But just a couple of glasses of red wine too many in my calculations. Oh well - these things are sent to try us - if it had been beer would it have been worse? Difficult to say I suppose.
So I'm sat here and should now call it a night and go to bed. A few months ago I'd be up until 1 or 2 am but will call it a day soon and head on up to get a good nights rest.
I've managed to keep on diet except those two extra glasses of wine! Let's see what I can do to keep to plan until Saturday when I can cheat myself stupid.
I have to say that I managed to keep pretty much to plan until a friend turned up late and kept me at the pub until closing time - I was expecting to get home a few hours before this...
Have until Saturday with no other engagements to resolve this I suppose!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
So far so good
Trying to work out if I'm this cold because of the diet :-) I am absolutely frozen so much so that I put the central heating on early this afternoon. Mind you I have been drinking ice cold water and a good few pints of that too. Had my high protein breakfast and lunch both with beans for carbs. Had one cup of coffee today so far but feel the need for a cup of soup in a minute just to warm up!
Will have chicken tonight with some beans and vegetables. Off out to the pub so I will contain myself with Red Wine rather than Beer so as to keep on plan. Saturday is my day off and so I will enjoy a bit of a cheat then. I like the idea of having stuff that you wouldn't normally have anyway like chocolate and doughnuts etc. Not sure I'll go absolutely wild but I may cut loose with some pastries :-)
So far then so good, getting used to it and not feeling hungry at the moment but feeling cold and not surprised drinking this chilled water all day. Did also do a carrot juice this morning but added a touch too much Lime which made it a bit difficult to drink :-) I will keep juicing just to ensure that I get my concentrated fix of vegetables into my system. I won't be doing too much in the way of getting off plan though as I just need this to keep me topped up with the good stuff.
I have to say that I'm feeling good and got a good night's sleep and was up and about early too. It feels like a long day because of that and also getting breakfast eaten within the hour of waking means that I get going much quicker. I will go and give myself a short work out after writing this - no more than 5 or 10 minutes just to start to get into the habit.
I think after the holiday I am in a much better place mentally especially as I think that I've started to think the unthinkable that we may not get funded with our project. That was always a possibility and so I can calmly look forward to see what may come afterwards and take my time to do that. We aren't near the last throw of the dice but we have completed a number of phases and are getting past half way without much take up. From the meeting we had yesterday, it appears that our experience isn't un-typical in today's climate. We do however have a few trump cards left to play and that will be the test a little later.
Well that's about it at the moment, I feel slimmer from the holiday and fitting into my suit trousers was a bonus yesterday, I just hope that I can keep this momentum up and start to get back into my old clothes and fit more comfortably into my present ones!
Will have chicken tonight with some beans and vegetables. Off out to the pub so I will contain myself with Red Wine rather than Beer so as to keep on plan. Saturday is my day off and so I will enjoy a bit of a cheat then. I like the idea of having stuff that you wouldn't normally have anyway like chocolate and doughnuts etc. Not sure I'll go absolutely wild but I may cut loose with some pastries :-)
So far then so good, getting used to it and not feeling hungry at the moment but feeling cold and not surprised drinking this chilled water all day. Did also do a carrot juice this morning but added a touch too much Lime which made it a bit difficult to drink :-) I will keep juicing just to ensure that I get my concentrated fix of vegetables into my system. I won't be doing too much in the way of getting off plan though as I just need this to keep me topped up with the good stuff.
I have to say that I'm feeling good and got a good night's sleep and was up and about early too. It feels like a long day because of that and also getting breakfast eaten within the hour of waking means that I get going much quicker. I will go and give myself a short work out after writing this - no more than 5 or 10 minutes just to start to get into the habit.
I think after the holiday I am in a much better place mentally especially as I think that I've started to think the unthinkable that we may not get funded with our project. That was always a possibility and so I can calmly look forward to see what may come afterwards and take my time to do that. We aren't near the last throw of the dice but we have completed a number of phases and are getting past half way without much take up. From the meeting we had yesterday, it appears that our experience isn't un-typical in today's climate. We do however have a few trump cards left to play and that will be the test a little later.
Well that's about it at the moment, I feel slimmer from the holiday and fitting into my suit trousers was a bonus yesterday, I just hope that I can keep this momentum up and start to get back into my old clothes and fit more comfortably into my present ones!
Monday, March 12, 2012
First Day
Well that wasn't too bad apart from we had a meeting in London and needed to grab food up there. As luck would have it there was a chicken salad with lashings of Spinach to be had and no heavy dressing so I was pleased with getting that and also managed to drink my Ice Cold water - around 5 pints so far today. Was a little concerned that I hadn't taken on enough carbs but made up for that with 2/3 of a tin of Berlotti Beans :-)
Found a number of bags of frozen beans in the Freezer so using them first. The next test comes tomorrow as it is lads night out. As luck would have it my friend is the only one turning up, he has to go early and so I will be able to have some red wine (allowed) and not have any beer (shame but I am going to stick to this diet). I did some basic exercises today on my Vibration Plate machine and got some stretches and squats done too. I need to up these but I've learnt from the past not to overdo these things especially on the vibration exercises which give you a real workout quicker than you think they do.
So - the first day has gone OK and I'm hoping that I'll be ready for another crack at this in the morning bashing in huge protein hit to start with, drinking a litre of very cold water and this time I will be able to get some beans (legumes) in with my breakfast.
I was most surprised that my starting weight is 17 stone - OK that may seem large to you but for me I only look fat with a bit of a beer belly with this. I'm down from 18 stone and I think I may have been higher than that. In the past two weeks, before this diet, I've lost around 1 stone, an inch off my neck and perhaps an inch or two of my waist (I could actually get into my suit trousers without discomfort today). My watch strap too has shrunk by a notch and my clothes do feel looser on me. A good run at this diet will, I hope, allow me to lose another stone or more and start to get myself back to a decent weight allowing me to also get my BP down at the same time.
