I Bet I Have Walked Further Than Either of The Proclaimers

Dear reader, as I write I am at a very weird emotional and physical state somewhere between exhaustion, elation and a weird malaise. My legs feel all twitchy and brain feels all meh. Which is precisely the opposite of what exercise is supposed to do for you.

Thanks, exercise, but I'm sticking to chocolate from now on. Sugar rush, pancreatic crash and the brief, intense buzz of artificial happiness is where it's at. Only joking - this is a flapjack and snack-free zone.

The weekend started in a pretty intense way. Our tickets for Pearl Jam were booked yonks ago, and I budgeted a kingly sum to spend on the tangential fripperies that concerts somehow impel you to, like greasy tempura, and laaaaager. However, this sum got well and truly busted. Even Eddie Vedder remarked from the stage that signs saying "4 pints plus carrier -£20" should include an actual person to carry them to you in the crowd. Some grumblings occurred regarding 'rounds'. But on the plus plus plus side there was Eddie...

"It doesn't get Eddie Vedder than this," was my favourite T-shirt slogan. Although, my brain says it in the style of Greg Wallace.

Check shirts abounded in the crowd... perhaps people still had them from their old Millets and Army & Navy purchases twenty years ago. Quite fortuitous if they were also going to the Monty Python reunion - lumberjack costume, sorted!

We did find out that if we returned 10 cups, we could get £1 back. So, we collected 100 cups from the floor. It all went on beer. Huzzah!

Not so huzzah was getting horrendously lost. I am so crap with crowds!

On Saturday, OH was working in the morning, then recovering from his very late night before his triathlon on Sunday, so it was on my lonesome that I headed to the Films on the Waterfront Festival in Midsummer Meadow.  I was really looking forward to seeing the first film Frozen, which I hadn't seen before and had heard lots of good things about.

I had my ice cream, my fizzy pop, my new picnic blanket (a bargain at 49p from Marks and Spencers). What was I missing? Some sun screen... darn it. What else?

Oh yeah... I was the only one there without a child.

Then I spotted some friends and we all had a lovely time watching this film - all for free! Unfortunately I had errands to run so couldn't stick around for Despicable Me 2 or Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Frozen is a great film; it's not all about squishy romance, in fact neatly subverting it. The princesses don't wear pink either. Recommended!

Yesterday, I went to watch my fella in his triathlon at Pitsford. Unfortunately, after deciding to walk there to carry picnic stuff and not break it, I arrived shortly after the event had finished.  Never mind, it was only 7 miles there.

The long and lonely N6 cycle path...

I didn't manage to walk 7 miles back though... we made it as far as a country pub where I had a £5 voucher and 5% off on further spending, so I bought him a well-deserved pint. His first Olympic Triathlon, managed in a neat 3 hours and 4 minutes. My hero!

"Where's me bike?"

Oh, yeah, he did it on his bike that he built himself too. Just had to leave it behind to have the gears looked at, but it did a stunning job.

And on the walk home, we saw these cuties. Awwww...

'Eep! 'Eeep!

with Mummy.

Anyway, that's why I am shattered. Mind, that hasn't stopped me making more yoghurt and bread tonight. Oh and I made some paneer the other day which has gone into some yummy saag paneer for lunchypops tomorrow.

Reward!

 Today I feel pretty awesome. I worked hard and this is my reward.

Photo!

I mean, I've been working hard in the garden and this is what I've managed to achieve from the wild woodland I had a few weeks ago.

Seedlings in an improvised cold frame, made from a broken brick barbecue

The barbecue grill protects newly planted seedlings in this old Belfast sink from the cats. The slate round the lavender is also an anti-cat device. Bloody cats.

Hazel sticks up-cycled from an old house decoration make a wigwam for beans and a frame for netting from Poundland to protect strawberry plants. A free CD from a newspaper with some Toni Braxton and other mushy stuff on it makes a bird-startler. Hopefully netting over the newly planted courgettes will deter the cats.

Rhubarb.

Yes, the lawn is mostly dirt and weeds, but at least it's tidy. Just got to keep on top of attack from cats, slugs and the neighbour's rather bouncy German Shepherd.

This weekend, we went to London for the British leg of the ITU World Triathlon Championships. We budgeted for this, so we could relax. That budget was tested a bit in some rather nice bars a friend introduced us to, but hey, an excellent time was had by all.

And here's for the treats money could but didn't buy...

Okay, we had grandstand seats this time, but anyone can go to Hyde park to see the triathlon. It's free!

See the swimming...

the cycling...

the running!

And here's the girls on their bikes - awesome stuff!

My new hero is the USA's Gwen Jorgensen, who powered ahead of her nearest rivals with a very convincing win. Here she is completing the run, with absolutely no one else in sight. British contender Jodie Stimpson was in the lead for the whole series until this point, but that honour is Jorgensen's now too.

 Both races were great to watch, but the women's race had that awesome win by Gwen Jorgensen... no one else could touch her! Of course we were rooting for Lucy Hall, Jodie Stimpson, Vicky Holland and Helen Jenkins. It was such an exciting race.

