It's a while since we spoke, but we're building up to the cross-country season that's just around the corner.

Yeah, we had the traditional local opener of the cross-country season at the St. Sennans Open cross-country.

So lots of that, particularly lots of juveniles here from Kilkenny go down there and Get the spikes on, get the feet wet maybe for the first time in a while.

So plenty of good performances down there and plenty of indications of really positive seasons to come.

A positive cross-country season ahead for lots of them.

Cross-country season starts in earnest next Sunday with the opening even ages cross-country race.

uh down in down in ross birkin and there'll also be a couple of adult races there attached to that one as well the senior cross country is coming up later in october the county senior and all of a sudden then at the end of october we turn into the the provincial and then into the national cross-country uh races and their races did a big interest in particular in Kilkenny, and in Kilkenny City Harriers, because Kilkenny City Harriers have been contending for a number of national titles over the last number of years, and they're probably going to have another look at it again.

And they were mentioning 42 jelly babies and you can have a jelly baby at the end of each kilometre.

And here's his dad.

So one was dark, and one was light.

I knew that the one in my right hand was either darker or it was lighter, and I didn't know how I was doing because I couldn't see a thing.

There was about 15 things, I think, that he gave me that were all different.

He said to me, "Dad, you got them all right.

You got them all right." But I, I couldn't see a thing.

All I could see was total blackness, and I could feel these things in my hand, and I was saying, "Well, this one's darker than this one."

And so [laughs] John, what do you think was happening? Like, how that's possible now that, you know, you've done it with your skepticism?

It's quite enough on the local athletics front this weekend across country around the corner, but it was very busy in Diamond League circles.

Yeah, so the Diamond League finals were on the weekend just past.

And there was a series final there in Brussels on Friday and Saturday.

I suppose we had hoped that there would be a little bit of Irish interest in it.

between Mark English and Keane McPhillips in the 800, perhaps.

Maybe Sarah Healy getting in in the 1500.

She'd had a couple of good races.

I know definitely it's the conundrum there but hopefully for some terrific results thanks a million for that John I appreciate it as always and we'll link in again next week

How different is farming now in America compared to, let's say, Africa, Asia, Brazil? So

farming in America is definitely the most advanced.

But when I say that, there's pockets everywhere around the world.

So in the United States, there tends to be more precision tools available to the growers.

Europe has the same sort of opportunity that the U.S. has.

The next market that's really advancing at a rapid pace would be South America.

But we don't stop at these big markets.

How do you do this? How do you get a 190-year-old company to run fast?

Uh, the weather may be mixed out there, and it was mixed fortunes on the international scene today, and great news for Sophie Sullivan.

Yeah.

So great news for Sophie Sullivan.

Sophie Sullivan and, and Rasheedat Adeleke, two of our European athletes were, uh...

They, they were racing in Brescia today in Italy, and a mixed result.

Uh, Rasheedat was in the 200 meters.

She finished sixth in 22.85.

Yeah.

If you'd like a title for the sermon message, it's this, Unfinished Business.

Unfinished Business.

This past week, both the national and international media have been focusing on the death of American entertainment icon, Dolly Parton.

Parton died this past Tuesday at the age of 80.

She rose to fame as a singer and a songwriter, then branched out into acting, launched several successful business ventures, and sponsored extensive philanthropy projects.

It's estimated that Parton's music revenues and business ventures earned her approximately $1 billion, with a B, over the course of her lifetime.

What brought you into this sector that we all love?

Yeah.

I mean, it's funny, isn't it? Because I think for so many of us in the sector, trying to separate out what we're paid for and what we do as volunteers is often quite difficult.

And both for me have fed each other over, well... 40 years and more now.

So I started volunteering properly in order to get my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.

When I was at university, I volunteered with the Scouts and was a Cub Scout leader in the city of Bristol.

And I was reading drama at university and thought I was going to become a Blue Peter presenter.

