BPcup 2009 Round 1 - Scottish Borders. Day 1

At last I've got my new Cobra (possibly the first size S in the UK), just in time for the BPC. I would have liked to flown it a bit before the comp, but I'll just concentrate on the flying providing we get any: It's been blowy with frequent heavy showers on the way up. We stopped off at Threkeld to pick up the wing from UK Airsports - may thanks to Pat et al. for being really helpful - very friendly and professional.

We arrived the Friday night, put up tent, met up with Dave JH, pie and a pint at the Tibbie shiels and crashed out knowing that the briefing the next day was going to be a formality. Sure enough, the howling winds and regular down-bursts put pay to day 1 of the Scottish Open, but following registration, Dave Thompson gave an excellent talk on flying the borders region - more of a plateau with valleys than hills and mountains and sea breezes to look out for.

Following this Carolyn and I headed out to be tourists, going to the Robert Smail's Printing Works - a living museum if there ever was one. Owned by the National Trust of Scotland it still does print jobs (posters, wedding invites, stationary etc.) using equipment that dates back as far as 1850. It also has a record of every print job done making it an incredible historical archive the NTS is working on cataloging. Worth a visit if you are Innerleithen way.

On the way back we drove through Selkirk in search of a curry house for the evening meal. We found the Taste of Spice, which we duly returned to with Dave JH, Mark, Diane and Steve that evening. We only just got in, getting the last available table. Why is it that in small towns you can find superb Indian restaurants? A mixture of familiar and rare dishes, this restaurant provided what we all agreed was a cut above the average Indian. All washed down with Cobra of course!

But, before the evening's pleasantries, we had a bit of a problem to deal with. Although we'd survived the stormy weather, out tent had not. The weather had been too much and the tent had collapsed and subsequently become a covered paddling pool! Although several thoughtful campers had tired to help by righting it (thank you all), it resolutely returned to giving way to the wind. Luckily my search for alternative accommodation was pretty short as the Gordon Arms Inn, just 10 minutes along the road had rooms available. Phew!