rich_jacko

Lego's Boutique Hotel is a nice model, but it's not much of a hotel. It has just three rooms (only one of which has access to a bathroom!) and no amenities other than a reception. I figured I could do better...

This is a project I started over a year ago, and have finally got around to finishing. The Palace Hotel contains 20,168 Lego pieces (I think!). This is possibly my final word in modular buildings, as I'm not sure where else I can go from here. Like all modular buildings, it breaks into sections (a) for portability; and (b) so you can see inside. It contains a reception, restaurant, bar, café, lounge, gym, outdoor pool, sauna, 8 single rooms, 5 double rooms, 3 twin rooms, 1 family room, 1 dorm room, a penthouse apartment and a honeymoon suite, as well as roof terraces and various essential such as kitchens, a beer/wine cellar, staff room, laundry room, changing rooms, toilets, corridors, a (sort-of) working lift and fire exits.

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Taking each section individually, from the ground up...

Ground floor:

Steps and accessible ramps lead up to the main entrance. The name is a nod to the Palace cinema, the first modular building I ever bought. Inside is a large reception area, partly reworked from the Boutique Hotel. It has a reception desk, sofas, and a staircase and lift leading to the upper floors. 1,551 pieces

	Off to the left of the reception (as you enter), three sets of stairs lead down to the left luggage desk, staff room (with sofa and kitchen area) and a corridor. This section also features a corner café with indoor and outdoor seating and kitchen, the hotel laundry room and a toilet. Outside is a tree, post boxes and a bench. 1,022 pieces
	The corridor continues around the ground floor, providing access to the changing rooms (with lockers, showers and benches), sauna (with benches and light-up fire), emergency staircase and the outdoor pool area (a table and sun lounger of which appears in this section. Outside there is a cashpoint, phone booth and area to lock up bikes. 798 pieces

To the other side of reception is a grand double-height space which forms the hotel restaurant. Open to the public too, its outdoor entrance is taken from the Parisian Restaurant. Inside, I'm proud of the flooring and the coffee machine. The chandelier is a mix of the one from the Grand Emporium and the one from the Brick Bank. 1,451 pieces

	Behind the restaurant is its kitchen, as well as a toilet, another emergency staircase and an all-important beer and wine cellar (since I got criticised for not including one the last time I built a Lego pub!). Up top are a couple of tables from the outdoor terrace. Outside is a bench by a tree and (less scenically) the area for the bins out back. 1,010 pieces
	The final ground section is the outdoor swimming pool, with the aforementioned roof terrace, sun loungers, a slide, steps, a palm tree, gate and a lifeguard station. Outside the gate are flowers to make a scenic rear entrance. 761 pieces

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Mezzanine floor:

	Three sections of the ground floor have a mezzanine level above them. The first, with stairs directly up from reception, is this lounge area, featuring a large L-shaped sofa, coffee machine, jukebox (taken from Downtown Diner), pool table (taken from the Detective's Office) and a cinema room (reworked from the aforementioned Palace Cinema). 793 pieces
	Behind the lounge, above the changing rooms and sauna is the hotel gym, with equipment taken from Downtown Diner and my own previous pool/gym build. Stairs in the corner provide access. The floor here is kind of garish, but I think it works. 553 pieces
	Around the other side and above the restaurant kitchen (and that beer/wine cellar!) is the main hotel bar, with plenty of hand pumps and plenty of seating. A balcony overlooks the restaurant and a door leads to the outdoor terrace. More stairs in the corner. Getting the layout and the floor right was a challenge with this one. 705 pieces

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1st floor:

	Onto the first floor, where the actual hotel accommodation starts. You can see the mechanism for the lift doors quite well in this shot. The lift lobby leads to two single bedrooms, with part of a double bedroom at the edge of the section, as well as a shared bathroom. The curtains were fun to build. 899 pieces
	To the right, this corner section includes the rest of that double bedroom and bathroom, as well as the bathroom for the next section. 785 pieces
	The next section being the dorm room. I'm very pleased with the bunk beds. I couldn't fit curtains to every room, so the blinds here are a neat solution. Outside the dorm, a corridor (with a reptile tank!) leads to the back stairs. 700 pieces
	Around the other side of the lift lobby this section has two single rooms and a double room. I had to build most of the beds, but many of the other furnishings for the various hotel bedrooms are taken from other modular buildings. 735 pieces
	Finally for this floor are two more single rooms and another shared bathroom, as well as a corridor leading to the second set of back stairs. 650 pieces

