The intervening weeks

In the last two weeks I have gotten married, been on honeymoon and climbed once.

 

It all started with the wedding. What an amazing experience! I felt pretty nervous, although I dont know why - there was no need, the thing with spending so much time thinking about and planning something is that objectively it becomes bigger in your head than it needs to be. The key being not to intellectualize everything - just be, live for the moment! If it feels good - do it. Our big day flashed past so quickly, and it was amazing, but I would like to go and do it again - just to be able to talk to everyone, and see it all knowing what I know - that there was nothing to be worried about!

 

We woke up on August the 10th a married couple. Miraculously a pipe and slippers had not appeared at the end of the bed, and she didnt have a rolling pin with which to batter me. Nothing had changed, we were still us and we still liked what we liked before. If you do get married, the best advice I can offer is that you should go on your honeymoon straight away. I reckon theres a crash coming if you just go back to work or something (perhaps only if you are as neurotic as I am), so thats what we did. Went on holiday. Excepting a near no passports/tickets mess at the start this was brilliant. We'd chosen Santorini, which is a greek island in the Cyclades chain.

 

Greece is quite poor, so they love the tourists. They are also immensely proud of their cuisine which is good because they do it well, want you to enjoy it and its actually quite healthy. One of my favorite things about Santorini is that whilst it has been touristified, its all couples - there are no marauding groups of unruly football shirted brits on a quest for 'clunge'. All nice restaurants, little villages, galleries and stuff. Island is tiny and of v.interesting geography. Formed by a collapsed caldera, its essentially a crescent shaped cliff with villages along the ridge top. Lovely views, nice walks and almost no need to hire a car. We ate like kings, slept like logs and drank wine like water. IT WAS GREAT! realised just how much I had missed going on summer holidays, and also why we wanted to get married.

 

I should also doff my cap to our incredible hotel. To pick it we'd gone on tripadvisor.com and gone with the number one for santorini - the Anastasis Apartments, and by god - it was amazing. Expensive but worth it. I have always held the belief that you get what you pay for. It wasnt that it was particularly opulent or that we had 12 trouser presses or anything, it was made amazing by the people who run it. A family thing, the lady of the house is the brains behind the success, she's a really honest woman who loves where she lives and wants you to get what she likes it for. They manage to really look after you, and do everything they can to make your stay better but without mithering or making you feel like they are on top of you. You know like you get a better experience at a new crag with an experienced local? well the same equivalent here. Awesome.

 

I thought that I would be grotesquely fat when I got home, and whilst I have put on pounds, its not too bad (11st9lbs). I climbed on Friday at the tor with a fair cast of heroes and i managed nothing, felt weak but it was nice to catch up. Put a rope on Dianetics which has some of the smallest holds I have every tried to use! Didnt even do all the moves, but quite keen to drop a bit of weight, get a bit of strength back and go back out. Ok, for now thats it. Climbing weds if anyone keen? forecast dreadful.

Last rites

Couldnt muster support in advance of last nights indoors action session. I had seen Rab Carrington at Hunters bar in the day, and he had said the tor was gopping on Tues eve. I couldnt be bothered driving to find it rubbish, and kind of wanted to keep things in a safe boundary, it would not do to be limping down the aisle with a sprained ankle or something (not that it is impossible to do that indoors, of course). Plus, I just wanted to go on the board again. Am really getting into it.

So I took my little laptop with me, planning to do some revision whilst i was there. That didnt happen. Joe and Vic were warming up as I arrived, and then Stu Littlefair bounded across midway through some crazy intensity training program. I was delighted. People to talk to! We all set about the motherboard. I rinsed out Rabbis and bagels one side and thought great - its gonna be the night, but never managed it the other way - due to weak left arm. Did some other good problems and marvelled at Stu's power and Joes weightbelt.

Richdraws met us for the last half an hour or so and isnt Richie Crouch. Which just goes to remind one as to not be presumptuous. I drive home, eat monkfish and watch a bit of Terminator 2 (great film)

Today is the last day at work until Monday the 24th. Tomorrow I am getting a shaving courtesy of Cheekbones mason, my hair cut and some other jobs and stuff. Saturday we will try our best to be calm! Sunday we get married! Am really excited and slightly nervous about it all, but less so than I was now that more of the background stuff has been done. We go on Honeymoon (santorini) on tuesday for a week. Then we are back at home for a few days before returning to work. This may be a blog quiet time. I plan not to update or do anything to do with computers whilst away. Cold Turkey!

Smotherboard

Good scene again last night. Dr Pinch couldn't make it, but Dr B.Hind could, and he had with him P.in Head, Cheekbones Mason, Dylog and LuLog. Conditions were inideal. It felt humid, and dry firing was of the order of things. Dan Constant Variable turned up with tanned thin pretty girl in tow. Quite who she was is unclear. He also brought with him a glum freewilly and political instigator from the North East, gangle. No appreciable progress was made on any of my various projects, and in fact, I would go so far as to say I went backwards. But, am happy to write this down to conditions and remind myself that the project bank is now brimming with potential. Yes, these are indoor board projects, but see not a return to the days of old, rather a necessary means to an end in order to acheive my goals this winter (the Ace!)(lowrider)(full power).

 

Its been a funny summer in terms of climbing. Usually, I would assert that summer is about strolling amongst the rhubarb looking for bolts to clip, but this year I have barely started. I've not had time, and then came BlueBand. And the rain. Perhaps I can snatch some glory from the later summer months when we are back from the honeymoon? Found myself daydreaming about Lowrider, and wondering when it will be time to head back up there again. Then there's trigger cut. Come september, bets in the cave are back on again, and I have my sights set.

 

With only days to go, the fear has subsided back into excitement, as I have explored all the terrifying edifices Sunday might hold and realised that it will all be allright. Am so looking forwards to being able to talk about something else, and for us two to be back to normal. We are both really looking forwards to the Honeymoon!

 

Turns out Running hill pits are in Uppermill, which is where that Scoop de Grace thing is. I never knew this, and as the outlaws are less than 2 miles away I shall be investigating. Not, however, pre wedding! highballing the day before would surely be folly. Thats enough for now pig. Wednesday is next installment of the incredible fortification of Morton, so Thursday there might be something to say.