Bumblebees in the garden

I have had several instances of wasp nests in my garden. I'm not overly keen on that. That is a slightly too high concentration of a slightly too grumpy insect to my taste. But I do like it if my garden attracts what are traditionally seen as pollinators. And for some reason, it seems to attract more bumblebees than ‘normal’ bees.

One day I was just sitting in the garden and a bumblebee seemed to land on the grass, by a non-flowering plant. I didn't really see the point of that. Bumblebees tend to want flowers. I had a look. There was a little hole in the ground, and it had vanished into it. A bumblebee residence! And I kept watching for a bit; I saw quite some bees flying in and coming out.

Up until then, I had no idea where bumblebees might live. Now I have an example of one of their abodes in my own garden. I like sitting near it and watched them coming in and out. Call me a speciesist, but I prefer that over watching wasps coming into and out of my little garden shed! 

Two bumblebees by the nest entrance (to their right)

Work on the new module websites has started

When I went back to the office after my annual leave I first sorted out the last remains of the old academic year. I had to evaluate all my modules and decide what should be changed about them in the new year. And I had a last academic integrity meeting, about work submitted for Supplementary Assessment Week. (I don't think I mentioned Supplementary Assessment Week; for staff it means you have to set assignments and do marking work in the middle of July.) But soon after that it was time to actively start working on the upcoming academic year. 

Traditionally, the first module website that comes live is for my dissertation module, even though it is a second semester module. And this year is probably not going to be an exception. I populated the folders, only leaving out things like where the students upload their assignments, as the timetable for the second semester hasn't been made yet. The deadlines depend a bit on the timetable. I also added all the staff. The students will be centrally added.

I will have to get two more of these websites ready before the start of new academic year. One third is already out of the way!

Trentham 10k for Wales

I was just getting mentally ready for the Breakwater race when I saw I had an email from Paul, the man who organises teams to represent North Wales in inter-county championships. He had approached me in spring, to see if I could join the team for the Llandudno 10 mile race. I was deeply honoured! And this time he admitted he was only asking me because someone else had pulled out, so I wasn't on his first choice list, but I was still proud to be invited to wear that North Wales vest. The race would be all the way in Staffordshire, but I said yes.

Given that it was going to be far away I wanted to know if car sharing was an option. There was no publicly available start list for the racing question: the Trentham 10k. But you could search for names. I checked for some people I could think of: Emma, Rhodri, Steffan, Elliw… no success. But when I tried Llio it was a hit. She was running too! And I didn't have her contact details, but I know many people from her club, so I figured I could get these. Paul said that no one else lived in our neck of the woods. That sounded weird; surely we all come from North Wales?

At the Breakwater race, which is organised by the Cybi Striders of which Llio is one, I got her contact details. She was happy to car share. Great!

The race was somewhere just south of Stoke, which is about 2h20 away, and the start would be at 9:30, so we would have to have an early start. We met in Conwy at 6:15. Llio was ok to drive. 

We now had almost 2 hours to get to know each other a bit better. And we did most of that in Welsh, as she is a native speaker, and quite happy to let me practice. It was quite nice!

Unsurprisingly, the roads are quiet at that hour on a Sunday, and we reached Trentham without problems. We were quite early. We decided to get our numbers and go to the loo. Then I wanted to eat and drink something, and change into my running shoes. I had had breakfast at about 5:15 then I needed a bit more fuel for this race. After we got our numbers we bumped into Paul, who had also arrived. He asked us if we wanted the good or bad news. I said bad. He said that all the other women had withdrawn. It was only us! That meant we were only running for shits and giggles. Your team gets points assigned on the basis of the four fastest runners. If you only have two, you get so many penalty points that you could both run a world record, and you would still lose. I forgot what the good news was.

The men’s team, which was supposed to have six people, had also suffered losses. But they were still with four, so they were still in with a chance. Although everyone assumed Staffordshire would win; it tends to do that! Maybe they could still take on Cheshire? But we, the women, were doomed to come last. 

We made sure to have some pre-race snacks, and do some stretches and a warmup. And meet the men. They were two Buckley Runners, a Deestrider and a Hebog. And then it was time to get to the start for a team picture. And then we lined up.

Before the race

I knew this wasn't going to be a fast course. I had checked it and it had about 140 m of ascent. All of that would be gradual, but it was there. For comparison: the Bangor 10k only has 67 m, and the Caernarfon 10k 50 m. But I would see what I could do!

