Fire and Light
Submitted by chris on Sun, 01/17/2010 - 22:32.
Over the last few months, Cambridge University has been holding a series of events to celebrate the 800th anniversary of its founding, by a group of scholars from Oxford. The latest event was a light show designed by light artist Ross Ashton, projected onto Senate House and Old Schools (the official centre of the university). This was a montage of images and video, covering the key points of the history of the university, and the discoveries and ideas that it has helped bring into the world.
In addition, the Cambridge University Fire Troupe performed a display - essentially a dance with fire, portraying a rather abstract view of the history of the university. The 'history' bit was of course pretty tenuous, but it was a spectacular show - with some very impressive moves. Ever tried hula-hooping with a burning hoop? Around your neck?
Stragill
Submitted by chris on Sun, 01/17/2010 - 22:24.
As an antidote to all the cold photos, how's about a nice beach set? It certainly looks lovely - though the air temperature was still near zero! These were taken on one of our traditional family walks, along the beaches at Stragill on Inishown at low tide.
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Winter Wonderland - from the air
Submitted by chris on Sun, 01/03/2010 - 12:55.
A few sets of photos, including some spectacular views of north-west Ireland's snow-covered mountains.
The frosty weather has continued here in Ireland, after a slight thaw. On a clear day - or Irish clear anyway - David and I went on a short but beautiful hill-walk on Inishowen, at Moldy hill. There was still plenty of snow on the hills, and the small lake at the top (as they tend to be in Ireland, oddly) was frozen and picturesque.
The following day was a family outing to Downhill, on the Northern Ireland coast. This was the bishop's residence, back in the day when the bishop was really someone - as you can see from the remains of the house. Impressive location and gardens - but rather bleak on a cold grey day in winter. It was however clear enough to see Scotland across the sea - or at least Islay and the Paps (mountains) of Jura.
On a rather sunnier day came one of the highlights of my holiday, in photographic terms at least. Alistair, my eldest brother, booked a plane at the local flying club; a Piper Warroir with a top speed of 125 knots. After a careful start at the icy airfield, we flew south-west to Donegal town, Killibegs and the 1500-foot cliffs at Slieve League. Thenn up the north-west coast, with a great view of the Derryveagh mountains, and especially Errigal (the largest mountain in north-west Ireland) and Muckish mountain. The snow on them made them look impressively alpine - not much like how they were when we used to climb them during our summer holidays! Then back over Glenveagh lake, and over Derry itself, dozing in the sunset on the banks of the Foyle river.
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Winter Wonderland III
Submitted by chris on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 20:31.
Some more winter-themed photos, from the Irish countryside.
The first set are from on Moldy hill, near Fahan in Donegal. Not a sunny day; we got quite heavy snowfall towards the end of the walk.
The next set are from Doagh island. The castle towards the end of that group is Carrickabraghey Castle, built by the O'Dohertys, probably in the 16th century.
The final set are from the curiously-named Blanket Nook, a lake formed by an old sea wall, on a frosty afternoon.
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Winter Wonderland II
Submitted by chris on Thu, 12/24/2009 - 22:50.
More Christmasy photos - most of these were taken at Enagh lough again, after a hard freeze. The previous night it got down to -8C; it was still below 0 when these were taken.
A few near the start were taken near Inch island in Donegal, at Fahan beach (also quite near Inch island), or around my parent's garden.
Merry Christmas!
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Winter Wonderland
Submitted by chris on Sun, 12/20/2009 - 20:18.
After a snowy day in Cambridge making the Christmas trip back to Ireland somewhat more laborious than usual (thanks to the British railway system!), the snow then decided to come to Ireland for a holiday too! We got an inch or two overnight, leaving everything crisp and sparkling in the morning.
The photos below consist of:
- A few from Cambridge
- Birds in the garden, and near my parents' house
- Around Enagh lough with my brother David and Chester the dog
- At Inch lake with my parents, David and the dog
The dog especially loved the snow - running around like a crazy thing, and rolling in it. A lot better than some of the things he rolls in! David also got some good photos of the snow.
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Photos: Near Madingley, December 2009
Submitted by chris on Sat, 12/12/2009 - 19:00.
On a sunny December afternoon, I took my camera for a walk out towards Madingly - north-west of Cambridge, along an old right-of-way though farmland and woods. Though not quite frosty, the atmosphere was still quite crisp, and the low winder sun put on a bit of a show at sunset. Then home for tea and mince pies!
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Crouching Kestrel II
Submitted by chris on Mon, 11/30/2009 - 23:24.
Back in Spring, I ran a sailing trip from Ipswich, whose nominal target was south to the river Crouch. Predictably, we ended up going in the opposite direction, north to Lowestoft. In an optimistic frame of mind, I decided to run another trip with the same plan - except this time at the end of November...
Most of the crew arrived at the boat on Friday evening, as did the tesco shipping - all went smoothly this time. Unsurprisingly the forecast wasn't great, putting paid to the original idea - but as we weren't leaving that evening, it was a case of wait-and-see what the conditions were like in the morning.
After heavy rain overnight, the morning brought sunshine - and a stiff breeze. The forecast was still looking rather windy and rough, so we decided to head downriver and maybe go to the deben river, depending on conditions at sea. After a very relaxed start, we got under way before 11 and had a pleasant cruise down the orwell in 15-20 knots wind.
