| Competitor | Time | Adj. Time | Time Diff. | Score | Bill North |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Snow | 20:48:00 | 20:48:00 | 00:00:00 | -5 | 10 |
| Peter Lisle | 21:07:00 | 21:07:00 | 00:19:00 | 21 | 6 |
| Alan Simmons | 21:25:00 | 21:25:00 | 00:37:00 | 40 | 4 |
| Graham Phillips | 21:25:05 | 21:25:05 | 00:37:05 | 41 | 3 |
| Geoffrey Foster | 21:28:00 | 21:28:00 | 00:40:00 | 45 | 2 |
| Roger Shepherd | op | - | - | - | 4 |
Organising a DF event with the current Covid restrictions can be quite a challenge. Whilst finding a site is a well-practiced art, locating a suitable location for the gathering afterwards is a non-trivial. I was concerned that someone would shop me to the Covid police if I made the site too difficult. I therefore decided to follow Ray Goodearl’s plan and use a local cricket pitch, I had Peter Lisle’s commitment to bring a suitable quantity of Rebellion IPA, starting at Maidenhead Thicket Bradenham Cricket Club provided a no-brainer of a location. There are countless opportunities for Tx sites within a 10 minute run of the finish, provided that I got a decent signal to the start I reasoned that most competitors would head straight for the general location, get a decent cross, head for Bradenham, find my vehicle and follow the signal straight to the Tx.
I did see some torches flashing about just before 20:15 – no-one could possibly be following my plan and found me that quickly, and so it proved, the torches carried on and were not seen at the next transmission. A few minutes later there was a loud bark, I guessed within about 50’ of where I was and was expecting some slobbering hound to come crashing through the undergrowth and expected the likely conversation with a local or one of Thames Valley’s Finest about what I was doing hiding in the wood at that time of night. The barking continued and was answered in the distance by other calls – perhaps the local deer also run DF contest? However I reasoned that this would provide me with early warning of the arrival of the various teams. And so it proved, the deer kept quiet from about 20:30, Justin arrived, crashed about for a while, went away, came back and found me. Peter arrived on-site, Ruth in the distance [with failing battery as it turned out]. Everything went quiet again, Alan, Graham and Geoffrey arriving a bit later. The site was about ˝ mile from the car park at Bradenham, most teams arrived from the Walters Ash direction – the logic being that it was easier running down to the Tx than the other way around. G4MDF shut down at 21:30, 21:45 I was back awaiting the arrival of Beer.
The site looked quite easy in daylight :>)
Roger Shepherd