STRENGTH OF STRINGS

A Hard Rain - lots of it. Turbo training with Bob Dylan.

2010-08-27T10:49:00.001+01:00

Dunwich Dynamo 2010

2010-07-28T15:27:00.005+01:00

The following is an edited post I made on our Moulsham 0730 message board

Dunwich Dynamo 2010

For me this was probably the best thing I have ever done on a bike. I know I say this quite often. But this time I think it will take something quite special to beat the DD (Etap De Tour next year maybe...).

I had spent the previous 3 days in Saxmundham and then Darsham in the caravan with Libby and the kids. Where I’d been drinking a lot each day and eating BBQ’s. I’d been checking out Twitter for DD updates and everyone else was eating pasta, getting sports massages and going to bed early. I did not do this but I am cool and harder than most. I got the train back to Chelmsford from Saxmundham in the afternoon on Saturday after breaking the caravan down and setting it back up again in Darsham (this is major task, which I did twice) – I was proper knackered but too excited to sleep on the train.

I popped in to see Paul who made me a gorgeous pasta lunch with cheddar cheese.. Went back to mine, packed my stuff and thence to the station for 1800 to meet Simon, Paul and James.

At Liverpool Street we met Craig. Craig was initially Paul’s friend from Epping. But he is now my friend too. Craig is good at riding bikes. He is the Singlespeed Champion of Beastway 2010 (for real).

Got to the Pub in the Park in Hackney; this was wicked. Loads of people on bikes. Lots of lyrca and team jerseys. But also plenty of 'Chimney Sweeps' and a healthy smattering of ‘average people’ on a selection of mtbs with slicks, commute bikes and hybrids. There were a few tattooed ladies, lesbians, show offs and people on tandems with dogs in baskets on bamboo bikes with moustaches. Simon on his 15 year old Raleigh racer suddenly became much cooler than us on our relatively posh modern road bikes. Paul and I had half a pint. James made some minor adjustments to my bike. We took some photos. And at 2000 we were off.

Riding out of London was initially great. Being a big group (1400 of us) meant everyone sort of stopped and got out of our way. However as we made our way from the centre towards Epping there was an air of lariness from the locals. All of whom appeared to be drunk.

Paul and Craig ignored the pre-described protocol and rode ahead all the time steadily overtaking anyone in front of them. We rode thru Epping. I was instantly starving. We stopped at a garage; I had a Gingsters sausage roll. And before I knew it we were crossing the A414 going north and passing signs for Chelmsford. We rode well. We slowly picked off everyone in front of us. Occasionally someone would overtake us; Paul would try to contain himself but within 60 seconds we’d be off chasing whoever it was. Paul and Craig took the lead on most of this section, we rode in their slipstream. It was a beautiful evening - warm, the wind behind us, light until about 2200. Occasionally we’d ride with other groups or pairs of riders. We passed loads. I had no real idea where we were going. Simon being ‘king o the gypsies’ knew where we were going and Paul had his map thing (we all had map things, but Pauls used his, I think). But really all we did was follow the lights of riders in front of us. It was quite something to see this trail of red blinking lights in front and over your shoulder see a trail of white lights behind you. As it got darker the riding felt more sketchy. I think we all remarked that the overriding concern would be if one of us where to come off. Crossing little country roads to take a left or right was tricky cos of the loose gravel stuff in the middle of the roads. I saw Craig slide a tad a couple of time. Riding in the dark on the road is good though. You can’t see the hills. You have to trust the bike and kinda look ahead like you do in the woods. We swooshed and whooshed. It felt easy. I felt strong (being pulled along).

We stopped at the ‘halfway’ feed station; a village hall somewhere outside Sudbury, I think. Had some rubbish tea and big floppy roll each. We were all pretty wired at this point. We’d done appx 55 miles. It was midnight. Paul’s head started to become luminous. Simon broke a spoke. And we were off.

This was probably my least favourite bit. The roads we were riding were bigger and there were a couple of cars. We passed what may have been an accident – ambulance etc. The descent into Sudbury was pretty terrifying. For all non road riders, who think road riding is somehow boring or not as exciting as mtb, you are incorrect. It was a big downhill hill.. straight in to the centre of town and in to a oneway system that seemed to go on forever. The lights were green as flew into Sudbury but I kept thinking about someone jumping the lights straight in to one of us. Round and round we went. And then finally we back on some on to an A road with some traffic. We passed pubs with lock- ins. Pissed people, Chinese takeaways, kids who should have been in bed tried to shout clever stuff at us. Groups of riders everywhere. Flashing red lights of someone in front of you. I was tired, sort of. I started looking at my Garmin calculating how much longer we had. Our average speed was good. We then hit some big hills. James shot off to annoy Paul. Paul gave chase and Craig, Simon and I didn’t see them for 30 minutes.

It was now proper dark. I had my Hope helmet light on. We passed more and more people who had stopped to fix bikes, eat food, rest and occasionally sleep. We still rode harder than most. We slowly picked our way forward. The notion that we stick to a sensible speed was ignored. Paul started getting grumpy. James was being sensible but then got cross at something I have forgotten about. Craig was going slow for his usual pace. Simon, who had been struggling a bit to keep up in the first half came in to his own and started going at the front a bit. I started flagging. I lost them for 20 mins at one point on this fucking hill. But James held back and waited for me. We still had ages to go. We decided to stop at 90 miles. We stopped at 85ish in the middle of the road; empty fields stretched out on all sides - silence. I ached everywhere. My neck was stiff. My shoulders ached from lifting my stinking helmet with the light on. It was about 0200. We ate some more food. Took some photos. Took the piss out of each other. Simon did some stretches from the war. Some small lunges like what they did in Dads Army. This was incredibly funny for some reason. It was wicked; Middle of the night. Miles to go. Everything hurt. I couldn’t really stand up. We were running out of water. We enjoyed the countryside. James did another one of his bizarre toilet manoeuvres. Great fun.

After our 10 min stop we rode for appx 4 mins and came across a house in the middle of knowhere selling bacon rolls and tea... We didn’t stop. Who’s idea was it to stop where we did ? Anyway we got that bit wrong. We need to remember that for next year.

I started seeing signs for places I recognised – Sibton, Heddingfield, Saxmuhndham. These old Anglo Saxon names illuminated by our lights on the road signs kept pulsing through my head like a strobe long after we left them. I was now really looking forward to it ending. We had appx 30 miles left. But I felt like I knew the roads we were riding. I have spend a lot of time in this part of Suffolk. It was still dark. But we knew the light was coming and the end was nearly in sight. Riders passed us. We passed others. On most of the route intersections we passed small clusters of riders eating and staring. They’d point us in the direct we already going and we’d say thank you. Cos we are nice.

We rode with these two blokes for a bit. One had a fixie and another a Cannondale Bad Boy (a mtb hybrid for street riding - small wheels). We would usually fly past riders like these two but they kept coming back. They were good. Much quicker than me going up. And I was only faster on the flat cos my bike was better suited.

We got to Peasenhall. I know Peasenhall – there is a good butchers in Peasenhall.

And then I could see the A 12. This was probably my favourite part of the ride. I had another gel to celebrate. We only had appx 9 miles to go. We crossed the A12 and in to Darsham. I could literally see the caravan with Libby and the kids asleep and Scott and Nicky in the tent next door. I knew these roads. It was all downhill from here. We picked up speed. I was very excited. The sky was becoming deep blue and then minute by minute light blue. We started really moving (or maybe it was just me). Other riders joined us. It felt kinetic. Everyone was getting power from everyone else. As we passed another rider or a rider overtook us, we got pulled. We were riding to the sea. The final straight into Dunwich was cool.

At 0450 we arrived on the beach. We shook hands. I was somewhat relieved. We very formally put our bikes to one side and joined the queue for breakfast. We just stared a lot, for a bit. Then took the piss out of Paul and me. Got our breakfast. James actually got wound up about not getting his extra toast. He was rather indignant. Simon had a can of cider. I stole a bottle of juice. We got to the beach. And sat on it. Paul went to sleep. I had a massive cramp attack.

We were among the first 200 riders to the beach. There were 1400 riders in all, I am told. We did well. My Garmin is not connecting to my pc. But James has some stats. Our average speed was just under 17mph – pretty good.

Simon went back to his caravan encampment. And James, Paul, Craid and I had a painful ride back to Darsham to my caravan. I bid goodbye to the others and they carried on to Halesworth Railway Station where they boarded a train back to Chelmsford. But got kicked off at Saxmundham and had to ride 30 miles to Ipswich to catch an Inter City.

Dunwich Dynamo 2011 is the 16 / 17th July 2011. I will do it again.

Riding mountain bikes in the snow at Danbury

2009-12-22T06:00:00.002Z

AOR Disco - Another Late Night 017 by Steve Lee

2009-12-11T12:15:00.004Z

I have found a great blog; it's called AOR Disco and they have loads of stuff that is right up one of my many (musical) streets.. Go here - http://aordisco.blogspot.com/

I am especially taken with this incongruous and sublime mix by Steve Lee. Listen to it here -

Another Late Night 017 by Steve Lee

Hylands Park Chelmsford singletrack at night

2009-11-12T10:44:00.001Z

Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid. Is probably the best record of the year.

2009-10-28T16:40:00.002Z

2009-10-22T15:33:00.004+01:00

Black Sabbath - Planet Caravan remix by DJ Steef

2009-10-20T10:20:00.004+01:00

It is great. It is here - http://sharebee.com/c7496885

Warley Gap Brentwood - break bones here !

2009-10-12T16:41:00.002+01:00

More Max Reeves. Those lines are vapour trails....

2009-10-03T19:44:00.000+01:00

Joanna Newsom in a bathroom

2009-10-03T13:08:00.000+01:00

A photograph taken by my freind Max Reeves. He is very good.

2009-10-01T13:37:00.001+01:00

Mountain biking in the Algarve 31st July 2009

2009-08-04T13:09:00.000+01:00

Richmond Fontaine 'You Can Move Back Here'

2009-07-15T15:07:00.003+01:00

North Hill in Danbury Essex.

2009-07-09T10:00:00.000+01:00

0615 road ride to Willingale and Roxwell

2009-07-03T11:00:00.006+01:00

Puncture Stop on the Sidewinder

2009-06-16T20:46:00.001+01:00

Running in Dunwich Common

2009-06-03T09:53:00.005+01:00

Danbury Common on MTB

2009-05-25T20:55:00.003+01:00

Cormac McCarthy's The Road - BBC Radio 4 interview

2009-02-19T13:25:00.004Z

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is the best book I have ever read. And I've read a lot of books. I am incapable of saying any more than that. Read it.

There is a film of The Road coming out. On BBC Radio 4 this morning there is a short piece about the novel and the music. They even appear to have a very brief interview with Cormac McCarthy. Go here http://tinyurl.com/bscolc

And then go here - http://www.horselatitudes.co.uk/2009/02/10/24-hours-from-armageddon/

Now, go on Amazon and get the book for £2.99 here - http://tinyurl.com/d8zvrb

For more Road stuff go to the following links for photos from the set (including one I have used above - hope that's ok) -

http://www.jeremyambler.com/theroad.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/theroadmovie/

Doves - Kingdom or Rust (instrumental)

2009-02-18T14:42:00.004Z

This week I have been running on Monday, after a weekend or road biking, and the running was hard. And just now; Wed. When Iain and I ran to Kilburn park and back (appx 4 miles). An easy and good run. None of the twinges of Monday and the first run of the year without tights on. It is not freezing outside, no snow, no rain. Although a mad man called us 'wankers'. Lovely.

Today saw the leak of the new U2 album, the new Neko Case album and last week the Swan Lake. The Swan Lake on first impression is pretty monumental. The U2 and Neko Case - pointless.

But this.. the instrumental version of the new Doves single 'Kingdom of Rust' is double good. The Doves have that big epic sound etc, but their epicness sounds more urban than usual. However on occasion they open up and I imagine some northern sky. They sound distinctly Mancunian to me, but not in the usual way. They have this 'sun in your eyes in the slow lane of the M61' that to me is quite magical.

