That's a sophisticated football joke by the way, but is also true. I had a course in Sheffield running from Friday to Tuesday so I went down on the Thursday. The course was on Internal Family Systems and was fascinating but I'm going to tell you about the rest of the time I was there. I didn't want to spend any money if I could help it and I wanted to get some runs in. When I arrived I thought that, rather than waste my money on a taxi, I'd walk to my hotel. My phone is challenged for memory and the app for finding places doesn't work so I'd printed off a couple of google maps. How hard could it be?
Somehow or other I went fantastically wrong, heading South instead of West. After walking with a huge rucksack for over an hour (the hotel was only 2 miles away) I decided to swallow my pride and ask some directions. I asked a man in a vegan food shop and my asking seemed to make him a bit nervous and angry. He kept shaking his head and saying I was way wrong. I was way wrong but not THAT wrong. Anyway, he pointed me in the right direction and in a while I got in the swing of asking people if I was going the right way. This is how we used to do it in the olden days. It would have helped if I knew the name of anywhere I was trying to get to. I knew it was quite near the Botanical Gardens and also Endcliffe Park. In another hour I got there. I was pretty tired. The hotel was really just an extra block of student halls on a student campus, except without the students. There was a little cafe that was also reception or a reception that was also a cafe. They could heat up a pizza in a microwave for you so I had that, being too worn out for any more adventures that day.
When I told Peter I'd had pizza he was jealous but actually it was like cardboard and I burned the roof of my mouth on the cheese and it cost £5.50. I didn't "eat out" again after that.
The room was nice though. The bed was right next to the window so you could get fresh air in the night and then close it when the student parties got too loud. On the Friday night someone seemed to have a party that was maybe 20 people screaming for 4 hours. I liked a party myself back in the day but I don't think we ever made so - much - noise. I think they're doing it wrong.
After that 1st night pizza, I went to Tescos and got provisions and lived on cheese salad sandwiches for the rest of my time there. During the day I hung all my food in a bag in the wardrobe in case there were bears or anyone had an objection to me keeping food in a hot room.
I checked in with Buchanan each evening whilst dining.
I'm not good in the evenings so I thought if I was going to get a few runs in it would have to be in the morning. So I got up at 5am and went out. I didn't take my camera on the first day as I didn't know if I was likely to get robbed or not. I actually tried to run to the station just to see if I could make a better job of it this time - but I got lost again. Not so badly lost, because I knew how to back-track this time - somehow or other I started heading South again. I don't know what was pulling me in that direction.
But Peter protested that he wanted some photos so the next night I took the camera - and my head-torch - and I braved Endcliffe Park which smelled nice and sounded nice and has a big river running through it. I heard an owl call 3 times in it - but I can't say I ever really saw it. To my surprise Sheffield is very hilly and absolutely full of trees, and the air was very nice - presumably wofting across from the Peak District. Someone told me that Sheffield is one of the happiest places in the UK and he thought it was because of all the trees. I don't know how that's measured or if it's true but I'm just saying it here.
I honestly think it was quite brave of me running around a dark park on my own. Nothing untoward happened.
There she is.
Below is my 3rd run. I got lost again. Duh! But in a more measured way. I ran past the Botanics and it smelled great.
I have no idea what this means.
Ecclesall Road.
This is where I did my course. It's also a Masonic Hall and full of dark paintings of men.
On the final morning. I think the fly wanted to get in because my bananas were rotting in my food bag. Actually my room wasn't nice at all because by now it had 3 days running kit in it.
There will be more Sheffield in February.
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