.....and there's more......

A tea party

Something lovely happened a few weeks ago and it really lifted our spirits. This pretty little card arrived in the post.

Oooh, a tea party!

The invitations were so beautiful and were created by Tracey who enjoys card-making (although it's hard to believe that she's only just started as they were gorgeous!)

A week before the event Maggie, my neighbour and fellow Village-in-Bloomer, phoned to ask me if I'd like to accompany her to the event; neither of us knew the other had been invited so she came along with us and we had a good old catch-up.

The event was held in the village hall at Horam which isn't too far away and when we arrived we were presented with a booklet and these pretty badges with flowers for the ladies and a ladybird for the gentlemen.

Inside were details about all the guests and why they had been invited and we were encouraged to mix with everyone else. It was lovely to discover that 3 other people from our village (beneath my name) had been invited too.

Maggie and me posing. That's my latest shawl but by the time the photo was taken I'd been hugged several times and it had moved around so you can't see all the lovely lacy detail (it got lots of nice comments though).

I got another nice surprise after I'd finished all the yummy goodies - I even had some cream with my scone and jam, which is most unusual for me as I try to avoid it as it exacerbates my asthma, and my goodness it was a real treat! I was sitting chatting with the lady next to me when someone came and squatted down beside me. His face was familiar but I couldn't quite place him until he said he'd seen my name in the programme and that he was a photographer I last saw back in 2007 just before the first time I ran and knit at London marathon.

A face from the past

All in all a most enjoyable afternoon and Anthony very kindly made a donation to my fund-raising which was a lovely surprise

A bit of crochet

I needed a new mat for one of the bedside tables so I had a rummage around in my old crochet patterns and found one that suited the size perfectly.

The yarn is some cotton I've had for years. Not quite as fine as the stuff we used for the really intricate doilies but not far off. It's actually more beige than it looks in the photo and I was very pleased I could still actually hold and work with a 1.5mm crochet hook!

It still needs to be blocked and starched but I thought I'd show it now as it's finished.

A very pleasing pattern to work

The flowers that bloom in the Spring, tra la

Isn't it lovely when the the Spring flowers start peeping out. Their bright and cheerful freshness really lifts ones spirits. I planted lots of Leucojums and Daffodils in the orchard so that we can have their pretty blooms in the house.

Leucojum vernum aka Spring Snowflake is often mistaken for a giant Snowdrop although it's actually related to the Amaryllis

Combined here with beautiful Euphorbia 'White Swan' and an unknown daffodil

Isn't that a pretty Daffodil. There's only 1 and I have no idea what it is but it must have sneaked in with the pale yellow ones I planted.

Another day, another arrangement. This time it's zingy yellow daffs combined with my favourite Hellebore (see below) with some twigs of Dogwood, Euonymus and ivy.

Isn't the Hellebore a yummy colour. It's Helleborus purpurascens.

Walkies (with a bit of running occasionally)

I wasn't sure I would be able to take part in the Sevenoaks Circular LDWA event this year and left my entry until the very last minute whereupon I discovered it was full. Hey ho, I thought, then nil desperandum and contacted the organisers to ask if they'd had any cancellations. A few days later they confirmed that there was a place for me which made my day as it was a chance to catch up with lots of my running chums who I've hardly seen in the last few months.

It was never going to be a quick one as there was lots of chatting and photos and eating at the checkpoints. To make it even more of an adventure we misread the instructions at one point and missed a left turn which meant we had to retrace our steps (up a massive hill!) which added 2 miles onto the route. I was very glad I'd taken my walking poles with me as they really help on the steep uphill sections.

Cue lots of photos of seriously not serious runners, most of us with over 100 marathons under our belts, having a jolly good day out:

Bryan, me, Emine (rocking the Pocahontas look) and Kirsty

OK, who took that - you're in big trouble!!!

The team assembles. From left to right: Emine, Kirsty, me, Bryan, Carl and Rachael

The first section of the route took us through the grounds of beautiful Knole Park

Not sure who took this but we've been joined, briefly, by Anna (far left) and Dave (far right and Chairman of the 100 marathon club with over 600 marathons to his name!)

There were plenty of deer about and we heard the parakeets screeching in the trees.

There were several checkpoints en-route and even though we were very slow after our little detour there was still enough  left for us.

The route took us across very varied terrains - ploughed fields, grass, narrow or enclosed footpaths, through villages, up steep hills which rewarded us with fabulous views from their summit, through churchyards, past very expensive houses and along high hills which fell away steeply to one side.

