Just A Quickie

A short post tonight, I've cancelled my Golf game tonight as we have one of the top safety men from the US visiting us at work and I've been invited with 4 or 5 others to go out for a meal with him tonight. We are going to the same place we visited the other week that does the large steaks. It would be rude to turn down the chance of free food, wine and beer.


I'm going to try get a bit of sleep before I go as I only had about two hours last night, I was called out to work at 2.30am as we had an major electrical panel explode. I'm a bit knackered to say the least.


I'm hoping to play my golf game tomorrow night instead, then I'm Table Tennis training Thursday and of course its the boys night out in York on Friday, we are up to four of us going now.


Thanks everyone for their comments on the shirts, I'm actually going with Sandii's suggestion "1c" tonight, the most popular choice "3b" on Friday.

The one Rachel and Jenny liked "1b" I'll save for a special occasion like when I hopfully meet at least one of my blog friends on my next vacation. More about that when I can confirm where I'm going.

Music Monday - The "J's"

Well its the turn of the letter "J" and I've a great range of choice ranging from Tom Jones to Jethro Tull, Michael Jackson to Jilted John, Judas Priest toElton John, The Jam etc and I'm sure you'll come up with many more, I've even left out one of my favorite groups "The Jam".

Anyway here is the three I've chosen :-

1. Terry Jacks "Seasons in the Sun"- Here is one to remember from the seventies and it reached No4 in 74. Now can anyone think of any other Terry Jacks chart hits because I can't.


2. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts "I Love Rock n Roll" - This 1982 classic reached No4 in the UK chart.


3. Billy Joel "Piano Man" - I'm not a massive Billy fan but I do like this song.

Waiting for Number 3.

Well they say things happen in 3's don't they. To explain I've had two items breakdown on me this week, first during the week my hi-fi system stopped reading CD's so I just can't play anything on it. To be honest its been a bit erratic for a while and is quite old so perhaps its time to spend some money on a new one.

2nd thing to fail was on Friday when my top of the range digital scales that are only about 6 months old decided to knock about 15lb off my weight. No I haven't lost it because everytime I get on it shows something totally different, nothing actually close to my actual weight. Bad news here is I can't find my receipt and the shop won't exchange them without proof of purchase. I'm not buying any more yet (better things to do with my money) so my weigh in will be done at work on the packaging plant scales each Friday.
Now for obvious reasons (people laughing at me and I'm sensitive) I'm reluctant to strip off on the scale in public so I'll have to do a calculation and take off the estimated weight of my clothes each week. Does anyone know what clothes weigh (shirt, jeans, steel toe-capped boots, etc) ?

I must admit I've not been over good with the eating so don't know really where I am. To be honest the last few days I've been feeling really hungry and late at night I've succombed to a cheese sandwich before bed the last three days. Now in my weight loss plan I try to avoid eating late at night (tonight I feel ok and won't eat some am maybe back into my routine).
Another thing this week is despite not doing anything out of the ordinary I've been feeling really tired, I'm not the best sleeper in the world and usually wake a few times during the night, however last night I slept right through and didn't wake while 9am. Believe me that is late, I'm never that late getting up, 8am tops.

Today I've been training in preparation for the Table Tennis season and I'm quite pleased with the way its going. I've entered a Summer Veterans Tournament at Halifax for the weekend 10/11th August. The main season starts in September but this event usually attracts some top players from all over the country so well see how I go.

This week we don't have a Pool match but I'll have a wander to the Pub tomorrow for a few practice games. Tuesday half a dozen of us are hoping to play a round of Golf after work, with the weather we've had I haven't played much so I'm really looking forward to it.

Only got one TT practice organised and that Thursday but lets not forget Friday is our York night out, don't know who is going except Me and Skid as a lot of the regular gang are on holiday or working, we've put the word out so a few more will probably show if they can get pass outs, a problem us single lads don't have.

I'm also waiting for my new credit cards to arrive, my bank is changing me from visa to two cards, one Mastercard and one American Express. The advantage of the new cards is I get Airmiles when I spend on them.
In fact I've delayed booking my next vacation, couldn't see the point of doing it with the old card when I can get rewards using the new cards.

I need a Good Womens Touch

Yes I admit it "I need a good womens touch", why ? to dress me. Us blokes have an awful sense of what matches and looks good believe me.

