Just to reassure readers that the washing machine is now fully functional and the smell of dirty running gear is slowly beginning to fade in the house. However I fear some of my base layers were left too long without exposure to the old Daz. I get roughly 2 minutes of exercise out of them before they begin to hum. Any solutions for removing offensive smells from clothing would be warmly welcomed by fellow runners.
Looking forward to starting to coach the cross country team again next week. Could this be the year we reclaim the East Lothian Primary Schools trophy? I've already got some of them asking if we can do a couple of laps of the racecourse when we go to York in a few weeks time. I'm up for it as I am trying to stick to my marathon training plan. So far so good, but as the mileage creeps up, the time for each run does too.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Out of Service
I hate the piss poor service we get in this country. I don't know if it is the same elsewhere in the developed world, but the distinct lack of pride and effort put into people's work and businesses is probably reflected in why so many of them go to the dogs. I hate the way it goes without saying that the customer is treated as subnormal, second class and that the people we buy from are doing us some sort of favour. I hate the way they do everything on their terms and expect us to wait.
Take for instance our 11 month year old Beko washing machine. In mid December we stuck it on a hot wash and it broke. We called out the repair man as it was under warranty. Except you have to call Glasgow and they arrange it in one of those 'some time on Tuesday' slots. Some time on Tuesday arrived and after waiting in all day, the call comes in to say that the engineer is off sick. Another slot of 'some time on Thursday next week' was arranged and yet again a mid day a call comes in to say he is stuck in North berwick in snow and won't be traveling the 12 miles extra to Dunbar. By now we were at Christmas so another time was set....and yes another fail. Finally we get offered a slot on Hogmany. Beyond all belief he actually turned up (at exactly the same time as the heating engineer who fixed our heating) and looked at it. "You need a new motor, it will be next week as I'll have to go to Luton for it. The office will call you when it's in". A week later they hadn't called and low and behold it's another week before we get sight of Mr Beko.
The knock on effect of this is my running gear is getting really smelly. I'm trying to reduce the amount of washing so I've taken to wearing it more than once and drying it out. Mmm! Hurry up Mr Beko
Take for instance our 11 month year old Beko washing machine. In mid December we stuck it on a hot wash and it broke. We called out the repair man as it was under warranty. Except you have to call Glasgow and they arrange it in one of those 'some time on Tuesday' slots. Some time on Tuesday arrived and after waiting in all day, the call comes in to say that the engineer is off sick. Another slot of 'some time on Thursday next week' was arranged and yet again a mid day a call comes in to say he is stuck in North berwick in snow and won't be traveling the 12 miles extra to Dunbar. By now we were at Christmas so another time was set....and yes another fail. Finally we get offered a slot on Hogmany. Beyond all belief he actually turned up (at exactly the same time as the heating engineer who fixed our heating) and looked at it. "You need a new motor, it will be next week as I'll have to go to Luton for it. The office will call you when it's in". A week later they hadn't called and low and behold it's another week before we get sight of Mr Beko.
The knock on effect of this is my running gear is getting really smelly. I'm trying to reduce the amount of washing so I've taken to wearing it more than once and drying it out. Mmm! Hurry up Mr Beko
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
2010 bids farewell
That's the end of another year. A quick look back over the blog reminds me of some of the highlights.
January - It started watching Stuart doing a Lonny Dook in North Berwick. I opted for towel holding in a bid to preserve my manhood. Soon after a weekend away with the clan St Margarets in the lakes giving us time to catch up with old and getting older friends. the low point was my marathon training hitting the rocks with some dodgy swollen ankle thing. A whole month and a bit wiped off my training plan for London. It was a long month as the schools return was delayed by a week due to snow. It was the first proper snow and we spent almost the whole week sledging on the golf course. It's funny how a year on the novelty of snow has well and truly worn off.
February was uneventful. I regained some fitness and did the National Cross Country championships.
March saw an early Easter and the second and very successful Holy Ghost Walk. One of those rare occasions where the churches pulled together and let their hair down. I did the Alloa half marathon in a half decent time and it was one of 2 visits to York with the school kids.
April saw me pull off a PB at the London Marathon. It was a surprise to me that the crowd support and the sense of occasion would be so good and I'm looking forward to doing it all again this year. The volcanic ash cloud lingered around most of Europe but in Sunny Dunny the sun was out and we headed to the beaches and the gold course.
