I Should be So Plucky!

Another festive merriment has been the dreaded school music concert. Music is not a big part of our family. Anyone who has seen my Last FM or Spotify playlists will know my tastes are not very helpful in encouraging my kids to be high achievers in music. That said, Isabelle is doing very well on the keyboard. I have no idea what grade she's at but she played Rod Stuart's 'I am Sailing' the other night, which gets the thumbs up from me! Stuart is also following a musical interest. The violin. It was this devils instrument (not a bad as the recorder or bagpipes) that brought us to his concert. He only knows 3 notes, and he plucks them! So we had to sit through a 2 hour concert to hear his plucking. It was accompanying other violins so it was okay in the end. And actually the concert showcased some reasonable musical ability. The last one we went to when Isabelle was in the choir, forced us to listed to brass and cello's that I would imagine echo's the sound of birthing whales.

The next night was Andrew's school disco. Poor lad had to suffer the same fate as his sister....his dad turning up at the disco. To be fair I was there in a professional capacity, but Andrew made me drop him off and come in at a different time to him. As I am increasingly finding, I knew very few of the popular music they played on the ghetto blaster, so I saved him the embarrassment of dad dancing.



Photo: The plucky young plucker

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The title of this post is not only a great Andy Williams song, it is mostly true or has been for the most part of recent weeks.
I was eventually conned into heading into Edinburgh city centre last Saturday to do the Christmas shopping. We drove in early and were parked up in John Lewis' by 8.50am and had an hour or so of easy going shopping in a half empty shopping centre. After that it was too much for my liking so I took Stuart off to the ice rink in Edinburgh's winter wonderland as I was getting in the way of the spending spree of Isabelle, Andrew and Emma. Stuart has never been ice skating, and being the 3rd child I realised he has probably missed out on a few things like that because the novelty of taking your kids to things has worn off by the time you get to the 3rd. So I gave him my whole hearted attention and hit the ice with him. I discovered Winter Wonderland is actually a hiding place for Aussies, Kiwi's and Poles. Not one of the people I was served by was Scottish. Even the street entertainer was from Brisbane. Still he was very good and much more fun than shopping. We were back in Dunbar by 1.30pm, leaving time to put more decorations up outside. The garage now has a strip of blue lights on it, and looks like a giant sunbed.

Saturday evening was also good. We had arranged with the local caravan park and churches to do a bit of carol singing at their Christmas meal. This all took place in their social club, which was not to unlike Phoenix Nights. There was a DJ booth and bingo machine on the stage and a resident MC fully equipped with 1970's sideburns. On arrival I was shown to the 'artistes dressing room' but moved quickly out of there as there was no way 20 of would fit. We handed out song sheets and we had a good sing a long. I narrowly avoided introducing 'While Shepherds Wash Their Socks By Night'. It almost rolled off my tongue. Anyway, it all went well and we even had drink on the house. Nice touch from the caravan boss, hopefully we will be back next year.



Photo: Stuart takes to the ice like a duck to water
Photo: 'O Come All Ye Faithful' Carolling at the caravan club.

Snow Falls

I was away for a few days last week for Scripture Union Scotland's staff conference over at Lendrick Muir near Kinross. It was a good mix of teaching, strategy thinking, meeting people and grazing on endless supplies of tray bake! The down side of these events is that you can get a bit stir crazy cooped up indoors all day, so I took my running gear to allow a bit of exercise to counteract the perils of tray bake overdosing. Tuesday night brought in the first snow of the winter, which meant a pre breakfast hill run was a must. The village of Muckhart has a nice big hill so I went up that one. Despite it being dark the snow was pretty bright and I got some good views of Grangemouth, Kinross and the Forth from the top. Coming down was fun, my size 12's are nearly as long as a pair of skis so I did a bit of slalom trying to avoid the gauze bushes. Needless to say I eventually crashed and burnt in a Eddie the Eagle style.

Photos: I took these slow exposures of me in my high viz top running in the snow.

Advent

Can you believe it is already advent. In telly talk that is the season to announce the Christmas TV schedules, for shoppers it is the 4th wave of Christmas offers (the first starting in September) and for the church it is advent, marking the lead up to the birth of Christ and with plenty of emphasis of light coming into our darkened world and lots of candles being lit. The Dunbar illuminations were switched on tonight and I felt sorry for the new priest in charge of the Episcopal church who was asked to deliver a short message to the crowds who were not listening. All they wanted was lights and Gladys Chucklebutty the kids entertainer. She talked about light (the priest not Gladys) and did well to persevere. 'What is she on about?" was the conversation between 2 slightly irate women stood sheltering in a doorway by me, hiding from the strong winds and rain. It beggars belief that people don't know and that they find reminders so annoying.

Last Sunday I joined a load of other volunteers to put up the Christmas lights. It is one of those community activities that I have come to enjoy in a town where people pull together. There was a sense of pride in seeing the nativity scene and the 2 Santa heads all lighting up tonight as they were the ones I worked on. I also got a picture of it and managed for the second year in a row to get it on the BBC news page (see screen grab photo). The best bit part of helping out is free rolls at the Central Cafe. I was settling for 2 but the Lifeboat crew who were also helping forced me to eat another black pudding roll.

So Christmas is very near and so I can get my money's worth out of them I will probably stick up my own lights this week and turn our nice street all tacky and glittery. Nice of the BBC to mark advent with the Christmas special of the Royale Family. I think I will watch that tomorrow and see what the kids think about that humour.

Photos: The 2 Santa heads outside Peter Whitecroft's the family butchers.

Oink Oink

Got my Swine Flu jag done today, along with my seasonal flu jag. My asthma has been pretty bad since the marathon and this last week I have been wheezing badly at night. As I had my annual asthma review check up anyway I used the opportunity to guard myself against any deathly diseases this winter and keep me alive. Sore arms are so far the only side effect.

Dounans

Photo: Not only is Isla a great youth worker, she is a DJ too and plays John Denver's "Take me home" to clear the dance floor at the end of the night and gives everyone a lime Twister ice lolly. How kind!

Photo: P7 Campers ready to go home

Just a note of a few other things that have been and gone but worth a mention. Here's the first.

Primary 7 Camp took place straight after the marathon. This was my 5th visit to the Dounans Centre in Aberfoyle, and this time with 146 kids. The camp brings together all the primary 7's (that is kids in their last year of primary school) from the local schools so they get to know each other in preparation for going to secondary school in August. It is a great idea and as some of the schools are in hill billy country and quite isolated, this is really good for them. Every year I have been to Dounans there has been a change of staff, except who Isla started the same year as me. She is by far one of the most gifted youth workers I have worked with and is able to get the most out of the hardest, most horrible or damaged kids. Pity she isn't working for the church! Being a charity it struggles to employ people on long term contracts so people come and go, but I am glad to discover she has a permanent contract now. Anyway, Andrew was there with all his mates so I had a ball seeing them doing all the activities. I had a go of the crate climb, which is stacking up Irn Bru crates as high as you can, and standing on top of them. I only managed 12. As always there was a meal every 3 and half hours. I managed to put back on 3 of the 6 lbs I lost in marathon training with a full English every day and more. The other great thing about Dounans this time of year is the colours. An early morning walk up to the David Marshal Lodge in Aberfolye is well worth it to see the mist rise above the autumn coloured trees. Priceless and worth the trudge up a hill.

