Sunday 29th November to Saturday 5th December

Saturday 6th November
A funny day, took Phil to work at 6:15 after getting up at silly o'clock. Dead tired but cool, fetched papers, hoovered lower deck, fetched Phil back from work. Went golfing, we won 4 and 3 which was nice. Came home, Derby drew vs. West Brom which helped Newcastle but can't be helped. Forest did ever so well, which is a bit of a bugger but shows how good a manager Billy Davies is. Shame he fell out with Gadsby and his ilk. Nice to see to Chelsea lose too - puts the title race back on.


Friday 4th December

Lost 11lbs in total which has been slow going but have not been following plan proper and haven't really upped my exercise regime except on a couple of occasions. Feeling like death on a daily basis is also not helping but such us life. Never surrender as Mr Churchill would say,





Worth noting that the cumbrian Prog Pop/Rockers (is there such a thing) are re-recording 'Calling all the Heroes' to raise funds for the flood victims.


http://www.itbites.com/news.html





Thursday 3rd December
Still feeling bloody awful but "kept on buggering on" as Churchill would say. 2.5 miles up town and back, three layers on, neurofenned up to the eyeballs. Onwards and upwards, haven't got time to be ill so whatever it is can just bugger off as far as I'm concerned. Taking Lucy to badminton tonight but think am going to sit it out. Sat out Badmo which was a shame but there you go. Wnet to group, lost four lbs but that to be tempered with the fact that I've got very little apetitel on account of feeling bloomin awful.

Wednesday 2nd December
Not raining this morning so that's good. Felt like death again this morning with this cold thing that's whizzing through our household currently. Still walked up town and back , legs had got no go in them at all. Got to work at 8:40 after picking a rod up from Heanor which wasn't where I thought Heanor was. Always get Codnor and Heanor mixed up.

Tuesday 1st December
Jeez, December already? Got up at 4:40 put a coat of gloss on all the door frames and what have you, 6:20 ran up town and back. 8:30 in office as usual. Mighty damned cold but still ran up town in shorts. Hard, I am.

Monday 30th November
Still tired this morning - up town and back to get paper just 2.5 miles. Then loaded up car with drum pollution which took half an hour after shifting whole of shed about to get the damned things out. Band practice - a bit ropey but to be expected on first attempt.

Sunday 29th November
Fur and Feather / Xmas Fayre competition at Golf Club, last year we won the Turkeys this year we was the turkeys. A very meagre 34 points off a 3/4 handicap better ball format was nothing like good enough. Never mind. Didn't have any time to go swimming either which is disappointing. Felt shattered all day from getting up at 5am to get another coat of paint onto kitchen walls - missus not even that pleased with the colour unfortunately but not to worry - she picked it!

Sunday 22nd November to Saturday 28th November

Saturday 28th November
Am limiting myself to a bottle of wine for the whole weekend and nowt more and this week's weight increase which was a big backward step after recent good form. Woke up feeling mega tired so just walked up town and back. Going to do a load of 'ahead of Xmas' type jobs today and keep on good side of missus. Next week rehearsals begin and hopefully have a badminton game against Ed from IT on Tuesday. Lucy has a party this afternoon so probably no badmo today!

Friday 27th November
Another morning I didn't want to get out of bed (but made mesen), then when got up I couldn't find me wallet so had a good five minutes of panic before I found it in the first place I looked initially (but evidentally not hard enough). Such is life, 2.5 miler up town and back then into office a bit late at 8:15.

Thursday 26th November
Really tired this morning. Just the little 2.5 miler up town and back but had to be in office for 8am so not a bad thing. Well, went to group straight after work and have put a pound and a half on which I'm not overly pleased about. Then took Lucy to Badminton at 7pm. Thoroughly enjoyed meself - played some other young fella who had me running all over the court while he mosied about barely breaking a sweat - just wait til I've learned it matey.

Wednesday 25th November
Nice and early. Four miles this morning. Have the twenty mile Grindleford Gallop only three months away so need to shift weight and find fitness quick! All good

Tuesday 24th November
Got up nice and early - ran up town and back with a little loop round by the bank to make it up to a proper three miles. Am in training now for this years Grindleford Gallop on 13th March. Need to get at least half a stone off by then but running was much better this morning so pleased at the minute.

Monday 23rd November
2.5 miler up town and back. Helped Lucy with some homework she'd missed and still got into office for 8:30 which was bloomin good in my view.

Sunday 22nd November
Got up at silly o'clock to take Phil to work down on the farm. Made a load of bread. Took Lucy Swimming (upped the current Siddall record to 23 lengths of Lucy swimming nicely and me avoiding drowning behind her).

Sunday 15th November to Saturday 22nd.

Saturday 21st November
Got up at 5:30, took Phil to work at 6:20, grand way to start the weekend! Went up town and back as usual to get papers. Then went up for golf at 10:20. The pair we were supposed to play didn't turn up so technically we could claim the match but we probably won't. Anyway not a problem but an opportunity - me and Lucy booked a court at the leisure centre to do some badminton practice.

Friday 20th November
2.5 miler as usual. Had to leave work at 2:30 for a retinography thing at St Oswalds Hospital - she said it looked alright. Couldn't read for a good three hours afterwards but such is life.

Thursday 19th November
2.5 mile up town and back, into office for 8am. Took Lucy to Badminton lessons at Ashbourne Leisure Centre, cool, I asked if I could have a go and they let me which was cool. Not only that but they let me pay for meself so even though it's supposed to be for kids I'm having a crack for the next weeks!! Yay, played against a young lad called Ben who plays for the county so I learnt new stuff right from the start. Well, pleased.

