Promenade full

We might not get as many tourists on Douglas promenade as we once did but I don't think I have ever seen it used as much for runners, walkers and families as this morning. I started my training in perfect conditions at 7 am and can rarely remember such good wind free conditions either.

I have always opposed the use of the promenade for parking and have noted that the "Christmas" exemption to allow cars on the promenade (definition a. A leisurely walk, especially one taken in a public place as a social activity.b. A public place for such walking. ) has been getting longer and longer.

On my last lap I noticed that there was a Manx Electric Railway tram preparing to depart for Ramsey without realising (until  reading the papers later in the day) that this was the first of the year. Cue an excuse to delve  into my late Father's collection of slides for one taken at the same spot about 50 years earlier.

50 years ago there was nobody running on the mountains in organised competitions and this afternoon there was yet another record entry for a particular fell race although there is just a little warning that, as so often with Manx race series, the numbers start to fall away as the series progresses. There were 82 in the Greeba race, 64 at Baldwin and 56 today.

You couldn't say that James Betteridge and Kevin Groom were unhappy during the run. Neither was I - I had finished my video main coverage (I did come back to tinker and add photos later) by about 4.30 ready to move onto my next job for the day.