Weekend in Dublin

Starting with a teetotal early night this was not one of THOSE weekends in Dublin.
One of the peculiarities of running as a hobby is that completing a long run makes you want to immediately sign up for another.
On 31 October 2011 Adrian and I completed the Great South Run for the first time and while the old legs were still wobbling I looked for our next opportunity and came across the Great Ireland Run, 15 April in Dublin.  As neither of us had visited Ireland we signed up and added a couple of days afterwards for recovery deciding that if Dublin was not for us we could sit about, drink Guinness and read.
We needn't have worried because even for those not on a stag or hen weekend Dublin is a great city to visit.
The run in Phoenix Park (twice the size of NY Central Park!) had more hills than I would have chosen but the rain held off and we both completed 10k in times were were happy with, along with 11,000 others.  The winner (neither of us) completed the course in an eye watering 27 minutes - fastest 10k this year so far.  After the brief period of abstinence for training purposes we didn't have to look very far for our first pint of Guinness.  There are not many things more delicious than a pint of Guinness to replace the calories and minerals lost during a run.
Dublin is an interesting city, signs of the Celtic Tiger and its recent taming are evident all over the city and some of these are quite sad.  On the up side we didn't find it extraordinarily expensive, meals and drinks were reasonably priced.  We stayed in O'Connell St opposite the Spire, a 121m spike sticking up into the sky.  This monument, winner in a sculpture competition, was erected in 2001 on the site of Nelson's Pillar which had been blown up in 1966.  It's not popular with Dubliners but we found it a very useful tool for getting back to our hotel as you can see it from miles away.

On Monday, following the run we went on a coach tour out of the city to Wicklow, the Garden of Ireland and source of the water used to make Guinness.  We visited a place known as the Meeting of the Waters where the Avonmor (Abhainn Mhór, meaning "Big River") and the Avonbeg (Abhainn Bheag, meaning "Small River"). As you can see Guinness even starts its life looking good.

Not only is the water good to look at but the area must have some magic in it as we visited a monastery where we saw the headstone of Walter Byrne, who died in 1750 - aged 106!
On our way out of the city for this tour we went past the National Concert Hall and our guide talked about the events that take place there.  Pub crawling not being an activity best undertaken with one's spouse we decided to give the concert hall a try and on Tuesday afternoon we strolled there on the off chance there would be something on that evening and that tickets would be available.
Well we got lucky although the booking clerk had tickets available she did express some doubt about whether that night's concert would be our 'cup of tea'. We took a chance and Sharon Shannon with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in an evening of what she described as 'posh diddly i' was brilliant.
On Wednesday morning before heading back to the airport we visited the most interesting General Post Office.  In most cities the post office is a bit of a non event, not in Dublin.  The building is a neo Classical beauty and the interior does not disappoint either.  It reminded me of Grand Central station in New York in being far to grand for its rather mundane function.  Not only is the post office a visual feast its also the site of events that shook Ireland to its core and the restored building houses a museum both to the Irish postal service and this major political event.  I won't describe this here because I think you should visit Dublin and have a look for yourself - you won't be disappointed.

World Book Night 2012

I'm not quite bold enough to accost complete strangers in the street and grill them about their reading habits before offering them a copy of A Tale of Two Cities but as you can see I was brazen enough to ask Peter James to appear with me in a photograph.
Horsham Library arranged for Peter to come and talk to local book lovers (and promote his latest book) as a WBN2012 event.  I didn't know about the event as I am a little afraid of libraries.  My past experiences being expensive occasions when I've ended up paying for a book (fines) but having to give it back as well.  Once (not in the UK) I paid for a library book via the local equivalent of council tax and that was very costly.  Anyway after having a cuddle with Mr James I am now a firm fan of the library and might even try borrowing a book again.  Thanks to my lovely neighbour Cheryl for telling me about the event and organising our tickets.  I repaid her act of generosity by taking a photo of her with the writer but not being gifted as a photographer I managed to omit her head from the picture.  Sorry Cheryl.
There were a few WBN2012 Givers at the event and quite a lot of books were given away.  Peter James was interesting, funny and a bit gory at times and very patiently signed lots of books and chatted to fans.  I am delighted to hear that Roy Grace is being dramatised and might even venture to the cinema to see the film when it is released.  Anyone who knows me will know that the cinema is not usually more than an annual event for me but I will make the effort for the detective who drives past my place of work in the same car I drive.  Perhaps in future he could turn up our driveway and involve us in one of his cases.
Congratulations to Jamie Byng both for completing the London Marathon and for starting WBN, please  keep it going.
Far from being a detriment to booksellers (claimed by Vanessa Robertson of the Edinburgh Book Shop according to the Guardian website) it has been an inspiration for many.  My own experience as one of the thousands of Givers has been brilliant.  I've got to know my neighbours and we now have a reading group up and running.

Good Friday? Yes I think it was

So many people in Horsham on a sunny bank holiday afternoon.  What can possibly be the attraction?
The opera singers on the bandstand were quite popular.
The olives and cheese and delicious Italian comestibles were more popular.
But the most popular by far were the, I kid you not, something between 40 and 70 Ferraris.

