The Stupid Stuff

How does someone returning from West Africa suffering from Ebola get back into the UK with ease? We have lost the plot. We don't do enough to contain the spread of this killer disease when it could have been contained, and now someone gets back to the UK yesterday, with ease across our border. I pity all of those exposed on the flight, through customs either side, on public transport and who may have come into contact with the person who is now seriously ill. I also pray for the victim, who if international efforts had been better, may never have been exposed to Ebola. Can someone in our government please stop pissing around with the stupid stuff AND instead please start dealing with the important stuff

Malala Yousafzai

So Malala Yousafzai becomes the youngest recipient ever of the Nobel Peace Prize when the joint award was announced today. Okay, so I was out by a year when I uploaded the following blog post in October 2013, but nevertheless the receipt of the award for me was always a given. 

"So Malala Yousafzai is favourite to win the Nobel Peace Prize when the Winner is announced this coming Friday.  Well, there is no surprise there then.  Especially if you had read my Blog Post of the 03 September 2013 when I commented upon the madness of the decision to cut the broadcast of one of Malala Yousafzai's speeches in mid flow."

Maybe the BBC can now respond by repeating her astonishing speech of 2013 in full. 

Relief

My friend Adam described my poem 'the vote' as "five lines of relief". Yep, I can't argue with that.

The Vote

Welcome back Scotland 

I am really glad

That you chose to stay

In our old Union

This September Day

Roger Bennett

19 September 2014

All Rights Reserved 

Chess

I scored 3.5 out of the 9 Rounds of Chess in Cardiff. Two of my opponents were in the stratosphere of my Rated Opposition, so with those games aside, I managed 3.5 out of 7 from the remainder. This included 5 draws, 4 of these were in a row, which is the longest run of draws that I have ever had when playing over the board chess. My tournament result was not great, but the outcome is lovely. 

I enjoyed the games, and enjoyed the week away.

NATO

Is it wrong to write about the NATO Summit being held in South Wales? We can't afford a holiday this year and are staying in Cardiff after a kind relative offered to lend us their place in the City while they are away. So with the support of my good friend Adam, I am chancing my arm at the South Wales International Open Chess Tournament. A six day chess extravaganza held in the centre of our Capital. 

Although at the moment it is not the vibrant cosmopolitan city that I know; not with all of this security fencing and vehicle barricades dotted about everywhere.  You can't even escape the intrusion when strolling or jogging through what is normally the lovely Bute Park. Nope, for the last five days, I have felt quite intimidated and feel as if I am in the Middle East rather than in South Wales. The worst part is, I thought that the NATO thingy was taking place in Newport.  Gwent get the Summit, but South Wales get the expense. And what's this 'working lunch' malarky? I've dined in the Castle many years ago, and with that standard of quisine, there's not going to be that much working going on.  Unlike me at the chess board, slogging it out for a few hours at a time.

To be quite honest, if it wasn't for Adam, it's highly unlikely that I would be here at all. Well yes, I would be here drinking coffee and strolling around, but not playing chess. You see, the aforementioned friend sort of acts like my 'second'. Of course it is quite unheard of for a club level chess player like me to have a 'second', but the support is essential with my mental ill health. 

Adam researches chess ideas and themes, researches my opponents and preps me as to what chess opening to expect, and then analyses each of my chess games in detail following each round. I wake up in the flat to a ping on my mobile phone, and that is a text or email from Adam informing me who I am due to playing etc., Following the game I photograph my chess scoresheet and then email it to Adam for analysis. We also met up several times prior to my jaunt to the fenced off City. So while other people do a lot of work, I just have a lot of fun, and the pressure valve folks is wide open. 

So thank you Adam, because you are helping me to live my dream, but bugger off NATO because you are making me feel vulnerable and intimidated. 

Next time, please host your Summit out on a ship or away in the countryside. 

