Joining a caving club

The day after I left the cave rescue team I joined a caving club. I don’t think that is necessary contradictory. In order to be a cave rescuer you have to have a bit of a muscle memory for the underground, I would say. I lost mine. And just joining a club won’t bring it back. 

I joined as I had really enjoyed the ladies trip recently. And the same people were organising a weekend in Derbyshire. In order to be allowed in, though, you had to be a member of UCET. So I became a member of UCET. 

I had a quiet day after the AGM, and I hit their website. I found a membership form, and a way to pay the fees. I was in! 

After the AGM I had decided to wash my kit. Not in the river this time; in the actual washing machine. I suppose it is easy to see symbolism here: start this new chapter with a clean slate! Or caving suit. Next month it will start…

Last time with NWCRO: AGM 2025

It would be my last activity with the cave rescue team. I thought the AGM would be a suitable occasion to bow out. I would hopefully be able to hand over my tasks to my successor. And I had to be there, as this would also be the moment we would have a medal ceremony. The king did what his mother had done before, and had issued medals for volunteers with a certain track record. And I was a little bit apprehensive; how many ThursdayNighters would there be on the day I bowed out? And how unpleasant would that make that? But when I got there I wasn't a single one. Excellent!

We always first do a training. If we organise only an AGM, nobody shows up. And what we started with was a presentation about mental health. It can be important for us! I know that the mountain rescue teams already have serious dealings with that, as they have to retrieve people who have died on a fairly regular basis. Only recently, two ladies died in the Watkin pools, and it was mountain rescue who pulled them out. That can be difficult to deal with. We rarely have traumatic call-outs, but we can’t take that for granted.

When that was done we did an exercise in stretcher packing. That's a standard! And when that was done we had lunch. After lunch, we would do another exercise in stretcher packing, but this time in the artificial cave. It is always a lot more difficult to do such things in a constricted space. And we had a bit of a clunky bloke volunteer as the casualty. But we did it. 

 

In the artificial cave

Then it was time for the medal ceremony. The previous time it had just been me handing them out, whenever I bumped into an intended recipient, but this time we had made a bit more of an occasion of it, and invited a special guest. This was Liz Saville Roberts, the leader of Plaid in the House of Commons.

She gave a brief speech, in which she managed to make a credible connection. She knew of some of the venues, and she said that she probably knew some of the people we had had to rescue. And then she handed people their medals. We also had some Long Service Awards for people who had been in the team for 25 years or more. And we had a fair number of people who have been in it for 40 years! If I remember correctly, four of those present got one of those awards. Impressive.

We also took a few pictures of the people who had been recognised with a medal or an award. And then we did a picture with the entire team, as far as they were present. And some of the veterans said that this was the first time ever we had tried to take a team picture. That's quite remarkable if there are people who have been in it for more than 40 years! It was about time. Quite funny, actually, that I'll be in the first team picture ever. And a few hours later I was out no longer a member.

All medal- and award-recipients, plus Liz Saville Roberts

With the pictures taken and we could launch into the AGM. Our chairman tends to keep these very short. I would say that the most important general matter that we discussed was the status of our team. There are two issues with it. The first is that there is a bit of a dichotomy in mountain rescue, with teams that only do cave rescue (which still falls under the umbrella of mountain rescue) by default being some sort of second tier member of the general organisation of mountain rescue teams. And we can apply to become full members, but there are quite some requirements you have to then meet. And only if we make the transition, will we have voting rights.

The second thing is insurance and liability. With the status we currently have, the trustees (that is the committee members and the controllers) being personally liable if something goes wrong. If we change the status of our team, then the team becomes a legal entity, and that creates one level of distance between the individual members and, for instance, claims for damages if something goes wrong. And I think there should be one. Is it fair that a volunteer ends up financially ruined if some other volunteer in their team makes a mistake? Just because they were extra kind and willing to take on a role with more responsibility? And on the other hand; if it is, it might become increasingly difficult to find people who are willing to be trustees. There are scary stories from the mountain rescue world of volunteers actually getting injured, so things do go wrong sometimes. Although it is of course a lot more likely if you have, say, 320 call-outs per year (as Llanberis MRT did in 2024) than when you have 7, like us. But with these things taken together, we clearly have a case for changing our status, and that means becoming more professional.