Found a number of bags of frozen beans in the Freezer so using them first. The next test comes tomorrow as it is lads night out. As luck would have it my friend is the only one turning up, he has to go early and so I will be able to have some red wine (allowed) and not have any beer (shame but I am going to stick to this diet). I did some basic exercises today on my Vibration Plate machine and got some stretches and squats done too. I need to up these but I've learnt from the past not to overdo these things especially on the vibration exercises which give you a real workout quicker than you think they do.
So - the first day has gone OK and I'm hoping that I'll be ready for another crack at this in the morning bashing in huge protein hit to start with, drinking a litre of very cold water and this time I will be able to get some beans (legumes) in with my breakfast.
I was most surprised that my starting weight is 17 stone - OK that may seem large to you but for me I only look fat with a bit of a beer belly with this. I'm down from 18 stone and I think I may have been higher than that. In the past two weeks, before this diet, I've lost around 1 stone, an inch off my neck and perhaps an inch or two of my waist (I could actually get into my suit trousers without discomfort today). My watch strap too has shrunk by a notch and my clothes do feel looser on me. A good run at this diet will, I hope, allow me to lose another stone or more and start to get myself back to a decent weight allowing me to also get my BP down at the same time.
New Regime
I was pretty impressed that on returning from holiday that I have managed to drop a belt size and even my watch needed to go in a notch. That's what a lot of walking can do for you and also eating sensibly.
Talking of eating sensibly, I am today starting the diet that fellow blogger Steve Kelley has had such success with. See here for Steve's experiences. Some time ago Steve and I tried a cross Atlantic weight loss "competition" and whilst we both lost a bit we had to work really hard at it and like may other diets I managed to put back everything I lost and more :-(
Steve has had impressive results so far and as far as I can see the whole thing is sustainable and makes a lot of sense. I'd suggest you don't do this if you are actually being treated or have cancer at the moment or to at least seek medical advice.
So I've prepared for this by getting rid of anything likely to deter me from the path of eating just a few things regularly for 6 days a week and then having a 7th cheat day. In essence I started this yesterday and stepped off this morning with a protein rich breakfast and some ice cold water to get things moving :-) Unfortunately I'm out to lunch today (typical) but I know what I can ask for or look for in terms of food and so will make sure that I do that.
The biggest problem with this diet is where to get your carbs from and so Legumes are the way to go on this. I've loaded the house up with Lentils and Black Eyed Beans etc. Now I need to prepare them and get them ready for using as it is these that need to be used to provide the carb part of the diet. If you don't get them you run a real risk of running out of energy, feeling hungry etc.
Rather than rattle through what Steve has eloquently described again here all I'll say is that I am looking forward to the change and trying this out and giving it a good go, it appears to be good in terms of results and in terms of allowing me to add in exercise without having to do 45 minutes a day which I was easily doing when I was dieting last year. It is strange that I am getting back into clothes that were too small 4 or 5 months ago and so there is further incentive for me to continue to bring my weight down.
Here goes - let's see what happens.
Talking of eating sensibly, I am today starting the diet that fellow blogger Steve Kelley has had such success with. See here for Steve's experiences. Some time ago Steve and I tried a cross Atlantic weight loss "competition" and whilst we both lost a bit we had to work really hard at it and like may other diets I managed to put back everything I lost and more :-(
Steve has had impressive results so far and as far as I can see the whole thing is sustainable and makes a lot of sense. I'd suggest you don't do this if you are actually being treated or have cancer at the moment or to at least seek medical advice.
So I've prepared for this by getting rid of anything likely to deter me from the path of eating just a few things regularly for 6 days a week and then having a 7th cheat day. In essence I started this yesterday and stepped off this morning with a protein rich breakfast and some ice cold water to get things moving :-) Unfortunately I'm out to lunch today (typical) but I know what I can ask for or look for in terms of food and so will make sure that I do that.
The biggest problem with this diet is where to get your carbs from and so Legumes are the way to go on this. I've loaded the house up with Lentils and Black Eyed Beans etc. Now I need to prepare them and get them ready for using as it is these that need to be used to provide the carb part of the diet. If you don't get them you run a real risk of running out of energy, feeling hungry etc.
Rather than rattle through what Steve has eloquently described again here all I'll say is that I am looking forward to the change and trying this out and giving it a good go, it appears to be good in terms of results and in terms of allowing me to add in exercise without having to do 45 minutes a day which I was easily doing when I was dieting last year. It is strange that I am getting back into clothes that were too small 4 or 5 months ago and so there is further incentive for me to continue to bring my weight down.
Here goes - let's see what happens.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Alcohol Added Rant
It's nice once in a while, when having drunk a few beers, to attack one's blog with some sort of "under the influence" awakening.
Of course, it isn't the same as a "trip" and so can't mean anything either.
I realised tonight that I didn't spend the time I should doing the right thing for my family. As I spoke to friends who now have young families I waxed lyrical about spending time with them. I didn't but then, at this present time, the girls have a house that is paid for, the ability to fall back on money that we have put aside for them or that they have, to keep them at Uni, looking for a job, a flat etc. My "guilt" is that I maybe should have spent time with them then rather than them having the opportunity now. In other words, if I was having the opportunity to build the family foundations at the time they were born was it time well spent or not?
I don't know really? At this present time, no one needs to find finance, it is sitting in the bank(s) ready to be used. If I hadn't worked all over Europe for all those hours and grabbing those bonuses then perhaps I'd have seen the kids more when they were younger and yet if I hadn't have done that I'd have been out of a job there would have been no money and so on - we can go on that loop forever.
