GLASGOW GLENMORE CLUB NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2005

The 51^st. year of Club activities is now under way and as usual this first newsletter of the year gives the calendar of meets over the next 12 months – outdoor meets and locations, and dates of indoor meets with details to follow in next newsletter. And yes, folks, we’ll be back on the trusty 1^st. and 3^rd. Thursdays of each month but with a slightly changed format, so read on.

Glenmorons are busy people - and to help those wedded to a multi-tasking lifestyle ( in other words, can’t be bothered to read the whole newsletter first time) – a short contents summary is given below, but no guarantees that it includes those nuggets of news you’d like to read about. And, as usual, do let me have your pieces of news – they are always most welcome.

Have an enjoyable summer, relaxing holidays and great walking – never mind the weather!

Henry

Page 2 tells you who’s who on the new committee and reminds everyone about subscriptions and need to pay on or before 30^th. June …decisions taken at AGM --

Page 3 has dates of Bon Accord nights … outdoor meets up to end September including evening walk on 30^th. June --Page 4 covers foreign trip for 2006… Page 5 tells you about new format for indoor meets…. equipment …library… mobile phone and songbook -- Page 6 covers book …T shirt …ticks and wind factories ( but no connection! ) ..members’ news -- Page 7 continues with members’s news and also Maclaine’s skull ( who said newsletter is boring ? ) – Page 8 has MBA news -- Page 9 covers Scotways news and finally Page 10 has the Programme

Bruce Anderson : as this newsletter was about to be issued the very sad news was received that Bruce, who had been a member of the Club for many years, died on Monday 13^th. June, after a short illness. Deepest condolences are extended to Fiona and the family from everyone in the Club. An announcement will appear in The Scotsman and The Herald on 16^th. June and an appreciation of Bruce will be given in the next newsletter.

*Alice will take over from Arthur as membership secretary in mid August

These are now due and must be paid on or before 30^th. June 2005, in line with the new arrangements agreed at this year’s AGM, when the following rates were approved:

Adults living in Scotland - £23

Adults living furth of Scotland - £12

Associate Members ( 16-18 years old) - £12

Please send your payment, cheque made out to Glasgow Glenmore Club, and your membership card plus stamp addressed envelope, to the membership secretary, Arthur Whittaker.

The Club’s 51^st. AGM was held on 5^th. May, with about 45 Members attending – nearly 40% of the membership. In addition to electing the new committee and agreeing the new subscriptions, as above, the following were discussed/agreed:

The full text of Dave Webster’s Chairman’s report accompanies this newsletter. It provides an informative and interesting summary of the past year and may be of particular interest to those who have not been able to attend many of the Club’s activities over the last year.

These are on the 1^st and 3^rd. Thursday evenings and the dates are:

For first-timers, the Bon Accord is on North Street, close to the Mitchell Library. Most folk turn up from 9 pm onwards. It’s a good opportunity to keep in touch and plan some extra outings etc. and there’s a great choice of beers.

See last sheet which lists the outdoor meets and the names of the monthly coordinators. The dates of the indoor meets are also given, and more details will appear in the next newsletter, due out in August, along with outdoor meets from October to the year end, though early information is given about this year’s New Year meet which some members might find helpful.

In response to the popularity of weekend meets, the committee is planning to arrange two weekend meets at ‘small hostel’ venues as alternatives to the day meets in October and March. More details will appear in the next newsletter.

Meet between 6.45 and 7.30 pm near Glengoyne Distillery – parking along roadside at OS64 GR526828. The flexible timing is to allow the energetic to go some distance or others to take their time, always hoping it’ll be a nice evening. A couple of hours should see us up Dumgoyne and/or its neglected neighbour Dumfoyne, or the speedy could race to Earls Seat and back … but whatever, aiming to have a beer or two afterwards in the Kirkhouse Inn at Strathblane

This meet is fully booked but it’s possible, though unlikely, that there may be a place(s)due to a late cancellation, so if you really want to go, then contact Hugh.

A day meet to Arran will be our first meet of the 2005/06 season. We plan to catch the 09.45 ferry from Ardrossan arriving Brodick at 10.40. There are a choice of 4 Corbetts within walking/cycling distance from Brodick. If you don’t walk to climb any hills Arran is a great place for cycling. The return ferry costs £8.40. Please let Liz know if you intend to come to this meet and if you want or are willing to give a lift. A great day out before the short days of winter.

Arthur will describe how he and three friends made a successful ski

traverse of Iceland, from Akureyri on the North coast of Iceland to

Jokulsarlon on the South coast. Daytime conditions varied from snow

storms with zero visibility to perfect blue skies and sunshine. Nights

were similarly varied, ranging from tents pitched on top of crevasses

and buried in new snow to thermally heated huts with their own saunas.

30 beds have been booked at this hostel in the heart of Munro and Corbett country! Unfortunately we don’t have exclusive use of the hostel as a small party booked before us! Places are likely to be in demand, so to reserve yours, please send a cheque for £35 to Liz, made payable to Glasgow Glenmore Club.

Once again the club has taken an exclusive booking of Inchnadamph Lodge just North of Ullapool. We have booked for four nights from Friday 30^th. December to Tuesday 3^rd Januray. This allows us back to work on Wednesday 4^th after all the holidays are over.

It proved a successful location several years ago and the hills as just right for those shorter winter days.

It has been agreed to take it on an "unstaffed" basis as this reduces the cost. However it means there will be no breakfast served and we have to tidy as we go.

Full details of costs will be in the next newsletter.

