'Nothing stays the Same'

I remember there was a time when
the television, magazines, radios and other things,
They were just objects in our life.
But now we are engaging in these worlds and escaping
From talking at night.

It's hard to realize how or when
Things stopped being exciting,
And our hearts stopped inviting,
New ways of love.
It's tough to summarize,
The last time I looked into your eyes,
And felt something there.

This house is cold,
Just like our love,
Our lives are changing,
The feeling's rough.
I still remember the
eternal promises we made,
But their on delay,
Because nothing stay's the same.

Running in a Yellow Vest - Zig Zags 12KM Race Report

It was a cold, irritable morning when I made my way to the bus stop
to catch the early bus to Bournemouth Pier, but my spirits were immediately enlightened when I saw the crowd already waiting. They looked at me with no idea about the world I was travelling to, the world of addiction, of running your heart out for personal glory and pride to contrast the bleak nature of an otherwise depressing morning. It gave me no small satisfaction as I made my way onto the coach and found a seat, to think that they were all missing out on something beautiful, of an event, an atmosphere unparallel to anything else. It was that mixture of excitement and race nerves that made the experience so intoxicating. I thought about some of the looks I was greeted with when I used to run alone, the flying feeling as I did mile efforts down the promenade.
I could see their faces etched in what could only be described as concern, thinking, wondering, what is he doing this for. Why do I run? Why don’t you?
I was dropped off in the square so that I could make a small trip to the newsagents and quench my ever present hunger and thirst with a Twix bar and a can of red bull. I immediately felt rejuvenated as I made the small walk towards the race start. When I mention that it was a small walk, it could have been around 3KM which some would consider normal exercise for a day in its own right, but I like other competitive runners do not consider myself to be a normal man.
After signing up, I did my customary warm up, though feeling strangely paranoid as usual that people might think this was my actual pace, I sped it up a little towards the end to show off the fact that I was a runner, not someone who simply moves one foot in front of the other. It reminded me of the time when I was running through my hometown in Belper and how I would always pick up the pace when I approached the sign for Nottingham Road as this was the spot where lots of students and friends and if I’m honest attractive girls might be passing by. On this occasion I probably set off too fast because by the time I was about halfway up the road, and approaching a slight incline I was out of breath and was rapidly losing speed to a slow jog. It was only then that someone I knew happened to pass by. I haven’t been on that route since. I finished my warm up and went through an extended stretching motion and was just about to line up when before the race start I noticed that there were three medals on the table and I decided immediately that I wanted one of them. A minute later the gun had blasted and thirty, nerve-ridden, competitive driven road runners were on the way to making themselves proud and their day worthwhile. Before I give a direct account of the race, I should probably tell you a bit about the route, but the reason I haven’t is because at this stage of proceedings I hadn’t really thought about it myself. I knew it was roughly 7 and a half miles and went up five zig zags along the promenade so it was obviously going to be tough but I was just trying to focus my attention on staying at the head of the race.
As it was, I was half expecting seeing as this was a low key race, for the pace to be pretty slovenly at the start and during a restless night’s sleep I had visions in my mind of staying with the lead group until attacking from a mile out. Which was why I was quite taken back when a tall, confident looking runner strode his way to the head of the pack and took off at a good pace which some other man tried to stay with for about a second before jogging his way backwards to a group that was emerging behind. I wasn’t about to give up so easily however and I surged by his side to let him know I was there. As we ran together in glory at the head of the race, my mind enjoying the sight of passing the everyday families who stared in awe at our exploits whilst my body felt on the verge of collapse at any second, I knew this was why I raced.
My rhythm was uneasy and as I was trying to figure out whether he was one of these plucky athletes who always seemed to go off at a suicidal pace and then die a slow death towards the finish, my thoughts were disturbed by his sudden attack about half a mile in. I reacted immediately, knowing that being a potential sub 5 minute miler, it’s going to be pretty tough to get rid of my presence through speed in a long distance race. He seemed surprised by my instant recovery but no sooner was I beside him again then he took off once more, his long strides meaning that I had to work about twice as hard to get back. I was starting to wonder what this guy’s issue was, I didn’t see why he wanted so desperately to get rid of me this early when there was still a whole gruelling 6 and a half hilly miles to endure. It can’t have been time issues because you’d have to be pretty paranoid to care about your 12KM PB. I would have thought he might enjoy the company at the front but he answered this thought with another attack, this time more convincing and I struggled to make my way back to him. I was tempted to just let him go and hope that he tired but my heart wouldn’t give in and I surged slightly ahead of him this time to let him know he had a rival in this race and it was not going to be easy to get rid off me. I wondered again if maybe he was worried I was an exceptional hill climber and was trying to build up a lead because he thought, like I did that as soon as the hills arrived I would be off and away. I hold the 2nd best time on Queens Park Hill among BAC athletes and have always considered myself to be a good climber. If that’s what this guy’s plan had been however, he and I were both wrong, because as soon as we hit the first zig zag, he breezed up the slope without effort, like the physical demands of the hill meant nothing to him. I was stunned in defeat and made no attempt to burst my lungs by following him. Had I died? I wondered, and this thought became more prominent when after touching the tape at the top I saw him make his way downhill when I still had a quarter of the way to go. I flew downhill and as I was about halfway down I saw a pack of three negotiating their way up the climb. I was suddenly worried that they might catch me and so I gave it some real pace on the flat, not willing to even contemplate the thought of not being treated to a medal. It wasn’t often I got the chance to be a star of the race and I wanted to be rewarded for not just this effort but for all the hard races I had ever pushed myself to the limits in. I felt strong uphill on the 2nd zig zag and in the mist of intense concentration and trying to steady my breathing, I took the time to enjoy the applause of the unwilling audience. After touching the tape, I didn’t see another runner until I was nearly at the bottom of the hill but I was still worried I might be caught so I kept up a fast pace on the flat again. At a certain stage of a race it all becomes about sheer concentration and determination. At the beginning you have the curiosities about the other runners and how strong you feel but as soon as that has all been established, it is all about survival, maintaining pace, keeping your legs flowing and your mind confident. The only time you take to exit this focused world is when you see a kind applause or a marshal offering support and you feel thankful that your efforts are being accounted for. Other than that it’s all about reaching the final KM or final mile and knowing that all that’s required is the final bit of effort to end the pain and suffering.
Not daring to look behind, I had no idea how far ahead I was of the other runners but I assumed the runner ahead was quite a way in front. I took my time up the steps, knowing there was a long flat section coming up which I wanted to let rip on before a downhill where I could recover again.
As it was I lost a little pace on the flat which spread out besides the pier on a long and everlasting path where unfortunately you can see just how far you have to travel. I was starting to tire due to the relentless hill work that had already gone before me but that silver medal kept me going and I was relieved with the sight of the arrow pointing towards the downhill mark.
When I came down there was the daunting sight of the final zig zag which I gave some hammer before pushing myself on the long flat section to the end which was on the same path as the beginning.
I expected at any point to be overtaken for fourth place but it was with great satisfaction that I sailed to the line with my trademark finishing sprint and to the wild cheers of the marshals who probably hadn’t expected any decent runners to turn up. As an attractive girl placed a medal over my neck, I genuinely felt like a superstar in the mould of Sebastien Coe or somebody and although I played it cool, inside my heart was raging with joy as I collected my fifteen pounds vouchers and free banana and drink. The mood was only slightly dampened by the fact I was 2nd but when talking to the winner I discovered he was a 31 minute 10KM man who was also the World Duathlon Champion. Well not everyday you can say you came second to a world champion is it?