I don't know the answer but would you have sacrificed the now for the future or sacrificed the future for the now? There is no easy answer to that - I just need to focus on the now - I actually think I missed out huge tracks of my daughter's lives through working really hard when they were young. I think that just as you hit your peak in terms of career and climbing the greasy pole that everything arrives all at once. There's a trade off that you make and mine was to secure my family's future and yet I think now that I'd have rather secured the opportunity to watch them grow up a bit more. My children mean so much to me and now I regret that I secured their now rather than their then.
Of course, it isn't the same as a "trip" and so can't mean anything either.
I realised tonight that I didn't spend the time I should doing the right thing for my family. As I spoke to friends who now have young families I waxed lyrical about spending time with them. I didn't but then, at this present time, the girls have a house that is paid for, the ability to fall back on money that we have put aside for them or that they have, to keep them at Uni, looking for a job, a flat etc. My "guilt" is that I maybe should have spent time with them then rather than them having the opportunity now. In other words, if I was having the opportunity to build the family foundations at the time they were born was it time well spent or not?
I don't know really? At this present time, no one needs to find finance, it is sitting in the bank(s) ready to be used. If I hadn't worked all over Europe for all those hours and grabbing those bonuses then perhaps I'd have seen the kids more when they were younger and yet if I hadn't have done that I'd have been out of a job there would have been no money and so on - we can go on that loop forever.
I don't know the answer but would you have sacrificed the now for the future or sacrificed the future for the now? There is no easy answer to that - I just need to focus on the now - I actually think I missed out huge tracks of my daughter's lives through working really hard when they were young. I think that just as you hit your peak in terms of career and climbing the greasy pole that everything arrives all at once. There's a trade off that you make and mine was to secure my family's future and yet I think now that I'd have rather secured the opportunity to watch them grow up a bit more. My children mean so much to me and now I regret that I secured their now rather than their then.
Friday, March 09, 2012
Back to Reality
Well here I am again and feeling a bit trimmer which is good and just about to get back onto my diet and back to exercise routine. After a week and a half of walking quite long distances I'm feeling a lot better. My back was twinging and all over the place on the first few days in Venice but after a few days of working on it and also realising that I was carrying my back pack on one shoulder, I moved away from that and so far have managed to get better each day. The distances we walked must be in the 5 to 10 miles a day region I think and up and down steps and hills, over hard surfaces etc. All of the cities are best seen by foot in reality.
We were extremely lucky with the weather - on two days it was dodgy - one day in Florence was misty and damp but we changed schedule, went indoors and when we came out went on a long walk out of the city up into the hills and were rewarded with the sun coming out and burning off the mists and a wonderful series of views of the city. A long walk though but worth it. When we went to the Vatican it started drizzling (it had rained the night before and we had got in just before the heavens opened) and as we got inside from the obligatory queuing the heavens once again opened up. So all in all we got away with great weather. Some of the train journeys were amazing - Lucerne to Milan and Turin to Paris being the stand out ones. We would have liked to have seen a bit more of Basel to Lucerne but the light failed but of what we could see, this would have been spectacular too.
Nothing quite prepares you for Venice, Florence or Rome really. They are each different in character and each was enjoyable in its own right. We fitted as much in as we could in each of the cities and did most of the "tourist" stuff however, the best bits were getting out early, getting past the queues and finding those little hidden gems that only the intrepid explorer can hope to see. In Venice we stayed about as far from the tourist area as it is possible to stay. The upside was a few quiet canals and local life, hidden squares and churches. The downside? Few restaurants and few evening activities unless going back into the city. We felt sorry for the day tourists on the Cruise liners - quite how they could do Venice in a day was beyond us - we did 2 and a half days - we could have done a bit more on departure day but didn't!
The train journeys were good in general, the people were not so. First class travel made things a bit better but I do find aircraft and train travel to be a bit of a strain especially when the web site booking systems stick all the passengers together in one carriage of the train leaving the carriages either side virtually empty (late booking may help here). No sooner had one person struggled off with their case than someone else struggled on with theirs and tried to put an oversized suitcase into an undersized luggage rack, then try and back it out to the main luggage racks where the doors are. If they had been booked either side there would have been easier access and egress. Anyway, there's me being a pragmatist. We often let them all scramble on and off the trains and get on when all is settled - that was we can find seats, locate space etc.
I'm sure I could write a travel book based on the experiences of the journey. Would I travel by train again? Pretty sure I would but I'd probably go first class all the way despite the issue I had with the idiots on the Turin to Paris train, I know how to avoid that in future.
We were extremely lucky with the weather - on two days it was dodgy - one day in Florence was misty and damp but we changed schedule, went indoors and when we came out went on a long walk out of the city up into the hills and were rewarded with the sun coming out and burning off the mists and a wonderful series of views of the city. A long walk though but worth it. When we went to the Vatican it started drizzling (it had rained the night before and we had got in just before the heavens opened) and as we got inside from the obligatory queuing the heavens once again opened up. So all in all we got away with great weather. Some of the train journeys were amazing - Lucerne to Milan and Turin to Paris being the stand out ones. We would have liked to have seen a bit more of Basel to Lucerne but the light failed but of what we could see, this would have been spectacular too.
Nothing quite prepares you for Venice, Florence or Rome really. They are each different in character and each was enjoyable in its own right. We fitted as much in as we could in each of the cities and did most of the "tourist" stuff however, the best bits were getting out early, getting past the queues and finding those little hidden gems that only the intrepid explorer can hope to see. In Venice we stayed about as far from the tourist area as it is possible to stay. The upside was a few quiet canals and local life, hidden squares and churches. The downside? Few restaurants and few evening activities unless going back into the city. We felt sorry for the day tourists on the Cruise liners - quite how they could do Venice in a day was beyond us - we did 2 and a half days - we could have done a bit more on departure day but didn't!