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2nd floor:

	Up on the second floor, the accommodation starts to get a bit more luxurious. All the rooms on this floor are en suite. This centre section has two of them, a double and a single. You also get a good look in this photo at the main staircase, the lift and the details on the front of the building (which took a fair bit of figuring out). 914 pieces
	Two more double rooms for this corner section, and this is another photo where you can see the various techniques I used on the outside. The corner room is quite grand, but the zig-zaggy arrangement of walls elsewhere illustrates the amount of planning I needed to do to work out the layout of each floor, and really shows this is just one small section of a much bigger model. 733 pieces
	This back corner includes the bathroom to one of the rooms in the previous section, as well as a twin room with its own bathroom too. As with the floor below, a corridor provides access to all the rooms and the back staircase. 652 pieces
	Around the other side is another grand corner room (a family room this time, with three beds) with its own en suite, and a further single room. I don't have enough windowless doors for the rooms, so just pretend those windows have panels for privacy, or something. In the foreground is the corridor leading from the lobby to all the rooms. 686 pieces
	At the back, as with the opposite corner, is a twin room with its en suite and that for the single room in the previous section. The back staircase continues again. The exterior walls at the back of the hotel are, as you might expect, much less fancy than the front, but I still had a fair bit of fun with the details. 698 pieces

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3rd floor:

	We're at the top of the building now, as you can see from the roof details. Up here we're into much more luxury, with the beginnings of the penthouse suite, including its bathroom (behind the removable art panel), office area and one of its two bedrooms. The more spacious lobby than other floors features artwork, a fish tank and great window views. The lift ends here but stairs continue up to the roof. 966 pieces
	Here you see the rest of the penthouse suite, with its double bedroom and main open plan living area. This includes comfy seating, a kitchen/dining area and a fold-down extra bed if needed. The doorway by the colourful rug leads out to the private roof terrace. 830 pieces
	...and here is that roof terrace. It has an outdoor dining table and sun loungers with parasols. the railings overlook the street on two sides and the pool area on the other. The cupola provides an interesting architectural feature (Translation: it took flipping ages to build!), as well as an emergency exit via the back stairs. 367 pieces
	On the other side of the top floor is the honeymoon suite, with romantic décor, a four-poster bed, luxurious bathroom (with actual bath!), a comfy sofa and table. This was one of the most fun sections to build, and I'm very pleased with the bed in particular. 850 pieces
	Like the penthouse, the honeymoon suite also has its own roof terrace. A workman here is making sure the flower pots, sun loungers and dining table for two are perfect for the happy couple. You can get a better appreciation of the cupola for this side from this photo. 341 pieces

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Roof:

	Finally, we reach the roof. For this central section, I took the dome from the Boutique Hotel and extended it upwards to make a lantern tower over the lift lobby below. A workman's door leads to the stairs and the roof is slightly raised on the other side to accommodate the top of the lift shaft. A window cleaner is at work in his cradle, which hangs from here. 370 pieces
	This view from underneath the corner roof over the penthouse shows how it is constructed, as well as details such as the cornices, raised roof over the corner section, and the skylight. 169 pieces
	The roof on the other side is almost a mirror image, and here you see it from above. You can appreciate the step change a bit better from this angle. A more elaborate skylight (taken from the Brick Bank) caps the honeymoon suite as a pair of amorous cats meet in the foreground. 179 pieces

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Phew! What a lot of Lego! :o)

It's perhaps tempting fate, with a relatively unknown new covid variant now circulating, but I want to record how good it feels, now that social and entertainment events have been starting to get back to normal.

Friday pub socials are now happening two or more times a month, and we're getting a pretty good turnout. It's great to be able to relax and spend time with each other over drinks once again.

Just over a month ago, I went to see Tim Peake talk about his career at City Hall. Much of it was things I already new, but some of it was fresh (I'd never previously thought about the difficulty of getting to sleep in zero-g!), and there's nothing like the personal touch of having Major Tim talk through it all in person. It was basically the best PowerPoint presentation ever!

