Prelude to Fathers Day

Tomorrow is Fathers Day. Not, however, in this house. With Carole away at a horse event tomorrow she, and Luca of course, took me out today instead to "Jaffs" (www.jaffsbarandrestaurant.co.uk) for a surprise lunch. And very nice it was too. Carole was dressed prettily, a nice change to see her out of horsey attire. And Luca? He finished up with much of his meal coated across his face.

However, and with a peculiar rarity for a chap such as myself, I wasn't able to finish my main course. Having departed for the restaurant only minutes after finishing my Saturday morning run (an 18 kilometre run, followed straight after by a 9K walk with Yoda) my stomach hadn't quite settled yet, which in turn led to my desire to eat essentially replicating that of a 6 stone catwalk model.

Without the bulimia of course. Did you know Elton John is bulemic? I think he's doing it wrong.

Of course, I'm assuming there's a right way.

My hunger has returned this evening however, and sated by the tablet Carole and Luca cooked (Baked? Prepared?) for me. Absolutely delicious in the way that anything that is very bad for you in every way generally is. So good though.

Tomorrow Luca and I will travel to Banchory to take Dad out for a Fathers Day lunch. Mum is coming too, and I'm taking them to the Douglas Arms. Not an eatery known for it's "posh nosh", but an appropriate setting as Ross is working his last shift there tomorrow before returning full time to coffee outlet "Tease". But, most importantly, can we score ourselves a free pint?

Assuming there's time, Luca and I will visit the cinema beforehand, for a 10am showing of "Man Of Steel", the new Superman movie. Words cannot describe the anticipation levels my nerdish sensibilities are registering. Indeed, this past decade has been a geek dreamland, with the movies dominated by big budget comic book adaptations. The meek have indeed inherited the earth.

Luca certainly hasn't been meek this past week, as almost every day he's dragged me out to play football with him straight after work. The bright weather has been a rarely witnessed surprise, as has Luca's burgeoning effort. A very competent player, his lack of size, physicality and application often hold him back in games. However, he's slowly becoming braver and showing greater fortitude, and has even begun to aggressively attempt to tackle the ball from me in the park. A maurauding run and goal at his tournament last week, bullying his way past 3 opponents on route, appears an omen of things to come.

On Monday I have a meeting with my bosses at work as the end of my probation period looms. Nothing to worry about, just procedure, and I've already been told they want to get me involved in heavier project related work. A nice confidence boost of course, although slightly at odds with my decision to move in the first place (for a quieter life). That said, I have felt a little listless of late - perhaps a little extra mental emphasis at work may not be as destrimental as I might initially have thought.

Next Sunday brings my latest race, the Portsoy 10K. To be honest I'm not greatly enthused about this one, despite the scenic route promised by the organisers. I've been enjoying training on longer distances of late and the upcoming "Ballater 10 Mile" and "Crathes Half Marathon" are of greater interest now.

 

As mentioned in a previous blog we had my cousins Meghan and Kieran (and fiancee Julie) visit a few weeks back. I forgot I had this photo. Yes, all are wearing false moustaches. Why? I can't recall. But I do enjoy Luca's impression of a prepubescent Asterix The Gaul.

I loved Asterix books as a kid. Above is a better picture, with Luca posing with his team-mates before last weeks tournament. As usual he was the smallest. I do love that cocky expression however. And note his tight grip of the ball. He doesn't verbalise it, but he considers himself to be the captain.

And why the hell not?

**Useless fact of the day - A human head remains conscious between 15 and 20 seconds after decapitation**

Ow

I have a couple of photo's. it would be remiss to not post them during this quiet moment.




Luca's going for a haircut this week. Take him or let it grow? Leaning toward the latter personally.





His official Colony Park team photo with Luca front centre. I'd be confident that you'd spotted him immediately however. That 1960's Beatles-esque mop top stands out a mile amongst the tidy, sensible haircuts of his peers. The long, flowing locks aren't our choice, he's quite insistent on it. With that ever lengthening barnet the little chap is most likely to become an anti-establishment rock star when he grows up. Or perhaps a tramp.

He had his first football tournament at his home ground today. After a beautiful weekend up until then the sun reverted to its usual "Screw you Scotland" state by disappearing back behind our country's ever present clouds (people wonder why Scots are so dour) just as the tournament kicked off. Undeterred, however, Luca began brightly and even netted a nice goal in his second game. Grandad Mike, ker-ching!

