Victory at last

I've been working with the PE teacher training up the school cross country team. Yesterday was the finals and we were the hosts so the heat was on. However our strict training regime seemed to pay off as we had runners win both the girls and boys race. In fact all our girls came in the top 20, and the lads top 21. This meant that we also scooped the team prize thanks to the efforts of the kids who really did try hard. I've now been roped in to coaching the athletics team. I don't actually know anything about coaching, so I will be blagging my way through it. I thought Fred Dibnah was the world number 1 steeplechaser! All that is needed is a bag full of motivational phrases....'beleive in yourself' 'that trophy has got your name written all over it'...you know the kind of stuff that you will find on some USA education website. Then sit them down and watch some motivational films like the Karate Kid, Fame (fame costs and here's where you start paying) and Cool Runnings. Well I suppose I had better go now and brush up on my javelin technique before someone loses an eye!

I Love Old York!

Aside to the luggage difficulties in York, the trip was a gooden! The main purpose for me going is to help the school out and to get to know the kids that I will be working with over the next few years. I did it 2 years ago and I enjoy the best response to my work with that group because they have got to see beyond the 'bloke from the church' veneer.

We stayed at the Race Course Centre, which is where the stable hands stay when it's the York races. We were sharing it with another primary school and a 6th form college from Colwyn Bay. How disappointed the 6th formers looked when they arrived for a wild living field trip, only to discover they were sharing a corridor with 30 primary school kids. No late night parties for them, or we'd set the kids on them.

I really like York. I've visited it for years for camp reunions and planning days, but normally I got no further than St Paul's Church or the Micklegate Bar. So it was good having the free benefits of open top tours, guided walks, a visit to every museum and even Castle Howard (quite boring really...wow it's a big house showing off the wealth of local posh people who exploited the poor...are we supposed to be impressed?). The downside was having to shepherd 30 kids around with me. Also the tedious routine of having to go around gift shops looking at crap replica Viking coins and genuine Roman snowstorms and pencil cases. I did get a nice surprise in Jorvik, the Viking Centre. My photo taken 2 years ago, is up on the wall as part of the display boards. Another part of the entertainment was a visit form one of those Viking reinactment people. 'Danelaw Dave' lives and breathes the Viking life and scared the pants off the kids. He was good but I wish he would use the toilet and not crap out of the window on to the streets below!

I know a lot of people in York and it was inevitable that I would see one of them. Rob & Sarah met up with us at the bowling, but apart from that I didn't see anyone until the last hour of the trip where I saw Beth Tew (Criccieth Camps) on the York Eye. Sadly we were just getting on and had to rush off afterwards to get the train so I didn't have chance to chat. Tom our bus driver was up for an award for best ambassador for the city. If you get a chance to visit then I'd recommend the open top tour bus as a way of understanding the history and geography and social background to York. we even got to see the York Ness Monster!

Carrying a lot of baggage

I'm just back from the Primary 5 week in York. 30 kids and a load of staff jumped on the 9.30am train to York and spent 4 days there sight seeing. More on that in later blogs perhaps. Anyway, there's one thing that seems to have defined this trip for me, and that is luggage.
Being the only bloke in the team, it was left to me to load the train with all 33 suitcases. Getting them on is ok, but getting them off when the train is itching to get on its way to London is slightly more stressful. The train pulls up and its a case of chucking the bags off as quick as possible. With seconds to spare it was all off, but it never crossed my mind that other people might have put their luggage in there with ours too. It was only when an irate American chap retrieved his bag from the platform that I realised trouble was ahead! The kids all lined up, picked up their bags, and yet somehow there was still a bag spare! Oh dear someone was going to be arriving in London with slightly less luggage than they set off with.

That was the first luggage incident. The second was outside the Minster in York. The climb up the 275 Minster steps was made
easier by leaving our rucksacks with 2 of the teachers. However this put temptation in the way of the local crooks, and one of them sneaked up on his bike and pinched a bag, emptied out the money and put it back and swapped it for another. It was like a scene form Oliver as 3 kids got their cash nicked, before some good samaritan intervened. The culprit is locally known as Nigel Flynn...so if you are ever in York and near the Minster and bump into a bloke called Nigel...check your wallet.

That night we were on a guided tour around York and some of the group needed a pee. I pointed them in the direction of some bushes, only to discover that there was a rucksack lying amongst them. I jumped in and grabbed it and hoped it might be the missing bag. After talking to colleagues, we opened it up only to discover it was full of sheets, a towel and some other bits that clearly belonged to one of York's vagrant community. Realising our mistake we went back to try and dispose o fit quietly. Unfortunately a large crowd of tourists had gathered, the alarm of the solicitors( whose gardens the bushes lay) had gone off and so we just had to dump it and run. How ironic it would have been if that was Nigel's bag!

The final incident was getting on the train back. On arrival at the platform, the guard tells me that the luggage needs to go in Coach 'F'. 'What end is that on then?' I ask. "Well it depends on what end First Class is...either the front or the back. 'F' is at the opposite end to 1st" replied JO.B.Sworth of National Express Trains. Sure enough as the laws of Murphy go, we were stood on the platform with all the cases, and First Class rolls up along side us. It was a mad dash to get them from one end to the other, but with the help of some locals (not Nigel) we got them in on time and delivered safely back to Dunbar where the guards were very helpful...and the fact the train was running late had nothing to do with their enthusiasm!

Young Guns

It was the Dunbar 10km race on Saturday and somehow Andrew managed to get the responsibility of firing the starting gun. It was just like being back in Manchester. Young kids waving guns in the air and police lining the streets. Anyway the race went well from my point of view. I got a personal best of 38:04 and a can of Belhaven Best for my efforts. The race is sponsored by the local brewery so all runners get a can of beer. You can't complain at that!

Geeks Galore!

