Send For The Military

On Saturday we parkrun at Alvaston, which may be boring but it’s about the best surface (all tarmac) if it's wet and it’s been exceedingly wet recently.

It is Daughter’s 80^th Parkrun. It would have been my 86^th if I hadn’t forgotten my barcode or even my 87^th if they hadn't done me out of my first ever one at Conkers for reasons I was never made aware of.
 

Afterwards I am at the match while my two fellow parkrunners get the train down to L’s sisters where they will both be running the Standalone 10k tomorrow. I’m not going as I’m on Glastonbury ticket duty. Having seen a sneak preview of the Standalone t-shirt, which is bright pink, perhaps it's a good one to miss. 

Then the boys and I have a night on our own. We order out for pizza.

The next day we’re all up early to apply for Glastonbury tickets or rather to just look at the holding screen for half an hour.

My colleague from work gets in (again) but then he’s part of a large syndicate who all apply for each other every year. Consequently they have been for the last nine years. This is what it’s come to. You need either huge luck or a military operation to get tickets. As L says I’ve blocked off my entire weekend for nothing. Apparently there will be a ballot for 50 pairs of tickets but I’m not holding my breath.

After that my day consists of mainly ball throwing and cutting the lawn, which bizarrely it’s dry enough to do.

Later we’re all by the gate waiting to welcome L home in our own individual ways but I'm the only one she invites to the pub later. I drown my Glastonbury sorrows in the Organ Grinder and the Borlase.while she celebrates her run.

(Sunday 6^th October)

Through On Penalties Again

There are so many staff in our office now that the kettle is almost permanently on and consequently we have been going through kettles every few months. So now some bright spark has purchased an urn to provide the hot water. Of course we might now start going through urns every few months.

Amazingly our entry by email was selected in the ballot and therefore we are accepted in to the Round Sheffield Run.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I bike while I go dogging on Tuesday rather than Wednesday due to Derby’s FA Cup Replay against Southampton. L comes over with us on Tuesday to see her folks but goes home on the bus.

As regards the match. Derby again come back from two down, as they did in the original tie, and then win through 5-3 on penalties. At the same time they upstaged Theresa May’s ‘I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing about Brexit’ speech which was scheduled to be covered live on the News At Ten. Extra time and penalties shunted her to BBC2, and apparently Huw Edwards was forced to stand in the cold outside parliament for an extra half hour, poor lamb. I just hope he got to watch the penalties.

Apparently 3.3 million watched the match while 2.5 million watched Theresa May but I suppose she should be getting used to defeats like that by now. 

(Wednesday 16^th January)

Time To Pretend

L has day off, does the gym and some shopping. After an attempted but aborted run on the dreadmill, it seems the injury is obviously still feeling a bit too ‘fine’.

Now that she’s back home comes the problem of trying to persuade MD to pretend that she’s not there. Apparently, it's not working. 

Recording of the new series of Later With Jools Holland starts on the 11^th April, so we bang in an application for tickets. It's a ballot and I’m usually hopeless at ballots, unless it comes to winning free places in triathlons, so I don’t hold out much hope. The recordings are also in Maidstone, so it will require some holiday to go.

Our lodger also has the day off today as she heads up to Manchester to say some goodbyes and to get reading for the big move tomorrow. So, we have the house to ourselves tonight. Party time!

(Friday 17^th March)

The Light Of Day

I am down in London for work today and we are going on the train. Which is a real novelty for my company. First I have to drive to work where I park before being picked up by my boss who drives the 400 metres or so to the station and then pays to park in their car park. I find that odd but I realise most people wouldn’t.

We are visiting two waste processing plants in London. Oh the high life I lead but I suppose I should be grateful as it’s very rare they let me see the light of day outside the office at all. I am handed a hard hat and a yellow jacket to go with the boots I’ve been told to wear. Health and Safety you know.

The first visit goes well and then we get a lift to the second one where we are served a decent lunch before the second visit which also goes well. So well in fact that we don’t have to wait for the 5pm train and get an earlier one back as my boss had booked an open ticket without realising. Consequently I am actually back in Derby before 5pm.

Whilst I am in London I find out that both L and I have got Great North Run places in the Times ballot. ‘Oh bloody hell’ says L. This wasn’t the plan you see. The plan was that if both of us entered the ballot we’d have double the chance of getting a place. Then if L had got one and I hadn’t she’d have gifted it to me.

She says she might have to go for a run tonight. Yes, lots of races to train for now.

(Tuesday 10^th January)

Crumbs

I walk the boys this morning so that L can get a good long swim. The boys and I have quite a long walk, over half an hour anyway, and they both ate a hearty breakfast afterwards. Even Doggo who we suspect may be finding his munchies a bit too hard on his old worn down teeth, so we’ve started softening them with water.

In the afternoon I receive an email from Seetickets offering me a ticket for Frank Turner’s 2000th show at Rock City next Thursday and I have two hours to claim it. So I claim it!

I was in the original ballot for tickets and if you didn’t get one you went on the waiting list in case there were any returns or extra ones made available. So my name must have come up. That never usually happens. They were about 10 times oversubscribed.

With the pantomime now in full swing and us track cyclists generally ousted for the duration we have to grab what crumbs of track time we can. Oddly one of those crumbs is tonight from 5pm to 7pm as there is no pantomime performance tonight. As it’s a Friday night this seems rather odd but then the fact they’re holding a pantomime in a velodrome is pretty odd in the first place.

I leave work a little early for what is supposed to be a gentler session than the Sunday one. Not so, particularly when the same coach as the other Sunday turns up and starts doing his six day sixes again (or whatever it is). The overall standard tonight is lower but the pace isn’t which just means there are more bodies to be resuscitated afterwards.

(Friday 9^th December)

Such Sad Parting

It’s too wet to bike today but then I need the car anyway. Derby County are running a Fans Forum this evening and it sounds like it will be well worth going. There's been a ballot for tickets but I manage to get a couple.

After work I head to my parents and pick up my Dad who will join me at the forum.

The line up to be shot at or praised consists of the Chairman, Head Coach, Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, Finance Director and the Academy Manager. There is also a host of other members of staff with whom we can mingle.

It is an impressive attempt by the club to be more approachable and its informative evening. They even give us a free pint.

At home, it’s such sad parting as L posts back her oh so pretty (but squeaky) trainers... but the new ones are on the way.

(Wednesday 28^th October)