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An icy, wet and muddy 5km run this morning - first of 2021 (I think), but once I got out on to the road it was a bit easier, though with icy pockets to keep me on my toes.
I listened to
Greg Jenner's "You're Dead To Me" with an enjoyable episode about Grainne O'Malley. This is a great podcast series, making history fun and accessible. I'm in one of them.
I passed a woman having a horse riding lesson, taking up most of the road as she tried to get control of the huge animal. I wondered if running past a horse can spook it in the same way as driving past it. I mean I am not that fast, but I walked gingerly just in case.
We went for a walk in the woods after lunch. The kids climbed their favourite tree. We saw a herd of deer running down the hill and across the road and up the other side, like a venison river. It felt like nature had lifted the curtain and given us a glimpse of its magic.
We headed to the nearest petrol station in the hope of buying doughnuts as a treat. They were out of doughnuts, but they had some Yum Yums which I hoped would prove an acceptable substitute. The kids loved them. Why wouldn't they? And we wondered why no one else had thought of calling their food "Yum Yums" as it's basically an advert in the name. I hope it was given the title by the first person to try one rather than some group of marketeers. And like some captivated Homer Simpsons they were unable to come up with anything other than the most basic human description of how they tasted. Is yum yum one of those expressions that transcends language? It takes us right back to our very first meal, I presume.
Nyum nyum nyum was briefly a Collings and Herrin catchphrase. Though that was about eating something else. Can't believe we didn't put it on a T-shirt.
Tonight the archaeology theme of the last couple of weeks continued as we watched "The Dig" on Netflix, about the discovery of the Sutton Hoo burial. I enjoyed it - I've always thought that archaeological digs are a great setting for drama and philosophy, life and death and comedy , so only mildly jealous that my own versions haven't made it to the screen. But recommended for history fans.
Then we watched Saturday Night Live which was mainly rubbish.
I completed my third Dry January in a row (although maybe I drank on the 31st last year) and though it has been the longest month in human history, even for those who were pissed all the way through, it hasn't been too tough and I think I might press on for the moment. I didn't have a (deliberate) drink on 2019, so maybe I should have odd years off.