This track, the instrumental, is better than the vocal version only cos you can really appreciate the music. They have this almost rockabilly rytthm going. The song moves into darkness like passing through a tunnel and the white light is back again in feedback and guitars. Play loud please.

Get it here - http://tinyurl.com/bax5b7

T

Satan Theme - Paul Wibier / Harley Hatcher. Satan's Sadists

2009-02-12T10:51:00.002Z

I'm on Twitter @tobyho

Here is Satan's Theme by Paul Wibier and Hal Hartley. It's from the soundtrack to a 1969 film called Satan Sadists.

I heard it on a Breezeblock mix by Jason Pierce. It's great. The words are what make it..

If you've ended up here from Google whilst looking for the track please leave feedback. I'd like to know what you know about the song.

http://tinyurl.com/bho78h

T

Synapse

2009-02-10T13:35:00.003Z

So. I'm back. I've been in the virtual wilderness like the Prophet in the desert; On the run from indulgences such as this. But unlike him I have no Hadith to impart.

However, stuff has occurred since I last posted. Some highlights good and bad follow here -

Christmas - The Guardian newspaper gave away wrapping paper designed by Jonathon Ross and then Tilda Swinton.

The best album of 2008 was possibly 'Meet Glenn Campbell' by Glenn Campbell. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.

Been doing running and some mountain biking.

And finally a proper road bike - a Cannondale Synapse. And I love it. I actually want to marry it and, being the cycling bigamist I am, I will also marry road biking itself. Road biking, even in the bloody snow with the water frozen in my (Cannondale) water bottle, feels like the most perfect thing. How did I ever not do this ? I have been wasting my life.

T

Christmas is cancelled

2008-09-24T14:27:00.002+01:00

and so is this blog.

The global credit crunch means I am working too hard and have far too many other things to worry about than keeping this blog up to date. I cannot be arsed to think about it anymore.

I may be back if this blog is not deleted by some Google bot.

Until then, or not.

Bye

T

Running in August

2008-09-02T10:30:00.003+01:00

My running in August has been ok. Mostly 6 miles runs at lunchtime in London and a few more through the lanes in Suffolk.

I did a great 6.5 miler in Dunwich, round the castle thingy, up to Minsmere.

I did a 7 miler last Wed in London with Ian; we got lost. Ended up in Swiss Cottage and ran back to Kilburn passed Abbey Road and all the toffs.

But yesterday, my first run of September was the worst I have ever done. No energy and my lower back was aching like never before. I had to stop every 10 mins / mile. And then Ian accidentally elbowed my Forerunner and shattered the screen. I was somewhat upset..

I have been taking it easy but then Friday was a bit of a bender at CJ's wedding. I have no idea why I couldn't run yesterday.

T

Is It The Sea ?

2008-09-01T19:30:00.002+01:00

We've been away for the last month in Southwold in the caravan. Back at work today though. I love being back at work. I am writing this post on my phone on the 0819 to Liverpool St. I'm listening to the new Verve album.

Whilst away I've been listening to a lot of folky stuff that, I realise now, has a kinda nautical type theme. Maybe it was the rain and the sea, or the distant white noise of the A12 like a constant cresting wave whilst we slept in the van but I played loads of Waterboys (everything), Bonnie Prince Billy (new live album, Is It The Sea), Van Morrisons (Irish Heartbeat) and yet more James Yorkston (new album).

Here's a track from the James Yorkston album. Titled 'Midnight Feast' it's got this raucos sea shanty thing going on but then it's almost krautrock in its endevour. The cymbals are the ocean..

http://rapidshare.com/files/141865771/06__Midnight_Feast_.mp3.html

T

Noel G - "Guardian spotty herberts piss me off"

2008-08-06T22:16:00.003+01:00

Sometimes in all the chaff that Noel Gallagher speaks there is a little wheat. I found this on the Guardian site - http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/08/noel_guardian_spotty_herberts.html

"After backing down from his Jay-Z dissing, Noel Gallagher has found a new name for his pain - and it's Guardian and Observer journalists whose parents 'voted for Thatcher'"

T

Been doing running

2008-08-04T16:30:00.002+01:00

I have been running. I started this blog really as a log of my running, for my own usage and perusal. But I seem to have stopped doing this. So, here's a brief update -

Been running. Mostly 4 - 5 miles at lunchtime with Iain in London. A couple of early morning 3.5 milers along the river in Chelmsford through the 'nature reserve' before going to the gym.

I had a new injury for appx 2 weeks (with no running); a kinda groin / abdominal strain. I now stretch my hip flexors and do this kind of arching abdominal stretch and it's ok(ish)..

At the weekend I did 4 miles in Dunwich with Amanda from our campsite at Hawwood Farm to the beginning of the track to Walberswick. And today 4 miles with Iain in London.

I love running. However, it does mess me up.

T

James Yorkston - Woozy With Cider

2008-07-18T14:01:00.003+01:00

This blog is a year old and I inadvertently mark its first birthday by posting a Youtube clip of the Muppets..

To redress the balance here is something as magical and perfect as music can ever be. James Yorkston's 'Woozy With Cider', remixed by Jon Hopkins (who is Jon Hopkins ??).

For me, the words of song did not matter as much as the sound and vibe of a song. But as I get more discerning (I do not get cynical about music) and with my head stuffed full of music for most of my life the sentiment and thus meaning of songs have come to mean more and more. And for me James Yorkston just about nails it. He writes of a life similar to how mine possibly was once or could have been. He find romance and the grit of life in the details and waste of our daily landscapes. He pulls you in. Well, he pulls me in.

Although this track is not entirely representative of his oeuvre it is very great. The original, and more electronic, version is so good you need to buy it and is posted here in the You Tube video.

He has a new album coming out. It's called 'When The Haar Rolls In' and is out in September; which I think is the perfect time to listen to a new James Yorkston album..

Anyway, James Yorkston's 'Woozy With Cider' (as remixed by Jon Hopkins) is here -

http://rapidshare.com/files/130628356/05_Woozy_With_Cider__Jon_Hopkins_Remix_.mp3.html

T

Feist on Sesame Street

2008-07-17T16:30:00.003+01:00

I like this. And I don't care.

T

Coed Y Brenin on mountain bikes

2008-07-15T10:01:00.009+01:00

Yep. Keef, Joe, Scott and I went to Coed Y Brenin in North Wales last weekend to ride our mountain bikes. We left on Friday night and returned on Monday. We therefore had two full days of riding.

It was farcical, thrilling and hard work. The conditions were muddy, humid and occasionally very very rainy.

Saturday - We rode the Tarw trail at Coed -
3 broken chains (Scott / Joe)
1 busted rear mech hanger (Scott)
Appx 7 crashes (Scott and Joe)
Rocky rocks, big steps, me at the back on the way down, and at the front on the way up..

Then we did the Temtwr -
Less rocky - the swoopy bit at the start was great.
A massive climb.
Then, as we were slowly getting used to the rocks, a faster descent for me and only a couple of crashes on the 'Beginning Of The End'.>

Sunday - We rode the Red Run at Llandegla
It was great. I think we all preferred Llandegla. Not so rocky for us Essex men. Fast flowing, hairy and with a few big climbs.
The others did the Black Run diversion; I didn't. By all accounts it was hard and great.
We then did the Blue run and went 100mph on the berms at the end.

I award myself 'King of The Mountains' (sorry Joe, but I was always first up). 'King of the Downhill...' goes to Keef. 'Stunt Man' goes to Scott and Joe gets the 'General Classification'.

A great weekend. A weekend I shall remember.

Back to Danbury this Sunday.

T

(Could Be) A Country Thing, City Thing, Blues Thing - Richard Ashcroft

2008-06-27T20:48:00.005+01:00

I think I used to love the Verve. They kind of came at end of an era for me. The britpop thing was happening. Libby and I were living in Camden. And the whole Oasis thing became very boring very quickly. But I can't really remember much about those times to be honest. We were in the Serious Road Trip. It's all a blur. I kinda knew at the time that it was our last gasp of youthful ways. It was fun. And we were there..

Listening now to Urban Hymns is great. Especially as I don't think I listened to it much when it was released. Anyway... I heard the new Verve single (it's on their Myspace site) and I've decided it's great. And then I remembered this track; '(Could Be) A Country Thing, City Thing, Blues Thing'. It is a B-side to, I think, the first solo single by Richard Ashcroft and it is fantastic. I love it.

Get it here -
http://rapidshare.com/files/125463211/B-Sides___Rarities_Could_Be__A_Country_Thing__City_Thing__Blues_Thing.mp3.html

If you like it (or not) leave me a message, please.

T

Too old to rock n roll ? / Please excuse my gay mate

2008-06-25T19:26:00.006+01:00

So we went to Barcelona for the weekend. Mike bought me my flight and got the room in our hostel for my 40th. We spent the weekend with our Spanish friend Carl Duffy. It was rather unhealthy - I still feel somewhat 'out of sorts'.

What we did on our holiday -

1) Got wasted
2) Got ill (not me, Mike)
3) Went to the beach.
4) Had a splendid lunch.
5) Nearly got mugged.
6) I missed my kids, and wife...
7) I did a very hot 4 mile run - I think I must of had some performance enhancing drugs still in me.
8) Turned gay (not me, Carl)
Blablablah

On the way home I decided that the best album I have heard all year is the MGMT record 'Oracular Spectacular'. This here is 'Time To Pretend' as originally featured on an ep from 2005. The latest version from the album is *much* better but you can get that anywhere. The lyrical sentiment of the track seems apt to me given me and my two mates are now middle aged dads with wives and mortgages when once we thought we were rock n roll stars...

Get it here -http://rapidshare.com/files/124994343/01_time_to_pretend_time_to_pretend_ep_2005.mp3.html

T

Blister on foot is doing my head in

2008-06-18T10:51:00.005+01:00

What a great picture this is ? This is a 'Study for Head of George Dyer' by Francis Bacon. After seeing this image reproduced in the Metro this morning I have decided that Francis Bacon is my 'new favorite old artist'. How did he paint this ? It seems almost alien in its execution..

I have a whacking great blister on my left foot. It is precluding me from running.

I am going to Barcelona at the weekend with Mike to see our Spanish friend Carl Duffy. I want to run in Barca; I am resting my blister.

Frances Bacon would have painted a good picture of my blister.

T

One More Kilometre And We're In The Showers

2008-06-14T10:24:00.003+01:00

I've been reading 'One More Kilometre And We're In The Showers' by Tm Hilton. It's a really great little book. A kind of mental sketchbook of cycling. I wish someone would write something similar about running.

The following is a short passage from the book. I wanted to transcribe it here before I take the book back to the library..

"We (cyclists) have quasi-spiritual memories that come to us when we traverse roads we have known before, quietly gliding between hedgerows, changing rhythm with the lie of the land or the strength of the wind, rising a little from the saddle to catch a glimpse of a stream. Pedestrians do not know these experiences. Neither of course do motorists. Only cyclists know what I'm talking about and it's useless to try to explain it to anyone else."

He's right. When I dream, I dream of the roads and woods of my childhood; I don't dream of people or events. It's me in a place. My psyche is kinda grounded by the landscape. And when I run or cycle it is the road, or the woods, more so than the people I'm with or are nearby, that I am running or cycling with. Anyway..

T

My Pillow Is The Threshold

2008-06-11T17:51:00.003+01:00

I rode my bike to Ingatestone early this morning. I spent the day working in peace and quiet at my dear mother in law's house. The trains to London are screwed so I elected to 'work at home'. The fact that I could get to ride to Ingatestone via some bridleways and Galleywood Common was also a factor. I took an hour to get there.

However, I got a little lost and rather than double back I waded across a babbling brook (see the bad pic above). The mud was deep and a I saw a fish. I took my shoes and socks off and with the bike over my shoulder I 'waded' into the water. It was the perfect temperature. I am hard.

