… to the dozen or so members of the Class of 2014 who have already submitted their routes – as we say every year, this is greatly appreciated, as it helps maintain a steady flow of vetting and ensures we don't get too much of a log jam in the, erm log jam period.

Can I ask that folk please double-check their route sheets before hitting the "send" button (or despatching them by horse-drawn carriage)? Just a few have forgotten to date their phone-in points, have missed Landranger sheet numbers or have FWAs that land them in the middle of nowhere on a sunny day with no place to run if the storm hits the following morning.

No great shakes at all, but incomplete routes will have to be returned for amendment/correction/completion/Ardbeg.

Many thanks, incidentally, to the Challenger who actually sent a bottle of Ardbeg to Challenge Towers. It was just a jpeg, in an email, and the bottle in the picture was already empty (was this a case of going ultalight?) but the thought there and it was appreciated. I won't embarrass him by giving his name here, because there's only one "Alistair Pooler" on this year's event and everyone would immediately know who I meant. But thank you – you know who you are, "AP".

Well, he brought us the real stuff last year John. Not Ardbeg I know. The boy is a saint.