29.51 for 3 miles and Stephen Castleton

My time for 3 miles (approx 5k) running at the gym.  Only my second run of any kind (apart from the occasional Dad jogs for the bus) since 3 May 2014 and possibly my longest continuous run ever.
Well, I did the Great North Run in 1981 when Tony Landers dropped out with a week to go but I know I didn't do any training and from memory I stopped for a walk every half mile or so.

I've never been one for running.  It's just too bloody hard and I'm just too bloody lazy.  If I'd been running on the road or round the track I would have stopped but I just set the treadmill for 6 mile per hour and counted the minutes down from 30.

Of course there is a purpose.  There's a chance I might be doing the magnificent Albert Park run a week on Saturday and I wanted to try the distance to see if I could manage it.

Why do the park run?  Well it's Boro and it's brill but mainly because Mike coming home on Sunday for a week and he usually does the run when he's here and I said I would so....

I'm pretty unfit nowadays. Probably not bad for your average 50 something but average is just another word for pretty shit in my book.  I've always been ok though and was quite quick over 10 to 20 yards well into my forties mainly thanks to all the 5-a-side football I played.

I could have been a contender though.  I remember being super fit when I was 14.  It was the fittest I ever.  I was unstoppable over middle distances.  I won my school year 800m sports day trial run by about 50 yards.  I did that thing, you know where a pacemaker goes miles ahead because nobody follows him but they eventually catch him...  But they let me get too far ahead and couldn't catch me.

It didn't last though.  Sadly, not long after that Stephen Castleton put paid to my athletic career.  It was one lunch-time after dinner.  A load of lads decided to do that thing where you hold hands and turn round in a circle.  So the further you are on the outside the longer you have to run to keep up and the one on the outside has to run the furthest.  The game was that the person on the outside let go when he couldn't keep up.

And.... it was a long line and.... I was on the outside and Stephen Castleton was next to me.  Only when I tried to let go he wouldn't and I was literally flying in the air.  It must have been a Physics thing because Casso was no beefcake.  When he eventually let go I went flying through the air to a crash landing.

It's a sad story.  I broke my collar bone, was off school a week and couldn't exercise for 4 weeks.  And I never recovered my peak fitness.

So, the real point of this story is Casso.  He was a dude.  He wore John Lennon glasses and had an older brother into prog rock which helped make Casso an expert in the genre.  Circa 1974 to early 1977 prog rock was king.  We were all music mad at school and Casso introduced us all to Yes, Genesis, Can and Faust amongst others. Casso was king.

Nothing ever lasts forever though and by 1978 prog rock had become prig rock and the last time I saw Casso (early 1979?) he told me was into this "new" Dutch band, Gruppo Sportivo.  I told him me and my brother already had 2 of their LP's. King Casso's time was over.

He wasn't a bad lad though but he had a lisp that some of the lads occasionally took the piss out of.  To my discredit I often recalled the time Casso said (you have to say it with a lisp)  "did anybody see Sassafras on the Whistle Test last night" (19/3/74 no less).  I'm not sure if he really said it but he did go on about Sassafras and the Whistle Test so on a you believe what you want to believe basis I do.

I forgot all about this until just before Christmas.  Prog rock's back in favour and I remembered the cool lad who was so knowledgeable back in the day and recalled the Sassafras story.  It's still funny but in these diverse days it sounds much crueler than it did back in the day.  I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.

So I'm a bit sorry Casso if you find this blog article and I'm not a bitter man over the collar bone and the end of my promising athletic career so we'll call it quits eh?

Before I forget - Middlesbrough 1 Millwall 1

I missed my 9th birthday party on Friday.  Oh well,  will try and remember 10th birthday next year, God willing.

Me and Sham went out for a nice walk this morning.  Albert Park to Ladgate Lane via Ayrsome Street, Linthorpe and Acklam and back via Grove Hill.  As we walked past the old Ayrsome Park, it occurred to me that today is 46 years ago today since I went to my first Boro match.  4th January 1969 Boro vs Millwall.  I was 7 years old.  It's easy to remember the date because it was the 3rd round of the FA Cup which is always the first Saturday in January.

My Uncle Joe took me.  He lived at 6 Cromer Street behind the old Telephone Exchange on Marton Road with my Grandma.  I can't remember how I got to his house, maybe my Dad took me down but he didn't come to the match with us.  I remember Joe buying me a big bag of fruit pastilles and I ate the lot.  What a greedy get.

We walked to the ground via Albert Park getting to the ground at about 1pm.  Joe bought me a football special (an alternative to the programme)  It was just a match day version of the Evening Gazette but it seemed really special to me.  Whenever people reminisce about football matches they often talk about the smell of bovril in the air to the point of cliche.  There's a good reason for that though.  It's because it's true.  I swear if I shut my eyes and transport my mind back I can almost smell the stench of the salty beef drink on my clothing.

We took our seats in the lower section of the North Stand and waited for what seemed an eternity for the players to come out.  I don't remember much about the match.  I think Millwall scored first and we equalised.  We lost the replay, played 2 days afterwards, 1-0.  It was a quick turnaround but it was pre-penalty shoot-outs so I suppose they had to get on with it in case they drew again.  If like me you're wondering what the record is for replays in the FA Cup and when multiple replays were abolished (go on admit it, you are)?  Here's the answer.

I loved it and Joe took me more matches that and the following season.  Joe alternated the match day treats between sweets, pea pods and monkey nuts which I enjoyed all as much as each other and it went on until one match (pretty sure it was Leicester City) when we got separated (I suppose technically I was lost) in Albert Park.  Instead of going back to Cromer Street for some reason I decided to walk home.  It didn't seem a big deal to me and I wasn't chastised but that was the end of that, no more football with Uncle Joe.

Happy New Year

How many times to we say Happy New Year?  When is it ok to start?  30/12? 31/12, 1/1.  When is the latest you can wish somebody HNY (seems to be the latest thing to abbreviate)?  1/1? 2/1? 3/1?  The first time you see somebody in the new year?  What if you don't see or speak to somebody until March? Should you/is it still ok to wish them Happy New Year?  Think I might go with first time I see/speak up to end of January so no offence if I don't see you until April and I don't wish you HNY.

In the interests of full disclosure I confess I didn't avoid Hootenanny completely, I saw about 2 minutes (11.57 to approx 11.59).  We broke off from our Homeland  series 4 cramathon (not bad) to consciously see the New Year in.  We tried Beeb 2 where Queen appeared to be doing a Karaoke with singers from the audience (they must be really pissed off with Freddie Mercury for dying before they made any money).  It was horrific and in a moment of madness we thought 5 minutes of Hootenanny would be tolerable.  Needless to say it wasn't so we switched back to the Queen Karaoke/Fireworks until about 12.02 before returning to Homeland.  Finally went to bed about 1.30.  

The 2 minutes of Hootenanny was as horrific as TV gets and in a way I'm glad I caught it as a reminder to avoid it again next year.

So NY negotiated, resolutions announced.  Better go and prepare for my 9th birthday party tomorrow.

Cheers

Btw - 9 views yesterday.  Not sure where they came from but it looks like I might be back in business, whatever that is.  Don't worry I'm guaranteed to fuck it up again.