First Run

Filmage of the first time I broke into a shamble, that is to say a run, after spinal surgery last november. Doc said give it six months and I sort of did.

I managed 5k in 39 minutes, that's partly walking. I'm so encouraged by the lack of pain that I might just enter an event just for a reason to train.

As before stated, this is basically my diary. Feel free to be completely bored. Personally I'm stupidly excited.

In other news, I contacted a bodhrán maker and I'm considering this as my next purchase...

Laters

Kayaking

Went on the canal with some ducks. Video:



(The lovely piece of African jazz in the background is White Nile by Kelan Phil Cohran and Legacy)

Laters.

Q-Bikes

I rode to work this morning - this time by pedal power. Quite pleased with myself. My time was 57:55 which is my first time under the hour for the trip. Must have been wind-assisted I reckon. Looking forward to the trip home, which is of course uphill. If I beat the hour for that journey I'll be well ready for a re-match with the loobster. Lucy, be afraid.

Only problem with riding to work is, I get extremely hungry. Just had the most enormous lunch (healthy one of course) and I'll be ravenous again when I get home. Ah well.

Later, q-bikes.

I'm alive

Well, this potato has officially vacated the couch.

I had my first serious game of squash last night, with no painkillers, no anti-inflammatories and no after effects. Nuther game today lunchtime, again on Thursday. Season approaches and my goal is to be proper fit for it. Now I just need to get cycling to work... ah, it's pissing down.

Got a recording of Lyn and the others' drunken singing at the bitter end of Friday night, before Lyn's 36 hour hangover. It's a poor (not to say tone-deaf) rendition of Knocking on Heaven's Door, with a fair amount of loony laughter from the wifester. I think it's hilarious, but have been persuaded not to post it.

More soon.

September already

Well, here we are at the scrag-end of August, in fact my anniversary, and I made exactly 5 posts in that benighted month. I could use the excuse that not much happened, but for one, that isn't true, and for two you'll be quick to point out that it never stopped me before.

No, the main reason for not posting is a case of apathy. My back's been bad, work was slow etc etc. But now those things have gone away. My back survived a ten-mile walk with ease yesterday - I even carried the rucksack. Then I went swimming today and still no ill effects. I do believe I'm cured. Just in time too - the squash season is rushing up on us fast.

While we're on walking, I posted the photos on Facebook - yes I got lazy - so I'm not about to repeat them all here. I will shove a selection here because of course, this blog will be here long after FB has become no more than a mundane memory. ..

It's a lot further than it looks to the bottom of Kinder Low End. Steep too.

This one looks like we've been put in charge of finding the murder weapon. "Spread out and keep your eyes down".

Happy before the descent. Ooh, my black toes.

The star of the show - Derbyshire

If this wasn't so damned funny it would be annoying.

In other news, Emma has turned 30, so we stuffed some manky old candles in a stale muffin for her. She seemed pleased..



I aslo witnessed the bizarre spectacle of Sharon (of the extremely red hair) attempting to make a napkin levitate off her plate by waving at it and muttering spells..


But enough frivolity. The real news is as follows:

• After much wailing and gnashing of teeth I decided the job in Korea was not for me. This decision was made slightly easier for me by my potential employer, who kindly told me that I couldn't have the job.
• My first and only foray into back pain seems to be over. As previously stated, it will not happen again. I intend to take up yoga, pilates or any other activity which has been proven to prevent it. I now feel like a normal human being again, and I'm ready to start doing some decent exercise. Fitness has been such a huge part of my life for so long, that to have a month off was very very depressing. Now I'm happy again, so much so that I think I'm beginning to irritate the missus. I'll be back on the bike very soon (get ready Lucy) and "Ramping up" to the journey to work. Also doing some squash training, assuming the initial low-impact stuff doesn't cause a reaction. *shudders*
• Me and Lynny have got ourselves involved with some other amateur musicians and an evening of accoustic mucking about has been planned for September 10th at Maureen's house. I'm very excited, Lyn is very scared. Potential embarrassment - what if the others are a lot less amateur than we are? I need practice on the bodhran that's for sure. I will blog about the evening and post any pictures, even some sound recordings.

