milestone

following a strict training regimen of

• slacking off running for about two weeks because of rain, socialising, and any other excuse I could come up with;
• drinking beer
• goading myself out for a run on a Sunday morning before I'm sufficiently concious to realise what I'm doing

I've finally managed to do my 5k lap in under 24 minutes. 23:58.16, to be exact. Woohoo!

this is the sort of thing that makes us the butt of jokes

Bicycle locking area, right of picture, accessible only via steps.

speaking of international reputation

I am having some difficulty figuring out the picture in this BBC news item on maturing Special Savings accounts. For the record, my own account doesn't mature for another year, so I get to see the resulting insanity without participating in it.