Governor Finn Black

All the wrong people have imposter syndrome.

It used to be common to hear prison staff to say: "Everyone in here is a volunteer."

It wasn't true then and it isn't true now.

This hard-right thinking creates future victims - and prisoners at £50k p.a. - in order to court Reform voters they'll never win over anyway.

It makes no sense. None.

While our 350-mile finishers were enjoying the traditional Man Cakes and no doubt reminiscing with fellow participants about the last 10 days, while sipping coffee under quilts, there is still a 1,000 mile race going on. There had been no movement on the trail until the afternoon when Gavin continued his trek back down towards McGrath as did Takao Kitada. When hearing rumors of the trail conditions the words "impassable" and "impossible" come up. The other subject is the "trail math" conversation which is bad for any mode, but particularly crushing for the foot division. With no trail set in, and a large amount of snowfall north up the trail, rumors of 45 and 50 miles average per day needed to complete the race in the allotted 30 days feels crushing. When will movement happen? Any foot racers wanting to continue cannot wait for the trail breakers, who traditionally only come up two days before the lead dog team, as every minute they are stopped increases that daily mileage. Even though snow shoeing through thigh deep snow for hours and hours probably feels fruitless, some forward motion would need to happen. Easier said than done, slower pace through deep snow means more calories exerted, which leads to more calories needed to keep said pace, which then leads to heavier sleds, compounding the situation, a 3 or 4 day crossing becomes 8 or 10.

Mark's been forced to scratch after covering 306 miles, which must be heartbreaking for him but isn't too much of a surprise.

This screenshot from the ITI website explains how bad conditions are out there. #ITI #IditarodTrailInvitational

An Imposter in Shetland An Imposter in Shetland eBook : Taylor, Marsali: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

If you like plenty of violence and a stack of dead bodies you'll love #BlackGold

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"In an unusual twist, the 1,000 mile race is being led by the foot division as most racers on bike have scratched."

That's how tough conditions are. Mark is maintaining 30 miles a day although I've no idea how!

(Suspect he's not getting much reading done though...)

#ITI #IditarodTrailInvitational

Updates — ITI The latest news on ITI 2020, the world's toughest winter ultra.

Race updates here:

At 287 miles now, averaging 34 miles a day, which is remarkable given the conditions:

"ITI athletes have been treated to a winter not seen in over half a century. Extreme winds and brutal temperatures have been relentless. Blowing and drifting snow make navigation difficult and progress slow."

Now resting at Nikolai after covering 259 miles.

With a population of 89, it's only accessible by river and air. Or foot if you're as tough AF.

The ebook of THE FINAL VOW is only 99p at the moment. Not sure how long this price promotion is scheduled to last but hopefully it won’t be very long 😡

www.amazon.co.uk/Final-Vow-Wa...

Cover of Black Gold by Tony C Scott. Picture of a man in a white jumper and a dark woolly hat looking out over cliffs and a stormy sea.

He's got a copy of Black Gold tucked away inside his pulk but I'm guessing he won't have much time to read it...

Shame really, because folk seem to enjoy it:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Brilliantly evocative of Shetland - feels like you’re actually there with Finn and Co. I couldn’t put it down."

#booksky 💙📚

With 220 miles under his belt he's almost a quarter of the way - and he's been on the move for almost a quarter of the 30 days he's allowed.

It's going to be tight. Very tight but if it was easy I'd be out there too 😁

(Oh, and windchill is currently -57C.)

It's an epic adventure - and if you want to know more you can buy his book on his last Iditarod here:

180 miles now. Still savage weather with blizzards and -40C plus wind chill. At some points the foot racers were travelling at 0.3mph - image staying motivated at those speeds when you know you've got 800 miles ahead of you! #ITI #IditarodTrailInvitational

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If you use #Firefox as your #browser, download the new version 148.0 PRONTO. It gives you the option to turn off all #AI features, as seen in the Firefox Settings / AI Controls Screenshot below.

This is amazing.

www.getyourfuckingmoneyback.com

He's covered 130 miles now, and is enjoying temperatures of as low as -40C. This is a good thing as the snow is firmly packed and the trail should be in good shape. His last event was plagued by warm temperatures, which is exactly what you don't want when you've got to cross Norton Bay on sea ice...

Dear Auntie
You will be surprised to hear that I am going to prison tomorrow.

At the 125-mile point he'll reach Finger Lake, where he can get a hot meal and a bed in a tent. Not sure whether he'll sleep there or will push on; I guess so much depnds on how he's feeling, what the conditions are like - and whether anyone is snoring loudly! #ITI #IditarodTrailInvitational

Mark's 106 miles in and making good progress!

These are also now available for free if you're a Kindle Unlimited subscriber.

You can follow Mark here:

The cover of Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

If you're a member of (or want to join in with) our Audio Waves Book Club then our fifth Audio Waves title is: BEAUTIFUL UGLY by Alice Feeney. Available FREE on #BorrowBox with your Orkney Library card (OR find it wherever you get your Audiobooks) 🎧

Remember ANYONE can join in, WHEREVER you live!

It is a very good book indeed.

Congratulations 👍

Me to my youngest: if a strange man stopped his car when you were walking on the pavement and said, would you like some mini eggs? If you get in my car, I’ll give you mini eggs. What would you do?

My child: I’d get the mini eggs!

Me: uh

Child: ….and then I’d kill him.

★★★★★THE DEAD AND THE DYING - 'Lin Anderson is a fantastic author and every one of her Rhona MacLeod books is so interesting, so tense, and so informative - it is difficult to put the books down.' https://bit.ly/4nrA9Q8
#Thriller #LinAnderson #TheDeadAndTheDying

Crazy cheap - I’m guessing U.K. only…

(But later in the book, I was equally happy with Reacher's soliloquy that starts: What is the twentieth century's signature sound? I thought that was a fine, fine paragraph, but no one ever mentions it.)

*waves hand in the air like a giddy schoolboy*

Please sir, I did - and it inspired the opening chapter of Black on Blue.

#booksky 📚💙

The cover of Reacher Said Nothing by Andy Martin.

And, if you REALLY love Reacher, you'll also enjoy Reacher Said Nothing by Andy Martin, which isn't on sale but is worth every penny.

The cover of Reacher by Lee Child

If you love Jack Reacher (and if you don't we can't be friends) you'll also love Reacher by Lee Child - and it's currently on sale for 99p as Kindle book.