Sunshine - no rain today!

Hey I'm loving this hot weather. Why we couldn't have got some decent heat like this in the actual summer I don't know but this is just great right now - so long as it holds out till the weekend! Not many things are as disappointing as a week of perfect sunshine followed by a hurricane season of a weekend. That's one way to rain on my parade.

Anyway I figured that I'd head up to the park today and get me some time by that big ol' lake The Serpentine. Once upon a time this lake was kept full by the River Westbourne, flowing naturally down from Hampstead, but that happy state of affairs only lasted about a century; since then we've had to pump up the water from the Thames and I'll bet that it all got a bit fragrant during The Great Stink! Nowadays though the lake is clean enough to swim in and it's certainly a very pleasant place to visit when the sun is out and you'd rather be relaxing with a picnic in the country.

Just waiting to be served!

So I enjoyed a pleasing loop around the edge taking in the water fountains, for obvious reasons, and incorporating a little barefoot running along the eastern edge of the park. However my calves still felt a little tender from earlier in the week and so I didn't push my luck at all - although I get the feeling that I amuse my 'audience' somewhat as I don't see anyone else running around shoe-less (unless they're still in nappies that is!).

Still it helps to keep my running fresh and gives me something to look forward to; apart from the changing of the seasons that is. Soon the winter weather will be here and it'll suddenly become a whole heap easier to run around London - a bit like the roads emptying during the school summer holidays.

If only I could have got a gull on every pole

As it happens I did warm up after a while (no joke) and the running became a lot smoother on my return journey. This is definitely becoming something of a theme for me; is this really what old age is all about? Becoming a low-revving diesel engine that finds it hard to get going in the morning? I suppose that things could be worse!

Distance: 7.3 miles
Time: 58m 08s

Park Life

I guess that it was inevitable that one day I'd name-check Parklife, Blur's seminal album of the Britpop era, since it's an idea that appeals to me greatly. In so many ways the London parks are both a microcosm and a reflection of urban life in general; there's not much of the human condition that you won't witness if you hang around parks long enough!

Anyway with the threat of this Indian Summer hanging in the air, and a 10K on the cards at the weekend, I felt keen today to enjoy the moment in Hyde Park. So I headed over there feeling reasonably fresh (which makes sense as I haven't been able to run since last Thursday) and capable. Just like last week I wanted to pull my shoes off and see how far I could go before I either ran out of road or it all became a bit too painful. Starting next to the domineering statue of Achilles (hopefully not an omen?) I headed down the road but soon veered off onto the grass when my poor little toes began to suffer.

He's a big fella ain't he?

This was just fine though as it directed me onto the wide open space at the centre of the park where I got to enjoy the long grass under my feet; sheer pleasure. I was enjoying myself so much I decided to give the horse track a go and this was even better. With heavy rain last night there were lots of puddles and soft, squidgy sand sections for me to splash through; far more relaxing than any therapy I would warrant! Only when my left calf gave a little cry for help did I stop and reluctantly put my shoes back on. What lumps of clay they are compared to the freedom of going barefoot.

On the return leg the sun was out in force and the sky cleared; lovely conditions indeed although I was a bit thirsty by the end (and this at the end of September). Still it did allow for a pretty photo opportunity:

It could only be London

Distance: 7.3 miles
Time: 58m 59s

Apple Day at Fenton House

For the last few years we've really looked forward to the Autumn season because this signifies the arrival of one of our favourite fruits, the apple, and more importantly the chance to enjoy Apple Day! Initiated by the Common Ground organisation (whose work I love) twenty-one years ago this is an annual celebration of the fruit that defines England like no other. Somehow these local events strike a real chord with me; the heady combination of history, knowledge handed down the generations, a connection to the land in all of its bounteous variety. Truly mouth-watering.

Now last year we visited Fenton House in truly dismal conditions and the beautiful gardens weren't packed out - although we had a great time anyway. Today though the sun had his hat on and the split-level gardens looked gorgeous. At first it was hard to know what to do first but when we saw a girl apple-bobbing we knew where we needed to be! Joshua was first up and he made strenuous efforts to secure a prize; in the end, just as his time was up, he emerged successful but damp with an apple in his jaws. After a little hesitation I figured that I should take a crack at it too and, to be honest, it's harder than it looks! The apples were sizeable and I was having a lot of trouble until I came up with a method - to thrust my entire head under the water so that I could pin the apples to the floor of the trough. After this there was no stopping me and in the end I retrieved eight apples; double the number anyone else managed it seems.

After this untrammelled excitement we all felt like a rest and so headed down to the apple tasting tables in the orchard. What fun! The crop has been fabulous this year, so I was told, and there were many unusual varieties available to sample; each with their own unique texture, taste and colouration. With a few favourites in the bag we settled down in the deckchairs for a glass (or four) of hot, spiced apple juice in the sunshine. For some reason this proved to be a real hit with Joshua and we spent quite a while doing very little indeed:

Now the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that the children appear to have picked up some sort of war-paint in these pictures (or an unusual rash). Well the truth is that we did make a visit to the face-painting stall, because Christina was desperate, and these pictures were taken when we returned for yet more hot, spiced apple juice! The funny thing about the face-painting is that initially Joshua was very dubious about the whole thing and quite stand-offish. However when he saw how much fun Christina was having, and that you could get non-girly designs, I couldn't beat him out of the artist's chair!

After this, laden with fruit, wine, juice and assorted toys, we nipped over to the Hampstead Heath Extension for a spot of cycling. I'd been racking my brain trying to think of a flat, large and safe area where Christina could practice her nascent cycling skills and then it came to me - the wide-open fields of the extension would provide a perfect venue for such a learner. So with Joshua racing around doing figure-eights I got Christina up to speed and confident enough to make her own progress (on the grass at least). Real success!

