Tag Archives: beach

Mir Locks & Making The Most Of The Mini-Summer

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After a fairly busy few days of training, including getting back to BJJ on Saturday and some pretty heavy sparring on Sunday night, I went to BJJ last night after an hour of Dog Agility first. Murphy was overjoyed, you should’ve heard him squeaking with excitement when he realised which way we’re driving (his sense of direction is awesome, I think I should have called him TomTom), and surprisingly he hadn’t forgotten any of his training.

I motored over to training afterwards and we did some technical work, quickly switching from open guard to a kind of spider/half-guard hybrid for a sweep, and some other sweeps working from a spider pass attempt. I love the technical stuff, it’s enormously satisfying when you get it right and barely use any power. We went on from there to putting the higher grades through their paces in a series of ten minute pressure tests. As soon as a point was scored either way, the junior grades jumped off and someone took their place, continuously, for ten minutes. I jumped in to roll with my instructor and he was really gunning for it. I was determined not to let him sweep me, but an attempted sweep quickly turned into a strange locking of arms as we both rolled sideways. The next thing I knew I was on the other side of the mat in enormous pain, holding my arm, which had made a pretty sickening ‘pop’ noise.

I’m not sure now what I’ve done to it, but about an inch below my elbow is very tender and I have no strength in it at all. I was told after that what I’d described as feeling like ‘a bizarre kimura’ was in fact a Mir lock. I have no intention of ever being caught in one again, let alone resisting it. Still, I’m not there for a nice cup of tea and a site down, and I’ve learned a good lesson.

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Over the last week the weather has been absolutely gorgeous down here, as if trying to make amends for the rubbish summer we had. Determined to make the most of it, a group of us headed down to the beach on Saturday afternoon in an inpromptu celebration for a friend’s wife’s birthday. We arrived early, and for once I didn’t mind waiting for the (habitual) latecomers. I grabbed a nice spot on the grass at the top of the cliffs and had a lie-down in the sunshine, which was the perfect tonic after being mauled earlier that day at training.

The view from the cliffs looking over Gwithian beach

The view from the cliffs looking over Gwithian beach

The afternoon rolled on and everyone turned up eventually, so we all headed down and grabbed a sheltered spot under the cliffs. A few of us decided to brave the Atlantic and get wet, and I’m so glad I did. I haven’t been in the sea since Christmas, and September is when the water’s at its warmest, so we spent a while bobbing about and body-surfing. We sprang back over the beach like something out of Baywatch and got settled for some barbecue action. Barbecues on the beach always taste good, especially after being in the sea and working up a proper appetite. Stuffed, worn out (after a game of what was meant to be Rounders after the food), and sipping some cold beers we sat around and chatted while the sun went down…

The sun sets over the sea while we eat barbecued meat

The sun sets over the sea while we eat barbecued meat

As the evening wore on we were joined by one more who came bearing gifts from the East (including Soju!), so we drank a bit more, celebrated her return and then a few brave souls (I say brave, better prepared might be more accurate, I didn’t bring enough dry clothing) headed back down for a last dip in the water as it got darker and darker. We made the decision to head a couple of miles down the road to the Sandsifter, a bar which has been done up for the middle-class surfing wannabes – and has the prices to match. A great night, and worth all the clambering about over rocks while tipsy in near darkness, if just for the sunset and twilight.

The last light of the day...

The last light of the day...

Senior Moments

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I forgot to update this for a little while, I guess that’s what happens when another year ticks over and I hit the ripe old age of thirty-two twenty-twelve. So what’s happened in my absence? A few things as it happens.

For my birthday I had a couple of treats, the first being on the Friday before. We got in the car and I had to put an unknown postcode in the satnav and follow it. Ninety minutes later and I was sat in the grounds of Kitley House just outside of Plymouth, although I still wasn’t sure why. We had a lovely room right up in the top of the building, looking out over the gardens. Early in the evening I got ‘poshed up’ in a decent jacket and went down for drinks and dinner and it turned out to be a Murder Mystery dinner! It’s no secret I’m a fan of mystery, so this was just perfect for me. We had cocktails with the cast (an outside group ran the evening and played the roles) and after a few drinks everyone loosened up and got into the spirit of things. It was an awesome evening, soured only by getting in the car the next morning to find one of my tyres as flat as a pancake. An hour later and thirty quid lighter I was back in sunny Cornwall.

