"Little Mountains"

[UCD = University College, Dublin]

Here's a UCD expedition wrapped up warm at the peak of Ben Nevis (cold, hard snow-laden wind that day).

The gang are three happy, intelligent, personable young USA'ers - an Eastener, a mid-Westerner and a California character.

Just afterwards we were joined by a New Zealander - a bloke - a real mountaineer.

There's also a good memory of celebrating with a meal and stuff at Paddy's Bar - way down below - in Fort William that evening [ had discovered the bar the previous evening, when my fellows had gone to bed early in preparation for a hard day's climb - ha! ].

We had an international party - Americans, English, a New Zealander, an ex-pat Welshman (ed@perc), and Paddy and the regular Scots, who gave us an evening of good talk, food, drink and song. They should all be like that.

Below there's another mountain top (in Wales) and - typical of Wales - you get to the top, and someone's preaching at you.

Speaking as a Welshman who knows about being preached at - the English overlords always reckoned a Welshman was dangerous if not mind-controlled by a bent religion run by bent priests and even worse-bent bishops.