Though it might seem cheeky to review one’s brother-in-law’s paella, I give it five stars. Lyndsay and John host a giant paella party every summer, and this year it coincided with the 30th birthday of their twins, Charlie and Hannah, on Sunday, 31 July.
On Friday, therefore, Uncle Roy and I locked up the boat, headed off from Thames & Kennet marina and checked in at The Arrow Mill for the weekend (reviewed in my 13 July blog). We’d had car trouble again with the new Renault Twingo, but our incredibly generous marina neighbours, Kenny and Heather, lent us their Volvo convertible for the trip.
On the back terrace of Lynt and John’s house – a house that has seen some spectacular parties in its time – four generations celebrated the twins’ birthday together: from Roy’s mum, Leila (93), to a fast-growing brood of great-grandchildren whose names I will not list here, for fear of leaving out a name and offending its parent forever.
We’ve been enjoying what my daughter-in-law Carrie calls a “family top-up”. First, daughter Wendy came to visit us from France (see Sonning Bridge, 15 July); then my sister Dale and her husband Colin popped down (up?) from Kent last week.
Bearing multiple bottles of chilled Pol Roget champagne, they arrived at the Thames & Kennet Marina just as rainy morning was giving way to a warm and balmy afternoon – perfect for a short boat-trip upstream, passing through Caversham Lock and Reading town, then turning neatly before the next lock at Mapledurham to cruise beatifically back.
Now that I’ve done my first Parkrun I’m wondering what took me so long. There’s a Parkrun – a free, timed, 5K run – in most of the places Roy and I spend time in, including the UK, Durban, Singapore, and Perth, WA.
I first heard of Parkrun two or three years ago in in my home town of Durban. Roy and I were cycling gently along the North Beach promenade one Saturday morning with our good friend Jeff Fobb when we were almost mown down by the surging mob – the front-runners go like hell, and it gets very competitive. And there’s another Parkrun along the Umhlanga Rocks beachfront that goes directly past our flat.
When the first Singapore Parkrun was established last year in East Coast Park, we promoted it on the health and fitness pages of Expat Living magazine (www.expatliving.sg). Though it starts only a stone’s throw from the Amber Road condo where Roy and I lived until May this year, I never made it to the run.
My first Parkrun
Magically, my first Parkrun (about a month ago) was also my first run ever with my younger sister, Dale, who lives in Bromley, Kent – anything between 90 minutes and three hours’ drive from us, depending on traffic. Having started running only in January this year, she’s already done plenty of Parkruns, a 10K race and also – to everyone’s astonishment – a half-marathon! I’m hugely proud of her.
Dale and her “Zeroes to Heroes” running buddies
Me and my athletic sister
Leaving behind our snoring husbands – who’d stayed up until 4am to solve the problems of the world over a bottle of vintage tequila – Dale and I walk-jogged the 2km to the start of her local Bromley Parkrun in Norman Park. Meeting some of her friendly fellow-runners from “Zeroes to Heroes” (a free coaching programme), I could only admire their camaraderie and mutual support.
Thames Valley Park Parkrun
Luckily for me, Reading’s beautiful Thames Park Valley Parkrun flags off almost directly across the Thames from where our Dutch barge Karanja is moored at Thames & Kennet Marina – again, coincidentally, less than 2km away as the heron flies. But it’s 6 or 7km away as the foot walks or the car drives, unfortunately: so I have to drive and park, either at the paid commuter car-park at Reading Bridge, or at the free Tesco Extra parking that’s an ideal six-minute trot from the start line.
Like the Bromley Parkrun, it’s a great course: flat and rural, mainly short grass and earthen paths. I’ve done the Reading Parkrun twice, and plan to go back this weekend, now that my bruised knees and grazed elbows have just about recovered from my coming a cropper 10 days ago while running the tow path between Henley and Marlow. (No, I didn’t blog about that. Least said, soonest mended.)
This man was raising awareness for the Samaritans’ Swim the Solent 2016 – using real ales and music as lures
Reading Parkrunners are keen on cake
More about Parkrun
Though “Parkrun” sounds like a translation of “parcour” (or “parkour”), the former is a lot less exotic and lot more attainable than the latter. Parkruns are free, timed, five-kilometre urban or suburban running routes over generally accessible courses that often include a park; and if you watched the spell-binding, bone-crunching intro to the 007 flick Casino Royale, you’ll know that parcour is a very different animal!
Founded in 2004 by one Paul Sinton-Hewitt in Teddington on the River Thames – not too far from the marina where I’m sitting right now – Parkrun has spread to 14 or more countries, including Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Poland, Russia, New Zealand, Denmark, the US, France, Italy, Singapore, Jersey and Guernsey. It’s run every Saturday morning of the year at the same time. It’s easy to find the Parkrun nearest you: go to www.parkrun.com. Register just once online to get your eternal barcode, which you present at the end of the run to have your time registered and posted online.
