Am I Being Unfair?

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A Rather Large Statue at Kings Cross St. Pancras Railway Station

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Kings Cross St. Pancras Station. The Meeting Place, a 9 metre statue by British sculptor Paul Day, situated under the clock, or two clocks actually.

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I was in London recently, travelling down from Cambridge, to attend an outpatient appointment at Moorfields eye hospital which I calculate to be around 3 miles from the station by foot. This was the fourth time I had walked to the hospital and the first time I got lost. I have a sixth sense when it comes to choosing a direction and almost always I choose the wrong one when I decide to “improve” the route.  I got even more lost when I walked back to Kings Cross. No matter. I find it very pleasurable walking in London. I crossed over the Grand Union canal a couple of times. I think all of it is walkable along its tow path right up to Birmingham, 137 miles away.

I’m having “issues” with myself concerning running with my club and I’m not running so regularly at present. A number of the slower, older runners of which I am one, now seem have to have dropped out and I’m road running with much faster, younger clubbers. I’m missing some training sessions but I’ll still hang on. I continue to do parkrun weekly and I’m only 12 away from the 250th which is pleasing. I did a 10k race at the beginning of the month and another 10k at the National Trust Wimpole Hall Estate last week. But part of me wants to run alone as I did for nearly 30 years before loads of races started appearing  and before parkrun came along. Am I reverting to type? No, not really but the reality is that I don’t have much in common with most runners I know apart from running. And I have a limited capacity to talk about running. Or any sport!

I’ve signed up for an introductory creative writing course, starting in September and 10 sessions in length. I’m looking forward to it. It should kick start my interest in writing again. Hopefully I’ll be motivated to look again at the 70,000 word children’s novel I wrote but never revised. I completed the bare bones of it following my heart attack nearly 6 years ago but it’s lain fallow for the last 5 years. I was told that children can smell the author’s own moralising a mile off when it’s superimposed on characters. But somebody has to tell the young what’s what! They gotta learn, aint they? All right!Guilty as charged.

Jeremy Corbyn, prospective Labour Party leader, in the upcoming leadership contest and now apparently a real contender. A relatively radical left winger and old style Labour activist. The moderates and moderate Right Labour MPs are now having kittens at his unexpected support, fearing they will be unelectable as a Party at the next election. A modern acronym sums this up : LOL! What the left needs to do is create a new and compelling response to the black propaganda spewing out from the evil, self serving Tory party for the last 5 years.

My bloody book on druidism still hasn’t arrived ! I ordered it from the Guardian Bookshop nearly 6 weeks ago. My spiritual enlightenment remains on hold.

 

 

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Alive and Running May 9 2015

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This man has got the beard I’m not allowed to have! Clearly a hipster but possibly he’s gone too far.

Having recovered from spectating at the London Marathon (it took 4 days) I did  5 days of hard running in a six day period – a 5k club race, 5k parkrun followed by a 7k race, a 10k race, a five miler on the Bank Holiday Monday  and then a club night. Rested for 3 days and parkrun today. Tomorrow I’ll go to Eye in Cambridgeshire for a 10k race. Unbelievedly, It’s called the Eye !0k.

I find that when I’m running consistently, I feel better all round, the quality of the tiredness is higher (leading to higher quality sleep) and my times are a bit faster. My last 3 Cambridge parkruns have all been within 9 seconds of each other and under 24 minutes. Overall I’m happy with this and no longer grinding my teeth over my two arch rivals who are older than me and running over 2 minutes faster. Here’s me, looking like a banana, at the 7k, with rivals and chums.

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Controversy has developed at Wimpole Estate parkrun, a lovely National Trust course over extensive parkland. Unlike Cambridge which is run through narrow woodland paths, Wimpole is over wide grass land and has just over half the number of runners. As a result, this parkrun attracts around 20 runners with dogs and this has now become an issue. The run director has now ruled that runners with dogs should start 5 minutes after the official start time and deduct 5 minutes from their individual results. Today was the first delayed start for the dog runners and was deemed to have been a success overall but clearly some are not happy with this new arrangement. A lively discussion has ensued on Facebook revealing sensible and less sensible comments on both sides. I think the run director  has shown great responsibility and fairness as have a number of dog runners.