Speaking of the weather (every Brits national sport), I took advantage of the unexpected sunshine yesterday by taking off on my longest run ever, just over 14 miles. Jesus, it hurt! (sorry Mum). I really enjoyed the quiet country roads I ran along, but my "Stewart Knee" decided enough was enough after about 10 or 11 miles causing a rather uncomfortable last leg home. As Danny Glover wisely opines, "I'm too old for this s***".

Yesterday was actually the first time I'd been out running since my last race, last Sunday's high profile "Baker Hughes 10K" at Aberdeen's beachfront. I did my usual and ran it as sensibly as a brain damaged orang-utang, yet somehow managed to knock nearly a minute or so off my personal best. I came 398th out of 5000, squeezing inside the top 400 (top 8%) by overtaking a group of competitors in the final stretch with the sprint finish shown in this photo:-

http://www3.marathon-photos.com/scripts/photo.py?event=Sports/CPUK/2013/City%20of%20Aberdeen%2010K&bib=100&photo=ATKO0105

Bloody knackered I was. Awful run too, flat, boring and run through some of the ugliest areas of Aberdeen. Rather bemused how this event has developed such a status.

Spoke to both my sisters this weekend. Very nice, and more to say on that in the coming days. But then, as life dictates, there always is.

**Useless fact of the day - We actually live 80 milliseconds in the past, as this is how long it takes our brain to process information**

A Picture Can Tell A Thousand Tales

Tonight there'll be no bluster, no flannel, no conjecture and not even a little blether. This evening the pictures is "where it's at":-

 

Forced grin ahoy. Luca posing after his first football tournament for Colony Park. Note the Aberdeen FC strip he's wearing (this was before they got their official strips) and the medal round his neck (which is actually mine from a race I'd run earlier that day)

 

Roughhousing with Harry (my friends son, and my Godson - well, my second Godson after Cade) at a race meet in Balmoral. An atypical picture from North East Scotland - unkempt wind blown hair, absolutely no danger of the sun appearing and wet clumpy grass. Why did Kelly emigrate again?

 

As the loving gaze indicates, Harry just adores Luca. As do we. Except when he gets up at 6am on a Sunday morning. And when he's awkward at mealtimes. And when he interrupts conversations. And when he lies about brushing his teeth. And when he replies "fine" every time we ask him how school was. And when.........

 

With Granny Jo on Mothers Day. My Mum clearly rather more enamoured with the idea of being photographed than my son.

 

Mum's birthday this time. Yes, I've been rather inefficient posting up-to-date images of late. A nice picture spoiled rather by the poor lighting as well as brother Ross' complete indifference to the idea of posing.

 

This time in the Aberdeen Maritime Museum. Again. Yes, I feel Groundhog Day and Deja Vu combining and ganging up on me. Our 1000th visit, this time with Luca posing beside a blow up whale. Only item on interest here is the length of Luca's legs. It's like Carlton Palmer after a session on the torture rack. Likely only Dad will get that last reference.

 

Staying with Dad, here he is at Partick Thistles (kind of) recent Cup Final alongside Ross and Colin Kilgour. Dad's expression can only have been caused by a glimpse at the bill for the corporate hospitality.

At Doonies Farm in Aberdeen, a home for "rare" farm animals. A treat for Luca? Or a way to rid my wallet of £8 only to see sheep, pigs, chickens and horses that pretty much resembled every other sheep, pig, chicken and horse I've ever seen.

I've tried to post a final few photographs, of Harvey behaving animalistically (an oxymoron, I know), but my computer is behaving about as well as Luca at bedtime. So, to mirror my habits formed over a lifetime I'm just going to give up with the intention of trying again later. Despite knowing that I won't.

I've much more to report - such as Carole having joined a weight watchers club - but after having joined her for one of their "special" dinners the grumble from my gut is telling me I need more. Either that or whatever it was that went down wants back up again. Whichever, I don't envy her, and was very proud of her first weeks loss of 2 and a half pounds.

And I'll bore you stupid with my latest running tales next time too.

**Useless fact of the day - Eating within one hour of getting up kick starts your metabolism and helps you burn more calories through the day**

Don't drink and blog

A partially inebriated contributor tonight, following too many Jack Daniels during tonights golden televisual time between the FA Cup Final ending and a rerun (30th anniversary) of Aberdeen's European Cup Winners Cup victory against Real Madrid in 1983. Yes, our local team used to be one of the planets greatest teams. What happened???