The train journeys were good in general, the people were not so. First class travel made things a bit better but I do find aircraft and train travel to be a bit of a strain especially when the web site booking systems stick all the passengers together in one carriage of the train leaving the carriages either side virtually empty (late booking may help here). No sooner had one person struggled off with their case than someone else struggled on with theirs and tried to put an oversized suitcase into an undersized luggage rack, then try and back it out to the main luggage racks where the doors are. If they had been booked either side there would have been easier access and egress. Anyway, there's me being a pragmatist. We often let them all scramble on and off the trains and get on when all is settled - that was we can find seats, locate space etc.
I'm sure I could write a travel book based on the experiences of the journey. Would I travel by train again? Pretty sure I would but I'd probably go first class all the way despite the issue I had with the idiots on the Turin to Paris train, I know how to avoid that in future.
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Italy - WOW
Back from a hectic week and a half in Italy. Had a wonderful time, mostly good weather and of course the culture and the food stick in the mind. Even lost a bit of weight and a belt size but that was through the massive amount of walking we did over the days. Today has been stunning making our way back from Torino to home. We went from sunlight to snow in the Alps and back to rain, grey and then blue skies all in one day.
Generally a good time but occasionally I find that people are just downright disgraceful and ignorant and rude but then that's the Italians and French for you. Removing our luggage from the racks, placing theirs in it and throwing our cases (and others) in a pile in the train corridor was just one of the tricks these monkeys got up to - and that on a first class compartment. Wish I'd seen them do it, there'd have been someone with bruised testicles as a starter...
Apart from that, the way that these guys allow their dogs to shit unabated even around ancient world heritage monuments and their apparent lack of oral or other bodily hygiene the places themselves made up for it. Proof in both Italy and France that many many many many years ago there was an advanced, artistic and altogether more elegant time than those who inherited it deserve.
Generally a good time but occasionally I find that people are just downright disgraceful and ignorant and rude but then that's the Italians and French for you. Removing our luggage from the racks, placing theirs in it and throwing our cases (and others) in a pile in the train corridor was just one of the tricks these monkeys got up to - and that on a first class compartment. Wish I'd seen them do it, there'd have been someone with bruised testicles as a starter...
Apart from that, the way that these guys allow their dogs to shit unabated even around ancient world heritage monuments and their apparent lack of oral or other bodily hygiene the places themselves made up for it. Proof in both Italy and France that many many many many years ago there was an advanced, artistic and altogether more elegant time than those who inherited it deserve.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Nice
Well that was nice - I was voted in "with acclaim" and in all my years I've never seen that at a meeting so that was very special indeed. A little embarrassing too as despite the way I portray myself I don't like to be too much in the limelight that way.
Anyway, off to bed now and off to Italy in the early morning - I will blog when I get back unless I can get to a PC before.
Anyway, off to bed now and off to Italy in the early morning - I will blog when I get back unless I can get to a PC before.
One Down
One to go. Today's Lodge meeting will be interesting as they will elect me as the Worshipful Master for the next year. I get installed in June and have one year at the helm. There are only a couple of duties to be done before the summer break but from September onwards it will be full on with various meetings etc.
I don't have to do much today other than look surprised and say thank you :-) The real work will come in June no doubt and when I get back from holiday writing to the various people that will make up my team for the next year.
Not too much drinking today as I need to get home and finish packing!
I don't have to do much today other than look surprised and say thank you :-) The real work will come in June no doubt and when I get back from holiday writing to the various people that will make up my team for the next year.
Not too much drinking today as I need to get home and finish packing!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Damn and blast
The chap I need to speak to is in a meeting and so I've left a message for him to call back - I bet he is bound to when I'm in the shower or when I'm wandering over to get to my meeting this afternoon. It is such a nice afternoon that I'm going to walk it. The sun is out, it isn't too warm though but that's OK. A nice 40 to 45 minute walk will be useful and get me ready for the next week and a half of almost non stop walking we are going on.
A cheeky glance at the weather shows that it is warming up a bit in Italy and at least we wont have to worry about the ice and snow they had there just a few weeks ago that actually froze some of the canals. If it does get a little colder we have fleece liners for our coats. I think we will be able to walk around in our coats without the liners in Florence by the looks of it as it suggests 17 degrees.
Dad seems to have had a better couple of days which I'm glad about. I will keep in touch with my parents and my brother somehow - I'm hoping free WiFi will provide some sort of connection for email and I can use my phone abroad (I hope). Fingers crossed that all goes well whilst we are away.
A cheeky glance at the weather shows that it is warming up a bit in Italy and at least we wont have to worry about the ice and snow they had there just a few weeks ago that actually froze some of the canals. If it does get a little colder we have fleece liners for our coats. I think we will be able to walk around in our coats without the liners in Florence by the looks of it as it suggests 17 degrees.
Dad seems to have had a better couple of days which I'm glad about. I will keep in touch with my parents and my brother somehow - I'm hoping free WiFi will provide some sort of connection for email and I can use my phone abroad (I hope). Fingers crossed that all goes well whilst we are away.
TGIF
Only one thing left to do today and that is to call up someone who we need to meet on my return from Italy.
I have to pick up L from the station as she is with us for the weekend. She has to get her eyes examined tomorrow and then will drop us off on Sunday - poor girl she actually wanted a bit of a relaxing time but won't get one!
I have a meeting tonight and one tomorrow to attend. Tomorrow should confirm that I will be elected as Master of the Lodge which is a huge deal, especially as it is a Stewards' Lodge and so I am looking forward to that of course. It means that in June I will become the Master of the Lodge and will be "on the circuit" again visiting lots of other Lodges around the country as an honoured guest. There are three meetings, June, October and February and that will be just enough to do the job for a year and then be amazed at how fast it went. I have to say that for most of the time I was secretary of the Lodge I was having treatment for Bladder Cancer. I'm just amazed at how I managed to continue an involved job like that and undergo treatment.
