Tynwald Talk, Parish Walk....

Foetal Alcohol Disorder - Part Two

2011-01-17T20:41:00.002Z

Well, pleased as I am that the newspapers have picked up on the dangers of drinking while pregnant, there are some elements of the article in the Examiner, and the Editorial, which need some correction.

Firstly, the article states that one in nine children are born with FAD. Fortunately it is not that bad. It is actually 1 in 100 in the UK (and Canada) and it may be the same here, or perhaps a little worse, if our extra consumption of drink is taken into account.

There are about 900 births here each year, so that equates to about nine children each year who may be affected. Not one in nine as stated.

Secondly, Foetal Alcohol Disorder is NOT any form of ADHD. It is a seperate syndrome caused by the physical effects of alcohol on the foetus while in the womb.

The only connection is that it may be possible that children with FAD are being presumed to have ADHD if a proper diagnosis of the FAD condition has not been made. This is part of the work I am asking Health to undertake - is FAD not being diagnosed on occasions, or does it sometimes get lumped in with ADHD? Are the behaviour problems of these children being masked and labelled as ADHD?

Finally the Examiner editorial. This is in no way an attempt by the Government to interfere in the drinking habits of our population. I am trying to make sure that publicity is given to the real dangers of women drinking while pregnant. I have found that the vast majority of women abstain completely once they know they are expecting - but in my brief research in the last few days I have found that there is an ignorance about the effects of what drink can do to the foetus, and some women may drink without knowing they are pregnant, or without knowing the dangers.

This needs a co-ordination between the Drug and Alcohol Policy, Sexual Health Strategy and education in schools and by Health professionals.

At the Conference last week there were seasoned professionals, including head teachers with years of experience who did not realise that a foetus with no liver was in such danger from alcohol.

But again, thanks for the Examiner for kick starting what I hope may prevent some children from acquiring brain damage.

Foetal Alcohol Disorder is the single largest cause of preventable brain damage in new born children.

Foetal Alcohol Disorder

2011-01-11T22:07:00.003Z

I was going to carry on my story of early days in Tynwald - last updated in October - and maybe I will come back to that. However, I want to talk about something which I have found quite disturbing.

I was away last week for three days in Blackpool at the North of England Education Conference, a conference for educationalists and providers of children services, which was being held for the 104th year - so quite well established. A cheapish trip with Manx2, but so valuable.

With me was Stuart Dobson, deputy director of Education, who knows his educational stuff and he also gained a lot from the Conference. There were several interesting and important themes, more of which later perhaps, but we went to a subsiduary meeting on children with Special Needs, in particular variants of ADHD.

So here is the story.

In the Isle of Man we have nearly double the number of children with ADHD that we should have statistically. We thought that we were either over-diagnosing it or there is something about Manx culture/genetics to account for this.

But maybe not...

Despite having worked in Health now for nine months, and previously being in the DHSS, Foetal Alcohol Disorder rated barely a mention, and I knew no details of it, except that it was not wise for pregnant women to drink.

Here is what I learned in Blackpool.

When you drink alcohol, it stays in your body for about six hours, and your liver and the enzymes deal with it. If you are pregnant, your baby, until very late in pregnancy, has NO liver, has NO enzymes. The alcohol stays in the foetus and cannot be dispersed. The result is physical damage to the brain - babies are born with smaller brains, with brains with chunks missing (usually the part which deals with numbers and calculating) and the normal walnutty wrinkles of a properly developed brain are largely missing.

Children born with this brain defect are very verbose, but in most other areas have a much lower mental age. There is a very distinct physical look to the children as well.

Here is the worrying bit. One in a hundred children are now being born with this defect.

In the Isle of Man this equates to about 9 children a year. However, we were informed that FAD is often not picked up, but just generally included in with children with ADHD.

The problem with young women who binge drink is that it often messes up their mentrual cycle, and they do not realise they are pregnant until much later than normally. In the meantime, every drink does further damage. I have no doubt that we drink alcohol more than most of the rest of the UK, and I know enough about our population to say that binge drinking by young girls in the Island is not uncommon.

And here is the speculation - but to Stuart and I, a bit of a light-bulb moment. Is our higher rate of ADHD accounted for by a higher rate of Foetal Alcohol Disorder?

We don't know, but are going to find out. I have started research with our Health Department and we need some answers. But most of all we need a very public information campaign to highlight how serious this problem is. I discovered in Blackpool that some Directors of Education and Children's Services had never heard of this syndrome, and the teaching of children with the special needs caused by FAD needs a radical rethink.

This syndrome is ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE and the affected children have lives and attainment of a much lower standard than they should. If you know any young girls or women who binge drink, alert them now.

This my first step to raising awareness. I am a health amateur, and my cod reasoning may be shot down, but I will ask the experts to pick this up and give the public the facts.

We have huge campaigns about Drink Driving, which cause about one death every ten years - we need a campaign about Binge Drinking which is causing misery to at least nine, probably more children, every year.

If I can work out how to get photos and links, I will put them in the next post.

Those first few weeks....

2010-10-10T22:25:00.002+01:00

Having survived my first LegCo meeting, the next week it was straight into a heavy three day Tynwald sitting.

The paper work was about 10 inches deep and I read every word. I certainly did not understand every word. Some of the Social Security orders were so complex as to be unintelligible and could only be understood if you read every Socal Security Act in the IOM and UK for the last thirty years. I copped out by contacting a friend who worked in Social Security who gave me the Beginner's Guide. Five years on, they don't get any easier.

So, my first Tynwald sitting, on the Ides of March, but there were no thunderstorms the night before. The omens were good. The venue was a room in St. George's Hall in Myrtle Street, being used while the Wedding Cake was being refurbished. My view of one half of the members of the Keys was obscured by a vase of flowers, but I was too polite to ask for it to be moved.

They were three long days, where I concentrated like never before. I switched the brain into top gear and set it to Absorb and Memorise.

And here are the Highlights of those three days:

Notes from Members:

I had noticed that the clerks in the chamber, dapper elderly gentlemen dressed in tail coats, were buzzing around passing notes from member to member. What was that about? Must be very important I thought, and I was definitely not part of the Important Note Passing Gang.

And then I got one - handed up to me, addressed to me. It was from David Anderson, Minister of Education. It said words to the effect "You do realise that the reason you were elected to Legco was to make sure that Mr. ******** doesn't fall asleep?". I immediately looked at Mr. *******, who was indeed asleep. A nod to Mr. Anderson, a slightly noisy cough, and I had done my first duty in Tynwald.

My Maiden Speech:

What a nerve wracking event that was. I spoke without notes, - not always the most efficient way of getting your point across, but often more effective.

I spent ten minutes building up courage to make it, and another five minutes trying to catch the eye of the President. It was about the International Business School, and my view of the value of our children going across for their University education. I sat down afterwards, a particular type of virginity lost, with not a clue as to what I had said.

The next speaker, Phil Gawne, started his speech congratulating me on my maiden speech. That was embarrassing, but it turned out that was the traditional thing to do. Reading the speech back later it was amazingly coherent for a person making things up as he went along with no idea how each sentence was going to finish, or what his real point was.

Two more of the Important Notes arrived for me, congratulating me on the speech, and I began to feel a little less like an alien observing a strange planet.

More on making speeches in later blogs.

Select Committees:

Being the new boy, with no Departments to work in, I was vulnerable to election to every Select Committee going. I didn't know that at the time, and after a debate about a cock-up by DOLGE in preparing financial accounts in respect of the Incinerator, a decision was made to set up a Select Committee to investigate what happened.

I was immediately nominated. My first thought was along the lines of "They must appreciate that I can investigate things and will be a valuable person for the job". The reality was, "Anyone but me, and give it to Butt, he has nothing to do".

Come the vote, I topped the poll with 22 votes and was on my first Select Committee. My thought was probably, "These people really need me". Their thought was "That'll learn him"

That Tynwald finished with me having learned a lot, but understanding much less. I found out on the third day that there was a room where several Keys members nipped out for a cup of coffee during the Boring Bits. I found out that I felt very much the Outsider and it was hard to slip into the conversations of longer established cosy relationships. I found out that it would be a move forward to impose the rules of Just a Minute to debates. I found some wonderful mixed metaphors and malapropisms. I found that writing them down had become my new hobby.

As to the Select Committee, that was a wise move by all concerned. I really did not have a job of any sort for several months and that gave me a real and early insight into both the workings of Tynwald and the Government. Starting my Tynwald career by investigating and questioning, my only real skills, was a bit of a bonus.

And I have to admiit, interrogating and challenging Civil Servants was a bit like playing a home fixture. I was starting to think, "I can do this"..... Even if no-one else was.......

Into the Light......

2010-08-25T20:59:00.004+01:00

And this is what happened next….. The following Tuesday I was sworn in. This involved a very ancient and I have to say, profoundly serious ceremony, and the words which stood out were “Without Fear or Favour” Best guidelines possible.

The ceremony was conducted with his usual dignity and eye-twinkle by my brother-in-law, Mike Kerruish, First Deemster. A couple of weeks earlier I had a shoulder operation following a football injury, and was supposed to be in a sling for six weeks. It appears to be in my make-up never to show weakness or pain, so the sling was discarded early, and I had discreetly to use my good arm to lift my left signing hand up to sign the official documents. Mike noticed, but no-one else. And it hurt.

As I arrived at the Swearing In, I was met at the door by Dominic Delaney, the member I had ‘ousted’ by my election. My intervention had put an end at that stage to his long parliamentary career. He shook my hand and wished me well. I really appreciated that generous gesture from Dominic.

Straight after the Swearing-In, I took part in my first session of the Legislative Council. I was warmly welcomed by everyone, and proceedings were conducted sitting down, but it was hard to relax. It was all brand new to me, and very daunting. There were, to me, strange procedures to follow which I tried to pick up and memorise as the session went along.

I spoke briefly in my first appearance, making some comment about the wording of a clause in a bill dealing with Coastal erosion and control. That was in effect my ‘maiden speech’ The word “connivance” appeared in a clause and I commented that it seemed an inappropriate word to have in legislation. Not a sparkling start, but I was able to demonstrate (to myself) that I knew my way around legislation and how it worked.

Meanwhile, paper work of huge quantities was arriving at my home – and continues to do so. My next move was to Ramsey Mart, always a good and familiar place to turn to when you have a problem. There is always something very reassuring about the smell of cow-muck. It brings back the cosy candle-lit evenings of my youth nestling into a cow's flanks and drawing down the milk. By hand of course.

At the Mart I bought two second-hand four drawer filing cabinets. A futile purchase as they were filled within weeks. I later realised that I should instead have bought a shredder. You do learn.

The first hurdle was over, now for my first session of Tynwald - and that was a Different Country. Come with me sole reader, to that Strange Place next time....

In the Beginning...

