What I mean is, we've just had a trip to Cockermouth, and we're going to a talk by the Scottish mountaineer, Cameron McNeish, later this evening.
So, to Cockermouth, well known for it's impressive ability to out-flood anywhere in the rest of the known universe. We'd heard that it had more than the average number of arty-crafty galleries so thought we'd go and have a look (and rest yesterday's tired legs).
We arrived at about 10am and, since things don't really get going in Cockermouth until later than that, headed for the nearest cafe. Well, not the nearest, but the one out the back of the 'New Bookshop' (lotta places in Cockermouth start with the word 'New'). It was excellent. Loose tea and fresh ground coffee were the norm, plus home-made cakes, and a cosy bit of seating with a view.
Lunch was even better. We went to 'The Honest Lawyer', a restaurant/cafe/bar place where the food was also entirely home-made. I had the Steak and Ale Pie (which was a large square cut out of a baking tray full of the stuff), with chips - i.e. properly cut-up potatoes. I'm still groaning from the weight in my stomach. K had the Fish Cakes, similarly home-made.
The entertainment was good too - our window overlooked the river where a Dipper, whose favourite perching rock was in full view, kept us entertained with its fishing antics whilst we waited for our food. Shame we couldn't have stayed for dessert, but our parking time was up and in any case I'd probably have exploded...
Oh, and we went 'round some arty-farty galleries too.
Moving swiftly on, to Cameron McNeish (you know, the bloke whose wife has a funny name...). I couldn't remember if he was the mountaineer who got frost-bite in his fingers and had to cut them all off with a rusty hacksaw blade, or if he was the one who fell down a ravine trapping his arm and who escaped by cutting his whole arm off with a rusty hacksaw blade, or indeed if he was the one who thought he could safely commune with grizzly bears in Alaska, who tried, but failed, to fend off the slavering beasts with a rusty hacksaw blade? (By the way, all Swiss Army knives now come with the new rusty hacksaw blade tool as standard).
In fact, and rather disappointingly, he was none of these (no, not even the one who was climbing in the Himalaya, had a fling with a Sherpa's wife, got an embarrassing disease, and had to cut off his...Ok, that's enough rusty hacksaw blade stories).
No, he's the Cameron McNeish who does the walking and climbing in Scotland television programmes, where nobody cuts anything off with a rusty, or otherwise, hacksaw blade. Quite a disappointment really. Well, actually no, in fact it was a very interesting talk, with excerpts from a number of his best programmes (though some excerpts were a little on the long side), finishing with what was originally a live broadcast of a climb on one of the scariest overhanging crags I've ever seen.
It was exhausting, all that dangling by your fingertips, sticking bits of metal into the rock and clipping the rope in, and swearing on camera. But we survived, the talk, that is. And best of all, we've got Sir Chris Bonington to listen to tomorrow night. I wonder if he's ever had to cut anything off with a rusty hacksaw blade...?
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