The weekend? A long run? Bring it on!

Saturday morning is always fun as I get to run with a bunch of guys who've been running since, well, the dawn of time I reckon. I'm a relative newcomer with only seven years on the clock but maybe if I hang on long enough I'll get a gold watch! Anyway every Saturday we meet at Jack Straw's Castle next to the Heath; once this was a pub (reputed to be the highest in London) but now it's a block of chichi flats.

Okay maybe the guys haven't been running this long but that's the pub in the background

Anyway being as it's on the top of a hill all roads lead down from here - some of them a long way down if you want to trek as far as the Thames. Personally I was looking for a good 12 miles or more and that meant running to Jack Straw's from home, doing the social bit (usually 6-7 miles) and then running back again. Pretty easy if you don't push hard and on a sunny morning it can be quite a pleasure jogging past the multi-million pound mansions of the Bishop's Avenue. Tasteful they are not:

How much?!

Afterwards it was back to the family home for a quick stretch and shower before heading off to the Phoenix Cinema. We don't get here nearly often enough but the place has just been refurbished and they do a great Kid's Club on a Saturday morning. Today the main event was The Sorcerer's Apprentice and sure it wouldn't have been my first choice but seeing as The Exorcist wasn't showing for some reason it had to do:

In the end it wasn't all that bad; yes the story was a paint-by-numbers affair but Nicolas Cage is always often watchable and the special effects were quite decent if you like plasma bolts and that sort of thing. More importantly Joshua and Christina gave it about 3/5 on the wriggle-o-meter but that might be because Lenore got lost and couldn't find us in the cinema once the film had started!

Distance: 12.5 miles

Time: 1h 51m 38s