That's it for now - I'm sure there are lots of other snippets I could put on here, but they will follow, rest assured.

Later, taters

News of impending... news

I have access to photos of a drink-fuellled gurning competition which will probably only amuse the people who were involved in it, but that won't stop me posting it. What IS stopping me posting it is that yet again I've lost my USB doofer for getting files off the phone and onto the PC. New one is on order and normal service will be resumed asap.

Hello odd Lauren. Please take your clogs off and make yourself comfortable.

In other news, the motorbike has one new tyre and I have 93 less pounds than I had last week. New motorbike tyres are wonderful things - the release agent seeps out of them for the first few miles so you basically carry around your own personal diesel spill. Highly dangerous, and many a young hot-head has come to grief yards from the tyre shop. Fortunately I fit into neither category. By the way, thanks Martin, for the use of your garage and your arms.

In other news, I've cycled to work today. 62 mins, average 25.7 kph. Thanks Odette for your seat-positioning advice. A couple of inches forward and my back never twinged once. Luxury. Mind you, I'm now so upright on the bike, I look like I'm going shopping. Ah well, the price of comfort.

Ah well, photos to follow soon.

Laters

Some ramblings

Well met, fellow traveller, and sod you too..

I was trundling along the A56 coming out of Salford (some say the best thing to come out of Salford, ho ho) yesterday, when a red Hyosung 650 roared past me. For those who don't know or care, I ride a yellow Hyosung 650, and there aren't many around. The bloke stopped at the next lights, I pulled up alongside. Normally when two bikes are at the lights there's a nod or a grunt exchanged, a bit like saying "good morning" to total strangers when going to the village shop. It's a recognition of membership in society. Car drivers don't do it, because they are in fact permanently indoors, indeed they are in their own little living rooms watching the road go by on telly. This detachment explains some of their dick-headed behaviour. Car drivers are bemused by bikers acknowledging each other, but I ask you - who's normal here? Anyway, I digress. The bloke on the red Hyosung blanked me completely. He roared off and I sheepishly followed, feeling a bit rejected. I doggedly pulled up alongside him at the next lights and deliberately engaged the chap in conversation. He was pleasant enough, but I felt like there was something missing. Finally he jumped and said "Bloody hell, you're on a Hyosung!". He was instantly more friendly and we discussed the bike's merits, comparing notes on breakdown costs and the perils of cheap and cheerful motorcycling. It's a rare biker that doesn't even look at other bikes, let alone check what make they are. Anyway we parted good friends, and if I see him again on the A56 I will, of course, blank him completely.

Physical jerks

I got such a cob on with this bad back, that I dipped out (see what I did there?) on swimming yesterday. Consequently I will go at lunchtime today and swim my little heart out. It's all I can do on doctors orders. I hope I get referred to a Physio tomorrow, this is killing me. Exercise has been a lifelong habit, and I worry that I've worn out some major parts, pushing an imperfect geometry so hard for 30 years. The "Fitness freak" label is one I accept gladly, but the reasons for all the exercising is not as obvious as you might expect. Some say vanity is the main reason (must keep in shape!), others talk about endorphin addiction. My take on it is, I spend my working life on projects that often last for months, with no sense of closure. It can be difficult at the end of a working week, to feel a sense of achievement when all I've done is make a few blog updates and fill in a timesheet. When I go for a bike ride, or a game of squash, or even a run or a swim, there's a beginning and an end, and something always gets done.

Art

Wifey's under severe stress, with only one weekend left before her third year assessment. She's working basically 16 hours a day. This is the point at which I start to get equally stressed, as she tries out new ideas on me, which seem to completely contradict the ideas she's been working on for the last three months. This business of engineers living with artists is extremely strange. How can you spend three months working so hard on a piece of art, then do something completely different with hours to spare before the deadline? Answer; it's not about the original idea, it's about the process. Weird, mind-expanding stuff. She normally gets good marks so it must be working. Now where did I leave those beta blockers?