Now I ask myself where can I find some good women and obviously the first place that comes to mind is my blog.

Next Friday we are having a blokes night out in York, the dress isn't formal it will be casual but smart. Now I'm asking my lady (sorry Spidey) blog friends what should I wear ?

Whatever you come up with from the choices I give I will wear, remember I like you all and I trust you.

Starting with Shirts and I've posted some photo's to help so counting from the top.

1(a) - Light Brown small checked, buttoned collar, short sleeve.
1(b) - Black Striped, short sleeve.
1(c) - White large checked, short sleeve.
2(a) - Navy Blue checked, buttoned collar, short sleeve.
2(b) - Very Light Brown, striped, short sleeve.
2(c) - White Small Checked, Buttoned collar, short sleeve.
3(a) - Grey pin striped, long sleeve.
3(b) - Light Blue, white small checked, buttoned collar, short sleeve.
3(c) - Dark Blue small checked, buttoned collar, long sleeve.
4(a) - Light Blown large checked, buttoned collar, long sleeve.
4(b) - Maroon small checked, buttoned collar, long sleeve.
4(c) - Blue/Yellow, buttoned collar, short sleeve.
5(a) - Blue small check, buttoned collar, short sleeve.
5(b) - very light blue large checked, short sleeve.
5(c) - Brown Checks, short sleeve.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
So once your happy with your shirt choice (collar will be open I don't do ties) we go on to to what to wear with them.
I said its casual so :-
1. Blue Jeans,
2. Black Jeans,
3. White Jeans,
4. Light Grey casual "chinos"

Shoes simple Black or Brown (I've some real nice trendy trainers but you require shoes for Clubs on Fridays.

Belt again Black or Brown.

Final question - should I wear my shirt tucked in or hanging loose ?

Say it with Flowers

As I said in yesterdays post one thing means a lot to me and thousands like me, my football team is on the brink of extinction but if anyone thinks we will lie down and die they are wrong.
This is Leeds United and we are used to getting kicked in the teeth, we don't care who hates us, we have each other.

Fans have been flocking to Elland Road Stadium to place flowers and messages of support at the foot of Billy's statue. Those that have checked out Airliebirds blog will have seen some of them.

Here is a couple of slide shows of Photo's taken be the Yorkshire Evening Post :-





Tomorrow the squad of players including youngsters and trialists who can't yet sign travel to Burnley for a friendly match. I am reluctant to call it a pre-season match as we don't know if we will have a "season".
We are still waiting for our Golden Share so we can compete, sign players, and for the fans support our heroes new and old.

Come on Football League this is the real people in the game you are f*****g about.

Breaking News on the Football League website -FL & Leeds - Leeds United and the administrators provided them with the information requested on Wednesday so they called a meeting at tthe earliest opportunity "Today". What f*****g happend to Thursday I didn't know that was a rest day at the FL headquarters.
Their decision "they will have another meeting next week" are they now taking the p**s.

Result

Well on the recent vote survey I did on my sidebar the winner of everybody's favorite meat was Steak with 62% of the votes.



Well my next question for you to vote with is what would you wash your meal down with, so you can place your votes on my sidebar.

Leeds Utd Football Club 1919 to ?

I make no apologises that I'm once again dedicating my post to my Football team Leeds United but what is happening is so important to me and its my blog. I know to some people its only a game but take away my club and you take away part of me, many fans will tell you the same.
What is happening is scandelous ok we have a Chairman that has rubbed s**t in the face of the authorities but still not broken any laws. Ok he found a loop hole in the regulations that he exploited, but what the soccer authorities are doing is nothing short of discraceful.
Whatever the rights and wrongs a Club doesn't belong to a Chairman, a consortium, the players, it belongs to the fans and the city the people will be there for a lifetime.
The league is supposed to start in just over two weeks (11th August) and we haven't even got a goalkeeper they won't let us sign new players, they are delibrately putting us at a disadvantage to other clubs, they are trying to destroy us. Saying that I'm not surprised the authorities have never been over kind to us.
On my last Post Rebecca rightly pointed out that fans of other Clubs in other sports (she used her team the New Orleans Saints as a example with what they did for the City following Katrina)have similar passions, yes and them true fans will totally understand what this means to us.
As most of the readers no I'm not alone as a Leeds fan within my blogging community, check out Airliebirds post which shows some of the Flowers, shirts, flags, etc laid at the feet of Billy's statue in support of our club - Airliebird Leeds Post
I also thank those of you who commented on my last post and wishing my team well, it is really appreciated, Basically when it comes to my Football team you are either with me or against me.

