Category Archives: fitness

Turbo (x4), walk, gym, run(!), plus design, fines, satellites, gold and bull

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I started the week with 30 minutes on the turbo @30.3kph on Monday.

After that, just we were preparing to head up to London for grand-parenting on Tuesday, the power failed from the whole village and bits of the nearby town. That meant that we couldn’t set the house alarm so we sat tight hoping for the best – even though the early indictions from the electricity company was that they were aiming to get it back on by midnight. Happily, it returned reasonably quickly and we got to London before 9pm.

It rained very heavily overnight and that continued while we drove to Kingston on Tuesday morning. We were a bit nervous as to whether Theo would like us taking him out as the three of them only got back from three weeks in The Balkans on Monday. The fear was that he would both have forgotten us or might have got a bit clingy, having had both parents around all day.

As it was, he relaxed pretty quickly and we went for the usual 10 km walk around Richmond Park. After the lunch break at the cafe by Pembroke Lodge, we headed back just as the thunder started. It looked like we were going to be lucky and that the developing storm would pass us by … until we weren’t and it didn’t.

The rain was of almost Biblical proportions and we were soaked in minutes, despite rain jackets. Theo was dry with the rain cover to the pushchair but he didn’t like it one bit. In spite of all that (and a horrible, slow, drive back to Oxfordshire) it was a very fine day.

I’ve agreed to be the fourth member of a triathlon relay team in September. It’s a very short race – each leg is just 250m swim, 8km ride and 1.5km run. I can’t work out any logic to that but it’s a good thing that I’ll have the incentive to get back to the bike and the running.

Back to the turbo on Wednesday – I pushed on beyond the recent limit of 30 minutes and did 45 minutes @ 29.7kph. I’m sure I won’t always manage it but the aim now is for most sessions to be a minimum of 45 minutes or 30kph (or both).

On Thursday it was a morning coffee with the friend who is battling leukemia (and who has outlived the prognosis of three months by 9 months so far, and still going strong) and then the turbo for 30 minutes @31.1kph in the evening.

Gym on Friday morning followed by the bike shop.

Turbo again on Saturday – 45 minutes @29.9kph.

The general wisdom seems to be that it is possible to run with Achilles tendinopathy, provided it is done carefully, doesn’t include speed work or hills and does not result in extra pain the following day. Accordingly, on Sunday morning, I put the running shoes on and did a gentle run with my wife – my first run since the Reverse London Marathon in April.

I ran almost 8km at just under 7m/km. A bit further and faster than planned but it was good to be running again. It was hard, as expected, but there were times when I think it almost looked like real running (but slower). The Achilles didn’t hurt while I was out but tomorrow will tell more, I guess.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: A fully grown tree cannot be bent into a walking stick

2. BBC News website: Well, I won’t buy one then

Last week, luxury sports car maker Ferrari unveiled its first fully electric car – the $640,000 (£474,320) Luce. The new model departs from the look of typical Ferraris as the Italian brand’s first ever five-seater, created in collaboration with an agency founded by former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive.

Responses on social media to the launch ranged from describing it as “straight to the junkyard trash” to an “absolute masterclass in design”. On Tuesday, the firm’s shares fell more than 8% on the Milan stock market and by over 5% in New York.

Supercar rivals like Lamborghini and Porsche have scaled back on their EV plans due to poor demand and intense competition from Chinese brands.

3. BBC News website: It’s a fine thing, motoring around Oxford

Since their introduction, about 257,000 fines have been handed out to motorists who violated the rules of the city congestion charge and low traffic neighbourhood schemes in Oxford. Data also lists 64 causes for close to 14,000 fines being scrapped by Oxfordshire County Council.

13 penalties were cancelled due to vehicle owners being dead, 2 were cancelled as the vehicle owner was in prison, and one as it was a diplomatic vehicle. Ambulances had 36 fines revoked, the police had 16, two for the fire service, four due to the driver being a doctor on call, over 1,000 for taxis, and more than 4,000 vehicles without a registered keeper.

Disabled drivers, people with medical reasons, untraceable and foreign vehicle owners received cancellations and more than 5,000 penalties were voided for a range of permit errors and for motorists who had paid for entry.

4. BBC News website: What’s 1300 satellites between friends?

Last Friday, at Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded at about 21:00 local time during a routine test of its engines. The failure puts a big question mark over whether Blue Origin can deliver on a string of commitments to Nasa in its efforts to send astronauts to the lunar surface and build a Moon base..

The 98m (322ft) rocket had been due to launch 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo broadband network, as early as 4 June. Under its US Federal Communications Commission licence, Amazon is required to have half of its 3,236-satellite constellation in orbit by 30 July 2026. As of late May, the company was already more than 1,300 satellites short of that target, with delays blamed in part on “launch vehicle availability” from Blue Origin and other providers.

There were no was injuries, despite the spectacular explosion.

5. BBC News website: … but he did ask nicely …

A former US government official said to have held held a senior position in the CIA, has been arrested after FBI investigators found hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40m (£29.6m) in his Virginia home.

He made several requests to the US government to receive the bars for “work-related expenses” over the past year, according to court documents. He has been charged with criminal theft of public money in a complaint filed last week.

6. BBC News website: What a load of ….

A famous bull mosaic in one of Italy’s grand arcades is getting some much-needed care after being worn down by tourists honouring a tradition involving its delicate body parts.

As the legend goes, tourists in Milan who grind their heels on the bull’s testicles and spin in place three times are guaranteed good fortune and are destined to return.