Details of the exhibition, which is basically Lyn's third year efforts, and those of two of her colleagues, open to the public for four weekends (thur/fri/sat), are at www.neoartists.co.uk - the title of the show is "Farrago" and it's happening at 28 Corporation Street in Bolton. The dates are shown as 25th June to 24th July, but I believe it finishes on the 17th July. I have to say, the quality of the woodwork, the lighting and the electronics are faultless. I suppose the art's ok too. By the way, if you're used to thinking of her as a painter, be prepared for a sudden left turn.

Laters.

Halfords VS Decathlon? Vive La France.

By contrast with a lot (most?) of British people, I have no problem with good things coming from France. After all, I came from there myself for three and a half years. Lovely people, lovely place. There, an Englishman said good things about France. Anyway, there I was splashing around Stockport on the motorbike, in full rain gear on a typical English summer's day, looking for the Halfords "Superstore". When I finally found it, I was confronted with a run-down, peeling facade, a scrappy pot-holed car park and windows so dirty I couldn't even tell if the place was open or not. This wasn't helped by the "Wickes DIY Superstore" on the same car park, which could also do with a lick of paint. It looks a bit like a second-world-war hangar.

Halfords vs Decathlon - how proud are you?

I went into Halfords with several items in mind, for my latest project, which is getting my road bike running. All I needed was some brake and gear cables and handlebar tape. Exactly the sort of stuff you'd expect to find in Halfords, right? Wrong. I struggled to find the items I needed and ended up "Choosing" Shimano cables (road bike is all Campagnolo) that could be made to fit, and could I find handlebar tape? No I couldn't. Could I even get to talk to an attendant? No I couldn't. It's not tlike the place was busy - I don't think they have many customers, apart from the odd spotty baseball-cap-on-sideways 18 year old, looking for stick-on accessories for his 1100cc Corsa, when in fact he'd be better off spending his money on proper trousers. Anyway, after playing hide-and-seek with the one disinterested attendant on show (a diminutive youth with a ginger ponytail, daft earrings and a gitty goatee), and eventually finding him disiterestedly selling a chid's bike to a woman who obviously wanted him to know more than he did about bikes, I dumped the Shimano kit and flounced out. I was beginning to overheat in my rain gear, and I knew there was "Un magasin Decathlon" two miles away. Here's the French connection, see? I parked in about ten acres of space, waltzed in, found two makes of cables for road bikes (I picked the cheap French brand) and seven different colours and two different compounds of hadlebar tape. In two minutes I had exactly what I needed, and to boot, If I'd looked even slightly bewildered, one of the eight or nine attendants that walked past would have been on hand to help. As it says in the title, vive la France.

I now have a working road bike. All I need now is a working spine. Damned thing is hurting as much as ever, now that I've stopped the pills. Mind you, I slept right through last night for the first time since starting taking Diclofenac. I reckon it gives me bad dreams. One night I dreamed horribly about an angry bear. Wonder who that represents? Oops, I'll get a slap for that. Yes, I do have another appointment with the doctor, and yes, I'll drone on about it here as soon as the next episode unfolds. (Probably quicker than my back, guffaw)

While we're on biking, I hear through the fine-art grapevine that one of our blog followers, my esteemed former colleague and fellow finely-tuned athlete Keith, has lost three front teeth and gained twelve stitches in his top lip (not a good exchange, I'd have thought) in a mountain biking accident. I can only guess at how much that must have hurt. Keith, Keith, could you not get your hands in front of you in time? Get well soon, and post a comment to let us know how you're doing. I once broke my two little fingers on my way over the handlebars of a mountain bike, in my haste to get my hands to the ground before my face. It was December, and so cold I didn't even begin to feel pain until I got home and thawed out. Now I can't hold drumsticks properly - but at least I can still eat corn on the cob, ha!

More later, mes petits pois. Au revoir, chamois letheur, etc etc.

Derbyshire Open Arts

The bank holiday weekend went by in a flash. Notable events:

• Cluedo and Pictionary at new mate Sharon's place
• Buying art in New Nills
• Bike ride to Chapel

Had a lovely time in Sharon's on Saturday, drinking eating and playing Cluedo, which I loved but isn't to everybody's taste, and Pictionary, which reminded me that a) I can't draw for toffee and b) my missus is brilliant at it. Lots of jolly japes, wizard weezes and general mathem. I won't go into detail but a cetain naff Europe-based pop music competition will never be the same again. It's a while since I saw someone nearly throw up from laughing, so thank you Martin.

