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*************************************************** RANELAGH HARRIERS E-NEWS # 277 11 March 2008 Editor: Steve Rowland mailto: steverowland@ranelagh-harriers.com *************************************************** HEADLINE NEWS ************* * Finchley 20 - Steve Whitehead wins Spendlove Cup 20 miles championship and Ranelagh finish 3rd team * Rachel Rowan wins Brooklands 10km * Kath Phillips wins Leith Hill Half Marathon * Niall O'Connor heads inter-club team victory * Team and individual wins for Judd School in Ranelagh Cup * Sam Hunton 3rd in Bushy Park Trail Run junior race * Tickets on sale for the Baker Cup Supper at the Roebuck on April 5th SEE HERE ******** CAR PARKING Simon Burrell writes: "I wanted to give you an update on the latest developments with parking as they happen. We had a productive discussion with Dysart owner Nicholas Taylor and his son Barney recently and we will be taking the output to the committee meeting on 25th March for wider review before we agree on what stance we take. Thank you all for your recent help with this situation, which ensured our meeting was most effective. In the short term, please can you continue not to park in the Dysart car park unless they give you express permission to do so. They are keen to ensure their regulars do have access to their car park and are considering introducing a voucher or disc scheme to support this. Although the committee still needs to review the overall proposal, this is a scheme that the Dysart is introducing and I see no reason for us not to participate. It should ensure that there is more parking for all on a Tuesday night. It is not certain how the scheme will operate and the Dysart will need to think this through. I expect they will hand out discs/vouchers to their regulars while in the pub, so you are covered for future parking in their car park. They did suggest that they might collect email addresses, so they could ask people to double-park by the cemetery wall when they hold a special function. I don't expect it will be on a 'per visit' basis. Please don't assume you are a regular and park anyway, as it is for the pub to determine this. Please, please continue to stick to our current arrangement. It may be tempting to use the Dysart car park if other runners are, but do not do so without a disc/voucher, even if you are 1) late, or 2) intending to use the pub after running. Failure to work with the Dysart on this matter could lead to them denying us access to our own car park. Please do not be the person responsible for this happening!" INVITATION You are invited to the Ranelagh Harriers Baker Cup Supper - our Club AnnualAwards CeremonyDate:- Saturday 5th April 2008 @ 7.00pm. Location:- The Roebuck, 130 Richmond Hill, TW10 6RN - Tel 0208 948 2329 Dress:- Smart Casual Price:- £20.00 per person Places are limited to 60 people, so please reserve your place early!!! Your glass of Champagne awaits you!! R.S.V.P. to Michele Gibson:-Email:- micheleagibson@hotmail.com Mobile:- 07703 518956 Cheques payable to Ranelagh Harriers and posted to Ms Michele Gibson, c/o Baker Cup Supper, 16 Copenhagen Gardens, Chiswick, London W4 5NN". TROPHIES Most of the club's trophies are presented at the Baker Cup Supper above. If you have one to collect, please try to come along. If you are a trophy holder, please ensure it is returned in good time to Alan Hedger so that he can get it engraved with the new holder's name before the Supper. Either bring it to the clubhouse and leave it in the safe for Alan to collect, or contact Alan on 01372 740626 to arrange for a handover. END OF SEASON HANDICAPS The longest and the shortest of our club handicap races follow hard on one another in the next couple of weeks. First comes the 10 miles handicap forthe Clutton Cup, the club's oldest trophy which dates back to 1882, the year after our foundation. This is over two laps of five miles in the Park and starts at 2.30pm on Saturday 15th March. Then on Saturday 29th March comes the Baker Cup, our 3 miles road handicap. This one is a relative newcomer, having been presented in 1910! The race takes place over a two lap circuit on the closed roads in the centre of the Park, starting and finishing adjacent to White Lodge. First starter is due off at 3pm. Both these events are open to all members - just turn up and register on the day. RANELAGH RICHMOND HALF-MARATHON - Sunday 11th May 2008 at 8.30am Juliette Chan