September 24, 2015 by oscardiamond

Books, bookshops, a polytunnel, running, Tories scupper Humanity, an old door.

The Oxfam bookshop in Durham, where we stayed, and a short train journey from Newcastle and the Great North Run. Second hand books on three floors. Lovely shop, huge selection of books but substantially more expensive than any other comparable shop.

Oohh… look! A load of orange Penguins and old Pelicans.

I toyed with the idea of hiding in the shop overnight but decided against it. The sheer volume of all these pre-loved books weighed heavily upon me. I didn’t want to risk overdosing on the written word.

Back to the running world. I’m doing a half marathon on the Wimpole Estate in 8 days and only started training for it 5 days ago. In those 5 days I’ve done two 10 mile runs without any problem and I’ll probably do another 10 or 11 mile run and a parkrun before the half. This should be adequate for me to get around the course without the pressure of going all out. It’s nicely undulating and mainly trail. The last time I ran it (2013) I came in at 1 hour 55 minutes. I anticipate 2 minutes longer this time.

I often run along the river Cam, which, depending on the time of the season, is littered with anglers. As a rule, they never acknowledge anyone passing and continue to stare vacantly into the water in the forlorn hope of catching a luckless fish. They are invariably alone and occasionally smoking. All appear to have a sense of humour bypass otherwise they would be continually laughing at the notion that fishing is a sport. Anyway, for the first time in 16 years of running by the river, one of the fishing people actually turned around, smiled and said hello. And then, to add to the sense of unreality, he made a comment expressing surprise that a group of young lads who just passed us were not in school. I responded in kind and had to stop myself commenting that he wasn’t following accepted protocol governing angler/runner interaction. I ran on, light in heart, relishing our transgressive behaviour. If I see him again it’ll be my turn to take the initiative. I hope he hasn’t been cast out of the fishing world for unauthorised contact with a runner. Only joking (mildly).

My polytunnel is up and running! This is Guy who masterminded the construction. Green Minds, my fledgling therapeutic gardening project is progressing very, very slowly. The actual site is being developed by friend and charity trustee, Rebecca and myself but referrals to Green Minds have yet to materialise. The timescale for things to happen is a lot longer than I had anticipated. It will happen, I’m sure, and I’m very grateful for generous financial and plant donations from friends Elaine and Robert.

This Guardian piece on the “downfall” of Cambridge’s Addenbrookes hospital is worth reading for its perspective on so called “failing” hospitals.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/sep/22/cqc-jeremy-hunt-nhs-hit-squad-addenbrookes-hospital

Strangely enough, here’s another Guardian article, this time on the baleful nature of drug pricing. Beyond dismal. Sort it out Jeremy!http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/sep/23/uk-cancer-patients-being-denied-drugs-due-to-inflated-prices-say-expertsents-being-denied-drugs-due-to-inflated-prices-say-experts

Finally, here’s a lovely old door, currently attached to Durham Cathedral. What’s behind it, God only knows!

July 29, 2015 by oscardiamond

Running, punting, yakking, gasping, digging, reading, gardening and other -ings

Ms Alive and Running and I ran Gorleston parkrun, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk recently. It was a fine, warm, sunny day and the course comprised of two simple laps of a lower and upper sea promenade with only one steep zig zag path connecting the two levels ie we only had to ascend it once because we started at the top and finished at the bottom.

We stayed in this little hobbit house overlooking the sand dunes in Winterton -on-Sea. I went for a lovely run to an adjacent seaside town by way of the dunes. I struggle to make an appropriate comparison but suffice it to say that one was a WI stronghold and the other a magnet for fast food and candy floss lovers. The latter was undeniably colourful in every sense and I found my senses being overwhelmed. Winterton, I suspect, is a Tory and UKIP kind of place but I might have found evidence to the contrary when I fell into conversation with Peter Chapman who was painting images onto his camper van. It transpired he is the uncle of the Chapman Brothers, Jake and Dinos, nationally and internationally known visual artists with a controversial portfolio. He is also an artist and sculptor and gave me a tour of his studio and garden.This was very generous of him. I can confirm that he is not exactly a typical resident of Winterton.

