The Laboratory Trip in 2002 was to Ullswater
meeting up in the central car park in Glenridding.

Though Elizabeth and John & Beryl were waiting for us in the 
steamer car park!
(Sorry!)

There were 30 of us.
12 had retired, or were a partner of one retired.
Just 18 were working or related to ones working.
Not only is the general population demographically
getting older, but so are the Lab trippers. 
A surprising number had walking sticks.
They will be wearing crash hats next year!

But the lab trip is not for wimps.
Last year, Nick (partner of Anke) broke his wrist.
5 years ago John Lloyd broke his ankle.
This year, ... , read on.

There were four walks:

1. Anke and Nick, Ken and Nigel,
   went off to Helvellyn.

2. Sixteen of us, shepherded by Elizabeth,
   were taken by the coach to the car park below 
   Aira Force where we made our way back to Glenridding
   via Watermillock Common, Glencoyne Head, 
   and the old mine workings in Glenridding.

3. The Russells, Ritsons, and Randells
   took the steamer to Howtown (how did it get that name?)
   then walked back over Place Fell
   down to Boredale Hause, Patterdale, Glenridding.
   Brian Randell reported:
I don't know if this constitutes a report, but I should confess that 
the reason that the Randells, Russells and Ritsons, elected to go on 
what turned out to be a strenuous though very nice walk over Place 
Fell, from Howtown back to Glenridding, was that I'd heard that the 
planned main walk was going up to 1500. Instead we carefully chose to 
go up only to 657 - the problem was that I'd not realised was that 
the former altitude had been quoted to me in feet, the latter was 
given on the map in metres. so that's our excuse for being the last 
back to the Glenridding Hotel.

4. The Campbells took the steamer to Howtown
   and took the lakeside path back.

Towards the end of our walk Jean Elphick fell, badly.
Fortunately it was near a road where John Lindsay and Beryl
were able to race ahead
and drive their car back to Jean.

She sat through the meal with icepack on knee,
arm in sling, until we boarded the coach back.
Thankyou Jean for suffering 
whilst the rest of us ate our meal and socialized
whilst you were in pain.
And you never ate anything
just in case at the hospital ...

Anyway, it was a good LabTrip.
It was about 50:50 
Comp service: comp science

The 29 for the meal was exactly correct,
sorry nigel, you could not be there,
we all 29 got in to one room.

In the pictures that follow
if you click on the size, e.g. "1038 Kb"
you will get a slide show
clicking on anything else gives a too big picture.