Run 101

That traditional North Tyneside 10K run came about again on Easter Sunday. It's only a tradition for me, hard to say no every year I do it. Perhaps when I'm 80 years old I'll stop doing it. There were people close to that age doing it this year, I felt good when I passed them. My number was 101. I should've took note of that when I accidentally smashed my knee-cap against the door frame the day before and had that 'grown-man-wanting-to-cry-but-your girlfriend-is-watching-feeling'.

It makes me laugh every year, hearing all the exciting chatter during the first mile. Then; the heavy panting; the grimaces; the silence. The runners who insist on saying, another 5 mile to go after the first mile. The runners who say they're not looking forward to that hill. And the runners who go through their times for all their running achievements and their hopes to finish the Great North Run under 20 minutes.

That said, I'll probably still be there next year. My time was an improvement on last year at 56 mins 30 secs.

Put big light on

There's been a bit of a dip in my posts recently due to moving house and going through an adoption process (to adopt, not to be adopted in case you wish to adopt me). So let's try and get back on track and continue with a post that has been in my drafts for a while:-

I keep hearing Peter Kay's voice in my head saying; "Put big light on". It's because I've been involved in lighthouses not so long ago. Yes, I know this sounds weird but you should try it. When I say try it, if you live local, give one of the coastal lighthouses a visit. We went along to St. Mary's in Whitley Bay. I've been around it and finished there for 10K runs but never actually been inside it. What a view of the coast you get from the top after a breathless ascent up the 137 steps.

The best lighthouse though is the one we stayed in near Whitby, right on a cliff. Very romantic, the kind of place you'd take the special person in your life, or your wife or girlfriend even! You can wake up to amazing views of the sea, fishing boats, sea birds and the sunrise. You can walk naked inside the lighthouse cottage without anyone noticing although it did cross my mind that some of those ships probably had pervert binocular wearers. The actual light works and comes on automatically at night and is a great sight to see while you stand outside listening to the silence of the sea.


So if that hasn't got you in a romantic mood, then maybe you should go and visit a nice shiny lighthouse. Failing that just get her some Esso flowers.

She would walk 84 miles and she would walk 84 more

 

It's not all about me in these posts although I like it that way as I'm sure you do. This time, I'm going to blog about the Mrs who has undergone a huge achievement. Along with her sisters, she was determined many months ago to walk 84 miles across the width of Britain, following Hadrian's wall. Not to be taken lightly, as some people do and end up dropping out (1 sister down after 1 day), she trained every week walking with a heavy backpack, filled with stilettos, handbags, chocolate and a big photo of me.

During the training her toenail came loose and was hanging on by a slither. I joined her on an 18 mile walk, she set a canny pace for an old man like me with a plastic hip. Other various leg related injuries and physio sessions later she was ready to go, excited, apprehensive and nervous about putting in the mileage in those stilettos. The trip was over 4 days, staying at various bunk houses. They met people on the way who were lazy, doing it over 6 days, and getting all their bags carried by a nice big van. They were southerners though; all the gear, no idea.

And my job in all this? To simply take down a tent on the last day and take a bit of food for their journey from Harlow Hill. It took me 40 minutes to drive there, it took the girls 7½ hours to get back. 18½ miles, that is good going.

It was awesome to see her at the end of the wall (Wallsend - so aptly named) coming round the corner with her two sticks, tanned face and forced smile, not looking a day over 30. It was extremely tough, exhausting and such an amazing achievement. No doubt she is planning the next one, just as she is now resting after catching an infection in her toe and foot!

She's 30, you really wouldn't think it but she's 30

We couldn't have asked for a better day for the Mrs' 30th Birthday the other week. I've just got round to blogging it now after preparing 3 types of home made burgers, curry pies, Cumberland pies, corned beef pies, la la la. The sun shone on the beach with views of the castle, pier and sea, which was great seen as it was a beach party with a man size BBQ, a bouncy castle, music, pimms and friends and family.




The star of the show knocked me out on how gorgeous she looked and managed to get loads of presents some of which we are still drinking. We got snapped together in some unusual poses as the party moved indoors.

It was difficult to get up at 7AM and go tidy Tynemouth Rowing Club where it all kicked off but it was so worth it. This was the day of Andrea's birthday so the sun shone again and we had a few more beers along the Newcastle Quayside just to top up the alcohol.

What a Burke and what a Knight we had Scouting For Girls

We now feel like regulars to the Mouth of The Tyne Festival. Last year the highlights were the concerts from James Morrison and The Lightning Seeds. This year we got to see 2 hot looking ladies. Yes, that's right French & Saunders. Nah, it was Alexander Burke and Beverly Knight (not pictured in the foreground), but from a distance you could confuse them I suppose. Actually we were fairly close to the stage. I was more impressed with Beverly Knight, she has a great soul voice and puts on a good show.

Scouting for Girls headlined the second night and they were brilliant, better than I expected. Anyone who throws massive beach balls into the crowd gets my vote though. There might've been some rain but when you've got a beer, a picnic, a view of the sea and a sexy poncho it doesn't matter.

The street entertainment was unusual as always, some strange looking creatures which seemed to frigthen the kids more than Roy Cropper would. I wanted one to come over to me while I sipped my lemonade just so I could whisper in its ear: "What's with the long neck, do your feet smell?"

Sand dancers don't dance but they do make you laugh

South Shields continues with its famous stars. I predicted way back in 2008 that Sarah Millican would make it big and I don't mean her cake shelf. She's risen from local star to TV panelist appearing on shows such as Mock The Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats and with Lee Mack, Frank Skinner and Michael McIntyre. I'm told she's even a regular on the man-eating show Loose Women where they laugh at the size of men's willies and that. We've been to see her 3 times over the past few years, but this time it was the turn for Chris Ramsey, the next South Shields comedian.

He'd come back to his home town at The Customs House to do a gig and most of his school class turned up as he chatted and made some pretty funny comments at the start of his show. I wasn't expecting him to be that good, but his 2nd half was brilliant. It's the show he's taking to the Edinburgh Fringe, called Offermation. It's basically about crap pointless information that people insist on giving you. Right up my street. There's a great twist at the end of the show, very well written and performed. The laughs were all there and I didn't say a word.

So hopefully Chris is also set for stardom, just to take the pressure off little camp Joe McElderry.

Get your ramekins out

Nice to see that NewcastleGateshead are still making an effort with their EAT Food Festival. This year we decided to go to the Launch Party to see what it was all about. It was fairly mediocre really, a free drink or two, free food cooked by the local Masterchef Pro finalists and an over excited orange Geordie compare. The BBQ wasn't working properly and I wasn't convinced my pork sausage was cooked so I left for the dogs of Newcastle. Not what you expect at the start of a food festival. However, a few cocktails, a good band and liquorice ice cream later it was time to go and take a piece of the huge cake left for the party go-ers.

The highlight for me was the following day. We got to cook with Terry Laybourne, the local chef and entrepreneur. He was a canny bloke, down to earth. We cooked cheese & spinach souffle in the middle of Fenwick store. I enjoyed seeing old ladies with puzzled faces as I whisked my egg whites, wearing a pinny, sticking my tongue out. We got to eat the souffle, served with cream, light and fluffy, just like my feet.