2010-08-19T21:20:00.004+01:00

The light did not shineth in the darkness…..

I heard I had been elected into Tynwald from my brother-in-law, monitoring Manx Radio, a few minutes after it had been announced. My radio dial in those days was welded immovably to Radio 4 and twiddling the dial as far away as Manx Radio was too great a step into the unknown.

So, what to do next? Apart from to grin stupidly and wonder what on earth had happened……

I had loved the idea of sticking my head above the parapet for a couple of weeks, I liked the idea of the challenge, but I had no idea that I would actually walk on the pavement of politics.

Texts and phone calls then came in from family and friends and I was advised to get down to Tynwald.

I went for a pint at the Shore at Laxey that night, after a football meeting, and there met by chance Peter Karran who advised me not to join the ‘troughites’ and get clubby-clubby and matey-matey.

Sound advice, but five years on I am still trying to find out where this “Club” is.

I went into Tynwald Chambers the next day, politely enquiring at the counter. No-one had any idea who I was.

The Clerk of Tynwald, Malachy Cornwell-Kelly greeted me and gave me a few basic ideas of what would happen next, which soon disappeared from my consciousness. This was all so new, and of course, unexpected. I know that I signed a form agreeing to be a member of Tynwald and was then ushered into the Chambers.

In those days the Member’s area consisted of one room, about 30 feet by 15 feet, with six desks, and a lounge area with a couple of easy chairs. 33 members, six desks. And it later became apparent that each desk was ‘owned’ by certain members. Woebetide you if you sat at the wrong desk.

Actually… does a bit of a grumpy frown justify using such a wonderful world as “woebetide”? Not really.

John Houghton, who I had met before was in the room and showed me round. He introduced me to several members, most of whom I knew of, but had never met. I was introduced to one member who refused to shake my hand. That was a real ‘gulp’ moment.

What had I come into?

Another member greeted me brusquely with, “You’ve no right to be here” before walking off. John was himself a little stunned and apologized on behalf of the other members.

I was the first ‘outsider’ for many years, and it was obvious that an outsider would not be universally popular and that I would have to earn any respect.

I was warmly welcomed by the President, Noel Cringle, who has seen it all before and was quite willing to accept the Outsider. In fact, most members gave me a warm welcome in the subsequent weeks

Then I was in a bit of a limbo. I was given a second hand laptop – still got it. An ex-Water Board jobbie, stuffed with hidden files and with speeds approaching Billy the Sloth.

Oh, and a diary. A diary that has ruled my life for the last five years.

I was also given a set of Standing Orders - and a lot of mysteries to unravel.

I was at the end of a Spike Milligan Q8 sketch – “What are we going to do now, what are we going to do now?” and sidled sideways out of the room….

So much to take in, so little understanding of what was going on around me. It is strange to look back those five years, as now it all seems rational and structured. But I was in those first days, very much in the Dark, and waiting for the Light. I determined to find me a Torch…..

Next blog – the first few weeks, and it will get more interesting……

The View from Outside and Inside...

2010-08-05T19:09:00.004+01:00

I was a Sniper. Not a conspiracy theorist, but definitely a Sniper. On the old ManxNet Forums during 2004 and early 2005, I was amongst those having a go at Government, and as soon as the MEA 'scandal' broke, the forums exploded with bile against Government. The MEA added to the list of such other alleged scandals as The Hospital, the Incinerator and any other White Elephants flying home to roost that you could name.

And how times haven't changed.

Read the forums nowadays, and exactly the same sniping is still going on. VAT , Reciprocal Health Agreement, spending on new schemes - these are the current versions of The Hospital, The Incinerator and the MEA.

I went into Tynwald for various reasons, but two of them were 1) To boldly seek out the Brown Envelopes 2) To find out how Things Work.

1. The Brown Envelope - I have looked hard, but there is absolutely no sign of such a beast. There may have been at one time, but everyone I have dealt with has been totally straight. Perhaps they know I am watching them....... The only 'perks' which come the way of a Member of Tynwald are a diary, and a sloth-like second hand laptop.

Having said that, there are mistakes, there are occasionally cock-ups. But, it turns out that the Incinerator works, it gives us energy for 3000 houses, we no longer have to bury waste in the ground, and it came in on time and on budget. Similarly the Hospital. It came in within the budget approved by Tynwald, even though there were problems with a contractor who went bandit. The MEA is another story, and as a member of the Select Committee investigating the affairs for the last five years, I think the public will be interested in the story when it comes out later in the year.

2. How Things Work - that has been fascinating - we have a great Island, and the infrastructure is superb. I have been behind the scenes at all the major water, electric and sewage works, the Incinerator, specialist areas of the Hospital, underground with the IRIS tubes and systems, and the power station. Much of it is like being on a James Bond set, but they Make Things Work.

We have the essentials of life which all work well, because someone - perhaps even helped by politicians - had the foresight to make them happen, and sometimes they did it when we had little money.

For example, Sulby reservoir was built when the Island was on its uppers. The projects of today - the new Bemahague School, and new homes for the elderly are modern examples of where we spend to invest in the future. And that must go on, and if it keeps people employed and off the dole, so much the better.

As for the current problems, most of them came at Government out of the blue. How they were handled may be criticised, but as Harold MacMillan said when asked what the greatest challenge was for a politician, “Events, my dear boy, events” Events happen.

Having realised that this is the second MacMillan quote in consecutive blogs, and that I only need a Wind of Change to complete the set, I leave this blog with my sniping rifle better focussed and a weather eye cocked for those pesky envelopes.....

The Stalking Horse

2010-08-02T12:56:00.004+01:00

Apologies for the last very boring post, that is if anyone is reading it.

So how did I come to be a member of Tynwald?

An interest in politics probably started with the family, where we got up for work one hour before we went to bed, lived in that cardboard box and shared out the gravel as the one meal of the day....

But a life not far removed from that.

I can remember vividly the excitement of the 1959 UK General Election. We had finally been connected to ‘the electric’ and moved from accumulator powered radio, to a real telly. The Tories won again for the third time, and in my then simplistic view, “the posh people” had won. Living on raw moots and cow's milk, we had "never had it so good"

An obsessive interest in politics developed over the next few years. I also remember being on nights as a young PC during the 1966 election and standing discreetly outside a house in Hilary Park for about an hour, watching through the curtains at the results flicking through on a tiny black and white screen.

Later in my career I spent a long time as a representative on the Police Federation, their Union, and got a taste of the cut and thrust of negotiation and conflict with Government.

When I retired in 2001 my plan was to stand for Garff in the General Election in November, but my sister, who had put in nearly ten hard years as a Laxey Commissioner, decided to stand, and it would have been wrong to stand against her.

Milibands - take note.

I was asked to stand for Legislative Council a couple of years later, but decided against it. In 2005 I was asked again, and gave it more thought. I stood with the view that there was no way I would be elected, but it would be good experience if I decided to stand for the Keys in 2006.

So I put my name forward. I now suspect that I was asked to stand as a ‘Stalking Horse’ a sort of Sir Anthony Meyer figure. There were possibly factions within the Keys who did not want some of the Keys and Legco candidates who had put their names forward, and my involvement would have at least ensured there was a genuine contest and possibly taken votes away from the less favoured candidates. At the time I had no idea this may have been the case - and maybe it wasn’t.

In the event, I was elected first time, with 14 votes, along with Donald Gelling and George Waft. I was very surprised - and so I suspect were a lot of the Keys members who had voted that day.

At a Young Farmers concert parody a few weeks later, I was depicted by a character with two large arched eyebrows painted high above the eyes.. Looking very surprised..... Surprised is perhaps not strong enough. I was amazed. I had no friends in the Keys, no connection through clubs or organisations, and had no idea why 14 Keys members would vote for me, or who they were. I still have no idea who the 14 were,

Next Blog - my views of Tynwald before I went in - The Search for Brown Envelopes, and What I Found Out.....

Into the Lion's Den...

2010-07-27T17:34:00.003+01:00

So, into the lion’s den....

My first post veering away from the Parish Walk will just be a factual resume of what I am up to, what my work is, and what I may write about. This will be an attempt to hook any political junkie, or my one reader, into reading again.

Being very aware that actually no-one will read this, and the whole exercise is narcissism writ large, I will nevertheless have a go, because I like writing.

My only real job was for 39 years in the Isle of Man Constabulary, mostly in CID where I really did have a life of adventure, and tales of those days would make a much more interesting read.

My Tynwald duties started in March 2005 - and I have worked in the Department of Agriculture - on two occasions - having responsibility at times for Forestry, and also Wildlife and Conservation and Fisheries.

In my early days in Tynwald I worked for a year in the Department of Trade and Industry, where I had a grounding in how Government tries to stimulate and support business.

I was then given a role in the Department of Local Government and the Envrionment (DOLGE) being responsible for Waste Management - it actually turned out to be a fascinating and rewarding experience. Working in three Departments at the same time led to Extreme Diary Juggling, a sport I have just about mastered. After the 2006 General Election, I kept my role in DOLGE, and moved into the DHSS, being responsible for Social Services in the DHSS, and that was an eye opener and equally fascinating.

Earlier this year, I had the dream job of being in charge of Sport and Leisure for a few weeks, but that disappeared with the re-shuffle of Government Departments.

My current Government jobs are in the Department of Education and Children, where I have particular responsibility for Youth Services, Special Needs, and Integrated Children’s Services, and the Department of Health where I have responsibility for Health.

I have also been appointed Children’s Champion for Looked After Children. That job is to hold Government to account for the way they look after children in care.

More importantly I have parliamentary duties as well, the main function of being a member of Tynwald.

I was appointed by Tynwald as the Chairman of the Whitley Council - a body of employers and employees set up to determine the pay and conditions of manual workers in the public service.

I am also a member of the Tynwald Standards Committee - a committee which looks into breaches of proper conduct by members of Tynwald.

My two most important jobs for Tynwald are as a member of the Select Committee investigating the affairs of the MEA - at the time when the power station was being built and the ‘loans’ were taken out. We have been investigating now for five years, with our first full report due out in the next few months. That really is a fascinating saga.

I am also a member of the Public Accounts Committee, a Committee given the task to investigate Government actions and spending, and to hold them to account after investigation.

The above all sounds pretty boring and bland, but behind those words are a multitude of stories, interactions and fascinating work.

If this blog should ever prosper beyond one reader, I will give an insight into all of those area, and others not yet mentioned.

This was just to set the scene - the next post will be much more interesting, honest....

Mike Kerruish

2010-07-20T10:02:00.004+01:00

Mike Kerruish

Mike was married to my sister, Marianne, and I have known him most of my adult life, from the Dogs Home onwards, and he has been a brother, friend, support and comfort to me for nearly forty years.

If you knew Mike, you will appreciate what I am going to try to say over the next few lines...

