All Blogged Up

'There is a lot to write about,' says Andy. 'As ever, I guess, I met some old friends, made some lovely new ones and met a great of miserable bastards as well.'

'Thank God that's over for another year - The Outdoor Show may be on for another two days, but for me it's been and gone now. I made the obligatory visit, and am gladly back home having spent the stunning sum of £3 - and that was on a pasty!'

'I know that the outdoors encompasses a lot of different activities, cycling, caving, kayaking, paragliding to name but a few and these all seem to have representatives there, but there was a lack of smaller well known brands.'

'But the star of the show has to be Mr. Grumpyarse, the guy behind the mini-bar where we all stood drinking / chatting / smoking / blogging. He must see a demigod in his shaving mirror each morning. Some people have no sense of freedom, adventure or permissiveness - this guy taught them all.'

'Great to meet up with all you outdoor bloggers yesterday at the NEC. Indeed, for me that was the highlight of the show which appeared to have shrunk in size. I wonder how long this show has left &endash; one year, maybe two? Anyway...'

'Not a bad show, but not the best. Was it me or was it smaller than previous years! Anyway, it was good to meet all of the bloggers!'

'Enjoyed the show very much got some ideas on ruc-sacs, as I need a new one for the GR20. Any suggestion would be helpful ???

Preferred the ones more suited to climbing , the Lowealpine mountain attack,but didn't like the fact it had no side pockets or webbing on the front, which can come in useful, when walking.'

'The punters came in all shapes and sizes, the common theme being their intent to outdo each other with their designer label clothing. And every other person seemed to be wearing a rucksack!

Now why was that? I've been to a number of shows here over many years, and without a doubt I've never seen such a widespread urge to overload the dress code.'

'To recreate the thrill of Birmingham, I forced myself out round 4 outdoors shops in Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon, to see what they had in the sales.'

'Every member registering for the weekend will receive a special Bellingham Buff. This multi-use bit of kit can cost up to £15. New membership enrolments over the weekend also get the celebratory Buff.'

"What do you think you'll feel at the end of it?" said the guy in the pub back in Helmsdale.

"Overwhelming disappointment, probably" I replied.

"Oh, you'll be overwhelmed, all right" he said, knowingly. "You won't be able to hold back the tears"

'I wake up to cold northerly winds, and slushy rain slapping against the windows. I am tired - having spent too much time last night posting pictures to the blog (or perhaps too much time in the Porter).'

'I put vaseline on my feet if I'm going out for a trek, then pull on my socks. Normally because my 'official' creams are stowed in my back the night before. I have a drybag with my 'remedies' - foot creams, lip balm, sunlotion, jungle juice.'

'Stats: 242 miles, 387,200 steps, 56,019 feet of ascent and 56,204 of descent, about 18lb-20lb base weight.'

'I personally tried both starting with a rucksack cover and got converted over time to a dry sack user. For me it was always not very comfortable to pull out the rucksack cover in pouring rain and trying to fiddle it over the backpack (especially funny if it is windy).

'The 1996 Everest tragedy is a big subject and provides a fascinating insight into the world of high altitude mountaineering. Each week for the next seven weeks I'll be posting a book review by an author who was on the mountain that year and who observed or participated in the unfolding events.'

'I don't know why I stumped up to join the YHA: So far I have tried to get into three and have failed each time. The Lizard was shut. Street was full (Who on earth would want to go there?!) St Briavels didn't even answer the phone but left the message that it was not open for business today. Unbelievable really. No wonder the organisation is going down the tubes - they are never open!'

'I seriously doubt that there is room for all of these companies and there will be a natural culling of many of them over the next year or so. And who knows where that will lead us.'

'After consuming the latest podcasts from the Outdoors Station I had the impression that the pendulum is swinging away from hiking lightweight…'

'So far this blog makes the whole idea look like an unplanned catastrophy waiting to happen. This is because i have yet to post any information or plans for the walk. I have actually researched thoroughly and spoke too many experts who have guided me from their experience. here is the planned shedule that is still very flexaible and can be changed.'

'I've had a nightmare drying my thai curry.put everything in the dryer on monday night and all seemed well,woke up tuesday morning to find that the machine was not creating any heat so no drying was going on doh!'