After the start the entire rest of the team shot off like an arrow. I kept it modest. There's no way I can maintain that sort of speed for 10 km. But I made sure not run too far below what I could do. I knew I would have to run about six kilometres uphill and then four downhill.

Things were going ok. I was happy with my speed, but the rest of the team vanished from sight. I had other things to worry about. There were two women in my vicinity and I focused on these. One was a lady from the local Trentham running club, and we were leapfrogging each other a bit. And then there was a woman running for Cheshire, and she overtook me. I was hoping to be able to get her back. She wasn't too far ahead!

Less than 1k in. The lady in green would still be right behind me at the finish

I tried to keep my speed up and enjoy the route. Slowly the kilometres ticked away. And then I got to 6k. Now it would be downhill pretty much all the way. I accelerated. Everybody else did too, though.

Looking determined, 8k in

I did manage to shake off the local lady, but the woman from Cheshire was stronger than me and she increased the gap. I could see her black and yellow shirt thunder towards the finish. And then I got there too. Paul was there to take a picture. And I saw my time was 43:39. I figured that was pretty good considering the ascent! And I was seriously out of breath.

Almost at the finish 

Done! With the Trentham lady right behind

What I wanted now was a drink. Luckily I had brought four containers. And there was a building where I could refill them. And once I had my drink and my recovery shake I went to talk to the rest of the team. They hadn't waited to cheer me on. That was a bit disappointing. At the Borders League, you are pretty much guaranteed cheering Harriers when you finish. 

The others had been super fast and they were quite happy with their achievements. Llio had run a PB! On this course! She had dropped below 40 minutes. I don't think I will ever manage that. We were both registered for the Caernarfon 10k the week after; I'm wondering what sort of time she can run there. 

After the race

I emptied three of my drinks containers, and then the others said they wanted to do a cooldown run. Their idea was to first run to their car, and then do a bit of a loop. I did join them to the cars, but realised I was so full of drink I really didn't want to run further, so I just went back to the finish area, and had a look at the results which had come in. I had been 13th woman, and second in my category. The Cheshire lady I had been chasing had been first F50! 

After a while, the presentation took place. Llio had a category win! Well-deserved. And she was the only one in the team who managed that. Obviously, Staffordshire had won, both in the male and female competitions. And Cheshire had consistently come second. Our four men hadn’t managed to beat them. 

Then it was time to go home. I brought my last container into the car. Unfortunately, I had already finished it before we even set off. I should have made sure to refill some of them. By the time I got to my own car was seriously craving both food & drink.

The rest of the day I was knackered. And frankly, the day after as well. When I had a look at my Garmin stats I saw that it said I had run 71% of the race in zone 5, at maximum capacity (defined by Garmin as having a heart rate of 165 +; Strava uses a different threshold). For comparison: I had done the Breakwater race at that intensity only 3% of the time, Race the Train 56%, Pentir 54% and Felinheli 5%. I'm sure there is uncertainty in these measurements, but I do think they give an impression. And this time it surely matched my experience. I clearly gave it my all there! But I suppose I ran practically an identical time as I had done two years ago in Pwllheli, where I had won, on a course that was as flat as a pancake…

Kitchen progress

After my first experiments with making my kitchen look better, I had momentum. I wanted to keep going! But there was one impediment. I had decided I wanted new handles. I ordered a few, but then had to wait a while for them to arrive. I didn't really want to go and strip and paint more cabinet doors, as I figured the result is better if you fill the holes you're not using, and then paint over the filler, rather than paint them, then abandon one hole, and then fill that and try to make it look good afterwards. 

It took a while for me to get the message that my new handles had arrived. I was excited! But there was no sign of them. Not by the door. Not in the garden. Not at the neighbour's. They must have been mis-delivered. There was no proof of delivery, so I could not check if there was a picture of a door that most definitely was not my door. Bummer!

I decided to not try this again. It took too long. And being handmade they were quite expensive. And that is worth it, if you know it will be a success. But I decided to just Google some other options, and I came across some quite kitschy alternatives. These might suit what I was doing, and they were very affordable. I decided to buy 5 to try them out. And they arrived the next day. I was back on!

I first provisionally put the handles on the two doors I had painted first. I figured they combined well! I decided to stick with them. They are quite kitschy but it works! So I could put them on the other door I had already done, and now I could do two more doors, as I had handles for them. So I did. And I ordered more.