Derbyshire Open Arts is a festival where artists all over Derbyshire who want to have their carpets ruined, play host to other artists who don't, and their houses remain open for the three days as temporary galleries. Lots of art gets bought and lots of tea/coffee/plonk gets drinked. Wifey has been known to take part, but this year she's so busy with Uni she hasn't really produced much showable stuff so didn't bother. However we toook some time out on Monday afternoon to visit two houses in New Mills. I loved one particular drawing of a street scene in New Mills so much that I had to buy it. No idea where I'll hang it, or the very nice but slightly erotic life-drawing by the same artist (Clare Allan - www.clareallandrawings.blogspot.com), but they are lovely items to own. I was just too late to get the original of the street scene (damned red spot) so had to settle for a print (3/50), but I got the original of the life drawing, ha!

That reminds me, I'm thinking of attending life-drawing classes. Watch this space for news and bad sketches.

Later that day, and no doubt buoyed by caffeine, I decided I'm tired of this bad back and I'm going to ignore the damned thing and take exercise anyway. I dusted off the trusty MTB and trundled round my usual route to Chapel, over to Hayfield and home. All road, no mud, about 20 km. My back hardly complained at all, and the old lungs and legs felt much better for it. I slept well ast night, that's for sure. Not sure I'm brave enough to pick up the squash racket just yet, I might give it another week or so. Swimming at lunch time is a good habit I've managed to get into, so overall the flab is being kept at bay.

There's a certain amount of local unrest about this building:

..which is being buit at the back of some shops in New Mills. I can't remember what it's for, but they have a lot of work to do if it's not going to be an eyesore in the town. Maybe some creative cladding. It's an area where planning permission rules are fairly stringent, so nobody can quite believe what's happening. There are dark mutterings of brown envelopes....

Here's a blurred picture of an artist at work...
It's a rare and elusive moment so I make no apologies. The fruits of this labour (and the suspected cause of my bad back - 11 extremely heavy doors) can be seen from June 24th to July 17th in Bolton town centre, and if you're at all artistically minded I recommentd a visit. There are three artists running the show, which is called "Farrago". Get along there, or miss something wonderful.

Still awaiting the arrival of my stuff from Bangkok. That means I'm still drumless and quite bereft. Reduced to practising on pillows, the shame of it.

Later taters.

Khao Yai Hash

I went on my first ride with the Bangkok Hash House Bikers last weekend. Had a great time, and got a prolonged lesson in fitness, which included blood, sweat, cramp, nausea, cramp, shredded paper, new friends and more cramp.

I'm going to try to upload an edited video but it's quite a big file so I've no idea if it will load, or if you'll be able to access it afterwards. Here's hoping. The camera's batteries lasted 56 minutes into a 2.5 hour ride, and I then cut down what I had to 9 minutes. I've added a soundtrack and faded voices up as needed, for people who were actually there to hear themselves speak....

(Yes Lyn, that is blood on my forearm. A mere flesh wound.)

Here's how the Hash House thing works: the route is researched during the preceding weeks by the "hare", who on the day lays a trail of shredded paper at the side of the trail for the pack to follow. This is done early morning so that the hare can be present at the start of the hash to give some clues as to what to expect. The paper is in little piles at about 100 metre intervals. There are false trails, deliberately laid to slow down the "FRB's" (front-running bastards). There are also check points, which are large crosses of paper, which mean that the trail continues somewhere within 500 metres of the cross. These also slow down the leaders, as people have to be sent in all directions looking for the continuation. In the video you can see that I was actually present for the breaking of one check point, meaning I was up at the front, or near it. That was before cramp set in, but that's another story. After the ride, the group "circle up" for the ritual humiliation of anyone who's done or said anything embarrassing durng the day. This involves being sent to the middle of the circle and having to drink a glass of beer in one go while the rest of the group laugh at your misfortune. It's all good fun, and the people are nice. There were over 100 at this hash. I joined up for the next one which is on my birthday at the end of April.

