SUNDAY, 18th

							                                        www.friendsofdalesrail.org




    NEWSLETTER, JANUARY, 2004
        HAPPY NEW YEAR
                                   CHAIRMAN’S JOTTINGS

  Although it will be after Xmas when you receive this newsletter, may I belatedly hope that you all
enjoyed the festive period and that we all have an enjoyable 2004. Please put it in your New Year’s
Resolution to walk more and to contribute something to the club. I am not asking for much (!): offering to
distribute leaflets/posters or writing a brief article for the newsletter would be much appreciated. It is
meant to be true that inside everyone is a book ready to be written, whilst I do not believe this, this must at
the very least mean that there is a short item for this newsletter within all our members. So please send
something to our deserving editor.
I think that once again the AGM went off very well, although I am obviously biased. Thanks to everyone
who came, I try to speak to as many of you as possible, but my apologies if I missed some of you. There
were no real revelations at the AGM. No changes to any of the constitution so we have to assume that
everyone is happy.
Diane gave her usual good summary of the previous year’s happenings; a full version of this report is
attached. We were then blessed with two reports on the walking events of the year. Penny gave a good
summary and then Alan Jagger gave a short (well actually very very short for Alan!) history of how the
Thursday walks have developed over recent years. Our thanks go to Alan for starting these walks, even
when it was suggested that there was no demand. However, now there is a steady stream of new walkers
who are finding a whole variety of reasons not to go to work on the 1st Thursday of every month!
The annual financial report was well presented, in fact so well that again there were very few questions.
The club very nearly broke even this year, even after the pessimistic predictions at the last AGM, and so, as
you know from the last newsletter we have been able to maintain the annual subscription at £5 for yet
another year. Thanks to Martin for keeping everything well under control and to our new Auditor, Douglas,
for keeping Martin under control. We are also pleased to announce that Douglas has again “volunteered” to
stand as Auditor for another year.
The election of officers and committee was also accomplished without bloodshed. The committee is almost
the same as last year, and the full list is enclosed with this newsletter. If you want any specific information
or want to offer assistance, well you now know the name and how to contact them!
The significant change on the committee was that after many, many years George Thompson has retired
from the committee. As I said at the AGM, George was a member before the club existed! It feels as if he
has always been walking from the train. I am certain that the first knowledge many members had of our
club was being handed a leaflet by George whilst on the train, I know that happened in my case! There is
no sufficient way to thank George for everything he has put into the club and my words are inadequate. But
thank you George and we hope to keep on seeing you on events.
Once the official business was over we welcomed our guest speaker. The “experiment” we tried last year
was so successful that we were able to welcome Steve Macare to give a short speech on what walkers mean
to the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Steve is a local resident and Chairman of this august body. He gave
 a brief potted history of the Dales and gave loads of information that we should have known, but did not.
Very interesting, our thanks go to him and his wife, Pat.
After a very good lunch of high standard, will we ever be able to eat it all!? We had a slide show of a
continental walking expedition shown by Lewis. As regulars will know, Lewis had a very hard act to
follow, but carried it off well and it was very much appreciated by everyone
Thanks again to everyone who attended and thanks again to all of last year’s committee who helped me so
much!
Hope to see you all as often as possible during 2004!! As 2004 is a special anniversary year for running
walks from “the line” please see elsewhere in this newsletter for the special events.

