Of course, 12 years ago my former GP did think I was mad (he hadn't looked in the mirror recently) and banged me up in a psychiatric hospital (called 'Mum's Nuthouse period' in our home). Funnily enough the REAL psychiatrists weren't so convinced and I have them to thank for saving my life that first time (yes, there were other less dramatic occasions). High blood pressure, palpitations, migraines and vomiting aren't that common among 'fruitcakes' I'm sure, but they are common with certain tumours of the adrenal gland. I eventually named mine 'Tyson' after the rather mean boxer. No offence to anyone who 'does a stint in the nuthouse' by the way - they did some great work and I even made some (relatively sane) friends there! I use the term 'fruitcake' affectionately too.......
No, this time it could be true!
I took April off from the Pennington Pop-Up Restaurant. I was so busy at AMEND and just couldn't work out what to do for the best; Austrian, Arabian or Albanian April. None of them sounded right. How does anyone deep fry 15 Weiner Schnitzls in an ordinary kitchen anyway?!
So we're already into May now and I really can't take another month off or I won't stand a chance of reaching my £3000 target. It was always going to be Moroccan May too, and that is so relevant to the Trek that it has to be done! Problem is, we're just as busy, if not more so!
Never fear, the emails are sent, the posters are up and the fliers are ready. Now for the menu.......!
It gives me a great excuse to clean the house (it doesn't get done often) and catch up with friends - hopefully ones who bring large wallets!
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Thursday, 7 April 2011
MRS ANGRY
We've lost another wonderful MEN2b patient member aged just 42 (my age).
Described at her cremation service as 'a life force', 'inspirational', 'brave'.
I met with Lou once - once is enough to have left an amazing and lasting impression of her wit and bravery.
She had this affect on everyone she met and will be so sorely missed by all who knew her.
Too many, too young.
It makes me angry that there is so little research into rare diseases like MEN
Please, please, please join us and help change all that.
Put those walking boots on and help us raise money to fund research into MEN
Described at her cremation service as 'a life force', 'inspirational', 'brave'.
I met with Lou once - once is enough to have left an amazing and lasting impression of her wit and bravery.
She had this affect on everyone she met and will be so sorely missed by all who knew her.
Too many, too young.
It makes me angry that there is so little research into rare diseases like MEN
Please, please, please join us and help change all that.
Put those walking boots on and help us raise money to fund research into MEN
Sunday, 13 March 2011
Mexican Madness
Last night saw the 2nd of my Pop-Up restaurant evenings; Mexican March. It was almost a full house with 11 people crammed into my living room, but it was such a good atmosphere and i think most people enjoyed the more authentic Mexican food served (no Tex-Mex here!). We now know that we will have to limit our restaurant evenings to a maximum of 14, but i don't think that's too big a problem. The Other Half was successfully chained to the kitchen and yet managed to get equally successfully sociable by the end of the evening - I think the number of empty Corona bottles in the kitchen was a clue.
Sadly we were very short-staffed as The Boy had taken to his bed with a headache (dehydrated again no doubt) and Girlie was next door baby-sitting, so yours truly (dressed appropriately in flowing cotton with flowers in my hair) waited tables like a whirling dervish (double pain killers last night and this morning and wondering whether i could squeeze in a quick hip replacement before the Trek). Still, a most enjoyable evening and so great to catch up with friends that i hadn't seen in ages.
On Friday I did my annual trip up to London to talk to 2nd year medical students at UCL about living with a genetic disorder. I love doing this, and not just 'cause they pay me! Although they get younger every year (to me) they are as bright as anything (even those with hangovers!) - it's almost a therapeutic experience for me with the added benefit of hoping that one of these young things will remember me when faced with a difficult-to-diagnose patient in the years ahead, and possibly make an earlier diagnosis than i had. Bless them; they had swotted up on me and wished me luck with The Trek - wish some of them would come too!!