“Thousands of people every day have performed the famous heel-spinning gesture,” city councillors said. “The pink tiles that make up its testicles are being worn away.”

Turbo (x3), swim, gym, plus misplaced power, cockroaches, no-music Wednesday, Wye oh Wye, and Adam’s ale

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Yet anther ‘hottest day of the year so far’ on Monday. I hope everyone enjoyed the Bank Holiday (UK) – I don’t expect any sympathy but Bank Holidays lose a lot of their shine once you retire.

Early on (early for me at least) I tackled some brambles and moved some that I cut a few weeks ago. I paid for not doing the job properly then, the cut brambles were well enmeshed into the grass and it took a good deal of effort to get them out. They resisted manfully and my forearms are now as perforated as a teabag.

After that, with apologies to ‘No mow May’, I mowed all the grass to stay ahead of the game and did more gardening later as a result of which I exempted myself from further exercise.

On Tuesday it was yet more heat, yet another hottest day, yet more gardening and (as the weather broke and the thunder storm began) another trip to the turbo. A tough turbo session as I couldn’t hear the TV for the rain on the conservatory roof and couldn’t open the doors wide for fear of shipping a lot of water. In the end, 30 minutes @ 27.6 kph.

In the evening I went to the first meeting of the book club I’ve just joined in the village. The book to be discussed was ‘The Names’ by Florence Knapp. It had received terrific reviews and it was generally liked by people in the club although there were a few reservations, For me, a 6.5 (but there again I have no benchmarks by which to judge it – although I have read other books in the past, I’ve never thought of marking them).

On Wednesday morning I went open water swimming with friends – my first such swim for more than a year – and my first swim of any sort since the middle of March. It was really enjoyable in water that didn’t need a wetsuit (but I did, for buoyancy purposes). I did two loops of the 400m route but goodness knows how far I swam when adding the extra distance due to the inevitable zig zags. As with all these things, I noticed the effect the lack of recent swimming had on my (very lacklustre) performance but I was very pleased to have done it.

Back to the (happily, air-conditioned) gym on Thursday morning – for the first time for a few weeks. To my surprise, I could manage the usual routine with the usual weights – although it was very hard. Despite the morning’s efforts, I got on the turbo in the late afternoon i some sort of futile attempt to make up for lost time. It went reasonably well – a randomly neat 30 minutes @30.30kph.

Bike shop on Friday morning and back to the turbo in the early evening as it was unlikely that I’d get any proper exercise over the weekend. Hot and with tired legs, I managed 30 minutes @30.5kph.

On Saturday we drove to Cardiff to meet 5 old university friends (and their wives/partners) to mark 50 years since we graduated. We ate, drank and reminisced and did a bit of a tour of old haunts. It went incredibly well – how can 50 years pass so quickly and how could we have picked up the threads so fast after all those years? Back home on Sunday.

The Achilles has got to the point where it is a little sore first thing in the mornings but that goes as soon as I get moving. It’s improving but can’t be quite right yet. That all ties in with the general message that it’s an injury that takes between 3 and 6 months to heal fully. I’m doing the recommended exercises and will wait to see how it goes.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: Peace is costly but it is worth the expense

2. BBC News Website: Power me up, Scottie

A UK-bound EasyJet flight was diverted to Rome after a power bank was found to be charging in a passenger’s luggage.

The airline said the captain decided to divert “in line with safety regulations” after a passenger informed crew during the flight that the portable charger was in the hold of the aircraft. Many airlines have toughened rules on power banks, often requiring that they be stored in hand luggage because of the risk of lithium-ion batteries catching fire.

It is understood there was no issue with the power bank, but regulations state power banks are not allowed to be charging in the hold during a flight. The flight touched down safely at Rome Fiumicino and was rescheduled to the next day.

3. BBC News Website: Beyond parody?

India’s viral “cockroach” political parody group says its website has been blocked just days after it launched. It gained more than 20 million online followers since being set up as a joke after India’s chief justice reportedly compared unemployed young people to the insects although he later clarified he was referring to people with “fake and bogus degrees”, not India’s youth more broadly.

Its website can no longer be accessed in the country and also appears to be down elsewhere. The group’s founder Abhijeet Dipke said Indian officials had “taken down our iconic website” and asked why they were “so scared of cockroaches”.

Its official X page – with more than 200,000 followers – is also inaccessible in the country. Those trying to open it are shown a message that it has been withheld “in response to a legal demand”.

4. BBC News Website: It’s all over now

A party attended by Sir Mick Jagger was shut down by Italian police due to local rules banning music on Wednesdays. The Rolling Stones lead singer had been celebrating with the cast of the forthcoming movie Three Incestuous Sisters.

Cast and crew had been marking the end of filming at a venue on the small island of Stromboli, off the Sicilian coast, before police shut down the festivities. Music had been playing through one small speaker at a reasonable volume, local media reported, when it was interrupted by Carabinieri.

The head of Stromboli’s tourism office Rosa Oliva confirmed the incident and criticised the police’s action as a “punitive intervention”.

5. BBC News Website: Anthropomorphism in full flow

The River Wye has become the first river in the UK to be given cross-border rights covering it from source to sea. A new charter, was launched in Hay-on-Wye, recognising how important the river is for people and nature now, and in the future. It’s been endorsed by councils, campaigners and environmental groups from England and Wales.

Herefordshire Council says the charter gives the River Wye a number of rights “intended to guide the long-term protection and recovery of the river and its catchment.” The rights are: The right to flow and perform natural functions; the right to biodiversity; the right to be free from pollution; the right to be supported by a healthy catchment; the right to regenerate; the right to representation.

