Landward links

Filming the clouds clearing off Lochnagar

The last in the series of my wee bits for Landward have been screened. The last one to be shown was the Cobbler which was filmed a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, the day that had been set aside for filming the Cobbler was one of those minging days where you get that Scotland-specific rain/drizzle that is very fine yet permeates everything. It managed to condense on the camera's rain hood and soak the camera to the point where it was "film the end now before the camera stops working altogether!" We had only made it up to the Narnain boulders by this point but even if we had made it to the summit, we wouldn't have been able to see anything as the mist was so thick. You can tell I was feeling soggy as I was clearly trying to hide my hands up my gore-tex sleeves all day to let the rain run off!

Folk in the UK can see the clips if you click on the links below.

The Cobbler

Suilven

Lochnagar

Schiehallion

Glen Coe

Last posting dates

The last posting date for Christmas will be by 3pm this Wednesday, so make sure you get all your hamper orders in before then!

Dry Tool fest

Nikki walking the line

Pauline (above on the left) from Glenmore Lodge has just sent me through these pics of the Dry Tooling fest that they held at the beginning of the month. Was good to see folk trying out the slacklining on offer and the amazing turn-out for the day.

Dave only managed a pitiful 24 pull-ups on axes. However, in this part of the comp I romped home into 2nd last place with 3/4's, being pipped to last place by Pauline, who only managed a 1/2.

I think I'd better get Dave to draw me up a training plan if I want to take up winter climbing.

Scottish style comp winner

A pleased Mike

Dave and I have just returned from a whistlestop tour of Sheffield, London and Glasgow (where we dropped off Mike's winnings). I'd say he looks pretty happy with it. My money's on his mum receiving it for Christmas!

Landward filming stint comes to an end

My fledging career as a guest TV presenter with Landward has taken me to some pretty stunning places over the past couple of weeks but sadly, filming has now finished for my wee bit. We had an absolutely amazing day on Lochnagar (stream the strand here) which I actually managed to watch all the way through without having to cover my eyes and/or ears.

Doing my piece to camera on Suilven

Last week we had an extremely soggy day on the Cobbler where we had to bail at the Narnain boulders as the camera was about to give up the ghost due to getting soaked by that penetrating, fine rain that just permeates everything. We then jumped straight in the car and headed straight up to Suilven in the North West. As we arrived in the dark, when we stepped out the door in the morning to see this hill I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, what a funny shaped wee hill!

The lunar landscape of the North West Highlands

The path was straight up the side into the saddle on the ridge. It was that straight-up that David the cameraman got vertigo on the path and almost didn’t make it to the ridge, and couldn’t go any further once we got there. I’m sure he won’t mind me telling y’all that…We were running out of time anyway, as our lift back would have been arriving at the foot of the path shortly.

Suilven

Adam and his Argo Cat (with quarry)

We actually cheated on the hefty walk-in that morning and cadged a lift in off of some stalkers on the estate in their Argo-Cat. I did wonder how they were going to get the deer and us back if they shot anything that day, as we pretty much took up all of the back on the way out between the three of us and the camera kit. My query was answered when they came to pick us up with a hind in the back – just pile in on top. It was a bit of a squeeze. To say the least. I feel I’ve come a long way in the past 7 months, coming from working in a department store in the city every day, to bouncing around in the back of a mini-tank on a deid deer in the northern highlands. Quite a different office!

Awesome.

The return of the Fort William Picture House? Yes please!

I found out this afternoon that plans are afoot for the cinema in Cameron Square in Fort William to reopen. This got me very excited. Dave and I started visiting Fort William about 12 years ago to go climbing. On rest/rainy days you would often find us in the cinema watching films that had been released back home in Glasgow a good number of months before. I’ll never forget the first time it rained whilst we were watching a film and realising that the cinema had a tin roof that the rain was just absolutely stoating off and drowning out the film. And then the curtains shut half way through the film for a break; now that never happened in the UGC.

Back in Glasgow, I used to visit the silver screen at least a couple of times a week (I clearly had too much time on my hands in those days) but I now have to rely on getting my fix of the flicks delivered through my letterbox due to the nearest cinema being 60 miles away but would love, love, love to see a cinema back in the Fort so, please, comment here if you would like to see the return of the cinema in Fort William, or maybe you live in some far-flung place in the world where a local cinema is really appreciated, let me know and I’ll pass your comments on and hopefully that will help persuade them to reopen that lovely cinema, though hopefully without the intervals?

Fort William Mountain Festival Launch

A couple of months ago The Fort William Mountain Festival asked me if I wanted to get involved with the festival. I said sure, naively thinking they would ask me to turn up during the week of the festival and collect tickets or something, but I began to think something was amiss when Mike Pescod asked me to come to the next committee meeting and before you know it I was on the committee and I’d been given the task of organising a massive slacklining competition. Oh dear. Never having stepped on a line, this may be quite a massive undertaking. So step forward Jon Ritson.

Once I heard that I was going to be organising this comp I quickly emailed Dave’s slacklining guru contact to find his address didn’t work anymore as he’d moved jobs. After a bit of underhanded cyber stalking (creepy, I know, but it worked) I tracked him down and he has very kindly been helping me out with the intricacies of a new and rapidly developing sport that I knew nothing about.

Jon and his friend Charlie also came up from the Lakes for the press launch of the festival on Tuesday. Driving rain did nothing to deter him though as he rather impressively managed to walk the line repeatedly on cue with a bank of photographers and film crews doing their level best to distract him. Is this the first highline in Scotland?

You wouldn’t believe the amount of cajoling it took to get him in that kilt. Never having worn one, he stepped out his van with it on back to front –it was very funny to this Scots Lass!

So the first British Slacklining Masters has been born, come along to Fort William on 23rd February and try it out – you never now, you might win something! Like £500! And I won’t make you walk across a waterfall….not unless you want to…

Check out the video:

What is Scottish Style? comp winner

And the winner is (drum roll please....) MIKE!

Mike has won a gorgeous Wee Beauty hamper full of lovely things to munch on (and wash with!) Mike felt that Scottish Style could be reflected by it's mutability, it's ability to change which I thought was on the money - so well done Mike.

Thanks also to everyone else who entered, it was a close run thing.