+THE BRAMBLERS Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 We would like to thank everyone who helped out at the Winchester Event and made it such a success. It couldn't have happened without your support. Special thanks to Paul Blitz, for running the network and writing the cache pages. To Tim and June for donating the chrystal glasses and bubbly for the photographic competition. To Omally for helping us set up some of the caches and being an all round "great guy". To the two HCC staff Jo and Phil who came in at the last minute to help us out with things on the ground. Particular thanks to the senior managers at HCC for listening to us in the first place and taking on board geocaching in such a positive manner. Extra special thanks to Mark, The Cat, who drove down from Bradford on Wednesday night, helped us to set up the event in the rain on Thursday and again on Friday, sorted out some technical problems, etc., etc., etc. And more. What a great guy! He also donated an Etrex as a prize and gave away much, much more. Once again, many thanks to you all. David and Debbie Quote Link to comment
+Hi-Tek Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 What they said ... and special thanks go to David and Debbie too ... HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE! Tremendous effort and a splendid day for the hobby . "Fear is temporary, regret is permanent!" motley. adj. varied in appearance or character. crew. n. group of people. Quote Link to comment
The Cuthberts Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 We think after getting lost (!!!) on the way and being very new to the sport, we were not in a position to assist but it was nice to put a few faces to some of the names. I did have a camera with me but, ahem, the battery was still sitting here in its charger. Never trust a Cuthbert with technology... although Mrs Cuthbert did like the 'Geko' because of its colour. I hope we can be more use in the future to help out (once we have a decent GPSr or iPAQ software) and it was fantastic to see what must have been a heck of a lot of organisation there and a nice location (that we couldn't find) to boot! Nice one Andy and Dawn (Where did all this wine come from ?) Quote Link to comment
+Mr & Mrs Hedgehog Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Just to say thanks to everyone for yesterdays event which we thoroughly enjoyed and we felt was a brilliant success. We had met a number of our fellow cachers at the Chichester Meet earlier in the year and we met a lot more today - without exception what a great bunch of people ! We took a couple of familys around the specimen cache that had been set for the day and only embarrassed ourselves a few times by taking a few wrong turns (but then that's all part of caching isn't it). Both families still appeared to be interested and enthusiastic by the end so hopefully we will have recruited a few more people to the sport. The Bar-B-Que was very enjoyable and we followed this by having a go at our first night cache. As promised there certainly were a few surprises on the way - on route Mrs H had jokingly said that she felt that O'Mally might jump out at some stage and surprise us in a Gorilla costume. Well he wasn't wearing the costume but jump out on us he did!! Some of the clues were ingenious (pressing a door bell attached to a tree to locate the next clue for example) and some frustrating (providing a ladder to reach a clue high in a tree - which once opened basically said - there was no need for the ladder the clue was lower down ahhhhhhh!!!). Good fun athough we must admit to feeling just a little tired after a two hour trek through the woods and we were hampered at the end by our torch batteries running out! Would we do night caching again? Not on our own perhaps - we enjoy seeing all ther things there are to see on route too much - but as part of an event like this yes definitely. Thanks again to all the main organisers who had obviously worked so hard to make this such a fantastic day for everyone. We look forward to, and would love to help out, at future events. Mrs Hedgehog There are 10 kinds of people in this world. Those that understand binary and those that don't. [This message was edited by Mr & Mrs Hedgehog on July 20, 2003 at 03:29 AM.] Quote Link to comment
+TheCat Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 But the biggest thanks must go to Dave and Debbie The Bramblers. They have been working all hours from the inception of this event to make sure it went well. Even through the problems in the begining they carried on. Thanks guys you did great. I am sure that all that has been learned in this will aid us in the future as more public events are organised. Oh and one last thing We forgot to mention Kev he is a seasonal HCC Ranger who worked like a trooper on the set up days. Thanks Kev. Mark (TheCat) www.geocacheuk.com Quote Link to comment