Oh the chess, how is it going you ask? Well I lost in Round 1 to an International Master (so no surprise there then) and somehow drew the next four games. Part of this unusual string of draws, is risk aversion, and of course lack of confidence. The other part must be down to my aims and objectives, the primary one being enjoyment. I mustn't care about the result, but I must ensure that I do enjoy playing.

Swotting

Well Friday came and went and no swotting occurred for the British Chess Championships Week 2 AM Open Competition. There was alas (and still is) lots of sweating with this heat wave currently engulfing Wales and the rest of the UK but no swatting. So here I am, feet up, watching the TV and wishing that I had the money to install an air conditioning system. It's times like this that I wish that I was on a long drive, because at least the car is cooler. 

Although I did pay a visit to the main playing area today, and I must say that the room appeared to be really cool. The Championship organisers had also put on lots of water. But even the cool water and the cool room wasn't as cool as the cool commentator in the Commentary Room.  Now he seemed to be shrouded in his own personal air conditioning system, and I must admit by the manner in which he commentated on the games; he had certainly done his swotting.

British Chess Championships

Well that's a strange but rather interesting turn around. Having been treated to the 'Chess Menu' at the Gwesty Cymru restaurant yesterday evening by our good friends Adam and Nia, I went and made the plunge and entered the Open tournament AM for Week 2 of the British Chess Championships. 

Now. Haven't played competitive chess since I had my first mental health breakdown in 1998. So the big question for me is quite simply: can I wrangle my way out of the opening five days on the trot next week?

Will I have to resort to 1. b4 the Polish opening when white, and some strange fianchetto when black? Or do I play 2. f4 irrespective of what my opponent plays, while revisiting the chess openings with some swatting on Sunday? Quite a lot to consider, and seeing that I need to avoid stress, it's quite likely that the plan won't be formed until Sunday night and very little or even 'no swatting' will actually occur. Meanwhile I look forward to relaxing tomorrow in this heat, running on Saturday, and doing very little on Sunday.

Welsh Parkruns, next the UK :-)

So that is Challenge No.1 to run all of the current 5k Parkrun's in Wales, completed. The next challenge will be to run one Parkrun in Wales (done), England (done), Scotland (TBA) and Ireland (TBA)

My BEST 5K TIMES for each Parkrun in WALES:

Aberystwyth Parkrun 31:01 (2014)
Pontypridd Parkrun 31:38 (2014)
Pontypool Parkrun 32:28 (2014)
Bryn Bach Parkrun 34:19 (2014)
Newport Parkrun 35:14 (2013)
Llyn Llech Owain Parkrun 35:25 (2014)
Cardiff Parkrun 35:28 (2013)
Colby Parkrun 36:48 (2014)
Porthcawl Parkrun 42:44 (2013)

Ps if you would like to sponsor me, then any money raised is shared between the British Heart Foundation, Tenovus, and the Firefighters Charity, unless you use my JustGiving link (www.justgiving.com/Roger-bennett1) at which point any money to the JustGiving page is donated straight to the British Heart Foundation

Oh Happy Days

My Preseli 'Beast Bach' trail race t-shirt has at long last arrived!  Oh happy days.  That was a tough run indeed, and it's great to now be able to wear my Beast Bach t-shirt with pride

Supporting the British Heart Foundation

My www.justgiving.com/roger-bennett1 page is one way of donating money to help the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to continue their sterling work researching to fight heart disease.

The BHF are world class leaders in their field, and as a world class charity, their work is shared worldwide and not restricted to the United Kingdom.  If new research pinpoints a new method, new medication, or new solutions, then those outcomes become available for everyone and not just British citizens. So think of the BHF as a world class organisation, that funds world class research into reducing heart disease.

Another method for making a donation if you are located in the U.K. is to text an amount via the details shown in the photograph in this Blog Post.  Apparently the texts themselves are free and the only thing that is taken, is the amount that you choose to contribute.

The British Heart Foundation; world class for everyone.

