Welcome to the Oxford Brookes Mountaineering Society

Oxford Brookes Mountaineering Society Logo

E-mail: obsumountaineering@googlemail.com

Acadmic year 2006-2007

14 February 2007

Hello Everyone! Sorry the update is a bit late this week, been suffering from the worst cold in over a year grr. Anyway, this weeks stuff:

Lakes trip - limited spaces left
Scotland
Committee next year - Run our society!
Website Updates

LAKES TRIP - LIMITED SPACES LEFT

There are still a few spaces left for the Lakes, so if you still fancy coming along let us know by this Thursday. Basically, we have the option of taking an extra car up as we have filled the minibus, but still have some bedspaces etc etc... Total cost is £40 (including insurance, transport, accommodation, food and alcohol).

SCOTLAND

There has been alot of interest in the Scotland trip and spaces are being taken fast. If you are interested, let us know ASAP. Deposits are £20 (non refundable) and the total cost is £90. The trip is running between the 31st March - 5th April.

COMMITTEE NEXT YEAR - RUN OUR SOCIETY!

Time has flown and already next year is on the horizon. Myself and Adders won't be at uni anymore (although we will hopefully still be around Oxford), but we will not be able to run the society. After the Lakes Trip is out the way, I will be holding elections to determine who will be President / Vice President x 2 next year.

Running a society is a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. In terms of the work, think of it as taking up an extra module at University... it will take up a few hours of your time every week, especially in the run up to trips. Perhaps the most important part of the experience is the practical organisation and budgeting of trips. Alot of the skills employers are after these days encompass running a society... the usual management jargon such as; Teamwork, Organisation, Budgeting, Problem Solving, Initiative... and talking about how YOU helped organise a trip, or work as part of a team either on your CV or at an Interview can sometimes make an enormous difference and increase your chances of landing your dream job. When you come up against questions such as; Tell us of a time when you worked as part of a team? Give me an example of where you had to budget for an event? Give us an example of where you have used effective communication skills? etc... However, don't just think of it as something to put on your CV. If you are interested, you must be willing to put in your time and effort into society and help it be as successful as it has been over the last few years.

Therefore, the next weekend trip following the Lakes is open for one of you to run! I will help you get through the essentials; bookings, budgeting and the bit of red tape. If you are interested, let me know ASAP and come along on Thursday.

Cheers

Jon

WEBSITE UPDATES

The website has been updated with a new look front page + loads of other cool bits and pieces! If you are interested in coming to Scotland, check out Adders concise guide to Scotland. :-). http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/home.html

10 February 2007

Hello!

To anyone who I might not have replyed to personally, the daywalk tomorrow has been cancelled due to poor weather and driving conditions. The forecast for tomorrow is pretty dire... heavy rain / sleet, northerly winds, freezing temperatures etc...

This trip will be rescheduled for some point in March. We will also be running another daywalk to the Wye Valley much later in the year.

And a final reminder, its Joes 21st birthday tomorrow, meeting at the Turf Tavern at 8.00pm. Here are the directions, as it is quite hard to find. If you can, bring a hat!

Take it Easy

Jon

6 February 2007

Week 2 already! Doesn't time fly? This weeks fantastic goodies:

Daywalk in the Cotswolds
Lakes Trip filling up fast
Joes 21st Birthday
Scotland
Three Peaks
Fleeces

DAYWALK IN COTSWOLDS

We are going for a daywalk to the Cotswolds this Saturday if the weather is ok. I have not figured out exact details, but we will probably leave Oxford quite early on Saturday morning (9.00am ish) and be back by the middle of the afternoon ( 4.00pm ish)... depending on how many pubs we stop by! If you are interested, let me know ASAP so I can figure out transport etc etc...

LAKES TRIP FILLING UP FAST

Spaces are going very quickly on the Lakes trip, so if you still want to come along, let us know ASAP and come along to our regular Thursday meetings, 8.30pm in the Sports Bar @ Brookes Centre for Sport. You can guarantee a space by putting down a £10 deposit. If you can't make it, let us know and we can arrange to meet up to collect any deposits. For any further information, email Gwen on 05027055@brookes.ac.uk

For anyone who has not already read this in the last couple of newsletters, the next Lakes trip is on the 23rd - 25th Feb. We will be leaving on Friday evening and returning on Sunday evening. Total cost will be £30 (+ £10 Insurance) and this will cover Accommodation, Transport, Food and Alcohol. Here are Georgios photos of our last visit to the Lakes

JOES 21st BIRTHDAY

JOE'S TOO OLD FOR HIS OWN GOOD AND WANTS YOU TO WEAR A HAT

Joe is now officially old (roughly 21). Pity him. In commemoration,
this Saturday (the 10th) there will be a Pub Crawl with Hats. See you
at the Turf Tavern at 8 o'clock wearing your hat. There will be a
scavenger hunt, too. Game plan etc on the Facebook event this week.
See you there! joe@ensorcelled.co.uk

SCOTLAND

All the information can be found here. Adders has put together a funky 'Scotland' section on the website which saves me writing it each time on the newsletter! If you are interested in coming along and want to guarantee yourself a space, let us know ASAP and you can leave a £20 deposit. Again, you can do this by coming along to our regular weekly meetings.

