Its been a while since we announced the results of the film comp and I have had a bit of time to reflect on the whole process and the judges verdicts and comments. For me, the original point of the competition was twofold. Firstly to generate some interesting material, and secondly to give an opportunity to some paddlers to win some worthwhile prizes.

The films that placed all had a couple of things in common. Firstly they all had some kind of narrative so they focussed on a particular day or theme. Secondly they all used the audio track constructively to comunicate this narrative. There were some good entries that used music over tightly edited kayak footage, but the judges overlooked them in favour of the ones that attempted to portray a little more about the sport.

'A Day in the Life' by Tim and Dave Burne placed third and strongly demonstrated that it wasnt all about getting some awesome kayaking shot, but about creating a strong storyline. It scored well with some judges, but missed out with others. Humour is notoriously difficult to convey to all people. A consensus emerged that it was well constructed but that the films theme of taking the piss out of sponsored boaters could have been pushed further. Huge credit is due for an ambitious and effective storyboard and for creating something geniuinely different.

'Dogumentation' by Danny Brown scored more consistently with the judges and nudged into second place. It blended some tight kayaking sequences with a nice little cameo story of an unusual event. Those who know the Cannobino canyon will know that getting a dog out of there would take some doing! The film again used this incident to indirectly comment on kayaking's culture. The audio was captured during the events and although this reduced the quality it gave a nice a nice spontaeneous feel. Those who have done some filming will recognise that thinking ahead and getting this soundtrack can be vital, and this film probably wouldnt have worked as well without it.

Our winner 'Cold Hands' had two strong elements,  some amazing footage and a clear, honest theme. Ando and Seb managed to represent some of the trials and joys of hand paddling in a succinct way. At its heart though the theme was about overcoming barriers, which is a great one to go at. From a technical perspective both some of the camera shots and the audio track could have been sharper. However, a clear message from the voice over that ties in well with some nice eye candy, produced consistently high scoring.

So in a nutshell, if you going to enter in 2010 get a clear message or narrative that your trying to convey, and use both pictures and your audio track carry it. The more honest you are the more it will ring true to others. So if your a club paddler who gets kicks from watching others develop - use that. If you enjoy solo baoting above everthing else - use that. If your learning and wondering how to get down some grade fall or pull a certain move  - use that. If your having a dither about wether something 'goes' - use that.

A big shout to all the entrants again. They are the ones who put themselves up there. All the films had some strong elements and are worthy of more comment but I have resisted going through each. Briefly though, it sworth mentioning some nice editing in 'Live and Let Fly', a nice atmosphere in 'You/Me Scotland' and true dedication to the cause in 'Anti static', Progress also placed on many judges score sheets with its nice simple narrative and feelgood approach.

Hopefully these notes explain a little about the judges thinking.

Good luck for 2010 ;-) !!

Kayaking has been relegated to the past for the moment. I've kept fit though, so if any of these summer downpours amounts to anything I will be there. I'm becoming more convinced that fitness, and all this 'core strength'  business is the key to being able to jump in a boat and make a decent fist of a days boating.

This years fitness has come largely from the fells. I just take the dogs for a walk and end up running as its quicker. It surprising how much quicker you can travel and how quickly the fitness comes. Almost accidentely ive got consistent enough to call it 'fell running'. Its a very simple sport, just some shoes (which double up as boating shoes)thrown in the car and your off. Avoiding paths and not having any really fixed goals is good. Just go to the next interesting point, or line, on the fell. heading past  a tarn gives opportunity for a swim as well. Steeper and rougher ground gives a really varied workout. The fitness is pretty similar to what required for mtb biking, grind out the hills then regroup and concentrate hard for the hectic descents, as they require a lot of focus.

Typically I will get to the fells around 8, which means being on the tops by 9 and needing to think about coming down by about 10.  The likelyhood of seeing anyone is pretty small, and that allows the lakes to be seen at their best.  It allows a real feeling of escaping all the ridiculous things that we all routinely busy ourselves with. Audits, risk assessments, form filling, social status, bank statements, APR's etc etc. Perched on top of hill with the light fading and the streetlights coming on below, generates a wonderful sense of detachment.

Meg the dog is now two years into being diagnosed with Lymphoma. She was given between "2 weeks to 2 years". She's still going ...

A guest entry from Poke - with thanks (and admiration for such good pictures whilst solo!!)

Whilst Ned was off exploring the upper reaches of Torver beck after last Wednesday’s downpour, I was on my own little mission. Despite having lived locally to this little number for a couple of years, I had yet to catch it in condition whilst there was the light to paddle. The only previous time I’d attempted it, the water levels had been a tad low and it was a not-so-enjoyable scrape-fest.
 
