Another Place (and another PB!)

Can he see anything out there?

Well here we are - just before Christmas on a cold foggy chilly beach looking out onto the Irish Sea. There are one hundred identical metal statues standing on Crosby beach south of Southport just like this one. These are Anthony Gormley's 'Iron Men' all facing westwards into the sunset, except this is a misty Saturday morning at 10 am and they can't see very far. What brought us up here wasn't just the statues but the fact that it's the venue for the Crosby Parkrun. After our beach run (well some of it was on the beach) we decided to pose for some pics. And a very friendly Parkrun it was too - we repaired to the Crosby Leisure Centre after the event for an inexpensive ham and cheese toastie and were offered cakes galore by the cheerful Parkrun organising team. As we sat drinking our cups of tea the laptop was whirring around on the next table as the results were inputted - TRING!! here's our results on my phone. Wow a PB for Vicky - first Parkrun under 30 mins - her 75th Parkrun and she's come in in 29:39 despite going down a rabbit hole on the grassy run in!

Strong man!

So....back to the statues, Anthony Gormley is a bit more famous for his Angel of the North, familiar to those stuck in motorway traffic near Gateshead in the north east of England.  As I've already mentioned there are 100 'Iron Men' placed out on the beach here at regular intervals - you can see, if you blow up this photo,  the the next Iron Man in the mist just above my right hand. That's the hand that's pushing this man down into the quicksand. Only kidding! I thought that this chappie had been buried by shifting sands but it seems that when the statues were installed they were positioned at different heights. We will have to go back to watch the tide come in - or even watch the tide go out and see the figures emerging from the waves. (I should point out that Crosby Parkrun is rerouted when the tide's in for obvious reasons.) By the way 'Another Place' refers to the name of the exhibit, i.e. the hundred iron men; when Gormley's sculpture was installed at Crosby there were complaints about the offensive nature of the statues (i.e. naked men, gosh!) As we ran past some of them were clothed in hi viz marshal's vests and Santa hats, but these were all removed by the time we returned for our Baywatch style photoshoot! The picture beneath is rather atmospheric don't you think? However I can't take credit for this one - must have been taken by a real photographer.

I can see North Wales I think!

Hyde Park

Easy does it!

A chilly parkrun this weekend - Vicky decided not to risk it and watched from a safe distance. A slow one for me at 23:40 but then I did take it steady. This was a most enjoyable little gallop with around half the course on a trail through a leafy dell - having said that, at this time of year most of the leaves are underfoot. I'm not a fan of multi lap courses (especially like the recent Bangor XC where I set off on a fourth lap to be shouted back) but here I managed to keep count of the three laps - this was Hyde Park, not in London but in Hyde on the eastern side of Manchester. We should have started by the bandstand but it was too icy there. I'll give it another go sometime (in the summer - maybe there'll be a band on the bandstand!)

Saw most of this park!

Here's the Strava plot - good use of the paths in a small park I thought! Just 60 runners on Saturday but their record attendance is over 300 - that would, I imagine, be a little bit congested.

This is a Strava map recorded by a friend of ours in Australia - was she trying to chase a dog? What other possible explanation could there be? Had a kangaroo picked up her watch? Well I had to know so I messaged her and found out that she was picking up sticks before mowing the lawn (big lawn!) Only when that was done did she go on her proper run.

Missed a stick!

Science and shoes for fell runners.

Buck your ideas up!

Hooray - I wasn't sure if a gif file would work on my blog - but here it is - there'll be a lot more of these appearing from now on you bet! This particular gif represents a Geodesic dome which is essence is a very strong design typically used by architects in glass buildings such as large greenhouses. These designs were popularised by R Buckminster Fuller, an American architect and author. One of the few things I recall clearly from when I was a lad at university studying chemistry, was the concept of carbon molecules shaped like geodesic domes - they didn't exist but it was suggested that if they did they would be very strong molecules. They were called 'Buckyballs' in honour of R Buckminster Fuller this spawned plenty of research about other related theoretical molecules which were all called 'Fullerenes', tiny little very strong tubes have now been made which are called 'Nanotubes" and layers of similar but flat networks of carbon are called 'Graphene.'