So my message to the Football League get off your high horse get your meeting called and get this mess sorted and give us our Golden Share asap.

We lived the dream

I fear for my Football team at this moment in time a emotion all Leeds fans are going through at present. Since the start of the Millenium we have gone from one of the best teams in Europe to the third tier of English Football, the club has been declared bankrupt with massive debts and now taken out of adminstration by chairman Ken Bates, who didn't break any laws but upset the powers that be.

Currently the Football League are refusing to give the Club their Members share which may mean we can't compete, potentially it could be the end of our Club.

Ultimately I think the league will give way but it certainly seems the Football World are against us at this moment in time. Not having our share means we can't sign any players and will leave us with a wafer thin squad if we are accepted.

Our history shows we have always seemed to have the authorities against us we are now been kicked while we are down, we are worried what is happening.

Supporters are leaving Blue, Yellow & White flowers plus shirts, scarfs, flags, etc. at the feet of Billy's statue showing their support for our great Club, and to protest to the authorities please pray for my team.

As the late Liverpool manager Bill Shankley once said "Football is not a game of life and death its far more important than that".


If you are a sports fan or even not please watch the following two videos which tells our recent history and shows the passion our fans have for our club, tell me your thoughts, those that know me will realise it means a lot.





You can't beat a Fan Base can you ?

Music Monday - The "I's"

Well I thought this was gonna be one of the tough letters to come up with three acts, anyway I've gone for these three :-

1. Iron Maiden "Be Quick or be dead" - I thought its about time I slipped in some heavy metal so I've gone for this No2 hit from back in 1992.


2. Iggy Pop "Real Wild Child" - I really love this song I remember it been used in the "Crocodile Dundee 2" film, wasn't it also used in "Pretty Woman" ?


3. Billy Idol "Rebel Yell" - Another one I love only made No64 on its release in 1984 but 16 months later was rereleased and made No6.




I suppose I could have gone for Julio Ingleises or Frank Ifield ?

At Last

I've finally got all my photo's from my recent vacation to Boston & Chicago downloaded onto Flickr.

You can check them out from the link on my sidebar or use this link - Micks Photos
Be warned there is a lot but you can watch them as a slide show if you wish.

Tell me which one's if any you like ?

While I'm on the subject of my vacation I saw this lady Rock singer performing on the stage in the Beer garden on the Navy Pier in Chicago :-


They call her Jen Porter and I watched for a couple of hours, I reckoned she was good did a few cover versions of songs I like plus some of her own compositions.

At the end of her set she was giving out her cards so I e'mailed her telling her I enjoyed the show and attatching a couple of photos I took. She actually e'mailed back thanking me for sending the photo's.

You can check her out at http://www.jenporter.com/ or watch this Video (let me know what you think) :-

Changing subject the rain stopped this morning but so I was able to go for a long walk, I needed the exercise. However I've just had lunch and we've had a torrential downpour, the UK is a mess with flooding all over the place. Its ok where I live although fields are flooded but the town is unscathed.

This afternoon I'm now gonna watch the Golf while keeping my eye on the German Grand Prix, our boy Lewis Hamilton is struggling at the half way point after having a 175mph crash due a wheel problem in qualifying yesterday. He leads the World Championship and will do fantastic if he can finish in the top 8 and get some points today, he's already had a puncture and come off twice due to a waterlogged track and been on the wrong tires.

Spaniard Sergio Garcia leads the Open Golf and as a 3 shot lead over American Steve Stricker who started the day 3 shots ahead of the players equal 3rd which included leading Englishman Paul Broadhurst and South African Ernie Els. Els however has birded the first two and now is only 4 shots off the lead. Tiger Woods was 8 shots behind the leader at the last check and there ae a lot of good players in front of him so he sort of needs a miracle.

Finally I've posted this photo just to remind me I've an appointment at the dentist in the morning.

I'll be back later to check out other blogs.

Weight Loss and other things

I'll start with weight loss as I've managed to lose 1.5lb since last Friday, I now weigh 216.5lb and I'm pleased with the result because I wasn't sure how Wednesday's night out would effect me. Ok I'm not down to my pre-vacation weight but its a move in the right direction.

