Blog ≫ 2022 ≫ Parkrun 100 and no-one even knew
Just back from a "weekend" at Mum and Dad's. Had a couple of days off to go down there but decided to come back on Saturday, so as to still have a day to do stuff here. On the walk to parkrun this morning I dictated some notes on the little trip. Quoting myself, like I did on all my holiday write-ups1.
I get up when I want except on Saturdays! So up almost early enough for a parkrun. At Mum and dad's, they offered many times to give me a lift to Fareham, but I need this little walk as a warm up. Not feeling fit for this parkrun at all, same as the last couple. Still haven't recovered from covid. Just feeling like I'll never quite be back there again but still not too bad, and actually I'm just about on time to do it. It has been raining. There are lots of puddles about so that's going to be annoying if the track going around Cams Hall has too many big puddles in, it usually does. I'm going to get my shoes wet and I've only brought my running shoes for this weekend because I was trying to travel light.
Yesterday we went into Fareham to get the boys some clothes. We bought some books. We got some Christmas ideas and we had a lunch in Subway that was good. The boys like to do this. Really felt like a Saturday, and it's a Saturday thing because, we'd had a couple of days off. It's nice, like a bonus day. I think it was first time Mum and Dad had a Subway and I think they were impressed.
After that we went up to Fareham Leisure Centre where I booked climbing walls for the boys. Strangely, they found it a bit harder than when they done similar things before. I'm sure the walls were more less the same. There are a couple of things that are more difficult. T2 in particular seem to get a bit upset that he wasn't doing well and he wasn't achieving, but at least we got the photos that we wanted, him climbing up high things and reading his school book at the top, so that's something to take back into school. That was a half-term homework "extreme reading" challenge.
After that we came home and we got a Indian takeaway from Nahidz in Portchester. I had the very clever plan to walk down to Portchester, order the food, have a beer, get Dad to pick me up after. And I had enough time that I could go get a half of alse in the Portcullis Taphouse, then order the food, then have a pint of cider while waiting for the food and Dad. The Portcullis Taphouse was really good. Really busy so quite busy with kids and dogs really. They were very small children running around, but the pub itself is good. They had three ales on, six real ciders, six other keg beers, plus their bottles and cans and things. They have a TV in there that was only showing the beer menu, but it looks like sometimes they do connect an Xbox to it, and they had a blackboard up with Top Gear style lap time challenge, and they also had a notice of planning to show football world cup games there. So it's moving away from the original micropub concept, but I think that's the same everywhere.
Going back to the night before, I've been into Fareham to another micropub, I met up with some friends, that was good. I wasn't sure they were all going to make it. They hadn't confirmed and one of them very amusingly was sending pictures showing he was in London still, just before walking through the door. The same kind of thing they did on my birthday, saying they couldn't make it, or saying they had no intention of coming and posting pictures of other things they were doing, and then suddenly arriving. I think this will be a running performance now. We had a few in there, that was good. It's very nice in there, but it's not cheap. Their cheapest beer now is six pounds for a pint, where I think it was about £4.80 in the Portcullis Taphouse, and it's £4.20 in the Inn Doors. Prices are going up everywhere. After the West Street Ale House closed at about 9:30 we went in the Wetherspoons next door for a couple. I generally avoid a Wetherspoons these days, but it was next door. It was good to chat some more with the same friends. Then I walked home again, so I've done a bit of walking this long weekend.
I've been dictating this while I walk to prakrun, and I'm nearly there, and it's just started raining again. I knew there is a threat of rain so it could be a wet one. I don't know what I'll do when I get back. Before about a year ago I'd have thought nothing of just throwing my clothes into the tumble dryer if they're a bit damp. Cost of things now, maybe not. Just hoping the shoes don't get too wet.
After this, we're going to the Harvester in Port Solent for brunch, meeting up with Kerry and Rob and the boys. That'll be nice. It's very rare we get together, and we only just discussed not getting together this at Christmas, at least not on Christmas Day because we booked the hotel in Hythe for our Christmas lunch this year. But hopefully next year again, after we have tried this experiment, we will turn up and expect to be fed and looked after.
I'm going back further still into my long not-weekend. Our journey here was an absolute shocker. This is quite boring so it's good to leave this to the very end. I thought we'd get a 10:00 train, and then I heard from a friend who was commuting in that day. Trains are all messed up. Someone had been hit by a train. Everything was off. Everyone was being diverted on slow trains. Should all be clear by 10:00, but I pushed us back to the 11:00 to make sure. Then when we arrived for the 11:00 the 11:00 was canceled. Still all affected, and each following train kept getting delayed so we were hanging around at the station for about an hour in the end. Interestingly, though, while we were there, the Orient Express pulled into Folkestone West, a modern take on the Orient Express. Whereas with the old one, the train would go right down to Folkestone Harbor and then people would transfer onto a ferry. Now they go to Folkestone West, transfer onto coaches, and the coaches take them on the Eurotunnel. It's quite fancy. It looks very impressive. You could see the remains of their meals on the trains, all silver service and fine wine glasses, and there was a jazz band on the platform to entertain them as they transferred. All of this was holding up our proper train of course. Also, I found there's a secret first class Pullman passengers only waiting room which is a extra entrance to / exit from the station. Never seen that before. Never known what was behind these closed doors. Eventually we got to St Pancras and standing room only on that train. We got a Gregg's, we got across London, we went to Victoria. We got another train that was standing room only, down to Havant. I thought we were going all the way to Portchester but it didn't. Oh, not a fun journey really.
Okay I'm at the start of parkrun now. See if I got time to sign in as a visitor, let them know I'm here. Will I mention it's my 100th parkrun today. Maybe not.
It was not a great parkrun but I did not get too wet. Lots of puddles, I skipped round them like they tell you not to because I didn't want my shoes to be too soggy. Over twenty-six minutes though.
Fareham parkrun results for event #279. Your time was 00:26:13.
Congratulations on completing your 100th parkrun and your 5th at Fareham parkrun today. You finished in 66th place and were the 52nd Male out of a field of 209 parkrunners and you came 12th in your age category VM50-54. Take a look at this week's full set of results on our website. Your PB at Fareham parkrun remains 00:21:31. Your best time this year remains 00:24:31.
Brunch was good, service slow, coffee average, but nice to sit and chat. I offloaded a load of vinyl on the nephew, he politely appeared to be pleased. I know it was mostly rubbish but I left one good one in there, one little ruby in the dust that he can hopefully sell for £50. That is my payment for him taking the rest of my clutter.
One moment of absolute despair on this trip, the boys were playing upstairs, then it went quiet. Can I come up please, now? I felt sure they had smashed Mum's Yellow Submarine or something while playing, but it was worse than that, Emu had damaged his eye. The boys were both distraught. A quick operation with some gorilla glue though and he seems to be OK. He's getting on a bit now they're going to have to take more care of him. They really love him.
Journey home was smoother than the one down, but still a bit slow. Lots of halloween fancy dress about. This is a busy night out for lots of people, but not for me. We dropped Clare off at the Beer Shop in Folkestone to start her brother's birthday night out, and now we're back to watch She Hulk.
Guessing 624 cups of coffee from my espresso machine2 prob'ly comes to £1.77 a cup (including actual coffee and now servicing2 so not the electricity).
- And just remembered I still have Sorrento content to write up.
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