I’ve started going walking each weekend. Frodsham is only about 12 miles from Chester. The Sandstone trail starts there, and since Tony and I are looking to do the full route in a couple of weeks, a short “recky” walk seemed sensible.
16 minutes from Chester by train, Frodsham really is a traditional pub and tea house village. We set off straight away, and walked up the hill. The trail is very varied and winding, and runs through a forest. The weather was superb throughout the whole afternoon. As we ambled along the trail, we passed several of the dells and caves.
I wore my normal attire of walking trousers, t shirt, jumper and waterproof jacket (which between the 4 of them, can accomodate almost any UK weather) I also had my packed lunch, flask and last but not least, my old trainers.
After walking around for a couple of hours, we headed for the Sandstone Obelisk, the overlooks the whole of the valley bellow.
I ate my sandwiches, looking at the view out accross the valley. Spectacular.
Frank and I originally walked the Sandstone Trail, about 5 years ago (it was 38 miles, done over 2 days). A brill day out. I’m really enjoying getting back into walking.
I have a list of affirmations, which I read every morning and evening, for 10 minutes (I found the picture above, on the internet, mine aren’t as spiritual as that, if you know what I mean).
There are 10 statements, and they say things like when I’m focussed, I can solve almost any problem and I never waste time or money.
Some people don’t believe this kind of personal programming works, but something interesting, has happened to me lately, that really shows the power of conditioning.
I’m using a program on my IPhone called Sleep Cycle (my new job is great, and I’m home each day before 5, but I have to manage my sleep, energy and hydration levels carefully, to perform at my best). The basic idea of Sleep Cycle, is it monitors your movements while sleeping, and works out if your dreaming, in deep sleep etc.
In the morning, it plots a graph of your sleep pattern throughout the night. One things that surprised me, is for the last 2 weeks during workdays, I have inexplicably woken each night, between 1am and 2am.
I couldn’t work out why, until yesterday. When I was unemployed, I had a job alert from CW Jobs, that delivered an email with new vacancy’s each day. As you can imagine, at that time, it was one of the most important events in my existence.
In the months that I wasn’t working, I have physiologically conditioned myself to wake at that time, and even though, there is now now email, no noise to wake me and actually no reason at all to wake then, it still happens.
It will be interesting to see how long it takes to stop !.
Well, its the end of my 2nd week at work, and along with my 2 close colleagues (and friends) Robert and Lee, I was taken for my welcome lunch. I would have gone last Friday, but as some of you know, I stupidly cut my finger, with my leatherman pliers, and spent Friday lunchtime, in Warrington hospital casualty department.
You might think, since our company operates in more than 100 countries, we would look a bit more “corporate”.
The truth is, it’s a very focussed, but laid back environment, and there isn’t any need for the ostentatious ball breaking that I witnessed at places like Arthur Andersen.
Well, its that time of year again, and I’m another year older.
I’ve just started a new job, so it wasn’t possible to take my actual birthday off on the 7th of May (I usual spend the day relaxing, and use it as a sort of half year review of my plan for the year).
The day following, was a Saturday, so I rustled up all my friends from Chester and throughout the UK. I had already worked out an itinerary. As suspected, it all went a bit to cock, with people phoning from venue’s where we should have been and weren’t, and at one point my phone went dead so some guests couldn’t contact me (apologies to those affected).
The picture above, was taken by my reliable friend Steve. There were lots of other people around, throughout the day, and many of them, I don’t normally see that often, so that was excellent.
A particular favourite venue, was the recently opened Commercial hotel (I go there on Tuesdays, to attend their comedy night).
Although I had a good time, I was in pain most of the day (a trip to the casualty department on Sunday morning, and a helpful consultant, has resolved the problem).
My guests, awarded me, the privilege of sitting in the really comfortable chair, in the front room of the Commercial. A chair that was temporarily dubbed the Birthday Throne.
What can I say. I have had a lot of bad luck, but things are really starting to turn around now. It was great to be able to relax, and not have to put on a happy face, when in reality, I was quite worried. This time, I looked contented, because I really was (apart from the trapped nerve in my back !).
