Time to get the social butterfly wings out

When it comes to geocaching events, I have to admit I’m rather rubbish at getting my social butterfly wings out! 

Many a time I’ve received an email alert for a new geocaching event, just published, and have diligently added the details to my calendar. I’ve even gone so far as to add a note to the event log saying, “I’ll be there”...”looking forward to it” etc etc.  However when the day itself arrives I either seem to come down with the lurgy, decide I’m too tired to venture out or have found some other caching adventure to go on that takes me in the opposite direction to the event.

However, one of my caching new year resolutions is to make more of an effort to get along to events and meet my fellow cachers so in the last few weeks I’ve done just that. 

First up was the popular, three times a year event in Burwell, hosted by the Flamingos and GCZ team. With a name usually associated with a Shakespeare play this Spring’s event was called ‘In the Lair of the Fox’. Rather appropriate seeing as it was held at the Fox pub...a new venue after some issues at its previous haunt. 

Once again it was busy and I didn’t even make it round the tables this time, instead spending a good hour and a half chatting with Steve’s Cambridge clan, plus Benji and newcomer Le Bombardier. 

A few days later I found myself on a rare shopping trip to central Cambridge. We’d needed to purchase a worktop for the new kitchen so for some unknown reason had decided to try John Lewis. Never again. Parking was the usual nightmare and when we finally managed to get the attention of a staff member in their kitchen section we were asked to return 40 minutes later. 

So with 40 minutes to kill, what better opportunity than to grab the unknown cache, ‘Corpus Clock’. And I’m so glad we did. 

Upon arrival at the clock we found ourselves in a bit of tour group throng, but carefully managed to retrieve the info required after side stepping a few cameras. Then it was off to a couple of phone boxes up the road to complete the next part of our mission. 

Data inputted into the special portal and a few seconds later one of the phones began to ring. 

With great excitement, and feeling like a secret agent, I stepped through the door and picked up the receiver. A man with a deep voice began to slowly speak to me and passed on the secret code. After bidding him goodbye, I hung up and under the cover of the phone box did some careful decoding to reveal the final GZ. 

Seeing it was a little way off, I realised we had to get back to the shop so I had to wait a little longer before claiming our smilie prize. But upon finally arriving at GZ, nearly an hour later, the little cache and golden grasshopper were soon discovered. 

I finished the week by heading to another event, this time one of the popular Mardle events (no.52). It was hosted by birthday girl Eljoma at a Library in Thurston. I have to say it’s the first time I’ve ever been to a geocaching event in a library and the first time I’ve set foot in one for nearly 20 years.

It was great fun, lots of new faces, in fact I barely recognised any of the cachers in attendance. Whatsmore I’ve never seen so much food at a geocache event. As several of the attendees had recently celebrated birthdays the event was a giant birthday party with a host of tasty treats on offer. 

It was lying before I got chatting to a number of the cachers and had the great pleasure of meeting Box Teddies and their clan of TB Teddies. They even very kindly showed me their enormous geocoin collection, apparently over 300 strong. I’ve never seen such unusual coins, it really was impressive. 

I also learnt a lot about Mega events from the Box Teddies who regularly help out them...I’ve yet to get myself along to one. But excited and motivated to go, I promptly looked up this year’s UK ones on my return home and have now booked my tickets for the geocoin festival in Manchester. I can’t wait.