Mrs May not

I was amused by the spoof news item 'Elections off', says May.' It sums up the election campaign over the last week as the PM has seemed to shun any responsibility for the unravelling of the campaign whilst making the election about herself rather than the Conservative party. She has refused to engage in any debate, avoided answering any questions during interviews, not allowed most of her cabinet to share responsibility for the campaign and adopted a vindictive and nasty tone about her opponents, particularly Jeremy Corbyn.

She was rattled by questions from the public in the Sky/Channel 4 'Battle for Number 10' debate. The audience laughed at her claim that the Labour policies do not add up when she hadn't even costed her own policies. They also gave her a hard time about elderly care,  the NHS and education. She was visibly shaken by Jeremy Paxman's accusation that she was "a blowhard who collapses at the first sign of gunfire." It had some substance after her change of decisions on care for the elderly, calling an election, tax on the self employed, not to mention Brexit. She does not seem very strong or stable preferring to obfuscate and seems unwilling to spell out her policies or their cost in any detail. 'Trust me I'm Theresa' isn't cutting the mustard anymore.

Owing to the unwillingness of Labour MPs to take shadow ministerial posts, Corbyn has had to take Lion's share of responsibility for the Labour campaign. The shadow cabinet he is left with are largely inexperienced and untested and only John McDonnell and the supercilious Emily Thornberry appear to be trusted after Diane Abbott's sleepy abacus disaster over Police funding. Nevertheless, Corbyn has been the perfect antidote to Mrs May. He does not indulge in personal insults, he focuses on the issues. He has principles that are sincerely held over many years, even though they are not shared by many of his colleagues, and there is a modesty about his integrity. He does not claim to be strong and stable but he has been far less chaotic than Mrs May. If he does not know an answer he does not obfuscate, he apologises and says he will come back on that. His handling of questions from the public and the other Jeremy (Paxman)was assured and unruffled. He seems to be strong and stable.

Suddenly the presumption of a landslide Tory victory needs to be reassessed. The awakening of the younger generation using social media to challenge Mrs May may just trigger a greater likelihood of the young to vote and, just maybe, there could be an election shock in the offing.

It is an election to provide a government and that means a team of people who have the competence to steer the UK through troubled waters. Not just Brexit and the need to establish a trusting relationship with the EU but reinvigorating an economy that is fragile, tackling environmental and climate change issues that must be addressed sooner not later. There is an imperative for taking positive action for greater social justice, providing more and better housing as well as funding schools for all children, not just those in academies or grammar schools. NHS and social care must become better managed as well as funded. And it is vital that the centralising tendency of central government must be reversed, giving power and responsibility for spend and taxation to localities.

The Tory cabinet before the election was one of the weakest I can remember and operated in a defensive mode that echoes Mrs May's preferred style of governance. The dilemma if the Tories were not to win an overall majority is who of the Labour MPs would be asked or willing to serve in a Corbyn led government. And will other parties be prepared to work with Labour to provide a more progressive government? It is not the sort of possibility that was being contemplated a few weeks ago but it is beginning to appear an option. Mrs May may have inadvertently prompted this by her aversion to answering questions, excluding others from the campaign and her habit of obfuscating at the first sign of gunfire. Even if she does win, her reputation as a latter-day Boadicea unshackling us from Europe has been shredded by the election that she probably wishes she had never called. If her gamble is perceived to have failed, the Tories will not hang around too long before replacing her with someone who will really make a mess of things.

Lakeland weekend

The Brothers Hodge

Holehird gardens

The rock garden at Holehird

Crinkle Crags and Bowfell from Lingmoor Fell.

It was the May weekend and I drove down to Oxenholme station to collect Aileen, she had been looking after the grandchildren for a few days. I had been clearing the garage and sorting the garden for putting the house up for sale. We had been invited to spend the weekend with her three male cousins and their wives in the Lake District. The family connections stemmed from a brother and sister growing up in Dunfermline in the pre-war years. The cousins were sons of a Scottish doctor who had practised in Morecambe. They had become a businessman, an accountant and a policeman and were all now retired and scattered across England. It would be chance to hear stories of post-war lives during the social and economic changes of our generation.

