Jim Thompson House, Bangkok

Jim Thompson House, a set on Flickr.

Jim Thompson was perhaps 'the best known foreigner in Bangkok, and possibly in Southeast Asia'. In twenty years, he had accomplished more than most men in a full life. He had built a major industry in a remote and little known country whose language he could not speak; he had become an authority on an art that, previously, he scarcely knew existed and had assembled a collection that attracted scholars from all over the world; he had built a home that was a work of art in itself and one of the landmarks of Bangkok; and, in the process of doing all this, he had become a sort of landmark himself, a personality so widely known in his adopted homeland that a letter addressed simply 'Jim Thompson, Bangkok' found its way to him in a city of three and a half million people.

His house is a haven of tranquillity in Bangkok, you're not allowed to take photos in the house but here are a couple I took in the garden.

Jim's disappearance on a trip to Malaysia remains a mystery to this day, maybe it was linked to his role in the OSS or CIA...

Follow Me Cycle Tour Bangkok

Follow Me Cycle Tour Bangkok, a set on Flickr.

After my 10+mile run in Bangkok, I decided to take a day off from running and to see some of the City of Angels from a cyclists view.  The tour covers about 20k of the city and uses many back streets as it reaches a multitude of historical sites.  The experience was enhanced by a profusion of colours, scents and smells from the Bangkok fruit, vegetable and flower markets and Bangkok’s famous Chinatown.  We crossed the river a few times, both by boat bus and by bridge and I met one of the KLM staff from my flight from Amsterdam. It was nice of her to remember me.
 Some five hours later we were rewarded with a, much needed, BBQ before heading for the Sky Train back to the hotel and a wee sleep before the evening activities.

Route

Read more: http://www.followmebiketour.com/bangkok-bicycle-tours?lang=en#ixzz26EDBDe00

Great Scottish Half Marathon Photo

A not too flattering pic of me at the end of the GSR Half Marathon on 2nd September 2012, taken by Andrew Scott.


Here's his other photos from the GSR

Kilmarnock Harriers 125

I was so pleased to be given the opportunity to wear my Kilmarnock Harriers vest for one more time as I joined in with hundreds of others to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Scotland's second oldest running club at the impressive new Ayrshire Athletics Arena.  The last time I had been there, it was the site of the Kilmarnock Academy rugby teams changing pavilion and Lesley Roy had watched me score a try for my old school.  That would have been in 1974 but on this occasion, we were commemorating a time much earlier than that. 1887 to be precise.

My Kilmarnock Harriers Vest, Medal and Wrist Band

It was great to see so many athletes, from kids all the way up to super veterans, donning the blue and white of Kilmarnock Harriers to mark the occasion.  On a personal point, the anniversary allowed me to spend an evening with many of my East Ayrshire running buddies, doing what we all enjoy most, running.

The evening's races started on the new running track, with the younger kids completing their 1.25k race before the  older kids and adults started our race.  Someone had described the route to me, indicating that we had to run it twice, which sounded much further than the 1.25mile run that I had been expecting.

We lined up at the Start at around 7.20pm and completed a lap of the new track before heading through the car park to Queen's Drive, where a sharp left took us up hill towards the A77.  At the round about, we took another left and ran downhill along side the A77. My Garmin bleeped to indicate 1k and I started to wonder just how long the course would be. Another left turn took us onto a trail, which led us through the Scott Ellis Recreation Ground.  A metal bridge took us over the River Irvine and back towards the new Arena.  As I made my way around the track, I looked over to my left to see the Finish Line and increased my pace, reeling in a few runners before crossing the line in 11:51. But tonight wasn't about times, it was about celebrating 125 years of running.  The excellent spread laid on by donations from club members was worthy of the occasion as was the impressive medal, wrist band and various spot prizes.

Well done to all at Kilmarnock Harriers for such a great evening.

Great Scottish Half - Miles Better

Me with my yellow vest and balloon!

It’s been a while since I took part in either of the Great Scottish Races, last completing the 10k in 2009, whilst it's now 7 years since I ran the ‘Glasgow Half.” The unusually warm conditions on the 2005 race day were too much for me and I struggled to keep going, eventually crossing the line and collapsing with exhaustion shortly after.

My experience was almost enough to put me off of distance racing and I’ve never got round to running in the popular event ever since.  Initially this year was to be no exception, as I hadn’t entered either the 10k or the Half, but when the organisers put out a call for Pacers, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to assist some of my fellow runners chasing after PBs or completing their first ever Half.

The organisation of the Pacers was less than perfect but I ended up with lots of running friends in Glasgow City Chambers on Sunday morning mixing with the elite runners and preparing to play a small role in assisting in the success of the race.

