Update

Hello my friends just a quick update to let you know I'm still kicking. There is no internet in the hotel and I've just not been able to find anywhere to get on line until now.

Boston is a nice City with plenty of touristy things to visit, quite a bit of history. I've visited most of the attractions and have plenty of photos to post.

The weather has been too hot for me (high nineties) for the last few days and I'm knackered. However it as cooled today to a more sensible temp in the 70's. To be honest I was tired from the first night it took about 3 days for my body to adjust to the 5 hour difference, first time I've struggled travelling to the states. On a night I was really tired yet waking up at about 5am just couldn't help it.

The City and people have been great and I reckon its one of the few cities I've visited that feels really safe which is good. Ok I did have a little incident last night when leaving a Pub. Three blokes where stood blocking the exit so I politely said "excuse me old cock" as Yorkshiremen do and one of the blokes thought I was been abusive. I wasn't that is just what we say in Yorkshire but it quickly blew over he was just a bit stroppy the moron.

Anyway I hope you are all well,

Music Monday - The "F's"

Well letter "F" this week and not quite as many big names to choose from but I've still left out acts like Fleetwood Mac, Four Tops, Flying Pickets, Billy Fury to name a few but I reckon I've choose three crackers for you :-

1. Roberta Flack "Killing Me Softly" - This song believe it or not was wrote aa a tribute to Don McLean and it is a all time classic. In fact I was torn between this version and the "Fugees" as both begin with "F". Anyway I stuck with the Roberta Flack version which reached No6 in the UK chart back in 1973. I've posted the Karaoke version so you can all easily sing along.



2. Free "Wishing Well" - Although the group is better known for the rock classic "All Right Now" I reckon this is better and really underrated. This song did make the Top ten also in 1973 reaching No7.



3. Frankie goes to Hollywood "Two Tribes" - Gotta have Frankies classic in here, it did top the UK chart for an unbelievable 9 weeks back in the summer of 1983.

Goodbye my friends

Today I leave for my Vacation and I'll leave my Goodbye message in the words of the best Glam Rock Group ever -
Tomorrow I'll be -


And I'll miss my blog friends -


and a word of warning to the people of Boston and Chicago -


Hopfully I'll be able to post soon and check out your blogs.

I'm currently in my hotel at Manchester Airport, I'd love to write more but the bar is open and need some food and obviously a beer or two to wash it down.

Have a great weekend.

Substitutes for Blog Friends

Well I've just about finished packing for my trip tomorrow and sort of sat around bored so thinking what to write I'll use Rebecca's blog for motivation.

This charming lady asked which three celebraties would you like with you if you were stuck on a isolated island. Well obviously I was totally honest and said "any three of my single unattached blog friends".

However if none of them are available I wouldn't mind the following as substitutes :-


1. Been a big fan and the first is always the best its got to be Ursula :-

2. However my favorite Bond Girl was Solitaire played by Jane Seymour, hell that Women even brought class to "Dr Quinn Medicine Women" :-


3. Finally back to my teenage dream girl Debbie Harry :-

Wednesday Weigh In - A loss before a rise

2007 Start Weight - 219lbs

Last Weigh in - 213lb

Todays Actual Weight - 211.8lb

Loss/Gain since last Weigh in - -1.2lb

Loss so far in 2007 - -7.2lb

Today's Target Weight - 202lb

Loss/Gain against Target - +9.8lb

At least a loss to report this week but this will be my last weigh in for 3 weeks and to be fair I expect to gain. However I do allow with my targets for a 5lb increase on vacation so my target weight for July 11th will be 207lb.

Not much to say today, I played a round of Golf last night and I'm putting in a Table Tennis training session tonight but to be honest I'm just looking forward to my next American adventure on Friday. So Boston & Chicago here I come.

Music Monday - The "E's"

We are now up to the letter "E" there are not quite as many to choose from this week but I'd love to know what you make of this varied selection of classics. I'm sure you can all name a few more I could have posted.

1. Everly Brothers "All I have to do is Dream" - Hell this was a number one hit back in the year I was born 1958, in fact I'd have been two months old when this topped the charts.



2. Eddie and the Hot Rods "Beginning of the End" - You didn't think I'd leave these boys from the 70's out did you, this is just too good to be just an album track but it was.



