Author: Phil Lengthorn

Braved the storm….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ Leave a comment

The onset of the biggest storm in the history of the world was not going to stop us making the trip to Leicester. I had taken all precautions. The car was loaded: chainsaw, mop and bucket, various changes of clothes and first aid kit. I had heeded the advice from the media: I would indeed be driving at an appropriate speed with the expectation that around every bend I would find a fallen tree blocking the road.

Suffice to say, we made it one piece. Mainly due to the fact that there wasn't a storm. Shock horror.

Q: Why risk life and limb?

A: The fantastic Beans on Toast playing at the equally fantastic Cookie Jar.

'Beans' was on top form, as usual. What you get when you attend a Beans on Toast gig is entertainment. Whether it be the tunes, the storytelling, the banter, or the fact that you never quite know what you are going to get. It never fails to entertain. Tonight 'Beans' was sandwiched between the fabulous Will Varley (well worth googling) and the rather loud Jim Lockey and the Solemn Sun.

In other Beans on Toast news…..

  • He'll be supporting Frank Turner on the up and coming UK tour.
  • New album 'Giving Everything' out on 1st December.

 

Amsterdam Baby!

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

WARNING: This blog post may contain stereotypical images of Holland and the Dutch.

After a few days in Amsterdam I can safely report that the place is crazy. Totally crazy. I'd like to write this post avoiding any stereotypical images, but I think that may be impossible. So I thought I'd get them all out of the way early on….

The first thing you notice on arrival in Amsterdam are the bikes! Bloody bikes everywhere! Every space in the city has a bike attached to it. I'm sure that if you stood still long enough someone would prop a bike up against you. So not only do you have to contend with cars, buses and trams, all driving on the wrong side of the road, you have bikes whizzing everywhere. It is quite a challenge.

Marijuana. You can't write a blog post about Amsterdam without mentioning weed. Who had the idea that it would be sensible to make it legal to enter an establishment and smoke weed? On top of that they call them 'coffee shops' just to add to the ridiculous idea. And then just for people that don't actually smoke you can buy a 'space cake' and join in the crazy behaviour. Furthermore, it has become a tourist attraction.

Talking of tourist attractions, what city in the world would you see prostitues selling themselves in shop windows as families walk past pointing? It is a very strange situation.

Amsterdam does, of course, have some pretty typical tourist attractions: museums, historical buildings and canals. It wouldn't be right to visit Amsterdam without visiting the Van Gogh Museum and getting a picture of the famous 'Sunflowers' (also please note you can buy all sorts of crap under the guise of sunflowers). It was also surprising to see the man himself in the foyer painting…..

Amsterdam is a strange weird fantastic city and well worth a visit.

 

It was a tad wet…..

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 4 Comments

Last Sunday, the wettest since records began*, saw the annual Great Eastern Run. A half-marathon set in the picturesque** surroundings of Peterborough city centre.

Now to say the morning was wet and windy would be an understatement: it was frickin' very wet and frickin' very windy***. I'm not a great fan of running in the rain, so my first thought when I drew back the curtains was: f###ing hell. In fact it was probably not even I thought, I may have actually said it out loud, and probably loud enough it wake up most of my neighbours.

But, having said all that, I'd put in quite a few miles in training for the sodding event so I gathered my stuff**** together and set off for the proxy place. Initially I was planning to post a new half-marathon PB, but after arriving at the start I quickly decided today was not a day for PBs….

This race has been a mainstay on my race calendar for the last five or six years, so I knew exactly what to expect. Although I didn't expect to have to clamber over a fence, which a marshall wasn't amazingly impressed with*****, just to get somewhere near the start. I must admit it seemed a particularly disorganised start, although the weather and everyone rushing to the start at the last minute probably didn't help.