+minstrelcat Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Our thanks to everyone involved, cachers and HCC. We were really impressed by all the effort that must have gone in and we really enjoyed ourselves (apart from getting muddy on the night cache!) Looking forward the the next one. Noticed there appears to be a permanent orienteering course in the woods, we might try that if we come this way again. Thanks again, Adam & Lisa Quote Link to comment
+Wood Smoke Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 quote:Originally posted by TheCat:But the biggest thanks must go to Dave and Debbie The Bramblers. They have been working all hours from the inception of this event to make sure it went well. Even through the problems in the begining they carried on. Thanks guys you did great. I am sure that all that has been learned in this will aid us in the future as more public events are organised. Oh and one last thing We forgot to mention Kev he is a seasonal HCC Ranger who worked like a trooper on the set up days. Thanks Kev. Mark (TheCat) http://www.geocacheuk.com What he said :-) WoodSmoke GeocacheUK - very useful resources for the UK Geocaching community Quote Link to comment
MCL Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 MCL and Nzbuu finally get home to Milton Keynes at 4:25am.... The best bit of the day now? Looking at all the photos I took .... - The water fights with Omally using his enormous thing for squirting... - The Merman trying to teach SimonG to do mountainboarding... - Huga attempting mountainboarding without instruction... - The Winchester Event Chinese Dragon (taking down the frame-tents at the end)... - The ball juggling at the BBQ... - The St John's Ambulance crew trying desperately to avoid having their photo taken... ...and the rest, too humerous to mention. Thanks to all the organisers, and lets hope we do another one! No trees were harmed during the production of this posting, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.... Quote Link to comment
AuntieMary Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Wasn't it great??? Must do it again sometime when we've all recovered! I'm proud to be from Hampshire and to have taken (a small) part in this event. I've already seen one log from ex-muggles who came along on the day and are now signed up, and several from people who heard the radio and read the paper, so a huge success all round Well done and many thanks to everyone involved for a brilliant day out. The atmosphere was superb and it's fantastic that so many cachers turned up to support it. Oh, and just to note I changed my username from MaryE today. I'll get me coat Quote Link to comment
+djh Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 A very professional and impressive event. I think all those who played a part in the preparation and organising of this event should feel very proud of them selves, all those in the public eye and those not in the limelight. It is so good to see HCC taking a proactive approach to our wonderful pastime, hopefully this is a starting block for many other authorities to take the same view. DJH Quote Link to comment
+Friendly Flyer Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Just want to add a "Me Too!!" to all the others. A very good day, I'm sure a lot of the people who turned up to see what it was all about now have a good idea. Nice to see some familiar faces and to put names to new faces. Quote Link to comment
+Ann_and_Brian Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 We just want to re-iterate what everyone has said on the thank you front. A truly remarkable event. Thank you to all, Ann and Brian Quote Link to comment
+Team Paradise Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Ditto... Fantastic weekend!... Proud to have been a part of it. Great atmosphere, no flame wars, superbly organised. Let's do it again sometime! Extra big thanks to David and Debbie for bringing it all together. Steve If you can see the 'light at the end of the tunnel', it's usually a train coming ! Quote Link to comment
+Daisy&me Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Yes, congratulations and many thanks to all invloved in organising this fantastic event. Daisy and I had a great time, as did my wife an daughter. I have also seen a long today from one of yesterday's muggles on their first cache. Flame wars? With that much water flying about.... Quote Link to comment
