a tale of two winds

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And two rings!* Last night the weather forecast was predicting a temporary lull in hostilities between two bouts of stormy weather which has become the norm for the most of February and kept the majority of local cyclists badly curtailed and restricted mainly to Zwift. As I’m not a fan of Zwift this has meant I’ve been less active than hoped and any activity I have managed has been pretty much just walking. Determined to make the most of the chance, I got my bike ready yesterday evening and laid out all my gear to reduce the morning objections.

After a longer than planned lie in the absence of a wind howling around the house, a lack of hail or rain bouncing off the roof and the actual sun shining in the velux windows I decided I’d only regret it if I lay around the house all morning and got my ass in the saddle at 10:30am.

It was a cool but sunny morning and although there were some blustery side gusts heading down the hill from home I ignored the threat for later as I turned East to head down the Finn Valley towards Castlefinn and Strabane with the wind at my back and the sun shining.

making the most of the tailwind

Cutting across before the Asda roundabout and heading out the Bypass in Strabane I got a warning of what was in store for the middle of the spin with flags whipping and a strong, blustery sidewind making the bridge crossing interesting. Turning up the Urney Road into the teeth of the headwind I knew it was going to be tough all the way to Ballybofey.

The shelter of the high hedges was welcome all the way to Clady and protected me from the worst of the wind but once across the border there was nowhere to hide and it was a slog all the way up the Main Road to Castlefinn, Liscooley and finally Killygordon.

Having had quiet roads and considerate drivers all morning it seemed that all the idiots decided to come at once on this section of the road with a number of close passes and one very dangerous pass from an idiot in a small box van that I still don’t know how he didn’t clip me. Definitely one of the top 3 worst near misses I’ve experienced so far. It was that bad the guy coming behind in the small white van gave me a toot and a wave and went right over to the other lane to pass me. This, however, may have been influenced by my swearing and shouting at the box van!

Finally reaching Killygordon I got a brief respite as I crossed the Finn to take the back road to Ballybofey where the real slog began. This portion of road is undulating and pretty rough and as the wind picked up even more it was a struggle to keep above 20km/hr for most of it and a fight to maintain 15km/h at times. I honestly didn’t think I had the legs to reach Ballybofey and was delighted to finally turn across Dreenan Bridge with the wind half pushing me into the turn!

2min later it was like a different world. I went from fighting for 20km/h to cruising along at almost 40km/h eating and drinking and hardly breaking a sweat! All the hard slog was soon forgotten and I even had the opportunity to take some photos inspired by reading tempocyclist’s blog this morning**

just myself and shadow this morning
effortless 30km/h and warm enough to ditch the gloves 🧤
first time wearing my velotoze shoe covers

I finished with just over 50km and feeling like I’d done a lot more but in the spirit of the Audax Ireland motto I finished with a smile.

click the image to view on strava

* 15km easy in the big ring, followed by 25km struggling in the small ring, begging for a Granny ring and finishing with 10km back cruising in the big ring.

** although I’m far from pro level I also enjoy a good selfie. I have a sneaking suspicion though that I’m beginning to qualify as the “beardy-old-man” as I have the beard, wouldn’t go anywhere without my saddle bag and had legs like an old man this afternoon!

joker

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From IMDb:


In Gotham City, mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime. This path brings him face-to-face with his alter-ego: the Joker.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is most definitely not a Batman film! It’s a very, very dark depiction of a wild slide into a destructive breakdown in mental health in a world that doesn’t care. It’s frightening to see the destruction and Arthur’s inability to either recognise or prevent it until it’s too late and then to prefer the broken person he has become versus the one be was. This is a disturbing film and one that left me with a profound sense of sadness at the end.

I think this is only the second time I’ve seen Joaquin Phoenix in a starring role. The first was Johnny Cash in Walk The Line and I couldn’t help but see the similarities between the two characters. It makes me wonder what he’s burying inside himself that lets him play these roles so well.

deadlocked

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Deadlocked (Lou Mason #4) by Joel Goodman.

