WADE TIDBURY- MY FAVOURITE GAL !

Well, as the song goes: "ooh what a night"! Last night at the ER's Christmas party at the Roundthorn Mr Wade Tidbury was elected ( browbeaten) as our Pantomime dame for the night. The Heaviside girls (with a bit of help) quickly transformed him from a, lets be honest, reasonable looking sort of bloke, into what I can only call the SEXIEST PANTOMIME WIDOW TWANKEY THAT I HAVE EVER SET EYES ON!

You may think I'm exaggerating, but you would know if you had been there. Fromthe pout of his 'rosebud' lips to the tips of his sprout sized nipples ( we know this to be true, as they really were sprouts sellotaped onto his giant boobies (balloons)), he became a real head turner. When he sat on my knee, I was almost overcome with desire( desire for him to get off me actually as hes a heavier lad, sorry lass, than he looks!)

I hope somewhere there will be pictures of this vision of beauty. Forget Botox, nips and tucks, all you need ladies ( and, sadly, gentlemen) is two balloons, some vegetables, bits of decorations, a belt or two! A bit of makeup and lippy and a few willing helpers, to transform you into the 'woman you never kne you were'! It worked for Wade..........

Thanks for the memories lovergirl XX

Windmills and Pies – or – “Wade’s grand adventure”.

Penrith Rugby Club, 8am wet and windy on a Sunday morning, what better way to end the weekend than a trip down south to sunny Ulverston? Well, it would have been an 8am start if Wade had not had to endure the worst the weather could have thrown at Kirkoswald not an hour before and skating vehicles sans driver…Enough to prepare anyone’s heart rate for a 10k run.

So those of us with nothing better to do on a Sunday morning in December (like putting up decorations, buying trees or replacing tiny light bulbs) piled into the new “team bus” (Mike B, Paul S and myself) and discussed what comes naturally – our desired times from the days excursion. Wade had other things on his mind – namely new team colours (I think hot pink was the favourite) combined with a local sponsor.. All suggestions were food orientated, from Cranstons to Greggs and finishing with Town Head Chippy “We eat chips and we’re still in front of you” a good motivator for every other club runner if ever there was one… Even the sights of the wind turbines in full flow alongside the motorway couldn’t distract him from his creative leanings. I think the poor lad is hungry..

Arriving in Ulverston, after a slight detour or two to locate the sports centre, and fabulously early, we met Kevin W, who had taken a more scenic route through the Lakes and was not hampered by the snow.

The wind was always going to be a factor on this flat, almost coastal route – well, after the Krypton Factor experience Paul had in attempting (3 attempts) to get his vest on correctly prior to starting.. yet amazingly the rain held off for the duration of the run. 50m after the start I waved goodbye to Mike’s, Paul’s and Wade’s disappearing backs and attempted to settle into a rhythm while aiming to pick off some of the competition. The competition obviously had other ideas, namely being to finish quicker than me!

Well marshalled through the temporary road works and even into Ulverston Priory grounds (where a glimpse of the Buddhist temple could be had), the route threw up no real surprises or difficult areas and in slightly better weather conditions is definitely a route for PB claiming.

Things were not going too badly until mile 5 when a stitch hit, which I blame for eventually being 12 seconds over my aimed for time, not even a sprint finish (no elbows) could redeem it! Shouted in by Mike, Paul and Wade helped though, and I barely had time to pick up my free xmas pud and turn around before we all then cheered Kevin into the finish, a decent effort by all involved, especially by Mike who had just done 10 miles the previous day (his idea of a good warm up for a 10k?). Charlie Lowther left us all standing, being far too efficient in the scheme of things, but putting an Eden Runner in the top 20.

Some good soup from the Hoad Hill supporters and pudding to take home made a worthwhile trip, home and showered now, and as I write this it’s starting to snow… Lovely… Here’s to Christmas!

Words by Nicola G

BHF Quiz Night - WOW!!!

The much awaited BHF Quiz organised by the Paris Bike Ride team took place last Friday at PRUFC and what a night it turned out to be:

Nearly 100 people and 18 teams took part;
Over £460 was raised which hopefully will be fully matched by our sponsors Barclays Bank;
Over £100 was raised from the raffle alone.

Thanks to everyone who bought tickets and purchased raffle tickets and a special thank you to those people who contributed some fantastic cakes, pottery and booze!