For the men's race, it was fantastic to see both the Brownlee brothers racing, and Alistair was in the lead until the final kilometre. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep up the pace and the Brownlees finished with Alistair 4th and Jonathan 5th. Winner was Spanish triathlete, Mario Mola. After the race we were lucky to meet him and he signed free t-shirts for us. AWESOME!!!!!

He's lovely!

 We also liked these giant triathlete sculpture in Hyde Park. We didn't spot a cycling one, but there probably was one...

 

Mind, I am a bit annoyed that some newspapers have only written about the men's race. What's that about, The Guardian? Triathlon fans don't make that distinction between genders - I mean, for longer distances, both men and women set out together, and though the men usually finish first, when Chrissie Wellington was competing, she only got beaten by one bloke at Alpe D'huez. One!

Watch how awesome Jorgensen's win was here.

 Other fabulous stuff this week that was/is free:

• Doughnuts. We've twice been given doughnuts at work as a bit of a morale boost. Oh my the raspberry-iced Krispy Kreme one was lush!
• The Betrayal: I listened to the abridged version of Helen Dunmore's novel set in Stalinist Russia. It's available for over a year on demand. Follow the link to listen yourself.
• Romance and Adventure: Comedian Josie Long has put her show online for free, and it's really good. Follow the link to watch for yourself. OH and I watched and enjoyed this in the week with a cheeky glass of wine.
• Heavy Entertainment: OH and I are off to see Nick Helm's Heavy Entertainment series being recorded next week and we're really looking forward to it. The pilot show is still available on BBC iplayer on demand, so you can see what we're in for. We think he's awesome. You're welcome!
• Free e-book: OH bought a bar of chocolate last week which had a code for a free e-book I've chosen Sharp Objects, the debut novel by Gillian Flynn. Looking forward to reading it.  I've not missed out on the chocolate, as I've ended up with a free Mars voucher from a winning wrapper, too.

Can You be Sociable and Frugal?

I imagine a lot of people must take a look at my blog and wonder how the heck I can call mine a "frugal" lifestyle... I am jetting off to all sorts of places, going to things, doing sport, seeing friends... surely frugality is about paring your lifestyle  down to the basics?

A busy social life in the usual sense can be problematic. The truth is, if you have a financial goal or need to save money for any reason, or if you have no money spare at all, sometimes you really do have to say "no" to things you would rather say "yes" to. You just can't do everything.

A case in point, this weekend, there is something happening that I would love to go to and because I can't afford to get there, I feel like I am letting people down. I know OH feels the same.

 

But we can console ourselves that we have done lots of things lately, been as sociable as we could be, and are saving up for an important event at the end of the month - World Fantasycon - where we shall be very sociable indeed. (Hey, SFT - Joanne Harris is going to be there - squee!)

And of course we can still be a bit sociable before then! I am going volunteering at Parkrun again tomorrow, and will enjoy doing lots of cycling and visiting family over the weekend - and that won't cost anything.

Later in the month, I will be attending a talk about the Facial Reconstruction of King Richard III as well... again, for free! I am absolutely fascinated by 'The Cousins' War' and the story of how his body was found - so that should be very interesting indeed. There will also be an exhibition following that at Northampton Museum.

I will probably also be going to the Shakespeare exhibition at Abington before it finishes, and the Susan Macwilliam installation at NN gallery. If anyone wants to join me, let me know!

I am currently doing the Go Sober campaign, which will make attending the odd birthday celebration very cheap (sponsor me, someone, please!)  - and it's high time I had people round for tea and cake (I'll get baking...).

But whatever we do decide to do with our free time,  all our bills are taken care of for the month already. All our train tickets and hotel rooms are paid for in advance. Birthday gifts are covered... and I'm very into my homemade cards, of course. We've done a 'stockpile' order this month to take advantage of a bumper load of vouchers and free delivery options (and due to an inadvertent error by Sainsbury's, I now have even more money-off vouchers to compensate - yay!), so apart from a few fresh things we should cope pretty well.

What the advance shopping has also bought us plenty of is time... and with my extra time this weekend, I fully intend to do some de-cluttering, handicrafts, and a bit of gardening and getting out in the fresh air! I also have a book report to write, and I have time to do this, too.

So, although I'm sad about not being able to do something that would have been really nice, life is good. It really is.


UPDATE: Most people know this already, but OH completed his first triathlon in a very respectable 1 hour, 13 minutes.

I am immensely proud of him!

He didn't want a load of the many photos I took to be uploaded for the world to see without a thorough vetting, but I don't think he'd mind just this one, which happens to show him overtaking another competitor on the second lap of the cycling stage.