At about 10:50am I joined the ranks of the assembled masses, with my brightly coloured t-shirt and my helium filled balloon with ‘1:55’ written on both, indicating the time that I would assist runners in achieving.  As it happened there were a lot of running buddies around me at the Start who wanted to run sub 1:55.

I set off at around 11:05, up the hilly St. Vincent Street at a pace of 8:45 min/mile and it took a while for a lot of runners to find their pace.  By the first mile marker I had attracted a band of runners.  Some of which were quite chatty, whilst others reserved their energy but stuck close by.  The route had changed slightly since 2005 but we were still soon heading over the Kingston Bridge, and the 2mile mark, to Glasgow’s South Side.

After about 3.5 miles we were on Paisley Road West and the race was starting to settle down a bit.  I was feeling great as I handed out encouragement to my runners whilst onlookers and fellow runners passed on their support to me.  One of my blog readers introduced him self and shook me by the hand as we made our way southwards towards Bellahouston Park.  I was making a point of taking on water at the drink stations and encouraging my runners to do likewise.  There were loads of supporters in the Park and it wasn’t long until we were on Mosspark Boulevard, where I had acted as a pacer for the recent Men’s Health race.  We reached the 10k marker around noon and it was starting to feel pretty warm.  I briefly recalled how bad I had felt at this point in 2005 but kept it to myself, choosing instead to encourage those around me. 

A left turn took us into Pollok Park and up the gradual hill that I know so well, having raced up it more than 100 times, usually as part of the Glasgow parkrun route.  I saw someone receiving medical treatment as we ran through the Park, a lot of people were starting to struggle at this point and the wee climb up towards the Burrell didn’t help.  “Keep your heads up, this is the last hill” I shouted as we neared the 9mile mark.  I know that I usually run a negative split, so I was taking extra care to stick to my pace but even at 8:45 a number of those around me couldn't maintain the pace.  Others who had started too quickly welcomed me passing them and joined in behind me as I encouraged them to keep going.  “Last 5k!” and “It’s all downhill now!” I shouted to cheers from my other runners.  I was soon on Nithsdale Drive, where I’m normally stationed with my camera but I couldn’t see myself there this year.

Down Pollokshaws Road and through the Gorbals towards Glasgow Green I ran reminding those that were struggling a bit that they were almost at the Finish Line.

I would have loved to have upped the pace and sprinted along past the cheering crowds but I stuck to my task, waving to friends and enjoying the experience.  I had pointed out to those around me that I was actually going for a time of 1:54 and Garmin indicated 1:53:52 as I completed my 13.1miles.  Someone on the left hand side shouted my name and I was immediately led along to the VIP area, despite wanting to stay and cheer on the runners behind me.

After watching the presentation ceremonies and changing back into my cycling gear I joined the others in collecting my medal before walking back to the City Chambers and cycling homeward for a cold bath and a hot meal and sleep.  After staying in on Friday and Saturday it was good to meet up with some Bellahouston Harrier friends over a BBQ and a couple of beers back at Cartha Rugby Club in the evening.

I had a great time pacing in the race and meeting so many old and new friends along the way.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had actually improved upon my time in 2005, which had taken me 1:57:28. Huge congratulations to the 24,000 runners who had taken part in either the 10k or the Half.  If you ran then I hope that you enjoyed your experience.  I loved it!

pic

Centurion Olympian Tom Ross

Tom Ross

The Great Scottish Races being held on Sunday had a major impact on Saturday’s Glasgow parkrun, with numbers dropping to their lowest since the 1^st January 2012, with only 194 of us racing in the 188^th staging of the Pollok Park event.  I say ‘racing’ but ‘participating’ would be more appropriate for myself, and some others, as we used the 5k as our final training session prior to the Sunday races.

Quantity

I had a disciplined run, crossing the line in 26:46, to claim 105^th place and chalk up my 112^th parkrun and my 97^th at Glasgow in the process.  Kirkintilloch Olympian, Tom Ross ran his 100^th parkrun and joined the elite group of Centurion parkrunners, placing 59^th in 23:52.

Quality

Jennifer Clark

Not racing on Sunday, Bellahouston Harrier, Jennifer Clark continued her amazing improvement to win the women’s race and place 9^th overall in a PB of 18:49 with Kilbarchan’s Robert Quinn winning the men’s race in a time of 16:43.

Well done to all that participated in the event and thanks to the volunteers who make it possible week after week.

Full Results

Rachele Rhienne Blame Remix (cover)

Official video of 18 year old singing sensation Rachele Rhienne's first professionally produced recording with photographs by my good self. (Best viewed in Full Screen mode).