deerstalker

soooo... how to explain this?

My friend Sheen Masheen's birthday just happens to be around the same time as a madcap obstacle race called the deerstalker held at Traquair house in the borders, which involves dragging one's self through muddy swamps, clambering up hills like walls, chucking one's self down rooty pine forest slops and wading through the icy waters of the tweed. Yup, this is all around the birthplace of that great gift of the Scots to the world of weekend gentlemanly leisure, Tweed and fancy threads are all part of the deal. We did the daytime 5k (ish) version but there's a night time 10k (ish) version involving head torches and a degree less self-preservation than is conventionally considered sane.

Sheen Masheen only went and won the bloomin' thing!! First female in 59 mins something. I only just managed to rescue a shoe from the depths of a bog, but lost the tash to come in about 15 mins later.

As Sheen stays not too far away we got cleaned up for a special slap up birthday supper and were back in time for the prize giving and the wild after party, a dance floor frenzy of jumping competitors crowd surfing in deerstalker hats and tweed.