Farmhand

When I saw that a Joy Division tribute band was going to play in Neuadd Ogwen, my interest was piqued. Joy Division! I have never been in the position to see the real deal. And tribute bands can be quite good. I don't think I've ever seen one, but when a Linkin Park tribute band played next door before the soundproof doors were installed, I could hear that they were quite convincing. It was well worth the try.

I initially had a companion for this, but they later realised they couldn’t attend. Now what? When I was talking to Jenny, my Welsh tutor, about music, I had an idea. She likes her 70s and 80s classics! Would she be interested? And she was. There was a complication, though; she said that in May, the smallholding she lives on requires all of her time. She can't just go and spend the evening away just like that. She mentioned she might get her grandson to give her a hand during the day, as that would probably result in so much progress she could take the evening off. But then I said I could just show up. I might very well be keener on that sort of chores than her grandson is! 

She thought it was a good idea. And had an additional good idea: she suggested I could bike to where she lives, and then we could do what needs doing, and then she could put my bike into the back of her van, and we could drive back to Bethesda. Excellent idea! And so it happened.

It was a hot day, like the previous time I had biked in that area, but it was ok biking to Llanbedrgoch. It took some 75 minutes. And then I reported for duty! She first offered me a drink, and then we decided on what to do first. And we chose some ivy bashing. Her ivy is also threatening the gutters, and also the solar panels, so it had to be cut back. And we also repotted tomato plants, and gathered firewood, and improved rabbit-proofing a fence (I have a little hope that that will work, but that's a different matter), cut weeds in the field where her alpacas graze (they are picky), and raise some chicken wire so that the plants underneath it had a bit more space to grow. This interspersed with a few more drinks and some toilet visits.

She did wonder if I shouldn't have a day of rest before a race, but I just shrugged. That was just not how it was working out!

We made such good progress we by then had done everything she wanted to do that day, except the things that she wanted to wait with until the weather would turn a bit less dry. Success!

I had had a good time. I know my own garden needs some attention too, but it was nice to help out a friend. I know she is my Welsh tutor, but I think she can be both these things at the same time.

It was also great to see where she lives. It is right up my street! Although her vegetable garden is something I can, for now, only dream of. My limited talent would require me to quit my job in order to achieve what she has there. And I met her husband, and the chickens and the alpacas. I had hoped to meet her pig, but it had got very old and had died in winter! So no pig. The alpacas crack me up. They seem to be very nosy, and if a new person shows up they want to stare at them at any given opportunity. And they also make incredibly cute sounds. 

When we were done she served some kind of pea soup with bread. She encouraged me to have seconds, as she knew I had a race the next day! Apparently, she is familiar with carb loading. And then we were ready to go back to the mainland. Neuadd Ogwen, here we come!

(Most of) the alpacas

Teaching (undergraduates) is over

It's done! After the extensive Easter break, we only had one teaching week left, and it was only a four day week as the Monday was a bank holiday. And on the Friday I had the last big commitment: a presentation session for all the dissertation students who for some reason hadn't been capable of doing their presentation in the main session. There were quite a few on the list!

I had made sure everything was prepared: the presentations were lined up, conference booklets were printed, and I had more mark sheets and feedback sheets than I could shake a stick at. So I got into the office in the morning, filled my flask up, and went to the room where it would all take place.

Most students were there. And we had highly varied topics. Staffing it didn't quite go as intended; I had way too much stuff before the coffee break, and not enough after. I had to go and grab a colleague because these presentations have to be marked by two members of staff at least. And there was a complication of a simultaneously held session for second year students. I was a bit miffed about that. But I made it work.

Next week I will have to put a lot of grades and feedback on the module website. I should have plenty of time for that! What with undergraduate teaching being now over. I do have to step in on Monday for the master students, as one colleague has a medical appointment and needed a caretaker, and another one is at a conference, and I have a lot of academic integrity cases to see to, but I should manage to do all of that. And immediately afterwards, the exam period begins! So that's another academic year as good as over. It feels like yesterday that it began…

A lionfish, which featured heavily in one of the talks. Picture by Alexander Vasenin

Again - back on the hills, post-injury

It didn't take very long for me to get back to running after busting my knee. But only on the road. Or if not the road, then at least very smooth terrain. I had went to the top of Penrhyn Quarry twice; that is a gravel road. That was okay.

I had managed to successfully run a 10k race. Would I be ready to resume my off-road running? I decided to chance it the next day. I don’t always judge it well. 

