On Saturday 31st January 2015 we finally celebrated a successful past year with our belated Christmas party! The Black Mountain Quarries gang headed down to Supakart in Newport for an evening of go-karting. Everybody had been looking forward to it for weeks, and winding each other up for longer.

Having been kitted out and given the safety talk, it was time for a quick practise before the serious racing started. Everyone was keeping an eye on the fastest lap times and who the main challengers were. After four heats followed by semi-finals, the contenders for the grand final had been decided.

The final was hotly challenged. Years of happy work camaraderie went out the window, replaced by fierce (and sometimes ugly) competitiveness. In a hotly-contended ten laps, Billy held the lead under pressure almost all the way, until Splitpin overtook to win the race in the last few moments. Splitpin’s real name is Mark, but unfortunately his handwriting is that bad that the organisers thought his name was Marie! We’re all enjoying his new nickname. A lot more than he is.

To celebrate (or commiserate) later we had a meal and a few drinks at the Spice Lounge in Llanfoist. I think we can safely say fun was had by all and we will be back for a re-match soon – although nobody above 8th place is being invited back (orders from Ady!).