The road to hell is paved with good intentions. This has given rise to a Chris Rea number. Quite a good one, actually, now that I think about it, and certainly with a lot more ‘oomph’ than Driving Home for Christmas; listening to that all the way through is like scoffing half a dozen mince … More New Year, Same Old Me…
Christmas is a time of traditions. And like all traditions, their origins (depending on your source of choice) may as well be thrown in a pot and boiled for days, just like a Christmas pudding. Unravelling some of these mysteries can be confusing, and just like Great Aunt Dora’s secret Christmas cake recipe, possibly lost … More More to this than meets the eye…
The signs of getting older are, em, actually… I’ve forgotten what they are again… ha, ha! Not that old gag again. Anyway. I can’t speak with authority on the signs of ageing, although I can make some comments about eyesight failing once you hit fifty (you fail the ‘jam jar test’: id est, you can’t … More This… this is the Way
Like many runners, I try and keep up to speed with current trends in training. That’s not even an attempt at a gag, by the way. For the vast bulk of us enthusiasts and amateurs, it stands to reason we would have more than a passing interest in our hobby. And so we subscribe to … More It’s life, gym, but not as we know it…
Let’s start this running blog with some running news. Really break with tradition. I think the new watch is probably to blame. Yesterday was my birthday, and so I had a luxurious day of breakfast in bed, multitudinous gifts, and then a dirty take-out meal with the family, beer and a film. More on that … More Happy Birthday to me!
Back in 1984, on what was then Ireland’s most-viewed programme (The Late Late Show), host Gay Byrne introduced the audience to Ballygowan, an Irish company that was going to sell bottled water*. Oh how we laughed. Roll the clock on a few years, and some execs sitting around a boardroom table pitched the idea of … More Shrink-wrapped and mind-boggled
IN WHICH THE DAY FINALLY ARRIVES AND WE HEAD OUT FOR THE INAUGURAL DOWN TO TOWN MARATHON The Down to Town idea came about when Dublin Marathon was cancelled for a second year in a row due to Covid. The marathon in the nation’s capital began back in 1980 and has been growing in popularity … More From the Hill of Down to Leixlip Town…
IN WHICH WE REACH THE FINAL STAGES OF YET ANOTHER PROGRAMME AND BEGIN TO PONDER THE POSSIBILITIES FOR THE NEW YEAR, AND MAKE A SHOCKING DISCOVERY ABOUT MY MATHEMATIC ABILITIES (SPOILER ALERT: I CAN’T COUNT). WE ALSO DISCOVER THERE IS A SAINT DECLAN (ANOTHER SPOILER: IT’S NOT ME…) If there’s a glitch in the matrix, … More Everything comes to an end
We lost a good man this week. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. It never is. Cancer can’t read, of course. After Irish hospitals had done all they could here, there was a carefully crafted plan to fundraise and get Ciaran to Mexico for specialist treatment, and the fundraising worked incredibly well. But in … More The best of us
IN WHICH WE RETURN TO THE PROGRAMME, BECAUSE, WELL, IT’S THE PROGRAMME, DUMMY, AND WE SEE HOW THE LEGS ARE AFTER THE WILD WEST… The week draws to a close, and as is the way with Sunday mornings, they often find me out somewhere, running. And I’m nothing if not predictable, so yes, I had … More Half a loaf
unironedman 