I'd love to hear a little bit about, you know, what's the thought and what that looks like for you and the journey cats protection are on in that kind of space i'd probably caveat by saying for me it's a really important and interesting organization you know i have some close family friends that are currently fostering some cats for cats protection i mean what i think is really interesting about that is i don't think they would think of themselves as volunteers so i think that in itself is quite an interesting situation so i'd yeah i'd love to hear your take on cats protection and volunteering

Very quite weak on the athletics front this week.

nothing going on really TJ so I'm really glad you rang but that's about it now thanks very much though it's been a massive week obviously for athletics in Ireland and it's not over and so yeah it's been a great week there's obviously the medals are obviously they're huge highlights I mean Mark English his sixth European medal his first gold he's been on the scene I suppose in the consciousness of Irish distance running Since about the age of 16 or 17, he would have won what was called the World Olympic Games way, way back in maybe, I would say, probably 2010.

And so everyone has always known this phenomenal talent up in Donegal, Mark English.

He has had lots and lots of coaches.

He's tried lots of different approaches.

But the current approach is definitely working.

And that, to be fair, he's such a talent that, you know, I would imagine almost all approaches work with him, but the approach he's getting right now is the approach you need at this age and at this stage of his career.

Festival

And I think that's what inspired them.

So what happened with me when I was a kid, I was naughty, but I wanted to be seen.

I was not a bad kid.

I wasn't vicious, but I was naughty.

It was a pain in the ass.

So I sort of conformed to being a good little boy.

You know what I mean? And I got my head down, I knuckled down.

Did you produce it and all this? I

And I think that's what inspired them.

So what happened with me when I was a kid, I was naughty, but I wanted to be seen.

I was not a bad kid.

I wasn't vicious, but I was naughty.

It was a pain in the ass.

So I sort of conformed to being a good little boy.

You know what I mean? And I got my head down.

Did you produce it and all this? I

[laughs]

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

It's, uh, it's why we love sport, isn't it?

It was busy on the athletics front, John, with, uh, National Seniors underway this week.

Yeah.

So the National Seniors are underway this week, and actually, just for anybody that is, uh, has been watching the ru- watching the telly and maybe they're listening to us now, the, uh, there's, there's two hours of, of coverage from the second day of the National Athletics coming up on RTE2 at 6:00.

[coughs] If they don't stay in Croke Park, I presume.

And, uh, it's brilliant, number one, obviously, to see athletics get in such a, such a prime spot on television, and well done to athletics there in the north here for showing it.

So if you'd like a, a title for the sermon message, it's this: Moses in the New Testament.

Moses in the New Testament.

If I were to ask you to list the names of some of the most prominent servants of God who appear in the New Testament, who would be on your list? Well, Jesus Christ, of course, would be first.

We'd also probably come up with John the Baptist.

Then there'd be Peter and James and John.

We might list some of the other apostles.

So one was dark

and one was light.

I knew that the one in my right hand was either darker or it was lighter.

And I didn't know how I was doing because I couldn't see a thing.

There was about 15 things, I think, that he gave me that were all different.

He said to me, Dad, you've got them all right.

You've got them all right.

And so, John, what do you think was happening? Like how that's possible now that, you know, you've done it with your skepticism? Well,

It was a busy weekend on the athletics front, John, and it was great interest in the Schools International with two representatives from Kilkenny.

Yes, two representatives from Kilkenny City Harriers.

Victor Lantham and Patrick Wall.

Victor had qualified in the 400 metres flat, which he won.

And I suppose the Schools International, there's four teams in the Schools International, Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.

So if you're up against an English team especially, you are up against a real aesthetics powerhouse.

Victor won the 400 metres.

It just shows where athletics is, both the Olympic and also Paralympic as well, how such a force Ireland is at the moment.

So as you know, Mr. Bradford has been devoting most of our first Sabbath of the month Bible studies to prophecy topics.

And as he is away this Sabbath, he and I agreed it would be useful for me to update and give again a topic that I spoke about in the Chicago area in August of 2017, and then again at Beloit in May of 2018.

And that topic is the throne of David in Bible prophecy.

So if you'd like a title for today's message, The Throne of David in Prophecy.

And I know for several of you, you remember that message or at least parts of it.

So that's great.

[laughing]

Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.

We have

10,000 people who are involved with the work of the charity.

And that's just those who are our direct volunteers and those that we employ as a charity.

And they work in partnership, I think, to make a real difference for cats.

