Half Charged.

Ben – Precision.

 

Today was a rainy day, and like most sodden days it meant that very few were going out to train in it. I really didn’t see the point in being out today, everywhere was so wet and there was no way it would dry out by the time the training session started. I was still feeling the effects from the Mansfield jam earlier in the week [1] and so it’s not like I would get much done with tight and sore muscles. I saw that James was still going to be out and he said I might as well come along too, as it could still be good jam and weather wise later. I declined, I didn’t see how it could be and had already in my own mind decided to stay home. Only to then be taunted later by James sending me photo showing that David had turned up to the session! Stating Phil was out and lots of others too, even despite the weather. I didn’t plan to be out, but after seeing that David was out and others had made the effort not to mention town was drying, I got ready to head on out. I arrived at around two o’clock to find everyone over at the Atrium area, though I was still a bit annoyed that there wasn’t ‘loads’ of people out training as I first thought and was claimed, a few at best. I was surprised to see John was out this weekend too, I hadn’t seen him in ages! Due to this fact it led to numerous discussions and debates about superhero TV shows we both watched, trying not to spoil them for James who was nearby listening at times at the conversations.

Today we even had a rare sighting of Vince, unintentional I’m sure. He was walking down the street past the group who had spotted him in his own world and had reluctantly been pounced on and pulled into the community, quizzed and asked what he is up to now days and why he wasn’t training any more and if he would again, if ever! When asked he said he might come back out later today with us, but he would need to have a shower and grab some food first… Likely story, anything to enable him to escape the clutches of the group. He was more impressed with the fact that people were still training and had continued too, long after he had gave up. He still had his nicotine addiction and even though he said he had wanted to start training again, I doubted we would be seeing him later today or any time in the near future. He had a good run, making some gains, acquaintances and acquiring some injuries [2] along the way. He would leave us, no doubt to disappearing once again into a thick smog cloud, and game binging during his university term time. Phil was filming Jack doing a small run and I captured a few photos of Jack doing a running precision to a slanted railing. A movement which wasn’t just awkward due to that fact, but you also had to jump over a railing first to get to the second.

 

Jack – Running Precision.

 

We moved over the road to the area outside the IBM car park which had a giant industrial blue skip, drilling the more awkward ‘smoothments’ as Phil called them. There was an upward precision from a yellow railing to the very mossy looking skip. You could also do it in reverse back down to the railing, that was scary as hell to me and yet it didn’t phase David, at all. Since when did he become such a beast with rail precisions?! It was great to be out training with him again as well as Phil being out at the same time too, it gave that old school 2006 feel to the session. Phil was doing the skip precision up and then sliding down the other side of the skip afterwards, being creative with how he moved. He was also doing a 180 cat to cat from the skip to the yellow railing, which was very low and butt hurting if you did it wrong. We had a few conversations of times gone by, some of the great similar jams we had in our early days of training. In some ways we were the few pioneers of the Nottingham Parkour scene, mad to think just how long we have trained for now! The scene is ever changing, as are the movements and the way people see and train each passing year. It seemed that everyone else had moved on or were planning on moving bar us, choosing to stay in the same area. The plan was to move over to Audo, not the ideal place I wanted to visit as the weekend circuit always seems to consist of Plaza / IBM /Audo, each and every week…

In some ways it enrages me, and makes me wonder why I even bother to come out due to training the same areas all the time! We met the rest of the guys outside the Tesco express where it seemed there was some crazy comic con event going on at the hotel beside it, as there were various people dressed up as their favourite characters from comics in the street. So many people dressed in full costumes, it was quite the sight to see

Legends Assemble.

 

Yaz – Brick Touching.

 

Today I decided to get out of my cave and go to town, on my way limping to the bus stop I had second thoughts about going at all. The bus had drove past me before I got to the stop and I waited for the next one to arrive. I got to town and found Pete, Will and a few others already training at Crowne Plaza. A short while later Zain arrived happy to see everyone and surprised to see me out for once and shortly after followed by Yaz arriving. Me, Zain and Will waved in his direction but a woman in front of him on her phone masked our waves to him and so we kept waving even though she looked completely gone out at us. When Yaz got closer he then realized what we were doing.

I explained to Charlie that my ankle is screwed and so no more training for me again. I watched others train, spoke to the guys and felt bored and sick of Plaza and so had Denis who complained about us being there. After a while of being there me, Will and Yaz went up to the houses are where I got a few shots of them doing tic tac cats/cranes and k2ps. We made our way back to the Atrium where the others were now training at and even bumped into Stefano who was passing by as he walked into town. I felt like the day was over for me, with the few people out and others leaving for home. Zain, Will & Yaz were doing some sort of pain challenge where they all did a circuit of movements involving a same level diving kong followed by rolling on concrete and repeated it in single file until the last man was standing.

