A man in a gorilla suit is expected to finally complete his crawl around the London Marathon route at some point today. My favourite story from last Sunday’s event though concerns a friend of my daughter Jimmy who decided to skip round the marathon ( I mean skipping like a child, not with a rope like Rocky Balboa ). I’m not sure if I have told you that I’m back on games and so I broke my stride on a run last weekend to have a go at skipping. Let me assure you. NOT EASY! Give it a go yourself if you don’t believe me. Jimmy’s friend was not, it seems, an habitual skipper around the grounds of the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester which he is currently attending. He said the idea of skipping round the marathon came to him as a means to boost publicity and raise as much money as he could for his chosen charities ( Heart and Stroke and research into Downs Syndrome ). As he looked into the proposition he had set himself he discovered to his dismay that someone had done it before. Don’t you hate Google?? There’s nothing original any more.
An intriguing fellow called Ashrita Furman did it in Canada in 2003 and in fact lays claim to holding the world record time of 5 hours 55 mins . And if you hold your nose and Google the man you will find he has his own website https://www.ashrita.com/ . After the merest of glances you will probably share with Jimmy’s friend, Sam, a sense of irritation at this nutcase who also maintains that he holds the most Guinness World Records of any human on the planet. In fact Sam confessed that as he trained and honed his skipping technique through the grey and cold winter months he increasingly grew to loathe Mr Furman and his copious list of ludicrous records. As he stood on the start line he wasn’t just going to complete the Marathon. He had the world record on his mind. Happy to say he smashed it skipping flawlessly round in 5 hours 24 mins. Take a bow, the new Guinness World Record holder for skipping like a child round a Marathon…and appropriately enough Jimmy’s friend’s name is……Sam Guinness! Love it. But Sam is not stopping here. He has decided that he is going to have a bash at quite a few of Ashrita’s list. Any thoughts as to what he should try next???! https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Sam-Guinness
Bank Holiday plans folks? Mrs S has been feeling a bit homebound and asked me to take her on an expedition at some point over the weekend. The romantic that I am I have booked lunch in a pub over-looking the River Orwell. It’s a fairly ropey looking place, but it serves Adnams and I sold it to Sophie with a plan that we would take the dogs for a walk and harvest samphire beforehand. Alack and alas I discover that dogs aren’t allowed along the river walk and samphire doesn’t come into season until late June. Think of me on Sunday will you?
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