August 2013

[Sweder]

Happy days in the gently reducing, girth-wise, World of Sweder.

As life continues to flash past at an ever-increasing rate, a moment comes along to shut the window and cut out the dreadful windrush. Tomorrow I shall take my seat at the Kensington Oval for day one of the 5th 2013 Ashes Test. It'll be my first visit to a test match of any colour, never mind one dyed in such illustrious hues as brilliant white, verdant green and shining gold.

Enough Aussie-bating. They're all feigning disinterest, anyway. Spoilsports.
Running continues. I managed to map a small section of the Lewes Marathon course on Sunday night, stopped only by the arrival of darkness as I traversed the South Downs Way from the tips of the W to Rodmell via the Yellow Brick Road. It's the first time I've run down the YBR. What a joy it was, the wheat shimmering under an almost-full moon, the caps of Firle Beacon and Mount Caburn skulking in the half-light, like shoulders hunched against the dark.

   

The run from home to the top of the W was almost as long as the section (just under 3.5 miles). I'd like to get at least Firle mapped on Saturday morning. It'll have to be an early start as I'm boarding the vintage bus for Maidstone with the Rooks Faithful at 11.30. The new season is under way. Optimism flows like cheap ale amongst the Faithful. 7 points from our first three games is a fair return. Tonight I'm off to Rookery Hill, the home of East Thurrock, to see if we can stoke the fires under hope and expectation.
Stop press: excellent 2-0 away win gives Lewes FC ten points from four games #COYR

I pushed myself around a four mile loop this morning, dropping in a series of lung-burning sprints for good measure. A sprint, by my dodgy measure, is anything sustained under 7 min/ mile pace on the flat or downhill, under 8m/m on the rise.

Sad to learn this afternoon of the passing of Elmore Leonard. He started out writing Westerns, but it's for his snappy dialogue and Noirish thrillers tinged with dark humour that he'll be remembered. Against the reception of the critics of the time I rather enjoyed the big screen adaptation of Get Shorty. I never read Rum Punch, later made by Tarantino into Jackie Brown. Both flicks are worth a look on a dark and stormy night.

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoTEFOPwH9s&sns=em [/video]