May saw yet another trip to York and also school related a great sense of pride when we finally won the East Lothian Primary Schools athletics competition. We'd worked hard for that...30 years to be precise!
June was Andrews last year in Primary School. Out with a bang, he and his mates and Wagette's hired a big limo to take them to the school prom. It's been good working with his year and I continue to do so in the grammar school. On the racing front i crashed and burnt at Loch Leven's half marathon.
July saw us take our first ever fly drive holiday. The warmer climate of Tuscany was our destination, which was stunning in parts. Apart from getting fined for jumping a toll barrier, we enjoyed the life of Riley in our Eurocamp budget tent! the latter part of July was also spent in a tent...just 12 miles up the coast at Scoughall where I was helping out on the SU Camp.
August took me to the Edinburgh Festival for the first time where I met up with the Jones' of Burnage! We also had a very good holiday club with the churches in August and it rounded off well a long busy summer. The was a tragic end for some. 2 of our Guinea Pigs croaked in the same afternoon. Unknown causes but the long haired one lives to tell the tale.
September brought new life in the arrival of Myfanwy over in Oz for Colin & Sharon.
October saw us visit London twice! First for the wedding of Rory and Anna and the second time for a jolly with the kids at half term. Good times were had by all. Another baby arrived. Elsie became the latest addition to our Sarah's lot. Apart from getting attacked by a swarm of wasps, it was another good month.
November was most memorable for it's rather early snowfall. Yet again the schools shut in fear of some awful thing happening (like kids getting an education or learning some basic survival and adaptability skills). Something I have not mentioned much is that Andrew's football team take me all over Edinburgh and further afield as they take on a mixed bag of teams. They are playing well and they came close to getting into the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup. And Emma is now coaching the 3rd year girls hockey team. After a disastrous opening season last year, things have turned a corner and as it stands they are on to 4 wins in a row....including beating the formidable North Berwick.
December will too be remembered for snow. It all ground to a halt and brought a premature end to what had been a very enjoyable year. I hate it when you look back at a year and nothing has gone on. Not 2010, it was a good one!
January - It started watching Stuart doing a Lonny Dook in North Berwick. I opted for towel holding in a bid to preserve my manhood. Soon after a weekend away with the clan St Margarets in the lakes giving us time to catch up with old and getting older friends. the low point was my marathon training hitting the rocks with some dodgy swollen ankle thing. A whole month and a bit wiped off my training plan for London. It was a long month as the schools return was delayed by a week due to snow. It was the first proper snow and we spent almost the whole week sledging on the golf course. It's funny how a year on the novelty of snow has well and truly worn off.
February was uneventful. I regained some fitness and did the National Cross Country championships.
March saw an early Easter and the second and very successful Holy Ghost Walk. One of those rare occasions where the churches pulled together and let their hair down. I did the Alloa half marathon in a half decent time and it was one of 2 visits to York with the school kids.
April saw me pull off a PB at the London Marathon. It was a surprise to me that the crowd support and the sense of occasion would be so good and I'm looking forward to doing it all again this year. The volcanic ash cloud lingered around most of Europe but in Sunny Dunny the sun was out and we headed to the beaches and the gold course.
May saw yet another trip to York and also school related a great sense of pride when we finally won the East Lothian Primary Schools athletics competition. We'd worked hard for that...30 years to be precise!
June was Andrews last year in Primary School. Out with a bang, he and his mates and Wagette's hired a big limo to take them to the school prom. It's been good working with his year and I continue to do so in the grammar school. On the racing front i crashed and burnt at Loch Leven's half marathon.
July saw us take our first ever fly drive holiday. The warmer climate of Tuscany was our destination, which was stunning in parts. Apart from getting fined for jumping a toll barrier, we enjoyed the life of Riley in our Eurocamp budget tent! the latter part of July was also spent in a tent...just 12 miles up the coast at Scoughall where I was helping out on the SU Camp.
August took me to the Edinburgh Festival for the first time where I met up with the Jones' of Burnage! We also had a very good holiday club with the churches in August and it rounded off well a long busy summer. The was a tragic end for some. 2 of our Guinea Pigs croaked in the same afternoon. Unknown causes but the long haired one lives to tell the tale.
September brought new life in the arrival of Myfanwy over in Oz for Colin & Sharon.
