Wave for you

The more time you have, the more things you try and do and my little break from work seems to be whizzing by.

I've tidied up a few things on my computer today - Treesize is a useful piece of software which identifies duplicate copies of files.

I tend to get disorganised after the big events like the Manx Telecom Parish Walk when I find files all over  the place and never risk deleting them - but sometimes I discover that I have copied the same set of files from my laptop to PC about three times. I only had 38GB of space left on my 1 TB hard drive so it was time for some action. I'm up to 46GB this evening but I need to get rid of some of the raw video files that I have built up over the past couple of years.

Marie, Ben and I managed to get out for a walk from Ramsey this afternoon though and the chill wind on the beach caught me by surprise.

Later in the walk we got a wave from someone I shall talk about in detail later in the week, and we had a chat. For now, I'll just post a photo of the waves at Ramsey before I wave goodbye to a couple more family hours in the living room.

Hope that you like the feature about Dave Newton and the Millennium Way Relay in 1979.  If I had more time I would write a tidal wave of stories about him.

From the Droitwich Standard

A DROITWICH man nicknamed ‘King of the Coaches’ was given an extra-special retirement present to celebrate almost half a century’s service with National Express.

Mike Lambden was treated to a unique leaving present when was picked up outside from his home in Primsland in a National Express coach complete with his name showing on the destination blind.

The 64-year-old’s final trip into work at the coach operator’s head office in Birmingham was also unforgettable for Mike’s wife Doreen, daughter Emma, son-in-law David and grandchildren Sebastian, aged 16 months and Alex, 4, who were all on-

hand to wave him off.

Mike has spent an amazing 46 years in the transport industry, including the past 40 years helping to grow and develop the coach operator. He began his career in transport literally on the day he left school at the age of 17.

He left his school in the Isle of Man in the morning before starting his first shift at the local bus station in the afternoon.

During his unforgettable trip into work Mike, who has lived in Droitwich for 28 years, enjoyed coffee and pastries with colleagues on the coach, which was decked out in bunting.

And there was one final surprise at Birmingham Coach Station with crowds of colleagues waiting to cheer his arrival with flags.

“It was a wonderful surprise to see the coach at the bottom of the street. My colleagues kept it top-secret and I didn’t guess until the last minute,” Mike said.

National Express colleague Bryan Bannister, who also lives in Droitwich said: “We wanted to do something really different to say goodbye to Mike.

“He has helped to create a lifetime of achievements for our business and we wanted to create a final memory that recognises those achievements.

“Mike’s knowledge of the coach industry is second-to-none and we will all miss his cheerful smile at work,” he added.

Mike on a return visit to Kirk Michael in 1974. No wonder he left that family!

One in a hundred

One of the ways I survive (or should it be "am not kicked out"?) of this household is that when I move away from the internet for a while we enjoy watching a few good films. I probably enjoy a romantic comedy more than most men so I have some redeeming factors. After watching such a film tonight ("Paris at midnight"), with perfect timing we switched over to BBC about two minutes before the winner of Strictly Come Dancing Was announced.

From the summary of more than 100 performances I said it was obvious that Louis Smith was going to win. I saved watching the 100 performances! I was laughing early in the day when Chris Kinley was slagging the programme off on air on Manx Radio.

Hopefully I can provide the same sort of service on the website. The scanner has been worked pretty hard during parts of the last 30 hours storing up loads of things to publish on other days.

When the rain comes

When I was delivering milk around Kirk Michael as a teenager I quickly learned the easy way to close the generational gaps - talk about the weather.

And, as we all know, we always complain about the current weather and wish for something else - even John Lennon wrote the song Rain about this characteristic.

It was only a week ago, when I was slipping around on the ice, that I was saying "I wouldn't mind getting wet so long as we didn't have this frost." Having got drenched this morning I'm thinking "I wouldn't mind getting cold so long as I'm not wet."

At least I had only a little to do on the website when I had dried out. I removed all the recent features from the front page last night when the football was becoming a bit one sided and I decided to give the recent feature on Sue Biggart on the parishwalk.com website a highlight. I'm planning to get the second of the features completed in the next few days.

BUT....

Last Thursday morning, I went for a run past the ExCel Centre in east London. It was a reminder of how big a place it is. The distances I am running these days meant that by the time I had reached the other end it was almost time to go back again.