In between all these activities of course, I've been constantly watching the news since the Japanese earthquake and tsunami - absolutely shocking. I have never been there, but am due to go in June to talk at a medical conference and so have been in contact with doctors and the chief of their new patient group - all lovely people. Thankfully, they are all okay but it has completely shaken everyone there.
Well, i best go and continue changing the restaurant back into a home; stacks of washing up and furniture moving to do as well as lots of left-over tortilla chips and After 8 chocolates to hoover up!
Sadly we were very short-staffed as The Boy had taken to his bed with a headache (dehydrated again no doubt) and Girlie was next door baby-sitting, so yours truly (dressed appropriately in flowing cotton with flowers in my hair) waited tables like a whirling dervish (double pain killers last night and this morning and wondering whether i could squeeze in a quick hip replacement before the Trek). Still, a most enjoyable evening and so great to catch up with friends that i hadn't seen in ages.
On Friday I did my annual trip up to London to talk to 2nd year medical students at UCL about living with a genetic disorder. I love doing this, and not just 'cause they pay me! Although they get younger every year (to me) they are as bright as anything (even those with hangovers!) - it's almost a therapeutic experience for me with the added benefit of hoping that one of these young things will remember me when faced with a difficult-to-diagnose patient in the years ahead, and possibly make an earlier diagnosis than i had. Bless them; they had swotted up on me and wished me luck with The Trek - wish some of them would come too!!
In between all these activities of course, I've been constantly watching the news since the Japanese earthquake and tsunami - absolutely shocking. I have never been there, but am due to go in June to talk at a medical conference and so have been in contact with doctors and the chief of their new patient group - all lovely people. Thankfully, they are all okay but it has completely shaken everyone there.
Well, i best go and continue changing the restaurant back into a home; stacks of washing up and furniture moving to do as well as lots of left-over tortilla chips and After 8 chocolates to hoover up!
Sunday, 6 March 2011
The White Stuff
We all returned safely from our now traditional half-term ski trip to the French Alps. I am always so crippled with butterflies in the stomach beforehand, and indeed, they got the better of me somewhat this year.
What little confidence I gained last year seemed to desert me and I only skied a handful of times, albeit managing the final little piece of black run that ran down into the resort (that was almost fun). Otherwise I kept to the greens and a little bit of a blue. I did successfully negotiate a chair lift (my nemesis from last year) and even did so without falling over at all and despite feeling sick to my stomach the whole way up.
But it was the kids that amazed me. Last year, Girlie lost all her confidence skiing with me (believe me, my skiing will knock the confidence of a world-class downhill skier), but this year we managed to persuade her to join an adult class and it all came back to her, with more on top.
The Boy just blew us away though. He passed his 3rd star level with the ESF (French Ski School) and is now relatively comfortable on black runs. He's really found something he loves to do - shame it's so bloody expensive!
So who knows what next year holds. I think I might be better with the non-sliding sort of activity afforded by snow shoes, and failing that, at least I know that I am completely comfortable in a restaurant or bar practising my French and drinking gallons of 'vin chaud' or 'chocolat chaud'.
What little confidence I gained last year seemed to desert me and I only skied a handful of times, albeit managing the final little piece of black run that ran down into the resort (that was almost fun). Otherwise I kept to the greens and a little bit of a blue. I did successfully negotiate a chair lift (my nemesis from last year) and even did so without falling over at all and despite feeling sick to my stomach the whole way up.
But it was the kids that amazed me. Last year, Girlie lost all her confidence skiing with me (believe me, my skiing will knock the confidence of a world-class downhill skier), but this year we managed to persuade her to join an adult class and it all came back to her, with more on top.
So who knows what next year holds. I think I might be better with the non-sliding sort of activity afforded by snow shoes, and failing that, at least I know that I am completely comfortable in a restaurant or bar practising my French and drinking gallons of 'vin chaud' or 'chocolat chaud'.
Military Manoeuvres
Well, Girlie went off on Friday after school on military manoeuvres somewhere near Folkestone (hilly, windy spot near the English Channel crossing and Dover). Bless her; she puts up well with being called 'Sarge' and 'Combat Barbie' on Fridays when she begs a lift off me so she doesn't have to catch the bus to school whilst wearing her fatigues!
