Month: February 2022

Monthly Round Up, February 2022

We spent the largest part of February fighting off every illness that isn’t Covid-19. My body temperature has always been low (96.8F or 36C instead of the normal 98.6F/37C) but keeps suffering precipitous drops to 95.5F (35.3C). With the outdoor temperatures cold, the wind high, and rain almost every day I have been like a walking corpse.

Running into work one morning I spotted a cat that looked out of place and I worried he was abandoned. A little toughie, this one, he followed me around a bit before losing interest. Later, I went back and he was still hanging out and even tried to get into a health sciences lab (I pointed out to my new friend that he needed a card with access to go in, but kept shtum about the one around my neck being just such a key).

Turns out, he lives at a geriatric ward separate from the QEH and about 200m away from the station. A little over a week after the photos, he was down on Platform 1 of the station loving on a confused looking student (and possibly awaiting the train to Sutton Coldfield, who knows). I’ve been calling him Guillermo after Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick.

Clearing out sections of the FTICR lab to share benchspace with a surface science group, I came across the SOP in the event of a bomb threat. Some of it reads like a dirty joke but I couldn’t be bothered to flesh it out:

158 miles including 6 Rail Runs and 2 Commutes and 2 lunch runs for my monthly Fish & Chips and Kebab quota. Haven’t done one of these runs (yet) but I reckon I can combine Rail Runs and Commutes: do 5 miles or more to a station then ride to another station such that I finish with at least 5 more miles that cross the first one. Only 3 pubs this month.

Park Life #1 and 2: The Central Conceit of the Project as well as Oakwood and Greets Green Parks

This is the first of a new project. The idea is simply to explore the parks around here (each time as part of a run or some cultural event). Drink may be involved.

Here’s one: I left Jackie on an elliptical at the gym after I’d done some weights, ropes, and the heavy bag. I’ve found that if all I do is run, I start to ball up like an old chip wrapper (such is the geriatric life). Heading down past some far-too-early crocuses, I emerged on the far side of the giant roundabout at Oakwood Park.

The park is planar and vaguely trapezoidal. There are some playground fixtures and some footie goals set up but nothing to really draw you in. Save for Greets Green and another park I’ll add to the list, soon, it is the largest contiguous green space in northern West Brom outside of the fenced off areas around the schools.

Satisfied that there was nothing too satisfying about Oakwood, I moved on to Greets Green Park. The maps make it look much bigger but some of what is considered The Park is actually jealously guarded sports pitches belonging to the adjacent Salter School (which is filled with some of the most unjustifiably self absorbed little shits you could ever inflict on an enemy — and we get them FOR FREE!).

There were more recreational users at the Greets Green fields than Oakwood and I retrieved a ball for some kids in a caged-and-paved mini-footie field (about the size of a 2/3 basketball court). A well behaved doberman took no notice of me as we passed each other. The wooded area bordering the chemical plant could use some pruning of the brambles on the path.

The southerly wind was bracing but the sun cried out for beer. Finished and heading home, I picked up a Guardian and an Express & Star along with an ice cold Birra Moretti.

The College Arms, Hall Green

Pub #2477:

A dozen or so layabouts (god love ’em) lounged inside the College Arms as I trundled in with fogged glasses and covered in sweat. Wiping my specs I realised lager was the only thing on the taps. While the landlady was still disposed elsewhere, I chose Foster’s.

“There’s no Foster’s. Would you like a Carling?”

I tapped on the tap in front of me and asked, “Stella?” She shook her head grimly. “Let’s try this then…pint of Carling?” I think it was a smile but seemed more a grimace. I counted my change and when she called in the debt I added 80p, “for a packet of ready salted.” I found a seat and commenced to feast.

A wee terrier wearing a red bonnet trotted over and began sniffing in the direction of my crisps. The landlady distracted him, “hell-looo me lovely,” and he ambled to her for a rub then back to me for the business at hand. I held out a crisp a little out of snapping reach and another fellow said that I needed to watch out for his snap but I was able to misdirect my little friend then placed the crisp on his back just out of reach. He tried to get it from the left then right then left again and finally did a little jump to dislodge it.

Then he sniffed it and walked away. The cheek. By then, I’d finished all but my bladder offload and soon was back on my run.

Rail Run #39: To Olton

In early and out late all week with nowt breaks for lunch or owt else for that matter save for a fantastic chippy dash Wednesday, I slipped away from the labs at 3pm Friday (mind, at Oxford I rarely stayed past 2 on a Friday with no justification) and, checking with the weatherman so I’d know which way the wind was blowing, headed in the generally eastern direction to take advantage of the new info.

