Running Man: Getting quicker and getting injured

It was all going so well: I had ran over 100 miles in 3 months, was loving running and it was making a huge difference to my life. I was full of energy and positivity, was feeling great and was looking forward to my further running progress. I had thoroughly enjoyed my first Parkrun, had just taken my 5K time down to 24:37 and felt that I soon would be able to go under 24 minutes. I was feeling so good that I decided to show off my running ability by challenging my 10 year old nephew to lamppost to lamppost sprint races down the road. I was giving him about 15 metre head starts and then sprinting after him to overtake him, having great fun and feeling great.

And then I stopped feeling great. About 10 meters into the third sprint race I felt my right hamstring ping. The pain was immediate and I had to slow myself down by running into a hedge. I knew straight away it was a bad injury because I could hardly walk. This wasn’t something that would be cured by a bit of stretching and a hot bath. Later back at home and my foot was up with an ice pack underneath my right hamstring.

For the rest of the first week I followed the RICE principle – rest, ice, compression and elevation. The only exercise I did was walking from the car park to my office and even that was a struggle to do for the first few days. By the end of the week I was massively frustrated and massively fed up. I had gone from running 4 times a week to not being able to exercise at all. What’s worse was that the weather was good – perfect for getting outdoors and enjoying the English summer and there I was stuck indoors with my foot up, at least I had the World Cup to watch. Driving to work every day I passed morning runners and looked at them with the jealous envy that a lonely singleton gives a happy couple.

IMAGE: View of my foot up with compression bandage on my right thigh

By Saturday morning I’d had enough of being inactive so I rubbed my thigh with Ibulieve gel, put on my compression bandage and headed out for a 4 mile walk around town, stopping off  on the way back at my favourite charity shop to buy books. The gentle exercise did the trick and I felt better than I had done all week, which considering I’d been feeling pretty low wasn’t very hard!

The next day I did some swimming which further helped to maintain my mood and fitness. A week later and I have just come back from a 12mile cycle ride in the rain, which despite getting soaked was good fun. I was pleased that not only had I seemed to not have lost too much fitness I also found it easier than when I had last cycled 3 months ago and was able to go faster in a higher gear, finishing my route 5 minutes quicker than previously. I was feeling rubbish before the bike ride and as I write this upon my return I’m feeling much better again – it really is amazing how much a bit of fresh air and exercise makes to my mood.

I’m not ready to start running yet but I’m slowly seeing the progress of my recovery. I can walk, swim and cycle without pain and I can touch my toes again. Just with the tips of my fingers for now but with the progress I’m making I should soon be able to put the palms of my hands on my feet again. I know that when I do eventually start running again it will be hard but I have to give myself time to recover properly and not rush into it. After reading loads about hamstring injuries and their recovery I have diagnosed myself with a grade 2 injury (minor tear), for which the recommendation is 6 weeks out.

That seems a long way away – another month to go before I can even start running again. It’s going to be hard but I will follow the advice strictly because the most common cause of injury is from a previous injury that hasn’t healed properly. I’m trying to turn this into a positive experience – getting injured is common with anyone who does a lot of regular exercise and the frustration that has come with it has made me realise even more how important running has become to me.

I need a new challenge and I need something to focus on and work towards. The Ipswich Half Marathon is in 3 months’ time and I am seriously considering signing up for that. One more month to fully recover my hamstring and then 2 months to train for the race. Twice the length of my longest ever run and I can’t even run at all at the moment – that sounds like just the sort of challenge I need!

Running Man: From nothing to a sub one hour 10k in 11 runs

Just over 2 months ago I wrote a post praising the joys of cycling and mentioned how I thought that I couldn’t get into running. 5 days after writing that post I decided to give running a try and went on my first run for over 6 years. 2 months and 11 runs later I can now run 10K in under an hour. This is how I did it and how in the process discovered a new love – the love of running.

Warm Up: January – March, walking and cycling

I’d had a great New Year’s Eve, fulfilling a lifetime’s ambition by DJ-ing my 80s and 90s dance and indie record collection at my brother’s house party. I had carried that positivity into the New Year and was feeling great, full of ambition for the year ahead. After the excesses of December, I like millions of others in the Western world decided it was time to be healthy again.

So whenever possible I stopped taking the Tube from work and instead walked for 30 minutes every day back to King’s Cross; it also ticked another resolution of saving money so I was more than happy to sacrifice being squashed on a Tube for that. The winter was turning out to be a mild one so on weekends I started getting out and about more, walking by the river where I live and also going on 12 mile circular bike rides. I was shedding some timber and slowly getting fitter. I felt that I was ready for a new challenge.

Run One: Sunday 16^th March, 5.17 miles, one hour 16 minutes 35 seconds

It was a sunny Sunday in March, I’d been on an enjoyable bike ride the previous day and wanted to get out and do something again. So I thought what the hell, I’m going to give this running lark a try. I’d already downloaded the Nike + running app from my previous aborted attempt at giving running a try and was now ready to use it for the first time.

I got my running gear out – a holiday t-shirt, 6 year old Adidas shorts and Nike running trainers, bought at the same time as the shorts from Sports Direct in Peterborough. I knew that I would need to stretch my stiff body so spent nearly half an hour going through every leg stretch I could think of. I filled up a bottle of water, put my headphones on, loaded up the Nike + app and put my phone in my shorts pocket.

I walked from my house to the riverbank (didn’t want to rush into it!) and climbed over the stile and onto the riverbank itself. Inspired by the emphatic scene of David Beckham speeding down the Thames in a speedboat during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, I had chosen the music that had accompanied that event as the first song to listen to during my run – the magnificent I Heard Wonders by David Holmes.

I took a deep breath and then I was off. I was lucky that I’d had such an idyllic setting for my first run – glorious sunshine, a gentle breeze and nature in abundance. It felt like the first day of spring and it looked like it too as mating butterflies danced together in front of me. I got into a fairly good pace and felt positive – I can do this! Then I started feeling my lungs as they struggled to keep up with the rest of my body and the lactic acid starting to build up in my legs. I was determined though – I was not going to give up! Then the Nike + woman spoke to me: ‘one mile completed, time, ten minutes, 45 seconds, current pace…’ I didn't know that this was a feature of the app and instantly felt more motivated – I wanted to keep going and for her to say 2 miles completed!

A few minutes later I was struggling again so I remembered the best piece of advice I had been given about running – that running is mental. You have to use the power of your mind to take control over your body and make it do things that it does not want to do. Then I saw a bridge in the distance in front of me – it was Stow Bridge, a bridge that I cycle over on my bike rides. I thought about how amazing it would be if I could run to that bridge.