+paul.blitz Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 What a great weekend! A couple of months ago, David was wondering if the event could still happen (that was just after T&J steped down). I went around, gave a pep talk (ok, I also offered to sort out making the computers work, if he could get the computers), and since then David & Debbie seem to have been Working, Sleeping, Eating and goodness knows what else for "The Event"! I'm sure they must be well chuffed that all their work finally paid off: well done guys! And well done / thanks to EVERYONE who helped! For me, making the computers work was the easy bit. The FUN bit was walking around with Omally, planning his multi-cache along with my (unofficial) night-cache. (I'm VERY glad that everyone enjoyed our evil ideas!!). The most annoying bit was being woken by the dawn chorus.... after only about 3 hours sleep! You will be happy to hear that not only did we get to church ok today, we were early. Didn't stop me starting to nod-off during the service though (could have been embarassing, as I was doing the PA!). We're all looking forward to the next one, David!!! Paul Another proud member of the GAGB! Quote Link to comment
KeRa Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Ditto. The people I took around the multi-cache and everyone I visited the example cache with, were really excited. I think there will be a lot more caches being logged around Hampshire in the near future. The time flew by. I was only away from the event for about an hour to eat and kick a ball around with my daughter so my wife could eat in peace and can't believe the event was 6.5 hours. The organisation of the event was incredible and I am more that happy to help with anything similar in the future. This was the best weekend I have had for a long, long, time. Quote Link to comment
+Omally Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Huge thanks to everyone who helped out on the Multicache, there was so much positive feedback from the Geommuggles that tried it! I heard so many kind comments about the enthusiasm and friendliness of all of you that led the way, there is only one possible conclusion to be drawn: You are all great!! Hope I didn't make you work too hard whilst I was sitting around all day... Give yourselves a jolly good pat on the back! The whole event has left me with a dirty great grin from ear to ear that won't even get washed off by being pinned down and soaked by a whole bunch of water-pistollers! . I've not felt vibes this good for ages I'm proud to be a Geocacher and I'm proud to have met so many wonderful people willing to give up their weekend to have fun and show other people how to have fun at the same time. Such a good family atmosphere, too. I suppose I'd better start one of my own then... any offers?! Especially well done the Bramblers! I thank you both so much for organising the event: you've helped make an awful lot of people extremely happy! Can we do it again next month? "Woof" quoth he. Oh, and "Grrr" also. Omally [This message was edited by Omally on July 21, 2003 at 12:30 AM.] Quote Link to comment
+Hi-Tek Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Omally:Huge thanks to everyone who helped out on the Multicache, there was so much positive feedback from the Geommuggles that tried it! I heard so many kind comments about the enthusiasm and friendliness of all of you that led the way, there is only one possible conclusion to be drawn: You are all great!! Hope I didn't make you work too hard whilst I was sitting around all day... Give yourselves a jolly good pat on the back! The whole event has left me with a dirty great grin from ear to ear that won't even get washed off by being pinned down and soaked by a whole bunch of water-pistollers! . I've not felt vibes this good for _ages_ I'm proud to be a Geocacher and I'm proud to have met so many wonderful people willing to give up their weekend to have fun and show other people how to have fun at the same time. Such a good family atmosphere, too. I suppose I'd better start one of my own then... any offers?! Especially well done the Bramblers! I thank you both so much for organising the event: you've helped make an awful lot of people extremely happy! Can we do it again next month? "Woof" quoth he. Oh, and "Grrr" also. http://www.btinternet.com/~omally/index.htm<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> What he said and more . A brilliant job yesterday and a 'Grand Day Out' today Neil - many thanks . Isn't it time you was in bed "Fear is temporary, regret is permanent!" motley. adj. varied in appearance or character. crew. n. group of people. [This message was edited by Motley Crew on July 21, 2003 at 01:40 PM.] Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 That was one ‘hellava’ weekend... My thanks to EVERYBODY who made it the success it undoubtedly was, especially the one who arranged the weather. I know I’ve learned a few things... Like not to drink my whole weekends supply of beer on the first night (hope I wasn’t too embarrassing)... Like not offering to help Omally with his 7 part multi-cache (I went round it 3 times in the course of the afternoon. It did help that I had Sonya :-) for company on two of those occasions, though)... Like not being a member of the last team to do the night cache (I had to carry all the caches back)... Like walking away when some idiot suggests ‘doing’ the Isle of Wight on the way home... No... I take that one back. I wouldn’t have missed that for anything. Thanks Omally, Merman and Keith from the Motley Crew... A more fun bunch of geocaching nutters it would be hard to find. Our combined assault on Vectis (the Island and the cache) is something I’ll remember for a long, long time. Now I think I’ll find a quite corner somewhere and cache up on some desperately needed sleep. Oh yeah... look after my hat, Omally... nobody will recognise me without it John Age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability [This message was edited by Pharisee on July 21, 2003 at 02:22 AM.] Quote Link to comment