As mentioned in another article, I have started to recycle and give to the charity shop with a vengeance. Before I go to the charity shop, I just thought I would offer out the present charity “portfolio” in case anyone is interested. I have an old golf ball, 10 blank mini disks and a meditation cassette, if anyone wants them.
Thanks to everyone that came, I really appreciated your company, and had a great time.
Well, all systems go for my birthday next Saturday the 8th. Full details here.
On my first Inter-railing trip, I took a book called Living Dangerously, it was the autobiography of Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
Ran is one of my life hero’s, and I was delighted to read recently, that he will be visiting Chester on the 24th of June. Full details here.
I’ve added 2 things to 17 things I like, so its now called 19 things I like.
Speaking of Mountaineering, a chap I did my mountaineering training with is on expedition for 21 days on Baffin Island. Mike “Twid” Turner and 2 of his fellow climbers will be mountaineering in the daytime, and sleeping in hanging tents at night (oh, and in between, they will have to avoid wild bears).
The cool thing is, they they have a sat phone with them, and will be answering questions each evening. You can find out about it and possibly ask them a question (I will be) here.
I only have about 25% of my hearing (In my youth, I went on lots of longs walks, with a cassette walkman screaming in my ears. It provided me with all kinds of inspiration and ideas, but at a price.) if you want to get an idea of what the world sounds like to me, click on this.
You may remember, that I did some work with Antique Pine Imports, with the intention of learning about joinery. Whilst working with Matty, we listened (in my case under duress) to Radio 1. The outcome, is that I can’t stop humming “she said” by Plan B. Torture !.
I said recently, there wasn’t much that was funny about British politics. I’ve change my mind, after watching this and this , done with state of the art animation for foreign audiences.
Seriously, its important to vote. I’ve stood in Nelson Mandela’s cell where he worked for 27 years to restore democracy to his country. I’ve stood in Wenceslas Square in Prague, where Jan Palach set himself on fire as there was simply no other way to protest for democracy and be heard.
Warren Buffet once said “If you’ve been at a card game for 30 minutes, and you cant work out who the patsy is, you are the patsy !”. British Politics is a bit like that. The parties all seem the same, the expenses row has shown many politicians to be corrupt and the economic problem looms so large, that you wonder if anyone can fix it. But if you don’t vote, then you literally are the problem, not a symptom, whatever you tell yourself.
I remember being on a train once, and it was very late. I was annoyed, and talking to a passenger next to me. I explained that the ticket had cost £90 and the train still didn’t run on time. The passenger replied that he hadn’t bought a ticket, he had sneaked onto the train without paying, but he was still annoyed. The passenger sat across from me, turned to him, and said if you don’t pay, you don’t get complain !.
If you don’t vote, you cant really complain afterwards.
I’ve been watching a series by another of my life heroes, Stephen Hawking. Into the Universe, explores all sorts of things that you normally see in science fiction, in a grown up but interesting way. I’ve said many times that we cant possibly be alone in the Universe, and that I hope we make contact with Aliens in my lifetime.
I’ve always believed that once Aliens are discovered, the fundamental reality that we aren’t alone will bind the human race, more closely together. Startlingly (but subtly put) Hawking reckons that we should be cautious of meeting up with Aliens of superior technology and almost avoid letting them know of our existence.
He points to the example of the native North Americans as an example of what could happen to us !. I certainly hope not.
I went to see Iron Man 2 the other evening. Money is tight, but I use my Tesco vouchers to buy Cinema tickets, which works out quite well.
One thing that really annoyed me, was how they now have a sign saying you cant take your own food and drink into the Cinema. I can get 2 bottles of Coke from Wilkinsons, for 99p. They charge £2.40 for one. Things bought from the Cinema shops, have a special sticker on them. Everything else isn’t allowed !. I think that its a liberty, and I’ll be surprised if its legal.
Anyway, on to the film. Firstly, the scene in the trailer, with Pepper Pots (which interestingly, is my mum’s name (I mean the surname, is her family name. Her first name, is Vera, and she is really nice. I’d be embarrassed if she was called Pepper !)) throwing the helmet out of the plane, never actually happens in the film.