The UK General Election! What can I say? The Tories mimicked Labour values and Labour failed to spell out how nasty and self serving the Nasty Party are. A substantial percentage of the British electorate swallowed the Tories’ toxic promises of fairness and warnings of the dire consequences of Socialist government. It still surprises, and disappoints, how credulous people can be.

This will be the last blog for several months (probably). I may rise again, like the Phoenix, in the summer.

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Alive and Running May 1 2015 London Marathon 2015

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The London Marathon 2015 on Sunday April 26. I was there as a participant (a participating spectator), enduring the cold and ogling the thousands of runners lucky enough to obtain an entry.

We journeyed down early from Cambridge and were drinking coffee in a Canary Wharf coffee shop by 9 am. This enabled us to see the whole race beginning with the racing wheelchairs, then the runners with a disability, the elite women. the elite men, the fast club runners, the huge number of regular and occasional runners, the walk and jog runners and finally those men and women bravely attempting the distance, who would probably make it eventually but were really struggling.

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Brendan Foster on BBC TV commented that the London Marathon is unusual for having fancy dress runners. Marathons outside the UK don’t seem to attract them. Thank God I live here then. Fancy dress is a good corrective to the intense seriousness of the faster folk  who would probably trample you to death and run on if you stumbled in their path. The elite runners are fascinating for the few seconds they remain in view and the runners with a disability are clearly triumphing over considerable adversity. We like to see them but as they run past they appear completely detached and out of sympathy with anyone else apart from themselves. I found myself  not particularly interested in them or their speed on this occasion, with the exception of Paula Radcliffe. She wasn’t running with the elite pack (which I knew) and she was on top of me (metaphorically speaking) before I clocked her. I got a couple of shots in from the side, grinning, so I was happy.

We were opposite the elite runners drink station. The tables only hold a few well spaced bottles which the runners easily recognise as their own as they approach. It was comical to see a succession of marshals and volunteers pick up Paula’s bottle to be photographed holding it. It was disappointing not to snap them taking a swig for the camera!

We managed to see a number of people we knew but the bulk of the runners I knew from the club seemed to be running around three and a half hours, give or take 20 minutes. Unfortunately, at Canary Wharf, between miles 18 and 19, at the time they would have been passing us, we went for coffee and a bite to eat. We really needed a break from the cold and inactivity. Who are really the heroes? The marathon runners or the the brave spectators? The latter, obviously.

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 We stayed late into the afternoon and saw the official end of the marathon display car drive past which announced that roads would now be open and the course closed. Immediately behind followed a succession of lorries and tractors picking up signs and barriers, spraying painted markers on the road with a solvent and collecting rubbish. And weaving in and out of this maelstrom of vehicles, dozens of runners were still attempting to finish the course. The crowds were gone, the marshals had left their posts, the roads up ahead would be open to traffic and I presume direction sign posts would be removed. They still had between 7 and 8 miles to go! A few people gave them encouragement to which they enthusiastically responded but others appeared exhausted. It was very poignant.

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These are the strongest and bravest people. They have peak endurance and emotional strength far greater than the runners who trained up and worried about their times. My monies on them!

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Alive and Running April 19 2015

WP_20150419_015 New tactics for parkrun. It’s a good example of thinking outside of the box. I was musing (metaphorically) about scything down the competition and then I thought  why not in actuality! So when I saw this scythe at a local garage sale, I knew the universe was giving me something I needed. I bought it for a song ( Let It Be, and I threw in a shortened version of American Pie as an encore). I still have to figure out where to place myself on the start line but that’s not likely to be a problem since I think there’ll be plenty of space around me wherever I choose to stand (particularly if I’m wearing something black and hooded.

Anyway, back to a pre-scythe parkrun at Wimpole Estate yesterday. It went OK. Not too cold, a reasonable time and some unexpected sun. There was a frost at 7.45 am when I walked Rupert the dalmatian but by 9 am it had warmed up sufficiently to run without a jacket. A good cup of coffee and a fruit scone with strawberry jam in the National Trust restaurant/cafe with Ms Alive and Running and our running chums completed a very enjoyable morning.

