Memories - Things you didn't know you had missed

[DavidJ]

The Indefinite Article - Andrew Errignton’s article in the new CompassSport has reminded me of one those embarrassing moments that you have sometimes in life - in my case relating to the use of the indefinite article.

I had started orienteering at Birmingham University in my first term in 1971 and must have attended about 50 events whilst a student. Being centrally placed we attended events from the South (Mark Ash) to the North (Tarn Hows) and the West (Margam) but not many to the East. All were on the recently introduced coloured orienteering maps. However, my first job (in the Autumn of 1974) was based in Cambridge and I took to attending events in East Anglia. One event was a NOR event on Croxton Heath also on an O-map. I copied down the controls at the master maps and headed off. About half way round there was a control which I had circled as being in an isolated depression marked on the map. However on arriving at the large depression there was no control within it. I presumed it had been stolen but as I looked around I eventually spotted the control positioned low in a much smaller depression to the side of the large one. Had someone moved it or had it been positioned wrongly? What should I do? I decided that to avoid others having the same problem I would rehang it, still in the small depression, but much more visibly.

On returning to the finish I informed the organisers of my conundrum and hoped that they appreciated my solution. Far from it! I was sharply informed that the description made it very clear that the control was in an unmarked feature as the control descriptions stated ‘A depression’. I apparently should have realised this when at the master maps and been more accurate in copying down the control circle. In all my three years of orienteering I had never been told of this convention - no one had mentioned it. It was also the first time that I was fully aware that events had ‘controllers’ who approved the positioning of all controls prior to the event and it was certainly not the role of a new young graduate to rehang controls.

Having learnt about the indefinite article rule, I don’t think I ever came across it again so I presume that East Anglia must have been the last region to use this form of control descriptions.

Any one else got memories prompted by the article?

David

[King Penguin]

....I presume that East Anglia must have been the last region to use this form of control descriptions.
David

... until the rerun of the original November Classic last November !

[drobin]

From 'Go Trackin', the club magazine of (the Isle of) Wight Orienteers:

'As we are about the only Club in the country which still does things the old way, we have decided to put on a weekend of old fashioned orienteering, in September . .

For further details see

http://www.wight-orienteers.co.uk/

27th & 28th September, Needles Headland & Ventnor Downs. (Where Britain's space rocket engines were tested!).

[ifititches]

the cut down maps mentioned in the CompassSport article were also evident at Birmingham University in the early 1970s, as a Norwegian member of the club regularly trimmed off large chunks of paper. I always assumed it was to cut down on the need for map folding, although as some of the maps were at 1:20000, they were't very big to begin with.

I never got the knack of it; always managed to cut off bits which subsequently proved to be vital

Ruth

[Gross]

cut down maps were very common.... along with matt transpaseal & chinagraph pencils:)

[Becks]

Sunshine in July! What the hell is going on with the weather up here?!

[Gross]

P*****g wet in Oslo...............