Beach trip with better weather than expected

After the beautifully sunny and calm trip to Cwm Idwal, the trip to Red Wharf Bay could almost only be a bit of an anticlimax. And the weather forecast was rain and wind. One of my colleagues even emailed me the day before to check if it would even take place. But I thought it would be OK. 

On the day, it was actually sunny when I arrived on main campus to wait for the coach. That was a bonus! And it was still sunny when we arrived on location. It was rather windy, and the wind was quite cold, but it was quite doable. 

I had a rather responsive group, but I was a bit worried to notice they hadn't remembered an awful lot of the material. They would have to do a lot of revision before the exam in May! But maybe that's normal.

We talk to them about all the evidence of the tectonic and sedimentary processes from the Silurian to the Carboniferous you can spot there, and then some from the last Ice Age. And then we were basically done. A little bit early! The weather had held the entire time. And the coaches hadn't gone anywhere, so we could just go back to campus a bit earlier than timetabled. I had been a bit worried about this trip, but in the end was lovely!

Lovely rock

Heading back

Trying to get to Borders League

I was looking forward to this Borders League race! It was going to be quite far away, on the north shore of the Wirral, but we were going to drive up with three of us, as we had done before. And I would drive. So the day before, I did a bit of a car check. I had already checked the tires the day before, but now I did oil and coolant. The coolant was a bit low. I still had some, so I topped it up.

On Sunday I happily set off to where I would meet the others. And at some point, the temperature warning light of the engine came on. Oh dear! But I had just filled up the coolant? But it went off seconds later. Maybe a fluke? Maybe, I don't know, an air bubble in the system or something? Because of the top-up?

A bit later it came on again. Just after a roundabout. There was no layby. And really shortly after that the whole engine cut out. Oh dear! I was glad there was a slipway to some maintenance yard or something. I cruised to it and stopped. And I was safe there.

The first thing I did was phone Helen, to tell her I had broken down, and couldn't pick her (and Anna) up. She did offer to come and get me, but I wasn't on a layby; she wouldn't be legally able to get to me, and I couldn't legally leave the car there. I had to sort this out first. I wished her all the best for the race. She would have to drive herself and Anna! 

I then contacted the AA. They would send someone soon. And then I phoned Neil to tell him this had happened. But the AA was there so quickly I had to hang up on him.

The AA man said that in all likelihood, me topping up the coolant had probably actually been the problem. He said that it was a known issue with old Corsas that you had to tighten the cap of the coolant reservoir well beyond reason; if you didn’t, it wouldn’t seal, and when your engine would get warm and the pressure would rise, all the coolant would come out, your engine would overheat, and it would cut out. That was probably what happened to me.

He brought a huge jerrycan with coolant, and filled up the reservoir. Then he checked the engine. It was fine! Then he topped it up a bit more, and said I was good to go. He said he would follow me home to make sure I got there OK. And I did! There I gave him my email address and then he was off.

I noticed I had some adrenaline still in the system. It hadn’t really clocked it was in there in the first place! But I had a nice big cup of coffee next to the cat, and then I was ready to fill  my day with something other than a Borders League race.

I was a bit sad. I had been looking forward to this! Travelling with three ladies is quite nice, and the travel becomes part of the event. But it was not to be. At least I have learned something about my car now. I will be really careful with that cap in the future!

It may also have been my last Borders League race of the season. The next fixture is at the same time as the Trawsfynydd race, and then the only thing left is The relay with presentation ceremony. That is on the same day as the Rhostryfan 10k. I think I prefer that! So a really sad way of bowing out of the season. But it will have to make do!

XC at Vaynol

On the club social media accounts, there was a call for marshals. This concerned some cross country (XC) championship. I've marshalled for that sort of thing before; my first marshalling was actually for XC. And I would have a busy weekend; on the day after that, there was a Borders League race. But if the club needs a hand…

It turned out to be nothing to do with the club. They were advertising for a third party! I was a bit miffed at that. I am struggling a bit combining a busy job, running, and a relationship. The weekends are just too short. But well, I had put my name down now. But then there was no communication from the organiser. At some point I got annoyed and I asked them if they could confirm they still needed me. No answer! I decided to not go. But then, the evening before the actual marshalling, they did get in touch. So I decided to show up.

It was an absolutely glorious day, and the venue was also amazing. It is the estate of the old owner of Dinorwic Quarry. That's quite glamorous!

Attempt at arty shot of the mansion 

I found the tent that was HQ. There we got a radio and a hi-vis vest, and we were assigned positions. The route was some distorted figure of eight, and I was right next to the top loop. About as far away as you could be from start and finish.

I made myself comfortable there there. I had brought a mat to sit on, clothes for if it would be either warm or cold, a book, and materials to do some hair maintenance that I had fallen behind on quite severely. And, of course, lunch.