Thanks, Peter!

Back to Cambridge. I like to watch and take pics of the punts, particularly from Garret Hostel Bridge or King’s College Bridge. Today I went to Queens’ College and went onto the Mathematical Bridge.

My Druid book finally arrived, by Amazon (non-drone) rather than Guardian bookshop who said it was out of print. Naughty Guardian bookshop! My spiritual and magical renaissance is still on hold because I’m reading Gut : the Inside Story of our Body’s Most Under-Rated Organ. Very readable, very interesting, a complete education in intestinal health, ill health and poo related facts. Warning : sitting on a Western style toilet seat is not good for gut health. Squatting is much better.

Lastly, I’ve been doing plenty of digging and planting donated plants. My therapeutic gardening project continues to progress at a glacial pace for various reasons but is set to take a leap forward when I cover the constructed skeleton of the polytunnel with its plastic cover in the next fortnight. I’ve visited another gardening project, Gardening with Grace, in Bedford and they’ve visited me. It’s been very helpful and given me a different perspective on how to go about what I want to achieve.

April 11, 2015 by oscardiamond

Alive and Running April 11 2015

And 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.

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?

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!

March 4, 2015 by oscardiamond

Alive and Running March 4 2015

Photo from the Guardian website : Sipa USA/Rex

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.

February 5, 2015 by oscardiamond

Aliveandrunning February 5 2015

Another light snow covering in my village this morning. We weren’t cut off from the rest of the country but someone could have suffered a seriously wet bottom had they sat on this bench.

I considered going for a run this afternoon but decided against it. I did, however, go for a 9.2 mile run yesterday and it went well. Might do a short 2 miles tomorrow and then we’ll do Wimpole Estate parkrun on Saturday. Didn’t see many people out and about for the 9 miler. It was cold and overcast but no more than typical British weather for this time of the year.

My therapeutic gardening project is gathering momentum at last. I’ve completed the online planning application and I’m sending off the paper application forms for a charitable bank account tomorrow. The constitution is in place and I’m now thinking about funding, insurance and physically getting one of the donated polytunnels to the field. I’ve had the offer of another very generous donation from the same household as my first generous donation. So things seem to be moving on nicely.

This heron was a bit fed up when I jogged past him. He was waiting for a lift in the station carpark but no-one had turned up. At least I think he’s a heron.

January 19, 2015 by oscardiamond

Aliveandrunning January 19 2015 Janathon Day 19

Yesterday’s run into Cambridge from my village demonstrated the lack of priority walkers, runners and cyclists have in the minds of planning authorities. To get to the main road into Cambridge, you have to take a long detour through another larger village. Additionally, the Park and Ride site is not accessible by foot unless you approach it by a long route through the aforementioned “larger” village. Large and sinister, some might say. And complacent with their ample stock of paths and pavements.

Went for a 2 mile run in the dark, at 5 pm, and got back to serve our evening meal. It was cold and I didn’t meet anyone. All the runners were probably poodling around a larger, sinister, complacent and ostentatious village.

What’s happening with my therapeutic gardening project? I’ve completed the planning request application forms and asked my named planning officer (who visited the site) to look over it prior to being submitted.

Picture : Jerwood Library, Trinity Hall, by the side of the Cam in Cambridge.

January 13, 2015 by oscardiamond

Aliveandrunning January 13 2015 Janathon Day 13

Out with Cambridge and Coleridge running club tonight. 6 x 3 minutes at threshold pace with 3 minute recoveries. With warm up jogs and running to the site, probably about 3.5 – 4 miles in all. Not the longest of distances but good fast running. Quite a big crowd of us, charging along the pavements but it seemed to work. Perhaps I’ll run 7-8 miles tomorrow, perhaps I won’t. I do need to run longer distances now and not leave it until the end of Janathon. Nearly half way through! I don’t feel tired and I’m getting good sleep. So longer distances beckon.

