Thanks OGF, you too. 
I think people are beginning to settle down now Summer. Last week, even early in the morning, the queues at Tesco stretched into infinity…(might have exaggerated a tad there…:-D…) And a walk round the store revealed a few empty shelves, toilet rolls and cleaning products. Bread was in short supply also, with only Tesco bread (baked on site) available.
Yesterday however, we sailed straight in and managed to purchase practically all the items on the list, including bread and toilet rolls. It appears now the urgency has worn off folks are preferring to have a lie in, rather than make the early morning slog down to the supermarket. So it’s just us early birds Summer…
Quite a bit warmer this morning with occasional views of the sun, time to leave the hat off…
Still put on me gloves though, cold hands are still a problem.
A fairly decent Thursday Five around empty streets and deserted lanes. It seemed like I was the only one left alive after some major catastrophe had destroyed all of civilisation as we know it. The runner coming in the opposite direction nodded a quick good morning as we passed…Just you and me then mate!..Oh! and the 6:30 goods train to
Sc u n thorpe…Or Hull…the line goes to both…
The village where I live now is not the village where I was born, my parents moved here when I was 21 when it became possible for the working classes to buy their own home, and Mum and Dad took advantage…
The village where I was born and spent the first 20 years of my life was at the other side of perhaps half a dozen fields and about four miles as the crow flies…
It was while I was out walking yesterday that I looked over the fields and spotted the winding gear of the old colliery called Hatfield Main. Abandoned for the last 30 years, despite several attempts to make something of it. My mind went into overdrive and drifted back to the time when it was the beating heart of the village.
The Colliery was the reason why there was a village there, and at the end of the nineteenth century people from the length and breadth of the British Isles migrated to South Yorkshire to find work in the pits.
My Grandad on my father’s side was one of those migrants and moved here from Leicester and found work at the pit, together with his son, my Dad. As I was growing up, the village was a vibrant, bustling, self contained community. Hardly anyone ever left the village, no motor cars in those days, just three private bus companies serving the community with an efficient and punctual bus service.
The colliery was the life of the village, and it was a good place to live. I was schooled in the village, first at the nursery, then at the infants and junior school, finally attending the Secondary Modern. Morning and evening I would deliver the papers until at fifteen I became an apprentice in a small engineering factory, making parts for the colliery.
Dad would never allow me to work down the pit…
The sight of the winding gear unleashed memories of the past and accompanied me on my walk like an old friend. Shortly after I left the village the pit closed, and ripped the heart out of the village. I have visited the village since, and I don’t recognise the place… Shops now closed and boarded up, and most of the local pubs have either been demolished, or turned into flats…The bus company is based in Sheffield and is run by a foreign consortium.
Good post OGF, a bit of your autobiography 
Thanks Biffo, it’s nice to see you in my Bits…
After my Heart Attack in 2004 I thought I would write a bit about my running and the recovery before it was too late…
So when I joined the forum it seemed a good idea to post some stuff people might find interesting, but I enjoy writing it even if they don’t, and Azz, Meg and Mags haven’t chucked me off the site yet…
My Friday Five went according to plan, not much aggro from the big toe after the first mile so the tablets must be working… The time was a bit slower (20 seconds) than yesterday but I felt a whole lot better and was still strong at the end. Still not many people about at that time in the morning, but a few cars, lorries and busses on the main road.
The run through the woods is a pleasure, with lots of foliage sprouting through the forest floor beginning to provide a carpet of green, most of which is Bluebell leaves, so it looks like there is going to be a good show this year. And the lane is in really good nick, with no rain for the last couple of weeks and all the fields planted, so no tractors ploughing it up, it makes for an excellent running track. It’s so nice, I’ve even been returning later in the day for an enjoyable walk just to admire nature and see how spring is progressing.
With mild dry conditions it’s perfect for the newborn lambs, but I think Mother is a little overdressed…
Managed to go for walk up the lane with Mrs Fox before lunch, but while leaving the housing estate where I live I spotted this Heron, I think someone is going to be missing a fish from their pond tonight…
Every time I walk down this lane something new brings back memories.
