Picture the scene. A week before christmas, myself and K are at R & C's house for a glögg (see below) party and just as we're leaving F, a friend of C's, says 'would you like to go canoeing after xmas'. 'Yeah' says I 'Sounds good'. 'Well actually' says F 'When I said canoeing I really meant dragon boat racing'. okay.....

So thats the reason why on tuesday night I found myself sharing a dragon boat with 19 other folks paddling like crazy up and down the canals which wend around down town Malmö. In the dark. In the cold. As a novice, as the other two guys were, I figured it would be pretty laid back - no such luck. We battled out of the boat house landing area and then thundered up the canal, by shoulders already starting to ache and my buttocks clenching madly in an attempt to stay upright on the thin wooden plank which was laughingly called a seat. 'And now the fartlek training'. Shit, I realised - that was just the warm-up. Fartleks, titter ye not, are (for those not used to training until vomiting) is changes in speed over a set period of time, repeated. Nackering. After doing that, for about half an hour, we changed sides (otherwise you end up looking like a fiddler crab or a very frustrated submariner) and did it all over again. In the dark. In the cold. With warm dry people shouting and cheering from the canal banks. And then the racing starts, and then a sprint over 200 metres. Lots of splashing, lots of fun. Fortunately the guy infront of me had a good team spirit and did not object to me cracking his knuckles as I wielded my paddle like a broad sword. Thus, sore muscles and tired ass (all the clenching).

Its a red day (bank holiday) tommorow - nice.

music: none.
weather: wet, windy and above zero
food: christmas porridge
christmas decorations: gone



Glögg