So I imagined that the bridge represented everything positive in my life and that I just had to get through the pain to get to it. Then just as the power of my metaphor was running out I saw a female jogger running towards me – instantly my pace and posture improved! I smiled at her as we crossed paths, she smiled back, and I felt good. I ran all the way to the bridge and then stopped to take a picture of my view.

IMAGE: View from Stow Bridge towards Downham Market taken on my first run

I drank from my water bottle, walked along the bridge and over to the riverbank on the other side. I walked about a third of the way back until I could breathe normally again and then started jogging. I jogged all the way back to the road and then, feeling great, decided to continue back to my house. Finally stopping at my front door I felt the best I had felt for years; not only was I feeling great from the buzzing serotonin effects of exercise, I felt great that I had just done something that I had never done before, something that I thought I couldn't do.

Run 2: Friday 21^st March, 5.16 miles, one hour 10 minutes 49 seconds

I had warmed down quite a bit after my previous run (albeit not as vigorously as my warm up), drank loads of water and even had a hot bath. I thought that would help me recover but the next day I could hardly walk! Every part of my body from my hips to my toes seemed to be hurting, even the sides of my legs were hurting – I didn’t even realise I had muscles there! I looked up a map of the muscles in the lower body and identified them from where I was feeling pain. It took me 5 days before I felt that I could go for another run, the most exercise I did in between was going on lunchtime walks around the City of London where I work.

It was a sunny Friday and the first day of my much needed 10 day break from work. I decided to do the same riverbank circuit but wanted to see if I could spend more time running and less time walking. I did and the 6 minute improvement motivated me to run again; I loved the sense of achievement in breaking my previous time and wanted to get quicker and quicker and have that feeling over and over again.

Run 3: Thursday 27^th March, 6.33 miles, one hour 41 minutes 34 seconds

I was in Villeneuve Loubet, staying in an apartment with my brother and visiting my French family for the first time in my adult life. I had packed my running gear with the idea of going for a run along the beach whilst I was there. I woke up early on Thursday morning and after doing my stretches and grabbing a bottle of Evian I ventured out into the fresh morning air. The Cote d’Azur is famed for its fabulous weather but on this morning it was all cloudy skies and cold wind. I ran down the hill to the beach and found the recently renovated promenade. I ran in the direction of Nice and into the nearby seaside town of Cagnes-Sur-Mer. I ran constantly for about 2 miles, passing many dog walkers, rollerbladers (so European) and joggers. It wasn’t hard to tell that I was the only English person on the beach that morning – despite the cold I was wearing shorts and t-shirt, whilst my continental counterparts were typically wrapped up in lycra, hoodies and gloves!

I was experiencing two of the many great things about running: exploring your surroundings and using the solitude to think. I love exploring – whenever I go somewhere new it’s not long before I’m investigating my surroundings. I needed to make sense of the emotions of the previous day and to prepare myself for the day ahead.

I stopped to take many photos along my route but continued all the way through Cagnes until I left the town. I then walked for about 10 minutes before picking up the pace and jogging again. Feeling good I continued jogging and made it back to the apartment, but I felt that I still had something left in me so decided to jog around the nearby roads. Perhaps unsurprisingly I got lost but when I eventually found my way back to the apartment and stopped I was pleased to hear the Nike + woman tell me that I had run my first 10k! I think of distance in miles so wasn’t sure quite how many miles there were in 10K but despite the stopping for photos and 10 minutes of walking I had just ran, or at least jogged 10k. I felt great - I can do this running lark!

Run 4: Monday 31 March, 6.44 miles, one hour 22 minutes, 49 seconds

I was in Ipswich for Mother’s Day and had the Monday off work – the final day of my 10 day break. I decided to celebrate by going for a run from my Mum’s house to the nearby Rushmere Heath, around the Heath and then back again. As I set off down the road my headphones kept falling out of my ears, a problem I had on previous runs but for some reason I couldn’t seem to resolve that day. Despite trying to squeeze them in at various angles they kept falling out so I gave up on the music and shoved them in my shorts pocket.

I haven’t had them in since and I much prefer running without headphones. I enjoy the meditative effects of getting into a rhythm and listening to my pace – thud, thud, thud, thud. I enjoy listening to my breathing and feeling my heart beat quicker. Because that’s another of the many great things about running for me – it makes me feel alive.

I made it around the Heath and then back towards the roads near my Mum’s house. Looking at my phone in my hand I saw that I had done over 5 miles without stopping or walking so wanted to keep going to see if I could run (or at least jog) constantly for 10k. Despite my experience in France I was still confused over the distance again – I thought that 10k was 6.44 miles so kept going until I met that target. I didn’t mind the extra .22 miles – I had just ran nearly 6 and half miles without stopping! My longest run to date and the first time I had done one with no stopping or walking – yet another reason to feel great.

Run 5: Saturday 5 April, 6.23 miles, one hour 11 minutes 21 seconds

Inspired by my first run without stopping or walking and an improved understanding of the metric measurement of distance, I decided that I was ready to do a quicker 10k. I told a running friend that I was aiming to run 10k in under one hour 15 minutes – it seemed like a challenging but achievable time. I planned a route running along the country roads near my house, up and past the nearby village of Barroway Drove and back again.

It was my first run constantly on roads and I haven’t run on any other surface since. I love walking on grass but for me it’s a lot easier to run on tarmac. I don’t have to constantly adjust my footing and can just concentrate on my rhythm.

There’s little traffic on this route so I felt safe as I took in my changing surroundings – farms, fields and the sounds of birds singing. I made it to the halfway point, touched the road sign that marked that point and turned around back. The return leg was harder but I kept going, whenever I was feeling like my body was about to give up I repeated my favourite affirmation – ‘I CAN DO IT!’ (I might have added an expletive between the words can and do). And I did it, nearly 4 minutes quicker than my target time.

Run 6: Saturday 19 April, 3.11 miles, 31 minutes

I was really enjoying my running progress but then, like everything else it seems, the realities of life got in the way and for various reasons it was a fortnight later until I was able to have the time to go for another run.

I wanted to do another 10k but was pushed for time that Saturday so settled on half the distance. All my running friends can do 10k in under one hour and now that was my target. I knew that in order to do that I first needed to be able to run 5k in under 30 minutes. I chose to do half of my previous country road route. Again the weather was good and I made a decent pace, breaking my times for one mile, 1k and 5k. 31 minutes exactly – just one more minute to shave off my time!