It was a beautiful evening, and there were a lot of dogs. So far it booked auspicious. And then we set off into Dinorwic Quarry. That was okay; that is similar to Penrhyn quarry. When we ran out on the other side I got a bit slow, but then we started to head uphill. Then it's basically your heart and lungs that limit you; not so much the terrain. And we were heading to the top of Elidir Fawr! That's a bit of a beast of a hill. But as long as we went uphill, I was no slower than the next person. There was barely any running involved! 

Running out of the quarry

When we got to the top we admired the amazing view. I had only recently been there with Henco and Maaike! Then I had pulled it off as well. But I hadn't been expected to run.

Scrambling to the top

When we set off downhill, I knew I was going to be very slow, and I was. I could still feel my knee was vulnerable. One runner very kindly stayed with me when we saw everybody else vanish into the distance, to Elidir Fach. Between Elidir Fach and the asphalt road to the surge pond is also knee breaking territory, so again I was lagging way behind. I suggested to Dyfed I just make my own way. I was so slow! And I know the way. But he pointed out that they would be cutting through to the road that zigzags down the quarry; one can also get there via the asphalt road. So I did that! And three people and one dog even followed me. 

From there on, the terrain wasn't treacherous. It was still going downhill, so I was still the slowest, but they didn't have to wait for me very long. And once we were back on the flat, I was back to being a perfectly average Thursday runner again.

Dinorwic sunset

It hadn't been entirely straightforward, but I had managed a Thursday night again without making my knee problem worse! Mission accomplished. Hopefully, next week my knee will be again one week closer to perfect recovery, and we won't do anything as silly as scale something of the calibre of Elidir Fawr. I hope I can keep doing these runs as they are really enjoyable! But then without being the slow one everybody else has to wait for…

Six gates: on the way out?

If you want to get out of Bethesda on bike, the bicycle path is the obvious choice. Unfortunately, you need to pass six gates in order to get out of the village. I already complained about that when I first described my new commute! And, of course, it works the same way in the other direction. These gate are not popular with the local cycling community.

Then the bicycle path closed for months, with an unclear reason. Well, the reason has become clear now! It is exactly to get rid of the six gates! These were always meant to regulate the movement of cattle. But now, the cattle get their own tunnel. And the council says all six gates can go when the tunnel is ready.

Work is making clear progress. When I found out what was actually going on, I was really glad! First they got rid of the tree-root-created speed bumps, and now they are getting rid of the gates! Is this turning into a bike-friendly country? I, for one, think this is fab!

 

The tunnel is in position; now they need to reinstate the bicycle path over it

 

Ras Rhostryfan

I was in the car with some other Eryri Harriers, on the way to a Borders League, when I heard of Ras Rhostryfan. It sounded really good! I really love that area, and it would just be early in the evening, and it would be 10k which is a nice distance. So I immediately put it in my diary. You couldn't register beforehand.

Things changed before the race, of course! I hadn't done much running for a few weeks after doing my knee in during a Fell Race, although I had already run to the top of Penrhyn Quarry twice, without issues. So I was confident this was going to be alright. It was all on the road, and nothing was ridiculously steep.

On the day I drove down, and found a parking spot in the village. I had mentally prepared for parking chaos! But I found none. And I went to registration where I already spotted some familiar faces. Mostly Eryri Harriers. And when I had registered, I did a little warmup with fellow Harrier Nia-Meleri. And then it was pretty much most time to lineup at the start.

I did feel a bit vulnerable in the beginning, but I quickly got into the swing of things. It went well! I wasn't having a runner's high at all, but my knee felt strong enough and I was happily plodding along through the scenic countryside and villages. I did try to keep up with fellow harrier Arwel; I know I can beat him on a good day. But I suppose I can’t when I’m thinking of my knee too much. 

Along the way

After a few kilometres I sort of felt like I had eaten too recently. It really had been quite a while ago! Sometimes it's difficult to predict what time you should eat how much in order to not be burdened by your stomach content, but also not by low sugar levels. Arwel was nowhere to be seen. But the kilometres kept ticking by, and the last 2 km I felt I could ramp it up a bit. There wasn't much downhill anymore, and my stomach felt okay.

Somewhere close to the school where the start had been I saw a large concentration of runners. Was this the finish? Or just a good location for spectators? I just kept running until some Harriers shouted "stop!" at me. It was indeed the finish. It turned out I wasn't the only one who wasn't sure, and who would have run straight back to the school if no one would have stopped me. 