My friend John drew up some plans to submit to the planning authority regarding the setting up of my therapeutic gardening project. Unfortunately I need planning permission to site two polytunnels and a shed in a general amenity field even though they are temporary structures that don’t require foundations or electricity or plumbing. This means a lot of extra effort and planning fees yet to be determined. Hopefully, I’m in credit with accrued karma ( I’ve tried to think more benevolently about tabloid readers. I failed but I did try) and they will pass the plans enthusiastically. The universe gives you what you want, so I’ve been told.

January 11, 2015 by oscardiamond

Aliveandrunning January 11 2015 Janathon Day 11

What’s happening with the therapeutic gardening project? Well, it’s slowly moving forward. My chum Guy who works for a large seed company is fairly certain I will be able to have this polytunnel, and possibly a new covering, and additionally there is a much larger version which he owns and could donate directly. I am required to apply for planning permission for these tunnels plus a 15 x 10 foot shed which will need funding. I’m currently finishing the application on line. I’ll finish the charity’s constitution this week and approach the Co-op bank to open an account.

The polytunnels are no longer used and have fallen into disrepair but with a good clean, a new site on a field and a new skin of polythene, everything will be A1 at Lloyds.There may be an issue with the larger tunnel. If there is an objection because of the size, the small one will do initially while the project establishes itself.

I don’t seem to be able to run during daylight at the moment. Yet again it was relegated to after I had eaten a large meal and as a result the first mile was not very comfortable. Running on a relatively full stomach is daft. Running in the dark is enjoyable particularly when its cold enough to wear my new hi viz cycling jacket. I don’t feel chilled as soon as I leave the house and I don’t overheat in it.

November 27, 2014 by oscardiamond

Aliveandrunning November 27 2014

It was Dr Johnson, who, in the 18th century, said “He who is tired of Brussels sprouts is tired of life.” Humphrey Bogart made a reference to sprouts in the film Casablanca and Pope Francis recently gave them a mention in a private audience with the mercenary Tony Blair (along the lines of being able to accommodate celibacy but not contemplate a world without Brussels sprouts). The message is clear. Take these delightful green orbs seriously and they will repay you endlessly. Somewhere, under the salad, flat bread, olives, raw onion, broccoli and a mound of Brussels, lay pasta and turkey bolognese. I am now being repaid endlessly.

Not a lot happening on the running front. I last went out on the weekend when I did Cambridge parkrun (5k). I missed club night on Tuesday due to family commitments but I didn’t go out yesterday despite the opportunity to do so. It’s taken me a month to get over my cold and I’ve lost motivation. Oh dear! I’ll do Cambridge or Wimpole Estate parkrun next weekend and then try to get back into the running groove. The bloody miserable weather doesn’t help. I may get a SAD light and sit in front of it looking at my watch and waiting for it to cheer me up.

Not running is not a problem. My motivation will return and I’ll return to form. My level of fitness is good and won’t disappear overnight. Unless I am completely seduced by MYCOLOGY!!! Following the fungi foray I went on a few weeks ago, I am now seeing the little blighters everywhere.

For example , I noticed these little chaps as I was about to get into the car. I had to prostrate myself on the grass to take this shot. It wasn’t a pretty sight, it wasn’t dignified but it had to be done. Not sure what they are. Might be a Shaggy Inkcap (or Lawyer’s Wig).

I noticed this little group because they were giggling as I passed by walking Rupert the dalmatian. Probably from the Mycena family. I don’t know which one. See what I mean? With all this focus on fungi, it’s a distraction from running. Perhaps I’ll never get back in the running groove. They’ll whisper as I pass by “He used to be a running god. Now he’s Mushroom Man”. At the very least I’ll be regarded as a fun guy (geddit?).

Before privatisation, when large swathes of industry and utilities were publicly owned, the trades unions were demonised and the nationalised industries were felt to be soft, unproductive and a bottomless pit into which huge amounts of tax payers’s was thrown. Now the unions are neutered, the companies are privatised and the nasty poor are a terrible drain on our welfare system (funded by hard working taxpayers). But there is very little focus on the extensive tax breaks, incentives, subsidies and tax avoidance methods currently in situ for privatised, (previously nationalised)industries and their shareholders(funded directly out of the public purse).

