During the week is all kind of easy really - only around 30 to 45 minutes each day at various speeds and you might as well just walk to work. Even more so now as since I have moved back to the badlands of south London, its a good 40 minute walk to the train station - deliberately, for the trek - and that works out peachy. Even if the train station is in Peckham Rye, which is all kinds of grim, believe me.
Anyway, the weekends are where the training schedule gets really serious: 1-2 hours on a Saturday and 3-5 (to begin with) on a Sunday, increasing over the weeks. I'm fortunate that my wonderful girlfriend (Su) likes a good walk, has some previous, and likes arranging things. A winning combo I'm sure you'll agree ! So hey presto, deep into the last month of a 9 year stay in Finchley I was finally going to see all the green spaces on a walk around the way, all within a couple of miles of the flat. So with boots on and Su navigating and a decent supply of water and a bag of 'Colin the Caterpillars' (don't ask) we set off.
It turns out there are some really really big cemeteries around Finchley (surely that means something portentous ?!) and our first green space was around the East Finchley cemetery which had a nice rose garden and as ever was very moving.
A swift detour through a small church and before we knew it we had chanced upon the enormous Islington and Camden cemetery, which is so vast it has its own streets. The below is St Luke's path.
A peaceful and tranquil walk ensued. Out the other side and we made our way past the powerleague where I play 5-a-side on a Tuesday night, and out towards Friern Barnet. A dash across the A406 and before we knew it we were in Friary park where a funfair was in full swing on a Sunday - was never the case in my day, kids don't know they're born these days etc etc. Anyway a nice contrast of old and new with the Statue of Peace nicely contrasted with an large inflatable tiger.
We continued up the road towards Totteridge and Whetstone and must have been really setting a pace as a sign above us on the pavement flashed up '30 SLOW DOWN' as we went past.
Yes, Su didn't think that was funny either. Made me chuckle though.
After a really interesting walk that even had us on a path that ended in the middle of a pond before the end and with about 3.5 hours under our feet we made it to the Griffin pub in Totteridge and Whetstone where a fully deserved Sunday roast was enjoyed in the garden.
I think its obvious how hungry I was. Caterpillars only go so far !
The training has continued on from there and I will report back soon - have even taken up hot yoga to get used to the temperatures and to see if I can get my legs behind my head without causing myself a mischief. Neither so far...
Anyway a final mention must go to the volunteer gardener Shane Marco at the Woodside property. As I am about to embark on (hopefully) a writing career in one form or another I was intrigued when Shane told me he was a published writer and furnished me with a copy of his book 'the devil's cellar':
This story follows a bottle of wine as it is passed from person to person and is finally used in a murder, and the police investigate all the fingerprints (which is where the book starts) and each set contains a juicy story where passions run high and the devil reaches for potential victims.
It really is a fine read, I got through it in just a few days, and like it says on the cover 'there are more twists and turns than there are in a corkscrew'. Cracking effort Shane !
That's all for now - have to get my kit ready for 'FierceGrace' tomorrow
Rob
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