Over the holidays we ventured out to the big smoke of Edinburgh for the annual Science Festival. It was Emma's idea and I have to say I was doubtful about it. Why would spending a day learning about science be interesting? Anyway to my surprise it was all very interesting. Loads of robots, experiments, bangs, etc....and nerds! You see the festival is a showcase for how good the universities are, and they roll out their students to run the festival. Most were pretty good at doing their bit, but be honest, most of us associate science with geeky blokes and women. There were plenty of them with no skills in dealing with kids at all. Not that Andrew played on that when he went in the dark room for the 4th time (your'e only supposed to go once). The geeks couldn't contain him. But it wasn't just the students who were like that. Loads of boffin brain kids and dads too. If I was a bully I reckon I could have made a fortune nicking 50p from them. Anyway, hats off to them, they kept our 3 entertained for 6 hours. Whether it will make them interested in science is yet to be discovered...let me think..."Andrew do you want to play footy with all your mates, or do you want to go and operate lego robots with Sebastian and Rupert?"

IAAF World Cross Country Championships 2008

Had a great day out on Sunday watching the worlds top flight athletes taking part in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. As a runner it is quite inspiring rubbing shoulders with the best in the world. Our first encounter was the Irish legend, Sonia O Sullivan. She's the coach of the Australian women's team and there she was in front of us on the phone. We took position next to the junction of the small and big loop on the course. This meant we saw them running down hill as well as on the flat. 20,000 others were there and the races began. First the Juniors (Under 20's) and then the Seniors. We saw them all and half the fun was guessing the nation from their running style or outfits. For example several Africans went bare footed, the Egyptian girl went fully covered, and the Congolese woman just took her time (despite being lapped) and plodded in at 40 minutes. Emma can run faster than her and if her parents were from the Congo then things could have been so different! Also some amusing names...topped only by Gaylord Scilly (the sole Sechelles athlete).I have put a few of my favourite shots on here, but I have opened a Flickr account for the rest if you want to have a look.

Here's all the other pictures or see them as a
slideshow on Youtube

You little minx!

WARNING!!! NATURE FREAK IS HERE AGAIN.

My kids have now started calling me a nature freak. I can't help but notice...and comment on wild things that I stumble across. Living in East Lothian just means it happens a lot. Well the parental influence is rubbing off on to them. We were down at Hailles Castle having a game of hide and seek. i was on so I took the opportunity whilst counting to keep my eye on a reed warbler that was hopping around the river. Then I heard the kids shouting me over...they had seen something by the river. Sure enough the junior nature freaks had a find! it was a mink by the riverside. I was hoping it might have been an otter as they are supposed to be on that stretch of river, but it was smaller and black. Definately a mink and we watched it for ages until we realised Stuart was still hiding. It might have looked like a cuddly little creature, but they are partial to a meal of water vole or other animals that are in decline. This one was after a wren that was nesting near the reeds. They need trapping really but I don't fancy giving it a go. I remember all too well the boy in the next bed to me in hospital whose pet ferret had bitten his nose off (apart from the little bit of bone they were graphing skin to).

So if you fancy a new fur coat or a pair of slippers, just head down to the banks of the Tyne near East Linton and there is a 'do it yourself' kit waiting to be caught. Photo: Look closely at the crack in the log and you should be able to see the little devil

Sir Ronald Pechell BT RIP

The damage to the lifeboat was worse than they thought. It looks like the boat is going to be scrapped. What's more undignified for it, is that it is being sent to Hartlepool to be stripped down. Imagine that, being hung up, stripped down with a hole in your bottom in the docks of Hartlepool!

Avoid drowning for a few weeks!

The was a violent storm on Friday night. I knew it was bad when we saw our bench flying across the garden. A northern wind brought with it stormy seas and unfortunately Dunbar's lifeboat came loose from it's moorings and ended up on the rocks, which in turn put a great big hole in the £1.5 million pound vessel. Ouch! So if you are up in Dunbar and decide to go for a swim or take your air bed out for a paddle then remember there is now no boat available to rescue you. Dunbar Lifeboat

I should also add to that list kite buggying. The other week i was doing some work on the roof of Scripture Unions camp down in North Berwick when I saw this bloke kite surfer in the sea. He looked like he was having trouble but then most kite surfers seem to spend more time trying to get it up than actually surfing. I spoke to a colleague and we decided that he was ok and probably would not appreciate us calling for help, so I went home. Later that day the BBC news caught my eye! Oops! it appears that his surf board was actually a buggy that had blown up in the air into the sea. A major search and rescue operation got under way including the helicopter. It was just like those adverts they use to have for the coastguard

Easter

A busy week in Dunbar has just passed. It was Holy Week and proceedings started last week with the churches Palm Sunday procession and Passion Play. We had a theatre group, the Covenant Players, in to perform in the local park. Despite it being very cold, we had a good crowd and the churches were sucessfull in reminding everyone what Easter is all about. There is a Dunbar tradition emerging of using the pipe band for every occasion. I am sure if Jesus was arriving in Dunbar for the passover on his donkey, then a pipe band would have been ahead of him. It worked well for us (photo).

All week I have been working with the schools. I was doing assemblies in Dunbar Grammar School on Easter. I talked about George Cadbury who demonstrated great kindness to his staff at Bournville because his Christian faith influenced his outlook on life..and then of course I talked about God's act of kindness shown through Christ. i have also been pulled out doing the Easter services for Dunbar Primary School where I was working with 2 year groups making films to be shown in the services. P5's picked up on this kindness theme and we filmed them telling everyone about how kind they are! The P7's were looking at the Easter story and I got them to think about characters who are either mentioned in the bible, or who we can speculate would have been there, or would be there in a modern setting. We then interviewed them with a news crew and created our very own passion plays (or films). We had interviews with the executioner, palm tree selling woman (Isabelle), Mary, security guards, forensic experts and even Jeremy Clarkson! I think those involved now understand the story and the people in it more. I was also pleased with the turn out of parents at the services. As one teacher said about a kid, 'his mum turned up for the church service, which is more than I can say for the parents evening.'

Yesterday we celebrated Easter on the beach at 8 a.m. The service is only 20 minutes long but for me is all about quality not quantity. As so much of Jesus' life revolved around being on the coast it just adds to the occasion being on a beach to reflect on his life. The fact it is almost freezing and the wind chill makes it even colder does not take away from the occasion. That said the the croissants and coffee served afterwards are quite welcome.

Finally we had all Emma's family around for the day, including Ethan, the latest arrival who was born on Friday to Mary and Jamie. The children were almost as interested in him as they were with Claire's new iphone.

