Mid Essex Double October 12th 2003

Map 168   Start Eight Ash Green, West of Colchester.

All opinions and observations are those of yours truly and any relationship to the truth is purely coincidental. 

Click on a picture to enlarge.

 Note red car on pole again                Good to see Bill & Doreen braving the wilds of Essex
                                                          Daphne issuing paper work and collecting food.

Seven Teams                                                
Dah   dit    di di dit   Dah    
Two good signals  

EB  no. 1 was Andrew  G4KQE  located 'somewhere'  between Witham and the edge of the map.
Graham, honourable navigator, reckons I need a new map. Perhaps he's right Philip's car is already here .
Colin and Rosie are coming up the road and Peter is about.
I try under the power cables above the top fence while Graham searches with Colin at the bottom of the site.
He's up, signal is coming from bottom of field. As I run towards it and Colin, signal swings and goes to another fence.
I continue on, signal increasing .... off!  Must be here, what does that Colin know! 
Mike turns up, spotting a local talent runs towards me,  then continues on past to the top of the field.
ROY   ROY  ROY   Graham sounds enthusiastic ... OK Graham I'm coming sshhhh!   ROY ROY ROY.  Why is he
looking at Mike and shouting ROY?  Surely he can't mistake my good looks for ....

Anyway we're in, and the 'Red Car' is showing that C5 how to really motor! On the down hill stretch after Colchester
the needle touches 60 mph, well you have to go for it!

EB 2  Richard G4KKR knows that there is only one thing better than a river with two sides; one with four sides.
We approach, what we hope is the site, from the North but as we get to the footpath no other DFer's cars are there.
Hmmm, after the sparkling performance at the first site surely we can't be in the lead? I decide that we need another
bearing (not plotted on map), this is taken from the Municipal Tip to the SE of the rivers.  I leave Graham to explain
the noble art of DF to onlookers while I clamber up a hill. The bearing puts the TX in the fork of the river.
Drat, Colin & Rosie pull up as I run down the path, leaving Graham to lock the car. For two hundred yards down hill
my supreme fitness has me in the lead but then Colin comes by and then Graham; better take some more cod liver
oil before the next DF.   However, all is not lost, as we round the corner at the fork in the river my eagle eye spots
the aerial. I summon Graham using SAS style codes. Yep this is the place, I know Richard has a boat, is that its 
mast I can see over the bank? What's this small boat and paddle hidden in the bushes? Oh no, I bet the EB is on his
boat by the opposite bank with a wire across the river. Just then I am awakened from this nightmare by dah dit ...
Funny he's not that strong, like yours truly this aerial is a dummy. Rosie spots us in the undergrowth by the wire
and summons Colin. I'm off toward the TX and can see Colin approaching but he is smiling and has a bit of paper
in his hand. "I only just beat Philip in" he says (internal groan). 

As I approach, Philip has changed roles to photographer.  Funny, no sign of an aerial and just a couple of bushes.
I clamber over the bank to see if he is down by the river? No, back to one of the bushes.

Ah! the feeling of spotting the second EB. I always like to keep my modesty in tact with a fig leaf.
Note the fishing pole behind his back, wound as a helical. That's why there was no visible wire, 
well not near the TX anyway. This was the first time Richard had run a DF TX for us. No more 
giving him tips folks!

          

The Merry Duo celebrate coming in just in front of National Champion Philip.  His excuse was that
he and Raymond (right) ran in from the North, thought they were wrong, drove round to Brightlingsea
and ran in from there.  My thoughts are that they should get more training!  Am I at a funny age or
are the DFer's getting younger?

Look out Mike's coming.

           


and .....

Just as well you can't lip read!

Wonder where Tim is, haven't seen him all afternoon? Philip says he ran in from the North with him, 
reckon he has gone for Brightlingsea.

Oh no he didn't, he's swilling tea, I blame that Gary, a bad influence.  After all my careful training over the
years ..... and he won the Snowman too ... this isn't cricket!

Click here for the official report from Station A operator,  Andrew G4KQE

The Results:

Many thanks to Caroline and Daphne for all their work in respect of the tea and to 
Andrew and Richard for keeping us 'amused'  throughout a lovely sunny afternoon.

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