                                    ********************************************
                              EVENTS SECRETARY’S REPORT
 As I am writing this on a busy December day, we are once again having a sunny (though cold) day. I know
this sounds rather unoriginal, but I just can’t believe that a whole year has passed since I became Events
Secretary. And there has been such a lot of activity in Friends of Dalesrail. We have walks every weekend,
sometimes even with some choice and there is also getting to be a lot of demand for weekday walks. We
always try to keep one step ahead of developments and we are always willing to listen to any suggestions
for walks or ways to improve the running of our organisation. Please feel free to ring me or drop me a line
if you have any queries or ideas.
The numbers of walkers going on the train walks is keeping steady though it would be great to see some
new faces. As most of these walks are open the public we are more likely to get tourists and it has been a
real pleasure to meet walkers from overseas. On one walk this year we had both an Italian and a Polish
visitor. I suspect some members are unhappy about the relatively high cost of the Settle-Carlisle/
Morecambe line walks. Sometimes there are special deals on fares for certain travellers e.g. metro card
holders, concessionary permit holders. We try to keep an eye on these offers and detail them on the
website, www.friendsofdalesrail.org, for those who can access it. Otherwise we’ll try to pass on the
information some other way, such as an announcement on a walk. If anyone finds a special deal, which we
have not mentioned, can you please let one of us know so we can pass on the relevant information? When
you are buying your train tickets it is always worth asking at the ticket office if there are any special prices
available
The Caldervale line and some of the Bank Holiday walks are a bit cheaper, but we can only continue to
run these if members offer to lead or backup. We have recently had a couple of very loyal leaders had to
retire, so our need for volunteers is as great as ever. If you feel you would like to help, please let me know.
We are intending to have another Leaders Meeting this year. If any members have ideas of what to put on
the agenda for this, please let me know.
We had a well attended Annual General Meeting in November and Mr Macare, Chairman of the
Yorkshire Dales National Park, treated us to an interesting talk. We are already making plans for the next
AGM and we are interested finding another speaker and possible some other activity. We are really stuck
for ideas here. For years we had an excellent slide show from George Thompson, but regrettably he is no
longer able to do this. Please put your thinking caps on – do you know anyone who could give an
interesting talk on a topic related to walking? Or have you got some ideas about what to do at the AGM? I
know I keep asking for your ideas and it all sounds rather repetitive but it is your organisation and we
could not function without your input
At the AGM we had an extra talk from Alan Jagger who originally started the Members Thursday walks
(1st Thursday in the month). These have been a great success and there seems to be a growing number of
members who are fortunate enough to be able to participate. If you are lucky enough to be available to
walk on Thursday, please give them a try. Details can be found on your calendar or the website.

Another great success is the Lake District Walks organised by Lewis Handford. Presently these are having
a short break but they will begin again in April. Again details are to be found in the calendar or on the
website. If you want to do any of these walks you need to meet in the car park near the village hall, in
Gargrave at 8.30AM
You must make a note of the following date 12th June 2004 for that is when we shall be celebrating 30
years of Dalesrail. We are getting together with Friends of Settle-Carlisle and the Ramblers to put on
number of walks around the Appleby area that is the area the original walks ran from. We expect to have
extra carriages to cope with the extra numbers and will be putting on a buffet at the Tufton Arms
afterwards. We expect to have some local or even national publicity about this, and there should be some
posters and leaflets available soon. Please pass the word around so we can have a truly memorable day.
The Coach Walks are still popular and there are signs that demand could soon outstrip supply. It would be
a good idea to ensure you book early on these trips as we don’t want to disappoint anyone or have to have a
long waiting list as we had before. You can book on the coach for forthcoming trips or ring Brian Hall,
phone 01274 551399. Next year’s trips have been arranged but we are always looking out for new places to
visit, so if you’ve any ideas let us know.
Since the last newsletter we had a wonderful Weekend in Richmond when the walking and weather were
outstanding. In this newsletter you’ll find a booking form for Woolacombe in August. These weekends are
very popular so it is advisable not to leave the booking till it’s too late. We do not have much information
on the walks in this area, so if anyone has any maps walks ideas or can help with the leading/backup, can
you please contact Lewis Handford as soon as possible
In the last newsletter I mentioned we had arranged a discount with a shop in Headingley Leeds called
Points North. Since then I’ve learnt that it has unfortunately shut down. Sorry if you’ve been
inconvenienced by this.

As a final note, we are always looking of help in distributing walks leaflets. Can you spare any time to help
the Committee in this task, such as calling on visitor centres, libraries, stations etc? If so please get in touch.

A Happy New Year and Happy Walking to everyone.


                                     ******************************


                            30th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

 Our club has been running for so long now that we are starting to get into the anniversary mode. Some
members may remember that in 2000 we celebrated 20 years of the club with a special mug (no not mine!!).

2004 represents 30 years since the train journey that led to official walks from the train. To commemorate
this momentous event we have joined once again with the Friends of Settle Carlisle Line (FoSCLA), the
Ramblers Association and the National Park to put on a whole load of walks from the train on Saturday 12 th
June. The arrangements so far are that we will catch our normal 8.49 (approx) train and have, for all
walkers, a whole series of walks, which will finish at Appleby (as did the original trip). The walks will
vary from a town trail of about 5 miles to strenuous walks of over 15 miles. The leaders will come from all
the represented organisations.