Wednesday 18th November
Didn't get back from work til 9:15 last night so was in a bit of a huff, straight to bed with no supper. Got up early doors 2.5 mile up town and back in the bl**dy rain. Great when the weather matches your mood! Did a couple of miles round the loop at night - dry but windy.

Tuesday 17th November
Did the normal 2.5 miler up town and back, which I have to say am very comfy doing. If I could do exactly the same every night on top of it I'd be quite happy I reckon.

I've got a cunning plan for improving my knotting capabilities I'm going to test out tonight though. A piece of wood with a big nail in it should be ideal as an extra hand to hold loops for example in the leader part of the flip-over leader knot below you really need someone holding the extreme left end of the loop while you turn over it - if it was held by a nail it should be ten times easier. First cunning fishing related plan I've had!!












Learnt a new knot...
Came across this in my online travels - a flip over leader knot which took me a bit of time to master, it's a combination of two knots the first being a sort of clinch knot in the thicker leaderline with a palomar knot from the mainline which as you tighten the leader line jumps the mainline palomar jumps over the leader line knot - awesomely strong if done right - well pleased.

http://www.btinternet.com/~kevin.l.j.knight/Flip_Over_Leader.htm

Monday 16th November
2.5 mile up town as usual. Quite quick considering it was hammering it down with rain.

Sunday 15th November
Walk up golf course first thing brought five reclaimed golf balls (good good). Swimming with Lucy at lunchtime. We notched up 21 lengths this time which was only spolit by getting a parking notice on my windscreen when I got out. Have sent an appeal letter as it was not done with malice aforethought.

Sunday 8th November to Saturday 15th November

Saturday 14th November
2.5 miler up town and back. Only eight holes of golf due to folks in winter league not wanting to take us on and the dodgy weather.

Friday 13th November
2.5 miler up town and back again.


Thursday 12th November
2.5 mile up town and back to start day off. In work for just after 8am. As expected the weight gain delayed from last week reared it's head tonight with a 1lb gain. Still, it's first gain since september everything else has either been loss or maintain.

Wednesday 11th November
2.5 miler again up town and back. Learnt a palomar know before coming to work as well, which is apparently . Still got to work before 8:15 though so putting clocks back definitely helping (must be good for something!!). After work did another 2 miles at night that was another steady jog round, am not going to call it running, it's lumbering at best at the mo!

Tuesday 10th November
Got up early again but it was raining so only did the 2.5 miler. Will do a bit more tonight. Lucy not going swimming tonight so might go on me tod. Didn't go swimming but did go a stoll round 2 mile loop again which is better than nowt!

Monday 9th November
Got up early and did a couple of miles up and town back. Always seem to start off the week slowly at the minute. After a long day at work I went out for a couple of miles more and then learned how to snell a hook! See picture below - that funny coily knot is called a snell knot and looks very good methinks.





Sunday 8th November
Got up at 5:45 to take Phil to work (didn't mention it yesterday). It's grand getting up when you're knackered. Hey ho.

Anyway, thought I'd learn something new and have cracked doing the tucked half blood knot, which is nice. Looks something like the image below.

Back to the Grind - Monday 2nd Nov to Sat 7th Nov

Saturday 7th November
Cycled up town with Lucy in the morning and then come home, hoovered up, soaked all sea fishing gear from last week in freshwater and dried it out, off golfing at lunchtime, first winter league game of the season and my lord, it feels cold enough for it.

Update: Me and John got the 2009/2010 Winter League season off in style with a 6 and 5 win over Pete Eaton and Steve Hall. Good stuff.

Friday 6th November
Went to group last night, after all the booze and calorie overload at the weekend I was pleasantly surprised at another pound gone. Am broadly on track to have lost a stone by Christmas all being well.

Did my knee walking throught the office yesterday so could only manage a walk up town and back for three miles or so.

Thursday 5th November
Bonfire night already! Pretty much same four mile run as yesterday. Steady stuff again. It's coming back!

Wednesday 4th November
Dry but cold. Went a bit further this morning. A steadyish four mile run round Ashbourne. I reckon there's a week or two yet before I'm confident of doing five milers again.






Tuesday 3rd November
Chucking it down with rain when I got up so fetched papers in car and then off to work, a solid hour in gym and then into office in plenty good time. Got on scales in gym and astonished to be only half a pound up after all that alcohol - probably a delayed reaction.

Monday 2nd November
Three miles up town and back. Big run tomorrow. Getting ar*e into gear again. About bloomin time.

Authentic Welsh Experience

Anglesey Again - Thursday 29th October to Sunday 1st November
This time just me and me bro Andrew. So lots of fishing, some wierd music - Corrosion of Conformity, OceanSize, Dillinger Escape Plan, Wilko etc.etc and far too much alcohol intake.

On exercise front went out early Friday morning and ran a couple of miles down to Traeth Trwyn along the road and then back to base up the coastal path.

On Saturday after stubbing me toe early doors I went up to Mynydd y Garn to look at the triangulation stone as it's disputably the highest point on Anglesey.




Above: Saturday's walk to Mynydd y Garn (pic below on summit!)


Above: friday's run to Traeth Trwyn





Above: the proper welsh rain and water pouring out of someone's garden as we were leaving.


Above: Me on top of Mynydd y Garn (about a three mile walk there and back)



Above: Me bro fishing at Cemlyn - only place we blanked at out of about 6 sessions

Above: me with me only ever centrapod caught at Amlwch Port.

Above: me bro with a slightly bigger octopus (anything you can do etc.etc.)