unironedman

“Across the evening sky
All the birds are leaving
But how can they know
It’s time for them to go?

Before the winter fire
I will still be dreaming
I have no thought of time

For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?”

Who Knows Where the Time Goes?
Fairport Convention

Well, Dad, that was some year. It flew by. We started it with you here, and will end it with you gone. Indeed, you didn’t see the end of January. But the stroke that took you was in a way a blessing, as it spared you the ravages of cancer that had been found in your liver and pancreas. That does all sound like the opening to a recently-found Dickens novel, so I’ll do my best to get all the maudlin stuff out of the way at the outset…

Christmas dinner was, apparently, one of the tastiest yet. I had a large hand in the making of it, and my motto is ‘pile on the flavour!’ It’s not terribly scientific, but in general, it seems to work with traditional Winter dishes of meats, potatoes and many different types of veg, where you can apply gallons of goose fat for roastie potatoes, and add all manner of oddities to the gravy and onion sauce, including any of the leftovers from the full Irish fried breakfast that morning. As I was also in charge of provisions, I had ‘forgotten’ to get Brussels sprouts, but fortunately, my Mum had remembered, so Christmas was saved…

Presents were dished out, too, in generous measure, and as is always the way with the festive season, it will be several days and weeks (sometimes even months) before I find some alone time to actually go through the stash in my office and get a chance to appreciate all the munificence once more. But I do know that I have a voucher for one of Dublin’s leading running stores, and I need new shoes, so that’s a little something to look forward to in the New Year. S also bought me an easel, and that will encourage me to pick up a pencil or three next year and get creative again.

In the more immediate future, there is a gig to navigate in the local pub tomorrow, and then on New Year’s Eve, there is the classic Lock Up The Year canal run which has been going on for some time now, and has become a favourite in my running calendar. In the past, we used to hire a bus and head out west, and, depending on whether you were doing the full or half-marathon, get dropped off at the appropriate point and run home. There is something comforting about a straight run home, rather than the out and back. But for the last few years, we have made the logistics much simpler for the very small organising committee (which is currently just me and the founder), and reduced the run options to a 10k and half-marathon which will start and finish from the local GAA club in Leixlip.

Anyway, as I type this, both Saoirse and I have some little bugger of a head and chest cold, so I am hoping I will be well enough to play live music, and run a half-marathon. Though not at the same time, obviously…

As regards next year’s activities, I have just signed up for the Connemarathon Ultra. The route takes in quite a bit of the roadways used by the Connemara 100, and from first glance at the maps, some of the route that the Gael Force West adventure race uses too. The scenery is stunning, but every step of it will be on tarred road, so that may have a bearing on my shoe choice.

Beyond that, I have been looking at the Western Way in Mayo as my Big Day Out in Summer. It’s listed as 124 kilometres, so within the compass of a day’s serious hiking and running, though this time out, I would plan to leave earlier in the morning than previous efforts. It clocks in somewhere between Declan’s Way and Wicklow Way in terms of distance, but without the elevation of either. So, if I am lucky with the weather, and get going in the wee hours, I may finish before it gets too late. But, as my Dad would remind me, there’s many a slip ‘twixt cup and lip. The ultra in Connemara in April will tell a tale; it’s the classic one-and-a-half distance of about 40 miles (a full marathon and a half-marathon), and a distance to be respected. I shall need to get out running again with a proper plan in the New Year.

Apart from that, lovely people, I hope you are well, wherever you are. We shall pick this up again in the New Year, with any luck. And in no particular order, I look forward to reading the exploits of Michigan Jim, Donegal Niall as he finds new tracks and trails, and the undoubted success of Vince (The OMIL) across the pond as he takes on and conquers his first half-ironman.

Above is a selection of images from the last week or so. The random food images are taken ‘on the hoof’, as I completed my 40 hours of ambulance placement. Proof positive, if needed, that a career in that role would lead to a very unhealthy diet if one wasn’t very careful and planned ahead. The three flower pics are from yesterday, and whilst I am not surprised to find Winter Heliotrope out flowering, I was a little troubled to see Lesser Celandine and Mayweed out and about. The kitten is a new addition for our son, Dallan, and his partner, Aoife, and the bulbs pushing through the soil are ones we planted earlier this year around Ciaran’s Tree in the nearby park. The stained-glass window is from our local church, and the less salubrious one is across the road in the fire station.

And here are a couple of funnies to finish. Happy New Year, everyone!