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In the afternoon we went into Cambridge for a birthday meal. The sun remained out and the scene on the Cam was barely distinguishable from the Venetian Grand Canal.

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And so, today, to Ickworth House, which is a rotunda, to run a Hoohaar 10k on the estate. I think all races should be held on National Trust properties. Great facilities (lavatories instead of toilets, lovely large, airy cafes, wonderful grounds) and entry to the right class of person. The plebs are turned away at the Gate House and advised to go and run in a public park. Only joking! The hoi polloi are guaranteed entry everywhere.

The race went well and I knocked off 90 seconds from last year. There is an evil hill at 9k which slowed me down considerably but I’m not complaining (much). It’s a beautiful course, mainly trail, and undulating. Unfortunately one of our running friends, who moved to Yorkshire and came down for this race, fell and injured her knee. Unable to continue, she had to hobble back because of a lack of mobile signal and inadequate contingency arrangements.

And speaking of class based entertainment, one can do no better than listen to BBC Radio 4’s Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair, a 2013 production of Francis Durbridge’s detective drama at 11.30 am on Fridays. Paul Temple, his wife , Steve (female) and the top policemen have cut glass English accents and weld power effortlessly with confidence and panache. Gentle drama, gentle comedy and so redolent of a 30’s and 40’s class divided Britain.

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Alive and Running April 11 2015

DSC_0632And so to Londinium last Thursday, when we left the safety, and intellectual inferno, of Cambridge, breaching the capital’s defences, and finding ourselves at Kings Cross station, bewildered and disorientated. Sodom and Gomorrah or what? We witnessed people smoking on the street, crossing the road at undesignated points and publicly eating the fastest of foods.  I felt like Christian negotiating immorality in the Pilgrim’s Progress. We sought sanctuary in the British Library (pictured above and inspired by Brutalist power station architecture) and later ran for cover to the nearby Wellcome Institute to see the Forensics : The Anatomy of Crime and the Institute of Sexology exhibitions. Neither were lurid or explicit, just interesting. It took us quite a long time to get along the Euston Road but eventually we made it to Covent Garden (via Tavistock and Queen Squares) where most of the world was congregating. I think Dr Johnson said *He who is tired of McDonalds is tired of hamburgers”. I would simply adapt this famous phrase and suggest that he/she who is tired of London is tired of life but I’m no Dr Johnson.

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Parkrun at Cambridge today, my 225th. Just 25 more and I receive the golden running top. Thereafter, rose petals will be strewn in my path as I run and the gods will favour me with fair winds a fleet foot.

The going was much firmer today and I didn’t need trail shoes. The temperature was around 8-9c, not cold but I still wore tracksters with a top and no jacket. I ran my fastest time this year so I was quite content with that. Next weekend I’ll do parkrun on Saturday and then a 10k race on Sunday which is part of the Hoohaar series.

Last club night on Tuesday, my road running group is still fast and we again ran a pattern of varying paces. I was able to keep in sinc with everyone else because there were three whistles blown at each change of pace and I was able to hear it despite being one of the slowest.

The Tories have gone up a notch in my estimation. They have clearly demonstrated their appreciation of irony by continuing to state that the NHS is safe with them. They’ve just enhanced the comic potential by pledging to spend an extra £8 billion on the NHS in a bid to prove how much they care. Does anyone, bar the most credulous, believe this crap?

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I may be way behind with getting this small charity off the ground but, thanks to Len, the sign’s completed and suspended gracefully between the two silver birches. It’s a start!

 

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Alive and Running April 3 2015

 

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I’m really pleased with this sign! My father-in-law Len created it for me and I think he’s done a wonderful job. It needs to be varnished to protect it from the weather and then I’ll be able to hang it between two silver birch trees which are situated at the entrance to the field where the project is sited. I think it looks very professional and welcoming. It augurs well for the gardening environment and atmosphere I want to develop. Thanks, Len.