Easter

On the road

The cross country season is behind us for another year and now our running races hit the roads again. The first one was the Lasswade 10 miler. This was a good run as it takes you down a valley and then back up again...so in other words it's hilly! Nevertheless I dug in and got a personal best of 65 minutes for that distance. The highlight however had to be the post race buffet. The fine ladies of Lasswade had been very busy with their home baking and trays upon trays of millionaire shortbread kept coming out. But even better than that was the fact that the race was sponsored by a lunch box favourite Tunnock's Caramel Wafers
, which explained why they were giving away giant sized ones by the box load. Keep the medals...just bring on the goodies! The only down side to the day was my kit bag got lost in transit for half an hour, so I was left stood around in the freezing conditions getting very cold in my vest and shorts. There was only one thing for it...have another Tunnock's!
The picture is of me at the finish with those not very thermal shorts and vest on.

Nice Guy Eddie!

I've been hanging out with the Royal's again. As if joining Prince Andrew for his garden party at Holyrood last summer wasn't enough, his brother Edward came to see where we stay. I had just nipped out for a pie at Smith's the Bakers when I noticed a crowd gathering in the John Muir Birthplace Museum next door. The police presence told me that they were not there for the scotch pies and cream doughnuts but instead for the Royal visitor. It seems Prince Edward was on his way to the borders (a region next to England & Scotland...not a book shop with a Starbucks in it) and felt fit to pop in and check out the museum. He just happened to be coming out as I was on the hunt for my dinner. I gave him a little wave to see him off, and who knows when I will bump into another. His mum is supposed to be around these parts in the summer, and the last time I saw her was when she opened G-Mex in Manchester in 1986.

Let the challenge...begin!

I think I vaguely remember Isabelle giving me some application forms to sign. She had decided to apply to go on the kids show Raven. Raven is a little man...perhaps not much bigger than a raven...who wields a huge staff that he sticks in the ground and all sorts of magical things happen. He has a team of warriors (children) who have numerous challenges to do including fighting off demons. So with a good Christian ethos to the show I was quite happy for Isabelle to apply!

The next thing we know is she's called up to Glasgow to the BBC for an audition with 80 other kids from Scotland. But there lies the challenge....getting to Glasgow for 6pm on a Friday afternoon when there is also an X Factor gig on. Unfortunately for her, Emma had to drive as I was working. 3 hours later she arrived. For most of the normally 1 hour journey she was in first gear. For the next warrior challenge she had to find something to eat. In the city that probably has the highest population anywhere in the world for fast food, chip eating fatties, and where the production of cholesterol is the main industry, you'd have thought there would be somewhere open. But for some reason the BBC's state of the art facility is in the middle of empty dockland...the sort of backdrop you would expect to see on Taggart. The only food place open was some hotel where a bowl of soup, some chips and a couple of cokes set them back £20!

Anyway the audition was ok it is hard to know what they are looking for. She seemed to enjoy the few activities they did, but most of the day seemed to have been spent waiting around with some whacky kids presenters! Whoop whoop...yeah...cool...fab...types. No John Noakes these days!

Caught Out

I thought you might like to see these pictures I got of Trefor the other day. He has a terrible habit of raiding the bin when we are out, and on this occasion there was nowhere for him to hide his guilt. Despite having a frosties box stuck on his head, he tried to pretend it wasn't there. It reminded me of a bible verse i think I first saw on a train. In fact I am pretty sure it was on a train station platform somewhere on the Festiniog Railway (someone out there can tell me which one). Anyway the message has stuck with me ever since...although I did have to look up the reference.

Number 32:23 "Be sure your sins will find you out".

Dirty Mags!

A couple of weeks ago we joined up in Ambleside with our fellows from St Margaret's in Burnage. There was 100 or so of us staying in High Point Youth Hostel. It was a good opportunity to catch up with everyone over a weekend at a leisurly pace rather than the rush we normally do on visits to Burnage. The building as you will see was huge and so we didn't really see the kids all weekend as they were running around discovering every nook and cranny. I am not sure if we carry some sort of curse, but just as at Grange we had trouble with the plumbing with the minor problem of the water going off. I don't think it was my mum again blocking up the drains, but with a 100+ people in a building with no water it soon began to smell....in fact so did everyone else as there was no showers or flushing water. It brought back fond memories of Criccieth Camps in the early years when we didn't have flushing facilities either, where a visit to the chemical loo included a game of 'who turd is it anyway?' the idea was to guess whose jobbie was sat smiling at you. For a similar game check out this

But despite the odours and pebbledashed loos, we all had a good weekend. Ambleside has gone up in my ratings since I last visited 13 years ago, where most of the shops sold crappy ornaments and stufff like that. Today its a busy little haven for running and walking shops. I managed to pick up a pair of high cut green fell running shorts that are the same colour as Dunbar RC's. I gave them a whirl the next day up a fell. Lots of the people there commented on how skinny I had become. That may be true from my running, but not as worrying as how fat many of them had become. It was moob city in there, and at the end of the weekend the number of empty beer, wine, whisky, gin, vodka, buckfast, whitelightining, Lambrini (the list goes on) bottles gave a clue as to why. I'm no body facist but I know that if you want to enjoy excessive amounts of food and drink you are going to put on the pounds unless you do a bit of exercise. Still everyone seemed happy so that's ok. Anyway above are a few snaps of the weekend. Cheers to our hosts Col & Jane who did a fine job...and jobbie (10 out of 10!)

What a great pair!

Just what you always needed. Found in a garden centre in Ambleside a lovely pair of tits! Solar powered glow in the dark ones for your garden. Why other than being able to boast the gag of 'I've got a pair of glow in the dark tits' would you want them. Blue tits are not nocturnal birds. If it was a glow in the dark owl then maybe I'd be tempted. And hang on...it's the middle of the Lake District where you only have to look out of your window to see more than your average number of the real things. Also found at the same place were rock shaped garden speakers. That's right speakers disguised as rocks. But why would you have speakers in your garden anyway? Ours would be better off with dog turd shaped ones as they would blend in better. And not forgetting the stick on bark faces. Because your tree might look a bit too...well like a tree and not human like, they have made stick on bark faces so that your tree can look like those scary ones on the Wizard of Oz.

