Category Archives: Hong Kong

Star Wars Episodes 7, 8 and 9 – can it get any better than this?

Quite simply put – no.  This is a whole other level in excitement.  Episodes 7, 8 and 9 from 2015 every 2 years and after then there could be even more!  My little boy will be 6 when episode 7 comes out, virtually the same age I was when my dad took me to see the original episode 4 (“A New Hope”) back in 1977, in Hong Kong with my friend and his dad.  We’re now a generation on, 2 more movies plus 3 prequels down, a bucket load of Star Wars Lego to the play with, the original 3 movies re-mastered and more, and everyone knows who Darth Vader is!  We had no idea 35 years ago what an amazing story this was going to be…

Even better the great Disney is buying LucasFilm and Star Wars – what better home for it.  And with George Lucas as a consultant.  Rumours are that Darth Vader is coming back from the dead – somehow.  And that they won’t be following the stories in any of the Expanded Universe books or games.  Interesting to see how it pans out.

Director apparently lined up – not sure who.  Writers ready.  Actors soon.  3 years of mega-marketing hype but it’s going to be the Star War fans here already who create the biggest buzz.

For some of this buzz, check out this blog by a fellow excited Star Wars fan…

I can’t wait.  Me, my little ones and my dad all to go and see it.  Need to figure out where though – dad’s over in Sydney with mum and my sister and her family so no cinemas anywhere close to us all!

And in 2015 we also have the NASA spacecraft New Horizons reaching Pluto – the now demoted planet.  But also a Disney dog.  Just a coincidence?

What a great time to be alive…!

Not the best run and old friends

We’re all going to get days when we’re not feeling 100% for any reason and it’s bound to affect running performance when we do.  Ran today instead of yesterday, normally mid-morning time and a planned 12 miler along by the river towards Hampton Court.

My pace for the first 6 miles was good – slightly faster than 8 minutes per mile.  But it then crept up and finished a slower second half, with overall average 8 minutes and 5 seconds per mile.  Not much more but frustrating.  But it was just faster than my pace for the last Royal Parks Foundation 1/2 Marathon back in September.

And still managed to pick up pace for the last 1 mile or so – which always feels good. Trying to do that after 26 miles is a bit more of a challenge!

10 miles at marathon pace last week was very do-able but not today, only 2 miles more but much harder run.

If you’re genuinely not feeling well, depending on the symptoms, common sense advice is not to run (or do other exercise) and let your body recover.  Some good advice found at Examiner.com

Morning run followed a lunchtime coffee or 2 – good old Caffe Nero of course – with an old primary school (year 2) friend I’ve not seen since aged 7 – 35 years ago!  Fantastic, great to catch-up and amazing due to the wonders of Facebook how much you already know or think you know about old friends you’ve not seen for a long time!  Lots of reminiscing about days in good old Hong Kong and school days back at Kowloon Junior School.