They were a pretty spectacular sight and these pictures are not really representative of the cars because at least 90% of them were red.  I've included the yellow one because its my favourite colour.
I know nothing about cars they all look more or less them same to me.  You can tell the newer ones because they are much bigger (like all modern cars too wide for your garage) but this bunch were all equally shiny and quite clearly the much loved treasures of their drivers.
And the drivers had an astonishing similarity too.  To a man (and I didn't see one female driver) they were all middle aged.  It sort of made the parade seem like a series of mid life crises.  How very Horsham.

After the excitement died down and the smoke cleared Adrian and I went for a drink at the Anchor Hotel where the barman made a special concession and mixed a cocktail for me.  We took our drinks outside to find that a brand new cocktail bar, Octopvs, had opened next door.  So we were forced to go there for a proper cocktail.

Octopvs is the second branch of what is probably destined to become a chain.  The first branch is in Crawley and it shows.  The free bar snacks are miniature scotch eggs cut in half, small sausage rolls cut into 3, cocktail sausages cut on the bias and a few peanuts.  The cocktail menu is quite extensive and I had an odd but pleasant mixture of Amaretto, Southern Comfort, Red Bull and something else I can't remember.  

On a cocktail run we decided to go to the other end of the cocktail bar spectrum and for the first time we went to Wabi, the Japanese restaurant that replaced the bar shut down by the drug squad some time ago.  One thing (including a James Bond style martini) led to another and we stayed for dinner too.  So much delicious food we had to ask for the sushi selection in a doggy bag and its in the fridge now.  I do hope James Bond didn't ever get behind the wheel of his Aston Martin after a vodka martini, it was very strong, almost pure alcohol.  Wabi do a ladies night on a Tuesday, I look forward to trying that.

Need Cheering Up?

I was feeling a bit glum yesterday morning, a return to wintery conditions and still recovering from my bout of Sheffieldism I was trudging towards Harcourt St when I passed this graffito.

I was listening to my ipod and fighting my way around a group of tourists on the pavement but it caught my eye and made me smile so I went back to take a picture and hope it will make someone else smile.

Thanks to the artist - the thought of someone sneaking around in the dead of night with a paintbrush and paint doing this makes it even better.

March Photo a Day - Where I relax

The Fantastic Four.

Adrian thought we looked more like Yul Brynner's mob but 57% of the Magnificent Seven doesn't have the same ring.














View from the top (of Gypsey)

Tray and Ray share a smile and look forward to a post ride snack.

 Not content with riding one horse Jo has a photo with a stable mate.

Horse food does not look very appetising.

March Photo a Day - A toy

No animals were harmed in the shooting of this photograph - he's just resting on the stairs with his legs in the air.

March Photo a Day - Feet

March photo a day - Trash

How transient beauty is.  Yesterday's flowers are today's trash.

March photo a day - Your name

A selection of documents containing my name including my camping certificate of which I am particularly proud.

March photo a day - Key

Some keys hanging on a key rack that was a house warming present when we bought our first home.

They key to a girls heart including the Tiffany key I bought in New York

Come, Tell Me How You Live - Agatha Christie Mallowan

I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie's crime stories both as books and their film adaptations.  I can't remember how I came to buy this book, it may have been by accident thinking it was another novel which it isn't.  Its a very engaging account of the mechanics of how archaeology retrieves the ancient world.

First published in 1946 but recalling events from the 30's it reflects a society rather different that the one we experience in 21st century Europe but it also illustrates that even though behaviour considered socially acceptable changes from age to age (The Mallowan's leave their daughter in boarding school in England while they spend the summer in Syria) human characters do not.

I'm not usually a fan of non-fiction but I enjoyed this archaeological memoir enormously even though the Roman artifacts are considered an irrelevant inconvenience by the archaeologists.

March photo a day - Breakfast

This was my first breakfast to provide some healthy fuel before a run.  I did have a bacon sandwich afterwards but I ate it before remembering to take a photo.

March photo a day - Animal

March photo a day - Moon

I waited all day to see it without success so I looked up the phases of the moon and it turns out that 23 March 2012 is one of 3 days in March where it is invisible both in Northern and Southern hemispheres.  See evidence here, there wasn't a real one so I had to improvise with some pictures of pictures.

March photo a day - Kitchen Sink

March photo a day - Delicious

I think these are delicious, much better than the Cadbury's Eclairs.

I love the accomplishments of the acrobatic and delicious pigs below.

You can see that Svidrigailov finds these delicious from the cheeky way he has opened the packet at the bottom.

March photo a Day - Before/After

I chose these pictures before looking at tomorrow's theme and they could double up for that too.

March photo a Day - Funny

See Jolene Belorgey's March Photo a Day for the context of this picture.  The scantily clad embracing couple in Jo's picture were on the groyne behind this sign.  As Jo says there was a chilly wind blowing and being out to sea half naked seems like the downside of modelling to me and a decidedly peculiar way to carry on.

