2008 and on to 2009

2008 as been a big year in my life not only did I reach the milestone of 50 years old its the first time since my school days I haven't had a job. No panic there in itself cos that was my plan after becoming redundant at the end of 2007.
On a irritating note looks like I'm gonna be Ill to see the New Year in, I'm really struggling with a Sore Throat, Headache, aching joints, think I've gone down with a bug.

Money - Well since getting a good opportunity to finish work with a decent pay out its always been a toss up whether the works pensionable income & my other investments & redundancy cash were enough to mean I could perminantly retire. I've monitered my money on a regular basis to see the rate I've needed to use it, on the face of it I seem to have spent more than I had hoped over 12 months. However that isn't strictly true because about half my money is invested in Share based schemes & with the Global Market crash on paper I've lost quite a bit there. However I've not touched them accounts and am optimistic that they will come back over the next two years as the market improves.
Taking these facts into consideration I reckon the jury is still out so I'll not be looking for work in the immediate, thats not saying I'd turn some part time work down should it present itself, however I'm not panicking yet.

Weight Loss - Got to be honest here and say I reckon give or take the odd pound I'm about the same as when I started the year. I've tended to have purges of effort but to be honest my many vacations & a few weaker moments have always stopped my progress. Also I think the poor wet weather we got through the year limited my exercise.
So once again a new year means a new determined and I've put a plan together and I reckon it needs a few extreme measures to get me kick started :-
a) I am giving up beer for the first four weeks of the year (could be tough but a few years ago I did this and it paid dividends).
b) No eating except fruit after 6pm.
c) No biscuits, sweets or chocolate other than the occasional reward when I've done well.
d) Exercise in one form or another every day for at least one hour.
Actually think my proper meal eating is ok its the extras that do the damage.

Travel - Had a great adventure in 2008 having a number of trips away, in fact I counted up the other day and I actually spent between 50 & 60 nights away from home. On my travels I was lucky enough to visit 6 places I've never been before, In America Austin, Kansas City, Houston & San Antonio, in Ireland Dublin & actually in my own country Windsor.
Sure in 2009 I'm hoping to travel a lot again mainly because I love it, love the adventure. However my trips abroad may be limited because of the weak pound against the worlds currencys makes it a very expensive hobby. Thought it was just America & Euro countries but I checked out some Eastern European places I'd like to visit and the story is just the same against their monetery unit.
I suppose the good side is that its great for any industries over here that export and of course tourists are now flocking here for a cheap holiday, it all brings money into our country & may eventually help us out of the recession quicker than most.
So it looks like I'll maybe be having a look around my own country this year, I think sometimes its easy to forget what you have at home.

Romance - 2008 I've been lucky enough to meet a lovely lady "Jane", actually met her through the internet (MySpace) & so far we've got on fantastic and had some memorable times together. Only problem is we live at opposite ends of the country but we are organising regular weekends away together. We already have the first two planned & booked for 2009, in fact she is coming to watch me play Table Tennis in January (if that doesn't put her off nothing will).

Football - Sure everyone who reads my blog knew about my teams problems last season when they were docked 15 points yet still managed to make the play offs only to lose the final. Well we all expected this season with a better squad & starting on a level playing field we would easily get promotion. Well typical of my Club they've been leaking goals for fun & are currently sitting just above mid-table. However we've just got a new manager & he seems to have stopped the rot & is turning things around so optimistic we are again but have some catching up to do.

Music - Actually got some cracking Cd's for my collection in 2008 but there is one I want this year. Don't know if any of the readers remember a couple of years ago when I was in Toronto I found a CD i'd been looking for over 20 years from a little known group called The Photos.
http://whiteroseboy.blogspot.com/2006/10/20-plus-years-searching-is-over-i-cant.html

Well apparently when the group split up in 1981 they had just recorded a new album but it was shelved & put in a vault by the record company. Well after all this time it has been dug out & released in 2008 so if anyone sees it let me know. Its called "Crystal Tips & mighty mice" by the Photos.
The group was dubbed in 1980 as the English answer to Blondie because of their similar styles.

And Remember Everyone have a great 2009

Christmas Update

Haven't posted for a few days so thought I'd give you an update.

Christmas as been quiet, the only thing I've done too much of is eat & mainly the wrong type of stuff. To be honest December a a whole I haven't really made a lot of effort & know I've added a few pounds. So when New Year arrives I'm determined to jump right back on track but more about that whe 2009 arrives.

I did get a new Digital Camera yesterday in the sales using some money my parents gave me for Crimmy. I've been playing with it, finding what it can do, its a samsung 10 megapixel and so far I'm impressed.

On the morning of New Years Eve I'm taking my Dad to York hospital, he's having a operation for his gallstones. It should only be keyhole surgery and he may come home New Years Day so I'll have to be careful not to drink too much New Years Eve cos I'll have to pick him up.
I am off out for a few beers NYE with my friend Mark, haven't seen him for ages so it'll be good to catch up.

Happy New Year to you all.

Done it

Not been a total computor wizzard I've wondered for a while how you make Videos & slideshows to publish on Youtube, well today I worked it out.

Here is my first effort :-


I'm quite pleased with the result (Stephen Spielburg watch out)

Spend, Spend, Spend.

I know December is an expensive time for all of us especially with the credit crunch but I've just taken a peep at my credit card statement & reckon I've broke my monthly spending record.

On top of the expected normal weekly Food bills & expected Christmas present spend I've a few extras on there this month. In them extras is three weekends away including the recent trips to Dublin & Stratford upon avon. The third trip is actually the hotel for my next trip at the end of January, I used a website to book which takes the money up front.

Other things on my account this month is the house insurance, two new tyres for the car, a new suitcase I bought & my Mums birthday present. I've also done a bit more motoring this month cos my fuel bill is higher.

Well hopfully all this means my next statement should be a low one, I always pay off completely each month by direct debit as I don't like paying interest. Don't think I'll have much cash in hand over Christmas.

Soon have completed my first year of retirement so I'll be doing a few sums in the new year to see how my planned budget has stood up & make my future plans.

Another Enjoyable Weekend

I know all my regular readers will know I've just had another trip away with my friend Jane from MySpace, surprisingly despite putting up with me all weekend Jane is actually still talking to me.

Anyway we agreed to set off from our homes on Friday at a time which will get us to our hotel at roughly the same time. The plan worked and despite both having to travel a fair distance we actually arrived within a few minutes of each other at around 12.30pm. Our hotel was the Stratford Manor about 3 miles outside Stratford upon Avon and we were both delighted it looked really nice.
We actually couldn't book in till 2pm so decided to call in the bar and get a bite to eat & have a good chat. We found the staff all really nice & helpfull I'd dvise anyone to stay there if in the area. When we got in our room that was also very nice so we were pleased.



Friday night we got a taxi into Stratford and the town which is really old fashioned looked really good with all its Christmas lights up. We had a walk around the town and found a lovely restaurant where we had our meal before a couple more drinks before returning to the hotel. We did have a night cap in the hotel bar before making our way to bed.


Saturday morning we had a lovely breakfast at the hotel, it was a buffet job and there was everything to choose from, certainly no complaints from me.

After breakfast we drove to Warwick to visit the Castle, it was really interesting and a good way to spend a day, you need a good 4 hours to look around. Probably a bit longer if you are following the same Speedy Gonzales & Road runner that we were .

The Castle is set alongside the River Avon & is very picturesque a really pretty part of the world, the weather was nice a very sunny day although cold.


After we left the Castle we found a quaint little tea room where we had a drink & a bite to eat before making our way back to our hotel for a rest & get ready for another night out.


On the evening we again went into Stratford and found another restaurant which again was excellent, after the meal we tried a few different Pubs, they certainly all have charactor & plenty of history.


Sunday morning after we had had our breakfast packed our bags and booked out of the hotel we had a nice casual walk around Stratford before sadly having to say goodbye. If anyone is interested the rest of my photos from the weekend can be checked out :- http://www.flickr.com/photos/8308363@N02/sets/72157610799096479/detail/


Sadly it'll be just under 7 weeks before we will get chance to hook up again, Jane is actually coming to see me play Table Tennis in the Veterans National League at Swindon, if seeing me in my shorts doesn't put her off nothing will, lol. We already have the hotel booked for two nights, can't wait to be honest.
We are planning many more get togethers, we are certainly getting on so well.

Cancelled

I'm a little cheesed off with the National health service this week. I was supposed to be taking my Dad to York hospital today for a planned Operation. It was gonna be keyhole surgery and he was expecting to come home again Thursday.
Its actually quite a problem because my Mum is disabled & we have to arrange for her to go in to a nursing home for a week or two while he recovers, normally he is her main carer.
So "sods law" the hospital phones on Monday to cancel his op so we've had to cancel my Mum in the home, its a pain in the a**e. To cap it all they have given him another date 31st December, yes New Years eve, I couldn't believe it.