Running in a yellow vest - Weymouth 10 Mile Road Race - Report

It was a tired group of four who woke to a nervous beat in their hearts that had somehow found some rest during the night. With a mixture of excitement and panic we drove to a small village where we would be undertaking the hilly, long distance course on a chilly morning. Warming up for the race, the BAC quartet of John Sharkey, Laurent Kelly, Cherry Sheffrin and Matthew Kiernan were met by long standing club members Ian Graham, Tony Chutter and forever injury proned Will Thames, who didnt wait long to tell everyone about the latest Dorset pub that he had encountered during the week. Anyone who had been a member of the Bournemouth Athletics Club for a year or so and had just happened to encounter Will so much as once, was well aware of his love of 'ale' and claim that he tried every type of the classic Dorset drink that it was possible to try. With breaking news that he might have discovered another, the majority of the BAC runners took the hint to leave and start their warm up, leaving Tony with the short straw, left to discuss or rather listen to the merits of this new beverage.
It was during the apparent warm up that John Sharkey left everyone behind, perhaps echoing the manner in which he wished to drop his opponents during the race. As I caught up with him however, he had a discouraging look on his face and one which I had grown used to when it was apparent that he wouldn't be in the running for the overall victory.
Without breaking stride during his six and a half minute mile warm up, I learnt that Ian Cardy had arrived and that John saw no chance of beating someone of such a high quality. What with Weymouth hardly representing PB course potential, I knew John had specially picked this race for the win and he now looked slightly disheartened as we approached the start line.
Mu own thoughts about the race as I found the gaps towards the head of the pack, were one of apprehension. It had been a while since I had done a 10KM race let alone one of 10 miles and I was quite concerned that I would tire during the later stages of the run. As it was I found my way up to Tony Chutter, a good athlete but one who I knew and indeed had beaten over 10KM and decided that I would try and stay with his pace. After tackling a sharp, nasty incline that seemed to take the sting out of my ryhtm and by the look on the faces around me, much of everybody elses, we soon found ourselves striding downhill with two Poole Runners.
Although we exchanged pleasantries, everyone was aware of the tension in the air as the rivalry between our teams was ubound in its ongoing loyalty. Although this was not a league race, the fact that a team prize was on offer was enough to set hearts racing. Knowing that John Sharkey and Poole Runners' Mike Grist were enduring their own battle up ahead, our little pack of four contained its own importance in the overall ambition of team honours. Which is why after seeing the discouraging 3 mile split of 18:36 and realising that breaking the hour mark was probably out of the question, I received a further blow when Tony dropped off the back leaving me with two members of the rival gang.
The encouraging vision of John Sharkey leaving Mike Grist for dead up further along the road was soon dampened when John Towner from Poole Runners surged ahead from our little group and I reluctantly gave chase. I caught up to him with relative ease but then it was the turn of his team mate who wasted no time in doing the same. Again I chased while Towner hung behind to save energy for another attack of his own. I knew I was being played like a worm to a fishes bait, but like a fish can't avoid the scent of what he loves, so I was the same and it was the lure of the team prize that kept my mind focused on chasing each attack down.
Eventually however, whatever dreams you may harbour and however mentally focused you are on your goals, your mind will eventually fall prey to how strong you are physically and in this sense I was begining to weaken.
After around 5 miles, they had both left me behind but although I was annoyed that I couldn't stay with their pace, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I settled into a more comfortable running motion.
After a while I begin to find my pace quicken but I was annoyed to see that my 6 mile split time was only 36:41. It meant that I had done the last three miles a lot quicker than I had the first three but I still knew I had a lot of work to do if I was to accomplish the Hour Dream.
With both mind and body focused I endured a lonely four miles to the finish but I kept pushing myself and found myself needing a 5:23 final mile to crack the hour.
Being along the seafront for the final two miles, I could see one of the Poole Runners in the near distance but the closer I seemed to come to him the closer the finish line seemed to appear and as much as the encouraging crowds offered their support I could not find it in myself to sprint to the line, as had become my trademark for races in the past.
Instead I trundled home 8th in a highly respectable time of 60:32. In light of the demands of the course and the fact I was running mostly alone for the majority of the race I was happy with the time but annoyed that we had barely lost out on the team prize.
I spoke to John Sharkey who had somehow managed to take a huge chunk of his 10 Mile PB to come to the line second in an awesome time of 56:34.
So with swollen legs and and humble hearts we jogged along the seafront, looking out for more Bournemouth runners.
The presentation turned out to be the most tense moment of the day when I won the hardly contested, Male Under 20 award presented with the slightly unusual prize of a ten pounds Debenham voucher. The accolodate was nice as I consoled myself with the fact that not many under 20's could have beaten me for this prize today had they turned up. With John Sharkey grabbing his free massage for 2nd place, we took off to the pub where we knew out time in the spotlight was over as it was one of Will's regular spots as indeed most of the places in Dorset are.

Top Inspirational Artists / Number 1

1./ Bob Dylan - Blowin in the Wind

Bob Dylan is an artist who has been an inspirational force in the world of music for more than five decades. His early lyrics which provoked social commentary, political references and philosophical standpoints defied the exisiting manner of pop music and played an intigrual role in expanding and personalising musical styles. He helped to shape certain genres of folk and blues and bring them into the mainstream and his songs became important in a cultural and musical sense, with certain releases becoming anthems for the anti-war and civil rights movements. He is a musical propietor who has made a unique sound universal and influenced other bands of the time who seeked to do the same.
His lyrics are often wistful and poetic and comment on flawed issues on society and 'Blowing in the Wind' is inspirational in the sense that it has become the influence for which bands use their music as a political device.

Top Inspirational Artists - Number 2

2./ Paul Simon - The Boy in the Bubble

'It was a slow day and the sun was beating on the soliders by the side of the road.' / 'The way we look to a distant constellation that's dying in the corner of the sky.'

Just a couple of lines from a song that is filled with phenomenal lyrical power and which proves that more often than not great songs are made before a chord has even been struck or its words been sung. It is remarkable to think that Paul Simon has improved as a songwriter from the days of Simon and Garfunkel and that he still had the lyrical and musical power to make a major influence on a musical world heading into the nineties. His influence and inspiration can be found everywhere where there's a heart in people's music. Graceland's philosophical and cultural importance has been the inspiraton for the arrival of world music as a force to be reckoned with as more and more artists experiment with their choice of sound and culture within their music. Its ripeness of current affairs and storytelling as song can be seen in the lyrcis of U2 and REM among others and the poetic beauty of his music and lyrics is at the core of songs that broaden the mind and deepen the soul. Paul Simon has helped to popularise world music as a genre and still whilst losing none of his mainstream and critical appeal.
'The Boy in the Bubble' is a great example of how music can represent itself as much more than a tune but rather a slice of life in a coming age, a document of a world that is forever changing and which provokes the thoughs of its listeners. This is what great music does best. Paul Simon at his best sounds like vocals set to the classical sound of Bach.

Top Inspirational Artists - Number 3

/3. The Clash - Rock the Casbah

The Clash did not invent the punk sound but they more than any other punk artist helped to broaden its sound and appeal to the wider music world. Though an endless debate could take place over who the greatest punk band ever are it surely can not be argued about which punk band were the most important. With a stunning debut album, The Clash could have quite easliy released more of the same to satisfy their growing audience but instead they decided to broaden their horizons and created a vastly, dynamic sound that became the inspiration for the new punk movement of the modern era. 'London Calling' marked the first signs of change, a classic collection that marked a delightful new sound to its listeners. This was punks's foray into different genres, with succesful attempts at both jazz (Rudie can't fail), rock n roll (Brand New Cadilac) and intelligent pop music ('Train in Vain)' - the lyrics and the vocals were still pure punk but the music had varied and with it had succesfully conveyed a range of emotions within a range of different sounds.
'Rock the Casbah' from the album 'Combat Rock' is essentially a punk song played over a disco tune and yet it loses none of its cool punk sound, if anyhting making the sound more exciting and versatile. The Clash showed that punk music could become more accesible and interesting when combined with different genres and their original music and sound became the inspiration for a number of artists who also tried both with and without success to combine certain genres to create a new and important sound. And as much as people might detest the sound of new punk with bands like Greenday, NOFX, Rancid amongst many other less talented outfits, they can not deny that the sound has been kept alive because it has been kept fresh and altered its pure sound. As talented as the sex pistols and the Ramones might have been, they seemed content to stick to the original punk sound where as The Clash made the genre more meaningful and fresh.

