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Home > Trail tales > 2005 > Hey days

A gathering of the clan ...
Hey days at Foothold

Photos of the hat parade.

By early Friday afternoon several campers had already put up their tents and the house was full of activity. The evening braai was relaxing with most members taking the opportunity of an early night.

 

Saturday was a scorcher with gusty winds (which had us checking the tent pegs) but nothing deters the workers who slaved all day constructing the new ablution block or the several groups of hikers who went up the mountain. The new bird walk was a popular choice for the less energetic. A cooling shower at the end of the day was in order with most obeying the rule “Save water-shower with a friend”!!

 

By Saturday evening the camp was busy, with a weird and wonderful selection of hats on show; some humerous , others carefully prepared and some which required an explanation.  Jean with her” Oopsy Daisy” hat and Brenda with a” Durban July”  were notable. The judging of the hats took place during the superb cocktail party prepared by Frances and helpers.  The hat competition was won by Norma with” Rocks in my head” and Robbie was a close second wearing his “Going out of my mind” hat (does this tell you something about the mental state of hiking club members?).  Third prize went jointly to Shirley and Paul with “Malherbe”.  There is no truth in the rumour that massive bribes were changing hands during the evening.

 

Unfortunately , perhaps because the camp was at Foothold the party did not really get going in the way it did at Rustig where we had a proper floor to dance on with tables set out around. Camps at Foothold are by tradition quiet and restful (apart from a few noisy revelers who shall be nameless) and we are conditioned to this.

 

Sunday morning saw the arrival of a huge number of day hikers.  Millie (guarding her fridge with the tenacity of a bull terrier) did herself proud serving about 70 lunches , many of which had not been booked.

 

Many thanks to Frances, Milly, Jean  and all the helpers . The day would not be complete without a cup of Magic Potion created by Ernst.  This is so refreshing and we know it takes a while to prepare.

 

Lunch under the trees was very pleasant and relaxing with a good time being had by all.
Dot Ford

Overseas visitors' point of view.

At last we made it to a Hey Days weekend!  Our 2005 visit to South Africa with a couple of friends, Trixie and John coincided with this event and we enjoyed a weekend of seeing old (and not so old) friends and sampling JHC hospitality.

 

After our arrival on Friday afternoon and getting established in Hikers Haven, we enjoyed tea, cakes, chat, humour and at night a braai with 20 other members.

 

To justify our presence, on Saturday we helped mix and lay concrete for the floor of the new toilet and wash up facility. Short walks around the property, bird watching, tea parties, etc then followed this.

 

People continued to arrive, pitching tents, setting up caravans around Hikers Haven.  The climax of the day was the hat parade, Frances’ cocktail party with a wonderful array of food – so much that we hardly had need of the braai afterwards.

 

Sunday dawned fine – clear – not unusual in South Africa.  A variety of hikes were planned, some participants going early and others awaiting the main party of Sunday hikers coming from Joburg.

 

Perhaps 60 people in total took part in the various hikes on Sunday – obviously the Club continues to flourish.

 

The 70, who sat down to Milly and Jean’s Sunday Hey-Days lunch, were not disappointed as they enjoyed a huge spread of mouth-watering food.

 

Many thanks to Jim, Frances, Milly, Beth, Jean Beth, Ernst and all the others whose hard work make the weekend possible.

 

The 7 of us who stayed over on Sunday night enjoyed yet another braai, but it was very quiet after the hustle and bustle of the previous 2 days.  We thoroughly enjoyed the weekend in the beautiful surroundings, reliving old times with a great crowd of people.

 

Maura and John Deighton  (Yorkshire, England)