tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49034518165022761272024-03-13T04:46:47.753-07:00Noel's training and random other stuff blogNoelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.comBlogger177125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-65897582419381176052014-08-02T13:30:00.003-07:002014-08-02T13:30:27.619-07:00Tegg's Nose Fell Race video<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Enjoy :)Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-87546437172591458182014-03-16T14:08:00.000-07:002014-03-16T14:09:35.741-07:00Guanabana - go goToday I took part in a controlled experiment on a new dietary supplement. Since <i>Journal of Sports Science</i> weren't interested in my results, I have instead 'published' them here.<br />
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Background: No previous studies have assessed the effects of guanabana juice on endurance athletes. In fact, very few people knew about this juice drink, despite its availability in Tesco Metro, Sheffield.</div>
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Methods: A subset of a training group based in Wildboarclough, Cheshire, was selected to take part in this controlled study.* 1 group didn't drink guanabana juice before the race, 1 group did.** All other variables in terms of training, course, weather, preparation, etc were almost identical.***</div>
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Results: The group that did take the guanabana juice the night before the race was about 2 and a half minutes faster.</div>
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Conclusion: Guanabana has beneficial effects on the performance of athletes. Further studies are warranted during which this same subset of athletes will drink guanabana juice over longer periods of time, with the guanabana juice being paid for and delivered by the company that makes it.</div>
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Footnotes:</div>
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*N=1 (me - Mrs Noel wasn't too keen on it)</div>
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**The groups were as follows: me last year in Wolf's Pit fell race; me this year in Wolf's Pit fell race</div>
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***As previously noted, I have been training a lot more prior to this year's race, and turbo training on the bike, and the course was drier this year. I doubt these difference will have affected the results of the study much.</div>
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P.S . Guanabana is also known as Soursop: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soursop. The company who sells it made a good choice not to call it this on the packet - I wouldn't have bought a litre of "soursop"</div>
Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-17452044903434441542014-02-22T13:16:00.000-08:002014-02-22T13:18:38.691-08:00Nighttime fell raceThere are some people who run of the fells through the winter in the evenings with headtorches. I don't.<br />
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But my club (Pennine) included a head-torch nighttime fell race in their club championships this year, so I thought I'd give it a go. It was called Mr Sparkles Dark Un and was 5 miles long.</div>
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I've been focusing on my fitness and leg strength over the winter, but haven't done any training in the dark. I was discussing it the other day, and was told that it takes a bit of getting used to, and I should practice. But I didn't get round to it.</div>
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So... the day of the race arrived - last night, and I drove up to Tockholes in Lancashire after work. It was pretty cold and predictably dark. I did a bit of running up and down the track with my head-torch on to see how weird it felt. And it did feel a bit strange.</div>
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I figured it wouldn't be too hard to run uphill in the dark, as I'd be going slowly. So my race plan was to blast it for the first two-thirds of the race, which is largely uphill, then hope to cling on to my position for the final descent.</div>
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I knew Dave, my club teammate, would be doing his best to claim the club champs 100 points for being first Pennine finisher, so that added a bit of extra incentive.</div>
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The race went to plan - I set off quickly, and after 50 yards, thought "this is OK, I could be in with a shout here". It was quickly clear that the first two were a class apart from me, but I was in third for about half of the race.</div>
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I was being followed closely by another runner who must have been Dave. His torch was bright and was helping me see where I was going, so it was both disappointing and not so disappointing when he passed me and he wasn't Dave.</div>
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As he passed he said something like "better get a shift on or they'll catch up". I glanced back to see a necklace of lights streaming towards me up the hill. I replied bravely "Yep, I'm with you", as he quickly disappeared into the distance. I tried to dig deep, but was realising I'd gone off too fast (hang on - wasn't that the race plan?) and was getting that cramping stomach feeling when I'm running too tense. </div>
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I was spurred on by another light behind me. This must be Dave this time, so I did my best to be brave and learn how to descend stony tracks by torchlight. If I can sum up my learning in one sentence, it's this: run as fast as you can, because the rocks that are big enough to stop you are big enough to see. I was almost feeling confident until Dave breezed past me. Thankfully, as I glanced up, I realised that this wasn't Dave either.</div>