The action and effects were everything I expected. They had opted for a few big action scenes, which left a lot of the film free for character development and plot twists (its just a shame, that they didn’t actually use it for this purpose, as far as I could see 🙂
My main disappointment, was with the continuity. In the first film, as he escapes from the cave, he turns to his dying friend, and says come on, well get out of here, and you can be with your family. He replies, my family are dead. Ill be with them soon, and you realise that he had never intended to leave the cave. With his dying words, you hear him say, don’t wast your life Stark. A billionaire arms dealer, he returns home and vows to change.
He does change for the duration of that film, but in the 2nd one, he’s back to his old ways.
Other silliness is the love interest with PP, the fallout with his best friend, and dealing with his illness. All handled with enough Ham and Cheese to provide Britain’s workforce with lunchtime nutrition for a year.
The ending is pretty cool and the audacious scene, where he builds a particle accelerator from heating pipes and creates a new element, almost makes up for the pointless congressional hearing scene at the beginning.
I’ve always been a real fan of the Iron Man franchise. Its not like a normal superhero series. He hasn’t been bitten by a spider, or escaped from a doomed planet, he’s just an engineer, however gifted, who builds a machine that can protect the innocent and fight tyranny (or that’s what the original comic book was about).
One scene in the first film, really connects with me. A fictional group of villagers are being held at gunpoint in Afghanistan. How many times in real life, have you switched on the tv, and seen something terrible happening on the other side of the world. If your like me, you felt stricken, hoped that things turned out okay, but inside you knew that you were powerless and that probably things would end badly.
What if you could get into your suit, fly there and make things right. There wasn’t a single scene in the second film like that.
It was my 2nd trip to the Cinema that week. On Tuesday, I finally got around to watching Be Kind Rewind at the Little Theatre, with the Chester Film Society. I have been on their mailing list or nearly 4 years, but finally got around to going.
I was really impressed. Like everything that the traditionalist’s do here in Chester (including the sponsored walk), it was done properly, and organised with military precision. They even had a small bar, so Glenn and I had a drink, then went upstairs to watch the film.
They had a really smart setup, with a large screen, good audio and the film on DVD. One thing I did like, was a short film, shown before the main film. It used to always be this way when I was growing up, and encouraged many young directors. We realised at this point, that it was the last film of the season, and they actually conducted an AGM before the main film.
Glenn and I (who aren’t members, it must be said) had a quick look at the budget, and listened intently to the plan for next year, the fact that the Olympics has wreaked havoc on grants from the arts council, and other important matters. The main point I wanted to raise, was that Carling, in their bar, was only £1.40 a pint, and that I would like the price to be held into next season. I couldn’t find the confidence to actually say that, so I’ll just have to hope.
It wasn’t the best film, I have ever seen, but it was enjoyable. The main thing I remember of the experience , was how enlightening it was to sit and watch a film, with about 80 other people who had all come out that evening just to watch the film. There was no talking, mobiles popcorn or any of that rubbish.
I’ve had a bit of a change of hear lately about recycling.
Its not about why its important, or all the other stuff, I just felt that for the money I pay the council, they should get someone to sort through the rubbish for me (they already do actually, when I put out my rubbish too early (!) they were good enough to rummage through my bags, find my address, then threaten me with a fine and a week in prison, if I did it again).
You see, I think, if you want to get someone to do something, you have to sell the idea, on the potential benefits to them, not you (or is that just obvious).
Anyhow, I had an epiphany recently. I hate clutter. Hate having black bags in my yard, getting wet, until rubbish day, and most of all, I hate wast of any kind (well, after a year of being unemployed I do !).
I have now worked out:
A, 94% of the rubbish in my house can be re-cycled.
B, The 4 different re-cycling banks I need to get rid of this, are all within 100m of my house.
All I do now, is put all the recyclable stuff, in a box under my sink, and every day or 2, go out for a walk, and put it in the relevant bin. I only have to put out my rubbish bag, once every 6 weeks, and I never have old copies of newspapers and other irritating things knocking about in my living room.