Saturdays should always be like this

Photo: Some people unsuccessfully trying to surf at Belhaven



Photo: Running in the Lammermuirs, with that beautiful wind farm behind me.

It's Saturday and for the first time ever this year we had nothing to go to, nothing organised and so the day was all ours. First things first...get a lie in bed. Then one or two chores I have been putting off, like hanging out the washing, dismantling Isabelle's old bed. What a great autumn day, sun shining and not a bit of wind. We headed down to Belhaven Bay via the John Muir Country Park. There was a great swell in the sea so it was really good surfing waves, and loads of people were trying to do just that. I reckon at least 40 people, highlighting the growing craze it is. Most of them were unable to stand up and surf, so it was more the sport of getting wet and falling over, but still entertaining to watch. I had a quick wander up the beach to see if any of the migrating terns were still around. They usually screech at us and swoop at the dog, but there was no sign of them so they must have gone.
The next treat was enjoying a feast of pies. My post marathon diet is whatever I want it to be. I've been off the pies for a while now, partly because of my strict athletic training regime...but mainly because the pie shop had shut down. Now a new one has opened I tried a couple of their wares out...with beans! Then we watched Rocky IV with the lads. I like it when they choose to watch my kind of films, and they weren't disappointed with this no brainer. Emma decided to go and watch the women's hockey,and the kids went out playing in the street or something like that. I decided to go for a run up in the hills. It was too nice a day to stay in, so I headed high for some rays and a run. From Halls I headed up to the tops over moorland, distrubing a few grouse on the way. Black ones too. The landscape is dominated by the imposing sight of the wind turbines. Loads of them are scarring the landscape of the Lammermuir Hills, but I felt drwan to have a closer look. This area is Emma's dads old farm, Aikengall. Strange to see it so different. I then ran through marshes and heather to Pressmenan Woods near Stenton. It was a good run as it was lots of up and down steep hills (good practice for the cross country races). Eventually I headed back to Halls and enjoyed the rest of the sun. One of the things I love about runs around Dunbar is that we often see deer. Whilst they are very common, it is always good to see them. Because I was in such a remote bit today I caught them out and actually found myself running alongside them at times. Loads of buzzards out too, so a good run.
The evening is now being rounded off with curry, beer, Yorkie Cookies and Sensations. Rocky III and later Rocky V, but the real no brainer of X Factor is on now, which is why I am doing this.

Tomorrow this life of Riley continues with maybe a run first thing, followed by Andrew's footy match (an opportunity to shout out Rocky motivational phrases). Then the big game. Dunbar vs Glasgow Rangers. Yes you heard right, Rangers! They are playing Dunbar for a charity match and whilst they are not going to play their first team, a couple of first team players are expected to make an appearance. Andrew is ball boying, and I am going to join the near 1000 people heading to the New Countess ground (I nearly said stadium but that was getting carried away). To round off the weekend, I have the joy of knowing it is half term, so the holiday continues.

The Loch Ness Marathon 2009: A Runners Report

My approach to marathon running is that training for it should not be allowed to eat into my life too much, and that if I was going to do one, it had to be in a good time. Of course to get a good time means putting in more effort, which could use up time I would rather spend with family, watching telly or lying in bed. However, my casual running had been improving with minimal effort, so I decided that with a bit more commitment I could probably achieve a reasonable time for a marathon, and I was looking for a new running challenge to keep me focused. As the Loch Ness Marathon is so well organised and is a long run I would like to do anyway, I decided to go for it.

Training: I looked around for a suitable training programme. They all promise the earth but not all fitted around my life. I opted for Hal Higson’s Intermediate 2 programme. It’s not based on achieving a particular time, but challenges you to push a bit further. It also fitted in well with my life. It was the first time I had followed a guide, and it was very helpful in keeping me going. It involved a long un on Sunday and 2 medium sized ones, plus 2 rest days. Not too time consuming.

Diet: Until the last 2-3 weeks I didn’t really have much of one. Then it was lots of pasta, rice, potatoes and water. I cut the coffee and had less wine, ate loads and loads of everything. The training was burning off my weight, despite eating a lot of food. I think I lost around 5-6 llbs in the final stage of training. Not a pretty sight, given how light weight I was already.

The Baxters Loch Ness Marathon registration was fairly straight forward but lacked a good expo. Hardly anything on offer, and lets face it we have come to expect a goody bag or free t-shirt and pen. All that was on offer was some over priced running gear that desperate runners were snapping up in the belief it might make them run faster. I am sure it does, but at those prices I would hope so. Later we went to the pasta party for pasta and baked potatoes, and a chance to mill around all the other runners.

Race day arrived and as the race is a point-to-point race, we all needed transporting to the start near Fort Augustus by bus. This is included in the price. We boarded our bus at 7.30 am, but unfortunately there was over an hour wait before it left, as not enough buses had turned up for the 3000 runners. Eventually people were crammed on buses, standing for the 50minute journey through winding roads of stunning Highland scenery. The conversations are all about running, and I did my best to get into a zone. It was not the best lead up to a race.

Eventually the buses arrive in the middle of who knows where? There is a party atmosphere as runners realise they have made it to the start and there are enough portaloos to cope with the thousands of people who were by now desperate for a pee. Tea, coffee and water were also being served and a running commentary and music calmed everyone down. There are loads of baggage buses too so no worries about bringing loads of kit for the end of the race.

The starting area had the usual signs for your predicted time, but it seemed like almost everyone was stood behind the 3 hour mark, and only a few in the 100 meters of space leading up to the start line. I decided to go forward amongst the faster runners. Then a pipe band marches through the runners, adding a special moment to the event, and then the hooter blows and the race starts.

Miles 1-5: This early stretch of the race is overall downhill. But don’t let that trick you into thinking it is easy going. It is undulating and winding. I went off with Ian & Stuart from the club. 2 experienced marathon runners who were going slower than the 3 hour pace I had on my pace band. “Maybe they were having an off day?” I thought, and foolishly crept ahead. I also broke my own rules and went faster than my band pace which would later cost me dearly.

Miles 6-16: This next stretch of the course is mainly flat, with a few climbs and drops here and there. It runs along the edge of the Loch and is overloaded with drinks stations of water and Lucozade. The great views of the Loch and the mountains are a pleasant distraction.

Mile 17-18: This is a significant part of the course because it is all uphill. At the point of a race when your legs are working hard and feeling it, a hill arrives to make them work harder. By now I was beginning to rapidly lose my speed on each mile and my pace was way off what I wanted. At 14, Ian and Stuart had passed me, which was no surprise really. My enthusiastic start was now costing me valuable minutes, not just seconds.