As a traditional, the races started with the juniors. First the youngest ones, all locals, that only did one full loop. Then the slightly older ones, running for their perspective countries, that did two. Then a relay, with only four runners on the field. One for England, one for Ireland, one for Scotland, and one for Wales. And that tended to be the order they came in. I suppose that may reflect population size! If you have a large population, it is easier to draw strong runners from it.

I didn't have much to do. The whole route was demarcated with tape, so there was absolutely no ambiguity about where they had to go. I just cheered them all on. I suppose I was mainly there in case of emergencies. We all had radios. And I could hear that some of the other marshals sometimes asked for first aid. I suspected some sprained ankles. I saw two runners misstep a bit, limp for a bit, consider their options, and then decide they were good enough to keep running. It would be easy to imagine that sometimes they wouldn't end so well!

The rather uneven ground the runners were running on 

Talking to the organisation afterwards it turned out that first aid was mainly called for kids who had dehydrated. It was marked! And they ran such short distance! What would happen to them in summer?

Anyway; my radio was basically in use for keeping headquarters informed on which runners were in the lead. There was an announcer with a very loud sound system, and they could keep everyone informed.

After the juniors it was obviously time for the seniors. These were running for their clubs, not their countries. I recognised many local clubs. There weren’t many Harriers running! But Helen had changed from a marshal to a runner. And the runners had their age on their back. There was a man in the 85+ category! I don't think I had seen that before. He wasn't fast but he was going for it.

Then the last race, with faster age categories, was run. They ran five loops. And the front runners did it in no time! I had lots of déjà-vus. The last runner wasn't very fast, but he was steady. And when he came past the last time I knew I could pack up. I have read four chapters of my book, and used all the thread I had for hair maintenance, and eaten all my lunch. Time to go home!

I could really have done with that day for myself, but as marshalling days ago, this was perfect. Lovely venue, perfect weather, and I could use the time between races for something useful. And I always get vicarious joy out of seeing other people run. So it was as good as it could've been! But as a club we have now decided to not advertise for marshals for third parties anymore. There is only limited enthusiasm for such tasks, and we need to save some for our own races! 

Film: how deep is your love?

Bangor turns out to have its own film festival.  Or at least; be part of a Wales-wide film festival. The WOW festival. I had never noticed! But this year I got an email about a specific film being screened. It was about the deep sea. I suspect they made sure to send it to everyone in Ocean Sciences. And it looked interesting!

On the day I was quite knackered from a heavy week, but it started at five. It was tempting to just stop working at half past four and bike to main campus. And I did. And to my surprise, the cinema was packed! 

The film is basically about the Clarion-Clipperton zone, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean;  the largest known field of manganese nodules. These are lumps on the sea floor, roughly potato to sugarbeet size, that are full of the sort of metals industry wants for mobile phones and solar panels and whatnot. But they are also non-renewable; it takes millions of years to form them. And they are quite possibly crucial for the deep sea ecosystem. 

The film was basically report of a scientific cruise with the James Cook, on which I sailed some ten years ago, which aim to go there, and to do as good as possible a job of inventorising what life is there at the bottom of the sea. If you don’t know what’s there, how can you effectively protect it? 

Footage of the cruise was cut through with footage of negotiations about whether to mine or to protect the area. I can imagine people are keen on these metals for the energy transition, but at what cost? 

The cruise also tried to find the traces of some trial mining in 1979. That sounds so hard! But they did it. The sea floor looked like it had been churned up yesterday. 

The cruise had a robot with lights, cameras, a grabber and a hoover, and could therefore see and film what life was down there, and grab them and bring them to the surface. The scientists clearly had bleeding hearts when they decided to bring a creature up. They don’t survive it. But about 90% of the species there weren’t known to science, and you can’t legislate protection for what you don’t know exists. 

A new species needs a name. The important one is the Latin one. But they get colloquial names too. And these speak of the weirdness of the animals found. The gummy squirrel. Barbie pig. Headless chicken monster. And a lot more! I was hoping to see a purple sock but that didn’t happen. 

It was quite a long film and I was tired, and I skipped the Q&A session afterwards. But I was glad I had come! You don’t get to see footage of such a remote and deep ocean floor very often. And it was poured into a great narrative form. But I think everyone left that cinema a bit sad... 

A crinoid (sea lily); they still exist! 

A Barbie pig, and the shadow of the grabber that tries to sample it

New computer, new troubles

The good news is: I now have a computer that runs on Windows 11. The bad news? I can’t dictate to it. 

New desktop! 

I had Dragon voice recognition software installed on the old PC, and the new one obviously didn't come with it. When I raised this with the bloke who had done the transfer, he first said he would be able to move it across, but then he changed his mind. And the old license I had didn't allow me to install the software on any new machines. I had had it for years!

