Following a well-earned rest, courtesy of the previous evening’s “T-bone steaks”, the team were back aboard the trusty bus with the ever-reliable Godfrey at the wheel, departing the hotel at 0750 sharp.
Arrival at the range brought its own early drama, as an industrious ant hill had taken up residence on the firing point overnight. A swift application of an anonymous spray dealt with the situation decisively — the ants, it seems, were considerably less resilient than the competition.
The Guyanese sky, however, had other ideas. As the first clouds gathered, our man Mahendra offered the team a pithy piece of local wisdom: “This ain’t England — when da rain come, you run.” Run we did. Once sheltered under cover, Ben and Ed Feast were reunited with their forgotten scope and bolt, which we are sure enjoyed the rain, and Matt Keel contributed to the day’s mechanical casualties by dispatching the electronic target sensor with an errant shot. These things happen.
900 yards saw Matt Blythe take top honours with an excellent 49.5, and Archie Whicher close behind on 49.2. Out at 1000 yards, Phil Chapman-Sheath claimed first place on 46.3, with Archie again — clearly a man who prefers the longer distances — following with one fewer V-Bull to take another second place.
The evening brought a welcome change of scenery as the team were guests at the British High Commission in Georgetown for a canapés and drinks reception — a fitting end to a day that had offered everything from ants to rain to some fine long-range shooting.
More diary posts to come.
D+3 – Long Range Entertainment