My Weekend In Numbers

30
The speed in miles per hour that my cousin refused to exceed while driving in Birmingham.

13
The place my other cousin came in the Inter Counties Cross Country Championships.

My cousin, Paul in the Inter Counties Championships, wearing number 4488 (red vest, black shorts).

4.49
The approximate average pace in minutes per mile that he achieved.

1
The place my cousin expects to come in the same race in two years’ time.

1
The place I expect my cousin to come in the same race in two years’ time.

104
The amount in Pound Sterling a plastic toy I was selling made on eBay.

Me with the toy figure in question.

0.01
The amount in Pound Sterling this plastic toy had cost me.

5
This toy’s weight in grams.

6869
The approximate distance in miles this toy will have to travel to get to its new owner.

49
The number of pictures taken while visiting my brother in Birmingham.

2
The number of people who subsequently used one of these photos as a Facebook profile picture.
10
The approximate number of seconds my brother had to hold the following position while I fumbled with the settings on my camera.

A midnight "knees up" on campus at Birmingham University

6
The number of trains taken.

10
The rating, out of 10, I would give this weekend.

Comments

Mr Pebble Pockets

I’ve called him Mr Pebble Pockets because if I don’t make a joke out of it I’ll cry. It was about 10:30pm, I’d just got back to the boat from a late shift and I was waiting for my Deliveroo. He was standing a little further down the towpath and staring at the water. The night was clear and crisp and there was enough moonlight to see the shape of him: he was tall, late twenties and had a powerful sporty look to him. He wasn’t crying, but he was shaking and he stood crooked. Well, it doesn’t take a genius, does it? I only came out to wait for a bloody curry. Mother Florence bloody Teresa Nightingale springing into action, hungry and as tired as fuck and now having to stop this guy from jumping into the canal with an anchor for a coat. I know now that the best thing to do was offer him a cigarette. I don’t know why I didn’t. I had the packet and the lighter in my hand. ‘Excuse me,’ I said. ‘Ar...

An Expert Analysis of Michael Fassbender's Running Style From the Film 'Shame'

Tom Wiggins: What are your first impressions of Michael Fassbender/Brandon's running style? Paul Whittaker: He's running nice, smooth and relaxed. He seems like he has a good amount of fitness and he is running well within himself in terms of pace. TW: What improvements could he make to his running style? PW: The main improvement I'd make is his foot plant. He lands heel first and this causes a 'breaking' effect when travelling forwards. If he landed on his mid-foot/forefoot, this would be a much better for impact stress and propulsion going forward into the next running stride. TW: Regarding his speed, how many minutes per mile is he running? PW : I would say he is running approx 7-7.30 minutes per mile. TW: What do you make of his stride lengths? Is he overstriding/understriding? PW: The actor is definitely overstriding in this clip. It would help if his feet landed underneath and below his centre of gravit...

Samsa & Shabeezi

Samsa was now a human. He’d recently become a human after his architect decided to put a human heart in him and give him feelings. The five litres of blood that now pumped around his body warmed him up. It made for incredible nose bleeds, spasms, cramps and bruising, to name o nly a small fraction of the symptoms, but his architect assured him that it would all be worth it and that he'd feel normal very soon. He didn't know what normal was, but he knew it wasn't puking and shitting and bleeding all over the place for the first two months and then just feeling terrible for several weeks after that. Human life is agony, he thought, but he trusted the process. One day, a little over twelve weeks after the operation, he woke up from his first good night's sleep and was able to open the curtains without the light splitting his skull in two. Samsa had known Shabeezi before she became a human woman. All they had done was fight. Samsa es...

Tom Wiggins, Letter Carver & Writer

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