MarkM_Wales
03-02-2009, 10:05 PM
I attach an impartial review of our Llandovery Training Exercise
You can see the photos at: http://www.bofa4x4.co.uk/forum/viewtopi ... 388#p24551 (http://www.bofa4x4.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3025&sid=2b806f765d24102562bb454f13e54388#p24551)
What I did at the weekend ... with Wales 4x4 Response team!
by Clueless on Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:17 am
In case any of you wondered why the Pink Palace had been left unmanned this weekend, I’ve been up to no good in Wales doing a two day training course with the Wales 4x4 Response group. I joined Herefordshire Land Rover Club recently to find out about getting involved with Herefordshire 4x4 Response group, after hearing about what they did in last year’s floods in the area. They told me about an assessment weekend being run by the (much bigger) Wales group (formerly the Powys group) and I thought it sounded interesting so put my name down for it. On condition of course that no camping was involved! Luckily it was being held on a farm with a B&B attached to it! I need my comfort!
Altogether about 30 people did the training over the weekend at Llanerchinda Farm near Llandovery in mid Wales. I arrived there just after 8am on Saturday. After signing in and getting the vehicles checked, there was a driver’s briefing when they explained what we’d be doing over the weekend. We were each given an Activity Log which we had to have signed off by the assessors for each exercise, and on completion of all these we would have got through our initial “Responder” training.
Saturday morning was spent at demonstrations of basic survival skills (including abseiling down a grass bank with a tow rope!), recovery and safe winching techniques (I now know much more about snatch blocks than I ever wanted to know!) followed by a bit of a drive round their on site off road course to assess our driving skills. Some nice mud to play in and a chance to get a feel for the place – and warm up a bit.
After lunch we went off to do a bit of driving in a quarry in the forest, then did some laning round the area, before coming back to do some basic first aid for road accidents. Then had a navex to do so we had chance to get warm indoors for half an hour working out the clues and route before going off to drive it. I teamed up with two lads who were only there for the day so wanted to get all the activities signed off on their cards in one day. So we made it even more difficult by going off to do the navex in the dark, spending the next two hours wandering round picnic areas with torches counting tables (Bill would have liked that) wandering round (the wrong) churchyard and searching for non-existent information in phone boxes.
Got back to the B&B about 7pm and spent the rest of the evening discussing unrepeatable topics (mainly snatch blocks, three line pulling and the merits of different shackle sizes) with all the boys. By a strange coincidence, there was one magazine on the coffee table in the lounge – “my” copy of LRM with the snorkel photo! He he. Had a great evening and never stopped laughing.
On Sunday as I’d got my card completed I could go off and play so did more quarrying with some of the Red Cross ambulance people who were also being trained and spent the rest of the day laning round the area. We also witnessed the now infamous and perhaps impossible winch challenge – discussed at length the night before – how to winch yourself backwards using your own front mounted winch, three trees, lots of snatch blocks, a shortening chain and numerous strops and obviously, a three line pull off the back of the car. See I really was listening. And it worked! And the disco wasn’t pulled to pieces!
Later did a real life recovery on a stuck Suzuki with two Belgian students who had gone out on their own and hadn’t experienced the joys of Welsh mud before. They were towed out and, as we were losing one of our group who had to get away by late afternoon, we let the lads join us in the middle of the group. They had a great time knowing they could try all the tough stuff and be dragged out if they got stuck again! If we hadn’t gone that way, they would probably still have been there now as it was going dark, freezing and miles from anywhere.
So at the end of all that, I said goodbye to my new friends at about 7pm and got home shattered a couple of hours later. Had to be one of the best weekends I’ve ever had! Don’t think I stopped smiling all weekend and they were a lovely bunch of people. And I’m now able to send off for my membership card and put my orange stickers on my car to say I’ve completed my Responders training and am part of, not only Herefordshire 4x4 Response, but the Wales group as well. They’ve agreed to take me on just for my entertainment value I think.
The Wales group will be doing another training weekend in spring probably further into north Wales. Anyone who’s interested in doing this training themselves, let me know and I’ll give you the details of who to contact.
