Newsletter
Issue 16
Leader of the pack by Liz Griffin
To all leaders who commit to the time in taking us up and down gullies, ridges and across rivers and then the wonderful landscape of the low level walks that soothes the mind and proffers food for the soul. Very special thanks to our boys in The Lake District who managed the impossible to get us up and down Helvellyn. YIPEE!
I still feel the adrenalin rush when memories take me back. We have successfully climbed all the high peaks in the UK so onwards and upwards to the Pyrenees. What exciting times we spend together for my part fear masked my exhilaration of my achievements. Thank you again to everybody for making our group the best friendliest and most exciting. Now talking about the highs and lows the following is food for debate as to what constitutes low or high?
Low Level me Ass
by Rose Palmer
Cnoc an Dtarbh to Stricin
Lads were ye trying to kill me or what! Starting off at a nice steady pace up the gap road to the top of the gap and the trouble started throwing me leg over the barber wire fence – pelvic /thigh stretches at that hour of the morning! Up and up and up we climbed until we were in the clouds and in the mist I didn’t know if I was going up or down. Confused, bedraggled, dishevelled, bewildered delirious until there was a clearing and I swear to God from the top of a Kerry mountain I could see Bernard Brogans Mom polishing the Sam Maguire. How high do you have to go to call a walk low level – Moss your fired!!!!!!
Happy Christmas and wishing you all a far Better New Year
On your bike by Ann Carolan
The Ring of Kerry Cycle
Two years ago with encouragement from my brother I prepared for the Ring of Kerry cycle. I take a break from the Walking club for three months and pedal to the floor most Sunday mornings for an enjoyable cycle, chat and snack together. We usually do about 60 miles - some quite difficult in the start and of course then there is the downhill @ about 30 mph. Then D day arrives and we have a 6.30am start. All creeds, ages, nationalities and gender hits the road and then the pain hits at Cum A Ciste outside Waterville as the road rises up in front of us – Hills I laugh in the face of hills and must admit that it didn’t bother me a bit. Then we have that wonderful stop in Caherciveen for the good old Cuppa. The atmosphere is electric with all parking up and bikes everywhere and Radio Kerry blasting the motivational music. Sandwich and cuppa demolished and my bike fished out of the maze we pedal on and endure the next climb at Molls Gap until we are again speeding downhill - approaching Killarney around 4.30pm with the crowds cheering and as I close in on the finishing line the deliriums in the Chariots of Fire overtones takes hold as I believe for a few short moments that I am the winner of Tour De France!! Tough yes but very enjoyable and I have to admit that cycling over the finishing line is much much more preferable then walking down the concrete road at the end of a day on the Reeks – No offense .
Lyme disease by Noeleen Mackessy
Lyme disease or Borreliosis is a potentially debilitating disease caused by the bacteria Borrelia Burgdorferi. The bacteria are shaped like a corkscrew which enables them to burrow through the body tissue. To contract Lyme’s disease one must be bitten by a tick that already has had a blood meal from a deer. While ticks are feeding, the bacteria are released into the blood stream – usually within 48 hours of attaching to the skin.
Signs & Symptoms
* Headaches – Chronic fatigue and flu like symptoms such as sore throat, neck stiffens with muscle & joint pains > all of which make the diagnosis more difficult.
*Rash at site of tick bites which resembles a bull’s eye with a red ring surrounding a clear area with a red centre.
Treatment
Antibiotics for 2/3 weeks. The earlier the treatment the better the prognosis
Precautions
* Wear long trousers and sleeves in wooded or grassy areas from April to September
*Ticks are brown so be vigilant and check after spending time outdoors. Use tweezers to pull carefully
*Apply an insect repellent – always remember that chemical repellents can be toxic. Oil of lemon, Eucalyptus is a more natural product and gives the same protection.
*Remember you can’t get Lyme’s disease from a pet but your pet can bring infected ticks inside which can fall off and attach to you > SO FOLKS DON’T LET THE BUGS BITE!!
One Liners
My wife has slight speech impediment in her speech she stops every now and then to take a breath. J Durante
The curve is mightier than the sword. Mae West
Men & Women should live next door to each other & visit occasionally. K Hepburn
Hollywood is where they pay you $1000 for a kiss & 50 cent for your soul. M Munroe
Maybe its true life begins at 40 but everything else falls out, wears out or spreads out.
I once had a rose called after me & was flattered until I read the catalogue – No good in bed but fine against a wall. E Roosevelt
By the time a man is old enough to watch his step he is too old to go anywhere. B.Crystal
Don’t worry about avoiding temptation as you grow older it will avoid you. W. Churchill
THE KERRY WAY – Mary Ring
Having joined the Sliabh Luachra Hill Walking Club just one year ago was the most intelligent decision I have ever made - There is never a dull moment in their company. I have travelled hills, dales, highways & byways and the support, camaraderie fun & laughs are hard to beat. I never thought I would venture up Carrantuohill but with such a supportive group it seemed no bother at all. We did part of the Kerry Way – near Kenmare/ Blackwater – every twist and turn delivered new vistas and horizons. One always returns home exhilarated and fulfilled after a great days walking and a varied congenial company.