Last night I got the new Silver Jews album. This track, 'My Pillow Is The Threshold' is my initial favorite. If it wasn't for this song I probably would not listen to it again. But this is a good one. I had the song buzzing in my head since I woke this morning (and did a 4 mile run with Morgan - I almost take my own breath away).

Get it here - http://rapidshare.com/files/121728056/04_my_pillow_is_the_threshold.mp3.html

T

Thetford Forest - Red and Black

2008-06-09T10:30:00.002+01:00

View Larger Map

Keith, Scott and I went to Thetford yesterday to ride our bikes in the woods.

It was a tad muddy. We rode with our 'heads down' and did the Red Run and the Black Run. We did 22.7 miles in 2 hours 26 mins.

To anyone landing on this post from Google looking for conditions of the waymarked routes at Thetford I have the following to report as at 8th June 2008 -

Red Run is more knackerd than the Black Run.

Red Run has more mud than the Black. But the Black has more puddles, I think (it all got kinda desperate towards the end).

Both Runs are fairly knackerd. The Beast is knackerd and is not scary. But... It is still a great place to ride. At the moment it's more about endurance than enjoying any 'swooping singletrack' - which is fine for me.

The bacon rolls at High Lodge are good (08 out of 10).

If you see anyone dropping litter pick it up and give it back to them.

Anyway, we're going to Coed in 4 weeks. I need to get some miles in, as they say.

T

The Sopranos - Made in America / Fred Neil - Dolphins

2008-05-30T15:25:00.006+01:00

For the last 2 months I have been mostly watching The Sopranos. Last night I finished the final episode (season 6, ep 21).

How good was it ? Pretty damn good. The Wire beats it, just. But like the Wire it ended in the nick of time.

It is often said that the Sopranos is about the family; Tony is the average working guy, with the mafia used as a device to raise the pitch of his life to create a show worth watching. But regardless, Tony Soprano is a psychopath; and I've been I rooting for him to get some kind of justice ('natural' or otherwise) since the beginning. But in the final scenes the balance of my emotions were somewhat upset. The tension and ambiguity of that final scene were simply perfect for me. I thought I knew where I was in the show and then it confounded me, not just by Tony's fate but the place where the ending left me. This is what made The Sopranos the 2nd greatest ever show on TV - it pushed the boundaries of what you expect from TV. It broke rules and played with the viewers expectations. It toyed with us and in the process changed TV and thus, in some small way, made things better.

One of the most perfect things about the show was the relationship between Christopher and Adrianna. I loved the way it was clear they were the 'soul mates' they naively referred to each other as. Their fates were sealed the moment they met. Doomed from the start.

The violence and the implications of Christopher's relationship to Tony Soprano closed in on them. And the moment it came with Adrianna taken to the woods by Silv you knew Christopher was also damned.

One of Christopher's last scenes is of him at a fairground out of his head on smack and as he slides into oblivion he is joined by a stray dog. With his arms around the dog Fred Neil's 'Dolphins' is played on the soundtrack. As the sentiment of the song implies Christopher is looking for something out of reach. This was undoubtedly Adrianna and the dog a metaphor for either his own death and/ or his true love of Adrianna. Stirring stuff and a fantastic song now made even greater.

Download Dolphins by Fred Neil here - http://www.mediafire.com/?v4wjzdmiuyc

As the blood rushes through my veins and my heart beats faster...

2008-05-27T13:16:00.004+01:00

I may not really know why I occasionally write in this blog. But I do know why I run.

In fact there are a number of reasons I run. These are -

1) I eat far too much cake.
2) I don't want to die, just yet.
3) To sweat and push myself for an hour or so a day is the least a man should do.
4) I love to get into this zone that I can only ever enter when I am running.
5) I enjoy doing something some people can't..
6) Occasionally I'll have one of the 'golden runs', as I call them. These are the runs when everything feels great and the endorphins peak.

... I just had a golden run. Lunchtime run with Iain to Brondesbury Park, over the High Road, up to West Hampstead and then back to the factory. 3.47 miles in 30.15 mins. Average pace of 08:43.. Not fast, not far. But I know I could easily have gone faster and further. Maybe, that's secret; holding stuff back. Knowing you can run better than you are, when your legs feel strong and your heart and lungs are working.

Fantastic. I loved every second of that.

T

The most pointless thing I have done so far today is write this post..

2008-05-22T10:28:00.003+01:00

What to write about...

Been runnning every other day; in London at lunchtime (5k in 26 mins) and at the weekend home in Chelmsford (4 miles), which was really nice.

Been biking in Danbury last Friday night, but my chain snapped.

Rode back from Ingatestone this morning on the Phantom after dropping Patsy's car off (11 miles.

Going away this weekend in the van to Walberswick.

Erm...

Why do I do this blog ?

T

Rich Kid Blues

2008-05-08T11:01:00.004+01:00

I am not really a fan of Jack White. I find him relatively humorless. And with the kind of music he makes I think a sense of humour is kind of essential.

However, I do simply love this Raconteurs cover of Terry Reid's 'Rich Kid Blues'. I cannot stop playing it. It's so good I don't think I've ever played it just once - I allways repeat it.

I love the drums at the start and the way the voices work in harmony with the guitars. It ducks and dives. It sounds like the Who and Zep. I always say you need to play these tracks loud, but really this time play it LOUD.

It is here - http://www.mediafire.com/?wi2idg3dcsl

Goodbye

T

Back running

2008-05-06T16:15:00.003+01:00

I've said this before - I am back on the road running.

After a week of gentle 15 min jogs on the treadmill, last Wed I went out at lunchtime in London and did 3 miles with Iain. On Friday, we did the same and then today Tuesday we did it again. 3 miles aorund Brondesbury Park, across Kilburn High Road and back to the factory. Great.

Last Wed it was cold and raining. Today baking hot. Friday was the hardest.

It's hard work. I am not sure I could do more than the 3 miles. We were fast though (for us) - an average 8.17 mile pace today.

No real problems with the legs. A slight twinge in the right calf and ankle. But we are stopping to stretch after the first 10 mins and then I stretch like crazy once we get back. My cardio is coping, just. And my aching back is getting better. Running is just so much more demanding than any cycling you can do.

However, I did a 15 mile road ride on Saturday and a 13 mile 'off road' ride on Sunday (Galleywood, across the train line to Hylands and back), which was fun.

T

Been Riding

2008-04-28T11:19:00.002+01:00

View Larger Map

With my mum staying with us for a week, and with Libby at work at the weekend, I thought I'd go biking both days (my mum had the kids)...

Saturday I went out on the Phantom (the '£9.99' road bike). I was going to do just 15 miles, but with the glorious weather I doubled back at Writtle and ended up doing 25 miles. My average speed was 16.5 mph. It was great. Hard work, but really really great. I left home at 0830. The sun was up and I was almost whooping for joy as I flew down the country lanes from Highwood to Writtle. This was the first time I've been out on the road bike on my own and I rode as hard as I could. It was quite a workout; the hill by Galleywood on the way back was a killer. I particularly enjoyed observing the 'proper' road bikers out with their Lycra and carbon bikes. I am sure I was as good as them, in my Morrissey t-shirt, Humvee shorts, Stan Smiths and the Phantom. The route / map is above.

Sunday, I went to Danbury with Joe, Keith and Jason. We did appx 11 miles. We did Joe's route with added bits from Explosive Pete's routes . Much drier than last weekend. Beautiful morning - no rain.

And I've been running... On the treadmill every other day at the gym (including 15 mins before the ride on Saturday). It is truly great to be back running again. But I am only doing 10 / 15 mins runs, with no real incline. Hard work though. After all my hours and miles last year. It is a somewhat distressing to have to start all over again. It's no so much the cardio that is faltering, it's my back and aching legs. At least I am running. I am going to do a 20 / 30 min gentle jog in London on Wed...

T

Listen to this loudly -

2008-04-25T21:36:00.003+01:00

Go here for more - http://goodheads.wordpress.com

Good eh ?

Pogues - Rainy Night In Soho

2008-04-24T20:53:00.005+01:00

I will always love Shane MacGowan and the Pogues. And it's a special kind of love.

As I get older and the space between what I initially loved about them (London, alcohol, romance, a rural idyl out of reach) and where I am now (home, kids, trains, and telly) grows and will never meet again, I realize I love them more and more.

They have become as integral to my internal psyche as the vertebrae in my back is to my spine. The occasional words of Shane McGowan rattle round my mind on a daily basis. But this song, 'A Rainy Night In Soho', is one of my faves. I particularly love the simple refrain - "You are the measure of my dreams".

Get it here http://www.mediafire.com/?mn9pzpli9nr

T

Ps - this is bonus track version from the remastered / packaged version of 'Rum, Sodomy and the Lash'.

You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve

2008-04-22T13:44:00.003+01:00

This is Johhny Boy doing 'You Are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve'.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zdmghvwxygc

I post this as the lyrical sentiment seems relatively apt as we spiral into economic oblivion. It is also a 100% guaranteed spectacular song. It is 'Phil Spectorish'. It needs to be played loud. So. Play it loud. And stop feeling sorry for yourself. It wont be just you losing your house; we're all going under.

T

Podiatrist - VIdeo Gait Analysis Result

2008-04-21T09:56:00.002+01:00

I saw the podiatrist on Friday. This is what I have wrong with me -

Forefoot equinus
Nigh angle of inclination of calcanus
High angle of declanation of meta tarsals
Limited ankle dorsiflection
Disrupting mid tarsal joint
The wrong trainers - I was sold pronation trainers; I have neutral feet. I do not over pronate.

This means I -

Premature foot load
Early heel raise
Flex my knee, when I shouldn't
My gate is short (short step length)..
Have overly increased cadence
Externally rotate legs

In conclusion -

I have tight claves, tight hamstrings, tight gluteals and a bad shaped foot. This means I have tight ankles which means my running gate is restricted and is damaging my legs / ankle/ feet.

I therefore must stretch my hamstrings, change my trainers, put heel raises in the back of my trainers and take it easy. This week I will do some gentle running on the tread... And go back to the podiatrist in 6 weeks.

T

Danbury Common - early Monday morning

2008-04-17T12:01:00.003+01:00

Joe and I did a nice 10 mile ride on the MTB at Danbury this Monday morning. We started at 0630 and rode for appx 2 hours. Thence to work.

Good to be back on the MTB. We're going to do it all over again this Sunday. But this time I want to do it twice.

I've been out a few times on the Phantom (my £9.99 road bike - pic above) with Simon. In the last two weeks we did a 15 mile and a 20 mile route in Billericay, Ingatestone. Our average speed was 17mph. However, during the 20 miler on Sunday the Phantom's gear cable snapped and the handlebars came all lose. But did that stop me ?

I'm thinking again about getting a nice road bike. But do I need a a £500 road bike ? The Phantom is maybe good enough. I think I'm doing a good speed and it's comfortable (I can beat Wellsy). And on Sunday in the driving rain, with the dodgy handlebars and half my gears gone, still kinda perfect. It was quite fantastic actually. I think I had a bit of an epiphany - road biking is quite great.

Anyway, here I hope is a link to the Danbury off road we did on Monday -

View Larger Map

T

Black Hole Sun - Steve and Eydie (Dirty Reissue)

2008-04-10T14:09:00.003+01:00

Listen to this - http://rapidshare.com/files/106364975/06._steve_and_eydie_-_black_hole_sun__dirty_reissue_.mp3.html

It is a cover of 'Black Hole Sun'. Originally a fantastic track by the once mighty Soundgarden.

My mate Mike and I loved the Soundgarden album this came from (titled Black Hole Sun) back in the early 90's. It was refreshing to us, I think, to listen to guitars, bass and drums again after years of having our minds mushed by orrible rave music.

This version is a kinda 'lounge' style version. I have no idea who these people are. I don't know where it came from. I heard it on the mighty Sean Rowley show on BBC London; found it online and now play it most often.

I always thought the song was about Kurt Cobain.

And please, if you download, leave a comment (who are you ? Why did you look for this track ?).

T

Music time - Weird Fishes (partition version)

2008-04-07T20:29:00.004+01:00

Enough of bikes, fingers, ankles and etc etc etc. Music time.