Along the way I saw many tempting dining opportunities but only refuelled on some crisps and a Carling at the College Arms. I haven’t done much running in these parts since way back when we were scouting neighbourhoods for the last house move. The areas seem superficially nice but scratch the surface and they are unfriendly and parochial cloisters of 3rd and 4th generation immigrants acting as if they are still what I’m sure they consider “back home;” that is until you get into the middle class white areas which are unfriendly and parochial cloisters of a different colour.

Don’t get me wrong…if we could have afforded either AND there was better shopping, this post would emanate from there.

The Fold Fish Bar, Hawkesley

The 218th Fish and Chips (and allied takeaways) visited since record keeping commenced was The Fold, a modestly priced and unusually good fish bar. It may have seemed this good because I’ve been suffering even lower than normal body temperatures and mild nausea and it happened to be the right combination of fat, protein, carbs, salt, and acid or — I hope — it could be that I’m on the mend and this is just a lucky find.

The neighbourhood is what realtors might call shabby or ‘up and coming’ but I don’t see either of those. Just a bit neglected and just about the right distance from work to pop out for a lunchtime run (9.7 miles today including the walking portion with the portion of food). I see a kebab and chips from the Fold in my near future.

2022 Commutes #1 & 2

Ha, ‘Dead Slow’, indeed.

Storms Dudley and Eunice and their aftermaths continue to batter the country. But, a Sunday evening power shutdown at work dictated that the instruments still running sequences over the weekend needed to be shutdown so I made my weekend long run include a stop off at the labs.

It was also still raining but not especially cold and I made my way down there on an overland trip through neighbourhoods that would normally be teeming with pavement hogs but that were abandoned on a lazy, stay-indoors sort of Sunday morning. Already suffering leg cramps by the time I got there, it was nice to see a few leftover bits of baklava lingering in the break room (there is no trace of them now).

Returning on these old shaky legs I hoped that the canals would offer more shelter from the wind than they actually did, but I was able to make it nearly the full distance to the Homebase in Oldbury without significant walking. Slightly more impressive, I made it the roughly 2 miles to complete the journey running except for hills despite carrying two cans of paint in my backpack.

And, it is the first 20 miler (on aggregate) I’ve done since the loop turning in our keys to the last rental on 15 Dec 2019 (2 years and 2 months ago).

Rail Run #38: From Rowley Regis

The area has been battered by gentle breezes with sustained velocities over 20 mph and gusts to 40, generally from west to east today. After the last few runs facing this onslaught, I planned the morning workout in the same direction as the prevailing winds. So, I rucked up at Rowley Regis station and headed in to work (bearing generally ESE to take advantage of rather than fight the weather).

Friday, the gale is supposed to blow at a sustained 40-45 mph with gusts to 60 or 70. I see a treadmill in my future. Or, rather, I don’t really need a weather man to know which way, etc.

Wheatsheaf, Wolverhampton

Pub #2476:

The Wheatsheaf is a marvelous structure and an even nicer local. The denizens all each seemed equal parts awkward and studiedly cool without any infiltration of hipster (although it was early and who knows what it is like after you load a few more pints into everyone). But, I couldn’t linger to find out as I was meeting Jackie shortly for an evening out together.

Quiet except for the odd single played from the jukebox followed by 4 or 5 minutes respite. Surveying the taps, I settled on a Hobgoblin (I think that was it) from the two taps facing the door. “Amber or ruby?” asked the gentleman behind the bar. He was quite approving of my choice of ruby.

A nice find, this one, but I haven’t been disappointed in Wolverhampton, yet.

Rail Runs #36 & 37: To Town Hall Metro & To Library Metro

Storm Dudley has made this windy city quite windy (and rainy) indeed. The training runs are suffering for distance but the effort has been productive. Saturday I ran a loop that depleted my reserves at about 16 miles and I was forced to wolf down some oatmeal cookies just to be able to walk to the bus.

Monday, I was less ambitious and planned an arc from work to Grand Central New Street Metro but emerging near it found the platform rammed with other potential passengers so I continued up the hill to the always less populated Town Hall Station and had my choice of seats for the ride home.

Tuesday, I did some mileage around Wolverhampton ahead of a planned night out watching a comedian record a BBC radio programme but Jackie was delayed and we opted to just dine at Rocco Italian (the swordfish was lovely, the wind afterward oppressive).

Then Wednesday, I retried the trip to Grand Central and found that I was still 0.2 miles short of my self defined minimum of 5 miles for any rail run. So, the Library Metro it was to be. I arrived as the doors were closing and must have triggered the reopen algorithm because they popped back open long enough for me to snap the library out the re-closing door. Success.