November saw two big birthday parties on consecutive weekends, for Cis and Liz's 50ths. I only paid a brief visit to Cis's, at Trippets Lounge Bar, but it was great to see so many people there and catch up with faces I'd not seen in a long while. Liz's do, at Walkley Community Centre, naturally featured an enormous buffet, as well as party games and dancing into the night (well, 11pm). I had a wonderful time.


A week later, I went with Gillian down to Telford for Wales Comic Con. I'd never have spotted this was on if Gillian hadn't mentioned it to me, and I'm glad she did. We went to a Q&A talk with Doctors 5 through 8, and racked up a few autographs and photo shoots between us. There were a lot of cosplayers to admire too (We were ticking off Doctors). It was a good day out and fairly, if not entirely, successful - The organisation of the event left a lot to be desired and we had a long delay on the trains back. You can read Gillian's post here.


On Monday this week, I was back at City Hall for another space-themed show, this time Return of the Jedi in Concert - the film, up on a cinema screen, accompanied by a 70-piece live orchestra. It sounded fantastic, though at times I had to remind myself to pay attention to the live music, not just get lost in the film!


This coming weekend will also see my final running event of the year, the Percy Pud 10k. This one is a bit of a Sheffield institution. I've never entered it before. The course is through familiar territory, but it'll be a different experience running it as part of a big event, with celebrations (and Christmas puds!) at the finish.

Looking further ahead, I remain hopeful for a much more fun festive season than last year.

I went onwards to London last Saturday for charity run number 3, the world's biggest marathon.

I expected registration on Saturday to be stressful, and it was. Unlike other events, where your bib number is posted to you beforehand, for this one they posted out kitbags. You then had to drop these off at the ExCeL Centre, choose your finishing t-shirt, register and collect your number. Supposedly this was for covid reasons, to reduce the crowding of thousands of people together on race day. If so, it was a miserable failure. All it did was move the crowd indoors and a day earlier. Social distancing was impossible; you just had to trust a combination of luck, vaccinations and the requirement for everyone to have a negative lateral flow test in the two days beforehand. I suspect the real reason for this bizarre set-up was to influence people to buy stuff at the ExCeL's marathon show. I didn't go to the show. I was sufficiently freaked out, by the crowds on the Tube and while waiting in various queues for an hour, that I just wanted to get out as soon as possible.

After that, it was back to my hotel in Canary Wharf, where I'd literally only had time to check in, drop my bags and go, for a more chilled evening and an early night before the big race. The 18-mile marker was just outside the entrance, giving a taste of things to come. The weather was absolutely chucking it down, thankfully not giving a taste of things to come.

I woke as dawn was breaking on a crisp, dry and chilly morning - near perfect running conditions again (I've been so lucky with the weather across all three events!). After a sensible, carb-oriented breakfast (must resist having lots of bacon and sausages...), I hopped onto the DLR to Greenwich and made my way through the park to the start line. I was in the green starting zone, which was the smallest of the three, and had less of the excitement than the red zone, where all the TV cameras were. It was cold, waiting to begin, and I was glad I'd brought a foil blanket with me. It was nice to chat with other runners during the long, last-minute queue for the loos and while waiting in our holding area. I spoke with those hoping to go sub-3h30m, those doing their first or fifth marathon, and found myself stood behind the start line next to six people about to break a world record, dressed as Colin the Caterpillar. I love the dichotomy between all the different stories and challenges people have set themselves, and the way running events are such a communal, shared experience. Mind you, everyone in our holding area exclaimed, "What!?" at the guy being interviewed on the big screen for running 48 marathons in 30 days. That's just ridiculous!


As with the Great North Run, the wave starts and absence of spectators at the start line meant it didn't feel like a huge moment. I was mostly just eager to get going (and get warmed up!). It was fairly big though, being called forward with 1,000 other participants, hearing the airhorn, then all crossing the line in our three-minute window. The mass start times were spread over two hours, rather than six, as they had been in Newcastle, making for a much busier start. For all the chaos of Saturday, the organisation on the day itself was faultless, so full credit and thanks to all the organisers and volunteers (who, of course, I thanked along the way). Marshalling the runners, helping people cross the roads around us, manning the drinks and energy stations - all of these were vital jobs. Even if the road around the Lucozade hand-outs did feel rather too much like trying to run on the floor of the Roxy disco.