As we approached Felixtowe, the wind picked up, gusting to 25 - a sign of things to come. We switched down sails (the no.2 somehow picking up a tear in the process), and decided to have a nose out into the North Sea to see the conditions. We set off in the direction of Sealand, but the wind quickly picked up to 30 knots, and the sea was fairly choppy - not big waves, but fairly sharp - and soon afterwards people started feeling a bit rough. I decided that given the billing as a relaxed cruising trip, there wasn't much point in making everyone seasick. We about-turned and returned to the shelter of the rivers, and sailed up past Levington before heading to Suffolk Yacht Harbour as darkness fell. We had a very pleasant evening there, with a very tasty pasta bolognese, wine, and a slightly surreal Queen/hip-hop mashup of "A night at the hip-hopera" on the stereo! The evening was rounded off with a quiet visit to the Lightship, the local pub-equivalent.
After another stormy night and a wet morning, the next day we decided to wander down-river towards the sea, and up the stour river for a change of view. Despite the occasional force 6-7 gust, it was a fairly gentle and pleasant day's sailing - much less seasickenss involved! The wind started to drop as we returned up the orwell towards Ipswich, which we reached shortly after dark - all in all a very pleasant, relaxed, and even somewhat sunny day's sailing!
All in all, the weekend was good fun; the weather pretty much guaranteed that our scope would be limited, but we were fairly lucky in avoiding the heavy downpours and the worst conditions. Looking forward to Crouching Kestrel III - maybe when it's a bit warmer and calmer...
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Race day
Submitted by chris on Sun, 10/11/2009 - 15:12.Today, I ran my first half-marathon, the Great Eastern Run in Peterborough. 13.1 miles, to raise money for Amnesty International. Read on for my experience as a first-timer!
The day didn't start in a very promising manner. Getting to Peterborough from Cambridge on a Sunday morning is surprisingly difficult; coaches run slowly and infrequently, and to get there before 11am by train required changing at Stevenage - twenty miles in the wrong direction! Catching a train before 8:30am is never a great start to a day, but the real fun started at Stevenage: "The 9:20 train [...] has been delayed by over-running engineering works...". A small group of increasingly anxious runners stood in light drizzle, waiting for our train, for almost an hour. Network Rail's usual fine standard of service.
As a consequence, we arrived in a rather sunnier Peterborough just a few minutes before the start. After a dash from the station which also had to double as a warm-up, I reached the start literally as the race got underway. Runners were organised by target finishing time, but as I arrived as the crowd was starting to roll I was right at the back. This turned out to be a sure-fire way to prevent me going off too fast; the first mile was spent zig-zagging through the crowd, dodging through gaps when they appeared. At a couple of points I even ended up walking, when everyone was bunched up and there was literally no space to run into.
After another mile or so the race had opened up a bit more, and I built up to a normal pace. The weather was good for running - cool and mostly dry - and there were plenty of people out in the sidelines cheering, giving a great atmosphere to the race. The mile markers started passing surprisingly quickly - four miles, five miles, six miles, the half-way marker. It wasn't until the seven-mile marker that the pains started sparking up. As usual, the left leg was the problem: the ankle started giving a bit of a twinge if I struck a bit too flat. By the eight-mile mark, the hips were complaining, and a blister was starting on one foot - oddly, as I'd never had a problem with it during training. Still a fair way to go, keep pushing.
By this point, the race was pretty open. I was still passing quite a few people, but now in slow-motion. A few people came past me - some whom must have been late to the start, as they were clearly running sub-1:30 times, and a pair who were doing a curious sprint-drift pattern. They'd come past in a hurry, at speed - and then a few minutes later I'd overhaul them again running at a steady pace. This happened three or four times, until at about 11 miles they fell back. By now, my legs were starting to really tire, but I was far from out of breath. In fact, with 2 miles to go I decided that I could afford to pick up the pace further, and started passing a lot of people who'd done the opposite and gone off fast. There was a bit of an unsettling moment passing an apparently unconscious girl with paramedics around her - hard to tell what had happened. Past the twelve mile mark. Keep pushing!
The last mile was the fastest, as I knew I no longer needed to keep anything in reserve. Coming along the last section by the park, I felt great - running properly fast, sore legs didn't matter. Coming into the home straight, I even managed a sprint finish, burning everything I had left in the tank. I crossed the finish line at what I think was 1 hour 49'04. When I stopped I found my legs had decided they'd done enough for now - they'd gone slightly jellylike, and I had to find a railing to lean against for a minute to pull myself together before going to pick up my finisher's medal and goody bag.
All in all, I was pretty happy with the time (I'd previously decided that anything under 2 hours would be fine). I could probably have done faster if the first couple of miles had been more according to plan, and if I ran it again I would have a better feel for the right pace to set, but ultimately by the end I'd pushed myself about as hard as I could - and this is one of the reasons I enjoy running. There are few things you can do that are so simple, but in doing them you can push yourself right to the edge of the envelope. In summary, a very good experience, and a fair amount raised for my favourite charity - loads of thanks to everyone who's already donated, and for those who haven't, you're not too late!
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Chris is running a Half Marathon, the fool!
Submitted by chris on Sat, 09/12/2009 - 21:46.On the 11th October, I'm running my first ever half-marathon, the Great Eastern Run at Peterborough.
I'm using this as an opportunity for my friends and colleagues - wonderful people that they are! - to support a wonderful charity, Amnesty International. Amnesty International are dedicated to supporting human rights, and protecting individuals wherever justice, fairness, or freedom are denied.
So please help me reach my target by donating at http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-Cunningham
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