The Sloggi Dew by Kathleen O' Brien
The day was clear
The sky was bright
We started off afoot
We scaled the heights of the Waterfall
And then traversed the bog
While heading for the River
Disaster struck with a slurp
As three of our Hardiest souls
Were immersed in the bog
To their oxters up
We hauled them out
We brushed them off
But little did we know
The stunning effects of the boggy spa
On Lisabeth’s down below
Her boots, her shoes, her lingerie
Were sodden through & through
And provided inspiration for
The Sloggi Dew
The Sloggis went home to Athea that’s true
For Mother to Boil in a pot on the range
And restore their natural hue
Lisbeth swears she’s discovered a secret
The Bog Spa is a wonder you know
To revitalise, restore and revive
The parts that gave up long ago
When next we go up to Gleninchaquinn
Of one thing I have no doubt
Well be queuing up – both women & men
To give the bog spa another try out.
MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THESE…….. by Eileen Mulcahy
In April we visited Lisbon – Champagne for breakfast has set a precedent for future city breaks. We enjoyed beautiful restaurants, guided walking tours, Churches, Monasteries, and a Cathedral. We took a train to Sintra and enjoyed Castles and the seaside and beautiful palm trees. Shopping was a must before we returned home. In July we headed for the Lake District in England where we scaled Scafell, Scafell Pike & Helvellyn. After the exhilarating climbing and walking some visited the home of Beatrix Potter, some went to walk in the footsteps of Wordsworth – others for Dove Cottage looking for the couch for a much needed rest after Striding & Swirling Ridge- others were on security duty at The Hole in the Wall. Lake Windermere was circled and the water activities enjoyed. We enjoyed wonderful hospitality from our B&B’s and enjoyed great food in the evening with our refreshments. I would like to say thanks to Ann for the organisation and our mountain leaders for the safe and enjoyable climbing. Hears to the Camino!!
YOU ARE MORE THAN A NUMBER IN MOSSIE'S RED BOOK………
New members are welcome and will be kept up to date in the midnight hours by nocturnal text messages as to our outings, meetings and social events. So give one of us a call to join us on our climbs/walks as a guest walker and you can become more than a one day member!!!!!!!
Sliabh Luachra - The Beginning! By Mossie Reen.
Towards the latter end of 2001 I decided to form a hill walking club. I was always interested in hill walking but as I was involved in badminton for the past 25 years I hadn’t had time to pursue it, but now I felt the time was right. Shortly after Christmas 2001 I set about finding out what was required, so after a number of phone calls (broadband hadn’t yet reached rural Ireland!) I was put in contact with the Mountaineering Council of Ireland (M.C.I.) who informed me I needed to form a club, write up a constitution and register a list of members and send all the information to them by the middle of February (their A.G.M. was being held around that time) so that we could be proposed as associate members and have the backing of the organisation. I put a note into the local parish newsletter stating that a meeting would be held in Teach Iosagain on the 8th January to form a hill walking club. On the night of the meeting as people gathered we realised that the room I had booked would not be large enough to accommodate the crowd so we moved down the corridor to the main hall. As the start time of the meeting approached there were over forty people in attendance with more arriving throughout the evening. In a sixty minute presentation I put forward my vision for the club, making two promises one that we would start, climb, and finish together and secondly strict time keeping would be adhered to. After the presentation we had a question and answer session. Then we had a discussion on a name for the club, Sliabh Luachra which in English means “Rushy Mountain” was decided on, next we elected a committee and arranged to hold another meeting the following week to register members. The following night the committee met and drew up some basic rules, I designed a membership form. The next week we held our meeting and enrolled about sixty members (within two months we had over one hundred registered members) I wrote the constitution and send all the data to Dublin. Two weeks later we were accepted as associate members of the M.C.I. (twelve months later we became full members) Sunday 24th February 2002 we held our first walk which was on Torc Mt. and have outings every second Sunday since.
From that first local walk we have expanded our horizons across Europe visiting most of the major cities as well as climbing the highest mountains in Ireland and Britain, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following: the social secretary’s Michael O Sullivan Knocknagree 2002/2003, Eileen Carolan 2004/2005, Pat O Brien 2006/2007, and Ann Daly 2008>, who all put in Trojan work in organising these trips. To the committees who maintained the ethos of the Club down through the years, to all the walk leaders who take on the responsibility of leading walks. It is nice to see that their efforts are recognised when they are thanked by their fellow walkers at the end of each walk. To all members for the good humour and craic that makes our outings such a joy, long may it continue. Sadly death cast its shadow over the Club when two of our members Anna Sheehan and Dermot O’ Leary passed from this world at a very young age, may they rest peacefully with the angels. As we enter our tenth year plans are already being hatched for a trip to the Pyrenees and we are looking forward to some good walks and fun in the sun. As 2011 fades to the memory and a New Year dawns may all your dreams and wishes come true, take care.
Committee members for the 2011/2012 season
Chairman : Maurice Reen, Secretary : Liz Griffin. Treasurer : Eileen Mulcahy, P.R.O. : Eileen Moynihan, Social Secretary : Ann Daly, Training Officer : Joseph Kelleher, Child Officer : Ann Carolan, Environmental Officer : Denny Donnelly, Newsletter Editor : Liz Griffin.
And Finally, Remember.
Nobody is perfect and nobody deserves to be perfect. Nobody has it easy, everybody has issues. You never know what people are going through.So pause before you start judging, criticing or mocking others. Everybody is fighting their own unique war.
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