Spoilt Papers

Ever wondered what to do with a really crap offer of new terms and conditions from your employer? Well East Lothian Council in its wisdom has upgraded people who needed to be, along with some dumbheads who don't even know how to count the extra dosh they will get. In return highly qualified people with professional expertese get downgraded. So pie munching white van man has more doughnut money, whilst others lose out. Emma was in the latter group along with her planning colleagues and were given a form to voluntarily accept the new deal. How handy it was when we were looking for some lining to absorb the guinea pigs piss and pooh in their cage! Her colleagues sent theirs along to for good measure. Not quite telling their personell lot to stick it up their arses...but not far off. Meanwhile you can get to look at our new arrivals...getting nice and fat ready for the summer BBQ's.

No34

There have been 33 otter sightings in East Lothian in recent years. I'm now No34 although judging by this picture I took perhaps it was just another rock!

Did you see that?

I did my usual Saturday morning walk with the dog on the beach. You get a lot of seals around there if you look hard enough. This time though I was fortunate enough to see something that I will probably never see again. It was an otter. It was sat on a rock eating fish and at first I thought it was a seal pup. But this thing had a tail and as i got near it there was no doubt about it. I watched it for 5 minutes or so and the dog started barking so I had to ditch it in the car, which allowed me to pick up my binoculars. When I got back it had gone. But then I saw its distinct style of swimming...hooping in and out of the water (I can see why these things have been mistaken for the Loch Ness Monster). I found it again around the corner on the site of the old outdoor pool...and then heading south. I will add it to my list of other wildlife spotted around here (still being headed by the big cat sighting of 2005) but I am never likely to see it again as they are nocturnal and shy normally. Keep your eyes peeled!

Staying on

After weeks of wondering whether to apply for that job at ADSA bakery, I need no longer need to bother. My funding has been renewed for another 3 years. I don't know where it has come from but somehow my management group found the huge amount needed to keep me on. There is also a small pay rise in it too so that I don't defect to the neighbouring towns of Haddington or North Berwick where similar jobs are on offer. It's all a big weight off our shoulders as the thought of moving again didn't really have much appeal.

So my ADSA career is over before it started. Actually I ended up going in there yesterday for something no other shop in Dunbar sells...goggles. Not even the swimming pool sells them. They sell nice chips, bacon rolls, sausage and egg rolls but not anything that might be useful for swimming. Dunbar hasn't quite got this health thing right. Hallhill Healthy Living Centre has just installed a bar in the top right corner of the badminton court! They do sell a good range of cakes though, and slush, and beer. None of that fruit juice and salad nonsense to be seen anywhere. And why should they? There's nothing more satisfying than sinking a few ales in the knowldege that you have just played footy or squash for an hour which was very healthy, and that you have earnt that beer.

Gremlins in the house

Over Christmas we took delivery of some new livestock. 3 guniea Pigs and a Rabbit. I don't think they have names yet but they are overrunning the house. The bunny has already chewed through the flex on the reading lamp (sadly it wasn't plugged in). Now the Guniea pigs are running amok in my kitchen. i have given up trying to catch them as they are working as a team against me so I have left them to it. Last seen gnawing away at a chair leg.
Anyway I found a website that might come in useful if things don't improve. Guinea Pig Fans click here

Theyr'e Gone..i think

Well if my calculations are right Colin & Sharon & the boys will be heading through to the departure loungs of Ringway Airport in around 1 hours time leaving behind a tearful mob of family and friends. Their first stop...Heathrow...then Hong Kong...Disney land Hong Kong (there has to be lots of racist jokes about that one i am sure) then their new home of Adelaide. By all account they were still packing late last night and wondering exactly what to do with the many items still at my mums house. I suppose it will find them eventually.

I have a very early memory of saying farewell to some distant relative as a kid. Until recently I could only remember it being at a train station and lots of people blubbing. I had no idea how old I was, but I discovered recently from my mum that I was about 3 years old. I think this is my earliest known memory and one that has stuck with me. Those psychologists amongst you will have a field day with tht information I am sure. Anyway it turns out the person was my mums cousin Susan who was emigrating. As it happens she too was off to Adelaide, where she is still living and likely to meet up with Colin some time soon.

We are not sure when we will visit them. Before that I ought to check that they actually left the country and didn't leave their visas behind on the kitchen table.

Family Farewells

Over Christmas the whole family (my siblings and wives, husbands and kids + a few Italians who tagged along for good measure) gathered together for one last time before Sharon & Colin and the boys clear off to Adelaide. Although there was a leaving party in Manchester too, we decided that one journey up and down the country in a week was enough and that we would make better use of our time on a weekend away. The venue was the newly refurbished Kents bank in Grange...the Wooldridges old holiday haunt that many of you will have been to. Whilst it's much better, there are still a few areas for improvement. It was a bit of a squeeze but we managed to get everyone in. However overcrowding took its toll on the loo that stopped working after my mum had been in it. Something she did caused a valve to burst! The other toilet also broke and started to leak. She denies any blame.

It lashed it down for most of the weekend but it didn't stop us getting out for a walk with Rob & Sarah, helping them with their new can collecting project. Me and Emma even found time for a game of arrows in the pub. There was plenty of quiz nights and pottering around. A final family photo was taken and off we went. We expect to be visiting them down under some time soon so there wasn't a sense of this being the last time we will ever see them. Still it's strange to to think that on our next visit to Burnage there will only be my mum and dad & Emma Beddows left living there from our family. For most of my life the Taylor family have lived within a few miles of Burnage and now in the last 3 or 4 years we have nearly all left. But as one Burnage boy once said 'don't look back in anger'...as I think we all left because the time was right and not because we were sick of it (the last bit was my words not Noel's).

I'll never be ill again?

In contrast to my healthy start to the year...I got a call up from the Dr's to tell me I am in the 'at risk group'. Of what you might ask? Flu apprantly. Because I am asthmatic I qualify for the vaccination jag. I'll have anything that's for free so I am now immune to 3 types of flu. The problem is, there are more than 3 types out there and you can bet your grannies earings that one of them will find me before the winter is out.

