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Lady_of_Asheru's attic
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| | Subject: | 10k run | | Time: | 09:47 pm | | Current Mood: | ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/growf/pengies/happy.gif) pleased |
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| Yay! I did the 10k run for Cancer Research this morning in record time (for me) of 64 minutes - fabulous route down Trinity Street, through Clare College court, along the backs, back down Kings Parade and on to Jesus Green and Midsummer Common. 1600 runners! And incredibly enthusiastic marshals cheering us on, passers by clapping and waving, and we raised approx £90k between us, what a high.
Sore knees now though!! | comments: 4 comments or Leave a comment   |
| Things that have made me happy this week:
1. After waking up channelling Rambling Sid Rumpo, I was delighted to discover a fellow fan in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) etfb who has a hilarious commentary to Green Grows My Bogling Fork here
2. The fake movie trailers from Tropic Thunder - persevere, the last one ("Satan's Alley") had me literally crying with laughter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdtj0njD_5Q
3. I went to a wonderful talk by Ben Fogle for the Royal Geographical Society, about his adventures (which include the Marathon Des Sables desert race, rowing across the Atlantic and crossing the Antarctic on a foot race to the south pole). There are sadly few TV presenters that come across as genuinely decent people in the flesh (Michael Palin is another) but he is almost impossibly likeable (starting sentences with..."and then I spent a year working in an orphanage...").
He is also very funny, in that peculiarly British self deprecatory way - talking about the horrors of having agreed to do a charity boxing match, never having boxed before (it was bad enough thinking about someone trying to hit him, but even worse to have to hit someone else), having been talked into it on the basis that he would be up against Aled Jones only for Aled to drop out and for him to be faced with an Eastender's actor who actually knew something about the sport.
Plus he supports some interesting charities, including the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, who managed to talk McDonalds into changing the shape of their McFlurries lids because too many hedgehogs were getting wedged in the cartons.... he hinted that he may consider a career in politics later; judging by the response of the audience he would be a shoe-in as prime minister for any party!
4. The autumn deluge of new TV series has started, I can't keep up - Merlin, Stargate Universe, Flash Forward, Fringe, Doc Martin, House, Spiral, Nigel Slater...after months of nothing to watch suddenly I can't find space for it all on my Sky box. I shall horde them all up for the long winter hibernation. | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| I am half way through a 2 week holiday in Norfolk, suffering the usual deprivation from any kind of mobile signal despite having brought 3 different phones. In order to post this, I shall have to take my laptop to the end of the garden and pray to the satellite gods. I have also gone temporarily deaf in one ear, which I take to be a sympathetic reaction.
Things seen and noted in the past week:
I am pleased to report that Elvis lives on in the seashell encrusted splendour of the basement toilets of the Hoste Arms hotel, crooning softly to visitors in the half light.
Birds in flight over Holkham beach formed, for one moment, a perfect heart shape.
Running 5 miles along the coastal path (part of the Peddar’s Way) after a high tide, I found a strange assortment of sea gifts including a plastic toadstool, one shoe and a flowerpot.
In the local free magazine, an enticing competition – “Win Your Own Wormery!”
Highlight of the week so far though was the Wells Fire Brigade charity car wash, where three strapping lads hosed off half an inch of agricultural dust and seagull droppings from my car with great good humour.
