Today is the 31st anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster: 15 April 1989. It is a date I will never forget. I was at a football game that day, at Rugby Park, watching Kilmarnock play against someone I can't recall. I still remember the shock as I heard the news as I was driving home.
As the years went on, I became more and more annoyed about the evidence of a massive cover up. A Prime Minister who believed it was more important to protect the police as an institution than it was to find out the truth. An establishment which looked down on football as a sport, and refused to accept that many innocent people died as a result of massive failings by many people and organisations. A tabloid media happy to blame football supporters. Various inquiries took place but failed to recognise the proper conclusion. A great city continued to mourn, with no-one prepared to listen. I read every report, beginning to end, and my frustration grew. Had it not been for an intervention by Andy Burnham, now Mayor of Manchester but then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, I doubt the truth would ever have come out.
Thankfully, in April 2016, the truth did come out. The Hillsborough inquest concluded that the 96 supporters were unlawfully killed, and that the behaviour of Liverpool supporters had not contributed to the crush. The report heavily criticised the police operation, the stadium layout and design, and the local ambulance service. It is well worth reading the full report. Much of it will, or should, shock you. More shocking is the way in which the Establishment had denied the truth and covered it up for so long.
I accept mistakes happen. Sometimes people make mistakes in high pressure situations; I have sympathy for them and really don't like the 'complain about anything' culture that is so apparent in today's society. However people lacking integrity is a different thing. Putting institutions ahead of people is abhorrent; to protect an institution and harm individuals in the process is morally corrupt. As we remember the 96 people who didn't come home that day, we owe it to every family to remember this. All organisations, whether governments, companies, charities, sports governing bodies or anyone else, have a duty to act with integrity in the way they go about their business. That should be non negotiable for every organisation and everyone involved in their management.
Wednesday 15 April 2020
Monday 30 December 2019
Looking back at 2019
As I write this it is 30th December - Hogmanay eve - and if ever there was an appropriate time to look back at the year this is probably it. In running terms it was a fairly decent year for me, spoiled by an injury which greatly reduced my running in the last quarter of the year. The fact that the injury is still raw in my mind leaves me with a sense that the year as a whole was a bit of a disaster but on reflection this is unfair and does not reflect the positives that happened prior to October.
First of all, the stats. With a day and a half of the year still to go, I've run 1,616 miles and covered more than 7,000,000 steps. This is the first year I've kept a note on my steps - last year's Christmas present, a Garmin 235, does it for me automatically - and it works out at an average of more than 19,000 a day. I try and walk to and from work most days, which is about a 5 mile round trip and adds around 10,000 steps a day. The walking complements my running well, I think, and helps provide a decent base.
I have completed 21 races. This was made up of 3 ultramarathons (South Downs Way 50, Cateran 55 and Cumbria Way 30), a very enjoyable trail marathon (Mhor), two half marathons (Scottish and Great Scottish, somewhat confusingly), one 10k (a return to my old school town of Paisley), eight 5ks (mostly parkruns) and 6 other races. The other races included a very enjoyable Edinburgh race called Scurry to the Sea, where we ran to the top of one of the peaks in the Pentlands and then down to the finish at Musselburgh beach, trashing my quads for a full week afterwards. It also included the first National Cross Country championships where I was lapped, with Adam Craig being the first athlete to take that honour. I doubt he will be the last, although next year I plan to prepare better, and not spend the week before partying on a cruise. The award for my own 'performance of the year' goes to my 3 hours 49 minutes Mhor Marathon, with my two 1.37 half marathons are also being worth a mention, even though the combination of these halfs and a 30 mile ultra in successive weeks broke me. The expression 'do what I say and not as I do' is one of which I intend to take note in 2020. Another is 'don't be a silly fool and race three weeks in a row, as your ageing body can't cope with it any more'.