I remember thinking at the time how everyone made a big deal of it and I didn't. Of course, it was a serious thing but either I chose to ignore it or just worked my way through it. Whatever it is, I was so pleased to even be considered for being Master and as someone said to me, there really was no one else even being considered and in less than a minute it was decided. It needs to be ratified on Saturday of course. Hence we waited until after then to go away.
I have some other minor things to attend to today - like packing and also I need to do some checking of my accounts prior to going to the meeting this afternoon.
The only trouble with Lodge meetings? There's a meal tonight and one tomorrow to tackle. Interestingly I only tend to eat one big meal a week and I have eaten very little this week so I should be able to manage these. As usual, these meals are much of a muchness and whilst they are good quality they aren't really what you would consider restaurant fare, the trouble I have is that they are often quite stodgy but I've trained myself now to just go for the Veg and then miss out potatoes or just have one.
Listening to Massive Attack as I write this - I had forgotten how huge that Blue Lines album was back in 1991. How time flies :-) This is another one of those things as people do give me a sidewise glance when I say I like a band Like Massive Attack and that I'd also like a band like Camel - I just like any sort of music really as long as it is well put together.
I have to pick up L from the station as she is with us for the weekend. She has to get her eyes examined tomorrow and then will drop us off on Sunday - poor girl she actually wanted a bit of a relaxing time but won't get one!
I have a meeting tonight and one tomorrow to attend. Tomorrow should confirm that I will be elected as Master of the Lodge which is a huge deal, especially as it is a Stewards' Lodge and so I am looking forward to that of course. It means that in June I will become the Master of the Lodge and will be "on the circuit" again visiting lots of other Lodges around the country as an honoured guest. There are three meetings, June, October and February and that will be just enough to do the job for a year and then be amazed at how fast it went. I have to say that for most of the time I was secretary of the Lodge I was having treatment for Bladder Cancer. I'm just amazed at how I managed to continue an involved job like that and undergo treatment.
I remember thinking at the time how everyone made a big deal of it and I didn't. Of course, it was a serious thing but either I chose to ignore it or just worked my way through it. Whatever it is, I was so pleased to even be considered for being Master and as someone said to me, there really was no one else even being considered and in less than a minute it was decided. It needs to be ratified on Saturday of course. Hence we waited until after then to go away.
I have some other minor things to attend to today - like packing and also I need to do some checking of my accounts prior to going to the meeting this afternoon.
The only trouble with Lodge meetings? There's a meal tonight and one tomorrow to tackle. Interestingly I only tend to eat one big meal a week and I have eaten very little this week so I should be able to manage these. As usual, these meals are much of a muchness and whilst they are good quality they aren't really what you would consider restaurant fare, the trouble I have is that they are often quite stodgy but I've trained myself now to just go for the Veg and then miss out potatoes or just have one.
Listening to Massive Attack as I write this - I had forgotten how huge that Blue Lines album was back in 1991. How time flies :-) This is another one of those things as people do give me a sidewise glance when I say I like a band Like Massive Attack and that I'd also like a band like Camel - I just like any sort of music really as long as it is well put together.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Time for some ME time
It's about time that I made some "Me" time and that starts in a few moments after I've written my intent in this blog. It is time for packing and reading up the research I have done and to start to wind down from being stuck on the PC all day every day. I've culled my Twitter account and got rid of all the cr@p that's I've endured there for months and we are almost at the end of the first phase of fund raising which is proving to be a bit of a blank.
All emails are being diverted to my colleagues and that will allow them to carry on in my absence and I have two meetings one tomorrow and one on Saturday to attend to and that's it, away we go and let the adventure begin. I am looking forward to it now and just need to remember what language I am speaking in what country :-) I'll need to speak French, German and Italian over the course of 10 days or so. I haven't spoken German for 14 years I think. French was a few years ago and Italian was also 14 years ago. That should be fun - I wonder if I can remember much of it? I always thought though that the funniest thing I heard was in Milan "No Problemo" - it was around the time of the Terminator films and I remember just looking at my colleague and bursting out laughing. It was also here that I thought we were in the middle of an Earthquake as the building started to shake and vibrate I asked whether we should get under the table - I got some strange looks and asked whether we were in an earthquake. Apparently not - the Metro was being tunnelled out below the building/street and that what was making the vibrations. Doh! :-)
So happy days and I do hope that we get to see Venice, Florence and Rome on decent days as well as Lucerne and Turin too. We go via Paris, Basel and Milan - I doubt we will have that much time to see much other than the station though and the Metro in Paris.
All emails are being diverted to my colleagues and that will allow them to carry on in my absence and I have two meetings one tomorrow and one on Saturday to attend to and that's it, away we go and let the adventure begin. I am looking forward to it now and just need to remember what language I am speaking in what country :-) I'll need to speak French, German and Italian over the course of 10 days or so. I haven't spoken German for 14 years I think. French was a few years ago and Italian was also 14 years ago. That should be fun - I wonder if I can remember much of it? I always thought though that the funniest thing I heard was in Milan "No Problemo" - it was around the time of the Terminator films and I remember just looking at my colleague and bursting out laughing. It was also here that I thought we were in the middle of an Earthquake as the building started to shake and vibrate I asked whether we should get under the table - I got some strange looks and asked whether we were in an earthquake. Apparently not - the Metro was being tunnelled out below the building/street and that what was making the vibrations. Doh! :-)
So happy days and I do hope that we get to see Venice, Florence and Rome on decent days as well as Lucerne and Turin too. We go via Paris, Basel and Milan - I doubt we will have that much time to see much other than the station though and the Metro in Paris.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Never a good time is it?
