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.

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.

Easter Services

Photo's: Easter Day service at Belhaven Beach, Dunbar

Easter holidays have turned out well. We had a good service down on the beach on easter morning with a good crowd turning up for the 8 a.m. open air. It's a 20 minute service but the location looking out to sea, the bonfire and the cross make it a special service and one that brings an important focus to Easter. Afterwards it was breakfast at the church where we enjoyed conversation with people we normally don't get talking to...plus lots of warm croissants. For a change we decided to go to the Parish Church. Not because we are defecting, but because Stuart wanted to go. In my books if a kid is showing any enthusiasm about going to church then grab it. So our 2nd service at 11 a.m. was done. Finally I had been invited to the Methodist church evening 'Let's Sing' service and had no reason to turn it down, and in fact I quite liked the idea of going to a low profile service where I could be part of the crowd and be fairly anonymous. It was a great service too, with some really old gospel songs and hymns being sung with great gusto. Songs that have become uncool in the modern world of the Christian worship scene, but when sung with passion and belief are belters. The use of an old midi playing keyboard, that sounds like the sort of music being played on Llandudno Pier by the bloke who sells tapes took away any glory seeking by 'The Band'. None of this 'aren't we wonderful type of stuff' (as my mum described the Spring Harvest Band). To round off the evening we had cakes, sandwiches and sausage rolls....oh and a cup of tea. They never fail to feed you at the Meth's and I'll look forward to a return visit there soon.

Greaseproof Pencaitland

Yesterday being Easter I spent most of my day at either special services or eating stuff not fitting for a marathon training programme. Needless to say my long run got postponed. I needed to get my last big long run in before the marathon, so that I can now enjoy the taper down. However, we needed to do a couple of trips to Edinburgh to pick up some furniture, so rather than stick to my usual routes, it made sense for Emma to drop me off and I would run back. I'd worked out that the sleepy village of Pencaitland is 20 miles away and the route would take me through some of the back roads of East Lothian that I don't ever recall going down. It was all a bit of rush to get to edinburgh and I realised I'd left my rain jacket and vaseline behind. As it was chucking it down one or both of these are a great way of seeing off chaffing of the nipples, armpits and inner thigh. The wet weather makes them worse.
There is one thing that Pencaitland lacks and that is lubrication! The village shop only sold rolls and war rations it was so badly stocked. A couple of tins of corned beef were not going to see off the agonising sting of chaffing. So I tried the garage...not for Catrol GTX, but for vaseline in the shop. SOLD OUT! The man did offer a cherry lip balm though but i was more intrigued as to why it had sold out? I also discovered there are no loos in Pencaitland. Thank the Lord for the wide openings on Gatorade bottles, that now seem to do ginger beer type flavour.

The run itself was 20 miles and took in some great scenery that I'd not seen before. The road sort of bends around Traprain Law, which meant it never seemed to get any closer, and I wondered if I would ever make it to familiar ground. The route passed through East Saltoun, Gifford where there was a little bit f snow here and there, Garvald, Whittinghame and Stenton. Well worth the drive I'm sure, but go slowly to enjoy the views and to avoid hitting people like me out for a run. I got back in 2.5 hours which is what i had expected, as I was in no rush. It actually covered quite a lot of climbing. Here is a link to the route if you fancy it. I should also point out that there are several good looking pubs on the route, which I managed to bypass, although on a warmer day I could be tempted to refuel! Oh and the chaffing was fine as was the weather that turned out bright once i got going.
Pencaitland to Dunbar Route

Holy Ghost Walk II

Yesterday it was Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week and to kick off the most important 7 days in the Christian calendar I helped organise the 2nd of the local churches Holy Ghost Walks. The concept of the Holy Ghost Walk follows the popular format of the historic city ghost tours, where as you wander around, you are greeted by a spooky character, normally played by a failed drama student looking to pay off their student loan. The difference is that the characters represent people associated with Biblical stories.

This year we decided to go with the Easter story, so some could describe what we did as a passion play. However, with flimsy scripts, lame jokes, wooden acting and costumes made from curtains and duvet covers it was more a combo of Monty Python passing through the Crossroads Hotel on the way to Oberammergau! Nevertheless, over 100 people turned out to join in and a good afternoon was had by all. We had a new route that started and finished in the village of West Barns near Dunbar. It took in the Biel Burn and the Seafield Pond before heading back to the hall.