Run 7:  Saturday 26 April, 6.22 miles, one hour 5 minutes 10 seconds

A week later, the Saturday before my 33^rd birthday, I was back on my country road route, this time with enough time in the day to go for a 10k run. Inspired by my 5k time I wanted to get as close to an hour as possible. With the time ticking and the miles counting down I knew that I was in for a good time so upped the pace for the last half a mile to see how quick I could go. I sprinted at the end but couldn’t quite do it in under one hour 5 minutes. It was a time that I was really happy though – as beginner I was enjoying the experience of getting quicker each time and the motivation that comes with that.

Run 8: Wednesday 30 April, 3.11 miles, 30 minutes 12 seconds

It was the day after my birthday, a sunny evening and I was feeling positive. I felt that this would be the run that I would do 5k in under 30 minutes for the first time. So I set off out of my house and then heard the annoying sounds of the sirens of the railway line barriers closing. I had planned to do my half country road route again but needed to cross the railway line to get there.

So instead I turned the opposite way, ran through the small nature reserve near my house and onto a housing estate that’s full of bungalows and pensioners. I ran up to London Road and then turned north up to the cricket pitch and then back down through town and towards my house. Holding my phone in my left  hand (as I have done since I ditched the headphones) I saw the miles adding up, I was getting closer to my time and I felt I was going to do it. Sprinting again, determined to do it in under half an hour I was disappointed when I came short by 13 seconds. It was a new best time though and I was getting closer to my target.

Run 9: Monday 5 May, 3.40 miles, 37 minutes 2 seconds

It was Bank Holiday Monday evening and it was getting late, I had promised myself a run that day but hadn’t got round to it. As I watched Ronnie O’Sullivan loose the Snooker World Championship, I decided to take my disappointment out by going for a run. The sun had set and I had no high vis running gear so decided to repeat my previous route of running through the nature reserve and then around the town.

My previous run had been another best time but one mile in I knew that I was going to struggle to get anywhere near it. Whether it was because it was late and I was tired or because I had eaten a heavy meal (Carbonara – one of my favourite dishes) 2 hours beforehand, or because it was dark, I just didn’t have the energy inside of me to tackle the run at the pace I needed to. When I knew that I would get nowhere near my previous 5k time, instead of stopping on exactly that distance and walking back to my house I decided to carry on jogging back; I thought I might as well add a few more points of a mile to my Nike + total instead.

Run 10: Friday 9 May, 3.11 miles, 28 minutes 43 seconds – first sub 30 minute 5k

I was in a bad mood. I’d had a tough week and nothing seemed to be going right for me. My hangover from the previous night’s drinking had not helped my mood or my day. Full of frustration, I decided to use that energy and take it out on a run. With the evenings staying lighter for longer I had enough daylight to do my favoured country road run. Fuelled by the disappointment from my previous run I was determined that this would be my first sub 30 minute run. I started quickly, running my fastest mile and 1k so far  and was wondering if I could keep up the pace.

The further I ran the better I felt; I could feel the stress evaporating and my mood improving as I kept up the pace. When I knew that I was going to break 30 minutes for 5k for the first time I felt amazing. It was a great run; everything seemed to click into place. The only trouble I had was drinking along the way – every run I take half a litre of water with me and I didn’t have a sports bottle this time so was using a Lucozade bottle instead. My faithful Adidas shorts were also unavailable so I was wearing my AS Cannes football shorts – lighter but without pockets. With no pockets, my phone held in my left hand and my Lucozade bottle in my right hand I struggled to uncap the bottle top, drink from it, keep hold of my phone and keep running at the same time! Somehow I managed it, only splashing about a quarter of the contents of the bottle on me.

I had done it, my first sub 30 minute 5k!

Run 11: Tuesday 13 May, 6.22 miles, 58 minutes 46 seconds – first sub one hour 10k

I hadn’t planned to go for a run that evening; instead I was meant to be playing football. I love playing football and had recently started organising kickabouts with workmates over Regent’s Park. We did it for a few weeks and it was great fun; it was especially enjoyable for me to see how fitter I was to when I had last played a year ago. Whereas previously I was one of the unfittest on the pitch, now I was one of the fittest and that felt good. Sadly my footballing skills weren’t much better though! The last couple of weeks had been cancelled due to people dropping out so I was determined that there would be a game tonight. Unfortunately the weather got in the way and I had to cancel because of the unrelenting rain.

On the train home I was doubly determined that I would go for a run instead. So when I got home I put my running gear and rain jacket on and set off thinking that I’d just do 5k. I got to 2.5k was feeling good and the rain was starting to stop so I decided to keep going. At 5k I was going at a good pace and felt that I still had some energy left in me so kept pushing myself to see if I could do my first sub one hour 10k. When I had a mile left I knew I was going to do it and the feeling was amazing, I was about to achieve something that seemed a long way off just a few weeks ago.

I had done it: my first sub one hour 10k. From nothing to this in the space of 11 runs!

Warm Down: Starting to get serious

My next run was on Saturday 17 May – 5k in 28 minutes 48 seconds. Just over a week ago I would have been overjoyed with that time but now I felt disappointed. I hadn’t beaten my previous 5k time and what’s more I just didn’t have the mental energy to push myself to do the 10K run that I had planned and had to stop half way and then walk back – the walk of shame. I hadn’t slept much the night before and it was a really hot day, the hottest I had run in so far. The lack of sleep, the heat and the lack of fuel (no breakfast beforehand and I ran out of water at 5k) meant that for the first time I just didn’t have anything left to draw upon. I was crushingly disappointed by this but consoled myself by putting it down to experience.

A running friend had praised the benefits of having a decent pair of running shoes and recommended that I invest in a pair, so on Monday I went to Advance Performance, a specialist running shop in Fengate, Peterborough. I was a bit apprehensive beforehand but they were great and spent an hour with me in total.

First I got changed into my running gear, then the woman in the shop spoke to me about running and then I had a gait analysis. She got me to run on a treadmill in my knackered Nikes and videoed me as I ran. Playing the video back to me she pointed out that my left foot was neutral but that my right heel came down at an angle as I run, this may be why I was having pain in my right hip after running. Next she looked at my posture and noticed that my right foot naturally points outwards as I stand; the reason why it doesn’t come down quite properly when I run. Next I was put into a pair of neutral running shoes that showed the same problem with my right heel.

She then tired me out in various brands of shoes that were designed to correct this flaw and it was amazing to see what a difference it made. My right heel was now coming down correctly, just as my left one did. I had 3 pairs to choose from in the end and was surprised when the woman in the shop then told me to try them out for real by doing 2 laps of their car park in them!

