Well my week’s experiment has concluded. After a somewhat disappointing 1/2 a pound loss last week I had been looking at what I’d been eating and also what I’d been doing for exercise. Since the 22nd May I’ve been gardening in earnest – and because of the time involved there has been less walking in … More In the teens!
It’s amazing what you find when you least expect it. I stared in surprise and mild disbelief at the boat in front of me. It was hidden by brambles and bushes and I’d initially missed it completely. I’d been looking elsewhere and then my eyes had been drawn to the unexpectedly circular shape of the … More Inept navigator
So far It’s been a good week for walking and exercise (I’m up to 51 miles so far) – and despite the heat I’ve put in some lengthy single day distances – on Tuesday doing the perfect walk (8.5 miles) for a boiling day – almost completely in the shade to Balsall Common along the Kenilworth … More Sockfail
‘I’m melting’ has been a common text / Facebook status update today – and I can wholeheartedly agree with those who’ve shared it – particularly as I chose yesterday and today as my pivot point away from the garden (for a while) and back towards the open road. I’ve been putting in the walking miles … More Moob sweat
I finally addressed my long standing commitment issues today and signed on for the paid version of WordPress. This is mostly in response to several people highlighting to me that my blog was serving those viewing my posts on a mobile browser ‘congratulations you’ve won an iPhone 7‘ spam messages over and over again. I hadn’t … More You’ve NOT won an iPhone 7
Some years ago I had a catastrophic hard drive failure on my PC that wiped out most of the digital photos I’d taken over a period of about 6-7 years. At the time I was really upset that pictures of people I loved had been lost – but at the same time strangely happy that … More Ankles then and now
Although I have come to hate it with a passion there’s absolutely no denying that ivy is great for relieving stress. Not content with working on my own garden I agreed to help a friend out on his allotment today – and it’s nice to finally be physically able to return some of the help he … More Allotment ivy
Yesterday I walked into Sainsburys to get a coffee and unexpectedly walked out with a bag of clothes that I’d purchased because they were half price. This in itself is really not unusual I suppose – as clothes from shops like Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys are now cheap enough to make buying them little more … More Banded demoiselle
The effects of dramatic weight loss are (I’ve found) often unpredictable – and throughout my journey I’ve experienced a variety of odd feelings, strains, tensions and pains. I’ve put a lot of this down to my body weight shifting and stressing different muscles and ligaments in the process. Around the 11-12st mark I started getting a … More Windy day
It”s 9.50am on Saturday and I’m listening to Classic FM. I have my feet up on my POÄNG footstool and I’m in my POÄNG armchair, feeling very Swedish. I’m also feeling very frugal as – thanks to some patient bargain hunting – I managed to get both 2nd hand for a total of £14. This compares … More Swedishly frugal
For the most part I’m in awe of nature. Apart from cat sh*t – which despite me not owning one seems to appear in pretty much the same place outside my shed with annoying regularity. Despite me knowing the likelihood is almost certainly nearby it never seems to stop me from stepping in it. This does … More Nature is awesome!
If yesterday proved anything to me it was that just when I think I have a handle on life – and that I’m sorted and happy – a chance thought comes along, yanks the rug out from under me and leaves me feeling profoundly blue. Yesterday morning I felt like I was on top of the world and … More The thought
It’s the early morning (just after midnight) and I feel wide awake! Although admittedly I had a coffee a couple of hours ago this time it’s got more to do with an invigorating brisk walk home in the pouring rain. When I arrived home and closed the front door behind me I stood quietly in my hallway … More Gold bra
Well the day has started better than I expected. Shortly after my shower this morning I crept out into the garden at 8.30am (coffee in hand) like I was in a Scooby Doo cartoon to see whether or not there was any change on the blackbird nest front. I had been thinking about it on and off for … More Blackbirds return!
It often says more about the person making a judgement of someone else than it does about the person they’re judging. We’re all basically a complex set of rules and mental flow charts designed (as we grow) to make sense quickly of the world around us. We categorise based on good or bad experience and because of … More Fatman!
