SheBu Run for Queen's Day

Dressed in orange for Queen's Day

I was very excited for the run this week, as we were running from my home Tube station, so for once I wouldn't have to get on a train to anywhere, the fastest way to get to today's run was just to walk across the Green to the pub.  I never get to run close to home, so this was quite exciting!  So of course it was quite ironic that I was almost late, being the person who had the least distance to travel.

The theme of this week's run was that everyone needed to wear orange, as today was the day that the Netherlands got a new King, as Queen Beatrix abdicated in favour of her son.  Luckily I knew that I had an orange tank top somewhere, so right before the run I had to frantically dig under my bed in search of it.  It didn't fit at all and was horribly unflattering, but I was just going running, so I didn't think too much of it.  It was a cold day, and I debated wearing shorts or long trousers, but in the end opted for shorts, figuring I would wear orange legwarmers with them.  In a sign of what a good friend I am, I gave them to Kitty when she arrived having forgotten to wear anything orange.  Did mean I had to run fast though, as I was a bit cold throughout the run.

Setting off for the run

When I got to the pub, I got a great surprise when Pork Pie arrived!  I haven't seen him in far too long, and so was delighted when he gave me a hug and noted that he'd recently received a postcard from Paris.  That made me chuckle.

Then, as we were outside gathering for the run, I got another great surprise when Roofie's Brother arrived!  I hadn't seen him in well over a month, and we hadn't spoken in nearly as long, but I was surprised when as soon as he arrived, it was like we picked up the connection between us again instantly.

The run turned out to be quite the distance, nearly 10K, and it went at quite a pace.  Yet Roofie's Brother often kept pace with me, and when he would run off he'd always say, "I'll catch you up later", always looking out for me.

We stopped in Holland Park for a drinks stop, which also included pickled herring and Dutch cheese. Rather random, although I had fun chatting with Roofie's Brother at the stop, who was attacking the pickled herring as though it were the best stuff he'd ever eaten.  I tried it, and I had to admit it wasn't bad, but I wasn't quite the fan that he was.

Drinks stop

We then ran all of the way back to the pub together, with me thankfully managing to keep pace with him the entire way.  I talked to him about events he should come along to, and promised to get back into inviting him to things and just generally talking about interesting things we'd been to.  It's one of the things I like about him, is that he never puts me in a box for being posh or a snob, he's just really open to all sorts of new experiences, whatever they may be.

We ended up running past my place as we ran back to the pub, and I made a joke about how he would have to stay over sometime to check out the area, which he gave me a wink and a smile for as he laughed and commented that he was looking forward to it.  Just one of those amusing moments that reminds me that we're friendly, but a bit more there too.

Lots of orange at the drinks stop

Back at the pub, I convinced him to stay for a drink, and so got the first round.  We stood close, chatting to each other for ages, before going downstairs for the circle, where we stood together and made jokes along with Pork Pie about how Sweetheart seemed to be getting quite friendly with the girl he had invited along on the run.  Funny thing, as I remembered her from our "America Day" celebrations, but hadn't thought she was very interested in him at the time.  Intriguing...

Kiwi Girl, Kitty, and the girl Sweetheart invited at the drinks stop

After the circle finished, we went back upstairs, where Roofie's Brother bought us the next round, and so we continued to stay near to each other and chat, although we started to get interrupted by other people who wanted to talk to us.  Just when we thought we might go however, Pork Pie convinced us to stay for one more round after that, so we were pleasantly tipsy and having a good time with everyone.

Drinks stop in Holland Park

At last it was late (even for me!) and time to go, so I said I would walk out with Roofie's Brother and Sister Fister.  They wanted to stop to get kebabs, so I stayed with them, and laughed as Roofie's Brother asked the servers if he could try a jalapeño pepper.  He of course had an entirely predictable reaction, which was very amusing as he dealt with the heat and fire.

So as a joke, when they finished making his kebab and gave it to him, they stuck one more jalapeño pepper on top.  For some reason, despite seeing his own reaction when they gave it to him, when he stuck the pepper in my mouth, I just went ahead and ate it.

OMG, my mouth was on fire!  It was funny, as it didn't hit you at first, but then all of a sudden my eyes were watering as the heat overtook me.  This cracked Roofie's Brother up as we got to the Tube station and we ran into a few others, as he pointed to me with my watering eyes and exclaimed, "Look what I did to her!"  It really made everyone laugh.

Orange in the park

Finally, it was time for him to go, and so he kissed me and held onto me for a bit, although my mouth was too on fire to even really notice.  I walked home and ate some yogurt, trying to calm the burning fire on my tongue.  Lesson learned, don't eat jalapeño peppers, even when cute boys offer them to you!