Year: 2008

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The last weekend in South Zeal

Phil and DaveAs my brother and his family prepare to move up north, it was with mixed emotions that we spent our last stay there over at their house in South Zeal. Mixed, because we’ve had some great times there, as this one was, and we’ll miss it on that score, but the journey back was a killer (getting on for six hours) and the weather wasn’t its usual vintage. Probably not a bad thing – would have been harder to say goodbye to the place in gorgeous spring weather (though I’d love to have given it a try!)

Extended FamilyA lovely bonus was a few hours drop-in visit from cousin Adrian with Dee and Isabel – had a great manic meal with plenty of good banter and it was really nice to see Adrian away from the mountains for a change.

We made the most of the freezing northerlies to get to an indoor play area on Saturday, which was obviously great fun for the children and one grown-up in particular who loves these places. Katie took plenty of opportunities for some good rest, and Phil and I managed to get out on the moor a couple of times for short runs, including a straight-up-and-down-Cawsand run which was very rewarding (see here in Google Earth).

89 photographs are here – a mixture of some from my camera and some taken with Phil’s utterly stunning Nikon D200.

Katie and Helen catching up

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Rochdale Optician – a fitting conclusion.

A good while ago I was chatting (about the importance of search engine traffic) to my friend Lewis as he was setting up his Optician business in Rochdale, and I set about a little task of my own, for geeky fun, to see if I could get onto page 1 in Google for the search term ‘Rochdale Optician”. I managed to get onto pages 1 and 2 of the search results when I built this page.

Well, as if to complete the circle, I’ve just finished putting them together a website. It was a ‘spare time’ job and took way too long but it was a learning this and basically stuff I enjoy doing. So you know where to click now if you want to see the best Rochdale Optician and Optometrist in Norden Lancashire.

What’s nice is I’ve been able for the first time to apply all my Search Engine Optimisation knowledge to a site I’ve built entirely myself, and at ‘mates rates’. Dying to see how it gets on in the search engines as the domain gradually matures. If any of you’d like to put a link in to Craven & Murray from your site, I’d be ever so grateful! Needless to say, if you need an eye test or some good designer frames from the nicest optician in Lancashire, you know where to go.

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Seven Days On – not addiction, but obsession.

Inspired by out-of-season, what-the-heckery, I decided to keep on runnin’ for a week and ditch the rest days. Steve did the same thing a while ago and it got me thinking about whether I’m a bit too precious with rest days. A much improved toe joint (thanks, Glucosomine & Chondroitin) finally meant that I wasn’t getting foot ache after runs, so i thought I’d go and see what kind of ache I could give myself.

So a week’s running, minimum of five miles every day was prescribed by my closest doctor and coach.

Looking back, I don’t think it’s done me any harm at all. I was a bit low on morale when I set off on days 4 and 5 but I think that’s because I’ve always run when I fancied it – this became a mission so I ‘had to’. The injuries stayed away (No injuries? Call myself a runner?) and I feel pretty good. The weather’s been utter cack so I’ve not missed my cycling.

The stats
38 miles, about 30 of them off road – 8,000 feet of ascent and descent, 5,500 calories. I thought it was worth commemorating the occasion with a Google Earth file of all the tracks from the trusty Garmin 305.

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Other-worldly music animation

Quite the most delightful bit of animation that I think I’ve seen since Pixar’s ‘Robots’ – this appeals to me on so many levels; the epitome of how alive sequenced, electronic music can be if you just use your imagination. Wonderful… ten out of ten.

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The March Mountain trip: Wasdale

Wasdale

For the second year running, the annual trip to the hills organised by my cousin Adrian was based in Wasdale Head. Some pretty dull weather only lifted by the usual good craic that goes on between ten stout fellows. A wonderful time, as usual, peppered with great banter and the odd occasional meaningful chat. The hills are a brilliant place to enable you to do that, especially in a large group of walkers; flitting between people and picking up chats where you left off. The good dose of fresh air also helps the appetite (as if that needed any encouragement) and the yearning for ale.


