https://jonnyspicer.com/categories/hobbies/ Recent content in Hobbies on Jonny Spicer Hugo en-GB Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:57:58 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/mosh/ Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:57:58 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/mosh/ Pit This is a post I co-wrote with Marina. Marina: A few weeks ago I went to my first concert with a proper mosh pit. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/10-things-i-dont-know-but-want-to/ Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:31:04 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/10-things-i-dont-know-but-want-to/ Artificial intelligence, extraterrestrial intelligence and emotional intelligence Please help me! I have recently spent a lot of time thinking about the ten questions below, and have yet to arrive at satisfactory answers for any of them. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/mount-teide-left-unconquered/ Sun, 06 Apr 2025 14:42:56 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/mount-teide-left-unconquered/ Last week I suffered my first1 DNF at the Tenerife Bluetrail 110k. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/is-this-water/ Tue, 02 Jul 2024 15:00:14 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/is-this-water/ Content warning: suicide. You meet someone who claims to be a prophet. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/notes-from-william-zinssers-on-writing-well/ Thu, 21 Mar 2024 18:50:18 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/notes-from-william-zinssers-on-writing-well/ I thought I was a passable writer, but Zinsser changed that - although he also showed me the path to proficiency. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/an-introduction-to-internal-family-systems-a-brief-review/ Tue, 12 Mar 2024 17:24:55 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/an-introduction-to-internal-family-systems-a-brief-review/ I think there is something of a problem with reading books about therapy, or perhaps psychology more generally. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/the-arc/ Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:52:14 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/the-arc/ I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to say about this race before I even got to the start line. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/eiger-ultra-trail/ Sat, 23 Jul 2022 20:29:02 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/eiger-ultra-trail/ About four years ago, my then-housemate suggested that I watch The Race That Eats Its Young, a documentary about the legendary Barkley Marathons. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/an-end-to-daily-posts/ Tue, 15 Feb 2022 11:15:51 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/an-end-to-daily-posts/ I said at the start of the year that I wanted to get out of the habit of publishing a blog here every day, and since then I have struggled a little to find the will to stop. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/a-normal-sized-leg/ Tue, 08 Feb 2022 09:29:11 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/a-normal-sized-leg/ The swelling in my left leg has finally reduced down to virtually nothing, and so this evening I was able to head out on my first run in 10 days. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/ants-from-up-there/ Sat, 05 Feb 2022 15:35:42 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/ants-from-up-there/ Yesterday saw the release of the new Black Country, New Road album, Ants From Up There, in the same week that the band announced that frontman Isaac Wood will be leaving the project due to mental health issues, and unfortunately cancelling their upcoming shows, one of which I had tickets to and was very excited about. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/some-thoughts-about-tattoos/ Mon, 31 Jan 2022 08:40:25 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/some-thoughts-about-tattoos/ Yesterday I got tattoo number 9, my biggest so far. It covers my left leg from knee to ankle, 360 degrees (sorry Mum) and I am absolutely in love with it. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/arc-envy/ Sat, 29 Jan 2022 14:26:58 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/arc-envy/ This weekend it’s the Arc of Attrition, arguably England’s toughest single-stage ultramarathon. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/rest-day/ Fri, 28 Jan 2022 12:27:10 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/rest-day/ Today is my first rest day of the year. Or at least, it sort of is - I already did a fairly difficult yoga session and I did try and go for a run, but after going 200m down the road my legs were having none of it and I decided to try to be sensible about the whole thing. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/occ-lottery-ii-not-this-year/ Wed, 26 Jan 2022 11:55:58 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/occ-lottery-ii-not-this-year/ Unfortunately I didn’t get into the OCC, but in reality I am quite glad - attempting to run another race only slightly more than a month after the EUT would’ve been pretty stupid, and even if I had got a place, I might not have accepted it anyway. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/better-than-medication/ Mon, 24 Jan 2022 07:25:06 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/better-than-medication/ Another very short one today in light of a lack of both inspiration and time. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/tata-steel-masters-2022/ Sun, 23 Jan 2022 14:58:13 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/tata-steel-masters-2022/ Round eight of this year’s edition of the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk an Zee, Netherlands is just about wrapping up, and so far this tournament has already had its fair share of thrills and spills. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/runthrough-olympic-park/ Sat, 22 Jan 2022 20:28:06 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/runthrough-olympic-park/ Today I ran the RunThrough 10k at the Olympic Park, my first race since September of last year and my first race of that distance since September 2019, when I just about squeaked under an hour to come home in 59:53. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/baking/ Fri, 21 Jan 2022 13:26:56 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/baking/ After having finally figured out how to enjoy cooking, and dabbling in some marginally more adventurous kitchen activities like fermenting peppers, pickling cucumbers and making my own hot sauce, baking seemed like an obvious next step. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/overdoing-it/ Thu, 20 Jan 2022 13:05:05 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/overdoing-it/ I can feel myself getting dangerously close to overdoing it, and my body and mind are telling me I need to slow down. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/hot-sauce/ Wed, 19 Jan 2022 20:49:33 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/hot-sauce/ This evening, in an effort to stave off the January blues, I made my own hot sauce for the first time. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/overpositivity/ Tue, 18 Jan 2022 12:58:21 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/overpositivity/ I have been a bit worried recently that the things I write here are only ever reasonably positive, and paint an unrealistic picture of my life. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/cooking-ii/ Sun, 16 Jan 2022 08:04:56 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/cooking-ii/ After almost 10 years of trying, I feel like I’m finally getting the hang of cooking. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/a-new-way-to-run-ii/ Sat, 15 Jan 2022 08:04:56 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/a-new-way-to-run-ii/ It’s been about two months of low heart rate training and I feel like it’s going incredibly well. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/shobu/ Thu, 13 Jan 2022 08:25:29 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/shobu/ After being at Draughts a couple of weeks ago and being far more interested in what the couple next to me were playing than my own group, after some digging I discovered it was Shobu and given how up my alley it looked, naturally I bought a set. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/the-book-of-mormon/ Tue, 11 Jan 2022 08:05:28 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/the-book-of-mormon/ Last night I went to a West End theatre for the first time and saw The Book of Mormon, a musical which I probably wouldn’t have had much interest in if it weren’t for having had so many glowing recommendations from my friends over the years. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/back-to-the-north-downs-way/ Sun, 09 Jan 2022 15:12:34 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/back-to-the-north-downs-way/ As my first “serious” training run for the EUT, as well as in order to make a start on my trail running goal for the year, today I headed out to the North Downs Way for a medium-effort 18 miles with a friend. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/occ-lottery/ Thu, 06 Jan 2022 08:40:05 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/occ-lottery/ Today the lottery opens for the legendary UTMB, perhaps the most famous ultramarathon in the world. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/the-big-short/ Wed, 05 Jan 2022 14:13:36 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/the-big-short/ Last night I watched The Big Short and I have to say, it made me feel profoundly sad in a way that I can’t remember another film making me feel. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/the-soundtrack-to-2021/ Thu, 30 Dec 2021 10:44:28 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/the-soundtrack-to-2021/ While I think everyone agrees that 2021 was another bad year in general, it was at least a good year for music. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/world-rapid-championships/ Tue, 28 Dec 2021 19:44:27 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/world-rapid-championships/ Today concluded the Rapid Chess World Championships, pretty much the only thing that as kept me sane over the past three days. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/chess-commentators/ Mon, 27 Dec 2021 18:00:07 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/chess-commentators/ Seeing as I’m stuck inside, I’ve been pretty glued to the Rapid Chess World Championships that’ve been on, and the biggest thing that sticks out to me are how bad most of the commentators are. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/superstore/ Fri, 24 Dec 2021 16:48:42 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/superstore/ So far, my plan to do anything productive during my time in isolation is going poorly, as I have instead watched two full seasons of NBC sitcom Superstore. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/2022-races/ Sun, 12 Dec 2021 15:24:42 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/2022-races/ My race calendar for 2022 is filling up and I’m incredibly excited. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/fish-tacos/ Sat, 11 Dec 2021 20:01:55 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/fish-tacos/ Before this evening, I’d had fish tacos exactly once in my life, correct me if my exact location is wrong but if I recall correctly, it was at a small place by the side of Highway 307 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/world-chess-championship-2021-iii/ Fri, 10 Dec 2021 19:07:05 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/world-chess-championship-2021-iii/ And just like that, the match is all over; Magnus Carlsen retains his crown as world chess champion with three whole games to spare. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/big-races-bad-ideas-ii-eiger-ultra-trail/ Wed, 08 Dec 2021 19:39:10 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/big-races-bad-ideas-ii-eiger-ultra-trail/ In bad news, I did not get a place in the lottery for the big ultra next summer. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/world-chess-championship-2021-ii/ Sun, 05 Dec 2021 16:13:01 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/world-chess-championship-2021-ii/ After 8 games of the 14 game match, the world championship is already all but decided. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/parkrun-ii/ Sat, 04 Dec 2021 19:03:57 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/parkrun-ii/ Today I achieved another of my goals for this year, and ran my 50th parkrun event at Clapham Common. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/2021-book-reviews-ix-memoir-edition/ Wed, 01 Dec 2021 08:56:36 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/2021-book-reviews-ix-memoir-edition/ This time I decided to read something a bit different to what I usually would and try some memoirs. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/world-chess-championship-2021/ Thu, 25 Nov 2021 12:54:34 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/world-chess-championship-2021/ Tomorrow the next World Championship match begins, delayed a year by the pandemic, between incumbent Magnus Carlsen and challenger Ian Nepomniatchi in Dubai. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/international-films/ Mon, 22 Nov 2021 15:14:02 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/international-films/ Once again, I have no more than 5 minutes to write a blog today (I really need to look at having GPT write these again), so all I have to offer is the thought that international films are great and I should watch more of them. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/a-week-of-running/ Sun, 21 Nov 2021 16:58:45 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/a-week-of-running/ After my week off running this week I did the opposite and had a week of running, ie lacing up my shoes and hitting the pavements every single day. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/daebak/ Sat, 20 Nov 2021 14:23:24 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/daebak/ I’ve just booked to go to Daebak tomorrow for the third time in two weeks, so I feel like it’s deserving of an appreciation post. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/cooking/ Fri, 19 Nov 2021 13:42:58 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/cooking/ Recently, I’ve finally managed to start enjoying cooking, something that’s never really been the case. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/a-new-way-to-run/ Thu, 18 Nov 2021 20:03:21 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/a-new-way-to-run/ In anticipation of signing up for some suitably ludicrous race next summer, I’m trying to start training like a real ultra runner - by running painfully slow for as long as possible. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/the-louis-cole-big-band/ Wed, 17 Nov 2021 18:39:30 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/the-louis-cole-big-band/ Last night I went to go see Louis Cole and his big band at Evolutionary Arts Hackney, broadening my gig-going comfort zone by seeing a jazz-funk ensemble for a change. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/big-races-bad-ideas/ Tue, 16 Nov 2021 12:36:35 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/big-races-bad-ideas/ Another classic “quick one because I have no time” today. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/metronomy/ Fri, 12 Nov 2021 17:21:19 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/metronomy/ Last night I saw English indie pop/new wave legends Metronomy play live in the Colour Factory (a converted warehouse) in Hackney Wick, East London. https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/solo-gigs/ Thu, 11 Nov 2021 17:46:47 +0000 https://jonnyspicer.com/blog/solo-gigs/ I’m about to go out to my first gig since moving to London, and I’ll be going on my own.