Aug 29, 2009 | Legs!
I had a good run today – just over a half marathon distance. My ankles were getting sore towards the end but I have passed a psychological barrier in the sense that I know now that I can run the distance. It was also the first time that I have run for more than two hours more or less continuously.
What I enjoyed about it was that it was a new route for me and one which I genuinely enjoyed exploring. Edinburgh is criss-crossed with a series of old suburban railway lines which are now paths for walkers, runners and cyclists. For the most part they sit well below what is now street level and are tree-lined greenways through the City. It was possible for me to run from Corstorphine down to Leith and back with very little need to stop at road junctions or the like.
Although I knew of their existence, I wasn’t really aware of what a great resource these paths are until I was shown a 10K running route from my old office by a colleague. Edinburgh is leafy city anyway, but this attractive green network which can take you right across town without being troubled by traffic is a great asset. I’m even toying with getting a bike to explore it further.
Aug 25, 2009 | Uncategorized
Well we’re nearly there: the only hard work to complete now is the cutting of the nut slots and general set up. After that, I’ll leave it alone for a while and then finish the set up in a month or so once it is played in a bit.
Although the set up hasn’t been done yet, the general sound in terms of tone and volume is just great. I can’t wait to get it playable and then to play it. I have written a couple of times about the long delay between doing the work on the bracing and the soundboard and actually hearing the results. Fingers have been crossed for ages but I’m now very optimistic that the guitar will be a treat.
More as we get it!
Aug 22, 2009 | Legs!
After the assorted injuries and niggles it was imperative that I stretched out to a decent run today, and I did. The distance was just shy of 11 miles and I kept it at a consistent pace of around a mile every ten minutes. I am quite happy right now, although it did take a lot out of me and I’m clearly getting into distances where I need to start paying serious attention to nutrition and hydration. My happiness is tempered by the knowledge that I’ll need to go further next week though!
Aug 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
…must come to an end.
It’s the last day of my holiday today and I can feel an anticipatory ennui descending!
I also glued the bridge onto my guitar this morning before breakfast and that is a good thing as well since that brings the construction work almost to an end. I still need to drill the string holes in the bridge and shape the saddle and after that drill/ream a hole for an end pin. I also need to shape the nut and file the slots.
Once that is all done it will basically be ready for use – if I have the patience I will let it play for a couple of weeks then adjust the action but I’m not sure if I will have that patience!
One of the exquisite tortures about this process is that after all the work I won’t actually know whether it has been worth it until I actually have strings on it and can play a tune. I am pleased to have made it this far – although I also know where all the imperfections are so maybe I’ll need to make another – but that pleasure would be tempered if it doesn’t play properly.
This has been a good holiday both from the point of view of a great time away from home and from the perspective of having a rest and getting some things in perspective. I really should do this more often.
I had a good run yesterday and didn’t get any problems with my head so that was a good thing. I’m getting concerned about making up the time lost but for the most part yesterday I felt fine, although I flagged a bit at the end. My plan is for a couple more short runs this week and then a good long run at the weekend – I need to push on well beyond 10 miles now.
Aug 17, 2009 | Uncategorized
When I first came to Edinburgh in 1977 there was very little real ale available. The Southsider was a longstanding Maclay’s house and there was a little Belhaven available on cask (back before they changed the water source and the 80/- stopped being such a great pint). And then there was the Green Tree which was an unprepossessing howf in the Cowgate. The Green Tree had one of the very few Bar Billiards tables in Scotland and a TV above the door upon which a cat usually sat, occasionally leaping off onto the head of an unsuspecting punter. The Green Tree was a great wee pub and had as it’s main beer a very well kept Sam Smiths Best Bitter, brewed in Tadcaster in Yorkshire.
Sadly at some point in the early nineteen eighties some idiot decided to remodel the pub to attract a younger clientele and, inevitably, it closed down within months as the character which made it special evaporated (and the young people didn’t come). The memory of that Sam Smith’s still lingers though and Kirstin and I went for a bar meal today at the other Sam Smith’s pub in the area – The Crammond Inn. What a disappointment: the soup of the day came from a tin and the beer was all bland nitrokeg. The staff were friendly enough but there was nothing to take us back there.
Some of you know that I have been making an acoustic guitar for some time, but it has been put on hold for a while due to lack of time to get it finished. I have taken that opportunity in the remaining days of the holiday and today marked a moment of truth of sorts – joining the neck to the body. The glue is setting as I type this and we’ll see what the end result is. All that is left is to fix the bridge, drill through the bridge pin holes and set it up.
What could possibly go wrong?
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