On the subject of giving advice, I have coached a number of senior endurance athletes over the year and it has been great to see them achieve PBs and other excellent results. I coach at the Harmeny AC sessions each Tuesday night at the Meadows which is a lot of fun, with a great camaraderie amongst the group.
I continue to be pleased at the progress being made by Scottish Athletics. It was another good year on all counts: our top athletes continue to perform well - three Scottish athletes making the final of the world championship 1,500m in Doha was a huge achievement, as were the performances of Callum Hawkins in the marathon and Laura Muir (coming back from injury) in the 1,500m, along with many others. Callum taking the lead in the World Championship marathon was one of my favourite moments of the year; for about a minute I really believed we were going to have a Scottish world champion. Our para athletes brought medals back from Dubai. Our club scene continues to prosper, and some of the big club events like the national cross country championships were superb examples of what athletics in Scotland is all about. It is nice to be part of a sport where everyone involved - athletes, coaches, officials, other club volunteers, board, staff - are all working so well together to help move athletics forward. I've said it in various interviews and I'll say it again: a huge thank you to everyone involved for all the hard work put in, and for the way everyone is working together for the benefit of athletics as a whole. Scottish Athletics won the governing body of the year award again in 2019 - the third time we have won it in the last four years - and everyone in the sport should take great pride at this.
Away from running and athletics, 2019 was a year of weddings, big birthdays and holidays. We attended three weddings this year: Stephen and Gillian in the Dominican Republic in May (and their second, home version in Edinburgh in June); Dave and Lee in Killearn in June; and Paddy and Emma in Dunkeld in October. Congratulations to the happy brides, grooms and families; all of the weddings were fantastic, memorable days. It was Sandra's 50th birthday in February (hard to believe, I know), which we celebrated in style with a cruise round the Canaries, Madiera and North Africa, accompanied by Stephen and Gillian, Colin, Jemima, Liz and Carol. Last week it was my Dad's 80th birthday, which we celebrated by going to Killin for a lovely weekend just before Christmas. On top of the holidays already mentioned, Sandra and I had a week of relaxation in Ibiza, just after the West Highland Way Race in June, although somewhat unfortunately I had hurt my shoulder and found it difficult to relax. We then headed out to Chamonix in August and had a lovely week watching the UTMB races, walking and running on the stunning mountain trails, and catching up with a number of our running friends.
On the political front, 2019 will be remembered as the year UK politics reached a new low. Telling the truth became an unusual and slightly quaint course of action for any politician or political party, as the politics of spin and lies took over. Respect for other points of view disappeared. Brexit hardened opinions on both sides with a lot of unacceptable behaviour being seen both inside and outside the Houses of Parliament. Westminster politics remained in stalemate for most of the year, until a crushing Conservative victory in December's general election means we are heading for an early 2020 exit from the EU. Goodness knows what else is ahead, but it is fair to say that I, and many others, are not optimistic about the state of the UK. All of this turmoil does of course present a great opportunity for Scotland, and the Scottish people, to recognise that we don't have to be part of this, and can do things better ourselves. 2020 certainly promises to be an interesting year in that regard.
2019 not only marks the end of the year, but the end of the decade. It has been an interesting one. Sandra and I have just spent our 10th Christmas together which seems hard to believe; the time has passed in the blink of an eye. Maybe that's another indication that we're getting old.
As I sign off, may I take this opportunity to wish all my readers the very best for a successful and happy 2020. I hope it is a good one for us all.
First of all, the stats. With a day and a half of the year still to go, I've run 1,616 miles and covered more than 7,000,000 steps. This is the first year I've kept a note on my steps - last year's Christmas present, a Garmin 235, does it for me automatically - and it works out at an average of more than 19,000 a day. I try and walk to and from work most days, which is about a 5 mile round trip and adds around 10,000 steps a day. The walking complements my running well, I think, and helps provide a decent base.