THREE PEAKS

Apologies about the lack on news / information etc... in the last couple of months. The Three Peaks challenge is definately going ahead as I have had so much interest in it from everyone. In the next few weeks, I am going to look at getting some teams together and a definate date (which will be some time in late May / early June) which will hopefully suit everyone. At the moment, there are enough interested people for 2 teams, although the more teams the merrier. Each team will consist of 3 - 4 (preferably 4) hikers and 1 dedicated driver. This Thursday I will go into more details and try and get a better idea of interest... so if you are interested, please come along, 8.30pm this Thursday to the Sports Bar @ Brookes Sport.

FLEECES

We are looking at getting some custom made fleeces / T-shirts for the society and would like a general idea of interest. They will be grey, with white embroidery on the back. Hopefully, costs should only be around £20 per fleece. Please let us know by email or at our next meeting.

I've probably forgotten something as usual, but nevermind :-). Hopefully see you all Thursday.

Jon

29th January 2007

Hello Everyone! Hope your settling in well to your new timetable (esp if its only 2 days a week like me lol). We have got lots on over the coming semester, so we will try and give you the best low down that we can....

Social This Thursday!
Societies Ball - Saturday 3rd Feb
Re-Freshers Fair - Friday 2nd Feb
Trips, Trips and more Trips
First Lake District Trip
Scotland
Mobile phone and Ink Cartridges Fundraising
SOCIAL THIS THURSDAY

If you didn't manage to make it on any trips or socials last semester, no worries, its never to late to join and coming to our regular weekly social is the best way to do it! We meet up every week, Thursday, 8.30pm in the Sports Bar to arrange trips and have a few (or more than a few) drinks. Afterwards, we will head down to Spam at Morals.

NYB Societies Ball - This Saturday

The SU Societies are putting on a ball at the end of this week, so its a good chance for us to dress up and get trashed before the work begins to kick in. :-).
Societies have been working together to put on a welcome back party on the first Sat in week 1 (3rd Feb). It is to be a black tie event (or 50's rat pack fancy dress!), with 3 different rooms with varying music with live bands & DJ's, dance, jazz, rock, chart, cheese, a buffet, chocolate fountains, professional photographer, race car simulator, shot bar (mmm nice) etc...
The cost will be £5 for any society member and £7 for non-society members plus guests.
If people are interested in coming along, let us know ASAP and we will get your tickets for you as society members, so it will only cost you £5! To get the discounted tickets you have to prove to the SU you are a society member, and as we dont have membership cards it would be cheaper for you to buy the tickets through us.
If the demand is there we may also look at going for a society meal before the ball (to line our stomachs etc...).
If interested reply back to this email or contact Gwen on 07801497698 or Jon on 07952022828

RE-FRESHERS FAIR - This Friday

We will be having a stall at the Re-freshers fair on friday between 10am and 3pm. this is a great chance to sign up to the societies you didnt get a chance to in September. We will also be taking Lakes and Scotland deposits.
It will also be a great opportunitiy to ask us those questions you still havnt got around to finding out the answers too yet.

TRIPS, TRIPS and more TRIPS!
There is alot on this semester so here is plenty of warning of what is to come :-). Get your calenders out!
10th Feb - Day Trip to Cotswolds
23rd - 25th Feb - Trip to the Lake District
10th - 11th or 17th - 18th March - Weekend Trip (location to be confirmed - probably Wales)
31st March - 5th April - Scotland
Sometime in June - 3 Peaks Challenge More details to follow...

FIRST TRIP TO LAKE DISTRICT

Our first trip to the Lakes will be between 23rd - 25th Feb. Total cost for the trip will remain at £30 (+£10 insurance, which will cover you for all trips during this semester), which will cover food, accommodation, transport and alcohol. We will leave on Friday evening around 7.00pm and hopefully arrive in the Lakes at 11.00pm. We will then spend two days hiking and weather permitting, tackle Skiddaw, which is the third highest mountain in the Lakes. We will then return to Oxford late on Sunday evening.
If interested in coming along, contact Gwen on 05027055@brookes.ac.uk or come along to our regular Thursday social. Places are going fast, so if you can, come along on Thursday or see us at the Re-freshers fair on Friday and sign up! A £10 deposit will be required to secure yourself a place on the trip.
Pictures of the last Lakes Trip can be found here, if your wondering what we are all about:
http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/image%20galleries/2006-07/Lakes1/Jon/index.html
http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/image%20galleries/2006-07/Lakes1/Gallery1/index.html

SCOTLAND

Our annual trip to Scotland is going ahead between the 31st March and 5th April. We will be staying in 5* self catered accommodation (double glazing, electricity, heating, sofas etc...) just at the foot of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the U.K. If interested in coming along or finding out more information, feel free to email us at obmountaineering@googlemail.com . The total cost of this trip will be £90 and will include accommodation, transport, food and alcohol.
A £20 deposit will be required to insure yourself a place on the trip.
Visit the new Scotland Pages on our website
http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/Scotland2007/index.html

COLLECTING OLD MOBILE PHONES AND USED INK CARTRIDGES

As some of you may be aware im off to Brazil in the summer to help build a school in a very poor part of the country with my Guide unit. We are aiming to raise around £2000 to take with us to spend in the local village on building materials and school equipment such as pens and papper. To assist with this fundraising im collecting old mobile phones and used ink catridges, which will get recycled and turned into cash for the project. If you have any unwanted old mobile phones lying in the bottom of cupboards or draws, ill happly take them off your hands. Either bring them to any Thursday evening social or trips or get in touch with me on 07801497698 or reply to this email and i can arrange collecting from you.

