Weigh in Wednesday - Hard Labour

Another good week on my weight loss campaign with another 3lb lost (forever). Its quite amazing because I've had a couple of nights out and definately drank a few extra beers this week. Also eating as ben nothing special, not specifcally bad just sort of normal.
But where I've done well is the fact I've done a lot of physical stuff both sports wise and working in the garden (been helping a neighbour put in fence posts involving a lot of digging, breaking contract, chopping trees, etc). Got a round of golf on saturday, done a couple of long walks, 2 TT team matches and 3 tough training sessions.

Here are the facts :-

Start Weight (9th Nov) - 238lb
Weight last week - 218lb
Weight Today - 215lb
Gain/Loss this week - -3lb
Gain/Loss from start - -23lb
Todays Target - 218lb
+/- Target - -3lb

Are we really Patriotic

I've always considered myself like many others as been patriotic, I'm a proud Englishman thats for sure. However I was thinking the other day and come to the conclusion we all let our countries down when it comes to shopping.

I think all our countries are in a financial mess, we blame governments, bankers, immigration but what do we do to help, we go out and buy bargain goods made in other countries.

Of course we usually do this because good made in poorer countries using cheap labour save us money but I'm coming to the conclusion this is false economy.

The result is we have higher unemployment which in turn means we have to pay higher taxes to support these people. High unemployment areas have higher crime rates another downside and thats without the effects on the envionment shipping goods half way around the world.

Just as a experiment check the last 5 things you bought yourself and see where they were made, heres mine :-
Trousers - Morrocco
Jeans - Italy
Shirt - Indonesia
Shirt - Indonesia
Leather Belt - Made in England (I'm a good boy sometimes)

It doesn't stop there start checking your household appliances and I'm sure you wont find many built at home, probably Japanese TV's, Chinese washing machines, Indian Microwaves, etc.

Even the weekly grocery order is full of produce, grown, packaged and tinned from around the world (even got blueberries from Chile the other day).

So maybe we should all think about it and become real patriots and buy goods from our own countries whether that be the UK, USA or Australia.

Weigh in Wednesday - Feeling the Benefit

Another week gone and I'm pleased to announce another small victory in my weight loss battle. Lost 2lbs this week that puts me 1lb inside my decreasing target and a total of 20lb since I started this latest campaign.
Must admit I think I'm starting to feel the benefit, had a couple of TT matches this week and reckon my movement around court is getting quicker. Still must keep it up because we all know what can happen if we take our eye off the ball.

Here are the facts :-

Start Weight (9th Nov) - 238lb
Weight last week - 220lb
Weight Today - 218lb
Gain/Loss this week - -2lb
Gain/Loss from start - -20lb
Todays Target - 219lb
+/- Target - -1lb

218lb is a significant number because looking at my first post of this latest campaign it tells me I hadn't weighed for two and half years because I didn't have any scales and guess what ? My origional weight back then (now approx 3 years ago) was 218lb. So its took me under 5 months to lose what I put on in two and half years.
http://myadventures2008.blogspot.com/2010/11/truth-is-revealed-ouch.html

Certainly haven't finished and intend to keep this 1lb per week rate up if I can although at some stage I'm thinking of having a period where I just maintain a set weight for a few weeks before kicking on again.

Another year clocked up

Yes today is my birthday but to be fair I've stopped counting, think that happens when you reach the old git stage.
Its also the first day of Spring and surprisingly the weather is very Spring like the sun is shinning and not a rain cloud in site.

So todays music post is by the Zimmers, just for my birthday :-

War Games

Once again our country as managed to get involved in a war, this time its Libya and to be honest its pissed me off. This is the wrong war at the wrong time its none of our business.

Wrong War - Now at the time I agreed with the Falkland war, the Argies invaded British territory and needed sorting, I didn't object to the first Gulf War Iraq was playing middle east bully boy by invading Kuwait and in fact I was disappointed we drew the line kicking them out and didn't actually kick Saddom out there and then. 2nd Gulf war I backed because I believed the Weapons of Mass destruction yarn, in hindsight we were told lies by Blair and Bush so maybe I was wrong.
I actually believe Afghanistan is a war on terror, that part of the world is a breeding ground that needs stamping out .
But Libya that is a civil war its none of our business, ok they tell us we are protecting civilians but how by bombing other civilians its a joke. Yes don't try to fool me I've watched the news and its apparent half the country support Gaddafi while the other half the opposition. I've also read the history and it used to be two countries (Tripolitania & Cyrenaica) and this is the problem, the east and west just don't get on.

