DNF

I promise that this running story differs from my usual sanctimonious smuggery. Stick with me and you may even detect some humility. My latest marathon was a first but in the wrong way; there was no Finisher’s t-shirt or medal on account of my failure to complete the course. The only thing that I acquired…

A roll over

I am more than happy with my membership of the ‘Over Sixty Club’; I have veered away from wearing beige knitwear, support stockings and Lily of the Valley perfume and I try not to sigh loudly when I lower myself into my favourite armchair of an evening. However, talking to my nephew and niece at…

Identity Leakage

I find myself in need of distraction after binge-listening the ‘Stalked’ podcast series on BBC Sounds before realising that the last four episodes are still to be released. I feel on edge. I am selfishly in need of closure on this investigation; goodness knows how the victim and her loved ones must feel after all…

I dream of space

I do not dream of space in the sense of Rocket Man, Star Wars or Apollo 13 for I am far too grounded. I like to have both feet on the ground and I am too busy wrestling with the demands of this planet to worry about the space travel needed to find another. No….

Here I go again…

If only I had listened to Dolly Parton I might have kept my wits about me and not fallen back into an old romance with the cruel and relentless partner that isThe Marathon. But here he comes again …and here I go. I only have myself to blame. After pledging that you would never see…

It’s not all about me

As my loyal reader will know, I am shamelessly nosey. I like to call it curiosity. When I gifted my future Son in Law a game based around dilemmas I did so in the greedy hope that he would open the game in my presence and rush to involve his nearest and dearest in play….

Mum’s the word

Running along a Dorset coastal path this morning – Twixmas fog coaxing me dangerously close to not greeting in the New Year – I find myself ridiculously upbeat considering that I am dragging nearly two weeks’ of over-indulgence up a tricky incline and already regret entering Brighton Marathon 2025 in a rash moment of running…

Careless whispers

I have decided to share a grumpy senior women vent about a lack of volume control in public places, and I am not just referring to ‘ambient’ music. Before you accuse me of hypocrisy, I freely admit that I shamelessly get some of my writing ideas by earwigging into other people’s conversations – some might…

Wobble

It felt strange to reach the end of the first school term of my teaching career with no date in the diary for a cheeky coffee with my mother, a catch up which would have allowed me to recalibrate, decompress and make sense of it all. Without indulging in a pity party (just a small…

Gluteal amnesia

In the weeks since saying goodbye to mum, I feel both the loss of my parent and the loss of my ally in the adoption of random health and fitness advice – gobbets of information that we accepted without science or reason. Because we were both so accepting of novel and unsubstantiated wellbeing advice, I…