Howdy Strangers

 Hi, long time no speak!  I hope you are all well and managing to stay sane during the pandemic.

I just thought I would let you all know that Duncan and I are moving up to Scotland in the near future (no set date yet but our house is sold and the sale is moving very quickly).  

As most of you will know, it's something we've wanted to do for years now but, due to lack of jobs up there, have never been able to make the leap.  However, the pandemic has brought one silver lining to us in that we are now working permanently from home and have been told that we can continue to do this.  We'll be popping back now and again for work meetings and such so hopefully I'll still see you all from time to time.  I'll definitely be coming back for Pike Race every year (although not running it of course).  

We've not bought a house up there yet but have our eyes on a couple of lovely secluded cottages.  You'll all be welcome to stay over if ever you fancy running/walking in the Dumfries and Galloway area. 

Hope you all have a lovely Christmas if I don't see you beforehand!

TM

The Settle Seven saga

The obvious date to run the Settle Seven Summits would have been September Seventh but as I was busy that day, I thought I would run it on the Second instead. Now people who know me are aware that the 2nd of September is not a good date for me and so perhaps I should have thought about that before setting off, but I figured that since the year didn't end in a 1, I would be ok.

I have run this route a few times and always clockwise, so I decided to go anti-clockwise for a change. I suppose it is the equivalent of doing Healey Nab first on Coope's Dozen which as far as I know has never been done. So first up the very steep ascent of High Hill, followed by the Sugar Loaf, Warrendale Knotts and Tit hill. Four down, three to go and as I had arranged to meet Anne for a cup of tea at the café, I was feeling quite relaxed as I started down the steep stony track by Catrigg Force. Here disaster struck: I was going quite fast (well what passes for fast nowadays) when I caught my foot on a stone and went flying. Unfortunately there was no grass or mud to cushion the blow and I did quite a lot of damage - some very nasty cuts to hands, arms and legs, and what turned out to be a bad sprain to my right wrist. With the help of a very kind walker I managed to get down to a road and thence to Airedale Hospital where x-rays confirmed nothing was broken. However, I had made quite a mess of myself and of course my back wasn't too happy, which in total meant six weeks of no running.

Fast forward to yesterday and I decided to finish off the route. This time I did not tempt fate and went clockwise to pick off the last three summits, Giggleswick Scar, Pott Scat and Smearsett Scar. In total it took me 67 days to run the 14 miles which must be some sort of record. However, it is a good route and I hope some of you will come and run it when we allowed to travel again. We will of course be going clockwise!

Tri Winter Hill - 29th August 2020

 A larger than usual entry this year, probably a record; and, for the first time, including a relay team.

From the left - Liz, John K, Ed, Paul, Mary, Izzy, Martyn, John S and Bob. John S and Bob are my brothers and formed the relay team. John did all the running and Bob swam and cycled.

The morning was bright and a bit chilly.

We set off remarkably close to the planned start time, with Bob driving close to the swim site, having been banned from running, due to a new hip. Mary had probably been banned from running, having two new knees!

I very soon assumed my rightful position - way behind everyone else - which made it a bit difficult to put a comprehensive report together, but here goes:-

Martyn seems to have been first out of the water and started back to the main transition just 37 minutes after the gun. Then it was Paul, Izzy and Mary. However, Mary had lost sight of John and lost time peering into the distance for him, and then, with great relief, dragged him out of the water as he completed his return swim!

Then I think it was Liz, followed by (no wetsuit) Bob. Arriving res-side as most of the field was emerging from the water, I was already beginning to lose heart, and then, stripped for action I got both feet wet and, I'm ashamed to say, decided that enough was enough and awarded myself the white feather!

 I saw nothing after that, but Martyn's bike time of just over 44 minutes was probably the fastest of the day.

I've received lots of photos, too many to use in fact, so apologies if I haven't included your best one/s. Most are from the finish, but here's Paul, in full flight, 

John K soon after leaving Winter Hill Trig:-

John reports that the water temperature was 11 degrees, which according to BTA regs requires the wearing of wet suits, and is on the very margin of allowing the swim to take place at all!

And here's Paul (in best selfie mode) with the other two podium occupants - well done to all three, in fact to everybody, except me.

All the ladies seem to have enjoyed the event, or perhaps just enjoyed finishing:-

Liz - do you think she's happy?

Izzy - also happy!

And Mary, preparing for for a Riverdance audition!

We don't seem to have any piccies of the relay team, but this seems to be John S wondering where his cyclist has got to:-

Final times, as submitted:-

Martyn - 2:35

Paul - 2:45

Izzy - 2:52

Liz - 3:09

Mary - 3:12 (ish)

John K - 3:14

John S & Bob - 3:36

Ed - DNF

Well done everyone, and thank you for your support.

Just for completeness, the distant hill in the midst of the wind turbines was (and I suppose still is) Knowl Hill:- http://www.racemaps.org.uk/RTDEDay3.htm

Spooky Start to the Northern Five

It must have been four weeks to the minute since we lined up at the Top Barn to attempt the full Dozen when we lined up for this, the Northern 'Half'' and the heavens once again opened up in an identical downpour - does someone up there disapprove?

There were just eight of us this time, numbers depleted by holidays and at least one of our number saving herself for today's Horwich (no swim) Tri - is that still a Tri?

After waiting some time for the rain to abate - it didn't - we set off; Martyn and Izzy leading, Paul and his mates, Simon and No Kag Chris in hot pursuit with Gordon, Jim and yours truly trailing in their wake. Gordon and Jim had offered to keep me company at the rear and generously did so until we reached Spitlers Edge when I finally persuaded them to abandon me so Gordon could keep his appointment for a haircut, which he had optimistically made for 1:30.

I met them again at the stile below Great Hill as they headed for Round Loaf and I continued with my ascent.

