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"The Vintage Spirit of SOTA" - the quaint working title to the latest of
G6DDQ's typically zany social events. I personally identified it as an
opportunity to get myself and the kids out for some last-minute fresh air before
the dreaded Back-to-School this next week. I also recognised a unique
opportunity to motivate Liam, in particular, to get up and out into the hills.
All I had to do was mention the genuine Hawes Wensleydale Cheese being supplied
by Myke, and I knew there would be a respite from my youngest son's usual
stubborn resistance at the start of the day! Well, it worked a treat. Jimmy was up with his alarm at 6am, and banging on mine
and Liam's bedroom doors. Marianne was still at work (night-shift), but I
struggled to get out of the pit, having not retired until 1.15am the previous
night. Liam however was straight up. "It's the Wensleydale Cheese and scones
cream tea on Easington Fell" he chattered excitedly to himself, as he routinely
changed over the date on his bedroom calendar. The soup was heated and the water bladders packed into the rucksacks. At 7am,
Sean M0GIA with kids Natasha (Tash) and Daniel arrived as arranged. We would
still need the two cars to transport the six of us, but the youngsters were
invited to divide themselves up as they wished.
Little more than an hour later, we were pulling in at the McDonalds in Baxenden.
Sean expressed his preference for the famous food product from here, the home of
Hollands Steak & Kidney puddings, but sausage & egg mcmuffins it had to be! Back on the road again, as Jimmy navigated the course through Clitheroe to
Waddington, and up onto the road to Easington Fell. The car park was officially
closed due to roadworks, but we spotted James M0ZZO and Matt 2E0XIS parked
there. An enquiry with the engineers, and we were given permission to park there
too. On with the walking. The short plod to the summit was pretty soggy underfoot,
but easy enough, and the kids made good time. Before too long, the 40m dipole
and the SB270 were aloft and ready for use.
I kicked off on 40m CW, making 20 contacts in half-an-hour, into 8 DXCCs. Sean
M0GIA used the 2m beam to activate on 2m FM. Jimmy M3EYP took over on 40m, using
7.118MHz SSB, but made only one QSO despite the spot. He then went to 70cm FM on
the SB270 making a couple of contacts, before completing on 2m SSB. By this time, the summit had become populated with the full crowd. Most were
using 2m FM and SSB, either from handhelds or from bigger rigs and aerials,
including a 13-el tonna. The man himself, Myke G6DDQ laid out the delicious
selection of Wensleydale cheeses, biscuits, scones, jam and cream, and a very
decent bottle of red wine. The feast was enthusiastically devoured by all
participants as the event became more social and chatty, and less
radio-orientated as activators qualified the hill, and near-enough exhausted the
supply of chasers eager to work SP-012! For the Macc Lads, the picnic was
augmented by the flask of very impressive Aldi Chilli Beef soup. We adjourned to the Lower Buck pub in Waddington for a swift after-activation
pint after descending. Here, we met again with Roy G0HDX and Phil G1OPV who had
had the same idea! A very satisfying day out. Grateful thanks to Myke G6DDQ for devising and organising the day, and generously supplying the delicious food and wine (The Vintage Claret of SOTA). And full credit to all participants for the superb display of silly hats. (Embarrassingly, my 'silly' hat was a bright cartoony shower cap, belonging to my wife Marianne. It was quite funny until the drizzle started, and people kept mentioning how 'sensible' my hat was... Not the idea at all!). Many thanks to the following stations, all worked on 5 watts:
The roll-call for the event, to the best of my knowledge, was:
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