unironedman

And I miss you
Like the deserts miss the rain
And I miss you
Like the deserts miss the rain

‘Missing’
Everything But The Girl

Quite a number of news reports about the weather these days will include some statement along the lines of ‘this is the hottest Summer on record’ or something similar. The more worrying aspect of all this is perhaps the thing that is left unsaid: what if this is the coolest Summer you will experience? At this point, anthropogenic climate change is a factual matter that we now have to face, and anyone suggesting otherwise should be fired off into space in a rocket. And you can take Elon Musk with you too. Actually, while I’m at it, I have a list…

Anyway, we have had one or two slightly cooler days this week, but the real issue is the lack of rain. The Emerald Isle is now the Ochre Isle (or should we call ourselves the Middle Aisle thanks to the proliferation of two German multiples and their continued obsession with trying to sell me very large drill bits when all I want is a pint of milk? (Get on with it! ed.)). The Winters would appear to be offering us more rain than we can handle (and so leading to saturated fields and increased flooding), whilst the Summers are offering us high temperatures and drought. This all plays havoc for farming, and again, my list of those being fired into space includes idiots who don’t know or appreciate where most of their food comes from. I’ll give you a hint. It’s farming.

One personal suggestion is to build massive retaining lakes in the midlands to relieve the persistently flooding Shannon of some of its water. Bank it in huge reservoirs on land that has been denuded of much of its value (stripped bogland), and then this water can be used for a thirsty capital city when water is scarce. And it might take the pressure off the Liffey and other catchments that cannot keep up with demand. Added bonus is the aquatic amenity for fishing, sailing, swimming, leisure, etc. not to mention the wildlife. Do I know this will work? No. But it did in Rutland Water in the UK. Do I have any expertise on this matter? Also no. Cynics of my plan beware; I can always build another rocket…

Let us segue somewhat into other phenomena, in this case, the recent solar eclipse. It was accompanied by a planetary alignment, and a splendid meteor shower. The fine weather also allowed most of Ireland to see all of these things, and that, perhaps, was the greatest rarity. Watching the gradual eclipse of the sun is always surreal, magnificient, and somewhat sobering, but what gets me is the diminution of the light, and the quality of that light, which is impossible (for me) to describe. Quite a number of birds, not least the local Rook and Jackdaw population, began their roosting behaviour, and the stillness was notably only punctuated by the occasional pigeon, asking if anyone might know the answer to what exactly was going on with the day. The stunning visual was only matched by my equally stunning and hamfished attempts at photos (I knew it was pointless from previous eclipses), but as Heaney himself would have probably pointed out: ‘useless to think you’ll capture it’, if you’ll allow me to paraphrase. Looking back, the biggest miracle was probably finding the piece of welding glass to view the event…

Running continues, and kudos to Gary and JC, who between them decided it would be wise to set weekly challenges for the three of us. Perhaps it’s the Summer heat; motivation for running has been as hard to find as a patch of green grass. A gentle reminder on your phone that you need to keep up with your two fellow runners is just enough of a poke in the ribs to get you out the door. Modest targets too, and so far, we’ve all managed. Needless to say, quite a number of my runs seemed to have meandered past the lake recently, and I appear to have thrown myself in on occasion. Look, it has to be done, okay? The human condition is such that we will forget these hot sunny days when the cool, wet and windy weather returns. I hear quite a number of folk pining for the coolness of Autumn. They are done with this heat, they say. Indeed. I hear you. I sympathise and empathise in equal measure. (Farmers have the most rightful claim on this one). But we will miss it when it’s gone.

Nothing overly notable as regards runs. Perhaps the only one worth a mention was last Saturday’s tempo run, when I decided to see if the legs would be happy with a sub-50 10k. Managed it in 47:43 for an average pace of 4:46, and nothing went boing. Nothing going boing these days is a great result. But overall, there has been a lift in the number of runs, and with the added frisson of a Garmin Challenge, you sometimes reach a fork in the road (not a metaphorical one, I mean an actual fork. In the road.) where you have to decide to go home, or push on for an extra few kilometres. And I have one more run to do today, in order to complete this week’s challenge. A modest 45k. Both Gary and JC have already passed this target, and I have something like 4k to reach them. But I suspect I will blow well past that…*

Some photos from recent runs and walks above: the white flower is an invasive Himalayan Balsam; the yellow ones are Fleabane, the bumblebee is feeding on Knapweed, and I don’t know what the lichen is, but possibly a Cladonia spp. (Shield Lichen).

Irish Athletics is on a high this week, with a very successful European meet which draws to a close today. Highlights include Kate O’Connor’s gold in the haptathlon, Mark English’s 800m gold, and Rhasidat Adeleke’s silver in the 200m. Nor can I ignore Andrew Coscoran’s bronze in the 1,500m. The swimmers have been doing us proud too.

In other news, this article caught my eye. It focuses on Raleigh, but touches on other well-known brands. (My older brother** owned a Chopper). Symptomatic of so many aspects of the modern world. Can confirm that Irish people still hoover their carpets and floors, though…

A lot of poems this week. Spancel is by Patrick Deeley, and Storage is Mary Oliver. The Gary Larson is a perennial family favourite, as we had a much-loved Toby for many years.

---

* Just in the door. Did 14k. So yes, well over the target…

** Anyone that knows me knows I only have one brother, so the addition of ‘older’ was unnecessary really, other than to point out that he is indeed older.