3. Eurythmics "There must be an Angel" - One for you 80's kids this was No1 in the UK back in 1985. Annie Lennox as a great voice and of course I saw her in the seventies when she and Dave Stewart were part of "The Tourists".

On the Road again

One week today I'll be on my travels again and I'm really looking forward to my next trip. I'll be travelling to Manchester next Friday staying over at Bewleys Hotel my usual spot before catching the Morning flight to Boston.
Its my first visit to Boston but two of my blog friends Jenny and Rachel have told me how good it is and I'm really looking forward to my visit.
I don't know too much about the City nightlife so I'll have to do a bit of exploring on that front but apparently there is plenty of good bars so it should be fun.
I'll try to do a lot of walking for the exercise and its the best way to see a city anyway, I'll certainly walk the Freedom trail.
Another thing I intend to do is catch the Ferry to Provincetown at Cape Cod where you can hire a bike to explore that part of the world.

I'll be staying nine nights in Boston before flying on to Chicago for a further seven nights. Its during the Taste of Chicago festival and I've visited this in both 2005 & 2006 and really enjoy it. It is all about Music and Food so a lot of fun.
Some of the acts on at the Taste include John Mayer, Black Crows, Cheap Trick, and Los Lonely Boys. There is always a lot of excellent local talent also on show.
I'm checking whats on at some of the Blues & Jazz clubs (gotta visit these in Chicago) for evening entertainment and just about getting my hectic schedule together.

In Boston I'll be staying at the Milner Hotel which is in the Theatre District and fairly close to Boston Common and Freedom Trail. In Chicago I'm staying at the Seneca Hotel which is close to Hancock Tower and Michegan Avenue. Both Hotels provide a Breakfast so thats a bonus.

I'm sure I'll tell you all about my trip.

When will it stop f*****g raining

For the last few days we have had torrential rain virtually non stop, Britain is a mess. This is supposed to be summer ?

Wednesday Weigh In - I don't understand

2007 Start Weight - 219lbs

Last Weigh in - 213lb

Todays Actual Weight - 213lb

Loss/Gain since last Weigh in - 0lb

Loss so far in 2007 - -6lb

Today's Target Weight - 203lb

Loss/Gain against Target - -10lb

Today when I stepped on the scales I expected a loss and am a little confused. I feel like I have eaten well got in a reasonable amount of exercise (can do more) and thought I had lost at least one pound. The harsh facts are I'm the same as last week and now a massive 10lb off my plan, so I need to give this some thought, hopfully next week will be better.

Recently one of my blog friends Regina has done a post stating how she finds it easier to lose weight or control her weight when she is happy with her life, whether that be happy at work, happy in love, just plain happy. I tend to agree that this is correct with a lot of people who have weight issues. If we are happy with life I think we have a tendancy to be more energetic & enthusiastic in everything we do weight loss is only one thing that benefits.

Anyway as a person that is overweight these are my thoughts on the reasons why and what I'm trying to do to improve, I'm not making excuses just stating reasons as most of you know its not easy to change lifestyle and I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on this subject :-


1. Work - Ok a strange one to some but over the years my job has changed significantly from a Electrician to manager of a department. Basically I started work doing a lot physical work such as lifting and climbing. Now my role is mainly office based, sat on my backside and I haven't always dealt with this by changing my lifestyle.


2. Drink - I admit I've always enjoyed a beer and am a sucker for a night out, thats how I am. I got to a stage in my thirties where I would go out to the pub every night without good reason. I have addressed that somewhat and only have one regular night out (Monday for Pool). I do go out other times but only on special occasions like party's and works trips or on vacation etc. I will admit to having a social drink following playing some sports matches such as Golf or Table Tennis but one thing in my favour is I never drink at home.


3. Food - Like most of us heavyweights I love my food sometimes the wrong things. Again I've done something about it, lower calorie intake, more fruit and no eating late at night. I find this easy on working days cos I have my routine but its tough not to have the occasional treat at weekends. One of my problems is "if its on the plate I'll eat eat" I maybe need to sometimes look at smaller portions.


4. TV - I think a lot of people with a weight issue are guilty of spending too much time sat in front of the Box. I've done this in the past but actually watch very little nowadays(less than 10 hours per week).


