Keep off the grass

Went out for a lovely 15 miler on Saturday afternoon, heading out to Whittighame and back. It was very fresh and clear skies lit the route. For most of the run I was undisturbed, apart from one short spell where lots of 4x4's went past, presumably on some sort of hunt. There were some great views on this very cold night, and apart from a few stretches of road, the ice was not too bad. It was dark for the last 5 or 6 but I managed to adjust to the light and only used my little torch to warn off the Land Rover brigade. So, it was unfortunate that on the only street lit part of my run (Spott Roundabout to Asda) that I decided to step up the pace for a sprint finish. Side stepping a lamp post I skirted the edge of the grass and just clipped a little tuft of turf sticking up. In normal conditions it would have no impact whatsoever, but at -5C it had become like a brick sticking out. Consequently I stubbed my tow and went flat on my face....right outside Adsa on the busiest shopping day of the year. The humiliation of it. I picked myself up and ran the remaining 400 meters in pain but daring not to look back to see if anyone had seen me. A quick assessment of my injuries revealed the stubbed toe was actually a cracked big toe which had turned black. Ouchy ouch! Not the sort of start I needed to my marathon training, but I have done a big run before Christmas, so psychologically I one up. But just when you thought it was safe to go back on the streets...snow!

Snow Running

Photo: Santa Clause is running to town!

Nearly 2 weeks on the snow has not gone. The last of it came down on Monday and then froze over and has remained there ever since. It's gone very cold and the north of England and Scotland is now just one big ice rink. Emma clocked -13C in the car on Tuesday, although it has been as low as -19 in Haddington by the Tyne.

Nevertheless, with a plan to get fit by Christmas in preparation for my London Marathon training I have had to find some means of getting a run in. Whilst snow is a little bit tricky to run in, iced over snow is a nightmare. On sunday I took part in the clubs annual 'Festive Half Marathon'. It is supposed to be a non competitive run open only to club members and a few others invited guests. As the snow lay thick on the ground we set off in groups and I was treating it as my Sunday long run. As we trudged through the John Muir Way the sight of untouched snow on the fields around Belhaven and Tynningham looked like they had fallen off a Christmas card. The 'festive' bit involved me wearing a Santa hat and beard. It was a good way of keeping my face warm, but I think I may have breathed in some toxic fibre from the beard which disintegrated the further on I went.

I ran round with Rhona most of the way, but as we hit the tractor tracks and deep snow for the second time I used my height advantage and long legs to speed ahead. I could see another runner ahead of me so for the last 2 miles I made it into a race and caught and passed him clocking a slow 1:40. However the winners only did it in 1:34 so I shouldn't be too disappointed. More importantly I felt fit and enjoyed the run. So now the challenge is to keep it up and try and get through the festive season without pigging out and vegetating. Tough choices will be made Quality Street vs fruit, mince pies vs energy bar, beer vs Lucozade, t.v. vs running!

Cancel everything...winter has arrived

The snow is still here and it's got deeper and it's still coming. This has turned an already magnificent landscape into something quite outstanding. Get out and enjoy it whilst it lasts as it is a rare occasion seeing local landmarks covered in so much snow. Today I headed over to Traprain Law to get a few snaps of it. However when we got up close we were drawn to the huge icicles haging off the quarry and ended up wandering through quite deep snow to see it up close. From there you could see miles of untouched pure white stuff. Then there are all the creatures that fight for survival. I was out for a run tonight and what I thought was a rock in the middle of a snow covered road turned out to be around 10 partridges gathered together to keep warm. Also you can spot stuff more easily as they don't blend in well with snow. Today I saw a Woodcock in Lochend Woods, a first for me so I'm happy with that. Of course other creatures fighting for survival are people. Adsa did not have a single loaf of bread left last night. We are all going to starve and end up eating each other.

The downside of the snow is everything closes. No swimming, football, running club and school. I was supposed to be at a staff retreat all week and that too never happened. The school has been closed all week and we are now bored and out of shape. I have managed to get a few runs in and taken advantage of the light snow gives to the normally dark country lanes. On both occasions I have hit a blizzard. But once it cleared I was treated to some great skies and stars.

The other downside is that it brings out the worst in some people. Some people have to find complaint about it, like "why are the pavements covered in snow?' Perhaps the snow hadn't read the rules of these upstarts life manual which states in paragraph 45 of section 3 that under no circumstances must anything ever cause inconvenience to Mr J Worth as he is actually the only person in the world that is of any importance." Another complaint is why are the schools shut? Errm because the teachers can't get in perhaps. That said I think it would be hilarious to send all the kids in anyway and let them have a week of ruling it for themselves. Emma suggested teachers should spend the week clearing roads.

Anyway, with snow like this I have been taking a few snaps. Here is a link to the, if you fancy a butchers!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56540702@N04/sets/72157625384863359/

Snow Time

It's not yet December and the snow is here. Not just a dusting but proper snow. I went for a run on Sunday and although the main roads had been half cleared and were easy enough to run on, when I reached the country lanes around Pitcox I found drifts of snow on closed roads up to my waist. That 11 mile run was a good work out as effectively I was doing high knee steps for at least 5 miles, and the old thighs suffered for it the next day. The up side of it was seeing some stunning landscapes untouched by anyone (there are now some size 12 footprints in them and a couple of yellow patches where I got caught short).

There are several pairs of wet socks and gloves lying around the house as a result of kids having some great snowball fights, making snowmen and sledging. The schools are closed because half the staff would struggle to get in safely, so I'm stuck at home and on driving duty. Emma's buses are running, but when and where to is anyone's guess. So I've been on a trip to Haddington where it is even deeper and looks like a Christmas card. I had a wander around the graveyard at St Mary's because the grave stones look great with snow on them and I got a few pictures.

Everything is called off when it snows. All the sport is off which might cause Andrew to go into meltdown given that he normally does football everyday but Saturday (and then he ball boy's for Dunbar). He has resorted to making flapjack...3 times in as many days. There are oats all over the house as he is not the most tidy chef!

So we will wait and see if Scotland gets on with it, or if this is going to be a long drawn out winter. Meanwhile it's off to the 12th green at Winterfield for a spot of sledging.

White Men Can't Jump

Popped along to watch my first ever semi pro basketball game last night. The East Lothian Peregrines vs The Glasgow Rocks. What a game...fast paced, a few scraps, plenty of action. I had no idea what the rules were but it was very entertaining. What really grabbed my interest is who these players actually are. They all must have day jobs and it was fun trying to match them. 2 guys were the blokes off the 118 advert, so that was easy. Another was obviously a teacher...specifically him off Ferris Buellers Day Off. Others were harder to match but I reckon the two smooth operators were actually Phone4U salesmen and the biggest fella was obviously doing it as part of his care in the community programme. The Peregrines won and I for one will be back to see them in action.

Cultural Exposure

Half term arrived quicker than we'd planned, so we made a last minute decision to go and visit the family in Manchester and do a few days in London. When we moved to Dunbar we were well aware of how much cultural diversity we were leaving behind, and so we try and make a point of exposing the children to lives different to those they see in sleepy Dunbar.



