Category Archives: 2006

114. Mont Blanc morning – Flaine, France

Posted on 19 April, 2006 by | Leave a comment

mont-blanc-from-grandes-platieres-flaine-sixt-glacier-des-bossons.jpgHigh upon the Grandes Platières ski-lift, the French resort of Flaine recedes quickly behind us, the colour of the concrete fading fast into the grey of the rocks, and the outlines of the Bauhaus school buildings blending with the cliff faces just as architect Marcel Breuer had hoped that they would.

It was two Swiss friends who discovered the delights of the Flaine bowl whilst ski-touring in 1954, eventually recounting their find to geophysicist Éric Boissonnas in 1959.

And it was Boissonas who took the bold step of commissioning Breuer to design a ski station in its entirety, that brief encompassing everything from the village layout to the hotels, and even all the furniture within them.

It was a huge undertaking, which had to begin with the blasting of a switchback road out of the mountainside just to reach the site. But by the end of the sixties the resort was essentially complete, and love it or hate it, Flaine is listed as a site of architectural interest today.
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Posted in 2006, France, history, winter

113. The Pilgrim’s Progress – Surrey Hills 2

Posted on 30 March, 2006 by | 5 comments

(… continued)

hackhurst-downs-north-downs-way-surrey.jpgAs I turn left off the main A25, uncharted territory lies ahead. The narrow lane rises in front of me, and I neither walk, nor confidently run, but somehow cobble together an unheroic if effective mix of both until the gradient flattens.

The ancient pasture land of Abinger Roughs lies to my left, that name describing quite well my personal symptoms of oxygen deficit and lingering virus.

It’ll only get harder from here, and so it’s just the ideal time to spy a couple of puzzled walkers standing by the roadside with their map.
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Posted in 2006, history, Surrey and Sussex, the marathon journey

112. Forests of fire and iron – Surrey Hills 1

Posted on 29 March, 2006 by | Comments Off on 112. Forests of fire and iron – Surrey Hills 1

tillingbourne-albury-abinger-hammer-surrey-hills.jpgA drizzly morning, the last Sunday in March. And so, it’s come to this.

All those freezing January lunchtimes, seemingly endless February slogs into that slowly lengthening winter dusk, and forays into the primaeval darkness in the rain.

Looking back, it was nothing more than preparation for what lies ahead today.
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Posted in 2006, history, Surrey and Sussex, the marathon journey

111. The plan

Posted on 18 February, 2006 by | Leave a comment

running-schedule-and-kit-2006.jpgThe glass of the second bottle felt moist and cool in my hand. Inviting.

5.30 pm at an exhibition in Earl’s Court, London’s very own suburb of Melbourne. It wasn’t an Australian beer in my hand, this time, even if three of those had slipped down effortlessly the evening before.

One more had disappeared just a moment ago, subsumed in seconds and without a thought. As they always are, at the witching hour which closes any trade show.

It was hard to believe my eyes, really, but it was happening. The bottle, so helpfully handed to me just a moment before, was moving back towards the table. My papers were gathering themselves into my bag.

Time for a decision. I collected my coat, mumbled a few feeble farewells, and headed out into the dusk and the rain, raising my collar and shuffling forwards along the wet pavement towards the tube station.
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Posted in 2006, the marathon journey, training, winter

110. The hands that built America – Houston skylines

Posted on 10 February, 2006 by | 2 comments

houston-skylines.jpg

Oh my love
It’s a long way we’ve -come
From the freckled hills
To the steel and glass canyons
U2 – November 2002

My watch says almost midday, and still I’m waiting for the sun to come up. I’ve been sitting in my hotel room for a couple of hours already, wide awake and yet bleary-eyed with jet-lag, but a glance out of the window and across the freeway shows a resolutely dark sky over the plains beyond The Loop.

Oh well. There’s no point in waiting any longer. I chuck on a T-shirt and shorts, lace up my shoes, trot out through the lobby and hit the sidewalk running.
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Posted in 2005, 2006, A1 - the best of roads of stone, divided by an ocean, environment, global warming, Houston, music, peak oil, science

109. Happiness, more or less

Posted on 30 January, 2006 by | Leave a comment

river-wey-navigation-and-newark-priory.jpg

Happiness – more or less
It’s just a change in me
Something in my liberty
Oh my mind

Happiness – coming and going
I watch you look at me
Watch my fever growing
I know just where I am

Well, how many corners do I have to turn ?
How many times do I have to learn ?
All the love I have is in my mind
The Verve – September 1997

The runner’s high. Goodness knows, I’ve sought it long and hard recently. I’ve waited long enough.

Some would argue that it’s exercise-induced narcosis which keeps us running in the first place. But I know that’s not true. Because whilst I appreciate the benefits of running, and a certain post-run clarity of thought is up there on my list, there really is much more to it. You can’t manufacture those moments – they just happen.
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Posted in 2006, history, life and times, music, Surrey and Sussex, the marathon journey, winter