Year of publication 1960 - Fell and Rock Climbing Club

ANNUAL DINNER 87John Hirst did another jovial stint on the serving table while thefinal speaker checked his notes. Eric Byrom, responding for theguests, described his courtship by correspondence with the perfectSecretary who planned the Dinner, who had written him four letters,one with the stamp upside down. He assured the guests that theyhad dined with a remarkable Club, with an even more remarkablePresident, known to a whole generation as the terror of the RobertsonLamb Hut, and who had worked in the Inland Revenue for tenyears before he dared to tell his father how he earned his living.After a loud and sincere Auld Lang Syne, Ruth Spilsbury performedthe last honour of the evening by calling on Mr. Beck toappear with a somewhat reluctant Monica and the rest of the staffto be thanked on behalf of the company. The dining-room emptiedand the lounge filled up, and well after midnight a crowd still talkedand talked.In the morning out went the President, freed for the moment fromthe cares of office. Out went the members and the guests, into thequiet and sunshine of a friendly Autumn day. The fine weathertempted many to Combe Gill. The more energetic made for theNapes and the ridges were soon densely populated. Errant mistpatches played in the gullies and a burst of sun gave a fine brockenspectre for the more or less exclusive benefit of the Editor, whoviewed it appreciatively from the Needle. For your reporterthere is the memory of the emptiness of Langstrath, the darting fishin the still shallow pool, and cloud shadows hunting on the greybuttresses. Another memory we all can share is that of BentleyBeetham's afternoon lecture on the 1924 Everest Expedition. Forwell over an hour Bentley took his audience step by step along theclassic approach. Nothing spectacular; only a simple tale of a greatadventure which had lost nothing of its freshness, holding thelisteners spellbound and bringing to reality in the pictures, the wind,the cold, and the dynamic attraction of the great mountain. Eventhe least of us travelled with him and—most remarkable of all—onlyBentley in that crowded attentive company did not appreciate theimpact of this moving experience.