We headed into Manchester first of all where we briefly saw my mum and dad, who spent most of the week back and forth to York where our Sarah had just had her baby girl Elsie. We did a shopping spree and introduced Isabelle to Aflecks Palace in Manchester. For those not familiar with this retail outlet, it is an odd collection of independent boutiques selling very trendy clothes, furniture, stationary, music, etc. Lots of weird looking people, mixed with very bland looking folk like myself. I've not been in there for yonks so it was good to nosey into the world of goths, rockers, SK8R's and alike. Having a curious 9 year old in tow gives you access to all areas...including the tattoo and piercing place. Lots of strange sights and smells too, mostly coming from the large joints being smoked in doorways. Isabelle loved it and I can see it being a regular part of our Manchester trips in the future.

In contrast we also went to Primark. This is another alternative shopping experience where you get to see first hand the labours of.....well...child labourers! All being sold very cheaply and too good to be true. One item of interest was what I can only describe as being an adult size baby grow in the mens department. I am not sure who or what it was for but seemingly they are selling like hot cakes. I was making it clear that I did not want Santa bringing me one, when this woman pipes up how she is getting one for her 24 year old son. If he wants to look like a Telletubby in the bedroom then good look to him!

We also paid a visit to see our Jane's new motor home. Her and Andy have got themselves a Max & Paddy type van. The passion wagon gives them the freedom to head off wherever they want to, and as long as there is a lay by they will be sorted. It was very impressive and quite amazing how so much can be packed into such a small place.

The next day we took a trip to London for a few days. The kids have never been there. Isabelle nearly went once with Brownies, but the 7/7 bombs put Brown Owl off. For some reason our train seats were all spread out, so we nicked someone elses and got ourselves a table. To deter whoever's seats they really were from trying to claim them, I had a routine each station of saying to Sturat in a loud voice 'IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE SICK THEN DO IT IN THIS BAG!". Worked a treat and we had them to ourselves all the way.

We decided to go for a wander on the first evening. The kids quickly mastered the Tube and we enjoyed soaking in the atmosphere of a big city at night. At Leicester Square we stumbled on a movie premier, so we stuck around with the crowds hoping to see someone. And we did...Colin Firth, Ghandi (Ben Kingsley) and Helena Bonner Carter and him off the Pirates films. I was hoping for Wagner off the X-Factor but he did not appear. Later in the week we also saw other celebs, including Rebecca Adlington wandering down the street (her wet hair and goggles gave her away). And on the tube Isabelle found herself sat next to Ben Fogle. Photo: Ghandi was just one of the many stars we bumped into in London

A bargain on the tube! Just as we were about to buy a ticket, this woman gave us two day passes. Kerching! We spent the morning at Camden High Street and market. Having been there a month before we knew the kids would like it. We couldn't get them away and we spent a small fortune on very trendy shoes and Asian food. After that we all had shoppers legs so we opted for the Thames cruise. 80 minutes of sailing up the river with a guide to tell you all about it. Feet up, on board heating and even a coffee shop. Well worth it and a great way to see the miles of amazing London architecture and hear its story. We got off at Greenwich but only raced through a museum as we were too overloaded with info from our tour guide. It was a slightly quicker journey back to the Houses of Parliament giving us more time to recover.

In the evening we headed to the West End. My second in a month...what must folk think. Our choice of show was mainly decided on where there were cheap tickets. Pricilla Queen of the Desert got us £15 seats up in the gods. The ticket man convinced us there would be no obstructed view. He was right...apart from that balcony that was in front of us.....twat! I saw the movie a long time ago but hadn't really given much thought into it's content and suitability for kids. The usher had, and insisted she point it out to us as we tried to get our 9 year old son in. Well this was a cultural trip and what harm would the story of a load of drag queens do him as he played his part in smuggling in bottles of pop and bags of Haribo's past the eagle eyed ushers? The language was a little bit colourful at times, but most of the jokes were lost on him, as was the Thai girl who fires ping pong balls from her fanny! Aside to that it was actually quite good. I enjoyed the theatre of it as much as the show itself seeing how they operated back stage (this was one of the up sides of our budget seats). Afterwards we all got to see London city night life. What a carry on that is, and why anyone would want to head into those bars is beyond me.

Final day we had an early booking at the London Dungeon. I was pleasantly surprised that it had a lot to offer other than failed drama students doing very poor Vince Price/Brian Blessed impressions as they told ghastly stories. There was a couple of rides and it took over 90 minutes to see. The biggest horror was of course the gift shop prices. £9 to get a single photo of yourself looking terrified!

Our last stop was one too many. The Science Museum on the first Saturday of the school holidays is just too much. It was packed with busybody parents trying to interest their kids in science. A certain type too, all orgnaised with their humus and celery sandwiches, home made fruit salad in Tupperware boxes and a guide book that they followed to the letter. Their kids mostly had little interest in the science of what they were doing. They just wanted to do do stuff and play, and so it was toe curling to see the painful efforts of Nigel trying to explain radiation to 3 year old Poppy, or Fifi trying to explain the physics of space travel to Conroy who just wanted to dress up as an astronaut. For us it was a trip too far. Andrew looked like he wanted to start a fight with some of the geeks who salivated over the interactive pc's. I know I have a had enough because I get tired and try and trip kids up who are running around annoying me. We all slumped back on the tube, back to the flat and wound down watching the World Gymnastic Championships, where Britain won a gold. Then it was back to Euston for a return journey with exactly the same seating arrangement as before. My new plan was to be asleep at every stop and to ensure lots of litter and crumbs were spread across the table. It worked a treat too. I'll use that one next time.

Clydebank

Andrew's footy takes us to all sorts of places. Last Sunday we had an early start at 7am and headed West to the banks of the river Clyde. Sadly it was all too foggy to actually see it...or much of the pitch when we first arrived. I could smell the Clyde but I could hear planes taking off very near by, so to this day I have no idea where i was. The game was pretty well fought and as predicted the Clydebank boys (Goldenhill Boys Club to be precise) were slightly more physical than most of the East teams. But the ref swiftly stopped that with a yellow card being shown early on. 2 goals just before half time gave Dunbar the lead they needed, but it was a final result of 4-2 that got them through.

The hosts have to be commended. They turned up in smart collared shirts, and the coaches in ties. Because of the fog I couldn't really see where we were but there were many tell tale signs that poverty lurked behind many of the doors in the high rises and council houses. My guess is that this club brings a sense of pride where it is needed. Afterwards we were invited to the pub for hot dogs and chips. I got chatting to the locals and discovered the pub sponsored the team, so the boys were always made welcome. It was one of those pubs a bit like that one on Shameless. Just a huge room, a bar and some framed photos of local landmarks and sporting achievements. Sky Sports was being projected on to the wall with one of those huge 1980's projectors where you have 3 different coloured lenses to tune in. I have not seen one of those for years. Although a bit run down you got the impression this was a place central to the community....along with Gregs the bakers! The bar itself was closed and just as well as I didn't fancy holding on for a pee 2 hours on bumpy M8 after swilling a couple of pints.

So that's them through to round something or other in the Scottish Cup. A home fixture next time where we shall welcome with equal hospitality another team of hopefuls.