The old Gothic church where Mum and Dad got Married…
No running today and a bit of a lie in…I was still up at around seven and managed to avoid the queues at Tesco. Their one way system will be enough training for today… All the shelves were neatly stacked with very few shortages. Loads of toilet rolls, and Mrs Fox even managed to buy some anti bax spray. Finished my latest book yesterday and so I’ll have to do a few jobs that I placed on hold during reading…I’ve awarded myself a Smarties Easter Egg, though I don’t think it will last until next week…
Every year in March I used to do a twenty mile run at Cleckheaton in preparation for the marathon season.
This was me on the last few hundred yards and still going strong…Them was the days when I ran for a club, but they amalgamated (were taken over) by Doncaster AC and lost their identity overnight after fifty years of proud history …
Change is a funny thing OGF, but, sometimes it is not laughable.
Nothing stays the same Spitty, how ever much some of us old guys would like it to. I find that being stuck in a rut is like wearing a comfy pair of slippers these days…
So where was I…? Ah yes, it’s Sunday, and before the day can start I must go out for my usual long run…The Sun was streaming through the window calling me out to play like an old friend in days gone by. Still a bit chilly so a thin fleece top, shorts and gloves would be sufficient.
The big toe felt good with just a hint of discomfort, but apart from that, the deserted country roads were my oyster this morning and I took full advantage and made it a steady eight miles. With so much activity from our avian friends I sensed they knew it was going to be a lovely warm day and nest building had to be completed before starting a family.
Pheasants and Partridges squarked and quickly fled the verges for the safety of the fields as I jogged past, and crows and rooks sounded like rusty door hinges as they cheered me on from their lofty perches. The church clock in the next small hamlet had been repaired, it read 2:00 am last week as I ran past, they must have had trouble changing it to British Summer time.
Never saw a soul, not even the girl from the newsagent who is usually leaning on the window having a fag, as I jogged through the village and out into the country, not even a car. The first person I encountered was a farmer out walking his dog after I reached the four mile mark. Still feeling good I turned for home and straight into the path of a fairly lively breeze, it certainly slowed me down a bit, and it stayed with me until I arrived back at the village.
So it didn’t end up being a record breaker, the strong breeze took care of that, but I was still feeling strong at the end, and it turned out to be a very comfortable run out into the country.
It’s a rest day tomorrow with perhaps just a walk, and then business as usual on Tuesday, but I’m satisfied that I’ve earnt my Sunday lunch and a slob out in front of the telly later today…
A quick smoke before the start of the Lyke Wake Race in 1991.
42 Miles from Ravenscar to Osmotherly across the North Yorks Moors. I ended up coming 12th in a time of 6 hours and 1 minute.
The finish 42 miles and six hours later…
you used to smoke? I didn’t see you as a smoker. Mind you, I was too until 12 years ago.
Foxy, I have no doubt you would have been Top Three, had you not stopped at the Red Lion for a pint and a smoke.
Smoking…tuts
Foxy - Smoker from Mid Sixties - Sunday 30th May 2004…
I remember the day exactly because following a thirteen mile local run, I was enjoying a post run fag and drink when I felt woosy…I stubbed out the fag and had a heart attack…That was the last cigarette I ever smoked…And from that day to this I’ve never even fancied one…
You could be right about the Red Lion Spitty, it was a very hard pub to pass…
Had a walk to Tesco this morning, about three miles round trip, and will take around an hour to complete, just the amount of time we are allowed out for exercise…Two birds with one stone springs to mind…
Because part of the route follows my early morning five mile run through the woods I thought it would make a good photo being as I don’t carry a camera while out running…I bet you wish you could come with me for a run in the morning…
The well organised queue outside Tesco with everyone observing the 2 metre rule…Tesco even employed a bouncer to make sure everybody stuck to the rules…That’s him on the left dressed like a snooker referee…
I was just taking the rubbish out to the bin after dinner and look was outside the back door…:shock: Had to run in and get me camera…
Nice five mile run this morning through that wood in the photo. It was a bit sharp first thing, but nothing I couldn’t handle…
It’s lunch time already and I don’t seem to be able to prize myself out of this chair. Better move myself or I’ll miss bargain hunt…Catch you all later…