oli
New member
In many ways my degree has been a disappointment to me. It hasn?t, as the school careers advisor promised, brought me riches or (after brexit killed my job) interesting employment. In other ways, however, it has given me some totally unexpected benefits.
I can do whatever the hell I like on uni caving weekends AND I don?t have to eat ACC food!
I still offer to help out on club trips, but now I get to feel like a good person instead of just doing my duty. It is amazing.
The transformative effect of a degree explain why, after a tasty breakfast, fellow ACC oldie Sam and I found ourselves joining Paul and Olly?s mixed team of graduates down Stoke Lane Slocker.
We (me, Sam, Liv, Pat and Chris) had been wanting to do the trip since we were wee freshers ourselves, but for some of us it has taken an embarrassingly long time for courage and weather to align and actually get us down there. We were all grateful to Paul and Olly for providing cool, calm encouragement at the sump, enthusiasm and knowledge. We were extra pleased to be doing a trip we?d been dreaming of for so long as we were actively skiving off uni duty with Aber, Reading and Plymouth, all of whom were on Mendip.
I really enjoyed the trip down to the sump. The cave was clearly unusually dry, which was a bit of a mixed blessing. On the one hand the sump was less intimidating, on the other hand does having done ?Stoke Lite? mean we?ll be reluctant to return?
We had expected Stoke II to be gorgeous, and we weren?t disappointed. What we hadn?t expected was the friendly feeling of the cave. I was extremely impressed by how well Paul knows the place, and he was a great guide, taking us on a round trip that allowed us to do a lot of looking down on chambers, my favourite.
We stopped for soup and photos in the princess grotto, adding to the camaraderie. Happily Paul waited until we were all back through the sump before starting telling us his extensive collections of Stoke related near death experiences.
Soon we were out the cave, changed (screw you, inopportunely timed rain) and back at the hut looking at Aber?s callouts. Being a student is great, but occasionally opting out of uni faff and trips down Goatchurch is even better.
I can do whatever the hell I like on uni caving weekends AND I don?t have to eat ACC food!
I still offer to help out on club trips, but now I get to feel like a good person instead of just doing my duty. It is amazing.
The transformative effect of a degree explain why, after a tasty breakfast, fellow ACC oldie Sam and I found ourselves joining Paul and Olly?s mixed team of graduates down Stoke Lane Slocker.
We (me, Sam, Liv, Pat and Chris) had been wanting to do the trip since we were wee freshers ourselves, but for some of us it has taken an embarrassingly long time for courage and weather to align and actually get us down there. We were all grateful to Paul and Olly for providing cool, calm encouragement at the sump, enthusiasm and knowledge. We were extra pleased to be doing a trip we?d been dreaming of for so long as we were actively skiving off uni duty with Aber, Reading and Plymouth, all of whom were on Mendip.
I really enjoyed the trip down to the sump. The cave was clearly unusually dry, which was a bit of a mixed blessing. On the one hand the sump was less intimidating, on the other hand does having done ?Stoke Lite? mean we?ll be reluctant to return?
We had expected Stoke II to be gorgeous, and we weren?t disappointed. What we hadn?t expected was the friendly feeling of the cave. I was extremely impressed by how well Paul knows the place, and he was a great guide, taking us on a round trip that allowed us to do a lot of looking down on chambers, my favourite.
We stopped for soup and photos in the princess grotto, adding to the camaraderie. Happily Paul waited until we were all back through the sump before starting telling us his extensive collections of Stoke related near death experiences.
Soon we were out the cave, changed (screw you, inopportunely timed rain) and back at the hut looking at Aber?s callouts. Being a student is great, but occasionally opting out of uni faff and trips down Goatchurch is even better.