Those blogs where people rant about things getting on their nerves get on my nerves… so I won’t put any unnecessary interpretation on this photo. Suffice to say that I glanced down at my desk a few minutes ago aghast at what phoning people has become…
The bike ride as an object d’art
Okay, so Richard Long was very clever all those years ago by making art from walks… but I’ve now made a …. by accident! see Google Map below…. .. or view it in Google Earth here.
Marrakech – a bonus family holiday in 2007
Like waiting for a bus, we were lucky enough to have two hot summer holidays abroad this year. If anyone knows of any good carbon offsetting schemes for all those air miles, just let me know.
House guests of Katie’s family friend Tom Stoddart, we enjoyed the almost surreal luxury of being catered for all week in a beautiful and spacious home in Targa, on the northern suburbs of Marrakech. Tom, is well-off enough to have several domestic employees – all of whom were very friendly and helped us all to feel like we’d mixed with local people. Our French linguistics had to be dusted off a bit and with a strong regional accent, some words were hard to distinguish, but we got by.
The house was made even more child friendly by having a supply of dog and even eight 3-week old dachshund puppies. Olly and Lily made several daily visits to their little den each day.
Although it was lovely to have had a pool all to ourselves and enjoy the children (we went with Katie’s family: Sally, Simon, Olly, Lucy, Jean and Bill), we also had enough opportunities to nip into this amazing city a few times, too.
There’s some family photos here and less familyesque photos on Flickr here. The sunsets were particularly enjoyable – even without much immediate topography other than palm trees and olive groves. Simon and Sally’s flickr photos are here.
I also managed to keep the training going all holiday and ran each morning for a minimum of 35 minutes in some temperatures that would suggest a lot more lying in bed. The theory was to get up early and get out or get cooked. Daytime temperatures reached the mid 40s on some days but it was only in the high 20s in the mornings. I acclimatised well though, and running was a real joy in such a different environment. Google Earth tracks of the runs from my Garmin 305 are here, showing some nice zig-zagging through the shade of the olive groves and the dusty barren ‘fields’, complete with tumble weed.
Great fun – thanks Tom and we’ll come and see you again when you move to Agadir!
Anderson Patrick
A good friend from my late teens was killed in very tragic circumstances on Saturday. Anderson Patrick was just known as ‘Plug’ to us back in my sixth form – one of those names people get given at school when they have sticky-out ears.
Plug was one of those people who were good to party with. Katie remembers his dancing in a dodgy but very enthusiastic fashion; arms flailing and just going for it. We had some great times – particularly in the summer of 1988 when we left school – but onwards for the next couple of years, too.
People started dancing on the tables at the first ever Little Boogie Machine gig in the Brown Cow, Lancaster; Plug and his close friend Jamie Kineer were the first up there.
I haven’t been in contact with Plug for a long time now – we went off doing our own things as you do, but he’s one of the people I’d have loved to see again. The fact that I won’t do is not of any consequence to me. What I can’t think about for more than a few seconds is how his wife and three children won’t see him again.
Phil and Anne’s house in Devon
Storms ravage the country, and once again we managed to keep Devon relatively dry for a long weekend. We should get paid for this.
A lovely time had by all – lots of Dartmoor running, plenty of drinking, not a disastrous amount of sleep loss, the Tour de France’s crucial stages on TV in the the background (and occasionally the foreground), excellent young-people-swimming trampolinic bouncing, a stone of cow rib to eat a youth bike ride, and Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. And a bit of sneezing.
Oh, and some extreme retrieving by Elvis.
Mmmmm. Giants.
I know it’s cheap and schoolboy-like, I know it’s a pure out and out publicity stunt, but I can’t help laughing at this.
Five day forecast for Rossendale, Lancashire
I’m not too much of a ranting person. I put up with a fair deal and don’t moan too much too often. My glass is always half full.. bright side of life, etc. But can I just say how utterly and completely pig sick I am of this sodding weather. It’s really grinding me down now. Two and a half weeks ago, Katie, Lily and I came back from Barcelona complete with healthy tans, etc.