The British Heart Foundation

The British Heart Foundation is one of several charities close to my heart. I can't do much to help the BHF, but I can do a bit. Can you do anything to help them?  I ran the Aberystwyth 10K last year and raised some dosh for the BHF. Not much, only a few bob, but then again every little helps.  I hope to run the same race this year and try to complete the Cardiff 10K as well. 

I don't like asking people to sponsor my running, as things are tight for so many people these days.  Asking always seems awkward and intrusive.  We all have chosen charities, we all have our own story, and for many people Charity must start at home.  That's not them being selfish, that's a case of real need.  The local foodbank helps so many people, and foodbank usage across the U.K. is so high, that it's almost a national scandal.  Low hours contracts and even zero hours contracts mean that people don't have stability and money is tight.  Private landlord rents gave risen, the cost of food has risen, and things are tight for so many people.  So if you can help the British Heart Foundation and or the many other charities that are out there, then please do so.  But when you do so, please don't leave yourself short.

Bowe Bergdahl

You don't decide whether or not someone lives or dies due to their alleged behaviour.  Instead you do your best to bring your people home alive.  

Well done President Obama.  

And if Bowe Bergdahl did voluntarily leave the camp; then five years as a captive in Afghanistan or Pakistan is punishment enough.  More importantly please question how on earth he was able to do what has been alleged, and thereafter put in place systems to prevent others from doing the same or similar in the future.  But don't under any circumstances, question his right to life, or question his parents patriotism, or question any of the loving community who prayed for the safe return of Bergdahl throughout his ordeal, or question President Obama for making sure that this young man didn't burn on his watch.  Being a Statesman involves making decisions.  This was the right decision for the right reasons. 

The Preseli Beast Bach

You 'little' Beast,

With hidden claws,

Waiting for me,

As I turned for home.

The music played,

Before you sprung,

Your deadly trap,

With drum bands and whistles.

My strength sapped,

By that quarry,

The winding road,

And those long desolate fells.  

Cold and hungry,

Me not you,

As I climbed,

Your back at Foel Cwmcerwyn.

Only to drop,

Once more to,

The Beasts Lair,

And the boardwalk to home.

Roger Bennett

May 2014

(All Rights Reserved)

A short poem about The Preseli Beast Bach 10.5 mile off road race, the Beasts Lair, and of course the highest point on the Preseli Mountains; Foel Cwmcerwyn

Preseli Beast Bach

Well the running has taken on a whole new level! Forget the idea of 26 miles, as I have stepped on up to a much tougher event. Last Saturday I competed in and completed, what was for me; the arduous Preseli Beast Bach in 3:21:55 

Yes, I know that this isn't a time to write home about, but when you have been as unfit as me, and have dreamt of doing a Fell Race, then getting around one without stopping, in any time, however long is a huge achievement.  

There were hills, more hills, steeper hills, streams, more steams, mud, bog, Fells, woodland trails, muddy trails, more trails and all out fun. I bought a Salamon Agile 12 and took along the Welsh Fell Runners Association Mandatory equipment along with 1.5 litres of SIS orange flavour GO drink, quite a few energy bars, and emergency supplies of food (nuts, dried fruit, jelly babies, and jelly beans). That of course meant an extra 0.5 stone of weight on my already oversized frame. Albeit that frame isn't as oversized as it used to be when I was 22 stone.  Still, maybe I should have bought the smaller Salamon Agile 7 Hydration Pack. But of course it's difficult to make choices at the time of purchase when you don't know the products.  You can read reviews, but we are all different, and maybe we are all looking for something different. For me at 18 stone, small is better, and as good as it is, the Salamon Agile 12 ain't small.

The best part is, this would also have been a stunning event to use that Action Camera that I have been thinking about buying. But when money is tight, there tends to be a lot of thinking and very little actual buying.  The one that seems to be the established market leader at the moment is simply too expensive, whereas I'm not sure that I can manage and use the Mobious 1082 cheaper option, and of course I would also need to buy the waterproof housing. I suspect that either camera would clip onto my Salamon Agile 12 hydration pact.  So it was going to be a simple choice between 'A' or 'B' and then Garmin go and release a new product that seems to be a lot cheaper and more user friendly than the 'established one' and my cheaper option.  Better still, those that have read this Blog also know that I am a keen photographer, and the Garmin thingy seems to have certain functions that assist the photographer. So now there is a serious third contender.  Which of course means more thinking, but at least for the moment it doesn't involve more hills, more streams, or more bog.

