Cafe business first, a quick reminder that on Saturday 16th April John Rowell & Rob Johnson give their Patagonia presentation at the Cafe. Tickets available over the counter or by phone, £5 per person with proceeds going to Llandygai school. Come along & enjoy some breathtaking photography of one of nature’s grandest landscapes & details of trekking in ‘The furthest man has walked from his place of origin’ – Bruce Chatwin. For full details visit our Events page.

Now back to running, I’m feeling less than well prepared for this Sunday’s Manchester marathon & it’s not just the feeling that the ‘flatest’ marathon in the U.K. is too early in the year for me to realise my goal of sub 3 hours. A badly timed cold over the last few days combined with lack of a seriously fast long prep run have scuppered me mentally if not physically & their is also a lingering doubt over what my birthday sojourn has taken out of me. Still I can only give it a go, thanks in advance to Fraser for putting us up in Chester before & after. Good luck to everyone taking part, may we enjoy the atmosphere & feel great just to be taking part.

As I write this we have a party of 15 in the Cafe as part of an Olympus Day, to avoid my embarrassment I’ve taken down my Patagonia print, dare I bring it back for the Patagonia evening, surely John is massaging my ego by saying I should!!