Purple Rabbits!

Thought it's time I got this blog moving again with a curiosity. We are currently staying in Northamptonshire and found a pub last night called the Lilacs. We expected a trendy wine bar but no....it was a real village local. The name Lilacs has nothing to do with flowers but is the name of a local breed of rabbit which is evenly coloured lilac all over. These were bred over 100 years ago by a lady called Mabel Illingworth who also developed the Blue Imperial rabbit. Heaven's above, I wonder what they taste like! By the way the pub was OK - the Taylor's Landlord was not quite up to Keighley standard but the pub landlord was fully kilted up for a Burn's Night supper.


Been keeping up the running with a series of parkruns here there and everywhere. We were aiming for a parkrun in Huddersfield to join Vicky's sister on her parkrun debut (New Year's resolutions and all that!) but got well slowed down on the M62 and pulled off into Oldham to make the local parkrun reaching the start line with seconds to spare. Also managed parkruns in Warrington, Conwy and Bedford. In an attempt to get out of the parkrun rut, I located a Wednesday lunchtime cross country in Northampton (in January!!) I took my green Denbigh running vest along and duly entered at the specified location (Northamptonshire Police HQ) and found myself on the start line surrounded by over 100 runners with Northants Police, RAF, HM Prison Service and Fire Service running vests. This was a services/forces cross country league fixture, and I told them I'd run at Wormwood Scrubs a few weeks ago. I was quite happy to go up and collect a trophy at the end of the race; this was for second place however - the only other runner I knew there was former international Mike Hager, he won the British V60 5K last year in a time of 16.43 so no shame in coming second to him! He came 7th in 42.44, I was 53rd in 51.24.

Parakeets On the Run

Welcome home!

 Well we've been back over a week now and thing's haven't changed - it's chilly, windy, wet and muddy, and that was just on the first Saturday morning at the back of Wormwoods Scrubs! No we're not being accommodated at Her Majesty's pleasure, it's just that the Wormwood Scrubs Parkrun was just a few stops down on the central line from Lancaster Gate tube station where we staying in an interesting hotel (say no more!) Back of the Scrubs is the home of Thames Valley Harriers one of the oldest running clubs in the UK. These chaps were very welcoming and we had hot mugs of tea after the race in their clubhouse just by the Linford Christie Stadium. Very nice facilities but the Parkrun course also doubles as a notorius cross country course and we were sent round woefully unprepared for the greasy surface - the crafty winner wore spikes! I didn't have spikes but managed to slither and slide to second place overall (23.12). You might have guessed that there weren't many there the day after Boxing Day, otherwise I'd have got nowhere near the front. Vicky and Lyndall were 18th and 19th (38.51 and 38.52) and finished covered in mud! Gunnersbury Parkrun just a couple of miles away attracted nearly 150 runners who were clearly afraid of getting their legs dirty.

I was only saying the other day....

 As you will know I've found pictures of the various ornithological specialties that we've seen around Australia and the US in the past few months. This is a Rose Ringed Parakeet and, incredibly, as we were trying unsuccessfully to warm up before the parkrun I heard a familiar cry which seemed very out of place. The cry of the parakeet is fairly raucous to say the least and I was suddenly reminded of Australia (without the heat!). There were thousands of the blighters roosting in the trees at the edge of Wormwood Scrubs making a real racket. I remember seeing a colony of these in Stockport in the 1980's - apparently they've since died out (possibly ending up on a menu in some local ethnic restaurant!)

The saga continued with a Parkrun on New Year's Day at Victoria Park in Warrington - me in 20th with a time of 21.25 but 172 runners at this one. We then planned another two days later at Huddersfield but were dreadfully slow in traffic round Manchester, so I had a brainwave and diverted with minutes to spare to the Oldham Parkrun which was at Alexandra Park - a real old fashioned council park with well tended flower beds and a bandstand (and some nice gentle slopes as well, can't expect Oldham to be flat can you!) so I got round in 17th with 21.23 and Vicky's time was much improved - 149th our of 175 in 34.24.
(And well done to Vicky's sister Caz, who we were hoping to meet in Huddersfield - she did her first Parkrun - first of many I bet!)

And just in time for January we've found a regular outlet for the idiosyncratic Heavy Industry Brewery ales in Prestatyn. This is a small village brewery run by a rather eccentric chap called Tom who seems to just brew what the hell he wants to. His brewery is located in an old abbatoir in Henllan, Denbighshire and this brave man comes up with recipes such as Pigeon Toed Orange Peel beer. We had the Diawl Bach and the Nos Smoked Porter at Bar 136 at the top of town on New Year's eve! (But then it might have been Bar 137 - still we'll be able to remember where we found it....won't we!)