At the end of the walk there will be a buffet organised at the Tufton Arms so that we can meet with each
other and reminisce with those who were on the original walks. The tickets for this are already on sale
through FoSCLA, so please see their leaflet. We will then catch the late train back. Hopefully the weather
will co-operate and we will all have a good day!!!

More details will be given in the April newsletter, but in the meantime please put this date in your diary.
We hope to get as much publicity as possible for this event and there may be the advantage of cheap tickets.
We are also thinking of installing displays at locations up and down the line to make people more aware of
what we are doing and to encourage them to come on walks.

If anyone wants to help with this either by leading walks or has information regarding the early days of
“walks from the train” please contact me. Walk leaders with their preferred walk especially welcome.
Thank you
                                                                                DAVID SHERBORNE

                                      *****************************

                                    MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL

Please renew your membership as soon as possible if you have not received a calendar of events. Send your
name and address with a signed and dated cheque for £5.00 payable to Friends of DalesRail to Miss E.
Myers, 35 Waincliffe Drive, Leeds LS11 8ET


                                      ****************************.
                                    SECRETARY’S REPORT
This year we have been able to cast off our mud flippers in order to walk on dry land, although those who
participated in the annual dinner walk last January found that the hardest part was leaving the ice rink at
 Horton station. Overall, though, it has been an excellent walking year underfoot and we have all rejoiced in
the extended shorts season and the near redundancy of our rainproof gear.
Apart from one or two hiccups Arriva continues to supply trains, some rather short and some rather late but,
on the whole, the service has not been as bad as we thought it might be this year. The threatened strikes
were cancelled and the expected blockages in September/October did not have a major effect on us as the
repair work was carried out during the week. In common with many other organisations and interested
passengers we wrote to the Strategic Rail Authority to protest on hearing about the axing of the only
through train between Glasgow and Leeds. We were initially told that this had been done because of the
fear of the train breaking down between Glasgow and Carlisle and being too far away from the repair shed.
This was later amended to saying that the service was being withdrawn to relieve congestion on the line and
thereby improve the reliability of the remaining services in the interests of passengers overall. We shall see.
As an organisation we continue to report on the condition of the footpaths we use. According to a recent
study walkers and cyclists could expect to encounter a serious problem every two kilometres on average.
Research also suggests that walkers encountering an obstructed path are unlikely to return to that path. It
would cost an estimated £69.2 million to bring the existing footpath network to an acceptable standard for
public use and an estimated £18.5 million to maintain it at that standard. This is far less than the £279
million generated by walking trips in Yorkshire. It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to be watchful and to
encourage local authorities to maintain the rights of way in their districts
The committee continues to meet at the Adelphi public house in Leeds where we sometimes have to
compete with the excitement of a football match but do enjoy a welcoming atmosphere. Members have
worked hard over the year and those of you with access to the website will appreciate how well it is
maintained by Philip throughout the year. It is a very useful way of communicating the latest information
about our organisation as well as giving those new to the area some idea of the events we organise and the
beautiful scenery, which surrounds us.
For those still wedded to the printed word publicity in that form has also improved with new headed
notepaper and enhanced posters and we thank George and Joyce in particular for their efforts up and down
the line. New members to the committee this year have contributed a great deal to the smooth running of
the Friends of DalesRail. Penny Lucas has stepped in as events secretary and thanks to her efforts we
featured as ‘Walking Club of the Month’ in August in Country Walking magazine. Alan Kemmenoe has
moved from his former co-opted position to that of a full member and now masterminds the train walks
programme. In the best interests of all and to try and avoid confusion at railway stations we are working
actively with FoSCL to ensure that our two programmes dovetail as far as possible. Diane Taylor, another
new member, does sterling work as the link between us and other organisations and at hunting out discount
opportunities and efficient printers.
As for the rest of the committee Trevor continues to translate walk descriptions into maps and produce the
newsletter, Lewis continues to lead his classic walks in the Lake District and to harass hotels to get the best
deal for our weekends away. Brian makes sure the coaches go to the right place, on the right day. Elizabeth
beavers quietly away maintaining the membership records, Martin keeps us on the right financial lines and
David keeps us all sane. Overall, membership has increased during the year and is now higher than it was
before the foot and mouth outbreak. Something we didn’t think was likely at this time last year. This is
undoubtedly due in some part to the strenuous efforts which everybody has made to publicise the walks
and, perhaps, owes something to the current national ‘push’ to get everybody out walking for the good of
their health.
Once again as I review the year I am struck by the incredible number of events which are organised by a
relatively small organisation such as the Friends of DalesRail. We range far and wide and draw our
members from all over the country. It is not unusual to meet members from Surrey, Essex or Hertfordshire
on walks or at weekends as well as those from the nearer northern counties. Not all members are walking
members but that doesn’t mean they don’t support the organisation. It is not just the committee members
who contribute to the success of DalesRail. Many people work quietly in the background, some of them
members and some of them unofficially co-opted family members. We know that they shrink from public
recognition but we do know they’re there and we thank them for all their hard work
And then in the spirit of leaving the best until last we thank all those people who take the time and the
trouble to recce and lead the walks both for the public and for the members, despite difficulties of transport
and work commitments. They go out in fair weather or foul and whether there are twenty people following
them or only one. We definitely could not exist without them and we are very grateful for their services.
Let’s hope the good weather continues and we can look forward to another good walking year. Thank you.