Top Inspirational Artists - Number 4

/4. The Doors - The End

With dreamy lyrcis and a soulful voice, the unusal and brilliant instrumental vision of the Doors only helped to enhance their emotional appeal and musical power. 'The End' is the most inspirational record from the band both because of its length and its ambigouity. Here is a rock song that told a story, that changed its tone throughout and that had an air of unpredictibility and spontanoity that has gone on to influence many a daring band in the years that followed its release. Going somewhat against the conventions o fa traditional rock song, 'The End' is a song that takes many directions and is not afraid to shock, soothe and challenge the listener. Its lyrics conjure up images that are both surreal and ambitious and widen the horizons of reality.
Its uncertain, melodic tune challenged in turn by a pounding of the drums and frantic changes of pace is no less original than the strange and melancholy lyrics and its inspiration is unbound in bands who have tried with variations of success to create something more than just a rock song. Its profound inspiration can be found in the storytelling genius of Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven', Radioheads's darkly unsual single 'Just' and Guns N Roses 'November Rain' just to name but a few.
Like the Doors, these are bands with songs that subvert the usal rock steroetpye with deeply existensial and daringly poetic tunes that arent afraid to be challenging and restricted to a certain time.
The Doors deserve to be recognised as an inspirational band because they are an important part of rock's history, a band who helped the movement of a genre with daring, unusual and thought provoking music that defeated the limitations of an exciting style of music that they helped to show could be expressed in a variety of exciting and meaningful ways.

U2 - Mysterious Ways

By no means their best song, but it was this record and indeed the subsuqeunt 'Achtung Baby' album that brought about U2's transition into the 90's and inspired a wide range of bands creating a sound that could act as a metaphor for the direction of rock music in the nineties. An infectious beat with dreamy lyrics, Mysterious Ways is a melodic tune which has paved the way for the type of popular sound that was developed by bands such as Oasis, Manic Street Preachers, Suede and Coldplay. It marks the beginings of an indie movement that the band itself kept its distance from.

Top Inspirational Artists - Number 6

/6. Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter

With music that sounds as fresh and vital as the day it was released, The Rolling Stones are rock's greatest survivors - a band whose fan base has never died and if anything has grown stronger as the years have passed. Their music has incredible energy and vitality but they also have the range to convey a wide quality of emotions as they demonstrated that rock music could be both experimental and widespread with a mix of blues and soul helping to keep their iconic sound both striking, colourful and dynamic.
For this reason they have created an astounding body of work which spreads across a wide array of genres and which has influenced countless artists who have also made edgy, experimental rock music such as Primal Scream, Roxy Music, Guns N Roses and Nirvana among many others.
Gimme Shelter is like a rock opera, a song which is both harmonic and heavy, a beuatiful combination of blues and heart pounding rock n roll and a prime example of the broad nature of the rock music that they helped to both create and influence.

Top Inspirational Artists Report - Number 7

/7 Sam Cooke - A change is going to come

A beautifully harmonic and racially important song, 'A change is going to come' is surely the most meaningful and poetic song in Sam Cooke's musical catalogue. It is Sung with such heart rendering passion, it feels as if Cooke is singing for all his brothers and sisters who have suffered at the hands of racism and he seems to carry with his voice all their hope, dignity, pain and suffering. The lines are both sorrowful - 'it's been too hard a living but its too hard to die' and filled with a ray of hope that times will improve 'it's been a long time coming but I know a change is going to come soon.' The song is a mark of pride in a world that found itself flawed with prejudice. In a musical sense it has inspired countless ballads and classics that reach out against adversity and act as a tribute of hope, for example U2'S 'Pride in the name of love' and Marvin Gaye's 'What's going on?', both of which speak about a similar type of prejudice. Sam Cooke is seen as one of the founders of soul music who has influenced countless soul artists and the poignant beauty of this record is an example of the power that the form of music can have.
Cooke was part of the Civil Rights Movement and 'A Change is going to come' is an honest, truthful, straight from the heart account with which Cooke tried his best to bridge the gap between black and white audiences. The song then had an important influence on not just the music world, but on life itself. If not Cooke's most populr song it should be recognised as his most influential. An important part of musical history and indeed history in general. It captures a moment in time and has remained timeless in the fact that we still live in a flawed society.

Top Inspirational Artists Report - Number 8

/ 8 - The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows

Painfully overrated and at times vastly annoying, the Beatles still deserve credit as creating some damn fine, catchy songs on the borderline of pop and rock that while may not have hit the high emotional range of the far superior Rolling Stones, still inspired a stream of impressionable young pop artists in the 60's. Their greatest creation however has been inspirational in the much more modern era and may continue to create a timeless impression in years to come. A far cry from the lively pop of 'Daytripper' and ballad form of 'Let it be', Tomorrow never Knows sounds like it was released about a week ago. Instrumentally it has clearly inspired the sound of 'The Chemical Brothers' and vocally it reminds me of the dark, dreamy melancholy of Radiohead. A delightful blend of instruments and a distant, calming voice playing over a song that is around thirty years ahead of its time, 'Tomorrow' is a cunning experiment of sound and lyrics with lines such as 'This is not dying', 'Love is everyone' and 'Turn off your mind', conjuring up a series of powerful and ambitious lines of thought and imagery that is both existensial and thoughtful. The song touches the soul and mind and is mixed with an infectious sound that has inspired many an ambitious artist in more recent times.

Top Inspirational Artists Report - Number 9

/9 Blondie - Atomic

An artist or band should I say that most people probably wouldnt admit they like or enjoy listening to, Blondie and their music presented unique pop music served with a delightful punk edge that captured a very vital and striking sound. With a voice so dynamic that it is both harmonic and rebellious at the same time, Deborah Harris follows the incredible beat of the song flawlessly to an incredible tune that seems to shift effortlessly from a ballad pop song to an edgy rock beat. The song is Atomic and is I feel the best example of Blondie's inspiration towards several succesful, edgy and dynamic female singers of the future.
Deborah's stunning capacity for making her voice seem both angelic and as a statement of prosperity can be heard at different places in the careers of Madonna, Alannis Morrisette and Sheryl Crow among many others. These artists seem to harbour the sound of Blondie who made both hypnotizing and sensual music. 'Atomic' is the song that seems to best demonstrate this statement.

Top Inspirational Artists Report - Number 10

/ 10. Soundgarden - Standout Track - Nothing to say

A brooding kick as the riff starts up and the drums pound in anticipation before that intoxicating voice kicks in. It is the voice of grunge, a voice that the world that has never heard before, a voice that belongs to Chris Cornell, lead singer of Soundgarden.
The song is 'Nothing to Say', a song so addictive it streams into your consciousness and remains there. Long before Nirvana and Pearl Jam made grunge accesible, though no less brilliant, Soundgarden created a type of music that was truly unique to the rock world and indee to music itself. Neither rock nor metal, it sits between a mix of genres, a heart pounding rush of adrenaline and bizarre, briallint vocals that provide unavoidable imagery for its listeners.
'Nothing to Say' is Soundgarden at their most pure and raw, both vocally and instrumentally and it instantly feels like a new experiment the moment you listen to it, even in the modern day. It is exciting and fresh whilst also strange and whilst it doesnt feel a very accesible song, it is a tune that you can still hear long after its being played, like a memory, it grows and grows in significance whenever you are reminded of it or hear it played again. The music fits in so well with the instruments that 'Nothing to Say' doesnt even feel like a recording but more like an organic sound that never ceized to exist and is as natural as daylight.
Cornell's voice is striking, caught in the background of the song - but like an actor who is underracting, he steals the show with a phenomenal vocal range and vocal mood which fits in perfectly with the mood of the lyrics.
I have chosen the song 'Nothing to Say' as Soundgarden's standout track because it is the song that marked the birth of grunge, a new intoxicating sound that is as addictive as it is flawless and which lead to one of the most popular musical movements of the past century.