The only two chances I’ve had in that time to wear shorts have both been bike races, and even then it was bordering on the type of weather you’d think about wearing leg warmers. It’s just utterly rubbish.
I went out for a ride today just determined not to be beaten by it (the normal wet weather option is a fell run – much simpler and you can only get so wet…). 
Going through Hebden Bridge, I was treated (after two severe rainstorms in fifteen miles) to the sight of sand bags outside all the houses and shops. Cragg Vale, a long Pennine climb that reminded me of some winding alpine approach road last time I rode it was today dominated by a river on the tarmac and thunder claps (though luckily the climb’s 5 miles long and it had cleared up by the top!). It’s July. Fed up.
Summer Holidays – ‘camping’ in Gavamar, Barcelona
First time overseas (unless you count the Scottish islands) for three whole years for Katie, Lily and I. Needless to say we were very excited – even the less excitable element of the family. Everything went brilliantly, from flights (one very amazed little girl) to the place we stayed. It’s a gorgeous and very tidy camp site, and we were staying in a caravan-style hut, complete with shower, bog, kitchen, etc. Did the job brilliantly.
The beach was well kept and perfect for sand castles. Waves perfect for a rumpus with blow up boat and rubber ring. Booze a mere snip – Cava and local red wine @ £1.10 a bottle. We just had a very fun and very chilled time.
Barcelona itself was as lovely as usual – very hot but not scorching. We only did a couple of day trips into the city – plenty in the event. Tapas, Ramblas, Gaudi, Espresso etc. Just lovely.
We met a very friendly family from Belgium, and I managed to sneak plenty of cycling discussions in. Nienke and Yitse, the 6 and 5 year old children just got on brilliantly with Lily. That was nice too. What was also startling was how the Spanish, and Europeans in general smile at other people’s children, and how the teenagers there don’t seem to be abrasive or scary when seen in groups.
See the rather extensive family photos here
The slightly more off the wall photos here
The video here.
Barcelona Beach Hols 2007 – film
Managed to get this bit of editing out of the way in a very short space of time (as you can probably see).
We didn’t take the camera into town with us on our visits so this is all beach and campsite stuff.
Phil and Family in Capel Curig – 18 hours of manic fun
Had a very fleeting but utterly fun time with my brother and family camping at Dolgam, just outside Capel Curig in Snowdonia last night. They’d been on a sort-of-holiday in north Wales looking at a potential relocation, so we seized the advantage of them only being a couple of hours away to have a great camping trip.
Lily wasn’t in on it – she thought we were just going camping (enough excitement in itself!), but the look on her face when she saw her cousins in the car park in Betws y Coed was, to coin a cliché, priceless.
A great time had by all – and a short time that none of us will forget for a while.
One breadth to Five Metres: Swimming certificates a generation on.
Lily’s swimming under her own buoyancy and skill now, and she very proudly brought home her five metres certificate yesterday. I thought it was time to compare the certificates that she and I brought home after our respective swimming breakthroughs.
Podcast: It’s okay to be wrong
… is a new song which started life about 16 years ago in a rehearsal room in Lancaster, rehearsing with Phil and James in Inspekta Spencer. The song never came to anything, but the riff lived on in my head!
It’s very rocky. I like it, but I’m frustrated with the vocals; I think I could have done with starting it in a key that I could comfortably sing. Instead, I pressed on with recording the tracks and then it was sort of too late. So decided to record two vocals; one on a low octave and one on a high one, as a sort of can’t-win compromise. I’m very happy with the guitar sounds though. And the general arrangements. I just wish I could have done the vocals a bit better – but it’s time to move on, and anyway, it’s okay for them to be wrong.
[audio:https://www.minnellium.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/its-okay-to-be-wrong.mp3]