Marquee Signing

I’m in the car today because I am expecting delivery of a banner to go on the front of the marquee at next weekend’s dog show. It arrives as promised and everything appears to be spelt correctly so we are good to go. It should be nice and eye catching.

Talking of eye catching, someone has owned up to all those statements about the ‘Pies’ which are spray painted on various bridges. 'Vote Pies' and all that. They belong to a Liverpudlian band known as The Pies although I find it hard to believe that anybody who cared wouldn't have already known this given the obviousness of the link and checking the internet this has been a open secret for well over a decade. So either it’s a slow news day or it’s something to do with the fact their album ‘The Best of Pies’ is out now.

Talking of pies, Thunder Run weekend is rapidly approaching and our team mates seem to be assembling the biggest collection of snack food known to man in readiness. It is going to be one hell of a fuddle.

After work I head to the gym for a quickie. I probably should have been using tonight’s Notts 5 as a warm up for the weekend but I didn’t really want to risk my leg snapping pre-fuddle.

We decide it’s about time we studied the rules and regulations for the weekend, so we adjourn to the bedroom with my laptop. As it turns out there aren’t many rules at all and there’s no mention of where to changeover your dogs. This is important as Doggo would love to get in the way of all those hand overs. I’m sure he’ll manage it.

(Wednesday 20^th July)

#BloodyCyclists

Daughter is on her way to the passport office in Liverpool, chauffeured by her father who is perhaps over worried that they won’t let her back in the country when she goes to France with him next week because her passport has only six months to run on it. Why worry, extra holiday isn’t it?

It’s all over the internet about some young girl who seemingly got away with knocking a cyclist off his bike because he wasn’t going to tell anyone in case his girlfriend found out. Sensible chap.

That was until the girl tweeted about it, which was a really bright thing to do wasn’t it. She’s clearly far too intelligent to be working at the accountancy firm where she’s a trainee... or was, as she’s now been suspended.

That tweet went viral on the internet and even though she subsequently cancelled her Twitter account it was too late because people had already screenshoted it complete with her name and photo, found her Facebook account, where she works etc etc. With the internet there is no escape and of course not stopping at the scene of an accident is a serious offence. Oh dear #InTheSh*t as they say on Twitter.

She’s also clearly far too intelligent to know that there’s no such thing as Road Tax, which was her excuse for knocking him off because he didn’t pay any. Yet of course, like most cyclists, he also owns a car for which he pays his Vehicle Excise Duty (not Road Tax) which is based on his vehicle’s level of exhaust emissions. It’s there to encourage people to drive smaller cars or bikes even. I’m sure he’d happily pay it for his bike too, with its emission level of zero.

Hope she doesn’t end up doing anyone’s accounts in the near future.

I’m not on my bike today, instead I put in a training run and a rather slow nine miles but nine mines is nine miles. Job done.

(Tuesday 21^st May)

Only One Of Us...

We’re in Liverpool today for the Liverpool Half Marathon.

That is when we find the start down at the ‘Waterfront’ which could have done with a few race specific signposts. Both L and I have numbers for the race but only one of us is running it. Woe is me.

I think I may have liked it. It looked very congested at the start in the Albert Dock and the finish was a bit iffy through an industrial estate but L said the rest was ok and pretty flat.

There was a good turnout with 6,300 finishers and they even wheeled in Kriss Akabusi to get the event under way.

The boys and I have a nice wander down the last mile of the course and the organisers are even good enough to let me have a t-shirt. We don’t see the barefoot runners but apparently there was blood everywhere. Ewww.

L doesn’t have the best of days and comes in complaining she’s been using the wrong muscles for the last week skiing. Which makes we wonder how I’d have got on had I had two legs to run on.

We drop in at my folks' place on the way home, to share holiday snaps and the like.

Then its home for a double session of 1970’s Top Of The Pops. Just to convince Daughter that life is better in Sheffield. Only kidding but it must have worked, she’s off back there tomorrow. We love her really.

(Sunday 18th March)

What's this? Fruit?

I eat a piece of fruit today, in fact several. Well, the first fruit that hasn't been part of a Christmas pudding or a mince pie for about two weeks. Back to normality on one way at last.

I manage the stairs at work ok; my so legs can’t be too bad after yesterday’s race.

We seem to have brought the Lakeland weather home with us. L gets to work soaked and complaining that Ilkeston Road resembled Langdale’s Mickleden Beck but not of course anywhere near as pretty.

Having lost her jacket and trashed her mobile, L at least reports that her watch that stopped ages ago has now started working again. Small mercies.

We start planning our next series of races. The Liversedge Half Marathon has an entry limit of 500, yet their entries page is showing 540 people entered. I enter us both quickly online and hope they let us in. No such luck with Wilmslow, that is full but we are in Liverpool, L entered us in that before Christmas. Good old Sleaford isn’t full yet but if we delay entering hopefully it might be...

(Tuesday 3rd January)