An oneiric earworm...

Sometimes I have no idea what goes in on the lower reaches of my subconscious. This morning, as part of an somewhat fractured dream that involved me looking for someone in a labyrinthine office — stop laughing at the back Dr Freud — I also dreamt I had John Rutter's Look at the World stuck in my head, complete with both words and music.

Given that the only time I remember hearing it is on the radio several months ago, I'm pretty surprised that the outer reaches of my brain were able to dredge the whole piece up in its entirety. I also think it's slightly unfair, given the degree to which I more or less constantly have one piece of music or other running in my head, that I also have to experience the same phenomenon whilst asleep! (Honesty requires me to admit I have lots of dreams which involve having to sing a piece of music without any preparation or, indeed, training although these are clearly just markers of general anxiety and lack of confidence rather than things constantly stuck on repeat somewhere in my head)

A first visit to the Barn...

After a morning of final prep and catching up with people, I dashed shortly after midday to make it home in time to do some laundry — my winter baselayers all needed washing — and to do some stuff at the bank. With all that sorted, I met up with E and we went on a road trip to The Barn, a legendary climbing centre out towards the Cornish border. The journey was pretty smooth once we were out of Exeter and we arrived in good time to get some quality bouldering done.



The bouldering is centred around a big, free-standing structure with lots of problems and plenty of different styles of climbing including a substantial roof with some very tricky stuff indeed. One nice feature is that all the problems finish with a top out — not something I get to practice much in Exeter, as my initial experiences on the moors revealed! — with downclimbing via a little ladder at the back.



Although we didn't actually do any routes — I was signed in on Eve's cognisance and limited myself to bouldering — I wouldn't have minded giving some of the easier lead a try had we had more time and had I been slightly less tired. The atmosphere was extremely relaxed, everyone was really nice, and we had a really good time. As can be seen from the photo of the wall above, The Barn is also a very dog-friendly place:



The resident springer was extremely well behaved and polite, playing with her toys, fetching brushes, enjoying the comfort of the bouldering mats, and hanging out with her friends!

The journey back was even easier than the journey out and we got back in less than an hour. I think this was partly because we didn't hit traffic and partly because the process of navigating your way through Launceston is easier when the place you're travelling to is heavily signposted. Whatever the reasons, it was a lovely afternoon and I'm looking forward to going back sometime in the not too distant future!