Mile 19-24: With the Loch now behind you, you follow the River Ness through a more residential area, which means the crowds are out to encourage you along, offering jelly babies and words of support. As you break away from the Loch, try and look back at the view. There is a photographer there so take a moment if you can to look over your shoulder at the view.

Miles 24-26.2: This is the last part of the race which I think is mentally the most challenging. You know that the stadium is just across the river from you, but the u-turn you make as you cross the bridge is a long haul. By this point I was pretty much exhausted. I was nursing cramps in my hamstrings, but knew I had to keep the legs moving. Then as you run around the stadium, there is a sharp right into it, on to grass. The turn and change of terrain gave me cramp just 100 meters away from the finish. I managed to get it together enough to run in to the cheering crowds at a 3 hour 13 time. It was way off my planned time and I felt a little bit annoyed with myself for not sticking to my original race plan. I think if I had gone at a 3:10 pace, I would have actually finished quicker. Never mind, lesson learnt. I also think that the cold I had picked up the previous weekend was still creating some difficulties as some fairly chunky stuff was getting coughed up as I ran.

Post Race: Straight after finishing I went and had a massage. This was very good and made me appreciate how much of a hammering a marathon gives your body. Make sure you take a tenner for the cost of it. I had more Lucozade and water, plus a meal (complementary for all runners). Things were sore but I was coping. It was around 3 hours later that I was suddenly hit by a fever, yet felt really cold and shivery. I could hardly move, but once I ate a sausage supper and had some painkillers I felt better again. I’d be interested in hearing what caused that. Was it the cold or a virus being made more acute by fatigue? I don’t know, but it was pretty horrible and completely floored me for a couple of hours.

Well that’s about it. If you are thinking of doing a marathon, then this is one I recommend. It is an event where runners are looked after and where for the cost of entering, you get good value and a slightly different experience than some city races. Plus a t-shirt and a goody bag full of useful stuff rather than the litter of promotional fliers many races stuff in them. Make a weekend of it though and see the sites, and enjoy the place.

The Loch Ness Marathon 2009

Thank goodness that’s over. After weeks of training, watching what I eat and increasingly being pre occupied by it, I have finally completed my first marathon.

Having dumped the kids with Emma’s mum for the weekend we set off for Inverness on the early morning train, making use of the crazy pricing of train fares. £6 to travel less than 30 miles to Edinburgh, £10 to travel from there, hundreds of mile to Inverness on one of the more picturesque train journeys you can get in the UK. We were kept entertained by the loo. Somehow people couldn’t work out how to lock it, so it was good fun watching people open the door and discovering someone sat helpless on the loo. I opened it and a Chinese man was sat on it.

On arrival we booked into our hotel. Located near the docks I was worried that it might be the work premises of those ladies who are involved in one of the oldest professions! Fortunately it was clean and there was little sign of nervous looking gentlemen booking in under false names.

Then it was time to register at the Festival of Running. As these expo’s go it was pretty rubbish. No free T-shirts, pens or anything else for that matter. Just over priced running gear and a few charity stalls. We met Emma’s cousin Rhona and the crew for the pasta party where we ‘carbed up’ for the next day. Rhona was going to be my nearest rival, as we frequently have come close in recent races, and this was going to be both our first marathons.

Race day arrived and we joined 3000 other nervous runners at 7.30 am to board the buses for the long journey to the start near Fort Augustus. We sat on the bus and waited...and waited and waited. After an hour I decided to nip into the bushes for a pee. Would you believe it, mid flow the buses started up and started moving. It was an extreme version of the scenario ‘you wait for a bus for ages and then 3 come at once’. The difference being 25 buses left at once! With a few dribbles on my trainers I got back on. You can imagine the excitement on the bus. I began to appreciate how big an event this was. Apparently the Loch Ness Marathon was voted one of the top10 to run in the world, which explained the number of non Scottish people around me. An American, a French bloke, some Germans and some weird sounding folk from Blackburn, Lancashire! It was an impressive, if not surreal sight to see a convoy of all these buses travelling through the winding roads of the highlands, through some breathtaking scenery. Then you arrive in the middle of nowhere and join the queue for the portaloos. I disobeyed the rule of not peeing in the bushes, and paid for it by standing in a marsh and soaking my trainers. Not a good start. Then a pipe band marches through to the start, and the horn blows and we were off!

(At this point I will do a separate report on the race itself for the benefit of any marathon runners looking for snippets of info on the course and event. See The Loch Ness Marathon: Runners Report)

Here is an abridged version of it. Basically I had 2 minds about what pace to go at. Having had a bad cold the week before I was doubtful of getting near to 3 hours and thought maybe 3: 10. But I started to run with Ian & Stuart (2 very experienced marathon runners from Dunbar). After 4 or 5 miles I realised I was going at the 3 hour pace and they were beginning to slow a little, so I pushed ahead. I kept that pace, but then they both passed me at around 14 miles, and soon after I paid the price for a hasty start. My splits were getting worse and worse and by 18 miles I was not enjoying myself. I got stuck in a mental rut of negativity, feeling the pain and struggling. At 24.5 miles the final blow came of Rhona passing me as I was pulled up stretching with cramp. From thereon it was just a case of trying to keep the legs moving and finish. The last mile is mentally very tough. It skirts around the Queen Park stadium, before a sharp right into it. Here with less than 100 meters to go, I got severe cramp and had to stop again, before restoring my dignity and finally finishing with a time of 3 hours and 13 minutes.

I was initially disappointed with my time. I had hoped for better but I think the lack of experience showed. I actually think I would have been quicker and feeling fitter if I had set myself a 3:10 pace. However, the results put me in 127th place, which might give me a best of age position for London. So on reflection for a first marathon it wasn’t too bad. Emma did very well. Nursing an ankle injury from the summer fell race, she smashed her PB by 9 minutes with a 3:47. Rhona got 3:10 and was 10th woman and 2nd in her age group, so she deservedly got a prize.

Post race I was feeling very sore, which was partly eased by a vigorous massage. But at night my body was in shock. I was burning hot with a fever, especially my legs, but shivering cold. I was wrecked! But, a mouthful of pain killers and a sausage supper from the chippy over the road made all the difference.

After a good nights sleep we made full use of the pool and Jacuzzi, and got every penny’s worth of the hotel breakfast. 3 visits to the food bar replenished all the lost energy from the marathon. Back on the train, the scenery was even better as snow had fallen in the Cairngorms. A great way to round of the weekend. Will I do it again? Maybe...or maybe a different one.

Lurgy

The marathon training has been set back just at it's most important time. Somehow I have managed to pick up a cold over the weekend. So far it is only a head cold where snot drips constantly. Having read several pages of advice it seems I should be okay to run as long as it stay above the throat. No aches or pains which is a good sign too...just snot! Lots of advice also suggests going for a run ow might shift it to my chest. So I have opted to stick to doing some core work until it clears a bit. I will stay out of the way of the running club as I don't want to pass it on to the many who are doing the Loch Ness marathon or 10km. Emma however will have to suffer and hope her immune system is less lightweight than mine.