Running through the years

Well goodbye 2007 and hello 2008. Having spent far too much time socialising and eating a drinking over Christmas we decided to have a quiet Hogmany. We did the traditional 'Black Bun Run' with the running club. A mile and half sprint starting and finishing at the pub. We went back home and watched Jools Holland, just about stayed awake for the bells and then went to bed. Very boring. Because of this it meant I was fit enough on New Years Day to run the Portobello Promathon. This is a 4 miles sprint down the prom and back. Actually loads of people turned up (250 ish) and I was quite happy with my finish time of 24:20...which is 6.05 minute miles if you are interested. Then yesterday i did the Peebles leg of the Winter X Country races. That was hard...cold and wet. I came 29th out of 129 so again I am happy with that time. The kids did it too and did ok, although could make more effort to try and look like they are racing and not just out for a leisurley walk. So 3 races in a week is a good start to the year. What lies ahead? Emma is 40 this year and has decided we should do a marathon. She's looking at Amsterdam so watch this space. I had a quick look at other international ones....how about Rwanda...or Kenya? Either way it means lots of boring training, early rises and chaffing of my inner thighs!

Christmas 2007 in review

It's the last day of the holidays, during which my tinternet broke down (banging the router against the wall to sort out the loose connection didn't help). The 'D' Factor judging went well with Erin's cover version of Leona Lewis taking first prize and crying at being given the prize. However, in my opinion the warm up act..'Jake the Peg (dingle lingly lingy lum) with the extra leg' would have got my vote if I could. That routine never fails to raise a laugh.

The kids ended up moaning about how much church there was over Christmas. Friday with school, saturday for rehearsal for the nativity, Sunday for church, Monday for Christmas eve, Tuesday for Christmas. Unfortunately for them Christ's birthday celebrations clashed with the showing of Shrek the Halls. I had to do one extra and go to the midnight service to show the Christmas prayers we had done with the P5's. We went to Spott Parish Church on the big day as their services were a bit earlier and fitted in with the family gathering at Emma's aunty Ella's. Then it was back to ours for the Christmas dinner...well tea by the time it was ready. With just 13 of us it was pleasantly relaxed and everything was cooked in time for the Dr Who special.

In the lead up to Christmas we did a trip to the EastLinks Family Farm to see Santa and the live nativity. If you have any kids and in Dunbar it's worth a visit, although it is quite expensive, but good as a one off. Well Mary and Joseph were not actually there but the livestock were in the stable gathered around some tacky models. Santa was there and it turns out he is one of the local poachers! here is a picture of him with the kids. He has just said to them...'You must not get out of your beds when i come to visit'...and cousin Robbie replied..'only if i want a wee'.Ho ho ho!

Lost and found

A sigh of relief as Santa's missing sack of toys has been found in his secret hidout. This is good news as it means one less visit to the shops....hooray!

Old news, new news, any news will do.

It's been a long time since I last entered something on the Blog. The reason being that life has been very busy on every front in the build up to Christmas. Work has been a relentless round of school lessons, assemblies, special youth nights, making films and staff conferences. The last of it is this week where I am doing assemblies every morning in the grammar school and 2 carol services at the primary school (well they actually go to the church). Tomorrow I take on the role of judge in the primary school 'D' Factor talent contest (D is for Dunbar not diabolical). It's by no means a light duty...in my hands lies the self esteem of many a wanna be pop star, High School Musical extra and actors. And then there's the parents who will take the rejection of their child personally as they desperately try to compensate for their own failings as a child through their own kids.

It's also been busy with kids Christmas activities. Andrew is in the lead for the number of selection boxes aquired from all the different groups he belongs to. Santa keeps popping up everywhere I go, and we keep buying Christmas presents on his behalf and losing them. It's been good to have visitors...Sarah & Rob Graham last weekend and mum and dad the weekend before. For Christmas itself we have only got 13 for lunch as Emma's sisters are going to other places. At some point I need to go and buy some food. Emma's boycott of ASDA means early morning visits to Somerfield. Why? because they are still stocking their meat counter as if a major new supermarket never existed up the road from them. That means nobody buys it, so the next day its all marked down. Bargains galore...large chicken 87p, cod 74p, 2 packets of breaded chicken 99p. You just have to fight through the pensioners and Polish workers to get the best stuff.

Finally we are all preparing to say our farewells to Colin, Sharon and the boys who are doing a runner to Australia in January. Aparantly they are doing it to escape the church magazine rota. Somehow there's not a sense of 'that's the last we will see of them', and Emma is already timetabling a trip out there in the next couple of years. The world has shrunk with improved travel and the tinternet!

So in case i don't make it to the computer again before now and 25th December, have a good Christmas wherever you are.

Wedding dorks

One other thing I forgot to mention about Sarah’s wedding was the rehearsal. Throughout the whole thing there was a bunch of kids on the church roof. They had obviously inherited their parents genes that were evident at the Strangeways riots of the 90’s. They must be proud of them.

It reminded me of mine and Emma’s wedding when the local youths helped decorate the church by writing mine and Emma’s names on the church lych-gate in graffiti. They also nicked my uncle Harold’s taxi sign off the top of his car. We got revenge on them by unleashing Danny Love on the bagpipes. That scared them off!

Muck!

The first of the Borders cross country races got underway yesterday with a race in the English village of Norham. This is my favourite course as it takes you through marshes, cow fields and some pretty steep banks. This year the rope had been brought back. Basically the hill is so steep and muddy that you need a rope to pull yourself up. Greta fun and I came 21st out of 111. These races are not very serious and this was proven when the local farmer joined the run in his wellie’s and overalls. The kids also did a tamer version and did better than last year. The next one is in Dunbar where I am going to try and get in the top 15. As Raven always puts it…’let the challenge begin!’

That's ADSA price!

It finally opened its doors today after months...years of planning...ASDA opened its Dunbar store. Time will tell if it will bring closure to all the charity shops on the high street of Dunbar and the other little shops, but for now it is the new kid on the block and the way some locals talk about it ou would think the second coming has just taken place. Put it into perspective...its a shop that sells cheap stuff. It will never beat Mr Ullah's of Brunage Food Store. Anyway look at the photo of this multi million pound stores promotion shot. How emabrrassing for them.