I am going to post music on here each day for a week.. And, so, in no real order....

This is something I found last week(ish) on the Atease message board. It is 'Weird Fishes' from In Rainbows (that's the last Radiohead album). However it's been put through some software by the geeks at Atease which has separated elements of the recording using the stereo partitions.. This is the "centre mix". Not sure what all this means in theory, but in practice you get the original track sounding kinda different. It is "ghostly" and the guitar sounds great.

Get it here - http://rapidshare.com/files/105666869/04_-_Weird_Fishes_Arpeggi__center_.mp3.html

Go here to meet the people at Atease. The Atease board is probably the best music message board in the world (click through to Message Board. Go to the Music section. And the TV / Film bit too)- http://www.ateaseweb.com/

T

Bad hand and bad leg

2008-04-03T22:21:00.002+01:00

Right hand -

I have broken my finger. I had an xray and it shows I fractured my right little finger. I spent 4 hours in A&E and then 4 hours at the Fracture Clinic. It's OK though. I just can fall on it for 6 weeks from when I did it (6th March, on the bike at Danbury).

It's Thursday night (3rd April) and I've not ridden my mountain bike for a month. I have to wait another two weeks. I cannot risk damaging it some more.

Ankle -

I saw the physio last week. He has given up.. He is not able to fix me. The injury has now switched to the other leg and is more severe. I cannot run for 15 seconds without having a limp for 4 days. When I run I can almost feel it grind in my right ankle. The physio no longer thinks it is ankle impingement but is now saying I have bad bio-mechanics and has refered me back to my GP who has now referred me to a orthopedic consultant and supposedly a podiatrist. In the meantime I am going to see a private podiatrist next Tuesday..

Great eh ? No running for 2 months and now no mountain biking.. I am going to get a new road bike.

T

The Clash - Ghetto Defendent (Rat Patrol version)

2008-03-13T17:01:00.002Z

Since I got the album of Rockabilly covers of Clash tracks three weeks ago I have also been playing a lot of the Clash.

The Clash and the Beatles are, in my mind, similar. I am not a huge fan of either band; but I somehow know every note of every track each band has produced. Both had a spectacular song writing partnership at its core, a mercurial talent in the wings (Simonon/ Harrison) and a relatively uninspiring drummer(s). Both started their discography with amphetamine white boy rock n roll, got more experimental, produced a genre busting mid career masterpiece (Revolver / London Calling) and split up just after releasing a sprawling masterwork (White Album / Sandinista).

Most would say the Beatles changed the world, and that therefore makes them better. The Beatles did change the world. But what they mean to anyone else has no bearing for me on how they sound in my ear today. And today I have been listening to the Clash.

I have always loved Combat Rock. An album that is not that well regarded. But how can anyone not love the ambition and romance of that record ? Suffused with dub, funk, hip hop and spoken word. It's like a soundtrack to a lost film. There's some kind of faded Vietnam war / Americana going on that was quite a feat for 3 lads from west London. It's really unique. There is no album like Combat Rock.

I got the 'Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg' bootleg last week. This is the original version of Combat Rock as produced by Mick Jones. It's great. I am especially taken with this take of 'Ghetto Defendant'. You can hear Allen Ginsberg much clearer on this version. It's longer than the 'official' release and Joe Strummer's voice is rougher and looser. In fact this is probably the best vocal Joe Strummer ever did, in my humble opinion.

Get it here - http://rapidshare.com/files/99267049/07_-_Ghetto_Defendant.mp3.html

Danbury Common Mountain Biking with Explosive Pete

2008-03-11T14:24:00.004Z

I was 40 years old at the weekend. Libby and I went to Swaffham, in Norfolk and stayed in a hotel. It was very nice. The kids were with the in-laws; it was just me, Libs and my sore hand, and aching legs..

Sore hand ? Yep. A busted hand. I am now middle aged and past it. I have damaged feet, ankles, calves and now fingers. I fell off my bike at Danbury Common on Thursday and dislocated my right little finger. I snapped it back into position and rode back to the car. I had an xray today. I wont know for sure till end of the week but I dont think it's fractured just really torn.

Danbury - was great though. I met Explosive Pete on the forums at Bike Radar and he, together with his brother Jonathon, offered to show me round Danbury. We did appx 15 miles in 2 or 3 hours (punctures, picnics - the usual necessary stops). What a great ride.. Big climbs, fast steep descents, miles and miles of tracks. Better than Epping. And with the bombholes, and jumps and sweeping tracks at Blakes Wood really quite hairy.

Pete and Jonathon rode faster than I am used to but I kept up, just. Great day out. Pity I can't move my right hand properly.

T

The Pistoleers - Bank Robber

2008-03-04T16:04:00.001Z

The Pistoleers - 'Bank Robber'.

I heard this track on Radio 6 a few weeks ago when Andrew Weatherall (remember when he was Andy Weatherall) did the Queens Of Noize show. He played some great rockabilly and more 'modern' stuff.

'Bank Robber' by the Pistoleers is from an album of called 'This Is Rockabilly Clash'. A compilation of Clash covers by rockabilly bands. It's a great record. Some tracks are better than others but the whole concept works really well. It also highlights what great songwriters the Clash were (but what a dismal lyricist Joe Strummer occasionally was).

This is my favorite from the album. Listening to rockabilly nowadays seems one of the most 'alternative' music choices you can make. However, it kind of sounds somehow perfectly modern. I've been predicting a rockabilly revival for years now. Not that anyone is listening.

Go here for the track - http://www.mediafire.com/?yded8sjynjl

T

Breakfast in Thetford

2008-03-01T08:04:00.003Z

What did you have for breakfast yesterday ?

I had 20 miles of Thetford Black Run for mine. That's 20 mile of off road mountain biking in Thetford Forest in 1 hour 50 mins, all before 10 in the morning.

I had a meeting in Woolpit in the morning, so being the obsessive I am, I saw a gap in my schedule drove to Thetford at 0600 in the morning and was in the forest at 0745; it was pretty damn fantastic. I was the only person there. I saw loads of deers and at one point some kind of boar, maybe. The riding was good. The tracks are bedding down and the mud is drying. It was warmish, and at some points sunny.

I rode hard and as fast I could at some points. I was only going to do the route once, but within site of my car (and at the end of first lap) I knew I was going to do it again. The 2nd lap was faster; I'm kinda getting the hang of the Black Run now. I can even recall sections of it. Usually, I cannot recall anything as during the ride I'm concentrating on what's immeadiatley happening, my breathing, aching back and the bike.

Next time I'm going to do the Red Run properly. I'm hoping this route may be more flowing, so I can really get some speed up.

So, yeah mountain biking, I love it. But, I want to run.. To get an equivalent buzz from biking for me takes 2 hours of riding. Running is so much easy to organise but like 4 times harder. Anyway, still no running for me. The other leg has gone now. I can't bring myself to write about it.

T

Epping Forest Mountain Bike - King Of The Mountains

2008-02-25T15:02:00.006Z

We went to Epping Forest on Sunday for a morning mountain biking. Myself, Scott, Keith and Joe met at Tesco's in Chelmsford at 0730 and were on our bikes in the Forest by 0830. I loved it. I just love being on my bike.

We followed a couple of routes we found here (http://eppingtrails.co.uk). Using Joe's new GPS system we covered about 15 miles. We rode for appx 2 hours and were not riding for just over an hour. This does me in, as I want to ride.. But with stopping to adjust bikes, have picnics and check our routes, I guess we had no choice. But next time I want to go faster...And I don't want to stop.

The Forest was in good condition. Not too muddy and at some points nice and sunny. I think we are slowly getting the hang of Epping and looking on the map above (which outlines our route) I think we have covered most of areas in the Forest. There is singletrack all over; I need to go back. No one really came off. We did some downhill bits but mostly just following our route through the trees. I can still feel my back wheel skiding gently into the corners. It really is ace.

T

Mark Ronson is dreadful

2008-02-20T20:47:00.004Z

Hey. This is live blogging. I'm watching the Brits. Mark Ronson has just won Best British Male. And what a horrible little posh boy twat he is. God I hate him. Little tousle haired public school boy. Who does he think he is ? And his horrible rich looking parents sat there like cardboard cutouts; sun tans and hair styles. God he is despicable. The man has no soul. Fucking twat.

Anyway. Here is a Amy Winehouse track remixed by the Rumble Strips. It's Back To Black. It's great. Amy's great.

http://www.mediafire.com/?1m0vyngzyge

T

Thetford Forest Mountain Bike black route

2008-02-18T11:57:00.003Z

So. Whilst I have not been running I have been mountain biking. I've not been 'off roading' on a bike in like 20 years. But last December I got myself a brand new Specialized Rockhopper MTB on the goverment Cycle To Work Scheme, and I love it.

Over Christmas I spent a couple of afternoons trying to hack my way from Chelmsford to Ingatestone via bridleways and tracks. Then I went to Epping with Lee; freezing cold and fucking great. Two weeks ago I went back to Epping with Keith Scott and Joe. Where we did 11 miles in 3 hours, got covered in shit and had and equally fantastic time. Scott and I went to Danbury Common where we scared the crap out of each other. And for the last two weekends Scott, Joe and myself have gone out early on Saturday morning for a 2 hour hack from Galleywood to Hylands (where in the woods to the west of Hylands House is a fantastic mile or so of track that when I rode it yesterday I was going so fast the wind was whistling in my ear).

But on Saturday I went to Thetford Forest (High Lodge) and did the Black Run and half of the Red Run. I did just under 18 miles in 2 hours. I did the Black Run in an hour. This is pretty good for a big lad like me, but as all runners know, biking is for poofs. So for me 10 miles of black route cross country is a piece of cake.

However, I am told that despite the Thetford Black Run being labeled such it is hardly considered a real Black Route. It was technically challenging but there was no real risk of breaking any bones. The Beast section is good, but I must say, not as hairy as Danbury. There are no real hills, just loads of mud and churned up singletrack. Winding through the trees though with the sun like a strobe in my eyes, I was as happy as I could be. I ate a Cream Egg, drank my bottle of water, and just did not stop. I think I'm a natural. I want to race now..

T

Ankle Impingement Syndrome

2008-02-12T15:57:00.000Z

I have been diagnosed with Ankle Impingement Syndrome by my physio.

This condition is usually found in ballet dancers and very occasionally runners. I basically have something which is stopping me pointing the toes fully in my left foot. This 'something' is the impingement. The impingement is at the back of my heel, right in the 'hinge', as it were. The impingement is usually scar tissue or, in the worst case scenario bone. If it is bone then the usual procedure is to have surgery..

The physio is asking me to stretch my ankle and cease running until I get better flexibility and go back to him for a weekly prognosis. I am following this and the associated tightness in the calves has gone and the ankle is becoming better and allowing me greater flexibility. But I am concerned I may end up in surgery with this problem.

I go back to the physio this Thursday. I am hoping he may allow me to head out on a short run on Thursday night. But I am not going to push it again.

So, there you go. It's taken me 4 physios to get to this diagnosis. But running is such an important thing for me; it has become central to who I am. I am not going to give up. If it means I cannot run for a year, two years, so be it. I know I will run again and will now allways run, when I can.

I have a load of runs to log from just before this recent injury. I need to upload these on here and will do soon. It's just so difficult to get my head around not being able to run but then write about it. In the meantime I have been mountain biking. I will put some details of these session up here soon also.

Details Ankle Impingment Syndrome can be found here - http://www.emedicine.com/sports/topic5.htm

T

Am I my own worst enemy ?

2008-01-22T14:54:00.000Z

I'm injured again.... I can't believe I'm writing that. I have the exact same injury in my calf as before. I ran Weds before last at lunchtime and I didn't stretch. It was tight the following day but on the Friday I went out, again at lunchtime, and I've not been right since.