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I was still blowing, so was very pleased to be told "a few hundred metres to go". I crossed the finish line and before I had time to draw breath, Dave was there too shaking my hand. </div>
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100 club champs points in the bag (just), and my first head-torch run - and race. I'd thoroughly recommend it.</div>
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Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-25589931633129214132014-02-08T12:16:00.002-08:002014-02-08T12:16:53.503-08:00Winter trainingI normally don't train through the winter, but I'm "ticking over" this year on two fronts. The first is running at lunch from work, which is always a good way to clear my head and get some daylight.<br />
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The second is my new gym.<br />
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As you'll see this is a state-of-the-art facility complete with entertainment (Mrs Noel's old laptop) to watch DVDs on. I'm particularly pleased with the rustic appearance of the laptop stand.<br />
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So far, I've been watching "The Wire", a US cop drama. The rule is I'm only allowed to watch it while cycling at 90 pedal strokes per minute. I started on one gear which was a bit of a challenge, and could only just do 45 minutes. After a few more sessions, I was up to the full hour's worth of an episode.<br />
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I've just finished the first season (13 hours of it) and have recently moved up a gear so am back to only being able to do 50 minutes.<br />
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I hope this helps my fell running. It's my first race in a few weeks. I'll let you know.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-48061608241519992712013-12-08T00:20:00.000-08:002013-12-08T00:20:45.017-08:00The taste of the countryI was out cycling yesterday near Macclesfield Forest. It was the first time I'd been out cycling for about three months, so it was nice to be out. It was with a friend who is visiting for the weekend, and I was showing him the fantastic views across the Cheshire plain.<br />
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The conversation went something like: "Look, you can see the cooling towers on the Mersey, and if you look slightly north, you can see BLEEAAAAUUUU! PLAAAH, SPPPAAHH" as we cycled past a muckspreader and he coated us and our faces and open mouths with manure. We has seen him coming and thought it was fine, because he was spraying in the other direction. However, the wind (across the Cheshire plain) was picking up all the small particles and throwing them across the road.<br />
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Lesson learned! Don't talk as you cycle past a muckspreader.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-64977271402240260592013-11-24T09:27:00.001-08:002013-11-24T09:27:25.963-08:00Famous Grouse fell race - taking it easy is tiringNormally, I don't race in the winter. Instead taking time to put on weight and look after myself during the dark nights and short days. I tell people it's my cheese-eating season.<br />
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I'm feeling OK this year, so have kept ticking over and doing the odd race. Today was Famous Grouse - a pleasantly low-key race of about 5 miles. I last ran this 7 years ago, and had no great expectations. Unlike my normal race routine, I had a few drinks the night before, didn't train much in few weeks running up to it, and didn't eat beetroot before the race (<a href="http://www.nhs.uk/news/2009/08August/Pages/BeetrootJuiceExercise.aspx" target="_blank">BBC story</a>).<br />
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I had told myself that I was taking it easy. This is all well and good, but as soon as I started running, my normal competitive edge kicked in. I was also practising my new downhill technique of tipping my head slight back. It seems to help my balance somehow, and ensured I kept up on the downhill sections.<br />
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The upshot of this was that I was about 3 minutes faster than last time, and finished in 6th place, which I was very pleased with. However, I'm now very tired. I've had to tell Mrs Noel I'm too tired to put up the next cupboard in the kitchen, and am having trouble stringing sentences together.<br />
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Mrs Noel is made of sterner stuff - she was 3rd lady today, but was quite happy to have a go at the cupboard when we got back.<br />
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A nice big meal and a non-drinking relaxed night should really help restore me.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-31774864167523558332013-08-17T12:07:00.000-07:002013-08-17T12:07:36.165-07:00I won a fell raceYes, you read the title correctly! I won a fell race. After about ten years of slowly improving and attending lots of local races that the top runners might not fancy doing.<br />
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It was Disley Diamond Dash. This was the second year the race has been run. Last year was part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations - hence the name. It was about 5 miles and did a pleasant loop of Lyme Park.<br />
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I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "it must have been attended by only about ten runners". Well that's where you're wrong. There were 18 runners, and most of them had done fell races before.<br />
