One Step Beyond……

Newsletter - Spring 2016

In this issue… Sport Relief, What to do in an Emergency, New Year, Banff Film Festival ….and plenty more!

It’s not every day (or ermm… until now, ever) that you see MAD Walkers on primetime telly…but that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday 26th January, when along with some of the team from Ramblers HQ in London, a bunch of us joined comedienne and regular QI panellist Jo Brand on day 5 of her ‘Hell of a Walk’ in aid of Sports Relief.

Jo’s daunting task was to walk 135 miles of the Trans Pennine Trail from Hull to Liverpool over 7 days…. which would be no mean feat (or feet!) for even the hardiest of veterans from last year’s MAD

The day was perhaps one of the most challenging of the whole route for Jo. A delayed start put her planned daily mileage target in jeopardy. Buffeted by Storm Gertrude and taking a tumble or two on the tops west of Hartnett she was relieved then to drop to the flat, sheltered section where we joined her. So challenging was the weather in fact, that the drones used on previous days to capture Jo’s progress could not be flown

Between Jo’s commitments along the way, which included her checking in with Steve Wright on his BBC2 afternoon show, we had a chat and chuckle with her, and without realising it were with her as her mileage count reached triple figures. When asked whether the novelty had worn off during a particularly low point the previous day, Jo gave the gentle correction that “to be honest with you, the novelty never really wore on!” Continued on Page 2

feet!) for even the hardiest of veterans from last year’s MAD Marathon Walks. Our more agreeable task was to provide company and moral support for 3 miles of her route near Glossop…and in Carolyn’s case, grab a cheeky selfie or three with Jo - hats off for having a bit more brass neck than the rest of us!

An enjoyable few hours supporting Jo Brand’s Hell of a walk for Sports Relief. Are you wondering who goosed her in this photo too?

Continued from Page 1 As daylight faded, we parted company with Jo, leaving her to complete the last few miles of the day with her support crew, well wishers and a few others. The consensus amongst us was that, Jo is a rather remarkable lady. Not just for taking on such a daunting challenge, but also to do so whilst remaining “up”, “on” and sociable all the time. The scope to escape into your own solitary world for a few minutes, as many of us do on a MAD walk, was never really there for Jo!

It was great to join in with an event which will hopefully make a positive impact on the profile of walking in the UK, and leave a few people asking themselves “if she can do it, why not me?” As a friendly and welcoming group, that’s where the likes of us can come in…

National Three Peaks WalksPrevious years have seen Marathon walks, the Gritstone Trail, an Introduction to Scrambling… and this year we have another series of walks in the form of Andy Buckley’s Three Peaks walks. The idea being to avoid a mad, sleep-deprived (and Buckley’s Three Peaks walks. The idea being to avoid a mad, sleep-deprived (and arguably dangerous) dash up and down all 3 in the space of 24 hours, and instead go up each one on separate days over the course of the summer: Snowdon as a daytrip, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis as part of weekends. Having first climbed Snowdon in December 2001, I’m (Myles) eyeing up the chance to complete the set with Scafell Pike and so stop the clock at 14 ½ years! ;)

Don’t forget….Walk leader photosSeen something funny or quirky on a reccy? Has a stunning view stopped you in your tracks? Take photos and send them to us. We’re always on the lookout for enticing photos to help publicise our fantastic walks. E-mail them to publicity@madwalkers.org.uk.

Quick question for the anoraks amongst you…from the teeny tiny pics below, can you tell which of the Three Peaks is which? Answer on Page 7!

Would you know how to summon help in an emergency on the hills or

open moorlands? We hope you never need to but see page 4 for more information

In The Spotlight

Kate Atty, Social Secretary• How long have you been going on walks with MAD Walkers for? I

realised on my last walk (February 15th) that it was my one year anniversary as I had gone on my first walk with MAD on the same Sunday a year earlier. I joined the committee after only being in the group about eight months as I was keen to get more involved and it’s already been a great way to get to know even more people.