I spend good money on physio. I am online conversing with other runners. I buy and read books and magazine and yet... I don't listen. I don't stretch properly and I ignore the subtle signs my body gives me. It is doing me in. So why do I do it ? I do it cos I love to run. But next time, in like 1 months time when I am back I WILL do as I am told. I have learn't my lesson for the 2nd time. This time, the next time, I will do it right. Running is about self discipline. I used to think it was about sweat and the taste of blood in my mouth. I now know it is about that but it is also a more gentle and subtle thing. I am may have a heart made of iron but my aching legs are aching for a reason. I am getting old.

If you reading this as a runner, who is still running, you are being gifted. Enjoy it.

I will be back.

In the meantime I am on my bike.

T

Radiohead - Scotch Mist - Videotape

2008-01-01T18:20:00.000Z

Here is an audio track from last nights Radiohead webcast. The webcast was called Scotch Mist and this track is 'Videotape'.

Get it here - http://www.mediafire.com/?bmt1clk05jy

Videotape is probably my fave track from 'In Rainbows'. This version, although I've only heard it today as background to our kids incessant squeaking and shouting, sounds more urgent than the album track. Thom Yorke's arcing voice tip toeing through the music, graceful and yearning.

It's New Year. I did a quick 4.3 mile run this morning at 0830. It was hard. I'd only had 4 hours sleep and I'd been rolling drunk as we fell into bed. The sweat poured off me and I ran as fast as I could; chasing the new year in. I ran through town but one half of the park was closed by the police. There was police tape all over the park with a police person at at every entrance. They wouldn't tell me what had occurred. Only that it was 'very serious'.

I cannot wait to get these bloody Christmas decorations down.

T

Happy Christmas with The Wailers - 'She's Coming Home'

2007-12-23T15:58:00.000Z

So. It's nearly Christmas and here is one of the best ever Christmas songs.

It's 'She's Coming Home' by The Wailers.. No, not those Wailers. This here is the 60's American garage band who came to nothing. They have a track on Nuggets, and an album that's not any good. But this track is something special. I play it all year long. So if you're reading this in July download it anyway.

Get it here - http://www.mediafire.com/?fgmn30vscdj

Running in December

2007-12-23T09:37:00.000Z

I have been running. It's been a good month so far. My calf feels good. I can feel it twinge on occasion but I now know how to handle it. Two things - 1) try to never run on consecutive days (I now run every other day) and 2) stretch.

I've not been doing long runs, but that's more due to lack of time than to lack of will. I have however noticed my speed has increased quite considerably since my injury and with the rehab.

I had one of those magical runs on Wed. I was in London and I ran on my own to Brondesbury and back over the High Road. It was bitterly cold. I ran a fast 08:52 (mile) pace and I was flying along. It was hard but my heart and lungs stayed on it matching every step. I kept the pace up. It was wicked.. I don't know what makes some runs so great. The last time I had one like that was back in the summer one night with Morgan; it just feels as though the act of running is the most perfect thing for me to be doing at that time. It's quite special. Those runs are like gifts.

30th Nov - Maygrove to Hampstead Heath (hills) - 4.07 miles / 09:56 pace

1st Dec - Gym treadmill - 2 miles. I was knackered. I'de been biking the day before and had given the rowing machine a thrashing before I got to the tread...

3rd Dec - Woolpit, Suffolk - cat shit path - 2.71 miles / 09:37 pace.

4th Dec - Woolpit, Suffolk - cat shit path twice - 4.64 miles / 09:31 pace. Horrible run. Cold, dark and depressing. Rural England on this afternoon was old ladies in beige coats, men in white vans, headlines about the recession and the vast leaden sky. Somewhat bleak.

6th Dec - Home / Longstomps/ Central Park - an evening run. 4.39 miles. Hard work. Rain. Cold wind and house full of ladies buying xmas decs when I got back.

9th Dec - Home/Private rd/ Hylands Park / Writtle - Great run. 7.17 miles / 09:44 pace. Tried to enjoy run and ignore form.

11th Dec - Treadmill - 3 miles.

12th Dec - Maygrove / Brondesbury with Iain - 2.94 miles / 09:05 pace.

14th Dec - Maygrove / Hampstead Heath - 3.25 miles / 10:05 pace. Hills.

17th Dec - Woolpit, Suffolk - Usual route + new footpath - 4.14 miles / 09:04 pace.

19th Dec - Maygrove / Brondesbury / High Rd - 3.32 miles / 08:52 pace - this was the good one.

20th Dec - Maygrove / Brondesbury / High Rd, with Iain - 3.35 / 09:04 pace.

22nd Dec Home / Longstomps/ Central Park - 4.39 miles / 08:39 pace. Yesterday. Great run. I pushed myself. Really into getting my speed up.

T

A feast of musical greatness - the best music of 2008

2007-12-13T15:29:00.000Z

One of the true highlights of my year is the summing up of the years cultural events at the end of the year.

For someone like me who cares very little about football, the end of the year lists in NME, Uncut etc are like the FA Cup. This year has been a great year, particularly for music. For the first time in recent memory the best album has been by a British artist, so maybe we just won the World Cup.

I love it when I find something great. It rarely happens.

People use the word genius far too much. People also tend to get excited about stuff that we all know they don't listen to. But me... when I say something is great, trust me, it is. So here is the greatest music of 2007. Read and weep. If you do not know this stuff go and get it now. Download it all. It's out there right now.

A menu for a feast of greatness.

(Music is here now today. The best books, films, TV and other tings will follow when I get round to it, in the next day or so.)

BEST MUSIC - TOP 6...

1. Findlay Brown - 'Separated By The Sea' - an otherworldly album of great songs that chime with love. It sounds both classic and thoroughly modern.

2. Radiohead - 'In Rainbows' - a band in 'full flight'. Free of their guilt, they rattle this album out. It flies at you - pushing and pulling. I feel kinda lost in this album; there always something going on that takes me away from where I think I am with it.

3. Richmond Fontaine - 'Thirteen Cities' - to start by saying another masterpiece by Richmond Fontaine could sound to the uninitiated as a little lame. But to those who know Richmond Fontaine, another great album by RC is as good as it gets. Poetry and country rock, with the sound of the desert in background; it sounds epic in parts. Full of tender despair.

4) Arcade Fire - 'Neon Bible' - better than Funeral. The sound of the apocalypse as per a group of nice Canadian people. BUT, they pull it off. It is dramatic . It takes itself very seriously but despite this it works. I can't fathom it out. It just sounds great.

5) Six Organs Of Admittance - 'Shelter From The Ash' - More end of the world stuff. This time the menace and paranoia sounded real. For me there's poetry in the sound of Ben Chasny's guitar strings buzzing against the frets. The sparse words foretell something coming that is not good. It sounds prophetic and sad. It illuminates the dark corners not to show you what is there but to remind you that you are not alone.

6) Lucky Jim - 'All The Kings Horses' - a lost classic. Great songs. AOR, MOR ? Sounds like Gene Clark fronting Interpol, at times. 'Don Quixote' is truly a song to live with.

There you go.

Happy Christmas

T

The Meaning of Life

2007-12-08T16:03:00.000Z

Liam Gallagher has always been right. I don't think he has ever told a lie or been wrong about anything.

There's a big difference between talking shit and being full of it.

In this month's Uncut magazine there's a feature about John Lennon's greatest songs as picked by a bunch of celebrities and the writers of Uncut. Liam is in there choosing Beautiful Boy and comes out with this pearl of wisdom -

"People who've got any soul will realise that there's a day when you go home and put your feet up and cuddle your kids. If anyone slags it off, they've either got no heart or they don't know what the meaning of life is."

There you go. He's right. I've spent the weekend just hanging out with my kids. We've not been out (apart from a 7 miler on Sunday morn for an hour) all weekend. We put up the Christmas decorations, and cuddled the kids - perfect.

T

Been Running

2007-11-28T12:32:00.000Z

I've been running.

Tuesday 14/11 - treadmill - 5k in 30 mins appx
Sunday 18/11 - Chelmsford old route with Morgan - 5 miles / 9.42 pace. Great to be running with Morgan.
Tuesday 20/11 - factory to Brondesbury with Iain - 2.98 miles / 9:21 pace.
Thursday 22/11 - treadmill - 5k in exactly 29:20.
Friday 23/11 - treadmill - 4k in 25 mins ???
Sunday 25/11 - Home/Village/Britvic/Washing/Hospital/Longstomps - 4.49 miles / 9.32 pace
Tuesday 27/11 - Factory / Brondesbury with Iain. Great run. We went for it.. Fast on the way back. 2.98 miles in 26:38 mins... Well fast for us.

My leg is better. It still twinges sometimes. I need to stretch every day. And I a now run every other day.

T

Duffy - Rockferry

2007-11-20T16:17:00.000Z

Erm. Listen to this - http://www.mediablahblahbla - I removed this sorry. You can get it on itunes for 79p.

This is a track called Rockferry by a lady called Duffy. And it is quite spectacular.

The observer writes thus - "There she is, 22 years old, all puppy-eyed and delicate, looking like the sort of shiny pop pin-up that adorns young girls' bedroom walls. Yet her songs - elegiac paeans to heartbreak and treachery, delivered in a voice that has all the gorgeous, aching depth of a seasoned soul diva - bring to mind the dark, sensual performances of Dusty Springfield in the late Sixties."

I think it may be the best peice of music I've heard all year..

Go here for more info -

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,,1892762,00.html

http://www.iamduffy.com/

Arcade Fire Live at Alexander Palace

2007-11-19T07:55:00.000Z

Here's my brother in law's review of Arcade Fire at Alexander Palace -

I went to see Arcade Fire at Ally Pally this evening, so chew on that one sucka!
I didn't even have to pay as i went as the gimp of my Greek friend Simon Imcraptatquizes.
We agree that 'The Fire' are a band that one simply MUST see live. As their chaotic and 'big' sound transcends their recordings.

(see self portrait of brother in law above)

my stiff calf is getting better

2007-11-10T18:42:00.001Z

So. I've been running. Have you been running ? I've not been writing; but you, you've done some reading no doubt. Try some writing, like running, it's good for you.

However, hang on. My running hurts. My running gave me a bad calf. Although, maybe according to my physio I have a tear in my calf from years ago. And if I hadn't upped my weekly mileage from 0 (zero) to 35 in 6 months I would never have felt it. But hey. It's getting better and I have no idea what I am going on about. I have no point to make. I just want to post my run data.

So. Yep. Running again. Finally -

On the treadmill for what seems like weeks. Alternate days starting at 8 min runs to finally 20 mins until last Wednesday (1st Nov) when Iain and I ran at lunchtime from the Factory to Brondsbury Park and back (2.8 miles ? / 28 mins). We stopped and stretched 10 mins in. There's a slight hill off of Kilburn High Road covered in leaves. We dodged the dog shit, hidden like mines. It was very great to be outside running in London again.

Sunday 4th Nov - (3.34 miles / 10:03 pace) On my own. An early morning misty run through the park. The route Morgan and I did in the summer (I miss you Morgan..). My leg twinged a bit. I saw another runner. A slender young man with all the kit. I passed him on Waterhouse Lane.

Tuesday 6th Nov - (2.91 miles / 10:00 pace) From Maygrove to Brondsebury again with Iain. We sprinted at the end. My legs feel heavy but my heart and lungs could go for miles.

Thursday 8th Nov - 30 mins on the treadmill. No stiffness or pain at all.

Saturday 10th Nov - Today.. (4.42 miles / 9:59 miles). Great run. Cold. I could have gone for ages but with the words of the physio forbidding me from even 10 mins on the road, and scared I'd see her as I bounded through the park I came home to eggs and bacon and a slightly stiff leg.

Bye
T

THE WIRE

2007-10-25T12:10:00.000+01:00

I have a new obsession. This new obsession is The Wire.

The Wire is a HBO TV show set in contempary Baltimore in the USA. It's a cop show. It is also the best thing I have ever seen on TV. I am not the only person to say this, countless other people have also described it thus.

It is simply perfect. The characters are almost stereotypes, there are no real 'good guys'and there is no hope. But you cannot help but sympaphise with almost everyone and care so much about every aspect of the world yo are presented with. The show is truely multi-layered and the deep pull of the show is overtaking all my other current obessesions (my leg, jihadists, buying a new bike, finding Batman things for my boy).

