V’s New Lowe Apline Pack. Click for Specs

What a weekend ! The idea was to got up at lunch on Friday and spend it with J&S in Stockport – do some leisurely gear shopping and possibly go for a day walk in the Peak District or get V a snowboarding lesson at Chill Factore. V got solidly stuck at work on Friday afternoon, so we only got to Manchester in the evening. Between 9 and 1 Saturday we bolted around every big name shop in what must be an Olympic record. Our shopping list was long, but it was more about seeing and trying on things we had seen online. V’s essential item was a backpack (I think she already has 7 – what’s one more). She found the perfect one at Snow and Rock .  To quote V, “It has a whistle, but no bells” – the chest buckle doubles as a whistle. I’ve been hearing about all its specs, features, pockets, buckles and zips ever since. It is really quite a pack – think I may have to get one too 🙂

Shopping is Tough

I found a pair strops for myself (ones that don’t make me look like I’m wearing flippers) and we made a dent in our list with a few other odds and ends. I miss being able to pop into an outdoor shop whenever I want – it really isn’t the same as shopping online. Thankyou thankyou J&S.

Saturday afternoon we went down to London for a surprise (for us too) engagement party for V&T that went on till 2am – that was a looong day – but great fun to be around good friends. By Sunday afternoon we were all spent but it must have been even worse for J&S – at least we could snooze on the road back home.