I'm sure the Table Tennis training session's I've done this week have helped a lot my training shirt certainly was soaked in sweat at the end of them. Last night I did an hours practice routines trying to mimic the players in the rally I show below before playing five sets with a short break in between. At the end of it we had both had enough and were completely shattered.
For the record I'm a defender similar style (not as good obviously) to the player nearest while my partner Richard is an attacker like the other player. One hour of this play is tiring believe me.


Leeds United are in Germany on a pre-season tour to get the players fit, they played Berlin and lost 2-0 but apparently played well. The Leeds fans were at their crazy best creating a carnival atmosphere, over 1,000 have travelled to Germany and decided to dance "the conga" around the terraces.
Saturday they are supposed to play Dresden but for reasons yet unknown the German police have cancelled the match, I will add Dresden are known for having a large violent neo nazi support so I suspect they are afraid of trouble if a large number of Leeds fans turn up. Leeds have rearranged and will play a team from the Czech Republic which is only one hour over the border.

I'm starting to think about my next vacation and have started looking up Flight and Hotel prices, I aim to travel in September and will confirm the Cities once I book although I've a good idea where I want to go. To be honest I'm sort of delaying booking because my bank is changing my credit card this month which is currently a "Visa" to a new two cards "American Express" & "Mastercard". The new cards earn me airmiles when I use them so if I'm spending a lot of money its worth getting the benefits for future trips.

This weekend I've not a lot planned I'll probably watch a bit of the British Open Golf, do some shopping and get some exercise. The weather here is awful its raining buckets as I write this and its cold enough to be a winter day, I hope it brightens up a bit this must be the worst July on record.

Hard Work

As those who read last nights post know I went training at my Table Tennis Club. Well there was three of us Nathan one of our up and coming players who I have been training with lately and Nigel who I have played with for years.
As there was three of us and one was sat out we just did match play so we could keep rotating, we played 16 sets apiece and surprisingly we finished the night winning 8 apiece (yes all 3 of us tied). That wasn't particurlarly good for me as I'd normally be expected to come out on top going by ranking.
To be honest I felt a little sluggish and my legs felt heavy (probably the Steak from the previous night) so it was hard work. I lost a fair proportion of sweat and was made to work hard, it was good because they are both totally different styles, Nathan attacks hard while Nigel is more defensive, this gives me good variation of practice.

I'm training tonight this time with Richard he's 20 years old and is home from university and one of the top players in the area. I love training with him cos he has a really consistant attack so I have to work my socks of to keep up with him. My game is based on variation of spin, speed & direction to force errors from my opponent but against Richard that is hard as he knows my game inside out. I taught him to play from been 11 years old so he just responds to everything I do.
We'll do about one hour practice routines which is hard work have a short break then play a few sets. I feel really sharp today so I hope I'm really on top of my game when I get on the table.

One thing for sure I'll be knackered when I get home.

Last Night

Last night a few people from work went out for a Meal paid for by the company I work for. It was a goodbye gesture for two managers who are leaving this week due to redundancies.
The two managers were Sandy (Production Manager) and Andrew (Shipping), I reckon they both really enjoyed it.
Others that came along were Andrew (Plant Manager), Andrew (Safety Officer), Keith (Mechanical), Diane (HR), Tracy (Sales), Paul (Shipping), Dave (Sales) plus myself of course.
Taxi's were laid on as the Pub "Ryther Arms" we went to is about 8 or 9 mile away from town in a very small village.
I was in a Taxi with Sandy & Diane as we live close and we had a bit of a detour to pick up Andrew (Safety). Anyway we arrived first at about 7pm so ordered a few drinks and put it on the tab. The others arrived shortley after and we were given menu's to choose from.
Now let me tell you this place is famous for its Steaks and is very popular. We decided to go for starters can't tell you what everyone else went for but the choice was good. I decided on Potato Skins which were stuffed with Cheese and Baccon, they were delicious.
Main course for me it had to be steak given this places reputation although they were other choices. Now let me tell you there is a steak on the menu for everyone, Sirloin, T-Bone, Fillet, Rump plus various combinations with other meats and fish. The smallest Steak is a 6oz but I opted for the 14oz T-Bone, now this was big enough but was only about average for this place. Believe it or not they have various sizes up to 78oz, crikey that is some piece of meat, I thought about ordering just to see what it looked like.
The Steak came with side dishes of Roast and Boiled Potatoes, various veg and Onion rings. You coud have some delightfull sauces if required.
To be honest when I finished I was quite bloated but Beer and Red wine flowed all night until the Taxi's picked us up just before midnight.
We had a good laugh talking about the old days and things that have happend on site, a couple of our group took photo's so I'll maybe post a couple when I see them (following censorship of course).
I think there were a few sore heads at work this morning and I'm pleased it wasn't me footing the bill.

