Regular members of the congregation will know that I live in a bit of a rural idyll - a thatched cottage in a sleepy little dead-end road village on the banks of the Great Grey-Green Greasy Limpopo River.
Thatched cottages are great in the hot weather, as long as you know how to drive them. The thatch keeps it cool in the hot sunshine, but open the doors and windows on a hot day at your peril as then all the hot air comes pouring in and is then retained beneath the wonderful insulating blanket of the thatch, ensuring an uncomfortable night unless you vent upstairs by opening all the windows - and that can lead to unexpected visitors.
The undercut of the thatch is home to gargantuan spiders, daddy-long-legs and the biggest fattest nastiest mosquitoes known to man. And they all want to make a meal of you as you sleep.
Well, I left home in a bit of a hurry this morning for a day in Cambridge and foolishly left quite a few windows open. It was a scorcher of a day and I returned to a sweltering house.
There was no way I was going to sweat it out at home so I nipped upstairs and changed into some kit that hadn't seen the light of day for quite a few years; my running kit.
I made it round my local track - the 'Hemingford Round' only pausing for a few minutes to watch a Kingfisher flashing from his perch above the river, darting in the evening sunlight. I wasn't the mean, lean, running machine of twenty years ago - but I made it. There was hardly a breath of air, so jogging along actually felt cooler than standing still. The old Walsh PB's fell running shoes weren't ideal so I may try my old Mudrocs in a few days time.
By the time I arrived back at the cottage, it was still just as hot and humid, so I sat in the garden sipping a well earned pint of Olde English cider.
Quite perfick!
Walsh PBs on a track? Good heavens man, the heat must have REALLY gone to your head!
ReplyDeleteKeep well!
JJ
How's that knee of yours, young man? Keep it rested and apply lots of beer!
ReplyDeleteMy Walsh's are my best fitting shoes - I find my Innovates just don't have enough lateral support - I tend to roll over the sides of the soles in the river meadows.
Might need to get a pair with more cushioning though for the tarmac sections!
We're partial here to the great, gray-green, greasy Limpopo River, incorporating it whenever suitable (and often when it's not) into childrens stories. I'm glad finally to know someone who lives on its banks, especially in what sounds like a magical bunny house, which will now take its place in these tales.
ReplyDeleteThe Sloman said:
ReplyDelete"The undercut of the thatch is home to gargantuan spiders, daddy-long-legs and the biggest fattest nastiest mosquitoes known to man. And they all want to make a meal of you as you sleep."
Shurely you don't have man-eating spiders under your thatch... Climate change hasn't yet got that bad, has it...
Young man eh? You'll go far!
ReplyDeleteThe knee is improving nicely - I've recently realised that it's best to DRINK the beer rather than rub it into the knee.
The only side-effect is a slight headache in the morning...but the knee doesn't hurt.
JJ