What I enjoy most about these LDWA events is that you get to see places you would probably never see otherwise. We had such a lovely time full of fun and laughter and no worries about how fast or slow we were so there were lots of opportunities for very silly photos:

What a lot of silly-billies (except for David in the white shirt, yet another legend with over 600 marathons to his name)

Thanks to our little diversion we were much slower than expected and Mike phoned after 9 hours to check I was OK as he was getting worried that he hadn't heard from me.

Back in Knole Park for the last couple of miles. This tree had the most amazing trunk.

Even slower than last year and getting dangerously close to the 10 hour cut-off. Oops!

All in all a grand day out.

Catching up slowly

Right, what is there to share - loads of stuff! I'm not sure where to start so it won't necessarily be in chronological order and I'll have to keep the waffle to a minimum so it will consist of mostly photos or I'll never catch up.

A bit of Nature and wildlife

I write a column for The Herdman Association in our village and in my last article I wrote a piece about moles as we have had soooooo many molehills appearing on our land over the last few months. We only used to get a few odd ones in our field on sandstone but this year they’ve crept into the ones which are on heavy clay. You can actually track their progress from the top of each field as they work their way down. This group made me chuckle as they appear to be following one of the many animals tracks that criss-cross the land:

They feed on earthworms - apparently their saliva contains an enzyme which paralyses the worms which they can then store alive in a larder (Yuk!). Another interesting fact I discovered is that in the late 1800’s moleskin clothing was the height of fashion in the UK and there were professional mole catchers known as 'wanters' who were employed to kill and skin the moles (poor little mites). I’ve never seen a live mole as they rarely appear above ground.

There's still plenty of running going on and in the winter months I always try to snap the biggest fungi I spot and this one was magnificent:

Ptolomey the pheasant arrived during the annual exodus of pheasants when they are no longer fed by the farmers holding shoots on their land. He is quite different from the usual cock pheasants in that his colouring is much richer. He's a gorgeous boy and he's been with us for several months now.

Time for some knitting

Tilly has been my constant companion whenever I was knitting, either on my knee or on the chair next to me. I should add here that I've done so much knitting and gardening recently that my hands are incredibly sore and arthritic so I'm having to restrict myself to doing shorts bursts rather than settling down for an evening of knitting.

I'm helping aren't I!

Mike's cowl was a quick and most enjoyable knit. During the few cold snaps we had he kept pinching my Cochal cowl which was part of the 7 skeins club from Kate Davies so I decided he needed one of his own. I used up some lovely Rowan yarn, 'Tapestry', now discontinued which is a shame because it's a lovely yarn to work with.

I really enjoyed the last shawl I made from The Book of Haps, 'Houlland' by Donna Smith which has had many outing recently as the colour goes with so many outfits, and I couldn't wait to get started on my next one,  'Uncia' by Lucy Hague as it's such an interesting construction with every row different.

Having avoided cables for many years (I spent a large part of the late 60s and early 70s knitting Arran jumpers and cardigans!) this has really renewed my love of them. Although one wouldn't really imagine this to be the ideal project for taking with me to wait in hospital corridors it turned out to be be perfect and amazingly I didn't make lots of mistakes.

The yarn is one of my favourites, Fyberspates Vivacious 4 ply in 'Verdigris' and the colours are perfect for with my dark green winter jacket (no photos, sorry) and it also looks good over my denim dress which you'll see in a subsequent post.

It did take me a while to grasp how to style it well and I found that my preferred way is to drape the largest part over my shoulder and chest equally. It was a most enjoyable knit and is a joy to wear.

There's still more knitting and crochet to show which reminds me I haven't updated my Ravelry page for yonks either.

A Little Visitor

One afternoon I was pulling out weeds in the front garden when I heard Esther, our Haflinger, calling me. I could hear her galloping around and snorting so went to investigate. She came charging up to the gate and she kept looking back towards the stile at the bottom of the field. I couldn't see anything but she was determined to get me to investigate and so we headed off together.

At first I couldn't see anything but as we got closer my eye determined what the fuss was about.........

A little pony in the woods!

It was very, very timid and wouldn't come near to begin with but I was concerned because there aren't any bits of land with horses grazing which back onto the woods so I was at a loss to see where she'd come from. I phoned around and asked if anyone knew anything about her but to no avail so I contacted the owner of the woods to let him know he had a little visitor.

Although she looked in reasonable shape I noticed that her poo was very loose. As this was around the time of the school holidays I wondered if perhaps someone had left her there whilst they went away (yes, I'm afraid people do that) or perhaps she'd just been abandoned. I had to make sure that she hadn't any horrible disease (such as Strangles) before I let our 2 old ladies too near to her and so I restricted their access to the boundary for a while.

