party & you made us all realize how much we miss you when you are not around. Campfire King, Chief Stick Carver & you still had time to remind us that as far as breaking wind goes there is no equal this side of Mars ! Which leads me nicely onto the part you allegedly played in smearing some of the aforementioned confectionery onto the gusset of my freshly washed boxer shorts whilst I was otherwise engaged . I do however acknowledge that you did not act alone . Pairing up with you on the H.F.T. course made the experience even more enjoyable than it was though you really need to work on your " Elvis The Pelvis " impression ( It would actually help if you had a pelvis mate. Just sayin ). Thanks a lot mate for turning up this time & you set the bar so high in the banter stakes that you will never be allowed to stay at home again !

Part Three to follow folks......

Great write up's and pictures guys , looks like a fantastic time was had by all ......................

Our visit to the summer meet this year was short but eventful.

We got there on Wednesday afternoon and I set about creating our 'shanty town' (dubbed by Matt)
This included setting up our 3 hammocks under the 4x4 tarp then a kitchen/admin area including a bush table/shelf and a drip system for my
water filter.


After this we sat about in the evening and chatted around the fire where Paul's rum was passed around (and was very much appreciated)
Daniel found some crickets which he then toasted for Gav and himself to snack on.



Thursday was HFT day and we set about the course in the lovely dappled sunshine of the woodland.
Unfortunately the springer rifle we'd borrowed from Dick developed a fault 2/3 of the way around the course but he was good enough to let
us continue with his BSA Ultra. Much appreciated Dick and I hope you get the problem with the stock resolved satisfactorily.



I sadly lost my first place cup to Gav but well done to him and commiserations to John who I beat by 0.7 points (the same as last year!)
Daniel came out top for the juniors again and Mel pipped Emily this time to win out of the ladies.
Well done everyone and thanks to Dick for organising it again.



In the afternoon Paul walked me through the bowdrill technique and I managed to get an ember on my first attempt (video evidence will be
posted) - Thanks for that Paul



Friday morning started with pork sausages which sadly meant that I missed the BBQ that evening as I was depositing my stomach contents in
various places around the woodland. Then, just as we were retiring for the night and I was feeling a bit better, Daniel started throwing
up. This went on through to the wee hours of the morning and he was very unwell for most of Saturday.

Saturday morning was spent packing and saying our goodbyes and Matt took us down to the lower field in the landy.
We set off from there to our next 3 day camp near Bodmin which was a little damp at times LOL

A big 'Thank You' to everyone who took part in this years meet. It was very enjoyable. Roll on next year.

Some more photos:

and the final 2 pics of the lot of us (except Neil I'm afraid)

Just one more to point out how 'helpful' the boys were being while Gav was trying to bring the chute rope down. LOL

Nice write up and pictures Paul........pleased that you, Mel, and Daniel enjoyed the meet it was nice to meet you all
See you again soon when we come up to Scotland

G1ZmO said:

Our visit to the summer meet this year was short but eventful.

We got there on Wednesday afternoon and I set about creating our 'shanty town' (dubbed by Matt)
This included setting up our 3 hammocks under the 4x4 tarp then a kitchen/admin area including a bush table/shelf and a drip system for my
water filter.
View attachment 14707

After this we sat about in the evening and chatted around the fire where Paul's rum was passed around (and was very much appreciated)
Daniel found some crickets which he then toasted for Gav and himself to snack on.

View attachment 14708

Thursday was HFT day and we set about the course in the lovely dappled sunshine of the woodland.
Unfortunately the springer rifle we'd borrowed from Dick developed a fault 2/3 of the way around the course but he was good enough to let
us continue with his BSA Ultra. Much appreciated Dick and I hope you get the problem with the stock resolved satisfactorily.

View attachment 14709

I sadly lost my first place cup to Gav but well done to him and commiserations to John who I beat by 0.7 points (the same as last year!)
Daniel came out top for the juniors again and Mel pipped Emily this time to win out of the ladies.
Well done everyone and thanks to Dick for organising it again.

View attachment 14710

In the afternoon Paul walked me through the bowdrill technique and I managed to get an ember on my first attempt (video evidence will be
posted) - Thanks for that Paul

View attachment 14725View attachment 14726

Friday morning started with pork sausages which sadly meant that I missed the BBQ that evening as I was depositing my stomach contents in
various places around the woodland. Then, just as we were retiring for the night and I was feeling a bit better, Daniel started throwing
up. This went on through to the wee hours of the morning and he was very unwell for most of Saturday.