On another note, I've another weekend away planned this week, Friday I'm off to Shakespere country "Stratford upon avon" where I'm once again meeting up with my friend Jane from MySpace. We will be staying over a couple of nights, on saturday we are planning to visit Warwick Castle which should be interested.
To be honest I've surprised myself how well Jane & myself have got on, things seem to have moved so quickly since we first met. We live at opposite ends of the country and are planning regular meet ups on something like a monthly basis, its what we both want.

Moving on gotta mention my footie team Leeds United who are having somewhat of a blip at present, my blog friend Airliebird just wrote an article about it so I'm not gonna repeat that.
Its amazing though the number of ups & downs my Club have, nothing is ever straight forward and it makes me think why I love my Club so much when the rest of the football world hate us like no other. Hell just look at some of the titles of books wrote about us "The Damned United", "The Unforgiven", "Trials & Tribulations" to name a few.
I actually believe its this hatred that pulls our fans together & creates the 2nd to none best support in football. No we don't claim to get the biggest home attendances (although beat most) its the amazing vocal support whereever we play. I think if we played in timbuktoo an army of fans would find a way of getting there, they follow the club everywhere.
Just check out this support away to Leicester its so typical of our fans take over away grounds with incesscent chanting while the home fans sit in silence :-

Personally I don't get chance to go as much as I like nowadays but going back to the 70's we've just had such a unbelievable away following that actually stuns home fans everywhere into silence.

Here is a great photo of our fans on a visit to Arsenal (London) in the 70's :-

Anyway to move on I haven't done a music post in awhile so I'll post this - Its Brian Setzer & his 17 piece orchestra with "rock this town" live. If this doesn't get you feet tapping nothing will :-

Dublin Trip

A touch late for my report on last weekends Dublin trip but here goes anyway, we set off Friday afternoon and eventually arrived in Dublin at around 7pm. It was only a one hour flight but Ryanair have really selected their stewardesses well, reckon it would help if the one doing the safety announcements could speak understandable English (thats cheap European labour for you).
It was a short taxi ride to our hotels and as we were driving along I remember thinking how the streets just looked like English streets. I say hotels because most of the group wre in a different one to me & Lofty's brother cos we had booked late. No complaints though cos our hotel was excellent & just around the corner from O'Connell Street (the main street).
It was a case of dumping our luggage in the rooms & straight out to the Pubs (it was a birthday bash). Eventually we moved on to a restaurant for a meal, think I had steak on Friday night, can't remember. It was then on to a few more Bars which were all traditional Irish types. One thing we did notice was the cost of things compared to bach home, it is a very expensive City & that coupled with the poor £ to Euro exchange rate everything cost a small fortune. Important stuff like beer was the equivelant of between £4 & £5 per pint.
As the night wore on a people decided to make their way back to their hotels of course not to be beaten I stayed out till the last, think eventually getting to my room at around 2am.
We got up and was just having breakfast when a phone call from Loftys wife told us to get a move on as they had booked us on the Open topped bus City tour. We had to leave having 2nds & made our way round.
Now we got on the bus and a couple of the crowd said they was going to sit dowstairs in the covered section, of course us been heroes decided to sit upstairs in the Open. Now the tour took around 1.5 hours and believe me it was freezing, but not been one for surrendering we stook it out. It was actually quite interesting cos I didn't previously know too much about Irish history.
After we had warmed up following the tour we found a nice Pub for the afternoon in the Temple Bar area to watch the Rugby that some wanted to see (England v South Africa) while the women went shopping. That was a waste of time cos England got thumped so we decided to stay for the Footie results, in fact by the time we made our way back to the hotel to get ready for the night out we had sampled plenty of the local brew.
We all met up in the evening and went to a well known Irish Restaurant (Quays) we had booked for our main meal. We all had a good laugh & following the meal it was onto a few Pubs. Remember one and think they had the worst musician I've ever seen, just tried to play everything too fast.
Not a lot of incidents to report, think Ireland is just about Pub crawls, the only thing I'd say are the locals seem friendly in fact one bloke seemed to want to hug me & everyone else he saw. Got back to my room sometime in the early hours and slept in a bit Sunday morning eventually making breakfast at about 10.30am.
Then had a casual walk around before finding a coffee shop at lunch time, made our way back to the hotels mid-afternoon to get our taxi to the airport.

Did take some photos mainly of the City Bus tour -

Dublin Photos

When Irish Eyes are Smiling

Been a bit busy this week and haven't had much time to get around all your blogs so I'll try catch up next week.

I say next week cos I'm away at the Weekend to the Emerald Isle, I'm off to Dublin for a couple of nights. Its my mate Lofty's birthday trip think there are 13 going, saying that it includes 5 couples and 3 of us single lads so maybe I'll have to be on my best behaviour.

What a great ideas ?

It concerned me somewhat last week when I read about the governments plan to release around 1,500 people from our prisons early to relieve overcrowding. Apparently many of these criminals have been convicted of violent offences (ok not murderers as such) and I am against it, to me done the crime means doing the time.
Now for sometime the law courts have been under instruction to give lesser sentances cos our jails are full to breaking point, this is wrong we should either build more jails or find alternatives. Now with the housing market frozen & many builders laid off unemployment high wouldn't this be a great time to build some new prisons, not only would it create work it would solve a crime problem because many released early do offend again.
While on the subject I also think prisons are getting too soft to me they should discourage people not to want to go back yet all I hear is talk about rehabilitation, sorry I think its poppycock.

However I have another great idea, last week I watched a documentry on the history channel about people that have won the Victoria Cross, which is Britains highest medal for acts of bravery in the face of the enemy.
It got onto the battle of Rorkes Drift (1879) in the Zulu wars where 150 british troops defeated a Zulu army numbering over 4,000 (bit like the Americans Alamo except we won). Many acts of bravery happend and in all 11 VC's were awarded which is the most in one battle.
The story of one soldier who recieved the award interested me because he was only there because he had broken the law, apparently in them days people covicted of minor crimes were offered the choice of jail or serve in the army, he chose the army, bet he wished he hadn't when the Zulus came over the hill.
Anyway going back to my origional point wouldn't it be a great idea to offer people that commit some offences the chance to redeem themselves in the army and fight in such places as Afganistan, Iraq & other such wars.

About Me - Thanks Jenny

Well my blog friend Jenny got tagged with this and reckoned I'd give it a bash, so here goes.

TYPE ONLY 1 WORD. IT’S HARDER THEN YOU THINK!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? Bedroom
2. Your significant other? Work
3. Your hair? Gone
4. Your mother? Elderly
5. Your father? Gardening
6. Your favorite thing? Friends
7. Your dream last night? None
8. Your favorite drink? Orange
9. Your dream/goal? Millionaire (need the lottery I think)
10. You’re in? Home
11. Your fear? Snakes
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Alive
13. Where were you last night? bed
14. What you’re not? Skinny
15. Muffins? Muel
16. One of your wish list items? Laptop
17. Where you grew up? Yorkshire
18. The last thing you did? Lunch
19. What are you wearing? shorts
20. Your TV? Off
21. Your pet? None
22. Your computer? Here
23. Your life? good
24. Missing someone? Yes
25. Your car? Focus
26. Something you’re not wearing? socks
27. Favorite Store? M & S
28. Your summer? Wet
29. Your favorite color? White
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Dunno

Now it’s 4 answers
32. FOUR PEOPLE WHO E-MAIL ME? Jane, Charlie, Pete & Steve.
33. FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS: Yorkshire Pudding, Steak, Cheese, Pineapple
34. FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW? Pub, Holiday, Elland Road, With Jane.
35. FOUR PEOPLE I THINK WILL RESPOND: Cactus, Celtic, Arlene & Fairy Mae

Change of Plans

A couple of posts ago I reported on my weekend away with Jane one of my friends on MySpace. Told you we got on really well and we were planning to meet up again at the end of January.

Well things have changed neither of us wanted to wait that long so we've booked a weekend together 5th-7th December, can't wait. We've found a real nice looking hotel near Stratford upon Avon - http://www.qhotels.co.uk/hotels/stratford-manor-warwickshire.aspx

This doesn't mean the January trip is cancelled, in fact we are in the process of planning that and many more get togethers.

4 Years of Obama - Quiz

Although I'm still uncertain how Barack Obama will perform I think its only fair to give him a fair crack of the whip. No point criticising and the truth about this great "Change" can only be judged by his 4 years in office.