I figured it had been worth a lot more than it had cost; I had had it for years. I raised the matter with Stuart and he agreed that it was worth buying a new license. But he wanted it at the lowest possible cost. That makes sense. I relayed his to IT, who should do the purchase. 

There hasn’t been a response yet. I hope one is imminent! It’s a pain to not be able to dictate. I get around it by dictating to my phone, and then emailing myself the text. It’s a bit cumbersome. And it’s not helping my RSI to take these detours! 

PhD viva

I suppose I came to chairing PhD vivas is a bit late. The first one I did was only 2024. I suppose I was quite old when I became academic staff. And my very limited experience was also not typical; the one I had done had been online. The candidate was living quite far away.

Now I was asked to chair one in person, of a student based in the UK. She was modelling the climate in the Archaean. Interesting stuff!

Getting there on time was a bit of a challenge. The only availability of Mark, the external, was on a date when I was in the field with the students in the morning. I would have to pretty sharpishly get to our campus, make myself presentable, and then show up for lunch.

When we were done in the field, Jaco and I left in his car, and he dropped me off home. There I had a bit of a scare; my little car was parked in, but that was easily resolved. The vehicle was associated with Neuadd Ogwen, and they had made sure to keep the back door open so I could just walk in and ask the people there to make space for me. Which they did!

Note what you want to see if you have a place to go to. But it worked out!

When I got to Menai Bridge I decided I had time to have a little shower. Then I put my smart outfit on. Then I filled two flasks with hot water; these vivas can last a long time, and I need to look after myself. I was ready!

When I got to the room, Mattias (the supervisor), Dei (the internal examiner) and Mark (the external examiner) were already there. They weren’t looking as smart as me! Maybe I could just have showed up in my field outfit. But that was too late now. I dived into the lunch as I was hungry now. Mark and Dei discussed examination strategies. Mattias left. 

Then it was time. Anya, the PhD candidate, came in. And it started!

As the chair I basically only had one job: to keep the internal and external in check. But they didn't need that. So I was largely furniture. I think I only came in use twice: once when Anya couldn't think of a word, and I had correctly guessed which word she was looking for; and at the end, when both men had asked sufficient questions, and then asked her if there was anything she wanted to discuss. Then I told her that it was highly unlikely she would ever have these two men at her disposal again, so that I thought she should take this chance.

Altogether it didn't last very long, and in the end the external told her that she had passed with minor corrections. A great result!

When it was over, Anya met up with people of her choice, and Mark, Dei and me waited for Mattias to come back from the teaching engagement he had had. And when he was back we first went for a little walk over Church Island. It is only a small walk, but with lots of views you don't get in London, where Mark is based! And then we headed for an Indian restaurant for a curry.

A view on our walk

It had been a bit hectic, but it ended up being a very good day. The field trip couldn't have gone any better, I had made it to the viva on time, and that had gone really well for everyone involved. What more could you want! 

Cwm Idwal in gorgeous weather

If the weather we have for it is great, Cwm Idwal is my favourite trip with the students. The landscape is beautiful, the science interesting, and the stress low. What’s not to like! 

This year, the weather was ideal. It was sunny there was barely any wind. So it was perfect! But I got there in an unusual way.

I had to chair a PhD viva straight after the field trip, so I had to leg it from the field site to the Ocean Sciences campus. The most efficient way of doing that is not going with the students on the coach, which goes to Bangor. And I decided to car share with Jaco, who was also not travelling on the coach. That worked out well! Because he wanted to be sure to have a parking spot, he picked me up quite early, but we had both brought some work we could just do sitting on a low wall in the sun, waiting for everybody else to appear. Very efficient!

We were one staff member down, so we had bigger groups than we ideally would have, but it was still quite manageable. And if there is no wind, it is easy to be heard by sizeable group. I had a really good time! I hope the students did too.

Glorious weather 

The chance that we will have equally good weather for the second field trip is small, but we had one amazing trip in the bag. I can't complain!

New and old practicals

The students who do the trip to Lleiniog do a practical afterwards, and I have never been a part of that. But last year, Mike thought he could improve on how this module was run, and suggested changes. We thought they were amazing, so they were implemented. And that involved a practical session on our Ocean Sciences campus, where the students describe a core that was taken as a part of his PhD project some 20 years ago. And given that I have done core description exhaustively, it would make sense to have me involved in that. So on the Monday after the beach trip, that kicked off.

