running and rugby

YC went for a jog on the Northumberland Coast on Saturday and reacquianted himself with some old training routes. Can readers identify the location of the photo on the left? Answers on the usual £5 note please. Hint - it's near the local landmark on the right.

On Sunday he ventured north to Murrayfield with Chris Smith to see Scotland put France to the sword (dans son reves). The reality was a fairly convincing win for France with the outsized centre Bastareaud scoring a couple of tries. YC doesn't usually drink beer, but after the delights of a vegan haggis samosa (no kidding) he felt the need to cleanse his palate with a drop of the necessary. So the Deuchars in The Last Drop and Stewart Ale in The Half Way House were subjected to some rigorous quality control: they passed.

Today YC worked off yesterday's beer with a run up Simonside from Rothbury. The snow has gone in the valleys but there is still plenty about on north facing slopes. The usual fun descent down Simonside's north-west face (photo right) still had a foot of snow on it and reduced YC to a hesitant slither.

Rev T - a man no longer in his late sixties

Rev T reached the proud old age of three score and ten on Tuesday. He celebrated with a weekend in London. On Saturday there was an excellent lunch with James & family at Wonersh. Sunday saw a visit to Emma's church in West Hampstead before a convivial lunch in The Clifton Arms with some Green Wyvern friends.

left - at Wonersh; right - an afternoon of prayer and reflection in The Clifton Arms

Matthew - I wouldn't put your Connect 4 piece there if I were you.

YC - why not?

Matthew - because you've just lost, again!


rest and recuperation in The Harp, Charing Cross - the Hophead Bitter was excellent

Church Unity and all that

Holy Saviour's Church music group did its bit for church unity when it played at Christ Church, North Shields last night. The occasion was a service marking the week of christian unity. Although the church doesn't always cover itself in glory on the unity front, in North Shields there is good co-operation and links between the various churches. There were over about 100 folk at the service who raised the roof with renditions of "One more step along the world I go" and "Thine be the glory". Afterwards there were refreshments in the parish centre. YC enjoyed a cup of tea, then decided it might be time for something a little stronger. He adjourned to a nearby licensed premise where the raging musician's thirst was duly slaked.

Thrunton Woods

The snow has all gone from the coast. But there's still plenty of it in Northumberland. YC trotted round Thrunton Woods today on a beautiful sunny morning. The running was hard work through 6 inches of snow. YC did bump into 2 other runners. John Lamont Black and his pal Shaun were out keeping fit for The Chevy Chase. The view from Hard Nab Cairn towards The Cheviots was stunning (see above). On top of Long Crag YC was reduced to a plod through the snow drifts and wished he was kitted out like the chap on the right.

Craster Coastline

After the big freeze, it's the big thaw. YC had the joy of plodging through this pool of icy water on a jog near Craster. The strong easterly winds had whipped up a big sea with huge piles of foam on the shore as these photos of Dunstanburgh and Craster show. YC had just finished his jog when The Percy Hunt passed by. So YC spent a pleasant couple of hours watching them as they ran round the crags between Dunstanburgh Castle and Dunstan Square.

The North Pole (almost)

Readers might be forgiven for thinking that this is the North Pole. But in fact it's Tynemouth where the folks of Percy Gardens tested their igloo building skills. No sooner was the impressive icy edifice erected, than Rev T rushed out with the Union Jack to establish sovereignty before Johnny Foreigner could get his hands on it.

Collingwood's Monument - a celebrity free zone

There's more snow in Tynemouth, so YC settled for a run up and down the banks by Collingwood's Monument rather than venturing forth on to the icy roads of Northumberland. Afterwards he watched the Edinburgh cross-country races on the TV. The BBC proved that it is no exception to the cult of celebrity obsession by focusing on Kenenisa Bekele. The double Olympic champion thanked them by finishing fourth behind three Kenyans. There were British runners in the race, but where they finished remained a mystery to viewers: the Beeb chose to show a panoramic shot of Arthur's Seat rather than the Brits crossing the finishing line. At least Bekele was gracious in his post-race interview, commenting: "I'm glad YC chose to run at Collingwood's Monument, otherwise I might have finished fifth".