I have completed 21 races. This was made up of 3 ultramarathons (South Downs Way 50, Cateran 55 and Cumbria Way 30), a very enjoyable trail marathon (Mhor), two half marathons (Scottish and Great Scottish, somewhat confusingly), one 10k (a return to my old school town of Paisley), eight 5ks (mostly parkruns) and 6 other races. The other races included a very enjoyable Edinburgh race called Scurry to the Sea, where we ran to the top of one of the peaks in the Pentlands and then down to the finish at Musselburgh beach, trashing my quads for a full week afterwards. It also included the first National Cross Country championships where I was lapped, with Adam Craig being the first athlete to take that honour. I doubt he will be the last, although next year I plan to prepare better, and not spend the week before partying on a cruise. The award for my own 'performance of the year' goes to my 3 hours 49 minutes Mhor Marathon, with my two 1.37 half marathons are also being worth a mention, even though the combination of these halfs and a 30 mile ultra in successive weeks broke me. The expression 'do what I say and not as I do' is one of which I intend to take note in 2020. Another is 'don't be a silly fool and race three weeks in a row, as your ageing body can't cope with it any more'.
On the subject of giving advice, I have coached a number of senior endurance athletes over the year and it has been great to see them achieve PBs and other excellent results. I coach at the Harmeny AC sessions each Tuesday night at the Meadows which is a lot of fun, with a great camaraderie amongst the group.
I continue to be pleased at the progress being made by Scottish Athletics. It was another good year on all counts: our top athletes continue to perform well - three Scottish athletes making the final of the world championship 1,500m in Doha was a huge achievement, as were the performances of Callum Hawkins in the marathon and Laura Muir (coming back from injury) in the 1,500m, along with many others. Callum taking the lead in the World Championship marathon was one of my favourite moments of the year; for about a minute I really believed we were going to have a Scottish world champion. Our para athletes brought medals back from Dubai. Our club scene continues to prosper, and some of the big club events like the national cross country championships were superb examples of what athletics in Scotland is all about. It is nice to be part of a sport where everyone involved - athletes, coaches, officials, other club volunteers, board, staff - are all working so well together to help move athletics forward. I've said it in various interviews and I'll say it again: a huge thank you to everyone involved for all the hard work put in, and for the way everyone is working together for the benefit of athletics as a whole. Scottish Athletics won the governing body of the year award again in 2019 - the third time we have won it in the last four years - and everyone in the sport should take great pride at this.
Away from running and athletics, 2019 was a year of weddings, big birthdays and holidays. We attended three weddings this year: Stephen and Gillian in the Dominican Republic in May (and their second, home version in Edinburgh in June); Dave and Lee in Killearn in June; and Paddy and Emma in Dunkeld in October. Congratulations to the happy brides, grooms and families; all of the weddings were fantastic, memorable days. It was Sandra's 50th birthday in February (hard to believe, I know), which we celebrated in style with a cruise round the Canaries, Madiera and North Africa, accompanied by Stephen and Gillian, Colin, Jemima, Liz and Carol. Last week it was my Dad's 80th birthday, which we celebrated by going to Killin for a lovely weekend just before Christmas. On top of the holidays already mentioned, Sandra and I had a week of relaxation in Ibiza, just after the West Highland Way Race in June, although somewhat unfortunately I had hurt my shoulder and found it difficult to relax. We then headed out to Chamonix in August and had a lovely week watching the UTMB races, walking and running on the stunning mountain trails, and catching up with a number of our running friends.
On the political front, 2019 will be remembered as the year UK politics reached a new low. Telling the truth became an unusual and slightly quaint course of action for any politician or political party, as the politics of spin and lies took over. Respect for other points of view disappeared. Brexit hardened opinions on both sides with a lot of unacceptable behaviour being seen both inside and outside the Houses of Parliament. Westminster politics remained in stalemate for most of the year, until a crushing Conservative victory in December's general election means we are heading for an early 2020 exit from the EU. Goodness knows what else is ahead, but it is fair to say that I, and many others, are not optimistic about the state of the UK. All of this turmoil does of course present a great opportunity for Scotland, and the Scottish people, to recognise that we don't have to be part of this, and can do things better ourselves. 2020 certainly promises to be an interesting year in that regard.