The Tories and their media may bleat about Labour provoking a class war when they questioned the charitable status of privately run schools but clearly their tax concessions amount to a subsidy (or state handout) to a particular class of people. You know where you are with the Tories – well educated, cruelly self centred and very adept at scapegoating the most vulnerable in society. Tories too soft? Vote UKIP, the BNP Lite party.

Gardening project update : no planning permission needed apparently although a polytunnel and a new shed are essential and these will need permission so I’m a bit confused. Awaiting clarification. Good news is that I will get a donated polytunnel and will be able to choose the size.

November 16, 2014 by oscardiamond

Aliveandrunning November 16 2014

I should have been running the St.Neots half marathon today but my lingering, three week old cold and no training scuppered it. I did do Cambridge parkrun yesterday, and last week, plus I ran a 10k race two weeks ago but these were more than manageable given my level of running fitness. I haven’t been out with the club for three weeks and there have been no training runs. So a bit of running but not much. Before my heart attack five years ago, I definitely would have run the half marathon today despite the cold and insufficient raining. In fact, I wouldn’t have given it much thought. Now, I give it a lot of thought. It’s great to be running at the same level as before the heart attack (despite the baleful effects the bloody cardiac medication has on my running). I describe it as baleful only in the sense that it restricts my speed and effort. I have to accept that overall it probably has a positive effect on my heart health (see how I have to qualify the (possible) benefit I am receiving?. Am I not incorrigible in this respect? Do I not have a shipping container stuffed full of caveats?) Recent research suggests that placebos have a very good health benefit (among many others, see Mind Over Medicine:Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself by Lissa Rankin). I’m rehearsing a conversation with my GP.

Me:Pretty please, Doc, take me off my heart medication and prescribe placebos instead!

GP: I fail to see the rationale behind this idiotic request.

Me: The current prescription is slowing down my running which won’t be the case with placebos.

GP: You want me to take you off meds which strengthen and regulate your heart so you can run faster?

Me: You’ve got it Doc! Current research points to a measurable benefit in a given condition even if the person is fully aware that they are taking an inert placebo. I believe a placebo would be very good for my heart health. You gotta believe as well, Doc. Together we can do it. I’ll keep you fully informed of my parkrun times.

GP: Request denied with knobs on. Next patient, please!

Note to family : only joking!

I’ll go for a leisurely, longer run this afternoon. It’s chilly but not cold, will probably be raining, will definitely be dank, dark and overcast but I’ll just take it on the chin.

I wore trail shoes for yesterday’s parkrun. Unlike last week when a number of people fell and injuries included a broken ankle, I didn’t hear of anyone coming to grief. I wasn’t far off my old times so I mustn’t complain. I was thinking about placebos as I went around. See how beneficial they can be!

I picked up the above books in the Emmaus (homeless charity) store which, conveniently, is less than a mile from me. The Rare Words book is good to dip in to, if you like words. It means you are a logophile (not a lover of wood fires). Not much, if anything, on etymology, though. Of course, If you are a Sun, Star or Mirror reader I don’t think you need a vocabulary greater than 500 words so don’t bother (gratuitous insult of the day).

Grumpiness! Very much under rated, very much maligned. Far better to call it discernment or sagaciousness. It should be recognised as an art form and as an academic subject. Should this be offered, one might be able to do a Phd in Grumpiness. It would certainly appeal to people over a certain age.

This ailing walnut tree continues to fascinate me. Despite its appearance, it soldiers on and had a good canopy of leaves this year.

I listened to the excellent The Life Scientific (BBC Radio 4 this week , available as a podcast on iTunes) and heard Professor Dave Goulson talk about preserving bumble bees in the UK. He set up the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and has done a lot of work on the reasons for the decline in bee populations. Very interesting and positive. I think one of the focuses of my therapeutic gardening project will be on creating a bee, butterfly and bird friendly environment. Must pull my finger out!

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