writes: "Help still needed! Thanks to all those who have volunteered so far. We are still looking for people to help with: Car Parking (x 2) Water (x 1) Finish line (x 1) If you can help, please contact me juliette.chan@yahoo.com. Also, we still need lots of route marshals, so if you, your friends and family can spare a couple of hours, please contact Niall. Thanks". RANELAGH ROAD RUNNING GRAND PRIX and SURREY ROAD LEAGUE Our road Grand Prix will consist of only nine races this year, owing to the Harry Hawkes race being moved back to September. The first two races are the Thames Towpath 10 and the London Marathon. As usual, we are including in our GP all the races that also form part of the Surrey Road League. These are the Sutton 10km, the Richmond Half, the Dorking 10m, the Dysart 10km, the Elmbridge 10km and the Belgrave 5km. Full details of the GP, where you can also find a link to more details about the League. THAMES TOWPATH 10 MILES West 4's Towpath 10 will take place on Sunday 6th April starting at Chiswick at 9.30am. At the time of writing the West 4 website is still showing 2007 details, though the link to 'Entry Form' does bring up the 2008 version. GREEN BELT RELAY The GBR takes place this year on the weekend of 17th and 18th May. It's eleven runners per team, and we will probably be entering at least two teams, one men's and one women's. The route is a complete circle around London's Green Belt, much of it off-road, totalling about 220 miles. It's divided into 22 stages, and each runner has to run one stage on Saturday and one on Sunday. For lots of info about the race, see Green Belt website. Entries have to be in soon, so If you're interested in taking part please contact Marie or Andy - contact details in What's Coming below. CAROLA'S DISSERTATION - EXPERIENCED MARATHON RUNNERS AND TRIATHLETES NEEDED FOR RESEARCH PROJECT Carola Richter writes: "Some of you may know that I'm studying sport science at St. Mary's College, which explains why I'm absent from most of the Tuesday and Thursday sessions. It's my final year and I'm preparing for my dissertation in sports psychology. I know that most of you would rather be interested in getting your VO2 max tested, but unfortunately the laboratory times are too busy. However, sports psychology is a very interesting topic too and some of you may benefit from the outcome. The following is a brief explanation of what is involved and how it works. An investigation of the motives and intrinsic motivation of marathon runners and triathletes. One of the most obvious reasons for participating in aerobic exercise is to obtain health and fitness benefits. However, marathon runners and triathletes endure the pain, financial cost and a level of training that is clearly beyond what is necessary to acquire the basic health benefits of regular exercise. This raises the question "Why do they make so much effort?" Little research has been undertaken regarding the motivations for participating in triathlon events and no comprehensive theory has been accepted since the sport started in 1978 with the introduction of the first Hawaiian Ironman. To understand the respective motivations for marathon runners and triathletes it is necessary to understand the relevant sources of motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation). I'm particularly interested in the reasons underlying peoples' decisions to engage or not engage in physical exercise. The survey for this study will be a compilation of different measures that complement each other in understanding motivational factors such as a demographic section used to understand general information about you as the participant, a Motivation of Marathoners Scale and the Exercise Self-determination Scale. Before participating you will need to sign a consent form and will be given an information sheet of the research project. The study is approved by the Ethical Board of the College and all information will be treated confidentially. I am looking for people who have completed at least two marathon / triathlon events. I will be handing out questionnaires whenever I'm at the club and I will leave some surveys in a box at the club house for anybody who is interested or knows a friend who competes in these events. It only takes 15 minutes to fill out the survey! The questionnaire can also be completed online. If you are interested get in touch with me via e-mail carola@pampellone.com or ring me on my mobile 07810877286. I