We Can Be Heroes

I would have gone to see Stewart Lee at the Derngate last night, but I'm absolutely blooming skint. But, I am so glad I didn't pass up the opportunity to go and see the very funny Robin Ince, whose show - The Importance of Being Interested -  was the very first gig at NN Cafe this week. NN is the brand new cafe for the fairly new contemporary art gallery - NN - in Northampton's cultural quarter, and just happens to be run by my friends Tamsyn and Alan. It's very groovy in there! Loads of brilliant stuff going on - and they're showing the film Amelie today (gorgeous!).

Robin Ince - explaining.

I acquired a DVD of Nine Carols and Lessons for Godless People, which I've always wanted to see. I got the one with Alan Moore in it. Keeping it Northampton!

Also this week, I travelled to that there London to go and see m'friend the author Gareth Powell interviewed by his editor, Jonathon Oliver of Solaris for the BSFA meeting at The Artillery Arms (free event).The evening was well attended, and it was lovely to see peeps I've not seen since my birthday - or even before! Quite a high number of people who go to these things are writers (like, ahem, me, Paul Cornell, Gaie Sebold, Rebecca Levine and Lavie Tidhar), so it's a great thing to go to if you would like to meet published authors, editors, publishers and other knowledgable types, drink nice beer, and have a jolly good time.

We got to hear all about Gareth's writing career so far, and the success of his Ack-Ack Macacque series. If you fancy chatting with a monkey then you can reach him on Twitter. Apparently lots of ladies like flirting with the monkey. Alternatively, you can speak to Gareth instead.

Audrey Taylor opens proceedings. There are the raffle prizes!

My view of some of the audience. You can't see Gareth Powell, but Jonathon Oliver is clearly inspired by Paul Cornell's presence and casting a weirlight. Magic.

Ah - now I can see Gareth Powell's face!

Afterwards, I did a bookswap with Jonathon Oliver, so now have more free things to read. Also something else came in the post yesterday - a copy of Tony Ballantyne's Dream London. I get a free copy in exchange for a review.

 How gorgeous does that look? Another beautiful cover by South African artist Joey HiFi.

In frugal news this week:

• The bread I made last week was fine. I'm sure you're all relieved.
• I haven't made the pie yet.
• My dad has given me a load of tomatoes. He has advised me to keep the seeds as they're not F1. That way I can grow my own lovely tomatoes for free next year!
• Yesterday was my nephew's birthday. Fortunately, I bought his present ages ago (space books), but I made him a card. He was actually pretty impressed  by it - relief!

Honestly, he is impressed. Just distracted by a game of Minecraft.

•  OH has been given a load of cycling gear for nowt by a mate. It's very bright, but he now has stuff to practice in!

Does not come with bananas.

And today, I am cheering him on as he does HIS VERY FIRST TRIATHLON!!!!. I have cowbells - free present from Chain Reaction bikes! He's just cycled off and I have to get the bus in a minute. We'll be able to see his results here later.

Neil - you are my hero!

This week, I've still been battling my wounded knee, so I took a break from Parkrun to do a bit of volunteering. I handed out the tokens at the end. It was good fun, and I get points as if I won the race! Yay - points! I don't know what they do, but I like getting points anyway. Here's my volunteering face. Proof that not all selfies are necessarily flattering.

And this is me on Unseenn radio this week for those who have been waiting for it.

Sometimes it's Good to Meet Your Heroes

This weekend we went to my good friend the poet and editor Jamie Spracklen's birthday party to celebrate him being a couple of weeks younger than me. Much fun was had!

Here are the birthday band, the Trans-Siberian March Band, who were jolly good.

Unfortunately, I ran out of battery so couldn't take many photos.

The next day, OH and I took advantage of the fact that we were passing through anyway to stop off at Hyde Park for the World Triathlon Grand Final. What a brilliant day! Yes, the weather was miserable, but I was surprised the place wasn't packed out. After all - it was totally free to go and watch!

On the way, we passed through the Italian Gardens in Kensington - so pretty!

The first thing we saw when we went through were some of the age-groupers finishing their race... next year, OH hopes this will be him. His first triathlon is in 2 weeks, and is just a bit shorter.

And here are some of our other pictures from the day... we found a good spot just by the penalty box so we could see the swimming and the cycling/running fairly close to the finish line.

So pleased with this one - first lap in of the cycling Johnny Brownlee was in the lead, Alastair was third. Alas it didn't stay that way.

is it raining?

 

 

It was a shame Alastair got injured (but he bravely kept on running).

 

Afterwards we got to meet him and his brother, who got beaten into second place by Gomez... but they seemed fine and very stoic. Lovely lads!

 



 

 

And this is what happy looks like... OH gets to meet World Triathlon Champion 2013 - Non Stanford!



Neil loves Non! I think the term is 'squee!'

All in all a fantastic day... However, I am pretty convinced that standing that long watching may be slightly more exhausting than taking part in an actual triathlon???

 

Mmm... maybe not. But maybe I was tired after getting my new PB at Parkrun on Saturday. Oh yes, I've gone sub 30 at 29 minutes, 52 seconds! Watch out Brownlees, might just chick you!

 

Mmm... again, maybe not...