It was a bitterly cold and frosty Saturday past when the Quickdraw Club visited Glasgow Climbing Centre, the pavements so treacherous both at home and in Glasgow that Underworld's "Born Slippy" would have been an appropriate backing track to any video of the event. However, the chill to the bone was soon replaced by a warm glow: the heating of the old church, which serves as a skeleton for an indoor climbing centre, matched by the friendlieness of the staff both in the arena and upstairs where a multiple award winning eaterie offers a veritable gastronomic treasure trove for the tastebuds. I'm not sure if the cafe has a name, if not perhaps The Eyrie the Tiger or the Pie O Near, froma climbing perspective ?

Members abounded : Steph, Matthew, Holly, Finlay, Ella, Emma, Hannah, Lachlan and last but not least, Rosa. Also present were Ava, Anna and Kasha from Ratho Youth Squad and two squads of children from Glasgow, one attired in the manner of Ninja warriers. We were there to savour the walls, soak in the ambience and prepare for preliminary round two of the death or glory event that is the Youth Climbing Series Twenty Eighteen. I'll skip on the floral metaphor this time, we all know the dark truth, the proverbial "rat in the kitchen".

The centre was busy but not too busy, the climbing routes as always at GCC challenging and well set, according to the climbers that is, for someone who doesn't climb, looking at a route is akin to looking in a butcher's window whilst a vegetarian. All the members seemed most happy, there was a lot of activity downstairs in the, again well set, bouldering basement and everyone had a good day with plenty smiling and curly-wurly cake.

Thanks, as always, to Dorothy and Alan for their ongoing commitment and hard work, hopefully at the next event, just next week, we will see the first Partridge of the year, as we head closer to their native habitat.