Seyi's Birthday at the Recording Studio

Missing Pieces - A More Serious Band

High Voltage ⚡️ Rock and Roll

Having watched the brilliant TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson, 'Do schools kill creativity?', and seeing first-hand in my own classroom how exams and revision can take priority over creative activities, I was inspired to research student creativity.

I completed a part-time Masters with UEL between 2014-2017, learning more about creativity and the various theories of how to enhance it. A few years later, I took an online course called Learn Creative Learning, which was developed by Mitchel Resnick and MIT (who also created Scratch). After taking the course and reading his book 'Lifelong Kindergarten', I was inspired to get back into academia.

Doctoral Research

In 2022, I enrolled on a Professional Doctorate with UEL. My research is focused on how best to enhance student creativity, and I intend to do action research over the course of 12 weeks by running an after-school "Creativity Playground" club. For more information about the club, take a look at the posters below.

My studies should be complete by 2027 if all goes to plan! :D

Although running isn't really learning in the traditional sense, there are lots of similarities: it's hard; you get out what you put in; and the more you do it, the more you want to do it. So, I've included it in this section.

The Turning Point

Until the age of 26, I was a bit of a lazy slob and rarely did any exercise except the occasional game of football. Then I decided to start training for a triathlon. I really struggled at first, but eventually found that the training was having a huge positive impact on my health and mood. I completed more triathlons (Croyde, Slateman, London) and at the age of 29, I decided I wanted to do something big for my 30th.

I signed up for the Arctic Triple extreme distance triathlon in Lofoten, northern Norway. This was a ridiculous decision and the training was immense, but I did finish the triathlon (4km swim, 196km bike, 45km run) in about 16 hours on the very day of my 30th birthday. After that, I decided running was my preferred discipline and have been chasing speed or distance goals ever since.

Chasing Speed

Pushing the Distance

In terms of distance, I completed three 50-mile ultras in 2021 (Kent, Norfolk Coast Path, and Dartmoor) and then signed up to The Northern Traverse - a 5-day, 190-mile ultra crossing the UK from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay via The Lake District, The Yorkshire Dales, and The North York Moors. It was a brilliant experience and I quickly signed up for an even bigger challenge: Crossing Switzerland. This was a 7-day, 240-mile ultra along the Via Alpina in the Alps with 24,000m of elevation. It was another ridiculous challenge and something I am proud to have completed.

In 2024 I Also signed up to a 100 mile race with 9000m elevation in Patagonia, Argentina. Starting at 15:00 on the side of a mountain in the Andes, I spent 36 hours running, walking and shuffling until I crossed the finish line at 03:00, a day and half later. This was the longest time I had ever gone without sleep and I had many strange hallucinations as it was getting dark on the second night! The steak and beer the next day tasted amazing.

A few months later I made my attempt on the Bob Graham Round. This is one of the three UK mountain rounds and it includes about 100km of running over 42 of the Lake District peaks with 8000m elevation. I had been fascinated with the challenge since reading Feet in the Clouds a few years before and had been recceing the routes for years. To successfully complete the round and join the prestigious Bob Graham Club, you need to complete the circuit in under 24 hours. After a lot of logistics planning, support from strangers I'd never met and a very generous mum who did all the support driving, I left the Moot Hall in Keswick at 00:00 and returned to the same Moot Hall at 23:47 with exactly 13 minutes to spare. To read a more in depth write up of my day, see the bottom of this section. It was a real adventure and probably the most difficult of all my challenges. So far...

Next up: Budapest marathon in October, aiming for sub-3 hours!

Giving Back

I also achieved my run leader qualification with my local running club, East End Road Runners, and I enjoy leading various runs with them as a volunteer.

A summary of my BGR journey and attempt on Sunday 26/5/24:

When I first read feet in the clouds I thought the author was mad to attempt something as hard as the Bob Graham round. But just like in the book, a small idea was planted in the back of my mind...

After that I started travelling up to the lakes from London to do recces when I could. This confirmed it definitely was mad. I couldn't do one leg in the time needed for a 24 hr schedule. The boulders, the bogs, the weather, the navigation, the remoteness of the checkpoints, they all proved how mad it was.

But I kept getting drawn back, recceing other legs just to see. I eventually tried double leg recces which killed me, and running sections with others who knew the routes well which gave me hope I could learn. I brought friends up and they suffered and said they'd never come back. I sat in traffic jams on Friday evenings, arriving at our hostel gone midnight.

Anyway, long story short, on Sunday I left the Moot hall at 00:00 and on Sunday I got back to the Moot hall at 23:47.

I had originally planned to do most of the route solo (mainly because I didn't know anyone with any knowledge of the BG) but now I am certain that I would not have got round without the amazing supporters on each leg.

Mark D, Ian, Caroline, Katrina, Mark M and Rich, you were all invaluable and I will remember that day forever and the part that you each played. That some of you responded to a stranger's request to run for hours in the rain and mist for no other reason than to help me reach my goal blows me away. Rich especially, your support on leg 4 and 5 was vital and you told me exactly what I needed to hear when I was feeling rotten and time was looking tight.

I also couldn't have done it without my lovely mum who spent the whole day driving around on road support, making me fresh flasks of tea that I didn't touch, picking up, dropping off and mostly waiting around in the cold for me to rush in, demand something and rush off again. I am so grateful that you played such an important role in this and everyone told me how amazing you are.

And finally, in true feet in the cloud style, I staggered from the car to the bunkhouse covered in mud, sweat and dried blood only to discover that the hot water wasn't working. I went to bed in my filth and slept with a smile on my face.

To all aspiring BG members, keep going even when it feels overwhelming. The feeling at the end and in the days that follow makes it all worthwhile.

To all existing BG members who share their knowledge, expertise and time so generously, you are a special group of people and it means so much.

Thank you for reading

Luke

Cracking The Cryptic

I first got into advanced Sudoku by watching the brilliant Cracking The Cryptic YouTube channel. I loved the buzz of making small breakthroughs in a puzzle and getting onto the next part, even if sometimes I couldn't complete them. By watching the videos, I learned more advanced solving techniques, and sometimes I even discovered my own.

A Beautiful Puzzle

The first really satisfying puzzle that I solved which was challenging but beautifully created was Zetamath's "Two truths and a lie". Click the image below to read the rules and have a go yourself (or even watch someone else solve it).

The Ancient Wall

The most difficult pack I ever solved was by Phistomefel, who is widely regarded as one of the world's best setters. His pack of hybrid sudokus culminated in the fiendishly difficult The Ancient Wall.

I love solving puzzles, and one day I hope to learn how to set one of these myself.