Hope to hear from you all soon

Gwen and Jon

22 January 2007

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year from the mountaineering society! Hope you have had a great festive period :-). We have got loads going on over the coming semester, so I will try and give you the best low down that I can....

First Social This Thursday!
Societies Ball - Saturday 27th Jan
Trips, Trips and more Trips
First Lake District Trip
Scotland
Mobile phone and ink cartridges Fundraising

FIRST SOCIAL THIS THURSDAY

We are having our first official social of 2007, this Thursday, 8.30pm in the Sports Bar. If you didn't manage to make it on any trips or socials last semester, no worries, its never to late to join and coming to our regular weekly social is the best way to do it! We meet up every week, Thursday, 8.30pm in the Sports Bar to arrange trips and have a few (or more than a few) drinks. Afterwards, we will head down to Spam at Morals

NYB SOCIETIES BALL

Societies have been working together to put on a welcome back party on the first Sat in week 1 (3rd Feb). It is to be a black tie event (or 50's rat pack fancy dress!), with 3 different rooms with varying music with live bands & DJ's, dance, jazz, rock, chart, cheese, a buffet, chocolate fountains, professional photographer race car simulator etc...

The cost will be £5 for any society member and £7 for non-society members plus guests.

If people are intrested in coming along with the Mountaineering Society we could get your tickets and you buy them off us. If the demand is there we may also look at going for a society meal and some pre drinking before the ball.

If interested reply back to this email or contact either Gwen on 07801497698 or Jon on 07952022828

TRIPS, TRIPS and more TRIPS!
There is alot on this semester so here is plenty of warning of what is to come :-). Get your calenders out!

10th Feb - Day Trip to Cotswolds
23rd - 25th Feb - Trip to the Lake District
10th - 11th or 17th - 18th March - Weekend Trip (location to be confirmed - probably Wales)
31st March - 5th April - Scotland
Sometime in June - 3 Peaks Challenge

More details to follow...

FIRST TRIP TO LAKE DISTRICT

Our first trip to the Lakes will be between 23rd - 25th Feb. Total cost for the trip will remain at £30, which will cover food, accommodation, transport and alcohol. We will leave on Friday evening around 7.00pm and hopefully arrive in the Lakes at 11.00pm. We will then spend two days hiking and weather permitting, tackle Skiddaw, which is the third highest mountain in the Lakes. We will then return to Oxford late on Sunday evening.

If interested in coming along, contact Gwen on 05027055@brookes.ac.uk or come along to our regular Thursday social. Places will probably go fast, so if you can, come along on Thursday and sign up! A £10 deposit will be required to secure yourself a place on the trip.

Pictures of the last Lakes Trip can be found here, if your wondering what we are all about:

http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/image%20galleries/2006-07/Lakes1/Jon/index.html

http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/image%20galleries/2006-07/Lakes1/Gallery1/index.html

SCOTLAND

http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/image%20galleries/Scotland%202005/Thumbnails.html - 2005 Scotland Photos

http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/image%20galleries/2005-06/Scotland/Jon/Thumbnails.html - 2006 Scotland Photos

FUNDRAISING

As some of you may be aware I'm off to Brazil in the summer to help build a school in a very poor part of the country with my Guide unit. We are aiming to raise around £2000 to take with us to spend in the local village on building materials and school equipment such as pens and paper. To assist with this fundraising im collecting old mobile phones and used ink catridges, which will get recycled and turned into cash for the project. If you have any unwanted old mobile phones lying in the bottom of cupboards or draws, I will happily take them off your hands. Either bring them to any Thursday evening social or trips or get in touch with me on 07801497698, or reply to this email and I can arrange collecting from you.

Gwen

Thats about it for this week! Hopefully see you all Thursday... and best of luck with your results!

OBSU Mountaineering Society Committee

29 November 2006

Hey everybody! Can you believe its week 10 already! Hope the work is going ok, this weeks stuff:
Daywalk in Dorset this Saturday!!
Giant Pillow Fight on Sunday!!
We will be back in the Sports Bar, this Thursday @ 8.30pm. Apologies for my absense last week :-). Jon

DAYWALK THIS SATURDAY

There is definately a Daywalk this Saturday. We will be leaving Oxford around 9.00am, then heading straight down to the Dorset Coast, where we will meet up with the Southampton Hillwalking Club and go for a nice walk near Bournemouth / Poole. This will probably be followed by a trip to the pub.

CAN YOU PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU CAN MAKE IT :-). We need to know ASAP so that we can arrange lifts / pickups / cars etc... We are only charging petrol, so costs will be around £5. Please let us know by replying to this email or ringing me on 07952022828.

Cheers

Jon

PILLOW FIGHT THIS SUNDAY

Yes, there is a Pillow Fight on Sunday! If you are on facebook, you may have seen the Oxford Flashmob group... in the last week, it has gained some 700 members!

What is a Flashmob?
In modern usage, flash mob describes a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly disperse. They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other digital communications networks.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5925339608073387165

What is the Plan?

OXFORD'S FIRST FLASHMOB!!

What- Pillowfight for One Minute
Where - Outside the Clarendon centre on Cornmarket street
Date - Sunday the 3rd of December
Time - 1pm exactly

If you can't make it this time, don't worry, if it goes well this time then another flashmob will be organised! Carry your pillows under your clothes or in a bag and try not to arrive into oxford too early and be inconspicuous until we start! The fight will only last a minute, after which we should disperse quickly and quietly and put our pillows away agin. The start and end of the fight will be signaled by a whistle blowing.