The river in question is the Calder. It starts as a tiny beck high up on the moors and ends with a rather unique run through the heart of a nuclear reprocessing plant down at the sea. Having no-one keen to join me, I opted for a solo run – only briefly questioning the sanity of such an idea given the politically sensitive nature of the end of the run.
 
Conditions were perfect. As I pulled into the lay-by at the top of the run the sun appeared and the only hint of the 40+mm of rain that fell earlier in the day was the water streaming across the road.
 
The run itself was relatively uneventful, just a beautiful evening in the summer sun and perfect not-too-pushy levels for a solo mission. I’ll let the photos do most of the talking (and apologise in advance for any super-cheesy self portraits - it's hard getting good photos when you're alone)!
 
Various unusual highlights for me were the challenges of taking action shots using a self-timer (if a 2m seal-launch into 6” of water is the only way to get from camera to river in time, you’ve just got to man-up and do it), being spotted by a worker at Sellafield (who gave me a friendly wave and carried on with his business) and spotting a “Private Fishing” sign in the middle of the Sellafield site (who on earth would want to fish there)!
 The put-in;

The gradient is steady but continuous 

The volume builds

Monks bridge - a tiny stone bridge spans one of the small gorges.

The main event

Running the main event - hurrah for self timers on cameras!

Peaceful gorges, just below Calder Bridge

Novel drainage system just before entering Sellafield site.

Running the gauntlet - the canalised section flanked by trees and intimidating fences, topped with razor wire.

Who'd want to fish here? (or kayak for that matter!)

The last of the tasty ledges on the run through Sellafield site.

Takeout = the sea

You ain't getting in!

Many thanks to Martin Young (my girlfriend's dad), who was extremely kind and gave me a shuttle from the take-out back to my car.

Seeing things with fresh eyes is important. If I look at a rapid or fall with thoughts of someone else’s opinion, or the guidebook description, in my head I find it hard to focus properly. Sometimes the book will say something is nasty but you can’t see it from the bank and it does enough to put you off. The same can be true the other way around. The consensus is that a rapid is fine, but it looks horrible and you go into feeling stiff and unfocussed with predictable consequences. Look with fresh eyes, old opinion has no place.

Back in the days when we were looking for every beck around the Lake District that might be paddleable we did a section high on Torver beck from below a narrow slot. I'd we had walked in from the bottom and this felt like the obvious upper limit. I'd accepted my own opinion for too long. On a recent tramp around the fells I ended up going for a quick peek at what lay above. What lay above was a steep tight section of slides and drops, all of which looked like they would be good to go. Sure it was always going to be a small lakes beck, but it looked like it could be good fun and not too pushy.

So after the heavy rain on Wednesday I found myself looking for water. The stuff in Kendal hadn’t come up so i just chanced it and went up towards Coniston and Torver beck was thumping. The rain had stopped so if the upper was going to get done it had to be done now so I decided to go solo. I strapped the boat on and hiked straight to the most likely put in. levels were marginal with the water receeding fast but I was there now so quickly rattled down. It was a real hoot leading down to the section at Tranearth where the beck is held up by a thin rock bridge between two large holes in the ground!

I went back to grab some photos on the phone with the water now a fair bit lower. Strapped the boat back in and became frustrated about how I had missed this little genm all those years before.

So the lesson was never trust accepted wisdom – even, and perhaps especially, your own. Always look with fresh eyes.

I seem to be mellowing into summer nicely these days. I used to get stressed about the lack of boating, and that's despite not having a trip planned this year! To be honest Im ready for a break from boating at the moment. It seems like one of those moments that come periodically where I need to step back from it and re-evaluate. This usually results in a dip into another sport for a while.

As my leg is only just recovering from a torn calf I'm still pretty limited with my preferred second sport of moving quickly on the hills. Its 90% there but that feels a very vulnerable time in the healing process so I'm trying to be good and take the dog walking easy for a while longer. Still taking it easy leaves plenty of room for getting out on these great evenings we've been having. The daytimes have been a waste of space though, too hot, too busy, the traffic too slow. Evenings are the way forward. Someone tried to suggest that mornings are good as well but Im convinced that is just a wicked conspiracy to try and get me up earlier.

The Herdwicks may add interest to the pictures but the sad reality is that the hills are infested with the things. They destroy any chance of any interesting vegetation returning. That means we have to deal with thin soil and perform 'upland conservation' which is code for putting pavements over the hills via heli lifts of stone. Heres a suggestion - reduce the sheep, encourage the trees  and heather to grow back and get the farmers to earn subsidies for something useful - not producing uneconmic meat lamb.