The Big Smoke

A few weeks back me & Emma got away for a weekend.
Well having run around London earlier in the year, the opportunity to properly visit it arose recently when we were invited to a wedding was one not to be missed. We managed to dump the kids with granny and off we went on the train from Berwick on Tweed. Not a bad journey down really and uneventful unless you count the bloke sat next to Emma who sat with one hand down his trousers whilst he surfed the net! (and no it wasn't me!). However, once at London Kings Cross we had our first encounter of life in the Big Smoke...a nutter. I love nutters, they always raise a smile, especially this one who was shouting all sorts of nonsense. Having worked in Stockport for many years I feel well qualified in dealing with nutters and the first rule is don't make any eye contact with them and then avoid any sort of contact with them. I should now add the rule of not allowing your suitcase handle to snap when walking down very long tube station steps. Yes it snapped and began to roll down the steps heading straight for the nutter! It was like that Odessa Steps scene in Battle Potemkin or more recently and equally as well done in The Untouchables. With a large crowd of people in front of the nutter it would have been a Domino Rally effect. Fortunately with just inches to spare, the bag came to a halt and the nutter carried on regardless into his wonderful world of cuckoo land.

We wanted to pack as much in as we could and first stop was Camden Market. My low expectations of London suddenly shot up a notch or two at the sight of this colourful and diverse place. Set by the canal there was an indoor market that had a horse theme going on, including some little shops inside what had once been stables. Amongst the many curious shops, the S&M Barbie & Action Man store caught my eye! Also loads of food places. We were there at 9am and several Chinese, Ethiopian and Indian food bar owners were trying to sell their wares. We opted instead for a full English at a pub. Here we were entertained by 2 French studenty types trying to chat up some girls. Will return there again.

Next stop was Leciester Square to buy some theatre tickets from the half price booth. Then Piccadilly Circus and on a slight detour to Fredricks Column. Emma thought it was Nelson's but on closer inspection the absence of a square and Nelson himself we realised it was a poor imitation. By that time we were lost but found our bearings via Horse Guards Parade. We watched the American and Germans have their photo taken with the soldiers before heading off to find the real Nelson and a quick visit to the National Portrait Gallery where I showed Emma some of Degas finest pieces. Onwards to Covent Garden. What a disappointment it was. Very commercial, over priced and lacking in any real character apart from a few street entertainers who, let's face it, we've all seen before. It's interesting to see how they now all have the same pitch when it comes to asking you for money as if they are one corporate company. Exactly the same pitch used in Edinburgh at the festival.

We changed direction and headed for the Imperial War Museum. Having visited as a kid I've always fancied a return and it was a good mix of old and new. Hanging from the ceiling were WWII planes, whilst on the ground were the remains of a car hit by a car bomb in Iraq. Photo: A car after it was hit by a bomb in Iraq We were both suffering from 'shoppers legs'...you know that horrible tired feeling you used to get when your mum dragged you around Marks', C&A, Littlewoods and BHS all in one day. However, I did drum up some energy to look in at the Holocaust expo. I have studied the Holocaust quite a bit before but this told the story in a new, no holding back sort of way. You hear the story of the rise of the Nazis alongside the story of how the Jews came to Europe and how the tide turned against them. You could see and read about the way neighbours were turned against each other. Sadly I only got half way around before Emma started texting me to hurry up. So that means another return visit too.

The evening was spent at the West End. I've never been to a show so we decided to splash out on a couple of tickets to see 'We Will Rock You'. We headed to the Dominion Theatre where we experienced the phenomenon that is theatre going. Average age around 50-55, well groomed and German! We'd paid £30 each for half price tickets, but do people really pay the full whack and how do they afford it? Inside there is a hard sell programmes £8, or ice cream £3 or £4 for a single bottle of beer. We opted for the corner shop outside and brought it in. We were surrounded by drunk Germans. Noisy sods, but Emma had the joy of a middle aged woman who had no beat and sang horribly out of tune. In a show based on Queen songs this became as entertaining as the show itself, especially when she tried to do the clapping to We Will Rock You, you know the one where you do 2 claps and then put your arms out in front. It was a good show and more a panto than anything else. Ben Elton's humour was evident but as a story it was somewhat frail. Basically the idea is to sing as many Queen songs as possible and in each scene you are wondering which one is next, and how they will make the connection. They whip the audience of 50 somethings to a frenzy, and by the end of it there was a sea of menopausal women waving their arms to Bohemian Rhapsody. That was the West End done and dusted!

Saturday's main feature was the wedding of Rory & Anna, so our day revolved around this. An early start found us wandering up the Embankment to the Tate Modern. The size of the open space inside is impressive...unlike some of the art on display. Some of these artists are taking the piss or maybe are piss artists when they count a white hexagon painted on a slightly different shade of white wall. Or a large curtain laid out on the floor, or better still a work bench, a flask and a pint of milk. I genuinely thought I was in a room under construction when I realised that this was art. Some fool had paid for this lot... Emperors New Clothes me thinks! We then headed to the top floor for a coffee looking out across the Thames. Great views..but what coffee should I buy. I had no idea what the large selection of over priced coffees were and in a panic I decided to get the first one on the list (that's usually the one most like a cup of Gold Blend). So I now know that a double espresso is in fact a dribble of extra strong coffee rocket fuel. I was totally wired for the rest of the day. We did see some good art, including photo's of Germans pre Nazi rule, where the photographer had done portraits of people in a village who lived and worked together. They were totally unaware that 10 years later some of them would be put to death by their very same neighbours.

At the back of the Tate Modern is the Blue Fin office block. A state of the art piece of architecture used as a location for Spooks and many more t.v. and films, and hosues lots of the fashion magazines...quite cool indeed. And it being Open House weekend, we got to have a look around. On the 11th floor is a roof garden overlooking miles and miles of London. The sun was shining and the views were great and it was all for free. Photo: Boris's Bikes from the Blue Fin Building
We then made our way back via the Millennium Bridge and a Salvation Army Brass band playing outside St Paul's Cathedral, and dodging out of the way of hundreds of orienteers who were doing some sort of race.

The wedding was at Spittal Fields. Another interesting place where some sort of japanese festival was going on. We met up with our Sarah & Cath and a small crowd of people who I used to go to Criccieth with. As always it was great to catch up and see old friends. The weeding had an Indian theme as the bride had lived her first 18 years out there. She arrived on a rickshaw and wore a shari. The meal of course was curry and it was a good service too with Rory's dad who is an Archdeacon preaching.

It all finished at 11pm and we got to experience Saturday nights in the Big Smoke. Busier than the day I'd say.

Sunday was time to spend with Emma's sister Claire. We went for a wander to some park which was busy with rich people entertaining their kids. The main reason of course was Emma hope to get a glimpse of Mark Owen of pop boy band Take That, as that is where he hangs out when he's not conducting adulterous affairs. Instead I got to see the hideous sight of something that I can't imagine working anywhere else....'Fit for a Princess' classes. This involves slightly portly 30 something women wearing ill fitting lycra costumes and doing open air aerobics. I nearly choked on my crumpets as I watched them from the pavilion cafe. Our Colin once described leggings like this as looking like 2 boys wrestling in a sleeping bag. Not nice and not cricket doing it within eyeshot of innocent men having a morning coffee. I shall be looking in Hello magazine in the coming weeks to see if any of them achieved their goal of becoming princesses.

After all that excitement we headed back home on the train with a new perspective of London.

Dounans 2010

Photo: Early morning run...well worth getting up for!
Camp fire.