6. BBC News website: Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink

Italy’s highest court has ruled a five-star Dolomites hotel was acting lawfully when it refused to provide tap water to a tourist. The woman had claimed her consumer rights were violated when staff refused her request for tap water, saying it was a key part of the hotel’s service and likened it to “finding a bed with sheets” and “soap in the bathroom”.

She unsuccessfully argued that “water is a natural resource and a universal human right” after a waiter only offered her €7 (£6) bottled mineral water at the restaurant of the five-star hotel during the 2019 ski season.

The Italian Supreme Court denied her request for €2,700 to compensate her for emotional distress and economic damage, Italian media reports.

Turbo (x3), plus dangerous dancing, heat, glasses, towers and wading out of one’s depth

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We stayed in London on Sunday night and drove to have lunch with friends in Surrey on Monday before heading home in the evening.

Turbo on Tuesday evening – 30 minutes @31.3kph.

Friends for lunch on Wednesday and the village Men’s Evening on Thursday, followed by the bike shop on Friday morning.

Friday was the hottest day of the year so far – what better then than a late afternoon session on the turbo in what felt like a sauna? (Actually, lots of things). The good news was that I pumped the rear tyre up (but nowhere near the 145psi suggested on the tyre itself) and pushed hard. I managed 30 minutes @ 32.8kph – cruising blasting dripping through the 20mph target.

All sorts of domestic and garden stuff on Saturday (minus mowing as it’s not growing too quickly at the moment) but back to the turbo in the afternoon. Even hotter so a more gentle 30 minutes @ 29.3kph.

On Sunday we were off to Surrey for my brother-in-law’s birthday. His son put on a very fine BBQ and the day was well worth the 4+ hours in the car on (yet again) the hottest day of the year.

It’s 4 weeks since the Reverse London Marathon – about time to get back to proper exercise next week?

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: Love is a despot who spares no one

2. BBC News website: It’s a bar room blitz

US President Donald Trump spoke to reporters at the construction site of his planned White House ballroom, saying the estimated $400 million project is set to be “drone-proof” and include a military-style complex beneath the facility.

Trump said the ballroom is being funded by private donors and is ahead of schedule. The project, however, has faced new hurdles after the Senate ruled against a $1 billion provision in a bill intended to help fund it.

3. BBC News website: Hot stuff in the office

The UK should introduce a maximum temperature for workplaces to protect people as heatwaves intensify due to climate change, the government’s adviser has said.

The Climate Change Committee said that rolling out air conditioning and other cooling technologies in schools and hospitals should be one of the government’s highest priorities. It warned that increasingly extreme heatwaves, droughts and floods were threatening the British “way of life”, from sports matches to music festivals.

In the UK, Regulations require employers to provide a reasonable indoor temperature in the workplace. Thecode of practice suggests the minimum temperature for working indoors should normally be at least 16°C, or 13°C if much of the work involves rigorous physical effort

In Spain, where the maximum legal working temperature indoors is 27℃ for sedentary work and 25℃ for light physical work

4. BBC News website: I spy, with …

More than a decade after its famed Google Glass failure, Google is going to try again with smart glasses. The glasses will go on sale sometime in autumn and feature a small camera in the frames and small speakers in the arms, allowing Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) product Gemini to interact with a user.

Google Glass was launched in 2013 but pulled in 2015, just seven months after its UK release, after a backlash around price and privacy.

The new smart glasses will let a wearer ‘stay hands free and heads up’. The company is working on a version of the glasses that will have an in-lens display capable of showing a wearer text and information, instead of being audio-only.

5. BBC News website: Tower trumped

Plans for a A$1.5bn ($1.1bn; £802m) Trump Tower in Queensland have been scrapped with an Australian developer blaming the “toxic” Trump brand and the Iran war for the project’s demise.

It comes just three months after the deal was announced, with claims that the 91-storey luxury hotel on the Gold Coast would be Australia’s tallest building, measuring 335 metres (1,100 ft) high, taller than the Shard in London.

Details about the project have been deleted from the Trump Organization’s website with a spokesperson saying the developer had not met obligations.

6. BBC News website: I was hoping it was in Richmond so I could mention Virginia Wade

A man has been arrested in Texas accused of intentionally driving his Tesla Cybertruck into a lake to use the vehicle’s “wade mode” feature. Officers were called to Grapevine Lake in north Texas on Monday to recover the vehicle, which had been abandoned by the driver and passengers after it took on water and became stuck.

Wade mode allows a Cybertruck “to enter and drive through bodies of water, such as rivers or creeks” at a maximum depth of 81.5 cm (32 inches), according to Tesla’s online manual.

The driver was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle in a closed section of the lake and for other water safety equipment violations, police said.

Bournemouth, walks, turbo, plus all pervading football, profit short-circuit, salt and jets

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Off to Bournemouth early on Monday to host some long time friends for a couple of days. We walked around Hengistbury Head on Monday afternoon before heading into the New Forest for a lovely 9km walk, with picnic, on Tuesday, in very good weather. Out for an excellent meal at the ‘Noisy Lobster’ (on Avon Beach) Tuesday evening and then to the Russell-Coates museum in Bournemouth on Wednesday before heading home. It was a really good few days.

Quiet again on Thursday but the bike shop on Friday morning and the turbo later – 30 minutes @31.7kph. If I’d known, could I have managed the missing 0.3kph??? (No, I don’t think so, but perhaps it’s within reach?).

