The way I see it

Just a quick note on blogs, I enjoy reading them and so please update them people. I intend to update mine once or twice a week, though have been struggling lately. I think mine and John’s seem to have been updated the most frequently over the last month or so, though I go for the prose-only-no-pics-easiest-maintenance-sort-of approach.

Just a quick word on County – listened to them on Imagine FM like I do religiously every Saturday (I really ought to go more often, but I’m a fair weather fan) – and I have to say they do seem to be having the most incredible bad luck at the moment. You’d think that when you’re playing the top of the league and being in the lead until the 88th minute, and then finding you’ve dropped to the bottom of the league seems remarkably bad luck. Anyway, at least there is no gulf in points at the bottom. Although no team is ever ‘too good to go down’ I still believe Stockport will get out of it. I remember going to County on New Years Day 2001 watching them beat Fulham 2-0 (who were running away with Division1 at the time) though Stockport were relegated that season in about February….

On running. I am intending to do the Manchester 10k this year, since everyone else is and pride prevents me from dropping out. Only problem is I’m the most unfit I’ve ever been and May 21 is approaching fairly rapidly. I intended to start running last weekend (didn’t happen) then I took some trainers to Sheffield to start there (didn’t happen) and this weekend it didn’t happen either. Bramhall is too urban for my tastes, Sheffield is too hilly and I get back from work too late. Pity I’m not back in Vilnius - I lived right next a large forest and went for long walks there almost every weekend, which would be perfect for training runs. I’d want to do the Manchester 10k in under an hour so I’ll need to do at the very least 10runs before the event. On a slightly different tack I think I remember reading on Russ’s (or somewhere else) blog about going walking to improve running(?!). I have to say in my experience walking and running are two completely separate disciplines using completely different muscles and breathing/aerobic/anaerobic oxygen intake(?!) (though biology was never my strongest subject and I don’t know which is which) and being good at one is absolutely no help with the other. For example I can walk to Stockport Stn in 31mins without breaking into a sweat (about 3km) though if I were to run I’d be completely knackered and probably wouldn’t get there in much under 20mins…anyway that’s just the way I see things. Don’t know about anyone else, but I find running for the sake of running utterly unrewarding and that’s probably why I’m finding it difficult to get started. I suppose running first thing in the morning is the best time, though running and Friday/Saturday drinking with early morning running is not compatible and I don’t intend to give up drinking!

“Bosnia is still a desperately poor and unhappy place” BBC report December 2005.

Just finished reading Andy McNab’s ‘Deep Black’ most of which is set in Iraq and Bosnia and it got me thinking about Bosnia again. It’s now 5 years since me and Mark went and Sarajevo has probably changed from being a burnt-out, bullet-ridden, wrecked city utterly devoid of tourists to somewhere that vaguely resembles normality. There are now backpacker hostels and within a few years it is supposedly going to become an ‘in’ place to visit. In 2001 I promised myself that I’d come back one day...

A slightly odd website, which is called ‘the Sarajevo survival guide’ and is about the more mundane but problematic issues of living through a war – dealing with an erratic water/electricity supply, ‘moving house’, how to make UN-food parcels last lomger and where people go out to socialise etc.
http://www.friends-partners.org/bosnia/surintro.html

My passport has arrived (within the week!) so at least Bratislava is now confirmed. After doing a few sums and working out the total potential cost of Belfast, I’ve pretty much ruled it out. As for the summer – it’d be nice to have a week or two with some of the BRFC crowd, though where to go hasn’t been decided. Norway, Portugal and Croatia have been suggested and sound good. I don’t think I’ll be able to sell Armenia though.

It seems like I’ll have to sign up for the Manchester run, though this is going to require some training. My only target would be to complete it within the hour mark.

waiting

Just been reading a few of the blogs about the Cork trip and there’s some interesting reading. There seemed to be a few negative comments regarding the quality of the cuisine. I can’t help thinking that going to Ireland with the expectation of excellent food is a bit like going to Italy hoping for good whiskey, Saudi Arabia for a beer festival or Russia expecting good customer service. I thought Irish food was potatoes, potatoes and potatoes washed down with stout?!

Anyway glad you had a nice time.

Shock horror there may not be a Wild East this summer for me and Mark, as Mr T might have other priorities and may have gone off the idea of walking round destitute eastern bloc countries in 35-degree heat, carrying a huge pack with nowhere to stay for the evening having not eastern properly for the past 24hours….though there is the possibility of a small eastern bloc excursion in the early part of the summer.

Anyway, if this is the case, I may have to consider my own excursion somewhere although there are lots of possibilities. I’ve been leafing through the Lonely Planet guides to Laos and Cambodia and Laos in particular jumps out at me. The only real way of getting there would probably involve a flight to Bangkok (somewhere I’ve always said I’ll never go to, but I might have to reconsider that) or even via Hong Kong as direct flights are astronomical/unavailable. Anyway that’s a long way off yet. I don’t have a passport at the moment and am hoping that my new passport (minus all 64 stamps :-( will arrive in the next week or so)…