Top 10 Inspirational Artists and their best songs (reviews to follow shortly)

Sam Cooke - A change is gonna come
Paul Simon - I know whar I know
Rolling Stones - Tell me
U2 - One Tree Hill
The Clash - Janie Jones
Bob Dylan - Corrina, Corrina
Soundgarden - Nothing to Say
Blondie - Atomic
Metallica - One
Nirvana - Dive

A new technique

Whilst revising my notes from last year on Media censorship and regulation, I have discovered a rather useful technique in helping to process information and also getting invovled with the subject on a more personal level which I feel is beneficial for learning. Whilst reading a section where a man claimed that the apparent 'underclass' shouldn't be subjected to violent movies because it could cause a direct influence, I decided to put myself in his shoes and write a speech based on his views despite not actually holding much interest in his beliefs:

'It has come to my attention that we have become a society in which everyone, regardless of their sensitivity, intellect and background are allowed access to and can see things through the same eyes as citizens with higher sensibilities. This is especilaly true of the media where the 'underclass' are being influenced by films they watch, music they listen to and magazines they read in a highly negative manner. How can we expect these young delinquets to understand these media forms that confront serious issues and which portray violence with anyhting less than a literal eye. They are inspired rather than repulsed by the gangsters in the pictures and they inspire to be the gangsters in the pictures they watch.' They do not understand irony or representation or the film as a medium but rather are engrossed merely by the action on the screen. Whilst admittedly great films like Taxi Driver can be seen by citizens of worth who understand that it is an exploration of the loneliness of human beings and isolation from society, the underclass see only guns and death and are excited solely by the visual content of the film. I say that whilst films like Taxi Driver are being shown to people who do not understand its principles, then they should ceize to be shown at all, and then not the run the risk of exciting the labido of the wild.'

I then thought up of a response speech, putting myself in the shoes of someone who was very much against this idea.

'I would like to start by saying that I find the evidence which which you have deemed parts of our society to be an 'underclass' extraordinary. How you know or can be aware of how so-called people from an underclass think or feel about anything is beyond me. Needless to say I have seen little research or evidence to link everyday violence to the media and the research I have seen evidently means very little. An underclass to me it seems is merely a term that has come about from the insecurities of a nation who want to reassure themselves that they are greater than the sum of their parts. It is only they who can appreciate high art and culture, and only they who understand the principles of the media. Well whilst 'they' might think this is so, I would like to remind you all that movies are a medium for the masses and that until concrete evidence is found that provides a profound link between acts of 'underclass' violence and their representation from the media, such accusations should ceize to exist.


I found this task quite liberating because it made me think creatively about the subject matter and increased my interest level through getting to grips with the mind set of each individual and each side of the argument.

A distant tear

Stopping to say goodbye to you on the train,
Perhaps there was a thought or feeling there left unexpressed,
A formal exchange which dicounted the eternal pain
Of realising you had left.

Walking away from the station at night,
Perhaps there was a tear which had not been there before,
Something of which I had tried hard to fight,
But being alone, I could not ignore.

Arriving home to an empty world,
Perhaps I was a fool to fall in love,
Because the sounds of the radio could not satisfy my soul,
And a comforting read did not warm me much.


Sleeping in a lonesome bed,
Perhaps I pretend that you'll be here when I wake up,
And there will be no war, no pain, but instead
Just the relief of your loving touch.

1 Hour Film - Script Outline

Laurent Kelly
BASW 2

1 Hour Drama Idea

Working Script Title: Growing Young

ACT 1:

Set up and Explosive Incident

The death of an elderly acquaintance reunites three old and long retired friends at his funeral, neither of whom has seen the other for years.
Discussion over a few pints reminds Marcus, David and Tom of how exciting their lives once were and brings home the reality of their current stale lives and marriages.
David suggests the three of them should go out one night in the next couple of weeks.
Over the next few days we are shown why these three men are experiencing somewhat of a life crisis. David can't stand the banile chatter that takes place with his wife and their apparent 'friends' when they are over at a dinner party, Tom's sexual yearnings are not recipprocated by his loved one and Marcus is just plain bored. Each men begin their rebellion against the system, an old age protest at having to act their age which includes secretly drinking, staying up and in general just trying to have some fun.


ACT 2:

The Journey

What starts out as a friendly pint between three old friends in their late sixties soon becomes a night of wild action as the drinks start to take their toll. Playing pool, throwing darts, laughing and cheering and having a hell of a good time to the astonishment of the pub crowd, when they hear some youths discussing going into the town to hit the clubs they decide to follow albeit dismissing the curfew that has been set for them by their wives. Somehow managing to get themselves into a club, the three men drunkedly dance the night away, too drunk to care or notice the astonished looks on the faces of the youths around them - it's a kind of envy.
As time passes, more nights the same follow as the men rediscover their love for life and friendship and continue to annoy their wives with their youthful ways.
After 'embarrasing the family' by letting his 17 year old grandson see him half naked in the garden laughing hysterically, David realises he might have taken his joy trip a little too far. Marcus too is the source of humility when he accidentally tries to chat up his daughter in a packed night club. The three men decide that they should probably cut down on their nights out and it is not long before they have found themselves in the same stale routines as before. Neither of them are happy.


ACT 3:

Highest Point and Resolution


Hoiwever after 'embarrasing the family' by letting his 17 year old grandson see him half naked in the garden hysterically laughing, David realises he might have taken his joy trip a little too far. Marcus too is the source of humility when he accidentally tries to chat up his daughter in a packed night club. The three men decide that they should probably cut down on their nights out and it is not long before they have found themselves in the same stale routines as before. Neither of them are happy.
It is during a dinner party that for the first time David confronts his wife about their lives and about pretending to be happy when they really arent. Whilst David appreciates that he may have taken his excitement a little too far with his friends he says that it wouldnt kill for them to have a bit of fun every now and again. His wife is astonished by the passion in David's anger and agrees with his point of reason.
Tom's fragile wife finally treats him to a night of passion and Marcus and his daughter manage to laugh off their little night time encounter.
The story ends on a positive note when a bunch of old friends rejoice in life and dismiss the anxieties of growing old by having a good time down the pub.

Three

Backpack and rack in my hand,
This is war you understand,
Seargeant's words echoe in my head,
But If I'm shot or not I'll still feel dead.

There she was, her eyes alive,
Whilst fools claimed their paradise,
shooting everyhting in sight,
But this one had to be mine,
So I aimed the gun at her head.

Mind now plays on endless repeat,
I shot a girl, she was only three, (the fright)
So I took a pill to help my sleep,
But I only dream of her.

Dirty boots and dirty minds,
Hear chatter from behind,
'Will we find a girl who looks nice this time?'
Their laughter sick as my stomach inside,
As I think back to last night.

There she was, her face bright red,
From blood in fights she'd already shed,
An experienced survvior,
She wants to live for another day,
So I turned the barrel the other way.

Mind now plays on endless repeat,
I shot a girl, she was only three, (the fright)
So I took a pill to help my sleep,
But I only dream of her.

Another day, another fight,
Another injured, Another life,
Body is numb,
And mind is black,
Just three thousand hearts
That want to turn back.

But last night,
I joined the club,
Of scarred men doing something
They shouldn't have done.
Because I pointed the gun back her way,
Her pleading eyes, Her desperate face,
Only spoke a few words since that day.

Trance

Stepping softly on a cobbled beach,
Sun within reach,
She whispers like owls in moonlight,
Want to spend the night here?

Fever rising against a former gloom,
Watching her conquer the cold shade of moon,
Wild locks burn bright under the timid light,
Her gaze too much this time.

In her eyes,
I see all fear long gone through a passage of hasty demise,
I see her heart thrown into her glance,
The birth of romance.