New handles

The second batch arrived quite early too. So I started working on the sixth door. After I strip them, the first thing I do is drill the new handle holes and fill the old ones. Only then did I realise that the new handles I had bought were the same type as the old ones, but a bigger model! Oh dear.

After some thought, I decided to use the small handles for the smaller doors and the drawers, and the big ones for big doors. That meant leaving two where they were and moving three. It wasn’t much work really. And then I could continue with the stripping and painting business. 

5 doors done! 

With every cabinet door painted, my kitchen looks better. I'm glad! And the weather makes it a relatively quick job! These coats of paint dry fast in such a hot dry summer...

 

Clean the car in anticipation

I had decided to buy a new car, and as soon as I would have it, sell the old one. I suppose selling anything works better if it looks remotely good. I would have to wash my infamously dirty old car. Outside and inside! Neil was a bit upset at that; he had wanted to wash it as long as he knew me, and I never let him. And now, for some anonymous unidentified person, I would? And I saw his point, but I also saw mine; I went ahead and washed it.

Before

It wasn't even that much work! And I made sure to keep the best bits. I washed all the algae off, and all the mud and dust and seagull poo, but not the lichen or the moss. I like these! And the biodiversity isn't what it used to be, what with some issues with droughts or enthusiastic dogs, but I still like that my car is an ecosystem. 

After

It’s still not the cleanest car out there. I think that is ok. What I'm looking for is someone who just wants a dirty cheap car. I don't think they will be picky. If it will be someone who can weld, they can keep this car going for years to come.

Now I only need to actually get my hands on my own new car! This seems not to be trivial. And then I can advertise this unusually shiny Corsa. I hope that when it finally comes to that, it will sell soon. I don't want to own two cars!

Club run for runner with cancer

Before the start of the Felinheli race I bumped into a guy called Ian. He is a Cybi Strider I first became aware of him at the 2025 Rhostryfan race; I overtook him shortly before the finish. He was there in Bethel too; Chris knew him from the track. Around that time I started track running myself, and I saw him more often. I remember him early on claiming he was the oldest person there. When I asked if he had asked everybody else their age he said he didn't need to; he knew. Then I asked him how old I was. And he knew what age category I ran in! Because of the Rhostryfan race. And it wasn’t unusual to run in the same group on the track. And I saw him at loads of races too. 

Lately he had been complaining he seemed to have lost his mojo. He just couldn’t run like before. And then, in Felinheli, he told me he had been diagnosed with a particularly unpleasant cancer, and needed to undergo particularly unpleasant treatment. Oh dear! 

A bit later, at the Pentir race, other Cybi striders told me the club wanted to wish him the best with his treatment. They had initially considered flowers or something, but then figured that was a rubbish idea. This was Ian; what suited him was a run. They wanted that to be open for everyone. So I made a mental note of the date. 

On a Wednesday evening I drove to Benllech where we all would gather. I was early, but there already were quite some Cybis. I parked up, wrestled with the parking app, and lined up. There were many familiar faces! Louise, Emma, Llio, Mel, Sion, Richie… a lot of my favourite track and race Cybis. And Ian, of course. 

I had an idea of how busy these club runs normally are; there often is a group pic appearing on social media. Recently it has been quite constant at about 15 participants. But this time there were at least 50. I think there were more! 

Group pic before the run. Ian kneeling in a dark blue T-shirt. 

Before we set off, Emma went through some H&S pointers. Then Kevin pulled Ian to the front and explained once more what the run was for. And Ian took the floor and said it wasn’t about him; it was about stressing that if something is off with you, you should have it checked out. He had very vague symptoms with which it is easy to just not go to your GP. But he had gone, and it turned out it was something very serious.

Then we started running. It was cloudy but dry. We headed west on a sizeable road, followed by a smaller road. Occasionally we stopped to let everyone catch up. There was a lot of talk about races past and present, and yesterday’s track session that I had missed as I had been  camping in the drizzle. 

We also dived into a public footpath. This was getting Thursday Night Hill! And it started raining. We then headed for Red Wharf Bay. On the beach we did a very rainy group picture. Where was that drought? 

Beach pic

We weren’t far from the starting point now; we just had to run back up the hill. All sorts of people appeared, of various ages, and accompanied by dogs. Ian’s family and non-running friends! And there were loads more on the car park. They all looked like drowned rats. The heavens had opened! 