Group Event page-

http://brookes.facebook.com/event.php?ei d=2222276332

ONE MORE IMPORTANT THING!!!

DONT hit anyone not holding a pillow! They obviously won't be involved in the flashmob and won't be too happy about it!

Try to arrive around 10 mins before... arrive 2 mins late and you will miss the whole thing! I reckon there will be well over 200 people, assuming at least 20% of the membership turn up. Tell all of your housemates / coursemates / workmates and get them to come along. Should be quite a spectacle!

Jon

23 November 2006

Hello Everyone! Sorry about this being a bit late... this weeks stuff:

Party in London
Possible Daywalk
Website Photos Updated
Just to let you all know, we will back up at the Sports Bar, Thursday at 8.30pm.

PARTY IN LONDON

Hey Everyone,

the Ministry of Happiness is proud to present all our members with a
unique invitation to one of the best parties the UK is hosting this
year! All that is needed is for you to make your way to London (White
City – Oxford Tube stop for Shepherds Bush) at some point on Saturday
(return-tickets should be 7 pounds). The party will have the theme of
'Alice in Wonderland' and will formally commence from about 8pm onwards.
So bring out all the white rabbit costumes… However, there is no
obligation to dress up – and it is likely that the majority of the
people there won't. Nonetheless, it is an opportunity for the creative
lot of you.
The whole thing will take place at a friend's house; and the last house
parties there were outstanding, which means that this one will
presumably carry on throughout the night from Saturday to Sunday. Yet,
accommodation will be available and in case anyone wanted to go to
London earlier, it is possible to drop off stuff there before. So if you
are looking for a weekend in London – this is your opportunity!
The exact place is :
16a Pavillion Terrace
Wood Lane W12 OHT
I will be there from the early afternoon onwards, so if anyone needs
help on how to find it, just give me a call. 07769590687

Follow the white Rabbit!

Phil

POSSIBLE DAYWALK

Ok, just to get you all on the straight and narrow. There is a strong possiblity of a daywalk a week on Saturday (first weekend of December). We will hopefully be meeting up with the Southampton Hiking Club and going down to the Dorset coast. Will be a good opportunity to de-stress from doing essays / coursework / etc etc... A few things still have to be finalised but keep that date free in your diaries. There are so good pubs down that neck of the woods as well :-). Please let me know if you are interested.

Cheers

Jon

WEBSITE PHOTOS UPDATED

The following photos have now been added to the website:
Jon's Lake District

Jon's (Phone) Lake District

Gwen's Lake District

Jon's Yorkshire Dales

Jon's Halloween

For those dirty minded people in the club, I'm sure I'm not the only one, you may like this newly uploaded photo. It is completely clean, but can look so dodgy.

http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/image%20galleries/2006-07/Lakes1/JonPhone/Lakes106JonPhone-058-.html

If anyone else has any photos for the website galleries, please stick them on CD and pass them to Adders. We now have move than 5000 photos in the galleries on the site, with more being added all the time.

Regards

Adders

Chairman

And Webmaster

OBSU Mountaineering Society

14 November 2006

Hello everyone! A few bits and bobs for this week:
Helens leaving do
EGM
Society Hoodies
HELENS LEAVING DO

Helen is buggering off back to New Zealand this weekend, so its a great excuse for a night on the tiles. We will be meeting up at the Turf Tavern in Oxford City Centre at 8.30pm. This pub does a good job of being hard to find so...

feel free to come to the Sports Centre @ 8.00pm, and we will walk down from there or...

directions can be found here: http://www.theturftavern.co.uk/directions.html

If you get lost, my number is 07952022828

EGM

There is an important meeting tomorrow over at the SU, regarding the position of the VP: Activites, Graham. They are basically looking at merging his position with another position on the exec... and this is RUBBISH!!! Graham has done loads for societies in the last year and the merger of his position would mean the person undertaking the potential new position can not put as much time and effort into the society scene. Here is all the info:

Hello everyone,

There has been an EGM (Emergency General Meeting) called for his
Wednesday at 1pm in the SU Venue. There is currently some policy which
would mean at the end of this year, my currnet position as VP:Activities
and The VP:Comercial Development & Communication would become one role.
The current executive committee has called this meeting as they feel
that the representation of students will suffer. For societies it would
mean that they would only get half the contact time with an officer
which is could lead to societies suffering. This could also be the case
with the safety bus scheme, newspaper and club nights as they are the
current responsibility of the VP:CDC.

In order for this meeting to go ahead we need at least 150 people (which
we have not had in 2 years!!!) to come to the meeting at 1pm on
Wednesday i am asking if all societies could come and bring their whole
committee and as many members as you possibly can. The meeting can only
discuss this one topic and therefore can not go on for too long. Any
help will be greatly appriciated.

There will be 100 free Pleasuredome tickets available for the first 100
students and Fubar tickets for everyone else who attends.

In Unity,

Graham

HOODIES / FUNKY T-SHIRTS ETC...