I have put myself down as a potential Garmin (specific product) tester.  That's not a job, it's just a situation whereby they lend you an Action Camera, and you try it out.  The unfortunate part being that you have to give it back at the end of the period.  

If I manage to snaffle up a loan product then I will let you know what I think of it.  But if I don't make the cut, then maybe one of you lovely readers will send me a message and spill the beans as to what you think of the Garmin Camera.  Oh while you are at it; can you also let me know about the Garmin Foreunner 220 and/or 620 with heart strap watches, as if I ever manage to save enough dosh, then I want one of those as well :-)

ROYGBIV

Richard of Leicester Gave Battle in Vain 

This is the lifelong pneumonic handed down to me by one of my Primary School Teachers some 45 years ago, and was used to remember the Colours of the Rainbow. Which we now know to be RED ORANGE LIME GREEN BLUE INDIGO VIOLET.  There was a YELLOW in there somewhere, but some fool thinks that Richard is from Leicester and not York so to help future generations I have had to transpose the true YELLOW contained in a Rainbow into the so far unknown rainbow colour of LIME. 

It's so confusing when people mess with the truth.  Millions of people know where King Richard was from. So can we please bury him where he and his then family would have wanted him buried and not put him on show where he was found? 

Richard of York (yes folks it is York) gave battle in vain. 

RUNNERS WEEK

Well except for Circuit Training on Tuesday evening this has indeed been a 'runners week' for me. It all kicked off at last weeks post Parkrun coffee session whereupon I (maybe foolishly) offered to take one of the other Parkrunners to the Red Kite Challenge at Devils Bridge for the early afternoon and in doing so compete myself having just done the Parkrun. 

Here we are only eight days later and my runs have consisted of 3.1 mile Parkrun, 6.2 mile strenuous Red Kite Challenge Trail run, 3.1 mile Parkrun route easy, 5.1 mile hills, coastal path and woodland, 6 mile hill trail and a small section of road, and a 3.1 mile Parkrun. That folks is 26.6 miles unless of course my maths is wrong.

So we now know that I can do the 'Marathon distance', and it's now just about the time span from start to finish along those 26+ miles. Currently the time stands at 8 days, so the next target has to be to reduce that time down to 8 hours, and in doing so maybe reduce my Parkrun time down to sub 30 minutes.

It gets worse

It gets worse regarding Michael Wheatley as according to the BBC early today (7 May 2014) not only was he one of two people 'detained' "on suspicion of conspiracy to commit armed robbery." but "He has gone on the run twice in the past and each time staged a series of violent robberies before he was caught and re-jailed."  Blinking heck, when is someone in the government or the judiciary / prison service going to be sacked, that is absolute madness.

Lifer Michael Wheatley

Can someone please explain to me and to the rest of society which fool allowed a person who apparently received 13 Life Sentences in 2002 to be kept in an Open Prison only twelve years later? And having place Michael Wheatley in such an easy going environment, then allowed him to walk out of the front door with the vague hope that he would return? Absolutely crazy or what. Someone or some persons in both the government and the judicial system should resign or be sacked.

Mo and Roger

'Mo and Roger' I wish, can you just imagine doing a few training miles with Mo when you are this size and this slow? It would be my dream, but would probably be his worst nightmare! 

The 6th May will be the 60th Anniversary of the first recorded sub 4 minute mile, achieved by Roger Bannister when he crossed the line in 3:59.04 at the Iffley Road Sports Ground in Oxford back in 1954. 