I've just found the Pubs website check out this link and the menu, some good Steaks here - Rythre Arms

I think the weight loss may have suffered a touch but I'm training tonight and tomorrow so hopfully I'll show a slight loss at my Friday weigh in.

Just for a bit of fun I've added a voting attachment on my side bar, obviously todays choice is based on Food so vote and we'll see what is the most popular.

Music Monday - The "H's"

Today we are up to the letter "H" and I think I've found three classic hits for your ears all of them reached the top spot in the UK. Ok I've left out some great acts including Jimmy Hendrix, Hot Chocolate, George Harrison, Hermans Hermits, Buddy Holly etc.

I've even left out Benny Hills "Ernie" and Rolf Harris "Two Little Boys".

1. Human League "Don't You Want Me" - Made No1 in 1981 for this group from Sheffield in Yorkshire of course.



2. Hollies "He ain't Heavy( He's my brother)" - Made No1 in the UK chart in 1988 but on its origional release in 1969 it actually reached No3.


3. Whitney Houston "I will always love you" - Our final top hit reached No1 in 1992, I'm sure you will have heard it somewhere.

Sport Sunday - Legends

On my recent vacation I was lucky enough to see and get a photo of this lady and she surely is one of the all time legends in the world of sport.
It is of course former romanian gymnast Nadia Comeneci who as a 14 year old in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal became the first person to score a perfect "10". She did it on the Isometric Bars and in her Olympic Career recorded another five perfect scores. She enentually won 5 gold medals and numerous silver & bronze in her time in the sport.
In fact back in 1976 the scoreboards were not equiped to show "10" and her score actually came up as "1.00".

Anyway I would put this alongside the greatest sport performances of all time, performances that lift the standards for all others would you not agree ?

What other famous performances can you think of that are worthy of been classed legendary ?

I'd suggest some of these may be considered :-
Bob Beamons Long Jump World record that stood for about 30 years.
Roger Bannisters 4 minute mile, the first to achieve it.
Mark Spitz 7 golds at the same olympics
Steve Redgrave Gold in Rowing at 5 succesive Olympics

I sure you can come up with others ?

In a Time Warp.