We are looking to get some society hoodies or T-shirts at some point in the next month or so! Hopefully, we will be able to discount the price, so it won't cost too much. Its about time we got some, so if you are interested, let us know by replying to this email ASAP.... Also, any ideas will be welcome, especially some crazy ones! :)

Take is easy

Jon & Gwen

08 November 2006

Hello Everyone! Hope all your essays are going alright. This weeks stuff:
Update on Day Trip
Scotland Update
Pub Crawl
Website Stuff
A bit of fun
We will be back in the Sports Bar this Thursday, so if your sat in your room
and bored of doing essays, come and meet us for a couple of drinks :-). Be
great to see you all!

Cheers Adders for practically doing the whole newsletter.

UPDATE ON DAY TRIP

Provisionally, we will be doing a day trip on the first weekend of December.
Hopefully, it will be a joint event with Southampton Hiking Club. Currently
waiting for my counterpart over at SHC to confirm details.

Cheers

Jon

PUB CRAWL

As several of you may know I have had quite a nasty back infection since
March this year, that has required 3 operations, one of which I had to be
rushed in for. There have been several complications with the healing, but
it finally looks like I will get the all clear very soon, so I think its
time to celebrate, and since we're a walking club, what better way to
celebrate than with a walk (between several pubs with drinks at each) aka A
Pub Crawl this Saturday (11 November). This is also doubling as my belated
(that means late) birthday celebrations as at the time of my birthday I
couldn't drink and wasn't walking very well, due to operation number 3. The
route has not been totally finalised yet, but it is likely to start at about
6pm at the Wheatherspoons in Cowley (to take advantage of the cheap food and
drink) and take in the Isis Tavern, hopefully the turf tavern (if there's
time) and several others before heading to Morals for Blitz. I will stick
more details on the website at http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/pubcrawl.html
or you can call me on 07932638469.

If you would like to be e-mailed with more details e-mail obmountaineering@googlemail.com .

Adders

COMMITTEE PROFILES ON WEBSITE

Have you ever wondered:

How old is Jon?

What's Adders real name?

What's Phil's favourite drink?

Who is this Minty, that we're trying to save?

Which one of the committee has been to Eton College (that's where Princes
William and Harry went)?

Well, here's your chance to find out. We have committee profiles on the
Society Website. They are the "contact us" section (
http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/contactus.html ). So you can now find out
all about the people that are running your society, including some stuff
that you probably never wanted to know, like their ultimate fantasy (this
was Jon's request. For those of you who have never asked any of the questions
above, you got the answers anyway.

WEBSITE UPDATES

We have some of the Yorkshire Dales trip photos uploaded to the website now
(Georges and Mine), if any one has any other photos from any other society
events if they can stick them on a disk and let Adders have them they can be
uploaded to the website for everyone else to view.

In the next week there will be several some changes to the Image Galleries
on the website, this is necessary to tidy up the contents on the web server
and improve the accessibility of the images with the new features that we
hope to implement soon. This shouldn't cause any issues for you browsing the
site other that a possible delay when loading the site, so please be
patient.

A BIT OF FUN

Below are the links to 2 short films that were shot while Adders and the
previous chairman were over in Germany last year. They do relate to possible
new club transport (if there's enough room in the budget):

http://www.adders.me.uk/Image_Galleries/Germany06/Videos/07-Germany06-Thu-Vi
d005-.AVI

http://www.adders.me.uk/Image_Galleries/Germany06/Videos/08-Germany06-Thu-Vi
d006.AVI

Scary Stuff

As some of you may be aware to get to the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales
from Oxford we take the M6 North. Last week BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat issued this
news report for Halloween:

"Ghosts on the road"

The M6 is Britain's most haunted highway apparently. Among the things
people have claimed to see are a Roman soldier, a ghostly woman and a
phantom lorry. The second most haunted road is the
A9 in the Scottish Highlands."

Those people who were in my car on the way back from the Yorkshire Dales I'm
sure will testify to the phantom lorry.

Regards

Adders <http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/profiles/adders.html>

Chairman

And Webmaster

OBSU Mountaineering Society

30 October 2006

Hello everyone! A few bits and bobs for this week:
Back from the Dales
Jazz night Tuesday
Gwens Birthday - Thursday
Day Trip
Update on next year...
Facebook
THIS WEEK THERE IS NO MEETING ON THURSDAY AT THE SPORTS BAR (SEE BELOW)!

BACK FROM THE DALES

We are back... after a good weekend. Our luck ran out with the weather on Saturday and we all got soaked to the skin. Sam, Phil and Jonjo managed to complete the Three Peaks in the most atrocious conditions possible. Georgio and Hamish managed two out of the three which was an achievement in itself. The rest of us managed to hike up Whernside, after taking a big detour. Sunday could not have contrasted more... clear and sunny. We spent the day exploring some caves and taking a relaxed walk through a beaufiful gorge. Many thanks to almost all of Sams family for putting up with us and to Phil, Adders and er... Moi, for driving. If you have any photos, please bring them along on Thursday and Adders will upload them to the website. Cheers!

JAZZ NIGHT TUESDAY

We are going to Jazz night this Tuesday at the Bullingdon Arms for a few drinks. Its free entry and the live jazz music is quality. We will meet at the Hobgoblin pub at 8.30pm, which is right next door to the Bully and opposite Tescos, and will move on to the Bullingdon around 9ish. If you are wondering where we are, give myself a ring on 07952022828.