What do you think he'll achieve in 4 years :-

1. What Tax levels will the Americans be paying compared to today ?
a) More
b) Less
c) About the same

2. What will Employment levels be ?
a) More Unemployed
b) Less Unemployed
c) About the Same

3. Value of the £ against the $ (currently £1 = $1.63)
a) More $ to £
b) Less $ to £
c) About the Same

4. Law & Order
a) Higher Crime Rate
b) Lower Crime Rate

5. Troops out of Iraq ?
a) In 18 months as promised
b) During is term of office
c) Still there

6. Troops out of Afganistan
a) All Out
b) Reduction in numbers
c) Increase in numbers
d) Same amount there

7. Environment
a) 80% cut in emmisions as promised
b) significant reduction in emmisions
c) Slight reduction in emmisions
d) No reductions in emmisions

8. Health Service
a) No Change
b) Free Health Service for the Poor
c) Free Health Service for all
d) Significantly Cheaper Health Service
e) Slightly Cheaper Health Service

9. Stock Markets (Dow Jones) currently approx 9,600
a) Higher
b)Lower
c) Same

10. Who'll win the next Election ?
a) Democrats
b) Republicans
c) Dunno

My answers
1. a)Higher Taxes
2. c) Similar levels unemployed
3. a) More Dollars to £ (think its actually about 15cents lower than it should be and will level out)
4. a) Higher Crime Rate, think more poverty will cause that as population increases.
5. b) Think they'll be out at some stage but 18 months is too ambitious.
6. d) Can't see the situation changing for both the US or UK could even be an increase.
7. b) Significant decrease although 80% not attainable
8. e) Think he'll make efforts but find its a bottomless pit.
9. a) Higher, think history suggests it will grow again
10. c) Dunno - Depends whether the "Change" is good or bad for the Americans & it can go either way I'm sure.

A Very Special Friend

As I mentioned on a couple of earlier Posts I planned to meet up with an online friend this weekend. Well the friend is from MySpace & called Jane, she is single, 7 years younger than me and from the south of England.
We previously met 5 months ago but that was only for a meal & chat on one of my trips down south, we seemed to get on well on that occasion and always planned to hook up again. We do keep in touch on a daily basis by one method or another.
Anyway I've just got back from our get together we met up in Windsor and have spent all weekend together, staying over in a nice hotel for a couple of nights.

So what happend ?
Did we get on ?

Well we had a fantastic time a jelled from the first moment to the last, don't think either of us wanted to leave.

What did we do ?

We had a couple of nice evening meals, Friday at a little Italian Restaurant in which we both had steak, Saturday it was what I would descibe as a Yuppie restaurant, I went for Pork, Jane had Chicken. Of course we visited a few Pubs but one of the highlights was Windsor Castle, its qite amazing we spent a full afternoon. We were going to do the River boat trip but the weather was iffy so cancelled them plans.

Will we meet again ?

Yes early next year (89 days to be exact)

Why so long ?

We are both busy and have numerous weekends pre planned, but to be honest January 30th is going to be the first of many get togethers (and I mean many).

(Before Cactus asks) Was there any Romantic connection.

Absolutely, a lot more than both of us anticipated.

What is my opinion of Jane ?

I said it in the title.

What a waste of money

I'll start with the American election and I must say I'm astounded by the amount of money the Presidential campaigns of both candidates are costing. If our newspapers are correct McCain as spent over $80million where Obama has spent an astonishing $281million. This is of course on top of what was spent on their campaigns to get the nomination of their party.

My big worry is where did this money come from considering the world is going into recession and surely it could be spent far more wisely. My other concern is where did the money come from and how many buisness men will have favours returned over the next four years. This election is going to cost the American Public a lot of tax money believe me.
The whole long drawn out system is a joke, everyone knows approximately 40% of the population will vote Republican, 40% Democrat & the money is actually spent trying to persuade the 20% Don't Knows or Couldn't care less types.


I'll also comment on another news item this week and that is the issue of Comedian Russel Brand & Jonathan Ross making offensive phone calls to respected actor Andrew Sachs about his grand daughter. Basically they were no better than play ground bullies trying to get cheap thrills at somebody elses expense.
Personally I don't like either of them, not my cup of tea, just consider them both lacking real talent. However the thing that shocked me most was to find out Ross has a 3 year contract with the BBC worth £18 million. This for a talk show host that can't talk properley, what a great way to spend my TV licence money.

Ok for 5 days

Mt Food intake plan was working ok for the first 5 days of the week :-
Monday - 2458 cals
Tuesday - 1927 cals
Wednesday - 1436 cals
Thursday - 1511 cals
Friday - 1429 cals

Average daily intake for 5 days - 1752 cals

Thats actually below my target of between 1860 & 2360 cals per day which should result in a weekly weight loss of between 1 & 2 pounds.

However I did say for 5 days because over the weekend I'm unsure what my actual intake was but I went away and know it would have been much higher. I was playing Table Tennis in the Veterans British League at Grantham and origionally going to just compete Saturday but was planning to drive there & back. Plans changed mid week when I transferred to a new Club and was selected both days so I decided to stay over. The exercise will have been good but the eating (& drinking) out wont have helped the weight loss.

On the playing side I did well winning 9 of my 10 matches the team was unbeaten winning two but drawing three, we finished the weekend third in the table.

I expect this week to be very similar making my food targets through the week but Friday to Sunday I'm off away for a weekend. I'm actually off to Windsor which is a nice part of the country (hell the Queen has a pad there). Its actually planned with a online friend (from Myspace) we are meeting up and spending the weekend together. I've met her before and we got on well so we decided to have a weekend together, probably 3 days with me she'll get fed up (hope not).

Change of Subject I've just read in the papers that bookings on flights to America from the UK are down 75% which confirms what I said in my last post. The same report says that increases of American tourists coming here are on the increase because its now becoming more financially viable. The weak pound is certainly causing those of us Brits who like to travel a few problems.

America is Closed

I think everyone who reads my blog realises I enjoy my trips across the water to visit America, well to be honest the chances of it happening again are slim.

Why you may ask ?

Basically its economics, the pound against the dollar as just crashed. When I first visited the States I got a reasonable rate of $1.70 to the £1 which was ok. Over the last two years the weak dollar has seen it get even better actually reaching $2 to the $1.

However recent weeks have seen either the dollar grow stronger or the pound crash because its now around $1.50 to £1. Today alone the pound crashed 7 cents, thats massive in one day and its threatening to drop even lower.

Of course this doesn't only effect my spending money it also puts the cost of flights up for me virtually pricing me out of any trips stateside. I suppose its a great time for any Americans who fancy a trip to the UK, they should think about it.

To be honest I need to rate to get back to $1.70 to make it viable, and I mean tourist rate. I'm sure the US election may make a difference, probably depends who gets in.

So for my trips next year it looks like its a good time to look elsewhere.

The Revised Plan

As I said in Saturdays post I've revised my weight loss plan after my errors of trying to be too ambitious. Sure some days I can cut back significantly and I will but the fact remains trying to keep down at around 1,200 calories (plus a 300 cal drinks allowance = 1,500cals a day) would be impossible.
Reasons -
1. Wouldn't keep it going
2. Would effect my energy levels (especially when playing competitive sport)
3. Could cause health problems (Gout attack, etc)

I still believe counting calories is the way forward, I need a target and of course can reward myself if I eat & drink well.

I asked myself the question -
So what is a resonable daily calorie intake ?

I checked the internet and found this weight loss calorie calculator -
http://www.hpathy.com/healthtools/calories-need.asp

I put in my height 5'9" & weight of 200lbs (ok I'm a bit above this I think but its the way I want to go). I also put myself down as does moderate exercise for this calculation.
Anyway the result showed to maintain the same weight I should take in 2860 calories per day. Apparently reducing this by 500cals will take off 1 pound per week, 1,000 cals 2 pound, etc.

So taking everything into consideration if my average daily calorie intake is between 1860 & 2360 calories I should lose between 1 & 2 pound per week. As this is lifestyle changes that I want to keep up I think this is a fair target, would you not agree.

The one complication is my sporting commitments means I have some quite hard days of physical activity and I find these are the days I have to up my intake. I feel if I keep these to less than the stay even 2860 cal target that will be ok, I can also eat less on less physical days to keep the average within my target parameters.

To move on this was my last week results :-
Monday - 2373 cals (Was high because this contains a few beers I had at my weekly Pool match.
Tuesday - 1187 cals
Wednesday - 1285 cals
Thursday - 2630 cals (High intake for energy due to Golf followed by Table Tennis Match)
Friday - 1367 cals
Saturday - 2664 cals (Playing for county at TT, very hard physical matches needed food for energy).
Sunday - 2499 cals (As per Saturday)

This resulted in an average 2001 cals per day which is between my target parameters mentioned earlier and in theory should result in approximately a 1.5lb loss.

Changing Plans

Just a short note as I've not much time, I haven't neglected my weight loss plan but I am adjusting it. Following comments from one of my blogger friends ttp://jennyandcraig.blogspot.com/ on a recent post I looked into it in more detail, thanks Jenny. I was been far too ambitious and I'm sure my low calorie intake would have caused me problems, sure I would have lost weight quickly, too quick I'm sure it would have caused problems. For one it would have started an attack of gout (losing weight too quick can do that). I also wasn't having enough input for when I exercised or played competitive sport, I was actually starving myself and killing my energy levels.
I've been on a few websites and am redesigning my plan aimed at a controlling my weight loss. I'll post my plan early next week.

