UKC

You can't hide anymore....

Pete Minks (actually working!)
youtube.com/watch?v=vD3CVieOHHE&
He's still got the same wicked grin.

In reply to pneame:

Can't get it at work. Will try tomorrow evening if I remember.
Minksie has been in The States for 3o years now so it's no surprise he has to work. 'Stacks' as he was nicknamed.

In reply to pneame:

And what a job!! Britain became a saner (& safer?! ;¬))but FAR less interesting place when he left.

I have never forgotten the first time I met him. It was during a very wild climbing club dinner in the Victoria in Llanberis, when he, Mick Geddes, Al Rouse and others did things with and to an upright piano that had to be seen to be believed. The abuse of the piano, the throwing of flaming butter bombs as well as a massive and prolonged beer fight, led to all those attending the dinner being banned for life from the Vic. The grin was much in evidence that night. Nice to see that some things never change.

Dave

In reply to Dave Williams:
I remember that dinner - although I can't remember the year. Rouse Minks, Geddes, myself and Jim Fairgrieve had all been at the Cambridge Mountaineering Club Dinner in Derbyshire the previous evening (CUMC had been banned from everywhere in and near Cambridge). The unfortunate owner of the hotel in Derbyshire got his dogs out to "see us off" and Minks (who had previously explained to the poor fellow after the obligatory food fight that "the lads have been studying all year and they are just letting off a bit of steam. I'll sort them out....") explained that if "one of those dogs f&*^ing touches me I'll f%^&ing kill it". Said calmly but with great seriousness.
It was a challenging ride to wales...
But calling that dinner wild is quite rich from someone who was known for eating floral decorations? =

In reply to pneame:

I think it was 1972 ... and damn, it's amazing what you *can* actually remember though!! My eventual undoing was mixing my floral decorations in the Scafell in Borrowdale. The lesson, as with drink, is never mix your daffodils and your gladioli ... ;¬)

In reply to Dave Williams:

the wisdom of age....

In reply to Dave Williams:

... a maxim by which I live and breathe.

In reply to Dave Williams:
And I don't think they were very happy with LUMC, either.

In reply to pneame:

Whillans was mentioned on the old farts thread... he was after dinner speaker at a Ceunant Club dinner many many years ago. His opening - and closing - line was:

"I don't know any of yer, an' I never heard of the club. Cheers!"

Later in the evening he made a dashing entrance into the hotel lobby - cowboy style - by smashing through the handrail on the first floor with someone attached to him.

In reply to jon:
Somehow, Jon, I can completely picture that. Whillans, essentially expressionless, through it all.
I have the feeling that this wildness, some might say irresponsibility, has almost completely disappeared from the world, largely due to the complete absence of a sense of humor among our lords and masters and their minions.
Progress is not always good. Although I suppose it's good for those that eschew irresponsibility!

In reply to pneame:


I think you're spot on with this assessment and I'm in total agreement. For example, after a relatively sedate LUMC dinner at the Erw Fair in Llanberis during the mid 1970s, with everyone milling outside on the High Street, an inspired soul produced a climbing rope and suggested a tug-of-war competition. So, at about 12.30am on a Sunday morning, two teams were quickly organised and competition began. Somehow or other I ended up as the ref. After a few less-than-quietly-conducted pulls, I noticed the presence of 2 uniformed police officers standing amongst the spectators. I caught the eye of one, a sargeant, and during a lull in the 'competition', he walked over, filling me with dread as he did. "Are you in charge of this lot?" he enquired. I vaguely nodded. "OK", he said,smiling broadly, "it's after 1am now, so shall we have the best of three to finish and then I think you all need to go home."

What could have been an extremely difficult situation was instantly and amicably defused. We'd had our fun and that was that.... I'm sure that such irresponsible behaviour wouldn't be tolerated at all by the police today.

Do 'rock' stars throw TVs out of hotel windows, drive Bentleys into swimming pools etc these days?

No, progress is not always good.

In reply to Dave Williams:

How did I miss this? must have been late 70s? They'd have probably got the Llanberis SWAT team in (and I'm sure there is one, or at least the Caernarfon SWAT team...) these days


No, they just get banned from entering Japan (obviously a fine, civilized place!). But it's better for the people who look after the hotel windows, TVs and swimming pools, I suppose. But less good for the local Bentley dealer, of course. So I suppose it evens up

In reply to pneame:
>

There are some black and white porn photos dating from the 60's/70's in which one of the actors can be clearly identified by the said grin. Don't know where they are now but a certain proprietor of a well-known Liverpool climbing shop might know.

In reply to Pekkie:jealous?

In reply to Pekkie:
I'm only slightly surprised. There was a tape too - circa Matterhorn N. face ascent - but I digress. That wasn't Minks....
Entertaining times!

In reply to ruckman:

Hardly. It was the sort of stuff that saddo losers in greasy macs used to furtively buy in back street porn shops. More to your taste perhaps?

In reply to Pekkie:

It gives a whole new slant to the question "Did you do something hard over the weekend?"

;¬)

Dave

In reply to Pekkie:

Flamin' heck Pete, it's not just Proust you know about!

Mick