No further news beyond that, other than to report that the M & I duo returned to the Barn in 2 hours 40, shortly followed by the P,S,C trio.

Gordon and Jim had to give Healey Nab a miss (hair appointment) but I staggered round the full set to arrive home just in time for tea. I was probably the only one who managed to finish in full sunshine - so the sun does shine on the righteous.

I'm told that rather than approach Old Adam's Hill in a north easterly direction, M & I carried on along Spitler's and then went due east - worth a try, as that should avoid what seems like several miles of knee high tussocks - we used to call them Turks' heads, but we're not allowed to any more.

A few piccies from Gordon:-

Great pictures Gordon, can't exactly place the two with Jim and me on, but Belmont reservoir is particularly good and from a viewpoint that few (apart from CDers) will have visited.

Thank you all - what next? - Tri Winter Hill next Saturday, email me on edswift@btinternet.com for details.

Half(ish) Coope's Dozen

 YJ and I (and possibly a few others) will set off from the Top Barn at 8:30 on Saturday 22nd August to visit the northern five of this round.

All welcome!

Tri Winter Hill

 This year's event will be held on Saturday 29th August, starting at 9:00 a.m from Horrocks Fold car park on Scout Road.

Email me on edswift@btinternet.com for details.

No, no, no!

...and Then The Rain Came Down

...which unfortunately get into TLoB's phone and wrecked the photo of the assembled throng, so we have no 'start' photo, but please see Gordon's post, below for some shots taken en route.

There were 14 of us not photographed at the start, and TLoB (Chris - aka the Failed Photographer) and his wife Anne were also there, Chris had hoped to run, but a recurring health problem had kicked in overnight which put him hors de combat.

So the 14 of us set off and as per usual we split into loose groups, according to our aspirations. I think we all made it to Noon Hill reasonably straightforwardly - then most everybody got lost. This is the view that I had hoped we would see:-

 

I'd taken this a few weeks earlier, when the cotton grass was at its finest.

Crossing this stretch with Young John on Saturday we could hear voices from almost all four points of the compass (compass? Yes, that would have been a good idea) so even that early on it was obvious that most of us were experiencing difficulty. I think we all reached the Pike and went on to climb Two Lads, but from there on folk started to drop out.

Twelve of us got as far as Winter Hill trig, and most turned for home soon after, only Izzy, Martyn and Gordon crossed onto the northern section. Gordon missed a couple of tops after that - see his report, but managed ten of the dozen - 10 outa 12 ain't bad.

Stars of the day were Izzy and Martyn who completed the full round in 4 hours 31 minutes, but thanks to everybody for turning out and making this a day to remember - or perhaps a day to forget. If there's any interest we could organise an attack on just the northern five, for those folk who've never got that far.

Sunday saw me completing my walk/run of shame as I climbed Great Hill from Piccadilly to retrieve my stash of provisions which I had so optimistically hidden on Friday.

Apologies for any errors or omissions, please let me know about them on edswift@btinternet.com.

A Wet Coope's Dozen

Hopefully we'll get some reports from others who took part in this year's Coope's Dozen.
Arriving at the Top Barn car park quite early for me, only there was only YJ waiting. We wondered if it would be a low turnout but gradually more and more turned up. This included TLOB who I surmised didn't look appropriately dressed for the the day's activities. Alas, he had not taken the correct dietary preparation, and so didn't want to risk. However, it meant that we had someone (either TLOB or her ladyship) to take the group photo (hopefully uploaded soon).
Then the heavens opened so we were somewhat delayed before it sufficiently eased. Naturally we departed in suitably socially distanced groups with a quicker group stringing out and the slower group of YJ, Ed and myself distancing at the back before I seemed to move away and be in a group of one.
As I had done very little running over the past 18 months, my plan was to get round in about 8 hours max, a mix of walking and jogging with expected pace of 2.5mph. I also thought it wise to omit Old Adam and Round Loaf.
I noticed the quick group continued heading towards ammunition corner whilst I took our usual diagonal route up to Georges Lane. I thought I may have seen them in the vicinity of Noon Hill but none were to be seen. I don't enjoy the direct rout to Rivington Pike so I returned to Georges Lane, exchanging pleasantries with YJ and Ed who were about to start the climb to Noon Hill.
Heading for the Pike I realised I could revise my target pace from 2.5mph to 3mph, 20 minutes per mile.
Rivington Pike and Two Lads passed without seeing anyone and I headed towards Whimberry Hill via Holden's Farm and the Trespass Stone. One thing that has puzzled me for a few years is that we have the opportunity to add Adam Hill and White Brow to the dozen.
Reaching Egg Hillock, it was a case of retracing steps to Whimberry rather than the direct route or via Shaly Dingle, both of which I am sure would have been quite challenging with the recent weather. To my surprise, as I mounted Whimberry Hill for the second time, a group of runners came heading towards me : it was Ian, Mary, Hilary and the others from the quicker group. Four of them caught me up over Counting Hill and they were still in sight approaching Winter Hill.

Looking north from Egg Hillock (apologies for not wiping the lens first)

Looking south from Egg Hillock

Five of the quicker group on the left side of Winter Hill trig point

After that it was a slow descent off Winter Hill to Hordern Stoops. I was surprised that the rest of the quicker group did not catch me up. After taking a break to eat some fruit loaf and a banana, I then headed directly for Spittlers' Edge and Great Hill. By now the weather was improving but it the path was as waterlogged as I have ever seen. Taking the quarry route to White Coppice I stopped for a couple of photos.