2019 not only marks the end of the year, but the end of the decade. It has been an interesting one. Sandra and I have just spent our 10th Christmas together which seems hard to believe; the time has passed in the blink of an eye. Maybe that's another indication that we're getting old.
As I sign off, may I take this opportunity to wish all my readers the very best for a successful and happy 2020. I hope it is a good one for us all.
Monday 18 November 2019
We're in a blame culture here (and it's your fault...)
Accidents happen, used to be the saying. Not any more, they don't. One of today's society's depressing features is the fact that when something goes wrong nowadays, it has to be someone's fault. And usually, not the person whose fault you would naturally assume. So, for example, we have turned in to a place where hard working and caring social workers are routinely blamed for child protection failures, forgetting that the actual reason the tragedy occurred was an evil individual perpetrating a horrific crime. Money laundering crimes? I know what we should do: let's put all the onus on professionals like lawyers and accountants, and blame them when dirty money finds its way in to the economy. It couldn't possibly be the fault of the person who accumulated their ill gotten gains from criminal activity, could it? That would all be too easy. You've been scammed out of money by cyber criminals, for making a mistake transferring funds while using an unfamiliar online banking device that the bank more or less forced you to use by making it more and more difficult to bank in any other way. That will be your fault too, sorry. Doesn't matter if you're 80 years old, find it difficult to use technology, and didn't understand all those warnings that appeared when you started the transaction. It won't be covered by your home insurance policy either, because the insurers haven't been forced by legislation to include this as a standard part of your cover. The police probably won't be able to help because it's a financial crime and they don't have sufficient resource to investigate financial crimes.
A few years ago I remember watching President Obama as he addressed the nation after a failed attempt to commit a horrific act of terror on the American people. This attempt had been stopped shortly before a potential bomber stepped on to the plane and I expected Obama to stand up, remind the US people of the need to remain vigilant at a time of extremely high terror alert, and thank his security services for their work in preventing another disaster. Much to my surprise he went down a different route. It was unacceptable that the incident hadn't been stopped earlier, he shouted, banged the table and announced there would be a high level enquiry in to the unacceptable performance of his security services. Really? Had those security people not just saved many lives by their hard work and dedication to the cause? It was a massive error of judgement on his part, in my opinion, and I wonder if he looks back and thinks the same way.
That of course brings me on to Grenfell. This was a terrible tragedy, with many people losing their lives after a fridge went on fire in one of the flats, the fire then spreading quickly through the high rise tower block partly due to the inadequacy of the material used for the outer cladding of the building. Fire fighters from all over London and beyond attended that night, trying to fight one of the most difficult and complex fires they had seen. 72 people died. The inquiry into the fire suggested that the advice given to residents in the tower block to stay in their flats was wrong, and before we knew it news programmes and newspapers were full of stories effectively blaming the London fire brigade for the deaths.
I fully appreciate the need to learn from major disasters, and the role of the public inquiry in facilitating this. The excellent recent safety record in the North Sea oil sector is attributed at least in part to lessons learned from the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988. However we live in such a blame culture now that the original, and very important, purpose of those inquiries appears to have been forgotten in a horrible desire to point the finger of blame at our public services, or indeed at anyone else who can be made out as a scapegoat. We are now in a situation where the fire service - yes, I'll say it again, the fire service - are actually being blamed as the cause of the Grenfell fire deaths. It is completely ridiculous. I even heard one high profile campaigner given airtime on national news to suggest that there were racist undertones to decisions made by fire fighters that evening, although this was later retracted. Our media needs to do better than act as the medium for this messaging, but sadly I fear that ship sailed long ago.