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This probably means I'm now part of the elite crowd and will be afforded a great deal of respect at national championship races. Rob Jebb will turn to Morgan Donelly and say "watch out for that Noel - he won at Disley last week," before beating me by more than a minute per mile raced (as always).<br />
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I can at least dream.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-76695725980585487202013-06-29T13:00:00.002-07:002013-06-29T13:00:58.545-07:00Chrome hill race reportChrome hill is a<a href="http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/outdoors/walk30.php" target="_blank"> local coral reef</a>, and it's a race I've not done before. Luckily, the warm seas had retreated in time for non-aquatic runners like me to test themselves on it's slopes this afternoon.<br />
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I was a bit nervous about this race, as it's famous for people getting lost on the course. It's happened several times in recent years, so I was keen not to fall into the same trap. Thankfully, there was another local runner, Rick, who knows the course a bit and is a similar pace to me.<br />
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The race leader, Lloyd Taggart is a lot faster than the rest of us, so we couldn't really follow him. So it was left to Rick to lead the rest of the field. When Rick was ahead of me, he led us well, and when I was ahead, Rick was like a sat nav; shouting things like, "head for the tree. That's where the stile is," and similar helpful tips. This was very kind of Rick. He could have shouted, "turn left and keep going until you reach Whaley Bridge".<br />
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Towards the end of the race, I managed to outpace Rick on a flat section to finish second. I was very pleased with this. It was also a good race for Mrs Noel, who finished first in the ladies race. This was a welcome return to form after coming 6th at the Hope Wakes race in midweek.<br />
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On to the prizes. Normally, fell race prizes are handed out in an attempt to handicap faster runners and hence even things up a bit. Winners normally get alcohol, chocolate or cakes. However, today, I was given a book on how to run faster. Maybe they picked it specially after realising that I was over 2 minutes behind the race winner, and he would have been further ahead but he had won a race the night before!Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-2489334935336890372013-06-14T05:37:00.000-07:002013-06-14T05:37:21.927-07:00The 3-mile challengeThe company I work for has decided it's a good idea to encourage us all to lead an active lifestyle and build team spirit by having a sponsored walk. We've been asked to raise £30 each (target, not mandatory) towards Barnardo's.<br />
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The goal is to walk the circumference of the earth between us all combined, on one day - next Friday. And because there are about 8000 of us, we will need to walk 3 miles each. This should be very pleasant, as long as the weather's OK. However, I'm feeling a bit sheepish about asking people to sponsor me to walk 3 miles.<br />
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We've also been given pedometers to see how many steps we take in the days leading up to next Friday. This has caused some competitive nature at work. One of my colleagues has taken to walking to the more distant toilets, rather than the ones near his office.<br />
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I'd already planned to do a long run over this period, so it will be interesting to see how many steps it takes me to run the five trigs of Shutlingsloe, Shining Tor, Burbage Edge, Axe Edge and the Roaches.<br />
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Apparently, we are also allowed to include biking - with the pedometer in a sock or somewhere similar so it captures each turn of the pedal. So any excercise this week is not about time or placing, it's about number of steps. I'll try to provide updates on my Twitter feed.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-87057815787340208122013-05-12T10:05:00.000-07:002013-05-12T10:05:31.791-07:00Trophies from the LakesOn Saturday both Mrs Noel and I went to the Lakes to run Fairfield Horseshoe. This was an English Championship race, so attracted the cream of English fellrunning.<br />
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Normally Mrs Noel returns from a fell race with some sort of prize, but was resigned to coming home from this one empty-handed.<br />
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Luckily, she noticed the Lakeland shop after the race. She now seems very pleased with her new dishcloths.<br />
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Perhaps fell race organisers should start giving these out as prizes in the lady vet40 categories.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-70319128005096057602013-05-07T23:21:00.000-07:002013-05-07T23:21:10.935-07:00DiggerWe had some things to do in the garden so I decided it couldn't be too hard to drive a digger myself.<br />
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Once it was delivered, it took about an hour to find the key and then to find how to get it started. I then printed a list of instructions from the internet about what not to do.<br />
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After that it was a fairly smooth learning curve. There were definitely moments where my brain hurt trying to do three things at once with two hand controls. It helps not to think about it, but sometimes you have to think "back towards me, and down and tilt".<br />