Adrian in motionThe power cut that gripped upper Wasdale the whole weekend meant that we had to pile into two cars (thanks again, drivers) to take evening sustenance in Netherwasdale, some 5 miles away. What this lacked in convenience, it more than made up for in truly excellent food and home brewed fantastic beer. I even think I got away with fully masking my disappointment at clearly ordering the wrong pudding.

Three things learnt over the weekend, mainly from John:

  1. It’s wise to take knitting needles into public toilets
  2. Check for ants nests before settling down Horton in Ribblesdale hollows.
  3. The tough green bit in the middle of a tomato is a good indicator on manliness

Photos here.

Saturday’s Walk:


View in Google Earth

Sunday’s Walk:

View in Google Earth

Update:Adrian’s photos here.
Adrian’s blog post here.

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A new appointment to encourage sibling informality

I’m very excited about my brother Phil’s impending move back up north in the summer. His recent appointment to the Centre For Sustainable Water Management (CSWM) in Lancaster University means that we’ll be a maximum of an hour apart. Realising this has only just made me discover how much I’ve missed being able to get together with him and his family more spontaneously. Great news for the clan. It’s worth clicking on the link above just to look at the photo of him seemingly about to be sectioned.

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Bionic mother-in-law

A few short weeks ago my mother-in-law, Jean, went for a new knee. This type of thing happens with great frequency these days and is nothing amazing, but I was quite taken aback when I saw how well and how mobile she was, when i finally caught up with her yesterday.

The bits of titanium and plastic that make up her new, non-arthritic knee seem to have bedded in terrifically well, and it was great to see her walking up into the village with what seemed to be a better pace than she was managing with the crappy old knee before Christmas.

Well done Jean for getting on with all this without any moaning or grumbling. I hope everyone enjoys the X-Ray feature of my stunning new camera.

Jean Jean Jean Jean Jean

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Camera Quest: The Best of Both Worlds

After plenty of umming and loads of ahh-ing, I finally found the ideal all-round compromise camera… I think.

I was constrained by budget (aren’t we all?) and wanted

  • point and shoot (it’s not for me… that’s for a close female relative)
  • under £100
  • 5x Optical (or more) and a trusted lens
  • a decent CCD

Plus… on my ‘really would love’ list was

  • full manual Aperture control
  • Aperture priority control, and Shuuter Speed priority control (I was brought up on a Pentax ME super and will always be a user at heart).

MoiI started out looking at loads of things and almost fell into the trap of getting allured by brand, or by unbelievable price reductions, but in the end I stayed my course and ordered a Kodak C875. It arrived today and seems an absolute joy to use. I never thought I’d have ended up with a Kodak… I must say, but looking at the features and the way it performs on first exploration, I think we’re going to get on really well.

Plus, equally importantly, a certain un-named associate of mine might just enjoy its point and shoot simplicity. I said ‘might’.

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Half term day out: Crosby and Knowsley

Sands of TimeTaking advantage of the pretty much unprecedented February clear spell, I took full advantage of a day’s leave booked to spend with Lily. Katie’s half term doesn’t coincide with Lily’s which is a bit crap, but we had such a stonking day together – was really good fun.

We set off bright and early to head over to look at the Anthony Gormley installation on Crosby Sands, between Southport and Liverpool. The vista was so impressive in these clear, crisp conditions; it was inspirational. We returned to the car with one sandy, knackered dog, and had our butties (along with some cheeky scrounging avians, see right)Scrounger, then were due to head to the museum in Manchester for the afternoon, when we passed Knowsley Safari Park. The sun was out, it was relatively quiet, and the opportunity just begged us. Some photos here (a mix of proper camera and phone stuff). Ace times.

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Podcast: LAH

It’s a while since I uploaded a tune and even longer since I made one!

Just listening through some old stuff today and this came up… I really like it now, five years on. LAH is an acronym; someone who is currently singing her way through her favourite sound of music tracks whilst I type this… how appropriate.

‘Full of Energy, Full of Vitality, Very Happy in your Life’

Flippin hippy shit. Enjoy.