+stu_and_sarah Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 I'm really lost for words. THANKS! to everyone involved, the best weekend I've had for a long time (I hope that says more about the weekend, than about me!) Stu Quote Link to comment
+Daisy&me Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 and thanks to the gent from HCC for the instructions on assembling and disassembling an indian tepe. Very interesting. I'll add it to me CV. Quote Link to comment
+MonkhouseFamily Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Well done to all the organisers! We were very impressed with all the set up of the event and were sorry we could only pop in for an hour in the morning. But it was nice to put faces to names. Thanks to everyone who was involved in making it such a great event. The Monkhouse Family Quote Link to comment
+Omally Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Pharisee:Oh yeah... look after my hat, Omally... nobody will recognise me without it Sorry mate, I sold it this morning to a Bill Oddie lookalike who happened to be passing... "Woof" quoth he. Oh, and "Grrr" also. Omally Quote Link to comment
+SimonG Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Pharisee:I know I’ve learned a few things... <snip> Like not being a member of the last team to do the night cache (I had to carry all the caches back)... It could have been worse - Huga, Nzbuu and I did it after you. There we were in the middle of the forest at one a.m. searching for something that wasn't there any more... Oh, and ditto everything! What's your favourite thing? Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Sorry... honest, You can blame Mr Blitz for that. We wuz just obeying orders... Yer Honour. John Age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability Quote Link to comment
+paul.blitz Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 If you go to the HCC Event Cache Page you will see I've posted a load more pics I took at the HCC Event. Quality is not high (its only a 30 quid digital camera!), but they show a bit more of what (and who) was there. Apologies for lack of titles for pics, but with that many, it would just take so long! paul Another proud member of the GAGB! Quote Link to comment
+paul.blitz Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Just so you know: The Brambler's PC has finally died from the strain of setting up the HCC Event!!!! So they may be offline for a few days... so THAT's why they haven't posted any messages or answered your emails! Paul Another proud member of the GAGB! Quote Link to comment
+Tim & June Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 Just to let everyone know HCC have now added a report page to their website which can be found here We were informed yesterday morning that the event attracted well over 1000 visitors, wow Although it seemed fairly quiet in the main arena at times there were twelve teams out in the woods plus others doing the multi cache. This was an amazing achievement. Tim & June (Winchester) See June, I told you that sign which said 'Unsuitable for Motor Vehicles' was wrong ! Quote Link to comment
+paul.blitz Posted July 21, 2003 Share Posted July 21, 2003 I didn't get one on the day, but now have one of the EXCELLENT brochures that HCC created and were giving out on the day. If anyone wants to see what it's like, I've scanned it in, and put the pics on the event's cache page. The leaflet is 7" x 16", done on good quality heavy glossy paper, cut to shape, and folded (zigzag) into 4 (its more obvious when you look at the pic) so that it looks like a GPS on the front. You know, any other CC that want to put on an event like this one are gonna have a big job!!! HCC did us proud on an amazingly small budget! Paul Another proud member of the GAGB! Quote Link to comment
+The Hole-in-the-wall Gang Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 Speaking from the Geomuggles perspective , I just wanted to say what an excellent introduction to geocaching the event was. We all really enjoyed ourselves and wanted to thank everyone who helped us on the day. Since the event we have been scourring the woods and have found 4 caches so far. What an excellent sport .Cheers, John & the gang Quote Link to comment
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