Dean Black Brook - the weather much improved

Towards White Coppice with Dean Black Brook on the left

I chose the route past the White Coppice cricket ground (café now open) and up the road past Morris Farm. It is a few years since I have been on this route and I was unsure if the footpath signpost was the correct one so I had to refer to OSMaps on my phone. It was but was not a great choice - it must be rarely used as it was so overgrown. Eventually I reached the vantage point on Healey Nab so it was now just a matter of the usual route back to the top barn, arriving just inside 6 hours. What I did notice was how horrendous was the traffic on Sheephouse Lane. I arrived to find no sign of anyone still out. Isaline, Martin and Suzanne must have been well ahead of me all the time as I didn't see them at Whimberry and the rest may have completed shortened circuits. I recorded on my Garmin but yesterday evening found that Garmin's servers have been inaccessible since Thursday.

A colourful display on the roadside on Charnock Back Lane, opposite Waring's Farm

Strava link for my route - 

A hole in the head

A hole in the head

It was the day I hit the ground running and the day I realised that fell running is a contact sport - such as my head hitting the ground....very hard.

Ironically it was also the time when the government deemed it safe to travel to a place away from home to take exercise.  At any other time I would have opted to run  with EtU on a route we have graced many times.

As it turned out I was true to form and, embodying the falling down bit in  the title of this blog, I stubbed my toe on the roughest bit of the bridle path round the back of Healy Nab and ended up  (or rather down) on the ground.

And I got up again!

Instantly I could feel blood running down the side of my face, a sensation that has accompanied other falls and so I knew, or thought I knew, that the flow would be staunched and dry up, hopefully by the time I reached the road.

It was not to be and the blood kept flowing, attracting the attention of  of a kind lady dog walker who advised that an ambulance was needed. Of course I knew better and she was persuaded to call out EtU  who duly arrived at  what was quickly becoming a major trauma centre on  Back Lane.

Local residents emerged to offer comfort and support and it was soon obvious, as it should have been to me earlier, that an ambulance was needed.  So I ended up in A&E at Preston where I had excellent treatment, as I did from all NHS staff that day.

It turned  out that I had severed an artery, broken  two ribs and suffered multiple lacerations, not to mention that I had lost a lot of blood. Also I had put EtU and one of our other brothers to a lot of worry and inconvenience and I am grateful to both of them.

Lessons to be learnt.....No more running off road on my own, listen to the advice of people who know better than     the the casualty  and PICK MY FEET UP. 

Coope's Dozen - Is It really 25 Years?

1. I suggest 'we' go ahead with our annual inspection of the route on 25th July, in keeping with our 'week before Borrowdale' tradition.

2.

3. It's several years since I managed to get round the full route - my training diary suggests YJ, Colin W and I went round in 6 hours 12 in August 2014. Since then I've made several starts but not clocked up any completions, so two days ago I set off to put that right.

Preparation had consisted of a slight increase in my weekly miles from an average of a meagre 22 for all of 2019 to an average of 29 for the first five months of this year, plus a short trip out from Piccadilly to stash drinks and carbs on Great Hill on Friday evening - this was to be a 'solo, unsupported' attempt.

Conditions were generally good, although with all the recent rain it was wet underfoot and some of the grassy descents were a trifle slippery. Also, the heat got to me later in the day.

I'll not bore you with too much detail, but two, YJ inspired, route choices seemed good - after Two Lads I dropped down to Holden's Farm and thence onto Coalpit Lane before climbing back to onto the ridge after the res and then down to Whinberry Hill and Egg Hillock. At that point I did an about turn and retraced my steps back over Whinberry and back onto the ridge and over (at some point) Counting Hill. Then it was on to the Trig Point and down to Hordern Stoops 3 hours and 28 minutes after setting off.

I've always seen Hordern Stoops as the half way point, and I figured that allowing for some significant slowing down after that, I might finish in about 8 hours - it was not to be!

Then Old Adam's, Spitlers Edge and Great Hill to retrieve, and mostly consume, my stash. Then Round Loaf and down to White Coppice, where the wheels started to fall off. From there it was a struggle; partly through tiredness but also sore heels. My little shortie trainer stocks had slipped down and left my heels rubbing on the backs of my shoes, but in true racing (!!!) mode I didn't want to lose time by sorting things out and bravely/stupidly (narrow dividing line) carried on until the damage was done. It took me an hour and 35 minutes to get back from Healey Nab and I reached the Top Barn 8 hours and 40 minutes after leaving it.

A satisfying, if somewhat draining, day out - it must have done me good!

4. If the limit of six folk to a group still applies on 25th July I propose staggered starts at, perhaps, five minute intervals - see you there, and bring a friend - or five.

Week 8

Mon 11th May

Today I decide to explore the footpaths close to the M61

One of which is the Rotary Way (https://ldwa.org.uk/ldp/members/show_path.php?path_name=Bolton+Rotary+Way+Footpath) . I completed a circuit of this last year (admittedly in a few sections)

A useful 15K completed

Tues 12th May

A shorter effort on the run today of 10K, decide not to over exert myself in anticipation of the bike ride into work.

Weds 13th May

Up early and out allowing time for punctures. Manage it in 1hr 10mins. Road Surfaces have deteriorated somewhat since I last did the full cycle in. Weather pleasant, and not the anticipated traffic queues I was expecting.

It's harder on the way back as it's uphill. I've got the route as close to a straight line as I can. 21.82K and 1hr 26mins, I'm averaging 15K/hr, the good club cyclist can average 15-16m/hr. I do have a heavy pack on my back though and it was warm.

Thurs 14th May

Back on the bike again, certainly have the weather for it. I shave 2 mins off the time on the way back. Gutted to see that my Garmin is hardly scoring for activity minutes for cycling, must be all the 'freewheeling' I'm doing on the downhill bits.

Friday 15th May

The day has finally dawned when I can go for a run not from the house.

Here's what I chose to do.

Just over 12K. The section from the Pike to Two Lads was the dryest I've done it in a long while, a little boggy across to Noon Hill, but great to be back out on the Hills.