The other main gift I had was an hour in a float tank. If you’ve never seen one before, it’s like a big coccoon, half space-age and half ‘Mork from Ork’. After stripping off and clambering in you find yourself in ten inches of warm water, which is a really heady solution of epsom salts. The idea is that you float in water the same temperature as your body, which gives the impression of floating in mid-air. If you close the lid and turn the internal lights off it’s almost total sensory deprivation. The only thing you’re really aware of is the ‘music’ which is more some kind of mix of muted notes and whalesong, which is played through the water. For the first quarter of an hour or so you’re very aware that you’re just floating naked in a big plastic egg, but once you get the hang of relaxing fully (which is much harder than it sounds) the time just slips away. I didn’t fall asleep – just! – but they say an hours float is the equivalent of eight hours sleep, and I can well believe it. For the rest of the day I was a mental mess, barely capable of completing a sentence, but I slept like the dead that night and felt fantastic the next day. I’d recommend it to anyone having trouble sleeping or with a lot of aches or stress, it’s a real tonic.

Operation House is still going well, in the last four weeks we’ve got from a large concrete slab in the mud, to walls, windows, doors, roof trusses and a first floor. There are pictures to come once I get around to uploading them too. As I write this the roof of the old building is being torn off, and the new one being apexed into it. The kitchen arrives today, the appliances tomorrow, and the gas is due to go in this week too if memory serves. Although I hate to jinx it, I’m starting to think that I’ll be in before the end of July now. If anyone up there is watching, please keep this weather up for another few weeks.

And while on the subject of good weather, I finished off the week in fine style. There was an option on Saturday evening of going to St Ives for the Camra Beer Festival, but after a heavy session the previous night involving beer, tequila (oh so much tequila) and very loud metal music, I really wasn’t feeling like alcohol again. So instead a few of us headed out to the beach with some disposable barbecues (one of which I managed to drop on my toes, cutting and bruising them) to eat some grilled meat and watch the sun go down. Glorious.

Godrevy beach at sunset

Godrevy beach at sunset

Happy Christmas Everyone!

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Quite what I’m doing sat here on the evening before Christmas Eve, writing this rather than resting down in front of the fire is a bit beyond me, but it’s given my other half a chance to do some present wrapping so I’m using that as an excuse. The big day, which seems to arrive faster with every year older I get, is looming large now, and I’m looking forward to it. The presents are all bought and nearly all wrapped, the final foray into Tesco for food and drink is done, and I’m looking forward to chilling out with family and friends over the next couple of weeks.

There’s nothing really new to report on the training front, since the grading I’ve mostly been injuring myself with annoying little things, the latest of which is a duff knee thanks to a wayward ‘sweep’ (I use the term very loosely, sweeps are not normally swung in with the attacker facing the other direction and kicking the leg you have in the air – I’m not bitter though!). The annual beach training and dip in the Atlantic is scheduled for the 27th, and I know I’ll enjoy the rejuvenating swim. Speaking of the beach, it’s been really nice recently to be able to get the dog back down there. The majority of the beaches in Cornwall ban dogs from Easter to the end of October, which sucks but is understandable. Now Murphy’s back down there chasing dogs, going for a splash and find rocks to strategically poop on. Ahh bless!

So all that remains for now is to wish you all a very happy Christmas, and to hope you all manage to have a good time. That goes for friends near and far, those current and those no longer around for one reason or another. It’s clichéd but this time of year has me thinking about everyone, so take it easy all of you and have a great time. I’ll see you in 2009.

What Am I? Eighty?!

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I’m not sure exactly how I’ve managed it, but I seem to have caught a cold. Again. It’s only been a few weeks since I last had one, but sure enough nose and throat are sore, I’m sneezing and producing something horrible in my face. However, I’ve chosen to deny it completely, so in my mind I simply don’t have one. I laugh in the face of germs, and tweak the nose of the dreadful spindly killer fish (big cash prizes to anyone spotting the quote there*).

To this end I’ve bought some First Defence, which apparently should help to stop the virus getting a foothold in my (evidently very welcoming) body, so think of me as some kind of giant guinea pig.

Guinea Pig

I’m also going to make myself feel bright and summery with this picture from the weekend. It’s still gloriously warm and sunny here (in the daytime at least), and this picture was taken on Saturday when we took the dog collective for a run on the beach.

Church Cove - 9th Feb 2008

Ahhh, beat that germs!

A Weekend Summery

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No, the title is not an example of my poor spelling, it’s an oh-so-clever play on words by yours truly, for this past weekend was truthfully like summer. Weekends at the moment have slots reserved for walking Murphy because by the time we get back from work on a weekday it’s already dark. The woods and the beach aren’t much fun at night for a very sociable little dog. The forecast was supposed to be quite good, but it was way beyond anyones expectations I think, we were treated to glorious sunshine and warmth.