Sticks like glue

Now why I'm telling you all this is that Graphene was actually made for the first time at Manchester University by a couple of Russians who won the Nobel prize for this in 2010. And Graphene is now being used in a shoe by the Inov8 company. As all experienced mountain runners know the key to moving fast is grip. And a shoe that has a really grippy sole is brilliant - imagine galloping over the very slaty hills at Blaenau Ffestiniog on a wet day. Trouble is that grippy soles made from sticky rubber wear down very quickly so a compromise has to be made between grippyness and durability. But no more - Inov8 think they have the answer. Well let's see, I don't think there on sale yet so I haven't tried them - maybe Inov8 would like me to be a guinea pig - well I am one of the heaviest fell runners around and I do take a rather large shoe size.

Here's another of Inov8's latest models - the X-Talon 210. It's a nice bright colour but unfortunately for me it's only available in 'precision fit'. The very popular original X-Talons were standard fit which didn't pinch your toes. I'm still regrowing a big toe nail from wearing a new pair of Inov8 precision fit Mudclaw shoes which I bought in June. And I won't post a picture of that!

Who was Lady Bagot?

I'm not Lady Bagot!

Just a few miles south of Denbigh at the village of Rhewl you can find Lady Bagot's Drive which was a carriage road running beside the Afon Clwedog. We'd been running up there as well some years ago on a summer evening social with Denbigh Harriers and Prestatyn Running Club. Followed by a pint at the Drovers Arms (more about the Drovers another time!) This week we took a very nice but chilly winter walk along the drive - which led me to investigate who Lady Bagot was. Or who was the Lady Bagot of the time when it was built?

Well I think it might be this young 'Dollar Princess" Lilian May. William Bagot, the fourth of his line, was apparently the despair of his parents, he didn't show the least interest in any of the eligible young ladies to whom they introduced him. Finally at the age of 47 he met with a young American lady whilst on holiday on the French Riviera. He brought her back to England and married her in 1903 - a ceremony that was attended by King Edward. The family home was in Staffordshire but it seems that Pool Park Hall at Bontuchel was a holiday home of theirs. Lady Bagot's Drive was built not long after they got married in the style of carriage roads that are to be found in country parks in the US. We saw a network of similar carriage roads at Bar Harbor in Maine, USA, where John D Rockefeller created the beautiful Arcadia National Park in the early part of the 20th century. So it seems that Lord and Lady Bagot would drive their carriage along this beautiful driveway by the side of the fast flowing river. Lady Bagot produced one daughter Barbara, goodness knows what happened to her. And they promptly got divorced. Maybe she didn't like the locals in the Drovers Arms. Lord Bagot died in 1932 but he may have been on a downward spiral as he'd lost Pool Park Hall in a bet at the races! A local timber merchant bought the surrounding land but the house ended up being leased by Sir Henry Tate of the Tate and Lyle sugar dynasty. Ultimately the house became an offshoot of the Denbigh Asylum and, despite being a Grade II listed building, it is now derelict. Bagot's cousin inherited the mansion in Staffordshire but sold it to The South Staffordshire Waterworks Company in 1945 - another member of the family bought it back and restored it and it's now the venue for the annual Abbots Bromley Horn Dance.

Where do you Goat Two my lovely?

This has nothing to do with goats apart from the fact that the Bagot coat of arms features the Bagot Goat, a primitive breed of goat that has been kept by the Bagot family since the 14th century. Their largest current flock of Bagot Goats is at Levens Hall, another of their estates, up in the Lake District.

Me walking up Lady Bagot's Drive.

Denbigh - Rare and Famous!

Good camouflage eh!