Her perseverence paid off this weekend. I got a text during lunchbreak yesterday practically squealing (in text speak of course) that she'd finally fired a rifle. What's more, she'd hit the man-shaped target 18 times. We are all going to have to be so much nicer to her now she's a crack shot. Thank goodness the school keep the rifles locked down!
At 14 years old she is a proud member of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) based at the Boy's Grammar School across the road from her Girl's Grammar School. We were in total shock when she expressed an interest in it (and I was openly jealous as i would have loved to do that when i was a teen), and of course, she's not so proud that she'll catch the bus to school on Fridays in her uniform!! Nevertheless, her schoolwork has improved dramatically (despite being AWOL for manoeuvres on occasion) and we are very proud of her. She has no intention of joining the armed forces when she leaves school, but rather is thinking ahead about university application forms!! So mature :-)
She will be so cross if she knows I've posted her photo here, but heh! (note to self: buy bullet proof vest) -
Anyway, The Boy has discovered something called War Hammer - i don't understand this stuff at all!! All i know is that he spent his entire Saturday in a shop making a model of a futuristic tank, spent a fortune (all his savings) on a handful of weird figures sporting weapons and came home reaking of glue. This can't be good, but it seems all the rage with both his peer group and older friends. I am going to have to investigate but i'm not sure woman are even allowed in these places!?!
So now this blog's reference to chocolate!!
Mexican March at our Pennington Pop-Up Charity Restaurant is under a week away, and so we experimented yesterday with delicious results (and improvements and tweaks that we have made note of).
Thank god for the Aztecs, or whoever it was over there that discovered chocolate. And then to those who thought it would be a good idea to serve chicken/turkey coated in chocolate and chilli sauce. I loved Mole as a child when a family friend married a Mexican, opening up a whole new culinary world for me. I am so excited about next Saturday! We found a milder version for those with sensitive tastebuds, and even The Boy ate that which is a good sign!
As for the proper chocolatey stuff, we've saved some for Girlie, who tastebuds are as tough as her CCF boots!
Her perseverence paid off this weekend. I got a text during lunchbreak yesterday practically squealing (in text speak of course) that she'd finally fired a rifle. What's more, she'd hit the man-shaped target 18 times. We are all going to have to be so much nicer to her now she's a crack shot. Thank goodness the school keep the rifles locked down!
At 14 years old she is a proud member of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) based at the Boy's Grammar School across the road from her Girl's Grammar School. We were in total shock when she expressed an interest in it (and I was openly jealous as i would have loved to do that when i was a teen), and of course, she's not so proud that she'll catch the bus to school on Fridays in her uniform!! Nevertheless, her schoolwork has improved dramatically (despite being AWOL for manoeuvres on occasion) and we are very proud of her. She has no intention of joining the armed forces when she leaves school, but rather is thinking ahead about university application forms!! So mature :-)
She will be so cross if she knows I've posted her photo here, but heh! (note to self: buy bullet proof vest) -
So now this blog's reference to chocolate!!
Mexican March at our Pennington Pop-Up Charity Restaurant is under a week away, and so we experimented yesterday with delicious results (and improvements and tweaks that we have made note of).
Thank god for the Aztecs, or whoever it was over there that discovered chocolate. And then to those who thought it would be a good idea to serve chicken/turkey coated in chocolate and chilli sauce. I loved Mole as a child when a family friend married a Mexican, opening up a whole new culinary world for me. I am so excited about next Saturday! We found a milder version for those with sensitive tastebuds, and even The Boy ate that which is a good sign!
As for the proper chocolatey stuff, we've saved some for Girlie, who tastebuds are as tough as her CCF boots!
Monday, 14 February 2011
Sahara Research
Friday and Saturday morning saw scenes of frenetic activity; cleaning, cleaning, cooking, shopping and more cooking and cleaning. The reason was all down to preparation for my latest (and probably first) fundraising initiative: the Pennington Pop-Up Charity Restaurant.
