The day dawned bright and crisp, frost on the ground, breath freezing in the air... just the day for a DF... (bear this thought in mind for the day)

Chris left home optimistic that we would have a good event this close to Christmas (Before the feasts so everyone should be fit...), picking up Roger at some unearthly hour for him 08:00AM ("is it light then?" he asked, and then sleeps in the car).  We decided to use the longer distance site up at the back of Lyme Park in a Scots Pine wood that has clumps of rhodies for cover.  We parked the car well up the road away from the direct footpath, and hoofed our way in back down the road and up the marshy hillside to the wood, over progressively higher stiles.  When in the wood the plan was changed so we earthed down the aerial in the rhodies and lead the aerial through the pines to the high stone wall.  Roger had an idea to thread the wire through the dry stone wall, and Chris decided to lie in a shallow depression surrounded by rocks and marsh grass.  Anyone inside the wood would have had to climb on the wall just to see what was there but wouldn't see Chris hiding in the grasses and rocks.

After a bit of confusion tuning the TX (Chris had forgot how to tune his own transmitters... well it has been a few years in Canada) there was confusion also at the start; Chris had given the envelopes to John Heath, but John's car had broken down in the wastes of WALES the night before so he would be unlikely to appear at the start.  Roger phoned the TX details to Chris Heys at the start, and due to cloth ears, also the approx bearing and distance.  This information did not seem to help the competitors though, as they didn't appear near the TX site until nearly 11:10AM.  (Yes we saw Chris Heys drive up the road below the site and missed the path, he went and parked next to Chris's car a good half mile further away).  Roger then climbed back over the wall and went to lurk in the bushes.  Half an hour went by, and Dave and Chris appeared over the hilltop.  Chris duly went on the air just to get them running, and of course went off as they climbed the ladder stile into the wood.  They found the rhodies, and followed the aerial...the wrong way... to the stake at the far end marked with the label, "guess what, wrong end".... then looking up saw Roger lurking back in the bushes. After attacking him they followed the aerial to the wall.  Chris could see Dave clambering up the wall, and standing on top for what seemed like ages, trying to decide whether the jump or find some foot holds to climb down.  Chris could see Dave, but for some reason Dave didn't see Chris until he had clambered down off the wall.

Leaving the Transmitter on twenty minutes or so later, a red faced John Jocys appeared from the car park inside Lyme park, it was much further to come that way, but the paths were better.

Retiring to the Rams Head in Disley, maps were examined and stories told, beers consumed and lunch / refreshments had.  Everyone had survived the cold without frost-bite... this time.

Merry Christmas de Chris