ill Manors Review by born and bred Forest Gater

Check out this post on Labour List by Ellie Robinson on the film "ill Manors" which is set in Forest Gate, East London. Ellie is born and bred in Forest Gate and is now a local Councillor for the area.

I have lived there also for the past 20 odd years. It is actually a fantastic place to live but like most parts of London there is a tiny dark side which I think Ellie addresses very well in her post.

This is the second link to blogs by Ellie this week. Check out her thoughts here on a recent visit to Israel and Palestine.

The rather graphic picture above is the "official movie" poster for the film. I think it partly depicts the two tower blocks overlooking Wanstead Flats in Leytonstone rather than Forest Gate. One of which is the Fred Wigg tower which may hoist anti-aircraft air to air missiles during the Olympics.

Ironically I use to live and work in Edinburgh in the middle/late 1980's. Is this film a 2012 "Trainspotting"?

Update: Sunday Times yesterday refers to the film being set in Forest Hill not Forest Gate!

London Marathon 2012 Wk 24: Olympic Park Run

The clock is ticking. Far, far too fast for my liking. Now there is less than 3 weeks to go before the London Marathon 2012.  On Saturday I took part in the National Lottery Olympic Park Run.

I had thought when I entered that it would be "a walk in the park". After all.."it's only 5 miles", surely nothing to a serial 2 hr cross country runner such as moi? I've also been training for 24 weeks - don't you know!

Yeah. The run was b***dy awful. While the Olympic Park route and Stadium finish was wonderful the race was hard and exhausting.  It was good practise for me since when you run solo you forget what it is like to run with others who may get in your way or you in theirs.

There is also a competitive urge when you are amongst a pack of people which make you want to race rather than run or jog (my usual preference).

It took me 47 minutes (dead) to finish and at the end I felt utterly knackered. To keep to my training programme I had jogged from Forest Gate to Stratford to join the run and once I got out of the stadium I jogged (slowly) back home. The next morning I felt completely drained and very sore.

Of course the memory of running to the finish (see picture above) along the Olympic stadium race track while listening to the broadcast music from "Chariots of Fire" and spectator cheers was an unforgettable experience.

On Sunday April 22 2012 I will have to run 5 times plus this distance!

O-M-G.

I am running the London Marathon for a charity set up to prevent young people becoming homeless and helping them if they do. Check out "Alone in London". Click here to sponsor me on the Justgiving website or click below.

London Marathon 2012 Wk 19: Ken's Fare Deal

The training for this year's London Marathon is still going relatively well except for ongoing sensitivity in my left knee. I'm trying to do more stretches and sessions on the "wobble board". So far so good. It

hasn't stopped me running but must keep an eye on it.

This week's "best run" was on Saturday when I did a 2 hour session delivering Labour "Ken's Fare Deal" tabloid leaflets (see right) starting off from Forest Gate, picking up leaflets on route then delivering around my ward in West Ham.

I am ashamed to say that in a moment of weakness I took the lift up the 21 storey tower block, David Lee Point and then ran down. However, I did run up its sister block, Brasset Point then back home via West Ham Park. The views of East London from the top of both tower blocks is spectacular. Delivering leaflets is stop start and probably nearer a jogging pace than a "run" but there is some useful "uphill" workout from going up stairs in blocks of flats.

I am running the London marathon on 22 April 2012 while sort of using the official advanced training programme and will be raising funds for a valuable homeless charity for Young People called "Alone in London". Click hereto sponsor me on the Justgiving website.

London Marathon Training Wk 4: Sprints and West Ham Park

Toughest session of week was the “jog for 10 mins, run for 5 mins, jog for 10. Then train at maximum effort for 45 secs, walk for 3 minutes and repeat 8 times”. It wasn’t as bad as I expected since a 45 sec sprint is a damn sight easier than 60 or 75 secs. I actually enjoyed this session and felt tired but exhilarated afterwards.

Best run of the week was around West Ham Park on Sunday. Warm up jog through Forest Gate along Woodgrange Road, past the Siam Cafe (the best Thai restaurant ever), then along the back streets to Romford Road. Very misty but warm for time of year. West Ham Park has been owned and managed by the City of London since 1874. It is also the largest park in Newham. While I would prefer that it was run by a more accountable public body I have to admit that it looked after well by the Corporation and its staff.

The park use to be owned by the Gurney Family. By coincidence they were mentioned on The Today programme this morning as a 19th Century Quaker Banking family who took their social responsibilities seriously unlike modern day financiers. All of the Park lies within my Council Ward of West Ham. I would recommend a walk around the park and the seven acre ornamental garden in particular. The 30 minute run around the park and back home went really well. I am beginning to feel quite strong running (not jogging) for this period of time.