Marathon and missing moggy

Buoyed up by a hearty breakfast the Brinkster clan watched the start of the London Marathon on TV and then decided to head into London to watch the end of it. We arrived at Waterloo about the same time as the first huge rain shower and we took refuge in the London Eye to get a good view of both the inclement weather and the athletes on the other side of the Thames. It had stopped raining by the time got off so we found ourselves a perch on the Embankment by Westminster after the 25 mile mark and cheered and clapped anybody that went past. We saw Michel Roux ("chef" emblazoned across his shirt) but failed to spot Gordon Ramsay, who wasn't too far behind him although spotting people in the mass of runners was nigh on impossible once large numbers started coming in. There were lots of people dressed up, including a few Borat "man-kinis"and about eight Fred Flintstones plus the inevitable Batmen Supermen/Girls and the like so the little Brinksters spent the entire time cheering and revelling in the atmosphere.

There were a few injuries where people had obviously slipped in the earlier rain and had their cuts patched up and there were more bleeding nipples in evidence than on an average evening out with Max Mosley. One poor soul we saw had come a cropper just after where we were in the second downpour and was being lifted into an ambulance......... 25+ miles but no finish......... I'd be gutted.

In the masses on the Embankment I didn't manage to spot Worcester Park's own Steve, running with the Logica Flyers, who finished in 4h 14min which is an outstanding effort and if you haven't sponsored anyone you can still support him online. Mrs Brinkster was enthused by the whole occasion and seems to be trying to persuade me to enter to take part next year......... but I'm not convinced........ my only forms of exercise are jumping to conclusions and running out of ideas.....

We got home tired, wet and cold (tho' nothing compared to the runners) but very happy having had a great time so if your only experience of the London Marathon is watching it on TV, like me, then I'd thoroughly recommend that next time you go up to London and join in the fun!!

In news totally unrelated to the Marathon Rachel Lockhart's cat has disappeared and she'd like help getting it back. For those who don't know Rachel runs the "Worcester Park Appreciation Group" on Facebook and reported last night that her moggy (below) has gone missing.

If you do see the cat above looking lost in the Worcester Park area please do get in touch with Rachel at rlockhart[at]hotmail[dot]co[dot]uk.

Whew.... managed to get through that without making any "Mrs Slocomb/Are You Being Served" type jokes.