In fact if our (United Nations) reason for involvement is to save civilians what happend in Rwanda, Ethiopia, Congo, etc where millions were slaughtered. Just tell us the truth and that magic word "OIL", we are not the worlds police force.



Wrong Time - It certainly is we have been in recession, we are facing higher taxes, we are seeing numerous cut-backs, the country is skint. So why are we firing numerous tomahawk cruise missiles at £1million per shot. When my taxes pay for our armed forces its for my protection right, this war as nothing to do with us.

Weigh in Wednesday - A weak moment

No loss to report this week but luckily I've got away with a weak moment, well probably more thana weak moment more like a couple of days. Everything was going great up to Sunday then I sort of cracked and ate a few things I shouldn't which went on for 2 days. Still got back into the swing of things yesterday so hopfully I can stick to plan this week.

Here are the facts :-

Start Weight (9th Nov) - 238lb
Weight last week - 220lb
Weight Today - 220lb
Gain/Loss this week - 0lb
Gain/Loss from start - -18lb
Todays Target - 220lb
+/- Target - 0lb

Physically got a few walks in but didn't play any TT at all due to cancelled matches. Off training tonight and got a match on Sunday and next tuesday so hopfully I can sweat off a few pounds. Been doing a spot of gardening which is nice gentle exercise.

Only 5 weeks to my holiday (Mallorca) but it could be in doubt so trying not to get too excited. Spanish Air Traffic Controllers are threatening some strikes and the date I'm due to fly out is on their list of walk out days so all I can do is keep my fingers crossed.

Big Match tonight

Playing Pool tonight my team are in the 4 man final but it'll be tough cos the team we play are quite good and will start clear favorites. Still if we can all lift our game anything is possible so we'll see.

Interesting

In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb.
Hence we have
'the rule of thumb'


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Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented.
It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'.. .
and thus, the word GOLF entered
into the English language.


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The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone


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Every day more money is printed for Monopoly
than the U.S. Treasury.


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Men can read smaller print than women can;
women can hear better.


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Coca-Cola was originally green.


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It is impossible to lick your elbow.


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The cost of raising a medium-size dog
to the age of eleven:

£ 10,120.00


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Intelligent people have more zinc
and copper in their hair..


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The first novel ever
written on a typewriter, Tom Sawyer.


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Each king in a deck of playing cards represents
a great king from history:

Spades - King David

Hearts - Charlemagne

Clubs -Alexander, the Great

Diamonds - Julius Caesar


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111,111,111 x
111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987, 654,321


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If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.
If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle.
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died
of natural causes


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Q.. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'?

A. One thousand


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Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common?

A. All were invented by women.


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Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?


A. Honey


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In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.
When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened,
making the bed firmer to sleep on.
Hence the phrase...'Goodnight , sleep tight'


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It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month,
which we know today as the honeymoon.


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In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts...
So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's'

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Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle'
is the phrase inspired by this practice.


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At least 75% of people who read this will try to
lick their elbow!


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This looks weird. Believe it or not,
you can read it.


I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the
first and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a
taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This
is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by

istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?


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YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2011 when...


1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.


2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.


3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family
of three.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries...

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom
of the screen

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting
your coffee

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12 You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't
a #9 on this list


~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~ ~~~~~~~


NOW U R LAUGHING at
yourself.

Weigh in Wednesday - Back on track

After last weeks blip and falling 1lb behind my target I'm pleased to report this week I've managed to lose 3lb to put me back on track and 1lb ahead of target.
I'm not going to pretend its been easy, put in a lot of effort with food and exercise and come close more than once to eating when I shouldn't but determination won the day.

Been thinking that sooner or later I need to relax the weekly loss targets so I'm thinking I should try to keep the 1lb per week rate for another 6 weeks upto my Mallorca holiday (should be 215lb or less by then). Then the plan would be to maintain that weight for a couple of months or so before kicking on again later in the year towards my 200lb target. Does that seem sensible ?

Here are the facts :-

Start Weight (9th Nov) - 238lb
Weight last week - 223lb
Weight Today - 220lb
Gain/Loss this week - -3lb
Gain/Loss from start - -18lb
Todays Target - 221lb
+/- Target - -1lb

Music Monday - Australian Music

Following last weeks "Best of British" music post Sandii challenged me to do a post on Australian music so started me thinking what Aussies have had hits over here. Of course there is Kylie but the challenge was without her so I'm leaving her out plus her sister and Jason Donavan who dueted with her but had some solo hits.

