To paraphrase Jane Austen, It is a truth universally acknowledged that the moment summer ends and the autumn winds and rain begin your central heating boiler will be condemned and a tile will fall off your roof in the exact spot where water will start cascading into a bedroom. In consequence, the last seven days at Jabber Towers have been spent in the company of plumbers and builders, not walkers. What have I missed? Well, Ron staged one of his non-LDWA walks last Thursday. This one went from Leigh-on-Sea to Shoeburyness and by the look of the photo they actually experienced some sun.

Above: Leigh-on-Sea to Shoeburyness Below:  What on earth is this?

PHOTOS Ian Watson

If anyone can identify the above I'd be interested to learn! It has more holes than the Manchester Utd defence (as you can imagine, as a Spurs supporter who had been dreading their visit to Old Trafford yesterday, I have a smile on my face this morning, and I would think one or two of LDWA London's West Ham fans will be feeling pretty chipper too after their defenestration of Leicester).

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On the subject of rain, I happened to be looking through some old Striders yesterday when I happened on the August 2012 issue, the one that contained reports of the Games 100. This was the LDWA's 40th Hundred and so called because it took place in that memorable Olympic year. LDWA London was heavily involved, with a route that started next to the Olympic Park and passed through four other London 2012 Games venues. And it rained. To quote Paul Lawrence:

'Little did anyone expect the British weather to play its usual Bank Holiday teicks and even Royal influence and 60 years' notice could not provide the hoped-for conditions. So it was that what might have been a relatively benign route by 100 standards became a real challenge, with heavy rains, sodden ground and treacherous surfaces, especially on the chalk hills. Hypothermia was now a real risk, while a week earlier heat stroke might have been more likely! And to cap it all, just after the last walker finished, the sun came out and the unseen views returned!'

LDWA Games 100: Can anyone spot themselves or familiar faces?