October

A busy month for me, work-wise. I had two great weeks at the beginning of the month working for EBO Adventure, who were hosting Physical Training Instructors from the Royal Omani Air Force. The guys were over here to learn 'the ropes' and give them more experience on supervising rock climbing sessions for their subordinates back in Oman. Despite the language and cultural differences, we all had a great time and the guys were fun to work with and keen to learn. Assisting me was Karen from Salt Air Adventures, and together, we visited many of our favourite local crags to give the guys plenty of opportunity to learn and practise their climbing/belaying/ropework skills. Fortunately the weather was good (although the Omanis kept saying how cold it was) and we discovered that Crantock Bakeries produce halal pasties! This was a good thing, as sourcing food to meet the Omani's religious diet laws provded to be a challenge in this part of the world!

Next up was a week in the Lake District working with Infantry recruits. Four days of navigation, climbing and paddling in a variety of weather conditions. I'm glad I packed my waterproofs! Despite not having done many of the activities, the troops were full of enthusiasm and enjoyed a more, relaxing time than they usually get back at barracks. In 3 months time, most of them will be out in Afghanistan, most of them are under 25. Stay safe guys and keep your heads down.