Hawick Half Marathon 2009

As part of my Loch Ness Marathon training I headed over to the Borders town of Hawick for their half marathon. This was an alternative to doing yet another tedious long run, and an opportunity to 'open my legs' a little bit. It was a really small but well organised event, with around 60 runners involved. It is a hilly course, and I read somewhere that you climb a total of almost 2000ft. The hills didn't really hit me that hard as running around here is nearly always hilly, unless you take a coastal run. Hills also mean you get some good views. Hawick is that town we always rush through when we have been traveling south, so I have never really given it much of a look. Fairly early on I was out on my own, with a Perth runner a good distance away in front. He became my target from around mile 6. I did get closer and closer, but never caught him, although 20+ seconds separated us in the end. This course has a really steep drop for about a mile at 6 and half miles, but then you go up again. It is rarely flat, and there are loads of turns.

This was my first race where I went against the marshalls advice and listened to the ipod. It certainly took my mind off the discomfort of race pace, and seemed to speed me up a bit. The result was me getting a new personal best for that distance. I shattered my old one of 1:28:57 with a brand new 1:25:28! Given the hills and twists and turns, I was more than delighted with that time, and pleased to have come in 6th place. More to the point, this was my very first race in the older age category of Veteran. When you reach 40, you stop being a senior and get given the title of someone you'd expect to see in the British Legion. The day rounded off with a buffet (I'd advise against samosa's on an empty stomach unless you are planning a personal gas attack on your family), and some prizes. Rhona (Emma's cousin) got the first lady, and Stuart from the club got 2nd male. Being a small event there was no team prize, which was a shame because we had 3 runners in the top 10. So, this all bodes well for the marathon, which is just 3 weeks away!

Wet All Over

It's been a wet week here in Dunbar. Wednesday was a fine sunny day, but then it started to rain. it stopped on Friday at around 5pm. So lots of water everywhere. Most spectacular was the primary school where the playground flooded. The kids love it and many of them took a dip in the waters. I don't think they realised that the water might include the odd bog spud or two. There was even a photo of it on the national weather. I decided to go for a run because I needed to get a 10 miler in for my training programme. Emma thinks I have gone a bit OCD with it, but I don't want to take any risks and ruin my chances of finishing the marathon. Anyway, once your wet your wet, so running through puddles was a bit of fun. However, up in the hill country, a couple of the fords had burst and at one point I found myself running in water that just stopped short of my dangly bits for 1/4 of a mile. I have a lunch time group that I could not get too because all the roads were closed or gridlocked, including the A1. It's all draining away now so I'm hoping my run tomorrow that takes in the river will be above water, rather than under it.

Another weekend gone

Where did it all go? Whilst England enjoys the last few days of the school holidays and their own bank holiday weekend, Scotland is 2 weeks back into the daily grind of school and work, and the next bank holiday is not until mid September. This weekend saw the start back for most of the sports clubs, which means being a taxi for the weekend.
Saturday morning started early with Emma returning from her run trying to find the owners of one of those Lassie type dogs she'd found wandering around on the dual carriage way. The police dealt with it. Then it was a quick dash to Edinburgh to George Watsons School where kids are special (around £2900 a term sort of special) for Isabelle's game of hockey. Needless to say the Watson's lot won. The main difference between them and Dunbar was that they 1. Know the rules of hockey 2. Watson's have teachers who are sent to the tower if they don't get results, as opposed to Dunbar who don't have a teacher at all, but a team of dedicated volunteers 3. That they know how to play hockey from a young age at Watsons whereas Dunbar started it in S1 but had more games cancelled than played. These minor set backs are soon to be overcome. Emma is joining forces with some of the other mums to coach the girls and it seems that there is a bit more enthusiasm all round.
Straight from Watson's, we went to Dalkieth for an afternoon of athletics. The East Lothian competition is a good way of giving the younger kids a try at the sport, and for local experienced athletes a chance to out do each other. The problem with athletics is that your event is over and done really quickly, so it can be hours of waiting around for 20 seconds of sport. Frustrating but I am not sure how else it can be done.
Today was another early start as Andrew's football team have moved up to the higher level of the Edinburgh football league. The games were always going to be tougher so it was encouraging to see Dunbar make an early 2-0 lead over the Spartans. Sadly this changed quite a bit and by the end of the match it had been turned around to a 7-4 lose. That score line only reflected the poor performance of the last 15 minutes, so I don't think they should be too down. Andrew got man of the match for his 2 goals so it was a good trip really. Finally, I am following my marathon training to the letter, so to round off I did my 12 mile run, followed by watching the Titanic. Watching the Titanic is not part of the training, but it is Andrew's homework as they are dong a project on it. The scene where Kate Winslet gets her buoyancy aids out is obviously not suitable for a class of sniggering 11 year olds.

It's the dogs....

Took Trefor to the vets for his annual booster jag and she traumatised us all with the suggestion that we get him castrated. With a straight face, in earshot of the dog himself she said that they find 'removing their testicles reduces their sexual aggression and prevents a number of illnesses'. Now I am no dog psychologists, but I should think that removing anyones testicles is going to reduce their sexual aggression. As well meaning as she was I think he can keep them for a while longer...what else is he going to lick? And she might be well meaning, but at a price..specifically the 'prices starting at £123. I wonder if that is for the pair, or a BOGOF offer? Also does size increase the cost? For example is the 'starting from' for one of those horrible yappy things with a pair of kumquats, and does Trefor's plums cost more than that, if so I feel sorry for any Great Dane owners who might have to shell out a small fortune for the de-stoning of their avocado's.

Warning 'Wet Paint'

If only dogs could read...or have the common sense not to walk through a tray of magnolia paint. Trefor decided to assist my effort to get the house looking clean by doing just that. Fortunatley he was heading to the garden so it is only the garden path and the lawn that have lovely paw prints all over them.

Village Show

Just back from the Oldhamstocks Flower Show. This is a family favourite. The village is all but a few houses, farms and a church, but each year they put on a good flower show. I have never entered the show because I don't grow anything other than weeds. I am hoping that next year, with 'Patch's' assistance we will have some good organic produce to submit. It's all the traditional marrow, runner beans, jams, etc. I go for the race. It's supposed to be a fell run but it's always too wet for the kids so they keep it on the road on a 1.5mile (approx) course. Andrew joined me this year and with a small field entering, and more importantly none of the fast runners from the club, I was in with a chance. In fact I managed to win it, and Andrew got first in his age, so between us we took home a trophy and £35 for our efforts. Stuart was also in the money when he won £2 for the tug o war, and 56p and 2 humbugs for the game where they throw loads of sweets and loose change in the air and the kids have to grab what they can. Afterwards we spent the afternoon at friends in the village, with a few beers and a barbecue. A good day indeed.

Photo: Victory at last. In all my years of running this is my only first prize..helped by a small field of one legged runners with no sense of direction. See them in action here

Summer in Swaledale

Our summer holidays took us to York for a few days with Sarah & Rob. We managed to plunder most of the great charity shops in Acomb (forget York just head for the home of the genetically challenged just a few miles out). I also met up with Dave Tew who I have known for yonks through the Criccieth camps. He joined me for a run along the Ouse that ended up being 12 miles. It was good to catch up and run. We also saw Julie & Matt who I have not seen for 3 years or since they became parents. Good to see them too and have a quick catch up and see their boy Joshua.

Having purchased a Liddl's special offer tent, we decided to head to Swaledale in Yorkshire for a family holiday. It's not far from the army base of Catterick, so it was alarming, but exciting to find ourselves driving through a firing range and tank range. The soldiers were there firing away, fortunately not at us. Swaledale is much less a tourist trap than Wensleydale. For a start off the roads are too narrow or steep for caravans. It is very scenic with loads of stone buildings left untouched, and miles of great hills. We found Mr Rukins Farm in the village of Keld where we stayed. He was a typical ruddy faced farmer who could not understand why anyone would want to camp in the rain. There was a choice of lower, middle or upper fields. The lower one had a river by it but he warned us that by the weekend the whole world would be wanting to camp there. We opted for the middle one, and he was right, by weekend there were hundreds of people squashed in by the river. It was a good river though, with great waterfalls, a rope swing and pools to entertain the kids. Camping to me is all about doing what you want when. A fire is a must and so is wearing the same clothes all week! The farmer brought us a fire pit and wood, so that was the fire sorted. It took Isabelle and Andrew 24 hours to realise that they had to provide their own entertainment. I gave Andrew a pen knife and he was soon happy whittling bits of wood, whereas Isabelle's pyromaniac streak came out, as she took charge of the fire, burning anything she could.

The scenery was great and I got out for a good run along the Pennine Way to Muker, and back via the Corpse's Trail. There was loads of wildlife out. The lapwings were good to watch and there were some other birds I can't remember the names of so i will have to dig out my AA Bird Book. The best sight on that run was a stoat that had a rabbit under its spell. It ran off when it saw me, but the rabbit was hypnotised and stood still in a trance. On another run along the Pennine Way I headed off for a short run to who knows where? in the moors. I think I saw a pair of Peregrines and after about 4 or 5 miles I could see a building in the distance on the moors. When I reached it I discovered it was a pub...the highest in England and is called The Tan Hill Inn. Unfortunately I had no cash on me so I just had to miss the pint of Theakston's and run back. Mind, I wouldn't fancy trying to run anywhere after a pint of Theakston's!

Whilst we were at Swaledale, Stuart was on the Explorer Camp at Wensleydale so we made a couple of visits there. I gave them a hand putting up the marquee and again had time to see old friends. One surprise was Kev Church who I had not seen since he was a boy, and is now a bearded man. Talking of which, I'd forgotten my razor, so by the end of the week I was looking a bit rough with my grey whiskers. I did shower though as the camp site had the best showers ever. Will we go back? I hope so, but I think Emma is planning on going to Spain next year for a beach holiday. I have only ever done a beach holiday once before and it was boring. All there was to do was sit on the beach because it was too hot. I burnt my feet on the first day and had to wander around in my socks and sandals looking like a total geek. I'm in no rush to return....give me a field anytime!

Photo's: The campsite where we stayed in Keld
The waterfalls and river at the campsite were pretty spectacular
Looking rough after 3 days without a shave
Isabelle burning some more stuff

A Hot Half

The training for the Loch Ness Marathon is a stop start affair. It starts and then we go on holiday, or I have to work silly hours in the summer leaving no obvious block in the day to go for a long run. That's why when a local race like the Haddington Half Marathon comes up I try and get along to double up supporting local clubs with a training run for the marathon.
I had no idea how I would get on, but was hoping for around 90 minutes after last years disaster of 1:35 where I got cramp. I had a plan of running at 6.45 pace but once the gun goes off I always get sucked into a fast first few miles (6.16 for the first). It was a hot and humid day but fortunately the club had put on loads of watering stations. At around 11 miles the heat was getting pretty bad and I was feeling faint, but another watering station saved the day. I was still picking off runners but then a few others caught me in the last mile or so. I finally finished 25th with a respectable 1:29:03 but I was very hot and feeling light headed. A few of the many sarnies and biscuits put on by the club sorted that out, and I went home feeling better about the my training. I nearly cracked my PB for that distance, but then as people pointed out, it is not a PB course as there are plenty of hills, not big ones, but enough to knacker your legs out. The club won the women's team prize so it was a good day out.

Photo (nicked from S.Hay): Hot and bothered after a good run.

R.I.P Sammy or do I mean Patch

Spent the night digging a hole with the lads. You've guessed it, another pet has snuffed. This time it was the turn of Sammy the rabbit. I noticed him sneezing this afternoon and by tea time he was gasping for air. A quick look at rabbit illness on the great authority of Google and it looked like he had all the symptoms of rabbit pneumonia, with the exception of anorexia, which is one of the tell tale signs. Pause for thought there and allow that image of an annorexic rabbit sink in! Anyway he was in a bad way and I was ready to visit the vets in the morning if things didn't improve. No need to bother, as in the time it took me to make a cup of tea, Sammy had gone to that big carrot field in the sky.

The boys were very good and dealing with it and dug a big hole and buried him. And there he lies, forming the foundations of next springs project, a vegetable patch.

Carry on Camping

Through my work with the churches & Scripture Union I spend a lot of time in the summer at Christian Camps. I have also been involved in them for donkeys years as a kid and in running them. Again I feel the need to justify them as 'religious' camps are so often misunderstood and criticised (deservedly sometimes although not in the case of any I am associated with). The camps are up front about their faith base, so people usually go expecting some sort of 'God slot'. That's what they get, but I think they are more geared to encouraging people to ask questions about faith, themselves and their existence. They present Christianity as the right choice, but I don't think they overstep the mark and try to brainwash or force it. So for me as a kid I came back from the camps accepting Christianity because I could see through the Christians there that it was a the best choice, rater than making that decision out of fear of hell, fire and damnation!

I have therefore found myself challenged by the opening of the first so called 'atheist camp' in the UK. It strongly denies it is anti religious, but has a strong humanist value base and promotes free thinking. Would I send my kid to a camp like that? Well if it's true to its word i shouldn't have any concerns. But people are people and all of us find it hard to remain impartial when it comes to the things important to us. Listening to the camp leaders on the radio I just got a sense of slight bitterness coming through, that perhaps the church had failed him earlier in life. They do this thing where the kids are told the story of a good and bad unicorn that has been passed through the generations. The challenge is to prove they exist, and presumably because no kid will ever succeed then that must mean God doesn't exist either! It's a very weak argument as it completely bypasses the central part of all religions...faith. It's irrational, but it's what 'religious' people build their lives around. Anyway, just to dispel any ideas that my camps brainwash people, I was interested to hear through Facebook that a girl from our camp has become the chair of the atheist society at university.

To add a lighter note to this heavy stuff, here is comedian David Mitchell's thoughts on the matter.


This year, the greatest pity must surely be reserved for the 24 eight- to 17-year-olds being packed off to the Richard Dawkins-supported atheists' camp in Somerset.