Mowing and domestic stuff on Saturday and up to London on Sunday to see our younger son and his wife, who both had birthdays earlier in the month. A good week all round.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: When the lion cannot find meat, it eats grass

2. BBC News website: Football or education?

Parents in Mexico have criticised a plan to end the school year a month early so the country can accommodate increased travel during the Fifa World Cup this summer. The announcement cited both elevated traffic due to the World Cup and extreme heat forecast to hit the Latin American nation as factors in the decision to end the school year early.

The Education Secretary said the school year would end on 5 June, leaving parents with less than four weeks to find additional childcare.

The Mexican President quickly clarified that cutting classes short had only been “a proposal”. The idea was quashed within days after the education ministry held further consultations with parents and education think tanks.

3. BBC News website: A bit of a car crash

Japanese car giant Honda made its first annual loss in 70 years as its investments in the electric vehicle (EV) market failed to pay off as demand for EVs has been weaker than the company forecast. Honda reported a total operating loss for the year ending March 2026 of $2.68bn (£1.99bn.).

The firm said it was scrapping some of its EV production targets and would source parts from China, where prices are lower, to keep costs down.

4. BBC News website: Salt of the earth

A chicken sandwich sold by bakery chain Gail’s contains 6.88g of salt. That is much as 5 McDonald’s cheeseburgers. and more than the UK’s recommended daily limit of 6g. It is a £8.90 triple decker containing 1,000 calories – three slices of bread with two layers of filling. One is a thick cut of bacon with salad, the other smoked chicken and coleslaw.

The World Health Organization said “excess salt consumption remains among the top preventable drivers of death globally”.

An estimated 11.5 billion sandwiches are eaten in the UK every year.

5. BBC News website: Just the sort of company you want building jets

A British aerospace company that was developing a replacement for the famous Red Arrows fighter jet has gone into administration, resulting in the loss of about 30 jobs.

The firm had pitched itself as the only British firm able to supply a new advanced jet trainer to be designed and built in the UK. It was hoping the UK government would award it a contract to replace the Hawk jets currently flown by the RAF’s Red Arrows before they are due to be retired in 2030.

The administrators said the company had faced “a sustained period of pressure” on its cashflow after “continued delays to the UK Defence Investment Plan, combined with geopolitical factors affecting sources of funding”.

Turbo (x3), plus awards, AI discrimination, talc, sun-beds and football

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After pretty much three days of grand-parenting (with about 30km of walking), Wednesday was a quiet affair – it was a great few days but now Theo is crawling, pulling himself up on, and then cruising around furniture, and climbing staircases (with no idea about getting back down … stair gate incoming) it’s hard work.

Later, I managed three trips to the dump to get rid of the branches I cut from the bay tree, and did the drafting to incorporate the ‘Renter’s Rights’ changes into the tenancy agreement our sons use for the flat they rent out. I’m all in favour of proper protection for tenants but I read somewhere that 700 properties are being sold each day as landlords leave the market – I wonder who might be buying them and for what purpose?

I mowed the paddock and then did a turbo session on Thursday – a gentle 30 minutes @ 28.2kph. I suppose I had to get back to exercise sometime, but I always find that hard after any significant event. Still no running on the horizon until I think the right Achilles is mended.

The ultra last year and the Reverse London Marathon last month were great fun but both were horribly compromised by my lack of training due to the two Achilles tendon injuries. I was lucky to be able to complete them (after a fashion) but I don’t see the point in trying to carry on running any long distances if I can’t do the necessary training.

Bike shop on Friday and no adverse Achilles reaction to the turbo session beyond the usual slight soreness first thing in the morning.

Domestic stuff on Saturday and then 30 minutes on the turbo @29.3kph. Luckily, Scotland v France only saw 26 points while I was pedalling so not too many sprint revs.

Keeping the gentle reintroduction of exercise, 30 minutes @29.5kph on the turbo on Sunday – and, pleased to say, out with very good friends in the evening,

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: When you befriend a chief remember that he sits on a rope

2. BBC News website: I hereby award myself …

A French academic is under investigation for inventing a Nobel-style prize for philology in order that he could then go on to win it.

He was decorated with the Gold Medal of Philology at a ceremony held at the National Assembly in Paris, attended by ministers and Nobel laureates, but the prize was a fiction, as was the body that supposedly awarded it – apparently both dreamed up by him to burnish his academic credentials.

Investigators are now looking to see if any laws were broken, while the university where he taught for 20 years has suspended him indefinitely.

3. BBC News website: Is AI going to sue for discrimination?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has clarified that only acting and writing for films done by humans will be considered eligible to win an Oscar.

In issueing updated rules for what kind of work in movies and documentaries would be considered eligible for an Oscar, the Academy specified that only acting “demonstrably performed by humans” and that writing “must be human-authored” in order to be nominated for an award.

4. BBC News website: Johnson’s Baby Powder is now formulated with cornstarch, not talc

A major legal case in which Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is accused of knowingly selling baby powder contaminated with asbestos, now involves 7,111 claimants. Originally involving 3,000 claimants it is set to become the largest product liability case in UK history.

The claimants allege that J&J was aware as early as the 1960s that its talcum power contained contaminants linked to cancers. All the claimants have cancers – such as ovarian and mesothelioma – that they allege are linked to asbestos exposure. J&J denies the allegation as well as any claims that it knowingly sold baby powder contaminated with asbestos.

5. BBC News website: Biter bit?

A German tourist has won a payout of more than €900 (£850) after he was unable to secure a sun lounger due to other guests reserving them with towels during a holiday in Greece.

