Newsletter: January 2008

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Editor: Colm Fitzgerald

Burns Supper

The annual Jacobites Burns Supper is now only a few weeks away, and will be held on Wednesday 30th January, at the Royal Overseas League, 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh. Drinks start from 7pm with the main meal and entertainment starting at 7.30pm. There will also be a wee ceilidh towards the end of the night. A fine line-up of speakers and entertainers is being assembled. However a few more volunteers are still needed! Tickets cost £17, and are available from the social secretary, Bart Willemse, on Thursdays at the Cumberland Bar from 9.30pm, or by sending a cheque, payable to Jacobites Mountaineering Club, to Bart. E-mail: social@jacobitesmc.co.uk.

Up and Coming Meets

Get out there and work off the Christmas indulgence:
11-13 January, The Smiddy, Dundonnell: http://www.edinburghjmcs.org.uk/huts/huts.php
25-27 January, The Little Houses, Roybridge: http://www.thelittlehouses.co.uk
8-10 February, Mile House, Glen Feshie, Cairngorms.
22-24 February, Glenlichd House, Kintail: http://eumc.eusu.ed.ac.uk/bothy.htm

Heriot-Watt Climbing Wall

Tired of waiting for half an hour at Alien Rock to get on a rope not to mention that unique smell of rock-boots as you enter? Ratho a bit cold at this time of year? The club's regular Thursday evening booking of the Heriot-Watt climbing wall starts again. It goes from January 10th to March 6th; 6:15pm to 9:15 pm and costs 3.90 per session. The wall is located in the university sports' hall. For those who have not been before, the wall is of the “old fashioned” brick variety. However it is good for building up finger strength. Plenty of free ropes, good range of climbs, heated venue and no smell.

Whisky Tasting

If, like me, you have difficulty telling the difference between a sample of No. 6 Heavy Fuel Oil and a 40 year old oak matured Laphroaig then Mike Snook's whisky tasting session is just the thing for you. The fourth semi-annual whisky tasting takes place on Saturday 23rd February 2008 at Inver as usual. It will cost around £20 including an evening meal. This years theme will be quality, and will cover both island and mainland quaffables. Contact Mike if you wish to go (hutwarden@jacobitesmc.co.uk).

Annual Photography Competition

This year submissions are open from now and the prizes will be presented at the Members Slide Evening on Tuesday March 18th (see below). This is a change from the usual prize giving at the Burns night, just to see how it works this year. Submissions should be as prints (A4 size is best but other sizes are acceptable). Please put your name and title and category on the back of the photograph or make this clear on the package. The categories are the usual four mountain themes: Scenery, Action, Life (people, flowers, animals etc.) and Madness (Jacobites doing silly things). You can submit one entry for each category if you wish. Judging will be done by a panel of three members and the prizes will be a bottle of good wine or similar. The winning entries will also be displayed for a year in the special picture frame at Invercroft. Give your submissions to Alan Walker or any committee member. The deadline for submissions is Thursday 13th March.

Member's Slide Evening

Tuesday 18 March, 7.30 to 10.30 at the Grange Club, Portgower Place (Stockbridge) EH4 1HQ (the club has a bar). Please bring a selection of your photographs to share with members for a fun evening. Shots can include: mountain activities of all sorts, scenery, mountain life, etc. Please limit your show to allow others sufficient time. Three hundred and fifty-five shots of you climbing at Rosyth Quarry might be a tad tedious. Transparency slides or digital projections will be catered for. You may also some of your favourite prints if you have too many to submit to the competition. The winners of the photography competition will be presented with their prizes and their photographs will be on display.

Club Gear

The club has a small selection of mountaineering gear which club members can borrow for short periods of time:. These include ice axes and crampons for winter walking, harnesses, karabiners and belay devices for beginners wanting to try climbing. The gear also includes two tents for camping expeditions. Contact gear@jacobitesmc.co.uk for more information.

Membership

Just a reminder that you need to renew your membership to continue receiving enthralling club newsletters like this and for your Mountaineering Council of Scotland insurance to be uninterrupted. The preferred method for renewing your membership is to come down to the Cumberland where our Membership Secretary will have your very own membership form ready for you to complete. Not only will your form be ready just to sign, but I can issue your new membership card there and then! Subscription costs this year are £26, or £12 unwaged. There are a small number of you who are unable to make it to the pub (and for those living in far flung places such as Glasgow and NZ). You can renew by post. But.....before you send your cheque, please e-mail membership@jacobitesmc.co.uk and Seona will e-mail you back your form to fill in with all your details. You will then need to post her your cheque and completed form, and on receipt she can send you your membership card

Jounal Articles

A reminder to everyone, especially year editors to get those articles written up in time for the 2007 Jacobites Journal. You have still got time to get last year's adventures down on paper. The deadline for articles/book reviews/poetry is mid-end of February; for year editors it is mid-February. Please send articles, however short, to journal@jacobitesmc.co.uk.

Ansel Adams Photography Exhibition

The classic photographs of mountain and wild scenery of the USA will be on display at the City Art Centre from 9 February to 19 April.
If there is other information pertaining to the club or mountaineering in general you are wanting to have distributed please let Colm Fitzgerald know (newsletter@jacobitesmc.co.uk). Likewise if the formatting of the e-mail means it cannot be read plase let me know.