POD

Back down the A9 for the third week running - nope, not as far as Glasgow this weekend, but to sunny Stirling - for some actual running. Just a shame the sun didn't come out till the afternoon!

First up, young Joe in the 3.5k:

Powering home in 00:14:16 and achieving his 14 minute target

Not really too sure what the duck finishers
gift is all about!

Then time for the big yins running 10k - an apparently "flat and fast" 10k.

Lightning's first ever timed 10k and
he finished in a cracking time of 00:46:47

I can tell you, it wasn't only the runners who were looking forward to going home to warm up (well, that was only me), dry off, sit down, and enjoy a roast chicken dinner.

Thank you G-Ks for hosting!

Divine Youth

Fabulously fun night bowling with our Youth yesterday evening:

Followed by a fierce air hockey tournament.

An air hockey table is now top of the list of Youth requirements, should we ever get our own building!

Funnest, not, bit of the night was iChum pointing out, after 2.5 hours of being totally unaware and no one saying a thing (though surely they must have noticed), that I had put on two odd shoes before I left the house yesterday evening. TWO ODD SHOES?!? Man alive... 

Major Tom #seventeenmonths

Clearly he's found his comfort zone.

Waka Waka #dayfive

Where's Wally Toots?

Only one more sleep before the early rise and summit!

I Wish I Was In Glasgow

Second Sunday running and I'm back down in Glasgow.

Last week I drove Toots down to her new flat to unpack the rest of her belongings, stay the night, and buy and build a whole bunch of new belongings. And I have to say her flat was looking nice (amazing what a throw, a throw pillow and a plant can do! Shame I forgot to take some pictures). Not that she was there for long as last Thursday she was off again "waka waka", this time to Africa!

Today, though, it was time to take our second gal down to the big G. Tiger will be spending her gap year working for Scripture Union Scotland, based at the Radiate Cathcart ministry on the south side of Glasgow. Turns out the couple that are hosting her for the year in Newton Mearns actually knew papa - Ian was the musical director and conductor of not just Praise Gathering, but the 30-strong male voice choir Father's Song that papa sang with for a few years. Ian actually visited papa during his last few weeks in the hospice too. Small world, huh?!

Anyway, Tiger is not only going to have an absolute blast with the young people and families that she will be working with, but I think she's going to be spoiled rotten in that house too. 

And I'm sure we'll see her again in just a few weeks' time... not least because there was a bunch of stuff that didn't fit we chose not to take with us in the car, and mostly because it's someone(who doesn't want to come home to celebrate)'s birthday! I'm thinking very soon we're gonna be wishing we just lived down closer to the central belt.

No Competition

This weekend it's the British Triathlon Super Series Grand Final and Inter-Regional Championships down in Mallory Park, and for the last two years Joey has attended as part of the Scotland team. This year he was selected as the 'non-travelling' reserve for his age-group, until last week when it was anounced that the non-travelling reserves could actually travel and take part in the transition challenge and relay on the Sunday.

Queue much humming and hawing. No, not really, we didn't want to travel down to Leicester at the last minute for one day of competing (we have a busy weekend!), but we did hum and haw working out how to say that, but also be clear that if he was actually needed for the whole weekend as someone else had dropped out, we would, indeed, drop everything and get him there. 

Anyway, turns out blue-green algae in the lake meant the swimming part of all the triathlon races has been cancelled, and due to incredibly heavy rain today the now duathlon has been shortened to avoid too many injuries. So we're not at all sad to still be in Scotland!

Plus, Joey has 3 kilometers of open water at Knockburn Loch to conquer:

And then another 1.5k as anchor in the chain relay.

And he did okay! Third overall in the 13-14 age group in a time of 48:38.49, and second North District to cross the line, so he come home with a silver (as this is the North District Open Water Championships). 

Waka Waka #daythree

Schoolboy Blues

I did, eventually, at the end of week 2, remember to get a [albeit reluctant] school photo!