On Saturday morning I read the Daily Mail's take on the BBC Sports Personality Awards night. Their argument that the event, at the ExCel Centre, is over-hyped does have a certain ring about about it, especially when hijacked by "Brand Beckham". Their case that Bradley Wiggins hardly thought, when he won the Tour de France, that he might be contention for an ever bigger night out made me think.

BUT. Why can't we something just indulge and enjoy the great year for sport? They can't include every sport (I was talking to a world champion this time last year who said he wouldn't watch it because it ignored his sport) but it remains one of the few days in the year when people take an interest in the greatest number of different sports.It was hard to believe that Mo Farah didn't even make the top three but there was a case for all those above him.

Its 20 years ago since we might have had the Olympics in GB had the Birmingham bid been successful. It will be a lot more than 20 before they return to GB.

BUT sport goes on at grass level. Or somewhere below grass roots for some of the fallers in the hill race on Saturday. I hope you don't mind my light hearted look at sport in tonight's video.

Video cut

I was back on the Island by about 10.30 on Friday but with not much more than 8 hours sleep over 2 days, staying awake was the problem for the next two.

I tackled my usual "tidying up the front day" task yesterday morning before heading south with Robbie for a walk around Castletown. By the time I had my cameras charged and organised it was time to head to St Johns for the hill race.

The video I published yesterday will definitely be my last of the year - not sure if I will be taking photos on Boxing Day or not. I am planning to take a day off on Tuesday, however, and among other things I will take photos of the Santa Dash. As I write this I start to wonder if I should take a video camera for that!

Longest video of the year

Both to compile and to run. A 9:45 video of the Isle of Man Bank Winter Hill League should be available soon, although it will take a while to upload - maybe an hour from now.

black sheep

I'm the first of the Manx gang of three to retire from the party at midnight Zurich time so that I can manage a run at 4 am UK time!

Banks of Zurich

I don't bank in Zurich although my pension is with Zurich. But I have just been down to the banks of Lake Zurich. Its my business to be in Zurich tonight for an office party!

Blog off

Off to the airport after a 20 minute run around Excel. No time for any updates or blogs.

Not a great view tonight

I'm in a hotel near London City Airport tonight and the view is not that great so I'll think if this lovely one near home, or at least in Peel.

I've set the alarm for less than 6 hours times with some work to do yet so won't be doing much on the website tonight. Have just updated the PW blog - 82 entries now. Lots of hill and fell races for people to train towards listed this morning. I shall be back to take the usual video of fallers at the first one!

Awards are well received (sometimes)

I was delighted to learn recently that the Ascot Hotel, run by the Mackey family pictured below, had won this year's Hotel of the Year Award.

http://www.isleofman.com/News/details/51535/tourism-awards-2012-winners-announced

I can only imagine the work and stresses that come with the territory of running a family hotel in recent years - and only the fittest have survived.

Dave is a Parish Walk finisher and Kerry is possibly the most liked follower of the Parish Walk Facebook page! She has also been involved in athletics for longer than I can research tonight.

We are all only as good as our parents made us and I know that they will be wishing they were all with them as they celebrate their awards.

Are we all the same with awards though? If its us, or someone we know, we are proud, but when we read about some, such as the best financial services company more than two streets away from another selling something that only they have heard of, or nobody else entered, we are a bit dismissive.

Have you ever heard a press release about an award that doesn't include the word "prestigious"?

The most amazing one I heard of recently related to this piece of rural vandalism near Kirk Michael:

It can be seen for miles around and is an absolute blot on the countryside. Its not even got the excuse of being someone's dream house. It was built purely on spec.

I have some fond memories as a boy riding a bike up the lane from Glen Whyllin to Barregarrow on which it stands. Its a narrow lane, as my late uncle discovered when he was young and got his horse an cart stuck! There are some things I would like to take a horse and cart to.

Every man and his dog slipping on ice

Its really icy today but I stayed on my feet when I was out. A kind soul walking his dog at the bottom of Blackberry Lane warned me about a sheet of ice there only to slip himself.

Kneejerk reaction

Its been one of those days, for me, when I can't think of anywhere better to live.

The day started with 10km on the prom which, although slower than I was running marathons a year ago, was my best run of my latest comeback.