The core is beautiful! And there is enough to see. Unfortunately, Mike, who doesn't have an awful lot of teaching experience, just told the students to go and describe it. If you've never done it before, you don't quite know how to start! So I found it quite tiring to look over their shoulders and check if they were doing everything the logical way. Apparently, it doesn't speak for itself that the top of the core should also be the top of the core log. Or that a core log has a linear depth scale. I think Mike is open to providing a bit more guidance next year.

The core. Pic by Mike

That same week I also had my own practical, that I have been doing for years. That was a lot more relaxed! I suppose all the difficulties have been ironed out over the years. But it did mean quite many hours with pretty much the same students in the same teaching lab in one week. But that's it now for this academic year! 

Eryri Harriers presentation night

After a lot of preparation from the committee, it all came together on the actual night! And you should see "night" here in a wide sense. Activities started at 4 pm, with a run we had tagged onto the night in an attempt to attract more people. I'm not quite sure if it worked. There were seven of us (and a dog) lining up in our fell running gear. I think all of us would probably have attended as well without the run. But at least we would get a nice run out of it!

The idea was to run the route of a new race in the Tuesday Evening Series. That's a series of short fell  races. This one will be quite long in that context. The furthest point would be Gyrn Wigau. 

In spite of the predictions, it was dry when we started, and we happily headed for the first public footpath into the hills. Mary, who was leading this run but not the race, was keeping an eye on the map. Where would the checkpoints be?

Soon we started to cross the valley. We were on the western range, and had to move to the next one along. The ridges are quite dry, but the valley is not. It was inevitable we would be coming out with soaking socks and shoes. Doesn't matter! We had dry clothes waiting for us.

View during the run

I was glad to reach the other side. Then it would just be a long ascent. That is what I am best at. But at some point I heard Mary shouting behind me. I waited for her to find out what that meant. We were running out of time! We had to cut the route short. So we did not actually reach Gyrn Wigau. It meant downhill pretty much the rest of the way. I am slow at that! But so be it.

We both got back in time for dinner, and before the rain started. Success! And it turned out that the cricket club, which was our venue for the night, had showers available to us. So I grabbed my dry clothes and headed for them. The first changing room was full of men, so I headed for the second one. That one turned out to have urinals! So I figured the men were actually in the wrong place. I went to go and tell them that before they were all in the showers.

Most of them left. One was reluctant as he was already far in his preparations. He politely asked if I was ok with him just staying. That was not very British of him! But I am not British at all, so I was fine with it. And there were two shower cabins so plenty of space for both of us.

When we were clean again we went into the room where the event took place. Time for some socialising and a drink. There were lots of lovely people! Neil had come too. We settled on a table with Borders League veteran Tony and his partner Lesley. 

Soon there was food. I was peckish! And then there were the awards. And handing them out was done, in my opinion, with a lovely balance between attention for the individual winners, but not dragging it out for the audience.

They started with the juniors. I don't know these, but it looks like we have some smashing kids in the club. And then we went onto the adults. And they were awards for the third, second and first finisher in the road, cross country and fell championships. I'm only competing in the first. And I had come second! So I got a little memento. In a way, the road championship was the most exciting, as all winners were actually there. Quite unlike the cross country and fell awardees!

Road championships winners

We also have special prizes: special achievement of a woman in fell running, most improved male, special contribution to the club, and outstanding athlete. The lady who had won the fell prize was away, but her mum was there to pick it up. Tony had Juan most improved male. I knew he knew he was up for an award, but also that he didn't know which one. It turned out to be this one I could see he got emotional. I thought that was sweet. He deserves it! But I could imagine that he had imagined that award would go to some young up and coming runner, while Tony is almost 60. But he has been in great form in spite of big medical problems. A worthy winner!

Special contribution to the club went to Helen, who has been our cross country chief for years. And he is also a Borders League stalwart. 

Outstanding athlete this year was Tinka, the superfast Dutch lady wins races like there is no tomorrow. A big one she won for instance was the She Ultra. She had been nominated a lot!

After the awards, our guest speaker took this stage. This was David "Jacko" Jackson, who turns out to be a former professional rugby player and now leading coach in breathing for runners. But in my circles, he is more well known for being my former colleague Suzie's brother. He did a great talk! And he was quite convincing saying that breathing is an under-emphasised aspect of running, and a lot of improvement can be made via that route. He also asked for a volunteer at some point, and I stepped up. It turned out he wanted the volunteer to shove a cotton tip into his nose. Well, if he's sure?

The club has arranged with him that he will do some sessions for us at mate’s rates. I sure will try to get a place on one of them! And I also bought his book.

That was the program of the evening over. There was a bit of time for socialising, but then everyone went home. It was a Sunday evening, after all.

I had greatly enjoyed myself, and fortunately, so had Neil. I know a lot more people, and I even got an award! So then it's easy to enjoy yourself. But it has been so well organised that it was for the likes of him as well. Success! And I will try and get first place in The road running championship next year. With Anna being pregnant, this would be the year to do it!