Master of Disguise

It was Halloween the other day and for most of my life as a Christian I have been told how Halloween is a doorway to the occult and all that evil stuff. I have always accepted that as fact until we moved up here. In Scotland it a big event. The kids go mad for it and trick or treating (known as 'guising') is all good humoured and no real mannace is used to get sweets off the neighbours. In fact I drew the conclusion that celebrating Halloween is as much likely to cause a kid to fall prey to the occult, as selling Christmas cards at ASDA is going to cause someone to turn to Christ. Yes of course there are loads of other dangers but the kids round here always have an adult near by in case some perv lures them into his/her lair.
For Stuart, Halloween is the highlight of the year as he gets to dress up. He found good use for his wedding jacket....Dracula! Then my morals were put firmly to the test. Should I let him go guising? It was then I realised most kids in Dunbar know who i am through my schools work. So if I was to do it I had to go in disguise myself. So off i went dressed as a mummy wearing a balding grave diggers wig and a grey cape. Even with that on and no possibility of anyone recognising me I felt such a tit. The first door was knocked and my neighbour appears staring at Stuart (also masked) and then at me. He had no idea who I was but was clearly initimidated by the scene and ran in and gave Stuart a hand full of sweets. The next house was the same...and so on. It was as near to becoming an armed robber as i will ever get...masked and armed with a dangerous child. I couldn't believe how easy it was to get a bag full of sweets...but at the same time how embarrassing it was. We reached the street where one of the local fundamentalist Christians lives...and it was there I chickened out and returned home in case she tried to exorcise me or something.

Dunbar Crime

Andrew had his first encounter woth Dunbar crime last week. He had left his 2 month old bike at school to go to his mates house. When he returned it was gone. We checked with the janitor at the school to see if CCTV had picked anything up...but no as it switches off at 5pm! Useful CCTV that is then? Anyway having driven around some of Dunbar's higher crime rate areas...there aren't many so it didn't take long...we decided to report it to the police. To our surprise sat behind the counter was Andrew's bike in full working order. Someone had handed it in after they found it near the railway tunnel. It's just over a month until Christmas...it was a brand new bike...these acts of honesty don't really happen do they? What was even more amusing was that the police didn't even ask me for proof of who I was. They just handed it over.

Wedding of the year

Well since my last entry our Sarah has got married to Rob. It meant a trip down to Manchester for us all. As we were about to leave for the tedious 4and half hour journey, Cath rings to say that everyone in Burnage has got the runs and throwing up. As Isabelle was going to be a bridesmaid then we didn't want her getting it too. So to avoid the plague we went to Cheshire to stay in Cath & Rich's new pad in Knutsford. It's very nice there and very posh. We did our usual tour of the charity shops and the assistants just looked at us with pity as if we were in need of their chritable help. Its very nice indeed. In the mornings I went for a run to Tatton Park..the local country estate with a magnificent lake and woodland. I went for a call of nature myself and ended up surrounded by deer...and most wrrying was the stags who were growling at me and waving their antelrs. I asn't sure if it was a mating ritual or a message to tell me to sod off. Either way I wasn't hanging around to find out.
Anyway back to the plague...Thursday night at Cath's new house Isabelle decides to get it. Somehow it reached her and she threw up all over the walls and carpet. Better out than in! By Saturday she was fine.

So the wedding day arrived....where were Isabelle's bridesmaid shoes? In Knutsford was the answer...so off I went back to the Cheshire life. It was a fine day and good to see loads of people who we haven't seen for donkeys. All my dad's siblings were there too...a first since my grandma died. Everyone looked older and fatter. I do too but not that much.

So that's the last of the weddings for a while unless Rebecca decides to get married or Emma Beddows! Whilst we were there Sharon & Colin's visas for Oz arrived so it looks like our next family get together will be to send them off unless Rob & Sarah decide to have a baby...the race is on!

Photo: My dad and his siblings. Isabelle & Sarah and us all.

John Muir the movie

Last weekend we had the presentations for the John Muir Award that I ran with a load of youngen's in the summer. I also got the award for being involved. Part of it was making a spoof film about Muir himself. Needless to say it went down well with the kids. In the USA Muir is a hero, not just some local boy as he is in Dunbar. It will be interesting to see how they take it knowing how poor their sense of humour...sorry humor is. Apparantly it was shown here to some important JM people and there was a slight wind blowing in the room as the tumbleweed rolled past! Here's the link if you want to have a look yourself.

John Muir is the Conservator

School Camp

I have recently returned from school camp in the Trossachs. A week with 145 10 and 11 year olds doing loads of outdoor activities. The school have started to trust me enough (or are desperate) to give me a couple of the looney tune kids to look after. I had 10 lads at the start of the week to look after...by the end of the week there would be 8. The first was lost on Tuesday. His contract specified that if he was threatening or violent then he would be removed and put in a cabin with a teacher on his own....the alternative was going home. I just happened to be there as he tried to punch holes out of someone who gave him the wrong kind of look, so off he went cursing me because it was my fault he was in trouble? By Wednesday we had lost another. One kid had been a bit withdrawn and mardy all week. I thought it was because he was a ginger and used to living a life on the edge of things. He was also a bit spotty for a 10 year old...but then that's because he had chicken pox! I am a youth worker not a doctor... how was I supposed to know. Off he went too. I nearly lost another kid on our early morning run. The run ends up on a slide (see picture) which is fast anyway, but in the torrential rain its lethal as one kid discovered when his head nbanged off the sides of it at high speed.

There were lots of challenges like how to avoid Isabelle who was also there. I didn't want to be in her way and stand accused of being her embarrassing dad. Although to be fair if she had seen me on the flying fox or the cat walk she would have been justified. Here is a picture of me on the flying fox looking ridiculous. I also did the cat walk which is basically a beam accross two Scotch Pines about 30ft in the air. I decided that it might be fun to take a picture from up there...but as I stood looking down my legs were like Shakin Stevens performing This Ole House. Isabelle did the pole climb which introduces them to one use of a pole...they save the dancing stuff until they are grown up. It's simple...you climb a pole and jump off and try and hit a big red thing. Talking of poles...the centre was run by them and I take my hat off to their effciency at meal times. Every 3 hours we were given a cooked meal. The kids get hearty portions, but if you are anything over the 4ft 2" then chef thinks your'e an adult and gives you twice as much. By the end of the week I was feeling very lardy indeed. Still all the kids had a good time.

