66. Energy

In years gone by I seemed to have a lot of energy. I could run 10k in the morning before work and feel none the worse, in fact I’d feel better than when I didn’t.

After all that activity in the past weeks – visiting Budapest, Chris’s party – I finally had a day when I felt exhausted.  I slept most of that day, but since then I have been a human dynamo.

Next day, after the physio session at the hospital, I pumped up the tyres on my mountain bike and cycled to the swimming pool, swam a kilometre, then cycled back. I walked 19,000 steps the other day and, if not walking, I have been cycling on the static bike in a higher gear. It really seems to be coming together now.

Walking is certainly becoming easier, although the individual leg press and knee extensions in the gym show that my right leg is still only half as strong as the left. I still like to hold on to something when going downstairs, just for balance, but when I’m warmed up I can even carry things down at the same time.

I met up with the running club (walking division) for the local Downlands Dash fun run, not as a participant, but as a marshal. Again, it was a delight to meet up with some people I haven’t seen in a couple of years. While at my marshalling point in the woods, waiting for the first runners to arrive, I was chatting to a friend who had been through cancer treatment some years before me. Just as well there was no one around: we discussed the worst side effects and our favourite laxatives. (On reflection, I think I prefer glycerol suppositories – you’re supposed to wait 15-20 minutes after slipping one in, but I have never held on for more than five!)

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It was nice of the local council to build a new cycle path for me, so I can avoid battling with the cars in the High Street. It’s nearly finished and I’m waiting for the King to come and cut the ribbon.

On the same theme, I’m starting another project with my Dad’s other bike, the Allin. I remember going to Croydon with him in the seventies when he bought one for him and one for me. Mine was stolen from the back garden when I lived in Leicester, but I loved that bike.

Dad certainly got his money’s worth from his, still riding it until he was in his eighties. It’s the one he rode from Land’s End to John O’Groats when he was seventy. You can see that I can’t throw it away, so I’m planning to convert it to a gravel bike with a complete overhaul, by fitting a new chain set, shift levers on the handlebars and, since there seems to be plenty of room, wider knobbly tyres. I have found a cycle repair shop – Rik’s in World’s End – who will help me source the parts and perform any mechanical tasks that are beyond me. Watch out for the project updates.

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For years we have enjoyed Peter James’ Brighton based crime stories about Detective Superintendent Grace. Now they have arrived in our street, as the adaptation for ITV was filmed at a cottage down the lane from us. I first encountered them years ago while running at the bottom of Wolstonbury Hill, when they were preparing for the scene in the first book where a man was buried alive in the woods. I didn’t see John Simm himself, but I had a chat with the security guy looking after the big truck containing their kit. The series they are currently filming will be aired in September 2025, while this September they start showing the series they shot last year. I also compared notes with the lady at the library who I know through volunteering – she is keeping tabs on their huge HQ in Burgess Hill Town Centre. She has spotted far more actors than I have.

Talking of the library, my digital volunteering session this week was at the local library in Hurstpierpoint, my first two-hour slot. That was fun and just a five-minute walk to get there.

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This week’s cultural column – We made use of free cinema vouchers to take a trip to Brighton for a lunchtime screening of Kinds of Kindness, starring Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone and Willem Defoe, all playing three different roles in three short stories. I was troubled by my lack of vocabulary when the only word I could think of to describe it was weird. I did laugh out loud at the black humour and Sue had to nudge me at times, in the nearly empty theatre. If you have the best part of three hours to spare, along with a dark sense of humour, I recommend it.

Over the years I have chosen a few films that have astonished the family. The Lobster was one gem that they didn’t expect, and Midsommer, about a normal day in Sweden. Belleville Rendezvous, with its unforgettable music, is very appropriate now that the Tour de France is in full swing. However, Sue will be wary of trusting the planning of our next trip to my safe hands.

With buses costing only £2 a trip from our house to the Old Steine, we felt we could afford some Indian Street Food at Mowgli, just a typical Brighton restaurant, where we sat in swings in the window. We were pleased with our choice of the lucky dip Office Workers Tiffin with a couple of sides.

I also attended my first session at the Creative Writing for Wellbeing course at the Macmillan Horizon Centre in Brighton. The approach is different to my usual diary writing here in the blog, trying to be more imaginative. It’s a long time since I had an English class and it will be fun to get to know the other members of the group.

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We enjoyed a trip to Nymans Gardens where we fortuitously arrived just as the National Trust volunteer was starting a Garden Tour. Once again, I really appreciate being able to do simple things like this without fear of slipping over and hurting myself.

Nymans garden, featuring a Byzantine urn.

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It was fun to be involved with the St Lawrence Fair Fun Run in the village (without having to organise anything), helping with the timekeeping. It is always a great day, seeing lots of old friends, both runners and neighbours. A special well done to Steve, who took over as race director at the eleventh hour!

Thanks for reading and take care!