I don't have the biggest of houses when it comes to useful ground floor living space, but we still managed to move furniture and borrow tables in order to turn our living room very effectively into a restaurant for the evening. The theme was French February and the bookings were reasonably healthy - or so i thought! at 8.15pm i emailed a friend of mine to check the family were still coming. 'No, that's March!' She said. Whoops! Entirely my fault for not reading the email properly, and so our evening for 12 was now an evening for 7. Nevertheless, I am pleased to report that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the food and the evening.
I did confess (after a couple of glasses of wine myself) that the creme brulees were attempt number 2 made by The Other Half. Mine were a disaster. They didn't set at all and were duly rinsed down the sink. C'est la vie!
We raised just over £200 which is not too bad considering it was the first one and a true experiment. We are now looking forward to Mexican March! At least I know for sure that i have a table for 5 booked already :)
Sunday was a wash-out of course. We had turned the restaurant back into a home by 8am and with the boys gone for a day of sport, and Girlie revising for exams upstairs I turned to doing some research on desert life.............I sat down wrapped in a duvet with chocolate within easy reach and watched Lawrence of Arabia on the big TV - awesome!
A very satisfactory weekend!
I don't have the biggest of houses when it comes to useful ground floor living space, but we still managed to move furniture and borrow tables in order to turn our living room very effectively into a restaurant for the evening. The theme was French February and the bookings were reasonably healthy - or so i thought! at 8.15pm i emailed a friend of mine to check the family were still coming. 'No, that's March!' She said. Whoops! Entirely my fault for not reading the email properly, and so our evening for 12 was now an evening for 7. Nevertheless, I am pleased to report that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the food and the evening.
I did confess (after a couple of glasses of wine myself) that the creme brulees were attempt number 2 made by The Other Half. Mine were a disaster. They didn't set at all and were duly rinsed down the sink. C'est la vie!
We raised just over £200 which is not too bad considering it was the first one and a true experiment. We are now looking forward to Mexican March! At least I know for sure that i have a table for 5 booked already :)
Sunday was a wash-out of course. We had turned the restaurant back into a home by 8am and with the boys gone for a day of sport, and Girlie revising for exams upstairs I turned to doing some research on desert life.............I sat down wrapped in a duvet with chocolate within easy reach and watched Lawrence of Arabia on the big TV - awesome!
A very satisfactory weekend!
Monday, 31 January 2011
Easter's here apparently
I admit it......I had my first Cadbury's Creme Egg of the year the other day (shame on me!!) It was bloody delicious and nicely took care of that all too frequent chocolate craving that hits once in a while (pretty damn often really!)
I felt i deserved after a particularly torturous session at the gym where i had to lie flat on the floor and squeeze a medicine ball between my bent knees whilst moving my legs towards the floor and up again (3 lots of 15 - aghh!) Safe to say i couldn't walk properly afterwards and couldn't sleep for 2 days due to the subsequent pain. I was very firm at the next session that this exercise was never to be repeated but the kids (bless them) had already told her what a mess i had been during their 'Teen Gym Workout' a few days previously.
During one of those sleepless nights I can up with a hair-brained fundraising idea and set to work getting it organised that very day (once the sun had actually risen). I am now advertising my Pop-Up restaurant, where i aim to serve a different set 3-course meal every month for around 20 guests, who will then be asked to donate what they feel the meal was worth. I'm starting simply with French February (watercress roulade, beef bourginnoine and creme caramel) and this will be followed by Mexican March - you get the picture. I will wait to see how it goes, but it could be a good (if rather involved little money-spinner).......
........that is if we can get all the heavy furniture moved out of the living room into the garden!
