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PICTURES: top three; clockwise from top ~ Floella Benjamin marathon runner; Blue Peter (Sarah Greene 2nd from left); Floella Benjamin Play School Presenter... bottom three clockwise from top ~ London marathon crossing Tower Bridge; dwarf Russian hammies in bowl; what Spherical might be doing in the big wild world (illustrated by Russian hammy, not a Roborovski)...TODAY WAS THE LONDON MARATHON... I have to admit that in previous years such events have left me stone cold. Why on EARTH anyone would want to push themselves to running 26.2 miles when there are so many other achievable goals in the world totally beat me...
Then I heard children's TV presenter (she used to do Play School when I was a 5 year old kid: I was entranced by her clacking beaded hair) Floella Benjamin gave an interview to fellow former children's TV presenter Sarah "Greeno" Greene (of Blue Peter fame) ~ and somehow, some little spark inside me got inspired.
For a start I had got it fixed in my mind that a marathon was run ENTIRELY start to finish that is 1. NO STOPPING (at ALL!) and 2. NO WALKING WHATSOEVER. Neither of these fixations were true.
When I realized you were allowed to walk it and say you'd finished I suddenly realized... hey! I did 15, 20 mile walks as a 10 year old kid! Then when I realized that on top of this you were allowed to take tea, coffee and peeing breaks, suddenly the whole idea sounded more doable.
I am the stupid sort of person who (in lifetimes past and if I had known the above) would have gone for a marathon "just to prove I could do it"... dur!
So I watched it on mine and Mother Hubbard's screen pretty transfixed. A marathon! An apex of human achievement! And in the blustering, sunny, blue-and-white spring day, I (somehow) felt a sparkle of life renewed...
BUT NOW FROM HUMAN TROTTERTHONS TO GREMLIN TROTTERS: SPHERICAL HAS GONE MISSING! Yes! I don't know how she did it, but the fat old swine's gone AWOL!! How on earth I'm ever going to get her back I've no idea but I'm putting up a ramp into their glass enclosure and water so she doesn't dry to a crisp. And hoping she will just scuttle up while I'm sleeping and leap back home.
Otherwise she is done for. Please come back, Fat Momma Spherical. You're missed in Trotterovski Land. Spherical, Come Home!
IN THE NEWS: Tiny Tree Frog Causes Panic in British Mall ~ hopping free from bunch of bananas!
Specially for Vincent and Nicole in arachno-tastic ADELAIDE...
Click for my Terrifying Australian Spiders Link here! ~ including horrific Eastern Mouse Spiders and Sydney Funnel Webs... urkkh!!
Terrifying Australian Spider Identification Chart: including poison, pain and terror ratios and fully illustrated horrifically huge Mouse Spider yukkiness...!
Lovely Rooms: Tasteful Swedish Interior Decor blog... (press "Äldre inlägg" to see more)...
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Panama Travel Blog...
Re: the mystery of British Chinese takeaway-style curry sauce... Malaysian-Chinese curry cooking... Yeo's curry powder recommended!
My dad took up marathon running when he retired, he says he shuffles these days. I hope Miss Spherical returns home very soon ... you don't suppose she took part in the London Marathon do you*!*
ReplyDeleteI hope she hasn't bloody left the house. HEY d'you know you were probably leaving that comment at PRECISELY the same MOMENT I was commenting on yours. Have a look at that tree frog addition from today's Sunday Mirror... I put it specially on for you!!
ReplyDelete...I had to take my dog for a quick walk so I missed your visit*!*
ReplyDeleteI really feel for that poor frog - I have that same feeling of being surrounded by screaming foot stomping shoppers when I step into my local supermarket - what a jungle*!*
Thanks for the story x
Sorry to hear about Spherical, I get that feeling when my dog goes AWOL but fortunately she usually comes back. Very Aussie flavour today. An Irish friend once asked me, "What's it like living in a country where everything wants to kill you". Haha . .it's not that bad. (Although there was a shark attack this week) Snakes and Spiders are shy thank goodness. Except for the big hairy Huntsman living behind my curtain rod!
ReplyDeleteBimbimbie:... yeah i feel sorry for that frog too. pity it's lines couldn't camouflage it in some kind of mall-nightmare subterfuge place thing...
ReplyDeletewalking the dog!... wow i only just realized it's about 9am MONDAY MORNING at yours... still Sunday night here!!
Baino: huntsman spiders: aren't they TERRIFYINGLY huge and BITE?... don't ALL Aussie spiders bite? Ukkh!!!!!!!
(spiders are the only animal that make me feel like i'm gonna pee myself. urkkh!) :-<...
ReplyDeleteOH NO! I hate it when pets are missing! I'll keep my fingers crossed that she'll come back.
ReplyDeleteI've had a better weekend than week, thank you. Let's hope this week is better, and Spherical returns.
Happy Sunday Gledwood! One week until I am on your soil! I thnk once I get back I might start a blog....dunno yet! Still not THAT comfy with putting my thoughts out there ya know...I have had MANY Sunday beers today before roast dinner so THEREYAGO.....sunday bloody sunday....
ReplyDeleteTerrible news about Spherical! She's not very big to spot either ... maybe super listening skills could hear her out in the middle of the night chomping on something? We found the largest Red-back Spider I've seen in whole life in Australia yesterday, when cleaning out the garage. There was an army of them in there! Guess we won't be letting the kids have slumber parties there for a while ... ;)
ReplyDeleteI still think I'd rather drink a cold beer and watch a Marathon than ever actually run one willingly, I have no doubt if I had to I could go 26.2 miles if I had to...as long as there's coffee...Hope Spherical shows soon!!
ReplyDeleteI thought the hammies are caged? How did she get out?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the spider links, they were most amusing! Especially the second one where the spiders move every once in a while! We have a redback in our garden, well, one that we see now and again (I'm sure there are more), it lives under one of the big flower pots. In the first week that we were here a white-tail fell off the ceiling onto our bed as well. We weren't sure what kind of spider it was at the time so we looked for it online. We've not had any trouble with them otherwise. They keep to themselves and nobody I know has ever been bitten.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm terribly concerned for the missing robo!!! I do hope she comes back soon. I would just freak out if one of my pets went missing.
ReplyDeleteHey Gledwood,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice comment on my blog.
Your Dutch is not so bad ;>)
Nice Blog's you have.
greetings Wim
http://gemini-blogamersfoort.blogspot.com/
Hi Gleds ~~ So sorry that Spherical
ReplyDeletehas gone missing and hope she returns
safe and sound. The Farmers' Markets
probably do import stuff to sell, but the one I went to was quite good.
Do you still like yogurt now you are an adult?
Take great care my friend,Love,Merle.
My hub used to do marathons WAY before we met when he boxed. I can't understand the mystique either.
ReplyDeleteWon't Mama miss her baby's? Is that common for a hammy to abandon the little ones?
ReplyDelete