For them, the usual trekking and canoeing will be supplemented by sessions on rational scepticism and evolutionary biology, and group singing of "Imagine". Jesus Christ. Try telling them that there's no such thing as purgatory after that.

It must be weird for those kids, growing up with parents so insistent that they keep an open mind. Those brought up to be devoutly religious often kick against it. Maybe we can look forward to a new generation of archbishops, radical imams and cult leaders emerging from the camp's alumni?

Anything is better than their reaching adulthood telling their peers: "I was brought up to question everything, so I do."

But how are busy parents supposed to keep their kids out of both their hair and trouble over a hot summer? Here are a few other new schemes for independent-minded families:

Conspiracy Theorists' Camp - For children of parents who believe in questioning everything, including what is self-evidently true.

"We'll be spending a week in the shadow of Sellafield nuclear processing plant (it's where THEY don't want us to go - this way we're off the grid). After scanning everyone for subdermal microchips, we'll hold sessions on why no one has landed on the moon, why Princess Diana was both murdered and is not dead, and how there's a prophesy about 9/11 on the back of the Turin shroud. Also hiking. Bring cagoules."

Spirituality Camp - For children of parents who believe in being open to everything, including what is self-evidently bullshit.

"Join us for a week of exploration in the New Forest! As well as seeking out crystal skulls and listening for flower spirits, we'll be discussing and enthusing about hundreds of sincerely held sets of belief. From reflexology to astrology, from ghosts to homeopathy, from wheat intolerance to 'having a bad feeling about this', we'll be celebrating all the wild and wonderful sets of conclusions to which people the world over are jumping to fill the gap left by the retreat of organised religion."

Return to Herriot Country

Photo: Nicked from one of the clubs newsletter but I can't remember which one. Anyway, somewhere in that lot is me & Emma & Bruce!

There are rumours that I am converting to the Yorkshire given that I several of my trips away from Dunbar this year have been in the homeland of amongst others,John Craven. We were there on a family holiday camping in Swaledale (more on that when I get my photo's to illustrate it). It just happened to be at the same time as the James Herriot Country 14km Trail Run that I did last year. So I persuaded Emma to join us this time and enjoy a good entry level fell run. It's a long climb up for the first mile or so but at the top there are some great views to make up for the pain. My asthma is particularly bad this summer and it is taking me a long time to get my lungs warmed up. Until they are it is a struggle but then the inhaler kicks in and I'm okay. So in race terms that was at about 6km when I was starting the first descent. Thundering behind me and past me was some chunky bloke who looked about 6 heavier than us light weight runners. 'Bruce' was his name and became my target for the next bit which was up hill...a big hill at that. I passed him and then spotted a woman who I knew must have been one of 3 ahead of me. She was hard to catch but for some reason she decided to stop for a drink with just over a mile to go. But then 'Big Bruce' reappeared and flew past me again. I tried to get him but the legs were now going all wobbly and I had to let him go, but picked off a few more in the effort. The good news was I finished 2 minutes faster than last year in just under 66 minutes, but 2 places less, indicating everyone else was faster too. Emma also had a good race finishing in 77 minutes, which was pretty good, especially for a first fell run. The finishing areas was in a cow field, and the cows came and joined in the presentations, depositing their gifts that I quickly stood in. Bruce came and shook hands and I did my bit for encouraging asthmatics to do sport, as his asthmatic lad spotted my inhaler tied to my belt and was intrigued as to how I could run with asthma. So not a bad day.

Day of Rest

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. Well it is a rest from the normal weekly activities but busier than most days...but not in a bad way. The day revolves around either church or a race. Church is at 11.30am which is great because both of us can get a good run in before the service and a hearty breakfast. It is usually only 1 hour or so, which means the rest of the day is free too. Don't get me wrong, church is not a bad place to be and I do enjoy being part of it, catching up with people etc.
The run was good. My marathon guide encourages distance running but also exercise of other muscles. That combined can be achieved in a big hill run, so off I set up the Brunt, through Woodhall Dean and up to some ancient farm land called Halls. About 12-14 miles in total and I really enjoyed the wilderness of it all, seeing lots of wild things on a fine Sunday morning. That set us up nicely for church. After church we had a bite to eat, watched the golf and then out again. Andrew is now a member of the golf club so he went for a round with Emma caddying. I took the dog down to the shore under the cliffs. There was loads of flowers lying on the beach. 2 weeks ago a young woman fell to her death. The tide has spread the flowers all along the coast which was a bit eerie. I got the fright of my life as I worked my way along these rugged rocks, trying to avoid an early bath. Hiding in one of the coves was a heron that flew out at me. Big birds and I think he was more shocked than I was. Back home I ended up fiddling with Stuart's gears that had broken. It was one of those fiddly jobs that drive you nuts. Then i had to make a few repairs to the rodents cage. The roof was leaking so now it has a new tarpaulin canopy. Then it was more watching the open. It all looked exciting with Watson looking favourite, and Westwood nearly getting a win...but in the end it was just some other indistinct American who won it. The rest of the night was spent trying to sort out a place to stay in the Dales, which is where we head next week some time. I think I have found a good rustic camp site, but hope they have more than nettles for loo roll!

Heading down to the coast

We had an early start of 6.30am to get the team bus to Northumberland to do the Northumberland Coastal Run. This is a race I have planned to do but have always missed because of holidays. It's 14 miles of beach, cliff paths and a little bit of road taking in some of the best scenery found on a race. It starts at the village of Beadnell and ends up in Alnmouth. Around 800+ runners took part and the starting line is the width of the beach, with everyone trying to head to the shoreline which is the shortest route. The length of the race varies from year to year, depending on the tides, so you see markers saying 'around half way' or 'around 2 miles to go'. There were a couple of sights that impressed me. I had spent the first half mile running at the front of the race which gave me the spectacular view back of all 800+ runners heading up the beach (See photo courtesy of Stuart Hay). The second was more birds! There was a flock of seagulls by the dunes making a lot of noise. It turned out to be a colony of terns, including little terns and Artic terns. These birds are also very rare and their main threat is the sea and disturbance. I hope the runners didn't put them off too much!

Anyway the race was hard work because of the wet sand and a fairly strong head wind, plus my legs are still recovering from the athletics event the other week. I knew I wasn't going to get a really fast time so rather than injure myself again I took it easy and got 1:41.42 and in 104th place. Strangely enough there was another Richard Taylor running too. He only got 2;00 so I was pleased with that, although if he had beaten me i would have taken his credit. It's a race to do again and any runners out there should do it, but be warned the places go very quickly.

Nice Birds

Photo: The kids are alright...and so are the leaders!

We are just back from Scripture Union camp in Comrie in Perthshire. I was there working and Emma decided to come and cook for us all. Isabelle went off to Arran for a week whilst the boys stayed with us. It's a great base for a camp as it's a hostel on a shared campsite. What I liked was that the public are milling about amongst the stuff we are doing, especially the 'God Slots'. I like the fact that they can see and hear what we are doing as sometimes there is a danger we keep all that behind closed doors, and so attracting unfair criticism. This lot was there for all to see so no dark secrets.

