Babies, Birthdays and Felt…

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

Yesterday I braved the approaching storm and set off down south to wish my little nephew, Stanley, a happy 1st birthday….

I wasn't the only person driving down south; there were bloody millions of other people. So you probably won't be surprised to hear that the journey took a tad longer than normal. On arrival I had just missed the cutting of the cake, but stepped through the door in time to toast the birthday boy.

After devouring a couple of slices of my sister's slightly floury beautiful cake it was time for pass the parcel….

Stanley has an older sister, named Grace, who today had no trouble testing all HIS new toys. In fact over the course of the day she had become very attached to his new Tigger, to the point where it needed to be hidden to avoid any bedtime antics. Here she is engrossed with his new toolset….

By late afternoon is was time for the highlight of the day: the opening of the advent calendar. This may not sound much, until that is you see the advent calendar. My sister had created a felt masterpiece: individual numbered felt pockets; felt Christmas tree with buttons; and hidden felt 'things' (including a felt baby Jesus) to hang on said felt Christmas tree. Stanley fished out and hung up the day's felt mini-stocking wonderment, to ooos and aahs from an overly excited audience. Nice job sis!

Stonley?

With Santa's Christmas storm fast approaching I wished everybody Merry Christmas and began the surprising quick and uneventful journey back home. On entering the house I came across another baby! James, my grandson, was staying the night. Here he is looking rather spaced out and modelling a dodgy looking head of hair….

 

 

Movember has come to an end….

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So Movember has finally come to an end. My moustache and I have gone through some tough times over the course of the month: the itchiness, the overhanging lip hairs, the remnants of food hanging on the top lip, and not to mention looking absolutely ridiculous. But after 30 days, I've grown rather attached to it. I've even enjoyed grooming and trimming to keep it in pristine condition.

So today my moustache and I spent some quality time together. We went into Peterborough with the idea of maybe getting a few Christmas presents, this didn't happen, instead I treated myself to a couple of CDs…..

When we got back from shopping we went to the woods to have our final run together. An emotional experience: the wind rushing through the hairs and the feel of sweat building up amongst the whiskers.

At this stage I feel I should point out that that I'm not very good at the whole growing facial hair palaver. But that was not about to stop me modelling my mo in a David Brent style….

Looking forward to Decembeer already!

 

Doesn’t Time Fly….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

It has been three weeks since my last blog. Not exactly sure why? The weeks seem to be whizzing by like an old granny on a souped-up mobility scooter trundling down Oxford Street on the last Saturday before Christmas.

So, what has happened in the intervening weeks? Well, at this point I could launch into an absolutely hilarious collection of anecdotes. Well I could. But actually, I really can't be bothered. So instead you get this….

Frightened Rabbit in Birmingham
Micky Flanagan in Nottingham
MoRunning....fabulous medal!
Endless muddy zombie runs...
The boy is getting on fabulously...

Cushty!

 

I’m a big kid….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

What can I say? It was early evening, just about dusk, when I headed to the woods with the dog, put the earphones in, pressed go on the 'Zombies, Run!' app and went for it! With the woods deserted, light fading and zombies moaning in the ears it ending up being REALLY creepy. I had great fun!

At one point I actually spotted a fella that reminded me of the bloke from 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' – I did attempt to take a picture of him, but by the time I got my phone out and prepared, I was right next to him and I didn't think he'd really appreciate me taking a snap of him and running off – so for dramatic effect this is exactly what it looked like….

Although, imagine less dead bodies wrapped in plastic

AND…..I got really muddy….

Well I am just a big kid after all!

 

Going zombie crazy….

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Everything seems to be about zombies at the moment. Not exactly sure why, but the desiccating, decaying, emotionless beings and their insatiable desire to consume living human flesh is all around. Now I understand that today is All Hallows' Eve, but zombies seem to be infiltrating my life….

  • I have recently finished reading 'World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War', which I thought was a great read. This novel was a follow-up to Mel Brooks' 'The Zombie Survival Guide' – which is now on the list of must reads.
  • The blogosphere seems to be jammed packed with zombie related blogs. People taking part in various zombie runs, people in zombie training and people seemingly obsessed with zombies. I did experience a zombie run last year, so maybe it's time to have another go.
  • I've also recently started watching 'The Walking Dead', slightly late to the party I know, but people having been raving about this series so I thought I'd give it a go. Who can resist a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh eating zombies?

So, seeing that zombies are all around, I downloaded the 'Zombies, Run!' app for the iPhone and took to the woods to run from zombies. I did use this app a year or so ago and how I've missed it! The new version is packed full of missions including zombie chases that force you to speed up to avoid the zombie hordes and is very slick.

Zombies were not the only things I had avoid, I came across this…

This seemingly harmless bit of twig, with huge thorns, was about six feet long and somehow I managed to get the evil thing wrapped around my legs. Trying to escape its clutches was quite a mission. Give me zombies any day of the week!

In other news….we approach Movember….

Only three weeks until my first ever MoRun at Nottingham…..the cultivation of an impressive moustache starts tomorrow!*

* Please note I can not actually grow a very good moustache.

 

Braved the storm….

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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.