Stepping softly on a cobbled beach,
Sun within reach,
And she whispers like owls in moonlight,
Want to spend the night here?

Cocaine

A kiss too deep,
From a love once sweet,
Brushes broken hearts to a filthy sweep.
Cocaine.

A bath so warm,
Brings back feelings long gone,
The scent of her touch reborn,
Cocaine.

A sensation so vile,
It first makes you smile...
Until you remember what you are.

'The Time for Love is dead'

Just one of a handful of poems I wrote over the summer.

The mood seemed right for a glass of wine
To further inflame my aching head,
The night was bright
The stars a sight
For Lovers lonely beds.

Young girls romanced
By men who danced with sharp an acid tongue.
The same men who listened to their drivel with spite
Whilst the night was young.

My mood was shaken by the drink,
It had left my emotions bear,
I had run out of bitter thoughts to think,
When I met her lonesome stare.

My arms moved where my words were stuck
In a pass at something sincere,
But she disliked my touch and told me as much,
Saying she would scream if I came too near.

I tried to impress her with clever words that I had
somewhere read,
But she merely rolled her eyes as she told me 'the time for
love is dead.'
My eyes quickly cleared as my dark thoughts reappeared,
And I sadly nodded my head.

Wrestling - It's not all crap

It is a sport ridiculed by many and truly admired by few. Criticised for its derogratory and admittedly ludicrous representation of women, gags that seem to be aimed at immature five year olds and a majority of athletes who have big muscles rather than big talents, the world of professional wrestling today is rightfully seen as a bit of a joke. Caught in between the crap however are genuinely brilliant mat workers who reflect just how brilliant, intelligent and exciting a sport such as wrestling can be when it is at the top of its game. Yes I know wrestling is fake. Though I don't understand why that reason alone turns so many people off. Maybe its because it calls itself sports entertainment, but really wrestling is an act like the movies where it is the wrestler's job like the actors to try and suspend the belief of the audience. When people seem surprised to learn that I find wrestling intellectually stimulating, I try and explain to them that this is the reason why. I'm interested to see how well the wrestlers can convince me about the realism of both their wrestling inside the ring and during their ongoing feuds. And in some cases they are impeccable athletes who have produced some truly breathtaking 'sports entertainment' moments. For evidence, see Mick Foley being thrown off a 25 foot cell by The Undertaker at the 1998 King of the Ring. There was nothing fake about that stunt.
Nor was there anything fake about the technical brilliance of wrestlers like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels who wowed and in the case of the latter continue to wow the crowds with their unreal athletic capabilities. There is a lot of untalented people behind the scenes and infront of wrestling cameras. However there are some very special and intelligent athletes who in my opinion make wrestling worthwhile.

Summer Project Diary - Week Three

They say that a scriptwriter's profession is a lonely one and in most cases this is probably true.
I hope however that their will be many more chances in the future when I will get to work with a group whose skills vary substanitally over different media platforms. Having set deadlines and people interested in your ideas is a refreshing sensation and a challenge to try and satisfy the group's needs. Helping out other people with their line of work is also a challenge and is helping me to become more aware and sensitive to the importance of both tv production and interactive media.

All of a sudden I am aware that the script is only a small part of this whole production. I have had to write props lists, shot lists, having to think about exactly how I want this script to look on screen. It is very exciting and also
a new and responsible experience of not only having and writing a vision, but having to make this vision come to life aswell.

This week I have had the fun task of helping out with the interactive media side of things by writing My Space profiles for a few of the short film's characters. I have realised by doing this that writing profiles like these would actually be
quite a fun and effective way of writing characters for scripts - what with all the blog, video, interests and activities options etc, that are set out on the page. It is a challenging exercise as I have to dwell into the mindset of each character and really think about the kind of person they are. I think it is a positive exercise and besides helping our website cause, it is helping to clarify these characters in my mind. I am gradually building up their lives and making them as real as possible which should help transform my vision of them when it comes to filming.

Scripting - Small fish in a big pond

'A camel is a horse designed by commitee.'

Whenever I watch a bad film (their are a fair few out there by my watch), I am always amazed at how anyone can make so much bad stuff and yet still greenlight their various projects. Why don't they realise those lines are awful?, Don't they know the acting looks forced? How can the man in charge of The Godfather Trilogy think that a film like 'Jack' is acceptable etc. Of course I am very naive. Just trying to compile together a short Summer Project, I am starting to realise
just how easy it is for a vision or idea to be altered and compromised in the face of just getting the job done. So far due to whatever reason, the film will alter quite sigificantly from the script that has been written. As Paul Zimmerman said when his script was endlessly revised by his director during the making of 'The King of Comedy' - 'it's like having a baby that looks like Martin Scorcese.'
In that particular case, I think he's being a little unfair seeing as 'The King of Comedy' was actually a cracking film and in De Niro's Pupkin, one of his most underrated performances of all time. HoweverI think his sentiments probably ring true among a number of screenwriters.

Now this blog may sound like I'm moaning which isn't the case. I am optimistic about the Summer Project and hope that everything will go well. But I think I am begininning to learn some important things about the film making business. For example, as good as a script might be, everything else has to be equally as good for it to show up well on screen (would people have been as transfixed to the staggering dialogue in L.A. Confidential, were it not for the fact it featured superb editing and lighting and looked flawless on the screen?) So much depends upon the acting, the camera work, the sound.... I am glad for projects like this for making me realise that the scriptwriter is really a team player and that like in sports games, the whole team must be able to gel and must be on form for the end product to be good.
We all get on very well together in our group and we have all been working hard so far. However with the unpredictable nature of filming and other unknowns like the quality of actors, and the rush to edit and sound check our work, I am very weary of the fact that we could end up with a good looking camelrather than a decent looking horse.

Summer Project Diary - Week 2, Part 2

I have been busy writing scenes for the summer project and also conducting shot lists for each scene. The scene with the father and son is likely to be altered because the rest of the group feel that it should be a somewhat more positive ending. I don't necesarrily think that's true but this summer project is teaching me more about the importance of compromise in group work. Everyone has had to alter some of their ideas to satisfy the requirements of the brief and general group opinion at certain times.
I am pleased with the scenes I have wrote and I am enjoying the challenge of being given deadlines for my work and having a specific role within the project. It all feels quite important and professional.

The majority of our group, including myself have also been scouting locations around the town. It is quite interesting thinking about all the logistics and problems to do with shooting and is making me realise that it's not at all as easy as thinking about ideas and writing them in script form.

Summer Project Diary - Week Two

The problem I had been having was thinking of solid script ideas that wouldn't satisfy a solid website. I had one idea that was loosely based on fact, about a kid losing his empire in the shape of his grandfather. Every other weekend before each visit, the child writes stories to narrate to his pa and looks forward to playing football with him in the park. However on the next visit to his hero's home, the grandfather is dying and can no longer do the things he used to be able to do with his sole grandchild. For example, he has no energy to kick around a ball in the field and he falls alseep when the kid tries to read him one of his stories on the sofa. The kid doesn't understand what is going on and is naturally upset by his grandfather's inability to go through the usual fun activities. I thought this was a nice idea as it showed the empire as being something simple yet enormously important to a young boy's eyes. However I couldn't think of many ways in which it could relate to a website. I thought of a forum option where users could post their own favorite memories and things to do with their grandfather when they were young but that's about as far as I think it could go in terms of interactive media.

Then in the next meeting my fellow scriptwriter came up with an idea about what people would do with their last minute on earth which fitted in well with the website idea. People could say what they would do with their last minute on earth and we could post theories on why the world was ending, video diaries, interviews etc. It was an idea that definitely suited the big project idea that we need to make the summer project a success. In the next meeting we decided that we wanted to show six different perspectives, or six seperate films that might link together to show different emotions of how people feel about the world's end. I will write three as will my fellow scripwriter. Writing is in progress. Watch this space.