Last night I went to watch Leeds United play a pre-season friendly at York City. Well it was like going to a match in the 1970's.
England as come a long way with stadiums since "the good ole days" with all seater stadiums been the law, good facilities, family stands, etc. However Leeds are now down in the third tier of the English game and York are actually in the fifth tier so for a start non of the regulations for the top teams are in force. To have this for a minnow like York is maybe acceptable when they only get home crowds of under 2,000 but for Leeds with their history its a real culture shock.
Anyway I checked the website before travelling to see what the ticketing arrangements were, with it been a friendly they were only expecting around 500 away fans and it was pay on the gate at the Grovsenor Road end of the ground. The message don't worry about getting in this stand hold 2,000 so there will be plenty of room.
Anyway on to the story it was a quick dash from work then on to the railway station to catch the train to York, the weather was poor its was pouring rain. Arriving at York Station you realised the match was on as half of North Yorkshire Police Force were parading around the place looking for the notorious Leeds hoards. I think nobody bothered to tell them it was a friendly and Leeds actually like York and the type of fans they were looking for anyway won't march off the train wearing Leeds shirts and waving their scarfs about.
Moving on we went to a Pub getting very wet in the rain had a couple of Beers and a bite to eat which was very nice, I think we'll call in that place again. We set off to the ground and it became obvious that there was going to be slightly more than the 500 Leeds fans than expected. Every Pub you passed the songs were echoing out this traditionals "Marching on together", Glory Glory Leeds United, etc.
We called in another Pub packed with Fans to get out of the rain and were treated to renditions of "Champions of Europe", "Go Shoot the Chelsea Scum", "No one Likes us but we don't care" plus a few anti Red Vermin efforts. There were also the new songs preparing for life in the lower leagues like "Yeovil here we come", "We hate Millwall" and "Bournemouth Remember us" despite the aggresive nature of some of the songs it was good natured but did remind me of the 1970's attitudes.
Anyway on to "Kit Kat Crescent" yes the Ground is called that, and into the Leeds end, then it became apparent that it wasn't big enough. Not only that it didn't have a roof but lukily the rain had actually stopped. Eventually before an Hillsboro type incident they opened up half another stand for Leeds fans to sit in. For the first time in years our supporters were packed behind a goal that was not seating which actually pleased them. For the record Leeds fans notoriously refuse to sit at matches in protest over all seater stadiums.
For the record the pitch because of the rain really was unplayable and the match should have been called off. It wasn't probably because it will be Yorks biggest crowd of the season and they would make some money. It was a typical friendly with very little real tackling which can only be expected, the pitch was dangerous, and nobody was going to risk getting hurt in a friendly.
For the record it finished scoreless and Leeds actually used two completely different teams in each half, with a mixture of senior players, juniors & trialists.
For the Leeds fans amongst you (or Airliebird) Rui Marquess looked good at the back just covered everything, Eddie Lewis looked solid, Jermaine Beckford looked sharp up front but should have scored when he danced around the home defence only to pull his shot wide.
Among the trialists David Prutton looks a must sign and Curtis Weston also looked ok. We also had two trial Goalies the one in the first half looked ok but the other couldn't kick.
To be honest the game was poor not helped by the conditions and all the team changes so the fans did start making there own entertainment. Throughout the match occasionally a fan would wander onto the pitch to show the players how to do it, this happend two or three times much to the amusement of the Leeds following as the stewards removed them.
At half time the 2nd half team were having a kick about when two more Leeds Fans strolled on and pinched a ball, one went in goals and the other lined up to take a penalty in front of the fans. Before he shot two stewards marched on to tell him he couldn't do it and would have to get back in the stand, now his mate the goalie went without argument but he was having his shot. Now let me explain this bloke was about 6'5" and built like a brick outhouse, the stewards would be lucky if they were 12 stone between them wet through so they just didn't know what to do. He took his shot and the useless prat missed an open goal the rest of the Leeds fans gave him a bit of stick.
As he climbed back in the crowd suddenly the calvery arrived, about 10 Police Officers and they were last seen chasing the fan who dissapeared into the masses.
One final thing that reminded me that the seventies wern't such a good time was the state of the toilet facilities, if I say to go you had to be prepared to get wet and it wasn't raining you may understand. I'm taking Wellington Boots next time I visit the "Kit Kat".
Of course when we left the ground the Police despite not a hint of real trouble decided to make the Leeds fans walk a different route back into town than the heavily outnumbered Home fans. Of course it had started to rain again and we got the long route, yes last night certainly brought the memories flooding back.

Weigh In Time - Vacation Gain

Well I've listened to what some of my blog friends have said and am not going to chase targets for now, I'll see how I go on a week to week basis.

For Info I've also changed my weigh in day to Friday.

Anyway I gained 6.2lb over the last three weeks which is actually less than I expected following a vacation full of Eating and Drinking too much. Hell I attended a Food festival in Chicago. Perhaps all the miles of walking I did in both Boston and Chicago helped minimise the damage.

This puts me at 218lb just 1lb lower than what I started the year at. However if I didn't watch my weight for most parts of the year I reckon I'd be back where I was at the start of 2006 touching 250lb.

The amount of exercise I was able to do in the first few months of the year wasn't enough due to various knee and foot ailments, I feel great now so I will be exercising much more so I expect to see a few good weigh ins in the coming weeks.

Busy Week Ahead

I have quite a busy schedule planned over the next week, following last nights post I'm following up my determination to turn back the clock where my competitive Table Tennis is concerned and I have organised training sessions for myself Sunday, Wednesday & Thursday.
While on the subject last nights Session went really well we did 45 minutes with me retrieving my partners attacks (2 wide forhand & 1 wide backhand). I was defending away from the table so had a bit of court to cover which will aid the weight loss I hope. Following a short rest we played about another 45minutes match play and we both were quite tired.

Tomorrow night soccer pre-season friendlies have started and Leeds are playing at York City so four of us are off to watch the match. At moment the mighty whites are in a bit of turmoil they have just come out of administration and the Football League Committee are playing silly buggers not saying whether they will be allowed to compete and banning us from signing new players. The season starts for proper on 11th August and they will eventually back down but its just typical how our club is treated, they are just trying to destroy us.