                                    *****************************

                                          COACH WALKS

Sunday September 22 2003                             Shap

  ‘A’ and ‘B’ parties were hoping that Wet Sleddale would not live up to its name as they set off in tandem.
Soon ‘A’ party veered off to clamber up and over to Mosdale where the weather was not quite so sunny.
Swindale beckoned and a puzzling encounter with four Vikings striding up the valley left them wondering
which century they were in. Tailbert and Rayside were reached at such a speed that the leaders decided to
go for the full Monty and take in Rosgill as well. And there was still plenty of time for drinking once Shap
was reached.
Once ‘B’ party had left the ‘A’s, they made their way to Wet Sleddale reservoir for coffee and then up to
Sleddale Hall. Contouring round they came to Tailbert and followed the same path as the ‘A’s, coming
across a very sad cow mourning its dead calf on the way. Looping round Rosgill, they then strode out for
Shap Abbey before the final assault on Shap itself.
‘C’ party, being of independent mind, started their walk at Shap. Trending the opposite way to the others
they approached Rosgill from the south east. Moving further north westward they came to Brampton and
then made their way back south to Shap Abbey before joining the ‘A’s in a triumphal return to Shap.
We were luckier with the weather than we thought we would be and the fish and chip shop did us proud.
Pity about the real ale.

Sunday October 19 2003                            The Wirral
‘A’ party zipped off from West Kirby at a rate of knots and soon came to Caldy Hill and a delightful view
over the estuary. Undulating countryside led them through country parks, visitor centres, very posh houses
and many encounters with dogs and proper toilets. Once West Kirby was reached and the marine lake had
been circled, the majority cried for more and visited the Red Rocks nature reserve as well.
‘B’ party debussed at Arrowe Country Park and strode out for Royden Park preparing themselves for the
ascent of Thurstaston Hill. Passing the marine lake they made a pilgrimage across the sands to the Hilbre
Islands, hoping that the tide would not cut them off. It didn’t, and, bidding farewell to the welcoming seals,
they re-crossed the sands to West Kirby. The walk was so lovely there were no complaints! Is this a first?
‘C’ party took the sea air from Wallasey to West Kirby and found that it was a longer walk than they had
bargained for. No wonder some of them were on their knees by the time they reached the pub. However,
they enjoyed the sea breeze and the views of the Hilbre Islands from afar and they didn’t get their feet wet
either.
There may not have been any mountains but there were plenty of interesting things to look at and enjoy.
Thanks to all leaders and backups.


Sunday 16 October 2003                               Barnard Castle
‘A’s debussed first, already excited at the thought of the yomping and erratic descent to come. They were
not disappointed. So good to feel mud beneath the boots again! Running concurrently with the walk was a
male hat fashion parade. This did not, however, detract from the beautiful scenery or interfere with the
enjoyment of the varied and interesting walk.
The ‘B’s debussed at Bowes and were soon striding out along the River Greta on the first leg of a walk
which turned out to be a little more than the ten miles advertised. Nevertheless, the weather was beautiful
and the views were magnificent. From farm to farm they went, ending up in Barnard Castle leg-weary but
happy in the knowledge that they had had a good walk.
The ‘C’s chose to start their walk at Barnard Castle on the Teesdale Way. Fortified with coffee they took in
the historical delights of the disused railway line near Lartington before making their way down to West
Pasture and thus along Deepdale Beck back to Barnard Castle.
The longest walk for some people was finding the coach at the end of the day but all arrived safe and sound
eventually, as we knew they would. Thanks to all leaders and backups.