Praying for Julie's call

Been singing the same song,
Over and over again,
It's a lovely song,
And for me it never ends.

Feeling low and so alone,
Beach walking blues,
Go home, wait by the telephone,
Praying for Julie's call.

Julie's in my class,
Never met a girl so fine,
Stare into her gorgeous eyes,
Just wishing she was mine.

Wish I was a player,
Lead singer in a band,
Then I'd get to walk proudly,
Holding Julie's hand.

But feeling low and so alone,
Beach walking blues,
Go home, wait by the telephone,
Praying for Julie's call.

Been singing the same song,
Over and over again,
It's alonely love song,
And for me it never ends.


But feeling low and so alone,
Beach walking blues,
Go home, wait by the telephopne,
Praying for Julie's call.

I'm praying for Julie's call - Repeat to Fade.

Running Log

Monday - Hills Session

15 x 250 Metres Uphill

3 sets of 5 climbs - 5 throughout the entire session had to be run at sprint speed.

My gradual climb average was around 1:22

and my sprint times were as follows -

61, 64, 64, 67, 61. (my PB is actually 57)

I was disappointed not to go sub 60 for any sprint climbs but I had raced on Sunday so was feeling a bit rough.

Total Mileage: 4.7 Miles Approx

Tuesday - BAC Speed Session

800 Metres x 8 at the beautiful Measured Mile Park in Littledown
ran an avg of 2:42 - which wasn't bad considering it was all on grass.

Total Mileage: 7.25 Miles Approx

Wednesday - Lone Track Session - 400 Metres x 10

I was feeling shattered at 400 Metres x 3, but I finished the first set of six and then pushed myself forwards to complete the session.

Times were pretty consistent - 68, 72, 72, 74, 74, 75, 76, 74, 72, 75. Avg - 72 I think. (400 Metre PB is 57 seconds.)

I might go for a long run tonight around Littledown if the weather is good.

Only two rest days at the mo on Fri and Sun cos I'm really trying to get fit enough to do some awesome race times in the near future. I'll be pleased if I can finish the season with a sub 4:40 1500 Metres and a sub 36 10 KM.

Summer Project Diary - Day Three - Most likely Part 1

There have been no group meetings today but seeing as there isn't yet a solid plot outline for our story, we have all decided within our group to come up with our own individual ideas based on our current simple concept. We will then decide on the one we prefer the most and which suits the brief best. This then is an outline for the story that I envision:

Ralph Tenneson, 59, rich boss of a mega bucks company has died of a heart attack. This is for many people the end of an era, which can be seen as a good thing or bad thing depending on who you ask. Ralph was seen as many different things by many different people. For some he was a ruthless tycoon who ruined people's lives and whose death will leave private smiles on the faces of some of his rivals and former employers, for others Ralph was a warm hearted man who made people's lives more pleasant and rich.

The first story follows his wife who is understandably devestated by her husband's death and cries by his side. Judtih and Ralph had been together for numerous years and had loved each other very much throughout those years together.

The second story follows one of Ralph's two children, Megan, as she hears word of the news by phone. The conversation is quick before Megan puts the phone down and smiles. She laughs hysterically before making her way outdoors.

The third story is shot documentary style with a series of interviews amongst a mixture of people who explain in turn why they either liked or disliked Mr Tenneson. They all admit despite their opinions of the man that things are going to change now that he has gone. For some, who felt they were bullied by Mr Tenneson and who didn't repsect his decisions say that they now they feel free and that they will come to work each day feeling a lot happier. The people however who were close to Mr Tenneson and admired the way he worked say that this is the end of an era - and that it is going to take a lot to recover from his loss. Footage is cut between people chatting away in quite animated fashion about their disgust and disdain for the man and talking brightly about the future of the company and between interviews with people nearly in tears whilst talking about his loss.

The fourth and final story is a small news report about Ralph, talking about his life and how he split people's opinions down the line throughout his rich career. He talks about the troubles he had in his personal life with his children who he hasn't seen for many years and how his death will bring both joy and sorrow amongst a variety of different people.

The film closes with a picture of the man himself.

This still needs plenty of work but as a rough concept I think it is quite a nice idea. The main things I need to think about really are the details of the man himself. Why does he have so many friends and foes? Why has he not seen his children for so many years and why is one of them insanely pleased to hear news of his death. Although I don't need to show why these things have happened, it is important to know why myself so that I can understand the emotional drive of the characters involved within the story. I will develop this idea later and write a character biography of Ralph Tenneson to go with a more detailed plot outline.

Even if this idea isn't selected I am going to do a complete plan for the story because I might want to do it myself at a later date.

Summer Project Diary - Day One

Today we had a meeting with our Summer Project groups. We discussed the brief and thought about what the words 'End of Empire' could mean on quite a broad scale. Rather than something epic we decided it was probably better to use the word as a metaphor, like the empire being the end of authority or command on quite a small or personal scale such as a girl breaking free from her family or a man going against a set of cultural values. We also thought at first about making the the subject matter positive as this would be an interesting take on what intitially sounds like a fairly negative idea.
When we had finished the meeting with our advisor our group got together and tried to form a solid idea for the project. We all had different takes on what the story could be about. The first solid idea to be brought up was about a man quitting his job, the company for him feeling like a dominating empire, and him quitting feeling like a great escape and freedom from his own personal hell. To give the story more depth I added the idea of making references to epic stories so that the audience would recognise that the man's freedom is to him quite an epic experience akin to the abolishment of slavery in more classical terms and not just a bored and frustrated man who is fed up with his job.
This was one idea. We went on to discuss further ideas and through discussion the basic concept and dramatic form of the story has begun to take its shape. The main theme will be death. Although this is a negative idea, it can also have postive implications and we have decided to show death in two different lights, its good and bad points in terms of end of life and rebirth.
Six different stories will be shown to show why the man's death has had a contrasting impact and provoked seperate thoughts and feelings amongst different people.
This is still only a very brief idea and we hope to develop it further very soon.
In terms of group dynamic, we are all contributing to ideas very well so far as well as being sensitive to the voices of other group members. We were a little static at first but we soon warmed to each other's company and our enthusiasm for the project soon inspired us all to speak up about our ideas.

Summer Project Diary - Day One

Today we were given the brief for the Summer Project. As this term we will be working with students from the interactive media course as well as students from the television course, we watched some clips and viewed websites of popular television shows which have cleverly used the world of the web to widen their programme's appeal. They have done this through making the website appear like a slice of life for the programme in hand with blogs, video diaries and countdowns to the next shows which invovles the audience with the programme much more than it would with just words on a page. I found this quite imformative and interesing as it made me think about the influence that websites can have in the media industry. When I am watching a show on television I don't tend to think about shows and their websites, but today was a reminder of just how important and intelligent they can be. For example, I found out that the show Smallville in which there is a daily newspaper article written about the goings on in the town, actually exists in fictional form on a website. This is quite clever, because it gives the program a realistic feel and makes it appear so much more than just a sixty minute show that they tune in to watch for an hour of their lives once every week. Fans like to immerse themselves in programmes, for the shows to become an important part of their everyday live. This quest is fulfilled by websites which allow them to do so.

At the end of the lecture we were taught about the importance of being able to collaborate well and share ideas and thoughts with our random group members. I think this should be a good expereince as it it is very much like the industry, where people work with other people they might not know or even like but manage to work well together in spite of these issues to produce excellent pieces of work. This will be a challenge, and albeit a very important challenge as it will give me a taste of what the life of a scriptwriter can be like.

In the brief we were told simply that our subject matter was to do with the 'End of Empire.' Immediately my thoughts turned to images susch as the crumbling of the Roman empire but as the day has passed I have realised how broad this subject matter can be. I looked up the word empire in an online thesaurus to see how wide the subject of empire could spread.

Here are the results that came back:

authority, command, commonwealth, control, domain, dominion, federation, government, kingdom, people, power, realm, sovereignty, supremacy, sway, union.

