Boy Blog, that was a week that was.
Tuesday …………. The spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics is dead and well and truly buried by those taking advantage of the pleasant tow path of the Coventry Canal. The run from Hawkesbury Junction to the Coventry Canal Basin is peopled by the most miserable bunch of walkers / cyclists it would be hard to find elsewhere. Just imagine. A legacy. Blog you must be joking. A greeting or two?? An occasional grunt might not missed?? A cough and a spit?? At least the kingfisher seemed happy enough.
Wednesday …… up past the barns and the swifts have finally left for their holidays. They hadn’t packed their bags on Monday, so it must have been a late booking on the flight down South.
Thursday …… trudging past the old factory reminded me of the time I used to run past the picket line on my way to work. Always a friendly greeting (see Tuesday). And so to the =>
Photograph Quiz: How much would this jogging machine fetch on e-bay?
Is it the oldest jogging machine in the world? Is it the only one left in existence? Was it the first ever jogging machine? Where was the factory where it was made? What happened to the factory and the company? Was it a Triumph of Trade Union support for a workers’ cooperative? Which Member of Parliament was involved and what happened to him?
Photos nos. 108, 109, 110, 110 etc., etc., etc.
Set for an uphill session!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Set for a tempo run – don’t let go of the bars!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Set up (down?) for a downhill session!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For the clever athlete, the uphill setting could be used with the athlete running in the opposite direction. Did you spot that Blog?
And then we had Friday ……………Whether Oscar (Wilde not Pistorius) might have noted that the late notice of the cancellation of the Midland Counties Road Relays was more misfortune than carelessness, might be considered by Mr Gove as an appropriate question on the new English Baccalaureate; but for the youngsters who missed out, a quote from one of William’s (Shakespeare not Prince) tragedies might be more apt? Little time was given for clubs to approach other Area Championship organisers for permission to guest in their respective relays; unforgiveable when the Birmingham Council were advising parents not to take their children to the Sutton Park the previous week. Similarly, notice was issued that the car parking was closed. So why the delay? Any attempt to relocate?? An approach to affiliated clubs for help / advice / comment on new venues / rearranged dates?? Let us hope that more decisive decision making takes place more than three days before the National Relays!! I believe that Notts A.C. approached the Northern Relays to guest, and a couple of others took action to guest in the Southern’s. All power to the elbows of secretaries who were proactive on behalf of their seniors in seeking replacement competition but the task for provision for the youngsters was much harder. Ironically, it might be said that it was the youngsters who will have missed out the most, many relying on clubs for their source of competition when serious school athletic provision is far from a standard component of the curriculum. Not too many competitions around for them at this time of year.
And what is going to happen regarding the invitation to clubs from the Midlands to compete in the National event if / when /where it is held. Will second teams be invited when clearly some clubs are strong enough as evidenced by the last few years’ events? Will newish / emerging clubs miss the cut? Will the old clubs which are experiencing a resurgence in new young talent, suffer? Interesting or what Blog? It will also be enlightening to compare the Park Run numbers this week in the Midland area to the last two or three weeks to see if there was a significant increase in participating numbers, the club athletes using their heads to seek replacement competition.
Saturday ……. Looked up the results the Relays of the past 25 years so that the withdrawal symptoms could be kept under control. Glad to report that the shakes had stopped by midday, buy the nosebleeds continue.
Colin
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