The week of the Hursley 10k arrives! Two short but fast runs in the week, then a couple of days resting, before toeing the line. It was another glorious day, a little windy, but nothing to worry about. As ever the carnival atmosphere made this a very special race, over the IBM Hursley estate. That only adds to the sense of something a bit secret - 500+ people all gathering, as if by some unknown force, to run over the oh-so-confidential hub of IBMs development home, across tracks and fields, with not a single step on a public road! As if to add to the air of peculiarity the photo of the START actually reads FINISH - the more astute amongst you will realise that we return and end the race under this banner going the other way. Surely the techno boffins at Hursley could scrub out the words with photoshop? Or indeed is this still within the spirit of 1950's Cold War counter-intel, putting the enemy spy off the scent? Oh, I am transported back to the world of Grahame Greene already...B&W gloomy photos, a thin band of smoke rising, a dead letter drop, codewords, lots of gin and tonic...
..now stop that and get back to the race report! Delighted with the result, a time of 42.11 over a hilly and rutted course, 19th overall and 6th in my age group (for indeed now I am a Male 40+ not a senior), which is very pleasing. Also, lots of people running the race with me, such as Ian from Wellow Fitness, Matt and Luke (in fact we were trying to find a Matthew, then we could have run as the four apostles...). And, after that, lunch at the Plough with Matt and Luke. Happy days indeed.
The usual cycle to work on Wednesday - just as before, though noticeably getting chillier this time!
Wine of the week - well, I should call it delivery of the week! I decided to withdraw some wines from storage, and so on Friday, the excitement of 7 cases of mixed Burgundy, Rhone, Italian and Claret arriving! from this selection I chose Domaine Jean Grivot Vosne Romanee 2005 as the first to be tried. Humble villages wine from a great producer in an excellent vintage. Immediately it looks serious for this rung of the quality ladder village wine. The colour was deep and bright, ripe strawberry fruit with a hint of earthiness, and the tiniest amount of new oak. On the palate it was midweight, good fruit, length, and some tannin. Definitely well above village quality and with a few years ahead. A fulsome reminder of why Burgundy - when it is good - rocks when compared to sweet, fruity New Zealand Pinots.
Pip Pip
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