Sat 16th May & Sun 17th May

Swabbing getting very quiet again over the weekend. One more week left before I head back to the world of teeth.

Having reported on the last 2 months of Lockdown, I will close the reports at this point unless something major happens.

If the good weather remains, it's my intention to continue with the cycling to work as much as I can, with a bit of running at the weekends.

TF

Week 7

Mon 4th May

Decided I need to get a few hills in so decided to head up towards the Bob Smithy and have a trundle round the golf course.

Tues 5th May

I arrive early at the Crematorium for my friends mum's funeral. Not much social distancing going on with the first one I observe with 6 pall Bearers. Funerals are limited to 10 mourners inside the Chapel of Rest, so stay outside with a couple of other friends. It's good to catch-up, but wish it could have been in different circumstances.

Weds 6th May & 7th May

Back on swabbing duties. However, have had a recall back to the Dental World to cover Colleagues Annual Leave. We've all been asked to take a week of our annual leave allocation by the end of June. So from the 25th of May I'll be back doing teeth in a fashion.

Lots of new protocols to read up on. We've go onto video conferencing, but only offering very limited amount of treatment.

Fri 8th May

I'm edging closer to Winter Hill with my runs. A couple of abortive attempts on some paths due to a few cows.

But a pleasant run all the same.

Sat 9th & Sun 10th

Swabbing numbers are dropping, to the point that our working hours are reduced at the weekends now. Good that there less staff off sick, but it's hard keeping everyone motivated.

Having Watched Boris on the Telly, decide that I'm going to get some use out of my bike given the weather is so nice and plan to start using it to get to and from work. Also start to plan my first run that doesn't begin from the House. What route shall I try first!?

TF

Week 6

Mon 27th April

Looking for a bit of variation I take the path along the side of the Hulton Estate. Peel Holdings had big plans to transform this area into a championship golf course ready for the Ryder Cup in 2030/2034 here's the glossy website https://www.hultonpark.co.uk/ . Lots of local opposition, and here's the website https://www.hearthulton.com/ . All things on hold for now.

There isn't ROW access across the park, but the woods at the SE corner were a nice run on a warm day.

Tues 28th April

News from Tenerife that Dad has had another wander. Search party sent out again, but this time he arrived back by himself in a taxi. The care team have been onto Doctor who has agreed to try him with some 'drops' to help calm any agitation, normally would require a 'face to face' consultation. What may help is some of the dementia drugs, but these can't be prescribed without a diagnosis, diagnosis requires a scan among other things. That would have been due to be done last week, but cancelled due to Coronavirus.

Friend confirms that funeral for her Mother to go ahead on 5th May. 10 Mourners allowed in Crematorium for Service. Have a long chat about Dad and compare, much of the things I had managed to get in place to help Mum and Dad have been down to the advice received. Really appreciate the support.

Weds 29th April

Government deadline for their 100000 swabs a day is fast approaching. Our team at the Etihad now has competition from a larger 'drivethru'  pop-up site, located on one of the larger carparks. Cars are using the same entrance causing confusion for drivers. Reports of new site 'pinching' customers. All sounds a bit Fred Karno's, glad to be located where I am.

Thurs 30th April

100000. Won't last! Getting to really know our team swabbing, we have a laugh and joke so it's not all serious stuff. Getting used to sharing lots of good stuff via WhatsApp, which is new to me, but apparently used a lot among the other community teams.

Had someone turn up in a minibus to have a swab, nearly demolished the porch structure. Luckily the security guard spotted that it'd be to high to go underneath. Send a message to Property Services to have some height restriction notices put up. Entering a new month tomorrow, things starting to feel a little permanent now, the 'new normal'.

Friday 1st May

Decide to head out West today, along Lock Lane to explore a few footpaths around Lostock.

Thankfully no cows to negotiate in the fields just North of the Motorway. Just over 10K

Sat 2nd May

We're getting requests from the Health and Well Being Team, to see if we can accommodate daily home visits. Suggest a max of 8, to start with and lists prepared the day before so that appropriate order can be chosen to make effective use of time. First list comes through for Sunday and I set about planning my route. Probably the closest I'm going to get to orienteering for a while.

Sun 3rd May

Devise a plan for the visits with my partner for the day. We want to spend as little time in each property as possible, so suggest a chair in the hallway so we can just step inside the house/flat briefly, complete the swabs and then depart. There's no getting away from the fact that we need to done our PPE outside the property, so all the neighbours will be watching. Do feel a bit like something out of a Sci-Fi film.

It's good fun driving the van though.

TF

Week 5

Monday 20th April

A slight extension to my new route, this time just over 11K

Tuesday 21st April

News from my mum and dad's carers in Tenerife to say he'd gone walkabout. Apparently left the house at about 8am. A couple of the carers had set out in their cars to go look for him and by chance one of them had found him sat at the Bus Stop in San Isidro some 3 miles away. The bus stop is located on the roundabout with access to the motorway. There is no direct bus link to where he was found (would involve 2 separate buses) so agree with carers that he must have walked all the way.

It's a route that he would have driven in the car. Relieved that found safe and well.

Set out on run today and vary the far end part of the loop.

Return home to the news that my best friends mum had passed away. Her mum had been living in a care home and had a couple of falls, she'd had a brief stay in hospital and was diagnosed with an undisplaced fracture to pelvis. She'd returned to the care home, but deteriorated (not Covid19 related). I think the most distressing thing for my friend was not being able to be with her at the end. Adding to the distress was that the fracture was not mentioned as a contributing factor on the death certificate.

Wednesday 22nd April

The swab team at the Etihad have had a slow start, but the staff sent to form the team over there are determined to make the best of it.

Thursday 23rd April

We've trained up a few more staff, again from services that do 'face to face' contacts whose appointments have been stood down.

