My problems with Virgin Media continues but I'm at Shamila's, hence a rare post.
Boro won, hurrah! Not going to change the 19 points required though. As we speak, Newcastle are getting beat by Stoke so we are only 3 points from safety (I have taken into account our inferior goal difference to Sunderland). That's 30 points so far. 40 should still be enough so 10 points needed from 6 games? Definitely doable but unlikely. Hey ho!

Went on a brutal walk with Russ, Jacquie and Dave yesterday from Ingleby Cross to Blakey Ridge. Russ' book said it was 23 miles but from what I've read today it was only 21 miles. The walk forms part of the Cleveland Way, the Lyke Wake and the Coast to Coast walks no less so maybe I should claim 21 miles x 3 on my belt = 63 miles!

In my mind the walk was split into 3 parts, Ingleby Cross to Lord Stones Cafe (7 miles). Lord Stones to Clay Bank (4 miles) and then Urra Moor to Blakey Ridge (a revised 10 miles). Until we reached the top of Urra Moor it was definitely the most physically demanding walk I've ever done. Each ascent, some steep and some long and winding was followed by a sharp descent and after the 45 minute long and steady incline that followed the steep walk up Urra Moor I was virtually on my knees. If we hadn't been in the middle of nowhere I might have been tempted to throw in the towel apart from the fact I was with our Russ (Spence family rivalry refers).
Thankfully as in the "Grand Old Duke of York" this time once we were up we were up and we just walked along the flat to Blakey Ridge. Job done, tick!

Here's a picture taken by Dave somewhere early on in the walk. I was too knackered to take in where.


And as ex-Boro Steve McLaren used to say, usually after we'd been embarrassingly thrashed out of sight , we move on. Tomorrow we're going to do a circular walk from Billingham Beck through the Castle Eden Visitors Centre and back via Norton Golf Club - a 9 mile flat stroll in the park! This is the life.