• Why did you join MAD Walkers? I’d recently moved back up North after several years in London so I was keen to meet new people and also to get reacquainted with the hills again! (of which there are a

Describe your role as social secretary in no more than 10 words.also to get reacquainted with the hills again! (of which there are a

serious lack of down South).

• What do you remember of your first walk with MAD? I’d been meaning for a while to go out on my first walk with MAD and ending up choosing one that started and ended at Hebden Bridge, a place I’d never been and always wanted to. And also at 7 miles, it wasn’t too onerous a distance. I mainly remember some lovely stretches walking along the Rochdale canal and the blur of chatting to a lot of friendly people!

• Is there a region in the UK that you enjoy above all others? Well, apart from walking in the North West, North Devon definitely has a soft spot in my heart. My Grandma lived near Ilfracombe and I spent a lot of childhood holidays with my family walking the North Devon coast.

secretary in no more than 10 words.

“Encouraging other people to socialise and have fun :) ”

• Is there something that you’d like to accomplish over the coming 12 months? Within MAD, I would like to organise/facilitate as many successful socials as I can and also to lead my first walk at some point in the near future.

• What other interests do you have outside of walking? I’m in a drama group in Didsbury and a few MAD walkers have loyally been along to watch me in the last couple of productions. Next up is Grease on the 10th and 11th June. Put it in your diaries!

• What was your favourite subject at school and is it anything to do with your job now? I am a languages geek and German was always my favourite subject at school. Although I’m a primary school teacher and teach lots of subjects, I do particularly enjoy the classes I teach Spanish and German to.

• Do you have a karaoke favourite? Err yes! Tiffany’s ‘I Think • Try again from higher ground (where possible two people

Continued from Page 4 If you have a whistle or torch then use the recognised distress signal of 6 short blasts on the whistle or 6 short flashes on the torch to attract attention/request help.

What to do in an emergency

Dialling 999 or 112 will connect you to the emergency services. It takes priority over other calls if your network is busy and will use any available network to connect the call if your network is not available. If the call doesn’t

go through the first time then turn round 180° and try again. If no success then:

• Do you have a karaoke favourite? Err yes! Tiffany’s ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ is a firm favourite and got an outing on New Year’s Eve during the MAD trip to Caernarfon. I’m sure there will be a replay at Gemma and Becky’s karaoke social in March...

• What brand of boots do you currently prefer and is there any you would avoid? I invested in some Scarpa boots about a year ago and they completely changed my experience of walking: I instantly felt like I was positively bouncing along! They wore in straight away and haven’t let a drop of water in yet..

• What elements would make a perfect walk for you? I like a nice variety of scenery to keep things interesting; a water feature of some kind is always a bonus. And a place that serves a decent hot chocolate at the end!

• Try again from higher ground (where possible two people should go in case one person gets into trouble as well). If the call doesn’t connect then turn round 180° then try again.

• If this fails then send a text to 112 (this goes through on a different bandwidth so you may get through even if the call hasn’t connected). You need to register your phone number with the emergency services in order to use this text service. Please do this now. Text the word register to 112. You’ll get an automatic reply. Read through this, text back yes and you’re good to go.

Ambulances cannot travel off-road so you mustask for mountain rescue. They’ll need to know who you are, your location, who is hurt, brief details of what happened and what injuries the person has. If you don’t have a map then an OS app such as GB Converter can give you an OS location that you can relay to the phone operator

We had a great New Year away in Caernarfon this

year, a lovely town in North Wales, perfectly

positioned by the sea within easy reach of

Snowdonia and Anglesey. As always there were

varied walks, some fab pubs, karaoke & of course

fancy dress fun on New Year’s Eve. The theme this fancy dress fun on New Year’s Eve. The theme this

year was ‘A person from history you would like to

have met’. It was fascinating to see how everyone

interpreted this and it made for some interesting

meetings: think Jesus meets Marilyn Monroe!