The other big thing was to fill all our committee positions. Most committee members were standing for another year. I obviously wasn’t, but some young chap that we had only recruited in the last year, but who had already been part of South Wales cave rescue so wasn't on his first rodeo, was willing to take over. Success!

That was us done. And quite uncharacteristically, there was a call to go to the pub afterwards. It was still quite early! So I thought why not. And with some eight people we went to the pub in Dolwyddelan. It turns out to be a lovely pub! And we had some fruitful discussions.

Then it was time to really call it a day. We all went home. That's it! No more cave rescue for me! But I wish the team well. Especially with their new drive for professionalisation. I suppose it's inevitable in this day and age. I'm sure I'll sometimes hear how it's going if I am on another ladies’ underground trip…

Admiring Martin’s new house

Martin had moved house. It was all very exciting. His new place sound decidedly regal. We were keen to have a look! And that would also mean we would get to meet the animals, or at least the proportion thereof that wanted to be met.

We drove up and found it. You have to negotiate some tiny roads to get there. It is quite out of the way! And when we rolled up to the courtyard we started recognising things. He had sent a few pictures through. And he was there to greet us. Sarah was still busy with the horses.

Martin showed us around. That took quite a while! They basically have regal living quarters, working space for Sarah, and two future B&Bs. And then there is the courtyard, the outbuildings (stables, the old forge, and whatnot), the garden, the horse fields, the manège… I suppose living there is a full-time job. Will they manage this without staff? Time will tell!

The horses were in their field, and one even seemed to come up to greet us, but they were both wearing fly masks, so any interaction was limited. We passed the oldest cat on the stairs, but he didn't want to have anything to do with us. We found the middle one on a bed, and she was quite happy to be petted. The youngest was nowhere to be seen.

The house is quite old, and it had lots of quirky bits. The previous owners liked to incorporate both trees and horseshoes in everything. And there were chandeliers, trapdoors, enormous gilded mirrors, low-ceilinged mezzanines, slate sinks and all sorts of idiosyncrasies. What a place!

Tom arrived 15 minutes late, so we did some of the trip twice. And then it was time to have a drink while food was in the oven.

When dinner was ready they immediately decided on their next purchase. A bigger table! We did manage to fit, but not with an awful lot of space to spare. And Siobhan was abroad so wasn't even there. And I suppose that if you have a house in which you can host an almost unlimited number of people, you might as well have a big dinner table.

The food was excellent, as expected, and there was even an additional presence. The youngest cat appeared! I wanted to sit on Martin’s lap. And Sarah's lap. And my lap. I was so chuffed! He is a super sweet soft little cat. And I remembered having Pwd on my lap and not taking a picture, and that wasn't going to happen to me a second time. This time I got my camera out!

Martin and Sarah’s youngest cat on my lap

After dinner we went back to the living room and caught up some more, until we decided it was bedtime and we left. I hope to visit a lot more often. And I hope they will live happily ever after in this house which in a way is a dream house, but also has some clear down-to-earth implications. Regal with a side serving of horse shit shovelling…

Exam board meetings

It's that time of year! Teaching is done, marking should be done, even academic integrity cases should be dealt with by now. It is time to reflect on how it has all gone.

What we tend to do is first have an internal meeting in which we go through all modules, and check their metrics. Did any of them have worryingly low grades or high grades? Is there a reason for that? Do any grades need adjusting? How have the students done? Are there unusually many or few who are getting a first class degree? How many requests of special circumstances were there, and how were they dealt with? (You can apply for special circumstances if, for instance, you are ill, you have a family bereavement, or similar things that might affect your performance, or your ability to even engage in academic work.) How many cases of academic integrity problems did we deal with, and how were they dealt with? And we nominate students for prizes.

When that's done, we have the big meeting with the external examiners. These have the ungrateful task of going through everything we do. All the modules, all module websites, all the assessments, the marking, the feedback: everything. And then they have to tell us what they think could and should be done better.

I always have something to do in these meetings as I am the academic integrity officer. And as well; the dissertation module always gets name-checked. We have three different external examiners for the three different directions we teach in, but they all, of course, look at the dissertation module, as that is done by everyone. And it is a tricky one as you are dealing with literally the entire academic staff. So that means a lot of herding cats! And some of them are not notoriously difficult to herd. So there is always an issue with consistency. And it is the most independent work the students do, and there are always students who really struggle with that.