It is never a "good time" to go away, on a holiday or away on business. By that I mean that if something might happen to my dad whilst I'm away, it will happen and it matters not if I am in Italy, home, there or somewhere else? You can't be where you want or need to be all the time and whilst I feel it may be a bit selfish to take a holiday at this point in time, if I delay it, my wife wont get a break and in my opinion she needs it more than I do and of course, neither will I.
I mention this as dad's not had a great night and isn't good today but this could be the same at any time really and it has now been 6 months since they gave him 6 months to live and so I guess, there are currently signs that things are beginning to catch up with him. We will see what today brings, it is the complete weakness he feels and inability to move around the house that has got him today. He is getting weaker and wakes feeling cold and I can only imagine that this is how things progress.
But I need to get away for my own sanity and I need Mrs. F. to also get away for hers, she works very hard and I do keep trying to get her to slow down a bit, it isn't as if we need the money although I feel that she thinks it is. At least we will get some talk time in the next couple of weeks although I thought that when we went to the Baltic coming up for two years ago.
Things will be what they will be in the meantime and I can do nothing to stop the course of nature or to be in a position to do anything much other than keeping in daily contact and hoping that dad isn't suffering too much and that mum is managing to keep going. It's a hard time for everyone.
I mention this as dad's not had a great night and isn't good today but this could be the same at any time really and it has now been 6 months since they gave him 6 months to live and so I guess, there are currently signs that things are beginning to catch up with him. We will see what today brings, it is the complete weakness he feels and inability to move around the house that has got him today. He is getting weaker and wakes feeling cold and I can only imagine that this is how things progress.
But I need to get away for my own sanity and I need Mrs. F. to also get away for hers, she works very hard and I do keep trying to get her to slow down a bit, it isn't as if we need the money although I feel that she thinks it is. At least we will get some talk time in the next couple of weeks although I thought that when we went to the Baltic coming up for two years ago.
Things will be what they will be in the meantime and I can do nothing to stop the course of nature or to be in a position to do anything much other than keeping in daily contact and hoping that dad isn't suffering too much and that mum is managing to keep going. It's a hard time for everyone.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Disturbed Night's Sleep
It was a good meeting last night and as often happens when my mind gets going and the possibilities start flowing my sleep gets disturbed by lots of dreams and things going on both rationale and bizarre. Dreams were about business and relationships and moved rapidly between the believable and things that are best left unsaid in case they cart me off to the mad house :-)
What it has done is provided some clarity to my thinking and allowed me to move on past a couple of things I was grasping onto but in reality should have pragmatically dismissed a week or so ago. That's helped me greatly and so my belief is back once again. It just proves that we have done our homework and we do know what we are doing and there was a lot of good vibes coming from the meeting.
What it has done is provided some clarity to my thinking and allowed me to move on past a couple of things I was grasping onto but in reality should have pragmatically dismissed a week or so ago. That's helped me greatly and so my belief is back once again. It just proves that we have done our homework and we do know what we are doing and there was a lot of good vibes coming from the meeting.
Monday, February 20, 2012
It Isn't Me
Well that was a good meeting with a guy who is a Merchant Banker and who moves in circles and places way above ours. Came over to us and sat down and got what we are doing, saw what we had done, how we had done that and what it means, where we had been and what difficulties we were up to and, thank goodness, agreed that our perception of the market matched what it is really like.
We often don't give ourselves enough credit for knowing our game, for being well prepared and for being able to analyse what we see. For my part I may get angry and annoyed about the way the UK is so short termism but tonight we found someone who maybe and just maybe might be able to take us to some real money. So a curry and a few beers later I am much happier and more comfortable that the situation we find ourselves in is indeed where we should be, we haven't missed anything or any tricks and we are where we are because that is where we should be.
Hard to come to terms with the fact that the place where you expected the dynamic young bucks of the investment industry to be are in fact not living up to their hype. More senior and mature pastures appear to await.
We often don't give ourselves enough credit for knowing our game, for being well prepared and for being able to analyse what we see. For my part I may get angry and annoyed about the way the UK is so short termism but tonight we found someone who maybe and just maybe might be able to take us to some real money. So a curry and a few beers later I am much happier and more comfortable that the situation we find ourselves in is indeed where we should be, we haven't missed anything or any tricks and we are where we are because that is where we should be.
Hard to come to terms with the fact that the place where you expected the dynamic young bucks of the investment industry to be are in fact not living up to their hype. More senior and mature pastures appear to await.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Strange Sunday
It is strange indeed to actually sit down in the same room as Mrs. F. for more than a few minutes. She was out most on Saturday and is always on the go doing something but I finally got her to sit down and do a little planning for the holiday coming up. It took a while with constant interruptions by both daughters. They too needed something from their mum.
Eventually we got things sorted but I did manage to book travel tickets in Venice on the wrong day but hey, at least it was while we are there! So we just need to switch our plans. I was trying not to be too proscriptive and hence we ended up looking at the things we would like to see and just looking to cover those and hit whatever else comes our way serendipitously which is, after all, the best way to go about it. Having seen how wonderful Florence looks, we may not now go to Pisa and Lucca as I originally fancied doing unless somehow miraculously we do Florence in a day! Unlikely I think. It looks amazing.
I am looking forward to this trip more and more and I hope that we will be able to get some serious tourist activities in. It reminds me of our Baltics trip and I hope that it is as active as that - we will this time have more that just a day to see the areas though and with the preparation we did today I hope there is enough planning done so that we can enjoy the experience.
Eventually we got things sorted but I did manage to book travel tickets in Venice on the wrong day but hey, at least it was while we are there! So we just need to switch our plans. I was trying not to be too proscriptive and hence we ended up looking at the things we would like to see and just looking to cover those and hit whatever else comes our way serendipitously which is, after all, the best way to go about it. Having seen how wonderful Florence looks, we may not now go to Pisa and Lucca as I originally fancied doing unless somehow miraculously we do Florence in a day! Unlikely I think. It looks amazing.