Friday 24th April

Moment of truth for the rats. Pest Control Man returns to inspect the traps. I'd left well alone as he'd said it can take up to 2-3 days for the rats to perish. He opens the first one, no rat but promising signs that something has had a nibble from the pink block. Nothing in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th one. As part of the plan, the traps will be left in situ for a further week. He suspects that they have moved on and found other sources of food and my fears of being over-run are now receeding.

Getting a little more adventurous with the run through Cutacre and extend the far loop and manage 13k today

It does make a difference being out in the sunshine, one or two people out in the park but able to keep my distance.

Saturday 25th April

A bit of a giggle. Someone arrives to be swabbed and parks themselves up whilst the security guard was inside getting a brew. We go outside to find this situation.

The timber shelter has been constructed over 2 disabled bays, with the intention that vehicles drive into the spaces as would normally occur, with the front of the vehicle near to the blue bars. Driver is asked if they can do this. Go back outside, to find that driver has managed to manoeuvre into near enough exactly same position, but this time with drivers side closest and parallel with the blue bars.We all take a moment to compose ourselves from the fits of laughter. Clearly the driver has decide we're operating a bit like a Macdonalds Drivethru. Driver departs after swab, thankfully without demolishing the shelter.

Sunday 26th April

Check my bank balance and consider myself one of the lucky ones still being paid. 

Another fall in the number of people being swabbed over the weekend. I do wonder if it's going to be worth having 2 sites operating at the same time. 

Check in with the parents. All appears well, mum under strict instructions to call the carers as soon as she realises dad has gone for a wander. Do worry in case he gets found by the police again. Spain seems to be a lot stricter about this than us.

TF

Week 4

Monday 13th April (Bank Holiday)

Sit at the computer and plan my run route. Looking for something off-road.

Red dot in middle is my House. Heading south on the farm tracks towards the bridge over the motorway is my initial thoughts. The bit past the Mobile Mast, although not ROW is frequently used.

Once over the motorway it's a short tarmac section to join the footpath past Umberton's Farm to access Cutacre Country Park on it's western edge. A bit more info can be found here https://www.logisticsnorth.com/country-park/ . I had felt that the park could be a potential site for a cross-country course so it would be interesting to see how the grassy bits had progressed since my last visit.

So here's my route

I kept to the paths, 10k distance, a little too much 'out-n-back' for my liking but pleasant enough. The park is coming along. As seen in the satellite view it's still has a fair amount of bare earth on the eastern edge. Water areas have filled in nicely with an abundance of reeds etc. On my return I see a 'keep out' sign has been erected to stop access to the paths heading North and Southwest of the farm buildings. Curtails plans for exploring the the path heading Southwest. I have some degree of sympathy for the farmer, the potential traffic across the land has probably increased 10-fold with the nice weather and everyone out for walks.

Tuesday 14th April

Return my attention to the problem of 'roly' rat. I'd had no response to my email, so ring only to find said company dealing with existing customers only. Try another who agree to come out on Friday to take a look and put down some traps.

Try other options for the access to Cutacre Park

This heads across the fields close to the trig point. Footpath a bit bumpy, and evidence that cows have been on it. Discount this bit as a regular route. Run along Plodder Lane to join the footpath across the motorway. There's a small car park for the Country Park just off the A6. Amazed to find 5 cars parked in it. Thought the government advice was quite clear, no use of cars to get to the start of walk/run/cycle. Vary my return route and come across a group of 4 youths playing 'self-isolating football' in the play area on the edge of the housing estate. Give them a wide berth. People aren't getting it. Getting angry. Thankfully, don't come across anyone else contravening the rules by the time I get home. 7.5K completed.

Wednesday 15th April

Back in work. Informed that someone from the 'Comms' dept will be coming to film the swabbing process, so that we can inform the staff what to expect. I'm volunteered to take part. I reason that given the mask, visor and head-gear no one will recognise me. We find a willing member of staff who had an appointment anyway to play the 'patient' and prove how easy (cough,cough) it is.

Here's the link to the video, I'm hoping it'll work, see if you can spot me!!

https://vimeo.com/408548688

Thursday 16th April

The planned 2nd site for swabbing has now changed. The other clinic potentially ear-marked has been deemed not suitable due to access issues and now the Etihad complex is being offered up as a location. The only downside is that the Council is now involved and are pushing this to be a 'self-test' centre. We voice our concerns, that in it's current format no-one is realistically going to be able to achieve adequate swabs on their own. 

Apparently this is a government-led initiative, trial period of 2 weeks for frontline staff. Beginning to see this as a numbers game. A bad test is often if not worse than no test. We managed 68 staff swabbed today.

Friday 17th April

Pest control man arrives and inspects the site. Explain what I've done so far and he checks round the house. I'm reassured that they'd be unlikely to access the house. I've had no more sightings all week but am hopeful with the four 'humane' traps put in place. Essentially a black plastic box with some brightly coloured blue pellets and pink cubes for them to nibble on. The treatment will involve a further 2 visits, so he'll be back in a week.

Todays run is a further variation of Monday and Tuesdays, with an outbound leg along Plodder Lane and returning via Umberton's Farm. 10.35K on the watch.

Saturday 18th April

At the time the video was filmed we'd swabbed over 700 staff and got 250 back to work. I'm hoping by the end of my weekend shifts we may have hit the 1000 mark.

59 staff swabbed today. A good number compared to the previous Saturday. Process have now been put in place to ensure that services (such as mine) which usually operate Monday- Friday have a manager on-call to accept phone calls from staff to record their first day of sickness. Normally if you fall ill over a weekend, then you phone in on your first working day ie Monday. At the moment the guidance is to try and swab ill staff within 3 days of them developing symptoms.