Cross Country?

Saturday was the start of the cross country season. It was a glorious day and a short race to warm us up for the mud, ice, thorns, crap and sludge that lies ahead of us this winter. 4 x 4km relay in Dunfermline. Dunfermline is like Dunbar in that it is rapidly expanding with new houses made by the same firms. Duloch Park was the venue for the race. 12 months ago when Duloch Park was chosen as the venue for the race, Duloch Park was just that....open fields, marshland, etc. Today Duloch park is a new estate and as indistinct as the next one. Duloch Park is now Duloch Muir...5 bedroom luxury houses with a field next to them.
The race itself was quite exciting as you have to get into a pen in the order of your team mates are going to run. Then as your previous runner returns the marshal lets you go and the adrenelin gets you running like mad. It was a tough long and winding road (dirt path) and I lost 4 places to beanpole athletes who flew past me. Eventually we came 28th out of 54 as a team, and I did my 4km in a slow 15:45. I think a bit of work is needed there then seen as the winner did it in 12: 20!

Of mice and men

They're back! Lying in bed at 3.30 am and straight above me I could hear the pitter patter of little feet, scratch scratch and other strange noises. It's the mice. Around about this time last year they graced us with their presence until I terminated what must have been the daddy of them all. I sent Emma off to the hardware shop for some more traps and she returned with an arsenal of devices designed to catch the vermin. None were humane traps and basically consist of the mouse breaking its neck whilst having its last meal. Peanut butter is apparantly their favourite last meal so I tried its on 3 of the 5 traps, and Kit Kat (no pun intended) on the other. The bets were on and by 4pm in the afternoon the kit kat was a clear winner with its first head. However within the next 2 hours SunPat took out 3 more. All has been quiet since and I am worried that I have eliminated Dunbar's population of wood mice. Time will tell, but meanwhile I am enjoying scratch free nights.

Those moles are a pest

Well one week after visiting the docs to have my huge mole frozen...it has fallen off. Somewhere on the floor of my car is a chocolate raisin sized blob, lurking under a seat waiting to jump on its next victim. After several years of my mole getting bigger and bigger on my neck, I decided to give it the chop as it was begining to seap and get so big that looked like tht bloke of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

So there it goes...my first attempt at cosmetic surgery. That itself was quite interesting. Liquid nitrogen on a swab...it gives a little sizzle and stings...but painless enough really. My collar size has now been reduced by 2 inches and I can now consider waring bling!

Ouch!

Every day after school I take Stuart to the park to let off a bit of steam. On Monday he was joining a gang of other 6 year olds in jumping off the 8ft high climbing frame. Things were going ok until a ruffian gave him a push and he landed on his arm. The wail and the white/grey/green face were a good enough to convince me something was wrong. When we managed to get his jumper off the mishapen arm/elbow pointed to a break or dislocation so off we went ot he Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh. It really is called Sick Kids...and it refers to illness rather than some sort of cruel sense of humour that they might have....that would be Little Shits Hospital. On entry I was impressed by the efficiency of it all. Before you could say 'x-ray', they had him all needled up and ready, and off he went to be x-rayed which revealed a broken arm just above the elbow...and it had dislodged so was sticking out. Within an hour he was on the orthopedic ward and then in surgery having wires put into his arm and out again before 11pm. This also meant having to spend a night in the hospital and guess what...I got to stay too. It wasn't the best nights sleep I have ever had....a z bed in the middle of a ward full of sick kids crying all night, nurses walking past, beepers going off, shift changes, doctors running in and out, porters banging trolleys and generally everything but quiet. The enxt day Stuart got to choose his 'stookie' (plaster). Gone are the days of chalky scrim plasters being slapped on....now you get to choose your own colour from day glow pink, yellow, purple, blue or camouflage. Needless to say he went for the cammy option. This was too good to be true. The next thing is a play worker turns up...is there anything you would like to do? Playstation or X-Box, DVD's, craft, toys, painting,...the list went on. We opted for Garfield2, the box set of Simpsons, Pirates of the Carribean and then inbetween some model aircraft building and some glass painting. Going to hospital is like going to a them park. Lunch...that'l get em I thought thinking back to my 3 months in kids hospital with a broken leg and a diet of stodge, soggy greens and liver. I was wrong...pizza, curry and chips, fish fingers...custard, juice. This place was too good to be true.
Stuart got home and now his brother and sister are trying to find ways of breaking their arms so they can enjoy the luxury that it brings. I am just going to nick his chocolates!

Pictures:
Stuarts Arms broken and Stuart's new cammy stookie.

Missed Camp Moments No3

Ah well camp is over for another year and it sounds like it all went very well. I am glad it did because I would have been disappointed to see a good thing fade away and regret givign it up. There's one camp moment I don't really miss, and that is packing up the camp into a small garage on the field.
It's the last day and you want to be nice to people but they have been up until the early hours trying to get a snog, breaking into the castle, having some booze and other minor rebellious acts. So they are dead to the world and can't be arsed, I want to pack up and go home quickly and inevitably the clash of these two opposing forces leads to some abusive language and accidental whacking of people's heads with lengths of drain pipes and goal posts. Then there is that moment when you lock the cookhouse for the last time...turn around and find a brush or a set of hockey sticks still lying on the field. Your heart sinks, but they have to be moved. One year I remember it was a bucket full of slops from breakfast. I left it and I happened to be in the area 3 months later and emptied the bucket full of maggots then.
So fareweel for another year...or even forever.

I am in the news today

Today I appeared on the news twice. Well not me exactly, but people with my name.

1. Richard Taylor father of Damilola Taylor the 10 year old murdered in London several years ago. He was commenting on the problem of gun crime and how this nations young men are getting caught up in it. The tragic outcome as we know is more deaths like Rhys Jones.

