My running journey: The early years (1994-2011)
Although I write a lot about running, I realise I’ve never written about my running journey from the start, particularly the early years. I’m proud of the fact that I started running in 1994 and have never given up. Although in those early years I didn’t run a fraction of the distance I do now. It was my husband who persuaded me to start running in 1994. He’d been at work for a year and his Mars Bar habit...
Grown Ups by Marian Keyes
I’ve wanted to read Grown Ups by Marian Keyes since it was published last year. But I was sensible and waited for the paperback, and even then it took me a while to get round to reading it. I wanted to read it because I love everything Marian Keyes does. I love her gentle humour, her quirky Irish phrases and especially the warmth of her relatable and flawed characters. And even though I love everything she does, Grown Ups is to...
The story of the squirrels
I’m no expert on wildlife, but I’ve always quite enjoyed seeing different birds and animals in our garden and the surrounding area. And, over the course of the year, with literally nothing else to do, we’ve all become a bit obsessed with the local wildlife. There’s the blue tits which take bits of Herbert’s fur for their nests, the two friendly robins who sat patiently watching my husband as he dug up the...
English Schools athletics and the long shot
Since 2019, my son has dreamed of getting to the English Schools athletics national finals. And the chance keeps getting taken away from him. We realised he was quite good at long jump in year 7. He remained quite good in year 8 and year 9. In year 9, he even made it to English Schools regionals. Then in year 10, we realised he was really good at long jump. Suddenly a whole world of possibilities was opening up for him. He realised he...