Just back from my 6th visit to Dounans with all the 150+ Primary 7's in the Dunbar cluster from what was another great week for all. My main duty was to make a film so I got to spend most of the week filming and photographing everyone. Sadly this meant I missed out on taking part in some of the hair raising activities but had fun watching kids do it. The pecking order is well and truly adjusted after Dounans. The quiet kid nobody bothered with at school suddenly turns out to be the bravest and actually has a good sense of humour. Whilst those kids others once looked up to are brought down a peg or two because their 'hard man' image is actually revealed as being very superficial when they bottle it on the flying fox.
For a change there were plenty of blokes on camp (note I was careful not to say camp blokes!). This is good as one failing of primary education is the lack of men involved in it. I think boys and girls need some male role models and it is no wonder boys have a tough time in education when they are only taught by women. There are lots of very good women teachers in all the schools I work in but I think a few male teachers would compliment their efforts, and vice versa. One of the dads there joined me in doing an early morning run with anyone who wanted to join us. 16 turned up for day 1 but we got the impression some were just following the crowd. So on day 2 on of the lads decided to create a route that went around the campsite a few times to help lose those incapable of running further. It worked a treat and we had 12 runners who made it up to the David Marshall Lodge. Day 3 and everyone is knackered. However we were joined by one lad and another teacher and they were rewarded with the best views all week. The sun and mist combo looking up the valley to Stirling made that trip well worth it.
So another year passes by. The first lot I went to Dounans with are now in 5th year. How quickly it passes by but each time with fond memories.

Buzz Off

Picture: I was still getting wasps off my jacket 10 minutes later


Ouch! that hurt. Flaming wasps nest getting in the way of my walk with the dog. He didn't realise that the big log he tried to fetch me was hiding a nest. Consequently I made a run for it, being pursued by a swarm of angry beasts. I managed to make it to the road, not before being stung on my shoulder. The dog was covered in them and they had buried themselves into his fur. I took my jacket off as a precaution and found a good dozen or so clinging on waiting to get me too. A close shave and thankfully none of them went up my trousers.

Matters of Life & Death

An afternoon stroll in the Loch End Woods brought together life and death. I was startled when out of the bracken flew out a Sparrow Hawk. I'd seen birds of prey around the woods before but not actually in them. I concluded that as it had come from the ground, it must have been feeding. I wandered over to find a pile of feathers and then fluttering away a few yards on was a Wood Pigeon. It was in a very sad way. Most of it left underbelly had been eaten, and flesh hung from it as flapped what was left of its wing. It a sorry sight and I decided that the only right thing to do was end its misery. On I went and returned 20 minutes later to find the Sparrow hawk had also returned to finish off its meal. It flew away again so I stood around waiting for its return hoping for a longer glimpse of this fascinating natural spectacle. As I lay low, totally still and silent the peace was shattered by my bionic man ring tone....the one I get when I recieeve a text (The theme tune to the Littlest Hobo plays when its a call). It was from our Colin in Australia to announce Myfanwy Grace was born at 0.1.27am local time, weighing 6llb 4 oz. Life and death captured in one short walk.

Blackberry and Lemon Treacle Sponge

How hard can it be to bake a pudding? With an abundance of blackberry's in my freezer I thought I'd give it a whirl. The results weren't bad at all. My Blackberry & Lemon Treacle Sponge although slightly heavy due to the lack of a food mixer to do the hard work of beating, it came out quite tasty. I can see a few more experiments on the horizon, and as tempting as it is, even just to get a sympathy vote, I won't enter the Dunbar Flower Show this weekend and compete against the experts who have an extra 30 years experience under their aprons.

Make it yourself:

Stick the oven on to 180 0C whatever gas mark that is. Make sure you take your head out of it before you go on any further.
100g Caster Sugar
100g Butter to help boost your cholesterol levels
100g Self Raising Flour as it does all the work for you
2 eggs (the chicken variety are my preference)
Pinch of salt to clog up your artery's a little bit more
Zest of as many lemons that you fancy...depending on how lemony you are feeling!
Golden syrup. As much as you want depending on how fat you want to be and how good your dentist is.

Mix it all up vigorously in a bowl starting with the sugar and butter first, then the eggs, then slowly and lightly shove in the flour and mix it up for as long as you can be bothered. I think the idea is to do it well but I gave up after a while because there was something on the telly I wanted to watch.
Stick it in the oven in a greased bowl and cover loosely with foil until its cooked. Roughly around 30-40 minutes depending on how rubbish your oven is. Then tuck in to it, but be warned the treacle is like molten lava fresh out of the oven. You can eat it cold too or on a sandwich or with salad or even in a soup! If anyone tries the last 3 then I suggest you keep your head in the oven for slightly less longer next time.

Flower Power

Photo's: Andrew on the return leg of the 100 yard dash, and some shoes mixed up for the show race.

The end of the summer is also marked with the last of the village flower shows. I always like to get along to them to see whose got the biggest marrow in the village and whose dog looks most like their owner (a genuine category in the dog show). They are good fun and it will be a sad day when they stop happening.
Oldhamstocks Flower Show has the added bonus of a fell race. Well it's a fun run really over a distance of approximately 1 and half miles. It is preceded by the '100 yard dash' and the 'shoe race' (where you have to find your own shoes in a pile of many others), and a few other fun things. I won the race last year, only because of a shortage of competitors, and this time was going to be the same...except one of the few adults (and he's hardly that at 17) was national distance runner Andrew Crichton. It's a shame more people don't run it and make it more of a race as I felt a bit wrong taking the £15 prize for 2nd place. Our Andrew won the kids race again, pocketing a nice £10. It was good to see a lot of kids running it this time as it makes for a bit of an occasion.
So farewell to my trophy, but it is nice to think my name sits alongside a prospective 2014 Commonwealth games champion, which is what we are seriously expecting for him.
Next year I am thinking about entering some of the less physical competitions like the jam making. Me & Stuart have been rustling up some great blackberry varieties recently, or the dog show where Trefor is bound to win the best lipstick or moonwalking dog prize.
After the show, I decided that I'd run home. The route from Oldhamstocks via farm tracks takes you into Aikengall Farm, Emma's old family farm. It's been years since I have been in that side of the farm and much has changed, notably the amount of green stuff growing. There are no sheep in the glen anymore, so bits that used to be parched and exposing interesting rock formations are now covered in grass and bracken. I imagine the farmer is getting paid a shed load of money to leave it that way too. Anyway, it was a good run (9-10 miles) and rounded off my Saturday afternoon nicely.

Farewell to the Summer

I did my last day of working on a holiday programme today,back at Scoughall in North Berwick for a day of activities with 20+ primary age kids from across East Lothian schools. I was doing the archery again, whilst others did the assault course, the flying fox and beach games. Earlier in the summer I had spent a week over at Scoughall with an SU Camp and although it was maybe only 8 miles away, I really could have been anywhere. It's a great campsite for that has been handed over to SU for over 50 years by the farmers who own the land and 100's if not thousands of people have passed through it. In fact there was an nice piece in the paper the other day in the 50 years ago today bit, where it reported how boys on an SU camp at Scoughall had found human remains whilst climbing up cliffs near Auldhame. As I sat there on the very same camp site amongst kids of another generation reading about it, I was amused to think of how few (if any) health & safety rules were being followed then. Whilst there are sometimes good reasons for them today, I can't help think that they suffocate kids sense of discovery. Anyway, as the day closed today, a team of volunteers arrived to take down the tents. The marking where they once stood are all that remains to tell of the great holidays many kids (and adults) have had there this summer.