The non-running people had brought water and cake for everyone. And we socialised a bit. Everyone wished Ian the best. But people were getting cold in their flimsy running tops in the pouring rain. 

I had the impression Ian really appreciated all goodwill shown. Good! I don’t know how much we will see of him in the coming months. Maybe he’ll jog some races to feel better? Do half a track training? I wouldn’t put it past him. But maybe he will be too poorly. Either way; I hope he will be back to his full mojo after the treatment. And then he can go and overtake me in the last tens of meters of the Rhostryfan race. Or any other race, really… 

Wet camping trip in between droughts

We were starting to take the drought for granted. In the weekend, Neil suggested he take two days off and we go on a little camping adventure. I had already taken the week off as I was desperately trying to use my annual leave of the academic year just gone by. We didn't even check the forecast until we were committed. It was actually quite cloudy! And there was even a chance of rain. We decided to go anyway. It had been a long, long time since our first trip with a tent. 

I wanted to take Neil to Llyn Glas, on the flanks of yr Wyddfa, where I had camped on my own a few years before. It was the most beautiful place I had done that. 

We decided to park in Rhyd Ddu, and walk up a public footpath that crosses the slate quarry there, and then veer off to the right on a gravel track. That goes into the general direction of the Ranger path, but in order to end up in the valley I wanted to go to you have to turn right before you get there. 

We walked up in light rain and drizzle. I was trying to keep my socks dry. I wasn't in my clunkiest boots as I was trying to keep my feet comfortable. The path was gorgeous! I don't think I had done it before. And the most spectacular bit was going through the quarry. In there we also met a bunch of friendly DofE kids, who interviewed us for their project. And we walked through a cattle herd. 

Path under the clouds

I failed to take any pictures that do the quarry justice

When we go to the gravel track, navigation was less easy than normal because visibility was quite rubbish. And we kept following it for a bit too long. We had walked all the way to Llyn Ffynnon y Gwas. So be it! And I suggested we might want to actually camp there, as the higher valley would be in the cloud, by the look of things. But we didn't really see an obvious camping spot. We decided to go to my initial destination after all. 

By then my phone was almost empty. I found out later it had been taking about 100 pictures of the inside of my trouser pocket. So frustrating.

It was less sheltered in the little cwm with Llyn Glas and Llyn Coch than I had hoped. I did show Neil the spot where I had stayed the previous time. He acknowledged it was beautiful, but there was not enough space for a bigger tent. 

In the end we decided to head down the hill again. We were just looking for shelter. And in the end we found a spot on a little river island at the bottom of the slope into the cwm. It was sheltered enough! Obviously, there was plenty of water. By that time I was hungry. We pitched the tent and I sat down to cook spaghetti. Neil put on his long trousers. I didn't expect him to wear these at all, the entire month.

My tent with in the background the ridge with Ranger Path on it

After dinner I had a quick wash. I wanted to put on trousers as well. And dry socks. My attempts at keeping the original pair dry had failed spectacularly! Neil thought it was too cold for a bath. And after my bath we boiled some water for coffee and tea. And we had brought the last two beers of the team prize of the breakwater race. We drank them. 

Our spot had beautiful little carnivorous plants 

It started raining a bit, so we went indoors. We were both actually quite tired. When the rain stopped we went out to brush our teeth, have a last leak and then call it a day.

I slept alright, but I had to go to the loo in the middle of the night. I had been drinking too close to bedtime. Neil never noticed, but he spent other parts of the night awake.  

When we woke up, the weather was pretty much the same. I woke up first, and went out to boil water for coffee and breakfast. After breakfast we packed up. We decided to follow the fence nearby (the only explicit sign of human activity in the far surroundings) back to the gravel road. That showed us some new terrain, and some of it was quite pretty, but also, it wasn't very well travelled, and some bits were a bit trying, with soggy and/or very uneven ground. But we got to the gravel road. 

On our way back

From there it was straightforward to get back to the car. We both were keen to get out of our soaking socks and into our crocs. 

Back on the gravel track, heading for the quarry

Leaving the quarry

It was a bit weird to have such a damp camping trip in the month that probably will turn out to be the driest one in Wales on record. Bad timing! But given that the drought is expected to return, maybe we could do another one this summer? One that is dry? And that has excellent visibility? Stay tuned!