How about this for a commute?

Let’s start by saying that I’m not a morning person. At all.

This morning, I got myself up at 5am to meet a friend that I’d not seen for a good few years (come to think of it, it may have been more than 10 years). We were at school together and I can say, without hesitation, that our main connection in the five years of boarding school was a shared love of athletics. That’s what I’ve come to call ‘Track and Field’ these days: Simon was a 110m hurdler and I was a sprinter that used to think a mile was a long way to run. We’ve been back in touch for a while, but meeting up hadn’t quite happened yet, so I think it was fitting that we actually got to meet up again over something sporting.

At 6am this morning, Simon and his friends, Tim and Matt, got on their bikes at Marble Arch to cycle to Edinburgh (450 miles) before running the Edinburgh Marathon (26.2 miles). Strictly speaking, they started their challenge last night with a swim in the Serpentine Lido, but the bike and run was the original idea. In these days of Ironmans and Ultramans, I suppose many wouldn’t think that this was such a hard challenge – but I was impressed for several reasons.

How often do people come up with an idea in the pub and then never do anything about it? These guys came up with the hair-brained plan and are actually doing it. Simon and his friends have a great adventure ahead of them and are doing it to benefit Cancer Research. You see, Simon's mum was diagnosed with brain cancer, and tragically passed recently. This has only steeled Simon to make sure they went ahead. I really admire them for having a good go at this. I tagged along to see them out of London (well, for the first few miles anyway) and wish them the best of luck on their journey.

So, if you need an excuse to donate to Cancer Research, follow this link and make their efforts worthwhile:
http://www.justgiving.com/edinburghmadness

Big Crane, Heavy Steels

That's what you'd have seen if you came down my road yesterday morning. (At least if you were walking - if you were driving, you'd have seen one which said 'Road Closed'). Yesterday, was 'Crane' day. We've been waiting a long long time for this to happen - we had to close off the street to get a big crane in to lift up all sorts of steel beams and propping equipment (to stop the flats falling down).


You might wonder what on earth we're doing (we've thought the same thing a few times). Basically, in the re-design of the flat, we decided to make 2 structural changes - both of which should make a large impact on the living space. One is opening up the kitchen so that more light comes into it - currently we have a really light front room and a surprisingly dark kitchen. The other change is removing a wall in the bathroom so we can have a shower there.

Are these changes 'eco'? Well not really, but also yes. The improvements we're making to the flat should see it through a long while - and the structural ones should reduce the need for changes in the future. We went through a lot of agony deciding how best to make use of the strange floorplan the flat had, and how to turn it into a long term home. Aside from that, bringing light into the kitchen should make a big difference!

What a difference a day makes

I've been living in London again for a little over a week now. The flat may still be a building site, but I've scored a great rental off a friend's parents. This weekend was great - all of a sudden the weather has brightened up and it feels like summertime. This, of course, means that Londoners strip off and get sunburnt at the first possible opportunity. Just like the guys outside the Tube station with umbrellas on rainy days, we should have guys with sun cream at the entrance to any patch of public grass on sunny days.

Anyway, yesterday marked an important day back in London for me - just because it was the first warm sunny day and I went for a run when I got home. It was the first summer evening run in London. And it was great. Loads of runners were out to enjoy the evening. There's no real point to this blog post, other than - it's great to be in London. Running along the river on a sunny evening is just glorious.

But since you're bothering to read this post, I'll share a secret with you - I found a wonderful little park on the river overlooking Putney (not quite sure how I missed it before - especially as a friend of mine got married right next to it - I blame it on having grown up in North London). You can follow the Thames Path along the river or just stroll around the gardens. I love finding new places in the city.



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What a difference a day makes
Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain