Silencing The Doubters

L rings what’s-his-name, oh you know, he who used to live with us but is now at Warwick University. He’s doing good, he says. He's even managed to cook something, so the free pizza must have come to an end and cooking is probably a necessity if he’s going to have any money left. He’s even done some washing and the rumour is that he may have to go to a lesson next week. Unfortunately we still don’t know what he wore to the pyjama party; he doesn’t have any pyjamas.

L is jealous. She wants to be a student. Not a problem. I tell her we’re both going. Once we’ve got Daughter there, it’s our turn.

L goes to sign on for tomorrow’s Survival Of The Fittest. The important question is, of course, what colour is it? The t-shirt that is. It’s white, well pre-Trent anyway, obviously grey afterwards, even after several washes. If I was her I’d wear something else tomorrow.

I leave work and run towards home. My work colleague and occasional protégé asks if I’ll be running all the way home this week. I keep saying this is something I intend to do. No, I have that pencilled in for next Friday, which will be my last long training run before the Birmingham Half Marathon. ‘You’re not going to do it’, he says, ‘are you?’ Of course I am. Next week. Hmmm. Doubter.

It’s busy out there on the streets, lots of runners about. The men sweating away profusely. The women glowing away... so they say. ‘Men perspire, women glow’ you know. Some of them are glowing buckets. Attractive actually, I do like a bit of sweat, I mean glow.

The run goes very well. I don’t walk any of it and don’t stop apart from at the occasional road junction. It probably goes too well. I get carried away and run fourteen miles, carrying on past my intended stopping point by about three miles. Well at least that should silence the doubters.

Three quarters of the way across the university campus, close to home, I decide to walk the rest as a warm down. Then L texts to say she’s got the house to herself and she's just about to slip into a hot bath... I break back into a run.

Later we naughtily slip out to the Plough but no one notices, as no one is home.

(Friday 8th October)

Unlimited Free Pizza

Our condemned man is itching to go. He’s waiting with his bags packed when I get back from the park with the dogs.

We head off to Warwick where 5,700 other parents are unloading their baggage this weekend. There are a few suitcases as well.

We are greeted by a very vibrant sight, music blaring from the streets, an arrivals exhibition in full swing, bars and businesses promoting their ways and a nightclub schedule that doesn’t boast a free night until 9th November. An administrative error surely. The men dressed as pizza boxes are there, naturally, they are everywhere at the moment. They are promoting unlimited free pizza which is available all day today, as well as tomorrow, which is Son’s meals sorted at least until Monday.

His accommodation is right in the centre of things, so he’ll never be more than two minutes away from a bar, a night club, a pizza or even a Costa Coffee. As for lectures, who knows? We didn’t see any classrooms. His apartment overlooks a duck pond, so that’s Christmas dinner sorted and the pond, being directly under his windows is looking good for a few party games. He will be sharing but his room mate hasn’t arrived yet, so I can’t report on whether he’s a potential axe murderer or not.



The Vice-Chancellor's makes his welcome address on the same stage at the Butterworth Hall on which we’ll be seeing The National in November. He goes down alright but is just basically the support act for the Student Union’s President who steals the show, although the Vice-Chancellor does come back for a brief encore at the end.

We offer Son a late lunch but I think he’s just keen for us to move on and leave him to sort out his stuff, stock up on free pizza and check out the social scene.

So we head off back towards home and the rest of our day, which includes making an appearance at some friends' joint 50th Birthday celebrations in the afternoon. Then after a quick coffee with L’s parents we head off for birthday celebration number two. A meal with my family to celebrate my parents’ birthday. It’s a Teppanyaki Japanese meal which comes replete with the food throwing antics of our own personal chef. You know the sort of stuff you used to get hung drawn and quartered for attempting to do at school. E.g. throwing chucks of fried egg for his customers to catch in their mouths and tossing whole eggs, still in their shells, to catch on their heads. This is done whilst wearing a hat which has been specially adapted for this purpose.

It’s surprisingly amusing because my brother, his eight year old lad who loves every minute of it (it’s clearly banned at his school too), and Daughter are selected for egg catching duties. All with little success, although my brother does catch one.

Then it’s finally time to dust off the yoke stains head home to our sadly neglected dogs. At least they will be well rested for their event tomorrow.

(Saturday 2nd October)