The first of two 2016 visits of the Banff Film Festival to Stockport on Saturday 6th February had plenty of the spectacular and the serene about it.

Highlights included Unbranded, which followed a group of young Texan horsemen riding mustangs from the US-Canadian to the US-Mexican border… and showcasing the gorgeous backdrops of Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon among other areas along the way.

There was also the one with the voiceover consisting of the words of a dying dog, as imagined by his adventuring human companion, which really ought not to have worked, but somehow was strangely affecting.

In a landscape not too dissimilar from the one in the picture here, there was Alex Honnolt, a superstar of the rock-climbing world and subject of previous Banff films, turning his skills to winter mountaineering… and proving frighteningly climbing world and subject of previous Banff films, turning his skills to winter mountaineering… and proving frighteningly good at that too.

Peek-through-your-fingers trepidation was also provided by the shorter film Pretty Faces – the name being a clever nod to the ‘easy on the eye’ lady skiers featured and the stunning, pristine Alaskan wilderness slopes they cheerfully flung themselves down, chased each time by what looked like a mini-avalanche of disturbed snow.

The final film was a bit closer to home, with a local parkour (free-running) talent on the Isle of Man leaping around cliffs, woodlands and towers and doing a decent job of showing off the island’s charms once you get off the famous TT circuit.

One weakness of the festival in previous years has been the slightly tiresome claims of some of the adventurers featured to a sort of spiritual superiority, occasionally while giving showily thoughtful gazes into the distance (think Derek Zoolander). Fortunately, this time round that sort of thing was limited to a slightly grating voiceover in the film on mountain-biking which kicked off the evening. For the most part, the subjects of the films were pleasingly down-to-earth types inviting us into their often fascinating worlds in a winning and unaffected way.

The Banff Film Festival returns to Stockport Plaza, with an entirely different film programme, on Saturday 12th March, before later stops at Buxton and Hebden Bridge. At the time of issue of this newsletter there are still plenty of seats in the balcony up for grabs at the Stockport showing.

Connie ConfidentialThe lady with the advice on your walk of life……

?

Quiz answer: From left to right, Snowdon, Scafell Pike, then Ben Nevis… i.e. the running order for this summer.

Dear Susan,

Dear Connie,

I recently joined a walking group in the hope of developing new friendships and

perhaps finding someone with whom I could become close to. I’m delighted to say that

MAD Walkers has provided both. I’ve met a lovely man; kind and funny with a quick

smile and a witty tongue. We get on great together however, I’m a little reserved and

self-conscious whereas he is much more confident and open to trying new things. This

hasn’t been a problem in previous relationships but I’m already unsure

about some of the things that he wants us to try. I worry that unless

I can be more like what he wants I am bound to lose him.

Please help!

(Anonymous)

Help needed!!!

Looking ahead to the next newsletter, to be issued in the summer, we would

How was it for you?

So what do you think of this edition of the newsletter? Any ways we

Dear Susan,

You’re not alone in feeling somewhat nervous at the pressure of meeting a new partner’s expectations when it comes to ‘certain recreational matters’, particularly where this is at odds with your past experiences. It seems that a degree of compromise is needed here so keep the communication channels open and remember, it’s ok to lead sometimes. Perhaps you could suggest the route, try a slightly longer route or a little more challenging terrain rather than the long hard sessions he no doubt favours? If your gentleman friend is as kind as you say he is then I’m sure he will be patient and wait until you are ready. Good luck with your new relationship.

Connie Confidential

the summer, we would love some help from any potential contributors amongst you! If you have an idea for an article, or would like to carry on with an existing feature (perhaps giving it your own twist?!) then do please get in touch.

newsletter? Any ways we can make it better, more relevant, more informative, more fun? What didn’t we say that we should have? Should we even bother in future?! All and any feedback gratefully received!

If either of the above applies, just e-mail publicity@madwalkers.org.uk or tap one of this time’s writers on the shoulder next time you see one of us: Myles, Andrew F or Barbara.Cheers, and see you in the summer! M, A & B