I am re-reading Ursula K Le Guin, and have also discovered some short stories I had somehow missed, including a wonderful generation ship one called “Paradises Lost.” I am deeply envious of her communication device, the ansible – I need one here! | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| mirabile_dictu and I did a magnificent tour of Cambridge on Tuesday - I was impressed by her stamina! Here is what we managed to cover in one day:
Open top bus from Cambridge station to Fitzwilliam Museum
Coffee in the Fitzwilliam's lovely courtyard cafe, where I also pointed out a favourite exhibit, a teapot in the shape of a cauliflower
a creative but not entirely successful attempt to link a sample of art exhibits with Darwin at the Fitz
a walk along Kings Parade being careful not to fall into Hobson's Conduit
pause to view the fabulous and strange Grasshopper Clock, on the corner of Corpus Christi
up the 123 steps of Great St Mary's Church to view Cambridge from above
Kings College Chapel (I love the story about them taking the stained glass windows out during WW2, and snow drifting in through the Christmas carol services)
walk along Trinity Street to Trinity Great Court
Walked along King's Street to my house, which is near Jesus College and Midsummer Common, for lunch - where I introduced mirabile_dictu to my current favourite beer, made in Alsace using champagne yeast - Kasteel Cru
Then walked across Midsummer Common and along the tree lined avenue on Jesus Green that always makes me think of Narnia
...to my favourite church in Cambridge, St Peter's Church
and the place on earth I would most like to live, Kettles Yard house
Then walked along "the backs" (across the river from the main colleges) to the greatest erection in Cambridge, otherwise known as the University Library for a jewel of an exhibition about ‘the most significant gap year in history,Darwin's voyage on the Beagle (I particularly liked the note on the cover of one journal in Darwin's hand saying something like "Nothing of any importance in here," - how marvellously liberating!
Then along to the Mill Pond, for a chauffeured punt along the Backs, regaled by the usual half truths
No trip to Cambridge would be complete without a Fitzbillies Chelsea Bun but alas, the shop was nearly closing so I had to buy mirabile_dictu one to take out, which just left time to...
view the famous ceiling at The Eagle, signed by US and RAF pilots, and have a quick glass of something in their sunny front room
Then back on the open top bus to the station...
Not bad for an 8 hour visit, don't you think? | | comments: 12 comments or Leave a comment |
| Two quotes I have pinned to my wall recently
"Excess is a sign of frustration; we are only excessive whenever there is a frustration we are unaware of, and fear we cannot bear." Alain de Botton
"To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not to answer them: this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness." Ursula LeGuin, "The Left Hand of Darkness." | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| | Tomorrow I have mirabile_dictu coming to visit Cambridge!! How does one show all of Cambridge in a day? Obviously chauffeured punts are called for. And plenty of stops for tea :-) | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| We had beautiful sunny weather for the Race for Life in Cambridge this morning, and after a strangely 1930s mass keep fit class/warm up I completed the 5k without stopping in 32 minutes, which was my best time yet after 3 months' training!
It was great to be running with a 3000 strong pack of women of all shapes and sizes, ages and nationalities, and also to be raising money for cancer research.
I found it very touching to see who people were running for (often friends and family battling the disease), and completely awesome to be running with some women who are currently receiving chemotherapy, my hat goes off to them!
And now off to celebrate - champagne!! | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| Finally found an internet cafe - HURRAH!!!!! I may stay in here all day as it is hotter than Hades outside. Just me and the teenage gamers, online gangsters and American tourists...
We had a terrible time getting here - after the first plane had to return to Gatwick, we waited 8 hours for a replacement then flew through a terrific thunderstorm with terrible turbulence, arriving in the early hours of the morning completely strung out with exhaustion.
Crete is however beautiful - just at the start of the summer season, covered in the last of the spring flowers. Our apartment is right on the beach in Souda Bay - which is still used by the military, resulting in some surprising sights including a submarine surfacing whilst we sunbathed, and regular fly pasts by fighter jets. They have just finished commemorating the battle of Crete, grippingly described in Anthony Beevor's book on it which I am currently reading. I was amused to discover that the RAF had the nickname "Rarer than Fairies" here during the war because there were so few planes committed. The local paper is also full of wonderfully dry accounts from British veterans saying things like:
"Although I'd received no orders due to poor communications, I took the initiative to make my way to Hania. It took me four days and all I had were 15 rounds of ammo, a tin of pilchards and a loaf of bread."
Actually a tin of pilchards and a loaf of bread sounds pretty good after a week of eating Greek salad and chips. The local beach front taverna has an ever growing daily list saying what it does not have, rather than what it has, so supper can be an unpredictable experience. Last night we were served moussaka that tasted exactly like Christmas pudding, which is quite an achievement.
But I don't want to sound churlish. What could be finer than running along the beach road at dawn (10 days to go until my 5K charity run, and after 3 months of training 4x a week I can now run for 40 minutes at a time without passing out!), followed by a swim in the very deep, very cold swimming pool in the middle of a rose garden. Or walking home at dusk, just as the sea turns silver and the wind picks up through the Tamarind trees.