Now plodding the streets of Peterborough on a wet and windy Sunday morning isn't everybody's cup of tea, although I did spot some slightly amusing happenings:

  • Before we had even crossed the start line a fella, too busy waving to friends in the crowd, ran through a MASSISVE puddle.
  • Overtook a particularly knackered looking Batfink, his sponge 'wings of steel' probably not helping, they seemed to have soaked up quite a bit of water.
  • I ran most of the way in the vincinity of a bloke called 'Simon'. Not entirely sure who he was, but he was getting a lot of support along the way from the crowds. He must have been some sort of local superstar. 13.1 miles is along way to run wondering if Peterborough has any famous Simons. One did come to mind, Simon Bamford, him of Hellraiser fame, although I quickly dismissed this possibility…have you seen Butterball******?
  • Darren Ferguson, Peterborough FC's manager started the event, it was quite amusing to see how many people were avoiding the high-five.

Well suffice to say, I completed the race in a time of 1.37, a minute or so off a PB, pretty pleased with that. My reward:

* this is a lie

** this is also a lie

*** this is another understatement

**** flippers, snorkel, etc.

***** sorry Marshall, needs must and all that

****** obscure film reference

 

Frank Hamilton at Junction 2

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Sunday saw a visit to Junction 2 in Cambridge to see the fabulous Frank Hamilton. Now I’ve been to the bigger brother, The Junction, a few times but this is a first for Junction 2. A cool little venue, about 200ish capacity, very swish, comfy seats and it’s even got its own little balcony level.

Frank was, as is usual, very good. Great set list of all the favourites including an impromptu visit to the balcony to play ‘Thinking Back’ unplugged. I’ve seen Frank a few times and every time it gets better and better, it sounded great on Sunday. On the back of #onesongaweek he seems to be catching the eye of a few people, new EP ‘Summer’ out soon and in the midst of another succesful tour. All seems good in the world of Frank Hamilton; long may it continue.

 

Running and stuff….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

Just an 8-miler this morning, according to my training plan it should have been 13! Doh!

Although I ran 13 miles last Sunday and 12 miles a couple of weeks before so I thought with just two weeks until the Peterborough Half I'd take it easy a bit. It was a lovely morning and didn't really want to spoil it by going hell for leather* chasing a particular pace. I'm confident of completing the race, just need to decide whether or not I'm going to try to beat my PB. I'm going to crack on with the training schedule, throw in a couple of fast 6-milers and see where we're at.

This morning's run did throw up some interesting observations:

  • The amazingly fast walking man – he was walking his dog and going at such a pace I had trouble overtaking him.
  • I nearly killed off an elderly couple – it would seem that didn't hear me approaching and my cheery 'morning' nearly brought on a heart attack.
  • Caused a bit of commotion at the ponds – some fishermen didn't appreciate the dog jumping in the pond and scaring off the fish.

In other news…..

Currently reading 'The Cry' by Helen Fitzgerald, great book about a baby that goes missing in Australia. A dark psychological thriller with a gripping moral dilemma at its heart. Well worth a read!

And finally….

Off to see the fantastic Frank Hamilton in Cambridge tonight….lovely jubbly….

* This is not a phrase I use very often and just wanted to point out that I do actually run in running shoes not some great pair of leather clad boots.

 

I’ll be on strike!

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

After watching Look North last night on TV I was compelled to blog….

The headline: parent to sue school over closure. I don't really have to go into details, just to say this particular school is going to close on 1st October because of the joint NUT/NASUWT strike action; this particular parent is not happy. In fact he is so unhappy he has written a 'strongly worded letter' to the school.

I have sympathy with parents who have childcare issues but I don't think he quite understands the impact this government is having on the education system: the education system is becoming disjointed. The failure of the government to enter into talks aimed at reaching an agreement has lead to the industrial action. The majority of teachers are concerned that the changes the government are imposing on the profession is having an effect on the recruitment and retention of teachers and the delivery of quality education for pupils. I am one of these teachers.

The unions have tried writing a 'strongly worded letter' – this hasn't worked – that is why teachers are striking – the government now needs to enter into talks to resolve the issues.

As for our lorry driving friend who is going to sue his child's school……let's just imagine he is a Tesco supermarket lorry driver….would he like a letter from my lawyer when there are no baked beans on the shelves?