Mike achieved what he did by dint of hard work, thoroughness, and a brilliant mind. Unlike most of his contemporaries his launch pad to the heights he reached was humble Demesne Road School, and then Douglas High School. Apart from being a founder member of Vagabonds Rugby Club - known as the Working Mens Rugby Club, the only clubs he ever joined were Laxey Football Club and Laxey Sailing Club, neither renowned for their career-boosting effects.

His hard work was legendary, and he built up a single man practice, Simcocks, into a major law firm in the Island. And if you know him, you will appreciate that most of his success was based on his warm personality and his ability to get on with everyone.

He took considerable pay cuts to leave private practice and work for the Crown, first as Attorney General and later as Deemster. As Attorney General, he was one of a small number of people who worked hard with the UK and international jurisdictions to put the Isle of Man on higher footing and that small team helped lay the foundations for the financial prosperity we have enjoyed in recent years.

Mike was a humane and kindly person, but meticulous in his dealings with the law, and I know that some of the decisions he had to make as Deemster were personally very difficult for him.

He was a considerate and funny man, always looking for the humour in any situation, and sometimes joining us in surreal flights of fancy. There was never an hour in his company which was not rewarding, and his 'roaring Manx laugh' rarely stopped.

On many occasions I have been with him in a pub, where we have met characters from our pasts, sometimes people with substantial criminal records - people I had arrested or he had defended, or sent down - sometimes they were schoolfriends of Mike whose lives had been less than successful - and he spoke to them all with genuine interest and courtesy and shared stories and jokes and a few pints with them. In recent years, after each Tynwald ceremony, with Mike still fully gaitered, buckled and bloused in his Deemster's regalia, as soon as the ceremony is over, he takes me straight to the Tynwald pub for a few pints. And not the lounge bar, but in with the locals. Like the true Manxman he was, he would talk to any bugger....

Some larger than life people are 'hail fellow, well met' types, looking over their shoulder for the next important people to speak to when they are tired of you, but not Mike, he listened and was genuinely interested in the people he was with and eased conversations with his humour.

He never changed, always remembered where he came from and had no pretensions at all.

Although I am biased, I think Mike was one of the greatest Manxmen of his generation. It has been very gratifying this week to hear many other people say the same thing.

His death at the age of just 61 is a huge loss to Marianne, Daniel and Summer and all of us in the family but also a loss to everyone who loves the Isle of Man and who knew Mike.

Rest in Peace Mike.

Metamorphosis

2010-07-02T21:32:00.003+01:00

I have long planned to a keep a blog as a record of my work in Tynwald and perhaps I can continue this blog into the future, changing from talk of the Parish Walk to talk of Tynwald doings....

The change could be dramatic or gradual. It is like when you spend the day walking to Peel, surrounded by hundreds of happy people and then suddenly, as you walk out of Peel heading into the evening and night, it all goes very quiet and you anticipate the long loneliness ahead.

So it is with this blog - from sixty or seventy people reading it every day, it will diminish down to almost no-one taking any notice, and no-one caring at all.

The other change is from the Parish Walker, accepted, part of a happy group, to that of Tynwald politician. From one of a happy group to one who is despised by many, particularly as a member of the unelected (by the public) Legislative Council.

From hardworking Gregor to metamorphosis into a monstrous, smelly and feared insect...

But the Parish still looms large in the consciousness, so one final tip to success and a finish in the future.

For my first finish, one of my friends, when asked for the usual £10 towards charity, commented, "If you finish the Parish, I will give you £50". This was said in slightly sneering tone as if such a feat by me was not possible. And that kept me going through that night, knowing I would prove him wrong and claim the £50 for charity. That extra did make a difference, I finished, and he paid up with very good grace, with more admiration for me than before.

This year I raised about £60 for Bowel Cancer IOM in a very disorganised way - if I had done it properly and had a lot of money riding on it, I would have had a lot more motivation to finish.

Next year I will do it properly and have other than selfish reasons to finish....

The Longest Day..... Next year.....

2010-06-28T09:32:00.005+01:00

Well, I beat 20 hours, but very disappointingly, not in the way I hoped.

First though, congratulations to Angie. For sheer determination, and being the ultimate Superwoman, no-one will ever beat her. Six finishes now, on top of all her work for charity, holding down about seven jobs and as Supermum bringing up a delightful - though on Saturday less athletic than her - family. It wasn't easy out there and she showed what commitment can do.

Congratulations also to Dave Walker, for a first finish in a remarkable time. I watched his progress through the evening and night on the Live Timing, and I suspect he has a story to tell of his last few hours. A brilliant first time finishing performance. Also congratulations to Jock for such a storming performance and to everyone else who finished this year in difficult conditions.

Several people I know, who I thought were certainties to finish, didn't make it and the lower number of finishers shows how attritional conditions were on Saturday.

Now for my excuses. I was very disappointed not to finish. I started off this blog signalling that I wanted to break 20 hours, but I knew that with my knee injury I would be unlikely to. We also started right at the back and took nearly 20 minutes to get through the first mile, so the aim was then just to finish.

Because of my knee I had to drag my left leg up Ballakillowey and the Sloc, and on each hill I lost touch with my walking partners. I just could not keep up the speed on the hills - however, my Winter Walking League exploits stood me in good stead, as on the flat I was able to 'sprint' and catch up with Kevin and co. But the effort of that way of walking, slow on hills, too much effort on the flats, was physically very draining.

The prospect of perhaps walking through the night without Kevin, led to the appearance of a nasty little voice which kept whispering to me "Peel". "Peel". And once the doubts start, they are hard to quell.

The effort of dragging the leg, and falling behind really drained me mentally as well as physically and that voice got louder and louder. I hated that voice. Also, for family reasons, I should have been elsewhere this weekend and the other doubting voice were the words of my Doctor to "listen to your body".

As I have said in earlier posts, finishing the Parish is mostly mental, and if you are not 100% mentally committed, you will fail. Kevin carried on after Peel but stopped at Kirk Michael, with cramped thighs, and probably boredom. I really let Kevin down because if I hadn't have given in to my 'Stop at Peel' Voice we probably would both have finished.

On arrival at Peel I had my legs massaged by a lovely lady and it was wonderful. When she had finished I was invigorated, the tiredness had gone from my legs, I was totally refreshed, and I really was ready to carry on. Too late, as I had officially retired. I think next year, a massage at Peel might be a good tactic before carrying on.

Also, because of the massage I have had no stiffness after the event, or even today.

So what lessons have been learned for next year?

1. Train a lot more on hills - I have not been able to do that for the last three months. I usually train a lot around Glen Roy and I felt the lack of that work in the climb after Rushen.

2. Sort out injuries before you walk. Mental doubts are exacerbated if your expectations are lowered because of injury.

3. Feet - Wrapping Compede around my toes worked - a tip from Carl Senogles. However, my heels and balls of feet are well blistered and would have been a real mess if I had carried on. I need to find a way of sorting out the Blistered Foot problem. Maybe losing a stone or so would help.

4. The Winter Walking League was a real help. I was able to accelerate when I needed to and relied less on the steady plod.

5. Leave Rushen with a good supply of energy drinks and gels. I messed up on that and went through the heat over the Sloc with just water, and I think I needed a bigger boost than that.

My son Richard, beat me to Peel, as did Olivia Graham, my niece and daughter of Kevin. She was totally fresh and could be a future star. My daughter Rose also finished at Peel. She walked with a friend from University who had never been to the Island before, and who had no conception of what the Parish was about.

He also finished at Peel, and viewing the event through his eyes, I was so proud of the Island on Saturday. He saw how well the Parish was organised, the great camaraderie of the event, and was amazed at the roadside support and the kindness of people. We almost take it for granted but when viewed through the eyes of a stranger, the Parish is truly a wonderful event.

Thanks to all the stalwarts who you see time after time manning crossing points, and the organisers who make it that wonderful event.

Finally thanks to Murray for the huge amount of work he does, both on the website and in other ways. I am very grateful to him for the chance to burble along about an event I have come to love. The blog has had nearly 5500 hits which is startling.

I might keep it going, although tales of political shenanigans will be no match for finding out about the progress of a Wounded Knee or The Great Snot......

Thanks for taking the time to read my nonsense.

Parish Eve

2010-06-25T22:06:00.003+01:00

Are you sitting, like me with the SportIdent bracelet around your wrist, with butterflies in your stomach, thinking of all the things you need to do to your feet in the morning, and wishing, really wishing, you had done more training?

Drinks are all mixed, car packed with Jaffa Cakes, bananas and squishy Gels, and the most dificult task, getting those numbers pinned on my shirt, is done.

I am feeling pretty apprehensive - my knee is really Not Fit For Purpose - and there are other things going on which may prevent me starting. However, if all goes well, I will push on to the finish, but I suspect my aim of beating 20 hours will have to wait for another year.

And are you sitting there thinking, "this time tomorrow I will be heading out of Andreas" and will you wake up about 2am thinking, " this time tomorrow I will be hitting Maughold".....

And what have I forgotten? A light for the night time walking. I didn't do the exercises advised to make my knee better. Toenails are at present uncut. There will be something else

My daughter Rose Dugdale is walking again, with very little training, as she has been studying hard all spring at University in London. A friend of hers, Andy, from college has come over to have a go, with no conception, until this evening, of what he is taking on. He thought it was a bit of a light hearted walk around a tiny Island where the majority would be wearing fancy dress.....

My son Richard is walking for the first time, and when he puts his Determined Head on he could go on and on. My usual walking partner, Kevin Graham is entered again and I have no doubt he will get his sixth finish - his children Olivia and Alex are also entered for the first time.

All the best to fellow blogger Angie Aire - Angie is unstoppable - and the other blogger, Dave Walker has really inspired me with the amount of work he has put in. I cannot imagine him not making it to the finish, and he has a speedy technique which will put him amongst the early finishers.

Good luck to the other 1600 of you, and thanks to Murray for letting me talk nonsense on this site for the last few months. There will be more nonsense, but that will be After The Event.

Sleep well......

Finish No 2 - A few thousand steps too far....

2010-06-24T20:42:00.006+01:00

Only hours to go until the Parish now - and I thought I would tell the story of my second finish in 2003. It is told, not to inspire, but to let you first time hopefuls know that anything is possible.

Once again I approached finishing in a less than serious way - i.e. Not Enough Training.

I walked with Kevin Graham, getting to Peel in about 7 hours 30 - which has proved to be a reasonable pace, and leaves enough energy for later on.

By the time I got to Peel my feet were in agony. I stopped on the ascent out of Peel and took my trainers off to have a look, and saw a soggy mess. It looked serious, and as I said before, only my exposure to numerous post mortems over the years got me through that moment. I put the trainers back on and plodded on, putting each foot down exactly straight, and very carefully. When your feet are in a mess like that, or heavily blistered, it is agony to change direction, or to stop and start.

