Climbing Songs by John Hirst - vintage stuff, published by The Rucksack Club (probably in 1960 - but cover etc suggest 1930!).
Contains "gems" from 1919 to 1959 - mainly well known songs across the decades, reworded to suit moments in the mountains, on steep rock & ruminating about such things.......
Front'ish piece....."To the memory of Geoffrey Winthrop Young, who set a standard to which I have vainly endeavoured to aspire. The beautiful song which he wrote for "Songs of Mountaineers" is reproduced below.....
IF SOME PART OF A MAN....etc...(But, my typing is far too slow for anymore of that!)..
Another one of the true gems, is a song to celebrate Eustace Thomas, who in 1920 at Whitsuntide, holidaying in The Lakes, aged 51, succeeded in setting the new Fell Record, previously held by Wakefield..... THE HELPERS LOT (air "The Policeman's Lot" - Pirates of Penzance)...and an awful lot later in time a young chap, aged a mere 42 celebrated his 42nd birthday by doing something nearly as difficult in 24hrs...and the press got hold of it....and it became the Bob Graham!!!
Off to try & learn a bit more.....!






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