She seemed to crave their company and after the initial shenanigans she hung around there all the time. This was equally worrying as there is no grass in the woods and although it adjoins an orchard the only things on offer were windfall apples and they were mostly rotten by that time.

After 2 weeks of her being there I started feeding her as the landowner wasn't interested (!!!) and I couldn't watch her starve.

After 4 weeks I phoned the RSPCA and Blue Cross to ask advice and was shocked to find they are so inundated with enquiries that they don't come out unless an animal is being mistreated or is starving. 

This resulted in me sticking notes through the letterboxes of everyone in the near vicinity in the hope that someone knew where she'd come from. Although I put my phone number on, no-one replied so I was at a loss what to do so next I contacted the British Horse Society who said the landowner would put up an 'Abandonment Notice' and if she hadn't been claimed within a certain time period then he could claim her as his own. He rather liked this idea as his wife left him a while ago, taking their pony-mad daughter with her (who he hadn't seen for 6 months) and I think he saw it as a way of getting back in touch so he said he'd take over the horse feeding. By that time it was 7 weeks since she'd appeared there.

A week later she disappeared and I haven't seen her since so we have no idea what happened to the poor little mite. Apparently, lots of people are just abandoning their ponies when they can't afford to keep them or have them put to sleep so I'm hoping that whoever has her now was just going through a bad patch and is now able to give her the care she needs. It's still a bit of a mystery though!

Peeping out!

I can hardly believe that it's been over 3 months since I last posted on my poor neglected blog, its 10th anniversary having been left unmarked. Suffice to say that life took an unexpected turn, as it likes to do from time to time, which resulted in us spending many hours sitting in hospital or doctors waiting rooms, waiting to see 'Specialists', having numerous 'tests' and waiting for results, having 'procedures', trying treatments etc etc. If there's an i-Spy book for collecting hospital departments then I reckon we're halfway to completing it!

Any thoughts of marathoning went right out of the window but I've still maintained my fitness as training runs are just part of my everyday life. Although we aren't completely out of the woods yet, I am feeling much more upbeat about everything and trotted off to complete the Sevenoaks 30 mile LDWA at the weekend which was just the tonic I needed.

I have been exceedingly active on the crafting front as I found both crochet and knitting very calming during the endless waiting. Interestingly, the projects I chose were not all nice, easy, mindless patterns (with the exception of Mike's cowl below) but required much concentration which in a way helped keep me focussed on something other than what was going on around us. I don't seem to have photos of my crochet or the other knitting projects so will just leave these here as a taster with more details to follow.

Mike's cowl in a simple honeycomb pattern

Another shawl (I really enjoyed this one!)

The beginnings of a gorgeous 'top-down' sweater which has been on my 'to do' list for ages

I have a massive collection of photos of many different things to share so hope to crack on with uploading them sooner rather than later although I suspect some things will be left unrecorded.

There's plenty going on with Alzheimer's Research UK too as I've been remiss in updating all the latest News. Must try harder!

Thank you to everyone who's emailed me to check I'm OK (I'd forgotten I used to have my email address on here - until I kept getting thousands of spam emails!), your kind words meant a lot. Hopefully normality will return sometime soon.

52 marathons in 52 weeks

I couldn't think up a snappy title for this post. It could also have been entitled 6 marathons in 12 days,  5 marathons in 9 days, 2 double marathons in 6 days, 100 marathons and beyond, 12 double marathons in 11 months, marathons 104 - 110. It's all really just playing around with numbers.

Because I knew this was going to be a really tough 12 days for me I decided to just take each day at a time, run however I felt on the day and try not to stop and take too many photos but still enjoy the scenery. I've put them in chronological order with not too many words as frankly they can all be summed up by this one sentence - "I ran another marathon today"!

Timelord on the Thames

This entry came about because of a chance encounter with Tom Baker, my favourite Doctor Who, whilst collecting my horse feed in a village nearby several months ago. He was hobbling along with walking sticks and we exchanged comments about arthritis, as you do! Then Rik announced this event, I told him about our encounter and another running chum very kindly offered me her place as a donation to my fund-raising (I donated the cost of her place to ARUK).

So that's why I left home at a very silly and unsociable hour on a weekday morning for a journey around the car park that is the M25. Well thank goodness I did leave with plenty of time to spare as there was a train strike that morning so lots of people had to use their cars to get to work and what should have been a 1.5 hour journey took nearly 3 hours and I didn't have much time to spare before the start.