Who needs stabilisers anyway?

Jaffa and Popcorn - unleashed!

Well it's been a week now since two terrible felines entered our house and turned it upside down! In one swoop we went from being a no-pet household (after the last of Lenore's elderly cats jogged off to the great cattery in the sky) to one that seems to revolve around kittens! Still it isn't so bad as they're real little darlings; incredibly sweet, affectionate and entertaining. Oh and for obvious reasons the children absolutely adore them - they just can't get enough of the furry fireballs and would quite happily carry them anywhere. In fact they do....

Anyway just who or what are these moggies? Well we picked up Jaffa in Golders Green last Saturday where he shared a house with his brothers and sisters; all of them orange tabbies and bright as buttons. We could have spent all afternoon choosing, and almost did, but in the end Joshua picked Jaffa (known as cat #3 at that point) for his placid temperament and all-over colouring. Isn't he cute?

His Master's Arms!

After that we enjoyed a quick jaunt up to Aylesbury where Popcorn, as we eventually named him, lived with his brothers, mother and assorted cousins; all of them pure-bred Tonkinese. Now this might seem like an unusual choice but my late Mum had a Tonkinese cat called Chocky and he was a truly delightful creature and I know that my Mum would have adored another; so really it had to be Tonkinese (a cross between Burmese and Siamese) or nothing! Fortunately Lenore managed to track down a breeder with kittens and so it was that another little boy came to join our family:

You looking at me?

Now it's fair to say that Jaffa and Popcorn didn't exactly see eye to eye on first meeting; in fact they circled each other warily and hissed with gusto when the other one came near. Not too surprising given that both of them had just been torn from the only home they'd even known and deposited in a strange house full of strange people. And yet within 48 hours they were snuggling up together and playfully wrestling like born brothers; truly remarkable. 

As a special treat I allowed them a short amount of supervised time in the garden this weekend - almost like the exercise hour that hard-bitten cons get in the movies! Given that neither of them has ever stepped foot outside before they were both utterly wide-eyed and remarkably brave. Who knew that long grass could be such a blast?

After this high excitement they were both a bit pooped and looking forward to a little cat-nap (had to get this in here somewhere!). So we went out and left the boys to their own devices for a while and, for once, they didn't tear the place up:

We're going to need a bigger box!

The Dyslexic Advantage

A topic that I'm very much interested in right now is dyslexia - for the simple reason that Joshua was diagnosed with a form of it this summer and we're putting in a lot of effort to make sure that he gets the best support that he can. So with this in the background I'm always looking for articles that cover this problem and here are a couple of great ones:

Book Excerpt: The Dyslexic Advantage

Q&A: The Unappreciated Benefits of Dyslexia

What I particularly like about these articles is that they re-frame the standard view of dyslexia as an affliction, almost a disability. Instead the authors point out that dyslexia occurs simply because the brain is wired differently and that this alternate structure confers many powerful advantages such as an ability to see the 'big picture', enhanced spatial reasoning and an awareness of relationships between disparate fields of knowledge where these links are invisible to others.

I certainly have an acute awareness of the last strength since for whatever reason my brain seems to see the world differently to most people and it can't help but come up with crazy connections between all sorts of thoughts. Now I'm not dyslexic but there's a tangible benefit to being able to think beyond the mainstream in my view (even if most of my crazy ideas remain just that - both crazy and no more than intangible ideas).

Anyway the book looks like an interesting read (so I'll probably buy it) and there's even a website: http://dyslexicadvantage.com/.

Welcome back to the Royal Park

I don't know if we're technically enjoying an Indian Summer at the moment but either way I'm liking this warm, calm weather. Actually it seems we aren't by looking at the definition (we're not late enough in the year) but I'm not going to split hairs; it was nice enough for me to enjoy some park running and that's all that mattered this lunchtime.

Oddly enough I felt just as uncomfortable and out of sorts as I did at the weekend - which is a bit of a concern as it does make starting a run a lot less enjoyable. All of the way round St James Park and Green Park my lower limbs felt heavy and unresponsive; definitely not interested in the task at hand. So I decided that as soon as I reached Hyde Park I would take my shoes off and run barefoot along Serpentine Road - on the basis that it surely couldn't make me feel any worse! In the event doing this felt fantastic; properly great. Just like that I gained a spring in my step and a smile on my face as I traversed the tarmac, sand and grass (but watch out for acorns - they hurt).

Plenty of space here to run shoe-less

After 10 minutes I returned to the world of normal attire but the benefits largely remained - my stride felt light and my gait more flexible. Truly a remarkable transformation for such a minor change. If I wasn't convinced before of the benefit of barefoot running I am now and it's just so much fun. All of the way back to work I ran at a fair clip and my path remained clear. The power of positive thinking or just plain luck? You decide!

Distance: 6.7 miles
Time: 54m 09s

Haringey Families

How is it possible to live ten years in the same place and yet remain oblivious to something that appears so suited to your way of life? I have no idea what the answer is, by the way, but what I do know is that I have just discovered (and joined) Haringey Families. An organisation that's been running for over 40 years, in one form or another, the group puts on family events, publishes an informative newsletter and runs a weekly toddler group (amongst other things). Definitely a great find and I'm looking forward to getting involved.

I love any Oliver Jeffers book!

Just as an example what first caught my eye was a trip that's being organised to see The Way Back Home on stage at the Arts Depot in North Finchley. Having seen Malina's Dream there earlier this year I know just how great the theatre there can be for kids - truly a magical, transporting experience. However the date chosen is at the back end of half-term and it's possible that Lenore will be away with the little beasts; so maybe this is one we'll just have to miss I'm sorry to say. However maybe we'll make the Halloween Party? Spooky fun!