The ride itself was proof that I could be a lot fitter. Normally they do a "hangover ride" on the Sunday, but I was in no fit state this time so I got a lift home with two of my new mates. I felt sick, my legs were wobbly and I could feel muscle damage starting after being ravaged during the race by too much lactic acid built up in my overworked leg muscles. Next time I will definitely try the baking soda trick offered by our South Africa correspondent Odette. Cramp is incredibly painful and always seems to hit me after about 2 hours of exercise. One lady took pity on me and stopped to chat near the end, as I was off the bike ooing and aaahing and hopping around in agony. It wasn't the first time I'd stopped and people were always kind and helpful. I saw not one selfish act the whole day, most refreshing. I do hate feeling like an idiot though - I went into this expecting a bunch of casual riders who barely break sweat, but instead I was the lame duck. Next time.........

To give some idea of the toughness of the ride, I've been doing longish rides in the last month on the roads around Bangkok, and my average speed over say 60 kilometres is about 26.5 kph. In Kao Yai the ride was 37.5 km and I averaged 13.3 kph. That shows the difference between road and trail riding. Mind you, some of the hills were very steep and prolonged, which for some reason you can't see from the video. The downhills were nice though.

I must say, the Khao Yai area is very nice, lots of hills and farmland and much quieter than Bangkok. It's about 2.5 hours North of the city so I booked into a resort neaby for the night. That meant that theoretically I could have a few beers and relax in good company, but I'm afraid I only lasted till 9pm and conked out.

The bike worked well as usual. I was spooked by some of the horror stories the veterans were telling about Thai thorn bushes, so needlessly I bought a spare-spare inner tube and carted it around in my camelbak needlessly. I didn't get one puncture. The nearest I came to a mishap was riding through some shrubbery and knocking the camera off line. You'll see that in the video. Oh, and I also took a swipe from a branch and ended up with blood running down my forearm - also briefly visible in the video.

Some pics:

Belmont Village, my resting place for the weekend. Very Dutch Village. Windmills, dykes..



Mine was the green one.



Hashers in repose. This was the half-way water stop. I ate about 50 cakes and was still hungry. Sitting down in the foreground is Linda, a fellow noob, who in fact finished at the same time as I did.



Our van and trailer. Owned and run by Chris, a very nice ex-US marine who also did the ride. 20 quid got me and my bike taken there and back with 7 like-minded individuals. Great fun.

That's about it really. So many new things to think about, I probably should write them all down but my head is log-jammed with information.

Overall I loved it. Can't wait for the next one, which is happening an 26-27 April (my birthday, but don't tell anyone - I wouldn't like to end up in the circle drinking beer and being laughed at) near Pattaya. See you there.

Be good.

One thousand metres

Got home, apartment stupidly hot, nothing to do while the AC got going. No wife to talk to, nothing on telly, back too bad for cycling/gym/squash. Went swimming. 1km in 27:52. Quite proud of myself for going, if not for the time.

I did stupidly forget my goggles, with this result:

...I apologise to those of a nervous disposition...

I'm off to be smug now. Later, couch taters.

Now, where did I put the optrex?

Electrolytes

Warning - this blog is basically me thinking aloud, and unless you're into issues around endurance sports it's extremely boring. If self-indulgent ramblings are your bag, read on....

We're constantly reminded, us sportsmen (don't laugh) about the need for correct hydration and electrolyte balance for optimum performance and endurance. Whew, what a mouthful. Anyway, with all that in mind, and mindful that taking on endurance sports in a climate such as exists here in Thailand causes added strains on the body's fluid levels, I looked around for an outlet for electrolyte replacement products.

Not a sausage could I find.

In a major city like Bangkok that's outrageous. One store answered my email with a promise that, although they don't stock the product I enquired about, they do stock other products by the same company, and they would get some in the future. That's a start I suppose, but these things are driven by market forces obviously, and the "Sports" market here is mostly blokes wanting to get much, much bigger.

In my book, that's not sport, it's pharmacy.