Lots of people had dressed up for the occasion:

The route, which I've run before, was along the river at Walton-on-Thames and the weather was kind to us which was a blessing. Conditions underfoot weren't too bad either with just a few muddy puddles to navigate.

There were lots of people I knew there and I hooked up with Bryan for the last 2 laps.

I didn't set a target time and we finished in 5:38:06 (having caught up with our news) and Dee snapped us just after our celebratory hug.

Isn't this a fab medal. 

Even better, when you open the little doors, look who's inside wearing his trademark stripey scarf!

I had 2 days off before the next two marathons.

Saxon Shore Day 1 (Deal)

The next set of 5 marathons formed part of one of Traviss and Rachel's events consisting of 10 marathons in 10 days at different venues around the Kent Coast. Those taking part had already run one marathon the day before.

I've been to Deal several times before and I quite enjoy the route, especially when it isn't too windy or cold. On this occasion though it was both slightly windy and quite cold to boot, hence my trusty balaclava came in very handy. I decided not to take any photos unless there was something really special to snap (there are plenty here to give a feel for the route).

The sky looked amazing when we set off and it was a roiling sea with waves crashing against the breakers.

I like these out and back routes as you get to chat with lots of people en-route and there's plenty of high-fiving and hugs when needed. I felt fine and settled into my target pace quite easily.

The tarmac paths we ran along were much kinder than the concrete and shingle of the route we encountered the next day! I set myself a target time of 5:15 and I finished in 5:12:38 so was very happy with that.

Saxon shore Day 2 (Deal)

Same place, slightly different route with longer laps, which I usually prefer but not on this occasion, oh no! Although part of it was on tarmac and concrete, another section was on shingle which was a real trip-hazard. Several people stumbled on it and I made the decision to power-walk those sections and I'm really glad I did.

This was the turnaround point for day 1 but for day 2 we went up the steps into unknown territory

Catching up with Emine and Theresa

Oh-oh, the sky went dark and the storm clouds gathered as I approached the last 3 miles.

Oh look, a double rainbow (you can just about make it out through the torrential rain that ensued)

I got well and truly soaked through to the skin and had to peel off my clothing in the car. Good job I'd taken some nice dry clothes just in case.

I set a target time of 5:30 and I finished in 5:27:39.

Another 2 day break before the next 2 marathons.

St. Andrew's Day Challenge (Margate)

Off to Margate for this one, thankfully in much less windy conditions than last time I was there. However, this time there were severe weather warnings in place with heavy frost forecast which of course meant I had to leave home even earlier as our little lanes don't get gritted like the main roads so I had to be extra careful until I reached the major roads. Thankfully the main roads had been gritted so were OK.

Soon as I'd phoned Mike to let him know I'd arrived safely I was out of the car and taking in the views because WOW, it was so beautiful. I knew then that I wouldn't be able to resist some photo taking so gave myself a target time of 5:45 to allow for some sea-gazing.

Millsy taking Andy for a walk

When we set off the beach looked white with a thick layer of frost. Some bits, where the sun didn't reach, remained frozen throughout the day.

Not sure whose photo I've used here but it's better than mine so thanks to either Graham or Martin !

We've run this route before and I absolutely adore the expansive views of the sea and sky here. I really understand why JMW Turner spent so much time here trying to capture them. Each time I venture here I take far too many photos of the sea - it's the pattern of the waves and the ever-changing colours of the sea and sky. Just stunning. 

Then there are the sea birds and it's these little beauties, the Turnstones, that always stop me in my tracks and make me watch them. It's the way they scuttle that I love.

As it was St. Andrew's Day I wore my tartan flat cap and some matching tights under my leggings.

The iconic shell representation of Mrs Booth, Turner's landlady.

I really enjoyed the whole day and finished in 5:37:56.

The Advent Challenge (Ramsgate)

The next day we were at a new venue in Ramsgate and I really enjoyed this route too. It was cold again but the views were lovely and there were lots of very friendly people out and about walking with or without dogs in tow.

I got there nice and early and managed to park right by the start.

Graham multi-tasking on car park duties before running and taking photos

Base camp

That's one heck of a selfie-stick Graham!

I knew right from the start that I was going to take lots of photos as it just felt like one of those days and so I gave myself another 5:45 target finish time and just enjoyed the whole experience.

I researched this sculpture of hands and what looked like molecules and discovered that it was funded by Pfizer in 2000 to mark the opening of the National Cycle Network in Thanet.