I was able to switch my mind off to the pain and we made good progress. Somewhere around Ramsey I realised I was having trouble standing up straight, and tried to walk in the crown of the road as walking on any sort of angle was a problem.

By the time we got to the Dhoon, my back was in serious trouble, I was lurched over sideways and had no real control of the direction of my feet. A can of Red Bull gave me enough energy to get from the Dhoon down into Laxey, but after that I struggled. Kevin went on ahead and I climbed slowly up Pinfold Hill, and then made a final effort up to Lonan Church. My wife was waiting with the car at Ballacannell to take me home after I got back from the Church. I made it up to Lonan Church by hanging on to the cars parked on the road.

Checking us in at Lonan was local athlete John Wright. I said to John, "I am knackered, I can't go on." He said the worst words possible to me, "No-one's ever packed in at Lonan before".

Bastard. (I think I said that out aloud).

So I struggled back down the hill, declined the offer of the longed for lift home, and trundled down into Baldrine. I had to hold the wall on the climb up out of Baldrine, and on the Whitebridge, climbed part of it on my hands and knees.

I lurched down Royal Avenue, stumbled into the Port Jack chippy, and then went the length of the Promenade holding onto the railings. I only let go when I saw the cameras at the finish and stood up straight. The picture shows me anything but straight.

The point of all that saga is, that although my feet were a mess, the back pain was far worse, and the feet were in effect a smaller problem.

After I got home, I realised my feet were beyond the pale, and there was a certain smell in the air which somehow made me think of the word "gangrene" so I rang my son, who just before taking me to hospital, took the now infamous pictures, which are now on web-sites across the world, and even appeared in the lads magazine, FHM.

The final, and worst pain, was when they put my feet in a bowl of water at Nobles - which caused pain like I have never experienced before or since. I knew the Doctor well, and he said words to the effect of "Serves you right, no-one needs to walk that far, that's why God invented motor bikes."

There was a lot more to the story of that night, and my tale of finishing owes nothing to bravery and a lot to stupidity. And to John Wright.

So, to all first timers, anything is possible - and all you need to do to finish is to just keep going, one foot after the other.

Ignore the pain, enjoy the thrill of a Finish.

Training so far and learning to slow...

2010-06-22T22:22:00.004+01:00

Well, here is a resume of how my training went. I lost a few weeks with the Great Snot in January and February, and then a few weeks in April with the Great Knee.

The Knee still causes me problems. I am fine on the flat, able to maintain speed etc, but going up or down hill, I have a lot of pain, and have to drag my left leg along.

To finish the Parish you need your head to be in order, and my Knee is looming large in my head as I cannot imagine dragging a leg up Ballakillowey, the Sloc or Ballajora without some other part of the body exploding.

I have made the Knee much worse over last weekend. I spent half an hour trying to kickstart my ancient Triumph Bonneville into life, kicking with the right foot, but taking all my weight on my injured left knee - and anyone who has angrily tried to kick a Bonny into life knows the pressure put on the standing leg. I didn't realise at the time, but a short walk tonight was agony on the hills.

I went for a six miler tonight to try to learn to walk more slowly. My training pace at over 5mph will never be sustainable over 85 miles, so I set off tonight to try to walk 13.5 minute miles. In the end I put in 13 minute miles. It's hard to deliberately walk more slowly when you have spent months clomping along at a certain pace.

For all the geeks out there, like you, I have kept a record of all my training walks. Here are the facts and figures:

Total miles - 316.51 (More than double my usual amount)

Average walk distance - 6.57 miles

Shortest Walk - 1 mile

Longest Walk 15 miles

Times out training - 45.

Where I am worried this year is that I have done little hill work. In my last couple of Parishes I did a lot of hill work, both in the NSC gym on the treadmill, and out around Glen Roy and I am convinced that made a difference.

This year, because of the knee I have mostly been on the flat, with the steepest challenges being Pinfold Hill and Baldrine.

This year, for once, I do not think a Finish is a foregone conclusion.....

That First Finish...

2010-06-19T11:28:00.003+01:00

Just a week to go, and the tension builds.....

Here is the story of my first finish in 2002, to give readers a feeling of what it is like to round Port Jack and know you are going to Make It.

Having felt reasonably sprightly after two Walks as far as Peel, my brother in law, Kevin Graham and I decided to go beyond Peel and see how far we could go. It was also the first time for our support crew wives beyond Peel, and to be honest we had not really planned anything properly, as we did not really expect to finish. As we passed each church past Peel, our support, desperately bored, called out, "are you stopping now...?"

We got to Bride as darkness fell, and Kevin gave in to the siren calls - a family occasion the next day called, though I am sure he was in good enough shape to get to the finish.

I loaded up my kagoul with as much water and food as I could, and set off into the dark alone while the support headed off home and south into the darkness and bed. Quite soon afterwards I caught up with Dermot O'Toole and walked for a while chatting. I had been going faster than him, and as it turned out, probably far too fast, because I doubt if I would have got to the finish with that pace.

I reasoned that if I stayed with Dermot, who was at that time a seven time finisher, I may have a good chance of getting to Douglas. Dermot was very organised and I have memories of cups of tea heated by a primus stove, and even a vision of teeth cleaning going on at one stage. Though that may just be one of my Maughold hallucinations....

By the time we got to Maughold I was feeling pretty rough. At one point I dropped my bottle of water, and just could not stop and stoop to pick it up. Somewhere around that point Dermot told me how much he hated the Parish and I remember declaring that if I finished I would never go through these agonies again. Dermot agreed, saying seven finishes was enough and he was going to stop after this one.

We shook hands and agreed never to do the Parish ever again....

It must be a bit like women and childbirth - they usually swear "never again" and two weeks later deny that it was a problem- some chemical blanks out the memory of pain.

And so it must have been with Dermot (now about 16 finishes) and me, finishing another four times.

The abiding, almost life changing memory, is of walking up the long straight between the Dhoon corner and the Bulgham corner - and watching a perfect sunrise break over the sea. That was a glorious moment - I was on the way home, in God's Country (Ballaragh - my homeland) and knew I was going to finish.

As we got to the top of Royal Avenue, we were caught by Kevin Martin, and regulars will know that horrible feeling of being overtaken when you know you do not have enough energy to hold off the challenge. As it turned out, Kevin was a real gentleman, and instead of racing us and gaining a couple of places, he walked with us.

I remember that wonderful moment of hitting the Promenade by Port Jack chippy and scanning, and scanning, and scanning again, for the War Memorial. It is an awful lot further away that you imagine. We tried to speed up on the final walk along the Promenade, but it was nearly impossible. It was like walking through treacle, no matter how much energy went into it, no speed came out the other end.

We three crossed the line together, joint 27th I think. I will forever be grateful for Dermot for breaking me in, so to speak, and getting me to the finish, and to Kevin for sacrificing his places to keep us company.

Later there were some medical problems, shin micro factures, kidney infections, huge blisters and later multi-toenail loss, but that feeling of achievement at the finish, and at the Presentation, that Sunday night was absolutely fantastic.

And more than that, in those days (a mere 8 years ago) finishing the Parish was relatively rare and friends expressed amazement at someone like me managing it. Nowadays, it is just as difficult, but so many manage a finish that that special kudos seems a little diminished.

But it is not, for when you finish for the first time, no matter how many others make it, you will have that very special feeling of exhilaration as you collapse into the helping hands of Liz and co at the finish.

I will blog every day now this week, to build up the tension - a bit like anticipating the next England World Cup game.........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Do Tailwinds actually exist?

2010-06-04T11:26:00.005+01:00

Well. I made my promises. Did I keep them?

I started off on the 21st May on the gentle charity walk for Bowel Cancer IOM, a 3.5 mile walk along Douglas Prom on a glorious evening. I walked with Carl Senogles, who I played football with at Laxey for a couple of decades. In those days Carl was one of the few Laxey players with any real talent. Carl finished the Parish last year in about 20.15 and his ambition is to better the time of his father Norman who finished third in just over 18 hours in about 1962. Norman walked with us that evening as well and is still going strong.

Carl has carried on training non-stop since the last Parish and put in some rapid times in the Winter Walking League and I have no doubt he is set for a good time this year - he gave me some useful tips about his training, mostly involving Compede. He is a natural athlete*** and I remember years ago he decided to run a marathon, and with minimal training, clocked 3 hours 18 on his first, and I think, only attempt.

Since the Bowel Cancer walk I have done an eight mile walk in 1.35, around Lonan Old Church and Baldrine, a ten mile walk in 2.03, on the same route, and another ten mile walk in 2.02 where I started at the Shore Hotel in Laxey, up the Glen, Captains Hill, and then the long slog to the top of Bulgham and to Glen Mona and then back.

The return back into Laxey is an exhilarating and speedy downhill from Bulgham, but of course there is the inevitable headwind to take the edge off it. I have noticed recently that despite the reasonable weather, all my return journeys are into the wind, and that does have a real effect on your times. Does anyone ever notice a tailwind? I suspect they don't exist, and the Headwinds leap into existence from nowhere just as you turn around.

They are watching you.

A couple of days ago I did my longest training walk yet, a fifteen mile walk, again from The Shore, and out the the top of Slieu Lewaigue in Maughold and back, this in a disappointing time of 3.07. That was a bit of a struggle, mainly because of my knee, but I also find that sometimes you fly along, and other times things just don't feel right.

The Shore Hotel is a great place to finish a walk. As Mrs Merton said to George Best, "Tell me George, did all that running around make you thirsty?"

For those dietary and medical experts out there, I do have a pint of water before slaking the rest of my thirst with Bosuns.

As to my Promises, I think that means on my promised schedule of at least five miles a day, that I owe you all about 19 miles. This week then, it is head down and no excuses. Does anyone else find the countdown of days on Dave's blog a bit worrying?

Finally, isn't the Island a wonderful place this time of year? It is staggeringly beautiful out in the country this week - the great pleasure of training for the Parish.

***Ginger Whippet

Promises, promises....

2010-05-21T15:04:00.003+01:00

My next walking outing was last Sunday. The day before was the Annual Laxey Football Club FA Cup Final Coach Trip. This is an event important enough to deserve Capital Letters throughout.

The Coach Trip has loomed large in the minds of Laxey players for nearly 40 years, and is always a good day - and night - out.

This year from Laxey we headed north, as usual. The day is spent with two hours drinking, followed by two hours watching the Cup Final with assorted interesting Ramsey citizenry - while drinking - followed by about another six hours drinking in the north and west of the Island.

The result was that the next morning I needed to get to Laxey clubhouse in Glen Road to pick up my car, so I walked via Lonan Old Church and down into Laxey.

The Okells of the day before had some effect, and made it hard going. There are some steepish hills on that route, but in the Alpen scheme of things, they are mere molehills.

