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A ‘found’ video – found this footage and it had never been watched so a very quick editing job. It proves how valuable video is when you’ve got children. She’s at such a great age in this footage – a real person but so much less grown up than she is now – virtually double the age in this film. Simple things in it just make Katie and I laugh. |
Lily’s fourth birthday – film.
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Just finally got round to uploading the video of Lily’s fourth birthday party to youtube. It’s only four and a half minutes long but is a bit of fun with all her friends from Nursery etc. | |
How do you solve a problem like Lily?
Lily goes to Pre-school
Three Peaks cyclo-cross 2006
It’s Sunday night, the bikes are washed down, Lily’s in bed, and it’s a lovely moment to sit here and contemplate what a great day I just had. I prepare for this race as if it’s the only race that matters, and can’t say that there’s been a bike ride or fell run during the last year that I haven’t thought about the Three Peaks.
I finished 15th today – my best position from eleven events – and took five minutes off my previous best time. This, despite being seriously delayed by a snapped chain on Penyghent – the final climb – which forced me to run for ten minutes whilst people I’d worked so hard to drop trickled past me. I was in eleventh place at the time and it was looking pretty safe – but that’s the type of race it was – and I’m not bitter because anything in the top 20 would have made me chuffed – I’m bloody elated. Continue reading “Three Peaks cyclo-cross 2006”
A bit of time before the Three Peaks race with Phil and family
Podcast: Heart Racing
Heart Racing is the new tune I’ve put together after – literally – about a year of dithering about. We’ve been so busy on the house in the last couple of years that music has really taken a back seat.
Heart Racing (mp3)
NOW UPDATED – 04 October 2006 – thanks for your feedback – I’ve upped the vocals a bit and knocked back the snare drum for an altogether better mix! Link now goes to the re-mastered version.
Click more below for lyrics.
Continue reading “Podcast: Heart Racing”
Minnelli-what?
From 1997 to 2001, I worked on a national lottery funded initiative “Millennium Greens”, which helped people to create new community green spaces where they were previously lacking. The word ‘Minnellium’ came about because of the number of times during that era that people either said it (inadvertantly) or actually mis-typed it. It just made me chuckle every time I heard it.
I had started to make my own electronic music at the time and needed a name for my ‘band’. It sounded right because the word sounded electronic and modern. I soon bagged the URL minnellium.com and so the word / brand started to take on its own form and gradually it has become less about the audio and more about me, generally.
Minnellium isn’t an alter ego – it’s become a moden day metaphor for me and mine!
D.
A weekend getting plastered
My brother in law Simon and I set to last weekend on an intensive couple of days’ skimming the lounge. The building work we had done in 2005 left us in a bit of a vaccuum for cash and motivation, but this marks the start of the next phase – i.e., “doing up the bit of the house we had to live in while we were doing the other bit”. In the event, the work itself went fantastically well – the ceiling and four walls we skimmed all look just silky-smooth – it’s such a satisfying process when it goes well. We made a mess of the floor (but that was taken care of by using awhat turned out to be a disposable tarpaulin), and were knackered from the instense experience, but it made pleasant a change from all the training! Thanks Simon – my plaster mentor.
The cyclo-cross season’s back upon us
Ahhh – what a lovely feeling – the nights start getting longer, the mornings are dewey, and two bikes are on top of the car – we’re heading for a small parkland on the edge of a housing estate in Northwich, Cheshire, for the first race in this year’s North West Cyclo Cross series.
I won the league last year (ten races count) but won’t be going for the NW league this year because I’ve got to ride a few more national series races for Wheelbase and Gore Cycle Wear – my sponsors.
So it was a reassuring start to the season when I rode well and won the race. I should have done – on paper – because of who else was (or wasn’t) racing – but still – it’s a really satisfying feeling. Nicer still was the weather – although it was too hot for cyclo-cross racing (you don’t travel much faster than 20mph at the most so you don’t cool down with the breeze as much) it was just right for Katie and Lily to come and watch me – and cheer me on. I’ve only won two ‘cross races before this one – but this was the most special because it was the first with family watching.
Langdale Pikes
A great day out with work – managing to somehow wangle another beautiful day out in the mountains under the name of working – getting to know future colleagues for the impending merger. Yep – life’s tough at times…..
Lily’s fourth birthday
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Blimey – it’s flying by, isn’t it. The little baby is now four years old. Lily had a great party with fourteen friends and a cake fit for a princess. | |