Over two months since the last post, the problem has not been lack of entries, merely finding the time to document them. Life with DM has shifted priorities in my life on a massive scale but the book is still ever present. Late July and August brought with it a plethora of activity, the details follow...
Sunderland Color Run & Scotland
Planned way before Danielle was in our lives, the trip to Scotland was to celebrate Mum's 60th birthday, the main focus was the Commonwealth games being held in Glasgow but it was the venue of our home for the fortnight that turned out to be the main attraction.
As it was such a special occasion, the decision was made not to stay in any old hotel or B&B in or around Scotland's largest city but to spend it in a lodge in the beautiful region of Loch Lomond. The two old ones went up first on the train on the Thursday to get the hire car and set up the lodge, Dani followed the day after and I went up after that. As with all holidays for my two it wasn't plain sailing at the start, I was later told the grim details of nerve jangling car journeys and places being miles away from where they were meant to be. They will have a problem free holiday one day bless them...
Before all this though it was a delightful aside for me, the Sunderland Color Run. I'm fortunate enough now to have friends in various location around the UK and the world, Lovely Jo in Manchester for that Color Run and my wing lady from Peru, Tracie from Newcastle who I ended up doing the Color Run with in Sunderland with her fella. Unlike the two old ones and Danielle, my journey to Scotland had a detour. I chose a simple enough B&B to stay in for my one night in Sunderland, the area I was in was far from glamorous and a hint at the saying 'grim up north'. I'm still baffled by this phrase though as everyone I've ever met up north has been proper lush. I remember passing a group of young guys who had the potential of looking threatening and I was loaded up with the beast and a second backpack looking a right old sight. As soon as they saw me though they just said hi and then kept talking among themselves. Put them in Reading and wait for the abuse to follow. I eventually reached my digs, I rang the doorbell and a lady came from next door to open up for me and show me what was what. The room ticked every box, there's a time and a place for luxury and this wasn't it, my own little world of luxury was there in front of me with the 3 basics for solo goodness; bed, TV and kettle. I went for a wander after un-packing the beast and found a cracking seafood place with some great views of the coast around me. I saw a group of fellow color runners with their t-shirts on for the night, I got the usual raised eyebrow for dining alone but all was well, especially with the linguine.
The following morning, something of a quandary. I certainly wasn't going to run 5km with the beast and a second pack on my back all covered in paint so the question, what to do with the beast? I didn't want to take it with me and risk storing it at the venue so I found a secluded little wooded spot close to the B&B, hid the beast and covered it in a poncho in case it tipped it down and went on my way. A good reason I didn't take it with me as the trams on the way there were packed with color runners. After watching two trams go past full of people I eventually squeezed onto the next one with damn near everyone pouring out at the venue's stop.
This was the first time i'd be seeing my wing lady from Peru since we'd parted back in Lima. As well as being the life and soul of the party she'd helped me get through my toughest day out there when my knees were feeling far from forgiving after the harshness of the day's trek. The A - Z game will remain a classic! This was tricky ground for Tracie and her fella though, two Geordies racing at the Stadium of Light, home to their sworn footballing rivals Sunderland FC. Yours truly was dressed up like a right tart, bright orange shades, twin purple rubber bands on each wrist and a brightly coloured tutu, acceptable only at a gay pride march or on a Color Run! Content on which side my bread was buttered though I was once again ready to get covered in powdered paint. The Manchester color run had been the biggest yet but in some ways this had spoiled the experience in having to wait to go through each gate because of the amount of traffic. Not only was this a smaller crowd but we were all at the front which was new in itself for me. I id my best to go as slow as possible for the other two. With the amount of people there I can walk quicker than most of the joggers much to their disbelief, it's only when the crowds start to dissipate that i'm able to stretch my legs. Highlight of the day had to be, "Get the tall one!". I take great pleasure in walking slowly through each colour gate getting as much of the stuff on me as possible. If you do so with your arms up in the air being as tall as I am the paint chuckers usually take great pleasure in getting you covered.