5. Computors - Yes guilty as charged I know I spend too long sat in front of a computor screen, but hell I wouldn't have met all the nice people that read my blog.


6. Exercise - I'm not the type of person who can jog around the streets or spend hours doing repetitive exercises at the gym. However give me a ball to hit, kick or chase then I'm your man. I thrive on competition and a challenge, I hate losing. Saying that this year I've had a bad run with injuries and played a lot less sport than I would like, I think thats one of the biggest reasons I'm off target with my weight loss at present. Last year I'd lost over 20lb in the first 6 month of the year. Anyway I think a lot of my injury problems are behind me so I'm optimistic about an improvement in the coming months.


7. Car - I think we are all guilty of jumping in the car when we can walk or bike, I got in a routine of walking to work last year but my injuries and at times bad weather mean I haven't done this enough so far this year. I'm sure its a routine I'll be doing a lot more of in the coming months.


8. Holidays - As you know I love my vacations and I won't be changing that, life is for living. I do anticipate gaining weight on these trips and always add 5lb to my running target (I actually put on 7lb on my recent Seattle trip). Although I eat and drink my fair share on these trips I always try to do a lot of walking to counter the effect.


Opinions ?

Music Monday - The "D's"

Well yet another letter where I'm spoiled for choice and difficult to choose, well this week I've again decided not to go for the obvious and left out such people as Bob Dylan, The Doors, Dire Straits, Celine Dion, Deep Purple, Drifters, Duran Duran, Dr Feelgood, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Detroit Spinners, plus many more fantastic acts I'm sure you can name.

I make no excuses sticking to the seventies this week so some of you young uns will have to listen to what you missed.

I did leave out Clive Dunns "Grandad" but was tempted.

1. Darts "Come Back my Love" - This to me is just one of them good time anthems that you can just singalong to and love every minute of it. It did make No6 in the UK chart back in 1977.



2. Dr Hook "Sylvia's Mother" - I reckon Dr Hook were a good group and this was their first UK chart hit and reached No2 in 1972.



3. Neil Diamond "Craklin Rose" - Another first chart hit that reached No3 in the UK chart back in 1971.

TV Shows

I've been tagged by Cactusfreek to name my favorite TV shows, at first I thought this is difficult as I don't watch a lot of TV only usually a good film or Sport.

However after a little thought I've come up with a few programmes that I'll stop what I'm doing to watch, so here goes.

1. I'll start with comedy and I've always been a big fan of the late Ronnie Barkers talents, my favorite is "Porridge" where Ronnie plays Fletch a prisoner sharing his Jail Cell with Godber (Richard Beckinsdale). although the series is dated it Ronnie's skill with the one liners as certainley passed the test of time.


2. Another comedy series that I'll stop to watch and is loved by most of Britain is "Only Fools and Horses" which tells the tale of cokney wide boy Derrick Del Boy Trotter (David Jason) and his daft brother Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst). Some of the other charactors such as Trigger and Boycie are hilarious.



3. Moving on from comedy I actually quite often watch "Heartbeat" which is set in Yorkshire village Aidensfield back in the 60's. The stories usually revolve around the local Police force and they also act to a background of great music from that era.

4. A police drama series I enjoy is "The Bill" its been running a long time now and is set in the imaginary precinct of Sun Hill. It tends to deal with real issues and is good entertainment.

Check it Out - The Bill

5. Another drama series I sometimes watch is "Casualty" based around the goings on in the casualty department of Holby City hospital. There is a spin off called Holby City but I don't watch that. Saying I enjoy watching it I wouldn't want to be a patient they seem to lose one every week.

Check it Out - Casualty

Anyway I'm tagging Rachel - San - Rebecca - Suzy - Jenny

Quiz Questions

As requested by some of my blog friends this is the questions I've set for the quiz we are having at the local Table Tennis Leagues presentation night.


No cheating and let me know how you get on.