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The good thing about digging in this way is that you don't get tired. So on Sunday, I went for a nice slow long run before a day's digging.<br />
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On bank holiday Monday, I went to do a great local race called James' Thorn. I was second at this last year, and it was the start of a good string of results for me. So I was keen to see how I was doing versus last year. Unfortunately, a few talented runners turned up, so I was fourth. However, I was twenty seconds faster than last year, so am very pleased.<br />
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Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-48456030545291853392013-04-20T13:11:00.001-07:002013-04-20T13:11:31.847-07:00Spring at lastSpring arrived today at midday. I went for a run in the morning, with a hat on, and with frost on the ground. There were still a few patches of snow in the hills.<br />
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Then this afternoon we went for a bike ride with the kids. It was too hot for a coat, and we saw a swallow, mating toads, and frogspawn.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-34590580799268957302013-03-20T15:06:00.000-07:002013-03-20T15:06:42.360-07:00Victory at Wolf SpitOn Sunday it was Wolf's Pit fell race. I didn't have a hope in hell of winning anything. So I was very pleased when two of my talented team-mates told me on the starting line that we could be up for winning a team prize.<br />
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Their advice to me was "try to stay ahead of Dark Peak runners". The trouble was there are dozens of Dark Peak fell runners in races in the Hope Valley. Whenever I got ahead of one, another one (or sometimes two) would get ahead of me.<br />
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I finished 25th, which I was quite pleased with, having only done about 3 weeks of training after my winter break. Luckily my teammates finished in 3rd and 6th, so I got my moment of triumph and a very nice hat.<br />
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Mrs Noel, as always also did well - third lady and part of the winning ladies team.<br />
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I just need to put in some proper training now, so I can aim at top ten myself.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-87965906971615156192013-02-27T12:33:00.000-08:002013-02-27T12:33:08.229-08:00Lower league footballAs a lad, I used to watch a lot of football, so a mate and I decided to take in a lower league football match. We picked Burton Albion vs Morcambe. It ended 3-2 to Burton. Here are my scores for various aspects of the night.<br />
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<strong>The ground:</strong> 8 out of 10. Small but reasonable toilets and catering. Friendly stewards. Cheap parking outside the ground.<br />
<strong>The standard of football:</strong> 6 out of 10. Morcambe seemed to think the ball was safer 50 feet in the air. They only started passing to a teammate's feet after they went 3-0 down. The<em> Burton Mail</em> talks of the Brewers struggling against the "Shrimps fluid 4-3-3 system". From what I saw, they could have played 5-0-5 for all they were using their midfielders in the first half. Burton in contrast looked fresh, lively and inventive.<br />
<strong>The beer:</strong> 3 out of 10. It was in plastic glasses and I still can't get used to chilled bitter. I guess if we had wanted a proper pint, we shouldn't have got a beer at the stadium.<br />
<strong>Value for money:</strong> 8 out of 10. £14 for an adult in the main stand or the end of the ground. Seating would have been more - that's one of the advantages of lower-league football: you get to stand.<br />
<strong>The atmosphere:</strong> 7 out of 10. It's hardly the Kop at Anfield, but there were a few good chants and lots to cheer.<br />
<strong>The pies:</strong> 7 out of 10. Standard Pukka variety, but not too soggy.<br />
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Overall, it was a good night out. I'll be watching out for the name of Billy Kee (Burton's two-goal hero for the night).Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-85590021952815213912013-02-03T13:59:00.003-08:002013-02-03T13:59:46.549-08:00Lad's Leap fell race - Video<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's important to stand in the right place to capture the essense of a race. I didn't quite manage it on this one. You'll see why. Enjoy!</div>
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<br />Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-83069067552431383382013-01-06T08:55:00.000-08:002013-01-06T08:55:11.767-08:00The unearthing of KeithI once heard that some Inuit people give a name to the seal they are about to catch. This shows respect for the essential part that seals play in their way of life. Similarly lots of people give names to their cars, as then they feel a greater bond between man and machine.<br />
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Well, the other day, Mrs Noel and I were digging out stones from the garden to build a dry-stone wall and came across a large stone that we couldn't shift. Perhaps foolishly, I gave it a name. And although we couldn't move him on that day, I knew I would return to "Keith", as he is now known, and unearth him from his muddy slumber.<br />
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Today, after about 20 minutes of digging up and moving smaller stones, I felt the need to once again take the battle to Keith. After about 45 minutes with a pick-axe and a long piece of metal tubing, I had succeeded. <br />
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In the fading light I sat next to Keith, panting with the exertion and dripping with sweat, but very pleased.<br />