After we'd finished we went over to the stage where the dj was playing music and a guy on the mic was getting the crowd fired up and chucking goodies into the crowd. I managed to catch his eye a couple of times as he lobbed a couple of paint packs for me to give to Tracie. The best part of this is always the paint throw where everyone chucks the stuff they've been given up in the air, filling it with colour. I stayed for several of those until too many seconds had ebbed and it was time to go. It was hard saying goodbye to Tracie and the rest of her lot which had joined us, but Scotland was looming. I walked back towards my B&B from the night before hoping the beast was still there, was highly chuffed when I found it was :) After changing into some new gear and hastily washing off as much paint as I could it was back to the station and on to the main course. Sunderland had been a delightful appetiser and a reminder of how much I love the north. I remember the banter of everyone in Newcastle station, nothing but honest lovely people having a laugh with each other and the short guy I met on the train who talked with me until he got to his stop, good luck with your rugby training dude. I had Google Maps active on my phone and took a screenshot when I crossed the border I was back in Scotland.
After getting off the train at Edinburgh I had a call from Dani, my first contact for a while so I was trying not to well up. I had a few weird looks from many of the locals, one kid in particular just couldn't stop staring at me for some reason, not a lot of tall being in those parts i'm guessing. The train approached Glasgow and I got myself loaded up for the final time, now oh so happy to be train free for a few days after several hours stuck on them. Walking towards the ticket gates and I can already see the three of them. Mum doing what Mums do, Dad waving and already starting his usual set piece and Danielle as beautiful as I remember her. It's her I aim for as soon as i'm through, the two old ones by now knowing to let this be, they'll have their time with me as well but at that second all I want is to be in the arms of the woman I love. After a nice long hug i'm surrounded by a cacophony of noise as i'm filled in with the details thus far from all sides. In my absence the two old ones had gone through hell the first day to get the hire car and find our lodge, Dad had nearly had a nervous breakdown driving with speeding locals in adverse weather conditions and my wedding had already been planned, i'd be dressing up in a black wetsuit with a bowtie whilst engaging in water sports on Loch Lomond. Feeling slightly bewildered I soaked it all in as the four of us went on the long drive from Glasgow to Loch Lomond. After Dad's nervous stint over one of his dreaded high bridge drives, we started to see the beautiful sights found in that part of the world as we approached the highlands. As well as in jokes such as how long to wait for the traffic lights at the road works and 'are we going to miss our turning?' we eventually pulled up to our venue the Ardlui Retreat and I had found another little corner of paradise. The retreat was just that, a small gated community of lodges close to a lovely little hotel, water sports hut and more importantly right on Loch Lomond itself. I could tell the others were gaging my reaction as they'd already experienced it. The lodge was lush and had plenty of room, there was a hot tub in a separate hut, a washer room and a small sauna type room but my eyes couldn't stop looking at the Loch and surrounding landscape. I'd come up for the sports but had fallen in love with my home for the fortnight.
The first full day was Mum's birthday, 60 years old and time to celebrate. The day started of with a full 'Scottish' breakfast, a variation on a theme. The variety came in a fruit bun sort of thing which shouldn't had worked cuisine wise but was bloody good. this was followed by a boat trip out on the Loch further up the road and a walk through some lush scenery with a couple of waterfalls thrown in for good measure with a group of people tomb stoning. The weather was perfect, we all had a great time and Dani was with me for all of it, not much more you can say really, perfection.
Come come now, this is a Jenkins holiday so the whole trip could not have gone off without a hitch surely? How right you are, the curse still very much prevalent on my day when I roused everyone to conquer Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis. Standing at 1,344 metres, Nevis is a beast and not to be taken lightly, despite this though finding it isn't as easy as you'd imagine. We decided to leave the hire car at the lodge and after making ourselves lighter to the tune of £105 we were on the sleeper train to Fort William. The train up was memorable for two reasons, the first being 'that' view of a mountain that reflected so perfectly onto the stretch of water below it and Neil, the man who was way to passionate about trains. He asked Mum if we'd like him to do a bit of commentary about the sights on route, lovely thought Mum, thinking he'd pop along every 15 minutes of so for a quick bit of info. Unfortunately we were stuck with Neil bless him. Every minute detail about the landscape but mainly the train itself. We tried feigning sleep and even actively having conversations with each other but nothing was going to stop him embellishing every last detail he could think of. Sadly he had to leave us at Rannock station, me and Dad did our best to hide our excitement.
