home grown tastes better

 

18th Sept

This was going to be much the usual Saturday run but due to wind directions or whatever, we thought we'd run East from Gullane to Archerfields (on the road) and then back along the beach. I was pleased to bump into a painted lady on the goose green buddleias so after a quick photo sesh there, we set off down the main road to North Berwick. 

Just before we left Gullane a figure crossed the road to join us. What with the dark glasses and having not seen him in ages I didn't recognise George until he was almost across the road and beside us. He was out doing some nearly last minute training for his virtual London marathon on the 3rd October. It was great to run together and begin to catch up on lockdown news. When we got to Archerfields the chat was far from over so we changed route and headed towards North Berwick, chumming George to the outskirts of NB when we turned back, heading down onto the dunes.

It was great to spend a few miles with George who was looking very well and superfit. We blethered continually and he asked us to say hello to all his Porty pals. Unfortunately he had been finding it hard to get out for longer runs and was a bit concerned about the inevitable marathon date early October which was fast approaching. He planned to run it locally solo rather than travel to London. It was tempting to suggest I run some or all of it with him but I had my own worry that same weekend - a similarly covid postponed 21mile section of the Fife Coastal Path being run as part of a 6 man Porty crew in the Scottish Long Coastal Relays. My training, like George's, was behind schedule although I piggybacked Nick's marathon training schedule and at least managed three 16 milers at tempo. However we (George and I) were both far from peak shape and worried about how it would go on the day. I was relieved my ordeal was at least 5 miles shorter than George's. 

last wall of the year - in the dunes near N Berwick

heading towards Yellowcraigs

Fidra

After a LOT more chat we said our goodbyes and headed back towards Gullane through the dunes. All that talk had made the miles fly by. We had only really planned doing about 8 or 9 miles before we met George but had run about 6 towards NB and would now be doing 12. It felt like a bonus 3 or 4 free miles as we hadn't noticed them - too busy chatting. A delight to catch up with George - what a nice guy. So now I steered Mary through the dunes as the beach can be a bit of a boring slog along beside the golf course. The dunes were a bit more up and down and there were things of interest - birds, shells and plants. I was keen to find a bit of sandy trail that wove through an area of scrub and shrub that was particularly colourful and flowery back in July. I must have caught it peak season and a few people asked where the photo was taken when I posted it on facebook. Unfortunately most of the low-lying shrubs had finished flowering and it had lost much of the vibrancy (and viper's bugloss) it had back in July.

back in early July on a hazy day
an abundance of flowers and butterflies

now
(just before Yellowcraigs)

sign at Archerfields gatehouse

I wanted to go past the gatehouse at Archerfields. I hoped there might be a few butterflies on the bushes there. There were a few speckleds and a peacock and I only just bothered to get the big camera out my back pack for a dozen shots. However I saw this sign (above.) Maybe because I used to paint signs I recognised it as the same one (not similar, but identical) we had last seen on the approach to Erjos in Tenerife December 2019 (blog here). It was beside a small community of rambling shacks and I thought it may well have been referencing recreational plant-based smokable products rather than just fruit and veg. Thing is, it is exactly the same sign. Not just the same message but the same fonts, borders and point of manufacture. And BTW the one at Archerfields is almost certainly only about fruit and veg. I always wave to the dude there who is an older guy and often working, shirt off, in his garden. He waves back and we exchange a few words about the weather - nearest we got to a conversation was him asking if I wanted to come in and take a photo of a common darter that had landed on his washing line. He almost never has a bong on the go.

After a bit of googling I am unable to find the origins of these signs. There is some indication they may be associated with Charlie Dimmock. The few on sale I could find were going from as little as a pound on various sites incl. eBay and most seemed to be second hand. Also all seemed to reference just fruit and veg so maybe I read it wrong back in Tenerife. 

sign near Erjos Tenerife

compact camera result

Here is another thing. I took the above photo with my compact. I run with that in my hand to capture stuff as we go. I have my bridge camera in my back pack and it takes a minute to unpack it and another to replace it so isn't very handy for on-the-go-pics. The photo below was taken of the same subject with the bigger, better camera. Not a huge difference but enough of a difference that I almost always carry it these days. You just never know when you will bump into something exceptional on a run. However (apart from George!) we didn't bump into anything exceptional today. 😬

sharper and less soggy with bridge camera

When we got back into Gullane the painted lady was still at the buddleia. I got the big camera back out and took some more photos, but the sun had mostly finished for the day. We really enjoyed the run - further than we intended but a joy rather than a burden. 

trying to soak up the last warmth of the sun