From Goodreads:

Ryan Kowalczyk denied slaughtering a young couple even after his best friend turned against him, sending him to death row. When Lou Mason is hired to prove Ryan’s innocence, a killer does whatever it takes to stop Mason. The deeper Mason probes, the greater the danger – until the past and present collide in an explosion of deceit, corruption and murder.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This starts off as a seemingly run of the mill legal/murder story in very much the same vein as the first three in the series and many other similar books. The story seems to struggle to get a focus and Lou’s life and case seems even more chaotic than normal.

Then, about halfway through the book BOOM! everything changes. The whole story is turned on its head with a sudden change of direction and really develops pace. Then just towards the end it takes one last twist that comes out of nowhere.

A very enjoyable book and one that I read the last half in about half the time of the first.

it: chapter two

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From IMDb:

Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The sequel and conclusion to IT which is itself a reboot of the original TV miniseries both based on Stephen King’s novel. This novel is one of King’s best and it’s good to see it adapted so well into film.

The films are split along the time lines of the original story with Part 1 dealing with the main characters and their battle with Pennywise as kids and Part 2 dealing with them as adults and set 27 years after the first.

It’s a long time since I read the book but the films seem to stick pretty much to the book although the films are set approx 30 years ahead. This doesn’t interfere with the story at all and the only odd result is Bill’s childhood bike which doesn’t seem to come from the 80s.

IT: Chapter 1 is a brilliant film and one of the first to properly scare me in a long time. Chapter 2 is very good but doesn’t meet the tension and horror of the first. This is mainly due to how the story has changed and the fact that it’s adults now rather than kids which added an extra element to Chapter 1.

The special effects are really good, especially Pennywise, his many different forms and his transformation from one to the other. Pennywise is a fantastic character and the producers have managed to recreate him amazingly accurately to the book. The special effects really enhance the fright factor but hats off to Bill Skarsgård who brings him to such frightening life.

Overall a very good film and a satisfying close to an excellent adaptation of a fantastic Stephen King story.

the flame bearer

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The Flame Bearer (The Last Kingdom #10) by Bernard Cornwell

From Goodreads:

Britain is at an uneasy peace. After their bloody defeat of Danish-held East Anglia, the West Saxons stand victorious while the Mercians have taken back their land on the border of Northumbria, the last kingdom of Britain still ruled by the pagan northmen. A precarious truce exists between Æthelflæd’s Mercia and Northumbria, now ruled by Uhtred of Bebbanburg’s son-in-law, Sigtryggr.

Under the cover of this fragile calm, Uhtred must begin his campaign that will end with the assault on Bebbanburg, the great fortress that is rightly his and was stolen from him in childhood. But his plans are shattered when the Scots surge down and lay claim to the north of England, as the West Saxons, under Uhtred’s old enemy, Æthelhelm, invade Northumbria from the south. If Uhtred is to succeed in recapturing Bebbanburg he must both defeat Æthelhelm’s forces and drive the Scots away before he can attack the formidable fortress by the sea. He has a small army and many enemies, but Uhtred is not the supreme warlord of Britain for nothing…

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Finally after so many books and so many years Uhtred gets the chance to break free from the Saxons and make his claim for Bebbanburg in blood and violence.

Unlike so many of the other books in this series this one focuses solely on Uhtred and his ambitions. There is of course, some dealings with his Norse and Saxon allies as well as his Scots enemies but it’s all in the context of the assault on Bebbanburg.