The teachers are back in school already. Despite having several weeks off and with the prospect of even more holidays in waiting, it always beggars belief that they even dare to attempt to squeeze a drop of sympathy out of civilians like us. I am however looking forward to working along side them all again, and this year I will be working with Stuart's class which should be good fun. Before then I still have 2 more days with the kids off school before sending them back to school. Andrew is now in secondary school, adding more sense of panic to my life as I try and work out 'where has it all gone?'

So it was a great summer really. Earlier in the year I had wondered what I would do to fill it. Tuscany was brilliant and enriching and I am working on writing it up on another blog for my own records and anyone else who might be interested. It was then a pretty full on second half. A week camp, a week long holiday club followed by another week long holiday club. Yesterday was my first day off in 3 weeks. With grey skies and a nip in the air I am grateful to the Scottish holidays being so much earlier. Well i suppose I should pack away my summer stuff and move on. Away with the shorts, the flip flops and the cool box. Out come the thermals and sensible shoes and a hat that keeps the heat in rather than off. Oh yes, and with some order to my life again, the running can resume once more.

Novelty Slippers

There was a double tragedy yesterday in our back garden. Not one, but 2 of the Guinea Pigs made their way to the big Guinea Pig hutch in the sky. The long haired white one was found by Isabelle earlier in the day lying motionless with no obvious cause of death. Then 6 hours later the short haired white one was also found lying on his side. Andrew, who has now become the pet undertaker, used his special technique to see if it was just sleeping. This involves poking it with a pencil. However this one moved when the HB made contact. But then it lay down again and repeated the motion a few more times before giving one last breath and dying.
I don't know what it was. They have not eaten anything unusual and so it must have been a virus. The long haired grey one is enjoying the additional space in the pen. He has long been the victim of bullying by the other two and it looks like for him some sort of justice has been done.
Anyway, apart from one of the deceased having slightly longer hair than the other, I think they would make a nice pair of slippers. Although as one person pointed out, they might squeak when you walk in them.

Trefor's TV Fame Beckons

Just had an e-mail from an American TV Show called 'Americas Cutest Dogs II' asking if they can use the film of Trefor on a slide. Watch this space to see how much it's going to be worth.

Meanwhile the film has now reached 115,000 hits and almost weekly I still receive offencsive or not so comments from people around the world. Most of them get removed as they are a bit menacing, but some are hilarious.

Fringe Benefits

For the first time ever I headed into Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival yesterday to check out what all the fuss is about. However the main purpose of the visit was to meet up with old friends Jane & Col from Manchester who had been on a canal holiday from Falkirk.
The sun was out and Edinburgh was packed, so we spent a good hour sat in Princess Street Gardens people watching. Several performers were rehearsing there, but I got the impression they were sort of fringe of the fringe...maybe side burns! Apart from the Chinese Dragon lot who were teaching American tourist how to operate one, the rest looked like they needed the practice. There was a bloke doing some sort of acrobatic jumping and flipping. It just didn't quite look right...especially when he landed on his elbow. Then there were 2 swordsman. Well that is a generous description of two hairy looking blokes who would not be misplaced in a branch of Games Workshop, who were fighting each other with those wooden swords. It was like watching 2 big kids acting out the fight scene with Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker. Again, it just wasn't right in so many ways. We slowly tried to make our way up to the Royal Mile where the main activities were on offer. It took ages because at every turn there is another act to see.
Once on the Royal Mile we were spoilt for choice. Stuart and Andrew & Matthew were taken by the human statues. Stuart was particularly annoying trying to touch them, and it was amusing seeing a boy being reprimanded by a statue. We then opted for the chain saw juggler. An American who looked like a fat lookalike of Lemmy from Motorhead. He's pulled in a big crowd and his act finished with him lying on a bed of nails. By chance, one of his volunteers was a bloke off Coronation Street who happened to be passing by. We had a wander and saw a few 'arty' acts that made no sense at all and really make a strong case for those who think any funding given to the arts is wasted. In my view they were just a bunch of attention seekers rather than performers who were due any credit. There are also lots of people trying to sell tickets for shows. The most impressive of them all was one where an elderly gentleman dressed in pyjamas, slippers and a dressing gown wandered around looking lost. He really did look like he had come out of an old people's home and got lost on a day trip to Dobbie's Garden Centre. On his back was the advert for his show which read An Evening with Dementia . Very clever and had I time I might have gone to see it.
We headed back and left the Jones' to make their way back to their boat. A good afternoon indeed, and I'd recommend a trip to the festival any day.

Mallet Man

My blogging is being somewhat restricted due to the absence of a usable little finger. Whilst on holiday I got roped into a campsite game of footy with the Germans and Dutch. I am not sure why I played as it was all very embarrassing for the kids to see their father prance around like John Clease, and it was very hot at around 35oC. For a while I was in goals when Gerry took a shot on me. My goal keeping skills...well okay, self defence skills instinctively saved the shot that was heading straight form my face. Quite pleased with my performance I left the pitch at half time thinking of Sylvester in Escape to Victory. It was then I noticed my little finger was not quite as straight as it used to be. In fact it was curled up and no matter how many time I tried to pull it straight, it didn't.

I'd not bothered with the doctors as I didn't fancy a day trying out Italy's health care when I could be on the beach. It was only when I returned home that I noticed my bendy finger was actually stopping me from doing 2 things. 1 was pressing return on my key pad, the other more serious. I was unable to stick it up my nose or down my ear. The doctor was consulted and she sent me to the hospital where it was X-rayed and diagnosed as 'Mallet Finger'. They tell me I have torn or damaged the tendons and the treatment (which is doubtful given the length of time I took to treat it) is wearing a splint for 6 weeks.

Where do they get the 'mallet' from? Surely only Tom & Jerry actually hit their fingers with mallets? Perhaps it is linked to 'chisell thumb' and 'Chain Saw Stump'. Who knows, but meanwhile my footballing career faces its biggest setback since an off duty police woman ran me over and broke my leg!

Must update my status

For the 2 or 3 people who read this blog, I must apologise that it is now August and my last post was in June. Life has been busy and there is a lot of blogging to catch up on. Basically since June I have been in England, Italy and the far off fields of Scoughall North Berwick! This week I am on the annual holiday club programme, with just enough time to eat between events. So hopefully next week I can update my status and report back on these travels and what life is offering just now.

Up the Law!

I headed over to the East Linton Gala Day today for the Traprain Law Hill Run. It's only 700ft but quite steep and then throws some flat bits to make it a 6.5 miler. There is a river crossing too, and on a hot day like today it was tempting to bathe and slurp a few mouthfuls. I'd set my sights on beating my 45 minutes time. But as it turned out I was going to be nearly a minute over. Shame as I felt I was running faster and harder. The hill was hard and it is one of the few times my legs were burning. The flies were awful and great clouds of them added to the chaos of my run. However, being passed by the leading woman (Megan) made me work harder and I got her on the down hill section. I was looking over my shoulder thereafter keeping an eye out for her return. I hate running like that when you know someone is just behind you. I really have t work on keeping my cool. Horrible feeling and one I was trying to pass on to the bloke who was 2 ft away from me for the last 2 miles. Sadly he pulled away and ripped me at the last 200m. So a pretty crap run really...over my time and not even a sprint finish to nick someones place. I think I came 19th out of 73. Must try harder and work on those hill runs a bit more.