But with the weight of Heron and Brearley on my shoulders, and the bad knee, those hills became mountains. There's a proverb trying to pop it's head out somewhere in that - perhaps it is "Okells make mountains out of molehills" Result - 7 miles in 1.25.31.

I have done this second blog today to plug a couple of things - firstly the excellent team from former DOLGE Waste Management - Steve Taggart, two times Parish finisher, best time 20.31; Stephanie Gray - 4 times finisher, best time 21.52, and Joanne Hetherington, End to End Finisher, have done a lot of work on a plan to recycle all the rubbish generated en route. I will post more detail and links nearer the time.

Secondly, Bowel Cancer Isle of Man, are trying to promote awareness of bowel cancer in the Island this month and looking to raise funds to help with their support, and hoping that Government will introduce a bowel cancer screening service. I am trying to support them all I can and tonight, Friday 21st May - there is a fund raising walk from the Bottleneck car park, along to Summerland and back. Entry is only £5.00, and you register at 5.30pm for a 6pm start. I will be going for the walk, and rather than trundle along at sociable speeds, does anyone want to come down and keep me company for a 12 minute mile type walk? Or just come for the stroll and fun anyway.

So, Promises. I am now promising to do the exercises I promised the physio I would do - (I presume I am not alone in only doing the promised exercises the day before your next visit);

I promise not to neglect this blog ever again;

I promise to walk at least five miles every day from now on. (In reality this may mean getting up at 6am from now on - as I don't normally get to bed until about 1.30am, I may have some problems looming)

Finally, I went to NSC yesterday, and did a comfortable six miles, with the treadmill set to Hills on level 3, just to test out the knee, and it was fine. So maybe, just maybe, I will keep the promises....

Just like, Starting Over...

2010-05-21T12:29:00.004+01:00

I bet the most used phrase in blogging is "Sorry about neglecting this blog......"

Well, Marie Lambden, who works in Tynwald with me, and who is the wife of Murray, Web Supremo, came into our office, dressed in severe clothing, and beat me around the head with the copy of Hansard containing the three hour debate we had on Dog Poo in Douglas last year, until I agreed to add more to this Blog ****

So where were we up to, what with the Great Snot and the Dodgy Knee?

I had rested for three weeks in early April, because of the Knee, but then decided to go for it. I could walk on the straight and level without problem, but hills caused pain. I tried a couple of tentative 2 mile sessions on the treadmill at the NSC, with no reaction, and on the 23rd April, I tried a 5 mile effort on the treadmill, with again no aftermath, other than some swelling.

Two days later I did an eight mile walk around Lonan Old Church, in 1.37.41, slower than normal, but I realised that even with just a three week lay off, a lot of the fitness disappears.

It was just like starting over.

A couple of days later, a 12 mile walk, out through Lonan Old Church to Fairy Cottage and back was completed in 2.27.14, and a couple of days after that I did a ten mile walk, same route, out to Baldrine in 2.02. I found I was having to drag my left leg up the hills, trying not to put pressure on it.

Not sure if that is sustainable over 85 miles - and it is still a problem.

I then had another lay off for a couple of weeks, including a weekend away to see my daughter and I also travelled up to see Colchester United in their last league game of the season against Orient. People do strange things....

So, that's what I have done.

Another blog later showing what I haven't done, but a Blog with some PROMISES about what I will do......

**** This may have been part of a very strange dream....

2001 - and a Rehabilitation Odyssey

2010-04-22T16:34:00.005+01:00

Well, it's all quiet on the Training Front, but not so quiet on the Patella Front.

Having exacerbated my left knee injury by playing football at Laxey on Easter Sunday, I went for the Rest option. But you get fed up with doing nothing, and there seemed to be no sign of the pain diminishing. I found some old Motifene in a cupboard (Ibroprofen type anti-inflammatory), prescribed a couple of years ago for my shoulder injury.

Hint: Don't throw away your old drugs as advised by Doctors and Chemists, you never know when you might need them***

Motifene, rest and ice have not done much, but I have started on a new regime of squats to strengthen my quads, which should pull the kneecap up and stop it pinching the sore bit under the kneecap.

Stairs and hills are still a problem, but yesterday I went for a two mile walk through Lakeside up to Groudle Road and back. Some pain ascending and descending, but just about bearable.

Then today I have just been to the NSC and did 2 and a half miles on the treadmill, set to "Flat", and at a modest 8kph, and I felt no pain at all. I now wait until tomorrow to see if the knee gets inflamed again.

Overall, it's not going so well, especially compared to the doings of Dave Walker and his 18 mile walks. And not so well compared to the dozens of walkers you see every evening now, trying to out-compete the hedgerow daffodils for yellowness. The last three weeks have been bathed in glorious weather and that is one of the reasons why the Parish is special - training surrounded by primroses, daffodils and the sound of rutting and happy birds all around, is a delight. That is a reason why it is so frustrating not to be out and about. I think Birdsong will soon win out over Knee Pain.

I had meant to write about previous Parish Walks in fallow writing times, and this is indeed a fallow time. So, next up, my second Parish in 2001. Once again about 20 of us walked as Laxey Football Club, in club shirts, which I still wear to this day. We were raising money again for Running for Jack.

I walked most of the way to Peel with my brother-in-law, Kevin Graham, who is a natural, and whose best finish time to date is 20.12. Like me, he has finished five times, and we walk well together. Also with us in 2001 was Gill Churcher, whose children played for Laxey. We walked all the way together, but Kevin did his knee in walking down into Glen Maye and finished about three minutes behind us. I finished in Peel in 7.31.33, about ten minutes quicker than the previous year, and Gill Churcher was a few seconds behind me. Gill later went on to record three finishes, her best being 19.20 in 2006 and her husband David is a five times finisher.

As I finished about 14 seconds ahead of Gill, I must have ungallantly deserted her somewhere in Peel. That competitive urge makes you a bad person. As with the previous year, I found that I was going really well on the road into Peel, as if a second wind had been found. That's why you think, "Maybe next year I can go further........"

And that's how you get caught in the Parish Trap...

*** Don't listen to him above - speaking as the Member with Political Responsibility for Health I should re-iterate that under no circumstances should you use out of date prescribed drugs, and unused drugs should be disposed of responsibly at all times....

One Door Closes and Another One Shuts....

2010-04-10T13:31:00.002+01:00

You know when you sit down with your legs crossed, and to keep yourself amused you have an overriding urge to hit the reflex part of your knee with a hammer to make your leg jerk?

Probably not. (By way of explanation I grew up on a farm in the hills with no electricity or water so our entertainment was at a very low level, and leg jerking was one of the highlights of life, along with thinning turnips.....

Anyway this is a roundabout way of saying that I have done very little training. For some weeks now, that bit of your knee which you hit with the hammer has been giving me trouble. On the flat I have been fine, but up or down hills, or particularly on stairs, that part gives me a sharp pointing pain.

After the exertions of the last round of the Winter Walking League, where it caused no problem, the knee pain increased considerably, definitely an aftermath of those exertions.

One of the highlights of my year is a full game for Laxey playing the annual game against Liverpool Collegiate on Easter Sunday. I have probably played in most of those games annually since about 1970. In my preparation for that, I decided to go for a run, and I then realised how bad the knee was.

Of course that did not stop me playing on Sunday against Collegiate - thanks to recent walk training I am probably a lot fitter generally, and I was expecting to play the full 90 minutes with ease. In the event, because of the knee, I couldn't take off for jumps, or twist or turn. I could only run in a straight line, and had to come off after fifteen minutes. So naturally that made the knee much worse and I have been trying to rest it as much as possible. Playing (or walking) through pain is not always wise, as I should have learned by now.

Having had the door opened to future major training by getting rid of The Great Snot, thanks to antibiotics and Doctor Gavin, another door has been closed by The Knee.

Once again Steve Partington gets a mention here, because he advised me at the Sports Award evening to get Glucosamine, Voltarol and frozen peas to hasten recovery. The treatment has started....

As to the excellent night at the Sports Awards, I was there as a legacy of my all too brief role with responsibility for Sport and Leisure. I was particularly pleased with the award to Peter Kinnish, Laxey AFC Stalwart, who has dedicated his life to the club, in particular to setting up all the junior football we have. We finally reaped the rewards of his efforts three years ago when we won the Grand Slam, and we are still in with a chance of winning the League again this year.

Ron Ronan, international footballer and tennis player and much quicker than me in the Winter Walking League was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a real gentleman and great competitor, organiser and helper and it was really pleasing to see him recognised in that way. Finally Janice Quirk received an award for Outstanding Achievement for her amazing time and walk in the Parish Walk last year.

Finally, any Doctors, physios or athletes out there know what my knee problem is?

And for the bored and disturbed, is there a website out there dedicated to people who like hitting their kneecap with hammers?

Eleven and a Half is the new Twelve and a Half

2010-04-09T20:14:00.010+01:00

I suppose you will realize by now that if I had been doing mega-training, this blog would have been full of my derring-do.

So the last real action I did was the final Winter Walking League at the end of March. This was held on the NSC perimeter road, on a new super spongy surface, guaranteed to give a glut of personal bests. And so it proved. For once IOM Government have improved a road surface for sports people other than those who ride Japanese super bikes.

For the first time all winter, the weather was perfect and there was an excellent turn-out. A mass start was slightly daunting as it takes a while to find out your level.

Twelve and a half laps were required, and my first schoolboy error was to hit the wrong button on my Garmin Forerunner at the start. I got it going properly as we started the second lap, and spent the rest of the race trying to add the time of what I guessed the first lap might be, to what was showing on the watch. That way, with a tired mind, lies confusion.

Second schoolboy error - over reliance on the mileage shown on the Garmin Forerunner is not good for you on a course which has been measured by The Experts Who Scorn The Great Satellite In The Sky.

Steve Partington lapped me three times, and in working out how far ahead he was, my numbers got mixed up. On my ‘last’ lap, I was closing reasonably quickly on Colin Moore, who has been a couple of minutes quicker than me all winter, no matter how much I improve. I thought I may be able to close him before the finish and gave it my all.

Everything.

As I buzzed down the finishing straight, I was too far away to catch him, and then came a call from a long finished Steve Partington - “keep it going Dud” - combined with someone waving a bell at me. Another full lap to go as your body and mind scream “No!” Eleven and a half does not equal twelve and a half….

That was a devastating feeling. All you want to do is collapse in an exhausted heap, totally, totally spent, but you have to pretend you know exactly what you are doing, and set off on a racing last “extra” lap. So off I set, trying to work out the arithmetical gymnastics of what Mr. Garmin was telling me, in a state of exhaustion. Mental arithmetic and race-walking are not good bedfellows.

In the event I did not catch Colin, but I knocked about 45 seconds off my previous time, and finished in 1.08.06. That is a four minute improvement over the winter.

To get any quicker will need a much better technique, but I enjoyed the experience. The last time I did anything similar was over ten years ago in the Fireman’s Runs at Ramsey, and before that in Douglas.

