Sheep

Had a day out in Peebles yesterday for the Manor Water Hill Race. A 10 miler up a 2200ft climb. Just about the distance I have been doing on my mid week runs up Arthur's Seat recently so I was confident I would be able to finish it. Also I was attracted to this run as it was part of the Manor Valley Sheep Dog Trials. I've never seen sheep dog trials live...only on One Man and His Dog. There were lots of ruddy faced farmers around and Sheep Dog Trials is really an excuse to get the beer tent out and have a skinful. The raffle was well worth entering as 3rd prize was a black faced sheep. I so wanted to come home with it in the back of the Zafira but sadly my number never came up. I didn't even win the 4th prize of 2 dozen eggs! Lots of sarnies and cakes were on offer from the local ladies and a great atmosphere. Photo: One of these lucky fella's was 3rd prize. The other was 2nd...a meal for 2!

The race itself was also quirky. Registration in the back of a horse box and a bottle of stout for every runner and only £4 to enter!

This was my first hill race in a long time so I was a bit nervous, and listening in to conversations in the queue was no help. Last years winner was telling his pal how he had run & bagged 94 Munro's last year. Others just look like they have actually lived in the hills as hermits, sporting ridiculous beards and weathered leathery faces. The race started and it was pretty much a relentless uphill climb for 5 miles. I impressed myself by running a fair bit of it and keeping the walking to a minimum. I got caught in a battle to the top with some guy who I passed, then he passed me and so on for most of the race. I beat him to the top and after that I just put him behind me. The course was wet and the path was a sheep trail in the heather and bracken. To narrow for my size 12's so footing was tricky. With 2 miles to go I was passed by a runner who politely tried to encourage me by saying it was down hill all the way. Now I really hate being passed so late on and so I thanked him for his tip and then stepped up a gear and broke away from him again and beat him. I was 1 second away from catching another too, which made for an exciting sprint finish. 28th over all and happy with that. Back to the sheep. I was googling sheep dogs and here's a site that some might use to buy ingredients for a Nigella Lawson meal. Let's just say it does exactly what the label says! http://www.come-bye.com/index.php

Week 6: Holiday Clubbing

The grand finale of the summer for Dunbar Churches was the annual holiday club, which had an Olympic theme under the title 'On Your Marks'. Getting a group of people from different churches to work together is surprisingly difficult, but the holiday clubs model how it should be. A generous mix of talent, personalities and ages thrown together for the common good of kids. Great again to have some teenagers involved as they have an irreverent humour that is lost on the kids but keeps me on my toes as they push the limits. And it was also great to see an increase of kids attending. We must be doing something right. Personal highlights: Well so many to choose from but one was seeing an elderly woman who has mentored a young lad for 2 years now on a project I run, finally meeting his mum and family. Somehow they had never met and when they did it was like long lost friends reunited. Generally it was all a good laugh at 'OYM'. I enjoyed my daily appearance as an olympian...although I need to work on the skin tones for my Usain gig.

I was very pleased with my Jess Ennis outfit with an inspired washboard stomach from Isabelle.

In the evenings we did out 'yoof' programme. It was very chilled out and we got the masks out for our photo challenge. Here's Lady Gaga and Beyonce down at the Meths...the oldest Methodist Church in Scotland.

Final night had to be a bonfire down the beach. Pure magic to end off a busy summer!

Week 5: Scoughall Camp

This was 3rd or 4th year helping out on the SU Camp over in Scoughall. Although it is less than 8 miles away, it is so secluded that you feel like you really are away from it all. And yet 1000's of people know it all too well and make that journey back. The camps have been running there for over 50 years and have had an impact on so many people who now have fond memories of it. I was moved this summer to see an old Scoughall'er reunited with his old tent leader. I was out taking some snaps by the Peffer Burn next to the camp when I bumped into a couple of blokes who were chatting about the "God songs' they used to sing by the burn. I introduced myself and it turned out one of the men came to Scoughall between 1981-83. I realised he was in a bit of mess. Drugged up to the eyeballs and incredibly vulnerable. The man with him turned out to be a Salvation Army support worker who had brought him to Scoughall that day because he was so upbeat about it. As we chatted he recalled his memories of Scoughall and some of the people. It was a long shot but I suspected one of our more senior team members Gary Pews would have been at that camp. Sure enough he was and Gary came over to chat. My guess is that this guy was on a downer and things in his life had not turned out well. But he remembered Gary and was so excited to see Gary. "I bet you won't remember me' he said to Gary in a sort of defeated tone. But it was a moment of brilliance as Gary remembered this mans name and not only that, where he was from and where he moved to. Tears filled up in this guys eyes as a place that had meant so much was again delivering the goods. He had been noticed and remembered. Sadly we had to leave him, so I don't know what came of him. It was a great reminder of how important it is to take time out for the individuals on these camps. Photo: Scoughall's luxury accommodation