The early part of the run was all about not charging off too quickly and finding a comfortable pace. Easy enough, though it was tempting to go speeding ahead during the downhill mile 3. Greenwich, for the most part, looks like a residential part of any major city - normal roads, lined with houses, shops and the occasional park. It was easy to forget this was the London Marathon. Also, the 12-year-old me enjoyed sniggering at the marshalls stood either side of every speed bump, shouting "Hump!" enthusiastically and repeatedly as a warning.

As we merged with the red zone starters at the end of mile 3, the numbers grew and it began to feel more like a major event (I couldn't resist shouting, "Come on, you reds!" when they first emerged on the other side of the carriageway, divided from us "greens" and "blues" for a short stretch by the barrier). Then, just past the 10k mark, came the first iconic London Marathon moment - the tight loop around three sides of the Cutty Sark. The crowds here were enormous and gave everyone great support. If you want to know why mass running events are addictive, think about having thousands of people lining the streets, cheering you on. It was like that all the way around (easily the equal of the Great North Run), but nowhere moreso than there at the Cutty.


Almost as if it's the world's biggest parkrun, a marathon is mostly "a run, not a race". The camaraderie and support all the runners give to each other is fantastic. It may be different for the very elite, but us mass runners are mainly focussed on our own run, rather than jostling for position. Every one of us know how much training needs to go into running this distance and have enormous respect for one another. Especially so for those taking on the extra challenge of running in fancy dress. Those runners attract more attention from the crowds, but you can't begrudge them any of it - it's hard enough running 26.2 miles in clothes designed for running in; doing it in a bulky, hot and heavy costume isn't something I'd want to do. As well as the aforementioned Colin, along the way I saw a rhino, an elephant, a stormtrooper with a feather boa, a tractor, a bride and groom pairing, a three-legged pairing, Spider-Man, Batgirl and a giant brain. You cheer them all on, just as much as the crowds do. As I and a couple of other runners passed a guy clomping along in full ski boots. As one, we did a double-take and complimented him, "Well done, mate!" As the event's tagline says, #WeRunTogether.

Beyond the Cutty, the next few miles were uneventful and I got properly set into my rhythm. This wasn't a run I needed to think particularly hard about. There weren't the constant undulations of the Great North Run, or the massive uphill slog of the Sheffield Half. This was mostly flat all the way. It was just a case of finding a comfortable pace I felt I could keep up forever (the distance is too far to be thinking "Well, I can push for this long before I start to tire) and making sure I broadly stuck to it. This was quite easy given the number of other runners to pace against, and I found myself slipping into something of a zen-like state. Beyond that, the sum total of my strategy involved regular sips of water and energy bars after 15k and 30k. A shorter run, such as a 5k or 10k is all about speed and managing your heart rate/breathing; a marathon is all about going the distance and managing your energy/hydration levels and your legs. Every mile and every kilometre of the course was marked out (most events mark out either one or the other), which provided plenty of markers to reassure us all we were making continuous progress. I kept reminding myself, £17 per km - that's how much money I was raising for charity, and it seemed like a pretty good deal. I was definitely achieving something here. Thank you once again to everyone who has sponsored me over these events.

The biggest progress marker of all was Tower Bridge. I knew it was coming up, from passing the 12-mile marker, but it was still quite something to turn the corner and see the road stretching up to it. It was the only really noticeable uphill on the entire course, but the sight of the bridge gives you such a boost, you don't care. The crowds were in full force here too, and running across such a landmark was just as iconic a sporting moment as crossing the Tyne Bridge had been in Newcastle. In London, the bridge has the added significance of meaning you're nearly at the halfway point. This was one of the most exciting bits of the course - in quick succession, you run over the bridge, past the Tower of London, join a mile-and-a-half stretch of watching elite runners passing in the other direction (the fast club athletes, by the time I got there; the Olympians were long gone!), and hit the halfway point.


After that, it was into the winding slog around Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs. Not that it was terrible, but this was definitely the least fun part of the course. You lose track of where you are, it goes on for seven miles before you rejoin the carriageway in the other direction, and this is the point in the run when you're starting to seriously tire. And I had to run past my hotel, knowing I still had eight miles to go until the finish line. This whole section was not helped by (a) the sun starting to beat down hard - thank heaven for the shade from tall buildings; or (b) my Garmin watch losing GPS position - curse you, shade from tall buildings! The resulting garbage pace information (16min/km one minute; 3min/km the next - Go home, Garmin; you're drunk!) made it harder to concentrate and stick to my pace. But I got through that long section, and the 32k marker was another significant psychological boost - just over 10k to go and, unlike my previous marathon two years earlier, I was still going strong at this point. Don't get me wrong. It was hard work, I was tired and ready for it to be over soon, but I was still running well. I hadn't had to stop or walk so far and it was around this point I set myself the target of keeping that going until the finish line.

