Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Glittering In Glasgow
by Russell Turner - 16:56 on 03 February 2018
The Pride took our overnight disappearance to Glasgow hard. We returned today to an empty living room and it took two calls for the first sulky cat (Pandora) to shuffle downstairs, even though their midday snack was overdue. Willow followed shortly after. Maia didn’t move until biscuits were rattled. Examination of the bed suggested that all three had been sharing it – a very rare occurrence.
It’s not like we’d left them to fend for themselves while we enjoyed ourselves at Strictly Live. Shirley the local cat-sitter had looked in to feed them supper and breakfast and give them as much petting as they’d allow, but we were treated like delinquent parents. Until they’d been fed, anyway, then they all cheered up.
They’ll have to get used to it. We’ve got two more overnighters in February.
Strictly, as expected, was a glittering riot of colour, spectacle and over-alcoholled women of a certain age (the ones behind us were, anyway) with the bonus that our seats were close enough that we could watch the dancers rather than the video screen.
Susan and Kevin – it remains to be seen if Matchgirl's phone snaps are worth keeping.
Susan Calman, back in her home town, beat off strong competition from fellow Scot Joe McFadden to lift that night’s glitterball trophy with partner Kevin. The place would have been torn down if she hadn’t. Both played the Scottish card for all it was worth – Susan with a Saltire in place of her Wonder Woman cloak, Joe by leading a community singalong with the first verse of Flower of Scotland. Great fun.
Joe and Katya – seeing them live confirmed that they deserved to win the TV show.
Our train tickets had been booked weeks ago: second class on the way down, cheaper first class on the way back. There’s no logic to train fares. After the cramped conditions on the way to Glasgow, the leg room, more-comfortable seats and quiet of first class was the perfect conclusion to our mini-break. Apart from the oik with the leaky headphones and lots of phone friends. They’ll let anyone into first class nowadays.
Earlier yesterday I completed the latest marathon training run, which was my first mixed tempo session: a 10-minute trot to warm up, 1min gallop and 2mins walk x 8, and a 10-minute trot to wind down, known in the athletic world as intervals. I’d not been looking forward to this because the gallop should be fast – way faster than the pace I expect to run the marathon and faster than the pace at which I’d completed my record-breaking sub 30-minute 5k. However, all went well. Less good is that the intervals get longer each week.
Monday’s long run could see me cover nine miles. Week 7 begins on Wednesday. Only 77 days to go.
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