I am looking forward to this trip more and more and I hope that we will be able to get some serious tourist activities in. It reminds me of our Baltics trip and I hope that it is as active as that - we will this time have more that just a day to see the areas though and with the preparation we did today I hope there is enough planning done so that we can enjoy the experience.
Next Week
This time next week I'll be on my way to Paris and almost there in fact, then across the city to Gare de Lyon and then down to Basel and on to Lucerne. I am looking at the trip today and doing the tourist planning bit - what we are going to see and when - only roughly of course as serendipity is a big part of the trip too.
I am told our trip into and out of Switzerland should be wonderful with all the lakes and mountains and passes we will be going through. It will be interesting to compare the difference between air and train although, having spent a lot of time working in Paris and Brussels I should state that I much prefer the train for these journeys as I can be in the centre of Paris in less than 3 hours from my house and in Brussels in around 2 and a bit. Some aircraft expect you to book in 2 hours in advance and then there's all the scanners and shoes off and belts off and all that nonsense to go through too, queuing to get your passport looked at, waiting for your baggage and then getting from the airport into the city and your hotel! I think the furthest we are from a Hotel and the station is in Turin and here!
So that's what I'm up to and I'm hoping that Mrs. F. might join me for a short while to check out what we are doing and where we are going etc.
I'm also looking forward to getting out and about in the open air and to do some serious walking and exercise. I feel I've been stuck indoors for months now either self inflicted or it is just the way that things have panned out. This will at least get me away from the business for a while. That was beginning to engulf me recently.
I am told our trip into and out of Switzerland should be wonderful with all the lakes and mountains and passes we will be going through. It will be interesting to compare the difference between air and train although, having spent a lot of time working in Paris and Brussels I should state that I much prefer the train for these journeys as I can be in the centre of Paris in less than 3 hours from my house and in Brussels in around 2 and a bit. Some aircraft expect you to book in 2 hours in advance and then there's all the scanners and shoes off and belts off and all that nonsense to go through too, queuing to get your passport looked at, waiting for your baggage and then getting from the airport into the city and your hotel! I think the furthest we are from a Hotel and the station is in Turin and here!
So that's what I'm up to and I'm hoping that Mrs. F. might join me for a short while to check out what we are doing and where we are going etc.
I'm also looking forward to getting out and about in the open air and to do some serious walking and exercise. I feel I've been stuck indoors for months now either self inflicted or it is just the way that things have panned out. This will at least get me away from the business for a while. That was beginning to engulf me recently.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Coping with the ups and downs
It is difficult to understand why I would be suffering from this month/week's highs and lows. It's really because there is an undercurrent in the UK recently that we say one thing and are in fact doing something totally different. We are "open for business" when in fact this means that we are not at all, we are so risk averse that we aren't going to do anything that even slightly contains the word risk.
Additionally there are other outward appearances that when you look deeper are wholly wrong too, it is SO disappointing that what we are being told and what the situation actually turns out to be is like this. Now, I've lived long enough to know that this is pretty common but it is the bare faced front of the politicians and the "industry leaders" that is the point. How on earth they can say that they are promoting business and yet aren't is beyond me - the banks are falling short of their lending targets and the investment industry seems to be more self-centred and star struck almost appearing as if they are in X-Factor or some such thing. I've un-subscribed from their Twitter accounts because it is the worst sort of Narcissism imaginable, they really are up themselves. Better than that, they take on the persona of the SIlicon Valley entrepreneurs who, like them or loathe them, do know something about risk and reward.
Anyway, having removed myself from their self preening, self congratulatory, Daily Mail style self promotion and general distastefulness, I find myself somehow cleansed and liberated from this peculiar world these people inhabit. Let's hope that the people that we are now going to talk to are a little more pleasant?
So having removed myself from that avenue of discomfort and having rationalised things a bit I find myself looking at various avenues to explore to make exceptions to include certain other UK organisations. That is my next step along with testing some ideas with known sources. After that, I think that there is a short break in proceedings and I can go on my break to Italy and try and free my mind up and take stock of where I am.
Things aren't bleak on the business front by any means but it just means that we have to go about it in a different way. What the UK lacks perhaps Europe will not and if Europe is similarly afflicted then the US is also open to us. Of course that could be quite an eye opener and not just for us :-)
So - I'm back on an even keel now after having some major angry moments and also being massively disappointed with the "Type" of people we met and dealt with, arrogant, up themselves and dismissive of the effort and achievement we have already demonstrated to get this far. It was disappointing to note how intellectually lazy these people actually are too - you need to spoon feed them in words of one syllable to get them to understand it. Anyway enough venting and ranting for one post. I feel that I have enough information here to write a book about it - maybe I will just to warn anyone who approaches these guys just how bad the vast majority of them actually are.
Additionally there are other outward appearances that when you look deeper are wholly wrong too, it is SO disappointing that what we are being told and what the situation actually turns out to be is like this. Now, I've lived long enough to know that this is pretty common but it is the bare faced front of the politicians and the "industry leaders" that is the point. How on earth they can say that they are promoting business and yet aren't is beyond me - the banks are falling short of their lending targets and the investment industry seems to be more self-centred and star struck almost appearing as if they are in X-Factor or some such thing. I've un-subscribed from their Twitter accounts because it is the worst sort of Narcissism imaginable, they really are up themselves. Better than that, they take on the persona of the SIlicon Valley entrepreneurs who, like them or loathe them, do know something about risk and reward.
Anyway, having removed myself from their self preening, self congratulatory, Daily Mail style self promotion and general distastefulness, I find myself somehow cleansed and liberated from this peculiar world these people inhabit. Let's hope that the people that we are now going to talk to are a little more pleasant?