                                    ******************************

                                     RICHMOND WEEKEND

  On Friday DalesRailers converged on the King’s Head, Richmond, from all points of the compass. The
first test was one of spatial relationships and our coach organiser did sterling service as car park attendant.
The hotel was welcoming and warm. Stories of the journey up were swapped and, to the sounds of the J
Arthur Rank gong, everyone trouped to the dining room to enjoy a superb meal. Pleasantly convivial we
then learned our fate for the next day.
On Saturday everyone embarked on a coach driven by a very cheerful soul to whom the narrow road
leading to Marske held no fears. As a result, ‘A’ party was spared a one and a half mile trudge along the
road. (Shame, say some, they should be made to suffer!) But to continue, twenty brave souls set out to
conquer Arkengarthdale and Swaledale. The weather, although windy, was absolutely superb. The trees
were an amazing kaleidoscope of colour and from Fremington Edge Top it seemed as if the world was at
your feet. We nearly made it to Booze, although some, having had a tad too much the night before,
concentrated on ignoring The Red Lion at Langthwaite, and plodded steadily on.
The only slight blot on the landscape was that we seemed to be the target for the Scott Trial bikers as they
hurtled around corners at an amazing rate of knots scattering all before them. This did not deter us from
enjoying ourselves, however. Even the climb up Calver Hill and the rain at the end of the walk did not spoil
our pleasure. In fact, the sight of grown men, apparently unable to put their trousers on properly, might
even have enhanced our enjoyment. Are we sad?
Reeth offered an array of teahouses and pubs, which everyone, according to their taste, enjoyed
                                                                                             DIANE EXLEY


I couldn’t picture Richmond in my minds eye, on the journey up the A1, but immediately remembered it as
we arrived in the beautifully cobbled market square, one of the largest in Britain. Having parked the car, we
checked in to our spacious room with a view over looking the square, passing on the way, the bucket
catching a slow drip from the glass roof, wondering briefly if this was a serious problem or a contemporary
water feature?
After a very reasonably priced luncheon at the Golden Lion, it was time to explore and rediscover the
charms of this quaint market town. Little did we know what the late evening held for us in the “quaint
market square”? Suffice it to say, the prescence of two police cars and a paddy wagon soon restored order.
The fit and the not so fit ‘B/C’ group travelled by coach to Grinton, after dropping off the’A’s, where we
started our walk. The leader, Brian, had the luxury of three back ups (is this a record?). Fremington Edge
was conquered in spite of the additional hazards of four-wheel drives and two wheels, competing for the
footpath. The views and the splendid weather made the climb all worthwhile. This was certainly walking on
the wild side. The descent through the old mine workings was very interesting and it was hard to believe
that this now desolate spot was once a hive of industry. At the bottom, our two “walking wounded” decided
it was the better part of valour (they’d done remarkably well) to call it a day and take the short route back to
Reeth. After passing through an abandoned graveyard, lunch was taken in Arkle Town – strange name for a
collection of about eight or nine houses!
 The stony path up Fore Gill, by now rather overcast, proved a little hard going but the view from the top
made it worthwhile – below, the ford featured in “All Creatures Great and Small” and in the distance, the
head of Swaledale. The moorland path traversing the southwest slope of Calver Hill, brought us to the
hamlet of Healaugh, where a coffee stop in light rain was nothing to “laugh” about!
We had just descended to the river path, tricky walking with many rabbit holes covered by leaves, when the
weather really let us down, and our journey to Reeth was rather wet. Fortunately, the worst of the rain came
down while some were safely ensconced behind pint glasses in the Kings Arms, and some behind tea pots.
Enjoyable end to a most enjoyable day.
                                                                                  TREVOR GRIMSTON

