Tag: community

Bad Climbing Tips Facebook group success

29 November 2024

I never expected my Facebook group "Bad Climbing Tips" to become such a vibrant community, but here we are, 2,900 members strong, using humour to highlight climbing safety in a way that traditional educational approaches never could. The premise is simple: post the worst possible climbing advice you can think of. But there's method to […]

Caving Crew BBQ at Aggie house

28 October 2024

Throwback to the Caving Crew BBQ at Aggie's house and an impromptu gathering of Swineshaw wild swimmers, with extra mine engineering delights! Originally posted on this post on Instagram

The tricky parts of parenting – being a good neighbour

20 October 2024

One thing that can be tricky about parenting is being able to give your other parent some time off so they can keep you sane and have the ability to take over from you, when you need support. We've found my sort-of-converted campervan is helpful for this, and James has spent much time hanging out […]

What does a flowerpot remind you of?

16 October 2024

What does a flowerpot remind you of? Soil? Roots? If ever you hear of something described as a flowerpot entrance, you can basically assume you have to enter through a flowerpot. Whilst that's not true, and "a big water pipe" might be closer to the truth, there is an element of truth to it. This […]

Community building hack of the day

14 October 2024

Here's my* community building hack of the day. If you're trying to build a community, group, network, team, whatever – find a way to get people to sit down and eat together. You'll be surprised how easy it is vs how effective it is. (This example with @The Climbing Clan committee @climbingclan – at the […]

Fun evening with the Caving Crew

2 October 2024

Fun evening with @The Caving Crew / @thecavingcrew a few months ago, teaching some familiar faces about SRT. SRT is the name for a set of techniques cavers use to go up and down (and along) ropes. In rock climbing, climbers use the rope mostly as a safety thing – not to be used if […]

Climbing Clan culture of care and support

5 January 2023

One of the things I'm most proud of the Clan is a culture of sharing knowledge onwards to the next generation. Over the last year, Mark has been organising sessions to help people learn how learn skills, but also how to help people learn to pass on skills well. This is such a crucial area […]

Watching the Climbing Clan grow

14 December 2022

One of the hardest things about seeing the Climbing Clan grow up is having to step aside and let great people take over. It can be a disquieting experience to visit and not be in control. But we're so lucky to have Halina and Kirsty, and the indoor team on the case. They do an […]

Candlelight dinners on Caving Crew trips

6 July 2022

We don't always have Caving Crew trip dinners by Candlelight, but when we do, we do it for good reasons. Equally, cakes are usually not cooked in woks… but wokever it takes! Originally posted on this post on Instagram

The food on Caving Crew trip is equally important

17 June 2022

The food on Caving Crew trip is as least as important as on Climbing Clan Trips. Dean… will you cater for us again please?

Food and socialising on Climbing Clan trips

14 June 2022

A significant part of Climbing Clan trip is the food and socialising. We cater for all dietary requirements, including vegans, gluten-free, absolutely-no-dairy, strong preference towards meat, allergic to humour. (Actually, not that last one). Meals with the Clan are one of my favourite parts

As Judith said about the Caving Crew

13 March 2022

As Judith said about the Caving Crew trip with Aaron, Matt and me: "The trip to Giant's Hole last Thursday was so worth the wait! Tim has held me off from doing Giant's, because as he said, it's a round trip with no escape routes if it proved to be too ambitious a trip. And […]