Planning Conference 9 Sep 10

We were supposed to meet up at the UJ Club at 1730 hrs. However best laid plans and all that never survive first contact. Ian had to see to the needs of a customer’s double helix and the revolving door (Arty Genetics - very interesting stuff and a great concept). The meeting finally started at 1930 hours with the usual liquid refreshment in this case Theakstons old Peculiar. First item on the agenda was the new iphone4. The subsequent demonstration came with what will probably be famous last words - "don't worry I've even got a compass on it". The agenda item concluded that with my "Raspberry" and his "iPhone 4" that we could actually email each other whilst walking - wow! (Ian and I can be as much as 15-20 minutes apart when walking)We have concluded that we don't need a whistle anymore to summon help as we can email the world with a whistle noise or even post a help message on Facebook! A cause for concern was to make sure we actually caught the train on time, although Ian thinks he might have an “app” for that, really? Earlier in the day I had completed a recce of Marylebone station and worked out where we had to be. Ian in the meantime has programmed his phone to count down the hours (h Hour -4, -3 etc.) to make sure he gets there on time, although the score for almost missing the train and actually missing the train is 1-1. Eventually the maps came out and the route was discussed along with the location of the accommodation to make sure we knew where we going. I think we are both relieved that the first few days are fairly easy walking along the Severn Way as neither of us have had the opportunity to do much training. My plans were ruined by a Hunter Spider bite on the knee - which resulted in a weeks’ worth of Antibiotics and rest. Ian had been busy working all the hours going to clear the decks for a week’s walking. I managed to telephone the Forget Me Not B&B in Stourbridge to check that they were still expecting us and to find out about the local buses to Kinver. Re-searching bus time tables on the Internet is a nightmare; they really need to be more accurate with the data especially the locations of the bus stops. It goes without saying that we put the world to rights at the same. It doesn't bode well when after the meeting and on the train home I fell into a deep sleep and eventually woke up in Basingstoke! Place your bets as to whether we make the 1700 train to Stourbridge tomorrow night - watch this space!