Coastal Trail Series – Portland

This is a much larger post for a change. Steve had some annual leave up his sleeve so we took off Friday in order to get some traveling in before the run on Saturday.
As this run was down in Dorset territory it was a great opportunity to visit a place that is the iconic home to one of my favourite, inspiring shows – River Cottage. Although Hugh was no where to be seen we did arrive early enough to have breakfast. To be honest, the breakfast was nice but the selection available was far from what I imagined there should be. Steve had a bacon roll and I had salmon with fresh baked bread. Both very delicious but only 2 of the 5 or 6 choices and of which there we no eggs at all to be found on the menu. Not sure what that was about? The coffee however was also great.
After lunch we slowly headed out of Devon and into Dorset stopping along the way at Charmouth to do a bit of fossil hunting. We found a few small ones but nothing like the intact dinosaur that is on display nearby. I think you have to really be visiting on a daily basis with hammer and chisel to be finding all the good stuff. Me, I’m just content to have a wander and see what I find.
We stopped for fish and chips in West Bay which is a nice little seaside town, however it is very much a retirement destination but still has quite a strong fishing business by the looks.

We next moved on to Chesil Beach which is basically a huge spit running parallel to the mainland for miles. It is entirely made up of the most amazing coloured pebbles. I have never seen anything like it before. They make the most amazing noise underfoot and although tiring to walk on I found them far better than having annoying, grinding sand in your shoes.

Finally we headed into Weymouth which was far larger than I expected it to be. Again, due to the proximity of the sea, fishing and cargo are the main stayers here. It seems to be a town that has everything going for it plus access to stunning waterways. From Weymouth you can catch the numerous ships leaving for France etc. I believe imports and exports go through this town port as well.
We decided not to stay the night in town and headed out to The Lugger Inn located in Chickerell.
Saturday morning we got a sleep in for a change as we normally get up really early and arrive in time for the race briefings etc. This time it was a leisurely breakfast and a short drive to race base at the Portland and Weymouth Sailing Academy. Talk about a great set up they have here and tons of kids learning to sail. I could see myself living quite contentedly for a while in Portland. I suppose it helps when the weather is glorious so the sea, sky and rock look spectacular.

So far, of all the runs, this was by far the most spectator accessible where I was able to arrive at certain points along the way to provide some encouragement to Steve as he ran and try to snap a few pictures. I was very fortunate to catch up with him as he was going far quicker than I had catered for. The hardest part was the long stretch down Chesil Beach – pebbles all the way. Gotta hurt!

Anyway, here are some pictures from this fabulous weekend.

Finally here at the River Cottage store
Finally here at the River Cottage store

And their off...
And their off...

Up the hill on the right, round the island and along the spit
Up the hill on the right, round the island and along the spit

Portland Bill - as the lighthouse is called
Portland Bill - as the lighthouse is called

Great sea views
Great sea views

Hard, cold slog
Hard, cold slog

On the home stretch
On the home stretch

Picking up his meal ticket and medal
Picking up his meal ticket and medal

Relaxing after a hard slog
Relaxing after a hard slog

He still has energy??
He still has energy??

Chalk, blood and sweat

After a long number of years I finally decided to give climbing a go. Granted this was bouldering so it was a lot closer to the ground for my liking. I really enjoyed it however my muscles are currently still aching (hurts to type). My teacher (Steve) was fabulous. I think he was more impressed that I actually listened to him and took on board all that he suggested.

Usually I would be rather argumentative and try to impose my own take on the situation but I figure he has been doing this for a very long time so maybe it would be wise of me to pay attention and listen. It worked! I’m not dead and he managed to coach me to the top of some of the climbs. OK so they were the easiest routes in the centre but I’m a chicken what can I say 🙂

I am quite keen to try it again once the swelling in my fingers go down and I can successfully left my arms above my head without debilitating pain. Other than this, it rocked!

Still using my arms and not my legs
Still using my arms and not my legs
Where to now?
Where to now?
Painful hands
Painful hands

Inauguration ceremony

I got home today in time to catch the inauguration ceremony for the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.

I thought it was a great speech and am not looking forward to all the papers now pulling it apart to find the political intricacies and forecasts for the future.

Already BBC, Fox etc have started posting their takes on the speech. It would seem the main consensus is that it was a very sombre speech, telling of the struggles ahead and almost using it to notify people that it is going to be a hard, slow process.

Well, duh. 8 years to get to this point, it ain’t gonna be fixed by Friday now is it?

All told I thought yet again he spoke eloquently, purposefully setting out his main targets yet again and not sugar coating the fact that its going to be a hard slog. Let’s hope his actions are as effective as his speeches.

For a transcript of the speech and video from BBC go to:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/obama_inauguration/7840646.stm

Happy Birthday Lynn!

HB for the 20th gorgeous! Have a great one.

We haven’t been doing too much traveling lately which has been a shame. Mainly because Steve works on Saturday’s and gets days off during the week. Great if you want things done in the city etc but not really too conducive to weekend travels.

The weather was nice today so we went out for breakfast. After 18 months we STILL haven’t found anywhere decent in Bristol for breakfast. I miss our haunt in Petersham where I got my favourite order which was called Nim’s eggs along with the necessary morning coffee. Yum.

This week was a busy one at work meeting with a bunch of potential suppliers so I was glad for a day of down time. I spent it listening to music (really into Kate Miller-Heidke at the moment), watching movies and snoozing. Bliss!

Anyway, have a great week all, a special happy birthday to Lynn and catch you all again real soon.

Cheers – C

A bit of snow

Going to work the other day and when we got into Filton this is the view that greeted me. The lake around the MOD is also still currently frozen over. We have had consistently cold days where it hasn’t gotten above 1 or 2 degrees and dropping to -3 to -7 at night. Brrrrrrrrrr.

Photoshop magic

Lately I have been trying to work out how to use Photoshop a bit more creatively. As you may know we enjoy our photography especially the journalistic form. It is amazing how much you can remember from a holiday by looking at a photo of a particular meal you had or a photo of your feet on certain surfaces. Try it sometime. Hey, I did hear of a guy who takes photos of rubbish bins all around the world so in my book shoes on pavements are a far more sane idea?

Thought I would share a couple of first attempts at making some of our shots a bit more punchy. This is complex stuff especially when trying to do it without paying for a darn course or a book. I am not sure my impatient nature is conducive to this type of art. Here goes!