(spoilers follow)

I was really pleased that the Bebbanburg storyline was brought to a conclusion. I was beginning to wonder how long it could be kept going before it became ridiculous and I’m really looking forward to seeing how Uhtred’s story continues now as he ages and finally as Uhtred, Lord of Bebbanburg.

star trek: nemesis

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From IMDb:

After a joyous wedding between William Riker and Deanna Troi, Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew stumble upon a positronic signature which results in a prototype version of the android Data. Then the Enterprise is invited to Romulus to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romulans by their new leader, Praetor Shinzon. However, Shinzon is revealed to be a clone of Picard who was raised on Remus, a slave planet to the Romulans. Later on, Picard discovers that this peace treaty was nothing more than a set-up on account of the fact that Shinzon needs Picard in order to survive. But little do the Enterprise crew know that Shinzon also plans to do away with the Federation by unleashing a weapon that could destroy a whole planet.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I had been putting off watching this after the disappointment of Insurrection but this is so much better. The bulk of the story focuses on mainly Picard but also Data. I really enjoyed the parallels between Picard/Shinzon and Data/B4 especially the differences in how each pair felt about the other, how Data called B4 his brother while the human pairing of Picard and Shinzon were on a destructive path.

It’s very obvious that there has been a change of direction and production from Insurrection and this is so much for the better. Nemesis feels like a movie. The scenes flow together well, the story is engaging, battle scenes are dramatic and well designed with good graphics.

Tom Hardy makes a great anti hero and his acting is great as always. Having Hardy, Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner dominate the majority of the storyline results in a standard of acting not usually seen from Star Trek and totally overcomes the failings of Insurrection.

As with all Star Trek adventures the ending is predictably positive but not to the normal extent and I loved the very final scene of Picard and B4 that leaves us with a sense of hope for the future.

The story and the ending however, do depend on two scenes that are quite clumsily inserted into the flow. The first is the ability of the Remun Viceroy to connect with Deana Troi and the second is the mini transponder in Data’s arm. Both scenes make no sense in their current storylines and are only there to help with later scenes. This clumsiness is the only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars.

This is the last installment in the Next Generation series of films and a fitting end. Looking forward to seeing the story continue now with the new TV series “Picard”.

lunchtime constitutional

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Since my surgery the week before last I had become very sedentary. Most of the fitness I’d managed to gain during January was steadily fading away, I was sleeping badly and generally feeling crap. My mood was definitely not good and I probably wasn’t great company.

I figured part of the problem was that I wasn’t getting outside enough and using the excuse of the surgery to justify my laziness. I also figured that fresh air (lack of) was both the cause and the cure. The only time I was spending outside was the trip from the house to the car, the car into work and the reverse in the evening.

The easiest and most effective solution was a lunchtime walk. Buncrana is a seaside town and I’m just a 5min walk from the shore front so with sandwiches and a bottle of water in my pocket I hit the paths on Thursday lunchtime.

It was tremendously windy with a storm coming in but it was bright and sunny and definitely blew away the cobwebs. I headed along the shore front path skirting the edge of the park before retracing my steps and heading across to the Heritage Trail start and then back to work. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I slept soundly that night.

Friday I decided to explore the Heritage Trail more and this took me along the opposite direction skirting a small beach and out to the Life Boat station at Ned’s Point. I wandered a little here before turning back which left me very tight for time getting back to work.

Saturday morning was wet and windy but I was delighted to see it clear up by lunch and the sun come out in full force. The Ned’s Point walk was the perfect blend of distance and enjoyment so I repeated Friday’s walk. At times it was quite warm when sheltered from the wind. On my way back I met a very friendly guy from Tipperary who had relocated to Raphoe and was meeting a friend in Buncrana. We walked back to the Main Street together swapping stories and having a great old yarn.

One of the guys at work thinks I’m bonkers. He doesn’t seem to be able to understand the attraction or how I’m able to walk and eat at the same time.

3 days last week and I hope to repeat that this week. Let’s just hope that the rain stays away as it’s not feasible to spend the afternoon drying off and squelching around the shop!

birdman

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Birdman (Jack Caffrey #1) by Mo Hayder.

From Goodreads:

Greenwich, south-east London. The Met’s crack murder squad, AMIP, is called out by nervous CID detectives to a grim discovery. Five bodies, all young women, all ritualistically murdered and dumped on wasteland near the Dome. As each post-mortem reveals a singular, horrific signature linking the victims, officers realize that they are on the trail of that most dangerous offender: a sexual serial killer.

