A combination of things has put me a little out of sorts the last couple of days, so I didn’t go to parkrun this morning. Not quite up for leaving the house just now. Still, as I type there are only four hours to go until the start of meteorological autumn, my favourite time of the year. Maybe I’ll stick my nose out of the door tomorrow in the hope of finding autumn leaves and cooling temperatures.
I’ve been playing videogames all day instead. Same again tomorrow, although I do need to get up and do a bit of admin/editing work in the morning to keep myself sane.
OOTD: not a face day. Hoodie Gildan for Resistanz (2013), t-shirt M’era Luna (2017).
Today’s earworm playlist:
Gunship – Dark All Day The B-52s – Rock Lobster Arcadia – Say The Word Arcadia – The Flame
I went to Leazes parkrun this morning (it’s a new parkrun in central Newcastle – tourism post to follow), and didn’t do too badly considering that I ran twelve miles yesterday. Definitely need to rest the legs for a few days now though! Fifteen days left till the GNR – getting close…
Have spent the rest of the day chilling out, like a proper Saturday!
Not an OOTD: I look a bit worse for wear after two days of running so I think I’ll just show off my new running watch instead.
Today’s earworm playlist:
Gunship – The Mountain Arcadia – The Flame FM-84 and Ollie Wride – Running In The Night
When Geth and I were in Shetland the other week, we made sure to get ourselves across from the mainland to the island of Bressay for the UK’s most northerly parkrun. I’d been wanting to do Bressay since it was first announced that they were starting one in Shetland over a year ago – between my family connections and the special geographical status, it was an absolute must.
Coming up to the finish line! Picture from the Bressay parkrun Facebook page.
There aren’t actually any parks on Bressay – like most of Shetland, it’s just fields intercrossed by country roads – so the parkrun route takes place along the roads, and you just dodge the cars if any show up. The course is well marshalled and signposted, and while there are a lot of farm animals looking at you curiously, I was thankful that none of them strayed onto the road as typically happens on the Town Moor during Newcastle parkrun!
It’s not a flat course, but it’s out-and-back and most of the ‘uphill’ happens on the ‘out’, which is definitely the best way round.
I’m not sure when I’ll be back in Shetland, but I’d definitely do this one again!
I have been really late with catching up with all my blogging since I got back from holiday. I’m very busy with the day job at the moment and haven’t had much time. However, I finally have a chance now to post all about my travels – better late than never!
Geth and I drove up to Mum and Dad’s in Edinburgh on the Sunday to meet up with the family – my brother and sister-in-law Malcolm and Steff had arrived from Canada on the Saturday – before we all travelled north. On the Monday, it was another long drive up to Aberdeen, with a brief lunch stop in Arbroath for some chippy goodness – separate post to follow at some point!
It was a bit of a wait to get onto the ferry but I was pleased to find that the small cars were loaded first – this meant that once my wee Skoda was in place on the car deck, Geth and I were able to grab a good space for the family in the lounge bar for the evening.
It was a fairly pleasant ferry journey north to Shetland, although first-time sailor Steff found it a bit nausea-inducing. In the morning, as soon as I’d driven to the B&B, I found a space to get on with some work – August has been busy from the off this year!
That afternoon, Geth and I found a nice café called the Dowry for lunch – it was so good that we ended up eating there five days in a row! – and then went for a walk around Lerwick to plot out where we were going to do our long runs the next day. I hadn’t slept well on the ferry so I got a fairly early night before the run.
It was nice running around Lerwick – a good way to see the town again after twelve years, especially as we had to do three laps to make the scheduled 14k we were both running that week! It was back to the Dowry for breakfast, as I’d been eyeing up the waffles the day before, and decided I’d earned them after my run.
Probably completely undid any calorie deficit I’d accomplished with the run. Delicious though!
I had a fairly quiet Wednesday afternoon – I had a bit of work to do again – before meeting up with the family for a meal at an Indian restaurant where we’d eaten when we were last in Shetland twelve years ago.
On the Thursday, Geth and I drove down to Sumburgh so that we could visit the excavation at Old Scatness. It wasn’t really open when we were last in Shetland as it had only recently been excavated, but they’ve got a nice wee visitor centre nowadays. Geth loved the site and could probably have stayed there for another hour!
A bit windswept at the Old Scatness site!
Back in Lerwick, we had an afternoon snack at the Dowry, and a chippy with the family again for tea. (On reflection I’m amazed that I only put on half a pound during the holiday! I did do a fair bit of running though…)
Geth and I met up with Malcolm and Steff for breakfast (at the Dowry again, you’ll be amazed to learn) on the Friday morning, and then went to the Shetland Museum. The museum hasn’t really changed since we visited in 2007, but it’s always worth a poke around.
This is the deck plan that hung on the wall of the passenger deck of the St Clair IV, the P&O ferry on which we always travelled to Shetland in the ’80s and ’90s when I was a kid. I must have looked at that deck plan on the actual ship a hundred times back in the day, and the fact that it’s now in a museum makes me feel a bit old.
In the evening, we met up with relatives Joyce and Douglas at the Waterfront restaurant. There was a lot of fish eaten by everyone else, but I was pleased to find that the veggie option was my old favourite, pasta and pesto. Cheesecake too, which is always welcome (see forthcoming cheesecake roundup post).
On the Saturday morning, Geth and I packed all of our remaining stuff into the car and then went on foot on the Bressay ferry to get to the start line of Bressay parkrun. After parkrun, we visited Joyce and Douglas for lunch and a brief tour of Bressay in the mist, before heading back to Lerwick so that I could get some work admin sorted out courtesy of the Dowry’s wifi.