30 Years of Hurt Over

With the World Cup coming up people living in the UK (minus Scotlanders and probably the Welsh and Northern Irish too) are getting excited about the dream of England bring back the World Cup. Here in Dunbar where all support will be for anyone playing England, excitement over another cup has been brimming.

The East Lothian Primary Schools athletics competition is a shield highly coveted in these parts. Each year the primary schools fight it out in the Commonwealth Games stadium at Meadowbank. For the last nine years Law Primary School have been victors, only just clinching it last year by 5 points. So things had to change and I joined Mrs Lyle the PE teacher and one or two parents in trying to train up our Dunbar squad and get them fit for a win. For around 6 weeks these kids have worked their socks off and proved in training they can do well. The girls however have not quite developed that competitive spirit. They are just too nice. However, some tactical moves such as bringing in some younger competition to training and one of Mr Robertson's power blasting motivational team talks seems to have done the trick.

The big day arrived and Team Dunbar had a tough day ahead. Not only were Law after a win, Campie were also a real threat too. I had volunteered to help with the high jump indoors, so I was missing out on the other field events. At high jump I was aghast to discover many schools only teach the scissor jump. Needless to say the 2 Dunbar lads (Andrew being one of them) who have almost mastered the Fosbury Flop both won their category's. On the track things were going well for the P6's doing the 80 and 150 m. Andrew had a terrible run at the 80m, with no less than 6 false starts caused by the ref. He was rattled and managed to save his energy and get it together for the 4 x 100m relay. As the mornign passed by it was all too close for comfort with Campie winning events, then Dunbar and then Law. Worse still, Law were getting 2nd place when we won, so it was all a bit tense.

These events are usually decided on the relay where double poitns are up for grabs. We had considered the tactical move of using all fresh legs for the relay final, but some of our girls sprinters had suddenly found a competitive edge and were loving it. In fact both grils age categories stormed to victory. The lads had to settle with 2nd place in both races. They did nothing wrong, it was just they were up against faster opponents. Andrew made up for his 80m nightmare and absolutely hammered it home in both the heat and the final.

So the big moment arrived. The results. 'Campie 3rd'....said Mr McKenzie on the tannoy.....2nd place..........Law. My eardrums nearly burst at the squeals of delight behind me. Finally the shield was with Dunbar. We have not appeared on it for 29 years, but some folk think we did win it in 1980, which would be good as one of the mums of the girls would have been in that team. Hats off to Law for their long reign, and I suspect they will bounce back next year with a stronger squad. However the credit has to go to the kids who really did work hard and deservedly took back the shield.

Loch Leven Half Marathon

Photo: Happier times at Loch Leven. That bloke on my left beat me after my bobbins last 3 miles.

3 weeks have passed since the marathon and Rhona got in touch and persuaded me to do the Loch Leven half today. Having done very little running since the big one, I was relying on my marathon fitness to get by. I was hoping to crack 1:25 so I set off doing a 6:30 pace. It was going very well with me gaining over a minute for the main part of the run. But then the wheels fell off my plan at 10 miles. Here you do a right turn at the north end of the loch, straight into a head wind. I remembered this happening the last time I did it, but I had forgotten just how much it slowed me down. So, having run 10 miles at 6.5min mile pace, it then took 20 minutes 44 seconds to run the last 3. What a disappointment it was to see the clock tick past my PB time and give me 1:25.44 Grrr! Maybe it was too much too soon. I came 34th and 9th in my age category. I shouldn't grumble too much as it was great scenery and a well organised run. In our goody bags we were all given a buff. No matter how I wear a buff, I look like a total knob or like I am in the middle of a course of chemotherapy. Emma has already nicked it, and Andrew was pretending to rob banks with it.
Rhona won a prize of the 2nd fastest woman of a certain age, so we killed time eating free cakes. The woman complained that some runners were taking 3 or 4 cakes and that there wouldn't be any left for the slower runners. We were actually doing them a favour by eating more cakes we would slow down, and in doing so, prevent them from eating too many...which is why they are slower runners.

Tref's a big hit

Well Trefor is now a world wide t'interweb sensation. The film of him on a slide trying to eat a piece of ham had its 100,000 hit last night. And almost on a daily basis I have to filter out the abusive comments from animal lovers who think I am cruel. Most of them are Americans and many seem to be bonkers. YouTube have genuinely made me offers to pay me to advertise on the film as it is now a big hitter. I have so far declined. Anyway, have a look for yourself and it will either cheer you up or cause you to write inane abusive comments in text language.

Trefor on the slide

Sunday fun run - The VLM

It was back in January that club mate Frank through injury had to surrender his club place for the Virgin London Marathon. I was still mentally sore from the disappointing run I had at Loch Ness, which failed to give me a 'best for age' place at London, but I knew that unless I started running sub 3 hour marathons, this might be my only guarantee of a place in the big one. And so the forms were sent off and the training began.

Training was hard in the winter...especially when it's the worst we have had in ages. Running in the snow was probably the cause of my tendonitis in the achilles heel. As much as I wanted to, my granny ankles were genuinely creaking too much and so I had to sit it out for nearly a month. I followed Hal Higdon's Intermediate 2 training programme and once over my injury I picked up where it was up to, rather than where I had left off. The big difference this time was I had resigned myself to making my long runs slower and steady compared to my Loch Ness training. The idea of a PB was gone back in March but I'd paid for my train tickets so I was not planning on pulling out! The pressure was off.

Fast forward to Thursday 21st April, the final preparations were underway. Whilst I enjoyed a large plate of pasta at Umberto's with the running club, Rhona, Emma's cousin and nearest marathon rival was making her way back to London from Hong Kong. She had been due back on the Saturday before but that volcano eruption in Iceland killed that idea. I headed down to the big smoke (London not Iceland) on Friday morning. Rhona confirmed she had arrived so it was all looking quite exciting. I sat with Douglas, a fellow runner from Livingston all the way down. We conversed about training, races and stuff like that whilst we both hydrated. This meant frequent visits to the train water feature known as the toilet. In our carriage there was a hen party at one end, and a stag doo at the other. Needless to say these early morning drinkers had lost their senses and aim!

From Kings Cross I tried to blend in with the Londoners on the tube, but making eye contact and smiling blew my cover. I met up with Rhona at Emma's sisters city centre flat. It was within spitting distance of Victoria Station, and more importantly 5 minutes away from the finishing line. Off we headed to Excel for the expo to collect my number. You can imagine the journey over there. The train was like a pressure cooker full of runners all listening in to each others conversations, wondering if they have done enough training, and some looking a bit panicky. I was confident in my own preparations and remained calm. Collecting the number took all of 5 minutes. we then entered the Expo. Rows and rows of running gadgetry, clothes, sports scientist all promising you great results. I was after a pair of new socks, Rhona a belt. As Sods Law determines, after buying one, the next aisle down had them £1 cheaper. After over grazing on free energy bar samples (I resisted the free beer), we escaped this vortex of running paraphernalia.

I headed over to Putney to meet up with old friends Mark and Wendy. Their lads had grown a bit, notably Tim who at 14, towered over me with his 6ft 4 frame. He is like Sport Billy and does well in most sports including rowing, basketball and running. He was preparing for the 5km Mini London Marathon on the Sunday (he came 2nd by the way). Saturday was going to be all about relaxing. Livy gave us a tour of Putney's park. It is not how I imagined London life. This place was full of triathlete clubs, boot camp clubs, fitness in the park club and hundreds of people running, jogging, roller blading, doing Thai Chi and all sorts of other things. But, it has to be said, marathon runners are the top dogs.


