Trio Siabod – Hoole Community Centre – May 2022

Our fledgling Trio had been rehearsing boldly for a year now, though early days had been hampered by Covid, and the difficulty of playing with our guitarist, who lives 70 miles away: the lag on Zoom is problematic when trying to synchronise rhythms. Eventually, though, we felt ready to play to the outside world, away […]

Lockgate Cafe, Beeston

The joys of finding good GF food whilst out cycling continue and the refurbished Lockgate Cafe did not disappoint. Good options for savoury and dessert. And good coffee!

A New Adventure – Gluten-Free!

18th March 2022. When certain digestive aspects of my body started sending messages that all was not as it should be, I commenced a series of tests with my GP and local hospital to find out what was wrong. After 4 months the surprising result was that I had Coeliac Disease – confirmed after biopsies. […]

To my IT colleagues …

The light at the end of the COVID tunnel appears to getting brighter; there is hope in the air, and a set of dates towards which we can look with eager anticipation.Right now is a time for Gratitude.There is so much to be grateful for: our own health and that of our loved ones; the […]

A Magic World

Last night, Helen was playing with her saxophone friends online, via Jamulus, when an unknown/unannounced drummer joined in, and played with them for a few numbers. (you can do this on Jamulus).At the same time, in my ‘den’, I was playing with the Improvisers Ensemble, along with musicians from all over Europe. One player announced […]

Wild Camp at Easdale Tarn

September 12th 2020 Sometimes things don’t go the way you intended. We had this weekend down for a wild camp in the Lakes, and planned a route from Grasmere to Coledale Tarn. Our Vango Banshee 300 was still relatively new to us, and Helen had a couple of new items of gear to test out, […]

Chester Ultra 100, 2020

One of the memorable innovations of the Lockdown period has been the Virtual Event: a chance to accumulate the miles that one would have done on an event, but in their own backyard, so to speak (and in some cases, actually!). And, the chance to acquire some unique bling! May, June, July is peak season […]

West Pennine Moors, May 31st 2020

As the restrictions around Coronavirus continued to be eased, it became possible to go further afield to start a run, and to aim for hiller and wilder ground. Given the amazing weather, a  search for areas that would not be too popular was always going to be difficult. I chose the West Pennine Moors since […]

Run – Chirk-Llandegla Forest-Wrexham

Four weeks after the Spine Race and time to test my knee out over more ambitious terrain. So far it has been two weeks of rest, two weeks of occasional cycling and a 10-mile trot around the Staines’ reservoirs last Sunday. Today’s route was one my all-time favourites – train to Chirk, along the canal […]

M2L – Manchester to Liverpool Ultra

Friends and colleagues will know that I prefer Moor and Mountain running to that of Road. This course was flat and tarmac/gravel all the way, adhering to the Trans-Pennine Trail route all the way – the only ascent coming at bridges. The pace was fast from the start – I dropped into a pack that felt […]