Later that afternoon, we all drove back to the ferry terminal, and Geth and I and the Skoda got onboard nice and promptly again! It was a slightly bumpier ride than going up, and again I found it difficult to sleep on the boat, but we arrived nice and early in Aberdeen and the Sunday morning traffic was so quiet that we were back in Edinburgh by ten o’clock.
We had a couple more days in Edinburgh – I had to spend all of Sunday and Monday working, but Geth and I were able to meet up with our friend Kieran on the Monday night, and then we went to the City Cafe with Malcolm and Steff to have breakfast with my cousin Freya and her boyfriend Ryan on the Tuesday morning, before Geth and I headed back to Newcastle in the afternoon.
Hopefully it won’t be another twelve years before I make it back to Shetland again!
A fairly productive Saturday – after managing my fastest parkrun in 2019 this morning, I spent the afternoon getting on with some writing. This evening, Geth put The Karate Kid on as part of the ongoing ’80s-films-I-haven’t-seen marathon!
Unusually for a Sunday, I’ll be out running again tomorrow morning, as I won’t have time during the week for my long run.
Katy Perry – Never Really Over Ronan Keating – When You Say Nothing At All Trevor Something – All Night Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello – Señorita Sebastian Gampl and Tommy Reeve – Under Control
I have had a really good day of not doing much at all – just reading and listening to music. It’s been a rainy day, so I’ve had zero inclination to leave the house. Will venture out briefly tomorrow morning for parkrun!
OOTD: not going out in that rain! Glasses Emporio Armani (2017), t-shirt eBay/Fruit of the Loom (2018), jeans Zara (2018).
Today’s earworm playlist:
Timecop1983 and The Bad Dreamers – Back To You The Carpenters – Yesterday Once More Duran Duran – White Lines Nik Kershaw – I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me Japan – I Second That Emotion Kygo and Whitney Houston – Higher Love
Just a quick update tonight as internet is sketchy! Today I’ve run a new parkrun (review post coming in a few days’ time), eaten a lot of cake, and done a lot of editing work for clients. Looking forward to everything settling down again mid-week.
OOTD: phone box hunting again! Glasses Emporio Armani (2017), hoodie Gildan for Resistanz (2016), bag CXL by Christian Lacroix (2018), t-shirt Amplified (2018), jeans Levi (2018), trainers Reebok (2013).
Today’s earworm playlist:
Air Supply – All Out Of Love Michael Ball – Love Changes Everything Ellie Goulding – Burn Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill Duran Duran – Save A Prayer The Midnight and Nikki Flores – Jason Mya, Pink, Lil’ Kim, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliot – Lady Marmalade Spandau Ballet – Musclebound
After going for brunch with my brother and sister-in-law Malcolm and Steff this morning, Geth and I headed to a museum for a wander round. I’ll do a full post on that next week – I’m still a bit too busy for more than a quick update each night at the moment!
We had a nice family meal out as well, and I’m now planning to get a fairly early night before parkrun tomorrow.
OOTD: almost monochrome. Glasses Emporio Armani (2017), hoodie Gildan for Resistanz (2016), jacket unknown brand (estimated vintage 1990s, bought at vintage shop 2003), bag CXL by Christian Lacroix (2018), t-shirt Punk Masters (2018), jeans Levi (2018), trainers Reebok (2013).
Today’s earworm playlist:
Duran Duran – Do You Believe In Shame? The Style Council – Walls Come Tumbling Down Visage – Fade To Grey Duran Duran – Watching The Detectives Jennifer Lopez – If You Had My Love The Midnight and Nikki Flores – Jason Travis – Driftwood Sebastian Gampl and Tommy Reeve – Under Control
Yesterday did not end as well as it began. The UK railway chaos caused by the heat meant that Geth and I were unable to get from Newcastle to Durham for our race, so I had to DNS a race I’d entered for the first time since 2016 (when I couldn’t take up my place at the EMF 10k due to my brother getting married in Toronto the same weekend). Really annoyed about the whole thing! Next time I have to go anywhere during a heatwave I’ll be taking the car – the trains are just too unreliable.
I then had a bad night’s sleep due to the heat, so I’ve not really felt on top form today and haven’t got as much writing done as I would have liked. It’s been a long, muggy day – there was a heavy rain storm earlier this evening that’s made the air a little cooler, but it still feels pretty uncomfortable.
I may or may not be at parkrun tomorrow depending on the weather, but I will be in town either way as I’ve got a hospital appointment that I only found out about today.
OOTD: this outfit was highly appropriate when I put it on this morning, before the rain made it all grey and overcast! Sunglasses Ray-Ban (2019), dress Paradise (2013), shoes BHS (2016).
Today’s earworm playlist:
Martin Garrix, Macklemore and Patrick Stump – Summer Days Daniel Bedingfield – If You’re Not The One Arcadia – Say The Word Cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show – Time Warp Kylie Minogue – I Should Be So Lucky Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody George Ezra – Paradise
And a bonus track that Geth was humming earlier:
Haim Saban and Shuki Levy – The Mysterious Cities Of Gold Main Theme
I was up early for parkrun this morning – I’d not been to Newcastle parkrun in ages. I was a lot happier with my time than I was at Pendle last week, as I’m pretty much back to where I was this time last year.
I’ve spent the afternoon de-hoarding – picking out books, DVDs and CDs to sell online (business has been a bit sluggish the last couple of months and I could do with the extra cash). It’s been a bit anxiety-inducing but I think I will feel a lot better once the stuff has left the house.