More ceiling work

This is actually a summary of two weeks’ worth of work. I didn't get around to blogging about it after one week. And then these two weeks, a fair amount of progress has been made making the downstairs bedroom ceiling look like a ceiling again, and less like a building site. We're leaving the little hall by the front door for now, as in the long run I also want an electric shower fitted, and the plumbing and wiring for that might have to go through the ceiling as well. No use putting a lot of effort in a ceiling that will be destroyed in a few months’ time again!

This round was basically entirely done by Neil. I did other chores while he worked on the ceiling. I didn't want to get in his way, or compete with him for things such as pallet knives and filler. I'm not even sure what I did the first weekend when he attacked the ceiling, but the second weekend I attacked the big gap in the wall in the living room, where you looked right at the repaired water pipe in the wall. Neil had suggested I first pack it with food or plywood or something, and then put filler over the top. So I started doing that. And I got quite far with it!

There is still a heck of a lot of work to do, but it's nice to see progress. And the ceilings will never look the way they looked in the beginning, but I'm sure we'll get them looking acceptable in the end!

The big work in the bedroom

Small holes getting inconspicuous 

Gash in living room wall having been packed

Parkrun on a whim

With a scarcity of races in March, I was feeling an itch. There had been the Borders League in Birkenhead on the 1st. There should have been a 10 miler in the 8th but it wasn’t run this year. The Borders League organised by the Wallasey Athletic Club on the 22th was hanging in the balance, as the local council was reluctant to approve it. And then there would only be the 10 miler on the 29th. 

I decided that, given the weather forecast was lovely, I should bike to Penrhyn Castle, do the Parkrun, and bike back. And I did! I had done something similar last year.

 

 

. 

It was sunny but not warm. Perfect! And I saw many familiar faces, like two Eryri Harriers brothers, who do every race under the sun, including the Borders Leagues. 

The running went fine. I wasn’t feeling very fast, but well, there was little at stake. It wasn’t too crowded for comfort, in spite of the great weather. 

I finished in 22:42. Quite slow! But that’s ok. And then I went home again. I still hope there will be a race on the 22nd. But if not, I just made the cold turkey less bad! 

Hedge halved

There is a beech hedge between my garden and that of the neighbour. It can’t be older than some 40 years, as that is how long these gardens have been associated with these houses. But that hedge is sizeable! Keeping it tidy, which I aim to do every year but clearly don't, it's quite some work. I have to deploy ladders or platforms, and then I still can't reach the top. So that grows out, in a rather disorganised way.

Before: seen from the house

Before: seen from the garden

One day I spoke with the neighbour and he suggested we find someone who is willing to cut it down to approximately half its size. That would still provide privacy, but make maintenance a lot easier. I loved it! So he organised it, and we split the bill.

It happened while I was at work, and when I came back the result was spectacular. I am quite glad we did this! I think I can know trim the whole hedge standing on the ground. That means I really don't have an excuse anymore to not do it every year…

After, seen from the house

After, seen from the garden

Annual Lleiniog field day

Field days in early spring are a bit of a gamble! It can be atrocious weather. But you can also be lucky. We have had both during our annual trip on the beach where the students log glacier and proglacial sediments. I've been doing that since 2018…

This year it looked like we would be lucky (unlike the previous time I had done it, in 2024; in 2025 I had missed it for reasons of timetabling). The forecast was ok and even the tide was on our side. And as usual, I was the first one on the beach. I make sure there are specific sections of the cliff demarcated; these are what the students describe. I can just pick whatever I find interesting! As long as the cliff above it looks stable.

In order to get onto the beach you need to squeeze past the stream

Atmospheric light in the morning

Look at those sediments 

When Lynda and the students arrived at quickly became clear that this was quite a switched-on group. Great! They went about it with little guidance. And before we knew it, we were rounding off, and put the students back on the coach they had come in. They would go to Bangor to do surveying, and the goal to bring the students back to us who had done that in the morning. The coach leaving was our cue to rush to Beaumaris and get some lunch. We managed that in good time!

Lynda explains things under a dramatic sky

Little groups of students by the cliff

Lynda is impressed by the sediments

Fossil corals on the beach

The second group is generally struggling a bit as they have already been battered by whatever the weather throws at them in the morning. It seemed that the surveying has taken place with much less shelter from the wind than we had had! But they were still quite on the ball.

By 4pm we were done and could leave the beach. A successful day, I would say! And we will see the same students again the Monday after, for a session in the lab. This was the first time I will be involved in that! Mike, with whom I have started to collaborate, had been re-organising this part of the module (but he had left the sediment logging on the beach the same). I think he's doing interesting stuff with it. I look forward to see how is next step will pan out! 