Photo: Big Tim is living proof that eating your greens is good for you.

Later we headed to Kingston-on-Thames to watch Tim do his rowing training and Ollie skateboard at the park. The sun was out so Wendy headed off to Waitrose for a picnic. A great way to chillax! We then headed back for a tour of Richmond Park, opening my eyes up to the vast amounts of green space in London. Again there were hundreds of people out on bikes and running. We also got to do a bit of a tour of celebrities houses. Putney and Kingston are quite well to do and where your neighbours might include Daley Thompson, Nerys Hughes and Simon Le Bon. Other celebrities were out of sight as we went past the Priory Clinic. I was hoping for a glimpse of Subo! We also passed the shrine of Marc Bolan.



Photo: Rhona's Girl Guide's Needlework Badge finally became useful as she turned Andy's macho man vest into a petite lady vest.

In the evening we headed up to Adam and Claire's new flat for a pasta party. They were having a cook off, but to be honest both were very nice and loaded up my carbs very well. I offered up my own variety of Parmesan cheese, as I was busy filing down the dry skin on my feet. Rhona was there busy sewing. As she had been stranded in Hong Kong, I had brought her running kit down, only to discover her husbands Andy's vest had been packed by mistake. She managed to shave around 18 inches off it to make it fit. Fully carbo loaded, we headed back to Victoria for final preparations, reading all the bits of info and settling in. Surprisingly I went to sleep quite quickly, dreaming dreams of Kenyan's falling over and me stepping on them to reach the finishing line!

The sound of sirens and bin vans beat the alarm clock to wake me up at 6am. I grabbed a bowl of muesli, some toast and coffee and then spent the next hour frequently visiting the loo. The hydration plan was working, and with weather forecasts of the mid 20's, it was a plan worth having. One more pee before heading to the tube and trying to remember which station we needed to go to. Confidently we went to Charing Cross and boarded the 8.15am to Blackheath, getting seats on a very packed train. As the doors shut the panic was written on the faces of runners left on the platform, wondering if they would make it in time to the start. We were surrounded by Italians so listening to their conversations for any last minute tips was pointless. I thought italians were supposed to be leaders in fashion, well one was wearing a disposable painters overall. No class at all, get yourself a pair of scraggy shorts and a vest!
As I got off the train, 2 things registered. One was that my hamstrings were very tight. I really needed to stretch but with no room either side of us, this was a non starter until I could get to the starting zone. The other was that the celebrities running would also be on the train. Just as I thought it, I looked up to see kids TV presenter Dick and Dom stood next to me and I had to fight to resist starting a game of 'BOGEYS'. We followed the masses to Blackheath green space, park, common thingy! I have no idea what it's called or where it is, as my main concern was that it was the Blue Start Area. First things first, join the long queue for the urinals before sending my bag to the luggage vehicles. At this point the weather took a turn. Cold wind and rain came from nowhere, so it was time to put on my Scotland poncho. This then became a magnet for Scottish people who looked so disappointed to hear my English voice. I did quite a bit of stretching as my hamstrings were still very tight. No explanation as to why, but I was beginning to doubt they would last the 26.2 miles ahead of them. Then time for one more pee! As with most of the other blokes, we couldn't be bothered queueing again so we used the back of the elite runners loos. Then it was into the Blue Start 2 pen for 15 minutes waiting for the start. Soon after they release the barriers holding back all the other pens of slower runners, and it gets pretty busy down there, with the mob gradually edging towards the start. Then, without any obvious cue, the race starts. It took me 37 seconds to cross the starting line, so all the way around I was taking that off the clock time.

The first mile was predictably full of slower runners who had placed themselves much to far up the field. They just get in the way, so it is here that you learn that elbows can be as equal value to a runner as legs. The sudden stop starts and steps to the side hurt the hamstrings. I was aiming fro a 3:10 so I had a pace band to assist me. I was 40 seconds too slow for the first mile, so I tried to speed up a little and regain lost ground over 2-3 miles rather than in one mad panic. After 3, the 3 start routes merge into 1. Being near the front of the field, there was no congestion, but I understand it does get a bit chocca later on. After 5 miles I was over 1.5 minutes ahead of myself and by this point the crowds are building up on the route. I heard the first cheer for Dunbar soon after and I made the decision there that banter with the crowd was going to make this race easier. Kids begged for high 5's, and DJ's encouraged us to wave at the crowds, who cheered back. There are designated points for charity supporters, where often hundreds of people from a charity stand and support their runners. I was by a Macmillan runner when they passed their fans. The noise and support was incredible and infectious and made me feel slightly self indulgent running for myself and nothing else.

The route weaves through the diverse social makeup of London. Housing estates, financial districts, affluent areas and a mixture of ethnic communities. There is music and smells to reflect them too. For example clubmate Sheila was offered some cannabis by 2 Afro Caribbean supporters, encouraging her to chill rather than run. The burger vans make you want to chuck up as they waft the smell of greasy burgers and onions across the course. All the time though the crowd are screaming support at you. There were water stations at least every 2 miles, and Lucozade at the others. I had probably taken a bit to much and decided that 30 seconds in the loo was going to make my run more pleasurable than holding on for 2 hours. In training I would do that so why change anything now?

By half way I was over 3 minutes ahead of myself and feeling great. But my Loch Ness experience told me to take it easy and slow down a little and keep it steady for the rest of the race. At some point 'the wall' creeps up on you, and thereafter the race is a struggle. I headed into Docklands and then back again, reaching 20 comfortably. At 22 I refueled on gels, and and slab of Kendal mint cake. The onset of fatigue had suddenly caught up. I could feel the hamstrings beginning to take the strain and then at around 24, inside a tunnel the cramp finally got me. Cramp comes and goes, and shouldn't end your race. It's the injuries you get running with it that do. So I had to stop, stretch and get myself in order for the finish. I became acutely aware of how finely connected your core and your legs are. Certain postures triggered the cramp, so the finish was to be a very delicate operation of not over doing it.

385 yards to go! said the sign. Another of the many turns on this winding course brought the finish line into view. I tried for a sprint finish, but soon felt the cramp returning, so I had to settle with a controlled run in. I am glad I did as it gave me time to enjoy the crowd and wave to the cameras. I could see the clock was 3:07:44 and I knew, taking off those 37 I was going to be well within my time and 6 minutes of my PB. Once through I found myself feeling a little bit bewildered and lost for words. There is a photographer ready to take your mug shot, and then I wandered up to get my tag removed and collect my medal and t-shirt. I didn't know what to do next, and I was stretching a bit and feeling pretty good. Then I noticed a Dunbar vest coming through the finishing line. It was Rhona who I though had already finished. She clocked 3:08 another PB for her too, and we discovered later came 9th in her age category. So it was good news all round.

We headed into St James' Park and lay on the grass for a while. I called Emma who had been tracking me on the Facebook tracking thing. According to that I was still running, so she was surprised to hear from me. Stuart asked me to take a picture of Buckingham Palace, which I realised was behind us. So we wandered across and made hard work of climbing the footbridge. However, you get a hero's welcome from the supporters as you go through and it is a moment to savour.

