It finally happened. Six-ish years ago, we started tossing the idea of doing a mixed team relay triathlon as a family. Then someone put a wedding in the middle of triathlon season. Then someone got pregnant. Then someone moved to Ireland for three years. Finally, in 2026, everyone was in the same country.
Cholmondeley Castle is located in Cheshire and the mixed team relay event starts at the very civilised time of 3pm. It is part of the Castle Triathlon Series, of which I’ve previously done Castle Howard and Lough Cutra. My dad has some special team t-shirts made up ahead of the race. 214 represents our combined age.
Pre-race was a little stressful. The water got too warm in the afternoon and they declared it would be a non-wetsuit swim for under 60s. This was my 67th triathlon and the first time ever an event organiser has enforced no wetsuits. Not ideal as I was still rebuilding my confidence in open water: the Wednesday before was the first time I had swam with a wetsuit rather than a wetsuit and tow float.
However, there were only 13 teams in the race and the field spread out on the first leg so by the time I picked up the second leg, I had the entire water safety crew to myself. The swim out to the fist buoy was scary, the second was okay, and the third one was reedy.
The bike course is a 4.2km lap around the castle with some flat and straight roads on the first half where you can get down into the aero position, before a few mild hills and some slightly more technical corners. The run is more challenging, being mostly trail straight up the hill to the castle, around the back, and then zigzagging back to the start.
A big well done to everyone who raced and thank you to everyone at Castle Race Series for organising the event.
In the video game Spiritfarer you take on the character of Stella, who is charged with helping spirits cross into the afterlife. You captain a ship that you sail around an open world exploring local islands, while expanding your ship, taking on passengers and seeing to their needs.
The graphics are stunning. It’s a beautiful hand-drawn style. There is also plenty to do in the game: you can talk to the spirits aboard your boat, cook, fish, craft things, and build new buildings on the boat. It’s quite a chill game: you set sail for somewhere and that sailing takes time, which gives you time to do things although can sometimes go on a little long.
The game has a storyline but it involves a certain level of interpretation that I didn’t always follow. I think if I played through it again I would enjoy the story more.
My biggest criticism of the game is that nobody seems to have played it on a Switch. The text is tiny. Unreadably tiny. Even when I went into the settings and turned the text size up, and even when wearing my glasses, some of it is impossible to read and you have to guess what the numbers are.
There were also points in the game where I did get stuck because it felt like very path was blocked. Despite my frustrations, though, I was addicted to this game and excited to play it every night. It’s my favourite Switch game so far after Animal Crossing.
Last week we held our fifth live event with Leeds Autism Practice. This one looked at why neurodivergent individuals often have mental health difficulties, the barriers to accessing support, and practical solutions for what we can do about it.
We joined PANDAS for some model aeroplane flying. Unfortunately, it was too windy the day Venla was there for her to show us how its done. But I got to have a fly on the Sunday. I managed to do the circuit with stability control on. I also tried it with stability control off, which was really difficult. Not being in the plane, it’s difficult to judge. I don’t think pilots in real planes understand how easy they have it.
After over 100 days of playing Animal Crossing, I decided it might be worth giving a second game a go. And that game was A Short Hike.
You play as a bird who has decided to hike to the top of Hawk Peak. You can wander freely around the open world and as you do so, you collect golden feathers. These are important because they allow you to fly, climb and jump for longer, allowing you to get further up the mountain.
It’s a really fun game you can complete in a few hours. The physics are lovely and the graphics are warm. But you don’t quite get the amazing views jumping off the top of the mountain because the Switch doesn’t have the power to render the entire world as a background.
Well worth spending a cozy evening with.
I’ve been attending Therapist Cafe Leeds for a while but I decided to venture further afield and visit the Shipley event. As a bonus, it also meant I could tick off Roberts Park parkrun which I completed at a leisurely walk to ensure I wasn’t sweaty. Lovely to meet everyone who attended and hopefully see you again soon.
Roberts Park is in Saltaire. The parkrun is two laps of the park and an extended bit down the river. There are a couple of choke points that slow everything down but its reasonably scenic and they had an army of volunteers. Thanks to everyone who made it happen.
Elina bought my a Nintendo Switch for Christmas and I’ve decided to write a few blog posts about the games I’ve tried. Number one being Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
In the game, you relocate to a small deserted island where you build a community. The game involves gathering resources, crafting furniture, and earning bells (the local currency) to pay off your home loans to the project leader, Tom Nook. It’s a very chill cozy game.
The game happens in real time, following the day and night cycle in your location. It is daylight during the day time and dark during the night. It also follows the seasons so you get snow in January and and different bugs and fish are only available to catch at certain times of the year. In that sense, it takes at least a year to complete because you need time to cycle through everything.
This does get in the way at times. As a parent, I typically get time to play before 8am and after 10pm. But the Nook Shop is only open 8am to 10pm and Able Sisters is only open 9am to 9pm. There is a night owl option that allows the shops to stay open an hour later. Venla has had the opposite issue: some of the fish only come out after her bedtime.
Overall though, it’s a 10/10 game. It’s the only game I got with my Switch and I played it every day for four months without ever wanting to try out another game.
Super Food in Minutes: Easy Recipes, Fast Food, All Healthy is a cookbook by Donal Skehan. It’s really good. The food genuinely is quick and easy to make and there are loads of tasty recipes.
I’ve been rebuilding my confidence in open water and swimming a lot at Swillington Wilds. But ahead of the open water triathlon season it was time to get back in the big lake. Lovely to reconnect with the Blue Lagoon team and get some laps in.