Of course we all know Aussies have a habit of claiming whats not their own such as Olivia (born in Cambridge) and the Bee Gees (Isle of Man).

So this is a tough challenge but I'll start with the most famous Aussie of them all who had a number one hit with this classic :-


Ok enough of that and reckon I'll take you back to the sixtes with a group and song that reached our top ten and is on many 60's compilation albums its The Easybeats who came from Sydney with the classic "Friday on my mind" :-


Fast forward to the 80's and another group from Down Under did well in the UK charts with a song called "Down Under" which actually made the No1 spot. The group of course was called Men at Work :-


Need to come forward again to he current century and nclude Melbourne Band Jet, only seems right seeing the lead singer bought me and my mates a drink in Chicago last year when we spotted them in a bar. Here they are with "Seventeen" :-


Australian music is quite varied but arguably their most famous group ever is the Hard Rockers AC/DC and here they are with "Back in Black" :-


But its a Folk group that is arguably the most succesfull act in the British Charts if you don't include Kylie, they've been about since the 60's when they had numerous hits (including 3 number ones I believe). Of course its The Seekers but reckon to finish this weeks post I should go for their 1993 classic "I am Australian" :-


May even get there one day.

Weigh in Wednesday - Playing catch up

I'm disappointed to announce for the first time I've slipped above my target for the week. I haven't actually gained any weight I'm the same as last week but with my decreasing target I'm now 1lb above where I should be. So its about playing catch up and losing at least 2lb in the next 7 days to get back on track.
I'm blaming the fact I had to up my eating over the weekend because I felt a bit of gout coming on in my foot and under eating was the most likely cause (Under as well as over eating can be a problem). Other causes can include dehydration and wrong foods but don't think either was the issue in this instance.

Here are the facts :-

Start Weight (9th Nov) - 238lb
Weight last week - 223lb
Weight Today - 223lb
Gain/Loss this week - 0lb
Gain/Loss from start - -15lb
Todays Target - 222lb
+/- Target - +1lb

The bottom line is I need to push myself this week because I want to win this battle.

Being British

Being British
Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a
Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a
Turkish Kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch
American shows on a Japanese TV. And the most British thing of all?
Suspicion of anything Foreign.
Oh and...... Only in Britain ... Can a pizza get to your house Faster
than an ambulance.

Only in Britain ... Do supermarkets make sick People walk all the way
to the back of the shop to get their prescriptions While healthy
people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in Britain , do we pay £42 billion pound per year to the EU, while we continue to cut spending in our public services.

Only in Britain .. Do People order double cheeseburgers, large fries
and a DIET coke.

Only in Britain ... Do banks leave both doors open and chain the pens
to the Counters.
Only in Britain , do we pay people for not working then import hundreds of thousand of immigrants to fill the jobs.

Only in Britain ... Do we leave cars worth thousands of pounds on The
drive and lock our junk and cheap lawn mower in the garage.

Only in Britain ... Do we use answering machines to screen calls and
then have call Waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't
want to talk to in The first place.

Only in Britain , do we go to war with countries to bring them 'democracy' yet we hand our own sovereignty away to the European Union super-state.

Only in Britain ... Are there disabled parking places in Front of a
skating rink.

NOT TO MENTION... 3 Brits die each year testing of A 9v battery works
on their tongue.

142 Brits were injured in 1999 by not Removing all pins from new
shirts.

58 Brits are injured each year by using Sharp knives instead of
screwdrivers.

31 Brits have died since 1996 by Watering their Christmas tree while
the fairy lights were plugged in.

19 Brits have died in the last 3 years believing that Christmas
decorations Were chocolate.

British Hospitals reported 4 broken arms last year after Cracker
pulling accidents.

101 people since 1999 have had broken parts of Plastic toys pulled
out of the soles of their feet.

18 Brits had serious Burns in 2000 trying on a new jumper with a lit
cigarette in their mouth.

A Massive 543 Brits were admitted to A&E in the last two years after
opening Bottles of beer with their teeth.

5 Brits were injured last year in Accidents involving out of Control
Scalextric cars.

And finally.......... In 2000 eight Brits cracked their skull whilst
throwing up into the toilet.