Pyro's Yard v2.0

So, for both the first Janathon and this year's Juneathon, I took it upon myself to plagiarise well known poems or prose as a little light entertainment, to break the loneliness of the long duration runner. It seems only appropriate to begin this Janathon the same, in a light-hearted vein, with a visit from our patron saint* 'Twas the night before New Year (or "A visit from St Jan") With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore 'Twas the night before New Year, and all down the street, Not a creature was stirring, they were resting their feet. Their running shoes sat by the back door, so near, Knowing that Janathon soon would be here. And me, I was nestled, all snug in my bed, While thoughts of the month to come danced in my head: Thoughts of lycra, and fleece, of my windproofs and cap, While pre-emptive leg pains tried to threaten my nap. Then out on the lawn there arose such a racket, I woke from my slumbers, muttering "Oh fackit..." And away to the window...

Evening all. And Merry Whatsitsnamey. Y'know? Thing. That day where a fat bearded bloke (not me) comes and visits and brings pressies (definitely not me). Aye, you got it, that one. Thingy. Not wanting to get into the soppy reflective stuff, but 2011's been an interesting year: Running an Ultra was something I wasn't expecting this time last year, but neither was getting back into proper kayaking form, building a couple of new bikes, taking my Dad down the Tyne in an open canoe or... well.. a lot of stuff. It's been good, really good, So what's 2012 got in store? What big adventures to concentrate on now? Firstly, Janathon. Because it's an awesome start to the year, a great way to kick the winter blues and, while it can be hard work, the collaborative atmosphere is fantastic. I'm happy to say I'll be participating again. Secondly, and lasting a bit longer Twelve : Fifty-Two is a new project to build on the photography stuff I do. A weekly chall...

It's been an awesome weekend. One of those weekends that just feels good, doesn't involve stress and just seems to go, on the whole, pretty damn well. I like weekends like that. I reckon I need more of 'em. Saturday night was Pie Night 2011. Like previous years, there were 3 varieties of pie on the table, with mash and peas - I like the traditional 'Pie & Pea Supper' idea, it's nice and simple - plus a few beers/wines/drinkies, whatever people brought or nabbed from the fridge. This years pie selection was: - Steak Forestiere  (inspired by our meal on the way to the GRP) - Spiced Pork and Apple (suitably autumnal/wintery, I thought) - Seared Tofu with Gingered Veg and Watercress (because I have to think of something to feed the veggies...) 'twas a small gathering, very enjoyable and fun, even if (as usual) the paddlers disappeared off into paddle-talk and everyone else wondered what the heck we were going on about. A small select batch then headed ...