The basic premise in the minds of today's "yoof" is that the hours/days/weeks/months of hard work in the gym (allied with a healthy, suitably high-protein diet) required to build the desired physique can be avoided by swallowing regular handfuls of borderline illegal, life-shortening, hormone-balance-wrecking crap, and occasionally swanning down to the gym suitably attired in the latest glamorous lycra posing-tops.

The stuff you can get here over the counter is quite dangerous - human growth hormone, steroids, anything you want. This trend is duplicated in the actual company I used to buy my stuff from in the UK, an Australian company called Musashi. They now seem to concentrate on bloat-up protein shakes, amino supplements, whey powder, and in a small corner of their website you'll find the endurance stuff.

So I've jumped ship.

There's a UK-based company called Science in Sport, which has a line of products aimed at runners, cyclists and triathletes. Their stuff is even for sale in Tescos. I also found it on eBay.

The reason for all this girding of loins endurance-wise, is that I have a long offroad ride with the Bangkok Hash House Bikers at the end of this month. If I try to do 45 km in 35 degrees, with just water to keep me going, I'll get the worst case of cramp ever. I've always had problems keeping hydrated during sports. I sweat freely just walking along the road here in Bangkok, and that's not an exaggeration - ask wifey. Speaking of the ginger-headed one, she posted an enquiry on the ThaiVisa forum, which around here is the best way to find out anything about anything, asking about electrolyte replacement products. Answers? Plenty. One bloke suggested chocolate drinks are the future for endurance sportsmen. Another seemed quite taken with coconut water. Bizarre. The point is, there's just no interest over here in Triathlon, Cycling, Running or even Squash, because it's just too damned hot. It's only us stupid farangs that can be bothered.

I've already booked the hotel for the BHHB trip. It's at Khao Yai National Park, about 2 hours north of Bangkok. They usually do a big ride on Saturday, have a few drinks in the evening, then ride again an the Sunday. Then it's off back to Bangkok in time for tea & medals. I'm looking forward to meeting some like-minded people, possibly making some friends, and getting some good exercise at the same time. A full report will appear here. Lyn arrives in Bangkok two days later, so I better not get too badly injured. She'd kill me.

Later taters

Hua Hin, and bike stuff

Hua Hin:

I went (with Bart) for a long weekend down to Hua Hin, a resort on the coast two hours south west of Bangkok.

Or rather, I went to a resort near to Hua Hin.

Or rather, I tried to go to a resort near to Hua Hin but ended up in a mostly empty place 40km from Hua Hin.

Here's an enormous two-headed elephant statue I spotted en route..
*Note: The elephant wasn't en route, I was. I doubt the elephant's moved in years.

Anyway wherever I went, it was very, er, relaxing. Actually on the first night we chickened out and drove to Hua Hin itself and booked into a hotel. Horrendously expensive on top of the cost of the resort itself, but at least we managed a decent pub crawl without having to drive afterwards. The receptionist at the resort had laughingly suggested we drive into HH, have a few beers, and drive back. "haha, don't worry, it's fine to drink and drive in Thailand". Fine yes, but what if you kill someone? They just don't get it here.

Here's me wearing someone else's hair halfway through the afore-mentioned pub crawl..

A good night was had by both, and at 3.30am I was still awake. Quite an achievement for this old codger.

Bike stuff:

I was talking to squash-friend Terry the other day and mentioned that I'd been in a mountain bike race in New Zealand three years ago, and that there was photographic evidence on the internet somewhere. Subsequently I went looking for the photo's and I've finally decided to download them. Originally I'd refused due to the fee involved. Here are three of the pics, and in order you can see:


Me on the last downhill stretch at 45kph, stupidly waving to the camera. (Mistake)


Me realising that, due to waving, I'd missed my braking point and that the oncoming hairpin bend was rushing up a little too quickly


My bike, having gone over the edge in a most undignified fashion

I actually did a face-plant into the hillside and blacked out for a few seconds. When I came to I was 20 feet below the road caught up in a bush. There was a considerable drop still below me. Very lucky not to do the full plunge, or break my neck. I looked up and there was the photographer saying "oh dear". I managed to collect the bike and finish the race, albeit with a nice gash across my nose, no peak on my hat and a general feeling of second-handedness. Ah well.