I felt i deserved after a particularly torturous session at the gym where i had to lie flat on the floor and squeeze a medicine ball between my bent knees whilst moving my legs towards the floor and up again (3 lots of 15 - aghh!) Safe to say i couldn't walk properly afterwards and couldn't sleep for 2 days due to the subsequent pain. I was very firm at the next session that this exercise was never to be repeated but the kids (bless them) had already told her what a mess i had been during their 'Teen Gym Workout' a few days previously.
During one of those sleepless nights I can up with a hair-brained fundraising idea and set to work getting it organised that very day (once the sun had actually risen). I am now advertising my Pop-Up restaurant, where i aim to serve a different set 3-course meal every month for around 20 guests, who will then be asked to donate what they feel the meal was worth. I'm starting simply with French February (watercress roulade, beef bourginnoine and creme caramel) and this will be followed by Mexican March - you get the picture. I will wait to see how it goes, but it could be a good (if rather involved little money-spinner).......
........that is if we can get all the heavy furniture moved out of the living room into the garden!
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
In Desperate Need of Sleep
Well, it's 2 down and 10 to go - personal training sessions that is. Trouble is, I'm not sure I'll last that long! Obviously most of the attention is going to my currently non-existent thigh muscles in the hope that there will be no more hideously embarrassing skiing incidents this year, and that I will be able to scale sand dunes in the Sahara without even blinking in 2012.
Cardiac-based machines, not a problem really, weights seem manageable although I seem to be constantly adjusting them to the lower settings at present. Stretching is good too. It's the night and 2 days after that are a killer. Since my shoulder was replaced in 2007 because of a suspected MTC metastasis, I have also suffered pain in other joints/bones. I have had no conclusive diagnosis as to what these may be, but the worst pain is in the left hip/femur and lower back.
Never before has exercise hurt so much afterwards! I am popping pain pills and still not sleeping for longer than a couple of hours during the 2 nights following my 1-hour workout (and I have a very high pain threshold - ask anyone). I have to leave the 'comfort' of my Tempur (orthopaedic) pressure-relieving mattress designed by NASA because it's just not comfortable for me any more.
Worse; I seem unable to tip-toe about the house quietly at these ungodly hours and consequently end up waking up the rest of the gang - even the bloody Beast was howling and whining this morning at 5:30am. Queue grumpy bag-eyed children and a family who are all gently snoring on the sofa come 8pm.
Are we the most sleep-deprived family on the planet right now? Of course not. That dubious record probably goes to a large number of now homeless families in a rather damp Queensland, Australia.
So stop moaning Grey and get on with it!!
Cardiac-based machines, not a problem really, weights seem manageable although I seem to be constantly adjusting them to the lower settings at present. Stretching is good too. It's the night and 2 days after that are a killer. Since my shoulder was replaced in 2007 because of a suspected MTC metastasis, I have also suffered pain in other joints/bones. I have had no conclusive diagnosis as to what these may be, but the worst pain is in the left hip/femur and lower back.
Never before has exercise hurt so much afterwards! I am popping pain pills and still not sleeping for longer than a couple of hours during the 2 nights following my 1-hour workout (and I have a very high pain threshold - ask anyone). I have to leave the 'comfort' of my Tempur (orthopaedic) pressure-relieving mattress designed by NASA because it's just not comfortable for me any more.
Worse; I seem unable to tip-toe about the house quietly at these ungodly hours and consequently end up waking up the rest of the gang - even the bloody Beast was howling and whining this morning at 5:30am. Queue grumpy bag-eyed children and a family who are all gently snoring on the sofa come 8pm.
Are we the most sleep-deprived family on the planet right now? Of course not. That dubious record probably goes to a large number of now homeless families in a rather damp Queensland, Australia.
So stop moaning Grey and get on with it!!
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Now I've gone and done it...
So I've finally taken up the offer and purchased 12 personal training sessions for the price of 10 (well the Other Half has but doesn't know it yet). They're canny these gyms aren't they? It's January, we're all feeling a little fatter and unfit so let's entice them in and whip their butts! It is a home for masochists and sadists.