The heatwave had meant the Virgin train from Euston was late for whatever reason the Virgin random excuse generator had thrown up. No surprise there, apparently the air conditioning had not been working and Virgin had to give out free water bottles to the passengers who were wilting in the heat on the crowded train. Typical Virgin, water is a lot cheaper than having to compensate the passengers who had paid premium rates for the bank holiday travel. When the train finally arrived in the late afternoon heat we scurried across to Hartley's, the local ice cream vendor in the station yard, and treated ourselves before the short journey to Newby Bridge,

I did not know what to expect from the weekend but had been warned that no-one would want to be dragged off on a fell walk. This largely defeats the purpose of going to the Lakes in my mind. We celebrated our wedding anniversary with a bottle of Prosecco, ate a three-course meal and listened to the brothers who berated each other in what is sometimes called brotherly love. Their wives seemed nonplussed by the display and I was soon made the victim of their taunts. I took this as a compliment for a while but eventually was compelled to let rip at Daily Mail readers, Brexit voters, the Police, accountants and greedy businesses. They were good sports and I enjoyed challenging a captive audience who privately, if not publicly, could identify the accuracy of my comments.

The next morning we decided to visit a the Holehird Gardens near Troutbeck. I was not looking forward to it but it turned out to be a magical place run by the Lakeland Horticultural Society. There were superb views over Windermere and to the Langdales. A tarn provided the backdrop for some photos of the family grouping before we retired to the Mortal Man in Troutbeck for a pint and a lunch in the thunderstorm. In the afternoon we had a coffee in the recently refurbished Swan Hotel at Newby Bridge that sits alongside the river Brathay and I walked up Summer House Knott above Lakeside at the foot of Lake Windermere. 

The following day took us to Elterwater where the main party enjoyed the walk alongside Great Langdale Beck and Elterwater to Skelwith Bridge and back. I managed to persuade Eric to walk up Lingmoor Fell and we were treated to some fine views over the fells. We met the others for a pint in the Britannia Inn, a place that makes any day feel special. We sauntered round Hawkshead where I was tempted to buy a seascape from the gallery by the Spanish artist, Marc Estave. I wished I had and when I looked at the gallery online the following week it had been sold.

Marc Esteve seascape

The next day we visited an old friend from Preston whom I had climbed, cycled, gone drinking and on holiday with during student days. He had settled in Ulverston after a career in teaching and then as a special needs adviser. He was still looking healthy and fit; he climbs, cycles and had lost none of his down to earth and egalitarian values that were acquired growing up in a small terraced house adjacent to the greyhound track. We reminisced about shooting at the electric hare with an air rifle from his sister's bedroom as the dogs chased it round the track. We managed to hit it one day and the hare stopped, the dogs were flummoxed and all bets were off. Happy days.

The long weekend ended with a lunch near Kendal, Eric's daughter had driven up from Manchester with her two young children and we heard snippets of life from the next generation. The diaspora had colonised different locations in Yorkshire, Lancashire, London, Norfolk, the Scottish Borders, Stirling, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Norwich, Manchester, Glasgow, Aviemore, France and Hungary; their jobs were just as diverse. We had enjoyed listening to the lives of the Hodge baby boomers. The cousins had shared stories and memories of their common ancestry and everyone listened with rapt attention.

Duke of Edinburgh's Award: How to ration roaming

Travelling light on Duke of Edinburgh's Award

As spring moves towards summer the forest trails in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park are swollen with the annual pilgrimage of young people plodding along to obtain their Duke of Edinburgh's Award (DofE). It is a good place for groups to walk. The heavily forested trails require some map reading skills, there is plenty of good scenery, lots of wildlife and it's not too far from the populous central belt of Scotland. There are various campsites available within the newly designated camping management zones established by the National Park authority as it seeks to restrict wild camping in the National Park. This is unfortunate as the protocols of wild camping are exactly the sort of skills that young people should be encouraged to learn as part of their expeditions. It is wild camping that really inspires a love of the great outdoors and inculcates the desire to explore. 