Now if only we did not have to fly home... | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| | I was supposed to be flying to Crete this morning...the plane got as far as the Channel when there was a curious smell of burnt petrol and it started juddering, and then the pilot said, "We have a slight technical problem, we can't make Paris/Orly and will have to turn back..." not words any traveller wants to hear, and we all had a very tense 10 minutes before we touched down again at Gatwick. The plane has been grounded, so we are waiting here until this evening for the airline to send another one from Europe. I am exhausted. | | comments: 5 comments or Leave a comment |
| I am entranced by the fact that you will shortly be able to buy wall murals depicting the Star Trek: TOS bridge -
link to advert
I could just see a Star Trek themed bathroom using this, with perhaps a toilet in the shape of the command chair...sadly I'd never get agreement at home, perhaps I should suggest it for the office ;-) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| My life being all about work, and running, I have reverted to my old practice of going to the Cambridge Arts Cinema once a week to escape.
Last night, I was lucky enough to stroll into a special screening of Herzog's film about the Antarctic, "Encounters at the end of the world," introduced by one of the scientists filmed - Dr Clive Oppenheimer, a reader in Volcanology and remote sensing at Cambridge.
Dr Oppenheimer, whilst very enthusiastic about the film, commented drily on Herzog's search for "ecstatic truth" rather than mundane documentary accuracy. In Dr Oppenheimer's case, Herzog's desire to slot him into the "eccentric explorer" stereotype (Herzog told him he was "a conquistador of the useless" after listening to what he studies) led to him describing Dr Oppenheimer as wearing a tweed jacket at the top of a volcano, which Dr Oppenheimer was at pains to point out, most definitely was not tweed. I quite fell in love with Dr Oppenheimer.
The film itself is an absolute delight. I've heard that some people that work at McMurdo don't think much of it, particularly Herzog's sniffy dismissal of the few home comforts they have, and his description of it being like a mining town, or a moon colony. It's clear that Herzog has focussed only on the things that interest him - finding those that walk in the opposite direction to everyone else (even penguins), but it is also beautifully filmed, fascinating and extremely funny. The Times has a good review of it here with a clip.
The week before that, I saw "In the Loop," which was more farce than satire although it had ambitions - all very shouty and one note, and ultimately rather depressing.
Before that, it was the brilliant Swedish retake of the vampire myth, "Let the right one in," which was genuinely macarbre, romantic and terrifying. I was so intrigued I have sent off for the book, written by John Ajvide Lindqvist. There is a good, but spoilery review of it by one of the Guardian film critics here. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| My mother and I have been enthralled by the back to back French movies on the cinemoi channel, which inspired my mum to write this poem... Channel Cine-Moi Mon Dieu! I’m trapped inside an old French movie There is no plot – but lots of objets trouvés It rambles, ambles, and goes on forever He’s ravishingly handsome; but not clever. He loved her, but then changed his mind – deserted, He went to kiss her with her face averted... The old apartment in its faded glory – She takes her top off (it’s obligatory) His heart is cold beneath his crumpled mac He’s left her, but guess what? He wants her back There’s been a murder! Now we’re back on track! Endless discussions about the lack of feeling And camera shots that pan around the ceiling And cycling down the lanes between the trees (The camera man’s obsessed with dimpled knees) His grandmother was a Nazi sympathiser His father’s always been a womaniser (It’s two hours now and I’m none the wiser) He sits in a café and drinks a gin The door swings wide – his wife has staggered in She holds a shotgun and dispatches him The screen goes back, and just one word says “FIN” | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| I saw a brilliant production of "Waiting for Godot" starring Ian McKellen as Estragon, Patrick Stewart as Vladimir, Simon Callow as Pozzo and Ronald Pickup as Lucky at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, yesterday. Production photos here:
http://www.playbill.com/multimedia/gallery//397/?pnum=1
It is one of my favourite plays, but I have hardly ever seen it done well. What I particularly liked about the performance was - the richness of their voices, the way they captured the music hall patter, the obvious bond between Ian and Patrick and the fact that they are the right age for the parts (I always imagine the characters as in their 60s/70s). Ian brought just the right mix of vulnerability and earthiness to the role of Eastragon, and Patrick really captured the dreaminess and optimism of Vladimir. In interviews about the production, both of them have talked about the relationship between the characters as being like marriage, with all the half finished sentences that implies.
