Well, the news is this: I've finally consummated my little on-off relationship with The Blank Wall, V4, at Lindfield. I've been having little cracks at it on recent visits, and it being rated as an absolute classic I've been reticent to stick up a toprope on it. This being the case, it's been a case of ground-up attempts, getting a little bit more solid each time, two or three goes tops per visit.
It's an ankle-breaker, even with a mat (three or four mats may be a different story), so there's a certain amount of fear involved in getting up there. The crux is the bottom section, but closing out the thin moves feels a little bit insecure. Today I hit a hold I've previously felt reluctant to go for, held it, worried, sketched, jumped, then got back on and completed the problem in a single push. The top is no issue, technically, but picking the right holds requires a bit of calmness, as most are crappy with some good stuff in between. Pick the right ones and you're all good. Panic and you're potentially in a bit of trouble.
Oh, and next time I go to do it, I'll brush the leaves off the top-out. that was sketchy.
After that, we went back to old favourite First Wall and had a bit of a mess around, couple of V4 problems, then off to the pub for a well deserved Guinness. Cheers!