At 37k, I passed that all-important "only a parkrun to go" moment and entered very familiar London territory. There wasn't just an arbitrary distance to the finish line any more; it was a route I knew well. (Well, perhaps not running through Blackfriars Tunnel, but generally.) This was the first and last moment during the run that I had a serious think about my finishing time. Having established I wasn't going to break sub-3h45m (a possible goal I had going in), but nor was I going to be slower than 4h, unless anything went badly wrong in the last stretch, I dismissed such thoughts again and just concentrated on making it to the end without breaking stride. Others were slowing around me at this point. I tried to encourage them along where I could, but I was too tired to shout very much.


Along the Embankment, past the 25-mile marker - I could feel the end was near as I passed the corner of Westminster Bridge and Big Ben, 1,200m to go... Up past Whitehall, along Birdcage Walk and alongside St James's Park - it's just name-dropping landmarks at this point. This was it, the third and final big iconic section (after Cutty Sark and Tower Bridge) leading up to the finish. The signs marked 600m to go... 400m to go... I rounded the corner past Buckingham Palace (noting the Union Jack flying; Her Maj wasn't in!) and saw the finish up ahead. I got a boost from hearing the announcer talking about everyone coming in now achieving a finish in under 4 hours. It was in the bag at this point and I didn't have the energy for a sprint finish. Along with a couple of others, I spread my arms wide, soaked up the atmosphere and let myself relax a little, just enjoying cruising the final straight up The Mall and across the line. A finish time of 3h52m26s. I'll happily take that.


I paused for a selfie (getting out of the way of a runner dressed as a tree, who was doing the same), collected my kit bag, then went to join the park full of runners collapsed on the ground, to rest my weary legs, have a snack and a drink, and catch up on messages - lots of good luck messages from friends and family, as well as congratulations from those who'd been following my progress online. In my goody bag, as well as the extra layer and food items I'd added, there were much-needed bottles of Lucozade and water, a hefty finisher's medal and the brightest finisher's t-shirt I've ever earned. It'll certainly be handy if I go jogging at night and need to be seen... from orbiting satellites.

Eventually I struggled back to my feet. This was hard. I gave the corporate stalls a miss, but cheered on the people who were still running as I made my way back to the Tube. Having been lucky with the weather so far, the heavens now opened for a brief deluge. I got wet, but mainly felt sorry for those still out on the course. It felt nice to be treated like royalty by the Underground staff - a finisher's medal got you a "Well done!" and free passage through the barriers. Random passers-by also paused to congratulate anyone wearing a medal. There were still runners passing by my hotel when I got back, and the sun was out again, so I stopped to cheer them on before retiring to my room. The remainder of the day saw me attending to my aching body, phoning Mum and Dad, taking advantage of the hotel pool and sauna (Bliss!) and staggering out as far as Nando's for food replenishment. After which I went to bed at quarter to nine and slept for ten hours.

I felt stiff and sore on Monday morning, but triumphant. I made further use of the pool and sauna, and was able to make full use of the breakfast offer, without having to worry about running. There were several other runners staying in the hotel, so lots of mutual congratulations and swapping notes on how we'd done (a near clone of Dave R had run it in under 3h30m). I checked out, popped briefly into our London office to pick up my new security pass for work (None of my colleagues was in) then joined the queue for medal engraving outside the New Balance shop on Oxford Street.

I was expecting to have to wait, but I spent almost as long waiting as it took to run the marathon. I'm not even exaggerating; I was stood in line for about 3h45m. Not what your legs need the day after running 26.2 miles. Luckily it was a fine day and I had a book to read (thank you, Stephen Fry!) but still, had I known it would take that long, I probably wouldn't have bothered. The people doing the engraving were lovely and friendly, but there really needed to have been more than two of them. Negative marks for post-event organisation, just as with the pre-event arrangements. As a result, I missed the last super off peak train back by about 20 minutes, and spent 3 hours waiting around Kings Cross - St Pancras. I bought books, beer and pasta to pass the time, and eventually made it home around a quarter to ten. I was very glad I'd booked the following day off work as well.