Bit cold at the moment so not much going on, but then it is winter - just about to make sure our bird feeder is topped up when I managed a rare sighting of a Red-headed Giant Bluebird having a nibble! Alas most running events are being cancelled due to the icy conditions but our club handicap went ahead yesterday. Yes it was time for the annual Johnson's Monument Handicap race, which consists of a gallop along the banks of the Afon Ystrad, past Dr Johnson's Cottage as far as the Johnson's Monument and then up through the fields by Gwaeynynog Hall.

Johnny's Monny.

So here's a bit of local history for you - Dr Samuel Johnson was a famous character who lived in the 18th century. Lots of people nowadays have heard of him but very few people knew what he was famous for - and this the problem! According to that font of all knowledge, Wikipedia, he made lasting contributions to English Literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. That last wonderful word means that he wrote a dictionary which was the forerunner of the Oxford English Dictionary. And it came to pass that he came to Wales. This monument was erected in 1775 and is so out of the way that a) it's survived and b) the Denbigh Harriers annual Johnson's Monument race doesn't quite go past it. What's even more out of the way is Johnson's Cottage where he lived for a while composing his famous poems or dictionaries or whatever. The cottage is a ruin and is almost completely obscured by undergrowth. If this was the USA there'd be coach loads of tourists coming to see it - what a missed opportunity for Denbigh! 

Then.............

On the other side of Denbigh is Bodfari, home of the Dinorbin Arms. Samuel Johnson probably stayed here as well (or at least dined here.) A fine old pub that was reputed to be haunted by several ghosts (and falling down more recently). It's now been renovated and, although more of a dining venue, it still retains a pubbish feel.

.....and now!

Thus after a chilly evening run in the snow we repaired to the Dinorbin for a fine pint. The snug was warmed by a roaring fire and was cosy - probably very similar to how it was in Sam Johnson's day. The tobacco advert on the snug wall was a bit more recent though - this is my photo of this old 'Welsh favourite' - but surely they're not allowed to advertise tobacco in pubs nowadays?

We did ask at the bar!

Anyone here seen Derry?

Now it's time to make my move!

Oh no not another running photo I hear you say! Ah but this one was special - me running for Wales. In an International Race! Selected for Wales see, in the over 65 team (you can see that from my number - first two letters represent a runner's age) we travelled over to Derry in Northern Ireland. Felt a bit weary as we'd only flown back from Tenerife the day before. And there was me running with the grown ups (i.e. runners which included ex-Olympians.) It was a fairly muddy course on the outskirts of Derry and I could have done with shoes with a bit more grip - however Jet2.com only allow small bags on board so I only brought one pair of shoes. Started out fairly steady and worked my way through the field to find I was finishing in a good position - first Welsh counter in my age group - I quite like this lark, the event's being held in Swansea next year so I must keep up the fitness.

Not 'Double Diamond'!

Derry is quite an attractive place and is the only city in Ireland that has managed to retain its walls intact. There's also a lovely riverside walk enhanced by The Peace Bridge which is a pedestrian crossing of the wide River Foyle -  Vicky crossed it twice during her Parkrun on the morning of the cross country (well she had to get her miles in didn't she! I'm afraid what would have been super photos all turned out to be blurry.) The night we were there we walked up to the top of town to a square called The Diamond - makes sense doesn't it? Last time we were here it all felt a bit dodgy - e.g. plenty of graffiti, much of it political. But things are looking up and we felt quite safe this time around.  We were looking for the Diamond pub, one of two Wetherspoons pubs in Derry that we'd encountered on our last visit. Nowhere else sells real ale on this side of Northern Ireland but Wetherspoons is usually a safe bet! But horror of horrors - it was closed and boarded up! We walked down to the other one, the Ice Wharf - oh good it's still open - but no hand pumps, no decent beer - it too had been jettisoned by Wetherspoons. We discovered that both pubs have been sold to Granny Annies, a chain of theme pubs presumably catering for the under 30's with money to burn. Shame!

I couldn't resist it - here's part of the Granny Annie menu - is this their Chinese selection? And 'complimentary' - does this mean they are with the compliments of the house or are they accompanying or complementing the dishes in question - maybe it's a subtle double meaning that will be lost on most of the customers?