Having posted a pre-SPA Assessment appeal on the UKC Forums for work experience opportunities within reasonable travelling distance (quote ‘would certainly consider anywhere in Scotland and possibly northern England’), I was fortunate to get the offer of an interesting day working a charity abseil from Carlisle’s 41 metre Civic Centre with well-known MIA David Hooper. So yesterday, after a small mishap to my van (of which more anon), I borrowed my mother’s car to get down there, and have to say that the experience was thoroughly worthwhile. As I’d expect of a good MIA, David proved to be friendly, knowledgeable and full of enthusiasm for climbing… and, as an approved provider of SPA Training and Assessments himself, very helpful with much good advice on things to look out for. Since we also had 43 people abseiling from the Civic Centre roof over the course of the day and David let me run the rope for most of it, it really was a priceless opportunity. For which I’m thankful, because it’s going to cost me a fair amount of money…
So what happened to the van, then? Well, on Friday evening a camper van (?) with sticky-out mirrors took my driver’s side mirror and half its bracket clean off a couple of bends north of Tarbet, which basically marks the end of the worst stretch of the notorious A82 Loch Lomond road. Since I couldn’t just stop there to run northwards after another vehicle that might not have stopped either (or maybe even realised what they’d done?), I parked at Tarbet to assess the damage, phoned my mother, continued with concern for my enforced lack of awareness of the road behind me and called at Helensburgh Police Station (where I was told I’d done the right thing) to report the incident. Fortunately the excellent Andrews Garage (practically next door to the Police) was still open and I was also able to discuss the possibility of a repair tomorrow (can’t go anywhere with the van missing a mirror!), which is now on after confirmation that they can get the part. But it looks like it’s going to cost me a fair bit with the other party being unidentified and the excess on my own insurance probably ruling out a claim on that. :-/