Doing my bit for supporting Independent British brands, I put my new Lazy Oaf shirt on and headed down to their Juju Jelly Shoe collaboration launch. The shop had been decked out in wibbly wobbly pastel blumanche props by Bombas & Parr for spectators to investigatively prod into motion like beached jelly fish. I drank an aqua sea colour Japanese beer which turned my lips to an attractive blue hue. Lazy Oaf know how to throw a party and take you right back to feeling like your 5 year-old self, going ballistic from number E's and Fizz. Not to mention the goody bags at the end with jelly beans and their new keyrings inscribed with "Don't Lose Your Shit!". Thanks LazyOaf!
It's still only just sinking in that I ran the 26.2 miles of the London Marathon on the 26th. But after taking training ridiculously seriously for the last 4 months, it all paid off and was totally pain free and a total joy. I knew I wanted to do another one as I saw the finish line coming into view at Buckingham Palace. Not only did I complete it in a steady consistent 10 minute mile but also racked up a £3,500+ for the DRC projects I chose via The Music Circle / Oxfam. Whilst being AWOL from this blog, I recorded the whole process over on Running Rainbow World Tumblr
I also had the opportunity to share the message on BBC6Music radio thanks to Lauren Laverne, making Coby's mixtape her "Memory Tape" of the week. See feature here where I note that I am exactly the same age as the London Marathon! Hopefully I also explained it reasonably coherently through my nerves live on air. When I pitched to Oxfam to get the place I pledged to spread the word, so this was also a target I wanted to fufill too (see article I wrote here). Now I feel that I have honoured all duties, I can get my life back, start going out again and return to recording it all on here. Normal service shall resume. However I'll still be running....................... : )
Thanks to everyone who helped me on this journey: NikeLab for the training programme, Charlie Dark & RunDemCrew for the love of running, my family & friends for coming out to cheer me on the day, Ash Narod for capturing my antics in colourful cosmic portraits, Rosie Lees for the swish swoosh logos, Stretch London for complimentary yoga, everyone who supported my fundraising, Verity Keefe for coaching me thru fundraising, all who came to my quiz night, all the kind donations as prizes, Gemma Cairney for hosting, Kate Hutchinson and The Music Circle for introducing me to Oxfam, and most importantly Oxfam for looking after me so well from start to finish.
(Images: customising my outfit thanks to Kitty Joseph's vinyl collection, pre-race chat with record breaker Paula Radcliffe, cycling between work and training sessions, my race-day rainbow hair, at the post- race Royal Academy reception held by Oxfam)
Wow, I have so much to catch up on! Since running the marathon nearly three weeks ago I have had a marathon of deadlines. Just taking a breather now to catch up. So much can happen in such a short space of time. Especially in the current climate of bulldozing going on at every other block in London at the moment. As I cycle around I can't believe what a swift shift I am witnessing and not recognising familiar streets. It's like watching the sound bar display on an amp, with columns quickly falling down and shooting up. The weekend before the marathon I went to the parties around Berwick Street for Record Store Day. The following week I go back to buy some vinyl to find that half of the road has been shut down for re-development with my favourite shop packed up and gone. How the hell can this happen? It's as if we had unwittingly buried it alive and danced on the grave. I can't cope anymore. Even more reason to look forward to next year's annual festivities to celebrate what is still surviving.
Despite not clocking that Fourtet was on his way to play in-store at Phonica when he was chatting outside ............ I didn't miss any of the action at neighbouring Sounds Of The Universe where I stayed all day until the police shut it down mid Mr.Thing. Is there a theme occurring here ............ LondonTownIsClosingDown
Listen here to hear SOTU's manager Nicole McKenzie and DJ from the day, Alexander Nut join DJ History Bill Brewster and Discogs founder Kevin Lewandowski to discuss "Has the internet ruined the joy of record collecting?" in a new podcast series from The Vinyl Factory (Phonica).
