Well, the Engine Common Lane retrospective and the wistful burst of Tolkien turned out to be a little premature. This morning’s 4 mile run took place back near “the door where it began”, and indeed included a whopping double helping of Engine Common Lane. I couldn’t help blushing a bit as it consumed me yet again.
No, nothing went wrong with the move. Actually it wasn’t really a move at all. Yesterday we completed the purchase of the new Runningcommentary Towers, and went over to collect the keys and to start hoovering up the dead flies and scraping other people’s lives from the walls. Our furniture is still in storage elsewhere, but we had intended on stopping overnight there. Except that we forgot to take any bedding with us. As a veteran of many a budget trip round the Indian Subcontinent I am well accustomed to concrete beds but my wife is not similarly seasoned, and quite reasonably suggested that we postpone the nocturnal part of our move for another night.
So we returned to somewhere near Chipping Sodbury last night, where this morning I did my 4 miler. Which should be dead easy by now but still isn’t. Again, a very warm and sunny morning: the weather’s been wildly summery this last week. It was wonderful to be out and about in it, but running is perhaps being a little over-appreciative, I decided. At least it would be normally, but of course I’m following a strict marathon training programme so I’ve no choice.
This morning we returned to Berkshire (about 70 miles) to continue the chores only to realise that we had once again forgotten to take any bedding or cushions along, and so once again we find ourselves back in the West. Tomorrow however I have no run, so there’s a chance that I really have run my last Engine Common Lane.
But I now know better than to pen another premature obituary…
PS I’m celebrating the sort-of house move at the moment by enjoying a few scoops of Sainsbury’s Easter Champagne bargain Charles De Muret NV. I’m extremely glad I opened the bottle and sampled a glass or two before reading the irritating Jane MacQuitty’s review in today’s Times. She notes: “Appalling beery smell on opening, followed by a scent of mothballs. Odd, mothball-charged palate with an acidic, tinny, camphor-scented finish. The worst [of the cheap supermarket Champagnes]”.
Oh Jane! Poor Sainsbury’s! The wine in my bottle is actually pretty good. No evidence of camphor or mothballs, and what she describes as acidic and tinny is, to me, the pretty damn drinkable, crisp, appliness of youthful Champagne. This isn’t top class Champagne but for £6.99 (reduced from £14.99) it’s a hell of a bargain, and everyone reading this should go and buy a bottle or two and stick it in their fridge along with a label reading: Not to be opened until the evening of April 14th.
You’ll be glad you did.
