MINIBUS MUSIC compiled by Claire Acheson

Music is an important part of GUM Club culture. We all like a few cheerful tunes to pass the time on the long journeys or to liven up a post pub party. Our combined tape collection is wide and varied. From easy listening to Cheese's dance; Dan's rock to Neilo's tapo di formaggio; we've got it covered. The songs in the chart bring back memories of people and places - the never ending repeat of "nah nah nah na na na nah" after the pub in Torridon, a girlie sing-a-long in Reiff, and just about every Sunday night journey home this year - are just a few for me.

So here it is:

THE GUM CLUB TOP 10
As voted for by YOU the members....

10. Madonna Like A Prayer

9. The Proclaimers 500 Miles

8. Chris de Burgh Lady in Red

7. The Beatles Hey Jude

6. 2 Unlimited No Limits

5. Bonnie Tyler Total Eclipse of the Heart

4. Dougie McClean Caledonia

3. Survivor Eye of the Tiger

2. Gary Jules Mad World

1. S Club 7 Reach for the Stars

Tune in next year to see if the S Club can hold on to the coveted no.1 position and remember guys: Don't stop movin' to the GUM Club beat.
Two Trips to Spain Liz Miller

Nothing beats Britain but Spain's ok. Twice I've been lured there with the promise of warmth and chorizo. The first trip was at New Year a couple of years ago when Alexis and I went to the Costa Blanca to climb on limestone that wasn't sopping wet in January and to clip a few bolts along the way.

Soon after arriving in Alicante we had left the tower blocks of the coast behind and were winding our way up a road lined with orange trees in a rented corsa, aiming for the hills. Some car wrecking dirt track later we arrived at an idyllic refugio that had no space left. With a house booked for the last week of our 10 day trip we thought we wouldn't bother bringing a tent and chance it for the first few days.

- tent + (- refuge space) = corsa

We wanted to climb at Sella, the area near the refuge, in our first few days because it involved a bit of a drive up the hill and there were other places we could go when we were staying down on the coast for the rest of the holiday. Sella was great, pine forests, olive trees and friendly cats at the bottom of the cliffs and sound limestone single pitch routes as well as multi-pitch stuff throughout the valley. After a couple of nights sleeping in the car we managed to get a night in the refuge and then it was time to go to the coast. Climbing guides seem to be in demand here; ours got nicked off the car roof when we were moving some stuff into the refuge.

The house seemed pretty cheap for two of us and yet there was enough room for six to stay, it was in Villajoyosa, a small town with narrow cobbled streets and brightly painted houses. From there we went to Calpe and the Penon di'Fach as well as some crazy inland crag with loads of tufas and a massive barking Alsatian. The climbing was good and the weather was intermittently so, with a few dreary days. At the end of the trip we were glad that we'd come to Spain to try something different for New Year, and at least in Spain the rain is slightly warmer than Scotland and the beer's cheaper.

My second trip was to Madrid at the end of summer. This was a bit more like it, public transport and tent, none of this house and car malarkey. About 40km away from Madrid is Manzanares el real, a small town at the foot of some higher ground, The Parque regional de la cuenca alta del Manzanares. La Pedriza is part of this park and consists of massive granite domes, friction slabs with the occasional hold and the occasional bolt. The climbing here was great, a massive granite play park, but a long slog to any of it if you are staying at the campsite near the park entrance. Part of the fun is finding the area that you are trying to get to as the multitude of small paths all look very similar to each other, as do the many granite boulders lying around. It would be a great place to bivvy but if you were staying for more than a few days you'd have to go down for supplies. There are a few water springs around but they aren't always easy to find when you want one. If you aren't good at trusting your feet then go here because there isn't any other way of getting up anything.

La Pedriza sticks in my mind because of the warm granite domes, the cows that may or may not chase you, cooking whole sea bream in a trangia lid, vultures, snakes and not being able to communicate well; learn some Spanish before you go.

Spain is good for a holiday but if you like to feel a bracing wind and get ruddy cheeks, drink pints and moan about the weather, then stay in Britain.