I actually met Paul Williams way back in 1975, whilst climbing at Willersley near Matlock with Sandy Dobie. At the time I remember thinking that he was a bit of a bumbler, simply because he was wearing an RAF jumper with shoulder patches, breeches and a bright orange Joe Brown helmet, all of which made him look more like a typical mountain rescuer as opposed to a climber.
Some time later he moved to Llanberis and, obviously, we used to see him around a lot more. By then he looked like a typical climber, having adopted the standard Helly Hansen attire that was essential to look the part in those days.
Paul became a legend; a font of knowledge for unclimbed lines, an amazing photographer, author of stunning guidebooks and a hilarious raconteur.
The first time I climbed with him was at Tremadoc in '78. Paul, Jim Jewel and I had a race to see who could toprope Silly Arete the quickest. Obviously Jim won by miles (with a time of around two minutes), it was amazing to watch and we were all in hoots of laughter.
On another occassion, in '87, Paul and I climbed Jim Perrin's excellent "Exterminating Angel" in Cwm Pennant, so that he could include it in a new and revised edition of his "Rock climbing in Snowdonia". It was a beautiful day and we had the whole cwm to ourselves.
When Paul became a rep for DMM he sometimes stayed with us in St Helens. One day we travelled down to the Roaches for a classic day on the grit.
The last time I climbed with him was at Rhoscolyn. We did the hard "Dreams and Screams" and then Paul led a new route with Elaine (that doesn't seem to have been recorded).
Paul moved to Hathersage to spend more time "cruising the grit". Sadly we all lost another great friend when a hold snapped, whilst soloing "Brown's Eliminate" in 1995. I'm sure Elaine and I are not the only ones who miss him dearly.
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