Duncan Lee, Sheena Hendrie, Dave Garland, Iain McCallum, Pam McCallum, Frank Williams, Margaret Williams, Steve Taylor, Liz Taylor, William Taylor, Emma Richards, Katie Winstanley, Lester Payne, Dave Wylie.

The working party "regulars" who came along to this meet were honoured by the presence of the Club's President and Secretary, plus Dave Garland who had been enticed to come by Duncan on the promise of going climbing on the Sunday. Pity it rained that day...

The ongoing project to upgrade the dormitories saw Duncan, Dave G, Steve and Dave W. fitting insulation between the joists under the ground floor. Duncan's van was the nominated vehicle for collecting the insulation. Apparently the stack of 17 sheets of 8" by 4" by 2 inch thick polystyrene on the roof rack made an excellent sail! The gusty wind also revealed that we don't need to install extra underfloor ventilation, demonstrated by the "snowstorm" of polystyrene beads blowing round under the floors as the insulation was installed.

In the Ladies washroom, we had Emma, Katie, Sheena and Pam acting out scenes from the popular TV program "Changing Rooms". The re-painting is nearly complete, but there was a bit of dispute over the colour scheme.

The girls are now planning to do some "Breaking and Decorating" with their tin of lilac gloss, and Sheena (with the support of Pam) is planning to sneak down and paint the whole place white. The Hut Manager is refusing to be drawn into this artistic battle on the basis that he is:

1. a technical manager, not an interior designer;

2. male, and unlikely to be using the Ladies anyway.

All complaints, suggestions etc. on this matter should be addressed to someone else.

Iain, Dave G. and Lester worked on the swamp - sorry forecourt - in front of the hut. The blocked drains through the wall to the field were cleared, and gravel put down in place of the mud they'd removed so that it will have a chance to dry out a bit.

Duncan's van was used further to dispose of the rubbish that had been accumulating outside and round the hut. Assisted by Dave G., two trips to the tip were made. The last remnants of the old cold water tank have now gone to their final resting place.

The two damaged slates on the roof at the rear were replaced by Dave W.

The rest of the roof at rear looks OK. Let's hope it lasts as expected until we've saved up enough money for its eventual replacement.

Frank installed a restraint post (MK.2) for the middle gate on the track. He also labelled up the KMC Wheelie Bin in an attempt to reduce the amount of non-club rubbish that is being dumped in it.

Much Spring Cleaning was done by Margaret (in the kitchen) and Sheena (in the gents and the lounge), but there's always plenty more to do!

Other smaller jobs: Dave G. serviced the extract fan in the Gent's; Frank replaced the washer on a dripping tap; Dave W. trimmed the hall/passageway door so that it will actually close; Steve and Dave W. checked the hot water system following up some vague reports of problems - it's all working perfectly.

Lunches were provided as per usual by Iain, with assistance others including Liz, who was excused from working under the floor as she wasn't due to be able to fit through the trap doors for about another month.

The only other item to note is that the upper pane in the rear kitchen window was smashed. Lester (who was first to arrive at the hut) reported that he'd found a stone amongst the broken glass inside the kitchen. Whether this was an attempted break-in, local kids mucking about or some bizarre natural phenomenon remains unclear.

Thanks to everybody who turned up, and apologies to Dave G., Duncan and Sheena for the weather on Sunday, which foiled their various plans to get out on the hill.

Another millennium(*), another working party.

There will be three lines of attack this time round:

Finish off the painting in the Ladies Washroom and Hall. This will require a couple of people to wield brushes for a few hours. There's nothing technical involved, so if we don't get any suitable volunteers from the club we may have to resort to child labour again.

Continue working under the floors at the dormitory end of the Hut. This is a bit more technical, and we're still pondering exactly how we're going to get some ventilation into the under floor space. We should at least get some insulation in place this time round. Cavers welcome.

Get a few small jobs completed and have a general clean up. We still haven't put up the proposed slate "blackboard" in the front porch; the store room needs a thorough tidy up (as usual); there are a couple of loose slates on the roof at the rear that need attention; the kitchen and hall floors need polishing and an early "Spring Clean" for the whole hut wouldn't go amiss. Again, most of these are non-technical and if we have enough people along then we should be able to get them all done in one day.

The usual rules will apply (assuming that I've survived the intense competition for the role of Hut Manager at the AGM!): i.e. everybody is invited to come along and lend a hand, but please let me know in advance if you are planning to.

Thanks,

(*) Or, for pedants who claim we need to wait till 2001, another year.