That's quite a few years ago, but it's right and proper that we still remember the achievement. In part because of the current trend of poorer performances by English runners compared to historical data; but also to gather inspiration as we try to push ourselves harder at all levels of the sport, be it short or long distances. I managed 10:33 minute miles yesterday in training.  My fastest mile time over 5K is exactly 10 minutes. Roger Bannister must have been going like a rocket when he set that blistering standard 60 years ago.

It's not the only achievement in running that has been in the news of late. But somehow this next bit was not so widely published.  Mo Farah was mistakenly thought of as having somehow 'failed' at London recently. How his success can be regarded as failure I simply do not know.  Charlie Spedding had held the English Record for the Marathon with a time of 2:08:33 since 1985 and then Mo Farah came along and eclipsed it.  To put this Marathon Athleticism into context: not a single Briton has recorded a sub 2:10 Marathon time since 2005, that is until Mo Farah came along at his debut marathon.

Mo and Roger, I doff my hat to both of you, well done.

Locke 2014 Tom Hardy Review

Locke: One newspaper review commented that the 2014 film "... Locke is played by Tom Hardy, who effects a rich Welsh delivery that I could listen to all day" Yeah, if you want your ears to bleed. 

We thought that the accent was poor, so poor in fact, that after 10 minutes, my eldest daughter turned to me and enquired "is he supposed to be Welsh", which left me quite perplexed as I thought he was Norwegian.  The Christian name done it for me, the confusion that is.

Locke is probably a great film if you haven't spent a few hours driving earlier that day. Mind you, if you have been driving, then at least you can have a kip while the film is playing.  This folks is the first time in my life that I have ever walked out of a film. And trust me, I have suffered some dreadful cellulose, with dreadful acting, and dreadful directing, but never ever has a film previously had the same effect as sleeping tablets.  If Locke was a pharmaceutical company, then it would make a mint.

Ring, ring

"Ifan here, Ifan from Tonypandy in Scandanavia, but if you can't pronounce my Welsh name properly, then you can call me Ivan.  I know it's confusing, some people think that I'm Ivan the Terrible from the cold countries, instead of Ifan from wet Wales. You see butty, it's all in the pronunciation.  It's Ifan as in bee-van without the 'b' you see.  

"Hi Ivan, it's Gareth: how's the the game going, do you know the result?"

"It's a cool game this concreting business, almost as cool as movie making. But I'm not in a cool movie at the moment, instead I'm stuck on huge blinking motorway with all these paying patrons" 

"Well, I just want to tell you, you're sacked"

"From the film Locke, or as a Welsh impersonator? Oh sorry, I have another 432 telephone calls coming through and I have to shout at Dad"

Ring, ring, yet again

"Ifan here, Ifan Locke, oops, I meant to say Ivan Locke"

"Hi Ivan, it's your one night stand, can you help me?"

"My name's Ifan not Ivan, but seeing that we only met once so maybe you didn't quite get my name.  But don't worry, it's a YES, I'll fix it! I made my decision"

"Good, when will you get here?"

"Well almost everyone in this auditorium hopes that I get there pretty blinking quick"

All in all, that was 18 minutes of my life wasted, let along the ticket cost.  I can recuperate the money, but those 18 minutes are lost forever.  

Mountain Warehouse

I am so impressed by Mountain Warehouse that I'm not too sure where to begin.  

Repeat custom, is all about customer service. I tend to patronise a coffee shop called 'Baravin' these days, and that's all down to their excellent customer service.  I can only assume that the folks in the Mountain Warehouse head office in London, have at some point visited Aberystwyth and the aforementioned Baravin and that is where they learnt their excellent customer service ethos. I'm quick to complain when things go wrong and it's only fair and proper to praise when things go right.  On this occasion, better than 'right' and as such I am really grateful to the Mountain Warehouse customer services team and their manager.  I had a problem, they listened, they were polite and friendly, and they considered the options fairly, and then put the matter right. Indeed, the customer services team went a few steps further than needed; and that folks breeds customer loyalty.