Arriving back at the hotel we discovered that the bikers and their families had descended en masse to
witness a presentation in the ballroom. (Do they dance as well?) This meant that every available stair
and chair in the place was filled with semi-recumbent bodies and going upstairs to bed was a major project.
Some members, responding to knocks on their door late at night and hastily daubing themselves with after-
shave in the hope that their dreams had come true, were disappointed to find no-one there. Some people
decamped to enjoy the sizzling nightlife of Richmond. Others lay in their beds listening to it.
Sunday dawned bright and sunny and virtually windless (except for those who had indulged themselves too
much the previous evening). Some people decided to devote the day to exploring the surrounding
countryside by car and others researched the finer details of Richmond. The rest took to the hills.
Ten ‘A’ party members drove or were driven to Grinton and followed a broad track over the moors
overlooking Healaugh and Gunnerside beyond the River Swale. The sun beat down, flights of fieldfares
whirled in the air and all was right with the world. Greets Hill and Apedale (no comments please) were next
and a research project on grouse moor management was led by our leader. We could not have asked for a
better walk. From Wild Boar Fell to Great Whernside and Pen-Y Ghent we could see it all. A nostalgic trip
past the Youth Hostel at Grinton was even included and at the end of the day we felt that we had spent a
glorious day in wonderful surroundings. Time to come down to earth unfortunately
                                                                                            DIANE EXLEY

The leader on the Sunday walk did not have the same luxury of 3 backups, only Douglas, but had a lot of
walkers. We set off from Richmond, led by Derek, who did sterling work armed only with a 50,000 map, up
and up a narrow ginnel, (not a good way to start with a stomach full of a “full English breakfast”), and
realising where the “Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill” came from. Ignoring the danger of flying golf balls, we
crossed Richmond golf course and through the grounds of Aske Hall, where the autumn colours of the trees
was absolutely stunning. A fabulous tree house in the grounds of Hartfield Hall, was much admired. Shortly
after lunch, twelve members opted to take advantage of the “drop out” point near Whashton, while the fit
and enthusiastic pressed on with the other two sides of the triangle. The breakaway party were happy to be
heading back to Richmond until they found they had three and a half miles of road, most of which was up
hill and seemed interminable!! Except for one lady member, under the influence of an Ibuprofen tablet, set
off at such a pace, fears were expressed that she may fail to stop in Richmond and finish up in Catterick!
The “all the way” party sought divine intervention in order to find their way back, lighting candles in a
church they were passing, after begging matches from the local pub! Could this be the end of the global
positioning system? All safely met up in the square in Richmond and agreed what a great weekend it had
been and looked forward to the next one.
                                                                                  TREVOR GRIMSTON

All in all it was a very good weekend. The weather helped but that was not all there was to it. Thanks
especially to Lewis and Yvonne for making it possible and to all the leaders, backups and backroom
organisers who contributed to the process.
                                                                                     DIANE EXLEY



                                    ****************************
                                          CRAFT MOMENTS

  I have noticed recently that I keep having CRAFT moments. This is how they manifest themselves:

I get up in the morning and decide that it is a fine day to wash the car. So straight after breakfast I set off to
go out to the garage, but notice that there is post on the doormat. I decide to go through the post before I
wash the car. I put my car keys down in the hall and sort out the mail. The junk mail goes into the paper
basket under the table and I see that it is full. Right, I will empty the basket, but realise that since I will need
to go out to the post box with the bills, I’ll do those first. I take my cheque book off the table and find there
is only one cheque left. My extra cheques are on my desk in the study, so I go to my desk and there I find a
glass of orange juice that I had been drinking. I push this to one side, as I don’t want to spill it over the
cheques. I see that the orange juice is warm so I decide to put it in the fridge to cool down. As I head
towards the kitchen with the orange juice, a vase of flowers on the window ledge catch my eye, they need
more water. I set the orange juice down on the ledge and discover my reading glasses that I have been
looking for all morning. I decide that I had better put them back on my bedside table so that I can continue
with the book I have been reading. But first I had better water the flowers. I set the glasses down on the
ledge, go into the kitchen, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote control. Someone
left it on the kitchen table. I realise that tonight when we go to watch TV we will be looking for the remote
but no-one will remember that it is in the kitchen. I decide, therefore, to put it back in the sitting room
where it belongs, but first I’ll water the flowers. Having filled the water can, I set off to the study taking the
remote as well, but on the way I spill some water. I put the remote and the water can down and get a cloth
to wipe up the spilt water before it damages the carpet. Returning to the kitchen and wringing out the cloth I
then try to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the car isn’t washed, the bills aren’t paid, the bin isn’t emptied, there's a warm glass
of orange juice in the hall, the flowers aren’t watered, there’s still only one cheque in the cheque book, I
can’t find my glasses, the remote or the water can and I don’t remember what I did with car keys.

