£20 better off.

Well I can only say 'if you want to challenge me, you better be prepared to lose!' I have been working hard to reduce my weight, and I accepted a challenge from my boss Mike, and GM Steven to see who could lose the most weight in a month. Ever one to rise to the challenge, I agreed. Then I set to work on winning. Walking every day, and eating smaller portions of more healthy food has definitely helped. Come the weigh in day, Steven has already admitted defeat and thrown in his towel, but Mike and I have been taunting each other most of the month. The weigh in was last Friday. I have lost just under a stone, Mike has lost just over 2 pounds !! What a result. £20 better off. I think both had misunderstood my competitive attitude, and also the reason why I was doing it. It wasn't really for a bet, it was for my health, and in that battle you can only win or lose. No contest then. Now where's my trusty 'belt hole' maker ?

It's nearly July

Crumbs it's nearly July. For me it is an indicator that there are really only 8 weeks of Summer left and now is the time to make the most of the good weather. I might live to regret saying this, but the weather is beautiful at the moment, with temperatures up around the mid 30s. Just hope it holds out until we go away to Spain early August. Since my last blog I've been teaching my body to expect less food, and do more work. A stark warning from my Doctor about my weight affecting my liver function has prompted a change in my eating habits. I have lost just under a stone in approx 3 weeks. I'd like to lose another couple, but there has to be a sensible approach to it, or I might get into the weight diet yoyo.

Summer is nearly here.

We've had some great weather here in the south of the UK these past few days...it's getting a bit cooler now, but I'm hoping the temperature will start to go up steadily when it's officially Summer. Looks like our friend, the Icelandic volcano is going to settle down a bit. at least for the moment anyway. If the bugger kicks off again around the time Lesley and I are about to escape to the Mediterranean I will not be too chuffed.

I did a brilliant mod to my dear old Mk3 Facelift Mondeo over the weekend. It has always pissed me off that Ford provided powerfold mirrors, but never provided the ability to open or close them remotely. I found an article on the 'Interweb' showing how, with a 12v relay, and a couple of bits of wire, and a handful of connectors, I could make it so. It works a treat. When you double lock the car the mirrors fold in, when you unlock the car they fold out. It means I won't drive half a mile and suddenly realise the mirrors are folded, or leave the car parked and forget to fold them. Happy Days.

Queens Speech Day

Well who'd of thought Nick Clegg would choose the Tories.....only everybody except the Labour Party !! No more Miliband(s), Harman, Meddlesome or Brown. At last. It's taken 13 years to get the idiots out, and now a new government is in power. I particularly like to hear William Hague talking about the future. It's not that I necessarily agree with his ideas, I just think he is the only Yorkshireman with a decent accent !! Cameron has his work cut out though..he'll need to include the Lib-Dems in most things while clearing up all the shit the Labour rabble left behind... £6.2bn debt. The worst financial state this country has ever been in, and during a period where the goverment was dragged along by a previous Chancellor of the Exchequer. I should point out that the electorate didn't vote for him to be PM. They voted for that other idiot Baloney Blair, and when he got fed up, he handed it over to Blunder Brown who had been sat in the wings salivating like a smelly old bulldog.

Clegg's Dilemma

I'll say one thing for British Politics..... It certainly isn't boring ! I'm still dumbstruck that the decision is taking so long. The people of Britain have clearly sent a message that they do not want Labour policies, and they certainly don't want the Labour henchmen in power. Surely the likes of Milibands, Johnson, Mandy Meddlesome, Harman, Balls and of course sacrificial Brown must realise the country doesn't want them in control. It is the same batch of arrogance that convinced Gordon that he had a right to be PM when Baloney Blair dropped out. The British public had no desire for Gordon to be king, but he honestly thought it was his right. I bet he has had a rude awakening, realising he now is a liability to his party!

I wonder whether Clegg and the senior Lib Dems think that a Lib Lab coalition would be short lived, and collapse to require another general election. Maybe if that is their thinking, they could increase the number of seats they have? Bad Idea.....the only party gaining seats this time round was the Tories. Lembit Opik and Ms Gidley are testament to the electorate voting to get labour out.

It's going to be an interesting day today....

Someone told me that yesterday was Star Wars day...you know.. 'May the fourth be with you' I think more importantly tomorrow is a very special day. I'm hoping it is VBO day..."Vote Brown Out" day.. I think it's about time this weary old government were put out to pasture. Throughout the election campaigning there hasn't been any visible energy from the Labour ranks. I found it strange that when the Media pulled together the Economics experts from each party, Lib Dems fielded Vince Cable, Tories put up George Osbourne, but Labour sent 'Mandy' Mandelson. I think he should be called 'Meddlesome'. How on earth did he engineer a 'Lordship'?
So the choice tomorrow is between Dave and Nick. Both are very confident and passionate about their politics. I would have to say that Nick doesn't seem to have the gravitas that Dave exudes. I just hope that votes for Nick don't mean we still have to keep Gordon.
For me the least I would hope for is a coalition between David and Nick... What I desperately don't want is a coalition between Gordon and Nick. Even if Gordon is replaced, we will still have a government run by the likes of Harman, Straw, Balls and the Milibands..Oh and don't forget Meddling Mandleson. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Wow where has the time gone!!

I'm convinced blogging is all about showing you how fast time rums away with your life !! Anyway, just got back from a fortnight of wonderful weather in Cyprus. 34 degrees every day, and not even a single drop of rain. I love Cyprus now I've had the chance to explore it, and understand how it works. I had been before..with BT back in 2006, but it was only for 4 days, and in May. It was very pleasant then, and I guess it gave me the hunger to go back and explore in more detail. I have a worry that Coral Bay will become the 'Benidorm' in Cyprus. Already the local traders cater almost exclusively for English speaking tourists, and there is no real incentive to pick up a few phrases in Greek, but head up to the Troodos hills and visit villages like Omodhos with it's alleys of lacemaking shops etc. You will still see souvenir shops selling dodgy DVDs, replica guns, and replica perfume.... Who buys this stuff!! but there is also some real cypriot culture on the journey there. My family and I loved it, and will probably go back some other time. As for now, it's nearly the end of my first week back, and I'm shattered... Oh well Xmas is not far away !!!