9 members [or it might have been 10] eventually gathered at the left hand, north end of Stanage for a delightful day of climbing in warm sunshine, great views over the moors and minimal midges. Some arrived with only a helmet and harness [including I have to admit, this meet leader] with no intention to lead and a variety of almost plausible excuses. But eventually there were 5 leaders and various grades of climb were completed successfully. Having not been on a Castle climbing meet for a while, I was reassured that a request for a ‘tight rope’ was still understood, that using knees occasionally was seen to be acceptable, as was the odd swear word when stressed [Charles would certainly have been teasing me about completing a 2-shit climb]. So thank you all for your very agreeable company [and I hope the gear was successfully retrieved].
Vanda Boyd