really appreciate your help and the more participants I get the better the outcome. Good luck for all the marathon runners training very hard for London, Paris or Boston. Watch out for me in Greenwich as I will be at the start line too!" SHARON LAWS - OLYMPIAN? Sharon was a member of our women's team that won the Surrey League title in the 2005/2006 season. Work subsequently took her to Melbourne in Australia, where she has recently hit the sporting headlines in a quite different field. This story comes from the Herald Sun newspaper: "Sharon Laws came second in only her eighth bike race yesterday. No big deal, except it was the Australian road championship and she left a trail of Olympic champions and hopefuls in her wake. While Laws knew her rivals' achievements, she had no idea what they looked like and wrote on her arm a list of their initals and race numbers so she could identify them during the race. Laws, 33, has a British passport, has lived in most African countries and has been in Australia for 15 months on a temporary resident's visa while she works for Rio Tinto. However with a brief hiatus in her work schedule, she has been able to train enough to consider such races. With a flurry of interest in her Olympic eligibility, the Melbourne-based Laws admits she doesn't know what her cycling future holds". ALAN CRAIG Many Ranelagh members were amongst a standing-room only crowd at Mortlake Crematorium to see Alan off on his final journey. Amongst the speakers at the funeral was Tim Woolmer, who delivered a moving poem and presented Alan's widow Sue with two framed photographs: the first was the shot we had on our website, showing a typically smiling Alan running in the 2006 Baker Cup; the second showed Alan and the rest of the Harrac crew waving goodbye as they set off from Grenada on leg 3 of Angus Cater's voyage to Antarctica. *************** WHAT'S COMING... *************** More details of the following from Andy Bickerstaff ( 07772 111491 / mailto: andy.bickerstaff@goodrunguide.co.uk ) or Marie Synnott-Wells (07956 431319 / mailto: nandmwells@aol.com ). Saturday 15th March Clutton Cup 10 miles handicap in Richmond Park. 2.30pm start. Saturday 29th March Baker Cup 3 miles road handicap in Richmond Park. 3pm start. Sunday 6th April Thames Towpath 10 miles at Chiswick.See above. Sunday 13th April London Marathon Time Trials, every Saturday at 9am Bushy Park Diana Fountain car park Richmond Park Pembroke Lodge car park Wimbledon Common Windmill car park Banstead Woods Car park off B2219 Park Lane, Chipstead More details and registration at www.parkrun.com WHAT'S HAPPENED *************** FINCHLEY 20 miles Sunday 9th March at Ruislip This race was dying on its feet a few years ago but successfully re-branded itself as a "Pre-London" event and now attracts some 500 runners for the four-lap part-urban, part-country course around Ruislip. The last finishers took over four hours, which would suggest that the winner probably lapped them twice! The race incorporates Ranelagh's 20 miles championship for the Spendlove Cup, and Steve Whitehead - though a minute slower than last year -retained the trophy fairly comfortably some six minutes clear of Trevor Maguire. Steve and Trevor finished in 11th and 26th places, and with Ed Barker 70th and Steve Grout 145th Ranelagh somewhat surprisingly placed third in the team race. John Hanscomb was also in the field but elected in advance only to cover three laps. In Winchester colours Phil Killingley placed 6th in 1.57.54. 1 P Martelletti (VPH) 1.51.33 11 Steve Whitehead 2.01.45 26 Trevor Maguire 2.07.58 70 Ed Barker 2.18.26 145 Steve Grout 2.31.53 Teams (4 to score) 1 Serpentine 56 2 Hillingdon 146 3 Ranelagh 225 INTER-CLUB 3.8 miles Saturday 1st March in Richmond Park Niall O'Connor led the Ranelagh team for the second time in a fortnight - it's getting to be a good habit! This race was as low-key as they come, with just ourselves and Hercules Wimbledon represented in any numbers, plus threefrom Milocarians and one or two other waifs and strays. It does however offer an opportunity for a blast around one lap of our mob match course, which in other circumstances we are compelled to plod round twice. Hercules junior Alex Bruce-Littlewood was well away at the front, but Niall was within striking distance of second place. Three Chrises plus Sean Paynter and John Herries - in yet another return from injury - completed our scoringsix. Some drama was extracted from the event by