Running shorter distances is definitely better for my knee than running long distances but by the time I took Marie's mum out for a drive this afternoon my knee had reached the point where I had to get out of the car a couple of times to stretch it.

But it is not stretching things too far to say that it was worth it as part of the cause was another great walk with Robbie in the late morning - 2 miles up the Baltic Road towards the mountain from Kirk Michael.

I don't know when I first climbed that road but it was at least 48 years ago as the photo with my mum proves (taken at the same spot as Robbie today).

Any to think that someone from these rural charms is getting ready to compete in the European Cross Country Championships tomorrow, and took the time to respond to my email from Hungary.

But Andreas is still too far for me tomorrow - I will be continuing with my Christmas cards.

With no athletics videos this weekend, I have posted something a bit different, Poor old Alfie is recovering from two leg operations.

Sometimes its convenient to forget

I've been making a habit of double booking myself recently. Or just forgetting that things are on like the Fell Runners presentation last week - despite advertising it on the website for weeks.

I was up early this morning, I'm just home from work and its pouring with rain. I was planning to take some
photos at the Ramsey Fireman's runs tonight but I have a stack of things that I could be gainfully employed on at home. What did I say I was going to do tonight? I hope that those that make it enjoy it.

Too many lunches

There was another massive turnout for the Microgaming Isle of Man Cross Country League in Ramsey on Sunday. Not quite as many as the previous round, I believe a rugby tournament kept some of the younger athletes away, but still more than ever before at the Crossags Farm venue. Its hard to believe that until a couple of years ago we used to drive right to the venue - now you are lucky to get in the car parks at the Ramsey Grammar School.

The size of the field led to some congestion at one or two places, particularly at the stile and maybe it is time to consider separate starts for some of classes.

In some ways I wish I was taking photos instead of running. There were at least three scenes I would have love to have captured on camera. Firstly, when a flock of sheep in the far field started to run towards to runners at the rear of the field. In fact, video would have been preferable to have captured a few squeals from the female runners. Secondly, when the runners had to form a queue at the stile and thirdly  a line of spectators on the bottom field leaning over the hedge caught my eye.

I've never failed to run up the hill but Sunday was as close as I have ever gone to walking. I was so slow I had extra time to think of the causes. I concluded it was less to do with injury, less to do with age and more to do with too much eating and drinking.

And to prove a point to myself, when Marie reminded me yesterday morning that I was attending a lunch with her today, I realised that I had also arranged a less formal one with someone else. If I were to have two lunches in one day I would definitely not get up the Saucer in Blackburn a month from now.

I think my pudding today will remind me of the mud!

The other 60 photos

I took a load of photos at the cross country this afternoon, of the younger age groups before my race, and started uploading them in reasonable time.

But then we wanted to use our internet radio and the combination of the photo upload and the continuation of my back up which has been running for about 3 weeks, meant that the radio kept cutting out. So I stopped the photo upload and all was well.

They are now uploading again.

During the past few weeks spent doing so much web design, my pile of half  read newspapers has been piling up and so I have been catching up on world events again. Just found out who won the US election!

Barry Moore has sent me a few photos of the senior race which I shall use tomorrow.

Quick update of the PW blog coming up: http://parishwalk2013.blogspot.com/

Remembered everything

I took Robbie for a walk up Peel Hill this morning and then around the town. It was a little chilly but he enjoyed it.

In contrast to last Saturday morning, I remembered to take a camera, hence the photos, and my phone and some money.

Last week we set off from Laxey and I missed some beautiful views when we walked up some tracks that I don't ever recall walking before before dropping into Agneash. Robbie has a habit of dropping behind and retracing his steps and when I turned around by the Salmon Centre near Laxey Wheel I couldn't see him. I ran up the road back up towards Angeash but in the meantime he must have emerged from behind the building. After some enquiries I caught sight of him towards Laxey only to loose sight of him a second time and spend the next hour walking, jogging and driving around the many lanes, paths and tracks around Laxey before finding him.

I was in trouble with everyone last Saturday. Today I was in favour but soon got the blues watching TV later on.

A lack of sleep last night though after staying around for the first hour of entries for the Manx Telecom Parish Walk.  See my other blog - http://parishwalk2013.blogspot.com/

Looking forward to some mud tomorrow.