Sunday 19th April

941 the total so far. So we need 59 to make it to 1000. We're off to a very slow start. I then get a message that a lady from the Council will be dropping by to see how we do things as she'll be overseeing the site at the Etihad. I'm hoping that we'll have a few for her to watch, if not it'll be names in a hat and one of us will have to pretend we've got Covid 19.

A big sigh of relief from all us swabbers as the bookings for the afternoon pick up a bit. Our guest from the council arrives, I talk her through the process and she observes a couple of swabs being undertaken, one of which proves our point that a 'self-test' could not have been undertaken sufficiently well by the individual concerned.

She gets our point, but says that she's just been tasked to set it up and shows a lot more interest in the IT set up and the paperwork side of things. They start Monday.

Despite an improvement in the afternoon bookings, we fall short of our target by 13. 

Catch-up phone call with the parents. All well at their end, carers are helping them helping with the shopping. I would have been due to go and visit them the following week but obviously that's all off for the foreseeable future.

TF

Week 3

Monday 6th April

Arrive in work. Find out I'm so experienced at swabbing, that I'm now deemed to be a 'Trainer'. Word is that the Trust wants to open a second site and we need enough staff to work both on a 7 -day shifts. Given that a full shift is from 8am -6pm I agree to work four of these days a week, with 3 days off. This week I offer to work over the Bank Holiday  (Fri,Sat,Sun). We have a busy day today with 76 people swabbed. Get home tired, but feel I have achieved some good.

Tuesday 7th April

Just before we went into lock down, I'd had a trip through B&Q and bought a few packets of seeds/bulbs for growing a bit of food. I had a few spare containers and thought I'd try planting a few up.

Some of my grass cuttings get tipped behind a tree in one of the far corners of the garden (some goes in the green wheelie bin). Over time this has now composted down and looking good for filling the pots. So I set to work.

I manage to plant some Garlic, Shallots, Carrots and Parsnips. All the pots set up on the far patio. Head back indoors for a well-earned cuppa with my feet up admiring my handy work. Next thing see 'roly' rat again, running across the far patio and dart behind the tree where the compost heap was. I head back outside to see if I can spot where it went but no sign. This is getting serious, rats are normally nocturnal creatures. Head back indoors and straight on google. A wealth of information, all pointing to the fact that I've been unwittingly welcoming them into my garden by providing them with places to live, food (bird feeder) and sources of water.

Wednesday 8th April

A closer inspection of the fence around the garden indicated possible areas where they were accessing my garden from the neighbours. There was evidence of a few droppings in one area near to where the compost heap was.  One neighbour is in the process of renewing the fence and chatting to him about 'roly', he said his kids had spotted FOUR in his garden recently, some of which were trying to climb up his birdfeeder!

Spend the rest of the day clearing away any possible nesting sites (dead leaves/wood), empty the bird feeder and any possible water sources. Check round the house for any possible gaps for a way in. Block as many gaps in the fence as I can. Now realise that all my efforts planting up my pots were to no avail. All the soil could be contaminated by the rats. Ah well, I'll call it the practice year, see if anything grows and try again next year.

Thursday 9th April

Ring Bolton Council. Dealing with Rat problems is free to residential properties. Due to Covid-19 the Environmental Health office is closed. Another search on the Internet, comes up with a few private companies that might be still working. Send an email requesting a ring back.

Good Friday 10th April

Back in for the swabbing rota. They'd had a busy day on the Thursday having seen a record 80 people. We now have a live booking system, which is being updated on a regular basis as and when appointments are being offered to the persons requiring swabbing. Much better than relying on an email. Not as many today, but not too bad with 60 done.

Saturday 11th April

We're overwhelmed by people's generosity. We've got people dropping off visors they've made, washing bags for our clothes, and now we hear people are making sets of scrubs too. The majority of staff redeployed, work for services that don't normally wear a uniform. I'm lucky, I do have uniforms but I've made a little addition by making myself some identical buffs to wear to cover my hair whilst working. The head of the Health and Wellbeing department (they're the ones sending us the people to be swabbed) calls in and drops of a Easter Egg and some chocolate. Going to have to make a concerted effort to up my training with all the snacks. Only 36 swabs today. We think that most are out enjoying the sun.

Sunday 12th April

We definitely think no one's phoning in sick over the Bank Holiday weekend. I mean, why would you? Only 30 done today. But we have managed 425 for the week, and just over 600 since we started. An amazing achievement having started from scratch less than 2 weeks ago. Rotas are being planned for a few weeks ahead. I feel I need a bit of regularity to help with my running, so offer to do Weds Thurs Sat Sun as my new working week.

Start planning a off-road route from the house (well as near as I can get it). Time to re-visit Cutacre Country Park.

TF

Are we downhearted?  Never

How is everyone coping with the lock down? TF we know is very bravely active in helping the fight  against the virus.

Our  household went into isolation a week ahead of the  official start and we are thankful that we have the allotments to keep us busy most days, and the sunshine is a welcome bonus.

The initial disappointment of the cancellation of all races has passed because it makes sense.  More of a blow was the cancellation of the Fleet  half marathon on March 16th. It was to have been my second opportunity to wear an England vest having again qualified for the English masters half marathon championships  and secured a place in the England   team for the Celtic  nations event. We had travelled south in readiness for the  event only to hear less than 24 hours before the gun that  the race was off.

I try to run most days but with no challenges to aim for motivation is sometimes lacking.  Which takes me to EtU's  forward looking approach to a post lock down celebratory run.  My first choice would be the  last of our Lakeland passes outings from Seathwaite via  Sty head to Wasdale head, Black Sail, returning via Honister,  followed by, in no particular order,  the second Lakeland passes run in reverse (Rosset, Sty Head, Wasdale Head, Boot, Eskdale, Three Tarns and returning via the Band),  something in the Settle area, or a repeat of our Edale outing.

