coffee

Weekend Trip to Woodhall Spa pt3

/ Lincolnshire, Outdoor Gear, Walking / , , , , ,

Below is the kit list for the weekend

Coleman Bedrock 2 tent
Pole
Ti pegs
I did not use any of the bags the tent components came in. The inner tent and fly were refolded and packed in the main pack compartment at the top. Pegs went in the pop stud packet they were sold in and went into the pocket with the spare clothes. The pole went into the middle of the sleeping mat roll.

30l Karrimor Hotlite pack circa 1986
2x Karrimor 3l extension pockets
LowePro small lens case (brew kit)
LowePro bottle case – Inc 600ml Sigg bottle and drinking cap
2l Camelbak

Self inflating sleeping mat – black sack to pack it in and 2x small bungee cords

Karrimor lightweight sleeping bag – in stuff sack
Fleece sleeping bag liner
Both these items are packed in a drysack

In a 5l litre drysack
Light fleece jumper (very warm)
Fleece hat, head over and gloves (for extra warmth)
Spare underware and walking socks
All this clothing goes inside the head over to make a pillow
This bag was compressed into one of the extension pockets

Lightweight raincoat

Kitchen/brewkit
Ti mug and aluminium lid
Ti stove – inside the burner three solid fuel tablets and the copper mug stand
Plastic beaker with lid
Lighter
Small brewkit in neoprene case contains
* 5x tea bags in ziplock bag
* 15ml bottle of dried milk
* 2x sugar
* Lighter
50ml bottle of meths
Small LMF spork
2in1 coffee sachet
2x cereal bars
Poly bag for rubbish
The above is packed in the lens case and was secured to the pack

Half sized aluminium wind shield
Hardboard stove stand
Both of these items were packed in the second extension pocket

110ml meths

Folding knife and spoon
Wide plastic mug
Heavy duty plastic sheet – packed under the bungess hold the mat onto the pack (these bungess were a good place to dry things under, whilst walking, on the second day)

The following items were all packed in a 2l drysack and carried in the other extension pocket

Petzl headlight
Small FAK including hotel sewing kit and toilet paper
Pocket pack of tissues

Miniature wash kit
* hotel soap
* 15ml toothpaste gel
* folding tooth brush
* comb
* small mirror
* 50cm square hi-absorbent towel
* Hotel sachet shower gel
* hi-absorbent cloth 20cm square
All packed in the case the towel came in

2x plastic clothes pegs
Hi-absorbent cloth for drying up
5ml washing up liquid in hotel bottle
1/4 washing up sponge
Small repair kit
* 1m gaffer tape wound onto a stoppered tube
* inside the tube two needles, thread and 1m of thin string
Two large and four small cable ties
1.5m paracord
LMF Scout firesteel and striker
Sun screen stick
Compeed stick (not used!)
Emergency plastic poncho – heavy showers were forecast and I had no pack cover
1oz single malt whiskey

Food

Two zip lock bags packed in the main sack
One containing the food and drinks for the first evening – and a 50g pack of REGO
The second contained the breakfast, drinks and trail snacks for day two

Total weight of pack including water and food was about 24lbs or 11kgs

In my pockets

iPhone with extended battery back fitted (allows for a complete charge and 25%)

I used the iPhone as
* a phone, email and text
* as a eBook reader
* with Memory Map for navigation
* to watch a movie on

Aquapak – for the iPhone – see note below
iPod Nano and headphones in a neoprene pouch – I used this rather than my iPhone to listen to whilst walking

LowePro PDA belt case (used as a wallet and kept in an inside zipper pocket) containing
* Money
* Debit card
* Frensel magnifier
* Camping and Caravan Club membership card
* Paper and pencil stub
* Emergency iPhone charger
* Swiss card
* Two plasters for quick access

Sun hat
Lip balm
Sun glasses
Tissues
Trail snacks
On a length of paracord
* Camper Swiss Army knife
* Leatherman original P4 Squirt
* lifeboat whistle

Wearing
Northface hiking boots
Three way Craghoppers
Lightweight long sleeved shirt
Walking socks
Underwear
Rohan vest

My kit - packing up on Sunday morning
My kit - packing up on Sunday morning

Note
Unfortunately the Aquapak I bought two years ago to use my phone camera in, has deteriorated so I can no longer see either the screen or use the camera through it – I am back to using my original Aquapak (over five years old) which does not have a transparent back, so to take photo I have to take it out of the case, that means no photos in bad weather. To be green Aquapak removed some plasticisers from their cases making the softer – I will never buy another. So I am on the lookout this summer for a new weather proof case for my iPhone – one in which I can use the camera.

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Caffé 19

/ Business / ,

I have been using a new cafe for business and staff meetings – Caffé 19. Good prices, plenty of choice (including a variety of all day breakfast options) and a warm welcome from the staff.

As the cafe is part of The Lincoln Golf Centre there is plenty of free parking – and it is well located for the A46 and the Lincoln bypass.