The examiners tend to come with very useful advice. They have an outside view. Sometimes you are standing so close to the subject of your own module that you can't see anymore how else it could be, but they can. They were from three different universities (Liverpool, Southampton and Newcastle) so they all do things differently there. And we might as well steal their good ideas! Just as they steal ours I'm sure.

We have done the exam board meetings for the finalists, so the 3rd year BSc students and the 4th year students on the integrated masters. (There are also MSc students who do a project over summer and graduate in winter.) We'll have another exam board meeting for the non-finalists the week after.

When that's done we basically have the summer to implement all the changes that arose from these meetings. And then the whole circus starts again in September!

TNH

Yes I am doing it again. Blogging about the Thursday Night Hill session. This week it was going to be Waunfawr. I love that area! But I was a bit apprehensive. Last year we did a run there too, and it had been the only time someone had to pull out injured. She had slipped on mud and hurt her knee on a rock. And since my spring knee sprain, I have been more scared about injuries than usual, and my usual levels are already quite high. Additionally; the forecast for that day was rubbish. So all slipperiness would be extra slippery.

I drove up through quite heavy rain. When I arrived at the parking lot which was the meeting place, I saw there was an issue. A van was trying to negotiate the height barrier. It was either going to just fit, or just not fit. But nobody could get past while the trying was ongoing. A lot was attempted, including having three runners standing on the bumper, but in the end we gave up. The van parked outside the barrier.

Now we could get past and get ready. And when we set off I saw we seemed to be doing last year’s route backwards, with a steep bit first. Steep uphill is fine, though. And soon we were by an outcrop, in rain and strong wind, that overlooked last year’s incident site. Ominous! I was extra careful on the downhill. So much so Dyfed gestured at me to take a shortcut, together with the ladies who had the dog. Good idea! 

Running past ruins

Some bits were on asphalt or gravel roads. That worked for me! No fear there. But I stayed careful on the more precarious bits. And there was one descent on so much slippery mud I made everyone wait. Oh well! Better that than getting injured. And we had even had to wait for a bit for someone else on Moel Tryfan. Nobody minded. So I know it’s ok. 

In the fog at Moel Tryfan

We did one bit northeast of the road from Waunfawr to Rhyd Ddu. That was entirely new to me! It was pretty. But it was getting late and I needed the toilet. Fortunately, at least I had jelly babies with me this time (after forgetting them last time). 

Some route I was unfamiliar with 

When we were back I was relieved I had managed another week without incident! I hope I will get some of my fellow running confidence back over time. I never had much, but now it’s really low. Time will tell! Hopefully another step in that direction next week…

Tuesday track

When I became a member of the Eryri Harriers , I saw that there are lots of training possibilities. There is the Thursday Night Hill sessions I regularly attend, and the Monday training and Wednesday training I each did once. The Monday training wasn't really fit for me, but the Wednesday training was. I just did not want to have another evening commitment after my Tuesday Welsh class and Thursday runs. There was also track training on Tuesday, but obviously, that clashed with Welsh class so was out of the question.

Welsh class has now finished. And I had bailed out of the Tuesday night fell race series anyway. So I figured I could do Track Tuesday! And it would help that I knew that my colleague Chris would be there too. So in the office I changed into my running kit, and biked to the track. There I figured I could start doing some laps as a warmup. In the blazing sun. 

When it got to 6 o'clock I asked some loitering people if they were also there for Track Tuesday, and they were. So I was at the right place. And then I saw Chris appear. I joined him for another lap of warmup. And at the end of that, he introduced me to the instructor.

Picture from The Track Tuesday Facebook page

Soon we started. We first did some short drills, where we moved a few tens of meters in a particular way; doing walking lunges, or skipping with knees high; that sort of thing. And then we got to the real training. It had been announced on the app what the drill would be: 2×800 m with a two minute break, then 4×400 meters with a one minute break, and then 8×200 meters with a 30 second break. We were expected to do that in single file. People started to line up, and Chris pushed me in somewhere and said "I think you should be about here”. And we set off! 

I was a bit uncertain about it all. We had been warned against racing each other. No looming at someone’s shoulder as it might stress them out. And I had people behind me! Now I had to go fast enough for them to not get frustrated. When I had done the 800 m I saw there had only been one person behind me. Not a whole train! Phew. And when I wanted to get further towards the back nobody would let me. It turned out Chris had placed me perfectly! 

Picture from The Track Tuesday Facebook page

Then we did the rest and I relaxed. But also made some effort! That was the whole point, after all. I ended up in a fairly fixed position. It was good! I enjoyed it. 

