If the weather behaves, I will undertake my 800th SOTA activation tonight from Gun G/SP-013, while Jimmy is participating in a scouts event at nearby Barnswood Scout Camp.
I hope to be QRV on 80m CW and then 80m SSB between 7pm (1800z) and 8pm (1900z). I will call on the 2m/70cm FM handy with rubber duck (sorry Steve!) after packing away prior to descent.
Hope to have a few calls.
Cheers,
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
Tom,
Tom and I will keep an listen out for you on SSB.
Cheers
James G7MLO
In reply to M1EYP:
Congratulations Tom & thanks for the very nice CW QSO 
Sorry for my erratic sending, I was using my new homemade portable key & I haven’t quite got it perfect yet. HI!
I’m off to the radio club tonight so couldn’t hang around for SSB, so CW it had to be
Once again, congratulations!
73,
Mark G0VOF
Mark, your sending was just fine, and I enjoyed the QSO too. I never heard G7MLO nor M3XFG during the SSB part of my activation, so sorry to have missed you two.
My 800th SOTA activation was a most pleasant one, and even the horrible wet windy weather turned itself in for a couple of hours to leave me a window of bright dry summer evening weather.
After dropping Jimmy and his mate Edward off at Barnswood Scout Camp - for a “backwards cooking night” - whatever that means, I adjourned to the almost adjacent G/SP-013 for a play. The weather might have been perfect for me, but the floods and waterlogged areas along the ascent route were strong evidence that it had not been so in recent times. Finding a way to the summit and keeping one’s feet dry in normal trainers was a bit of a challenge!
I found a lovely comfy little spot just off the summit, in lee of the cool breeze, where I could sit and enjoy the early evening red glow over the Staffordshire Moorlands. 80m was chosen to make this a “UK-centric” activation, but with the opporunity for EU chasers that were interested.
First up at 1755z was Marc G0AZS, heading up a run of ten QSOs on 3.557MHz CW. I think I also heard S51ZG call at one point, but the QSO was not made in the end. As my guesstimated SSB QRG was busy, and my 'phone couldn’t find a GPRS connection, I used Roy G4SSH’s ‘dial-a-spot’ service to advise of 3.615MHz SSB. This resulted in a pleasant sequence of seven QSOs, all inter-G/GW.
Returning to 80m CW brought in two more, and finally 70cm FM saw the return of Steve GW7AAV, who had already worked me on HF. 2m FM was alerted, and spotted, and called on for a few minutes, but there were no takers. In any case, it was high time to go and pick Jimmy and Edward up from the scout event.
Thoroughly enjoyed the 800th; thanks to everyone that called in, and especially to G3WPF, G4SSH, G4ELZ, LA5SAA and GW7AAV for the spots. I was particularly taken with the suggestion of Helen GW7AAU that my 1000th should be on the very same summit, and combine with a mass picnic party of SOTA people! Sounds like a plan to me Helen, better crack on with the activations 
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
A pleasure to have a QSO on the 800th activation Tom.
I think that Jimmy went to a “Backwoods cooking night” Hi!
73 Roy G4SSH
(Ex DC Scouts)
ROTFL! Thanks for the explanation Roy.
Tom
In reply to M1EYP:
Sorry we missed you Tom. We had a listen ( even on your CW freq !!! ) but not a squeak. Lots of EU stations though…
Half term in this neck of the woods next week, so Tom should get a few more during the week. Too bad for me I have to be at the Saltmine.
73
James
In reply to G4SSH:
Thanks for that Roy, I missed it when I read Toms report but it certainly caused a giggle or two here once it was pointed out. It reminds me of my fathers recipe he used before producing doves from a flaming pan (he is a conjurer, magician or as he prefers an illusionist). It had the line “Bake in a cold oven for three hours, eat it if you can”.
Steve GW7AAV