Days 23, 24 and 25

After 3 days I'm sure you're all biting your nails in apprehension, but never fear I'm still here! On Wednesday we won our match 68 - nil so I consider that good excersise, and yesterday I'm afraid after some rough scrumming the day before (ok ok and some heavy drinking the night before) I wasn't much good for anything, so there was a rest day (thankyou Brian and Steve for inventing those!)
Today I'm back up north for Mams birthday - happy birthday mam - and so this morning she had a delightful birthday early morning with cards and a cup of coffee thrown at her before Dad went to work and I leashed up the dog for my walk. When I laced up my walking boots it felt like years rather than weeks since I'd last worn them and they were heavy! I quickly forgot any feelings of fond nostalgia I'd had for the dog too as he hauled me along. When I first started walking in London I commented how much easier it all is on pavement, and so the reverse was true once I got back into open country; boots weighing me down like I had 2 blocks of lead strapped to my feet, and the inclines making my legs burn, I was transported back to my first attempts at the effort. But al least I was back in the countryside; no children pointing and laughing, birds singing, no traffic... what on earth was that noise?! It was a van, and not just 1 van in fact but 2. 2 vans, on the walkway; WALK way, not VAN way, yet there they were, blocking my path. Durham County Council, what was going through your heads when you dispatched these vans to block my route? I'm struggling enough without you making it worse! "Morning" van driver 1 had the audacity to call as I stomped past, if looks could kill the 1 he got back from me would have had him 6 feet under, and he retreated behind his van to get on with whatever he was doing. I would have been terrified too if I was him I suppose, innocently getting on with my job (ridiculous and inconveniently located as it was) to then be borne down on by an angry huffing puffing tomato woman. Vans aside however I found that I did enjoy the country air, and became re-accustomed to the boots (and to the dog being an idiot, and the hills...) and got home in 59 minutes, so I'm happy still, and London hasn't done me too much harm.