I despair of the way that the DofE supervises the walks for young people. This morning a leader was instructing a group of teenage girls at the start of their walk as I ran past them, it was a litany of don'ts. The youngsters all looked as if they would happily give up on the spot, this was not an instruction to enjoy themselves. A couple of miles further into the run I passed another group of 8 or 9 struggling to carry 60 - 70 litre rucksacks with tents strapped onto the top or bottom of the sacks and various cans of drinks tied onto other straps. As a way of deterring youngsters from enjoying the freedom of walking this must be the optimal experience.

Leaders of the Duke of Edinburgh's award should not be loading their charges with such heavy loads. I was so concerned that I halted my run to ask the youngsters why they were carrying so much stuff. They said it was on the list of things to take. All of them said they were struggling to carry their sacks and seemed to regard the event as a rite of passage. It is not as though they travel long distances or do much climbing on these events. Competitors in Mountain Marathon events carry all the food and equipment for the high mountains and an overnight camp in 20-litre rucksacks. I normally use a 36-litre rucksack for a couple of night's backpacking in the Scottish hills and a 58-litre rucksack was sufficient for a 13-day traverse of the GR20 in Corsica. Not since the 1980s when the equipment was much heavier than today have I used rucksacks as large as those recommended for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

The equipment list is the full Monty version of the rule that you should always wear boots in the hills. Thirty years ago this was the norm and I was admonished on several occasions for wearing trainers. Yet modern trail shoes are far more appropriate in spring, summer and early autumn. Saving 2lbs of extra weight on your feet speeds progress and reduces fatigue. Similarly carrying 15-20lbs rather than 30-40lbs on a DofE expedition would lighten the load and lift the spirits of the walkers. Even the Duke of Edinburgh in his dotage would approve of this. The DofE need to re-examine the DofE expedition list and make it more appropriate for enjoying the outdoors rather than supporting their sponsors, the outdoor retailers, increase their sales. In doing so create they are creating a cadre of reluctant sherpas rather than nurturing the curiosity of young people to enjoy the outdoors.

Carn Mor & Bidean a' Chabair, Glen Dessarry

Carn Mor from east ridge

Friday 5 May 2017

Ascent:    1920 metres

Distance:  22 kilometres

Time:        10 hours 34 minutes

Carn Mor                829m    2hrs 26mins

Bidean a' Chabair   867m    5hrs 41mins

We parked at Strathan and walked in to the A' Chuil bothy in Glendessary. It was being refurbished but we were going to camp in any case and we walked another 400 metres before finding a suitable site. As always it was impossible to find a flat patch of ground but the dry soft grass provided a comfortable mattress. It was another sun-basked morning and we managed to get away before 8am, climbing straight up from the tents to the 5 kilometre long east ridge leading to Carn Mor. The first 550 metres of ascent was a stiff climb, I took the left ridge and John and Keith went up the right ridge and once on the broad summit ridge the vistas opened up. We were treated to that rare event in this part of the world, a sunny day with the cool easterly wind making it pleasant for walking and ensuring excellent visibility. We took a longish break at the summit, which we reached just after 10am. Three retired seasoned walkers with over 6000 munros climbed between us, we deserved a rest, so many outings in the past had been during long days when time was the essence and weather conditions not conducive to stopping.

The OS map does not provide the best of detail in these remote parts but we found a feasible route down the north east ridge and then by following a burn that dropped steeply to the glen below. We had lost almost all our height and had another longish break at the burn whilst we topped up our water bottles and viewed the grassy ramps leading to the summit ridge of Bidean a' Chabair. Keith started at his usual steady pace and made the summit 10 minutes before John and I. We passed an elderly couple on their descent near the summit, they were staying at Strathan in a camper van and had watched us arrive the night before. They were envious that we were about to complete our second Corbett of the day and described themselves as 'one a day walkers'. Bidean a' Chabair was about the limit of their range and they had cycled up Glendessary for the first 5 kilometres.