Hercules and Ranelagh tying on 39 points in the six-to-score contest. Victory was declared ours on the basis of the relative positions of the last scorers. On a three-to-score basis to accommodate Milos, Hercules took the honours. Sandra Prosser and Wiebke Kortum were the top two women - actually the only two... MABAC LEAGUE 5 miles Sunday 2nd March in Richmond Park It was our turn to host a MABAC event and things all seemed to go off smoothly, thanks to Ann Murray and her team. The course is an unfamiliar one, starting and finishing near the Broomfield Hill car park. About 200 ran, though only half a dozen from Ranelagh - of whom the first three could boast a combined age of 199 years! You can see Bev Ali's photos here: 1 D Cairnie (Runnymede) 29.58 43 Alan Davidson 38.15 47 Pete Warren 38.33 51 Alan Howard 38.48 71 Melissa Glackin 41.22 129 Tanya Allen 51.57 133 Corinne Bishop 52.42 BUSHY PARK TRAIL RUN Sunday 2nd March Sam Hunton and Luke Wilson were both well placed in the junior event, with Sam's sister Amelie, representing St Mary's, runner-up amongst the girls. Seniors 1 D Norman (Stragglers) 24.58 43 Roger Wilson 33.56 81 Gill Wilson 38.00 92 John Hanscomb 40.18 107 Alan Meaden 43.51 118 David Meaden 45.48 Juniors 1 B Chapman 13.20 3 Sam Hunton 14.02 7 Luke Wilson 14.29 13 Amelie Hunton 16.19 RICHMOND PARK TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 1st March 1 A Robinson (Herc Wimb)17.54 4 Graham Quick 19.28 11 Stephen Instone 20.22 19 Chris Wilson 21.47 40 Simon Burrell 24.12 41 Louise Reeder 24.17 70 Marina Quayle 34.34 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 1st March 1 R Ward (Belgrave) 16.02 9 Hugh Brasher 18.30 18 Darren Wood 19.05 22 David Rowe 19.27 25 Jonny Peacock 19.49 30 Simon Rothwell 20.02 120 Martin Harrison 23.33 148 David Ready 24.23 150 Roger Wilson 24.26 164 Ivan Boggis 24.56 192 Anne Baker 26.06 200 Sharon Rowe 26.24 217 John Hanscomb 27.14 263 Wally Garrod 29.54 LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH 5km Friday 29th February in Hyde Park 1 J Shone (Basildon) 15.27 89 Alan Davidson 21.28 201 Mike Rowland 33.01 (race walking) BROOKLANDS 10km Sunday 2nd March at Weybridge Evelyn Joslin reports: "Ranelagh clean-up at the Brooklands 10K! Rachel, Clive, Vicci and I had all been lured with the prospect of good times at the first running of the pancake flat Brooklands 10K. However as we huddled in the strong winds that swept across the exposed course at 8am, we were questioning the merit of our judgement... The race itself wound round and round and round the test track, which made for lots of opportunities to see each other throughout the race. Rachel got off well, leading the ladies race from the start line and extending her lead throughout to finish in a new PB of 37:48. Vicci also had a stellar run to achieve her first sub-50 10K. It was Clive's second race of the weekend, so a very solid performance from him too. For me, the best thing about the day was that my Mum was able to see me run a race for the first time. As I wasn't a naturally athletic child, she had only ever seen me getting a prize for an egg and spoon race before! I think it's fair to say that we all had a good, but hard run. In addition to Rachel's overall and V35 wins, Vicci and I were rewarded for our efforts with the prizes for 10th and 5th lady. It was a shame that there wasn't a team prize, but we shouldn't be greedy!" It later transpired that an official course measurer had been unable to vet the course before the race. Rachel adds: "I was really pleased with my run on Sunday but disappointed that I was trying to get a PB at the one race where the course hadn't been accurately measured. I know I am running well at the moment but I don't think I would have gone under 38 minutes and it was quite windy in parts. A couple of people at the race who were wearing footpods suggested 200m short, so I think I would probably have to add at least 50 seconds, taking me to around 38.40. At least I still believe I got under 40 minutes for the first time, but still rather annoying. However I did get a fantastic Garmin 305 GPS heart rate monitor as first prize and a bag as I was first lady vet over 35". 