Boxing Day Fun Foot DF

Tuesday Bank Holiday , was a lovely soft Cheshire morning, misty but bright. Chris Plummer had stupidly volunteered to organise a DF again to shake the Christmas Pud down. So having raised his friend Clive from the dead he prised him out of the house just after 9:00 AM to go off and hide for the start at 10:00.  Unfortunately, and true to form, Clive got lost following Chris's car out into the depths of Macclesfield Forest, so panic set in before the start. Clive having found a DFer leaving his car at the pub for later, was then found again by Chris with just enough time to set up a wire to a fence and earth stake and test the transmitter. Clive was then left 'hiding' in his car at the back of the forest centre car park.

Chris then dashed back to the pub, and picked up JJ, and proceeded to the start up in the mists on Tegg's Nose, there to find five possible competitors, including Nanook of the North (Dave Holland back for Christmas from Spits Bergen). Chris had decided on special rules for the start; bearings were to be taken at 10:00 by all starters from Tegg's Nose, and the marathon runners were to run from there (including 13 year old Farmer Giles) whilst the over 50's were to drive or be ferried back down the hill to the Leather Smithy pub, to continue from thence to the TX site.

Good signals were heard (well it was only 2.5km away from the start) and the runners set off down the steep hill, whilst the two oldies drove off down the road. The pub was only 1/2 mile from the Tx site, yet it took until 11:10 for Nanook to find him, even though Chris Plummer ran alongside to help as Dave was using Chris's receiver. Dave got to the Forest Centre fairly quickly , just after the second transmission ended at 10:46, but decided to take to the woods (masochistic swine). Eventually Dave was persuaded by more transmissions to return to the car park, and after having wandered about a little , then investigated a car with an earth stake under its back wheel, and thus won the event. Five minutes later Dave Chippendale and Chris Heys came out of the woods but wandered off down the road again. Meanwhile, John Jocys and 'Farmer' Giles snuck in from around the lake and got in ahead of them.

Wandering back to the pub was a nice sunny walk, just in time to change boots and sup some of the real ales from the Leather Smithy. Good food was consumed and we all agreed that we must do another foot or may cycle DF again later this next year.(2000)

Report by Chris Plummer 2/1/00