The Club’s next 2-yearly foreign meet will be in 2006, and there will be a meeting in mid-September open to any members, to discuss and hopefully agree the venue for next year. Date, time and venue will be in the next newsletter, due out in August – so please start thinking now about where you’d like the Club to go, and if you’re abroad this summer then could your destination be a good one for the Club?

In an effort to give more time for socialising at indoor meets, the following schedule will be tried out for the coming year’s indoor meets:

This has been revised and is now on the Club website. For those not on E-mail a hard copy is attached.

Bill McIntyre is now looking after our equipment, as listed in Information for Members. Please note that the equipment is now only for use on Club meets in order to provide for closer control on usage, in particular for the ropes.

This is proving worthwhile, but members can make it more effective by:

Connie will be making any new purchases from the £80 budget approved at the AGM, so if any members have suggestions for what to buy then please contact her.

Members on e-mail will know that John McPartlin has posted the Club Song Book on our website. For those not yet electronically connected a ‘wired up’ friendly Glenmoron would be able to oblige by printing a copy and failing that your editor can oblige.

50^th. Anniversary Book

The distribution of the book has now reached New Zealand ! Last December Margaret and Roger Noble handed copies in Auckland to former members Alastair and Eleanor Nicoll ( who met at the Club and emigrated there in 1964) and to Margaret Brunner ( nee McCulloch) in Christchurch.

If you are planning to look up former members in distant or not too distant places this summer then why not give them a book? Caroline Thompson has copies: contact 0141 931 5368 or carolinemt2001@yahoo.co.uk . Price is £10 or £12 including p&p (UK)

Less than 10 T-shirts have been requested since the note appeared in the last newsletter about a second order. A minimum order of 24 is, however, needed by the supplier and so unless there is a surge of interest soon then none will be ordered.

Those members on E-mail will have received via John McPartlin information from Borreliosis & Associated Disease Awareness - UK ( BADA-UK) about Lyme disease, also known as tick-borne disease in the UK. The consequences of contracting Lyme disease are potentially very serious and studies of tick-borne diseases suggest they are on the increase due in part to climate change.

The leaflet produced by BADA-UK for ‘Outdoor Pursuits’ is appended – as an attachment for E-mail recipients and in hard copy for others - so that all Club members may be aware of the health hazards caused by ticks. It is a pretty sobering read, especially for those so used to ‘adding ticks.’

Members will see that the latest issue of ‘Scottish Mountaineer’ has an article about the proposed wind farm development at Dunmaglass, in the Monadhliath. As stated in the article, MCofS have lodged a formal objection to this proposal and urge others to do likewise if they feel the same way. The view of the committee is that issues like this are for individuals to act on and that it is not appropriate for the Club to respond….. so if you share similar views to MCofS then write to the address given.

Congratulations to Munro compleatists Steve Owen and Kate McKean, on 3^rd. April on Mullach Fraoch- Coire and to Francis Hickenbottom, 29^th. May, on Beinn Alligin at the recent Torridon meet.

Much more significant ‘completions’ were the recent weddings of Club members:

John Read was in touch recently, looking for information from any members who may have been on the Easter Club meet to Jura in 1970, when he and several other members came across MacLaine’s Skull …………now your interest is hopefully aroused, here is what John wrote:

Pages 142-145 of the recently published 50^th. Anniversary book reproduce a logbook entry from Easter 1970 which tells the story of a Club trip to Jura and the discovery of MacLaine’s skull at Glengarrisdale ( Yes, the spelling of MacLaine is correct). John Read, who wrote the original piece, has recently been approached by Morvern historian and Scots Magazine contributor Iain Thornber, who is carrying out research in to the story of the skull. The skull has now disappeared and only a few fragments of the accompanying bones remain. It was certainly there in 1970 and Iain wonders whether any Club members have any more information about the skull from that time or subsequently. He is particularly keen to see copies of any photographs which may have been taken. Permission would obviously be sought if any were to be used by him, and a proper attribution made.

John first sent Iain a copy of the logbook entry a few years ago, along with the article in the MBA journal and some of Paul Goldfinch’s photographs, one of which is reproduced in the Club book. Several other people obviously saw the skull and bones at Glengarrisdale and perhaps also photographed them. John is approaching directly those he knows were at the meet and if anyone else can help, particularly with photographs, then please contact John at - Tel. 01925 753653. All contributions and reminiscences will be gratefully received and acknowledged.

Ps: MacLaine is actually thought to have come from Lochbuie, Mull, and not from Skye as was suggested in the logbook entry.’

Spring Newsletter

The above Newsletter included, as well as the usual news of bothy conditions and renovations:-

Note:- Up-to-date information on location and timing of bothy work parties is always available on the MBA website (see above).

Special 160^th Anniversary Issue Newsletter.

This special issue included a review of some of the issues with which ScotWays has been involved since its first celebrated case of Glen Tilt, as well as up-to-date news of its involvement with the recently implemented access legislation (February,2005).

Other articles included the Field Officer’s Report of ScotWays involvement around the country, Network Rail’s temporary public access arrangements for 20 level crossings (including those at Balsporran, Dalnaspidal, Achnashellach and Corrour, all surely of interest to GGC members) and news of the recently-established National Access Forum.

A copy of a leaflet entitled "Hill Tracks in the Cairngorms National Park" was included with this Anniversary Issue.

Copies of the MBA Newsletter, ScotWays Anniversary Issue Newsletter and the Cairngorms NP Hill Tracks leaflet are all available from Connie Thomson, the current librarian.

And finally ………

(Meets marked * to be confirmed: indoor meet details to be given in Autumn newsletter)

Month/(Co-ordinator)