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We came to Cheddar yesterday and my parents seem to be largely enjoying the mayhem. Suddenly the kids look huge, even to me. My niece came over with her baby today and
we gave her the "It's a Little Baby" book by the unbeatable Julia Donaldson (and Rebecca Cobb) that I hadn't thought about for ages, but which we used to read to Phoebe, who would join in with the actions. It felt like weeks ago, but it was getting on for a decade ago. I could remember it all pretty much off by heart, but when I said to Phoebe "Somebody's hiding, I wonder who, it's a little baby and she's waving at you. Can you wave, can you wave, can you wave too?" she didn't seem capable of it and just looked embarrassed, so it looks like she's got less clever. I remembered the little shoulder shrugging she did to the dancing page and said to Catie that maybe we should have another baby after all.
I try to run round Cheddar Reservoir at least once on each visit, though I didn't manage it at all on the last visit and on the previous occasion I had to walk after getting about halfway. I realised today that I've been running around this body of water for forty years (so no wonder I am tired). On and off for forty years I mean, you idiot. I was very fast 40 years ago and could do it twice in the time it took to do it once today. I always wonder how many more times I'll do it and which run will be my last. Today I did the 6km from the house and back again, only stopping to take photos for this blog . The res has never looked more beautiful than it did today. The water was flat and reflected like a mirror and the cold sun shone down, making a mockery of the idea that it was the hottest thing in the solar system.
Usually I am exhausted from the drive the day after we arrive here and I haven't run too much recently, but it was a solid performance and I enjoyed it, though Axbridge looked like a quaint model village and the conditions were so perfect that I thought I might have died and this might be some weird Somerset based Heaven.
Delighted to have at least one more loop in me.
I have a painting of one of the towers of the Cheddar Res (the one that marks the approximate halfway point of my run) and if I conk out whilst running past this (thirty years from now) then that will be a fitting way to go. Hopefully I'll still be going round in another 40 years, though have my doubts that my mum and dad will still be living in the village then, so will have to travel down just for the run.
You might think that the 97 year old Richard Herring won't be running any more, but the 17 year old me might have scoffed at the idea of the 57 year old me doing it. Mainly because he thought the world would end in 1999 as prophesied by Nostradamus. The 17 year old me might have been able to lap the 57 year old me, but the 57 year old me isn't a stupid virgin who won't have sex for nearly three more years, so who is the real winner here. If I hadn't had sex by now I reckon I could run round this thing in 5 minutes. Coiled like a fucking spring.
