Ambivalent To The Occasion

With L still sidelined, MD and I again run parkrun with Daughter. Today we’re up at Brierley Forest Parkrun at Huthwaite, the reason being this is where Doggo’s brother now lives and it means we can get the old men together again.

The runs goes well but it is a bit narrow for running with a dog and after MD’s usual shenanigans at the start it takes us an age to catch up Daughter or perhaps she’s just getting speedier.

I also get to try out my new trainers which seem ok but then it was only 5k.

It’s been about five years since Doggo and his brother met up as they have been living down in Suffolk where we have only visited the once. Both dogs seem a little bit ambivalent to the occasion. Doggo is particularly wary as his brother has also been a tad too boisterous for him in the past and can frankly be a bit of a bully.

Age, however, seems to have mellowed him, either that or he’s no long capable of boisterousness. Both the boys are now sixteen.

(Saturday 7^th October)

Fitter Than Me

I’m in the car tonight because Daughter has a flat viewing tonight or at least she had, until it was cancelled because someone had put a deposit down for it. L and Daughter are off for a weights session instead as part of their police training. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to bring my gym kit with me. They’ll both be fitter than me at this rate.

This missing RAF man is strange and is causing a bit of a debate at work because they reckon he was carried off in a dustbin lorry. This is what our company does you see, many waste companies run our computer software which monitors the weight of these things.

Dogging tonight and afterwards the pub has the same beers as last week. So, I go the IPA route again.

(Wednesday 8^th March)

Iron And Vitamins

L advises the bus on the basis that she thinks I’m still ill. I don’t actually feel like cycling so I play along. Perhaps I’m still a little bit ill.

L asks for my Christmas list, which I provide but it is very brief. Apparently Son’s is only two items so I feel in good company. I just hope he’s not trying the 'money for driving lessons' line again for the fourth year in a row. We've seen through that one.

L is mortified when she realises that she hasn’t included a race entry on her list but I have saved the day by including something much better e.g. the starter sessions at the Velodrome, that I'm surprised she's left off. I’ve added them to Daughter’s list as well.

I think I can now claim a full recovery as I’ve been to the pub and had sausage 'n' mash for lunch. They also had a milk stout on, which is supposed to be full of iron and vitamins, so I felt it was sensible to have some of that as well.

That should also fortify me for tonight’s dogging but first I get our tired old tree out of the loft and put it up. L didn’t seem that bothered if we had a tree this year or not but Doggo insisted. We’d all miss it if he didn’t have a tree to pull down with his tail. 

(Wednesday 7^th December)

After The Music Stops

L and Daughter go for a morning swim together before L points her in the direction of the nearest tram stop and hence onto Manchester. 

We have our final committee meeting of the year tonight and the political manoeuvrings have been going on for months. A week ago it didn’t look like we’d even have the minimum eight people required to form a committee for next year and no Chairperson. It’s all a case of people will only stand if other people do (or don’t) stand... now, after the music stops, we have eleven people and even a nomination for Chair. 

(Monday 14^th November)

Battery Acid

Today is my first day on the bike this week and of course it rains. The heavens opened when I was about half way.

Squash is off, so today must be Friday as tomorrow can’t be Friday as we have the East Leake Night Trail and also Daughter is coming to stay.

Talking of the Night Trail, I get the head torches out but only one of them works. The second one has become corroded and nothing I do can seem to get it cleaned up. I look on the internet and they recommend dripping vinegar on the corroded bits to neutralize battery acid. It fizzes away beautifully and then when I’ve dried it out, it works! 

The light is still very faint so I try some more vinegar on the other side of the battery case. More fizzing and... now it doesn’t work at all plus everything smells like we’re in a chip shop.

(Thursday 10^th November)