Not much time today (its Saturday night), I've been away representing Yorkshire in the veterans county championships, we had two matches today lost 7-3 to Durham but beat Warwickshire 8-2. I did good got some good wins, only lost one singles. I'm back in the morning for two more matches against Worcestershire & the roses battle with Lancashire.

Two weeks time I'm having a weekend away with a online friend from down south, we are going to meet up and spend two night in Windsor. Its a friend I met online but on MySpace not here, we have met before and seem to get on really well, she is a nice person (just like you lot).

For the British

Recieved this by email from a friend :-

GREAT BRITAIN
I think this really sums it all up..After hearing that many cities did not want to offend other cultures by putting up Christmas lights, so DIDN'T!

After hearing that the Birmingham council changed its opinion and let a Muslim woman have her picture on her driver's licence with her face covered.

After hearing of a Primary School in Birmingham where a boy was told that for PE they could wear Football League shirts (Aston Villa, Birmingham, West Brom etc) but NOT an England shirt as it could offend others !

This prompted the editorial below written by a UK citizen.

Published in a British tabloid newspaper.
IMMIGRANTS. NOT BRITONS, MUST ADAPT.

Take It Or Leave It.. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on London , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Brits.
However, the dust from the attacks has barely settled and the 'politically correct' crowd begin complaining about the possibility that our patriotism is offending others.I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to Britain .
However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand.This idea of Great Britain being a multicultural centre for community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity.
As Britons, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of wars, struggles, trials and victories fought by the untold masses of men and women who laid down their lives and of the millions of men and women who have sought freedom.
We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!
If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.
If the Union Flag offends you, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet.We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this.
But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our National Motto, or Our Way of Life, I encourage you take advantage of one other great British freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.
We didn't force you to come here. If you don't like it GO HOME!!You asked to be here. So accept the country that accepted YOU. Pretty easy really, when you think about it.

If we all keep passing this to our friends (and enemies) it will also, sooner or later get back to the complainers, lets all try, please.No matter how many times you receive it... please forward it to all you know

Day Three - Still going strong

Still maintaining my "No More than 1,200 calories" food control plan. Ok I feel slightly hungry at times but my body has to aclimatise to this and the intake is quite low.

Exercise is also important and the rain held off this morning so I could get my daily long walk in.

Thinking other exercise would help me burn off calories I found this :-

Calorie-burning activities
Proper weight control cannot be attained by dieting alone; however, many people who are engaged in sedentary occupations do not realize that calories can be burned by the hundreds by engaging in strenuous activities that do not require much (or any) physical exercise.
Here's the guide to calorie-burning activities and the number of calories per hour they consume.

Beating around the bush . . . . . . . . .75
Jumping to conclusions . . . . . . . . .100
Climbing the walls . . . . . . . . . . .150
Swallowing your pride. . . . . . . . . .50
Passing the buck . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Pushing your luck. . . . . . . . . . .250
Making mountains out of molehills. . .500
Hitting the nail on the head . . . . . .50
Bending over backwards . . . . . . . . .75
Running around in circles. . . . . . .350
Climbing the ladder of success . . . .650

Day Two

Yesterday as I reported I kept within my food intake target although with the Pool match las night as expected I knocked a bit of a hole in my weekly beer allowance. It was a long match so I ended up downing six pints so I can only have four more this week. I'm not planning any nights out, have a TT match thursday night so may have a couple then.

Anyway today I've just had my dinner (Weight Watchers Chicken hotpot 271cal) & when I add that to my breakfast & lunch I've so far had 1,034 cals. That actually will allow me to have maybe an apple (53cal) later then a couple of Crackers with low fat Cheese Spread (100cal) before bed.

On the exercise front I haven't done much as its rained all day tomorrow isn't gonna be any better. I've a round of Golf planned Thursday its quite a steep hilly course so that'll be good. Won't be drinking after cos of my TT match.

A couple of posts ago I complained that I was dissapointed I hadn't heard anything about playing for Yorkshire, that has been resolved the captain had lost my phone number apparently. I'm actually playing this weekend four team matches against Durham, Warwickshire, Worcestershire & the Roses Battle with Lancashire. Two Saturday & two Sunday, I'll play 2 singles & a doubles in each match, should be hard but good competition.

Food Control Starts Today (Again)

Well my food intake plan as now started and today this is my food plan :-
Breakfast - Weetabix (2 biscuits) 129cal, Blueberries 20cal, Orange Juice 88cal.
Lunch - Large Bowl Oxtail soup 156cal, 3 small slices wholemeal bread 165cal.
Mid- Afternoon - Coffee no sugar 15cal.
Dinner - Southern Chicken 312cal, Boiled Potatoes (4*small) 150cal, Sprouts (4) 20cals, Mixed Veg 18cal, Broccoli (2 florets) 14cal, Cauliflower (1 floret) 7cal, Grilled Tomato 5 cal.

That equates to 1,099cals in the day which is under my 1,200cal target average, a bit in hand so If I get hungry I could have some fruit maybe a apple (53cal).

I also said I would allow myself 10 beers per week (200 cal per pint) which would be 2,000cal per week an extra 286cals per day (average). Thats still a average intake of less than 1,500cals.
I'm actually out at the pub tonight as I have a Pool match so I'll probably use about half+ of my beer allowance, so it'll be a quiet week after that.
I'm determined to stick with these targets and I'll reaccess in a few weeks and if I'm not making progress I'll cut back a bit more.

I did mention exercise is also in the plan, I have just done a 6 mile walk (half steady, half speed walk), I'm planning to do some exercise every day.

More Effort Needed

Decided its about time I had another push with the weight loss, gonna start tomorrow by strictly counting the calories, I think initially I'm gonna aim at an average of 1,200 calories a day and see how it goes.

As i don't want to be too stringent with myself, I'm also gonna allow myself up to 10 beers per week on top of the above calorie count (less than 2 per day).

I'm aiming to exercise on a regular basis so I'll have to see if my calorie targets are right for me, time will tell.

Obviously if it isn't working I'll alter my allowances, but the main thing is I start with a plan.

I'll post my progress.


On a different note I'm a bit p****d off, I usually get selected for one of the Yorkshire Veteran (over 40's) teams at Table Tennis in the county championships. I was informed that I had been moved down to a lower division because some new players had come of age, this is fine with me, not my problem.
However the first round of matches is next week and I haven't heard a thing, I'll be dissapointed if I'm not selected at all, maybe they are just late letting people know but I fear I'm just not in the click.

What do you think ?

Ok I know most of the people that read this blog are married or in a relationship but just interested in your opinion.

If you were single (assume for this) would you consider a relationship with somebody that lives a distance away, whom you could only hook up with every now & again ?

What the Sixties gave us (1)

From the days music was created from talent & not just a few buttons on a computor, here are are four (all very different) classics that you've maybe not heard from some of Englands great 60's Bands, love to know what you think of each performance :-

1. The Animals "Tobacco Road" - Not the origional line up was actually billed as Eric Burdon & the New Animals but I think this disproves the theory white men can't sing the blues.


2. The Kinks "Don't Forget to Dance" - Ray Davies is a song writing god, I think this is bloody brilliant.


3. The Yardbirds "Mr you're a better man than I" - Lookout for a young Jimmy Page pre Led Zep in the photos.


4. Cream "Crossroads" - Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce & Ginger Baker perform the Robert Johnson Classic.

Sleep Patterns

Recently I've noticed my sleep patterns are changing and to be honest I don't know why. In the past irrespective of what time I went to bed (usually between 10pm & midnight) I would wake around 7.30am.
Things seem to have changed the funny thing despite been tired I am finding myself waking in the early hours between 4.30am & 5am for no apparent reason. I don't have a problem getting back to sleep but then I don't wake until 8.30am, it just seems strange to me.
Any ideas why this is happening ?