In other (and better) news, I took the bike on a little spin around Bangkok yesterday. It's running well after its trip here and being reassembled by me. Predictably I ran out of water on my 30km ride, and equally predictably I got lost. Good fun though, can't wait to go on a proper offroad ride. There's a group here called Bangkok Hash House Bikers, and they meet once a month in different locations around Thailand, ride all of Saturday, have a few beers and stay overnight, then ride again on a Sunday. Then they return to Bangkok. Sounds like just the ticket for me, more to follow. I need to get up to speed though, they do 40-50 km offroad, which is a lot.

More soon, be good.

Go

"Go" Is a topical word for me at the moment, being as I'm going to another part of Bangkok very soon, having today paid the deposit on another apartment. It's also the title of my new ground-breaking popular music video, which I post here for your enjoyment. It's not as exciting as the last one but I love the music just as much, so make sure you put it on extra-loud. (Clue - it's a builder).




Comment please, good or bad. If it bored you, that's bad. Anything else - nausea, headache, irritation of the skin or the mind, fear, loathing or love - those are all good. And if you actually liked it then even better.

By the way, the sharp-eyed amongst you will deduce from this footage that my new helmet-cam has arrived. Prepare for tons of video, in a host of inappropriate situations. A walk around the office, a drumming demostration, a visit to the Bai Yoke tower, an hour on a rowing machine (that'll get your travel sickness going), the possibilities are endless. That is, if I care to undertake these activities with an enormous blue rubber strap around my forehead, and what looks like a rocket-launcher hanging onto it. Nano-tech it is not...



Some pics of the view from my new apartment:



..and yes Lynny, it has a nice pool..


..at least we're not overlooked - except for the 200 foot elephant of course..

In other news, I was at the gym today when I noticed this guy:

Busiest man on the planet

Notice he's keeping himself occupied. Sorry it's a bit blurred - my arms were shaking from a particularly strenuous military curl - but he's reading, watching telly, listening to music AND exercising. What a hero.

While we're on (or in) the Gym, I did a quick double-take when I noticed they were selling sweat in the drinks cabinet, alongside the obligatory Perrier and Evian..


Blimey, what ever next?

I had to buy it, and despite looking like sweat, it tastes like Gatorade. So next time I'll take my own drinks.

What else is new? Oh yes, congrats to Wifey and Maureen for the successful exhibition opening night, and hope the visitors continue to flood in. There need to be more events like that in New Mills, so say we all.

Be good.

Fit? I nearly threw one.

Tonight I went to the gym to do some rowing and some cycling. It was a disappointing trip. Of the three rowing machines, number 1 has never had any resistance since I joined, and now numbers 2 and 3 register no actual information when you row. I moved on to the cycling machines, whereupon I tried three machines before I found one that worked, i.e. the display and the buttons for setting times etc worked. Knowing how things go in Thailand, I can predict that due to my strenuous complaints:

1. The "Technician" will visit and report that all is fine, but in fact nothing will have changed.
2. Nothing else will happen.

I find this aspect of Thailand very difficult. It's one of the best and most expensive Gyms in Bangkok, but the machines are breaking one by one and nothing gets fixed. I think I'll leave. There I said it.

Dreamboat

I have a new love in my life, and her name is Terry Watkins.

Tonight's squash game couldn't have been better. I feel like I've been dragged through a hedge and kicked back over by an angry cow. Mind you, they do say if you feel better for a game of squash, you haven't played it right.

Terry is either slightly better or not quite as good as me, depending if you take the first or second game as evidence. The third game ended half way through because he's not as fit as me. All in all it's by far the best game I've had since leaving the UK. And even better, he plays guitar and wants to start a band. I'm so excited I could paradiddle on the spot. I have another game lined up for saturday afternoon, followed by dinner with him and his missus - get me, the big socialite.

In other news,  it's three weeks today till wifey sets out for these shores. Things are looking up.

I have a fitting session tomorrow for my five shirts and one trouser, news of that event to appear on this very blog.

Be good.