Monday Night I'll be playing Pool in the local league and to be honest I was on a bad run prior to my holiday so I hope for significant improvement, I just need the run of the balls which I haven't been getting.

Tuesday I've been invited to another leaving do for one of the production managers from work, its a company organised event with only about 10 people going for a meal at a Country Pub called "The Ryther Arms". The place is famous for its Steaks all sorts of sizes so the diet may take a beating. Its a "paid for" night with a Taxi to pick us up and bring us home with free food and drink .

Well that leaves Saturday, better have a quiet day maybe do some exercise and catch up on a few outstanding jobs.

Turning back the mists of Time

I've been giving a lot of thought to getting old lately and of course take comfort from sayings such as "You are as Old as you feel". Well maybe that sounds good and positive but what is the truth about how you feel ?

Next year I'll turn 50 years old, yes half a century and in a lot of peoples eyes that is quite old. Its a milestone as was 40, 30, 21 etc. I've been giving this a bit of thought and can't deny all the evidence points towards the symptoms of ageing.

So what are the symptoms :-

Eyes - Over the last threee years I've had to start wearing glasses for reading but how many my age don't ?

Hair Loss - Well mine started to fall out early (about 30) so I've got over worrying about it, if it bothers others tough I just keep the rest short and at least that is acceptable in todays fasions.
Talking hair yes tints of grey are appearing.

Aches & Pains - Yes the joints seem to hurt more following exercise and the muscles take longer to recover. I've actually started taking Cod Liver Oil for my joints.

Injuries - Yes I definately seem to have had a few in recent years, never really been bothered before.

Weight Loss - It certainly gets harder, but no surrender on this front (I don't think my holiday has been too kind).
I've not neglected Wednesdays Weigh in I'm switching it to Fridays.

Slowing Down - So they tell us although I don't think we realise this is happening to us.

I'm sure everyone can come up with more symptoms of ageing (yes you can get Viagara for that before Rachel mentions it).

Anyway my point is I've always been competitive at Sports particularly Table Tennis which I still play at a good competitive level (National League, County, etc). However some of the major competitions its hard to judge if you are declinning because the players & standards change by the season. However the Local leagues (York in my Case) are a good measure and I've been looking up my results over the last few seasons and they certainly show a downward spirral.

My Averages in recent seasons are as follows :-

2000/1 - 92.5% (37 wins 3 defeats)

2001/2 - 95.43% (46 wins 2 defeats)

2002/3 - 92.31% (60 wins 5 defeats)

2003/4 - 93.22% (54 wins 4 defeats)

2004/5 - 84%est (not got full results ?)

2005/6 - 78.2% (40 wins 11 defeats)

2006/7 - 71.79% (28 wins 11 defeats)

This trend concerns me a lot it certainly suggests my performance level is falling although not excuses some of the results can be explained, the last two years the size of the division has been cut so the weaker teams play 2nd division and we now play all other teams 3 times instead of twice. Hence a few easier victories have been replaced by playing the better players more often.

In 2001 I would say only about 50% of the division were younger than me but with the emergence of more players I'm now one of the oldest in the top division. I don't use this as an excuse though I believe I can still beat everyone on the day but I need to prove it.

I'm quite paranoid about this because I'm not the type of person that likes losing, I need to prove to myself I can still win 90% of my games and there is life in the "Old Dog" yet. From this point I'm upping my training this summer (season starts late September) it may hurt at times but I need to do this or I may just go buy a Rocking Chair and Pipe.

I'll be blogging occasionally on my progress, my aches, my confidence and hopfully some of my Blog Friends can come up with words of encouragement when I need them most. I've organised someone to train with tonight called Nathan he's one of our up and coming players (18 years old), hits the ball very hard and is really dedicated and prepared to train hard. I'll be training with him every Wednesday plus some others and maybe weekends as well. Next week I'm adding Thursday but with another player called Richard who's one of the area's top players aged 20 and home from University for the summer. He is really strong against defensive players (did I mention I'm a defender) so really makes me work hard to stay in rallies.

But I'll finish with a Question - Looking at the facts what percentage wins do you believe a reasonable target for me next season (be honest) ?