So having removed myself from that avenue of discomfort and having rationalised things a bit I find myself looking at various avenues to explore to make exceptions to include certain other UK organisations. That is my next step along with testing some ideas with known sources. After that, I think that there is a short break in proceedings and I can go on my break to Italy and try and free my mind up and take stock of where I am.
Things aren't bleak on the business front by any means but it just means that we have to go about it in a different way. What the UK lacks perhaps Europe will not and if Europe is similarly afflicted then the US is also open to us. Of course that could be quite an eye opener and not just for us :-)
So - I'm back on an even keel now after having some major angry moments and also being massively disappointed with the "Type" of people we met and dealt with, arrogant, up themselves and dismissive of the effort and achievement we have already demonstrated to get this far. It was disappointing to note how intellectually lazy these people actually are too - you need to spoon feed them in words of one syllable to get them to understand it. Anyway enough venting and ranting for one post. I feel that I have enough information here to write a book about it - maybe I will just to warn anyone who approaches these guys just how bad the vast majority of them actually are.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Nothing like a good rant
So we are about to move on now and after having had my rant yesterday and mentally cleared my head I find that today was an easier day and I have managed to move things on to a point now where I am happy with what we are doing going forward which I really wasn't until today.
Things aren't going the way we thought they might but we had envisaged something like this earlier last year. It depends on how we tackle this now and that is now set and to my satisfaction because I was concerned that we would miss some steps in our process but that isn't the case.
Things aren't going the way we thought they might but we had envisaged something like this earlier last year. It depends on how we tackle this now and that is now set and to my satisfaction because I was concerned that we would miss some steps in our process but that isn't the case.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Anger, Alcohol and Despair
It is nice to come back from the pub liberated from the constraints of every day etiquette and to vent forth.
Tonight I was ranting about the UK financial markets who have retracted their scrotums as far as their tonsils! They are unworthy to deserve the prefix of Venture derived from the word Adventure! They believe themselves to be of a higher social group than us entrepreneurs who have worked for 3 or 4 years solid building a business for some MBA from INSEAD to tell us that it doesn't fit with this or that and that whilst they cannot fund us they would like to understand the ins and outs of our inventions. Then they get pissed off when we tell them that we would rather hold onto our hard won business IPR than give it away to someone with such a base level of disrespect.
They really think they are some sort of celebrity status these VCs and that is so funny. They talk down at you as if you don't understand business and yet they were in Diapers / Nappiess when I was actually working my way up the greasy pole. I love the crap they come out with that a document should be 3 pages (or whatever today's bollocks is) and no more no less, blah de blah de blah...... What the hell do they know, it is what it needs to be to describe the business and I'm pretty depressed that our UK boys are following this "Silicon Valley" model of being "God like" creatures who are never wrong and know how to run a business. Sure, if it is your own hard earned cash started and finished in your own pocket you've a right to that opinion. Most have only been given the cheque book and are too timid to actually do a deal that would put their neck and their reputation on the line, they prefer to wait until it is a sure thing and then muscle in and claim the kudos.
So be it. If that is the way that this market works then we have to bypass these people and go into the lion's den and go and talk to those who will make a difference and who actually live up to the hype that is out there. We all know that there are very few who meet that mark. In reality I haven't found one of them - in the hundreds (and close to a thousand) I've reviewed who even crawl anywhere near this benchmark. The world is full of hot air, failed promises and people who think their best is actually getting out of bed and checking a spreadsheet. Dare I call them wankers? Yes I think I probably can. They look as if they are cutting and bleeding edge but actually they are like lawyers and solicitors at the end of the battle who come onto the field of battle and bayonet the wounded. They are slime and that degrades one cell creatures!
I like going out for a drink as it frees my writing ability and let's me say what I think!
Tonight I was ranting about the UK financial markets who have retracted their scrotums as far as their tonsils! They are unworthy to deserve the prefix of Venture derived from the word Adventure! They believe themselves to be of a higher social group than us entrepreneurs who have worked for 3 or 4 years solid building a business for some MBA from INSEAD to tell us that it doesn't fit with this or that and that whilst they cannot fund us they would like to understand the ins and outs of our inventions. Then they get pissed off when we tell them that we would rather hold onto our hard won business IPR than give it away to someone with such a base level of disrespect.
They really think they are some sort of celebrity status these VCs and that is so funny. They talk down at you as if you don't understand business and yet they were in Diapers / Nappiess when I was actually working my way up the greasy pole. I love the crap they come out with that a document should be 3 pages (or whatever today's bollocks is) and no more no less, blah de blah de blah...... What the hell do they know, it is what it needs to be to describe the business and I'm pretty depressed that our UK boys are following this "Silicon Valley" model of being "God like" creatures who are never wrong and know how to run a business. Sure, if it is your own hard earned cash started and finished in your own pocket you've a right to that opinion. Most have only been given the cheque book and are too timid to actually do a deal that would put their neck and their reputation on the line, they prefer to wait until it is a sure thing and then muscle in and claim the kudos.
So be it. If that is the way that this market works then we have to bypass these people and go into the lion's den and go and talk to those who will make a difference and who actually live up to the hype that is out there. We all know that there are very few who meet that mark. In reality I haven't found one of them - in the hundreds (and close to a thousand) I've reviewed who even crawl anywhere near this benchmark. The world is full of hot air, failed promises and people who think their best is actually getting out of bed and checking a spreadsheet. Dare I call them wankers? Yes I think I probably can. They look as if they are cutting and bleeding edge but actually they are like lawyers and solicitors at the end of the battle who come onto the field of battle and bayonet the wounded. They are slime and that degrades one cell creatures!
I like going out for a drink as it frees my writing ability and let's me say what I think!
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