Decided against going for a club run on Tuesday. The large variety of pace changes and duration seemed complicated and I thought it unlikely I would hear the whistle at my running speed. Instead I went for a regular run of 5.25 miles and incorporated a couple of sprints. This felt fine. We are doing long 2.7 mile loops with the club next week and this will suit me better but I still feel the pendulum is swinging towards the faster legs. In a couple of years, superannuated runners like myself will be escorted from the club by burly security men. A few years after that, elderly runners will be hunted down and eliminated to prevent embarrassing episodes occurring at a future date. I’m not known for exaggerating.

Alternatively, rather than do road running I could opt for track training since the club is based at the University of Cambridge Athletics. This attracts the fastest and slower runners and seems to work for both groups.

Cambridge parkrun today. For some reason my brain convinced me that it was dry enough not to wear trail shoes whereas the reality was rather different. Nevertheless, I had a good run despite the mud.

Can’t blog any more tonight. I’m watching The Imitation Game having finished watching the end of Harvey Milk an hour before. A very, very sad end to Harvey and Alan Turing.

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Alive and Running March 29 2015

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Wimpole Estate parkrun yesterday which explains the appearance of these three Penguins I rescued on the 30p table which sits outside the second hand book shop, in the open but under the over hanging court yard roof. Any further description would require a little drawing. Suffice it to say they should be kept in a warm but well ventilated room not partially exposed to the elements. I also rescued this orchid (Phalaenopsis) earlier in the week. The garden centre was selling it for £3 because part of it had rotted and the leaves were sparse and damaged. It may or may not survive but it’s a magnificent thing despite being poorly. It looks like a bookish plant so it’ll be in its element.

I wasn’t displeased with my parkrun time. The grass course was mainly dry and firm and the temperature reached 10-11c which meant I had to take my running jacket off during the race. I did this by executing a series of elegant manoeuvres and rakishly tying it around my waist. I walked up the short but vicious hill and avoided getting pranged on the horns of the long haired cattle the National Trust has imported to intimidate runners. I managed to nod my appreciation or actually articulate the words “thank you” to the encouraging marshals including the one who said “well done, you’re still looking fresh.” Clearly this was the opinion of someone whose judgement in these matters was extremely suspect. I ignored the urge to stop and remonstrate with him. I make looking as if I’m about to collapse into an art form. I can’t have people randomly commenting I look “fresh”.

Carol Morley is the director of a new film called The Falling which is out in the UK at the end of April. She has a fascination with mass psychogenic illness (mass hysteria) and her film tells the story of a fainting epidemic. The article in the Observer http://bit.ly/1IIfFsX is well worth reading.

Cambridge junior parkrun this morning. Unfortunately the loss of an hour with the clocks going forward combined with the rain more than cut numbers in half. Nevertheless, as usual, the children and adults had great time.

There had to be a down side to today. Tesco had entirely run out of Brussels sprouts. I narrowly avoided exhibiting The manager should fall on his sword!

 

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Alive and Running March 19 2015

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These brave Cam punters are well wrapped up against the February weather (yes, it’s last month’s pic) and having to swarm together to stay warm. Unable to operate their own poles, they are reduced to employing slaves  to navigate the river. Passive or what? And expensive. But on the other hand the chauffeurs are very informative and entertaining. So the choice is yours. Bob’s yer uncle, Fanny’s yer aunt, so they say.

I’m fully recovered from the exertions of the Cambridge half marathon although I haven’t been running much this week. I did go out with the club on Tuesday evening. How did I find it? Demanding! The pendulum is definitely swinging in favour of the fitter and faster runners. The new coach is trying to be inclusive but the the unvarnished truth is that most of my fellow runners are quicker and younger than me. Nevertheless, it is possible to adapt and successfully take part in the new regime. We did 6 x 6 minutes. Each 6 minutes was split up into 2 minutes at marathon pace, 2 minutes at 10k pace, 1 minute at 5k pace and 1 minute jog recovery before going into the next 6 minutes. So, running continuously, at different speeds, for 36 minutes, with no stop recoveries. We did something similar in the last two sessions but on this occasion it felt more manageable. The changes of pace were governed by whistle and on this occasion there were two whistles blown by two coaches running at different speeds. I was able to I hear it despite being well behind the fastest runners and therefore felt part of the group.

