Ty Powdwr working meet
The meet started on a high with the delivery of the long-awaited new fridge to Ty Powdwr. Caro, who was on catering duties for the weekend, could hardly contain her excitement at the sight of the shiny new appliance adorning the kitchen!
One by one, the 10 keen volunteers arrived at the hut ready for a big spring clean weekend. The rain didn't dampen spirits as we quickly realised there wouldn't be much climbing or sunbathing at the weekend, and we might as well work hard and have a good laugh while doing so!
Things started bright and early on Saturday morning, with the group keen to get work underway. After a hearty breakfast (and an early run for Jess), tasks were allocated based on skills and interests.
The two Dave's, who were thereafter fondly nicknamed Dave Squared (good name for a band!), took on the job to replace the light fittings in the kitchen and the bedrooms. This turned out to be a mammoth endeavour, rewiring most of the electrics in the top bunkrooms, and kept them going well into the evening, with extra time on Sunday.
Lester was planning to do some gardening, but due to the rain ended up sorting the inventory of the first aid kit.
John had been at the hut for a few days and had made an excellent start on the streaming, which he carried on during dry spells on Saturday, getting the surroundings of the hut to a much more presentable level for the summer season, ready for the family meet that was to take place the following weekend.
Caro was our caterer for the weekend and made sure we were suitably fuelled with biscuits and copious amounts of tea and coffee through the day. Lunch was a delicious combination of tuna and cheese jacket potato with homemade coleslaw. Plenty to keep everyone coming back for seconds, with no leftovers!
Steve had built some new storage boxes that were to be hung up in the kitchen to provide additional dry food storage while helping soundproof the noisy kitchen. The wooden boxes needed filling, sanding and varnishing. Jess P and Laura sorted the filling while I took on the sanding. Steve is a tough quality control supervisor, and due to some uneven sanding on my part (oops!), an executive decision was made to paint the boxes instead. The group unanimously decided on a colour that we named Scarpa blue, and Caro went on a shopping trip to collect the paint. We later found that the colour combination was also an exact match to Laura's sleeping bag. It was meant to be!
And so the painting started. Tim painted the mug and glass cupboard and later joined the rest of the group taking turns to paint several coats on the newly built storage boxes. We hope you enjoy these new additions to the kitchen and appreciate the creativity that has gone into their making!
Alongside this hive of activity, a full spring clean was undertaken by a few of us who hoovered the place from floor to ceiling, removed all the cobwebs and got the hut to look squeaky clean. It was then time to call it a day, and after a quick change of clothes, the party was ready to crack the beers open and get cooking. Laura taught me and Jess a few board games she'd brought back from a recent gaming conference, and the full group then took part in a dad joke quiz that Steve won with flying colours!
On the Sunday, while Dave Squared was carrying on with the electrical works, we all put final touches to the painting job and finished the hut spruce clean. Jess left for a long run in the hills while I went to have a look at the triathlon that had brought much of Llanberis to a standstill. It was time to say goodbye to the party, until next time!
Nathalie Lacroix