The organization of the Winter Walking League was superb, and many thanks to Steve Taylor and all the officials who give up Sunday mornings for the sport. And the walkers themselves were friendly and supportive and if any “non-racer” fancies a go next season, go for it, you will enjoy it and be encouraged no matter what your level is.

So that is the speed work done for the Parish - now to get in some serious miles and hills. I’ll save the speed bit for the final two miles along the Douglas Prom in June……… hopefully……

The Joys of Amoxicillin....

2010-04-01T10:03:00.004+01:00

More Blog Neglect. I am expecting Murray and his Blog Police to come round soon one midnight and take me away for a good thrashing with well worn Reeboks. And you can't outrun Murray's Athletic Stormtroopers. They train too much.

And so to training, and I hope the last ever mention of The Great Snot. I did 5 miles at the NSC a couple of weeks ago, and struggled with the breathing - so much so that I finally went to the Doctor.

I had been to a Doctor a couple of weeks earlier for something else, but that day had just done a 12 mile walk, so TGS had temporarily ceased, as it does after exercise - so I forgot to tell him of my cold. Men are generally useless, and particularly so around Doctors....

You feel an idiot going to the Doctor with a cold, but it had lasted exactly three months on the day I finally went to see her, and she didn't mind at all. I was given a course of anti-biotics - Amoxicillin - which I started taking that day, a Monday.

I went for an eight mile walk around Lonan Old Church Road the next day and what a difference. The pills had obviously started their work immediately, for I was able to finish the eight miles in 1.33.04, my quickest ever, by about five minutes. I have never been able to average more than 5mph over any distance longer than 5 miles before, except on the flat in the Winter Walking League. The Lonan walk includes plenty of hills and although I was tired at the end, I felt so much better than I have done all winter.

A couple of days later I went on the treadmill at the NSC and did six miles, set at 8.7kph, (and a final burst at 9kph) which I was able to maintain comfortably.

So praise be to Amoxicillin and Doctor Gavin.

The real bonus is being able to taste my food and Okells again, and I can now expect to play a full ninety minutes for Laxey this weekend against Liverpool Collegiate, instead of going off at half-time, a mucus stained wreck.

On a less happy note, the re-organisation of Government did not go as I hoped. I was given The Dream Job in January - responsibility for Sport and Leisure. I was looking forward to a long working relationship with Andy Varnon and Paul Bridson (The Man Who Won Laxey The Grand Slam) and Geoff Karran on Sports Development and the Sports Council, and Carl Glover and his team at the NSC. The work they do is inspiring and we are very fortunate to have them and all the facilities they provide. That role finished today, and I will miss working with them.

In the re-shuffle I stay in Education, and I was also asked to take over responsibility for Health, which I have done as of today. That will be a real challenge and I am excited about working there. I was in the DHSS, responsible for Social Services, for over two years, so I know a lot of the people in Health. You can blame me now if the Reciprocal Health Agreement goes wrong again.

Perhaps my first action should be to recommend Doctor Gavin for an MBE for services to Average Sportsmen With Blocked Noses and her prescription of Amoxicillin....

Winter Walking League and some more history soon......

Good Times/Bad Times - Good Days/Bad Days

2010-03-17T20:06:00.004Z

I am a guilty of a bit of neglect of this Blog, but Other Events Loomed Large recently.

An update on my training - I had a bit of a splurge a couple of weeks ago, but once again the Great Snot is laying me low and that combined with work has kept me off the roads for a few days.

So, I went to see Higgy at St Pauls Sports Shop in Ramsey, and bought the promised pair of boats and have broken them in. They are Reebok Premier Road Plus VI, similar to trainers I have used in the past. Sounds a fancy title, but doubtless a much lower pedigree than my Saucony Fast-Twitch. But they seem to be doing the job. Higgy has plenty left if you need some.

After my 8 mile walk on the 25th February, where my time was distinctly average, I went out the next Tuesday and did a ten mile walk - from Onchan via Lonan Old Church Road, up to Ballacannell and back the same way. I just felt right that day and finished the 10 miles just 33 seconds outside two hours, despite the hilly nature of the route. I was minutes quicker at every point than I was on the 8 mile walk.

What is it that makes some days better than others? That was a good day.

A few days later I did six miles at the NSC. I worked out that in competition at the last Winter Walk League, I averaged just over 5.45 mph for the 10k of that walk. That converts to about 8.7kph and I tried to keep that up on the treadmill, and found it almost impossible. It just shows that in competition, when you are trying to catch the walker in front, or trying to escape the heavy breather coming up behind you, that you put in a much greater effort than you can in training.

A couple of days later, I did a 12 mile walk, again out via Lonan Old Church Road, down to Fairy Cottage in Laxey, and back the same way. This time I was minutes slower, at 2 hours 29 minutes, and the last couple of miles I seemed to have little energy. Tiredness brings a real lack of concentration and times slow as technique disappears. It also showed that I am not yet fit, and I need to get some gym work in. That was one of the bad day/bad time days.

A further trip to the NSC last week, and I managed 5 miles at nearly 8.7kph, a good day. Since then, and I hate to mention it again, the Great Snot has returned.

The chemist has advised sorting it out the Continental Way - a nasal spray called Sterimar which is in fact a Sea Water spray. It's all the rage in Germany where apparently squirting sea water up your nose is amongst the top ten Germanic Winter pastimes.

A couple of weeks ago, a journalist from IOM Newspapers, Jackie, rang me up to talk about the forthcoming Legislative Council elections, during which she asked me my age. Having to say it out loud made me realise what it actually is, and what on earth I was doing even contemplating doing the Parish. Jackie told me that last year she got to Maughold where she stopped. This year Jackie you will finish. It's down hill from Maughold. Honest...

One of my Government roles - working with Sports Development and the NSC is in a state of flux with the re-organisation of Government going on, the change of Ministers, and possible moves for the rest of us also-rans.

I cleared the first hurdle by having the good fortune to be re-elected on Monday and await the other changes which should be announced in the next few days. I have asked to stay with Sport and Leisure, where the new Minister is David Cretney, a Parish Walk trainer and finisher of note. Cret has an interesting sporting CV - Parish Walk Finisher, London Marathon Finisher, and 100mph+ laps of the TT Course to his credit. Short of winning a stage of the Tour de France, there is not much else for a Sporting Manxman to achieve.

Next Blog - more Tips on how to Just Survive the Parish.

The Joys of Vaseline....

2010-03-01T20:51:00.003Z

A Spring-like day, and by some reckonings today is the first day of Spring.

Expect to see hordes of eager and earnest walkers on our roads from now on, and a big leap in the number of entries.

So now may be the time to impart my promised knowledge of the pitfalls the first time walker needs to avoid.

Training

1 The more you do, the better you will perform. You are less likely to be injured and you will get further. Lack of enough training has been my downfall, even when I finish.

And here is what I have learned from my post-walk visits to Hospital:-

2 Doctors and Nurses laugh at you, and stick your feet in agonising bowls of salty water and secretly video your agony for the amusement of their friends

3 The muscle alongside each shin is packed in tight and the fitter you can get those muscles, the better the blood supply to the muscles will be. If those muscles are not fit, over 85 miles, not enough blood gets to the muscle and there can be an infarction of the muscle – that is a death of muscle. That happened to me (and many others) and causes agony for weeks after – and a nasty side effect is that you get micro-fractures of the shin bone.

Or that is what a masochistic Doctor at Noble’s told me, at the same time banning me from playing football for three months. Doctors always tell the truth of course.

4 The cure for that is in your method of training – if you are non-athletic – go for shortish (4-5 mile) walks as fast as you can. Really give it stick and you will feel the tightness of those muscles. Unless you feel that, you are not doing enough. Proper athletes like the top walkers already have that fitness.

5 Next – cut your toenails. The jarring of your toes on the edge of your trainers, particularly going downhill from the Round Table will cause you problems. Get your nails as short as possible. You may well still lose nails, but you will find them again, months later when you are making your bed....

6 Don’t buy or use 1000 Mile “Blister-Free” socks. I wore 1000 mile socks for the year of that infamous picture of my feet. And the 1000 Mile socks had done their damage by the time I got to Peel. I knew things were not good, took my trainers off at Peel to have a look and only my experience of viewing many post mortems enabled me to carry on. I wrote to the manufactures and tried to claim 915/1000's of my £10 back. They didn’t reply.

7 Get your socks from a site called “Running Bear” as recommended by Steve Partington – I have had fewer problems since using those.

8 VASELINE, VASELINE, VASELINE. I was slow to accept The Joys of Vaseline but now I cannot get enough. Stuff your shoes and socks with the stuff. And don’t forget to grease your erogenous zones.

You know where they are.

9 I never used to stop at all, but the last couple of finishes I have stopped just after Jurby and changed my undershirt, cleaned the blood off my feet, re-Vaselined and changed socks. That break really refreshes me, only takes about 3 or 4 minutes, and gives you a renewed burst of energy.

10 There is a limit to the number of pints of Okells you should drink as you walk past the Mitre at Kirk Michael. Just because they are free doesn’t mean they are good for you….

11 Whisper it, but Solpadeine can be Your Friend…..

More Vaseline based tales soon.....

8 Mile High.....

2010-02-26T11:39:00.003Z

My compromised breathing, aka The Great Snot has been a real problem since the last Winter Walking League on 7th February. I have managed just three outings to the gym, the last of which I only lasted a mile on the treadmill before I had to stop.

And that is the problem with the gym, and the treadmill - once you feel unwell, you can just jump off.

So yesterday evening I did the Real Thing. No jumping off. I did an eight mile walk from my home via Lakeside, Groudle Road, Lonan Old Church Road to Baldrine and back. A reasonable time but nowhere near the pace of the Walking League. Lots of stiff little hills of course, and slowed down by TGS. But halfway into it, and I could smell the countryside and when I got home I could actually taste my food. For a couple of hours the nose was cleared, but it has come back. It seems I need constant exercise to keep it clear.

As to the Walking League, I have now done three rounds, the first and the two at Andreas. Each time I have knocked a couple of minutes off, and I have realised that when you are competing you are really going much quicker than training walks or even a blast in the gym. The competitive urge gives you that extra pace which is hard to replicate in a training walk.

In the first round at Andreas, Steve Partington was there giving encouragement and tips on techniques. Am I alone in following his advice as I walk past him each lap, and then lapsing into the usual trudge as soon as you think he is out of sight? Arms pumping, pushing off from the heels, while he watches, the usual flailing struggle out of sight.

The second round, after a bit more training, I was going much better - Steve still shouted his advice and I was managing to keep to his advice, even round the corner out of sight. But when you get tired, it is hard to keep your concentration going, to concentrate on keeping up the technique.

So it seems to me that the first thing to do is get really fit - then tiredness won't interfere with technique.