When we had done the last 200 m the instructor told us to take off our socks and shoes, and line up, flat on our bellies on the grass in the centre of the track. He had a last trick up his sleeve: when he blew his whistle, we had to jump up and run as fast as we could to the other side of the cone-demarcated field. We did that ten times. Then we were done! 

It had been good! I had run some 8km in total, but quite differently from how I normally run that distance. I chatted a bit with some fellow runners and then headed home. 

I intend to be back next week! This is useful and fun, and logistically easy, as the track is only half a mile from my commute. So this might be a regular occurrence from now on…

Taking all day to marshal for half an hour

When I was car sharing with Anna, who is heavily involved in the organisation of the Eryri Harriers, she asked if I was available for the Welsh Castles Relay. It would be in early June. I doubted it. At the time, it wasn't quite clear when the annual family reunion would be, but that weekend was a serious contender, and in addition, that would also be the weekend in which Jaco would turn 60. These two things in combination were already worrying me! And plans for Jaco’s birthday hadn't been made yet, but it was very likely it would get in the way. So I said no.

The family reunion in the end was the weekend before. And while I was in the Netherlands for that, I received a message from Marjan: the birthday dinner she had planned was cancelled for reasons of a funeral. Oh no!

With all that, I certainly was available that weekend, but it was too late to register to run. But then a message came through from the Harriers. Two marshals had had to pull out. They desperately needed replacements. So I volunteered. And it would be all day, but well, so be it. 

The marshalling came with car sharing with one of our two chairpersons: James. I didn't know him very well. I figured that might change that day…

At 7:30 I was ready to roll. So was James, who picked me up from home. So we set off. It's a long way! We had to go all the way to Merthyr Tydfil. And that took about 3.5 hours. A lot of talking about running took place. And about a few other things. Time went by quite quickly! 

We were heading for the start of the leg of the relay race we would be marshalling. We had been given a postcode and a 'what three words' code. We got to a rather full car park, but it didn’t seem the right one. There was another one down the hill where we found a spot. It didn’t have the right name, though. But we were deep in the Bannau Brycheiniog and there was no signal of any kind. We walked to the other parking lot to see if that helped. And then we just settled on the other one, waiting for the others to turn up. 

It was a long time since breakfast and I was ravenous. I sat down for combined elevensies and lunch. James went to the other car park again to catch any Harrier ending up there. I would stay put and catch those coming my way. 

Making myself comfortable while waiting for the other marshals

By the time everyone had reached ‘our’ car park the race was about to begin. We had to hurry! And we got an escort from a local. Probably just as well. We dropped the various marshals at their stations. James and I were towards the end. We would guide the runners over a T-junction. They would come charging down a tiny sloping road onto a flat, much bigger road. We were there mainly for safety, but also for showing the way, and general encouragement. 

After a while we saw the first runner. It had begun! We cheered and clapped and pointed. We barely had any traffic to deal with. 

We were about a mile from the finish, so the field was quite spread out. And there was one runner we actually knew: Eryri Harrier Sam. There were only 61 runners in the race, so even spread out it didn't take very long for all of them to pass. I think we were only on station for half an hour! And then our job was done again. We had driven 160 miles for that.

Sam coming around the corner 

We convened with the other nearby marshals. There was some handing out of T-shirts and thank-you presents. The latter from Anna! That was very sweet of her. I got some lovely chocolates.

Then we all had it off. We obviously had a long way to drive back. And it was even longer than the way down, as there was more traffic on the road. I got a rather yawny, and James said he would've struggled if he wouldn't have had a passenger. That made me feel a bit better about having sacrificed my entire day to half an hour of clapping.

I was home by about 6 pm. But I did find good news when I got there; there was a WhatsApp group with people involved in the race, and Nia-Meleri, the other chairperson, had talked to the race organisation, and negotiated that next year, the Eryri Harriers can do all their marshalling tasks in the north. That will save us the soul-destroying and climate-destroying slog all the way down to South Wales! Excellent. 

So what about next year? Well! If our family reunion ends up in that weekend I will probably be ok with that. But if it isn't, I'd like to run. And that doesn't exclude marshalling; you can do both. I think there are six legs on each day, so as long as they are not consecutive, you can run one leg and marshal another. But we'll see! It is a long way away. But I must admit I have been slightly bitten by this bug…