The final 100 metres of ascent was a delightful walk through a group of small lochans with a steepish scramble to the splendid rocky summit. With Knoydart to the north and Rum and Skye to the north west, we were spoilt for views and this was further extended when an eagle appeared over the twin summit of Sgurr na h-Aide. We had hoped to be here by 2pm but had made it with some time to spare so we celebrated with a good half hour stop. John and Keith were getting close to finishing their round of Corbetts, or third round in the case of Keith. They had a palpable sense of being 'nearly there' as this was possibly the most remote Corbett.

Our descent was by a series of grassy ramps back to where we had started the climb and then we had a 2 kilometre walk along a glorious sinuous valley that bisects the two corbetts. There was a steep final climb before dropping to the edge of the conifer plantation and the trail back to Strathan. We entered the forest through a broken gate and followed a boggy path alongside a burn for a kilometre until we reached the river. The dry weather meant an easy crossing of the river to reach the track on the other side that continues through the forest for a couple of kilometres until it emerges near the A Chuil bothy. We met a young German walker heading towards Inverie, he was ecstatic about the conditions and the fact that we had left our tents whilst we went for the walk without any fear of any theft. He loved the values of collective honesty and the freedom of the Scottish wild places. We persuaded him to take a diversion up Sgurr na Ciche in the morning as he said that he was ahead of schedule and had time to spare and looked to have the energy to tackle the best of the Knoydart munros.

We packed the tents and walked back the final 5 kilometres to Strathan along the good track. It was a perfect evening although still chilly in the easterly breeze. We met several walkers heading into Knoydart for the weekend and reached the cars before 7pm. The drive out along Loch Arkaig was, as usual, both frustrating and slow but the drive home was in the best of May conditions. The views of the grey corries and then Glencoe were quite sublime but hunger drove us on so there were no stops for photos.

Loch Arkaig in late evening

Setting off for A' Chuil bothy in the evening

Loch Morar and Rum from Carn Mor

Carn Mor ridge

Descending from Carn Mor

Approaching Bidean a' Chabair summit

Loch Nevis from Bidean a' Chabair

Sgurr na Ciche and Garbh Chioch Mor from Bidean

Job done on Bidean summit

Me descending Bidean, Sgurr na Ciche behind

Strathan on the walk out

Sgurr an Utha

Sgurr an Utha from Drum na Brein-choille

Thursday 4 May 2017

Ascent:      747 metres

Distance:   8 kilometres

Time:         3 hours 1 minute

Sgurr an Utha       797m    1hr 50mins

At last a dry spell of weather with a high pressure over Scandinavia giving Scotland blue skies, low humidity and a chilling easterly wind. These are the best of walking conditions so John and I arranged to travel to Morar to climb two of the remotest Corbetts after each of us had climbed separate remaining Corbetts as an aperitif. I dropped John below Braigh nan Uamhachan, next to Gulvain, and drove on for an extra 6 miles to Sgurr na Utha. I had passed the steam train travelling to Mallaig from Fort William just before dropping John so when I parked at the top of the incline at Cross beyond Glenfinnan, I walked down to the railway line to take some photos of the locomotive as it steamed up the incline. I was soon joined by a photography boffin from Bolton who was on a 3-month post-retirement tour of Scotland. 

The locomotive had stopped and then must have lost steam at Glenfinnan so we had to wait about 40 minutes before the distinctive sound of the Stanier Black Five locomotive echoed up the glen. It was almost noon before I grabbed my rucksack for the short excursion up Sgurr an Utha, The track that begins just east of the bridge at Cross rises steeply and after about a kilometre forks to the right and climbs up to 500 metres. From here it is a pleasant climb upwards at first and then along a knolly ridge before the final climb to Sgurr nan Utha. There were splendid vistas back to Ben Nevis across Loch Eil and, as I alighted on the final ridge, the Glenfinnan Munros and Streap were impressive peaks. Knoydart, Skye and Rum were all visible and the nearby Loch Beoraid shone an azure blue.