Just before the finish 

There was some nice finish socialising going on, but quite soon I wanted to go and put an extra layer on and drink my recovery drink, so I headed back to the school (where my bag was) with fellow Harrier Mary. We found out we were both racing again on Sunday, so we made plans for sharing cars. I look forward to that!

Then I saw people involved in the organisation approaching the school; I supposed the last person had finished, and it was time for the ceremony. That was true! And many of the winners were Eryri Harriers, such as 1st woman, 2nd man, and fastest female junior (in a shorter race). Hooray! And was fastest woman over 40, and Arwel the fastest man over 60. We both picked a bottle of wine as prize. 

I also took the opportunity of asking Rhian and Dyfed, who are deeply involved in the Thursday Night Hill runs, what sort of terrain I could expect the next day.  Would I chance it with my knee? And it sounded doable so I decided to give it a go. I think I'm back in business! I hope I can pull this off, even off the road!

I drove home quite happily with my bottle of wine. And a day or two later, the results appeared. I had been quite slow! 47:52. Slower than the Nick Beer races. But in spite of how it feels, these have less ascent. And my focus had been staying in one piece anyway. Next year again! And then faster…

I didn’t take any pics until the way back. It was such a gorgeous sunset I stopped for it

Garden stairs

When I bought the house, it came with wooden steps to the garden. Rose told me they were quite recent. I suppose she must have had them replaced. And I was quite dutiful in painting them every year. But paint only does so much in the bracing north Wales weather! You could tell the wood was slowly decaying.

The stairs in question 

This year I decided I needed to do something about it. I just didn't know where to go. But when the steps were looking like they might give under the weight of a heavy person, I first had a look whether I could just replace the crumbliest steps myself. 

That didn't work; some of the screws I couldn't get to move, and some of them were moving a bit too freely. I also noticed that it wasn't just the steps, but also the diagonals, that were showing signs of decay.

Not in good nick

 

The next step was to Google gardeners that might do that sort of work. In my quest for someone to replant my raised beds, I had noticed that people who called themselves gardeners are quite likely to not specialise in plants at all, but only in the hard infrastructure of gardens, such as raised beds and decking, and, indeed, steps. So I contacted a local one. They confirmed they indeed do that kind of work, and soon a man appeared to have a look at the actual situation. The next day he gave me a quote, and I accepted it. But then I asked him when he could actually do the work, and he came back to me saying that he actually couldn't. Now that was a waste of everybody's time!

The stairs were really due replacement, so I changed tack. I asked on the village Facebook page if anyone could recommend someone. And that same day I had two blokes in my DMs, offering their services. Both appeared later that same day to have a look, and both provided a quote the day after. And I gave the job to the first person who had shown up. There wasn't much difference in the two quotes, but the second delegation was suggesting doing the work black. I am in favour of tax! So I am going to be paying the whole amount, to the first guy. And he seemed a nice bloke, and he could do it soon. 

The bloke who got the job also said that another job, the very next day, has fallen through, so we agreed they would come right away. It did mean I couldn't be around for any questions. But I don't think there are that many questions you can have about garden stairs.

They arrived after I had had to leave to go to work. And no questions were asked. I did manage to get back quite early, and when I did they just finished! So I could admire their work. They had made a nice replica of the original stairs. Works for me! And they helped me put the old stairs and the offcuts of the new one in the garage. I will have a lot of firewood from that! Now I need to paint the new stairs and put anti-slip on top. And then I'm sorted again for many years! Great!

Result! 

Students’ own dissertation topics: it has started again

This year’s cohort of students haven't submitted their dissertation yet, but the work on next year's dissertation has already started. I always allow the students to design their own topic, and I tell them that already towards the end of their second year. If they want, they can do that work over summer. And I have sent that email out.

I needed to first think about the message I would send. Last year, the workload associated with this got completely out of hand. So I made sure the form they have to fill out is even more detailed, forcing them to think about their proposal in more detail. And I have limited the number of attempts to 3. Last year I had too many students who, if I didn't approve of their proposal, would barely change anything and just resubmit. That takes way too much time. 

I already have the first proposal in! So it has started. I didn't approve of it the first time around. I wanted to know a bit more about the precise nature of the data, and the intended analysis. And a bit more about the rationale. But I think this student will manage to address that successfully. We'll see! I hope that this year I will find the Goldilocks point of a fair number of students getting the OK to do their own topic, without causing me to have so much work on that I end up teetering on the brink of a burnout. We'll see!

A sponge; the topic of the first proposal. Pic by Nick Hobgood