I've downloaded the first 3 series on bittorrent (over 3 weekends) and have been watching them on my ipod. I've been going to bed watching my ipod, travelling to the factory watching my ipod, even sat in my car eating sandwiches watching The Wire on my ipod. It's been great.

Series 5 is due to start in Feb next year.

Go here for bits of The Wire -

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ2iGYwdEi8

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QFQVSvG5x54

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=p3XQIqgAtCg

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y3rVGW24wc

Our Lives..

2007-10-17T14:02:00.000+01:00

I went to a new physio on Saturday and she has diagnosed the problem with my left leg as a 'damaged calf muscle'. Not achilles tendonitis. My achilles is apparently fine. I've spent the last 5 weeks icing my achilles and doing achilles stretches. I've been ignoring my calf. Great eh ?

But, I'm back. Kind of. Nearly.. The physio showed me calf strectches, did a load of ultrasound. And this morning I ran on the treadmill for 10 mins. I feel fine. In fact it felt 100% great to be running again. Even if it were on the bloody treadmill. She advised me to walk for ten mins every other day this week and then do 5 mins walk / 5 mins run on the treadmill every other day next week. But I literally could not stop myself. I found myself running and it was so good. I did'nt go fast. I had no incline at all. It was good. Next week I intend to get back on the road...

So. Now I'm back..

Download this http://www.mediafire.com/?1m0jx1ftxxw

It is a track by Oddessey called 'Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love'. I downloaded this track as part of a compilation and was drawn to it by the title. It's really quite special. It moves with swing and vibe. It puts me in a good mood. Music is like fuel to me sometimes.

The Concretes

2007-10-06T10:25:00.001+01:00

I was in a pub in Bedford on Tuesday talking about karaoke with a young lady called Tammy. Tammy suggested to me that ladies are more reluctant to sing karaoke than men. We both opined why this might be the case; I suggested it was because in popular music many iconic male musical artists do not have 'perfect' singing voices, yet are successful. I gave Tammy the examples of Bob Dylan and Morrissey. I then suggested that there were not many popular female singers with anything less than 'perfect' voices. Tammy looked at me like I was a crossword and suggested the main reason, in her experience, for men to be more keen to do karaoke was, 'cos most men were dickheads'.

Here is a track by The Concretes. It's called 'A Whales Heart'. The girl singing this has not got a technically perfect voice, but she sounds great. Download it here - http://www.mediafire.com/?2tzmh9gxjmz

T

PS - ankle still wasted. Not run in 3 weeks.

Death Proof

2007-10-01T13:06:00.000+01:00

I finally got round to watching the new Tarrantino movie 'Death Proof'. It's a good film. It's not half as good as any other Tarrantino movie. But a half good Tarrantino film is still better than pretty much anyone elses, in my humble opinion.

The film ends with the following track played over the credits. It's by April March and the song is called 'Chick Habit'. Get it here - http://www.mediafire.com/?3qt1l0petmt

T

REST

2007-10-01T12:24:00.000+01:00

Ignore that last post about doing the 'drops' to stretch the tendon.. My ankle on Friday was worse than it had been in a week... I spent the weekend not bounding up stairs (as I do at work), walking miles or cycling like a lunatic to and from the station. I went to the gym and ignored the cross trainer and now, finally, it feels as though my leg is healing.

So. I deduce that for my achilles tendon to heal I must avoid all strenuous leg excerises. Pity the physio did'nt advise me on that 2 weeks ago. This morning my ankle feels 100% fine.. But I am not running for at least another week. I want it to heal properly..

Anyway, yesterday I went to Decathlon in Lakeside and bought loads of winter running bits, including men's running tights. I look like Spiderman... The evil Spiderman, they're black..

T

Cobwebs

2007-09-26T10:31:00.000+01:00

My ankle feels a lot better. I woke this morning to no soreness or stiffness, in my ankle.. Went to the gym and it still feels ok.

I've been taking Nerofen and icing the ankle 2 or 3 times day and have been doing heel drop exercises recommended by a PT at the gym, who has just qualified as a physio. Apparently in Canada, where this chap did 6 months training, this is now the latest way to heal Achilles tendonitis.

What you do is -
1) Start with both feet on a step with heels hanging off the step. Weight should be on the balls of both feet to start.
2) Drop down off of the step and decelerate quickly at the bottom of the movement. Don't bounce at the bottom but halt the lowering movement as fast as possible.
3) do a toe raise slowly. Start with both feet. Then progress to one foot at a time.

I've been doing these exercises since Saturday along with the Nerofen and icing, and not running; *maybe* things are getting better. I am going to London Marathon Store at lunchtime to see if I can now sort out if my current trainers (Brooks Vapour) are to blame. And hopefully I may run at the weekend.. But we shall see. I am not going to push it. And it is early days.

On the way to the factory today I found myself playing a favourite Spiritualized track. This being a cover of a Junior Kimbrough track 'Sad Days and Lonely Nights'. And on a cold London morning trudging through the 'transport' system it blew my cobwebs away. Go here for a copy and play LOUD - http://www.mediafire.com/?6uknnynggpmjavascript:void(0)
Publish Post

T

1 Week and 0 Miles

2007-09-24T20:45:00.000+01:00

It's been a week. I have not run since last Sunday.

The ankle does feel better, but when I cup the ankle and lift it back towards my calf the Achilles tendon hurts.

I've been to the gym 4 or 5 times. But I need to run. It was raining this morning. I would have been as happy as I could ever be heading out into that for a hour today. Instead I ambled in to work listening to Bob Dylan's 'Love & Theft' - "today has been a sad and lonesome day" he sang. And it was only 10:00.

Oh well. Eat 'Reggae Reggae Sauce'. I did and it was nice.

T

Findlay Brown - Paperman

2007-09-20T14:41:00.000+01:00

Music means different things to me now than it did before. Listening to say, the Nuggets Box Set now is a very different experience for me than it did when I first heard it as a teenager. Then, Nuggets (a box set of once obscure and now iconic 60's American garage pysch rock) was an 'authentic' soundtrack to my teenage hedonism. It sounded like the real deal. And within it I felt there was some psychedelic cypher waiting to be decoded. Now when I listen to those same songs I consider the musicians, then American teenagers with terrible trousers and lots of attitude, but now old men fading into horizon of middle America. Their passions and anger left behind like a forgotten hangover. It is, for me now, a rather more melancholic affair.

As the summer is now finally disappearing fast and I settle in the for long haul of winter, the choice of what to music to play is also changing. Spring and summer for me is about getting outside and living with the sun overhead and grass under my feet with my kids at my side. I love England in the spring and summer. My choice of music these past few months reflects this and has been psych folk, pastoral country and chiming guitars; the likes of which I have on occasion posted here. But now I feel myself looking for something harder and processed. Recent choices have been 'Satan's Circus' by DIV, and the Knife album. I've even been playing one or two Radiohead tracks.

However, one album I know I am far from finished playing is the Findlay Brown album 'Separated By The Sea'. It is in essence the psych folk blues of spring and summer but it is also more than the soundtrack to my bucolic daydreams. It is an album which I am told is very specifically a collection of love songs. To me it ducks and rolls and buzzes with life. It is occupied with temporary loss and yearning. It is also a record that affirms life and hope. It is a wonderfully sung and performed album. The production is perfect. Findlay's voice is close, almost as if he singing just for you. The arrangements both classic and modern. A truly remarkable record. The best album of the year so far and possibly the best British album in years.

I saw Findlay outside Niketown in Oxford Street two weeks ago. I went up to him and congratulated him on such a great record. He was a nice bloke, a little taken aback by me, a big skinhead extolling the virtues of his album back to him, but hey what's to be done ?

Check out Paperman, one of my fave tracks from 'Seperated By The Sea'. You can get a copy here - http://www.mediafire.com/?0zskzzyhtcy

Go here for more Findlay - http://www.findlaybrown.com/

T

2 Weeks Off

2007-09-20T10:20:00.000+01:00

I've been to the physio and I have small tears in the fibers and sinews near the Achilles tendon. I may also have mild tendonitis. I need to rest long enough for the leg and foot to feel 100% better and then rest, from running, for a further week. I reckon I'll not be running for 2 weeks... This will be difficult but overall I feel good. All this is provided the prognosis is correct.

T

Achilles Tendonitis

2007-09-17T11:44:00.000+01:00

I ache. The back of my left ankle hurts. I can't walk properly. I am having to walk up and down stairs sideways..

I ran to Hampstead on Thursday - 4 miles. Rested till Sunday when I did 9 miles (but the Ipod stopped after 7...).

My left ankle has been hurting for a week or two now. But after Sundays run, or more specifically Monday morning (today), my ankle has nearly seized up. I've been online and I am fairly sure I have a damaged tendon and it looks like achilles tendonitis. It hrts more when I flex my foot straight out / point my feet and toes. I am gutted. I'm going to rest it now for as long as I can. I am very worried.

T

Hampstead Ponds - lunchtime run and swim

2007-09-11T15:05:00.000+01:00

I just ran to Hampstead Heath, from Kilburn. Swam in the mixed pond for 20 minutes and then run back to the factory. It was great. The last time I swam in a pond was Frensham Ponds when I was a child. I went with Lee today. He rode his bike and I ran.. What a fine way to spend a lunchtime in September. It beats eating a packet of Monster Much and staring at some rubbish on You Tube.

4 mile run - not sure of the pace. It'll be sub 10 mins though. The Nike+ will split it into two runs.

What did you do for lunch ?

T

Songbird

2007-09-09T14:43:00.000+01:00

So. I got distracted from the new Tarantino movie by last year's Willie Nelson album 'Songbird'. Produced by Ryan Adams, who along with his band the Cardinals, also plays on the album. 'Songbird' is an album of covers with some originals.

It's wonderful record. I don't think it had great reviews when it was released, but what does everyone else know ? Not a lot.

'Songbird' is peppered with 3 or 4 kinda standard country rock tracks. The rest are celestial modern country classics; shimmering guitars with Willie's iconic voice set in the middle of the mix like the north star. The whole record swings and reflects on life. It's melancholic and yet resigned. Perfect company for a Friday night.

I particularly like the title track, 'Songbird'. You can get a copy on this track here - http://www.mediafire.com/?exmsli9n2gx

I did 11 miles on Saturday. Private road / Hylands Park and woods, Writtle, path(s) to Admiral Part, Station, etc. Fantastic run. I'd not run since Thursday. So I'd been waiting for this chance to get out. Perfect way to spend a couple of hours.

Oh, and I did appx 5 miles on Thursday in the evening in Chelmsford. But the Nike Plus wasn't working so I don't know how far and at what pace. Good run though.

This morning (Monday) I did 26 mins on the treadmill at the gym. I pushed the speed up to 8 min miles, for appx 9 mins, and nearly fell off. It was hard work. I kept the speed up and ran as hard and fast as I could. I came off there feeling more knackered than my 11 miles on Saturday.

T

The Pugilist At Rest

2007-09-07T15:48:00.000+01:00

In preparation for this week's diabolical journeys to and from the factory I grabbed my old copy of 'The Pugilist At Rest' by Thom Jones. I have been struggling through George Sheehan's 'Running And Being' and felt I needed something else to chew on whilst stuck on the Jubilee Line.

George Sheehan has been described as the 'philosopher king' of running and indeed his work is littered with remarkable quotes that make you realize why maybe you do the stuff the you do, or think the things you do when you run.

Running and Being's basic premise is that to achieve our true goals and become who we really need to be we must learn to 'play' again and be childlike, fearless and strong. It is very Nietzsche in parts.

Although the book is split into chapters (Learning, Doing etc) I'm halfway through and it is kind of melding together in an endorphine like stream of consciousness. It can also be a bit slog. So I picked up the 'Pugilist At Rest'.