Despite such occasional setbacks, it had been a triumphant trip. And let's not forget I wasn't just doing this for the challenge, but to raise funds for the National Autistic Society. My sponsorship page remains open for anyone who still wants to donate - I know some people have qualms about donating until after the event ;o)


What next? London has given me greater confidence in running marathons, so I doubt it will be my last. At York, I started too fast, hit "the wall" around 30k and half-limped to the end. I made none of those mistakes this time around and kept running throughout, at a satisfyingly consistent pace. Yet my finish time was around 2 minutes slower than York. Did I err the other way, and pace myself too cautiously? I feel I've got a sub-3h45m in me; I only need to shave off 11s/km. Not next year though, as I want a break from marathon training over the summer. Maybe in 2023...

On Sunday, I took part in the 40th Great North Run. I joined 57,000 runners, including the best in the world. The run was broadcast live in 127 countries and was the first major event of its kind anywhere since the pandemic began. It was a brilliant experience and the most fun I've ever had running a half marathon.

I'm really glad about that, because I turned down a holiday in Wales with friends to run in this event. I'm not going to speculate which I'd have enjoyed more, because that's a really counterproductive way of thinking. But it was a major running achievement which will stay with me. Plus I have (at the time of writing this) raised £1,286 for the National Autistic Society, which counts for a lot.

The event took up pretty much my whole weekend. After parkrun (of course!), I only had a little while to pack before catching the train up to Newcastle. I checked into my hotel, took a walk out to the Town Moor (to be aware of my route to the start line the next morning) and along the Tyne (to admire the bridges), and then there was only time for dinner, watching Emma Raducanu win the US Open (along with half the people in the hotel, it seemed, and trying to get a bit of sleep before the big day.

I didn't sleep much. But I had a good hotel breakfast and made my way to the start in plenty of time. The weather was pretty much perfect - cool and cloudy. I was glad the heatwave had passed! My worries about finding my way past the road closures were unnecessary - I just followed the growing crowd! Social distancing (of sorts) meant there was a rolling start. The race officials called all the orange waves forward together (I was meant to be in orange wave 6 of 8), which meant I ended up starting 20 minutes earlier than I expected to.

The start line itself was a strange non-event. No waiting, no countdown, no crowds, no announcement or airhorns. There was plenty of all that on the way across to the start line, but the start itself saw us all weaving through metal barriers, which seemed like they were put there to trip us up, but were actually a clever way of spacing everyone out. I emerged from that obstacle course and, oh look, I guess we're starting running now!

Once around the first bend, the crowds started lining the roads to cheer everyone on. They didn't stop all the way round. The atmosphere you get from road races like this is something special, and the buzz you get from doing it with thousands of other runners just adds to that feeling. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed it until just then. I've cried at the end of a long run before now, but this was the first time I'd felt myself begin to get teary right at the start. I think I went around the entire route with a big grin on my face.

On runs which aren't the world's biggest half marathon, you get crowds like that at the start and finish, with long stretches in the middle where there aren't many spectators and the runners themselves thin out a little. Not here. The biggest gap in the crowd was maybe 100m or so. There were ordinary people lining the roads, charity stalls (I made sure to look out for and wave to the NAS one at miles 3 and 9), live music and more. The only thing I missed out on was seeing the Red Arrows flying overhead (Going by the TV coverage, I think they must've flown over about when I was at the furthest point of the route.) While it was nowhere near as heaving as the aerial shots I've seen of hordes of runners from previous years (we were generally all running at a socially distanced 2m from each other throughout), there were always lots of other runners surrounding me as well.

One advantage of the altered route this year was getting to see the elite runners on their return leg, as my wave was heading outwards. During my first couple of miles, I saw the elite women coming up to the finish, then shortly after the elite men, and then the other side of the carriageway began to fill up with the mass of other runners like me.

As well as the crowds, runners themselves were cheering each other on, whether it was those passing in the other direction, those in crazy-but-amazing costumes (I spotted Marge Simpson, the Queen of Hearts, Three Little Pigs - who'd been interviewed on the news that morning, Mario & Luigi, a lion, and many more), those running for the same charity, or those who just looked like they needed the encouragement. I joined in of course. We also got to high-five the crowds, do the iconic run across the Tyne Bridge not once but twice, waive at the big screen at the halfway turnaround, and take full advantage of the acoustics as we ran under the motorway overpass ("Oggy! Oggy! Oggy!" "Oi! Oi! Oi!").