GWENS BIRTHDAY - THURSDAY 2ND NOV

Instead of our usual meeting at the Sports Bar, we will be going to a fine Indian restaurant, as its Gwens Birthday. The restaurant is the Dil Dunia and can be found more or less opposite the City Arms pub near Divinity Road. Afterwards, we will head up to Morals, possibly via a couple of pubs. Can you please reply to this email if you would like to come along as Gwen needs to book a table asap. If you are trying to find us, call Gwen on 07801497698. Cheers

DAY TRIPS

The Yorkshire Dales trip was the last weekend trip of the semester. Most people usually have deadlines and the weather doesn't really improve much in November. However, we will be running a couple of day trips towards the end of the semester... will keep you posted!

UPDATE ON NEXT YEAR...

There is going to be loads on in Semester 2... Here are a few provisional dates for trips:

Lake District - 16th - 18th Feb (End Week 3) - We will be staying in the same bunkhouse as last Lakes Trip!

Snowdonia - 9th - 11th March (End Week 6)

Scotland - 31st March - 5th April (1st Week Easter Break) - Accommodation confirmed!

FACEBOOK

There are a growing number of us using Facebook, which is similar to myspace, but better designed for people to network through societies, groups etc.. and is restricted to University students. Quite alot of people have signed up from Brookes and lots of societies / sports teams / halls have group pages. Our group is 'OB Mountaineering' so if you are already on Facebook or are inspired to sign up to yet another myspace clone, join us!!! www.facebook.com

Take it easy

Jon

http://threepeakchallenge.blogspot.com

www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk

24 October 2006

Hello Everyone

Just a few bits and bobs for this week:

Dales Trip Full
Days Trips / Third Trip
Three Peaks Challenge
Website Updated
DALES TRIP FULL

The Yorkshire Dales Trip, which is running this weekend is provisionally full. However, if you are interested in coming, let us know ASAP as some spaces might become available. The cost of the trip is £30 + £10 insurance if you have not already paid it. This covers accommodation, transport, food and alcohol. We will be leaving on Friday between 6.00pm and 7.00pm, then returning on Sunday evening, around 10.00pm.

DAY TRIPS / THIRD TRIP

Once the Dales trip has passed over, we will start planning the next trips. There will probably be a day trip at some point in November, followed by a short weekend trip (leaving Saturday and coming back Sunday) much later in the Semester. After November, because of a combination of student financial depravity, the weather and coursework deadlines, we won't be running any long weekends away. In the meantime, there will be loads of social events... watch this space :-).

THREE PEAKS

The Three Peaks Challenge is still on the cards, however, it is still far too early to start planning things. For now, all I can say is that we will be having a meeting for people who are interested towards the end of the semester. For more info, check out the Three Peaks Blog:

http://threepeakchallenge.blogspot.com/

WEBSITE UPDATE

The Website has been updated and some of the photos from our amazing weekend in the Lakes are up. Notably, check out Warwicks video from the top of Bowfell... its pretty! You can find them here:

http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/photos.html

Keep and eye out for more photos and updates over the next few weeks. There are a couple of more Lakes Trip albums to go up + photos of the carnage last Saturday (from which I still have not fully recovered).

Thats it for this week

Cheers

Jon - Prez

19 October 2006

Hello Everyone

After our usual social at the Sports Bar this evening, we will be heading down to Morals because apparently, David Hasselhoff is dropping by... so if you are a fan of Baywatch or Knightrider, this is a must!

Also, Calum our social secretary is doing a talk tonight on 9/11 this evening. He has put loads of work into this over the last year and ran a really successful talk in the previous semester which saw over 300 cram into the Lloyd Lecture Theatre. More info can be found here:

http://www.nineeleven.co.uk/board/viewtopic.php?t=4691&sid=642b3d0d2ee2c430ebc6bb1c1adacf85

It is between 7.00pm - 9.00pm in the main lecture theatre.

Cheers

Jon

18 October 2006

Hellloo Everyone

Our first trip has been and gone! However, there is loads on over the next two weeks:

Jons 21st
Yorkshire Dales Trip
Website Update
The 'R1 awards'
JONS 21ST

Its my 21st (and Nicks 23rd) on Saturday, so its a good excuse to go out and get plastered. We will be meeting at the City Arms between 7.00pm and 8.00pm on Thursday, then pub crawling up the Cowley Road till we reach East Avenue for a house party. From there, we will probably go on to Morals and intoxicate ourselves :-)! If you fancy coming along, let us know by replying to this email. If you are trying to find us, my mobile number is 07952022828. It should be a really good night out!

Jon - President

YORKSHIRE DALES TRIP

As our first trip filled up in the space of half an hour, we decided to run the second trip earlier at the end of week 5 (27th - 29th October). Sam is running this trip, so if you would like to sign up, please come along to our usual Thursday evening meet up, 8.30pm in the Sports Bar @ Brookes Sport. Here is the lowdown of what we are doing:

If you missed out on last weekend's trip to the Lakes, or have now got the bug, there are just a few places left on the Yorkshire Dales trip
(27-29thOct) so do come along early on Thursday to avoid disappointment. We're taking two mini-minibuses, staying in Sam's uncle's farmhouse (we'll provide
sleeping mats), and splitting up into two walking groups on the Saturday. One hardcore group will tackle the three Dales peaks (over 40k inc three "up
n downs"), the other will be more mellow and aim to do two of the peaks. The Sunday will be chilled with walking tours of the well known White Scar
Cavesand Ingleton Waterfalls. The normal cheapo price of £30 will cover transport, accommodation and food... (EDIT... and alcohol)

Sam - Vice President

WEBSITE UPDATE

As I'm sure most of you have seen already we have a website for the society at http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk.

