The traditional IMC Burns Supper meet took place at
the GSG hut at Elphin on the weekend of 22-23
January, and the most dramatic event of the weekend
occurred even before the company had gathered in
the FBI on the Friday night, when a deer jumped out
in front of Peter's car near Loch Glascarnoch.
Fortunately damage was restricted to a broken
headlight, the car remained fully mobile and the party
was able to continue to Ullapool. The deer left the
scene of the accident and its condition was not
known.
Saturday started cloudy but turned into a beautiful
day - crisp and clear, with a covering of snow on the
hills. JT and Ian Douglas went up Ben Mor Coigach,
and Ewen and Pete Collin nipped up and down Beinn
an Eoin so briskly that they were forced to fill the
remains of the day by going to the pub. Mike Garrett,
Janet Lees, Marion and Peter set off along the Cam
Loch path to traverse Canisp from the far end,
accompanied at first by Moira Burks for a walk along
the loch. Leaving the path at the west end of Lochan
Fada, the Canisp team made a rising traverse across
the flank of the hill to the west ridge, which they
followed pleasantly to the top. The solitary figure
seen on the summit turned out to be Robin, who had
taken the more direct route from the Inchnadamph
road. The united party enjoyed a magnificent half
hour on the top with warm sunshine, hardly any wind
and magnificent views in all directions, before
descending by more or less the same route to their
starting points.
The haggis supper got itself cooked more by luck
than any kind of management, and was enjoyed in
unusual comfort by the assembled company
(augmented by Sharon and Colin) - partly because the
numbers (12) were smaller than they have generally
been in the past, and also thanks to the increased
space provided by the GSG's excellent new
conservatory complete with a large and expandable
table. The effect of the formal piping-in of the
haggis was somewhat diminished by the absence of
the piper, but an admirable substitute was provided
in the form of a fiddle duet from Ian and Janet, who
also gave us some excellent tunes during the rest of
the evening. As befits the occasion, there were
literary discussions and readings from Burns'
poems, one of which, sensitively read by Robin,
was denounced as c**p by the well-known literary
critic P---- M------, who did however admit that he
was speaking from a position of some ignorance as
anything to do with Burns or his poetry had been
entirely absent from his English education. No
serious offence was intended or (I hope) taken, and
everyone seemed to enjoy a pleasantly sociable
evening.
Sunday eventually saw activity in two directions,
with two 'are we together or aren't we?' groups
heading for the Lochinver coast road and a coastal
walk(s) in the vicinity of Inverpolly Lodge (we
were told the estate would try to prevent us
walking there at other times of the year, if the
definition of 'curtilage' in the new access legislation
permitted them to do so); while a hardier party
headed up Breabag via the bone caves. Tea and
cakes at the Ceilidh Place, for the coastal parties
anyway, rounded off an enjoyable weekend.
P.M.
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