The first pair (Brooks) felt bulky and my shins hurt as I ran in them so they were a no. The next pair (Asics) felt like a perfect fit so they were a yes. The next pair (Mizuno) felt very comfortable – like I had a pillow underneath my feet so they were also a yes. Unsure what to go for, the woman in the shop told me to take one Mizuno off and put one Asics back on and do 2 more laps of the car park in odd shoes! She advised me that I should go for the ones that I noticed the least and as soon as I started out in odd shoes I knew that it was the Asics. I noticed the Mizunos but didn’t really notice the Asics – they felt like they fitted perfectly, as they had been specifically designed for the shape of my feet.

Keen to try my new running shoes out the next day I went for another 5k run. Tuesday 20 May – 5k in 26 mins 35 secs. The woman from Advance Performance advised me that instead of doing loads of stretching, the best way to warm up was to go for a 10 minute walk first. I needed to break my new running shoes in a bit anyway so it seemed like a good idea. So instead of spending ages doing stretches, I just stretched my calves a bit and then went for a walk. 10 minutes later I was ready to get going.

I set off at what felt like a comfortable pace, unsure of how much a difference my new footwear would make. A few minutes later I looked at the Nike + app on my phone in my left hand and noticed that I was doing a sub 8 minute mile pace! The strange thing was that I didn’t seem to be putting in any extra effort. Later in the run as my pace dipped over 9 minute miles I felt disgusted. It was incredible – just a week ago I’d have been delighted to run at a 9 minute mile pace but now it seemed like a disappointing time!  I did my first kilometre in 4 minutes 59 seconds, my first mile in 8 minutes 9 seconds and then finally 5k in 26 minutes 35 seconds – over 2 minutes faster than my previous time! I was amazed what a difference it made having the right pair of running shoes.

When I got home I felt even better than I normally do after a run. I felt exhilarated, the best I had felt since coming back from my first run 2 months ago. I was buzzing, the serotonin flying around my brain, and the positivity felt from running fast.  Whereas previously I had focused more on warming up than warming down, the woman in the running shop had advised that warming down was the time to do serious stretching so I spent a good 15 minutes going through every lower body muscle stretch I could think of.

Whether it’s my improving lower body muscles, the new running shoes or the better warm down, as I write this on the train the next day, my lower body and my right hip in particular hardly hurts at all. I’m feeling great, the best I've felt for a long time, full of positivity and energy. I want to go for another run but won’t have time this evening; I’m definitely going for a run after work tomorrow though.

So what’s next? I want to be able to run 5k in under 25 minutes and 10k in under 50 minutes; that seems like a long way off but then so did a sub one hour 10k at one point. I want to get quicker and keep doing things that I didn't think I could do. I’m the fittest I’ve been for years and don’t want to go backwards now. Running is addictive and I’m loving it!

20 Years Ago Today: Parklife Anniversary Review

20 years ago today, on 25 April 1994, my all-time favourite album Parklife was released. It’s the album that became a jewel in the crown of the Britpop movement that Blur had helped to kick start with the release of their second album Modern Life Is Rubbish the previous year. It’s so much more to me though – not only is it my favourite album, it’s also the first album I ever bought.

My music epiphany happened when I watched the Brit Awards in February 1995 and saw Blur clean up winning best band, album, single and video. Not only was the music great but the band looked cool too – I distinctly remember drummer Dave Rowntree having DAVE written on his face as a parody to the SLAVE protest that Prince had across his cheek at the time. I was hooked.

The next Saturday I took the bus into town (20p child fare) and walked into WH Smiths in Ipswich and bought the album on cassette for £10 – all paid with one pound coins that I had being saving up. I’m showing my age with that sentence but I think there’s something quite magical about saving up for something and then going off on an adventure to buy it – clicking ‘buy album’ on iTunes may be easier but it certainly doesn’t have the same charm.

I mainly listened to the first side of the album as that’s where all the singles were; my 14 year old brain wasn’t quite ready to deal with the weirder songs on the second side. At the age of 16 I bought the album on CD, something I’ve done twice since; once because I broke the CD as a result of it being left amongst the chaos of my teenage bedroom floor, and again when I bought the Blur 21 box set 2 years ago. The only format I haven’t owned the album on is vinyl but if I ever saw it for sale on vinyl then I’d definitely buy it – a 12 inch glossy version of the famous album cover would look great on my wall.

Image: The iconic Parklife album cover

I have listened to the album hundreds of times over the last 19 years of my life and I know every lyric and every note off by heart. It’s an album that brings back many fond memories and that has also helped me get through tough times. Song by song, here is my take on the 16 tracks that make up this great album:

1.       Girls & Boys

The stomping album opener and indie disco favourite, Girls & Boys is a song that sums up what Blur were all about in the 90s – Graham’s crunching guitar fighting against Alex’s amazing Duran Duran inspired bassline, the result being one hell of a tune. I remember around the age of 19 when I wanted to be in a band and at the first practice session in my tiny box room in my mum’s house, my mate Mark (the bass player for our as yet unnamed band) massively impressively me by being able to play the Girls & Boys bassline note perfectly. I was blown away; my mate could play my favourite bassline!

The other thing I associate with Girls & Boys is the extra-large Girls & Boys t-shirt (the only size they had, it looked pretty ridiculous on my skinny teenage body but I didn’t care) I used to own – it had Blur written on the front in the style of the Durex logo and had Girls & Boys written on the back. I bought it aged 17 from Our Price Records in Ipswich and proudly wore it to the Friday night indie club nights at the Corn Exchange that I loved going to at the time. Armed with my Girls & Boys t-shirt and packet of 10 Superkings (a cheap way of getting a head rush and of course an attempt to look cool and grown up!) I would jump around like a lunatic in between trying to snog as many girls as I could. From a period from the age of 16 to 18, Friday nights at indie club were like heaven for me.

2.       Tracey Jacks

The story of a man having a mid-life crisis and a mental breakdown, Tracey Tracks is also a great tune and a live favourite. The Kinks inspired track is pretty upbeat but has some pretty dark lyrics in the verses (‘...but he’s getting past forty and all the seams are splitting’) and of course the triumphant sounding but lyrically sad chorus (‘everyday he got closer, he knew in his heart he was over…’). This contrast of an upbeat tune with some pretty serious lyrics is what makes it such a great song.

Listening to this song now, I am transported back to the best concert I have ever been to – Blur at Hyde Park on the reunion tour in 2009. I had seen them 4 times previously (V97, Reading 1999, Singles Tour 2000, Think Tank Tour 2003) but I can’t remember them playing this great song previously. At Hyde Park in 2009 they absolutely smashed this song (as they did with every song they played that day), the best bit being when the crowd sang the refrain at the end – never has the phrase ‘oohh, oooh…’ sounded so good!

3.       End of a Century
I love this song – not only because of the great lyrics (‘end of a century, it’s nothing special…’) but also because of the music – it is the perfect song with and intro, verse, chorus and ending. So many bands don’t bother writing an ending to a song – fade outs annoy me and I always appreciate it when a band has made the effort to write an ending to a song. A song of Damon and Justine Frichman’s love at the time (‘we wear the same clothes because we feel the same’) it’s another live favourite. Again, when I listen to it now I am transported back to Hyde Park in 2009 shouting back the brilliant last line to Damon – ‘…IT’S NOTHING SPECIAL!’).

4.       Parklife
The famous title track of the album and another live favourite, Damon was inspired to write the lyrics to Parklife whilst he was living in Kensington Church Street near Hyde Park and reading London Fields by Martin Amis. I’ve enjoyed this song live many times with the accompaniment of Phil Daniels; probably the best performance I’ve seen was at the Olympic Closing Ceremony Concert at Hyde Park in 2012 where Harry Enfield bizarrely wondered onto the stage dressed as a tea lady during the song. The other thing I associate with Parklife is the brilliant video that I have watched dozens of times – as a teenager dreaming of being in a band I saw how much fun the band were having in the video and wished that could be me.

5.       Bank Holiday

The token Blur punk song on the album (see also Chinese Bombs on Blur, B.L.U.R.E.M.I on 13 and We’ve Got a File on You on Think Tank) Bank Holiday is a fun, if throwaway song. Listening to Bank Holiday I think back to a Bank Holiday (Easter Monday 2000 I think) that I spent drinking all day. I’d got very drunk and then had to face the consequences of reality the next day when it was ‘back to work…A.G.A.I.N!’

6.       Badhead

And after a Bank Holiday drinking all day and having to deal with the consequences you need a hangover song, and there is no better hangover song than Badhead. The music is comforting and the lyrics are so true to the introspection that comes with a hangover (‘and I might as well just grin and bear it, ‘cos it’s not worth the trouble of an argument…’).Not just a great hangover song, Badhead is simply a great song.

7.       The Debt Collector
Save for Graham’s spoken word intro to keep time (‘one Mississippi, two Mississippi…’) this is the album’s first instrumental track. A waltz, the song is inspired by Music Hall and is very catchy. There is something about the 3/4 time signature that I love (Blue Danube Waltz by Strauss and Rebel Waltz by The Clash are two of my favourite songs ) and one of the many reasons why I love Blur so much is because they’re also fans (see also The Wassailing Song and Anniversary Waltz). The Debt Collector is one of those songs that can make you forget about what you are doing; it’s the soundtrack to a daydream.

8.       Far Out

Alex’s song on the album, Far Out is inspired by his love of space. The child-like lyrics (‘I spy in the night sky, don’t I…’) points to his youthful wonder of the world and outer space in particular. A fun album track, it’s simply a song that just makes me smile, a bit like Ian Brown’s Straight to the Man on The Stone Roses’ Second Coming album.

9.       To The End
After the previous few album tracks it’s time to bring back the big guns and To The End is certainly that. The dreamlike opening and climatic chorus (‘well you and I, collapsed in love…’) are enhanced even further by the French backing lyrics by Francois Hardy. When I listen to this song I am transported back to when I first heard it – at Hylands Park in Chelmsford at V97 in the dark with a glitter ball descending from the roof of the stage – here was the band I love performing the ultimate indie love song.

10.   London Loves
One of my favourite songs on the album, London Loves has been an inspiration to me over the years. When I was a teenager I read Alex James’ Soho Diaries in N.M.E and I dreamed about living in London. It was a dream that sadly never came true but was something I really wanted. I had promised myself that the moment I moved to London the first song I would play on my CD player would be London Loves.

 It’s such a great song and I was delighted when Blur played it as their second song at their Olympic Closing Ceremony concert at Hyde Park in 2012. Damon introduced it perfectly (‘this song is called London Loves…and we love London!’), it was the only time I have seen them perform this song live and I loved the performance so much that I just listen to the live version now. I love Damon’s triumphic ending to the song (‘YEAH!’) in acknowledgment that they had just smashed that tune.

I’m such a fan of this song that I borrowed the title for my London LovesLunchtimes blog. In a soundtrack to my life this song would definitely accompany my nearly 4 year period of working full-time in London.

11.   Trouble In The Message Centre

One of the songs that I would have regarded as too weird when I first listened to the album at the age of 14, nineteen years later this song has definitely grown on me. It’s a great song for describing the stresses and strains of the workplace (‘I am a manager, I am in control, as the local delegator…I offer no guarantee at all…’).

12.   Clover Over Dover

Again, upon hearing a harpsichord in the intro for this song when I first listened to the album, it was another song that I dismissed as too weird at the time. Unlike the previous track on the album this hasn’t grown on me as much and for me is probably the weakest song on the album. It’s usually a track I skip, so let’s skip onto the next track…

13.   Magic America

After two more esoteric songs, it’s back to the killer Blur formula of the perfect indie pop song. The story of the Americanisation of England in the 90s, Magic America is also a great tune, with its Kinks inspired observational verses and catchy ‘la,la,la,la,la’ chorus.

14.   Jubilee
The story of a 17 year old boy born in the Silver Jubilee of 1977, almost every man can relate to being a Jubilee at some point. The brilliant chorus (‘he dresses incorrectly, no one told him, talk to girls, but he’s just too spotty’) is one that many men can painfully relate to. By the age of 17 I was going out to indie club so would like to think that I was less of a Jubilee then but I certainly was just a couple of years previously. Listening to Jubilee reminds me of a photo of me on my sixteenth birthday – long curly hair, bum fluff moustache and wearing a Star Trek t-shirt – no wonder I didn’t have a girlfriend then!

15.   This Is A Low

The album’s standout track, an absolute 5-star classic, This Is A Low is regarded by many fans and critics as being Blur’s best song. For me it is certainly up there with my other Favourites – Sing, For Tomorrow, End of A Century, Beetlebum, Tender and Out of Time. Damon’s best vocal performance to date, it was recorded just before he was about to have a hernia operation, so the physical pain he was feeling at the time is likely to have contributed to the emotion of his vocal performance.

The lyrics were inspired by a handkerchief depicting the shipping forecast areas of the British Isles that Alex had bought Damon for Christmas. The link between a meteorological depression and a mental depression is very clever and is definitely one of Damon’s best lyrics. The brilliant chorus (‘this is a low but it won’t hurt you’) has been comforting to me throughout many hard times over the years, and for me it’s up there with ‘everybody hurts, everybody cries’ by R.E.M in terms of its beautiful succinctness.