Perhaps Luca will rejuvenate local sporting prowess? He featured for his club side (Colony Park) in a tournament at Pittodrie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittodrie_Stadium) on Tuesday, and after a nervous first couple of games performed admirably. Here he is in action:-





Perfect defence splitting pass




He's still pretty small, and not exactly fearless, but he's keen, a great communicator, has a good touch and just keeps going no matter the setbacks. Most of all he loves it - the most important bit.

We're in the middle of another busy week. Today my cousins Kieran and Meghan (and Kieran's fiancée Julie) visited from Glasgow. Great to see them, but I'm still attempting to calm Luca now, nearly 2 hours after their departure South. He already adores Kieran and Julie, but today was the first time he'd spent any time with Meghan. He stole her sock and hid under our bed as they were preparing to leave in an attempt to stop their departure!

Tomorrow brings a friends birthday, so a cinema visit and meal are forthcoming. Granny Jo will be caring for Luca during the (non child friendly) flick, so the usual timing complications come into play. How do we get Luca to Banchory for mid afternoon when he has another football tournament the very same afternoon 20 miles away? Answers on a postcard please, to ourselves and the millions of other exhausted and perplexed parents out there.

My knee (henceforth known as the traditional "Stewart" knee) is playing up again, with the anterior damage having never (and never will) fully repaired. Perfect timing, with my most high profile 10K race only a week away and my first half marathons looming ever closer. Frustrating, as I'd been running extremely competently and was initially confident of beating my fellow competing workmates (my work has a team in the race, which includes 2 experienced marathon runners) as well as my own personal best time.

Life eh? As a wiser man than me once said, it's a ............

**Useless fact of the day - The largest attendance at a football match is 199,854, set in 1950 between Brazil and Uruguay. Football remains the most popular sport on Earth, both in terms of spectators and participants**

Location:Rae Circle,Inverurie,United Kingdom

Photo's? Pah, who needs them?

A photo-less blog today. No, it's ok, please come back. I promise to keep this brief, and you can skim over the boring bits. By using this method I finished the last Dan Brown novel in 37 seconds.

I wish I'd had my camera with me this morning however. With the weather slowly clearing I drove through to picturesque Scolty Hill this morning with Yoda to run the hill and surrounding forest walks. Despite the excess of snow still covering the higher sections we had a great time, with Yoda's little legs (on only her 2nd ever run) keeping pace admirably.

An hour in, however, we noticed a manically waving hand in the distance. Edging closer we quickly realised who it belonged to - Dad! It transpires he'd had a similar inclination to visit the hill for a hike. With it being my first visit in years, and Dad's first visit of 2013 the coincidental nature of our decision to visit the same place on the same day, at almost the same time quite uncanny.

We spent the next couple of hours exploring the forest walks together and somehow briefly getting hopelessly lost, but I really enjoyed the time together. Despite my knees (in running shorts remember now at walking pace) turning a little blue toward the end.

Following an après walk coffee at Ross' former workplace (Tease), I drove Dad home, passing Mum as she approached the street having come from coffee with the girls. Following another coffee at Arbor Court I realised this was the first time I'd seen Mum without Luca's presence in memory. Having a conversation with her without continual interruption was my second unique experience of the day.

Did you skip over the past few paragraphs? Should I avoid mentioning football to avoid you skipping this one too? Only after I mention Aberdeen's terrific victory yesterday and Partick Thistle going 4 points clear at the top of the First Division. 'Mon the Jags!

Luca and Carole arrived home from the timeshare in Grantham on Thursday night, where they'd spent much of the last week with Liz and (latterly) Jane and Max too. A 5 star luxury retreat by all accounts, which of course it was going to be when I wasn't able to get the time off work. Hey, wait a minute, Carole sent me photo's of it. Here's Luca in the jacuzzi:-





What did I do all week while they were gone? As Depeche Mode famously declared, "Enjoy The Silence". Aside from running the Garioch 10k (it was soooooo cold) all I did was work, clean and walk the dogs. It was marvellous. Isis and I even made up. Our love/hate relationship has swung slightly toward the former for now.

I'm rambling now, of course, so I'll finish up now and put Luca to bed. But only after we share one last Easter Egg. Of course.

**Useless fact of the day - The UK has the seventh highest consumption of chocolate in the world**

He'll find a way to ruin it

Hot off the press - Luca is going to be the Page Boy at (my cousin) Kieran's wedding later this year. He'll be alongside a Flower Girl, a young Nairn based relative of bride Julie.