I fully appreciate the need to learn from major disasters, and the role of the public inquiry in facilitating this. The excellent recent safety record in the North Sea oil sector is attributed at least in part to lessons learned from the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988. However we live in such a blame culture now that the original, and very important, purpose of those inquiries appears to have been forgotten in a horrible desire to point the finger of blame at our public services, or indeed at anyone else who can be made out as a scapegoat. We are now in a situation where the fire service - yes, I'll say it again, the fire service - are actually being blamed as the cause of the Grenfell fire deaths. It is completely ridiculous. I even heard one high profile campaigner given airtime on national news to suggest that there were racist undertones to decisions made by fire fighters that evening, although this was later retracted. Our media needs to do better than act as the medium for this messaging, but sadly I fear that ship sailed long ago.
Monday 11 November 2019
Busy week ahead
As often seems the case on a Monday, I had quite an interrupted night’s sleep and decided to get up before my alarm went off. Not sure why that happens; too much going through my subconscious mind, perhaps? Anyway it means I have a bit of extra time and am using that to write a few words of wisdom, or otherwise, on this blog.
I have a very busy week ahead. It is a busy spell at work anyway - partner appraisal season - and on top of that I have things on every night:
Monday (tonight) - Scottish Athletics board meeting;
Tuesday - regular coaching session at the Meadows;
Wednesday - partnership meeting, which is normally followed by a couple of drinks;
Thursday - weekly visit to the physio, followed by West Highland Way podcast with John K;
Friday - night out with Tuesday night running group and others from my club, Harmeny.
I should make clear that I’m not complaining, as I’d rather be busy. I’m also going to make a serious effort this week to be more careful with what I am eating, as my lack of running is already contributing to a few extra pounds appearing, something I’m not particularly happy with. It’s not the easiest time of year for me to cut back, and will no doubt get even more difficult as we head in to the Christmas party season, but I’ll do the best I can now and have a much more focused effort come the new year.
What else has been happening? Still no running for me; it looks as though this issue is going to take quite a bit of time and I’ll need to be patient with it. Patience is a virtue, I’m told. It was the Lindsays Scottish National Short Course Cross Country Championships (quite a snappy title) at Kirkcaldy on Saturday. As well as the competition at the front of the races - including a win for a Harmeny athlete, Tendai, in the boys’ under 15 race, and bronze medals for the team - I was delighted to see that eight senior women from Harmeny taking part in the 4K race. What a great turnout from them and from all the other clubs who pitched up and battled their way round the muddy course.
On the political front, campaigning has now begun in earnest. The Conservatives have made a dismal start to the campaign with various gaffes from senior politicians. I expect their lead in the polls to reduce as the campaign goes on, much in the way it did at the last election two years ago, as their lack of credibility both as a party and as individual politicians becomes more apparent as they are put under greater scrutiny. I find the Lib Dem messaging opportunistic, and do not take to Jo Swindon’s rather hectoring style at all. In my opinion she is not a Prime Minister in waiting. Despite the massive media campaign against Jeremy Corbyn, he retains strong support (in England at least) from some of the younger voters. It’s a different battle here in Scotland where I expect the SNP to gain seats, but perhaps not as many as some commentators are suggesting. I watched BBC’s Question Time on Thursday night. It took place from Glasgow and felt as though the SNP’s messages were being supported by a significant majority of the audience. Time will tell if that was a bit of a one off, reflecting the fact Glasgow has been a strong SNP area for a number of years, or if it indicated a turning of the tide towards the independence message. I certainly hope it is the latter.
I have a very busy week ahead. It is a busy spell at work anyway - partner appraisal season - and on top of that I have things on every night:
Monday (tonight) - Scottish Athletics board meeting;
Tuesday - regular coaching session at the Meadows;
Wednesday - partnership meeting, which is normally followed by a couple of drinks;
Thursday - weekly visit to the physio, followed by West Highland Way podcast with John K;
Friday - night out with Tuesday night running group and others from my club, Harmeny.
I should make clear that I’m not complaining, as I’d rather be busy. I’m also going to make a serious effort this week to be more careful with what I am eating, as my lack of running is already contributing to a few extra pounds appearing, something I’m not particularly happy with. It’s not the easiest time of year for me to cut back, and will no doubt get even more difficult as we head in to the Christmas party season, but I’ll do the best I can now and have a much more focused effort come the new year.
What else has been happening? Still no running for me; it looks as though this issue is going to take quite a bit of time and I’ll need to be patient with it. Patience is a virtue, I’m told. It was the Lindsays Scottish National Short Course Cross Country Championships (quite a snappy title) at Kirkcaldy on Saturday. As well as the competition at the front of the races - including a win for a Harmeny athlete, Tendai, in the boys’ under 15 race, and bronze medals for the team - I was delighted to see that eight senior women from Harmeny taking part in the 4K race. What a great turnout from them and from all the other clubs who pitched up and battled their way round the muddy course.
On the political front, campaigning has now begun in earnest. The Conservatives have made a dismal start to the campaign with various gaffes from senior politicians. I expect their lead in the polls to reduce as the campaign goes on, much in the way it did at the last election two years ago, as their lack of credibility both as a party and as individual politicians becomes more apparent as they are put under greater scrutiny. I find the Lib Dem messaging opportunistic, and do not take to Jo Swindon’s rather hectoring style at all. In my opinion she is not a Prime Minister in waiting. Despite the massive media campaign against Jeremy Corbyn, he retains strong support (in England at least) from some of the younger voters. It’s a different battle here in Scotland where I expect the SNP to gain seats, but perhaps not as many as some commentators are suggesting. I watched BBC’s Question Time on Thursday night. It took place from Glasgow and felt as though the SNP’s messages were being supported by a significant majority of the audience. Time will tell if that was a bit of a one off, reflecting the fact Glasgow has been a strong SNP area for a number of years, or if it indicated a turning of the tide towards the independence message. I certainly hope it is the latter.
Tuesday 5 November 2019
Injury update
For a few days I've felt I've been making good progress with my injury. I managed to walk 8 miles on Saturday at a decent pace when I was up watch the Glen Ogle ultra, without any issues at all. I stayed away from any temptation to get involved in the country dancing at the after-race party - not a big sacrifice, I can assure you - and I've been doing my exercises religiously. So imagine my excitement yesterday morning when I did the 'raise my leg' test that my physio uses, and found that my left leg could go as high as my right. "I'm back!", I thought to myself, and despite the hideous weather decided to try a wee run at lunchtime.
I was very excited as I got myself ready. It's been about 5 weeks since I've done a proper run, and I've missed it a lot. I didn't mind the rain at all as it soaked me to the skin within seconds of leaving the office, and I headed off at an easy pace in the general direction of the canal.
At first it felt good. I managed half a mile or so, not at any great speed, but then started to feel a bit of tightness on my left calf. This was the area that had been sore the last time I had tried to run, and was not a good sign. However on I continued, running along the road where I fell and broke my shoulder a couple of years ago - how prophetic - but it was clear this tightness was not going away. So I headed back in the general direction of the office and called it a day. Two miles done at no pace at all, and it was sore. Clearly I was not back. My calf remained quite tight throughout the afternoon and evening, not so sore that I couldn't walk on it, but not right. I had probably stopped on time, before doing myself any real damage, but it was clear my self styled fitness test had failed.
I'm back at the physio on Thursday night and know what the message will be: sciatic nerve pain takes a long time to go away, and as soon as the nerves feel under threat the muscles respond negatively as a defence mechanism. I will be told that it will heal, but will take time. And time will require patience. Something of which I am in very short supply at the moment.
I was very excited as I got myself ready. It's been about 5 weeks since I've done a proper run, and I've missed it a lot. I didn't mind the rain at all as it soaked me to the skin within seconds of leaving the office, and I headed off at an easy pace in the general direction of the canal.