16.   Lot 105

The band didn’t want to finish the album on a low and after the draining emotional experience of This Is A Low comes the throwaway Music Hall fun of Lot 105. Named after the auction number of the organ that features in the song, Lot 105 finishes the album off with a cheeky smile. The lyric at the end (’18 times a week love’) references the response that the band gave a fan at the time when she asked them how often they had sex!

London Loves Lunchtimes: Living for the City

3 and half years ago I was fortunate enough to have my office moved from a business park on the edge of provincial Peterborough to a quite superb location just off The Strand. Landed in the tourist heart of the capital I had many enjoyable lunchtimes exploring my enviable new surroundings and writing about them in my London Loves Lunchtimes blog.

I’ve received more positive feedback from friends, family and colleagues about my London Loves Lunchtimes articles than I have about anything I’ve ever written: it’s an important lesson to learn that people are generally more interested in hearing about my lunchtime adventures in London then they are about my thoughts on music, sport, politics and life!

My company moved offices from just off The Strand to between Barbican and St Paul’s about 7 months ago and in the following months I haven’t really ventured too far and have fallen into a routine of  all too familiar trips to safe and comfortable Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Boots, M&S and Greggs. With my period of working full-time in London fast coming to an end coupled with my recent realisation that I need to do more with my life, I suddenly have a sense of urgency to make the most of my time left in the City.

In the last few weeks I have had a couple of highly enjoyable lunchtimes discovering the delights of Vietnamese French baguettes (pork with tasty fresh and spicy flavours all wrapped up in a comforting hunk of French bread) and the stunning array of sights and smells from wonderful Whitecross Street Market (a deliciously salty halloumi Turkish pizza wrap followed by an enjoyable mini Brazilian cheese bread thing).

I felt it was time for a new adventure so set out on Monday with two goals: that I was going to go somewhere I had never been before and eat from somewhere I had never eaten before. No more Sainsbury’s meal deals eaten outside St Paul’s for me! Speaking of Sainsbury’s, I have adopted one of their former brand campaigns as my new lunchtime mantra: Try Something New Today. It’s a simple philosophy and one that is perfect for the long overdue return of my lunchtime adventures.

Heading south I decided to look for a food market that a couple of colleagues had mentioned was near New Change. I hate shopping centres and walking though One New Change was no more fun than walking through Tower Ramparts in Ipswich. The only difference was that this shiny mecca of capitalism had higher quality shops – Bang and Olufsen instead of Dixons, Hugo Boss instead of BHS, basically everything to keep city boys and girls looking beautiful.

I walked through there because I thought it was the way to the market; soon I realised it wasn’t so I decided to continue walking south. I kept doing so until I reached the entrance to Mansion House Tube station where I saw a sign for a river walk route – perfect. Heading in the direction of the river walk I passed some of the many brutal building sites that seem to be a permanent part of the City, before coming to a statue of one of the strangest things I have seen in London: a statue to the historic role of the bridge master and swan marker. What a statue and what a job that must have been!

                            Image: Statue of the bridge master and swan marker.

To head further south and reach the river meant crossing a busy road via a steep concrete footbridge. Tentatively I made my way up and across, not helped by either my fear of heights or the aching muscles in my wobbly legs, caused by my decision to run 5 and half miles the previous day. I made it across in one piece and then there it was: the world famous River Thames.

Previously I had experienced the Thames via Waterloo Bridge (my favourite view in London), South Bank (my favourite place to hang out in London) and beautiful Victoria Embankment (one of my favourite places to walk in London); now I had a different take on this historic waterway and I liked what I saw. Directly opposite me was the dominating modernist building that is the Tate Modern and next to it was an instantly recognisable round building. The building looked natural, like it belonged to this part of London; I soon realised that was because this building was Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre!

Leaning against the wall I took in the amazing view around me: the striking differences between the glass of the Shard and the ornate iron detail of Southwark Bridge to my left, geese bobbing in the waves of the murky green river below me, the historic Globe Theatre and striking Tate Modern buildings opposite me, and the many more bridges to my right, towards the west and the South Bank that I had often visited from my previous London office.

Tourist boat cruises passed by and I instantly thought how much I would like to be on one of them, taking in the wonderful riverside sights of London on a sunny day like this. My daydream was soon shattered by a familiar London street smell – the ammonia hit me hard and made me take a step back as I realised that I was enjoying this great view from what was effectively a tramp’s urinal!

Taking a step back I turned my attention to the many riverside runners also making the most of their lunchtimes. I myself had ran (well jogged with a little bit of walking) alongside a river the previous day, and although my Norfolk river was far removed from the Thames of central London, I felt I could still relate to them a bit with their choice of running alongside a river. It’s no surprise that people who live in cities flock to the few natural environments that are left – that’s why the most expensive houses in New York are the ones opposite Central Park.

Walking east briefly I soon found the way to Southwark Bridge and started my way back north towards my office. Over the bridge and back into the City I passed many of the pubs that must have made a fortune in keeping city boys (and it is always mostly men in this part of London) refreshed over the years. It was St Patrick’s Day so there were plenty of city suits outside Irish chain pubs with their obligatory pints of Guinness. My favourite scene was of a well fed city boy in a regulation dark blue suit taking it in turns to eat his takeaway sushi with chopsticks with one hand and slurp from his pint of black stuff with the other. If ever there was a scene to describe the City, this was it.

Leaving the Monday lunchtime drinkers I continued north to St Mary Alderman Church where I had passed a few pop-up takeaway stalls on my way down. I had planned to get a burrito from one of the stalls on my way back but there was a large queue and time was fast running out on my lunch break so I continued heading north until I found myself on Cheapside. Crossing the road and then turning left to make my way back to the office I was fast running out of having somewhere new to get my lunch from. I then saw a small kiosk called Deli Box and decided that this was a good a choice as any. Bewildered by the choices on the menu I went for chicken on top of rice with sweet chilli sauce on top of that. I ate it when I got back to my desk and it tasted exactly as chicken, gravy and vegetables on top of egg fried rice coated with sweet chilli sauce tastes like – not unpleasant but perhaps not the greatest combination in the world.

The important thing for me however was that I had tried something new today! I’d been somewhere I’d never been before, seen things I’d never seen before, and ate something I’d never eaten before. I felt good for these new experiences and wanted to have this feeling repeated again and again. There’s so much more I want to do in London, so many things that I haven’t experienced, so many opportunities that I have missed out on. Not all of this can be completed in a lunch hour from the City of London but I’m going to try my best to do as much as I possibly can before my time working full-time in London is forced to an end. London: I’m not finished with you yet!