Rhona had to get back for a train, so we walked all of the 5 minutes it took to get to the flat, where Rhona got packed up and I made some pasta. She left and then I ran a cold bath . Within the hour I was feeling pretty refreshed and headed down to Kings Cross to join hundreds of other runners making their way home. On board the train, I had taken the precaution of booking into 1st Class so I could spread out a bit. I bumped into the bloke from Livingston who had a really bad 5 and half hour run, made worse by being beaten by a toilet in the last 100 meters! I'd brought a couple of DVD's and my free beer to enjoy on the way home. The guard was on good form and announced "We apologise for this train being so busy. It seems there has been some sort fo fun run going on in the city today." There was a mixture of laughter and boo's rippling through the train, but he was right, it was a run and it was fun.



Photo: Looking a lot worse than we felt having both grabbed PB's.

Virgin London Marathon 2010: My tips for anyone running it in 2011

The VLM is probably one of the most discussed marathons around. Yet, as a runner looking for tips on how to run the course and how to deal with the many hurdles before you actually reach the starting line, finding that information is not as easy as you would expect. So here is my attempt to put that right based on my fantastic experience taking part in this event on Sunday past.

First of all, if you live a long journey away as I do in Scotlandshire I'd recommend arriving on Friday to allow yourself time to pick up your number and then spend your Saturday relaxing. Good weather allowed for me to picnic by the Thames with old friends and do all the sight seeing via their car. In other words, save your trip to Madame Tusauds for another day.

Exel at Expo is a lengthy tube and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) trip. But as your are with other runners here is the first taste of the excitement that awaits. At this point of your training it is too late to do anything else and you have to walk into that place 100% confident that your race day plan is going to work. WHY? Because the minute you walk through the doors 100's of companies will be telling you why you need their product to improve your marathon time. Much of it is money for old rope and each stand is selling more or less the same products. Look around before you buy, as many of the same products are cheaper as I discovered after buying some new socks. Don't buy new gadgets for Sunday. The longest run of your year is no place to try them out and discover they rub or irritate you. Judging by the number of expensive running belts, gloves, hats and bottles discarded on route on the big day, I think some people found out the hard way. Get as much free stuff as you can, enjoy the occasion and get out of there. I went at 5pm on Friday and any concerns of big queues were unfounded. The number collection point is a seamless operation, over and done with in less tan 5 minutes.

Race day! The big day has arrived and once again BE 100% CONFIDENT IN YOUR RACE DAY PLAN. On the tube you will overhear conversations of nervous runners who seems so much more prepared than you. Ignore them as this is your race not theirs.

*Tip!: What to take with you? Virgin give you a huge kit bag to drop off on the trucks at the start. Put anything you like in there as it is big enough to put a small child in and utilise as a baby sitting service whilst you run. Some people regretted booking that extra night in a hotel as a place to leave their kit. If you travel light enough (e.g. a 30 liter rucksack) you should be able to get it all in this bag and head straight off to the train at the finish. Don't forget water, recovery gubbins, warm clothes and wet wipes.

Travel is slightly stressful, but remain calm as you will get there eventually. I was a Blue starter so the train went from Charing Cross. I say train and not tube as it is a real train.
*TIP!: At Charing Cross you will see the front end of Platform 6 is mobbed. Walk up Platform 5 to the opposite end, and cut through to the empty end of 6 and grab yourself a seat for the very overcrowded 20+ journey. Be warned it gets very warm on there.

On arrival at Blackheath, the first port of call is the loo. One failing of VLM is there are no loos around the tube stations, so the hold tight. The loos are plentiful but everyone makes a bee line for the nearest. Walk on and you will see loads more unused ones nearer the start. They now have urinals for men and women, and they were promoting the new gadget P-Matefor the women. The mind boggles!

*TIP!: Get in to your pen early. Not long before the start they allow the pens behind you to come forward and contaminate your area, so if you are not in there you will have slower runners in front of you who will slow you down and cause you to curse.

Off we go! Blue Pen 2 start took 30 seconds to get over the line. It was slow for the first 2 and then it thins out slightly. Where they merge with Red and Green, the road is wide enough for long enough for it to be fairly smooth and allow you to keep your pace. Maybe slower runners would find it more congested. It took me a while to realise that the double red lines on the road side are for traffic, and the broken double red line that is marked in the middle of the road is marking the shortest route for the marathon. Surprisingly few people seemed to follow it, so as best I could I did.

The crowd makes VLM more than a race and turn it into something special. It's their day too and they love it when runners show respect to them for turning up by simply saying thanks, giving the thumbs up to their cheers or high 5'ing the kids. get your name put on your vest and you will be guaranteed support...something you will appreciate as the struggle gets harder. I was running by a Macmillan charity runner when they passed the Macmillan support team. I reckon over 100 people cheered and screamed at this guy as he passed. It was quite uplifting for me, so he must have been floating. Take in the sights of people rather than the buildings. The route takes you through the diverse social makeup of London. Irish, Afro Caribbean, wealthy and city dwellings. Each area reflected by the music and smells to stimulate your senses as you run. I know we are there to run, but I found joining in with the laughs, appreciating the musicians and savouring it all took my mind off the monotony of long distance running. Running is largely a self centred affair, so here is an opportunity to take your eyes off your own misery and to relax a little. It's stating the obvious but if you are totally preoccupied and anxious with the technicalities of running, it is going to affect your performance. I kept thinking back to my long training runs where pace was not a concern and enjoying the run usually got good results. Apply this experience to the race day.

Technically the course is not an easy one. Lots of sharp turns and one or two short up and down stretches. Speed humps are a hazard as i discovered when I clipped one whilst looking at my watch and pace band. I also heard about one bloke who ran at pace into a sign. There are loads of water and Lucozade stations. It was slightly humid so I had some at most. Also there were 2 gel posts, so build that into your race plan if you can stomach them. Do be careful of the trip hazards caused by inconsiderate runners who leave their litter on the road. Why didn't they enjoy the fun of soaking the crowd as you chuck it to the side?
TIP!: You do not need to carry water with you. There is plenty on the route.

There are plenty of loos on route, so don't stress about that.

The finish line beckons. Milk this moment for all you can, but don't face the humiliation as one runner I spoke to did, of being beaten by a toilet in the last 100 meters. I had to work hard to beat that pesky lepricorn. Once through there is a slick operation to take your tag off, get your photo done and to prepare yourself for walking down civy street again. Don't forget to collect your bag of goodies and your kit bag. Once through all this enjoy the hero's welcome you get from the admirable crowd who are keen to congratulate you.

This was my second marathon and I wanted to finish feeling positive regardless of my time. If I am going to continue to enjoy running as a sport, then finishing well is important. My last marathon was a difficult finish and it took months to get motivated again. Part of that nightmare was not recovering well. I didn't eat or drink enough, so this time I had a bowl of pasta ready and lots of recovery sickly drink things, plus water and more food to munch on later. Force yourself to eat something as your body needs it to recover, even if you don't feel especially hungry.

So that's about it. My finish time was a PB of 3:07:10. I'm happy with that and know where I could bring it down a minute or 2 in the future. The main reason I improved was that I stuck with a pace and resisted getting drawn into somebody else's. Also, I trained, and despite what those retailers at Exel tell you, no gadget, new pair of trainers or running socks is going to compensate for hard work.