Keeping up with the Young uns

As most of you who read my blog know I play competitive Table Tennis have done for a lot of years and do ok. A lot of stuff I play nowadays is in the Veterans (over 40's) but I do play local league in York and its a decent little league which has 4 divisions of nine teams.
Over the last 30 years I've always played in the top division and for most of these for a team competing for the title. I've actually played for the winning team 11 or 12 times and the runners up on countless occasions also seeing many good players come and go.
The last four seasons however my team has struggled to stay up but instead of signing decent established players we decided to move young players up from the lower divisions and give them experience of playing at the higher level. Our team has now come of age and its time to have a crack at the title once again. My team mates are Richard who at 21 years old is just back from University and is one of the best players in the area & Nathan who is 19 and has come through the ranks and is improving all the time and coming to terms with the top league.
Neither of my team mates have played in a team competing for the title so maybe my experience in the pressure games will be a plus. They are both so fired up, wanting to win and want to train all the time which is a great attitude to have and what is needed.
My problem is at 50 years old keeping up with them, they have me training with them all the time its getting tough. Both are fit 6 foot plenty strapping lads but to be honest its great pushing myself to try keep up with them, hope I can last the season.
Our big rivals are Bootham who have won the title the last four years and have three players ranked in the top ten so it wont be easy. Another Club who will challenge are Coneysthorpe who have the leagues top player in their ranks.
Sure they'll be ups & down with all playing all 3 times in the season but we have started well. We won our opening two matches 9-1 & 8-2 when we had targeted 9-1 & 7-3 so we are one point ahead of schedule. I only know Boothams first result but they dropped a point more than we thought winning 7-3 when we had it down for 8-2. No much in it but its gonna be interesting when the main three play each other but points against others can just provide the buffer we need, I love big matches though really tests your charactor & determination, its what keeps me going.

On another point I had to laugh at the disgraceful behaviour of some of the Football supporters in recent weeks. Tottenham are a prime example when they abused Portsmouths Sol Cambell with racist chanting, they were compared to Nazi's. This is quite funny when you consider they get their support from the North London Jewish communities, half their own team is Black, what a bunch of numptys.

Had to also laugh at the Sheffield Wednesday supporters who have been coming on my team (Leeds) forums telling everyone they are coming to our Johnstone Paints cup match with Rotherham to confront our fans with violence. Now our fans are no angels but I just can't see a few hundred Wendies supporters confronting a few thousand Leeds fans, me thinks these are keyboard warriors doing the talking.

And yes I've also got to laugh at the self proclaimed best supporters in the land Newcastle (a massive 900 you're taking to Everton today isnt it) who hve chased Chairman Mike Ashley out of town. He is now trying to sell the Club, yes the bloke who as put millions of his own money is getting out as you wish. Sure some Nigerian consortium will probably buy you, I'm sure they'll do more for your club (laugh loudly), talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.

But prize billing as got to go to the Portsmouth supporter who after 30 years of following his team eventually got his chance to see them in europe cos the qualified for the first time. The bloke spent a fortune for flights & hotel to see his team in Portugal only to find he had left his match ticket at home and didn't get in to see the game. Never mind you'll probably qualify again in another 30 years.

Opinions (Hell I'm getting political)

So what is your Opinion on things ?

1. McCain or Obama - Well we are hearing so much about the American election (hell it drags on). Personally I don't thiink my friends over the water have a good choice with either.

2. Credit Crunch - Should the governments bail out the banks ? Easy to say the tax payer shouldn't pay for all the mistakes but to be honest I don't think there is an alternative. If the banks arn't helped it would mean the destroy our countries and cost us all far much more, no jobs, massive inflation, poverty all on the scale of many third worls countries.

3. World Trade - Should our countries trade with others (such as China, Vietnam, etc) because they can produce things cheaper. My opinion is NO because our industry isn't playing on a level playing field. Until they come on board with such things as Human rights, safety, pollution (including carbon emissions), etc the whole western world should refuse to trade.

4. Iraq War - Should we all pull out troops out now. I think this war is nearly over and it would be stupid just to pull out in one go. Whether we should have gone in the first place is a different question but I think controlled withdrawels as the Iraqis gradually take control with our help is the way forward.

5. Afganistan - Same question bu different answer. This is the true war on both world terrorism & drugs, think we should be here for the long term. Better fighting on their doorstep than ours. Think a good move would be to close the border with Pakistan and make an exclusion zone between (20 miles of so). This would stop people hoping over the border to hide which is obviously want happens.

6. Gordon Brown - Is he the right man to be British Prime Minister. Ask me a few weeks ago I would have said no but in view of the World Credit Crunch his monetary background make him the ideal man.

7. Gurkhas - Should they be allowed to live in Britain ? Yes, if they are prepared to fight & die for the country I don't think there is an argument against. Plenty more less deserving cases are allowed in.

8. EU - Is been a member of the EU a good thing ? I have never been a fan but think thats to do with my patriotism, but I could see the point of working with the richer nations such as Germany & France. But now we have opened the door to Eastern Europe I believe we've created nothing but problems that will haunt us for years to come.

Paul Newman 1925-2008

I see yesterday one of the great actors of a generation died, Paul Newman is sort of one of the people whose films I grew up with. But rather than even try write an obituary cos I'm sure others will do a much better job I thought I'd list my five favorite Paul Newman roles with clips for you to enjoy. I'm sure you'll all have your own memories.

I'll do mine from in reverse order :-

5. The Sting - In this classic he played the part of con man Henry Gondorf in one of two films he starred alongside another great Robert Redford.


4. The Hustler - Paul twice played Pool Hustler Fast Eddie Felson, this was the first time the 2nd was "The Colour of Money". I wasn't sure which film to put here. This clip is the final match with Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleeson).


3. Buth Cassidy & the Sundance Kid - This was the other film Paul played alongside Redford, Paul was Butch in this acclaimed classic.


2. Somebody up there likes me - Well I love boxing pictures and in one of his early films he played the part of Rocky Graziano in a true life story.


5. Cool Hand Luke - You just gotta love the charactor Luke Jackson in this Prison/chain gang classic. I mean who gets jail for chopping off the tops of parking meters.


RIP Paul Newman

My Vacation (post 3) - San Antonio

I suppose with this post I should be talking about New Orleans but due to Hurricane Gustav I had to change my plans and found myself relocating to San Antonio. I wasn't overly disapointed because it is another city I wanted to visit, I'd heard good reports of the place. Extra flights cost me around £200 but luckily I was able to claim that back from my insurance.
My first impressions of the people was good, the lady I sat with on the flight actually offered to drive me to my hotel (her car was at the airport) which I thought was really nice from a stranger. However I did decline the offer because the flight was in at 12.30 and I didn't think I'd get in my room and decided to get some lunch at the airport first.
I got booked in my hotel, managed to get unpacked before discovering I had a leaking sink in my bathroom, no problem though I reported this to reception and they moved me straight away. Once I'd got sorted I decided to find my bearings cos obviously I hadn't done any homework on SA. I walked out of my hotel (Crockett hotel) and remember thinking "I wonder where the Alamo is", my question was soon answered cos the back entrance was immediately across the road, couldn't believe.
Anyway I had a walk down the road and found I was only a short distance from loads of Bars, Clubs & restaurants on the riverwalk. Didn't go too far and made my way back to the hotel to get changed before going out for my evening meal.
My first night out and I made my way to the riverwalk and one of the first Pubs I came across was a British Pub called "Mad Dogs" so of course I ventured in. I had a couple of pints before ordering food, I went for traditional British Pub Grub "Steak & Ale Pie" with english thich cut chips. Gee when it came I couldn't believe it the Pie covered a complete dinner plate & the chips came on a 2nd plate about the same size. I'm not one for leaving food but I managed the Pie but had to surrender half way through the chips. This left me totally bloated and a couple more beers and I had to go back to my hotel, I couldn't fit anything else in, my stomach was bursting.
I got up the following morning and the first stop was the Alamo and I was really impressed how it was set out, the grounds were kept really well and it was very informative on the history, got some cracking photos. One thing did surprise me after years of learning about the "brave texans" I was interested to learn very few of the defenders were born in texas, of the 200 I counted only 10. Most seem to come from Tennesse but a lot of states were represented, however the biggest surprise was that there were around 20 born in Britain & another 10 from Ireland, I've never heard that in our history books. Actually to find more English born people were killed than texans was interesting to me.
From there I decided to walk apart of the riverwalk, it really is a beautiful part of the world, I couldn't stop taking photos, whoever designed it deserves a medal. Some great bars and I passed a little Irish Pub called "Waxy O'connells", spoke with the bloke on the door and he told me they had live music on and it was a englishman singing later that night. I said I'd come back for that.
I eventually went back to my hotel mid-afternoon, did that everyday to chill out at the swimming pool, it was hot for me, high 90's.
Anyway that night I decided to go to Waxy's where I met the English singer, called him Joe Walmsley and he was a Scouser, apparently he used to work cruise ships but had been working the bars in SA for about 2 years. A couple of his mates were coming to visit and he was looking for a hotel for them, I told him the deal I got in my hotel and he was able to get them in the same place.
The 3 scousers were good lads I had a few beers with them another night later in the week, we saw a group called "The Fuss" that basically did a lot of cover versions. They started with the Stray Cats "Rock this town" did a lot of British sixties stuff I liked including , Beatles, Stones, Kinks & the Who, some American super groups from the Eagles to Lynard Skynard, they were good fun to watch and got the audience going.
Most nights I went out to different places from a BBQ restaurant to a Jazz Club to a piano bar always along the riverwalk, there is so much choice.
As for things to do during the day there are a number of small museums, one of the most interesting in the Buckhorn Saloon which is a working bar but has two museums on the premises one of which is all about the history of texas rangers.
Another place I visited in walking distance from my hotel was Hemisfair Park where the "Tower of the Americas" was situated, I went up and you get a great view of the city. The 3d theatre telling you about texas is an experience, hell I nearly jumped out of my seat when they did the rattlesnake bit.
I also visited La Vilita a mexican arts & crafts village, which was interesting as was Market Square another mexican influenced part of the city.
Anyway its definately a city I like to visit again, its a nice place.

