I was really surprised to come back and see all the new posts, as there had been a 4 year gap before I posted in Nov 2008, so I thought this thread would have well and truly died! It was great to read other comments from those who also remember Stan Gee and Bullock Smithy with fond affection.

He was a great friend of my late father (Pete Smith or 'Smig' as he was known) who was also one of the founder members of the Derbyshire Caving Club, after they split away from the Orpheus in 1959. I gather it wasn't the most amicable parting of ways at the time, but that's another story!...

The thing I remember most about Stan was the 'Loony Weekends' that he and a few others organised in Wetton, a small village on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border, during the late 70s/early 80s. They hired out the back room of the Royal Oak pub for the band to perform in and it was always a great night. As others have mentioned, along with Stan there was Trevor, Arthur Ball and young lass named Christine, who had a great voice, but I can't remember who provided percussion??

There was always a walk on the Saturday, which was usually around the Manifold Valley and often stopped off for a few beers at the Cavalier Pub in Grindon. I remember one occasion when Stan's poor old dog 'Boot' couldn't make it back up the hill and he had to carry him the rest of the way in the rucksack!

Whilst I appreciate this has got nothing to do with the original post (6 years ago!), it would be great to hear from anyone else who also has fond memories of the the Loony weekends. It was 30 years ago, but I can remember them like it was yesterday!

Cheers, Matt Smith.