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My only concern now is that the waller won't use him and I'll have to think of another use for him. Maybe he could be a centrepiece for a rockery.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gNbTVGjOmew/UOmrYtSC9bI/AAAAAAAAAbk/ldpKZRnYlE0/s1600/Origami%2Band%2BKeith%2B038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gNbTVGjOmew/UOmrYtSC9bI/AAAAAAAAAbk/ldpKZRnYlE0/s320/Origami%2Band%2BKeith%2B038.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keith</td></tr>
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Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-16833156904570122662012-12-26T09:30:00.003-08:002012-12-26T09:30:54.417-08:00Christmas chocolate jelly fungusWe found this while walking yesterday (on Christmas day). The kids decided it should be called chocolate jelly fungus. After a quick look through my<em> Mushrooom and toadstools of Britain and Europe</em> book, I think it might be <em>Exidia Recisa</em>.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1VTvs_MrJs/UNsz-qhgftI/AAAAAAAAAbM/YK1fNxUTaUc/s1600/Christmas+ish+045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1VTvs_MrJs/UNsz-qhgftI/AAAAAAAAAbM/YK1fNxUTaUc/s320/Christmas+ish+045.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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A quick search of tinterweb tells me it's already got a name - amber jelly roll. I think ours might have been a little overdone, hence "chocolate" and not "amber".Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-79035449946698665872012-12-23T00:11:00.000-08:002012-12-23T00:11:50.792-08:00My guide to predicting the end of the worldRecently, the proportion of people who were prepared to believe in Mayan predictions decreased. Previously, it was 14.7%, with people citing reasons such as "they know an awful lot about astronomy". After Friday, it plummeted to 4.3%, with most people attributing their change of opinion to "well, they made up the bit about the end of the world, so they probably made the rest up too."<br />
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I can see many good reasons for predicting the end of the world. If you don't, people ask about events further and further into the future, to the point where you get confused with what you've already predicted. At this point, people will start finding inconsistencies, like "but I though his line had already died during the peanut butter wars" and "that means the high priestess was younger than her grandson when they first reunite the trigrinion."<br />
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Also, it's great PR. We've become a lot more aware of the predictions of the Mayans in the last few weeks.<br />
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So for all you yet-to-be-famous soothsayers, here are the options:<br />
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1. Be vague. "The world will end at some point in the next 284,000 years and will take quite a long time". This might work on one level, but is unlikely to have the PR effect of absolute predictions.<br />
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2. Make it really far in the future. "The world will end in the year 2,453,741". This leads to the problem of needing to predict over 2 million years of events, and you'll probably get confused.<br />
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3. Get it right. "The world will end in 2356 on September the 11th at 4:53pm Eastern Standard Time." The problem with this is, even if you get it right, there's no advantage. The number of people who believe in your predictions will be zero once the human race has been wiped out. So your in a lose-lose situation.<br />
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So here's my favourite option.<br />
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4. Incorporate periodicity. "Every 723 years, starting from a week next Tuesday, the great destroyer will visit our world to decide whether all human life should be destroyed."<br />
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Any cults that get super rich from this approach might like to send me the odd tenner. Thanks in advance, and apologies for making up the statistics at the top of the page.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-85788126547106435522012-12-16T12:58:00.001-08:002012-12-16T12:58:36.004-08:00Pretty treeI used to drive past this tree twice a day and admire its shapeliness.<br />
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On some days it's brilliantly photogenic. On some days, it looks quite ordinary.<br />
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Today was one of its better days, and I had my camera.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RuNtA_4RNZc/UM41oXC4vZI/AAAAAAAAAa0/tNJTKncFHS0/s1600/fave+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="124" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RuNtA_4RNZc/UM41oXC4vZI/AAAAAAAAAa0/tNJTKncFHS0/s320/fave+tree.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-59321289296439251872012-12-09T12:15:00.001-08:002012-12-09T12:15:22.352-08:00Giant's HoleOur good friend Neil offered to take us and the kids caving. We went to do the first bit of Giant's Hole, which is normally a relatively easy stroll.<br />
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It looks like this:<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Giant's_Hole_-_geograph.org.uk_-_188041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Giant's_Hole_-_geograph.org.uk_-_188041.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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...at least it does when it's dry. When we went down today that pebbly bit at the bottom of the photo was a river. This then ran down the passageway that we walked down and was very noisy and cold and wet.<br />