Saturday morning was spent packing and saying our goodbyes and Matt took us down to the lower field in the landy.
We set off from there to our next 3 day camp near Bodmin which was a little damp at times LOL

A big 'Thank You' to everyone who took part in this years meet. It was very enjoyable. Roll on next year.

Some more photos:
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Great write up and photographs Paul

PART THREE:

John aka Hagrid, Emily & the boyz:

Hats off to this lot who totally embraced The Meet & without doubt got the most out of their week long stay in the woods. Emily had been a busy bee in the kitchen prior to the event as she produced good quality homemade fayre in the form of banana bread & bread pudding shortly after arriving. The family recipes for these would be appreciated if you are allowed to pass them on to us. John, Emily & the lads made full use of Paul's resident Bushcraft School & they were all very successful at the activities on offer. John & Emily cracked the bow & drill 1st time & the youngsters really enjoyed the ink making session. We all thought that the kids were very well behaved & as a result of them packing in as much as they could into each & every day they were all knackered by bedtime ! It was good to see you folks again. Take care, thanks a lot & see you soon.

Dick aka divebuddy:

Dick set up camp in his usual spot that has since been dubbed SNORERS CORNER (He is a really good sport). He had a new hammock & tarp this time around & I gather that he was rather happy with them. As usual Mrs divebuddy had sent us all CAAAAKE & it was top-notch (It always is). The H.F.T course was constructed to his impeccably high standards & the work that goes into it & the plinking range was fully appreciated by us all. Dick was good value for money during the evenings with both interesting tales & quality banter. You can come along again next year if you like buddy but don't forget the Victoria Sponge or Bill will route-march you all the way home !

Paul aka G1ZmO, Mel & Daniel:

Due to other engagements our Scottish contingent were only able to join us for a few days but I am sure that they all had a good time & that their long arduous journey was worthwhile. They all did well on the H.F.T course & they also made good use of the other Paul's bushy skills. Paul & Mel really enjoyed the evenings around the fire whilst Daniel entertained the crowd by roasting woodland bugs in tin cans as he needed the extra protein . Thanks a lot for popping over the wall to see us & some of us will be returning the favour soon. Take care folks !

PART FOUR will be posted tomorrow people (See what I did there ?)

Well I finally got round to doing a sort of write-up. Had quite an eventful few days following the meet so apologies for the lateness.
I got to the site on Monday after being involved with the Torbay steam fair over the weekend and pitched in my usual spot so as not to disturb Matt's beauty sleep (which Bill says he needs) with my snoring. Also far enough away from Gavin so I wasn't disturbed by his snoring.
It was great to see everyone again and as has already been said it was good to have Paul (Ichneumon) to pass on many skills and excellent knowledge. I used a larger tarp (4x4) and my latest acquisition a DD XL hammock. The hammock is certainly the most comfortable I have used and I had several good sleeps lying in until the rain stopped at 10.30 on Friday morning. The HFT course took most of Wednesday to lay out and I must thank Emily and the boys for their assistance. I hope you all enjoyed the shoot. Gavin managed to win the HFT and Paul (Gizmo) graciously handed him the trophy. Full scores will be published in the shooting section. Joe's curry was excellent on Thursday evening and Matt and Gavin excelled with the BBQ Friday evening. I did far more cooking over a wood fire than previous meets and the dry wood lying around was a real bonus. My attempt at Bannock cake was probably the best I have managed at a meet, cooked over a wood fire and steaming it to prevent burning.
Particular thanks to Matt for organising the meet and to everyone who attended for making it a great event. I have put up a few of my pictures.

Last few pics. Forgot to say what a great job Bill did carving a stick. And also how much wetter and muddy the track was on the way out.

Sorry lads Still haven’t read the last couple of write ups. Will have a read at them later

Nice write up and pictures mate........that Bannock was very nice too

Ark79 said:

Sorry lads Still haven’t read the last couple of write ups. Will have a read at them later

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Cmon Markus......get a grip man

1 shot willie said:

Cmon Markus......get a grip man

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