More Weird Sports

So, we've spent the last couple of weeks watching the European Championships 2018, mostly from Glasgow, but some from Berlin. So, how weird is it to have something like this from two cities, hundreds of miles apart? Just think of the coordination. We turned on the television to be confronted by what was called a 'Walking Race'. Really? They didn't look as if they were walking to me, more like waddling. Who on earth invented this strange contest? Over, wait for it, 24 km? Did I read that right? What's that in miles? I don't know, but it certainly wasn't walking. If I was to walk like that, I'd get an awful stitch, or my hips would ache. Then, apparently, they had two events of this sort at the same time, the men and women. How did that happen? Something to do with there being an incident with gas or something. But it just looked so odd. Is it me, or was it odd? It was, no doubt. How come none of them just began to run? I know, it wouldn't be in the rules, but walking? Doesn't make any sense at all.  Then, a bit later, the B.M.X. something-or-other. Young men, on bicycles which looked far too small for them (most of them must have been around my height, around 6ft plus, on bicycles that looked to me as if they were build for children), then they hurl themselves down a very steep slope (!) and then bounce around jumping over what look like little more than concrete-coated waves, along the course, going round in circles. Land badly and you ruin your chances of fatherhood. No, seriously, or have a nasty accident, which several of them did. I just hope the saddles on those bikes were comfortable, although, most of the time, they didn't actually sit down on them, a bit like jockeys in horse races, when they don't actually sit in the saddles on those horses, sort of perched at a rather peculiar angle on top of their mounts. 

The decathlon is another event which is quite entertaining ( more than 'quite.' It's very entertaining.) Who invented this? Swimming, running and then cycling? None of the different 'parts' is exactly a walk in the park. Figuratively or literally. I mean, a run, swim, or cycle in a rather attractive Glasgow country park. Makes football look more like a game of tiddlywinks by comparison. And none of these competitors earn a penny, unlike those footballers who earn telephone numbers. Crazy. They'd have a hissy fit if they so much as got mud on their over-sponsored football boots. In the olden days, back in the mists of time, footballers earned realistic salaries and then had proper jobs in factories or coal mines and played football as a sort of hobby at the weekend.

Thinking again about the road races. I'm intrigued by the camera-work involved. No, really. The actual racing is fantastic, which is odd for me, particularly as I'm not really that interested in sport, particularly those sports that go on interminably, such as tennis, or cricket or, for that matter, football. The last lot we saw, was it during the World Cup from Russia, a couple of weeks ago, (although most of it I watched whilst looking at email or other stuff on my MacBook laptop.) I have to say, looked really bland and could have just as well been a computer simulation or a computer game. The grass looks unfeasibly green and more like astro turf of even fitted carpet and all that advertising that they had all around the pitch was a real distraction. What I meant to say, before I digressed, was the way they shot the events for television. They had a sort of camera fitted to a line stretched across the course, and a camera ran along this line, which must have been quite distracting for the competitors. Then, during the road-races, they had cameras on scooters. How on earth did those cameramen manage to balance on the back of these scooters, and how did they manage to not fall off? I couldn't see how they were sitting on the back of the scooters, usually several yards in front of the leading competitors,  then shooting backwards at them, managing to keep the camera steady, and, by the size of them, along with the lenses, managing to keep hold of the camera and focussing on the competitors and generally taking decent shots. How did they avoid all the 'health and safety' rules and regulations regarding this? Just think of the risk assessments for this, or if it comes to that, the B.M.X. events.

Well, if nothing else, I've managed to get quite a lot of blog posts out of watching these events. And, very surprisingly, become something of a fan along the way. Probably because they've had several sports involved, and you can enjoy the scenery if you get bored with the actual sports, which is quite breathtaking. Perhaps it's my Scottish ancestry coming out, because my father's side of the family came from Glasgow, or at least, just outside somewhere or other.

After so many weeks of scorching hot weather, it's actually pleasant to be having rain, as we had yesterday. I can't believe I just wrote that, because, generally, if it rains in this country, it brings doom and gloom. At first we had a miserable rain, no more than a sort of dribble, but it's now a good deal stronger. I just hope it's enough to freshen up things because the grass looks dead and shrivelled all along the Grid Roads around Milton Keynes. I had hoped to take Alfie for a second walk this afternoon, but it really wouldn't be such a good idea, because both of us would only end up soaked to the skin.

I took the car back to Bleak Hall Motors to have the work done so that it could have it's MoT certificate. Got there by around 7.50 so I had to wait until they opened up. Considerably cooler so I wished I hadn't worn my shorts. Anyway, round about 9.30 they told me it as completed, so payed using my debit card and left. I'm just glad that's done. Fortunately the brakes don't need any work doing, they seem o.k., so that's less of a worry, although the car could do with servicing.