1 P Hamilton (Annadale) 31.01 19 Rachel Rowan 37.48 52 Evelyn Joslin 42.47 70 Clive Naish 43.56 107 Vicci Randle 46.40 READING HALF MARATHON Sunday 2nd March Trevor Maguire reports: "I have run Reading a few times and it has definitely improved over the last few years. Not only has the organisation improved (in the past a long delayed start was the tradition) but the new start/finish at the Madejski Stadium means there is plenty of parking and facilities, even if you do need to get there fairly early. Another bonus is that the course seems slightly faster. I think this is due to having the two uphill sections completed by halfway which leads to a fast second half. I met up with Chris and Marie in the 'elite' section at the start - a bit of a novelty for me and Chris I guess but probably not for Marie. I bumped into Darren after a few miles and we ran together for a bit but his plan was to run a solid race whilst I wanted to push on a bit to try and reverse some terrible race form! Around halfway a man in black came surging past and it took me a while to recognise Patrick looking very determined (kit steward - please get this man a Ranelagh vest). After a few flat, fast miles we dropped down the last descent onto the windy dual-carriageway section back towards the Stadium. At this stage it is every man (and woman) for themselves so I pushed on a bit and managed to catch Jonathan who was running a steady even-paced race. The finish is inside the Stadium and with a large crowd it does make for an exciting finish, especially for the younger competitors who manage to find a sprint finish to embarrass some of us veterans! There were good performances all down the field, including a couple of first time sub-2 hours, so it was a relatively happy band who met up at the finish, and apart from a few knocks and niggles which slowed Marie down, we had few complaints about our times. All in all, I think Reading is as good as it gets for mass-start races and is a very good preparation for anyone thinking about London". There were also good runs from Phil Killingley, 36th in 72.17 representing Winchester, and especially Chris Illman, 18th in 69.22 for Cirencester. 1 P Makau (Kenya) 1.01.19 (chip time 1.01.19) 206 Trevor Maguire 1.21.55 (1.21.46) 221 Jonathan Robinson 1.22.33 (1.22.30) 259 Patrick Wallis 1.23.32 (1.23.24) 311 Darren Wood 1.24.48 (1.24.36) 379 Marie Synnott-Wells 1.26.15 (1.26.07) 409 Chris Brook 1.26.50 (1.26.41) 702 Simon Rothwell 1.31.12 (1.30.22) 3198 Ian Anderson 1.50.02 (1.44.11) 3726 Heather Martingell 1.52.54 (1.48.12) 3870 Karen O'Hara 1.53.37 (1.52.30) 6259 Lynne Barber 2.06.29 (1.59.31) 7261 Anne Baker 2.12.43 (1.59.25) 7859 Lorraine Clifton 2.16.50 (2.03.30) 9292 Daniel Hobbs 2.29.10 (2.15.51) 9456 Cindy Croucher 2.31.01 (2.24.02) MILTON KEYNES HALF MARATHON Sunday 2nd March 1 M Fudalej (Milton K) 1.11.03 277 Steve Grout 1.34.45 KINGFIELD CANTER 2.85 miles handicap Wednesday 5th March 1 I Berry (Winchester) 25.59 (actual time 17.59) 14 Louise Piears 26.49 (21.19) 19 Jim Forrest 26.59 (21.14) 23 Steve Rowland 27.09 (18.39) 24 Sonia Rowland 27.10 (20.10) 26 Alan Davidson 27.20 (19.35) RANELAGH CUP SCHOOLS RACE Saturday 8th March in Richmond Park The Ranelagh Cup dates back to 1927, but the turn-out was fairly small this year, partly owing to a clash with the English Schools Championships. Nine schools closed in teams of four, with individual and team honours both going to Judd School from Tonbridge. Judd were last year's runners-up and this will be the first time their name has gone onto the Cup, interrupting the Winchester / Charterhouse hegemony which has dominated the race since 1995. 1 N Jesson (Judd) 21.48 2 J Taylor (Judd) 22.01 3 J Twomey (Epsom) 22.37 Teams (4 to score) 1 Judd 18 2 Epsom College 49 3 St John's Leatherhead 69 4 RGS Guildford 83 5 Winchester 84 6 Tiffin 100 BUSHY PARK TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 8th March 1 J Lock (Thames Turbo) 16.07 9 Hugh Brasher 18.13 18 Darren Wood 18.31 22 David Rowe 18.54 28 Marc Snaith 18.59 39 Nick Wright 19.37 40 Simon Rothwell 19.39 122 Layla Smith 22.26 151 Roger Wilson 23.26 153 Jonathan Billington 23.27 161 David Ready 23.39 175 Paul Bisping 24.09 233 Wally Garrod 26.04 243 Sharon Rowe 26.35 249 John Hanscomb 26.41 290 Daniel Hobbs 28.08 312 Heather Martingell 29.23 RICHMOND PARK TIME TRIAL 5km Saturday 8th March 1 G Brook (Stragglers) 16.44 7 Chris Read 20.03 10 Stephen Instone 20.26 23 Andy Woodhouse 22.25 68 Lorna Smith 28.49 80 Marina Quayle 35.10 LEITH HILL HALF MARATHON Sunday 9th March Not a course for PBs! Here's the race web-site: "The inaugural Leith Hill Half Marathon was run on Sunday 9th March, headquartered at The Priory School, Dorking, and starting from The Nower. A total of 240 