I’ve been in touch with some of the boys today and have got some photos from them so you can see us all in action!
You can see the photos at: http://www.bofa4x4.co.uk/forum/viewtopi ... 388#p24551 (http://www.bofa4x4.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3025&sid=2b806f765d24102562bb454f13e54388#p24551)
What I did at the weekend ... with Wales 4x4 Response team!
by Clueless on Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:17 am
In case any of you wondered why the Pink Palace had been left unmanned this weekend, I’ve been up to no good in Wales doing a two day training course with the Wales 4x4 Response group. I joined Herefordshire Land Rover Club recently to find out about getting involved with Herefordshire 4x4 Response group, after hearing about what they did in last year’s floods in the area. They told me about an assessment weekend being run by the (much bigger) Wales group (formerly the Powys group) and I thought it sounded interesting so put my name down for it. On condition of course that no camping was involved! Luckily it was being held on a farm with a B&B attached to it! I need my comfort!
Altogether about 30 people did the training over the weekend at Llanerchinda Farm near Llandovery in mid Wales. I arrived there just after 8am on Saturday. After signing in and getting the vehicles checked, there was a driver’s briefing when they explained what we’d be doing over the weekend. We were each given an Activity Log which we had to have signed off by the assessors for each exercise, and on completion of all these we would have got through our initial “Responder” training.
Saturday morning was spent at demonstrations of basic survival skills (including abseiling down a grass bank with a tow rope!), recovery and safe winching techniques (I now know much more about snatch blocks than I ever wanted to know!) followed by a bit of a drive round their on site off road course to assess our driving skills. Some nice mud to play in and a chance to get a feel for the place – and warm up a bit.
After lunch we went off to do a bit of driving in a quarry in the forest, then did some laning round the area, before coming back to do some basic first aid for road accidents. Then had a navex to do so we had chance to get warm indoors for half an hour working out the clues and route before going off to drive it. I teamed up with two lads who were only there for the day so wanted to get all the activities signed off on their cards in one day. So we made it even more difficult by going off to do the navex in the dark, spending the next two hours wandering round picnic areas with torches counting tables (Bill would have liked that) wandering round (the wrong) churchyard and searching for non-existent information in phone boxes.
Got back to the B&B about 7pm and spent the rest of the evening discussing unrepeatable topics (mainly snatch blocks, three line pulling and the merits of different shackle sizes) with all the boys. By a strange coincidence, there was one magazine on the coffee table in the lounge – “my” copy of LRM with the snorkel photo! He he. Had a great evening and never stopped laughing.
On Sunday as I’d got my card completed I could go off and play so did more quarrying with some of the Red Cross ambulance people who were also being trained and spent the rest of the day laning round the area. We also witnessed the now infamous and perhaps impossible winch challenge – discussed at length the night before – how to winch yourself backwards using your own front mounted winch, three trees, lots of snatch blocks, a shortening chain and numerous strops and obviously, a three line pull off the back of the car. See I really was listening. And it worked! And the disco wasn’t pulled to pieces!
Later did a real life recovery on a stuck Suzuki with two Belgian students who had gone out on their own and hadn’t experienced the joys of Welsh mud before. They were towed out and, as we were losing one of our group who had to get away by late afternoon, we let the lads join us in the middle of the group. They had a great time knowing they could try all the tough stuff and be dragged out if they got stuck again! If we hadn’t gone that way, they would probably still have been there now as it was going dark, freezing and miles from anywhere.
So at the end of all that, I said goodbye to my new friends at about 7pm and got home shattered a couple of hours later. Had to be one of the best weekends I’ve ever had! Don’t think I stopped smiling all weekend and they were a lovely bunch of people. And I’m now able to send off for my membership card and put my orange stickers on my car to say I’ve completed my Responders training and am part of, not only Herefordshire 4x4 Response, but the Wales group as well. They’ve agreed to take me on just for my entertainment value I think.
The Wales group will be doing another training weekend in spring probably further into north Wales. Anyone who’s interested in doing this training themselves, let me know and I’ll give you the details of who to contact.
I’ve been in touch with some of the boys today and have got some photos from them so you can see us all in action!