Good products, good customer service, fair prices; what more do we as consumers want?  

Remember that when you are considering your next outdoor clothing or equipment purchase. You can buy anywhere, but where will you turn if things go wrong?  It's a given that things occasionally do go wrong, and more often than not in my life, when they have gone wrong, I have been left high and dry.

But on this occasion I am soaking wet, and very happy about it indeed. 

Roll Up FREE excellent quality Coffee served by lovely staff, roll up, roll up

. . . and this folks is what FREE coffee looks like. Costa is 5p in the £ with a few enhancements for coffee club members but none of it is worth writing home about. Caffe Nero and Coffee No.1 is one stamp per drink = 1 drink when stamped card is full. The exceptional Coffee Barker in Cardiff is a cake and drink when their stamped card is full.  BUT these mothers were handed to us free in a coffee shop in London while we were awaiting a decision and had popped out for a break.

Lovely staff, spotlessly clean and spacious venue, and great coffee to boot. Yes we made a donation in a charity container, and yes we would go back without hesitation when paying the full price. Praise indeed to the manager and the staff as you opened our eyes to another Brand when we had been operating inside our comfort zone. I suspect that the cafe was located on Fetter Street adjacent to Bream's Buildings, but I also suspect that you will get the same friendly service, spotless venue, and excellent coffee at all of their outlets, albeit you will normally pay the full price.  

The long hard slog

I know how hard it is running a 5K Parkrun let alone slogging it out on the road for several hours, so I've just sponsored Elaine Rowlands and you can help Elaine raise money for both 'Ty Hafan', and 'The Stroke Association' too by donating at www.virginmoneygiving.com/ElaineRowlands 

All I ask is that you mention this Blog in your donation message at virginmoneygiving.  And if you are feeling really generous then my justgiving page can be found at www.justgiving.com/roger-bennett1 but unlike Elaine; my runs are small and pale into insignificance.  But if you are really rich or have a spare one hanging around, then you could send me a Canon 5D Mark III to help me take better photographs :-)

Liswerry 8 Part II

Well there was no 'reeling in' nor '700th Place' in last weekends astonishingly good 'Liswerry 8' 2014 road race.  When we reached the last mile, there was no way that I could catch 'Emma from the Rhondda' let alone pace maker 'Tom of the Chepstow Harriers'

76 runners who had paid their entry fee stayed away due to the atrocious weather in South Wales that weekend, and for my part I managed a credible 607th out of a field of 624 runners that included 4 who did not finish the Liswerry 8.  I even managed constant 11 minute miles.  Well to be exact, 11 minutes and 2 second miles.  I also managed to squeeze into an extra tight black bin bag to try and keep a bit warmer before the off.  By squeeze into, I mean my shoulders and chest, the rest of me remained exposed.  The 'squeezing' bit reminds me that the weather was so bad, that I squeezed the rain water out of my gloves just before the Starting Gun.  But running helps mental ill health and I wouldn't change my experience of the Liswerry 8 for the world.  It was a great, albeit very tough, day out.

If I could afford one then I would buy a Garmin 610 or preferably the touch screen, training advice mode, easy data upload Garmin 620 GPS watch.  

But meanwhile I will have to continue using my sub £50 Polar Heart Rate Monitor and an ordnance survey map, and bin bags.  Unless of course a very rich reader of this Blog wants to gift me a Garmin 620 complete with Garmin Heart Rate Strap and a Canon 5D Mark III camera?  At which point I could run and take photograpgs, now that would be a nice idea :-)      

Liswerry 8

Someone that I know has faith in me and suggests that I'm not going to come in 700th on Sunday at the 'Liswerry 8' as I am to focus on a runner in front in the last mile and hook them and then start to reel them in. 

This folks is an extremely good strategy BUT question: what do I do if they are 1.2 miles ahead at that point?



NB The 'Liswerry 8' (check it out on the Web, but remember to enter early for the 2015 event, as 2014 'Liswerry 8' was sold out extremely fast)