Finally, at the Walk in Andreas I met my fellow blogger, Dave Walker. I had presumed from the amount of training he was getting in that he might be a shift worker, and I guessed he might even be a Policeman.

It turns out however, that he is a much more important and valuble member of society than that.....

More 8 mile highs next week.......

Parish 2000 - Running for Jack

2010-02-20T10:50:00.007Z

My first serious Parish foray was in 2000. Playing for us at Laxey then was Lee Partington, a skilful midfielder who helped set us on our way to the glory of later years. His brother Steve was an occasional spectator and had just set up a charity in memory of his son Jack. I think that was the year that he and Cal ran a series of Marathons from Liverpool down to London, and then completed the London Marathon.

So about 25 club members, players, helpers and ladies entered the Parish Walk together to raise funds for the charity. We started at the Villa that day, and we all wore our Laxey kit, and started from the back.

Top Tip: Always start at the back - the views are much better. And you spend the day overtaking everyone, a great psychological boost. I may even have done a couple of Parishes when I have never been overtaken at all.

(Top Tip for a Good Time - DON'T Start At The Back)

Anyway, in 2000 on the way towards Rushen I walked with George Lawson, Dave Callow and Barry Williams. On a crowded pavement just after Ballasalla, I tripped and fell and broke a finger.. Stubborness always overrules fractures in my experience, so I carried on, my hand and shirt bloodied, and helpers amongst the spectators handing me tissues every so often to soak up the blood.

And so to the Sloc. The Sloc in Parish folklore is like a fabled monster. Just the words, "The Sloc" conjure up some evil presence. It certainly did it's job in splitting up the four of us, but it was nowhere near the monster I had imagined. Those Who Know will know that Ballakillowey and Ballajora are the Real Monsters. Going down hill into Dalby was far worse than the Sloc, and the feet were getting very painful.

As I walked from Dalby to Glen Maye, a big blister under the ball of my left foot burst, and I was in agony - the result being a very debilitating limp. Fortunately, a mile or so later, the big blister under the ball of my right foot burst, and the pain was evened up, so I was able to plough on, limping with both feet equally - and that equals walking normally, but with a pained grimace on your face.

I have learned to totally ignore the pain of blisters. You just pretend it is happening to someone else. I was once told that blue-eyed people have a higher pain threshold, so I make it so. It is probably rubbish, but it works for me as long as I keep believing.

So, with no limp to hold me back, and a quick infusion of a Lucozade Sport, I suddenly started to pick up pace and picked off a load of people on the way to Peel. I finished second of the Laxey crowd, with Michael Cowin - Chippy - already there a few minutes ahead of me. He always had a good engine as a footballer and I am sure he would have been a more than useful walker if he had taken it up. My time was somewhere around 7 hours 40. Of course, the post walk warm-down was a few pints in the Creek, followed by even more later at the Mines in Laxey. It was a great day out for everyone, good for the Club morale, and we raised money for Running For Jack.

And that started the bug for me really - the feet were a mess, but the last few miles into Peel had been a real buzz. I was definitely going to have another go. Maybe even train for it...

------------------------------------------------------

I have only trained twice since doing the Winter Walking League at Andreas the Sunday before last. Work has got in the way, in particular the Tynwald sitting this week. We sat until 12.30am (from 10.30am) on Wednesday debating the re-structure of Government, and the other two days went on until late in the evening. There was an amendment which could have led indirectly to the privatisation of the NSC and the Sports Development Unit, so I spoke against that, pointing out that private ownership would scupper all the wonderful voluntary work being done, and the work, especially with children, being done by Sports Council, Sport Aid and the NSC staff.

And for those interested in bodily secretions, the Great Snot continues. The less I train, the worse it gets. Must get Training......

The Quest for Speed - Part Two....

2010-02-05T21:09:00.004Z

Murray's guest bloggers over the years have given me some inspiration - in particular the 2007 Bloggers. Following the advice of Steve Partington and Mark Hempsall, I bought a pair of Saucony Fast Twitch trainers, which I still have. Lovely and light, they survived the meagre training of 2008 and the 20 odd miles I managed in the Parish, and I am still using them for training this year.

However, they are now a bit thin on the sole, and Slippery When Wet. They will be fine on the 10k distance for the Winter Walking League, but I think for someone of my size and weight I need something a bit more substantial, particularly over the full 85 miles.

So next week I intend to visit Colin Higgins at St Paul's Square and he will pluck out from his myriad of boxes a pair of chunky size 12 boats to cushion me through the day and night.

Saucony for Speed, Chunky Size 12 Boats to get to the finish.

The other device, which I now treasure, was advocated by Mark Hempsall. A Garmin 305 Forerunner. This picks up satellites and tell you how fast and exactly how far you have gone. It does lots of other things as well, including being able to be uploaded onto computer. I haven't bothered with the extras - reading instruction booklets is an alien pastime for me. I just have the speed set at Minutes per Mile and try to always be faster than 12 minute miles.

Sometimes, deliriously, you find you are going quicker than 10 minute miles and then like a dagger through the heart, you find on some stretches you have slowed to over 13 minutes. Those are black moments indeed....

And that Garmin is the Fish Wife of Electrical Gadgets. It nags. And nags. And never stops Nagging. If at a glance you see you are slowing down, you just have to speed up. It is a constant reminder and MAKES you go harder. I love it and hate it.

Training - still a bit barren, because of breathing problems caused by The Great Snot.

After my six mile walk last week, the next day I followed up with 5 miles on the treadmill at the NSC, and this week have been to the NSC twice, with a six mile walk, and a seven mile walk. It is getting easier, and while trying to build up fitness I have stopped sticking the Treadmill on "Hills" and starting at 8.5kph, - it was just too much in my present condition.

I have decided to be sensible in my build-up, so I stay off the "Hills" setting for now, and start off at 8.2kph and don't hit 8.5 until halfway through. By the last mile I can cope with 8.7kph, and I do believe I can detect a bit of the old swaying hips that the "real" walkers seem to use. Plus, I have stopped collapsing afterwards, which was happening last month.

So training is not going wonderfully, but much better than ever before. It normally takes a daffodil or two to get me out for my first walk, so doing the Blog is making a huge difference.

My Hi-Viz top is still a virgin though - next week for sure.......

The Quest for Speed.....Part One

2010-01-27T22:03:00.004Z

Well, inspired by Dave Walker's non-stop walking/running/cycling/swimming/fell running around the Island, I was finally shamed into doing something today.

So after tea tonight, I went for my first evening walk - and in the dark. Such bravery. From Onchan down Royal Avenue to the Douglas Swing Bridge and back was a six mile walk finished in 1 hour 12 minutes and 4 seconds. Coming home back up Port Jack and Royal Avenue knocked a bit of a shine off the time, and I know I slowed a bit by breaking one of my rules and listening to The Archers.

Which brings me to the bit about getting more speed.

My first revelation as to how to get quicker came a few years ago when I was out for an early Sunday morning walk. This was a 12 mile walk from my home to the Everlasting Bend at Laxey and back. As I reached the halfway point, at the Everlasting Bend, some Walking Superstars came towards me from Ramsey. They included such Gods of Walking as Robbie Callister, David Doyle, Roey Crellin, and I think Sean Hands. I turned at my halfway point and followed them into Laxey. They didn't know that a Lesser Mortal was behind them as I tracked them all the way to Whitebridge, gradually losing ground all the time. But I copied Robbie's technique, which seemed to be flinging the arms violently from side to side. And it seemed to work. I definitely speeded up and used that technique for a couple of years and knocked down the times on all my training walks. I have since learned that is not the real way to walk, and Robbie only suceeds because he is A Freak of Nature.....

Second Tip for Speed - I always used to walk with a radio, and always listened to Radio 4. I discovered eventually that when you concentrate at all on what you are listening to, without realising it, you DO slow down. I have learned that to maintain a good rate, and concentration, there should be no distractions at all. You need to THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP -- THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP -- THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP -- and keep the tempo up. Or for the likes of Steve Partington and co, it is more a case of Glide.......Glide........Glide.......Glide.....

So discard the radio, and just concentrate on what you are doing. You move faster.

I reckon The Archers slowed me down by a minute or two tonight, but it is important to know if Helen and Annette actually went through with it (they did) or if Susan's job in the shop is safe....

One good point tonight - while walking on the Prom tonight, I actually overtook a jogger.

Next Post - The Joys of Being Nagged by a Garmin 305....

S'Not Fair....

2010-01-26T23:21:00.006Z

Let's talk about Snot again. The Great Snot Of 2009 receded a little about ten days ago, only to be replaced with the Great Snot Of 2010.

I struggled a couple of weeks ago on the treadmill, mostly because of feeling a bit low, being unfit, and the Great Snot making it hard to breathe....

However, after a few treadmill sessions at the NSC, described earlier, I felt a lot better and The Nose even cleared up a bit. So, a week last Friday, I managed a full five mile continuous walk, on the treadmill, without any real problem. Progress at last. On Sunday, the first nice day for weeks, I went for a six mile walk around my "Groudle - Lonan Old Church" route, and felt fine, clocking up a 1 hour 11 minute time, nearly back on the hoped for schedule.

Then last week a bit of a hiatus - I had to go to Wrightington Hospital near Wigan on Monday for a follow up for my shoulder operation last year, the result of a football injury, and the reason I could not do the Parish last year as my arm was in a sling until the middle of May. That trip was basically a five minute consulation surrounded by twelve hours of waiting around in hospital canteens and airports.

The next two days were 10 hour shifts sitting in Tynwald, and you really do not feel like any exercise after that.

I managed another 5 mile treadmill stint at the NSC on Thursday, but failed again miserably over last weekend as the Great Snot took an even greater hold. My new Hi-Viz jacket is still a virgin.

Six weeks of it now - I mistakenly thought my head was filled with a massive brain, but it turns out it just contains a very efficient Snot Factory. Anyone any ideas how to get rid?

Still, for all the setbacks, I have managed about 60 miles in total since October, 60 miles more training than I would normally have done by this time in previous years - and to be honest, my total training hardly amounts to much more than that each year - so doing this Blog will be good for me in the end.

I am so impressed with the amount of work fellow blogger Dave Walker is putting in. He is an inspiration, and his latest blog is definitely spurring me on.

As to Angie and her toenails - I used to keep a collection of mine, in a plastic container. I had a couple of dozen at one stage, but my wife threw them out in disgust when she found them. I thought they might have been useful to her in the future if she ever wanted to clone me. Surprisingly that hadn't occurred to her... I lose five or six most years, a couple of times all ten have gone.

So in the future, instead of disgusting tales of Snot and Toenails, I promise tales of real progress.....

Finally a Top Tip - Government desperately needs more turnover, so get down the NSC and make use of the facilities. I discovered that rather than pay £3.60 a session for the gym, you can buy ten at a time, which works out at about £2.90 a session. Bargain. Use your NSC.