Now the  thought of that coupled to the sun shining through the window should provide some motivation

Week 2

Monday 30th March

Still getting used to the extended 'lie-in'. I'd stopped going to the David LLoyd Gym for my morning exercise (shower & coffee) 2 weeks before lock-down. I've had to completely reprogramme the heating and amount of hot water now that I'm having my morning shower at home. On the plus side, David Lloyd have frozen the membership, so hopefully that'll cover the increase in gas & 'lecky.

Decision made that I and some of our Dental Nurses are drafted in to help the swab team. A small van has been hired so we don't have to use our own cars, but someone will have to go and collected from the site where it is securely located.

We've practised putting on/off or in NHS terms 'donning&doffing' the PPE. We've had a look at the test kits but still haven't had a 'live' patient to 'have a go'. I sign up to offer to do a weekend shift as is seems that some of the current team are starting phone in saying they're self-isolating.

The training from Friday left us with a lot of online courses to complete. Make a start on these just in case I get called up to help with the District Nurse teams.

Tuesday 31st March

Arrive in work to find things have all changed again. One patient who is looked after by the District Nurse Teams has been diagnosed with Covid-19. There's a list on nearing 20 staff that have been involved in his care over the last week. Community Managers make the decision to swab all of these staff otherwise they'd all be off work.

So the Dental Department is designated as the most suitable site for these staff to attend. We (dental team) get a live demo of the technique and get some 'willing' guinea pigs to practice on.

I have to warn you that having a swab for Covid-19 is not pleasant if it's done properly. The one in the mouth has to swipe over the tonsils and the wall at the back, past the dangly bit (uvula). It'll make you gag/cough. The nose one has to go far enough up that it'll make your eyes water.




By the end of the day, we've swabbed most of the day shift. Just some of the night staff to catch up with.

Wednesday 1st April

More changes. The central mobile swab team is going to be a fixed-site team for staff-swabbing to attend as a 'drive-in'.

The estates department have located an ideal site, a health centre not a million miles away (one, to be precise) where we will take over a pharmacy department which has recently closed down. We will be off there in the afternoon to have a trial run with a couple of staff who are currently off work, self-isolating for one reason or another.

So I and 3 of our nurses travel to our new site. We arrive to see that we have indeed got a ideal set-up. Facilities to make brews, a toilet, somewhere to sit in the dry and somewhere to store (and lock away) all the kit we'll need. Sorted! Some from IT is sorting out lap tops and wifi connection.

The staff car park has been commandeered for the drive-in. We have a security guard (in a cabin) with a remote door bell to announce an arrival, 2 disabled parking spaces right next to the front door for the cars to park up.

The first email with details comes through and the cars start arriving at 10-20 min intervals. Someone goes out to the car to check the details, and then reports back and the information is completed on the swab test. 2 members of staff go back out to the car (the swabber and buddy) and undertake the swab test through the car window. By the end of the afternoon we've completed 13 tests.

Here's the team at the end of the first day.

Thursday 2nd April

First full day at our new site. Now the process has started to feel a bit more comfortable the Trust is looking to increase the through-put. So we look at managing  2 staff to be swabbed every 10 mins. We calculate that we'll need a minimum of 6 staff to manage this, 2 pairs of swabber/buddy, one person checking details, 1 person admin checking for emails. The whole shift day is 8am-6pm, with staff doing 8-4, 9-5, 10-6 as well as a shift lead doing the 8-6 hours.

I volunteer to be a shift lead. Given that I nominally do a 37.5hr week this will mean a change from working 5 days of 7.5hrs to 4 days of 9 and a bit hours. I offer to cover weekends. So as I've already done 4 days this week, I'm having a day off tomorrow in lieu of working Saturday.

33 swabs done today. We have a couple of children to swab today as they're the ones with symptoms causing their parents (staff) to be off work.

Friday 3rd April

A relaxing day off. Or it was until I spot 'roly' rat run across the far patio. Mmh, will need to keep an eye on this if the bin collection becomes a bit more sporadic.

Saturday 4th April

Last time I worked a Saturday was over 25 years ago. How times change. We have some new members on the team, all eager to join in. We have a whatsapp group now, not something I'd used a lot, but getting used to it. Seems that a lot of the other community services use it a lot to keep in touch.

40 staff/family members swabbed today. It takes 48hrs for the results to come through, but could mean some of these will be back in work next week if the results come back negative.

Sunday 5th April

Another day off. The grass is looking a bit long and infiltrated with lots of moss. A nice sunny day so decide to tackle both instead of a run. I have 2 machines, one that cuts the grass and the other that scarifies it. 2 x the 'steps'. The amount of moss the scarifier pulls off is immense. It fills two of those large foldable plastic green waste containers. Would be perfect for filling hanging baskets, but I don't have any.

A glass of wine to finish the week.

TF

When This Is All Over...

… we ought to have a celebration outing, locally, in the Lakes, or anywhere interesting, but not too far away. Initial suggestions:-

1. The Lakeland Passes - as done previously, possibly with minor modifications.

2. Scafell Pike from Eskdale, ascending over Pen, descending the way the sheep did - see TF's recent post.

3. Coope's Dozen.

4. A route in north Lancashire - as (yet to be) determined by KLM, aka The Iceman.

Further suggestions, comments please.

I think it needs to be on a Saturday, to include those (few) of us who still contribute to the  UK GNP.

View from near the Frontline

I thought I'd pen a few lines as part of an insider view from near the frontline.

Mon 23rd March (First day of Lockdown)

All working as normal. 4 final year students arrive for a nearly fully booked clinic. By the afternoon any students with underlying medical conditions eg severe Asthma are advised not to be involved in clinical care.

Dentistry in the main is an 'Aerosol Generating Procedure' especially using the drill or scaler which is water-cooled ie the high-pitched whizzy ones.