The 'Pugilist' is Thom Jones first book; a collection of short stories. The stories are largely based on the writer's own experience as some kind of special forces marine in the Vietnam war. It's real macho writing that aspires to Hemingway and Buckowski. He lacks the innate craft of these writers but in the end makes his points and takes you where he intends. The overall theme of the book is redemption through manly pursuits such as boxing, shooting guns, having mental breakdowns etc.. It's a good book. But it struck me how both books, the 'Pugilist' and 'Running and Being' are in effect saying the same thing; This being rise above yourself. Rise above your alloted place in the world and grasp reality becuase you live but once. Don't be afraid. Be the best you can be and let yourself be your only judge.

I'd recommend both.

Anyway, after work today I found small bag of skunk on the pavement outside. Tonight wifey is 'out on the town'. I'm at home on my own. I'm going skin some of that skunk up, drink a beer and watch a download of the new Tarrantino movie 'Death Proof'. Then tomorrow get up at 06:30 and run till I feel sick. I guess I'm more of a Thom Jones man.

T

Lunchtime run to the ponds

2007-09-04T15:00:00.000+01:00

A lunchtime run with Lee to the Mens Swimming Ponds at Hampstead Heath. I ran and Lee rode his bike. 4.96 miles 09:50 mile / pace. A good good run. Hot, sunny with constant hills but not at all busy. My legs felt strong before (my post 10 mile stretch session on Sunday worked) and if I wasn't rushing to get back to the factory I could have gone on for miles..

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2007-09-03T11:34:00.000+01:00

I have done 3 runs which I need to log here.

Sunday (yesterday) - 9.6 miles. 9:47 / mile pace. An early morning run in Chelmsford, up Longstomps / private road / Hylands / Writtle / Chelm. Fantastic. Loved it. Tried a gel booster thing. I think it worked.

Friday - 5 miles 9:58 / mile pace. At lunchtime to Parliment Hill. Hilly, hard work. My ankles ached like hell after.

Wed - 4 miles 10 / mile pace. At Lunch to Hampstead Heath. Those hills are still there..

I have also -

1) watched Sunshine, the latest Danny Boyle movie. Really quite good apart from the dreadful closing credits with a terrible I Am Kloot track. This aside the movie has stayed with me. Certain details are starting to make sense to me now (the dust on Icarus 1..). Recommended.

2) watched Transformers; rubbish. A big toy advert. Preposterous. But it is for kids, not old men like me.

3) watched Bourne Ultimatum; thoroughly enjoyed it. Although, I have been trying to work out why.. I keep thinking I like Matt Damon in it, and he does carry the movie. But thinking back, all I can recall of Matt is a of baby faced amorphous frowning action man. Can you remember what he was even wearing ?

4) listened to the Cramps 'Human Fly' all weekend, as my little boy (who is 3) loves it, and so do I. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Go here for a copy - http://www.mediafire.com/?aiy7zslz31z

T

Antony Loyd - Another Bloody Love Letter

2007-08-31T13:59:00.000+01:00

I just read Antony Loyd's 'Another Bloody Letter'.

'Another Bloody Letter' is Antony's second book. The first being 'My War Gone By I Miss It So'. Both books are sequential memoirs of his life as a war correspondent in Bosnia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sierra Leone. He writes with experience from within the thick of battle to the raw devastation that seems to exist forever after in these places.

Both books also chronicle his parallel life as a heroin addict. He places himself clearly in centre of both books, and in a lesser writers hands this would be a problem. But Antony is such a skilled and open observer it is through his honest but fallible character that you breach the boundary to a unique empathy for the subjects he writes about.

In 'Another Bloody Love Letter' he drills even closer to the dark heart of his work by traveling to Sierra Leone to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of his close friend and fellow journalist Kurt Schork. In doing so he finds a little clarity on what draws some men closer and closer to the spectacle and sport of violence.

Antony writes beautifully, with great warmth and humour. He can detail in almost romantic prose the multitude of landscapes he travels through and then with great depreciating humour describe the assorted characters he meets. He draws you in and then confronts you with the bare facts. He positions himself and you the reader on the side of humanity but with the abyss of evil inches from where we tread. It is powerful stuff. This is real writing; dispatches from the hinterlands and killing fields of the modern age.

T

Go here to read more and purchase -

http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/biography/0,,2052256,00.html

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-Bloody-Love-Letter-Anthony/dp/0755314794

10 Miles

2007-08-29T12:16:00.000+01:00

I ran 10 miles on Sunday. This is the furthest I have ever run. It was easy. In fact this Sunday I am going to attempt 13 miles..

My 10 miler was through the common to Walberswick from Haw Wood in Suffolk. Early morning. I left at 0650 and ran at a 10:12/ mile pace. I could have gone faster but the terrain for at least a third was sandy track, puddles and paths. It was a great run though.

I did 5 miles yesterday morning. Again in Suffolk. This time an 'out and back' from Haw Wood. And today I may head out to Hampstead for the 4.5 mile hilly route. But we'll see. I am busy, busy, busy.

I am thinking of changing my training routine. Currently I run 5 / 6 times each week and average 4 - 5 miles on each run. I am thinking of running less often but for more miles. Any ideas ?

T

Who Knows Where The Time Goes

2007-08-28T16:57:00.000+01:00

Go here for one of the greatest songs that has ever been recorded - http://www.mediafire.com/?2fhj0dhimnx

This is 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes' by Fairport Convention.. Yep, that's Fairport Convention... Trust me this song will change your metabolism, make you smile and think about those you love. This is a perfect song. It is performed and sung with a languid, understated passion that to my ears is about as good as it gets. It is one of those rare songs where you know the musicians and songwriters accomplished what they set out to do. The place this song will take you is the exact same place this group of 1970's folkies intended you to go. This song is an aberration. An accidental time machine. In fact the song is about time and Sandy Denny is a Timelord.

The last time I was in LA my man Snoop Dog had this track on constant play on his pod (ipod). Happy memories of me and Dre and Snoop 'kicking back' with Richard Thompson's silvery guitar chiming through the Hollywood hills. Good times..

If it's good enough for Snoop. And it's good enough for me and Dre, it's going to be good enough for you too.

At the end of summer we acquiesce in to Autumn. I'm kinda desperate to get there; I need to know we made it through another season.

Amen.

T

Donuts

2007-08-24T09:43:00.001+01:00

So. Last night I went running. I was planning 5 miles in 50 minutes. However, I didn't set up my Nike+ properly and ran the first 30 mins with no record.. But I reckon I did 5 miles in appx 50 minutes. I didn't set up my Nike+ cos as I opened my front door there was a middle aged man on the street outside our gate kneeling down doing something to the next door neighbor's cat. He looked up at me and asked if the cat was mine. I told him it wasn't and gave him the evil eye. He got up and walked down the road fiddling with his phone.. I ran around the block in an event to see where he was going. I found him walking into town. He was still fiddling with his phone but seemed rather innocuous from the other side of the road so I didn't confront him, in fact I don't think he even saw me a I puffed along on the other side of the road.

It was a good run, but I had been in Brighton earlier in the day for a meeting and visited the pier with my assistant Toni. Toni and I ate 42 donuts. Big proper donuts. We sat in a shelter, the wind and rain whipping past us, the sugar from the donuts stuck to our top lips and down our fronts. It was great. So anyway, the donuts may have slowed me down a nano second.

We are away again now in our caravan till Monday or Tuesday.

Go here and read this - http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/andrew_anthony/2007/08/by_happy_coincidence_comment_i.html

T

Bat For Lashes 'I'm On Fire'

2007-08-22T12:05:00.000+01:00

Here is a fantastic cover of a Bruce Springsteen track by Bat For Lashes. I've not heard anything else by BFL; or rather I cannot remember hearing anything by BFL. This track, 'I'm On Fire' stopped me in my tracks though when I first heard it.

http://www.mediafire.com/?2i0vqny3gz4

It's great.

Is anyone reading this ?

T

Orange Lights

2007-08-21T13:53:00.000+01:00

I have been running. And here are my runs..

14/08 Tuesday 4.38 miles / 10:09 pace - a good lunchtime run to Parliment Hill with Iain. All the other runners we see in Hampstead are so po-faced and posh looking. I feel like pushing them in the boating lake. Sometimes.

15/08 Wednesday 5.22 miles / 10:07 pace - the best run in ages. Back home in Chelmsford up the private road with Morgan. An evening run. Cold gusts of light rain. The orange glow of the street lights and some leaves on the ground. Autumn is coming and I feel fine. Let's write this summer off and get on with Christmas. Fantastic. I could have run all night. I felt 100% great. Loved it.

16/08 Thursday 4.33 miles / 9:47 pace - lunchtime to Hampstead with Iain. Hard work. Hot.

19/08 Sunday 7:08 miles / 10:07 pace - early morning run in Chelmsford up Beehive etc. I wanted to do 10 miles but needed to get back to bring the wife breakfast in bed. Not a great run. Chelmsford is hardly the most pretty place but this morning with the detritus of V festival and the usual litter and rubbish stuffed and scattered everywhere it was especially grim. Sweet wrappers, soft drink cartons and crisp packet after crisp packet, like flies buzzing around my head.

20/08 Monday 4.47 miles / 9:38 pace - lunchtime on my own to Abbey Road and then to the Heath. I felt strong and good on this run.

21/08 Tuesday 4.62 / 9:37 pace - lunchtime to Brondesbury with Iain. A good run that started with my legs and knees aching and creaking and ended with us both flying down the road, sprinting back to the gates of the factory. Iain reckons he was in the zone. I was just behind him.

T

28 Weeks Later

2007-08-15T13:49:00.000+01:00

I watched '28 Weeks Later' last week. This is the Danny Boyle produced follow up to the Danny Boyle 'directed' '28 Days Later'.

I loved '28 Days Later'. In fact I would go so far as to say it is one of those rare movies that I consider or remember almost every day. The dystopian vision of a Great Britain torn apart within days by a the 'Rage' virus irked something in me; I often reflect on the empty London streets or the point where you see Manchester in flames as it is approached on the M1. The idea that our society could be as fragile as depicted. And that without the framework of law and order our morality becomes a mirage is is a bit of a theme of interest for me in recent times. It has, in a small part, influenced my thoughts on extremism which in turn has made me update my own liberal views on how to order and conduct society.

So. I am sorry to report that '28 Weeks Later' is a disappointment to me on almost every level. Where '28 days' excelled in an implied back story to push the vision of a dying Britain, '28 Weeks' very obviously dictates the full scenario; this being a Britain being 'resettled' by an American led NATO task force. The violence and terror shown in the first film, although pretty full on, was in pace with the rest of the film. The violence in '28 Weeks' is simply silly (a helicopter cutting a swathe of people down with its blades) and is there to satiate the standard horror film expectations. Robert Carlyle was kinda predictable and the two kids far too posh to be allowed on screen. It plays to as many lowest common denominators as possible; consequently it doesn't really have its own identity or the understated intelligence and ethos that marked '28 Days' out.

Many commentators, including Mark Kermode (the BBC film critic), believe '28 Weeks' to be a well made film making a great political point. Mark says "the film knowingly evokes the ongoing battles of Iraq, with the peacekeeping forces turning out to be every bit as dangerous and destructive as the insurgent infection they are struggling to contain.... To assume that the Americans are somehow complicit in and to blame for the daily slaughter of innocents in Iraq is both a dangerous simplification of the situation and an affront to the ordinary people in Iraq being murdered by these, usually foreign (and not American) psychopaths. It is also symptomatic of our lack of understanding and interest in what is really happening beyond our cosy world. To create a juvenile piece of work such as '28 Weeks' and then make a half arsed socio-political point, that plays again to the lowest common denominator - 'anti Americanism', sums up the thinking behind just another lackluster movie and also maybe our modern malaise as we slide ever so slowly into oblivion.