Nevertheless, I am keen this year not to repeat the embarrassing skiing incident of last year and I will need a lot of work on my thighs in order to avoid it. Valloire in the French Alps is an absolutely beautiful small village-like high altitude ski resort where the two main ski lifts leave from the centre of the village. Very civilised - seats and everything. I only learnt to ski 3 years ago (after my shoulder replacement and being advised not to by the physiotherapist) because I was bored sitting at the bottom of the slopes waiting for my family to come down the mountain. After an hour's lesson on the icy 'baby slope' and with the Other Half taken to bed by La Grippe (flu) I bravely offered to accompany the kids down the mountain on our last day, so as to let them get the most out of our week. What I didn't appreciate was that a blue slope is in fact more difficult to navigate than a green slope (I had them the other way around in my head). It took over an hour and much coaxing from Girlie and The Boy to limp down the mountain, with much screaming as we went. I made it down without falling over though until I foolishly celebrated at the bottom by punching the air, unbalancing myself and sliding (rather gracefully I must say) to the ground. Getting up is not my strong point.
And so to last year when, with my skiing ability now bursting beyond the tame green slopes, firmly into the blue (and even a short red by the end of the week), I was encouraged by the Other Half to try a new route up the mountain - a chair lift. I didn't find getting on particularly difficult and the narrow suspended bench flew around to scoop us up; stressful anticipation but not difficult. At the top it was another story. Not only does the hand bar have to be pushed up whilst you are still far to high above the ground (extremely unnerving when you have vertigo) but everyone assumes that getting off will be just as easy - you must have done it before right?
Oh dear
The Other Half instructed, 'when your skis feel the ground just stand up and you will slide forwards'. Sounds easy enough until I tried to stand up and absolutely nothing happened! Yep: total thigh muscle failure. Instead, my bum slipped from the bench and onto the icing 'runway' and I slid (again rather gracefully) along the ground. I'm sure I heard a French expletive and the next thing I knew was that the chair lift had been halted (cue a collective gasp from the poor sods still on it which echoed across the valleys). Lots of upright skiers hanging about at the top (why do they do that - just to laugh at people like me?) helpfully advised me to 'get up' - no chance. Finally the lift operator skidded towards me and hoisted me up under my arms (I have no idea how to say 'don't do that, the left one's bionic and might pop out' in French). The Other Half just laughed.
No, I need to work hard over the next 5 weeks to get those thighs stronger - apparently there are many more chair lifts in Serre Chevalier - this year's destination.
Help!!
Nevertheless, I am keen this year not to repeat the embarrassing skiing incident of last year and I will need a lot of work on my thighs in order to avoid it. Valloire in the French Alps is an absolutely beautiful small village-like high altitude ski resort where the two main ski lifts leave from the centre of the village. Very civilised - seats and everything. I only learnt to ski 3 years ago (after my shoulder replacement and being advised not to by the physiotherapist) because I was bored sitting at the bottom of the slopes waiting for my family to come down the mountain. After an hour's lesson on the icy 'baby slope' and with the Other Half taken to bed by La Grippe (flu) I bravely offered to accompany the kids down the mountain on our last day, so as to let them get the most out of our week. What I didn't appreciate was that a blue slope is in fact more difficult to navigate than a green slope (I had them the other way around in my head). It took over an hour and much coaxing from Girlie and The Boy to limp down the mountain, with much screaming as we went. I made it down without falling over though until I foolishly celebrated at the bottom by punching the air, unbalancing myself and sliding (rather gracefully I must say) to the ground. Getting up is not my strong point.
And so to last year when, with my skiing ability now bursting beyond the tame green slopes, firmly into the blue (and even a short red by the end of the week), I was encouraged by the Other Half to try a new route up the mountain - a chair lift. I didn't find getting on particularly difficult and the narrow suspended bench flew around to scoop us up; stressful anticipation but not difficult. At the top it was another story. Not only does the hand bar have to be pushed up whilst you are still far to high above the ground (extremely unnerving when you have vertigo) but everyone assumes that getting off will be just as easy - you must have done it before right?