At first it felt good. I managed half a mile or so, not at any great speed, but then started to feel a bit of tightness on my left calf. This was the area that had been sore the last time I had tried to run, and was not a good sign. However on I continued, running along the road where I fell and broke my shoulder a couple of years ago - how prophetic - but it was clear this tightness was not going away. So I headed back in the general direction of the office and called it a day. Two miles done at no pace at all, and it was sore. Clearly I was not back. My calf remained quite tight throughout the afternoon and evening, not so sore that I couldn't walk on it, but not right. I had probably stopped on time, before doing myself any real damage, but it was clear my self styled fitness test had failed.
I'm back at the physio on Thursday night and know what the message will be: sciatic nerve pain takes a long time to go away, and as soon as the nerves feel under threat the muscles respond negatively as a defence mechanism. I will be told that it will heal, but will take time. And time will require patience. Something of which I am in very short supply at the moment.
Sunday 3 November 2019
A quick update
It's been an interesting few days.
It has been confirmed that we are having a general election on 12 December. We spent the weekend in and around the beautiful village of Killin, where Sandra was running in the 33 mile Glen Ogle ultramarathon and I was wishing I could be running but was watching instead. England lost the rugby, beaten by a much better South African team on the day. Newcastle United won a Premier League game on Saturday. I was at a charity dinner on Thursday night where I heard one the best speakers I've heard for a long time, Paul Reid, and had a very entertaining long chat with a former Lord Advocate and senior Scottish judge. Rangers announced an £11 million loss and tried to present this as a good thing. Nigel Farage has never been off the television. Andy Maciver presented a wonderfully entertaining seminar in our Edinburgh office on Thursday morning. His thoughts: 60% chance of a hung parliament, 30% a Conservative outright majority, and 10% a Labour outright majority. He also thinks there will be another independence referendum within the next two years. We caught up with a good number of friends from the ultra running world, shared a few beers, and appreciated how lucky we are to have this community in our lives. Entries for the 2020 West Highland Way race opened, it all worked, and after nearly 3 days we already have 210 entries. There are a few interesting things going on with Scottish Athletics, hopefully positive, which will all become clear in due course. I went to the physio on Wednesday, full of hope I'd get the ok to run again, and left disappointed. At least I am able to walk further than before and am sleeping without pain.
It's our fourth wedding anniversary on Wednesday. Partner appraisals have started and will continue until January. The nights continue to arrive earlier each day. I'm back at the physio on Thursday and hoping my improvement has continued. I'll take my running session on Tuesday and will hope for a reasonable turnout. The news will continue to be full of election coverage, which I enjoy. We certainly live in interesting times.
Have a good week everyone.
It has been confirmed that we are having a general election on 12 December. We spent the weekend in and around the beautiful village of Killin, where Sandra was running in the 33 mile Glen Ogle ultramarathon and I was wishing I could be running but was watching instead. England lost the rugby, beaten by a much better South African team on the day. Newcastle United won a Premier League game on Saturday. I was at a charity dinner on Thursday night where I heard one the best speakers I've heard for a long time, Paul Reid, and had a very entertaining long chat with a former Lord Advocate and senior Scottish judge. Rangers announced an £11 million loss and tried to present this as a good thing. Nigel Farage has never been off the television. Andy Maciver presented a wonderfully entertaining seminar in our Edinburgh office on Thursday morning. His thoughts: 60% chance of a hung parliament, 30% a Conservative outright majority, and 10% a Labour outright majority. He also thinks there will be another independence referendum within the next two years. We caught up with a good number of friends from the ultra running world, shared a few beers, and appreciated how lucky we are to have this community in our lives. Entries for the 2020 West Highland Way race opened, it all worked, and after nearly 3 days we already have 210 entries. There are a few interesting things going on with Scottish Athletics, hopefully positive, which will all become clear in due course. I went to the physio on Wednesday, full of hope I'd get the ok to run again, and left disappointed. At least I am able to walk further than before and am sleeping without pain.