The man said he spent 20 minutes a day trying to find a sun lounger, despite waking up at 06:00. He sued his tour operator for allowing the reservation system, arguing the sun-beds were reserved so often, they were unusable.

Judges at a district court in Hanover ruled in his favour, and said the family of four were entitled to a refund on their package holiday as it had been “defective”.

6. BBC News website: How to enhance the experience?

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has said he will “personally bring a hot dog and a Coke” to anyone who buys a World Cup final ticket for $2m.

The high ticket prices for this summer’s tournament have been the subject of significant criticism, but Infantino joked if a ticket was sold for such a price he would make the delivery to make sure the supporter “has a great experience”.

Numerous tickets for the tournament have been listed for five-figure prices on Fifa’s resale platform, while last month four tickets behind the goal for the final in New Jersey were listed for just under $2.3m (£1.693m) apiece.

Post marathon condition, Bournemouth, walking, grand-parenting plus cycling, good life, population and eating

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On Sunday, missing a night’s sleep caught up with me and I was in bed by 8pm. I slept very well for 13 hours before putting a foot to the floor, gingerly, to see what punishment the marathon had exacted on my ageing body.

I was pretty pleased. The adductor and knee (ITB?) which had hurt during and immediately after the run, were much improved, I’d had just one blister (smallest toe, right foot) and the only new, moderate, soreness was in the quads.

Bizarrely, the Achilles, which had prevented any proper running training for weeks, was no worse than it has been for some time. If anything, it hurt less than it had after the few short runs I had managed in that time, and it improved further once I started walking around.

All very similar to the experience with the ultra last year, the run up to which was blighted with the same injury to the other Achilles -that allowed minimal training but allowed a completed (slow) run and no obvious extra problem with the tendon. Happily, the healed left Achilles that hurt last year hasn’t even grumbled this year. Very strange but better than I could have reasonably expected.

The aim now is to go easy on the right Achilles to get that healed before thinking about whether my distance running has come to an end. I’d like to carry on with it so as not to finish on runs so badly compromised by a lack of training – but if that’s not possible I’ll have to accept it.

The Reverse London Marathon is a great event, I would certainly recommended to anyone but care is needed as you run on frequently uneven pavements because the roads, although barricaded in popular viewing areas, are still open to traffic. Tripping and falling was fairly common – all three of us stumbled a few times but, fortunately, did not fall. It’s not at all a fast course (because of the time, the crowds, the pavement surfaces, stopping for photos, navigation queries, a lot of road crossings, etc) but my older son ran it in 4h 21m.

I was feeling pretty good on Tuesday when I took the car into the garage to get the refrigerant recharged for the A/C as we’d had a rather warm drive up to London on Saturday. I walked the 2 miles back which probably did the muscles no harm. As I could have expected, the A/C being fixed coincided with temperatures 12℃ lower than Saturday.

On Wednesday we drove down to Bournemouth again to do some more preparation for its use in the summer – in particular, more mowing and more cleaning. It’s a lovely area but short of good restaurants within easy reach – in the evening we tried out a new bistro within walking distance – a limited menu but very good indeed.

Back to Oxfordshire on Thursday and bike shop on Friday. I mowed on Saturday – still resisting formal exercise although I was thinking about a turbo session at one point.

Later we drove to London to get to Kingston earlier on Sunday morning as our son’s birthday present had been a night for him and his wife in a hotel, together with accompanying child care. We spent time walking 12km in Richmond Park (of course) but were joined by our younger son and his wife. The evening and night went well and we continued in charge until Monday afternoon after more walking, a good deal of book reading (‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ and ‘Room on the broom’ being particular favourites of mine).

Then back to the flat on Monday evening before returning to Kington for on of our usual Tuesday grand-parenting – another 11km. Exhausting but very rewarding and a lot of fun.

Probably a decent alternative to more formal exercise and everything seems to have returned to normal ( with only very-first-thing-in-the-morning niggles from the Achilles.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: A flea can trouble a lion more than a lion can trouble a flea

2. BBC News website: And there I was thinking it was about turning the pedals faster

Ineos Grenadiers hope to utilise artificial intelligence to return to the top of cycling after agreeing a new deal with Danish IT supplier Netcompany.

The team will be known as Netcompany-Ineos Cycling Team from next week’s Giro d’Italia, and the five-year partnership means their annual budget will increase significantly to bring it in line with the sport’s so-called ‘super teams’ such as that of current four-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar’s UAE-Team Emirates-XRG.

What Ineos hope will make the difference is using Netcompany’s AI data platform Pulse, an “AI-driven orchestration platform” which uses data for “solutions in real-time decision-making”, according to the Danish company.

3. BBC News website: Good life or long life ? (I vote for both)

The number of years people in the UK spend in good health is falling, according to a report that says, over the past decade, healthy life expectancy (HLE) has dropped by around two years to just under 61 for both men and women. The UK is one of only five of the richest 21 countries to see HLE decline and its fall was the second steepest.

The Health Foundation, which produced the analysis, said poverty, poor housing and lifestyle factors such as obesity were to blame along with the impact of the Covid pandemic.

4. BBC News website: Population projections

Deaths are expected to outnumber births in the UK every year from 2026, according to projections from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Declining fertility rates also mean the number of children in the UK is expected to fall in the next decade while pensioners are expected to grow faster than working age adults.

The UK population is now expected to grow at a slower rate than previously thought, reaching 71 million by 2034, owing to a sharp fall in migration. Projections had suggested population growth until 2096, but now the population is projected to peak in the 2050s before decreasing.