Section one - Sport By Numbers
1. What was David Beckham’s squad number in his first World Cup? -
2. What is the maximum number of clubs a golfer is allowed in his or her bag in a round of golf? - 3. In pounds, over what weight does a male boxer become a heavyweight? 180, 200, 220 or 240? -
4. In Australian rules football, how many points do you score for a "behind"? -
5. How many minutes long is a hockey match? -
6. How many points are scored for a cannon in billiards? -
7. In greyhound racing, what trap does the greyhound wearing an orange jacket run from? -
8. In inches, what is the maximum length of a cricket bat? 38, 44 or 50? -
9. What is the maximum number of horses allowed to run in the Grand National? -
10. The climb to L’Alpe d’Huez, on the Tour de France is famous for its hairpin bends. How many are there? 11, 21 or 41? -

Section two - Music
1. What nationality is singer LeAnn Rimes? -
2. Which pop group had their first number one in the UK with a cover version of A-Ha`s `Take On Me`? -
3. What was the title of the band Queen`s first hit single? -
4. Which group had top ten hits with `Gangsters` and `Nelson Mandela`? -
5. What Beatles song was adapted to give the band Candy Flip a hit in 1990? -
6. In which British city were the rock group Def Leppard formed? -
7. Which American female singer fronted the 1970s rock band Blue Angel, before going on to solo success? -
8. Which Oasis song includes the line `I know I think I recognise your face, but I haven`t seen you before`? -
9. Which female singer had a top ten hit with `Another Suitcase In Another Hall` in 1997? -
10. Which famous singer was born David Jones in 1947? -

Photo Round One - Name the building and City

Clue - There all in North America (and check my photo's)

Section three - Science and Nature
1. How many stomachs does a cow have? None, Two or Four? -
2. What is the chemical symbol for the element Iodine? -
3. Which `M` is the ruling planet of the astrological sign Gemini? -
4. In computing, what does CPU stand for? -
5. What is mechanophobia the fear of? Machinery, Children or Paper? -
6. Which has the larger ears - the African or Asian elephant? -
7. How is ascorbic acid more commonly known? -
8. What is the name given to a female swan? -
9. What is cryophobia the fear of? -
10. Which of the following metals is the best conductor of electricity? Copper, Platinum or Gold? -

Section Four - TV and Films
1. What was the name of the follow up to the film `Raiders Of The Lost Ark`? -
2. Which of the following actresses appeared in the film `Top Gun`? Meg Ryan, Michelle Pfeiffer or Helen Hunt? -
3. In the TV show `The Saint` what was the full name of the main character? -
4. In what film does Bill Murray play a character who keeps reliving the same day over and over again? -
5. Which 1984 film about the life of a famous composer, won an Oscar for best film? -
6. In what year was Steven Spielberg born? 1936, 1946 or 1956? -
7. What western won the best picture Oscar in 1993? -
8. In the TV series `Only Fools And Horses`, what is the name of Boycie`s wife? -
9. Who played the title role in the TV show `Queenie`s Castle`? -
10. What film`s three main characters are Brody, Hooper and Quint?

Photo Round Two - Bond Babes (name the actress and James Bond Film)

Section Five - History
1. Appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993, Louis J. Freeh became the director of which organisation? -
2. Who organised the first continental holiday tour in 1855? -
3. Who was the first man to fly the Atlantic solo? -
4. The Greek gods were believed to reside on what mountain? -
5. In which year did the Titanic sink? -
6. For what was Ruth Ellis famous in 1955? - 7. In which harbour did the Mary Rose sink in 1545? -
8. Which type of buildings did Don Quixote mistake for evil giants? -
9. In what century was the Taj Mahal built? -
10. By what nickname was William Bonney better known? -

Section Six - Miscellaneous
1. On which day of the week are general elections held in Britain? -
2. How much liquid does a flagon hold? -
3. What word is used to describe an angle between 90 and 180 degrees? -
4. Which of the following is has the same meaning as the word `forensic`? Human, Legal or Death? -
5. What is the birthstone for the month of February? Amethyst or Aquamarine? -
6. Muhammed Ali, Cher, Michael Jackson and Ronald Reagan have all admitted to suffering from the fear of what? -
7. What name is given to the anniversary celebrated after 13 years of marriage? Leather, Linen or Lace? -
8. In which country was St. George born? - 9. What comes between Duke and Earl in the ranking of British peers? -
10. In morse code which letter is symbolized by dot dash? -

