A Scarf For Lewy

 A while ago now I saw a thing on social media asking people to knit a scarf for Lewy.  The Lewy Body Society want to raise awareness of Lewy body dementia and to do this they are going to wrap a massive scarf round the Royal Albert Hall in London this autumn.  But they need people to knit the scarfs...

How could I not accept this challenge?  And what a perfect way to use up some of my stash too.

I had a bunch of lovely colours from the hats I knitted last year, the cream and green from Januarys cardy and blues from the Driftwood jumper from earlier this year, so I collected them all together and set about making a scarf.  

I kept the design simple.  Just 6 rows to each stripe and the only rule being the same colour couldn't sit next to itself, but otherwise I just made it up as I went along.

 

I couldn't believe how quickly it grew (it ended up about 8 foot long!).  6 short rows was really fast to knit and by the end of an evenings knitting I might have added 3 stripes!  And it was perfect to take on holiday.  No pattern needed, just to count the stripe rows to make sure they were all the same.

And I really enjoyed thinking about what the next colour would be.  It was such an easy project to work on.  The hardest bit was adding the tassles and deciding on the colour combinations! 

So here it is ready to be sent off to join the other scarfs people are making.  I hope I can see it in the photos from the event this autumn.  And I hope whoever receives my scarf after finds it warm and comforting.  I send it with love. 

Slow Way - Petlip

 

So following the success of my first Slow Way run, I immediantely started planning my next.  Of course I hadn't planned on there being a heat wave, but the rest of my planning seemed to work out well.

Again I got a lift from 'im outdoors.  A bit earlier than last time to try and be back home before it got too hot.  It was another route that I'd run bits of before and so I knew a good chunk of it would be shaded.  So with the route on my phone and a litre of water in my pack off I went.

 

Annoyingly I went wrong within the first couple of miles, when I missed the bridge over the river as I was distracted by cows!  Once I was back on the correct path the rest of it went very well.

It started across fields, before going uphill and into the woods.  I was sad to leave the dence shade of the pine woods - lovely and cool.  The deciduous woods were still shady, but not as cool as the pine.

A short piece along the B2070 then I deviated along the quiet back roads rather than use the verge of the fast road.  The common was nicely wooded, I'd been worried it might be open and sunny.  Back across the B2070 and onto the West Sussex Boarder path, although you'd not know it as I didn't see any signs.  Cutting through the golf course I knew I was nearly there.

 

I ended my run at Sainsburys and was very dissapointed to find that I'd timed my run very badly.  They hadn't opened yet and so there was no chance of buying the ice lolly I've been dreaming of as I ran. 

'im outdoor came to pick me up and I was glad to come home and sit in the cool of the house. 

I'm pleased with this run.  I've been practicing the distance so it didn't feel as hard as the first, even in the heat.  And again it was very quiet, I only saw a couple of dog walkers.  I imagine it could be pretty muddy it it had been wet, but in the middle of a heat wave it was fine.

 

In places it was very uneven underfoot and I nearly fell at least once and jarred my ankles many times, but following the sunken lanes or holloways was interesting, thinking of all those who have used them before me.

A good run, and I'm already planning my next Slow Way run.

Route Marshal

 

 

Today my name is Marshal.  My hands are sore from clapping, my voice hoarse from shouting.

I have just made sure that hundreds of runners have made it round a left hand turn a couple of miles from the finish of The Soloman Serpent Trail race.  A race with 4 different distances: 10K, 20K, 50K and 100K which meant I was looking after that left hand turn for nearly seven hours.

I arrived at my post at 12:20 to find the first runner from the 50K group had just been through.  The second came through minutes later.  From then until 3pm it was a constant stream of runners.  Some looking in better shape than others.

 

At about 2.30 the 10K racers came haring through, a very different type of race from everyone else.

At 3pm things slowed down.  Then, at about 4pm, the first 100K runner came through.  From then on it was loan runners.  Either 100K runners near the front of the pack, still running and looking good.  Or the tail end of the 50K pack, reduced to walking, but still going to finish.

I cheered each and everyone on and told them the two most important things possible.  1. turn left here. And 2. You've got this, only a couple of miles to go. 

At the end of 2020, my plan had been to run the 50k race.  And I still hope to.  But while I build up my running again, the next best thing than racing is supporting other runners to race.

I hope my cheering made a difference, and I hope they are all proud of what they achived.  This was no mean feat.