There were several elderly men enjoying their model boats on the boating lake.

Our route was rather convoluted but with interesting views on each turn. After a few hundred metres along the main road we turned to go down onto the lower level towards Ramsgate Docks. This involved going through a stone archway and down a short sharp slope which we then had to run or walk up on the way back.

Concentrating quite hard as the surface on this section was a bit uneven

As it was such a lovely bright day there were lots of people out. I lost count of the number of people who asked what we were doing and if everyone was doing it for ARUK. I had nice chats with 3 lovely people, 2 of whom gave me donations for my fund-raising which really made my day. I spent a few minutes chatting with one lady whose husband is in the late stages of dementia and I hope chatting with me helped her to know that there people out there who understand and care about what she's going through.

Then there were the dog-walkers. Big dogs, small dogs, yappy dogs, friendly dogs but this little quartet caught my eye for obvious reasons; just look at their lovely knitted coats.

This little moppet was being taught tricks and the lady spent ages down there putting her through her paces.

There was a turnaround point marked on the ground and then we headed back up the sharp incline through the rocks to the higher level and then along towards the town centre where we got some great views of the docks.

People kept asking me if I was responsible for this yarn-bombing of a lamppost which made me chuckle. I did ask permission to do that on Tower Bridge for the London marathon one year but got a resounding "NO!" in response (pity as it would have been great fun).

There was a downhill section here and another turnaround point before we headed back up to
the checkpoint and started the whole process again. I actually didn't mind that hill as it's just like my regular running route at home so I jogged gently up it each time. It's the short, sharp inclines I dislike as I can't get my breath properly.

I loved all these original balconies on the terrace of houses.

I finished in 5:41:50 and felt surprisingly good. I had another 2 day break before the last one of my series which was also the last one for all the wonderful people who completed all 9 thus far. Believe me, anyone who'd made it that far wasn't going to give up at the final hurdle!

Dymchurch Marathon

Now this is one of those 'Marmite' routes - you either love it or hate it. I love most of the seaside routes and I have a soft spot for poor old Dymchurch as I love the light. Admittedly I don't like the concrete after about 5 hours but that's just part of the deal.

The weather forecast was quite good except for the usual wind for one half of each lap.

The lovely Dee on photographic and aid station duties as always whilst Philip runs around at an ever-increasing velocity! He actually wasn't the only person to speed up over the 10 marathons.

That's Martin in the yellow. He's the Lord Mayor of Folkestone which is just along the coast from Dymchurch and he's often seen at these events.

Arriving with my banana cake in hand

At the race briefing Traviss made some very special announcements about the 27 wonderful and inspiring people who would be completing their 10th marathon in 10 days there. Some of them I know very well, others I've got to know better during the week.

All of them are amazing.

But one young man, Adam Holland, went that little bit further and got himself the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to complete 10 marathons in 10 days, snatching the title away from Rik, of Pheonix Running (who was very gracious about it). I first met Adam when I did my first ever double marathon in Dover a few years ago and he made running a marathon look like a short trot around the park. Congratulations Adam, you are brilliant. You can read all about him here.

Excellent photo-bombing from Kirsty there!

The route we took was slightly different from the norm and went out one way for 1.7 miles from the start, then turn-around and head back to the start and go out the other way until you can't go any further, turn around and head back to the start. We had to repeat this 3  times (or was it 4? I can't remember now!).

The downside was that in one direction we were running into the wind and it was a bit fierce. I was rather asthmatic on the day and so ran with my balaclava over my face most of the time, only peeping out to take a few photos or to exchange words/hugs with fellow runners.

Oh my, those colours!

I was surprised to find that my legs felt fine throughout and so I set a target finish time of 5:15, crossing the line in 5:08:11. 

Unfortunately, Dee managed to catch me with a very strange facial expression so I thought I'd share it as it makes a change from my usual grin!

That is not a good look Susie!!!

That's a bit better and the medal's purple too (my favourite colour)

I think it's time for a show of bling from those last 5 marathons along the Kent coast:

 

A fabulous medal for St. Andrew's Day - I love Nessy!

This is such a lovely medal as it has a dial on the back which you turn to see a different picture each day in the little window at the top, just like an Advent calendar. We also got a chocolate Advent calendar rather than the usual goody bag which was a nice touch. I gave mine to the lady in the horse feed shop as she's really helpful.

My favourite colour for the Dymchurch medal

So that's it. Marathon 110 completed which marks my 52nd marathon in 52 weeks and another challenge completed with still 6 months to go until my 60th birthday. I have no idea what to do next..............