My Vacation (post 2) - Houston

The 2nd part of my trip took me to Houston a city I've never been to before so it was always going to be a new adventure. I arrived from Chicago mid-day on Thursday and was delighted when I got to my hotel in the downtown area to find how friendly everyone was.
I was staying at the Magnolia Hotel in the downtown area and I must admit this is one of the best hotels I've stayed in, they really know how to look after their guests. A free breakfast each morning and I was delighted to find both hot & cold food, it was a excellent breakfast. Facilities included a excellent equiped fitness room & a roof top swimming pool.
They also had a free drinks hour (5.30 to 6.30pm) in the bar which was good for meeting people & if interested they even provided cookies & milk at about 10.30pm. They also had a free shuttle bus that would take you to tourist sites although I didn't use this service, prefer to walk.
Well after sorting my clothes out and a bit of ironing I made my way down to the bar for the complimentary drinks, been alone I sat at the bar. It wasn't long before a nice young lady came and sat next to me. We got talking and she turned out to be a lawyer called Tina from Austin in the city for a case. To be honest I reckoned she was slightly drunk & a bit crazy but we were soon joined by her legal secretary Monica. We chatted for ages they were a good laugh but eventually I decided to go for a walk to find out the lay of the land.
I was hungry and wanted something to eat, luckily around the crossroads near my hotel (one block) was loads of bars, restaurants & clubs. I got the crossroads and looking down Main street to my right I saw a little Irish pub and as I fancied some Pub Grub I thought I'd give it a try. I got in and it was quiet, ordered my drink then asked about food. Sadly they weren't doing food as the bar had just reopened under new management. I chatted awhile with a gent & lady at the bar who were very nice but I soon moved on looking for food.
As I left the Pub directly opposite was another bar called Molly's so I crossed the road and was delighted to find they did food. I fancied something basic so ordered a bacon cheeseburger, the young lady behind the bar who was called Teresa asked if I wanted a large one or "Sliders". I didn't know what Sliders were so I asked and apparently they are minature burgers so I decided to give it a try. When they came I got 5 burgers (little bread bun size)and to be honest they were gorgeous really tasty but the unusual thing was they served them with Strawberries (I expected chips). I asked Teresa about this and they did it to make the meal healthy they either serve Strawbs or pineapple, well thats a first to me baconcheeseburger been a healthy meal. The beer was good so I stayed in that Pub until returning to my hotel for some shut eye.
The following day it was time to explore Houston so I set off walking but by around 2pm it was getting too hot so I made my way back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day by the Pool. This was the pattern most days it was bloody hot for a white skinned Englishman.
As a City centre Houston was a little bit of a dissapointment, I think its a City you need a car maybe go down to Galveston or the Space Centre. There are a few museums I visited the Natural Science one but it was nothing special.
Each night at the hotels free drinks hour I met someone different, Friday night I got talking to a bloke who was with his family and they were in town because it was his sons 21st birthday and they had booked a room at a local club. They actually invited me to the party but I declined, thought I'd be out of place not knowing anyone.
Another night I got talking to a local lady called Crystal, apparently she passed the hotel on her way to work every day and decided to treat herself to a stopover, she seemed a bit strange to me although friendly I moved on.
Each night I went out to a different place to eat one I remember was a restaurant that had live music on, a young lady was signing really old stuff sort of from the Sinatra era she had a real good voice.
Another night I found myself in a bar called "The Flying Saucer", I'd just eaten when a couple in their mid-forties came and sat next to me. I heard the chap talk and he had a european accent so I asked where he was from, he was Italian and it turned out is girlfriend was English. The bloke was called Alberto and the lady Debbie. She wasn't only English but was brought up in Sheffield (Yorkshire) but now lives down south, she'd met Alberto when he worked in England and he now worked in Houston. She had been over 5 weeks visiting him. Apparently in her younger days she had been a good athlete (800 metres) and trained in Sheffield with former Olympic Champion Sebastian Coe. When she left school she had been in the RAF and was British Forces Champion. Even more surprising was that her coach had been John Sherwood who won bronze in the 400metres hurdles at the 1968 Olympics, she was surprised I knew who he was. I explained John was actually one of the most famous people to come from the small town I live in. Anyway they were a smashing couple and we had a good laugh, the pub had around 100 beers from around the world on draught and Alberto thought it a good idea we tried a few we hadn't heard of. I think we were all well intoxicated when we left in the early hours and I've an aweful feeling me & Debbie gave the locals a version of the Yorkshire National Anthem "Ilkley Moor bah'tat".
One of the highlights while in Houston was I attended the "Texas Music Festival", I did that on the Sunday. I sussed where the venue was and walked it from my hotel, it took about 40 minutes. Gates opened at 2pm and gee it was hot in fact its the first time I've been to a festival where people didn't crowd the stage, everyone just sat a long way back in the shade of the trees.
They had two stages going, problem was they seemed like a mile apart so I just settled at one stage. The acts were quite good but nothing really spectacular through the day but to be honest the one I wanted to see was Marcia Ball who I'd seen in Memphis in 2005. I've now got a few of her CD's and really like her music she is brilliant on the keyboards. She came on at about 7pm and didn't dissapoint, it was a really good performance.
I eventually set off to walk to my hotel and it was a little shady, it was through a real quiet part of town, nothing was open and there were many dodgy looking groups of people about. Also for the first time in a American City, not a sign of a taxi. I remember thinking I've chose a bad day to wear a bright white England shirt, I may have well tattooed tourist on my forhead. Anyway I walked fast and got back safely, was pleased about that.

So thats what I remember of Houston, it was then meant to be New Orleans but that was cancelled so I relocated in San Antonio which I'll tell you bout in my next post.

My Vacation (Post 1) - Chicago

I have been quite busy since I got back from holiday and other than get my photos posted haven't blogged much about it. So I'll just blog a few memories over the next 3 posts.

1. The first night I stayed at Bewleys hotel at Manchester airport, had a few beers but not everything went to plan. I usually stay at this hotel cos they do a good buffet breakfast which I enjoy before a long flight. However when I went for breakfast the place was packed and overun, the staff were struggling to cope, there was only 4 items to choose from (Bacon, Sausage, Beans & Egg). Well I don't like egg so I got my fair share of the other stuff. Normally they have Tomatoes, Mushrooms & Black Pudding but wasn't doing them, you also had to queue for Coffee, toast, fruit juice, etc. The reason for this was they were providing for 140 extra people whoose flight had been delayed, I got sat with two young ladies and they were supposed to fly to Bulgaria and had been delayed for 16 hours from the previous day cos their plane had broke down. I felt sorry for them there is always somebody with a worse problem than yourself (still missed my black pudding).

2. I flew to Chicago first with American Airlines, not the best I must admit as you don't get your own TV and choice of films. Not over impressed with their meals either the are not a patch on BMI but its only a journey so I go with the cheapest.
I had 3 nights and 2 full days in Chicago and as I've been before I wondered what to do. I stayed at the Wyndham hotel which is only one block from Michegan Ave so an ideal spot for going anywhere. I also get a 3 day CTA pass at the airport which you can use on trains and buses which was a bargain at $12.
1st night I had a meal at the hotel before going to a Irish Pub I know (The Kerryman) then on to one of the Blue Chicago Clubs. The singer was Grana Louise who I have seen before, she had a good backing band and I enjoyed the performance. Eventually went back to the hotel at about midnight.
The following day I decided to go to Chinatown get a few photos and grab a bite to eat for lunch, all the times I've been to Chicago I've never been to this area. The afternoon I made my way to the Pier and just chilled out. On the night I went to another Irish Pub (Fado's) for my meal. Following my meal I went to a duelling Piano bar "Howl at the Moon" which is always a bit wild but great fun.
On my final full day I decided to have a ride north and get a few photos of historic places from the gangster years I hadn't got before. I went on the subway to get a photo of "The Green Mill" Jazz club, apparently this is one of Al Capones old haunts, I've always intended to go to a show here but never got around to it. From there I headed back to the City but got off at the Fullerton stop and walked to The Biograph Theatre. This is where Public Enemy No1 Dillinger was shot by FBI agents apparently.
Instead of going back to the Subway station I walked in the other direction towards the lake & lincoln Park. I eventually came across the Zoo (which is free) so I went in and got lunch at one of the Cafes. Its quite good and I got a cracking photo of a Lion, it climbed on a rock in its compound and gave a tremendous roar, couldn't believe how loud it was. I then made my way back to the City and checked out a few shops before going back to the hotel for a power nap.
It was my final night in the city and again I went to Fado's for a few beers and a meal (they do English Beer & Food). About 9.30pm I went to Blue Chicago (the other Club as they have two) and the singer that was performing was Patricia Scott whom I hadn't seen before. It was a real good show and she had an awesome guitarist playing with her. Apparently some of her usual band were in hospital following a car crash and she had some guests. The guitarist was out of Buddy Guys group who is one of the worlds top Blues acts. I eventually made my way to my hotel to get some sleep ready to move on to Houston the following day.
To be honest I met a few people on my rounds but not any real charactors which is quite unusual for Chicago.