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We managed to get two children crying with cold and/or fear, so it wasn't the best introduction to caving for them. We've vowed to try again when it's warmer and less rainy.<br />
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Also... breaking news... we have some more ants. If you remember from one of my previous posts, we have an ant kit where you watch their tunnels through the glass. But after we bought a batch of ants and put them in, we ended up with only about 3 live ones that were very good at hiding. Well, we have some more and are looking forward to complicated underground tunnels.<br />
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Here's a pici. It's probably hard to make them out very well, but - take my word for it - the brown bits are ants. I think there are about 5 of them in this shot alone. <br />
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Subterranean metropolis - here we come.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-85925196275823538972012-12-03T13:07:00.000-08:002012-12-03T13:07:10.925-08:00Marmalade and chutneyNormally we make lots of jam through the summer months, and have an excess for the winter. This allows us to sell off a good selection at the kids' school Christmas fair.<br />
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This year, we've been quite busy with having moved house. It's also been a bad year for fruit, largely due to the lack of sunshine, I think.<br />
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But we were keen to have our conserve stall again, so we bought in some fruit and had a big jamming week. We made three types: clementine and cranberry marmalade, apple chutney, and mixed fruit chutney.<br />
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We had lots of interest in the stall, including some people who came back after liking the marmalade the previous year. Thankfully, despite my best sales techniques - "it matches your eyes madam", "they're all the rage with the kids" and "two for the price of three" - we still have enough to give some away. Our postman, Ray (who delivers to the new house as well) is a particular fan of the marmalade.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-53990746406494292732012-11-28T13:24:00.000-08:002012-11-28T14:39:14.600-08:00Movember MoelI have been growing a moustache for almost a month now as part of "Movember". This is to raise awareness of men's health. If you want to learn more, visit my Mo page: <span class="mospace-url-content"><a href="http://mobro.co/noelcurtis">http://mobro.co/noelcurtis</a></span><br />
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<span class="mospace-url-content">It's been quite fun despite people's comments that I look like a:</span><br />
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<li><span class="mospace-url-content">Gay biker</span></li>
<li>Member of The Village People</li>
<li>Sex offender</li>
<li>Porn star</li>
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I think this highlights a very stereotyped view of moustaches (especially ones like mine).<br />
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I'm intrigued as to the effect of Movember on mainstream society. I think it could go one of two ways.<br />
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It could make moustaches associated only with yearly charity activities and hence discourage men from keeping them all year. Indeed year-round moustachioed gents must get annoyed with strangers saying "nice mo", or perhaps less flattering comments similar to the ribbing I've received.<br />
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Alternatively, it could make moustaches more socially acceptable and create a new fashion of moustaches like the hirsute heydays of the 70s and the late 1800s. I'm quite looking forward to trying a different style next year.<br />
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<br />Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-57586001575247481352012-11-22T14:30:00.002-08:002012-11-22T14:30:19.095-08:009 out of 10 kittens prefer...Here's Cleo showing us what she likes to eat. There were uneaten kitten biscuits in her food dish at the time. Maybe she was just being sociable.<br />
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Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-14509353779802578582012-11-20T11:34:00.000-08:002012-11-20T11:34:06.293-08:00The joy of antsThe kids have got a glass-walled enclosure for keeping and observing ants. We were very excited a few weeks ago to receive our test tube of ants in the post. We released them into the enclosure and expected great things.<br />
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Here's a picture of the enclosure now.<br />
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Can't see any ants? Take a closer look at the bit of soil we were sent in the post. <br />
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You're right, there doesn't appear to be any ants at all.<br />
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To be honest the most we've ever seen is two at a time. On reading through the blurb, it confirms that the ants you get sent in the post are not the type that have a queen, so we'll never get any more ants than we have now.<br />
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I think we'll need to get another batch of ants.When we do, I'll put a picture on here.Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4903451816502276127.post-33243574257859323252012-11-18T01:32:00.000-08:002012-11-18T01:33:10.262-08:00Logan's Run Fell Race - the video<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Noelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14015042300583377303noreply@blogger.com0