5. BBC News website: Let them eat … baguettes

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu visited a village bakery to buy baguettes on Labour Day, reigniting a row with unions who argue that 1 May should remain a compulsory rest day.

The visit was part of a government drive to exempt independent bakeries and flower shops from mandatory rest on Labour Day. It’s a public holiday across the country but, under French law, only essential services such as hospitals and hotels may be open, with employees being paid double wages. The status of bakeries and flower shops is unclear.

On Friday, he also phoned another baker, who had received a fine from labour inspectors for staying open on 1 May. The prime minister reassured the baker that he would not have to pay despite he baker facing a fine of €750 for each of his seven employees working on Labour Day.

6. BBC News website: Let him eat … carbohydrates

It is said that Sebastian Sawe consumed 115g of carbohydrates per hour in his record-breaking London Marathon run. That’s about the same carbs as found in 7-8 slices of standard white or wholemeal bread, 4-5 medium bananas, 3.5 cups of cooked white or brown rice, 3.5 cups of cooked pasta or 8 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup.

Turbo, grand-parenting, Bournemouth and the Reverse London Marathon, plus a bear(?), robots and costly photos

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Turbo on Monday afternoon – I left it clicked up a gear from Saturday and did 30 minutes @30.1kph in something approaching a sauna. While higher revs and a lower gear is the accepted best approach for cycle racing, I’m not sure that necessarily applies to training. I think lower revs, higher gear builds muscle, higher revs and a lower gear is best for cardio fitness. I’ll try to do both.

Later, we drove to the flat to make getting to Kingston easier for grand-parenting on Tuesday. Another lovely 10km walking around Richmond Park in pretty good weather, Not quite 10 months old, Theo has now added pulling himself up on furniture to the crawling – just the sort of developments parents (and grandparents) want to see but he is now into everything so, although we wouldn’t have it any other way, it poses its own challenges.

After the grand-parenting we drove to Bournemouth where, on Wednesday, I mowed and removed a 15ft strip of plastic that had got blown into the top of the holly tree. My wife started the cleaning needed for a forthcoming visit with friends, to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary – but we managed a walk along the seafront in bright sun, but a very stiff breeze. No chance of running and risking the Achilles.

Back home on Thursday I mowed all the grass and started to think about packing for the marathon on Sunday. The weather forecast is for temperatures not falling below 9℃ so that should help a cold weather wimp like me but it’s a largely self-sufficient run and I’m not sure how to address that – carry lots of stuff or rely on late night petrol stations and corner shops? Later I went to the men’s evening in the village, which was very enjoyable.

Bike shop on Friday and more fretting about the run. I’m not too sure what to worry about most: the Achilles, the lack of training, the late night start, what to carry, the weather? I decided to resolve this dilemma by worrying about them all.

I’d allowed an inadequate 13 weeks for the marathon training but hurt my Achilles early in the process and ran fewer than 180km over the whole period and just one run (of under 8km) in the last month. I adopted my usual first aim of getting around safely and enjoying it – but it was pretty clear that I would not achieve my usual second goal of running all the way – and a time target seemed futile. Probably I shouldn’t have run … but i did.

We drove the the flat on Saturday and got a bit of supper before changing and getting to Trafalgar Square just after 11 for the briefing (probably not needed). Then to Birdcage Walk and off at midnight. Last year our older son ran and guessed about 500 participants we guessed it might have been heading towards 2000 this year (including our son who had a very fine run).

It is not a marathon for fast times (even if you’ve trained properly). It’s on pavements which are often very uneven and crowded (runners and tourists in the early miles), it has a bit of an overall climb, lots of crossing roads and it’s dark at midnight and a bit weird running then!

I was pleased to run almost all the first half but the unhappy Achilles was joined by an unhappy left knee and left adductor. I don’t know if they were existing issues (that either my lack of running had failed to reveal, or that resulted from running to protect the right Achilles) but they both hurt a bit. As I’ve often said, the gym and turbo are not replacements for running in training – I’m wondering if that’s just because they don’t fulfil the essential marathon training requirement of time on your feet.

My friends were kind enough to stay with my, even they could have run it much faster – depending on whose Garmin you believe (I believe the most favourable) we ran 43.09 km in 6h 14m. (just over 2 hours slower than my previous slowest marathon – but that doesn’t feel to have be important).

After we got back to the flat we had the privilege of watching Sawe become the first person to break 2 hours for a marathon in a proper race. An achievement matching the first 4 minute mile, in my opinion.

The drive back to Oxfordshire was fine – movement outside the car is rather tortuous, but worth it for a really good experience at the Reverse London Marathon, a very friendly event which doesn’t really ask to be raced, just ran and enjoyed.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: If a blind man says he will throw a stone at you, he probably has his foot on one

2. BBC News website: If you go down in the woods today

Three men have been sentenced in California for an insurance scam using someone in a bear costume to stage fake attacks on luxury cars.

Video handed to insurers seemed to show a bear in a 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost in Lake Arrowhead on 28 January 2024. Similar claims were filed on the same date and location for two high-end Mercedes models but biologists at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed the footage and determined it showed a human in a bear suit.

The fraud involved $141,839 (£105,000) in insurance payments and the state insurance department launched “Operation Bear Claw”, executing a search warrant and finding a bear outfit in the suspects’ home. Three men have pleaded no contest to felony insurance fraud and were sentenced on Thursday to 180 days in jail, plus two years of supervised probation.