This contains a huge amount of photos from all activities that we have done. This website was runner up in the Oxford Brookes Students Union Society
Awards last year for the best website in the university and looking at all the stats, it has proved a major publicity boost for the society and it is always enjoyed by members.

To maintain the standard of the site we do ask that members who have taken pictures on trips or other society activities to let us have a set of photos
on disc to put on the website to share with everyone else. This is of course voluntary, but we appreciate all the photos that we receive. I do have
scanning facilities so if you are still using old cameras which take that film stuff that my parents told me about (I can try and make it sound like
I'm too young to remember camera film) we can scan the pictures in. If you can get any pictures to me (Adders) at any of the Thursday socials (I'll be
at most of them, as long as they keep having them in bars).
Adders

THE 'R1' AWARDS

At the end of my second year me (vice President at the time) and Al
(President at the time) decided (while in the pub) that we should recognise
people for their achievements on club trips, but then after a few more pints we decided
that it would be more fun to recognise peoples comical mistakes.
We used to have the same kind of award while I worked at an activity Centre
in France, the person who made the most comical mistake each week
got the award, and there were some great ones, such as the catering manager
who served up a vegetarian option of Sausage Rolls, the sailing instructor
that sank one of the boats because he went out without putting the drainage
plug back in and the instructor that hit the fire alarm instead of the light
switch and caused the whole centre to be evacuated at 11:30pm.

The name was decided after the first Lake District Trip of last year and so
was the first ever winner. The award was name the R1 award after the minibus
that seemed to be cursed. Unfortunately due to other work the award never
had votes taken on other winners by our members, so the nominations that
were put forward were sent to another University (Bangor) for them to judge.
This year votes will be taken by trip attendees. So if you have any
nominations please e-mail them to the society
MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "webmail.brookes.ac.uk" claiming to be obmountaineering@googlemail.com by next Tuesday and the nominations will
then be sent out for votes (Please note, taking cheesy CD's on a club trip
does not qualify for an award, and just to prove that I don't just have
cheese, I'm currently listening to 'The Automatic'). Further details for the
award and the reason for its name will soon be up on the website at

http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/R1Award

To give you an idea of possible nominations, last years winners are below:
Lake District 2005: Phil for running the minibus through a ditch

North Yorkshire Moors: Jon for navigating Adders and Avril to York instead of the pub

Lake District 2006: Phil for getting the minibus stuck off a track leading to the camping barn in the early hours of the morning

Cotswolds 2006: Adders for miscalculating the position and getting the group to look over a field for a stately home that was just behind them.

Snowdonia: Jon for toasting his socks in the microwave to the point that they disintergrated

Scotland: Al for nearly running the minibus out of Diesel in the middle of nowhere and having to get Gwen and Maddy out to top the minibus up
with diesel to get back to the accommodation.
Adders - Chairman

18 October 2006

Sorry to clog up your inbox...

Forgot to mention in the last email that we want your photos of the weekend! If possible, try and burn them on to CD and bring it along on Thursday at our usual social. Adders will then stick them on the website for all the world to see :).

Cheers

Jon

18 October 2006

Hello Everyone

Hope you have all recovered from the weekend.

Can't believe its all over and done with, especially after all the planning that was involved. Just want to say a big thanks to everyone who came along, you were a really great bunch and I hope you all come on more trips in the future. Also, thanks to Phil, Gwen and Adders for doing all the driving around. I'd also like to thank the BBC Weather forecasters for actually being fairly accurate, which is a rare occurance in our short history.

We would like your feedback on the trip. Don't be afraid to suggest improvements and new ideas... we don't bite :).

We have another trip on the horizon already, which is going to North Yorkshire in 10 days (27th - 29th October). Sam is in charge of running this trip and here is the lowdown:
If you missed out on last weekend's trip to the Lakes, or have now got the bug, there are just a few places left on the Yorkshire Dales trip (27-29 th Oct) so do come along early on Thursday to avoid disappointment. We're taking two mini-minibuses, staying in Sam's uncle's farmhouse (we'll provide sleeping mats), and splitting up into two walking groups on the Saturday. One hardcore group will tackle the three Dales peaks (over 40k inc three "up n downs"), the other will be more mellow and aim to do two of the peaks. The Sunday will be chilled with walking tours of the well known White Scar Caves and Ingleton Waterfalls. The normal cheapo price of £30 will cover transport, accommodation and food... (EDIT... and alcohol)

If you can make it, let us know ASAP and try to come along this Thurdsay, 8.30pm in the Sports Bar. As you have all paid your insurance, you will only have to pay £30 in total this time around :).

Finally, you are all invited to my 21st Birthday on Saturday 21st October. We will be starting at the City Arms, which is down the far end of the Cowley Road and will be there between 7.00 and 8.00pm . The rough plan is to head down the Cowley Road from the City Arms via quite a few pubs, drop by my house for a house party / cheap booze, then possibly go on to Morals to get trashed. Please feel free to bring friends, flatmates, partners etc... the more the merrier! Let me know if you can make it by replying back to this email. If you are trying to find us, ring me on 07952022828.

Hopefully see you all Thursday, if not Saturday

Jon

11 October 2006

Hello Everyone!

