Well, contrary to the weather forecast Saturday was a beautiful, bright sunny day and I was joined on my 'usual' walk by a fellow hill lover - Michael - who, like me, has high aspirations with his walking aims but

needs a gentle push (metaphorically speaking) to get him out doing it - and that's where I come in! Professional nag - my new role in life!! Actually, I'd like to think of myself as being more the friendly motivational type but hey - what's in a name?!

Hopefully Mike enjoyed the walk as much as I did - it took a little longer than I'd anticipated and as we both had other engagements in the afternoon the pace picked up somewhat on the flat paths back to town - which was actually really good - nice to speed things up a bit and felt it by the time I got back to my place! Started grinning like a Cheshire again. I'm sure a therapist would have something to say about it all :-) On the way 'round we devised our own walking grades based on the 'Wuss' factor - for those of us who may appear sturdy on the outside but are really big cowards underneath. A 'Wuss Factor 1' would include a route that takes in mud, puddles and potentially slippery bits, 'Wuss Factor 2' would include taking your chances with the Bovine members of society - male and female. 'Wus Factor 3' would have to include something like a slight drop or ledge or a leap over stream or small gap in a rock - you get the idea.. We, or rather, I encountered a Wuss Factor 2 when we had to walk past a herd of young bulls up near the Castle. Mike thought it was great fun as would-be-mountain-leader edged her way past them praying to the gods of hiking that the lovely creatures didn't trample and or eat her for lunch! Thankfully, they didn't and it was good to have somebody walking with me that could actually tell me to stop being such a wus and get on with it - cheers Mike!

Did some cross-training on Sunday - swimming, pilates and stretching - all good, but can't make up for actually getting out there. I'm so looking forward to jumping in the car on Friday and heading off to Pembrokeshire for a weekend of proper walking. One of the friends I made on my Poland trip is flying down from Edinburgh to join us and it'll be nice to catch up and say hello - then drag the poor fellow up a hill or two but I'm sure he won't mind!

The trip was a present to my mum for mother's day. She's not been back to Wales since being evacuated there as a child and really wants to see the scenery - and see it she will. But, and this is a big but, she does suffer from a heart problem and severe arthritis in the knees so we've had a good chat about the route and what I'd like to do, what she'd like to do and how we balance it out so that we're all safe and have fun. I've loaned her a set of walking poles to help with the knees and kitted her out with a light-weight rucksack and some proper walking trousers so she'll be comfy. She felt guilty when we went out last time as I ended up carry all her spares and lunch! Now, at some point we're going to part ways as I would like to get to the summit of Carningli and mum may, or may not, be able to get there. So, I'll head off and she'll amble along at her own pace or even possibly turn back to town. Whatever the case, I want to know what she's up to and how she is. We could rely on mobile phones but as you all know, getting a signal isn't necessarily always a given. So I've invested in some hand-held two way radios, with a range of up to 8 miles (depending on terrain) and weatherproof. They're easy to use and rechargeable and I think will be a valuable part of my kit, especially for events such as this. This way, we can stay in touch, if there are any problems she can call me straight away and vice- versa and in-between we can pretend we're on some exciting mission - well, maybe not. Seriously though, I think the initial expense may pay off in the long run as there will be other occasions when, for whatever reason, my walking partners and I may split up and to have a more reliable source of communication can only be a good thing!

So, short week for me. Hope you've all got something nice planned for the coming bank holiday and must end by saying happy birthday to my number one walking Chum - Pat in Glastonbury - save me a piece of cake now...!!!

All for now.

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