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Alive and Running March 15 2015

WP_20150313_005 The gilded youth of Cambridge University last week. Friday, last day of term. Several hundred students generated a lot of fun by throwing large amounts of powder paint at each other. I was prowling the mean streets of Cambridge intent on compiling an extensive and meaningful portfolio of top quality images but I fell at the first hurdle. I forgot to put the SD card back into the camera so the number of pictures taken was zero. The card on my mobile was also full and I could only delete a few pics to enable me to take a few more. These students asked me to take a few shots of them with their own mobile and I took this one with mine.

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Using my over developed skill in assessing the size of parkrun attendees, I guessed there were at least 400 students having a great laugh but cruelly caning their lungs by inhaling all the colours of the rainbow.

I saw many wondrous sites in Cambridge. Parents smoking in front of their young children, three men smoking a joint walking down the street, two lads acting stupidly, showing off and being intimidating, people queuing up to get into a Jamie Oliver restaurant, a unicorn being ridden by a Norse god, a shaman reversing the flow of the river Cam. I had a little chat with an immaculately dressed  Trinity College porter in the Trinity grounds and walked around Peterhouse. I can confirm the buildings and accommodation were not of the affordable, social housing type.

Parkrun on Saturday went surprisingly well and I did my best time this year. Somehow I beat both of my ex running rivals (well, this is explicable. Neither were running so that’s a win in my book) Several people greeted me by name as they cruised past me, provoking mild existential angst or something like that. Still, it was a good run, due in part to a much firmer course. The Cambridge country park is prone to very muddy paths and giant puddles when there’s been rain but the conditions currently are

much drier. I felt like I was tip toeing over the course rather than negotiating a swamp. No time for coffee after, though. We took our chariot down to East Londinium and met up with my sister in law for her birthday celebration. And very nice,too.

Running with the club has been more demanding recently. A new coach has a new approach and the training is harder. Hitherto, the training has managed to meet the needs of both the fastest and slowest road runners but the pendulum seems to be swinging in favour of youth and speed. I had a chat with the coach afterwards and found her to be constructive and wanting feedback. I think she’s still finding her feet and, at the same time, wanting to bring in new ideas and different training regimes. All completely understandable and I hope I can still be a part of it.

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Alive and Running March 4 2015

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This is my kind of beard (or is it a value added moustache?). In fact I’m Day 2 into my copycat attempt. Currently, I have a white stubble beard (think Clint Eastwood in the the Dollar films) but what’s unusual about that? Nothing! I’m sure a beard/moustache like this would put me on the first rung of eccentricity and, boy, do I want to climb that ladder. The next step would be to order a bespoke black velvet cloak with red silk lining and then a sword stick (to ostentatiously open letters not puncture people). I could go on but the world is not ready for some of my ideas.

I’m not sure it would enhance my running performance although I’m prepared to take that risk. Yesterday, at the club run we did 5.30 minutes x 6 with 30 second jog recoveries. I recover quickly but I much prefer to stop moving rather than slow jog. The off track group during the dark winter nights tends to be be on the fast side and at the moment I’m the slowest. But this doesn’t really matter since we run a loop and are governed by a whistle to mark the beginning and end of the speeds. It’s only a little disconcerting when I’m overtaken by a considerably faster runner. I’ve tried to explain that it’s bad form to pass someone who’s older than themselves but so far my argument has fallen on deaf ears. The young, eh, you can’t tell them anything.

Just a few days before the Cambridge half on Sunday. I’ll do Cambridge parkrun the day before as a little warm up. I’m looking forward to the half. All the children bar one are doing it and I’m sure the non participant will see the running light eventually. The weather will be warm which will suit me so hopefully I’ll be firing on all cylinders.

Therapeutic gardening project continues to progress. I met with Cambridge MIND managers to explain the project and attended a parish council meeting where they approved the application for a couple of polytunnels and a large shed. South Cambs council planning dept. have the final say but I don’t anticipate any problems.