October saw us visit London twice! First for the wedding of Rory and Anna and the second time for a jolly with the kids at half term. Good times were had by all. Another baby arrived. Elsie became the latest addition to our Sarah's lot. Apart from getting attacked by a swarm of wasps, it was another good month.
November was most memorable for it's rather early snowfall. Yet again the schools shut in fear of some awful thing happening (like kids getting an education or learning some basic survival and adaptability skills). Something I have not mentioned much is that Andrew's football team take me all over Edinburgh and further afield as they take on a mixed bag of teams. They are playing well and they came close to getting into the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup. And Emma is now coaching the 3rd year girls hockey team. After a disastrous opening season last year, things have turned a corner and as it stands they are on to 4 wins in a row....including beating the formidable North Berwick.
December will too be remembered for snow. It all ground to a halt and brought a premature end to what had been a very enjoyable year. I hate it when you look back at a year and nothing has gone on. Not 2010, it was a good one!
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
All over for another year
Photo: Dunbar's decorations in storage for another year
Ah that's the last of the baubles put away in the garage, although i am sure there are a few stray ones lurking behind the sofa. The good thing about decorations are that they hide the mess. Now they are down, that dirty chipped paint work that had been hiding behind the garland was fully exposed. With time on my hands the job had to be done. Out came the magnolia and the hall and a bedroom were done, helped by Stuart and Andrew who were so enthusiastic that they even painted each other.
Christmas went well. The build up to it at school came to nothing as our friend the snow caused it to shut early on the Wednesday and never reopen. Numerous Christmas party's and nativity plays never happened. No time for farewells and Christmas greetings, just a mass exodus of staff heading home to avoid the snow monster. This did us a favour because it meant getting an early start for our journey south. With our street being completely covered in the deepest snow yet, I wasn't sure if we would make it beyond Adsa, but luck have it, this was localised snow and everywhere else was clear. So we had a smooth journey, giving us bags of extra time and leaving us with the the rare opportunity to call in at the New Balance Factory Shop in Shap. It's always a bit hit and miss in there. Emma got a very good pair of cushioned shoes for no less than any other place, but I managed to get a good pair of support shoes for £15! I was tempted by all the other shoes in the size 12 and over bargain boxes but the Christmas pinch was being felt.
Once in Manchester it was a great few days of soaking up the Christmas joy, with assistance from my dads malt whisky selection and a banquet of food. We had a shopping trip to Stockport to pick up a few loose ends and watch the people. I like Stockport. It's a good looking town but it could do with increasing its gene pool a bit. Shop after shop were filled with slightly (through natural causes and general wearing down by life's hardships) disfigured and ugly people. Obviously all related and from one of Stockport's many small estates where having a 3rd nipple and hairy palms is standard. Later that day we saw the more refined side of Stockport at its fantastic Plaza Theatre where we saw the pantomime of Peter Pan. This is what theatre going is all about. A beautiful art decor building saved from ruin and life as a bingo hall, restored and run by volunteers, including an organ recital before the panto. Brilliant to experience. The show was short on gags and didn't really transfer into panto despite Boycee's performance (him off Only Fool and Horses). Nevertheless we enjoyed it and it was a good way to spend Christmas Eve.
It's anyones guess who will turn up at my mum and dads on Christmas Day. Throughout my life I have joined many a waif and stray for the festive merriments. This time we were joined by our Jane's Andy's lad Mark, Aunty Dorothy and Uncle Frank and John! I am not sure who he was but he fitted in well. We had been over at St Margaret's Church earlier for the service. After which it is a a sort of speed dating scenario of trying to see everyone before the verger shows us all the door.
We didn't do a lot in Manchester this time. We went out for a walk with the whole of the Pugmire family. Nice to see them all but really too many kids, dogs, distractions and not enough time to get beyond 'oooh haven't you grown...or how bald are you'. I managed to get a few runs too. The most memorable was a 10 miler into Stockport and back via the Mersey which had frozen over. Running there requires a lot more forethought, and consideration to things like a) how many roads will I need to cross b) will I get mugged c) am I likely to get mauled to death by a stray pitbull. That said, there are a lot of runners about and i'd love to do a race down there some time soon.
So with all the pressies opened and a MacDonald family party to get back for, we returned on an equally easy journey. Not sure what's happening next year. Rumour is our Colin is back from Oz, but it is probably our turn to host it. What will we do?
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