UKC

After Ron's wedding in 1957 the party drove down the Pass and stopped at the Cromlech boulder to find two lads failing to get anywhere on the problem. Ron politely asks if they mind him having a go and then he and George Thomas proceed to climb the boulder in perfect style wearing leather shoes and dressed in their best suits, buttonholes and all. The lads were 'suitably' impressed !

I have two very clear memories of Ron. The first was at Cloggy one day in the 70s. He was sat at the bottom of Great Wall, unpacking his sac. Out came a brand new pair of etriers... purple, if I remember correctly. The second was when my wife (girl friend at the time) led left wall. I was working on a Brenin course with Ron at the time. He said "Left Wall, she can't have done. Even MY wife hasn't led that!"
As an aside, John Barry's reaction was even better... "What? A tart on Left Wall? If she ever leads Right Wall, I'll bare my arse in Woolworths!"

So, everyone who posts up about being burned off by bare topped boulderers at the wall take note. You are lucky. Back in the day the put downs were much, much, more evil.

hello young man on the day of my wedding lonsdale and evans did some good bouldering on the church. whitaker and lonsdale that evening in there wedding gear did two new routes wedding day and traveling man

Hello SteveSBlake,
I don't go to climbing walls so I am confused by your statement "being burned of by bare topped boulderers at the wall" - please explain.

I don't know the routes Brian. Where did you get married ?

Hello Jon - we seem to have many mutual friends / acquaintances but I don't recall us ever meeting - perhaps because I left the UK in 1974 for Canada. As to John Barry's remark I think we should know if he ever led the Right Wall himself. If not I can think of many (in)appropriate comments your wife could have made !!

I don't think he did, but I can't be sure - and he probably wouldn't remember now! Despite frantic training following John's remark, Hilary never led it though she did follow it a couple of times. Just after the LW incident, she did a route one evening with John, on the Grochan, involving a longish leftwards traverse. John deliberately didn't put any protection in it. He received an almighty bollocking for it.
No, I'm sure we've never met. Mutual friends... well apart from Al and Davey and perhaps Harry Richards who was a Ceunant club member when I joined in 1970, I'd say that most of the others were more passing aquaintances rather than friends.