Bike path reopened

Work on the bicycle path started yonks ago! And as long as the work was going on, the part of the path leading out of the village was closed. And that meant biking on the main road. Not my favourite! 

First they removed all the gates and replaced them with a cattle tunnel. Then the path was open for a month, but then they started replacing a pedestrian bridge. That work took a long time! 

Now the work on the bridge is still not quite finished. The new bridge is still closed. They are connecting it to the road on the other side of the river. But on this side of the river, the path is now finished! And open! 

No fence anymore! You can just bike on! 

New bridge still closed, but now you can bike past

Will this last? I struggle a bit to imagine they won’t have to close it again when they in the end remove the old bridge. But let’s cross that bridge when we get to it. 

For now it’s lovely to not have to be on the road. For most of that stretch, the speed limit is 40mph, and especially when you are going uphill, that means a big speed difference. And the path is also a lot prettier. 

I will enjoy this for now! And I trust removing an old bridge is a quicker process than building a new one…

Date

The dates Neil and I have been on were generally hikes or explorations of industrial landscapes. Outdoor clothing, packed lunch, that kind of stuff. Sometimes we have been biking or running or doing chores. We’ve not done much in the line of classic dates, with flowers and restaurants and fancy clothes. And I thought it was about time! Given that we had been meeting up since July, and had been officially together since September. And Neil was up for it.

After a day of tackling a tree with a saw I had a shower, put on a dress, and not much later opened the door to a gentleman in a shirt who was carrying a bunch of flowers. And not much later we headed to Bangor to eat in the Italian restaurant by the pier. 

Looking smart!

It was a proper date with all the accoutrements! We both enjoyed it. We should make sure we don’t leave it another eight months before we do it again! 

Garden cleared of tree

I mentioned the neighbour wanted to get the work on removing a tree done before March. And he got his skates on! I had to leave things as they were for a while; busy with work and running activities, but the next Saturday I was on it again. The neighbour had cut down everything he wanted to cut down, so at least I knew that all the wood in the garden was all I would have to deal with. No additions expected!

Still some tree left

Lots of wood in the garden

It was lovely weather and I enjoyed tackling the pile. I started with a hawthorn or blackthorn he had also taken down. And then I did the main tree.

Most of that was quite straightforward. Get rid of the spindly bits, and put the thicker stuff aside to be moved to the garage. But when I got to the bottom of the pile, I reached the really thick trunks, and that was slightly less comfortable. I figured they were too heavy to carry them to the garage one piece, so I had to cut them in two. That does mean you have to saw through a trunk that is lying on the ground. Your saw gets stuck in the ground, and you have to saw while crouching; not things I like very much. But the wood isn't very hard, and it wasn't really a big deal.

I had other engagements in the late afternoon, but I managed to get all the wood out of the garden by that time. It did mean there was quite some of it in the garage, not yet processed. But that would be a chore for another day! I was quite chuffed that the garden was free again. I wasn't sure I would manage it all in one day…

New fridge, out of nowhere

I bought my fridge when I arrived in the country. It was second-hand. It has served me well! A few years ago, I had to change the door from right-hinged to left-hinged,  as the hinges on the right collapsed from sheer old age. I had started to wonder if I should replace it. It probably wasn’t very energy efficient. The little freezer compartment didn’t freeze very well but frosted over all the time. But some googling suggested the most efficient thing to do was just keep it going until it would break. 

Then I talked with the neighbour. He asked if I happened to want a fridge. I sort of did! I verified it was newer than mine. And it was a bit bigger! And had no freezer compartment. That would save energy. And time. 

Together with Neil we brought it in. It fit like a glove. Better than the old one! I had to clean it, but that wasn’t a big job. And then I could bring it into use. 

The cat took the opportunity to explore some new terrain

I am actually quite chuffed with this arrangement. I have a lot more space, and I don't have to worry about unnecessary freezing going on. And because it fits better inside the slot, even looks tidier. The light doesn't work, but I don't mind that very much. Altogether I I am happy how this all came about!

Sorting out running awards

Every year, the Eryri Harriers award prizes for achievements across te whole year. We have the outstanding athlete award, and most improved male, and most spiffing female fell runner, et cetera. You can tell I'm paraphrasing a bit. And when I became the honorary secretary of the club, this became my business. As communication is my job, I have to communicate to last year's winners that they should give their award back, so they can be engraved again with the name of this year's winner.

One of the awards was very easy, as it had been won by Anna, who is still in the committee. She returned it as soon as we had a committee meeting. And I started chasing up the rest. Some of them were easier to get back than others. And by the next committee meeting I expected most of them. One was still in the pipeline. 