There’s nothing like an incentive to do something. I couldn’t help laughing when I visited a pub today – and sitting in the urinal was a green splash guard with a tiny goal and a little plastic football. It was an amusing and diverting way to make sure that clients who may be a little … More Towards the future
When I lived in Wales I was convinced that (maybe with the exception of Scotland) I was fortunate enough to hang my hat in one of the most beautiful parts of the UK. I loved every bit of the countryside around Aberystwyth and over the years I’ve continually felt a yearning to return. However over the last … More Coombe Abbey
I’ve been trying (it’s almost impossible) to avoid the news reports today. The details that are slowly emerging of the suicide bombing in Manchester last night are incredibly moving – and each time I turn on the radio I hear of a parent talking about a near miss or a sense of shared horror that … More Be kind to eachother
I neglect my garden. There. I said it. I’m a bad bad boy – but I’m trying to change (slowly). My friend however is someone that has significant interest in horticulture and I think my lack of grass and plant husbandry is something that definitely offends his eyes. He’s been gently suggesting we have a … More Frogs and blue steel
I was talking to a fellow slimmer this morning about the battle to stay positive – even when injured. I reflected on this afterwards and in truth I remember when it happened to me (thankfully I’ve been ok for quite a while – although my plantar fasciitis never truly left for good) I felt like I’d … More Too busy loving life
My fingers are cold. Now I’m thinner I feel temperature drops in my hands a lot more than I used to and today they’re aching a bit. Rather than turning on the heating though I’ve jumped into some fleecy jogging bottoms and have been warming my frosty digits with a large steaming mug of lemon and ginger … More Sea of velvet
At least in my neck of the woods the weather has been fairly awful this week. It’s been oddly humid as well as occasionally cold – and it’s not been pleasant when it comes to activity. Yesterday I had the appetite of several cart horses that hadn’t eaten for a week and it was frankly … More Stamping in puddles
It’s been a soggy, grim, rainy, cold, humid and generally miserable looking grey day. However – I’ve enjoyed every sodden minute of it. Sure – the countryside has been more of a challenge this morning than it would have been on a sunny and dry day – but I’m a believer that not only is it … More Fetishes and man jeggings
I know now that everyone with cautionary comments about my weight and my plans for running may have been right. It was Thursday evening that I made my first attempt – and today I’m still suffering. This evening though it seems like the tail end of it – but yesterday I was really struggling. My legs had completely … More 44 inch victory!
In space no one can hear you scream. However in the cinema people can definitely hear you s**t yourself – and given that I’m usually the world’s biggest scaredy cat (who famously threw his popcorn all over the place in Jurassic Park and could only watch Scream from behind a pillow) I was expecting the … More Good result
Well today everything muscular between my knees and my groin aches after yesterday’s attempt at jogging. The pain is identical to the post downhill cramps I felt after walking around the Malvern hills – but nowhere near as severe thankfully. However (and forgive me if I’m captain obvious but all of this is completely new to … More Advice
It’s early evening on Thursday and I’ve done something I swore I’d never do. I’ve ignored the embarrassment, I’ve paid little attention to the discomfort and I’ve been doing it in public. It all started on Wednesday – when during a day of rest I decided that I’d do some dancercise (my word for jiggling … More Couch to 5K
It seems that for some reason I became the target of a spammer this week – who decided to pepper my blog with unwanted comments and odd messages in a variety of languages. For a while I completely turned off commenting (and the notifications) and shut up shop until they went away. Thankfully this seems … More 62 seconds
Compared to yesterday the weather today is a riot of blue skies and sunshine. It’s frankly glorious and because of this I was genuinely torn between my ever pressing need to sort out my back garden (which regular readers will know is an objectionable task only because of my continued procrastination) or just dissapear for a walk. Hmm… … More Tinkerbell
It’s been grey and drizzly all day long – and I’ve somehow (after a week totally on plan with plenty of exercise and also getting into smaller clothes) managed to put a pound on. ‘Oh dear.’ You might say. ‘I bet Dave is unhappy’ you might add. ‘Far from it‘ is what I’d reply if … More Iron clad sentinel