I even got fairly decent smiles, after a bit of photo bombing.

Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) #dayone

And she's off!

Come Together

We had the most hilarious Games Night last night to continue raising money for Lightning's WSJ26 quest this summer. It really was a good laugh.

There were three rounds of the regular bingo, which softened up even the grumpiest pre-teen. Play Your Cards Right resulted in a tequila win. The Music bingo was by far the most smile-enducing and unifying game we've played in a long time. Everyone literally threw their money away at a bottle game, which you'd have to see to believe. And finally there was a version of 'horse racing' which I think was quite unique, and you couldn't help but bet on. 

Big thanks to everyone who came along - and threw or bet their money away! - in support of Lightning and his crew :)

Back to Black

And very, very quickly we're back in to a new school term. There is no sign of a First Day of School photos this week, since both boys are back to being up and out before we're fully awake, but there is a new school uniform policy in place: one that makes me fume.

Black hoodies, trackies, cargos, t-shirts... all suddenly acceptable. That's not a 'school' uniform, that's just what practically every teenager wears on any given day of the week! What's the difference now between going to school and hanging out on a street corner in an evening? Clearly nothing by what they're wearing. And we all know groups of youths wearing all black with hoodies up and roaming the streets isn't intimidating... ha!

And I know, I know all the arguments for relaxing the policy, but when you've specifically brought in a uniform not 10 years ago - a uniform that was decided after a lot of consultation with the school and community and was wholly accepted pre-Covid - not just to smarten up the kids but have them clearly distinguishable as they were moving in to a Community Campus, there are good reasons for keeping it.

My kids are not needing anything new this year anyway, so there is no chance I'll be buying them a black hoody or cargo pants, and if I ever see Joey wearing his black trackies to or home from school he knows I'll be binning them. I don't care what other kids and families do, but these boys will be wearing their shirts, ties and school trousers for their remaining years, and when it's cold, their blazers. I don't mind buying them a black jumper to wear over their shirt and tie in the dead of winter, but that's as far as my concessions go. Harsh maybe, but so be it!

Compliments

One of the nicest messages I've received recently.

But then Mrcchainsaw has always known how to encourage!

Summer's End #schauinslandfreiburg&home

Today we left Danielenhof and headed to Frieburg, via Shauinsland, a 1,284m mountain about 10km south of Freiburg. Known as Freiburg's local mountain, it is a popular year-round destination offering panoramic views of the Rhine Valley, Vosges Mountains and Swiss Alps.

The Schauinsland cable car is Germany's longest circulating cable car system, carrying passengers 3.6km up the mountain in 20 minutes. It launched on 17 July 1930 and was the first gondola lift system in the world with cabins for passengers. Originally there were 10 cabins, each with 6 seats and standing room for 19 passengers, along with a conductor. The cabins had to be stopped to be manually unhitched at the upper and lower stations before the passengers could climb out.

In 1987 it no longer met safety requirements and its operating permit was not renewed. After costly rennovations the old cabins were replaced with 37 new, smaller ones. Since 2009 the cable car has also run entirely on green power and generates 60 times less CO2 than a car on each journey.

At the top there is a 31m high Eugan Keidel
Observation Tower which provides
clear 360-degree views

Somewhere over there was Switzerland!

And then it was on to Freidburg proper.

The only Gothic tower within the 
current boarders of Germany

Heavy Allied boming raids in November 1944 destroyed almost all the surrounding historic city centre, but Frieburg Muenster miraculously surivived, suffering only blast damage to its roof and broken windows.

To get a kick start on our journey home, we drove on from Freiburg and stopped overnight just south of Bingen. Fortuitously that allowed us the next morning to drive up through the Rhine Rift Valley and admire the scenery, enjoy the story of the Lorelei, be shocked at home low the Rhine flowed, and pick up some Germany wines to take home. Nice.

Only a short run home from Newcastle...