I did a 10k yesterday as it was nice out, if windy. I picked a route that I hoped shielded me from the wind while running into it while fully exposing me while running with it. I got my best 10k time, and best time for a segment of Princes Parade, but not a record mile or kilometre time so didn't fully feel the benefit of the tail wind. I went to and through Hythe to the light railway. I was running past houses at 5pm and lots of people were out applauding the NHS. I just about resisted the urge to put my hand up and wave to them like they were clapping me, but maybe their applause spurred me on. Then back along the sea front and back as far as Sandgate, ending up near The Ship. It was open, I could have gone in, but did not. The Royal Norfolk was also open. Lots of places are round here but not The Inn Doors, not even for takeaway. I walked there twice with my new chug jug1 but was disappointed both times. I wonder what is up.
I finished the Robert Webb book quickly, fairly disappointing really. It's like he had a couple of stories, maybe three, and mashed them into one book. The ending doesn't make sense to me either. I'm all for the "trousers of time" theory, that any decision we make can make the world split off down two paths, but how can these two paths exist together in the same future? I won't spoil it here, I'll save it for the secret hidden comments that I can refer to later, but I don't recommend you read the book. My reading list so far is below, I'm going back to Reginald Hill now.
"Quickly" and "fairly" are adverbs. I'm doing schoolwork with thing two while I write this. We've just dropped thing one off at school. It's a bit more of a faff getting to school right now as he has to have clean uniform every day, which is not something we've generally been doing for primary school. I ironed some clean stuff for him this morning, finding school clothes that more or less fit and are just about acceptable, as there are only two weeks left.
While we were dropping off at school one of the co-heads told thing one how good he thought his Summer Fair video was that he'd made. All the teachers have seen it and liked it, they all especially like the "bird guru" bit at the end. The boy got quite embarrassed by all the praise. The executive head (or whatever) also emailed to say she loved it and so did his teacher.
Got housework to do today, start getting the place tidy for visitors. I bought some weedkiller and lawn feed over the weekend at The Range. Man they have a lot of stuff there. We also bought craft materials for making some stained glass (out of paper).
Also yesterday I treated myself to a takeaway from Nine Dragons. It was not quite as good as usual, but still good. I like that they do vegan on the menu, so no gambling. While I was collecting it I saw Home was open, not too busy, and looking welcoming, but I'm not going back to the pub just yet. I also passed The Bouverie Tap, it was also looking welcoming but not too busy, and I know The Firkin Alehouse was also back in business. Think we might wait until next week and try Unit Number One as it is proper outdoorsy and will fit in with our plan for a Saturday walk.
| Author | Book | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|
| Ian Rankin | Westwind1 | Dated thriller, shame. |
| Ian Rankin | Doors Open1 | Really good crime caper in Edinburgh but with no Rebus. |
| Suzanne Collins | The Hunger Games1 | Borrowed from the children, very good. |
| Suzanne Collins | Catching Fire1 | Hunger Games part 2, read this even quicker, a bit darker. |
| Suzanne Collins | Mockingjay1 | Hunger Games part 3, joyless and grim. Very 2020... |
| Karen McManus | One Of Us Is Lying2 | Another one liberated from the children's bookshelf. A Breakfast Club whodunnit, dying to be a film, not at all suitable for a ten year old... |
| Robin Paige | Death at Glamis Castle3 | Edwardian era mystery written by Americans. I read one of these before. Quite atmospheric, though a little twee. Sort of romance / crime. Written in accents, with plenty of "of the time" attitudes. |
| Jed Rubenfield | The Interpretation of Murder4 | A charity shop find, one you always see, have had it kicking around a long time. Historical crime fiction again set in New York 1909, featuring Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Great, but complicated and fairly unlikely! |
| Muriel Spark | Loitering With Intent5 | Branching out a little this time, it's not even a crime. |
| Julie Wassmer | Murder on the Pilgrims Way6 | Going back to the familiar now. Fairly gentle and local crime. Forgot I had this one from when we met the author in Waterstones. Mostly predictable and cosy but I did not get the actual end murderer correct. |
| Reginald Hill | Blood Sympathy7 | Even more familiar, have read this before, but keen to revisit this crime series. Very enjoyable. |
| Robert Webb | Come Again8 | Time travel action rom-com, not very good, feels like two unrelated stories in one with no resolution. |
| Reginald Hill | Born Guilty9 | Joe Sixsmith again, hoping I enjoy all of this series as much as the first one. Dated and a little complicated but lots of fun. |
A high of 20° again today, nice out.
Oh we also all downloaded DuoLingo this week and are practicing French. We're all at very different stages. I'm smashing it to be honest. The boys are absolute newcomers and are getting frustrated, hope it clicks soon. It's too easy for Clare, she will probably move onto another language.
10k: Ten kilometres, just over six miles in old money. Sometimes talking about 10,000 steps though, an arbitrary daily step count target.
Paul Clarke's weblog - I live in Hythe near Folkestone, Kent. Married to Clare and dad to 2, I am a full stack web developr, and I do mostly js / Node, some ruby, python, php ect ect. I like pubs, running, eating, home-automation + other diy stuff, history, family tree stuff, Television, squirrels, pirates, lego, + TIME TRAVEL.