See here for Kermode's article - http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2073279,00.html

And this chap's review is good also -
http://paulbensblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/28-weeks-later-review.html

And another here also -
http://www.chutry.wordherders.net/wp/?p=1640

T

Silver Morning Branches

2007-08-14T14:12:00.000+01:00

Here is a great track by Voice Of The Seven Woods. I just heard it on the Sean Rowley 'Joy Of Music' radio show on BBC London and it is very great. The song is called 'Silver Morning Branches' and is from their new album. It's a dark psych folk track that to me sounds just perfect as our summer falls apart and Autumn is looming (loaming..) fast on the horizon. It seemed to get dark real quick last night.

http://www.mediafire.com/?alzpdwfahfd

I ran, with Iain, to Hampstead Heath and back at lunch time today (4.32 miles / 10:02 mile pace). It was a really good run. Nice and quiet. A good pace. Hilly. A cool breeze and some drops of rain.

The view from Parliament Hill is always great and today there was a haze like curtain just in front of the skyline that made the buildings on the horizon behind barely visible. The whole of London was rendered in shades of smudgy white and grey.

Amen

T

The Ringing In My Ears

2007-08-13T13:37:00.001+01:00

And then we came home..

Had a great holiday. Hard work. Weather was fantastic for half the time. Kids had a ball. I read some bits and pieces and watched a movie or two, listened to music and got wasted. Did some running. Ate food. Wore clothes. Slept. Argued and fought with the noisy people in the caravan next door.. etc etc.

The highlight though were my kids; the best bit was touching their cold sticky faces with the backs of my fingers as they finally stopped shouting for ice creams and 'accidentally' hurting one another, and blissfully watched Cars on the portable DVD player in the caravan after a hard day on the beach.

I am sure they perceptively change and grow in front of my eyes in a week like that. My boy seems more patient, my girl even more precious. They drove me occasionally mad; I can still hear their voices ringing in my ears. Which is good.

Anyway, a running log follows here -

11/08 - Saturday - 2.66 miles (10:30 mile pace) - ankle hurt. through the back roads in Walpole. Finished early. It was hot.

10/08 - Saturday - 5.53 miles (10:05 mile pace) - seemed longer and further. An out and back route from Walpole. Warm. A good run.

09/08 - Friday - 4.08 miles (9.46) - with Mike on the other side of the site to the 'natural healing place'and back. A great run.

08/08 - Wed - 6.32 miles (10:02) - a hard early morning run from Haw Wood Farm through the common nearly to Walberswick. The common was silent. Cold dew flicking up and hitting my shins until I hit the sandy track (see the self portrait above).

07/08 - Monday - 8.23 miles (10:11) - an early morning run to Walberswick from Haw Wood through the common past the 'great big house'. The best run of the week. I could have carried on and I think it was nothing more than habit that made me turn around and head 'home'.

06/08 - Sunday - about 3 miles with Alec. More of a run / walk. He found it quite hard.

05/08 - Saturday - the 'loop' from Haw Wood and back again. Not sure of the pace, but it was sub 10:15 and that's all that counts. Good run. Cloudy.

03/08 - Thursday - lunchtime run with Iain in London from Kilburn. About 5 miles. We were quite fast. We just headed out and then zig-zagged our way back to Maygrove. I think I prefer running in London to anywhere else.
T

Van Morrison

2007-08-03T09:50:00.000+01:00

No one sounds as great as Van Morrison does. To me he sounds, on occasion, almost divine.

I've seen him perform live once. He was playing at The Royal Albert Hall in 1987; I was only 19 and was probably the youngest person in the audience. His backing band were Georgie Fame etc. He grumbled on to stage looking like a giant hamster stuffed into suit that was too small. He was pissed off and looked like he was only going to be around for 5 minutes. But then he scuttled to center stage. He glared at his band and at us the audience and he started to sing. He sounded majestic, proud, strong and cool as fuck. He took control of Royal Albert Hall. His band like his shadow behind him; menacing his words and voice like a some kind of bodyguard but kept at bay by the subtle flick of Van's podgy little hand.

I can't remember what he sang, but I do remember him stalking the stage during instrumental parts holding his microphone up to the sky like an aerial. His face rapt and grumpy as he waited for the inspiration from 'on high'. He was truly great.

I was listening to him this morning on the ipod on the way to work and his music gives me a connection to our landscape like no other music does.

I'm now on holiday. I will listen to Van some more as we spend a week in our caravan in the Suffolk countryside. The kids like the album he did with the Chieftains, 'Irish Heartbeat'. My 5 year old daughter calls it 'cowboy music'.

Check out - http://www.mediafire.com/?6tjxnn3c2zz

This is a track of Van's from his Veedon Fleece album. Veedon Fleece is currently being repised as a 'Van album it's ok to like'. So you never know you might like it too..

I am now 'off line'.

Amen

T

Myipurts

2007-07-31T21:14:00.000+01:00

Erm. Check out my last two runs on the Nike widget to the right...

Saturday - a slow run to Hylands with Dom.

Sunday - an 8 miler with Simon, Joseph and Claire. Great run. Finished in the pub.

Today, Tuesday lunchtime - a quick 3 miles to Hampstead and back from Kilburn. With a record pace of 10.06'.. And this route is one big hill (Arckwright Hill). Great run. Hot. My hip hurts now.

But, really all I'm thinking of now is going away next week for a week in the country with my beautiful wife and kids...

As I stare out of the window of Liverpool Street train this morning I listened to 'More Specials', by the Specials. And on the way home I listened to Jill Scott's 'Golden' three times in a row.

I am longing to get away from London, Chelmsford, this bloody computer, the TV, work, emails and letters. I want my kids with me 24 hours a day for 9 days. I want to eat only barbecues and fish and chips. Get stoned with Mike and drink wine with Libby.

3 more days to go..

T

Ho hum

2007-07-28T08:38:00.000+01:00

Another week.

Some runs to list:

20th July - Thurs early morning, up the hill at home in Chelmsford - 2.38 miles / 24 mins.

21st July - Sat morning down the private road to Hylands (saw the Scouts). A great run. - 4.7 miles / 49 mins.

23rd July - Mon lunchtime to Parliament Hill in Hamspstead Heath. Great run. 4.4 miles / 44.49. Good pace too. With hills and everything..

24th July - Tues lunchtime to Hampstead Heath with Iain as part of our Great North Schedule. A hard run; hot, no water. 5.2 miles / 55 mins.

26th July - Thurs morning, early. Private Road route. Great run. I loved this one. Picked up a good speed in the last half. I was flying through the park like a bronzed god. The mist parting before me like the ocean breaking on the shore.

27th July - Friday lunchtime, in Woolpit in Suffolk; I don't like not knowing where I am going. This was one of those runs. I also don't think I'll ever forget getting stuck in 'cat shit passage' in Woolpit last week; Woolpit has now been sullied in my mind. Even thinking of it is making me itch.

Do you want a coat with Bench written on it ? I would love one. It needs to be a kinda distressed denim / military type coat with BENCH emblazoned on the back in massive letters. It would be so good.

I saw the drummer from Razorlight a week or so ago when I was running in London. He appeared to be carrying an unopened Pot Noodle (a raw Pot Noodle). Three weeks ago I saw Jeremy Paxman at Liverpool Street Station and he was eating a lemon, with the skin on an all.

On that note here is 'Johnny Cash' by Sons & Daughters. Play loud when you should be doing something else.

http://www.mediafire.com/?2z2cjoltn9m

Amen

T

America Alone

2007-07-25T12:19:00.001+01:00

I have been reading America Alone by Mark Steyn.

Steyn's premise is that Europe is going to be swallowed / subsumed into the Islamist Umma leaving America alone, as the only free and viable society in the world.

Steyn maintains this will happen because us lazy liberals are not breeding enough and that it is only the Muslims who are procreating at a sustainable rate. This coupled with a global Islamist agenda and an unsustainable economic future means we are headed for dark days.

Reading this book is rather like being cornered a lunatic clutching a bunch of statistics and making them all add up to the end of the world. And like most conspiracy theories it has a delicious streak of logic running through it. However, this book is a conspiracy or doomsday theory and nothing more.

I do not have the time nor tenacity to offer anything against Stein's set of statistics about our declining birth rate. But to assume that the UK, for example, is going to become a Islamic state is quite simply nuts. Why ? Because, at it's most basic level, there is not a global conspiracy by ALL Muslims to take over the world and if there were the 'good old boys' down at the local Yates Wine Lodge will indeed make sure the streets do run with blood before they are told to not shave again.

My real concerns with this book are not really with the main points above. What bothers me most is the constant criticism, within the book, of our basic libertarianism and society's foundations in relativism and multiculturalism. Steyn sees this is a weakness. To him we simply reign it back in; we control the media, we stifle free speech, close borders, force people to assimilate culturally.

Given the current climate, where my liberal counterparts are willing to march through London with banners stating "we are all Hezbollah now", along side asylum seekers in the UK who once they have been given refuge, freedom and opportunity by this country are then willing to commit indiscriminate mass murder within it. It pains me to say that there is a valid point to be made in highlighting our lack of resolve in the face of these fascists. It pains me equally to note that the loudest voices highlighting our inability to deal with this situation are right wing crypto-fascists, such Steyn, who declare multiculturalism as a folly and a weakness. Instead of the pinnacle of civilization it is.

The basic danger here is some are trying to fight fascism with fascism. I believe in freedom of speech and multiculturalism, Steyn and Bin Laden do not. Our enemy's enemy is not my friend.

So what to do ? Answers on postcard please, or maybe leave a note in the comments.

T

Melody Day

2007-07-22T12:50:00.000+01:00

Ok. This is a remix of the new Caribou (nee Manitoba) single by Four Tet. It is called Melody Day. I love it. I suggest listening to it whilst you gaze at the sky.

http://www.mediafire.com/?0ogeymbpzwz
This is also my first mp3 post. If you can successfully download it (or not), please leave a message in the Comments.

Amen

T

Very Great

2007-07-19T20:28:00.000+01:00

So. Yesterday Nike emailed me and offered me a free place in the Great North Run. I accepted. This is a half marathon at the end of September in Newcastle. I've never run anything like a half marathon before; indeed before February the farthest I had run in 20 years was quite literally no more than a few hundred yards, and here I am..

You know what ? All that stuff about sport being great and everything ? Well it is.

So in celebration of yesterdays news I went for a quick 30 min jog at lunchtime. I was in Woolpit in Suffolk working and took off kinda blindly following a footpath across a field. I ended up behind some prefabs in one of those 'back passages' some houses have that are totally overgrown and are covered in invisble, but smelly, cat shit. (2.75 miles in 28 minutes).

Today, back in London, at lunch I did my route to Hampstead and back, which was nice. I find myself insulting the traffic wardens in that part of London (Camden). It's one of my many public services, insulting these crooks. Today this chap called me 'wanker' back. Fair enough really. (3.25 mile in 33 minutes).

It was great in London today though. My run was easy. It is a precious time, running like that.

I have been listening to Six Organs Of Admittance. They are very great.

Namaste

Indoorsman

2007-07-17T09:57:00.000+01:00

An update, for my records. This last week I -

Finished 'Between A Rock And A Hard Place' by Aron Ralston. This is the American mountaineer and 'outdoorsman' (I love that term. I am an 'indoorsman')who whilst solo canyoneering gets his arm stuck behind a great big rock.. and has to amputate it. Quite a story, and the book is full of great bits but also loads about 'chockstones', 'grapples', and 'camelbacks', which kinda passed me by. Check out - http://www.aralston.com/

I also nearly finished 'The Islamist' by Ed Hussain, but had to take it back to the library. Really good. Goes someway towards explaining how British Muslim youth can be seduced into the fascist death cult that is modern islamism. He also tackles and identifies how moderate Muslim society in UK failed, and also continues to fail, to address this issue.

Since Friday I have done the following runs -

10k in Chelmsford with Morgan. Early morning. Great weather. Morgan going on about Apocalypto, Roy Hattersley and anti-semitism etc etc etc. Great run.

6k in London, at lunchtime with Iain. To Hampstead Heath and back. Warm and hilly. Iain did it without stopping. And he sprinted at the end..

3.5k This morning, at home in Chelmsford. Early morning. Up the hill and back on my own.

And I have been listening almost exclusively to Richmond Fontaine. Go here for free mp3's - www.richmondfontaine.com/downloads/down.php