runners from all over the UK and abroad started out on the challenging route, which commenced with a lung-burning ascent of the Greensand ridge to gain views over Dorking and towards Leith Hill, and which then ran to Westcott and -via Coldharbour - to Leith Hill, southern England's highest point. Runners were treated to magnificent views out over the Weald towards the South Downs, before commencing their descent along the same route, back to the Nower". Kath Phillips takes up the story:"This was the inaugural Leith Hill half marathon preceded by the inaugural British wife carrying championships. Having come 3rd (out of three) in the wife carrying championships where I was carried by my brother Ian, I was feeling determined to salvage some pride! The race itself kicked off with a chorus of the national anthem and then set off straight up a hill (the first of many). The course is out and back and goes from Dorking to the top of Leith Hill so plenty of steep gradients, but also great views if you dare to take your eyes off the ground. It's a small event with a very friendly atmosphere and perhaps best of all, a full English breakfast to follow! I started quite near the back and early progress was not helped by a long section where it was only possible to go single file. However, the forced slow pace was almost certainly good for me as I was able to speed up and overtake a lot of runners by about the 5 mile mark. At that point, I still had the impression I was quite far back, so I got a real shock when aftersome overtaking on a steep hill (Anna's hill training obviously works!) marshals/spectators suddenly started congratulating me on being the firstlady! By about the half way point, I'd decided I wasn't mishearing them and concentrated on maintaining a steady pace to finish in around 1 hour 43 and win a bottle of cava! (And a pot noodle for our efforts in the wifecarrying)". 1 C Beecham (Highgate) 1.23.58 30 Kath Phillips 1.43.05 93 Roger Wilson 1.55.07 153 Louise Piears 2.06.41 BALLYCOTTON 10 miles Sunday 9th March Niall O'Connor reports:" The picturesque coastal village of Ballycotton, on Ireland's south coast, hosts one of the longest running road races (31 years straight) in early March each year. On the pretence of visiting family and friends I neatly tied in a visit that would ensure my presence on the start line. On a fast course, with one major hill inconveniently located at the 8.5 mile mark, it attracts 2,500 runners each year, and sells out in a matter of days. The village hosts a lighthouse and a lifeboat station - both indicative of what the weather there can be like! While the wind on Sunday was blustery and strong at times, coming off a season of cross-country road-running felt a lot easier. My aim was to break 60 minutes and I got to halfway on 29:49, and then 10kmin 37:05. The final 2km featured the hill, not quite on the scale of what we encountered at Alton Towers but still 300m of hard work, followed by a long slow drag to the finish (similar to our xc course). A perfect road surface made it a lot easier and strong support pushed me upwards to the finish. My second 5 miles was 29:35 giving me a finish time of 59:24 which earned me the right to several pints of Beamish afterwards! This is a great race that begins with a recital of the Ballycotton 10 song (available for all to hear on YouTube), a t-shirt for the top 100 finishers and a mug for everyone that completes it. Run by the local club it costs just £7 to enter, is excellently organised with the roads closed for the duration of the race and has the support of the whole village. Some of the pubs even show the race afterwards on large screens! As their t-shirts say -this is "A classic race at a classic distance" - anyone fancy coming to Corkon a club trip next March?" 1 V Mulvey (Raheny) 50.37 37 Shane O'Rourke 57.40 64 Niall O'Connor 59.31 BANBURY 15 miles Sunday 9th March Kerrie O'Connor was 6th woman home and 3rd veteran. 1 P Andrew (Northbrook) 1.24.03 62 Kerrie O'Connor 1.46.35 179 Evelyn Joslin 2.04.56 DORNEY LAKE 10km Sunday 9th March at Windsor 1 J Sumpter (TVH) 31.37 43 Duncan Mallison 41.34 176 Kathy Mann 50.56 FINALLY... The ditch at Leamington's Newbold Comyn is apparently notorious in Midlands running circles. So when the Midlands Championships were held there in January it was only natural that a large and sympathetic crowd should gather at the ditch - not to mention a bloke with a video camera... here:. Thanks to Marc Snaith