The other thing I liked about the location was the scenery. I managed to get up early and run 3 times, each time covering 7-8 miles and getting to some high ground to see the massive views of the many mountains and lochs. The highlight had to be the discovery of an osprey nest, fully loaded with mum, dad and 3 fledglings. I know these are rare birds and hoped I would see one sometime, but to get 5 was beyond belief. I borrowed a pair of binoculars and spent many geeky hour watching them, as I could get within 200 meters without causing too much disturbance.

The camp was good too. SU have a lot of women volunteers and this camp was no different. However, the blokes who were there offered suitable laddish role models to the kids, and we did stuff like building a huge fire which involved tying a rope to the minibus and a pile of logs left by the forestry commission. You can't beat a good camp fire! We played cricket and footy and stuff like that. An old favourite was hunt the leader, where we dress up and go into the town of Crieff and the kids have to find you. Some disguises were good, like the girl who was a chav sat drinking Irn Bru at the bus stop. I dug out the Roman Centurion outfits from the Holy Ghost Walk and stood guard outside the public loos. It was funny watching the faces of elderly people on coach tours nipping for a pee, wondering how to get past us. I told them the emperor had granted permission for them to pee. The American tourists loved it too, seeing some genuine 'Scotlanders'. The dork in Subway was confused. I was with Lachlan who was dressed as a hippy, and the dork thought he was Bob Marley and I was a Viking. I don't recall Bob being a ginger white man with red arms from too much sun. The food was good and there was a lot of tray bake. In fact I think I ate my own body weight in tray bake last week thanks to the ladies of SU.

Owwww!

Owwww! Not the parting words of Michael Jackson, but the noise I have been making since I did my annual bit for the junior running club and took part in the track and field events. Last year it was for vital points to promote the club, this time to prevent relegation. However, more dad's turned out this time, so it meant less events. Just as well really as I am not as fit as I was. This time it all began with 400m. Not a chance of getting anywhere near the front. I was in the seniors category, which is 18+ and most of them were half my age. I wasn't last but it was a struggle. Then straight from that, I was into the javelin. I was rubbish at this too, throwing 7 meters less than last year. Then there was a long break, giving just enough time to build up lots of lactic acid in my legs, and stiffen them up for the high jump. Now I had practiced high jump, getting one of the 13 year old lads to coach me! To my amazement I got a personal best of 1.35m. However it came at a price as on landing I cramped up on both legs. As the other competitors were actually only warming up on 1.4, I decided to quit whilst i was ahead. Today my legs feel like someone has hit them with a baseball bat. Sore and definately plenty of 'owww's' as I sit down, and stand up.

Goal!

I got drawn into a big game of footy tonight. It's not my No1 choice of sport as I was originally left footed (in the physical sense) until some police woman ran me over in her mini when I was 7 and forced me into becoming right footed (courtesy of a broken leg). However I was on form...apart from a couple of skyward bound hoofers..I managed to get 2 goals, giving my side a 3-1 victory.
This sound impressive until you discover the opposition was a bunch of 11 year olds at the annual dad's vs the lads end of season game. I have never quite mastered ball control and I hit and hope. Unfortunately for the little kid in front of my shot, I hit it with quite some force (size 12 feet helps) and got the child on his head. Mild concussion never did anyone any harm!

Yorkshire Post

I'm back again from another trip to York. Again I went with 2 classes on the train from Dunbar. There was no major problem getting to York, but the return journey was a little bit of a nightmare. The train pulled in full. People were standing in the aisles, so the sight of 59 school kids and their teachers must have really ruined their day. We had our seats reserved but that is only any good if people follow the rules. When asked to move from our seats, one woman replied, 'I have got seats booked in the other carriage but someone is sat in them. Move them and I will move." Other than pouring hot coffee in her lap what else can you do?
The guard was impressive as he helped us load on all 68 suitcases. We struggled to pack them in properly as there was 4 students asleep in the baggage racks. However, with a amazing skill, he got all the cases into a very small space. 'I used to be a furniture remover", he later confessed. Most surprising was the ticket man who insisted on clipping every one of the 68 tickets.

Part of our grand tour was to visit Castle Howard. This is the most contentious part of the trip as some of us really dislike it, whereas others think it is great. I was pretty sure places like that could only have gained their wealth via exploitation, things like the slave trade. I think the kids should know the whole story. I made enquiries and was put in touch with the Head Curator who revealed Castle Howard is clean, and in fact played a part in the abolishion. So where did their wealth come from? Maybe from it being used as a location in Brideshead Revisited, or more recently Garfield 2. I just stand back and grin when the kids grill these stuck up guides about important things like "Is this Garfield's bed?"

Again I caught up with Sarah who brought Thomas along. The weather was great apart from the Ghost walk where it went from being a sunny day, to a very cold evening. There's nothing worse than a cold night and a full bladder. I had to make an emergency visit to the pub, but only to let out fluids, not take them in. The Ghost guides are a little industry of their own. It seems that there is a hierarchy amongst them. In fact there is a top dog. Whenever the others see him coming they move on allowing him to have their pitch. If they don't you hear him banging his step ladders to scare them off. It's hilarious as they are all posh blokes earning a few extra pounds telling stories. They are worth going to, as are the open top tour buses and a guided tour of the minster.

I hope to go back without the school kids in the summer. It was very frustrating walking past shops, pubs and parks not being able to stop and look. As for the school, no doubt i will be back again next year. I can almost recite the story of Thor's hammer word for word now!

Green Fingers

If you wander around the streets of Dunbar at dusk you may well see the strange sight of adults trying to conceal large amounts of greenery on their person. They scurry around holding bags full of the stuff close to their chests, looking slightly embarrassed when you make eye contact with them. But don't worry, there is an explanation. It's free food...not for us, but for rabbits and Guinea Pigs. It turns out dandelions are their favourite dish, and with the credit crunch and all, why buy food when it's on offer for free. Emma is one of those out snaffling her secret stash of greens, and out tonight she encountered another one, so now there is a small army of these green fingered free riders on the loose. Talking of Guniea Pigs, it must be a year since Splat departed us for pastures new. Shame really because its the civic week pet show next week. Nobody said the pet had to be alive, or in one piece, and there are no rules against pets being 2 dimensional.

Mr Invincible

How have you spent your Friday evening? Mine has been the most unusual in a long time as I have been along to North Berwick to watch the 'American Style' wrestling, performed by some Scottish blokes from Dalgety Bay. I should make it clear I am not a wrestling fan, although i was partial to a bit of Saturday afternoon wrestling viewing on the World of Sport. Big Daddy, Pat Roach, Giant Haystacks to name but a few of the over weigh lardy's. My reason for tonight's performance was that Stuart had 2 of his mates over for a sleep over to celebrate his birthday, so as they are all wrestling mad, I took them on a surprise trip there. For them they had died and gone to heaven, for me I had to pinch myself to ensure I wasn't in some sort of nightmare.

