Tag: Coffee

Postcards from Winchester Cathedral

3 September 2017

It was time to leave the little secret garden and head back towards the car park. As it was still a little early for Commando to be back from his Half Marathon run I figured I had time to get a coffee in Costa on the way and maybe dry out my damp old bones. As I hadn’t had breakfast before we left home and the milky hot chocolate I’d had at six thirty seemed a long way off, I might even treat myself to a croissant too. Thinking about it made my tummy rumble. Continue reading Postcards from Winchester Cathedral

Winchester mills and flowers in the rain

3 September 2017

Sitting on a bench by the river in the rain is not the best of ideas. When I noticed mosquitoes buzzing round my legs I thought it was probably time to move, even though I hadn’t really thought of anywhere else to go. The nettle stings were enough to contend with without mosquito bites adding to the itching. Besides, sitting still was making me cold as well as damp so I began to march towards the entrance to the park. As I passed the last of the trees and came to the area of cut grass that had tempted me right at the start I found myself face to face with a deer.  Continue reading Winchester mills and flowers in the rain

In poet’s footsteps

20 August 2017

Most people like a little lie in on a Sunday morning, me included, but today, not long after eight o’clock, I was in Winchester. This was mostly because of the Winchester Half Marathon. Commando is pacing and I am tail walking, like I did last year. This morning there was a training session for the runners to get used to the route. There was no way I’d be taking part in that because I’d never keep up but, rather foolishly, I decided to go along anyway and have a walk. When the alarm went off at silly o’clock this morning it suddenly didn’t seem like such a good idea but Mitch was keen to come walking with me so I dragged myself out of bed.  Continue reading In poet’s footsteps

To the river

15 August 2017

We’d found the hidden pond with relative ease. Now it was time to turn for home.
“Shall we carry on to Riverside Park or turn back and walk along Cutbush Lane to Mansbridge,” I asked CJ. “The Park would be the quickest way home but Mansbridge is prettier.”
“Mansbridge,” CJ said with a cheeky grin that told me he was thinking of a coffee stop in the Swan Garden Centre rather than distance or pretty walks. Continue reading To the river

A little camping adventure

21 July 2017

Way back before Vancouver, achilles tendon problems or RA, Commando entered a twenty four hour endurance race. For months Rob had been filling his head with talk of the Thunder Run and how much fun it was. Frankly, running a hundred kilometres or more in twenty four hours sounded anything but fun to me but, at the time, Commando was marathon training again and an endurance race sounded like an interesting challenge to him. He’d been talking about ultra marathon and endurance races for a while anyway so he didn’t need much persuasion.  Continue reading A little camping adventure

The last post – first published 1 October 2014

Little did I know this post about my walk on 1 October 2014 would be the last I ever wrote on my old blog. My original plan for the day had been a bus ride followed by an exploration of Hamble Marina and a nice walk along Southampton Water. The weather forecast was good, I’d checked out all the bus routes and times, job done. Unfortunately, when I got up it was raining, that horrible steady drizzle that soaks through everything. Unbeknownst to me the weather was the least of my worries. Within twenty four hours my blog would be hacked and everything I’d written would be lost, at least for a while. It has taken me almost three years to salvage what I could and this is the very last post. Continue reading The last post – first published 1 October 2014

Dragons, coffee lost property and football – first published 29 September 2014

The MacMillan coffee morning in September 2014 had me thinking about my last days at Silver Helm when we organised a MacMillan afternoon tea on the ship. This meant the day was tinged with sadness at what might have been and missing all the fun we had. The melancholy couldn’t last, not when Mia came into the office dressed as a dragon anyway. It’s not every day you share an office with a dragon after all. Mind you, she did get rather hot in her costume and, by lunch time, had had to peel the top part down. Continue reading Dragons, coffee lost property and football – first published 29 September 2014

Way too many photos at the Whiteley RR10

12 July 2017

This month really does seem to be all about running. No sooner had we got the busy weekend of parkrun birthdays and 10k races over than it seemed we were off to yet another running event. This time it was the RR10 at Whiteley. There are pluses and minuses to this venue in my opinion. On the plus side is the Costa in the shopping centre by the car park. Tonight the lovely Tori and Teresa forced me to have one so I was happy walking along the narrow lane towards the start wth a coffee and in my hand. 

Continue reading Way too many photos at the Whiteley RR10

Racing for the finish line – first published 18 September 2014

The cool of the September morning in 2014 when Commando was running the Cologne Marathon was rapidly turning into a sweltering day. Feeling thankful to be approaching the river I walked along Severinswall wondering how Commando was coping running in the heat. My jacket had long since been tied around my waist and I was still too hot. Hopefully there would be a cool breeze on the Rhine. The map told me this last stretch of wall was short and there were no more gates or mills to look out for. It was a surprise then, to come upon a large tower surrounded by a truly ancient circle of wall. Continue reading Racing for the finish line – first published 18 September 2014

The medieval walls of Koln – First published 18 September 2014

The medieval walls of Cologne were proving far more illusive than I’d expected. When I stumbled upon part of the marathon course I wondered if I should give up and just follow the marathon. In the end I decided to give it one more go. If I couldn’t find the next bit if the wall in the next ten minutes, I’d abandon my quest. Continue reading The medieval walls of Koln – First published 18 September 2014