Commute #161, but first one in ages

In early and working through lunch all week afforded me an hour of daylight at end of workday so I planned to do a bit of bus running to tidy up the county-wide bus run map then catch a bus the rest of the way home when I flagged (I’m still woefully far from my best condition).

But, at the turnoff for the 48 toward Warley Wood in Bearwood I still felt light of foot and decided to keep on going to Smethwick. At the Old Talbot (the last pub before the first lockdown was announced during another commute run), I felt that I could make it the rest of the way and continued on. Wanting to pick up some rarely run streets to fluff out the annual map, I chose a more-or-less direct path to the Altun Towers (a Turkish supermarket near the house) but was confronted by that worst of obstacles: children leaving a school. Shit. 

By now, I was starting to reach the limits but opted to go around a bit padding this effort out to 9 miles. This pitifully weak effort is actually pretty good for me having contracted one or another strain of The Dreaded Lurgy to be continuously ill since August 2023. I’ll try another time this month, perhaps to work if I can get out early enough to avoid the kids (or during half term, if there is one in February).

Rail Runs #64-65 & 2022 Commute #33: to Edgbaston Village Metro and from Brindley Place Metro

Having already done one of the three new tram stops (Five Ways metro) for the ongoing Rail Run Project, today’s commute — planned to avoid the travel chaos of the current one day industrial action against the rail companies — involved a dead-reckoning jog to the end-of-the-line Edgbaston Village metro stop then, after enjoying a burrito packed for lunch on the ride to Brindley Place metro stop, a slightly shorter effort into the labs.

Traffic was heavy in some places (again, due to the rail strike) but I managed a lot of new ground just by taking a chance and failing then recovering and doing it again. The Commonwealth Games open tomorrow and there was CG themed hoarding hiding some depressing urban renewal zones that I really need to get back to check out closely after the closing ceremony and the subsequent clean-up (or, rather, return to bleak).

Yesterday, I also did the bog-standard commute home and noted signage on one section of canal to the effect of “caution, the Queens Baton Relay is passing thru” but the dates were for Monday and I missed it by precisely 24 hours. Volunteers lined a lot of my final approach to the campus, today, for the relay to pass through there, as well. Two weeks of chaos loom.

2022 Commute #30: A Wolf Appears

I regularly mock Brits for their abject terror of warm weather. Anything approaching 30 degrees C and they freak the fuck out (especially when they see me and Jackie head out for runs in that same ‘heat wave’). But, with the forecast warning of 38-40C — and being out of subtropical practice — I made arrangements to have changes of clothing stashed at the labs so I could do some commute runs in the mornings before the dangerous weather set in for the day. I’ve logged a lot of miles in worse heat but not in the last 14 years.

Emerging from the tunnel on the upper branch of the canal I caught a glimpse of a new sculpture added to the canal furniture. I’m guessing this wolf is from the same source as the owl spotted at the end of May.

The heat will break Tuesday night and the highs will once again be in the teens centigrade. I look forward to the return of moaning about the cold.

Monthly Round Up, May 2022

175 miles, 6 Commutes, no Rail Runs, 1 Fish&Chips, 1 Kebab, and 4 pubs.

It was a struggle. I am still a bit light after the illness, hovering in the upper limits of a welterweight, but slowly adding pounds and mileage back in.

Saw our new kitten who will be home with us sometime late in June.

Had my 60th birthday and did a run to revel in it.

Continued with house refurbs. Tiling done, we start on wood floors 1 June.

2022 Commute #20

I’ve done back-to-back commute runs each of the last three weeks and decided to mix up the inbound journey this morning via the upper branch between Spon Lane and Smethwick Junction. Stopped for a slash under the Bridge Street bridge and found all the trimmings of someone’s agricultural harvest. This could have been used to make a few pounds of cannabutter but now it has been pissed on at least once. If this doesn’t bother you, I’ve told you where to look.

Not far before the dope remnants, I spotted this massive owl carving just before the Brasshouse Lane bridge:

2022 Commute #14: Dreams and Soul Crushing Reality

The Way is Being Repaired

Had a few tentative jogs this week and, whilst changing into and out of my running kit, realised just how emaciated I still am after the two weeks convalescence. Since full recovery is months away and I don’t have months to train for these planned, ludicrous, summer runs I went ahead and ran the full, double-digit distance home along the canals. In pain and completely knackered I’ll get my Salmonella blood levels checked late this morning.

Oddly, no dreams last night although I felt like I slept more deeply than I have in months. Been dreaming funny shit since The Big Illness After Easter. This one could actually have happened — and may still. Some Sikhs serve platters of food to anyone who walks by (largely people who need it, but not exclusively) over at the bird killing clock tower several times a week. In the dream, I was on my way to pick up some wine at the off license and swung over to express my admiration.

