Due to holidays, only five teams started this event with Bob Gray on the Tx. Two new firsts were recorded that evening; Ray Goodearl reappeared after two years absence and Charlie Poole (remember Bernard!) came out with us on his first DF. Unusually for Bob, there was no signal at the start so an approximate bearing and distance were given out. The distance was given as more than 10km (unknown to Bob, the rules say 10km to 20km) and the Tx was actually more than 20km from the start.

Three teams coincidentally arrived at Wheeler End Common and heard a weak signal from Bob. My team did not, so we decided to go towards Princes Risborough but, due to the high volume of traffic, missed the 8:15 transmission and ended up at 8:30 near Butlers Cross. Charlie had Bill North's old DF set just to hear what a signal was like. I could not hear a peep, but Charlie said he had something on his set. With a quick snatch from Charlie's hand, I managed to take a sense and bearing, which pointed us back towards Bledlow etc. Two signals later we parked the car at the bottom of the Mid-shire Way which, in turn, crosses the Ridgeway. After running/walking all the way up a long incline Charlie and I managed to find Bob hidden with his friend Robin alongside the track. The aerial was connected to a fence which acted as a counterpoise with the overhead electric cables running in parallel. Just after we had signed in, to our surprise, a sports car came up the rough track. It was Min Standen who was hot and bothered and said that he did not know were Bob was. With a guided finger just opposite the car Min then got signed in.

Four out of the five teams finished before 9:30 with the fifth running up Lodge Hill out of time.

Brian Bristow