Based on these definitons for the word empire, I have come up with numerous plot scenarios that could suit the subject matter having previously believed this to be a very complex task. A man quitting his job, the miner's strike, a town hero losing his touch. They are stories that are all relevant to the brief and all of which could be devleoped into six minute story ideas.
I still have no idea what the film is going to be about and I am still racking my brains thinking of something suitable for the subject brief but tomorrow I am hoping me and my partner will come up with something creative and which also sits well with the rest of the group. The next few weeks could be quite hectic, but fun and challenging all the same.

Short Story - To Whom it won't concern

To Whom it won't concern - 500 word Short Story
'He don't talk to me no more. At least not like he used to. My memory seems to have faded from his mind like the joy of Christmas fades from the mind of a child once he has opened all his presents.
Didn't even say hello when he arrived through the door. Three months gone away and it's like I no longer exist. Mind you I'm kidding myself if I say that we were friendly before he left. In fact for some years now it's like he's been avoiding me. And even when he did talk occasionally it would always be brief and condescending as if he were talking to a child or something. Think he must have forgotten that I'm the same age as he is. And to think that he used to call me his brother. I remember those times. Years ago and as if from a different world but I still remember. I have to. It's the memory of our beautiful friendship which is the only thing that stops my poor heart bursting whenever he gives me the cold shoulder.

Used to talk for hours as young lads. Walks through the wicked forest where we would skip ahead of the oldies and run along creating and imagining our own world. Sunday afternoons when we would sit together on the warm old couch and treat ourselves to an afternoon of the footie. You never watched a game without me. When ever you cried I remember that I was the only one you could talk to about your problems. Our laughter which was surely a statement for all the pleasure that existed in the world. Felt so nice to have someone who cared about me like that. It's not as if I got to see the world like you did. No education, no other friends, you were all I had. But if I'm honest you were all I wanted. It was like no-one else but you understood me. No one else ever spoke to me. But you were different. And now your just like them. I've got no-one to talk to anymore. I feel old and worn out. Sit in your bedroom mostly when your away looking at old photographs of us together and trying to picture where it all went wrong. My loneliness is made worse by the fact that I know what it was once like to be loved.
Last week I sat on your bed waiting for you to arrive back from a night out on the town. I just wanted to talk. To share a laugh like we had done so effortlessly in the past. You came back late waking me from a deep sleep but still I was so pleased to see you standing there looking at my face. There was some girl beside you. You said something to her in a voice I no longer understand and then you just threw me onto the floor. My old friend treating me as if I was just a toy. As if I was just some old teddy bear.

Running Blog

The Runner - What's it about?


Pain mostly. So what's so enjoyable about that then. Well for me it is the feeling of elation when you reach the finish line. The sense of achieving your goals and race aims. The race atmosphere is very exciting and so it is worth putting in the hard training to perform well in them.
Be aware of the loneliness of the long distance runner
It is very easy to put off going out running if you know you are going to be out there by yourself. Running in groups is very enjoyable especially if you reward your hard efforts with a stop to the pub afterwards. The drink tastes all the more sweeter when you've worked hard for it.

Night Time Runner

I prefer to run at night rather than during the day where the pave can be somewhat crowded and hectic. Be careful however to wait a while if your planning to go out after eating your meal. A two hour wait should be more than enough.

Escape into the Hills

I can't stand running along the main road so I try wherever possible to escape into the hills and run through quiet lanes in Holbrook and Makeney. I challenge myself on the two hills of Red Lane (about three quaters of a mile in length) and Shaw Lane (about a mile and a half.) Hill training is a great strength builder and the feeling you get when you've made it to the top makes getting there seem worth while.
Wearing the right gear
Running gear is not only extremely comfortable but it also helps you to run faster as well. Wearing a good pair of running shoes will make you feel like you are gliding along the pave rather than applying pressure to the ground.
Shirt, Shorts, Shoes, Sound ..... SORTED!

Day time running

If you want to run in the day-time, then I would reccomend running through fields or quiet country lanes. This can help your breathing as it cleanses your aura and also helps to prevent injury as you are running on softer ground. If you feel tired don't push yourself beyonfd the limit, walk and enjoy the scenery. This is something that is not so pleasant to do on the road.
Parlsey Hay - a nice place to run.

Variety

Vary your runs so that you don't become tired of the same old programme. For example a good programme would be to do a short run which includes a tough climb, a long run at a very steady pace and a fairly long run though cross-country.

Music

Music can help to block the mental negativity that comes through struggling or feeling pain whilst on your run. I find dance music helps but it will be different for each person. If you turn the music up real loud when your climbing hills it can help you to really escape away from the intense effort.

Motivation

Set goals and aims - Regardless of how much you eat - the more you run, the fitter you become, the faster you go. Set yourself goals and challenges so that you have some form of motivation when you go out. Use training during the week to prepare yourself for a timed effort at the weekend and keep a record of whether you are accomplishing your goals.

Running is not necesarily an individual sport

I run for a club and though I run for myself and try to achieve certain goals and aims, I am also contributing to a team in the various leagues that they enter themselves in. I know that the faster and fitter I am the more I can help to contribute to their success. This motivates me to train that extra bit harder so that my club can enjoy more success.

Current PB's:

400 Metres - 59 seconds
1500 Metres - 4 minutes, 47 seconds
5 KM - 17 minutes, 55 seconds
10 KM - 37 minutes, 49 seconds

Present Dystopia - Experimental alteration for a complete target audience

For once an ant who did very bad things,
Did not expect to be poked with a stick,
By three bigger ants who were just as mean.

But still the cheers roared high and proud,
From the smiling faces of ants in the crowd,
Who laughed when they poked,
And cheered when he howled.
And before the stick was stung into the nast ant's eyes,
They saw his fear and they saw his cries,
But they still roared loud, they did not mind.

The ants thought it best
To fight fire with fire,
Make the nasty ant pay for being such a liar.
And as the nasty ant fell, the other ants began to sing,
But as their smiles grew wide they didn't seem to think,
That they too had become ants who did very bad things.

Blog Song - Present Dystopia

Face hung like the rosy bushes of hell
Suffocate its prey.
Ambushed and angry,
Solemn surprise,
And tears fall and liars lie.

This hell is America.
This hell is America.

Eyes and ears aware of the sounds of silent death
Growing closer to the mind which shrieks but
To let out a soft sigh.
As knowledge thickens and anxieties grow
And what can a man think before he's set to die.

This hell is America.
This hell is America.
State that savours barbaric actions,

Unecessary murders and mixed reactions,
To think that pain and death
Will bring peace to life.
This hell is America.
This hell is America.

The Man who should have been King – A report on Jan Ullrich – My all time favourite Sportsman


