Dog On Fire

I do another long run on Friday and go a bit further, all the way to Chilwell Retail Park which totals 16.7km. L and the boys again rendezvous with me at Hillside.

I am home in time for Derby v Leeds on Sky TV. It took me a while to decide whether the game was worth paying a day’s money to Sky or not. It probably isn’t but at least I can see what my Leeds supporting friend is whinging about in his texts. He doesn’t whinge much as Leeds win 2-0 and look scarily good.

On Saturday I have a dog show at Newark, I'm basically checking that the place is all in order for our own show in two weeks time. MD has five runs and starts well with a pretty flawless run in the Helter Skelter and comes 4^th. He is a bit rubbish after that but oddly we also pick up a 3^rd place with a fistful of faults basically because everyone was more rubbish that us.

The Lad meanwhile simply explodes with excitement the minute he was allowed to get out of the car. I had to douse him with a fire extinguisher once he actually got inside the arena. I probably need to start doing more shows again to get him used to the environment.

There was the possibility of a few pints this evening to celebrate my friend’s birthday but he’s basically had to cancel his birthday as it seems that practically everybody is doing Dry January this year and his attempts to organise something has been met with howls of ‘can’t you move it to February’.

Even our lunchtime pizza sessions at work are on hold while my colleague takes a 'break'. I just hope the pubs can get through the month without going under.

The bonus is that I get a night in with L. Which is spent working on our core, as all runners should, ahead of Sunday’s Draycote Water 10k and very nice core work it is too. These nights in started off with the format of sharing a bottle of red, then it became a bottle of Leffe and now she’s taken me over to the dark side that is sharing a few bottles of Manns Brown Ale. Only 2.8% but if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them, in moderation of course.

(Saturday 12^th January)

Positive Spin

Sustrans, the bike path people, send me a joyful email says that ‘winter is coming and we’re in for wind, rain and mud-filled commuting fun’. Nothing like putting a positive spin on it. However today on the bike, it’s more like spring. Very pleasant.

L swims and then gets the train down to London for work. First class of course, she seems to be getting the bug. I just hope she goes easy on the biscuits. She claims she does and keeps the mugs of tea down to a respectable four, each way.

On the way back she’s worried she’ll nod off and end up in Leeds. She doesn’t want to end up there, there’s a match on tonight. Derby are in town and winning as it happens. Which mean there's an eerie silence from my friend from Leeds.

I listen to the first half on the radio but miss the second as I’m dog training, although again without the traditional pint of something dull at the end of it. 

(Tuesday 31^st October)

Lock Out

Back at work today and I take the car, which is a shame really as it's a great cycling day weather wise and there’s hardly any traffic. Although the lack of traffic also makes the drive not only bearable but quick.

It’s quiet at work and although there are a lot of people in downstairs, it’s just me on the first floor. 

Tonight Derby play at Leeds and we have been invited to watch it on the big screen at my Leeds supporting friends place in Barrow on Soar. That is if it’s on TV.

Leeds' barmy owner has locked the Sky TV crew out of the ground in protest at already being shown eleven times on TV this season. They have been sat outside since yesterday afternoon.

It’s quite funny that the media aren’t really interested, well the BBC aren’t as there are no B list celebs involved and Sky News are just ignoring the issue, hoping it’ll go away no doubt. I follow it via the Yorkshire Post.

Apparently they need a minimum of three hours to set up and it is almost at that point that they finally let the cameras in to the ground with the Football League were threatening them with a points deduction but it was fascinating stand-off.

I think their owner has made his point and it’ll be interesting to see if Sky dare pick Leeds' home games again this season. Derby should have had more bottle to do something when they moved the game with Burnley to a Monday night at only a few weeks’ notice. Derby have been on TV as many times as Leeds this season.

So we head over to watch the match, where there are welcome to Elland Road signs on all the doors. Not sure I totally convinced L that it’s worth an evening of her time but she joins us anyway albeit in the neutral zone where abandoned partners can chat without the hindrance of having to watch a football game.

It is ends honours even in a 2-2 draw.

(Tuesday 29^th December)

Richard III

Birmingham City don’t look like a side that lost 4-0 to Leeds last week. They come to us looking well organised and, well, tall. Very tall. They don’t give us much of a sniff and the game finishes 1-1. At least leaving Steve McClaren still unbeaten.

In the evening we visit Nottingham Playhouse to see Richard III. It's one of my favourite of Shakespeare's plays and also one of his best. Sadly it doesn’t seem to get performed as often as it should. So full credit to Nottingham Playhouse for taking advantage (hopefully) of Richard’s recently enhanced ‘media profile’ after the discovery of his remains and putting this production on.

 

Ian Bartholemew plays the scheming Richard, who murders his way to the throne, and plays him well. Evil b****rd that he is. Bartholemew adds humour to the role with a nice range of facial expressions to the audience, he has very active eyebrows, and a decent humpback. He also forgets his lines a couple of times and has to be prompted, which is a nice humanising touch. I can empathise with him. Despite knowing the story well, I still got lost in the Shakespearean mist a few times myself.

The set layout is interesting, providing a patio of gravestones for the cast to walk upon (or perhaps this signifies a Leicester car park) and full use is made of the auditorium, with the performance extending into both the stalls and up on to the balcony.

Richard of course dominates the play but the supporting cast are good too. It is staged with a modern, perhaps political, twist which mainly seems to revolve around the cast wearing updated clothing and I’m not sure that worked but it certainly didn’t distract from things.

There’s wit too or was it just me who thought that when Hastings's severed head was plonked upon the table it looked just like a bag of dirty washing.

Afterwards we have a few beers in the playhouse bar Cast where they are admirably promoting local breweries such as Magpie and Lincoln Green.

(Saturday 26^th October)

A Nice Off The Shoulder Number

It’s the Wollaton Park 10k this morning, not that neither L nor I are fit enough for it. We go to watch, where it’s bloody cold. At least L manages a short training run.

Derby have their second supporter unfriendly kick off of the Easter holidays at 5.05pm versus Leeds at Elland Road. It’s live on Sky so I join my Leeds supporting friend on neutral ground at a pub in Edwalton, which will be full of mildly disinterested Forest fans I guess. If they show it, most Nottingham pubs change the channel when Derby come on.

Derby have recorded eight wins on the trot over the (once) mighty Leeds, time to see if they can add to it. The first half puts us to sleep, but then Leeds score. Derby equalise courtesy of an own goal that is then disallowed for offside but a missed penalty (the rebound was tucked in) and a nice off the shoulder number from centre half Jake Buxton aka almost a header, sealed a comeback from one down. So Derby win 2-1 and make it nine in a row. My friend, Leeds fan and squash opponent, may take his revenge on court on Thursday.

(Monday 1^st April)