I had made reasonable time on the ascent and gave myself 15 minutes to enjoy the views and take a few nibbles. I had arranged to meet John at 4pm so began the descent just after 2pm and took a direct line back to the track. It was a surprisingly easy descent over grass with only a few outcrops to avoid. The track took me down quickly and I was back at the car park where a couple of Highland Council road workers had coned off my car in the new car park. They were about to seed the land alongside but more ominous was a tar machine standing by to presumably put the final layer of tar where my car was standing.

The steam train rattled past on its return from Mallaig, almost freewheeling down the incline. I drove down to the junction with the A861 to collect John but I was early so sat in the sun for half an hour. We then drove to Neptune's Staircase on the Caledonian Canal at Banavie where we met Keith Adams. He was nearing completion of his third round of corbetts to add to almost five rounds of Munros and four rounds of tops. The remote Loch Arkaig duo of Corbetts, Carn More and Bidean a' Chabhair, were his main remaining obstacle.

We had an early tea at the Bar/restaurant by the canal before setting off on the long single track road to Loch Arkaig. It was a doubly difficult journey as the Scottish motorbike trails were taking place by Loch Treig and dozens of bikers were heading towards us at speed on the single track road. Then we had the arduous 13 miles of the single track roller coaster up the length of Arkaig. We packed our rucksacks and at about 8pm began the 5-kilometre walk to the A'Chuil bothy so we would be ready for an early start in the morning. The bothy was closed because a party of volunteers were restoring it, so it was as well that we had taken tents. It was a warm night and too early in the season for the midges to have emerged.

Ben Nevis over Loch Eil

Sgurr Thuilm and Streap from the summit

Route down

Loch Beoraid from the summit

Knoydart and Skye from the summit

Black Five approaching Cross summit

Ben Nevis

Tory cabinet

As we watch the Tories surf into the election with a 15% lead, I am flabbergasted by the incompetence of Mrs May's cabinet. Yes, Iain Duncan-Smith may have gone after creating a 21st-century Dickensian landscape through his lamentable management of Universal Credit but many other placements are unsuitable for office. Jeremy Hunt, Priti Patel, Liz Truss, Sir Michael Fallon, and Chris Grayling appear completely out of their depth in the posts they currently occupy. Boris Johnson, Liam Fox and Andrea Leadsom are only there because of their Brexit fakery. Having Michael Gove in the cabinet is akin to keeping the genie in the bottle, there is no end of damage he would cause if allowed out of the tent. Perhaps it is what Mrs May intended when she tried to pick a cabinet from across the many cabals of Tory MPs.

The Tories usually had a few frontbenchers who could be seen to be working well with their briefs, even David Cameron had a place for Ken Clarke and 'two brains', David Willetts. In Theresa May's government Greg Clarke, Phillip Hammond and the excellent David Gauke seem to grasp their briefs but are targets for the backstabbers. On the back benches, there are notable stalwarts like Sara Wollaston, Heidi Allen, and Stephen McPartland who seem to be thinking for the wider good but they are out of tune with the majority of their colleagues.

So what should a Labour Cabinet look like, certainly not the motley crew that constitutes Jeremy Corbyn's current shadow cabinet? They lack the gravitas to occupy ministerial positions just as Jeremy Corbyn lacks any leadership ability. There are exceptions and it is encouraging that some of the next generation are being given opportunities. His most trusted lieutenants, Diane Abbott, Emily Thornberry and Richard Burgon have a grating presence that alienates many voters. A government should have a cabinet that embraces all the talents of the Labour Party but there is no chance of Jeremy Corbyn embracing the broad church of MPs. Given the opportunity, there are MPs who have the experience and capability that could make a difference and they come from either end of the broad church. I would also make space in the cabinet for Caroline Lucas, the Green MP,  to ensure that climate change is addressed and integrity enforced.