Wednesday Weigh In - A bit of improvment

2007 Start Weight - 219lbs

Last Weigh in - 214.5lb

Todays Actual Weight - 213lb

Loss/Gain since last Weigh in - 1.5lb

Loss so far in 2007 - 6lb

Today's Target Weight - 204lb

Loss/Gain against Target - +9lb

A little bit late with tonights weigh in post and I'm pleased to tell you all I've made some progress with 1.5lb loss this week.
I'm late because I went straight from work to play Golf and the world is a great place because I actually came home with the money. Ok we only throw in a pound apiece and there was only 6 workmates but its the winning that really counts. I'm really chuffed with my performance because its only my 2nd round of the year and to say my putter was a magic wand is a understatement.
Anyway I apologise I its getting late and I don't have time to catch up with all your blogs and will try to get round them all as soon as I can. Tomorrow night its the local Table Tennis presentation evening and I'm doing the quiz, its usually a good night.

So today I'm happy about most things but one thing saddens me is that one of my blog friends "Rachel" is considering whether to keep blogging. We have communicated for over a year and she has been a very valued friend, I like her a lot and hope she decides to keep blogging or at least keep in touch. I do hate it when bloggers go awol.

And a message to Cactus and Airliebird, how you doing on the Music quiz thingy I'm up to 239 now, two more today.

Music Monday - The "C's"

Alphabet Challenge continues and we are up to the letter "C" this week and once again I'm spoiled for choice.I've left out such illustrious acts as Cher, The Clash,Sheryl Crow, Bing Crosby, Cream, Elvis Costello,Perry Como, Commodores, Nat King Cole, Dave Clark Five, Petula Clark, Ray Charles, Patsy Cline, Communards, Carpenters, Belinda Carlisle, Mariah Carey just to name a few I considered.

What I have chosen are two classic Rock songs and a bit of Country tell me what you think or what you would have chosen ?

1. Creedence Clearwater Revival "Proud Mary" - Remember this Classic Rock song from 1969 it made No8 in 1969, their follow up "Bad Moon Rising" made No1 the same year.


2. Alice Cooper "No More Mister Nice Guy" - My favorite Alice song from back in in 1973 it made No10 in the Chart.


3. Johnny Cash "San Quentin" - Although he's not had many chart hits in the UK JC is probably the most famous Country star of all time. This is from his famous prison concert.

Shopping

Do you ever go shopping and end up getting something different to what you planned ?

This afternoon I went to York to shop for a few bits and bobs for my next vacation, mainly looking for a few clothes.
Well I was walking past HMV music shop and they had a sale so I ended up coming home with 5 CD's.

I did get one item to wear to be honest bought a new pair of trainers, didn't really need them but they were reduced from £35 to £15 and I can't resist a bargain.

Van Heuson had a sale on shirts 5 for £50 which is good cos I usually get theirs or Ben Sherman, I went in the shop and to be honest it would have been a great sale if they had more left than XXL or Small. Maybe next time or I'll have to lose or gain a lot of weight.

Tonight I've been setting questions for a quiz, they have one at the local Table Tennis league presentation evening which is this Thursday and I've volunteered to set the questions. I've done it for the last couple of years so its nothing new but I reckon I've done a good un with photo rounds and loads of interesting questions. It should test them.

I may post the questions on my blog next week to see how you lot do, can't do it know cos someone at the quiz may read it.

The Last Supper

Due to the redundancy's at work a number of people finished at the end of April and a lot more Yesterday (end May). Only a handfull of those leaving are now still now working and they will slowly filter away.

Last night a lot of people (over 30) from work went out for a goodbye drink to a local Pub. We basically stayed in the same Pub all night and chatted mainly about bygone times at work, it was a good night, we had a laugh but it was still slightly sad.

Today at work it really hit me how much the place has changed it was so quiet with hardly anyone about, I walked by the Car Park which used to be full and there was only ten cars in it.

Work ain't going to be the same again.

Cactus back on top

Well a new month is upon us again and I've re-jigged my list of Blog friends and Cactusfreek has gone back to the top of the list with 20 comments. All top 7 bloggers were in double figures, thanks to all of you for your inputs.

Sadly three friends don't seem to be bloging anymore so I've removed them from the list, "Hear me Roar" announced that she was stopping, "Oral Girl" seems to have disappeared and "Vanessa" hasn't blogged since early march, I hope everthing is all right. I've saved all their blog addressess just in case they decide to return.