It's our fourth wedding anniversary on Wednesday. Partner appraisals have started and will continue until January. The nights continue to arrive earlier each day. I'm back at the physio on Thursday and hoping my improvement has continued. I'll take my running session on Tuesday and will hope for a reasonable turnout. The news will continue to be full of election coverage, which I enjoy. We certainly live in interesting times.
Have a good week everyone.
Tuesday 29 October 2019
Brexit, VAR and good sessions
I've managed to get through three full posts without mentioning Brexit, but it couldn't last a fourth. Does anyone actually know where this is going to end up? Our Prime Minister evidently doesn't, nor indeed any of the other political leaders. On Thursday morning I'm going to a Brexit seminar in our office to hear Andy Maciver's thoughts on it all. We work closely with Andy and he is a first class, hugely entertaining speaker, as well as one of Scotland's top political analysts; you may have seen him on various Scottish news outlets. I doubt Andy knows either but it will be fascinating to hear his views on the various scenarios, and how they will affect the political environment here in Scotland. Once I find out what's happening I'll let you all know.
Almost as contentious as Brexit this week has been VAR. For those who do not follow football, VAR stands for 'video assistant referee' and has been brought in to the English Premier League to reduce the number of errors made. Unfortunately it is not working very well. Brighton were awarded a penalty in their game against Everton which baffled everyone except the people who were operating VAR. The penalty was awarded when Brighton were 2-1 down, and helped them to go on and win 3-2. I've seen the incident about six time and still don't know why it was given, and I used to be a referee, albeit in the Ayrshire Amateur League rather than English Premier League. Using video evidence to review decisions seems to be working fine in the Champions League, and it has worked very well in rugby for a few years, so perhaps the issues lie with the way the English Premier League is using the technology, rather than with the technology itself. An analogy for life itself, perhaps.
Today is Tuesday which means it is intervals night at the Meadows. I coach this session each week at 6.30pm for my club, Harmeny AC, with normally between 5 and 15 runners coming along. I don't tell anyone what the specific session is going to be until we are ready to start - I simply tell them it will be 'good'. I have still to decide what tonight's 'good' session will be, but as we are now in to the darker winter nights I will be reminding the group of the old running adage 'winter miles make summer smiles'. Not sure they will be thanking me for that wisdom after half an hour of running at close to threshold pace, but I'm sure they will in the long run (no pun intended, of course...)
Almost as contentious as Brexit this week has been VAR. For those who do not follow football, VAR stands for 'video assistant referee' and has been brought in to the English Premier League to reduce the number of errors made. Unfortunately it is not working very well. Brighton were awarded a penalty in their game against Everton which baffled everyone except the people who were operating VAR. The penalty was awarded when Brighton were 2-1 down, and helped them to go on and win 3-2. I've seen the incident about six time and still don't know why it was given, and I used to be a referee, albeit in the Ayrshire Amateur League rather than English Premier League. Using video evidence to review decisions seems to be working fine in the Champions League, and it has worked very well in rugby for a few years, so perhaps the issues lie with the way the English Premier League is using the technology, rather than with the technology itself. An analogy for life itself, perhaps.
Today is Tuesday which means it is intervals night at the Meadows. I coach this session each week at 6.30pm for my club, Harmeny AC, with normally between 5 and 15 runners coming along. I don't tell anyone what the specific session is going to be until we are ready to start - I simply tell them it will be 'good'. I have still to decide what tonight's 'good' session will be, but as we are now in to the darker winter nights I will be reminding the group of the old running adage 'winter miles make summer smiles'. Not sure they will be thanking me for that wisdom after half an hour of running at close to threshold pace, but I'm sure they will in the long run (no pun intended, of course...)
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