We are delighted to announce a couple of new dates in our Events diary. Firstly our ‘very own’ Nick Livesey long awaited photographic book on Snowdonia has now been printed & is available from this Thursday. I am pleased to announce that Nick has agreed to do a book signing event at the Café to coincide with the forthcoming Christmas Quiz (in support of OVMRO) on Saturday 15th December. So to secure your signed copy simply put the date in your diary & come along between 5:00 & 8:00 pm to meet & talk to the Photographer/Author, aka as Nick.

With the BMC’s Winter Skills lecture (presented by Sam Leary & Mick Jones) a sell out tonight your final opportunity to come to the Cafe for a presentation this Autumn is only 6 days away in the form of Filmuphigh’s ‘Brazilian Line’ on Wednesday 28th November. Tickets are still available but with our last 3 presentations having sold out be sure to book to guarantee your seats. Full details are on our Events page.

An added bonus of Doug’s visit to the Cafe is that he re-supplied us with signed copies of his latest two books, we’d sold out of previous batches weeks ago. Copies are again on sale from our counter with 100% of the sale price going to the author himself, details are:- The Ogre – £20 – Biography of a mountain and the dramatic story of the first ascent. Up & About (Hardback) – £24 – Biography of Doug’s ‘Hard Road to Everest’ Up & About (Paperback 2nd Edition – £14.95 Both books are excellent reads be sure to secure your

It was a memorable night despite those IT Glitches early on so I’ll address those first as lets be honest is was both embarrassing & frustrating in equal measure. My apologies on behalf of all those involved with both the inadequate volume on the CAN video hotly followed by the ‘loss’ of Tut’s slides (not Tut’s fault I hasten to add) led to the lights going back on & a significant delay. The patience the audience gave as Marion, Denise, John, Doug & Tut frantically tried to work things out was really appreciated so thank you very much for this.

Thank you to everyone involved in any way with this years fund raising for the Melamchi School, with Doug Scott’s next presentation at the cafe only days away I am pleased to give the following update on both the fund raising & the School itself, so here goes:- The total raised to date in 2018 is £8,061.80 which is significantly higher than our earlier expectations of around 5/6K, simply a great result. This figure will go higher due to a Gift Aid application I need to make for my sponsors so the final figure should exceed £8,400.00. We will present

This Saturday sees us welcome Doug Scott CBE as he (together with Paul ‘tut’ Braithwaite) gives his presentation ‘The Hard Road to Everest’. Tickets have been selling well in recent days but we still have 12 left so if you want to attend please e-mail us or call the cafe on 01690 720429 as soon as you can to avoid disappointment. As last Saturday when Susanne Sholtz gave her excellent presentation about the history & behavioural patterns of the Carneddau Ponies (thank you Susanne) we will be closing our kitchen early to allow us to prepare the Cafe for Doug

This coming Saturday sees us hosting Susanne’s Scholt’s Carneddau Pony Presentation with a packed house so please note that last hot food orders will be at 6:00 pm & not the usual 7:30 pm. I am delighted to announce that our friend Rob Johnson & his Filmuphigh have chosen us as a venue to premiere his film ‘Brazilian Line’ with he date being Wednesday 28th November. Full details will be on our events page later this morning. Finally if you here any screams in Bettws between 12:45 & 1:45 today do not call the police, it’s simply me having physio

First things first, this Saturday (27th) sees us again hosting Team 333’s AGM. They do excellent work in raising funds for Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation (our local rescue team). I point this out because as such we will be closing at the earlier time of 6:00 pm with last hot food orders being 17:30 pm, we trust you will understand. Earlier in the day I & some 2,000+ others will be running & sometimes walking the classic Snowdon Marathon. Please note that the Llanberis pass will be closed from 10:00 am to Midday & that parking in Llanberis is

A final reminder for an enjoyable night out at the Cafe this coming Saturday. Organised by our good friend Hazel Robbins & hosted by the ever great value Mike Lees we hope you can join us for a lively quiz with plenty of laughs & scratching of heads all in aid of the Little Adoption Shop which rescues abused dogs in China. Full details on our events page, the night will include an Auction & a Raffle, our thanks to everyone who has donated items to help this cause.