The only thing missing is wifi internet access – to solve that Octagon Technology is installing a wifi access point there next week. Buy a coffee (don’t be mean buy a cake or sandwich as well) and Sue, behind the bar, will give you the code.

If you go there mention this post to Sue.

Sorry it is now closed 🙁

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Practice Walk for the West Highland Way

/ Walking / , , ,

I am writing this post while waiting under the Kirkstead Bridge to be picked up. Why under the bridge, well although it started off sunny earlier today there has been hail and now it is pouring down! But I did get a 20k walking in – I think I will start a mileage tally of the practice walks for the WHW.

There are two words to describe today’s walk – DOG’S MESS. now I am sure there are many responsible dog owners who clean up after their pets, however there are many who do not. I took shelter under the bridge and sat on the concrete ledge to finish my coffee, to discover my boots were in several piles of unmentionable and these were not the first piles of the day. There were many not even at the sides of the track but in the middle. And to add a final twist to the behaviour of some pet owners, some people are clearing up after their animals and then hanging the full baggies in the trees along the path side! Someone explain that!

The photo below show the high level of the water in the Witham – making use of the flood protection overflow banks.

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The Belgian Cafe

/ Walking / , ,

I am in Ramsgate this weekend, for my Granddaughter’s fIrst birthdays – but with the West Highland Way less than 8 months away, I wanted to get some walking in this weekend. So I got ip early and walked along the sea front. The only thing this morning is that the sun has forgotten to rise – it is a grey, damp claggy day.

Ramsgate Marina
Ramsgate Marina

Ramsgate was closed this early on a Sunday morning – except for a cafe near the Marina – The Belgian Cafe. It serves excellent coffee and the bacon smelled great, the only problem is that this is walking to get fit so bacon sandwiches are out. The decor is eccentric and I guess that adds character, and I am not sure whether the accents of the staff were Belgian but they were continental. Well except for the chef who was London/Essex! And the coffee was good.

Try it out The Belgian Cafe – pics below.

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Wet and Windy on the Water Rail Way

/ Walking / , , , , ,

Walked from Washingborough to Woodhall Spa today as the real start of the practice to tackle the West Highland Way in October. It has been a while since I have walked seriously for a length of time – there is always something else to do – and it really showed when I was keeping up a good pace! So more practice needed.

It was a wet and windy day and it got very dark from time to time. I took my gas mask case with a flask of hot water, a brew kit and stove. Two stops for coffee from the flask and I heated water for a cup-a-soup during the hardest rain of the day. There is a lot of public art along the path and many “interesting” seats so I found a good place to sit for the brew up with a little shelter from the wind.

The Water Rail Way is a good walk and I would recommend it anyone – it is not tough but it has some good scenery and sights, including information boards to add historic and natural history notes to the walk.

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Lost! One Domain – Last Seen Going That Way!

/ Business, General / , ,

I have been with a client today (who shall remain nameless) who could not answer the simple question of who is hosting their domain!

Let me put that question more simply. “To whom have you entrusted a vital asset of your company – one on which you depend for promotion and business critical communications?”

This is the second time this week this has happened – the other was an ex-client, who was always looking for the cheapest deal and moved away from us as someone he knew, who agreed to look after his laptop for far less than I pay for coffee! Following that he then moved his domain from the trusted partner we recommended. Now after several years he is going through the process of saying various companies are responsible for this loss when in reality, originally he put no value against his domain and took no care of it.

So the moral of this story is that everyone needs to know who has control of their domains – and the ultimate answer to this question should be THEMSELVES. Find a trusted supplier to host the domain (if you cannot do it yourself) and then get that supplier to talk to the web designers and support companies to sort the details out.

For support clients of Octagon Technology we offer hosting facilities and many take advantage of this so they know their domains are safe. We also work with a number of web companies (of which Develop and Promote is our primary partner) where our clients have their domains hosted but we keep the details on file so they cannot forget!

This article is sponsored by Octagon Technology of Lincoln, England

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Be Prepared

/ Outdoor Gear / , ,

I went to the bar at Pine Lake to night and at about 9.30pm there was a power cut. No power anywhere onsite. Fortunately between the emergency lights and candles the bar stayed open, they did not need electricity to serve to beer and they improvised a till.

I headed back to my lodge at about 11pm in darkness, one enterprising “camper” had parked his car outside the patio window of their unit and was using the headlights to light the room. When I got back, used the led light on my key ring to light my way to my backpack where I had my Petzl headlamp – I also unpacked my led hand light from my possibles pouch and I have that clipped to the uplighter in the living room with a small caribiner.

the next thing was a hot drink – there is a steel tray in the kitchhen so I turned that upside down and put that on one of my tea towels to provide protection for the work top and used my meths stove and crusader mug and lid to brew some fresh coffee.

There is also something wrong with the water pressure so I filled all three of my water bottles and the kettle just in case,

Another problem was I had spent the evening editing the address book on my iPhone and a few minutes ago I got the 10% power warning so I am now charging/powering the phone from the emergency power pack.

Be Prepared!

The photo is the bar by candle light.

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