If running is the new religion, I'd rather rest
When they're not running, they think and talk about it — aerobic versus anaerobic training, speed work versus long distance, how to tweak your diet for peak performance. Running and sobriety have risen in tandem, though I'm not sure which comes first: if running is what you care about you stop drinking, and if you've stopped drinking it's easier to run.
I'm curious as to why this is happening now. Work is less physical than it used to be, and it may be that young people who sit in front of screens for eight hours a day run to get the exercise they would once have got at work. But most middle-class jobs were desk-bound long before running became a big thing. I reckon it's more about the decline of organised religion, with which running shares many characteristics.
• Why you should add sprints to your jog
Running and religion both demand self-discipline and the renunciation of pleasure. Both give life purpose beyond the daily grind. Both are social activities: runners congregate at 9am on a Saturday morning for Parkrun, as the observant do for church, the mosque or synagogue. People meet their partners running as they once eyed each other over the pews. Runners talk reverentially about their heroes as Christians once did of their saints.
I feel a little alienated from these virtuous young people, since I don't really care who won the 240-mile Moab ultramarathon or whether the Norwegian Singles training plan is the best. But given that runners are less likely to start wars than religious fanatics, it's probably a healthy development.
Some of this government's decisions make me wonder whether it has lost its mind. Announcing a public inquiry into the battle of Orgreave is one such. When the police are overstretched and underresourced, is it a good use of public funds to make them dig up files from 41 years ago?
How will society benefit from exhuming ancient resentments? Shouldn't people be encouraged to forget, rather than relive, past grievances? And do we really want to see Arthur Scargill again?
'No' is his opening position,' said Sarah Champion, chair of the international development select committee, about Sir Keir Starmer's approach to recognising the state of Palestine. From years of personal experience, her attitude is familiar to me: it is that of a determined child towards a parent who they know will eventually cave in. The script goes like this:
No.
NO.
NO.
I'M NOT SHOUTING.
Look, I'm sorry…
Oh all right.
It is worrying that the prime minister's word carries as much authority with his MPs as mine does with my children.
Having spent most of my life in the city I haven't had much opportunity for jam-making. Now things have changed, partly because we moved to the suburbs, but mostly thanks to a small apricot tree. Last year it produced about 20 golden globes; this year, around 500.
Every day for a fortnight I've picked the softest fruits off the tree before the birds got to them, scrabbled in the earth beneath it to rescue windfalls before they rot, packed a big pan full of apricots and sugar, sterilised my jars and filled them with glowing goo. Now I've got a cupboard full of the distillation of summer.
I hand the jars out liberally to friends and relations like a grand lady with a massive orchard. Nobody need know it's all thanks to one little tree.
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Leader Live
9 minutes ago
- Leader Live
How will the UK-France migrants return deal work as it comes into force?
The treaty was laid in Parliament on Tuesday, and will take effect from Wednesday with detentions expected in the coming days. The UK-France deal, which will also bring approved asylum seekers under a safe route to Britain, was agreed last month on the last day of French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the UK. Here is a closer look at the plan and what the issue is. – What is the concern over the Channel crossings? Some 25,436 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel this year – a record for this point in the year since data began being collected in 2018. This is up 48% on this point last year (17,170) and 70% higher than at this stage in 2023 (14,994), according to PA news agency analysis of Home Office data. At least 10 people have died while attempting the journey this year, according to reports by French and UK authorities, but there is no official record of fatalities in the Channel. 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Their removal is expected to be made on the grounds of inadmissibility, that they have arrived from the UK from a safe country where their case can be heard instead, because an agreement is in place with France. The treaty confirms the migrants would be returned back to France by plane, and commits for a return to be completed within three months in all cases. It also agrees for a joint committee to be set up to monitor the agreement and arrange logistics. Migrants will be able to appeal against the decision based on exceptional circumstances. The Home Office said it had learned from the 'lengthy legal challenges' over the previous government's Rwanda scheme and would 'robustly defend' any attempts to block removal through the courts. – How many people will be part of the pilot and much will it cost? No official number of migrants has been confirmed to take part in the pilot, but it is understood numbers will grow over the pilot period and depend on operational factors. The Home Secretary has said the Government does not want to put a number on the amount as she believes it could aid criminal gangs. It has been reported that about 50 a week could be sent to France. This would be a stark contrast to the more than 800 people every week who on average have arrived in the UK via small boat this year. There is no funding to France associated with this agreement, and operations around the returns and arrivals will be paid for from the existing Home Office budget. – What has the reaction been to the deal? Opposition politicians were scathing about the Prime Minister's deal with Mr Macron, with shadow home secretary Chris Philp claiming the small percentage of arrivals to be removed would 'make no difference whatsoever'. On Tuesday, he added: 'This deal is unworkable and wide open to abuse.' Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also branded it a 'humiliation'. Meanwhile refugee charities have also criticised the plan and have urged the Government to provide more safe, legal routes for asylum seekers instead. Reacting to the plan coming into force, Amnesty International UK's refugee rights director, Steve Valdez-Symonds, said: 'Once again, refugees are treated like parcels, not people, while the public is left to pay the price for, yet another cruel, costly failure dressed up as policy.'
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Ofwat chief executive David Black to stand down
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Telegraph
10 minutes ago
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