Well by now I had intended to have blogged about my endeavours in the classic Peris Horseshoe Fell race the Saturday before last but with time passing & the fantastic Autumnal colours now putting on their show (it’s a joy to be running through them at this time of year, if only I could sprint onto the scene in the way that they have this year) I feel (as they say) to have been overtaken by Events & Cafe Events at that, so:- Thanks Tim for a thoroughly insightful & enjoyable insight last Friday into your year as a mountain

We are delighted to be shortlisted again for this years TGO Annual awards in the best Cafe category making it 4 years running that we have made the short list so thanks to all those who recommended us. Voting is now underway so if you feel we deserve your vote simply visit www.tgomagazine.co.uk & click on the Awards tab, you should find us on the 2nd page, your support would be greatly appreciated by all of us at the Cafe. There are a number of other local businesses who are nominated in other categories so hopefully they’ll get your votes

A final reminder that tomorrow our good friend Tim gives his presentation about his working life in the Outdoor World, tickets can be reserved at our counter or by phoning the Cafe on 01690 720429. We should also be able to accomodate a few walk ins but best to reserve just to be sure. Please note last hot food orders are 5:30 as usual but we should be able to rustle up some late Goulash after that for anyone who is attending the presentation until approx. 7:00 pm. Extended drinks license with presentation kicking off at 8:00 pm. Hope to

With on the day entries still thankfully permitted there is still time to commit to this classic long race which starts at 11:00 am & of course for those looking for an ‘easy’ option there is always the short course option. Both provide an incredible experience, I can highly recommend them.  As for me I was certainly looking forward to the long peris hoping my recent run in the Ultra Trail Wales would stand me in good stead. Alas the extraction of a large molar tomorrow leaves this all in doubt, the Dentists last words were ‘It’s going to hurt

Our full Season of Events kicks off on Saturday 29th September when Alan Mannouch hosts this months Open MIC Night a regular last Saturday in the month feature. If you haven’t been along to one before why not pre-record your favourite TV shows & get back into a Saturday night out. The evenings are relaxed & if you want to play or sing you’ll find warm appreciation. Hot on the hills of this Friday 5th October sees Tim Blakemore (who for his sins had guided Paul & friends on more than one Alpine tour among many others expeditions throughout the

A quick reminder that the first of the Cafe’s Autumn season of events kicks off on Friday 5th October when we welcome our friend Tim Blakemore to the Cafe. Tim who has guided throughout the world including Antartica, Greenland, The Himalaya’s & Scandinavia is an IMGA based in Les Houches near Chamonix. A fascinating insight on how someone who has chosen the mountains to both live & work & help others achieve their own personal goals. Full details are on our events page, ticket proceeds going to Tim’s chosen charity www.peopleskitchen.com. We hope you can make it!

Whilst Martin Cliffe was smashing my pb for our Siabod Challenge I was focused on final prep for last Saturday’s race which would be my first ever Ultra race. This included my Pasta Carbonara pre-race day meal taken at 8:45 am, no more food until breakfast two hours before race start at 6:00 am. Next, organise all fuel & kit options into their boxes for my support team who duly arrived in the form of the Rowlands’ just after midday. The afternoon consisted of registration & kit bag check (no corners cut as safety should something go wrong is more

Congratulations Martin, great run & glad you enjoyed it. Last Friday dawned & saw Martin Cliffe rise with serious intent on his mind. He had e-mailed me earlier in the week notifying me of his plans to tackle the longest of the Cafe’s challenges. At once I knew that the previous best time set by myself & Paul Jones during June’s Reach out for Nepal day would soon be toast! Martin, a friend of ours, is of course also a top end Fell runner & can regularly be seen in the leading pack of racers across Snowdonia’s fell racing calendar

Well that’s it physical prep & route knowledge recce’s are now complete, I can’t do anymore except keep the wine bottle corked & eat to a plan over the final 3 days before race day itself. Before I go any further please note that any fellow competitors who are Male & in the O.50’s category are forbidden to read this blog, I’ve done the hard yards in gaining knowledge & would consider it un-gentlemanly if you pick my limited brain to beat me! Here follows my 3 week lead in:- Week 1 – Plan 50 miles – Actual 35 Miles,

A quick reminder that our Open MIC Night is a week earlier than normal this month to our host Alan Mannouch being away next weekend. This Sunday also sees Alan doing a big bike race on Anglesea so with our blessing he’ll wrap things up a little earlier than normal at around 10:00 pm.  Hope you can make it & enjoy a relaxed evening with us.

Monday 30th July dawned bright & with me having tried to level the fitness playing field by over cooking the running during the weekend Dave & I headed off to Switzerland, the perfect climbing pair? Today was to be reasonably relaxed, a 2/3 hour journey, park up at Tasche, taxi into Zermatt & then the Gornergrat cog railway up to the Rotenboden station at 2, 815 metres. From here a relaxed 3 hour walk in to the Monte Rosa hut, our base for the night. Time had appeared to be on our side as we made a lazy start but