Brian Newman - Aberdovey, Wales, 1967

In 1967 as a apprentice with British Gas I was selected to go to Aberdovey on a 4 week Outward Bound course.The train from London was delayed so when we arrived all the lads on the course got a telling off by a instructer for being late, a great start. Rodney Watch was my lodgings, forever polishing and cleaning but it did look good. Early morning runs and cold showers livened you up. Duties required you to help in the kitchen, with weather forecasting, with the lifeboat crew.and cleaning the hut on top of Cader Idris. I was a non swimmer and spent that much time being draged from the bottom of the pool , I still can't swim. The wall and ropes did not seem much of a problem for us. But the sight of 11 lads and a instructor being seasick on a choppy day in the estuary will always stay with me. The 5 day hike was a problem for an American lad in our watch He lived in Norway and his family sent him there. The first morning he slipped and damaged his ankle, so the instructor would not let him return so for the rest of the hike. He could not remove his boot as his ankle came up like a balloon so we carried his kit, when we arrived back after a debrief and a trip to the matron (she was fierce) he opened his mail to find he had been called up for Vietnam. Sometimes we found it hard going but afterwards I look back with good memories.Good days