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?