The train reached Fort William and we thought our task would be simple; look for the big neon sign pointing at the start of the trek up Nevis or ask any of the locals. Me and Dad would be climbing and the other two would meet us up there by travelling on the gondola/cable car which everyone assured us existed. After much faffing around the details of this were unsure so me and Dad took a taxi to the bottom, all seemed well. I'd been very strict with Dad in the morning making sure he'd packed enough water and warm clothes in case the very un-Scottish hot weather turned to cold while we were on the mountain. Despite stupidly packing only a few nibbles I thought there would be a shop near the base selling such stalwarts as energy bars and Kendal Mint cake, no such luck. We started off and quickly the heat made itself known. I had no sun cream on me (again, stupid) so everything was rolled up to stay cool, occasionally dipping a desert scarf in water and wrapping it around my head. Despite eternally mocking my trekking essential I knew I was winning Dad around to the idea of this as he told me he planned to wear one if we tried something like this again, my favourite black and white one goes with me everywhere it might be needed whether as a sling, towel, bandana, hand wrap or whatever it needs to be. The going was hard, before reaching halfway Dad had threatened to give up and go back. This clearly wasn't going to happen as he is and always will be a sportsman at heart with failure never an option plus he knew I would have followed him back down to look after him regardless of any protests which was simply not an option for him. We both pushed on, according to those coming back down the halfway point was upon reaching a plateau with a lake on the left hand side, this was a very welcome sight indeed, especially as the underfoot conditions were vastly superior and the slope was now a gentle incline. When doing something like the Ben Nevis climb these milestones are vital. It comes down to little victories when you're feeling so tired; 15 minutes to this point, 20 minutes to the next one, having something to aim for each time. My biggest boost came at the waterfall, a lush looking spectacle with various people stopping to take pictures. The next few minutes after that I felt weightless, stopping only to re-dampen my desert scarf to wrap it around my head.
Further up we were both starting to feel it, Dad looked completely knackered and his stops were becoming more frequent. Despite a bit of protest I used my scarf to get his body covered in water to cool his temperature down, after the third time this was being welcomed. More updates from passers by, half an hour to the snow. The 'snow' we thought, in such heat? We stopped at what we thought was the section by a little patch of snow until I took a sneaky look around the corner and saw a steep-ish jaunt covered in the stuff. At this stage I was now literally dragging Dad up the rest of the way, initially just because of the slippery surface of the snow but then due to sheer exhaustion. the summit seemed to take for ever to get to and when we got there it was a hive of activity. At the top was the three pointed symbol i'd seen at the top of Scafell Pike and Snowdon signifying the end of the climb. The views were spectacular. There was no white out like at Wales's peak but the one thing that was missing was a visible gondola. The promise from those in the know was to climb up and travel back down. I'd promised Dani I was going to summit with her and had put all my efforts into doing this, I was in for a shock. The two girls had been enduring their own struggle for the day trying to emulate our achievement. It seems no one in Fort William knows how to get a gondola up the top of Nevis because it simply doesn't exist. Mum and Dani had been led on a wild goose chase from the people in the tourist building, to the bus driver taking them to the gondola to the people working with the gondola. The penny only dropped when they were on the ride taking them up a completely different mountain with a picture of where they were with Nevis in the distance. Danielle, with fire in her belly and i'm guessing a mind for killing yours truly went and climbed the remainder of the mountain she'd found herself on, therapeutic in one sense and at least giving her her own sense of achievement in summiting one of the peaks.After getting the text from Dani giving me the basic details I felt sick. Meeting her and bringing her up would take at least 4 hours and we'd all then have to go back down with the threat of missing the last bus and train very real. I'd put all my effort in getting up and seeing her so was now feeling completely drained. I knew how disappointed she'd be feeling in not reaching Nevis's Summit after an early start and an exhausting day up to that point. Seeing her at the top would have given me the boost I needed and having a gondola ride for most of the journey back would have been fine but instead the two of us now had to make the whole journey again. Very early on I began to suffer. The light headedness and lack of energy felt by Dad on the way up was hitting me like a tonne of bricks. After looking after him on the way up and taking some of his gear in my pack he was now well and truly returning the favour. He took my pack for most of the journey and stayed close as I went into pure survival mode. We reached the waterfall again and filled up our water bottles after seeing other people do the same and then saw a rescue helicopter. I was only half joking when I questioned to myself whether it was being sent for us. It hovered over our heads for a while and eventually picked someone up further up the mountain. I wonder if it was the guy who decided to do the trek with no shoes on, truly a sight to behold!