The Joys of Cycling

“I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike,
I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like.”
Bicycle Race - Queen

Almost everyone I know seems to be into running at the moment. Many of my workmates are, and quite a few are even in training for the Richmond 10k or London Marathon. Even two of my oldest and best friends, neither of whom I would describe as particularly athletic, are currently training for the Great Manchester Run and the Ipswich Half Marathon respectively. I’ve been asked many times over the years by friends and colleagues to join them for such running events, and for a second after being asked I often consider what would happen to me if I entered – the sense of achievement, the physical and mental benefits, the shared experience with friends – and then I quickly think of the reality of it – how hard I would have to work to get my level of fitness up to standard and the sheer physical pain that would be involved with this.

I’ve tried to get into running before: about six years ago when I worked in Cambridge I decided to get up half an hour earlier every morning and go for a run along the riverbank near where I live. Seeking motivation I bet my girlfriend £10 that I’d do it every day for a week: I successfully ran the just-under-2-miles route from Monday to Thursday, then on Thursday evening was told that the bet was off! Disappointed, I gave in and cancelled Friday’s run. I haven’t been running on a regular basis (more than one day in a row) since. 

Due to my recent epiphany of realising that I won’t be young forever, I have given quite a bit of thought of trying to get back into running again and planned to go for a run last Saturday. I got my trainers out, thought about the stretches I would need to do to get my stiff body ready for the physical challenges it would soon face, and even downloaded and registered with the popular Nike + running app. I was all ready to go, then on Saturday morning I woke up and thought about the choices in front of me – I could either spend about 15 minutes running nearly 2 miles in pain or I could spend just under an hour cycling 12 miles in relative comfort. I’d get about the same benefits in terms of exercise, so cycling won and I got my bike out of the shed.

I love cycling, I love playing football and I really love walking (definitely a subject for a future blog). These are my three forms of (fairly) regular exercise, none of which I get to do quite as much as I would like to, but all of which I get a great deal of pleasure out of. I think the reason why I enjoy these forms of exercise more than any others is because they all seem natural, two of them help you get closer to nature, and they all involve a sense of freedom – all things that mean a lot to me.

When I tell people I enjoy cycling they instantly think I have got a road bike and wear lycra – nothing could be further from the truth as I am very much an amateur cyclist. I often get odd looks from my fellow Norfolk cyclists as I pass them (or to be more precise, they pass me) on the country roads surrounding the sleepy town I live in. They all very much fall into the stereotypical view of a cyclist – shiny helmets, luminous lycra and expensive looking road bikes. I’m not sure if the look they give me is disdain, pity or sympathy but it’s probably due to how I look compared to them – no helmet (I wouldn’t think of ever cycling in London without one but in the country on quiet roads I don’t feel the need for one), jeans and a fleece, and instead of an slick road bike I ride…a woman’s mountain bike! As the saying goes my bike is definitely built for comfort rather than speed.

 Image: My bike leant against an old fashioned road sign on a typical Norfolk country lane

I’ve promised myself a proper bike for years but like many things I promise myself it’s not something I’ve got round to yet. I’m very pragmatic anyway so I don’t really feel that I’m missing out too much by riding the bike I do. I’d like to be able to go faster and look better as I do so, and I could do without the bell comically chiming as I go over bumpy bits of road, but it does its job. I quite like the fact that it doesn’t look like I’m taking it seriously anyway. I compare my approach to cycling as similar to that of the brilliant sports and nature writer Simon Barnes' philosophy to bird watching. Barnes describes how simple it is to be what he calls a 'bad bird watcher' – look out of the window, see a bird, enjoy it. That’s my view on cycling – jump on your bike, go anywhere you like, enjoy it.

I’ve always lived fairly close to the countryside and cycling has been the best way for me to explore my surroundings. I was fortunate to grow up in the East side of Ipswich, where fields, farms and villages like Martlesham were only a 10 minute bike ride away. When I lived in Cambridge (where cycling is by far the most popular form of transport) I was even closer to the country, with the River Cam just a couple of minutes from my house. From there I enjoyed many long bike rides along the river to the surrounding villages. Now in sedate Downham Market, I’m also within easy reach of the countryside. I’ll be honest in saying that it’s not exactly the most picturesque countryside in England – Constable Country, the Cotswolds or the Yorkshire Dales, West Norfolk certainly is not. But it’s still the outside and it is freedom.

I’ve got a nice 12 mile circuit that is becoming a regular weekend routine. Starting at the railway station I cycle up the small hill (heart and lungs going already) into town, past the newsagents and the pensioners with their copies of the Daily Mail, and turn left to join the road to King’s Lynn to the north. After a couple of miles I turn west towards Stow Bridge, stopping when I get to the bridge itself and taking in the view, and often also taking a photo of, the River Great Ouse. 

Rivers can be very emotive places; they look inspiring in the sunshine and moody under a murky sky. One of the great things about the Fens is the sky and on a sunny day it appears to go on forever as there are very few landmarks amongst the miles upon miles of flat farmland. From there I continue west along quiet country roads before then heading south towards Barroway Drove, along a few miles of completely deserted road. I’m more likely to see a country bird then I am a person or a car and this is probably the most enjoyable leg of my route. It is here, in complete isolation, away from everything and under the huge Fenland sky that I feel the most free. 

From there it’s onto the small village of Barroway Drove and back to signs of humanity as I pass large farm houses with names like The Forge, The Birches, and The Old Saddlery. Then it’s back east towards Downham Market, often stopping at my local charity bookshop, before back home for tea. From the corpses of rusting farm machinery to huge flocks of birds singing and dancing in the endless sky, I get great enjoyment by the sights and sounds that accompany my bike ride. You don’t get to see the first blossom on trees or even dead birds by the road in the robotic spinning classes that are favoured by many time-precious Londoners, which is why I think going for a bike ride beats spinning in a gym every time.

Freedom is a common feeling associated with cycling – from kids riding their first bikes away from the safety of their parents and onto unlimited new adventures, to Situationist inspired students holding their bicycles in the air as a symbol of protest during the 1968 Paris riots – riding a bike means to be free. Katie Melua sang that there are 'nine million bicycles in Beijing': that used to be a strength of the hardworking and dedicated Chinese – self-reliant and with no need to rely on the western addiction of oil. Sadly, with the economic and social booms happening in China, it’s probably more likely that there will be nine million cars in Beijing soon.

I’m an explorer: wherever I go I immediately want to check out the surrounding area. Walking is a great way to do that and I certainly do a lot of that, but to really get out and about, to explore places that you’ve only seen on a map, to get a better understanding of your tiny little corner of England, then getting on your bike is by far the best way to do it. It’s also great exercise, makes you feel good inside and lifts your spirits. To paraphrase the former Tory M.P. Norman Tebbit, if anyone is fed up with life then there’s not much better advice than to 'get on your bike!'

