Oh God: not these people again? Never posted on this site before, so here goes....
Let me set the record straight about the Oxlow double rope crisis (NOT). A group of students and a few hangers-on were staying at the TSG for the weekend and opted for a Maskhill/Oxlow exchange. Finding a group already there was not seen as a reason to go to Nettle or anywhere else, but merely meant taking extra care not to kick anything down the shafts. First-time rigging for one, and the other rigger was very rusty.
Later on, a member of the TSG and I followed on in Maskhill to check on their progress and criticise the rigging if necessary. I dropped down the two sets of rope and was disappointed to find that one set of ropes were rigged in a very amateurish manner, whilst the other set were fine. Imagine my joy, therefore, when I then realised that the duff rigging belonged to the other group and not the youngsters!
We joined the students who were waiting at the top of the last pitch for the other club (Mendip based, beginning with "C", ending with "S", six letters missing in the middle!). The only bloke who was remotely friendly was the poor guy doing the de-rigging, and that was probably because the students had to help him anyway. Right bunch of grumbly beards. Gather the other team had words with their "rivals" as well.
I wouldn't even have bothered posting anything about this non-event had one of their number not had a go at one of the younger members once back at the surface. Cheeky bugger. I wonder if he'd have been so brave if he'd seen one of the older cavers in the group?
It didn't stop there, either. On a rescue down JH on the Sunday night, some of the other rescuers had been hearing their tales of misery all weekend. What a bunch of drips. I suggest that these people leave their own hut more often, as finding other groups down caves is not uncommon. Worse things can happen than having to put up with someone else's rope.
My final suggestion is that people who rig traverse ropes at ankle height don't really have much credibility when it comes to criticising other people's rigging. Shocking stuff.
So, grumbly cavers, find a good SRT manual, stoke the fire, light your pipes, empty your poo-bags, pop a Valium, and stop having a go at the youngsters who are going to be the explorers of the future. If you want to be alone in a cave then go and find one and keep it secret for years (or screw up access). Isn't that what your lot did in the past? Get a grip. End of rant. Coffee time for me.