I'll write about Houston in my next post.

Chicago & Houston

Here are the links to the rest of my recent holiday photos from Chicago & Houston for those interested.



Chicago - http://www.flickr.com/photos/8308363@N02/sets/72157607321572988/detail/



Houston - http://www.flickr.com/photos/8308363@N02/sets/72157607325355047/detail/

Hope you enjoy.

San Antonio

Just got my photos of San antonio downloaded to Flickr here is a link :-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8308363@N02/sets/72157607245004750/detail/

I reckon its a real picturesque City, let me know what you think ?

I'm Still Alive

Just a note to let you know I'm home from my US trip, haven't been able to get online much. I only got home 2 hours ago, put some washing on and am knackered.
I'll report my trip later this week but obviously the hurricanes resulted me having to cancel the New Orleans part of the trip. However I was able to relocate to San Antonio for the last week, it is such a nice pituresque City I thoroughly enjoyed the place. I've got to download my photos but I'm sure you'll all be impressed.

I'll catch up with all your blogs later in the week when I'm recovered.

Not such a Good Boy

Weight Loss - Well I've got to be honest and admit I've not been too good with what I've eaten this week, don't know why but I've had a coulpe of crazy moments when I've stuffed all the wrong stuff down my throat. With my holiday starting this Sunday I think thats it for weight loss for three weeks but I've promised myself it'll be straight back on track on my return.

Olympics - I don't know if you've all been watching the Olympics but I have and have got to say I'm proud with what my country has achieved, currently we are third in the medals table with 18 golds. The two countries above us China and America have many more times the population so we can't expect to beat them. Ok another big country Russia may pass us (currently one behind) but its still a fantastic achievement, our best medals haul for 100 years.
And lets not forget we'll have home advantage next time.

Holiday - As I said earlier I'm away from Sunday so don't know when I'll be next online so don't think I'm ignoring any of you. I will try to post while away. The start of my trip is not quite going to plan, I went to get my train ticket and found out that Sunday they are working on the line to Leeds where I should change. I've now got to go via York which takes quite a bit longer, nothing major just a pain as I'm not flying while Monday just staying overnight in Manchester.

Will I Fly

1. Flight - Well I'm a bit worried after reading todays newspapers, apparently Baggage Handlers & Security staff at Gatwick & Stanstead Airport are staging a one day strike on August 25th over a long standing pay dispute. As it happens that is the day I fly to America for my holiday but I'm flying from Manchester not one of the airports involved. However I read on and apparently staff at Manchester are voting this week on whether they will join their colleagues. So I'll now be watching the news to see what happens.

Even if they do walk out my flight may possibly be ok as I'm flying with American Airlines and so far they are not effected at the other airports.

What narks me is they seem to do this each year at what is probably the buisiest weekend (its the bank holiday) ruining thousands of peoples holidays. All I can do is keep my fingers crossed.


2. Surprise Trophy - Went to a TT training day today and one of my team mates in the York Veterans Yorkshire League team was there. He'd been to the county presentation evening and apparently I'd won the divisional merit award, I didn't know at all. Its quite a nice trophy a clock set in a glass stand (see photo).

3. Killer Pool - On my last Post the lovely cactusfreek asked how do we play "Killer Pool", well here is an explanation :-

First you need a group of Pool players (the more the better), then everyone pays a pre-decided amount of money usually £1 each but can be more if you want to up the stakes.

Everyone is given a number say 1 to 10 if you have ten players. All the cards numbered from one to ten are taken from a pack of playing cards then shuffled at put on the side of the pool table upside down so nobody knows which card will be turned over.

Everyone is given 3 lives then the first card is turned over. Whoevers number is turned over breaks and has 2 shots (if needed) to pot a ball. The next card is then turned which decides who the next player is and he must pot any ball (other than white of course), you just carry on turning the cards to decide whoose go it is. Other than whoever breaks players only have one shot to pot, failure to pot you lose a life, once you have lost all 3 lives you drop out.

Once all 15 balls are potted the pack is re-racked and you continue until only one person is left with any lives and he takes the money in the pot. Obviously deciding the order with the cards means you don't know who will be next (its possible to go again yourself), this stops players cheating and leaving their mates on then sharing the money. If all the cards are turned and people are still in they are shuffled and replaced, you then continue.

Win, Win, Win.

1. Winning - "Well its not the taking part its the winning that counts" Hell I'm on a good run Friday :- I played my mate Lofty at Golf, it was a tight match and he was one up with three to play but I managed to turn it on and win the last three.
Saturday :- Of course the mighty whites won theor opening game at Scunthorpe with goals from Jermaine Beckford & new signing Enoch Showumni, it was a good result as Scunny came down from the division above last season.
It was also the qualifying for the table tennis tournament I had a difficult group and was trying out a new bat and had to settle for finishing in band three.
Sunday :- Well I turned it on at the Table Tennis to reach the final of my section only dropping one set on route. In the final I trailed in the first set 8-4 but bounced back to win 11-8 then really turned on the style winning the next two 11-2, 11-1. Best I've played for a long time and won some prize money for my efforts.
Monday :- Didn't have a Pool league match but all our team turned up for practice. We ended the night playing "Killer" for money. We had two games and no prizes for guessing who took all the money in both (yes).
So long this winning streak continue cos the mighty Whites are in action again tonight at Chester in the League Cup and of course I've got my ticket for tomorrows National Lottery (now that would be nice).

2. Weight Loss - I was quite happy the other day when I tried on some casual trousers I bought awhile ago. They were previously too tight so I've never worn them. Well the result is I'm planning to take them on holiday. I have another pair of pin striped jeans, they look really smart but to be honest I couldn't previously fasten them but now I can. However they are still too tight to actually wear so I've still a target to make but I'm doing ok.

Bad Blogger

1. Bad Blogger - Well its a week since my last post and by my own standards thats about as long as I normally get between posts so I suppose I've been a bad blogger. To be honest I've felt a bit of a writing block, I've come online intending to write only to not feel motivated.

2. Excitement - I'm quite excited at present as tomorrow is the start of the Footie season, Leeds are away at Scunthorpe and its a early kick off (before everyone else). So if we win we will be top albeit for a few hours.
Its also the Olympics so our TV's will be full of sport, Team GB are hoping to come 4th in the medal table which would be great for a country of our size, I'll be supporting them all the way. Of course we are robbed of a few medals as our top sports are not played, if Darts, Snooker & Dominoes were in it just think how many medals we would win. Hell they include synchronised swimming and rhythmic gymnastics so why not.
Another thing I'm excited about is its only just over two weeks to my next vacation, so Chicago, Houston & New Orleans here I come.

3. Tax man - My friend the Tax man has been chasing me, I got a form sent to fill in this week. I think they have just noticed I'm paying them next to nothing since getting made redundant and they don't like that after the thousands I've given them.
Well I've nothing to hide so had no problem filling it in until I noticed the envelope they provided to return it. Instead of it been postage paid it said "please affix stamp here", cheeky b*****s.

4. This Weekend - I'm playing in a veterans (over 40's) Table Tennis Tournament in Halifax its the first of the season and I'm looking forward to it. The standard will be high with players from all over the country but I'm hoping for a few good wins but we'll see. I've actually been moved down in the county teams to Yorkshire 4th team from the 2nd team. I'm not dissapointed because the standard was getting tough for me, a lot of new players are reaching the 40 age group. In fact nobody in the county teams ranked above me are older so I reckon I'm doing myself justice to get selected where I am.
Back to the tournament Saturday is qualifying where we play in a group of 8 players, the top 2 go into band one, 3rd & 4th into band 2, and so on. The banded competitions are then played on Sunday, it'll be a amazing performance to getr in band one but realisticly band two would be good for me, think I can be competitive at that level.

5. Weight Loss - Well I reckon I've stagnated a bit, I've a few clothes I'd like to take on holiday but are slightly tight. At present I wouldn't take any of them (I like comfort) butI'll be trying them again before I go then making the decision. With this in mind I've started another push and limiting my daily intake, the last few nights I've managed not to eat late at night (think I've mentioned this is a problem for me before). Must admit last night I was really hungry but didn't give in.
I've also changed a few foods in my diet to lower calorie so its just about seeing how I go. Two weeks isn't long but I'm determined to keep it up after my holiday, I'm using clothes as my motivation.

