Autumn mists and mellow fruitfulness

Autumn is well and truly established now.  The trees are losing their leaves at a rapid rate and there is a real chill in the air when we open the back door first thing in the morning.   This morning, there was a mist over the river creating a mysterious atmosphere as I rode along the river path.  But, I wasn’t fully able to appreciate it as my fingers were chilly.  For the first time in many months, it now feels cold enough to need gloves when I cycle into work and before long, I’ll need my lights.  Winter is approaching

Exercise!!!!

I’ve reached the conclusion that exercise is bad for the human form.  I’m currently suffering from a variety of bruises, cuts and aches that can be directly attributed to various physical activities.  My lower back and knees are aching from my daily dog running (other dog owners walk; I run!) and recent steep mountain descents.  My calves and shins are covered in bruises and serrated cuts from unintended interaction with my bike pedals.  But worst of all, this physical suffering is contributing to insomnia.  I’m now awake at 4am with a gnawing pain in my hips. So much for well-being!

Chilean Mine rescue

Watching the “made for TV” real-life drama of the Chilean Miners play out before our eyes caused me to reflect on the strength of the human spirit.  So often during times of crisis or danger, we hear of amazing tales of endurance and courage, of true fortitude.  What deep instinct is it that causes men to crawl down mountains with broken legs, or retain their dignity while enduring terrible conditions of captivity and poverty? The shining example of the trapped miners themselves has demonstrated that human resilience should be celebrated.  The inner drive to survive is truly an amazing thing

Civic Tea

Yesterday, we had tea at the Civic Centre with the Mayor of Carlisle, Cllr. Mary Stythe.  Although it sounds impressive, we’ve actually known Mary for many years so it was a lovely gesture of her to invite us and some friends to share in the celebrations during her final year of council office.  We had a tour of all the civic offices and the council chamber before Nerea and her friends tried on the official robes.  The Civic Centre building might be a hideous 60s nightmare but I’m still very much in favour of the ancient traditions of local government

My love affair is over

My love affair with Strictly is over.  I was prepared to give the new format a trial despite unpalatable changes, including the vacuum left by Brian Fortuna but when the beautiful, talented dancer and choreographer Kristina Rihanoff was pared with Goldie, I didn’t hold out much hope for my long, meaningful relationship.  When poor Kristina was voted out first this weekend, the sparkle died and with it, my romance.  The changes have been a step too far and there’s no hope of a reconciliation. It feels like time to move on and reclaim my Saturday evenings with a good book

AUTUMN CACHING

Yesterday, we had a glorious day out geocaching in the Lakes.  The colours of the trees and the bracken were just turning and in the slightly hazy light, the views were mystical.  We’d originally planned a different route than the one we actually undertook but our caching partners wanted to purchase a retirement gift for a colleague so we re-considered and headed for Thornthwaite Gallery.  One beautiful painting purchase later, we were off up to Lords Seat and Broom Fell before returning through Winlatter Forest. Sometimes I can’t believe our luck to live so close to such a wonderful area

Letter from the UK?

Alastair Cooke’s “Letter from America” was something of an institution all my life. My family not only enjoyed the insightful social and political commentary but also the mundane observations of American life; New York pavements, holiday celebrations, hurricane warnings. That the perceptive insights into the culture of the USA were made by an outsider, an Englishman who never left, largely contributed to the programme’s success and longevity.   American Brian Fortuna, TV presenter and linguist would be the ideal presenter to reprise and modernise the original “London Letters” idea (from which “Letter from America” developed), but with a 21st Century twist