Trouble at T'Mill.....

2010-01-14T21:57:00.003Z

So I need to start some training. First step, I bought a reflective jacket. That didn’t get me out.

I charged up my Garmin 305 (as recommended by Mark Hempsall). That didn’t get me out.

I read the excellent little book which came with the Guardian on Saturday – “Walk Yourself Fit” – That didn’t get me out.

So I went to the gym. NSC on Tuesday, still suffering with a bad cold (ManFlu for the weak and feeble) Set the treadmill at 8.5kph and set off. I was so tired, I needed a break after two miles. Then I managed a half mile, and needed a break again. Finally after another short rest – I managed a continuous two miles. When I was last reasonably fit I could blast off six miles at a good speed without too much trouble.

What I have discovered is that apart from struggling with a cold, I am basically unfit after a lengthy layoff. I need to get fit before I try to improve my speed and technique.

Yesterday, Wednesday, I went to NSC again, and this time it was a bit easier. I managed two two mile stints, with a lot less discomfort. I know that a degree of fitness can return quite quickly if you stick at it, so some gym work over the next week is my priority.

This exercise is small beer compared with some of the efforts listed in Blogs in previous years, but when The Great Snot stops, I promise more action.

A little bit more history…..

My next involvement in walking, after the Parish Walk Relay, was in the TT Course Relays. I entered with Police teams for four years, twice doing the leg from Ginger Hall up to the Black Hut. I definitely had a Jim Peters moment at Guthries the first time I did that. I definitely got my line wrong and nearly came off* (*Staggered from side to side)

The second time I did that leg, Kevin Madigan(?) told me my time was quite good, and asked had I considered taking up walking. The agony of Guthries had convinced me that walking was not for me. Ever.

Other years I also did the leg Glen Helen to Ginger Hall, and the final leg down to the Grandstand. This would be around 1969 to 1972 – the point about those days is that those walks were done with NO training at all – probably the same for most people. And the other point is that for them all, I wore a pair of brown suede Hush Puppies, my ordinary (but very comfortable) workaday shoes. Thinking back, there were no such things as trainers then. Most people just had a pair of pumps from Newsons or Osbornes - though I do have a dim memory of once having a pair of “baseball boots” – pumps with a high ankle – the nearest thing to a modern trainer. I am pretty sure that my only footwear in those days would be my Hush Puppies, my football boots and my cricket boots. And two pairs of socks.

I had my first meeting last night of the Sports Council – now Isle of Man Sport – and was amazed at the amount of voluntary work done by members of Council, particularly with the Sport Aid recipients, and how much of their personal time they put into Sport in the Island. We are truly blessed on this Island and punch well above our weight in Sport because of the dedication of those people and hundreds of others who give up their time and expertise.

Once again, I am so fortunate to be working with such people.

Winter Walking League - Part One

2010-01-11T21:54:00.002Z

No training last week, as I was mostly trapped in the very snowy, but beautiful city of York, where the main skill was just in standing up....

So, the Winter League....

To break twenty hours I need a little bit more speed, and to avoid the injuries I definitely need a better technique.

I noticed from the Parish Blogs of recent years how many walkers joined the Winter Walking League and how most of them showed rapid improvement and several went on to become Famous, with sub 20 hour times.

And over the years several experts have attempted to persuade me that my arm movement needs to be honed down from my random gangly stabs and swings into something fit to take home to meet your mother.

Then Maureen Cox, who looked after me in my time with Social Services, joined in the subtle persuasion and so I decided to have a go.

I had one training walk - 5 miles from Laxey to my home in Onchan, in 1 hour 4 minutes and 36 seconds. Not great, but as it included the hills out of Laxey and Baldrine and Whitebridge Hill, it seemed reasonable for my first walk for over a year...... I felt ready.....

The first round I entered was at the TT Access Road in October. A mass start and I quickly realised I didn’t have the technique or speed to be better than a middle ranker. Ahead of me were two doughty veterans, Ron Ronan and Dave Wilkinson, who definitely had the technique, but as they were a lot older than me, I was SURE that in the last couple of laps I would be able to blast past them. Also just ahead of me was Colin Moore, who I had walked with in training a couple of years earlier, and I KNEW I was a lot quicker than him.

Vanity.

I just watched them get further and further ahead of me, and no matter how much I put my foot down, they just receded into the distance. I learned then that endurance was definitely not enough and a lot more work was needed. Watching Steve Partington glide (by that I mean he seemed to float about the ground) past and lap us several times was like watching a magician whose tricks just could not be rationally explained.

My time was 1.12.20 for the 10k - a marker to improve on.

And a Little Bit of History....

My first memory of involvement in the Parish Walk was of a Parish Walk Relay race - either 1963 or 1964. I was a young Police Cadet, bundled into a van with a group of others to take turns pacemaking in the night between Jurby and the Finish.

Was there really a Parish Walk Relay? I have not noticed any mention on the athletics sites of such an event, but I am sure I am not dreaming. Does Murray have any info on them? And I heard today from Noel Cringle of a similar event called the "Harvest Moon Relay" using the full Parish Course. Any info on that?

I am not sure of the Police Team that night, but it included Albert Lowe, who did a lot of walking in the early days of the walking revival, Peter Corrin, John Platt and George Haring. I walked through the night, a few miles at a time with George to the finish, by which time he was staggering like Jim Peters. Little did I know that forty years later I would be staggering in the same way.....

Training so far......

2010-01-05T21:48:00.008Z

Away for a few days now, so you get two posts on one day...

I had done no training for a month, due to a very, very, heavy head cold. I competed in the first two Winter Walk Leagues, (which I will describe in later blogs) and then was struck down with the Great Snot of 2009. I am told that I had two beautiful meals at L’Experience over the Christmas and New Year period, and a great Christmas Dinner, but I will have to take everyone’s word for that, as I have not tasted or smelt anything since the middle of December.

It has been hard to breathe normally, let alone take exercise.

However, the Power of Murray and his Blog Slavery made me get down to the NSC yesterday. I had to put something on here about training.

I have been warned not to exercise with a heavy cold, and I think that advice holds good after my experience yesterday.

However……..onto the treadmill, set on ’Hills’ at Level 6. I find hill work is more beneficial overall than just plain walking. I set the speed to 8.5kph – a bit over 5 miles an hour, set it going and just hung on through the Great Snot. I tried to concentrate on the technique that I know gives greater speed, but when you are really tired, it is hard to keep that up, and I often reverted to the Farmer’s Lope just to stay on the end of the treadmill. I intended to do 5 miles, but in the end got too tired and stopped at 3 miles – in a time of 35 minutes 20 seconds.

I was reasonably pleased with that because it matched the times I had been achieving in the Winter Walk League, but I had been hoping that by the next Winter Walk I would have made more significant progress.

But some good news – after the NSC I went for lunch with friends to have a Final Pint before giving up drink for a few weeks. And I could actually TASTE the Okell’s and my substantial lunch of Plain Crisps. The exercise had cleared me up. But only for a couple of hours, I am back in the taste free zone again.

Other goods news for me– As of this week my political duties changed and I have been given responsibility for Sport and Leisure with the Tourism Department. I spent most of the morning down the NSC with Andy Varnom and Paul Bridson (the heroic Laxey coach who won us the Grand Slam in 2006) and there is some very impressive work going on, especially with the young, and with elite performers.

You may hear criticism of the Department of Tourism, but rarely about how Sport is dealt with and I believe, after just one day in post, that Sport is in good hands. In addition I will be Chairman of the Sports Council, and working with such legends as Steve Partington and the Heroic Midfielder General of the Laxey Grand Slam Team, Jim Travers. This is a dream job for me in many ways and I know that Geoff Karran, Andy, Paul and the teams working there are making a real difference to the sporting climate of the Island.

Apart from The Snot, I am very fortunate….

Longest Day - Shortest Night

2010-01-05T13:31:00.006Z

The Longest Day - in so many ways.....

And the Shortest Night. The beauty of the Parish Walk is the day it is held. It is usually very close to Midsummer’s day and that is a magical time of the year.

On a nice day the experience is sometimes overwhelming. You walk round the Island - as the sun goes round the Island. When dusk comes, the golden light stays in the sky all night. The walk towards Bride, where the hedgerows are at their wildest and ripest, is wonderful with the sun setting almost in the north as a golden background. The glow gradually moves round and by the time you get to Ramsey the golden glow hovers over Queen’s Pier. Of course for Robbie and the rest they are almost home and miss that experience.

The first year I finished I was walking with Dermot O’Toole, and more of him later . The walk started later then, maybe 10am or 9am, so most people got to see the sunrise. As we rounded the Dhoon corner and headed towards Bulgham, the sun rose over the sea, and it was a fantastic sight. By that time I knew, in the good company of Dermot, that I was going to finish, and that knowledge combined with the beautiful sunrise, gave me a memory I will always have.

Mind you, thinking about it, there have been some days where it is not so pleasant, it is cold, dark, wet and windy. Thunder and lightning one year through Maughold was particularly depressing. For those who bravely managed 2008 maybe there will be a golden glow all night this year.

Top Tip: If it is sunny, your left side is always exposed to the sun, so make sure you have plenty of suncream on your left leg. The year I finished with my particularly bad feet, as I went on crutches to the Presentation that Sunday night, I asked my walking partner, Kevin Graham, how he felt and his only complaint was "Me left calf is a bit sunburnt"

More of Kevin later as well.....

Let's get those feet out of the way....

2010-01-02T15:22:00.000Z

When those curtains close on me at the Crem, and if people talk about my life, what will totally overshadow my Life on Mars (without the violence) career as a Detective, or my trifling achievements in the political field, will be that photograph above.

The newspaper article will simply say " Man with bad feet dies after long struggle with 1000 Mile Socks"

I will only be Famous for my Feet. And that is why I am doing this blog, because although that photo was taken after a finish in 2003, my feet have been like that after most finishes.

In addition, and far more seriously, my back also collapses somewhere around Glen Mona, and that is a much greater problem than a bit of foot pain, and that makes finishing a real problem for me.

The reason for these injuries is a lack of proper training, so when Murray asked me to do this blog, I seized the chance, because if I have to publicly show what training I have been doing, maybe I will be shamed into actually doing some. And I hope any readers of this will learn how to avoid the pitfalls I repeatedly stumble into.

I know that finishing the Parish is 95% a mental issue. The brain can and usually does over-rule the body. I hit the 'wall' in 2008 at Ballakillowey and just had to stop. Entering this year is an attempt by me to see if my brain can once again over-rule my body and get me to a finish, and with more training the aim is to beat 20 hours.

I never thought someone like me could ever finish the Parish, but I know that it is possible for all of you, and as recent years have shown, hundreds are now able to do it.

So good luck everyone - and don't follow my example - just learn from it what not to do.