Put simply, I sold the idea, to myself and stupid as it sounds, I am actually a lot more relaxed in my house now.
A lot of people used to worry about my diet, and ask me if I could cook. Since things have quetened down, and I have the house (and kitchen) to myself, I’ve been cooking some things recently.
Ive always enjoyed making Omelets. This one has 3 eggs. I had a bit of an accident, with the first one, but the 2nd one came out fine as you can see. Problem is, I bought a big box of eggs, made loads of Omelets, and subsequently, I am now bored with them, and waiting for my interest to return. Success rating 1 – 5, 4
I’ve put this one up previously, but I’m so proud of it, that its back again.
It took me 2 hours to cook it. I found that the key was work out a time-line. The basic idea, is that food needed to be on the table at 4pm. Therefore 4pm is zero hour. So roast was -120m, potatoes at -35m, Yorkshire’s -5m. Sounds elaborate, but it actually worked. Success rating 1 – 5, 5 (definitely).
I’ve always loved making Chilli. I ate this, with a bag of Nachos. It was worth waiting for. You can see the open can of Carling in the background, an essential cooking accessory. Success rating 1 – 5, 3 its been a while since I made it, and I have a hill to climb, to get back to my previous standard.
Pasta (like Rissotto) has always been a bit of an enigma to me. I mean I eat both of them in resteraunts, so why do I never seem to eat them in my own house ?. Well, time to get cooking and find out.
It was tasty, filling, and took just a few minutes to prepare. I think I will eat this (I have loads of Pasta in the house) when I’m on my own, and in a hurry. Success rating 1-5, 4 its so easy to make, apart from burning, its almost impossible to ruin it.
I have 2 Ken Hom books, but I have never really gotten into Chinese cookery. As a start out, I bough some chicken, chopped it with a cleaver for true Chinese authenticity, before adding a Chinese cooking sauce and veg combination. Its an early attempt, so I didn’t want to take any chances. As it was, it was really nice. Success rating 1 – 5, 0 well, I didn’t actually cook anything did I, I just re-heated a packet, in a wok.
My best meal yet. I made the Tikka Massala, from a recipe of Madhur Jafrey’s 50 great curry’s of india. Some years ago, while shopping with my brother, I purchased the authentic bowls, trays, and even the heating thing (dont know its propper name) with candles. I havent ever used it, in more than 10 years, and it was its first outing.
I found that its simple to get small garlic nan, that way they can be heated in a toaster, while I was doing all the other stuff. Laid out for 2 people, to give me some practice, for the next time I’m entertaining, you will notice only 1 plate, and 1 glass of Red Wine. I ate it all myself. Success rating 1-5, are you joking ?
Hopefully, some of you will be around here soon, to try out some of this ?
Any statement involving the words George and Dragon in the same sentence, elicits one of two responses in me.
1. Distress, when it refers to that truly terrible Chester “pub” the George and Dragon. Dire !.
2. Immense pride, and the celebration of British history.
I remember when we were at school, we were allowed to wear our Scout uniforms and badges on St Georges day.
All sorts of political agitators, have mad a big deal about Britishness, how its being eroded and all the rest (I always smile when I hear that quote, a patriot is someone who loves his country and a nationalist is someone who hates everyone else’s 🙂
A former colleague of mine (an American living in the UK) once said, the problem with you guys is the flag. In America, we have flags in Schools, Churches and at home. You guys are rightly proud of yours, but its only seen flying in public, when a significant football match is about to be played 🙂
For my 2 penny worth, being British, is to be resourceful, be basically fair and have a sense of responsibility.
If your British, wherever you are in the world, lets simply celebrate today with a pint of bitter (I’ll end up leaving most of mine, I only like Lager, but you get the idea !).
As some of you know, my oldest friend Frank (we have known each other for 35 years) moved to Thailand a couple of years ago (you can read a bit more about it here.)
Well, its Franks birthday. Although I can’t be there, I just wanted to take a moment to wish him a sincere Happy Birthday.
On a similar note, I read today that the Cinema advertising group Pearl & Dean has been sold for £1.