But then there is that wider partnership as well, Ian, and you and the profession are absolutely critical to the successful implementation of what we want to happen.

We were talking earlier about the challenge that we have and really wanting to look at the regulation of breeding to ensure that we begin to get rid of the extreme characteristics that we're seeing more and more appearing, sadly, on places like Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.

You know, it's time now for us to all, whether we are directly involved with this charity or in the hundreds of other cat charities that exist, the little cat charities around the country, or the veterinary profession, all gather together and say, enough's enough, it's time to regulate.

And we'll continue to advocate for all of the issues that John's been talking about.

A fabulous Sunday afternoon out there and it was also a fabulous week and also a busy time on the National Juvenile.

Yeah, so the National Juvenile Championships have started and they will run over four days, including a relay day, over the next three weeks of the summer.

And it's a really, really busy time for any of those athletics coaches and athletics athletes And athletes themselves, it's hard for the athletics family, I'd say, sometimes to find where the holidays will be.

But at the moment, anyway, it's all going.

It's very, very busy.

A couple of good KCH winners.

Both the under-18 400-meter champions are from KCH.

Would it mean that athletes will have to develop more and you may see more athletes going to warmer climates to prepare for it?

The weather may be not great this weekend, but that didn't stop busy local action at the Leinster Combined.

Yeah, so today we're at the Leinster Combined events and yesterday we're at the Leinster Relays.

So KCH always to the fore at the Leinster Relays in particular.

And top trump goes to the under-16 girls who are fine winners up there holding off rat-hote.

The under-16 girls are winners.

the under 14 boys finishing under 13 boys finishing second under 11 girls in second the under the under 11 boys very unlucky disqualified in the final after winning the heat and looking like they were shorting for the podium at least and then through the other ages with the girls under 14 finishing third boys under 14 finishing second and so lots and lots of teams up there as well we double figures on teams over the whole day boys and girls and so great day up there weather not conducive to fast times and relays and certainly doesn't help either because it's hard enough you're accelerating in there in the back straight maybe to your third runner and you have the rain and the wind coming into your eyeballs and you're trying to place a baton skillfully into the hand of your teammates well it's not easy so uh but great great events and and well done to everybody there who represent the the club yesterday.

In the pentathlon then today, in combined events, we had a second and fourth in the under-13 boys, Daniel McIntyre, and Daniel had a bit of work yesterday at the relays.

But I mean, when you have athletes out representing your country like that, I always feel that they should be supported.

And it was also school's final weekend.

Yeah, so the Irish school has actually been going for 110 years, which is a really unbelievable achievement and something that World Athletics actually passed by sending a shield on to the event, which was presented to us by so a quieter one a quieter one for Kilkenny athletes than usual we were missing a couple of big names but some results that we should note Tom Murphy from Burris College member of Kilkenny City Harriers he won the senior boys steeplechase 5.49 for 2k which is really impressive we also had very interesting runs from Kyrell McKenzie ran 159.36 in the 800.

Emilio O'Brien was a good fifth for Loretto Kilkenny in the mile.

And there's a number of other athletes over the day who performed really well.

Not as many medals as we usually see coming back to Kilkenny from the Irish schools.

But a good weekend and well done to them.

It's just phenomenal the amount of races that are now set in the calendar each year around County Kilkenny.

100% and really committed locals, really committed, like the village of Stonyford was really committed, let's say, to the Stonyford 5 and 10 and our 5K at Christmas or Stephen's Day generally.

And there are Leinster action this weekend, not only in Parnell Park, but also in athletics.

Yeah, so Leinster action over in Carlow this weekend there.

The Leinster under-20 seniors and masters took place and some welcome faces returning.

Cliona Manning returned and won the 100 and 200 women's.

So well done to Cliona there.

Some other medalists there, Charlie Lyons was a silver medalist in the under-20 100m, Victor Lamp, silver medalist in the under-20 400m, and Anna Moyana was third in the under-20 long jump, with plenty of other individuals taking place, Conor Malone on a far call roster, Cormac Holden and Danny Doreen also opening up their season.

Today in the seniors, it continued, and Eamon O'Connor was a good winner in the senior 5k, with Paulie Garand, the club secretary, second in the men's 5K, over 35.

The PB she broke,