Aunty Dulcie and The Red Arrows

Colin & Mary Kendall recently visited Tynemouth with Colin's mother Dulcie.   For the family historians, Dulcie was married to Cyril Kendall, Granny Walker's only brother, who died during the war in Burma in 1942.  She then re-married Geoffrey Kup (d 1981).  Dulcie, 95, is the last from her generation.  She enjoys a red wine at lunchtime and a whisky each evening (though not before 6 pm!) - a lady after YC's own heart.  Their visit coincided with the Great North Run when the Red Arrows were on display.

Diane, Andrew, Dulcie, Pat, Colin, Timothy, Mary enjoy lunch at Percy Gardens, while the Red Arrows do their stuff overhead.

Two Breweries Race

Executive summary - beautiful day, enjoyable fell race, A to B race in the Scottish Borders near Peebles.  18 miles and 5,000 ft of climbing.  3 hours 45 mins.  Free beer at the end.  Hurrah!

For more detail from Old Cheviot, click here .

wedding celebrations

Congratulations to James Wilson and Caroline Jones who were married on Saturday at Gorton Monastery (Manchester). YC was there to witness the event, as were fellow Green Wyverns Emma Duff and Graham Ashton. It was a splendid day, aided by some rare Manchester sunshine and the 5 piece Carlton Ensemble - the bride walked out to Orpheus in the Underworld (which readers will know as the Can Can). In the evening a live band cranked out Motown numbers, which allowed Graham to take the dance floor by storm.

On the Friday night, Graham led the way on a brief tour of the Manchester hotspots. First off was The Castle pub in the northern quarter - a traditional boozer selling Elbow beer (named after the north west popular music group of which needless to say YC had not heard). Afterwards a trip to Chorlton revealed the wonderfully named "The Famous Trevor Arms" and The Beech Inn - which sold some excellent Timothy Taylors Golden Best at 3.5% ABV.


James & Caroline sign the register
right - the wedding party and guests

James & Emma in the monastery

Grace and Skye visit

YC's cousin Grace Chillingworth is visiting with her daughter Skye. They called into the Percy Gardens HQ for a very enjoyable lunch. Nell Gair also popped by, taking a break from a hectic summer of honeymooning and Olympic watching. Summer has finally arrived in Tynemouth, so a trip to the beach was in order this morning. Skye was very taken with her bucket and spade - and continued to play with it over lunch.


left - Emma asks Skye if she knows the one eyed dinosaur joke.
right - all smiles when the "d'you'thinkhesuarus" punchline is revealed.

In The Swim

Well done to James Duff who rose at 4 45 am today for a dawn 5k swim at Bray Lake near Reading. He completed it in 1 hours 22 mins, reporting that it was absolutely beautiful swimming through sunrise in flat calm water. He's just had his tea...

Meanwhile YC was swimming at Tynemouth Long Sands. Without a wetsuit, it was rather chillier but the sea was fairly calm and the sun came out intermittently. YC managed 0.75 k between the old swimming pool and the Bear's Head rock.

Grisedale Horseshoe or CCC?

YC ran the Grisedale Horseshoe yesterday. This fellrace is "only" 10 miles, but it packs in 5,000 ft of climbing over Catstye Cam, Helvellyn, and St Sunday Crag. Conditions were good with just a bit of cloud on the tops and a cool breeze. There is a fantastic gully descent off St Sunday Crag, before the final sting in the tail climb back to the finish at Glenridding. YC finished 44th out of 100 plus runners in 2 hours 25 mins.

But if readers thought this sounded like a hard day in the hills, they should try the CCC in the French Alps. This 85km trail race has 4,500 metres of climbing. When snow, rain, and more rain are thrown in for good measure, it becomes a rather tough affair. This didn't bother John Telfer who breezed round in 15 hours, finishing at 1 am in Chamonix. Apparently he's just had his tea...

left - YC climbing Catstye Cam. Photo from Stu Stoddart.
right - John Telfer and family at the finish in Chamonix