“And, here is a dinner for you.” I waved it off, “thanks, really, I’m honoured but I’m alright. There’s fish in the cooker that I need to get back to.” He said what I doubt he would in real life, “and have you thought about joining us?” I then launched into what I usually don’t say out loud with:

“No, man, religion ain’t for me. You know, I’m on board with the love of your neighbour and ethical behaviour and and general kindness to and protection of those that need it and the whole outside force unknowable and both unbearable and compelling that you long for. BUT,” and I pause and look at his face for a moment while he slowly closed and reopened his (frankly gorgeous) eyes, “the costumes are a bridge I will not cross. Every religion has a costume, even evangelical christians back home try to dress one class grade lower than their actual class — no mean feet for most of them.”

“I meant, we see you go by all the time and thought you might like to help with the distribution.” I tried to recover with, “sorry, and to be frank as far as the costume thing goes,” I stopped a moment to trace a snake from crown to foot, “this is rocking but, you know, like I said.”

So, this month I discovered I can publicly humiliate myself in REM sleep. THAT’S going on my list of skills for my professional development review.

Monthly Round Up, April 2022

“Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc“(the motto on the Addams family crest).

“We Gladly Feast on Those Who Would Subdue Us” is the translation offered by Gomez Addams for this ridiculous, pidgin Latin motto. The one in the photo is Polish and hard to disambiguate from these choices:

Honor Wszystkim Dzielnym Policjantom (All Honor to the Brave Policemen); Historia Wieku Dwudziestego Pierwszego (History of the Twenty-First Century); Hitler Wraca Do Playboya (Hitler Returns to Playboy); the most probable, Polish vulgar anti-police slogan, generally accepted as “Cock up Police’s Ass” (several variations); and, my fave, Hefalumpy W Domu Puchatka (House of Pooh’s Heffalump Movie). I really should learn one of the Eastern tongues in this neighbourhood.

The month started quite promising before I ate some Salmonella-rich chicken, undercooked and left on the counter for a couple of hours. That, and an upper respiratory infection that is equally devasting (Jackie landed that one, too, so it’s not just my dietary adventures) have kept me from any physical activity more than wandering to the store or, ghost-like, around work (3 of the 7 days work has been open since Easter). I lost 3½ kg (a little more than 7 pounds, Americans) and to date have only gained 1 kg back. More stats:

170.9 miles (but stopping abruptly on the 20th), 4 Commutes, 2 Rail Runs, 1 Fish&Chips, 1 Kebabs, and 3 pubs.

Still weak as a kitten, I’m going to ease back into things from the 1st of May and treat my would-be 24-30 hour run planned for the end of June as a however far I can get in daylight run (about 14 hours worth).

Speaking of kittens, the boss’ cat littered two weeks ago and these are my choices (I want all three, but Jackie insists on only one and she WAS the voice of reason in the Easter BBQ chicken castastrophe):

Monthly Round Up, March 2022

231.4 miles, 8 Commutes, 12 Rail Runs, 1 Fish&Chips (3 if you count repeat trips to the chippy on campus), 2 Kebabs, and 7 pubs.

Town Hall is installing a statue of a fetish gimp (above). This city makes me smile. And, yet there is even more art to discuss this month.

Trying to get decor up in the compound, we’ve resorted to chasing frames at charity shops. Can’t decide if we’ll keep the print that came with this one (the colours work with most of our walls) or to insert a travel poster:

Passed this monument to the Industrial Revolution on a run near Dudley. No idea why the gents are all wearing bike helmets:

After a couple of pleasantly warm weeks, the final one this month has been miserably cold again and I backed off running partly due to that and partly because of symptoms of over training. Still, on the 31st I managed the 10th commute of the year into a 25 mph headwind with snow and sleet. Christ.

2022 Commute #9

The trams are down, again, so I’m doing more of my commutes with partial runs. With my big-boy-clothes stashed at the labs left behind for last night’s effort, I was compelled to run in but didn’t plan a proper, countable commute run until I was informed a carpenter needed access to the FTICR lab early. Not at any specific time, just early. So, I waddled out of the house and through the barely waking West Brom town centre and dragged my ass in just in time to meet the carpenter who told me he’d be back mid-afternoon to do the work.

But, it is warmer than it has been and Brum is in bloom so I’ll set the whinging aside for now. 9 miles, this route, and 1 h 15 min including taking a moment or two to fertilize some daffodils along the canal banks.

2022 Commute #8

A couple of weeks ago one of the grad students went in for his Viva (the equivalent of a dissertation defence for an American PhD student) and was still in there as I left for the run home. I didn’t congratulate him for 6 days because I didn’t want to ask if he passed and risk that being a ‘bad’ question. Eventually, I saw that all was as it should be on a Twitter post.

For a few months, now, I have passed the mural with this wonderful face incorporated. I wouldn’t even know who to ask but I’m sure I should know (so I won’t ask). If anyone wants to direct me to an online answer to this non-poseable query then I reside here in the Tweetersphere: @psilocybunny