The armoury keeper Soerens carelessly sparked it off

 Ah, Delft, Holland. A lyrical little city between Rotterdam and Den Haag once flattened by 100 tones of exploding gunpowder. The armoury keeper Soerens carelessly sparked it off, killing over a hundred people. Now it's all soaring Gothic buildings and charming canals. It's history and bicycles and wonderful Dutch folk brimming with cheerful enthusiasm and a laid back lifestyle.
I was there on a Rotary International sponsored school trip, bridge building, team bonding and learning to socialise with other cultures. We ate like pigs because they kept feeding us. I can't recommend Dutch hospitality strongly enough, great people.
I did my homework before I left, typing "Delft running" into Google and finding that there is a large wooded area close to my hotel. The Delft Hout (Wood), a mix of trails, woodland and a massive lake. My kind of thing entirely!
I had to run it so I rolled out of my hotel crib early on Thursday, donned my Five Fingers and set off under a bright morning sky made for running. I love travelling and I love new places and new friends. I love expanding my horizon's and expanding myself. Running is such a wonderful way to explore new places. My run was brilliant, cool and peaceful under the trees and along the shoreline in a long, curving, counter clockwise arc. I'm not entirely sure how far I ran, based on the time it must have been around five miles before I had to make my way back to the hotel, a power shower, coffee and warm croissants. I wish it could have been longer.