They and their photographer could see that we were looking at them - we were staring rather obviously - and I didn't have the courage to take a picture of them.

This picture would be much funnier as a video but its not a video a day challenge.

March Photo a Day - A corner in my home

Svid likes to curl up in the corner and keep me company when I'm on the computer.

I didn't drug him and put him there.

March Photo a Day - Green(s)

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

I always feel a bit out of touch with the world when I go to the cinema as its usually an annual event for me and I find it an odd experience sitting in the dark munching away on sweets and maintaining a dignified silence.

This is a film about a group of ageing Brits who go to live in India.  The cinema must have thought that the audience were all a bit past it as well because it was so loud my ears were still ringing an hour later.  I almost wished I had been a hearing aid user because I could have turned it down a bit.

Anyway, apart from the volume, everything else was lovely.  The company of Melinda and Helen, the half price ticket courtesy of a link from Jo and the pizza and hospitality afterwards.

This film doesn't seem to have had critical acclaim but I found a lot to enjoy in it.  The clashing of cultures, values and classes was rather well done.   These are interesting times to live in where the rigid old ways are starting to crumble under pressure from the modern world but they are still sufficiently in tact that they can be experienced.

There is a limit to the depth of character it is possible to reveal in 118 minutes and films tend to be a bit superficial which is why I don't care much for the genre but I think quite a lot is packed in here if you look for it.  Of course there is the obvious funny scene of an ageing Lothario preparing for a night of seduction and falling over in the shower and the old racist who has a sudden change of heart.  But stereotypes are so because such people do exist as a type and they have become what they are in response to the knocks that life has dealt to them and to others like them.

The cast is very strong, particularly the women.  And its sad but true that the aged become invisible and a nuisance in Britain.  Outsourcing old age is a really good idea.

The Bottle Factory Outing - Beryl Bainbridge

I ordered this book after listening to the podcast of Radio 4's 'A Good Read', broadcast on 25 November 2011 and still available to listen again on the Radio 4 website.

I don't much enjoy Harriet Gilbert's style, she is a bit irritating and patronising and talks over her guests.  I much prefer James Naughtie's Book Club or Mariella Frostrup's Open Book but they alternate on the podcast and I've been inspired, to read books I might not have chosen otherwise, by all three.

The Bottle Factory Outing is a slight odd story that suddenly goes in a direction I wasn't expecting.  To be honest I lost my way a bit in the middle and found it less than gripping, I kept falling asleep after a couple of pages and consequently lost the momentum.

A rainy morning with a rest from running gave me the opportunity to finish it after which I went back and speed read the beginning again and discover that it's actually a well constructed book that really needs to be read in a single sitting.  200 pages and the language that is accessible makes this is quite achievable.

Freda and Brenda are two English women who's lives stumble together.  They share a bedsit and both get jobs working in a wine bottling factory.  Their colleagues, apart from the Irish driver, are all relatively recent Italian immigrant peasants.  The factory is owned by a Mr Paganotti who is always present in the story but never puts in a personal appearance and doesn't influence the outcome in any way.

There is a failed shooting that results in no injury or charge and a murder (manslaughter is probably a better description) that goes unnoticed by the authorities and is accepted and tidied up rather stoically by the witnesses.  Doesn't sound like a recipe for mirth but it is a funny book.  I enjoyed it and recommend it.

March Photo a Day - Sunglasses

March Photo a Day - Car

March Photo a Day - A sign

Save our Post Offices

I can't think of a single reason why anyone would want to.  The combination of Parcel Force and the Post Office provide the least customer focused and the least efficient service I can imagine.
On Thursday last week I received two notifications about parcels delivered to my house.  One notified me that the parcel had been left with my next door neighbour as I hadn't been in.  The other, from Parcel Force, notified me that they had taken my parcel to Horsham post office because I hadn't been in.
There is a postal depot with free parking just outside in Horsham but that was obviously too convenient.  There is nowhere to stop in the middle of town so I had to go into a council run car park, pay £2.00 to park for up to 2 hours when I hoped I would only need 5 minutes.
I went straight to the parcel counter where two members of staff who kindly stopped chatting to each other to point out that I should join the queue.  I waited for 20 minutes behind people some of whom had inexplicably queued up to buy stamps or use a debit card to withdraw cash.  When it was finally my turn I handed over my card and was sent back to the chatting couple to collect my parcel.
If this had been 1840 I might have welcomed the opportunity to spend 30 minutes in the Post Office to take a break from hand washing household linen or killing and plucking a chicken.
But its 2012, why on earth is the Post Office not open on a Sunday, or run with some efficiency and customer focus?  At the very least they could provide an express lane for people who have better things to do with their time than stand in a queue where only half of the windows are open.
I think the Post Office is doomed because they haven't joined the 21st century, I'm not even sure they've completely got to grips with the 20th yet.

March Photo a Day - Fork

March Photo a Day - Someone I spoke to today

This is the final resting place of Marjorie Tollet Key.  I often visit her at the end of a run as going around the cemetery can add the extra bit of mileage.  She is my favourite resident there but this is the first time I have actually spoken to her.