Just a few bits and bobs as we have got a busy few weeks ahead:

JONS 21st

Its my 21st birthday and I'll be going out next Saturday (21st) to go and get trashed. We will probably be starting at the City Arms, then heading down the Cowley Road pubs, stopping by East Avenue for a bit of a house party, then heading up to Blitz @ Morals. As its early in the semester, we usually get quite a crowd for this one so it should be a really good laugh. I'm also toying with the idea of dressing up... will keep you posted!

YORKSHIRE TRIP

For the second trip, we are going to the Yorkshire Dales between the 27th - 29th October. A few things are still being finalised, but if you are interested in coming along, please come to our weekly meeting, 8.30pm at the Sports Bar and speak to Sam, who is running the trip. On Saturday, we'll be splitting into two groups. One group will go with Sam and do the Yorkshire 3 peaks, which is an extremely gruelling 40km trek, up (and down) three 700 metre high mountains. This is not for the faint hearted and you must really be up for the challenge, especially at this time of year... The other group will be doing a shorter version and will probably take in 2 out of the 3 peaks.

THIRD TRIP

We will be running a third trip later in the semester. If you haven't been able to make one or both of the first trips and would still like to come on one, let us know what dates are best for you.

Thats about it! Have a good week and don't work too hard!!

OBSU Mountaineering

05 October 2006

Hello Everyone!

We are having a little day walk on Saturday along the Thames Valley. We will meet up at Brookes Centre for Sport between 12.00pm and 12.30pm, then walk down into central Oxford. From there, we will catch a bus to the sleepy little town of Abingdon a few miles south of Oxford. We'll then walk back, along the Thames Valley path to Oxford, probably via a few pubs ;-). If its raining on Saturday morning, we'll call it off, as it'll just be very wet and muddy along the Thames river.

If possible, try and bring walking boots / sturdy trainers.

If you are interested in coming, could you please reply to this email and leave your name and mobile number, then we can get in touch on Saturday and give us some idea of how many people are turning up.

Cheers

OBSU Mountaineering (and walking!!)

www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk

01 October 2006

Hello Everyone!

Just to let you all know, we are going on a bit of a pub crawl this Tuesday evening! We will be starting at Morals Bar (In Morrell Halls), then heading down to the City Arms on Cowley Road for some cheap beer! Afterwards, we'll drop by the Hobgoblin before finishing off at the Bullingdon Arms for some live jazz music. We will be meeting up at Morals at 8.00pm. If you are trying to find us, call Rachel on 07968392223 or Calum on 07910072946. I will be stuck at the Sports Centre till 9.00pm, so if you are leaving later and don't know whereabouts the City Arms is, give myself (Jon) a ring on 07952022828.

If you can't make it out on Tuesday, no worries. We will still be meeting up on Thursday, 8.30pm at the Sports Bar for our regular meeting.

Hopefully see you all on Tuesday

Jon (Prez)

26 September 2006

Hello again!

Apologies for clogging up your inbox!

On the previous email, I made no mention of the date for the first trip to the Lakes. This will be on 13th - 15th October (leaving late Friday, coming back late Sunday).

Cheers

Jon

26 September 2006

A massive Halllllooooo to everyone and welcome to the Mountaineering Society!

As new or existing members, you will receive a weekly newsletter and be the first to hear when trips and social events are running.

We've got loads on this year and after such a great response during Freshers Fair, it's looking like it's going to be a busy one! The plans for the year… we will be running three main trips each semester to locations such as the Lakes, Wales and North Yorkshire. We will also be running several day trips to the Cotswolds, New Forest and Thames Valley. Towards the end of the academic year, there will be a trip to Scotland, although it's a bit far ahead to plan anything at the moment. Also, we will hopefully be going to somewhere in Europe next summer… again a bit far ahead to set anything in stone. Throughout the semester, we'll be having lots of social events, such as pub-crawls, laser quest and the Winter Ball.

Our first meeting will be on Thursday 28th at 8.30pm in the Sports Bar at the Brookes Centre for Sport. Subsequently, we meet up every Thursday at the same time every week. Here you will be able to sign up for the first trip, meet new and existing members and have a few drinks (or more than a few). Afterwards, we'll go on a bit of a pub-crawl and head to Hearts Bar before finishing off at the Cheese night in Morals.

Our first trip will be a weekend excursion to the Lake District over the weekend of the 13th - 15th October (leaving late Friday, coming back late Sunday). The cost will be only £30, which covers food, accommodation, transport and alcohol. We will be leaving the Sports Centre on Friday evening and arriving in the Lake District around midnight, depending on traffic and my elite navigational skills. We will then spend two days hiking before returning to Oxford on Sunday evening. Weather depending we will hike up either Skiddaw or Helvellyn on Saturday, followed by a slightly easier walk on Sunday. I will go into much greater detail on Thursday evening.

To sign up for this trip, you MUST come along on Thursdays and place a £10 deposit. If you can't make it, email obmountaineering@googlemail.com and we can arrange to meet up with you to collect your deposit. The first trip is usually the busiest and places will go very fast, so if you really want to come along, try and make it if you can.

In the meantime, check out our website: www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk. It is the process of being updated, but check out our photo galleries. Here are some photos of our first Lakes Trip last year:

http://www.obmountaineering-memories.co.uk/image%20galleries/2005-06/Lakes-1/Jon/Thumbnails.html

Hopefully see you all on Thursday!

Best Wishes

Jon (President)

http://threepeakchallenge.blogspot.com