I took Alfie was a shorter walk than usual, because of the on-and-off rain. He'd been expecting to be taken out earlier, but there wasn't time before I had to take the car to Bleak Hall Motors.

Saturday morning. It's a bright and sunny morning. No sign of rain. What rain we had over the past couple of days hasn't made much of an effect on the grass, the garden or any vegetation around where we live. Yesterday afternoon there was a quite violent rainstorm, with fairly high winds, but nothing too dramatic. There was quite a cascade of water running along the front of the house when the nurse came to give Carol her antibiotics. It seems she will still be getting visits until Sunday, so these visits haven't finished as we'd expected on Friday.

Sunny, Vet's Visit and a Picnic!

Alfie had one more appointment at the vet's in Oakgrove this morning (Thursday). We took him for a walk across Eaglestone Park earlier and went to vote in the local elections at the community centre near the shop, just opposite from Brother's Fish Bar, which we used last night as we didn't fancy cooking. Alfie doing his usual 'thing' of letting the whole neighbourhood know he's about with his excited barking and yapping as well as running ahead of us like a little hare. We thought if we took him for a walk it would mean he would have used up some energy before we took him in the car to the vet's.

We got to Pet's Practice and were seen well before the appointment time. No further treatment is necessary. The scabby mess under each of Alfie's eyes has cleared sufficiently. I have one more half tablet of antibiotics to give him with his food this evening and we have to keep cleaning the wounds. The open wounds have healed quite nicely although the skin there is still quite pink, but the vet said that the colour in probably unlikely to return. I'm certainly happy about the outcome. We just have to keep an eye on things and to not let a build up of the matter to return and keep it clean.

Chaffron Way is still inaccessible, due to continuing road works. They seem to be putting some form of traffic calming measures in, no doubt to stop people speeding. It's probably a good thing, but all this means we have to drive round via Standing Way to avoid this work rather than going more directly along Chaffron Way. We took Alfie home before we went to the Shell filling station in Grafton Street and put some air in the tyres before we drive to Oxford tomorrow for Carol's appointment at Churchill Hospital. I have my father's voice still  ringing in my ears, even around 20 years after he died, regarding always doing the various checks you need to do to your car before going on any journey, such as the old, water, tyres, etc etc. A good thing to have to do, but as I say, he always said all this 'have you checked the water . . . tyres . . .oil?'  . . . etc etc

We then drove over to Roosksley as Carol wanted to look in one of the stores there, Decathlon, which  stocks sports clothing and equipment. She rather likes the Regatta jacket I bought the other week and would like something similar. I don't think she'd get one for the same price as I paid as it was on line. They have a good range of styles, colours and brands in Decathlon, but not the same sort of price. We then went into Halford's a few stores along as I wanted to get valve caps to put on the car tyres. One is missing and I really want to keep the tyres in good order, so caps seem a good idea to replace.

Coming out of the carpark at the retail centre at Rooksley you can only turn left instead of right and onto the grid road. To prevent this, the council has put a sort of island in the centre of the road and it's quite clear, with adequate signage, that you must turn left, go round the roundabout near B and Q and then come back towards the main road. But, no, certain people just refuse to do as they're told. So the barrier to prevent a right turn has been made even larger so in effect it would be quite impossible to get round it. Why do some people insist on disregarding such safety measures???

As we were driving out of the estate, Carol suggested we have some sort of picnic as it was really pleasantly sunny and warm. It would have been a great pity to not take advantage of it, so we drove to the shop in Two Mile Ash to buy sandwiches, crisps and drinks and then went to sit at a picnic table at Loughton Lodge. It would appear to be quite a busy dog-walking area, as we saw quite a few people doing just that.

A couple of youths turned up with a bulldog as we sat eating our picnic. Well, I say youths, but they were probably around 20. One had driven in a rather ancient V.W. They stood and admired the car, regardless of it's age. How could they manage to spend a mid-morning standing around chatting in a carpark? Didn't they have to be at work, or collage? They were something of a cliche, how you'd expect a group of youths to behave, along with the huge, fat dog they had with them. No doubt the idea of having such a dog made them look 'ard. No, on second thoughts, it really didn't. Just fat and lazy. Carol said it looked pregnant. I don't think it could move very fast, certainly not very aggressive. It had a thick metal-studded collar on, a bit like the dog in Tom and Jerry cartoons, which is always chasing around after the cat or mouse. Anyway, these youths spoke in a series of grunts and one of them when to deal with the poor dog which cowered, which made us think it was not treated well to behave in such a way.

So we finished our picnic and returned home. At least we hadn't spent the morning staring at daytime television. With the weather improving and the daylight hours longer as the days move on we can at least get out and about.