The night started with a mjor headache 'how do we fit everyone in?' the answer was with great difficulty, but we managed - just!

Tony was a first rate quizmaster with endless patience and it finished with 2 eden runner-based teams taking 1st and 2nd (who said runners are thick, certainly not me).

There was some controversy when the answer to what is the French for bicycle was given as le velo rather than bicyclette; this raised the comment from one of the 'Friday Night Girls' "that it was bicyclette when I was at school" which provoked a response from the Saagermeister that "that was a long time ago", which provoked an equally cutting response of "have you looked in the mirrow lately" - all good fun and thanks again.

Dave P

Tick tick tick tick........................boom!

Trial by Stopwatch

Wed 30 March 2011

7pm, somewhere in Northern England. At the warm-up, there was more discussion about food than there was about running. I think that’s natural, as no-one wants to talk about a time trial beforehand. The thought is too painful. We all just want it to be over, no-one cares what time they might get. It’s only 1.75 miles - too far to sprint but too short to relax within.

Debutants Karl Allen, Mark Burns-Cassell and Emily Heaviside should be pleased with their results. Incredibly, Paul Saager achieved his fastest time since records began in Oct 2003, with 11:15. Proof that being a Middlesbrough FC supporter need not be the kiss of death it is generally believed to be, and reward for a winter of diligent training.

And equally incredibly, Gill DSD also achieved a lifetime best with 13:17. Proof that being married to Andy has not led to a fatal tailspin in her running career as some feared.

Perhaps not quite so incredibly, Gill’s husband Andy got down off his chair to surpass his own previous best with 11:55.

Other PBs on the night – well done to Chris & Vicky Boyd, to the up & coming Shaun Graham, to John Nicholson, Steve Patterson, to the dark destroyer Kev Scott, and finally to Angela Watson. Angela capped a good few days after demolishing her 2010 time at Grizedale on Sunday by a full 9 minutes.

There were one or two PWs (no names of course), but all would be able to cite mitigating circumstances I’m sure.

Poignant moment of the evening – Sally Spence decided not to run, having been the only ‘ever-present’ at this club event to date. So her run of 14 consecutive TTs stops there – who can hope to beat that? Instead, she was Chief Name-Taker on the night, and I have to say her written results were easily the neatest I have had to transcribe in living memory. Well done Sally.

Thanks also to Mr Andrew Bell (Starter), Kevin Whitemore (Security), and Dave Peacock (Rabble-Rouser and Chief Heckler). Never have so many owed so much to etc etc...

So, did the winter training work? Or were a lot of people just trying harder this time? You decide.......

BHF London to Paris Bike Ride

In May 2008 soon after the finish of the Golden Globe 5k I suffered toothache or at least I thought  it was toothache; it was in fact a heart attack! I was fortunate and I survived thanks in part to Kevin Whitemore who drove me the short but vital 1/2 mile to the Penrith Emergency unit, after we arrived back at PRUFC car park.

After recovering from the shock of the heart attack I realised from speaking to friends and family, many of whom are in Eden Runners that nobody knew that a pain across the jaw was the sign of an impending heart attack. And this is where the British Heart Foundation comes in, as their literature provides such life saving knowledge as well as providing vital guidance in the debilitating days and weeks following the attack.

I decided therefore that in the run up to my 50th birthday that I would try and raise some money to help ensure in a small way that the BHF can carry on providing their vital charitable work. Enter the London to Paris Bike Ride 300km's over 3 days from the 2nd July!

I was able to form a team of 4 thanks to Wacker, Tony and Julia and the support of a mate Ian (to drive the support vehicle) and my wife Diane (to provide sort out navigation, logistics and fund raising).

In totoal we need to raise £1,000 (£250 each) with all money raised going directly to BHF (all costs are met by us). Our first fund raising event is a Quiz at PRUFC on the 1st April, £6 a ticket from Tony Lowery with pie and pies thrown in (not literally hopefully).

Although there are in effect 4 people undertaking the Bike Ride (with 2 supporters) we will not achieve the most important part the fundraising without your support, I hope that this blog will keep you up to date with our challenges along the way.

If you would like to contribute on our Just Giving page (thanks to Ian Horne and Alan Marshall for generous donations already) you can do so at http://original.justgiving.com/tonylowery2

Thanks
Dave P