Truth, sadness and a love of film 

Last weekend we saw the Stephen Spielberg movie, The Post. You probably know the plot - it’s about the the Washington Post and the lies and secrecy of the US government's handling of the Vietnam war. The film starts slowly before gradually building to an exciting climax in which Meryl Streep, who plays the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, has to decide between exposing the truth about the war and the risk of prosecution and the survival of the newspaper her family has worked so hard to establish. Those of you with a good knowledge of American history or who have seen the film will already know her decision. It's a riveting movie with an uncanny resemblance to the Trump White House and its attitudes towards the mainstream media.   

My son Luke's involvement in the film business is largely responsible for my renewed interest. I’m always on the lookout for good movies to go see; I read the reviews with a critical eye, and when I’m at the cinema I often find myself partly following the story and partly thinking about the technical aspects of how the film was conceived, produced and directed, and the looking forward to speaking with Luke about that later! This enhanced interest has certainly enriched my life. Film can be such a powerful medium for entertaining, educating and informing us all.

I had the privilege this week of listening to Caroline Lucas at a local Green Party event. She talks so such sense, particularly on the environment and economy, and would make a great Prime Minister - sadly we are a long way away from achieving that.  'Mischievous', 'radical' and 'shaking things up' were three ways in which she described her role and the role of her Party - we need plenty more of that.  

This week I learnt of the sad passing of a much loved and respected colleague, Dan Porter, after a long battle against illness. Dan was a larger than life character (in more ways than one), a truly great guy who will be hugely missed by so many people. The biggest compliment I can pay him and his family is to say that if there were more people like Dan the world would be a far, far better place. RIP Dan - I for one will always love, remember and miss you.

Back to Graves Park this weekend - I arrived to be greeted by sleet, snow and wind - the perfect combination for a parkrun (not!). As the brave and hardy souls congregated from all directions, I chatted with Sue in her high viz jacket who told me she, her husband and son volunteer most weeks, preferring that to running - which reminds me, I must put in a volunteering shift in sometime soon or I run the risk of taking the volunteers for granted. 

I set my own pace today resisting the temptation to find a friend and chat. The farm animals provided a welcome distraction, although once again the donkey looked sarcastically at me on the second lap as if to say: “Is that really all you’ve got?”, whilst the pig just ignored me. At that point (or was it later when I was writing this blog) I was reminded of George Orwell's Animal Farm which I read on my Africa adventure last summer. 

Despite the animals’ disdain I stretched out to the finish and managed to avoid anyone overtaking me on the final stretch which is one of my goals when I'm not helping others achieve theirs. I felt a warm glow and sense of satisfaction at the finish. 

One closer to the magic 100 and permission granted for a hearty breakfast and an afternoon of Six Nations Rugby. Come  on England!

Until next time - happy parkrunning. Please leave any comments below.