Today is -

August 1st which is of course "YORKSHIRE DAY" so have a great one my friends even if you are not from Gods Own County.

So this is summer

1. Summer - Yes summer definately arrived this week its been sunny & hot for a few days but no point us getting used to it cos the rain showers are on the way. At least I managed to get some gardening done although the lawn needs cutting.
Trouble is when its hot and humid its impossible to sleep at night, we are not really geared up like some countries with air conditioning in every home. All you can do is sleep naked and sling the covers off, I was gonna post a photo but why should I give you all a laugh.

2. Weight Loss - Don't think I've done too well in the last week or so, had a couple of extra nights out and just sort of feel full. I don't think I've eaten that well although not that badly either but think I need to start counting calories again.
Saying all that I've been doing a few TT training sessions in preparation for the coming season and its been going well I think. I've entered a Veterans summer tournament in Halifax in a couple of weeks so that will be a true test of how its going. I am pleased though cos no signs of the tennis elbow or gout in fact no aches & pains at all, feel as good as anytime in the last 3 seasons.

3. Idiots - The people who have reponsible jobs in our country have again let us down, apparently the Passport office have lost 12,000 blank passports, fantastic thats half of the third world that will be on its way to burdon our society.

4. Comedy Moment - We'll finish with a laugh again with another fantastic sitcom "The Good Life"
Created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, The Good Life's four series from 1975-8 are remembered, according to the Britain's Greatest Sitcom poll, as our 9th favourite laugh.
Constantly available on UKTV, it's a must visit for anyone interested in British sitcom.
On his 40th birthday to be precise, Tom Good decides that he's had enough of the rat race and that he and wife Barbara will become self-sufficient.
The pair convert their garden into a farm, get in the pigs and chickens, grow their own crops and on one memorable occasion, try to dye their own wool with nettles.
Tom and Barbara would just be lone loons were it not for their neighbours, the henpecked Jerry Leadbetter and wife Margot, a social climber who cannot bear chickens wandering the back garden.
The Good Life attacked the middle class and the 'alternative' lifestyle at once, showing Margot's snobbishness as blindness, and Tom's fanatical self-sufficiency as going too far.
Examples of Tom's pursuit of natural alternatives leading down the wrong path include his attempts to make a methane-powered car that continually breaks down, as well as the problems Barbara and Tom have trying to kill their chicken, forcing them through pride to make a 'sumptuous feast' of a single egg.
The Good Life was remarkable for the consistent characterisation. Though initially dominated by Tom, Barbara was soon balancing his mad schemes with pragmatism and comforting his occasional lapses into depression. Jerry's mocking derision of Tom's step sideways become grudging respect, and even snobbish Margot was human and real.
The series showcased the talents of Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington and made all three of the latter into solo stars afterwards, with Kendal becoming a sex-symbol (still is, let’s face it), while Keith in To The Manor Born and Eddington in Yes Minister created roles that were to become even better known than their Good Life creations.
Briers went on to create possibly the saddest small-screen comic character of all time, Martin Brice in Ever Decreasing Circles.
The thirty episodes of The Good Life became household favourites, and are still enduring icons of their time.
In a good-natured, light-hearted way, they showed how hard it was, and is, to be different to those around you, and the kind of courage it takes to be so.

Here is some short clips to laugh at :-

Making Allies

1. Obama Visit - We've just had the American Presidental Candidate Barack Obama visit UK as part of his European tour. To be honest it was quite low key in Britain but apparently in Germany he was given an heroes welcome with the newspapers comparing him to JFK. To be fair to him his speeches were good but I still find him very false, only time will prove me right or wrong.
While over here he had meetings with both the Prime Minister Gordon Brown & Leader of the opposition David Cameron, obviously keeping on the good side of both sides.

2. Night Out - Me and my mate Mark went for a night out around York last night visited a few Pubs, started in "The Terrace" which is a Sports Bar, then on to "The Stone Roses" which is freat for music, they only play British groups. After that we passed a few Pubs cos they were queing to get in as it was really busy as the Races had been on.
The next stop was "The Parish" which is a converted Church really adds charactor to the place. We then went to "The Corner Pin" a small local type Pub before ending the night in "Flares" which is a 70's theme Pub, I like it cos they play all the music I grew up with.
It was quite funny in the Taxi rank, three blokes tried to push in and a girl in front of me had a real go at them and put them in their place.

3. Footie Season - I'm getting excited as its only a couple of weeks to the start of the Football season. Leeds have been having a few pre-season games and are so far unbeaten with 3 wins and 2 draws. To be honest I never read too much into these games its just a case of getting the players fit, last year we didn't win one but when the real stuff started we won our first 7 games.
I haven't been able to go to any of these games but I'm hoping to go to Elland Road next saturday, they are playing a Dutch team should be good.
We've a few new signings, Andy Robinson from Swansea should be good, also big Enoch Showumni will give the team more options. We've also signed a really promising Scottish under 21 international Robert Snodgrass from Livingstone. We have a couple of other young strikers on trial Marcus Haber who is Canadian but more interesting is Argentinian Lucciano Becchio who scored 28 goals in 50 matches in the Spanish 2nd division.

Hopfully this will be the season we turn things around and start heading back to the top the debt is all gone, no 15 points reduction the fans beleive this is going to be our season. Obviously last year ended in defeat in the play off final to Doncaster but I hope the dissapointment will soon be forgotten. The fans are certainly rallying as they always do, seasonticket sales are up from last year when we smashed a lot of attendance records for the 3rd flight of English soccer. As shown below the turn out for the long trip to wembley was phenominal an estimated 55,000 Leeds fans made the journey to London which apparently the third biggest single Club support in the National stadiums history only beaten by Arsenal when they played a home European tie there and Liverpool for a champions league final.

The photo below shows the fans on wembley way before the match Leeds fans to the right & Doncaster to the left, think we outnumbered them a little.

4. Sitcom moment - For todays Sitcom I'm choosing another classic "Dads Army"
A comedy involving an all male (and predominantly elderly) ensemble with major worldwide catastrophe as its backdrop would get laughed out of any current BBC commissioner's office.
Yet Dad's Army lasted longer than the war itself and is a timeless, oft-repeated jewel in the BBC's crown.
Jimmy Perry was acting in the David Croft produced sitcom Hugh and I when he suggested the idea of a sitcom (in which he'd cannily earmarked himself for a role) concerning those men who volunteered to be the last line of defence should the Germans invade.
Croft was impressed, and despite BBC misgivings that it may be disrespectful to the Home Guard, a series was commissioned. Their fears were unfounded, as there was nothing more palpable in Dad's Army than the affection the programme makers had for the characters.
For all their flaws, these men, we could rest assured, would give their lives to defend Great Britain.
Based in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-On-Sea, the series used its setting for a sublime mix of character comedy and lunatic, slapstick escapades.
Social mores are no more acute than in difficult times, and Dad's Army was brilliant at exposing the flaws and anxieties of British society.
Central to the show was a triumvirate of brilliant comedy characters.
Captain Mainwaring was a jumped up, pompous, aspirational bank manager, reveling in the status accorded to him by his newfound rank.
Sergeant Wilson was a far more laid back figure whose urbane insouciance aggravated his superior in the extreme. Corporal Jones was the local butcher, a dotty old man prone to overreaction.
The contrast between Lowe's excellent posturing (and the ability to fall down behind a table and instantly reappear with his glasses skew-whiff), Le Mesurier's measured, laissez-faire delivery and Dunn's dedicated clowning ensured each character a place in comedy history.
It's a testament to the scripts that the platoon boasted illustrious actors in its ranks: admired Shakespearian Laurie was suitably apocalyptic as the cantankerous and pessimistic undertaker Frazer; noted playwright Ridley made the incontinent Godfrey; instantly loveable younger members Beck as the wily spiv Walker (the part Perry had written for himself before Croft talked him out of it) and Lavender as naïve mother's boy Pike were spot on.
Despite the backdrop of conflict, most of the platoon's problems were home grown, notably from jobsworth ARP warden Hodges (Pertwee, usually called upon to fall in a river and seethe with frustration) and the vicar and his verger.
Croft and Perry seemed to cover all comedy bases in a single episode: there were high levels of farce mixed in with brilliantly, subtly observed characters and catchphrases galore ("Stupid boy", "Don't panic!", "We're doomed" and "D'you think that's wise sir?").
Out of one of the gravest moments in this country's history, Croft, Perry and their peerless cast produced one of the most celebratory but least mawkish comedies of all time.
As long as there are fans of comedy, there will be fans of the Dad's Army.

Here's a three clips telling the story :-