Oh dear
The Other Half instructed, 'when your skis feel the ground just stand up and you will slide forwards'. Sounds easy enough until I tried to stand up and absolutely nothing happened! Yep: total thigh muscle failure. Instead, my bum slipped from the bench and onto the icing 'runway' and I slid (again rather gracefully) along the ground. I'm sure I heard a French expletive and the next thing I knew was that the chair lift had been halted (cue a collective gasp from the poor sods still on it which echoed across the valleys). Lots of upright skiers hanging about at the top (why do they do that - just to laugh at people like me?) helpfully advised me to 'get up' - no chance. Finally the lift operator skidded towards me and hoisted me up under my arms (I have no idea how to say 'don't do that, the left one's bionic and might pop out' in French). The Other Half just laughed.
No, I need to work hard over the next 5 weeks to get those thighs stronger - apparently there are many more chair lifts in Serre Chevalier - this year's destination.
Help!!
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Feeling Fat and Forty(something)
Well, although it didn't actually snow, it was still lying about on the ground for Christmas which was lovely. The house was packed to the rafters with relatives and the Christmas tree smelt gorgeous (my favourite bit). However, I have idly sat and eaten (and drunk) so much that i officially feel like a 'blob'. I did begin to kick into action yesterday by taking down the Christmas decorations and doing the piles of washing that had accumulated before our final holiday treat of watching Narnia; Voyage of the Dawn Treader at the cinema.
The bones and joints are all aching at the moment which is probably due to overindulgence and inactivity so getting back into training mode will be double-tough - have I actually ever been in 'training mode' yet I should ask myself??!!!
An inspired thought came to me the other morning as I awoke early as usual and pondered life, the universe and everything. I was so bored of all the well-traversed dog walking haunts, we had nothing planned for the day, and I just needed to get out of house and away from the obviously wilting Christmas tree (which was still smelling great by the way).
After my idea received a rapturous reception from The Other Half, The Boy and Girlie, we packed a picnic and headed for the seaside. Camber Sands is only an hour away (probably feels longer for the poor old Beast, but heh). The tide was on the way out, the long stretch of soft yellow sand widening by the minute revealing band upon band of assorted seashells.
What a training opportunity - SAND DUNES! The beauty of the beach in winter is that it is full of other people with dogs (and a few slighly bonkers men who insisted upon stripping to their boxer shorts and running and flapping like screeching school-girls into the 'surf' for a quick dunk and an even quicker exit). There are no sunbathers, lost children, ice creams, parasols etc. You can actually see the beach and on this occasion, run through the sand dunes like you are really in the Sahara (albeit wearing a warm coat and gloves).
Of course, all this did was emphasize how far I have to go on the training front, but it also inspired me to think about running my own little sand dune training camp for Nomads next winter.
The Other Half, The Boy, The Girlie and me all enjoyed our sand-dune-surfing adventure, The Beast thoroughly enjoyed his swim and we all enjoyed a steaming hot plate of chips from the beachfront cafe for lunch - sod the picnic!
The bones and joints are all aching at the moment which is probably due to overindulgence and inactivity so getting back into training mode will be double-tough - have I actually ever been in 'training mode' yet I should ask myself??!!!
An inspired thought came to me the other morning as I awoke early as usual and pondered life, the universe and everything. I was so bored of all the well-traversed dog walking haunts, we had nothing planned for the day, and I just needed to get out of house and away from the obviously wilting Christmas tree (which was still smelling great by the way).
After my idea received a rapturous reception from The Other Half, The Boy and Girlie, we packed a picnic and headed for the seaside. Camber Sands is only an hour away (probably feels longer for the poor old Beast, but heh). The tide was on the way out, the long stretch of soft yellow sand widening by the minute revealing band upon band of assorted seashells.
The Other Half, The Boy, The Girlie and me all enjoyed our sand-dune-surfing adventure, The Beast thoroughly enjoyed his swim and we all enjoyed a steaming hot plate of chips from the beachfront cafe for lunch - sod the picnic!
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