It was so nice to get the call and offer from Kieran, and now begins an intensive eight month training routine with Luca. My intention is to train him to do what he's told in order to avoid ruining an entire wedding. What's the odds?

Please excuse the typos and grammatical errors tonight. I have the radio on in the background as Noel Gallagher (former Oasis songwriter/guitarist) is appearing on Russell Brands show on XFM. Both individuals walk that fine line between hugely witty and moronic, but as much as I was looking forward to it they're both rather edging toward the latter.

Referring to moronic, I'm also leaning toward the latter myself. I was sitting on the toilet earlier reading a book (is there any better place?) and reached the end of the page. It took me three attempts at "swiping" the page before physically turning it. I'm so used to reading books digitally these days I'm losing my familiarity with actual hard copy paper. The realisation sent a terrifyingly cold shiver down my spine. It was either that or I'd just leaned back against the flush handle.

I must admit the book was actually a comic. A minor point, but important nonetheless as my maturity is at stake here.

Our small dog is sulking with me today. I invariably get rather lonely when I go out running, so last night Yoda accompanied me. Even at a reduced pace and distance the heroic pup still struggled somewhat. Much like myself, however, will she improve from "atrocious" to "adequate" in time? Or will those stumpy little legs simply get stumpier?

My next run is Sunday, the local Garioch 10k. However, we have snow forecast all week this week so I'm surmising the fun factor may be lacking. My overtly "flamboyant" sleeveless running shirt may remain at home this time.

Harvey remains a physiological enigma. One good day followed by another as bad as the good days are good. Carole struggles hugely with this, quite unsurprisingly, and it's become an unfortunate situation cruel for all involved. Quiet support is all that can be provided.

Unlike the rather un-quiet new addition to our driveway, Carole's new BMW 4x4. Very pretty it is, and far more appropriate to our surroundings than the lower, sportier Honda. And I'm getting an early shot of it! Carole is taking my car to the garage tomorrow, having exchanged wing mirror kisses with another car when borrowing the beast last week.

My gaffer taped wing mirror may not have impressed my new employers. Yes, I'm now an employee of Pentagon Freight. How's it been? Different. More leisurely, with a different structure and ethos to ASCO. How will this fit in with my personality? Time will tell.

Ooh, I think I have some photo's:-




I baked a cake for Luca, which he adorned with a coating of marshmallows. All good until he actually bit into it and facially demonstrated his disdain for the taste of my creation. How the hell did I get a chocolate cake wrong? Even the worst chocolate cake is still a bloody chocolate cake.




Luca also received a new keyboard from a friend this week. This was the 5th photo I took, and the only one where I convinced him to smile with teeth. I don't know why he has a problem flashing his pearly whites but he does.




And, least interestingly, my mud coated trainers after last nights run with Yoda. Or is this just mud with a bit of shoe underneath? Unless you're Carole or my Mum and Dad you'll (again) be delighted you don't live here and need to endure the endlessly shitty weather with which the North East of Scotland continually treats us.

The next blog entry will be on Wednesday night, when I'll provide a number of photos of my Mum on her imminent birthday. Will there be cake? With my skills she'll be praying to God (and anyone else who may be listening) that our local Tesco runs out of flour between now and then.

**Useless fact of the day - The most expensive wedding cake in history cost $30 million dollars**

Sore feet, sore throats

Luca is off school today on a "sickie". He's much better than yesterday (where he shivered and snoozed through the whole day) but is still coughing several times a minute.





Rotten photo above, but his colour is coming back and he's a little more chatty now. Although is that a good thing?

I bailed out of our illness infected house yesterday, destined for a 10k race in Nairn (near Inverness). The weather was surprisingly nice (was that really sunshine we witnessed?) and I posted a personal best time too. Conversely, however, I was still a little disappointed having been training at faster paces recently. Que sera sera.

Having received many chides for the long sleeve tips I invariably wear to events, I at last addressed this. Deciding on the extremist opposite approach, I chose a sleeveless top to accentuate my inner gay man. Carole was appalled when she viewed pictures from the race, see link below:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gurnnurn/8525548672/in/set-72157632907064900/lightbox/

There'll be more to report later, but right now Luca in insisting I watch the movie "Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus" with him. Yes, this is a real film. But I'm. Not expecting Citizen Kane.

**Useless fact of the day - The largest octopus ever discovered was (only) 4 metres long**