I got so many during that meeting that Nia, our chair, thought I shouldn't try to get them home on bicycle. She dropped them off by car at my place. She was quite impressed by my little cat’s good looks.

The next day I started putting post-its on them, with this year winners’ names, for the engraver. And I was confused. There was a shield among them that I didn't expect. It was for the road running champion. I wasn't aware that they had shields! So I put a message on WhatsApp. It was only one shield, so far only with female names on, but maybe only the overall winner was put on? And they had been female in the last two years?

Then an answer came back. No! This was only the shield for the female winner. There was a shield for the male winner as well. Why didn't I know that? What was worse is that I then got an email, from a reliable source, saying that not only the road champions, but also the fell and mountain champions, had shields. Shit! I started frantically contacting last year's winners.

Then another WhatsApp message came in. From another reliable source. Only the road champions had shields; the other shields didn't exist. Again, Shit! Now I had to contact all the winners again, saying "never mind, you never got a shield". Luckily, the one missing shield of the male road championship winner was quickly traced, and its keeper would bring it to the engraver.

On Friday afternoon I had all the shields and other awards that I expected, but then the engraver was closing. I decided to go on Saturday morning. And I found that this engraver is actually closed on Saturday. What? What shop does that? Luckily, I didn't have anything time-tabled on Monday morning, so I could have another go then. But this award malarkey was more faff than I had hoped for.

Awards ready for transport, With (redacted) names of 2025 winners

This is by far the coolest award and it weighs a tonne. This is the outstanding athlete award.

On Monday morning I finally dropped them all off, and as I was driving anyway, I also brought my old fridge to the tip. It was most likely that I wouldn't even have to pick the awards up after engraving, as some committee members are in Caernarfon, where the engraver is located, all the time. So I think for me, the work is now basically done. And I can just concentrate on work (and some running) until the actual presentation night! Bring it on! 

Invited to run for North Wales

Last week I got an email from one of the people who had run the NWRAC meeting. But it wasn't about this meeting! I suppose the title of this post gives it away. He asked if I was willing to represent North Wales in the Llandudno 10 mile. I was super chuffed. Of course I was! I had recently been dreaming to maybe represent something bigger than the club in a championship, but then only in the 50+ category. Or maybe later, when I am in an even older category. But he wanted me to run regardless of my age. I found that a big honour!

I had to buy a new vest for the purpose, but that was easily done. So at the end of this month, on the 29th, I will not be running in my Eryri Harriers top, but in a top that says North Wales. And I will be running against Staffordshire and Cheshire.

 

The last race I ran in which was part of this county championship (yes I know North Wales is not a county, but they call it that) was the Caernarfon 10k. I seem to remember that Staffordshire was very strong then. And looking at the results, I saw that indeed the Staffordshire men were a lot faster than the north Welsh men, but the women were a lot more evenly matched. Unfortunately, I think only the result of the entire team counts. So I will have to be mentally ready to eat their dust. But I will give it my best! 

Flogging the excess panel

I mentioned that when the work on the infrared panels was done, I was left with one of them that seemed utterly superfluous. It’s at the top of the stairs. It’s where all heat of the house naturally pools. And nobody will ever linger there. If you are on top of the stairs, you are either entering or leaving the office or the upstairs bedroom. So that panel was not going to be useful!

Jaco and Marjan have a project at home, and it could do with some sort of heating. I offered them the panel at a mate’s rate. And one day Marjan phoned me to discuss that. 

I was going to work in my car anyway, for reasons of bike repair, so I thought this was an excellent opportunity to lug that thing in. Jaco didn't agree; he thought it was too early in the development of their project. But I thought that was a strange argument. Surely you want to know what the panel is like before the project is finished? So I completely ignored him and lugged at that thing with fixings and all to the office.

I think I made the right call. They could try out the panel anywhere in the house to see how they liked it, and discuss with anyone involved in their project on how to incorporate it. And they decided that it was what they wanted, and they decided to keep it.

Now I'm left with a wall with an unnecessarily high number of holes in it. The panel was clearly put up by someone very clumsy. But given that I am in the process of making my ceilings presentable again, after damage having been done to them, I can just add this wall to the list. And when the wall looks good again, and the panel has found a much better home, everybody will be happy!

No panel; just a damaged wall now (I don't seem to have taken a picture of the panel there)

Scales for the cat

The cat has been on a diet for many weeks now. She looks a lot slimmer! And I can tell that she doesn't enjoy her diet at all. She isn't aggressive about it, but I can tell that would really like more food. And I was wondering if I could already give her a bit more. Would she have lost enough?

The way to find out is weigh her. But my own scales don't really care much about 1 kg more or less, so I can't use these. I decided to buy scales especially for her. They go up to 20 kg.

They have arrived! So it was time to try to get on it. She doesn't like being picked up, so I tried to bribe her onto it with dreamies. The problem is a bit that she can generally get to the dreamies without putting all her four paws on the scales.

After a while I managed to get her on it anyway. And she's only lost 200g! She has to lose four times that! So she is not coming off that diet. Sorry little cat! It will be a hungry spring…

Cat not on it

Finally: bike maintenance

I tend to bring my bike in for maintenance quite often. I do many miles on it! This time I was a bit hesitant, as Neil had said he can actually do everything my bike repair man can. But would he actually want to do it when push came to shove? Or would he prefer to go on a hike? So I discussed it, and we agreed that probably I should just have it done professionally. So I phoned the repair shop.

The first time I did that they didn't answer. The second time, same thing. Oh dear! Was something be amiss? The third time he answered. And he explained that he was temporarily closed, for building reasons. Oh dear. I had already left it a bit late! But he booked it in for when the work was supposed to be finished.

Then I got a text. The work took longer than expected. He would have to postpone the booking. That happened twice. Two more weeks! But then I could finally bring it in.

James, the repair man, explained that the work actually hadn’t even been done. I wasn't sure why he had been closed then, but there must've been a reason for it. He said he was going to close again in August, hoping to get it done then. But at least I could give him my bike, and I was going to get it back with new brake pads, and possibly new cables, and probably a new chain, and all the things that tend to get done when I bring my bike in.

I got it back quicker than I thought. It looked impeccable again! And he hadn't even needed to do too much. I was wondering soon if he might have underestimated how much wrong with it; the gearing was a bit awful when I got back. Maybe the derailer should've been replaced after all? But at least it braked again like a new bike. And I'll probably have to bring it back before he closes in summer, as he didn't think the chain would last that long. And I'm not a bike snob, but the bike needs to be reasonably good to get me to work in an efficient way, and back!

As new!

Spring!

It's meteorological spring! And it has been feeling like spring. I was quite happy running in only my shorts and vest on the first day of March. And you can see it all around as well. Daffodils and snowdrops everywhere! And the plants and the trees are getting leaves. And the days are getting longer.

Spring isn’t actually my favourite season. I quite like bare trees and dramatic skies. But I do enjoy the perks of spring! And I’ll get mentally ready for the gardening season to start again… 

I know we can still get a cold spell, but at the moment, that is difficult to imagine. It feels like winter is over! 

Bridge not tidal anymore - for now

I had to bring my bike to the bicycle repair shop, so I drove. In the olden days, I would have biked in, and hitched a ride back with Susan, but given that she has moved house, I can't do that anymore. With Martin also having moved house and Chris having changed job, I have to rely on myself now! And that was ok, because it was a Tuesday, and then I have track training. I must admit I sometimes find it hard to bike all the way home after a full day of work and then track training, lugging not only my normal work luggage with me up the hill, but also my running gear.

What does all of this have to do with the bridge? Well! The track is on the mainland, so I have to cross a bridge to get there. I assumed the old bridge would still be tidal, but just to be on the safe side drove past it on my way to the new bridge. Lo and behold, I could just cross! The bridge was a two-way thing again! It meant I was a bit early at the track, but that is ok. And the next day, back on my bike, I could go over the road again, and didn't have to go over the footpath.

Two way bridge! 

I did notice in the local media, though, that this was only temporary relief. The week after, the bridge would go back to tidal. I don't think we are out of the woods anytime soon. But what can we do? We'll have to put up with it!

Automatically feeding the cat

When I spend the night at Neil’s, I have to leave some food out for the cat. It doesn't work so well. She eats it as soon as I put it in her bowl, and then she has to either fast or eat rodents until I get back. I can't leave so much that she won't eat it in one go; she is on a diet. It's not an ideal situation.

Neil has timed food bowls for his cat. They have a lid on, with inbuilt timers, and after the number of hours you set it to, the lid is opened. And he even uses them when he is home. If the cat sees that there are still-closed lids, she knows that at some point they will open, and it doesn't require input from Neil. That means that she does not incessantly howl at him. It seems that she does have that habit if he's not using them. And he often is in online meetings!

I have now nicked his idea, and got me a similar food bowl, where you can provide two meals and set the timers. I thought it was likely, but not sure, that she would understand how it worked. Soon after I had put the food in and set the timer, she was sniffing at them. She clearly understood what was in there! And she was pawing at them as well.

When I came back after the first time using them, the lids were open and the food was gone. Success! I will be using this more often. And it can only do two meals, but if I am away longer than that, I prefer that someone comes in and gives her a bit of attention as well. Cats need more than food! But if I'm away for only one night, I don't arrange a catsitter, and I think this device will make such situations easier. And I might as well also use it when I'm home late, for instance because of track training! 

The traditional and novel food bowls