I'd resolved not to set myself a target time, and to just enjoy the race at whatever pace felt good. And I pretty much did. I didn't look at my watch at all for the first couple of km. When I did, I found I was averaging about 4:45 per km, which surprised me. I'd typically been doing about 5:10 per km during training runs, but the energy you get from the atmosphere at an event always make you go a bit faster, as does the push you get from having other runners around you. I was going fast - too fast for a very long run, but manageable over a half marathon. I kept an eye on my pace after that, preparing to back off a little if I found myself pushing too hard.

Lots of people (including elite runners) said what a hilly course it was. Pah! These people have clearly never been running in Sheffield! What it was, was undulating pretty much throughout. This brought its own challenges. Your mind is working hard, as well as your body, in an event like this. While I was enjoying the crowd, I was also constantly having to pick my path around other runners; be aware of my pace, energy and any aches or niggles; as well as keep track of taking in sensible amounts of water and sugar. In that state of mind, it was easy not to notice when a downhill slope gently turned into an uphill slope. (Yes, it was so not hilly, I almost didn't notice some of the hills, ha!) When you find yourself still doing a downhill pace on an uphill, you need to ease off!

That's not to say it wasn't hard work. It was. I was putting a lot of effort in, and I've got the stats to prove it! My point is I got caught up in the moment and was enjoying it all the way round (even when it started raining towards the end). Having been training for a full marathon gave me a fitness level and a confidence to stretch myself over a half. It was only towards the finish, once the inclines got steeper and the route wound its way uphill back into the city centre and towards the Town Moor, that I found myself struggling and wanting to slow down.

By this point, though, I'd realised I was on target for achieving a long-term running goal - a sub-100-minute half marathon. So I pushed on. Those last couple of miles were incredibly hard work. My heart rate stats show I was averaging 184 beats per minute at that stage (which is pretty much maximum effort and not sustainable), versus a more sensible 164 beats per minute for the rest of the route, up until that point. I cheered along with everyone around me as I came up to the finish line, crossing it with over 80 seconds to spare! I leapt over the line and punched the air in triumph!

(Then immediately had to dart sharply to the right to avoid the runners in front, who'd come to a dead stop, while I still had forward momentum... Never mind, it didn't ruin the moment too much!)

My time was 1:38:36, over 3 minutes faster than my previous PB. On reflection, I shouldn't have been that surprised. I'd been training for a marathon, had the boost from a mass event and it was the least hilly such mass event I'd done. But I'm still very, very pleased with that result.

It all seemed to be over way too soon (Maybe I should've run slower!). I collected my goody bag, posed for my finishing photo, and made my way over to the NAS charity tent, where snacks and drinks awaited. I spent a while nattering there with the volunteers and other runners (It felt very strange that some had finished, like me, while others were still waiting to be called to the start line). Then I watched a bit of the race from the sidelines on my way back to my hotel, had a quick shower and change, then caught the train back to Sheffield.

One down... two to go. I don't expect to set the same kind of pace for the remaining runs. The Sheffield Half Marathon (as mentioned) is hillier, and I'll be wanting to make sure I don't knacker myself a week before the London Marathon. For that one, I don't feel quite as well prepared for the distance as I did for the Yorkshire Marathon in 2019. My aims are simple - get to the end; don't die!

My legs were sore on Monday, but by Tuesday I was back out there running 6k in preparation for the next event. Wish me luck, and keep the sponsor money coming! :o)

To quote one of my favourite Christmas songs, we live in troubled days, we (certainly) have the strangest ways, we've had our share of tears, and it's been a long, hard year.

Hope you all manage to find some festive joy and calm, wherever you are and whatever you are doing or not doing this Christmas. Do not stress. Do not expect things to be perfect. Just be kind to those around you and to yourselves.

Peace and goodwill to all.

Proper update to follow, when I've had time to write one (I want to document this properly - you have been warned!). But for now:

I DID IT!

3 hours, 51 minutes, 35 seconds on the clock as I crossed that finish line.

Many thanks to all those who, collectively, supported me by donating a stonking £673.60 to Cancer Research. More photos and links from the day are up on my update to my sponsorship page.