The rest of the camp was up to it's usual high standard. I like the relaxed approach to the "God' stuff. It's more an ongoing conversation with the whole camp, which for me is better for kids who struggle with meetings. I have a role at Scoughall which is to work with comedy genius Martin Boyd to make films about the bible stories, involving the kids as much as we can. We have a right laugh doing them and surprisingly we remain fairly loyal to the original story...although I am not sure Gideon's army made their attack on Space Hoppers, or that he wore a cravat! Photo: The view of Dunbar from Scoughall. So near and yet so very far

Week 4: Manchester Olympics

We headed south for a week to catch up with the family down in Manchester. Our Sarah & Rob were about so we headed of to the local park with Thomas. I'd forgotten that 'the park' is a magnet for all walks of life and for that reason it is an interesting place to be. Stuart managed to get himself a game of footy with a load of lads & girls. It's important to note that Dunbar is almost entirely made up of white people. I think I'd be safe in saying there are less than 20 people of black origin in this town. It was great to see him part of city life, playing with kids of all sorts of ethnic backgrounds and a goalie wearing a burqa. Also funny to see all their dad's watching form the sidelines smoking something....well illegal. The afternoon got a little bit scary when Thomas was chased by a pitbull terrier belonging to a load of lads. It was friendly enough, as were they but it's not the sort of dog you really want to let loose amongst a load of kids. There were several screams from mothers telling their kids to freeze...followed by several screams of expletives directed at the shellsuited youths. Also entertained by the awful mural on the pavilion that has been painted over, probably by Community Service people who have adhered to the strict H&S rules. That means they only painted out the lower level, leaving behind a mysterious phallic looking image. See what you think!

We went out for a few drives here and there, like Marple's ROman Lakes. Nothing Roman about them but lots of savage ducks and geese terrorising kids eating sandwiches. News that the Olympic football was at Old Trafford was not new...but we hadn't realised it was actually on whilst we were there, before the official opening. So we booked tickets online and headed off to collect them the next day. There was a ridiculously long queueing area for tickets, but not a soul in it apart from some Senegal fan trying to tout tickets. It looked like it was going to be a total flop. Role on match day and we felt obliged to go over the top with Team GB support and did the whole face paint, wigs, tattoo thing. Partly to try and muster up some enthusiasm for it. It was a pleasant surprise to arrive on the bus to see thousands of fans all on good form. It being Team GB's first big event, TV crews from around the world gathered outside the Theatre of Dreams. A taste of what lay ahead of the nations Olympic fever was being savoured. As we'd made the effort, we were interviewed by The Sun, and Stuart managed to get filmed by several TV crews from around the world.

The football itself was poor, although I think most people were just there so they could be 'at the Olympics'. You got 2 games for your ticket so we enjoyed United Arab Emirate vs Uruguay and Team GB vs Senegal. UAE were the adopted team of the fans as Suarez was playing for Uruguay and got boo'ed every time he even looked at the ball. The problem with Team GB (apart from not being very good at footy) is you can't get a good chant going. 'Team GB! Team GB!' wears a bit thin after a bit. The only other downside to the evening was that they had sold out of pies before the game had even started. Now that is a disgrace.

Week 3: Alltnacriche

It was another journey up north for the 3rd week of the holidays. This time working on the SU Camp at their outdoors adventure place Alltnacriche, just down the road from Aviemore. I had the responsible job of being travel leader. This involved counting them on and off and having a list of names and emergency numbers should we drive into a ravine off the A9 and die! No such action but there was a close shave both going and returning to Aviemore. We'd pulled into a service station for a 'comfort break', and by chance an identical bus, also going to an SU camp rolled up. There was a moment of madness as kids returned to the wrong bus. On the journey back the same happened again...except it was a bus full of blokes on their way to an 80's weekend stag party. Not a pretty sight and I managed to prevent our 14 year olds being chatted up by a bloke dressed as Limahl.

