After the brilliant time that I'd had on my first canoeing trip, this second excursion had a lot to live up to. With so many people dropping out at the last minute the prospects didn't appear to be too good. A mere five of us traveled to Llangollan, North Wales, but we were joined by an interesting posse of ex-Man Met canoeists later. The accommodation fortunately wasn't quite the nightmare we expected - despite warnings of the intrusion of occasional 'wildlife' and the outdoor steps being the only access to the bedrooms (shiver), our little bunk house was actually quite cosy. On our first night, after some beers and chat, we headed for a hotel in town for a rendezvous with a guy called Chris. He managed to charm the robust 'Mrs. P' (bar supervisor extraordinaire) into allowing us an after hours piss up. We were all nattering away into the early hours before returning to our exclusive penthouse. Saturday noon we drove down to the short 'Nomad' section of the River Dee. This provided plenty of opportunity for canoe technique practice, until I capsized and my kayak shot off for a recreation of The Great Escape, whilst a team of rafters came to the rescue of poor stranded me. That night we settled down for a competitive game of poker. We paired up and decided that the winner of each game would decide who should down a shot of rancid vodka. So, as the shots grew larger, a victimised Andy Cummins grew steadily drunker. There was a classic moment at the end of the final game: Andy looked Bob in the eye and slurred, "I'll raise you a shot." His face fell floorwards as Bob presented his four tens that knocked the socks off Andy's sevens. On our last day in Wales only our most experienced canoeists took up the challenge of the Tryweryn (try saying that after 20 JD and cokes) River. It was great to spectate from the riverbank as they surfed the waves, performing impressive rolls as they skillfully recovered from a capsize.