bobspace Notes
Following the post-COVID return of the “Walking Weekend”, I descended to the vaults here at bobspace to dust down and review the Weekenders content from the long-defunct bobspace.co.uk.
Sifting through the boxes of musty punched cards, it occurred to me that there was plenty of content available, perhaps 20 weekends' worth.
However, it wasn’t so much the quantity of these memories, it was the realisation that they are of people, places, things and me as they were, and upon reflection, sometimes quite different to now.
I’ll save the deeper thoughts for an evening in the pub, but the review along with my renewed focus on bobspace fundamentals and a couple of nudges from the weekenders themselves, has led me to revive this section.
I have included three entries as a start, but over the coming months and years, text will be rewritten, photos re-processed and along with new material, posted.
This content is available via the links in the menu “list” items, left.
That said, and despite the passing of more than a quarter of a century, much has remained constant, and it is to this that I return each year – the best of company.
Many thanks and love to all involved.
Bob, May 2024 updated May 2025.
Introduction - Walking Weekend
Let’s be blunt, this section is much the same as “On Tour”, the only vague differences being a few changes in personnel and an absence of bicycles.
For the avid follower of bobspace, the remainder is therefore depressingly familiar, but regardless, I shall provide a bit of background.
This is a detail I hope to add, but for now, I cannot recall how "it was decided" that we should celebrate MsW's birthday by taking a weekend out to enjoy, or indeed ignore entirely, the cultural highlights of a historic European city.
Nonetheless, it was and Amsterdam was settled upon, and from my point of view at least, the excitement of anticipation was matched by the experience.
This lead to another trip, Madrid and subsequently Prague.
But following Prague, the expense, both in terms of time and money, of travelling to the continent for a long weekend was considered by the team to be excessive.
A cold analysis, but time together was the commodity we wished to conserve, and besides, they don't serve proper beer abroad.
Time to switch our allegiance to the UK countryside and from hotel to holiday let - the "Boy's Walking Weekend" was born!
However, irony was to have its own sweet revenge.
At our first attempt, Lower Argoed, the foot-and-mouth outbreak saw all walking in the countryside banned, and thus our current Odyssey was delayed until 2002 and Almeley.
The pattern has not changed since.
Introduction - Varsity Weekend
In view of the runaway success of the initial continental weekends, another excuse for visiting somewhere interesting with lots of pubs was sought, and hence the "Varsity" weekend was established.
In my mind, at least, "Varsity" conjures up an image of the academic life that for me never existed.
I could go through a detailed exposition of this life, but I would suggest instead watching a re-run of the 1981 ITV adaption of Brideshead Revisited, with perhaps an added dash of communism and rowing.
In spite of this image we started with a weekend in Leeds, alma mater to the largest proportion of those attending.
This included no walking to speak of, nor any cycling whatsoever and certainly none of the angst associated with Brideshead but despite this seeming lack of purpose it worked out rather well, well enough to spawn another annual series of getaways.
Unfortunately demand for this Weekender has proven less durable and, thus, for some time now it has remained dormant, perhaps extinct.
I, for one, mourn the loss.
No walking, no cycling, but occasionally an attempt at football.