Thanks also to everyone who sent me encouraging messages on the day, and especially to Neil, Krissy, E & T for coming all the way to York to cheer me on at the finish. :o)

This weekend, I took my Mum and Dad to Tramlines. It was back in Hillsborough Park for the second year running, so I took advantage of my two free tickets and bought a third one for myself. The crowds were bigger this year, the weather not so clear and I'd heard of fewer of the acts but, despite all that, the music and the atmosphere was still just as amazing. We all enjoyed ourselves (even though it's not normally Dad's sort of thing!) :o)


Friday:

The weather was grim and we had classic festival mud (My poor park!), but we mostly managed to stay dry. We got there in time for the Seamonsters, who I'd enjoyed last year and were (bizarrely) sampling Theresa May's resignation speech this year. Then we had a look round before settling in front of the main stage for Circa Waves, the Manic Street Preachers and Two Door Cinema Club. Mum and I both really wanted to see the Manics, and they didn't disappoint. They got one of the biggest cheers when they covered Sweet Child O' Mine. We didn't think too much of 2DCC, so went and got food (giant Yorkshire pud!) then watched Red Rum Club on the Library Stage to finish off the night.

Saturday:

I was chuffed to introduce my folks to the most Sheffield band they will ever see - the good ol' Everly Pregnant Brothers (more confident on the big stage this year and really working the crowd well). I had to explain the Leeds thing to my Dad and they were both a bit put out by the Worcester Sauce gibes in "Hendo's", but they definitely enjoyed it. We came home for a late lunch (handy being so close!) then back out again to a massively crowded park for a triple bill of Reverend and the Makers, Johnny Marr and Courteeners in the evening. Johnny Marr was the best of the three, but they all rocked the crowd pretty well while the sun went down. Before that line-up, there was an unscheduled tribute song to Sarah Nulty, led by her brother. Despite the crowds, we still managed to find a decent spot for the evening (where, importantly, we could sit down between acts!) and it didn't take long to queue for essential food and beer (overpriced but, hey, it's a concert). A good second day.

Sunday:

Mum and Dad needed a gentler day, and I had Bethany's nowhere-near-a-birthday lunch to go to, so we only returned to Tramlines late afternoon on Sunday. Lewis Capaldi was first up on the main stage and, while his music was good, most of the crowd couldn't make out what he was saying during his long talking bits between songs. Rag 'N' Bone Man followed and was much better. After that, we had a clash - Doves and Nile Rodgers & Chic were on at the same time, and we wanted to see both. Inevitably we were going to get split up, so we arranged to meet up at the end. I listened to Doves' first four songs, then wandered around for a bit (and danced along with Yonaka at the Library Stage for a while) before ending up at the main stage for Nile Rodgers & Chic. Their Let's Dance / Le Freak / Good Times finale proved why they've been a success for so many years and really worked the crowd up into a bouncing, clapping, party frenzy, proving to be the perfect end to the festival.

I've finally got around to finishing my latest modular building project, which I've been working on intermittently for about a year. So here it is:



The Museum is 1,700 pieces in four sections. Unlike certain other museums, this one has a dinosaur skeleton in the entrance hall - the T. Rex from the Research Institute set. The ground floor is devoted to natural history and geology, the first floor to various historical artefacts, and the second floor to maps, exploration and astronomy, with the telescope from the Research Institute gazing out through a suspiciously TIE Fighter-esque window at the top of the building. The roofline to this neo-gothic building incorporates castle flags and some elements from Hogwarts.

The Toy Shop sits beside it, again in four sections, containing 1,840 bricks. I built this one partly to make up for not owning the Grand Emporium set, and partly to contain the minifig-scale toys that I've acquired with various Christmas sets over the years. The first floor has viewing windows to watch the model train above the entrance spin around (yes, it moves!). Naturally the top floor is a Lego shop, mashing together elements from two official sets, plus others I added. Livening up the roofline are big models of a hot air balloon, a rocket ship and an aeroplane.

Here are some close-up views inside, to help give you a feel for the interiors:

...and some more views of the outside. I've added flower beds, a rainbow bench and various other bits of street furniture to round off the set. These make up 180 pieces, bringing the total build to 3,720 pieces (or 3,860 once you include all the minifigures). No wonder it took a while!

Next project - working all my various modular buildings together...