Fri 14 Feb 2003

Two days before the Goring 10K, and it’s touch and go whether I’ll make it. I’ve got flu symptoms – a rare experience for me. I’ve been snorting paracetemol all evening (that is what you do with it I presume?), which is gradually closing down my senses.

The race looks like a well-organised, friendly affair. And it’s local, so I really don’t want to miss it.

I worked from home today, so took the opportunity of a lunchtime run. It was cold – two or three degrees – but the sun was strong. In other words, a wonderful day for a run. Given the race in two days time, I decided to just have an easy jog for a couple of miles, though this turned into a brisk three and a half miler without me really noticing.

As I ran past the local school, an egg sandwich landed at my feet, amid much chortling from a gang of spotty adolescents. I stopped and exchanged a few intemperate words with them. A teacher appeared with his hand on the guilty shoulder, so I decided to leave it at that.

I spent some time musing on this incident as I continued. I don’t really blame the kid. Just think: you’re fourteen, and you’ve realised to your disgust that your mum has made you bloody egg sandwiches again. Just as your fury is reaching its peak, some plump, grey-haired geezer runs past, panting. What choice do you have? You chuck the sandwich at him. All very understandable really, and certainly what I’d have done in his position. I shouldn’t have shouted at him.

Perhaps I’ll contact the school to apologise for my behaviour.

The highlight of the afternoon, as I slipped deeper and deeper into flu-iness, was watching the session from the United Nations, with Hans Blix delivering his report on the weapons inspections in Iraq. This affair has become high drama; one of those occasions when you feel a witness to history. There are relatively few Bush-Blair supporters in this country, and I’m not one of them. The day’s events were quite encouraging to those of us on the other side of the argument, even though the widespread view is that the US will attack Iraq regardless of the wishes of the UN. They just don’t get it.

I had a strange premonition this evening that something terrible will happen here in the next few days. Something worse than missing the Goring 10K.

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