 

Will – Kong Precision.

 

They did a few more circuits like this one involving a pop wall climb straight into precision across a flowerbed. I took some photos of them during this and also decided to see if I could still climb up,

Smell of Sorts.

 

Shrubbery view.

 

I arrived at the training session to find very few people out. Most who were out were younger, smaller kids jumping around. Abdur wanted a Npk T-shirt so I went to get that printed for him, he had chosen for it to be in brown with a  white Npk splat. It looked really good on him and also made me more tempted on getting a brown coloured T-shirt, a colour I have yet to have in my wardrobe. It looked like it might rain again, it had been raining in the early hours and looked set too again. My ankle was very sore today and it made me depressed seeing others enjoying movement while all I could do was watch on. Myself, George and Denis complained about the IBM area and that we might go over to Crowne Plaza. I got a few images of Zain doing a diving kong over the walls and it wasn’t too long until we went back over to IBM once again, it started to throw t down with rain and everyone had t retreat to the undercover shelter of Plaza again.

It was back and forth, non stop action of Plaza and IBM throughout the day. At one point there were a group of homeless people at Plaza and one of them was asleep on the floor and one of the hotel staff had to check if he was alive. Yaz and Vincent were talking about going to High Pavement and in our back and forth motion between the two areas I had noticed they had vanished! I went over to High Pavement to see if they were there, which they were. Some people were tricking off the step up while others trained the other side of the area, with catleaps and precision, as quickly as we had arrived Yaz ans Vincent had disappeared from the area.

They were around the corner at the Houses hotspot and sure enough it had started to rain once more, that really heavy summer rain you get after a long dry spell. Most ran down to Plaza to escape from the rain while the rest of us stayed out in the rain carrying on training until the heavy rain drops started to come down thick and fast. Me, Zain, John, Denis, Yaz and Denis took shelter in the corner of the area with our backs flat against the wall which didn’t seem to be getting wet at all, huddled together like a group of drug dealers/sexual deprived guys we waited for the rain to pass… It didn’t and just came down harder and faster started to get a few of  us wet as out cover started to fade people decided to head back down to Plaza. I decided however to call it a day and said my goodbyes to everyone before leaving for home.

 

Stefano - Kong clear precision.

 

Jubilee Bank Holiday Training.

 

Coca Cola.

 

I had planned to go out and meet everyone at 15:30. Lots had said they would be out training only for most to change their mines at the last minute. I was worried there would be no one out at all, my bus was late what with it being a bank holiday. I text Zain letting him know, he rang me and said the same goes for him and the next bus wasn’t until five to four. I arrived in town finally just after 16:00 and met Will, Abdur and Zain who were at IBM already training and taking photos. Zain wasn’t expecting to do much as his ankle was sore from bailing on it Saturday, so he just took photos and filmed people, much like what I was doing. Denis arrived later on as always after he was in two minds whether to even come out training due to the rain earlier on in the day.

The conversation turned between Will and Denis and the fact that Denis had wanted to go training in Derby today even though it was a bank holiday and everything was messed up bus wise. He told Will to be ready for 9am but then he never went online and so Will had woken up got ready but never got anything from Denis to know if it was still on or not. Denis explained when he woke up it was raining and horrid weather and he couldn’t be bothered to get out of his warm bed, then turn on the computer which takes time, wait for it to boot up, put his password in, load firefox to find no one is online. Then he has to message the people and wait for a reply which takes far too long. The explanation had us in stitches the way he explained it, once he did wake up later in the afternoon the weather was sunny like it had never rained at all. Denis was giving the running upwards precision a go today which he was afraid of and Abdur was doing it as well. At one point he had a ball breaker bail like Johnny did where one leg slipped over the wall while the other remained before the wall.

There were other great conversational topics from Denis. Such as, one about a duvet and he asked what one was called and the fact he has to change it and swap it when the day is too warm but when he does the next day it’s cold and he has to change it yet again and it’s just a pain in the ass! He also said when he is changing it at night, there is all this electricity which runs through the duvet and it scared him and he thought, ‘what the fuck is this shit, will it blow up?!’ I explained it was just static and nothing will come of it. I took photos of the guys training and being in envy of not being able to jump around. I did try a few small precisions but could feel it in my ankle. I took some product shots today like using a Lucozade can I had found and put that in the shot while the others did Pk moves. I took some artistic ones of the crumbled wall which my ass had broken on Saturday. I even managed to get Sammie to do a few jumps even though she was very reluctant to do them. At one point while taking some photos I sat on Zain who was laying down to get a shot and bounced on him while taking photos to which Sammie said that I sure do worry her at times, while Zain made orgasmic noises and told me to go harder.