Simon Callow and Ronald Pickup were also excellent, though of course a crude caricature of the main pairing. Ronald really made the most of what is quite a limited character, especially in his long speech where his thoughts unravel like a computer shutting down or someone slowly sliding into dementia.
It is also a very funny play, and this production really brought out the comedy, which is sometimes overlooked. Well worth seeing, I hope they film it. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| Good lord, it is a month since I last posted.
I blame this entirely on my starting training for the 5 km run - which means that I am now running 4x a week as well as my usual cycling 40 miles and swimming. I crawl into bed at 8pm and sleep like the dead, and am experiencing strange shooting sensations in my knees. Only 50 more training sessions to go and then the damn thing will be over! You can tell I am not warming to running, which I find (a) very dull and (b) very hard. I do however enjoy recording my incredibly slow progress using the tools on this user friendly running site: http://www.goodrunguide.co.uk/
In other news, I have managed to clear the 3 committees required and have permission to recruit an assistant. THANK GOD and they can't get here a moment too soon, particularly since I am currently dealing with a completely barking complainant who sends me long rambling tirades about the world in general, peppered with personal insults and vague threats to sue us. I long to be able to say "Come and have a go if you are hard enough!" but sadly my professionalism wins out. Some people just have too much free time on their hands. They should sign up for a charity run. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| I have spent the weekend cleaning Crumb Castle, and whilst housework should make one feel virtuous it just makes me feel cheated. Plus appalled by the sorts of things you find underneath dishwashers. A close friend and I have a fantasy about living in adjoining eco-lodges in a forest, where all you would have to do is sweep the floor every day. I could do minimalist, I really could - anything not to have to dust the biscuit tins.
Valentines Day passed me by as usual, although my father announced that he is taking up internet dating, at the age of 62.
This is a terrifying prospect in a number of regards.
He's advertised in the Guardian lonely hearts and was surprised to find that two psychiatrists and a tax inspector have replied, which speaks volumes about his advert.
I have not yet started training for my charity run; I have however ordered four T shirts for us all to wear with the legend "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence," I hope the sisters won't mind.
I am tormented by things I can't find - currently:
- The name of a John/Rodney fic where John pretended to be the caretaker of Rodney's apartment building, but really owned it. And may or may not have worked in a junk shop, or maybe that was another one.
- A film I think mirabile_dictu recommended, which I bought but can't now find, which may have been Canadian, where a city type goes on some sort of family visit in the middle of nowhere and ends up falling for a native American. Possibly with the letter "E"in the title.
Also missing, lost in action: a bike light, two rechargeable batteries, a shoe button, a leather glove and my joie de vivre. Perhaps if I ever finish the hoovering I will find them all.
Edited to add: instant answers! - I am so impressed. I should have asked before. Now if anyone knows where my bike light is :-) | | comments: 6 comments or Leave a comment |
| I felt pretty heroic cycling through snow drifts into work (note: my team was the ONLY team to all make it into the office) and then I came home to hear the recording of the communications between air traffic controllers and the pilot of the plane that ditched in New York's Hudson River, which as the radio 4 presenter said, certainly puts your day into perspective.
There is something profoundly inspiring about hearing professional people...being professional. No tantrums, no arguing, no hesitation, just "what do you need to land." | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| I've decided the answer to my work problems is to submit a business case to recruit an assistant solicitor - then they can deal with all the really, really dumb questions. This has to go through 3 different approval committees but my boss has already given it the thumbs up!
Plus some friends have talked me into doing a 5 km run for a cancer charity in June - ME, running! Not something I have done since I left my London gym 2 years ago. I need to plan a training programme - I am guessing interval training is the way to go...30 seconds running, 3 minutes leaning weakly against a tree...at least I have good running shoes and cycle 40+ miles a week...any tips welcome! | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
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Lady_of_Asheru's attic
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