Shortest day - longest flight?

It looked unpromising, grey sky and the windsock horizontal. But the grey stuff was lined up interestingly across wind, if it had been Aboyne we would have been rigged and waiting for a gap. A tow to 1800ft into the bottom of the cloud, then a gap appeared, scraps of blue sky and patches of sun. And the altimeter stuck at 1800ft. All we had to do was crab back and forth along the Hambleden valley maintaining height, with the occasional blast of 4 to 6 kts as we passed a hot spot. Excellent fun for the shortest day of the year (according to my researches the solstice was at 1204). Just shows that it's always worth turning up and giving it a go.