3. BBC News website: But do they have Achilles problems?

Robots competed in a half marathon race in Beijing on Sunday. The winning robot, Lightning, was developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor and finished the race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds.

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo holds the men’s half marathon world record, which he set in March in Lisbon with a time of 57 minutes and 20 seconds.

Around 40% of the robots raced autonomously, while the others were remotely controlled.

4. BBC News website: Fast shutter speed?

South Korean authorities have found that two fighter jets collided mid-air in 2021 because the pilots were taking pictures and videos while the jets were on a flight mission in the central city of Daegu. The pilots survived with no injuries, but the collision damaged the planes, costing the military 880 million won ($596,000; £440,500) in repairs.

The incident took place because a pilot had wanted to take photos to commemorate his last flight with his military unit. Taking photos of significant flights was “a widespread practice among pilots at the time”, according to the report into the incident – the pilot is said to have declared his intent to take the pictures in a briefing before the flight.

Turbo (x4), run, gym, plus insurance, dog TV, comfy in the nest and in-car inconvenience

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Back to what passes as normal on Monday – and back on the turbo for 45 minutes @28.6kph.

My wife wanted to run on Tuesday so I decided to see how the Achilles was shaping up with no running for over 3 weeks and ran with her. I did nearly 8km, slowly, still running a bit flat footed to protect the Achilles, which wasn’t too happy but was prepared to go along with it.

The recent lack of running certainly showed in terms of the run being much harder work than the speed might have suggested – as ever, all the cross training on the turbo, in the gym or in the Lakes doesn’t replace the need to run.

Only a fairly minor hobble on Wednesday morning so I went to the gym for the usual hour’s circuit – I’m not increasing any weights but am squeezing out a few more reps. I waited for the grass to dry and mowed then it all – for once I got it right as it started to rain just minutes after I finished.

Not much of a hobble after just a few minutes of getting moving on Thursday. Clearly, the Achilles is not right but (so far – tested up to 21km) it hasn’t stopped me from completing a run although it does ache for a couple of days afterwards. It’s much the same as the other Achilles was last year – that did not stop me completing the 50km ultra – but made it very slow thanks to a certain amount of caution and the almost complete lack of training.

Keeping up the exercise I used the turbo in the evening. To my regret, I pushed on for an hour @27.7kph. The lack of running hasn’t helped the weight loss targets but I’m still working on that, clinging on to the prospect of cutting perhaps 2 seconds from each mile, per pound lost (yes, I’m that desperate).

After the bike shop in the morning I got on the turbo in the early evening – 30 minutes @28.9kph.

On Saturday I played domestic goddess and then got on the turbo. i knocked it up a gear and ground out 30 minutes @31.2kph. Luckily I was watching Wales v France in the women’s 6 nations so my usual ’10 sprint revolutions per point scored’ only required 140 revolutions – I’m thinking the choice of that match rather than the earlier Scotland v England match was a good one.

Later I walked up to discuss with great friends how we are going to approach the Reverse London Marathon next Sunday. They are both in very fine running form but, luckily for me, we are all looking at the run as more of an ‘event’ than a race of any sort. The plan is to stick together and enjoy the occasion and the experience. The weather forecast has improved for the run, last time I looked it was expected to be cold and wet – now dry and perhaps 7℃.

On Sunday I helped to run the first cycle training session of the year – a chilly breeze but all the children made excellent progress and seemed to have a good time.

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: What is bad luck for one man is good luck for another

2. BBC News website: The price of (no) insurance

Nearly 160,000 uninsured cars were seized on the UK’s roads last year – the highest number for 17 years. Hot spot areas include Birmingham, which has five out of the top 15 postcodes in the UK for accidents involving uninsured drivers.

The cost of cover was one of the main factors for those flouting the law, according to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), which estimates about 300,000 cars are being driven every day without insurance.

In one police operation earlier this month, West Midlands Police took 16 vehicles off the road for being uninsured – including a Lamborghini.

3. BBC News website: 57 channels and nothing on (except for dogs)

Thinking that his dog might be bored and lonely if left alone while he was out, six years ago a dog owner created the YouTube channel Siesta Dog TV which features videos of dogs, for dogs, in colours they can see best.

Since then, TV for dogs has snowballed and a host of channels cater for the increasing number of pet owners who worry about leaving their dogs at home. Cartoons as long as 10 hours each feature illustrated dogs playing around in an animated New York City, or watching duck ponds. Calming classical-like or ambient music accompanies the images on the screen.

A study by Aubern University looked at the viewing behaviours of 453 dogs through surveys completed by their owners. The report said: “Dogs experience a meaningful, object-filled world when they view television.” “Engagement with television could provide dogs with an enriching, meaningful experience.”

4. BBC News website: Failure to launch

More than one in three young men in the UK were living with their parents in 2025, up from 26% in 2000, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The increase is being driven by high renting costs and rising house prices, recent studies suggest.

The data shows 35% of young men aged 20-35 were living with their parents – more than young women (22%), although the rate in both groups has been increasing.

In separate research, the statistics body found the rising cost of living was the most important issue facing adults, above the NHS and the economy in general.

[Time for a joke: “By my age, my parents had a house and a family, and to be fair to me, so do I – but it is the same house and it is the same family” – Hannah Fairweather]

5. BBC News website: One car optional extra too far

Chinese carmaker Seres has been granted a patent for what it calls an “in-vehicle toilet” that slides under a passenger’s seat for visits to the loo while on the road. The feature is meant to “satisfy users’ toilet needs on long journeys, while camping or while staying in the car”, engineers wrote in Seres’ patent filing in China on 10 April.