Mini Book Review: Straight White Male by John Niven

Straight White Male by John Niven
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm a big John Niven fan and have now read all his novels except for his thriller Cold Hands. Kill Your Friends was an amazing debut, like a British American Psycho, I liked it so much that I didn't think he could better it. Then I read his next novel The Second Coming and thought that was equally as good. His third novel The Amateurs was also good but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as his first two, so I wasn't sure what to expect from Straight White Male.

There's a quote from Catlin Moran on the cover: "I cried three times and laughed fifty. Magnificent." That's quite a cover quote to live up to but the book does so and more. I came close to crying three times and I lost count the number of times I LOL'd (or at least inwardly smirked to myself).

Niven's writing about the minds of men is magnificent. Some of his phrases are stunning, especially when he writes about the wiring of men. I didn't think it would be possible after his debut but Straight White Male is the best thing John Niven has written and is one of the best novels I've read for years.

View all my reviews

The Trials of a Commuter

I drove to work yesterday. That’s a standard practice for millions of British workers but it hasn’t been for me. Not since my company moved down to London 3 and half years ago. In that time I have only driven to work 3 times previously, so I enjoyed the variety that driving gave me yesterday.

When I used to commute to Cambridge I got bored of having to rely on the unpredictability of trains, train drivers, fellow commuters, train tracks, British weather and those who thought that jumping in front of a train would be a good way to end it all. Not being in control of my destiny (or at least my journey back home) frustrated me. When I got a job in Peterborough and had to drive for the first time it was exciting. Certainly scary as despite passing my test 2 years previously I hadn’t driven regularly since then and definitely not for long distances. I literally had to teach myself to drive again.

But once I got the hang of it driving was exciting. I am by no means whatsoever a car fanatic; people who talk about cars bore me. But once I got over the nerves and anxiety I found driving enjoyable. I enjoyed the fact that I was in control of my own destiny (or at least my own destination) and the sheer buzz that I got from being in control of a potential one tonne death machine. It is testament to the wonders of the human subconscious that millions of people can drive harmoniously every day, without incident and without even really thinking about it.

The fundamental difference between driving to work and getting the train to work is adrenalin. Driving along a winding fenland road, an icy river to your left and an articulated lorry coming at you on your right produces adrenalin. Overtaking a tractor at 50 miles an hour in fourth gear (I drive a not-even-a-one-litre Vauxhall Corsa so need to drop down a gear if I have to accelerate quickly) in fog with ever brightening foglights coming at you produces adrenalin. Making a split second decision on whether you should pull out at a junction and then having to press the accelerator pedal hard down to the floor when you realise you probably shouldn’t have as there is a much faster car behind you produces adrenalin. Adrenalin is fun. It makes us feel alive. I am by no means an adrenalin junkie but I enjoy the small thrills of driving my (very modest) car. Sitting on a train for hours every day does not produce adrenalin. It produces the opposite of adrenalin.

What’s the opposite of adrenalin? Calmness?  Depression? Lethargy? Probably lethargy.  Sitting on the same train for hours a day is bloody tiring! Whist it is easy to just sit there and be transported to your destination as you do whatever stationary activity you like to best – reading, writing, listing to music, eating, drinking, sleeping, talking, knitting, doing your makeup, marking your student’s work, doing your own work, or playing on your smartphone (by far the most popular choice of my fellow commuters) – it is often just so, well boring.

Sitting on a train for hours every day really takes it out of you. For the last 3 and half years I have spent nearly 4 hours a day travelling to and from work. People ask me how I do it. People ask me if I am mad (I’m not quite sure if they are actually joking or not when they ask this). People ask me why I do it. The last question is the hardest one for me to answer.

Hardness, that is what it comes down to – you have to be mentally very hard to be able to take this daily punishment for a prolonged period of time. I see it in the eyes of my fellow long-distance commuters – the same steely determination, the same black rings around their eyes, and the same sense of resignation that this is how their life is and that it will probably always be like this.

 Image: the solemn faces of every day commuters

But it’s not all bad of course. If like me then you enjoy solitary activities (reading, writing, listening to music, attempting to play the guitar), then the long distance train commute is like escaping into your own private world every day. I’ve done almost everything it is possible to do on a train – read many books, magazines and newspapers, listened to hours of music, listened to dozens of podcasts, written blogs, done work (official and unofficial), watched films, played games on my iPad, made calls to friends and family, chatted to fellow commuters, attempted to sleep (with their horrid florescent lighting, hard seats and minimal leg room it is as if trains have been designed specifically so it is impossible to sleep on them) and messed around with the various phones I’ve owned over the years. I would have liked to have been able to have practiced guitar on the train but that would have had to involve the guarantee of a completely empty carriage to myself every day.

Variety is the spice of life however and despite my attempts to add as much variation to my train journeys as possible it is always good to have a change. That’s why the rare thrill of driving to work gave me so much enjoyment yesterday. The best bit? The car stereo. My stereo is as modest as my car but I still had great fun in selecting the 2 CDs that would accompany on my 2 hour round trip to Peterborough and back. From my Blur 21 box set (released to mark the 21^st anniversary of the band 2 years ago) I chose the Modern Life Is Rubbish rarities CD for the way there and the studio album itself for the way back. Motoring up the A47 in beautiful sunshine I got particular enjoyment from blasting out the Wassailing Song and tapping the steering wheel to the 3/4 time of this unique song. It was certainly a unique experience.

The reason why I drove to work yesterday? Because the ever-changing powers that be in my company have decided to move my team back to Peterborough from London. So it looks like I am going to have to get used to driving again: I know that I’ll enjoy it to start with but eventually it will become a chore. That’s how it was before for me – after 2 and half years of driving for nearly 2 hours a day I welcomed the change that commuting on a train gave me. Now after 3 and a half years of commuting by train and Tube for nearly 4 hours a day I welcome the relief and difference that the shorter car journey will give me. Despite the relocation it looks like I will still get to visit London regularly for my job – perhaps not as much as I would like to but still enough to break up my week.

I look forward to revisiting my CD collection and blasting out my favourite albums in my car, and to also being able to continue enjoying the solitary hours on the train where I can read and write. It’s been very hard work to get to where I am today – the physical and mental pain, the frustration, the sleep deprivation, the reliance on caffeine and paracetamol, the missed opportunities, the sacrifices, the swallowing of pride, the sheer stamina required to get through it all. Finally after all of that I feel like my hard work is starting to pay off.