Here’s a recent treat fit for a running god like myself. Fish finger sandwich featuring fish fingers on fresh sourdough bread garnished with raw red onion. Yummy! Probably best to eat after a run rather than ten minutes before. Last run of the year!

Since November I’ve mainly managed to do a weekly 12 mile jog and some gym work plus parkrun. I think a long run is good for me but it’s certainly not improving parkrun times. Then again it’s winter – cold, wind, dreary light, rain and mud. I’m always slower even when I feel I’m running fast.

The numbers running at Cambridge parkrun are around 200 fewer since Coldhams Common parkrun got under way. This is good news because Milton Country Park, which hosts parkrun, was getting very congested. It’s essentially along woodland trail paths which sometimes had up to 600 galloping over them. Today we had 381 and it felt much more comfortable. Coldhams has already surpassed 300 on several occasions and has room to expand. Haven’t done it yet but will do sometime soon, I hope.

A recent UK news item highlighted the cost of hospital car parking charges in England (they are free or being phased out in Scotland and Wales) and have been described as “a tax on the sick”. It seems that a substantal number of hospitals justify the high charges by spending the windfall money on hiring extra essential staff. Another wheeze, of course, to circumvent underfunding and related to the shenanigans the hospitals are forced to get involved in when desperately try to attain government targets.

Discussing the charges at home, Lorna reminded me about the hard time she had parking at Papworth Hospital after I had a heart attack nine years ago. She rushed over, didn’t have change (pre-online app) and the reception staff said they didn’t give change. She was worried that she would get clamped and couldn’t get back to our 12 year old son. Luckily someone in the carpark supplied the right coins. As a close relative (wife) very little consideration was given to her as she waited for an hour without any information about me

Bearing in mind Papworth is a “leading heart and lung hospital” and must be receiving distressed relatives on a daily basis, this clearly demonstrated their corporate lack of concern and empathy. I don’t think things have changed much. The technology has got better but often requires you to have a smart phone and the wherewithall to use it. Additionally, the charges have mushroomed. Concerning regard for relatives and friends attending hospital urgently, I don’t know whether anything has changed. I sincerely hope so. I was very happy with the medical and nursing care at Papworth but  recognition of the needs of relatives was poor.

Hello Julie! How are you? Hope you are well. Missing your blog.