2. The other is a memorial to Richard Taylor skate boarding legend who snuffed a while back.

Missed Camp Moments No2

My birthday. Apart from one year when for some reason the school holidays finished really early, I have for the last 20+ years always celebrated my birthday at camp. So Saturday was a strange experience waking up in a bed, in a house and not having to worry about what lay in the marquee. If I am honest I hate birthdays. I hate the unwanted attention they bring, I can never really think of anything I need and so what, I am a year older than last year. It is something we can't control and what are we celebrating?...not being dead?
That said I can remember some of my birthdays at camp. My 18th was spent in the Castle in Caernarfon. The castle pub that is. How times of changed...the leader of camp Steve Mathews bought me my first legal pint in there. I remember the journey back to Criccieth being a struggle after spending several hours in the pub. My 21st was a much more tame event. I spent it visiting the Bunny Farm in Llanstumnwy the resting place of David Lloyd George. (just as an aside he was actually born in Manchester but the Welsh think he is one of their own). The most embarrassing brithday had to be the one hung from the marquee with climbing ropes, along with a table to eat my breakfast on. The pull on my 'town halls' made it all a bit uncomfortable and looked even worse. For many years I shared my birthday with Rich Church. Big and Little Rich's birthdays. He must be in his 20's now. I wonder how he is doing?

Missed Camp moments No1

The camp bonfire (last night). Wet feet from walking accross the long dew soaked grass, the mating rituals of campers trying their hardest to get a snog, the strange sensation of a roasting hot front but a freezing cold back.

Trefor's lost something

Has anyone seen Trefor's wart. He had it on his eye lid the other day looking like a chocolate raisin....but now its gone and just a little scab is left to show for it. I am going to have a look in the cocoa pops to see if its fallen in there.

Dunbar the place to be

Just in case i ever doubted being in Dunbar is a good thing, a recent survey has proven it to be a fact. The East lothian Courier picked up on this last week.

Goodbye summer

Yesterday was officially the end of our summer. The kids went back to school. Whilst it has been a good summer, I shall be glad to get into some sort of routine. Isabelle is the worst for getting up. It takes her about 3 hours to put a pair of socks on, so half the day is gone before we can do anything. Then it rains and then it is time for something to eat....and so the day can drag on.

Despite the crap weather we managed to have a good summer. Isabelle did 3 Camps, taking advantage of my 60% staff discount with Scripture Union. We all went to Wensleydale to help Jonny out running the camp there. Lots of flanning and irreverant behaviour. Me & Emma & the boys did a Scripture Union camp. i thought it was going to be a bit boring and old fashioned, but it was suprisingly entertaining. I had a room full of lads to look after who were mainly unchurched and a little bit out of place on an Su camp. The rest of the summer was spent working on various projects and just mucking about locally. The other day we went up to Whiteadder where Andrew tried his dinghy out in the river.

It is the flower show season and on Saturday we went to the village of Oldhamstocks for theirs. Stuart entered various races like the sack race, I did a 1.3 fell run (except it was on the raod because the hill was too wet) and came 4th, and we had considered entering Trefor into the dog show but we were too embarrassed as he keeps getting his knob out in public.

So there it goes...another summer gone. Bye

Pictures:
Andrew in his boat at Whiteadder
Stuart on a tree climb at SU Camp in Kinross
Isabelle making a fire on her survival skills day with the country ranger
Andrew's ridiculous teeth. One of them fell out yesterday!

Let it go

Well it barely seems like yesterday when I faced the misery of leaving Criccieth for the last time in 2006. A year on and I am in the strange position of being here at home whilst this years camp starts without me and under a new leadership. This experience is like a parent letting its child leave home for the first time...hoping it will work out ok and trying hard not to take away their independence. Rory who is leading it has already been on the phone with questions that make me gasp...'do we have to have a leader in the minibus?'.....'we might move the marquee'....(have they spotted that embedded gas pipe where they are about to sledgehammer in some metal stakes?) Throughout the weekend I have been clock watching...4pm Saturday: The campers will be arriving any time now....6.30pm the first meal will be finishing and the teenage campers will be learning how to wash up....9pm evening meeting....Sunday 11am campers service....and so it goes. Yes I am missing it, but then here I am in Dunbar with no regrets at all. The countryside here is looking very good and life in this small community is different. I shall look forward to hearing how the camp went via Facebook and hopefully Youtube and hopefully not via the national news reporting a marquee being blown up, or a minibus full of campers being being stranded in a slate quarry because their minibus driver had a mishap with a bit of loose slagg.
Picture:
Criccieth Camp many years ago. I think the person in the picture is Ellen Millar
North Berwick Law in a sunset last week. It was one of the 2 volcanic formations in East lothian I ran over the summer.

North Berwick Law Race

Last week I did another hill run up North Berwick Law (first picture of the bugger...with Andrew missing a sitter playing against their local team). I had every intention of running it, but as soon as I got on to it I realised I would be walking along with everyone else (2nd & 3rd picture). Anyway, it was more fun coming down than going up it and I got a reasonable time of 25:07 and a medal. The good thing about these hill runs is that they are short and allow for more time in the pub afterwards. The downside is cramp and breathing difficulties all in the name of sport.

Poor Kitti's

An update on the Kittiwakes at Dunbar Harbour. A few weeks back I posted some lovely pictures of fluffy little chicks. Unfortunately for them the Danish have been fishing in our waters and have nicked all the sand eels and other small fish that Kittiwakes depend on. As a substitute they have been eating pipefish...a small fish with a long skeleton that is very bendy. When the chicks swallow it, it gets stuck in their digestion system and prevents it from functioning. Consequently they die. The consequences are that at the start of the season there was around 52 nests and 30+ chicks on Dunbar Castle. Last week it was down to around 15 chicks as all the others have snuffed it. I don't know what you can do about it, but thought you should know!

The 3 Amigo's...amen!

We go to Belhaven Parish Church and they have started doing communion every 2 weeks. They bring the bread and wine to you in these little thimble size glasses. In fact not unlike tequila glasses. Therefore despite it being a very meaningful part of the service and for many a special part, I found myself being reminded of the 3 Amigo's...that great 80's comedy classic. Here is a clip of the 3Amigos in the scene at the bar where they have a drink of tequila. Be warned...once you have seen it you might find yourself tempted to go in to a spasm a few seconds after you take communion wine from one of those little glasses....whatever you do...don't do the 3 Amigo's salute!