The Great Escape

Cycling is very quiet on Monday, only 8 of us. Perhaps everyone’s still in Paris. Afterwards my Dad and I give the refurbished Royal Standard a go but it’s nothing very exciting. We do end up in the Exeter on Tuesday after Derby's League Cup match with Chesterfield which they win 2-1. 

L has an exciting yoga night on Wednesday as they get locked in the park cutting across to get to the Rodney for their post-yoga Pironis. They have to climb the gate to get out, showing that all that yoga and gym work has paid off.

While they're playing at the Great Escape, I'm in Beeston with my old school friend cashing in a free night out after I paid for everything last time we went out. I meet his train and he’s on time for once, as is the train. We visit the Star, the White Lion and then the Victoria for food.

Thursday’s tennis is a lively game as it’s a touch windy but at least my opponent doesn’t overheat this time. It even starts raining just before we play but the new rubber courts at Clifton seem to have excellent drainage and once it stops we have no issues.

I lose a close match 6-3 6-4 which is as good as a win in my book. My opponent sees it as a crushing defeat for him. L runs there which is about 7k and joins us afterwards in the Ruddington Arms.

On Friday I do a joint gym with L who’s only doing fun things. This confuses me. Are we not doing the gym then? and going to the pub instead? Apparently not.

On Saturday we do our first parkrun in three weeks. We run at Clifton and I run it with the Lad which is becoming a habit again. Perhaps a bad habit. I’m slowing getting the hang of running with his on a handheld lead as is now required.

Derby then have a 12:30 kick off and grind out a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough for their first win back in the Championship. Then we’re in the Plough for another pale ale frenzy but I can’t be bothered to walk anyway more exciting.

Sunday starts with a full English at the Wollaton which is very good. Then we walk it off on the park. In the evening we’re at the gym again. It’s not clear whether this is supposed to be fun as well. 

(Sunday 18^th August)

Olympics

Monday’s cycling is extra exciting as they put up a big screen so that we can watch the GB Women win the Team Sprint. 

Wednesday is by now almost my usual night with my Dad in the New Inn before heading back home to watch the Team Pursuit Finals where we get a silver and a bronze.

On Thursday, after walking the Lad, we dump him with Daughter and get the train down to London and then onto Paris. Yes, we’re at the Olympics. After a minor hitch when we check into the wrong Ibis we get settled in before heading off on the Metro to find a Frog pub. Sadly FrogXVI is closed for volunteer party. We have a double Leffe at another bar instead. Then we go to our first event which is a late night Beach Volleyball match underneath a lit up Eiffel Tower. 

 

It’s very impressive. As is the Grimbergen Ambree back at hotel. 

The next day, naturally, involves a trip to a bookshop, the Shakespeare bookshop by Notre Dame. Then we get the RER train out to Le Golf. Sadly all the beer at the venues is 1664 0% lager, so we’ll be well ready for those Grimbergen Ambrees later. 

Then we move from the golf to the track cycling where Elinor Barker and Neah Evans win silver in Women’s Madison while Jack Carlin takes bronze in the Men’s sprint. Our front rows seats are very good apart from being sandwiched between two Dutch supporters. Their man Harrie Lavreysen takes the Sprint gold obviously. 

On Saturday sadly we’re not at Parkrun as all French parkruns remain suspended. Instead we head down to the Champs Elysee which has been pedestrianised for the Olympics. Then we’re at the Weightlifting which is far more tactical that you could possibly have imagined. 

Afterwards we go t-shirt and dog toy shopping. 

On the Metro, on our way back to Trocadero for more Leffe, we notice people on the way to the Marathon Pour Vous which is a public marathon starting at 9pm, there’s a 10k as well. We have a takeaway on the way back to the hotel.

That’s our last day and on Sunday we’re on the Eurostar back home which we share with both hockey teams and numerous other Team GB members. 

(Sunday 11^th August)

Australia Visits

I am not at cycling on Monday as we head off to see Clive Myrie in conversation with James Rodgers at Derby Theatre. Myrie is interesting to listen to but for me Rodgers is even more fascinating. Rodgers was the BBC’s Foreign Correspondent in Moscow until he was chucked out along with most western journalists and his tales of Russia and Ukraine are fascinating. He reminisces on how cheap it was to get out there around 2019/2020 which is very true because we ourselves were planning a trip to Chernobyl via Kyiv before Covid intervened and then of course Putin’s invasion. 

After a day in work on Monday, L now has no boss for the next five weeks so will be WFH for sometime. The Olympics are now on and our first golds arrive from Tom Pidcock in the Cross-Country cycling and from the Equestrian Eventing Team.

On Tuesday my Dad manages to take himself to a special Pre-Season Golden Rams Coffee Morning by taxi and apparently has a great time as they unveil a new 50th Anniversary shirt. It being the anniversary of the 1974/75 league title. I’m in the New Inn with him and the Lad the next evening and I thought L was at yoga until I get a photo of her and her friend in the Wollaton pub on the Peroni. After yoga apparently.  

On Thursday morning I run 5k run with L and the Lad but there’s no tennis in the evening.

I have the day off on Friday as we pick up L’s Australian penpal and her hubby from the train station. We take them for lunch on Wollaton Park and then to Miller & Carter for a meal in the evening. We give up our bedroom for them and camp out in the office. L glares at me when I suggest we pretend we’re teenagers in a single bed.

On Saturday I inflict my Dad on our visitors and take them all to Nottingham Castle. Then afterwards we take them to Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, England’s oldest inn but not oldest pub... In Nottingham the Salutation and the Bell claim to be older... All three pubs will fight to the death over this.

They also have the long defunct Hardys and Hansons Olde Trip on the bar. Presumably it’s just one of their owner Greene King’s other beers rebadged. They also have another of the old Hardys and Hansons’ beers Cursed Galleon now brewed by Milestone and down at 4.3% rather than 5% but still very nice.

We then drop our Australian guests back at the train station as they head back to London and then on to Zagred where his family are from. We drop my Dad back at his home and then spend the evening in the Plough where they have three different version of a new ale called Summer Pale at 3.9% that they want you to vote for the best one of. Sadly they are all pale and 3.9%. Then thankfully we’re back in own bed.

On Sunday we run 6.5k with L and do the gym in the evening. 

(Sunday 4^th August)