On the Friday evening I went with some friends down to a couple of new local bars to check them out and see just how much money sitting in nice surrounds would cost per drink. First off we headed out to the Sand Sifter at Godrevy which was really nice, if completely bereft of people. We had a quick drink there and then headed over to a new place in Hayle called Salt, which was really nice. Very laid-back and really nicely done out, which as anyone who’s spent any time in Hayle will tell you, is quite something! My friends crashed at our house that night, none of them (me included) making it through the screening of Die Hard 4.0 which seemed like such a good idea at the time.

The next morning we took the world’s gingerest spaniel down to see my friend and her dogs, and took them for a run and splash at Gunwalloe, down at Church Cove. It was so gorgeous, you’d swear it was summer and not officially the middle of winter.

 Church Cove
The beach at Church Cove.

The poor pup was absolutely shattered after this, and I’m reliably informed would barely move that evening. He’s such a sorry sight if he’s knackered.

Sunday came around and it was still sunny! I didn’t think it could match up to the previous day but I was proved wrong, it was hotter again. This time Murph was joined by his three usual cohorts and our other friend’s dog, a particularly speedy greyhound. I’m not sure how long we were down there, but I’d wager it was easily a couple of hours. The beach in question this time was Perranporth.

 Perranporth Beach
The beach at Perranporth

That picture was taken where we sat for a glass of something cold outside the Watering Hole, which isa pub rather handily built on the beach itself. Once again Murphy made the most of it with plenty of dog-chasing, dog-sniffing and splashing about in rockpools and the river. It was all he could do to lift his head to look at me when I got in from training last night. It’s easy to forget sometimes that he’s still only 10 months old.

Thanks to Mother Nature for this sneak-peek at what summer may be like this year, I can’t wait for barbecue season.

Ah, There You Are

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It probably hasn’t gone unnoticed that I’ve been a bit slack on the posting front for the last couple of weeks. In all honesty, most of the posts would read “Stayed up late, watched rubbish, ate and drank too much”, but I figured I could do with a rest mentally as well as physically. There have been some things of note happening, so here’s a quick run-down.

Christmas itself was good. We did the obligatory Christmas social events (meals with parents, seeing friends) which were great as always, and on the big day it was nice and relaxed. I had a lot of nice presents including some games I’d been after, music, films and books. And naturally socks and smellies :) . We took the pup out for a run in the woods in the afternoon and came across loads of people with the same idea, it was so quiet and peaceful, the total opposite of how Christmas is for many I think.

Since then I’ve not been up to much at all really, except yesterday which saw our Tang Soo Do club meet up with the local Tae Kwon Do clubs for the annual “Blow out the cobwebs” event on one of the beaches at Newquay. Last year was my first time, and I was really looking forward to going down again for a spot of training and a dip in the sea. It didn’t disappoint. We started off with a warm-up run around part of the headland, which meant running through the sea, which in itself was a good indicator of the tempeartures we could expect at the end of the hour. Then it was on to the usuals; basics in lines, self-defence, one-step sparring and lots of forms (patterns for TKD guys). It felt good to give Pyung Ahn Sa Dan an airing, I think it’s finally starting to get there, there’s a long way to go yet though. At the end of the lesson we’re asked to remove our belts and approach the edge of the water, then we perform basics whilst marching forwards into the Atlantic. There were a few bemused looking surfers, wrapped from head to foot in neoprene, watching as we kept going further in, until we were given the signal to go for it. Like some kind of giant, hairy, dobok-clad salmon in I went, and it was just the most refreshing thing you can imagine. After weeks of drinking, eating rubbish and messing my body clock about no end, it’s exactly the wake-up I needed.

Now all that remains really is New Years Eve, which by the sounds of it I’m going to be spending in the company of my old friends, which suits me perfectly. I hope you all had fantastic Christmasses, and here’s looking forward to the multitude of good intentions and broken resolutions for 2008 ;) .

Brrrrrr

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Winter seems to have arrived today with a snap! It’s absolutely freezing here today – literally! The ponds are frozen over, ice on the car, all that nice frosty malarkey. My hands are like ice typing this (stupid computer room with no heating) as are my feet, despite socks. And I never get cold feet. I like it though, it means Christmas is around the corner, and in just a few short weeks the evenings start drawing out again.

I think the dog will have to go for a run on the beach this afternoon, he just has far too much energy. An hour on the beach with his dog friends always knackers him totally. I must remember to take a towel this time!

It really is too cold to sit here and type, maybe another update later if it warms up a bit and I can feel my fingers :) .