Then I try to figure out why nothing was done today. I know I have been busy all day long and I’m really
tired. I realise that this is a serious problem and need to get some help for it. But first I’ll check my e-mail.

Do me a favour will you and send this message to me so that I can get over this CRAFT problem. Can’t
Remember A F******ing Thing.                                              CYRANO DE BERGERAC


                                      *****************************
                 AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND
         ROYAL HOTEL, WOOLACOMBE, NTH. DEVON & EXMOOR
                          4 NIGHTS – 5 DAYS
                        TH
              FRIDAY, 27 – TUESDAY, 31ST AUGUST, 2004
                           COACH TRAVEL
                    Coach from Leeds and Bradford, dinner, bed and breakfast, £179.
                             Deposit £25 per person, by 29th February, 2004

We have arranged our usual Bank Holiday Weekend to an area a little further afield but offering both
coastal and moorland walks. An increase to 5 days will allow a relaxed journey with the option of a break
midway to Devon for sightseeing. Three full days of walking should be enough for anyone, with the option
of other interests for those that fall by the wayside or wish to seek alternative enjoyment.
The hotel overlooks the beautiful bay of Woolacombe and includes extensive leisure and recreational
facilities which are a distraction to the reason for going on the weekend. All room are en suite. It needs no
reminding that interest may be eager than usual and early booking is suggested. Singles are at a premium.
                                                                                        LEWIS HANDFORD
                                         CAN ANYONE HELP ME?

  It all started a few years ago when I was at a low ebb in my life. I started going off on my own to solitary
places and doing the odd ‘E’ in the hope of raising my spirits. I told myself it wasn’t hurting anyone and I
could easily cope with it. Then one day, I got in with a crowd of what can only be called regular users. I
first met them hanging about the station, wearing distinctive clothes and many of them with sticks.
I was wary of them at first, but they seemed keen to have a new recruit to their strange ways and made me
very welcome. I should have known better. They made sure I soon acquired the habit and before long I was
spending more money than I could afford on buying the right ‘gear’ and going ‘up the line’.
My family and other friends soon noted a change in my behaviour and the way I kept sneaking off no
matter what the weather, leaving the house early and coming back late. In particular they noticed how I was
losing weight and becoming a shadow of my former self. My wife said I had begun talking in my sleep,
about going to ‘Whoreton’, or wanting to buy my ‘Paramours’ some special clothes. And who exactly is
this person called ‘Penny Guent’, she wanted to know. I tried to explain that it was all perfectly normal and
harmless, but she didn’t really believe me.
Soon I had progressed from ‘Es’ to ‘Ms’ in the search of greater thrills. Then after a while, my new friends
suggested that though ‘Ms’ were all right, I really should try an ‘MS’, which they said promised even more
of a buzz. I gave in and experienced one new ‘High’ after another. Inevitably it wasn’t long before I was
taken aside and persuaded that it was time to do an ‘S’. It would be wonderful, they said.
In a mad moment of weakness I gave in and agreed. Nothing I had done before could compare with how I
felt once I had gone all the way. On one occasion I even experienced that multiple high known by other
addicts as ‘The Three Peaks’
Now it is too late. Just to keep going I have to have a regular fix and to go each time. I’m worried that one
day my body won’t be able to take the strain and I will be found exhausted by the wayside.
Please, is there anyone out there who can offer help or am I condemned to wander for ever seeking more
and more highs?
                                                                                             ANONYMOUS

                                      ****************************


                                             STOP PRESS!!
We have just been informed that there are likely to be problems with the trains on the Calderdale Line on
Sunday 25 January 2004. In view of this, the planned walk from Sowerby Bridge to Hebden Bridge will
now start at 10.20. This means that people traveling from Leeds can catch the 9.33 from Leeds which will
only stop at Brighouse and Halifax before Sowerby Bridge.

For people traveling from Bramley, Bradford and other intermediate stations I am afraid that it has to be the
9.02 from Leeds which goes to Bradford and then transfers to bus for the journey to Halifax. It will then
meet the 9.33 train to reach Sowerby Bridge by 10.20.

The walk will certainly still take place!!