After what seemed like an age we eventually reached the bottom and the Nevis Inn where we'd started. I order two pints of lemonade and six mars bars then asked Dad what he wanted, heat and hunger had well and truly taken it's toll as I hadn't felt this drained since the Bog Snorkelling and Find the Bridge Part 1. I booked a taxi back to Fort William station to meet up with the others where we were greeted with worried, and rightly so, aggrieved faces as they'd endured their own nightmares for the day. We ended up in a Morrisons café ordering loads of food and some drinks. I was worried Dani was going to end up burying one of the staff there as they brought out some uncooked delicacies and was really still to out of it to care about the food as I just wanted to get back to the lodge. The last train was an hour or so away so we paid again for a bus journey back. Oddly enough this was way quicker than the train ride, offered us some new views to look at and all without our overly eager guide Neil. The majority of the day was a farce but did offer three major pluses. Mum and Dani had endured much together that day and bonded because of it. The love of my life and Mum getting on is not the be all or end all but is of course very welcome as I intent o spend the rest of my life with Danielle so the two of them getting on is a bonus. There were plenty of stories to take back from the experience for all of us which of course makes the story telling afterwards that much more enjoyable as there's nothing more boring to listen to or read about than 'Had nice uneventful day, came home and went to bed'. Finally the sense of achievement which came from peaking at Nevis. I'd had part of this taken away from me as I wanted to experience it with Dani but I can still say I've done it, I've reached the top of Britian three peaks. You can see the disappointment in my face at the summit but hopefully you can also see the determination and effort I put in to get up there, be under no illusion, Ben Nevis is an absolute slog and you will be punished for taking it on unprepared. My advice if you're considering doing it is to get it done then get the hell out of Fort William as the place is a joke. Not one person hinted to Mum or Dani that the gondola they were taking would not be taking them where they needed to go, it felt like Land's End all over a again, a place taking it's attraction for granted and offering a crap service for those wishing to view it.
Other highlights and lowlights can fade away as much more has happened between now and then and there is so much more to write about. My solo trip with Pickle to have a much needed break from the goldfish bowl, meeting her sister and having a thoroughly lovely day in Glasgow eating haggis, neeps and tatties and riding on a big ferris wheel. Doing the same thing with Mum (minus the big wheel) to stop her and Dad killing each other and seeing an Englishman compete in, win and get awarded his gold medal in the cycling time trial race in front of us which was a bonus. The lovely Drover's Inn, a short drive from the lodge which introduced me to the joys of haggis and a giant stuffed bear on the first occasion and two funny singers on the second who gave all the ladies present a shaker to shake along to the music. Star of the show though was Loch Lomond itself. My slightly unsteady but i'm assured, damn good first attempt at Board surfing was pleasurable enough but it was the swim in the Loch that I enjoyed the most. The two old ones were stood in the shallows while I swam to a platform in the middle of the Loch before swimming back, much to their relief i'm guessing as lifeguard material they are not ;)Going home was yet another slog but manageable thanks to the knowledge i'd be returning to Danielle, words cannot describe how good it felt seeing her again and the details of which will remain, rightly and respectfully, ours.
Details of Wales on the way - Rossifer x
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