Hilary Benn

Andy Burnham

Yvette Cooper

Mary Creagh

Stella Creasy

Jon Cruddas

Thangam Debbonaire

Andrew Gwynne

Harriet Harman

Meg Hillier

Dan Jarvis

Peter Kyle

David Lammy

Clive Lewis

Ed Milliband

John McDonnell

Pat McFadden

Ian Murray

Lisa Nandi

Rachel Reeves

Keir Starmer

Wes Streeting

Rosie Winterton

There are quite a few of less well-known MPs here but compared to the present Tory cabinet of incompetent and unrepentant Brexiteers, it would give the country a chance to rectify many of the existing policies that are having damaging outcomes for the environment, social justice, and the economy. They may just be able to find a way to eliminate the devastation of Brexit by either revisiting the vote once the details are fully specified or ensuring a trading agreement. Anything would be preferential to the spurious bucket list of soundbites that the electorate was offered in the referendum.

Hart Fell and Broad Law

Broad Law summit

Monday, 1 May 2017

Ascent:       1401 metres

Distance:    22 kilometres

Time:          6 hours 13 minutes

Hart Fell                850m   1hr 32mins

Talla Reservoir      350m   3hrs  47mins

Broad Law             880m   5hrs 18mins

After a visit to Portrack House, Dumfries, for a day of Cosmic speculation, we stayed at Moffat so that I could climb the two nearby corbetts: Hart Fell and Broad Law. I had intended to climb Hart Fell from Ericstane on the river Annan in the morning before being collected and driven round to the Megget Stone to climb Broad Law in the afternoon. Aileen dropped me at the bridge before Newton and I began the 5 kilometre long ascent up Well's Rigg and Arthur's Seat. The going was easy on gentler slopes and dry ground and I arrived 45 minutes ahead of schedule despite the strong easterly wind. As I reached the summit I received a message to saying that my lift would not be back until 1:30pm as she had gone to visit Drumlanrig Castle, one of the Duke of Buccleuch's many palaces, castles and houses.

I would be down by noon so I decided to extend the walk by finding a route over the intervening hills to Din Law and then past the Gameshome Loch and Games Home Burn to the Talla reservoir. It was rough back country that had no sign of useage. As I dropped into the Games Home glen, the winds abated and the warm Mayday sunshine beckoned. My main concern was that my message to be picked up at the Megget Stone at 3:30pm may not have been received and I had no phone reception. Aileen might have to make an unnecessary 20 mile trip back to Moffat and then another 25 miles to the Megget Stone. Still it was a bank holiday and time was on our side so I hoped for the best.

The walk down the burn was enjoyable although there was no path and the ground was rough grassland. I was guided by the looming presence of Carlavin hill that overlooked the Games Home bothy. The bothy looked to be in pristine condition, the second in four days. From here there was an old track down to the end of the Talla reservoir, I passed a young couple having their lunch and we struck up a conversation. They seemed surprised that I had walked over from Hart Fell and then even more surprised that I was going to climb Broad Law. I must be looking my age.

The decision to tramp over the hills had been a good one but I had lost 500 metres in the descent to Talla Linnfoots. They would have to be regained and then some more to reach Broad Law, which is the highest hill in the Borders. I reached the road at Talla Linnfoots and decided to walk up the steep single track road to the bridge that is a kilometre short of the Megget Stone. Anxious to save time I climbed steeply up the southern flank of Fans Law. I did not find the path until I reached the ridge above Cairn Law.

From here it is a deceptively long haul out to the summit of Broad Law. The dry conditions made it a relatively easy walk on a steady gradient. I followed the fence posts, which made a swing to the left for the final kilometre. By this time I had confirmation that my lift had arrived. The summit hosted a tracking station for Edinburgh airport along with a trig point. They relieved the tedium of the endless grassy slopes but the weather was perfect and the walk back to the Megget Stone was a lazy ramble. A pot of tea and a slice of coffee and walnut cake at Broughton was a suitable reward for a good day's walk.

Hart Fell ascent from Ericstane

Looking east from Hart Fell

Hart Fell summit plateau

On the descent to Talla reservoir, Carlavin hill on right

Gameshope Bothy

Looking back over Fans Law to Lochcraig Head and White Coomb

Broad Law fence to the summit

Edinburgh airport tracking station