The British Dental Association (BDA) and some of the other Professional Societies are voicing concerns and calling on the Chief Dental Officers (CDOs) for guidance. There are 4 of these one for England, Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland


Tues 24th March

This morning would have been our fortnightly GA list for treating our patients with special needs and learning difficulties. It has been cancelled, as has all elective surgery ie non-urgent operations.

In the afternoon we have 2 out of 3 student dental therapists attend to see patients. A few simple treatments that don't involve a drill or water-cooled scaler.

By the end of the afternoon we learn that all student clinical sessions at the Dental Hospital have stopped.

Management make the decision that routine care will now cease across our service. We will operate an emergency-only advice service, triaging over the phone and only see patients face-to-face unless they present with a facial swelling which may require anti-biotics. No 'Aerosol Generating Procedures' to be undertaken.

BDA are now getting very vocal on social media. The CDOs for Wales, Scot and NI are advising downing tools accept for emergencies. Not a dickie-bird from the CDO for Eng.



Weds 25th March

A busy day. Mainly phonecalls and emails. We have a large service, over 40 staff. Discussions are ongoing towards re-deployment to help other services. Each service within the Trust is asked to provide information for potential transferable skills. My health centre where I'm based has become one of the 'command' centres co-ordinating the community care. Being a senior clinician, I get to see first hand how the senior managers get to 'think on their feet'.

The RU Clear team (sexual health) were due to be disbanded at the end of March 2020 as their funding had run out. They are now the Community Swab Team. The plan is to run a service 7 days a week across Manchester to under-take Covid 19 swabs in peoples homes. I'm already thinking that swabbing is something that the dental team could help with. After all, we spend all day with full PPE on and are used to putting things in peoples mouths. We're also used to doing home-visits from time to time too. The clinical lead for our service is thinking on the same wavelength.

Stocks of PPE are being counted.

Finally we get notification from the CDO Eng that all routine and non-urgent dental care should be stopped. A remote 'urgent care' triaging service should be established. Those patients deemed to need care can be referred to the Local Urgent Dental Care System. Trouble is, there isn't one. Dental treatment is now deemed as high-risk. So essentially providing it will need the most protective PPE. This includes the special FFP3 masks. No one has been 'fit-tested' for the masks.

Before you can use a FFP3 mask you have to be 'fit-tested' for it. This involves putting the mask on, and then a special hood is then placed over your head and then some smelly substances is puffed inside the hood. The idea being that if the mask has a good seal it should filter out the smell and thus any virus particles. They are deemed as 99% effective.

You have to be 'fit-tested' for each make of FFP3 mask. There are numerous makes. Some will fit, some won't. For men with beards, these have to be shaved off as a seal can't be created.

I'm on a half-day today. I booked for someone to come and install some security cameras on the house. There'd been and an attempted break-in about 3 weeks back - broken padlock on side gate and an adjustable spanner left gripping one off the handles of the French windows. I ummed and ahhed about whether I should go ahead, but decided I could maintain the social distancing and given that my house would likely be the only vacant one in the cul-de-sac, it would be at risk.

4 cameras installed. With a good view of the back and front. If I hear a noise especially at night I can switch the TV on in the bedroom and check with out getting out of bed. When out of the house I can check via my phone, even has a notification system if something crosses a virtual line across the back garden.


Thurs 26th March

Another day spent refreshing the BBC news website. Emails read. Our service is planning to run with 2 sites (out of 8) offering emergency advice. A rota has been drawn up beginning from Mon 30th March.

Tidying out my office drawer I find my certificate for my FFP3 'fit-test' for 2009 in preparation for H1N1 (Swine 'flu). Re-read the government documents from the time regarding planning for an epidemic, mass deaths etc. Don't feel we're anywhere near where we were in preparation for H1N1 by this stage.

We've been skill-matched with the District Nurses. 10 of us have volunteered to be the initial trainees. A full day of training planned for tomorrow.

Fri 27th March 

Arrive at the training centre. Been a long time since I'd been at this particular health centre. When I first started the current job in 1998 we used to have a dental clinic here and I worked there 3 days a week until I moved full time to current Health Centre in 2001.

Full of admiration to the 2 District Nurse Matrons who have pulled together a training package for the dental team in less than 2 days.

An overview of wound care and dressings, injections and general medication. All bread and butter stuff to them but a real eye-opener to us especially the pressure-sore management.

Advise the trainers that I'd recently had experience of administering Heparin Injections for my Father (part of my Xmas trip duties). Admit that a bit nervy at first, got one a bit wrong but on the whole the patient tolerated it quite well.

Sat 28th March

A short local run. I'd set my bike up in one of the bedrooms on the turbo-trainer but haven't used it yet.

Sun 29th March

Catch-up phone calls with the family. 2/3rds have been on lockdown for 3 weeks now. The ones in France have to have a certificate to leave the house. Carers in Tenerife are looking after Ma & Pa very well, daily visit and doing the shopping for them.

Reflect with my Uncle (dad's brother, lives in Worsley) that cancelling the Cruise and selling the car are looking like 2 of the best things I have ever done. They would have been due back in Bristol on Tues 24th March. I was due to collect them from Bristol to bring them back to Bolton and then fly back to Tenerife on Sat 28th March.

One bonus, the 3 flights from Liverpool to Tenerife were cancelled by Easyjet. I'd written them off at Xmas but had left them booked just in case. A full refund acquired.


End of week 1 of Lockdown

At the end of the week, I reflect that it's all very surreal. I feel very privileged to still being paid a wage but want to feel that I'm doing something to help.


To be continued.........


ps if you want a 'fell' fix have a look at this programme that was aired on BBC4 on Mon 13th April at 7:00pm. You can get it on iplayer, called The Great Mountain Sheep Gather

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000hb4r/the-great-mountain-sheep-gather

For the map nerds, I watched with my os map to hand

TF