Anyway I can't really say too much about the camp itself other than it was maybe a little bit to rigid/tame given that we were in the highlands where adrenaline junkies thrive. That said the lads I took from Dunbar loved it and found the mix of physical challenges combined with the spiritual dimension of the camp a welcome change. Great location and I did a bit of exploring when I could. I went out for a couple of runs up a hill on an old track called the Burma Road. It was used as a key route for the Jacobites. On the last full day I did the same route but took a detour into the bracken and rocky outcrops. Careful navigation of the floor required total concentration. I like that kind of challenge, but it does have risks. For a split second I lost focus as I saw the road was close. In that time I managed to wedge my left ankle and right shin under a boulder as I travelled forwards at great pace. I found myself lying in a ditch with both legs and ankles in agony. I really thought one was going to be facing the wrong way, but it was just severe bruising and a gash. It stopped me running for 3 weeks though. One unexpected highlight for me was going to church at Inch Parish Church. Located high up overlooking the loch, this was a special place. Chatting to people there I discovered that there had been a church on the site for 700 years. They knew this because they have a bell that had come with the first missionaries and has stayed there as long as there has been Christian worship on the site. I couldn't help wonder what it was like for them and what their hopes and dreams were for their church back then. I love that sense of history to a place and that it involved people with pioneering spirits. The church stood on the footprint of the saints

All in all it was a good week, although the midges were appalling and at times I looked like an acne infested teenager. There were lots of them too and some even more annoying!

Summer 2012 Weeks 1-2

Okay so I am about 10 months behind with things so no time like the present to catch up with a review of the summer. The school holidays are notably different now my kids can fend for themselves a lot more. They still need feeding from time to time but mostly they do their own thing. Stuart needs reeling in from time to time as he would play out for ever. Al 3 of them think I am a human wallet and fleece me daily. Week 1: Not on holiday as Isabelle managed to wangle a placement at the hospital with a heart and lung surgeon. Not brewing up for him or licking envelopes as many work experience rookies do, but actually watching him work. Day 1 involved seeing a lung being removed and as the week passed by she rounded it off with 4 hours of open heart surgery...on a patient not herself. Quite a cool way to spend your holidays.

Meanwhile I spent some time in the office sorting out a years worth of clutter and preparing for the holiday clubs that awaited after my own holiday. Week 2: The Highlands We were gifted a break in a colleagues house near Plockton up north, whilst he went to Peru! We set off on the wettest day ever and the Edinburgh bypass was closed, forcing traffic on to narrow B roads where they soon became as clogged as a Glaswegians artery's. It took 3 hours to travel 32 miles but despite the set back we plodded on to Plockton via Glencoe. Glad we did as this is a stunner of a route. What really lifted me was that the kids actually noticed that too and were keen to have a look around at the next break. On arrival at the house, which was quite secluded we had been told to let ourselves in as the door wouldn't be locked. I edged my way through the front door calling out in case this was the wrong house. After looking at a few family photo's I realised I was in the right place. Inside we were all amused to see how alike our houses and possessions were. They even had the same slippers! Outside were some chickens that we were to look after. We did that and the kids enjoyed the routine of nicking their eggs and wombling around in there. They also had a trampoline which added to the fun.Down the road/glen were some donkeys that also entertained us in our chilled out week.

There was a lot to do but we opted for doing a bit of this and that. On the Sunday I went for a run and discovered all the marked paths were fiercely overrun by bracken and nettles. To complete my run I needed to get along the Loch and the only option was the single track railway line. I wrongly thought it would be quiet on a Sunday so chanced it. I'd not planned for the 11.01am from Kyle of Lochalsh and got quite a shock when it blew its horn at me. Worse still as I wandered down the track I realised I was 50 meters away from the station, where the train had now stopped and where 'rail official looking' people were stood. It was a case of hiding in the bushes until the coast was clear. We went to Plockton to do a bit of sea kayaking. The local health visitor multi tasked hiring them out from her cottage. Lovely little coves and islands to visit by boat and stuff like that We did a fishing trip which was good fun and caught loads of stuff. Gutting them was equally entertaining. The highlight of the week had to be the Misty Isles Boat trip to Loch Coruisk from Elgol on Skye. Just mind blowing scenery and a sense of escape. After the boat trip to the loch, which sits at the foot of the Cuillin's, there's time for a walk...or a swim! Yes we decided to go for it and glad i did. There's photo of Stuart on this link that made it to the BBC website. I can't recall all the things we did, but I must return, especially to Skye's west coast.