Since his ascent of Scafell Pike MrFF has been suffering pain in his calf, he is seeing the doctor next week as it isn’t improving. So he’s been occupying his time with DIY, moving cables from the loft to sockets in the hall cupboard so we can connect to the fibre network already installed to outside our apartment door. Our provider will make the final connection but not carry out the internal work.
This has involved emptying the contents of the hall cupboard into the hall, we endured this chaotic state for a week.
However it was quite a voyage of discovery for me. I found a nice wool jacket I had forgotten about and also these
I bought these hand made trainers from the maker Norman Walsh in Bolton, among the fell running fraternity he was a legend. I remember making a special journey and meeting the great man with his colleagues cobbling away in a small workshop, it was a delight. I wore the shoes when MrFF and I took part in the 1982 Pilgrims 100, a long distance walking challenge event of 100 miles/160 kilometres from Guildford to Canterbury, to be completed within 48 hours. Before the event I had tried to break in the shoes but by the time I completed 65 miles my feet were blistered. Our friend who was supporting both us and her husband, he completed the optional 140 miles route, met us at the checkpoint where we got breakfast. I told her my feet were so sore, she said she’d take a look. I lay on the ground, I have recollections she might have thrown me down, she quickly burst the blisters with a sterile needle, applied plasters, stuck my clean socks and spare trainers on my feet, relieved me of my overnight gear and told me to get on with it. I completed the walk in less than 32.5 hours. I have no idea why I kept these trainers, I wore them afterwards for shorter walks but looking at them now they had very little cushioning, my supportive friend couldn’t believe I still have them. They went in the bin.
The hall is back to normal.