Detective Inspector Jack Caffery – young, driven, unshockable – finds himself facing both hostility within the force and echoes of his past in this, his first case with AMIP. Haunted by the memory of a death long ago, he employs every weapon forensic science can offer for he knows it is only a matter of time before this chaotic, sadistic killer strikes again.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was a recent recommendation from Lucilla based on similar books I’ve read and a new author for me. Very much enjoyed it. The character, settings and storyline are quite similar to Peter James‘s series on Roy Grace but with a fresh approach that is very welcome as the Roy Grace character has been running out of material for a while now.

The London setting was enjoyable for me as we visited London last year and many of the street names and locations are familiar from that trip or from general knowledge of London.

The storyline is based around the abduction, mutilation and murder of prostitutes by a serial killer and the main protagonist police officer has a mixed up past that he’s hiding from his colleagues. None of this is new or original but the author builds the characters and stories really well and ties it all together very satisfactorily.

It’s the debut novel for the author and while the plot loses momentum in small sections it’s a great start. The conclusion of the story is very good but I have a feeling the author had it much more detailed and gruesome in the first draft as it feels like someone shied away from it to a certain extent, possibly the editor? However, a great book, enjoyable throughout and looking forward to reading more.

star trek: insurrection

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From IMDb:

While on a mission to observe the peaceful Ba’ku race, Lieutenant Commander Data suddenly behaves as if having to fear for his existence. The immortal Ba’ku, whose planet offers regenerative radiation, and therefore incredible lifespans, live in harmony with nature and reject advanced technology. Their planet and their culture is secretly researched by the Federation associated with an alien race called the Son’a. But the Son’a intend to abduct the Ba’ku in order to take the planet for themselves and for the Starfleet officials who all would like to regenerate their bodies. But they did not think of the loyalty of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E to the Prime Directive.

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

Very disappointing 😔

With all the fuss about the new season “Picard” I wanted to watch this film and “Nemesis” to get fully up to date with the Star Trek story. I’d somehow managed to miss these two and was looking forward to a follow up to the very enjoyable “First Contact“.

It’s not great though. For such a great Star Trek cast and a really good storyline the scripting and acting is as wooden as it gets and it’s the Star Trek characters that really let it down. The relationship between Picard and Anij is particularly badly delivered by a usually excellent Patrick Stewart while the romantic scenes between Riker and Troi were like something from a 50s amateur drama. Add in poorly delivered action scenes both on the planet and in space and you really wonder why someone didn’t ask Director Jonathan Frakes just what he was thinking!

The one saving grace of this film and what gave it 3 stars in my opinion versus 2 is the bad guy race, the Son’a. Their behaviour, back story and hate driven actions are really well written. F. Murray Abraham is easily the outstanding actor portraying the villain excellently as always.

This is a film worth watching just to get the full Next Generation back story but better for a wet Sunday afternoon with little else to do. I really hope “Nemesis” is better!

assassin’s apprentice

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Assassin’s Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy #1) by Robin Hobb

From Goodreads:

In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma.

Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals – the old art known as the Wit – gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.

So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is probably the 3rd time I’ve read this book in the last 10-15 years. It was the first ever book by Robin Hobb that I read and that hooked me on her as an author. She writes in a fabulously fluid and descriptive way that makes her characters jump into life and carries you along with the story. It’s a style of writing that makes you want to just keep going and is responsible for a couple of later than planned nights while reading this book!

The story itself is nothing new in that it’s a young boy, abandoned and alone taken into the royal family, trained to help them and growing into a pivotal role. It’s very character rich with many people to keep track of but Hobb’s style makes it so much easier as you get to know the characters without being bogged down with unnecessary details.

Apart from Hobb’s style of writing there are some stand out elements to her story. She isn’t afraid to hurt her characters and definitely doesn’t portray them in perfect light. The relationship between Fitz and Burrich is so well told as is Fitz and Chade. Fitz goes through an awful lot for what is essentially a young boy.

The Farseer Trilogy is followed by The Liveship Traders which is an even better story but the Farseer story is essential to setting your base for this fantastic world Hobb creates.