If I had to pick the exact moment, when I chose a life of adventure, it would probably be many years ago, when Frank and I were both 13. It was the summer holidays, we had just left Hague Street Primary School, and we would be going to different Secondary Schools, at the end of the holidays.
We had a great summer, camping, going walking, building dens, and all the stuff that teenagers used to do, before Play-stations were invented. It was back in the day, when a schoolboy could carry a Swiss Army Knife, and not get into any trouble (although if he was ingenious enough, he could build/make or improvise practically anything with this simple tool).
I also remember it being a time when Frank’s Dad, let us borrow tools out of his toolbox, to build our Den. I remember specifically, that he didn’t supervise us or anything, he knew that we would be careful and his only concern was that we put them back in the box, in the same condition they were in when we borrowed them (which we obviously did).
Well, one afternoon, we decided to go and watch Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was Frank’s idea, I hadn’t heard much about the film. I had just been paid from my paper round, so I paid for us both (Frank frequently did the same, we never worried about who’s money was who’s).
The 3 things I remember about that day are:
A, It was the first time, I had ever eaten a cheese burger.
B, While watching ROTLA, I knew I wanted to travel and see amazing things.
C, That just before the film, on that special day, the appalling Baba-Baba-Ba-Ba-Baba-Bap-Bap-Bar was played with the P&D advert !.
Saturday is best forgotten about, but on Sunday, I was invited to a BBQ at the home of my friends Tony and Lorraine.
Their house was built to their own specifications, so you won’t be surprised to see that the Kitchen looks like something a celebrity Chef would cook in.
What might surprise you, is that Tony, actually makes his own Burgers.
Just to show that Tony isn’t the “grabber” that everyone thinks he is, he once again cooked dinner, and provided all the wine, for free.
I really appreciate them inviting me over. I had a great time.
On the subject of Meat, and helpful people, a butchers shop I’ve used for some time, is C S Austin on Northgate Street, in Chester.
As well as a fine selection of quality meats, and superb Steak Pies, they also do exotic meats. Opportunities to visit Australia are limited, since I’m unemployed at the moment, but I can buy Roo steaks and get a (literal) taste of adventure.
One other thing, is that the excellent butcher their, agreed to sharpen my 2 kitchen knives (my global knife, originally cost £70) and refused to accept any payment (even though it must have taken ages to get an edge back onto them).
Before I talk about my Birthday and friends, I want to express my sadness at the passing of the Polish President. When I visited Poland, the people I met there were charming and helpful (as are my Polish friends here in the UK), and I just want to say how sorry I am for their loss.
On a more positive note, plans are well underway for my birthday bash here in Chester. It’s on Saturday the 8th of May, and a full Itinerary is available here.
One of the people I am most looking forward to seeing on my birthday is Jon Mallett. Lucky Jon, managed to get a away Ski-ing during the Easter Break. Above is a picture of him and his children.
Well done Jon. Planning is ever important in the pursuit of adventure, but the single most important thing, is to get out there and do it.
Civil (well, it looked a bit un-civil to me) violence in Bangkok, is in the News once again. As many of you know, one of my oldest friends Frank, and his lovely wife Na live in Bangkok. Frank got in touch yesterday, to tell me that they are both okay and everything is fine.
A walking civil war, all on his own, Danny Quinn, popped back to Chester over the weekend (some of you will remember that Dan left Chester to move to Nantwich (and having visited Nantwich, and seen just how dull and pretentious it is, I can imagine how easy it must be to become a celebrity around there :))
Dan asked me to point out his sunglasses in this Shot. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if you think there worth 160 quid !.
One other thing Dan mentioned was an explanation of the phrase the whole 9 yards. It actually comes from American Bombers in the 2nd world war. A full belt of ammunition for an anti aircraft gun, would be 27 feet. If a Luftwaffe plane aggressively attacked the Bomber (how else would it attack, with whit and humour ?) , they would fire the whole belt at it, hence to give something the whole 9 yards.
Don’t forget my birthday. Most of you have been invited already by Call, Text or Email, but just in case, the full itinerary is here.