The toilet will come with a fan and exhaust pipe to channel odours out of the car. Waste is collected in a tank that has to be emptied manually. The toilet also features a rotating heating element that evaporates urine and dries other waste.

Seres, based in the south-west city of Chongqing, has not announced any cars that have toilets and it is uncertain if any will be made. In the 1950s, a special version of a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith included an in-built television set and a toilet beneath the passenger seat

More walking in the Lakes and grand-parenting

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Although the weather on Friday, Saturday and Sunday had not stopped us getting out to walk, the good weather that arrived on Monday and Tuesday was a real bonus. We’d saved the longer and higher walks so on Monday we did a circuit from Ambleside, over Wansfell to Troutbeck and back – one of my favourites, incorporating a stop at the very good cafe in Troutbeck itself.

On Tuesday we walked to Grasmere via Loughrigg, taking the route by the West of the fell. On Tuesday evening we all went to Zefirellis restaurant for a very good (vegetarian) meal and our sons and their wives went on to the cinemas afterwards, while we took Theo back to the house.

Astonishingly, Theo joined us for every walk, to the top of all the climbs, carried in a backpack by his parents.

Everyone headed home on Wednesday. I will admit to some nervousness as to how we would get everything in the car on the way back. We’d driven out fully loaded (including a roof box) with just the two of us, our stuff and quite a bit of stuff that we’d picked up from our older son’s when we’d been grand-parenting the previous week – enabling them to get up to the Lakes by train. The return trip included our son, his wife and Theo, together with the pushchair and two rucksacks that they’d travelled up with.

Luckily, we’d also driven up with a good deal of food that had been eaten and that (only just) created room to get everything and everyone in the car. Theo is not totally enamoured with car travel but was very good and we stopped only once in the 240 miles.

On Thursday I drove our daughter-in-law to the station to get to a hen weekend in Ireland and drove our son and Theo back to Kingston on Sunday after having Theo solo for over 3 hours on Saturday while our son had a long training run for the marathon. Very precious time together – but tiring.

Another week with no running but the fell walking provided some good exercise. The Achilles didn’t stop me doing anything but it ached first thing in the mornings after a pretty good workout on the hills. My decision has been to run very little to give me the best chance of getting through the Reverse London Marathon, even though the lack of running will make the event itself (even) harder and (even) slower than it was likely to be.

Walk – Richmond Park, walks – Lake District

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Gym on Monday morning and then the well trodden path to the flat in the evening and to Kingston on Tuesday morning for more grand-parenting. Another 10km walking around the park. It is really lovely to see so much of Theo – all stages are wonderful but at 9 months he is developing so quickly, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised as just two weeks is another 5% of his total life experience.

Having mastered crawling, he is interacting even more with his environment. He has a very sunny nature and finds so many things funny that he is surprisingly good company. Long may it continue.

We packed on Wednesday and set off for The Lake District on Thursday – just under 250 miles but a decent journey. Our younger son and his wife drove up and arrived in the afternoon as I went to collect our older son, his wife and Theo from the station near Kendal. We were staying in Ambleside – originally, we had planned to go in July last year to celebrate my 70th but Theo’s expected arrival within days of my birthday meant that it was postponed.

It’s a lovely place where we stayed, owned by very good friends. We are lucky enough to have been with them several times before and also lucky enough to be able to return the favour by having them take their family to Bournemouth to celebrate their 70th birthdays.

It was a bit wet on Friday, Saturday and Sunday but only pretty light showers that didn’t stop us walking on all three days – Stock Ghyll waterfall, Rydal and Grasmere via Loughrigg Terrace and Tarn Hows and Hawkshead. Wonderful!

Interesting stuff this week

1. African wise words: An army of sheep led by a lion can defeat an army of lions led by a sheep

2. BBC News website: Badminton in a flap

Badminton’s world governing body has approved the use of synthetic shuttlecocks in selected tournaments amid a shortage of duck and goose feathers. Traditional shuttlecocks are made of 16 duck or goose feathers – each taken from the same wing to give the correct flight and spin as feathers from different wings curve differently.

Bird flu, the increasing popularity of badminton, and the return of pork to the menu in China (with a resulting decrease in poultry consumption), where most of the world’s shuttlecocks are made, are among the factors in the soaring cost of traditional feathered shuttlecocks.

In response, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has announced it will trial synthetic shuttlecocks in grade three and junior international tournaments as part of an ongoing review of their potential use at elite level.

3. BBC News website: There are meltdowns and there are meltdowns

A man who caused an explosion that destroyed his own home and damaged five neighbouring properties has been jailed.

He had been having a “meltdown” after his partner told him she wanted him to move out of the property they shared in Derby, in June 2025, a court heard. Derbyshire Police said he disconnected the gas main in the basement and then set fire to a chair in his kitchen to cause the blast.

4. BBC News website: So long, farewell, auf wiederseh’n, goodbye

Germany’s Military Service Modernisation Act, came into force on 1 January, aiming to boost defences following threats from Russia in the aftermath of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A defence ministry spokesman has confirmed that, under the Act, males aged 17 and older were required to obtain prior approval for stays abroad lasting longer than three months.

The requirement to obtain permission had gone largely unnoticed until it was reported by a German newspaper last week and is not believed to have been applied. Now the authorities are introducing an exemption so that, whether they are 17 or 45, or anywhere in between, everyone is free to travel and currently do not need permission to do so.