I played the part of the man who provided Jesus with a donkey to arrive in Jerusalem. With me was my junior sized donkey Stuart, who we called Dinky Donkey. Other characters included the market stall holder who complained at having their table overturned in the temple, Mary who had washed Jesus' feet, the owner of the Upper Room who was played by the local GP in the style of Ali G, but by all accounts sounded like he'd had too much wine and came from the South African quarter of South Wales. A real scoop was to get use of a huge rowing boat for the day where Simon Peter shamefully told his story of betrayal, and to finish off we had 2 Roman guards playing a game of snap with the crowd to win some of Jesus' shredded clothes. The final stop was back to the West Barns village hall for a short epilogue by Rev Gordon Stevenson, accompanied by trays and trays of really good home baking.

Merry New Year!

Photo's: The Loony Dook and Stuart having a ball. I'm not sure how the picture of the girl got in there!

Ah the end of another year. Where did it all go? Well we spent hogmany driving back up from Manchester in record time, despite some snow on the Biggar road. We got ourselves along for a drink at the Masons Arms where the running club were hosting the Black Bun Run. Whilst it was only 1 and bit miles, I had been stuck in a car for the last 4 hours and not really in the mood for a sprint, so I enjoyed one or two pints before I commit to marathon training where such things will be a luxury. After that we went home and decided to expose our kids to the joys of the high street Hogmany party. They had the pleasure of seeing a large percentage of the alcohol thirsty teenage population bumping into each other, making incoherent noises and fighting. It was slightly hostile but nevertheless entertaining in the same way rubber necking is at motorway pileups. As usual midnight passed and it was an excuse for more of the same, so we slipped away and went home. There Emma decided she would put the famous Scottish hospitality of first footing to the test. Our neighbours had invited us on a number of occasions to call in for a drink. I really wasn't sure 12.30a.m. was what they had in mind, but we tried it out anyway. Either they were very polite and put on a brave face, or they were extremely good neighbours and welcomed us in for a dram or two. A 2.40a.m. we turned in as it was an early start of 11am the next...sorry same day.

New Years Day holds another great Scottish tradition, the Loony Dook. Make of it what you will, but basically people like to jump into the cold sea. Is it the sense of camaraderie, a penance for over indulging in the weeks before, or just stupidity. I don't know, but Stuart decided he wanted to join other fools at North Berwick. In fact it is a great event, lots of laughs and worth going to even if you don't 'dook'. Stuart was straight in, fell over so jumped out again. Once over the shock he made a promt return and enjoyed it all. Here's some pictures to prove it. Note the snow in the background over at Fife. Yes it really was that cold.




Photo: The joys of Dunbar High Street at Hogmany.

Hoppy New Year

I hope you all have a great year ahead. Here's a seasonal message from Dunbar Lights Committee who could either do with changing a few light bulbs or checking out the dictionary. We know what they meant though. Have a good one.

Holy Ghost Walk

The Holy Week celebrations got off to a good start on Palm Sunday with the 'Holy Ghost Walk' in the village of Spott. If anyone has ever been on a ghost or witch tour in places like York and Edinburgh, you will know that story telling is made more fun by the appearance of some second rate actors who jump out on the route. With that in mind I thought it might be a good laugh to tell bible stories in the same way. Also, I know how families like a Sunday afternoon stroll, but I also know that they sometimes need a reason to do it. Spott is a little village near Dunbar, and there are some woods (Brock Woods) there that hardly anyone seems to use, so the perfect location for the walk as there is a village hall to return to for hot cross buns and drinks.

Around 80 people turned up and did the 2 mile walk. There was no way the acting could be done as a serious performance, so it was all a bit panto, and better for it. Our 2 Roman centurions led the crowd around the tour on a quest to find out more about Jesus who was arriving in Jerusalem that day. On the way they met the woman at the well (it was actually the old dam), Zachaeus up a tree who demanded people pay some taxes (£7 was raised), Lasarus and Mary and Martha, and finally John the Baptist. One of our actors dropped out at the last minute, so I ended up being John. Wearing a ridiculous wig and beard I looked more like a member of the Taliban than a biblical character. The Brock Burn became the River Jordan, and I stood in the ford baptising people. I had quite a long wait before the crowd arrived, so I sat at the road side for ages waiting. Some boy racers were out for their Sunday afternoon spin, with a couple of girls in the back and got the fright of their life when they saw me. The car actually swerved off the road nearly hitting a tree, which would have been a very funny accident claim for return.

The sun was out and everyone who survived the walk seemed to have enjoyed it, and there are calls for more. It was a good start to Holy Week and put Palm Sunday back on the map for those who missed who had forgotten it.