I first fell in love with the cycling world during the 2003 Tour De France. Although I had heard many wonderful things about Lance Armstrong, his dominance over the last four years, the way he had beaten cancer despite being told afterwards that he had little more than three per cent chance of survival, becoming World Road Race Champion at just 21 years old age, the way he had revolutionalised a whole different style of riding with his high cadence pedalling. The story of Lance Arsmtrong is one that is easy to make him a hero to a young cyclist’s eyes. It was not however the lean superman from Texas who first captured my attention but rather his super talented nemesis Jan Ullrich. I don’t know what it was but when I saw Ullrich time trial a hilly 29 miles in under an hour in stage eleven of that year’s race and beat Armstrong by nearly two minutes in the stage I was in awe. There was something about that guy, he was as talented and skilful as Armstrong without sharing any of the American’s arrogance or brutality and seemed as optimistic and happy in the face of defeat as he did in victory. As the greatest tour of all time rolled on and the best rivalry since Lemond and Fignon became even more intense, I began to find out more about the enigmatic German.I learned a great deal that surprised me. Ullrich was a superstar cyclist a couple of years before Armstrong’s first Tour victory, having finished an incredible second in his first attempt as a 21 year old and then winning the Tour outright the next year by an amazingly dominant nine minutes. With his tender age and seemingly invincible form in both the mountains and in the time trials, at the time Ullrich was being tipped as the next great man of cycling, a man who had the great, natural talent to dominate cycling in the same vein as Anquetil, Merxx, and Indurain had done before him. In fact the great Eddy Merxx even proclaimed Ullrich to become the first man to win an unprecedented ten tours. The words must have been lost on Jan however, who after winning his first tour, felt a great deal of relief and began to let himself go over the winter. This was a habit that Ullrich would unfortunately fall into time and time again.Back then, his antics which to summarise, included eating badly, partying and cycling 30 miles a day when he could be bothered to, could probably have been attributed to the fact that he was still a very young man. Did he really want to commit his life to training? Was he aware of just how talented he was? The answer is probably not.As his mother said after witnessing her son win the 1997 Tour, ‘Jan is very shy, I don’t know how he will cope with all this attention and pressure.’Despite being overweight (when I say overweight, I mean for a Tour contender, Ullrich has never turned up for the Tour more than 73KG, which considering his 6.2 ft height and incredible muscle mass is an achievement for any mortal to be proud of)Ullrich had still managed to take the 1998 Tour by the scruff of its neck. After the Time Trial on stage seven of that year’s race, Ullrich was comfortably ahead of any rivals in First Place, whilst eventual winner Marco Pantani was over five minutes down, 43rd and already looking out of contention before the mountain stages had begun. What could go wrong for Ullrich who was already at the time the best climber in the world anyway? Well as has always been the case for the Rockstock Rocket, everything had the ability to go wrong and on the Stage 15 ascent into Les Deux Alpes, everything did. That day stage winner Marco Pantani put nine minutes into Jan Ullrich to take the Yellow Jersey and hold onto it until the end. For a great climber like Jan to lose nine minutes to someone on any type of climb was an extraordinary feat and one which some people look back to as the point where Jan began to lose his confidence as a bike rider, a time long before he had ever faced off against Lance.Despite winning two more stages that year including a mountain stage the next day, Jan was not able to claw back the time needed to reclaim his place at the top of the Tour standings and despite being the best rider for the large majority of the race, Ullrich had lost the Tour on one day. Mentally, he had allowed the pressure of defending the Tour to get to him. Had he trained more during the off-season (a phrase which Jan seemed to take to heart), Ullrich wouldn’t have had to struggle to reach race weight and would have won that year’s Tour with ease.I began to discover however that Ullrich was a deeply flawed character, seemingly unable to release his potential on a consistent level. When he had reached his potential previously the results had been extraordinary. Although Armstrong has been the best rider over the past seven years before his retirement, he has always had his team to thank. In 1997 Jan won without his team. Rather than letting his team wither away the opposition on the gruelling climbs, Ullrich would go through the unheard of act of going to the front of the peloton by himself and setting such an unbelievable pace that eventually no one else was able to stay to his wheel. He worked for himself and won for himself. In the modern era no one had ever seen anything quite like it and by becoming Germany’s first long awaited Tour champion, Jan had already earnt himself a legion of fans so early on in his career. Maybe that was part of the problem. Maybe success came too soon for the German. He had not had to work so hard for his success and so why would he have to work so hard for more? The answer is he didn’t and he never scaled the heights of his incredible 1997 Tour Victory again.After the 1998 Tour sorrow, Ullrich found himself injured by the time the 1999 Tour came into view. Many people at the time claimed that Ullrich’s injury was more mental than physical and that he was going through a nervous breakdown. They dismissed him and said that he would never be the same rider that he was once was.Ullrich answered the critics in the best way possible by bouncing back from his injury to win the third and fourth most important races of the year still, the World Championships Time Trial and the Vuelta a Espana. The critics were silenced and Ullrich was once again seen as the man to beat in the Tour 2000, of which last year’s win by Armstrong was seen as a fluke in an admittedly weak field.Armstrong, like Ullrich however had a knack for answering the critics and won that year’s tour from Ullrich with ease. Ullrich had finished second for the third time in his career at only 25 years of age. Despite defeat to Armstrong, Ullrich seemed in awe rather than in annoyance at the Great Texan. After losing to Lance the following year, Ullrich declared that he was invincible and simply too good for the rest of the field.In reality, Ullrich had given up on the battle with Lance before it had even begun. He thought he wasn’t as good as him and so therefore he wasn’t. If he had been as determined and trained as hard as his rival, perhaps we would have seen a different race. Ullrich has always declared however throughout his career that he has had no regrets and would not have changed a thing throughout his flawed career. He said more than once in reference to Lance’s life dominating training regime, that he likes to enjoy a life outside of cycling and have a good time away from the bike.Perhaps after 2001 he was having too good of a time however when in May 2002, a time when most professional cyclists would be fine tuning their form for the Tour, Ullrich was having his driving license revoked for drunk driving. That’s right, one of the world’s greatest athletes was out on the piss like some yob on the streets with nothing better to do than to cause havoc and be a libility towards themselves and others. Ullrich was banned from cycling for six months for taking drugs which he claimed were anti-depressants rather than performance enhancing. He was sacked by T-Mobile and joined Coast-Bianchi, a team who had no money and no other quality riders and who wouldn’t have been able to be part of the 2003 Tour were it not for Ullrich’s presence. With his last great result being his Second World Time Trial victory in 2001, no one really expected anything wonderful from Ullrich who was riding in a second rate team that couldn’t hope to give him the kind of support he would need during a three week bike race. It seemed however that too many people had forgotten that Jan didn’t need a team to win, he just needed himself at top form both physically and mentally and in 2003 he was. It just wasn’t quite enough.I watched that year’s Tour as a 15 year old boy in France myself, mesmorised by what I was seeing. Ullrich never had any team mates with him on the hard mountain stages like Armstrong did but it didn’t matter, he attacked and attacked and attacked again. He was courageous, in phenomenal shape and going into the now infamous Luz Arziden stage, he was fourteen seconds behind Arsmtrong and favourite to win. That stage is one of the most inspiring I have ever seen. Armstrong being brought down by a spectator only to fight his way back into the main bunch and win the stage outright. In how many sports could one man nearly have lost his chance at victory because of a fan. Many people credit Armstrong for his win that day but few credit Ullrich for slowing down when Armstrong was brought to his knees. For allowing Armstrong to make his way in to the bunch and before re-establishing his ryhtm watching a fresh Lance charge his way up the road to extend his lead to a minute. I often wonder whether or not Lance would have been so kind. Given his appetite for success, I think probably not. I lost respect for Lance when he made the claim that he didn’t think that Ullrich had waited for him claiming that he was ‘going at a race tempo’. When I read that in his book ‘Every Second Counts’, I just frowned and thought ‘what a jerk.’ Loads of people are going to read that and believe it because it’s Lance Armstrong.Needless to say when I got back home and had my first racing bike brought for me at Christmas it was not Lance who I was imitating out on the roads. I was Jan Ullrich in my enormous gear, which I stayed in for as long as possible on the hard climbs like he did, my mouth opened like a fish when I time trialled just like his was.He more than anyone ignited my dream to one day become a Professional Cyclist.Which is why it’s a shame that Ullrich’s career has ended the way it has, being convicted of drugs that everyone else is on, being ejected from the Tour he was in great shape to win. Most people would take Ullrich’s career and be more than happy.One Tour win, five times runner up, Two time World Champion, Olympic Gold Medallist, Tour of Spain winner, and seven Tour Stages is an impressive palmares. However double that by two and you still haven’t got anywhere close to what this man had the potential to accomplish. It is a shame that he will be remembered for what he lost more than for what he won.What I find fascinating about Ullrich is the person himself. An unbelievable talent who is also unbelievably humble, a man who has never understood his own abilities, never had it in him to fulfil his greatness, it is his human qualities that make him such a fascinating cyclist and a fascinating human being. As Ullrich recently retires, I think fondly of the man who should have been King.