I can only describe the occasion as being like a hybrid of Gladiators and pantomime. I knew I was in for a good quality night when the first baddy was introduced. Something like Ying Tong Nagasakitona, loosely sounding oriental. Lots of booing was being encouraged just because he was from Japan. The character was masked, but I had my suspicions that Ying Tong perhaps originated from the East of Scotland in the Fife region rather than Japan. On the sunniest and hottest day of the year, his red arms and neck on his pale white skin were a bit of a give away. Of course he lost his fight to the gayist looking wrestler I have ever seen, wearing pink leggings and a hat. The most memorable had to be Mr Invincible. He was the fattest bloke I have ever seen and weighed in at 30 stone. Look at the pictures to get an idea of his size and of Stuart's amazement. His name was Mr Invincible, although could easily have been Mr Ginsters, Mr Blobby, Mr Coronary Care, or good old Mr 15 Pints a Day. He won his fight and then scalped his oponent. Funnily enough he had a similar physique to the bloke on the sound desk...you work it out! To add to the occasion I won a prize in the raffle....4 photos of wrestlers. This gave me an opportunity to chat to the woman behind the desk, who turned out to be the main wrestlers mum. In fact I got the impression that this was a day outing for the residents of Dalgety Bay. His name escapes me but with that long greasy hair he looked like he might be a student earning a few extra quid to pay off his beer debt...sorry I meant educational debt. But overall it was a good night out, unique and good value for money. The show went on for 2 and half hours. The kids loved it and summed it up with "This has turned out to be the best day of my life".

Hello Primary 5 and others

I have discovered that the blog is being followed by some of the classes at school. Thanks for reading it, I hope it gives you a glimpse of what is going through my head, and I will do my best to not embarrass anyone. A big HELLO to you all.

Hey! It's the Fonz

We got a nice surprise at the school the other day when a 70’s tv icon made a guest appearance at the primary school. Andrew came home to tell us that some bloke called ‘The Fonz’ was coming in to his class. He had no idea who he was, and could not understand why women of a certain age were getting so excited about him.

His visit arrived, and lots of people suddenly found excuses to be in school. I am easily enthralled by a celebrity, especially ones that were once almost‘A’ list (if you were a 15 year old girl) and are now just legends. I popped in to get a glimpse and ended up staying for his talk and reading. He had written some books about a dyslexic kid, and told his own story of his ‘learning challenges’ caused by his own dyslexia. He was pretty good and had a very positive message for the underachievers in the school. Whilst I am sure the sale of his books was driving him, he was passionate about his cause and had time for the kids who he once was.

Andrew got to meet him and have his picture taken for the papers because apparently he was the coolest looking kid. Henry Winkler is obviously trying to put his Happy Days behind him, because when the photographer asked him to give a thumbs up, he replied...’err NO!...I’ll hold the book instead.” He also looked far from cool in his old jeans and a big baggy jumper. But he was still a good performer and very animated as he spoke. He revealed that he was 28 years old when he played the Fonz, and that he got 50,000 fan letters or parcels a week. I had to watch a couple of episodes with the boys on Youtube to remind myself of what he was like. They were actually quite funny, and I had forgotten Robin Williams’ ‘Mork’ was a character on a couple of episodes. I think Mork & Mindy was a spin off series of it. Fonzie is 63 now! Can you believe it.

Big Run

I did a big race on Saturday, the Edinburgh to North Berwick road race. I did it last year but I had been training hard, so on the long road to recovery, with just 2 long runs in 6 weeks I was hardly going to break any records. Besides, the course was 2 miles shorter and only 20 miles for reasons unknown. So no pressure to get a PB and just out to enjoy it. I immediately set off too fast. I was hitting 6.50 minute miles for the first 10 which was quicker than the 7.30's I had planned. I got punished for this as I faced the long climb from Aberlady through to Direlton. As with last year I got arse cramp! A genuine pain in the arse that just niggled away at me like a dog with a bone. One of our club runners pulled alongside me on his bike to egg us on, and this was followed by more support from Dr Neil (he's called Neil and he's a doctor) prescribing us jelly babies in Dirleton. The drinks stations were supposed to hand back to your own drink, labelled with your number to speed up distribution. Nobody bothered doing that so all the bottles were in a big pile, costing vital seconds trying to find it. On the 13th mile station it wasn't even there, so I was a bit annoyed with them. With 1 mile to go I was really trying to avoid cramp and injury so I was ready to wind down, when Emma's cousin Rhona appeared. Rhona is a good runner and I have to work hard to beat her. Now was the worst time ever to be tested on that, so we ran in fast, picking off a couple of runners as we battled it out. In the end I found a bit of reserve and clocked a 2.24:42, with Rhona getting 2.24.49. Too close for comfort but a good result for me given the lack of training. The worse injury I picked up was sun burn. I have now got a lovely pair of red shoulders, and the tan lines of a vest.
This is a good marathon training run. I am not doing the marathon although regret not booking a place as i think I probably could do it based on that result. I have however booked in for the Loch Ness marathon in October.

Beyonce has walked

Along with Lady Gaga and Take That, Beyonce's cd has also gone walkabout. This should help the police narrow down their search for the thief...a fat bloke with a taste for the ladies music.

School Trip

Photos: Digging at 'Dig' and sat on the corner of York's shortest street with the longest name.

I'm just back from the first of 2 visits to York with the school. Just like last year we did a tour of almost every museum there is, all of which sell the same crappy pens, fudge, bouncy balls, slinky's and mock Roman coins. Castle Howard is the posh stately home where they filmed Brideshead Revisited, but the kids were more interested in also being the location for Garfield 2. Jorvik is a bit 1980's despite it being all about Vikings. My favourite is 'Dig'. Here you get to pretend to be an archaeologist and dig up some sites. You also get to handle a 1000 year old pooh. The Minster is interesting and whilst I hate the idea of the 'religiousness' of it all, it is a huge building and built on the site of one of the UK's first churches, permitted under Roman rule. The 275 step up its tower are tough, especially after doing a 16 mile run the day before. One of our tour guides on the open top bus turns out to be the brother of one of the women at running club. Small world! We also encountered an old friend, Dave Asbury. Sarah & Rob came over to the bowling and we had another visit from the Viking re-enactment bloke 'Danelaw Dave'. My cloth hat was too small and so was the tunic, and I looked more like a garden gnome than a Viking. But it was a good week in all.

Watch out there's a thief about!

Dunbar soaring crime stats got a boost last week when some opportunist thieves visited our street. They 'broke in' to several cars and garages. I say 'broke in', but in fact they 'opened the doors' as most people don't normally bother locking their cars unless the fair is in town. A few sat navs got lifted, but mostly they nicked cd's. It was a week before we noticed Emma's 'Take That' cd and 'Lady GaGa had walked, but there may well be a chance of recovering them, as the crooks dumped all the stuff they didn't like in the woods. However, you won't find me down the nick asking if they have got any Take That.

Amongst the other items stolen from our neigbours, were a crate of Irn Bru, some ice lollies and a box of choc ices! Imagine how uncool that would be if they got sent down for it. Muppets!