Back Home

Well I'm now back home all my flights train journeys etc went to plan but it still took over 20 hours from hotel to home so I'm a little knackered to say the least. I've just checked a few e'mails and had a quick glance around a few blogs but I'll catch up later in the week.

I've enjoyed both Boston and Chicago and I'm sure there is every chance I'll return someday, we'll see.

One little story on the trip home I was lucky to get two seats near the emergency exit (more leg room) to myself on the Boston to Manchester flight and sat across from me were aa asian man and women also near the other emergency exit.

Now these two where a little full of themselves from the impression I got straight away don't know why just a gut feeling. Anyway I first noticed when the meals came around they got served first because they had ordered the vegetarian meal. Nothing wrong with that but they opened it, picked it over and decided they didn't like it.

I had chosen the Chicken and Rice which I thought quite tasty so they then asked for that, again opened it up had a nibble and sent it back (must have been vegetarian chicken). The other choice was Beef, Potato and vegetable which I had on the outward flight, again it was nice as far as aircraft meals go but again same procedure eventually sending back.

I thought a bit pathetic as the choice covered quite a range but its them that are going hungry not me. Anyway they where a bit bossy with the attendants all flight which came to a head when we where coming in to land, first the bloke wouldn't fasten his seatbelt and got ticked off by the attendant. He then wanted to store his carry on bag under his seat, now part of the rules in agreeing to an emergency exit seat is you can't store bags on the floor for obvious reasons. Eventually the Attendant virtually made him put his bag on the rack.

Anyway after we landed the two of them decided they wanted to be first off the plane and barged their way to the front again I just thought some people have no manners.

Anyway when I got to security they were a few places in front of me in the line and when they got to the front I just cracked up when they turned out to be not British Passport holders and were in the wrong line. They had to go to the back of the overseas visitors line which of course had filled with everyone else from our flight by this time. Justice some may say.


Finally is anyone else having problems with Blogger "I can't put a title to my last two posts ?"

Extra - I cured the title problem by clicking on the word "Title" instead of in the Box.

Last Day

Today is my last day of my vacation and I seem to have been away ages, I'm really quite tired so just intend to have a relaxing day ready for my long trip home. I'm actually not flying direct to England from Chicago but have to go via Boston where I have a 6 hour stop over, I'm not looking forward to that.

I've been involved sort of with my first emergency situation in the US. I was walking back to my hotel about midnight on Thursday night when a bloke collapsed in the street about 50 yards in front of me. Just before I got there another bloke arrived and we tried to revive him, he was breathing but out cold. The other chap who I think was a doorman from a hotel phoned for an ambulance but before it arrived a Police car drove by so I waved it down and they came to assist. The thing that shocked me was the number of people who just walked by without offering to help.
Anyway the Police took over so I moved on so don't know what happend after that.

Talking coincidence the following night I was walking back and passed some steps where a girl was been comforted and they where waiting for an ambulance. Looked like she had slipped on the steps and was been comforted by her boyfriend and a couple of other people.

I've even had a accident myself I was walking around my hotel room in bare feet getting ready to go out when I accidently kicked a table leg with my little toe, It didn't half hurt and it actually bled from under the nail. It seems ok now but I thought I'd broke my toe at first.

Enough of accidents I've seen some great music here in Chicago and also ate a lot of fantastic food there seems more than ever great places to eat. I had a massive lump of steak the other night but to be honest although nice it wasn't cooked enough for my liking. I asked for medium but it was definatelf undercooked in fact I reckon a good Vet could have got it walking again.

I've met some great people and talking of great Women I can actually say I've seen a perfect 10 and got a photo to prove it. Yep Nadia Commanech the Romanian gymnast who scored the perfect score in the 1986 Olympics (I think) was at the Taste of Chicago giving out autographs. Apparently Chicago is bidding for the 2016 Oympics and she is on their organising committee.

Anyway thats enough for now I hope everyone is well and I'll catch up with all of your blogs when I get home.

Hello

Well I've now been in Chicago since Monday and just managed to find somewhere to get on the net and do a post. I enjoyed Boston its a nice place with some good people and I've maybe a few more tales to tell.
Talking of nice people on my last day I decided to do a walk along the Charles river so got the subway to the Science Museum (which is on the river). Anyway our train was taken out of service at the stop before so I was waiting on the platform for another train when a lady with two young girls came up and asked if I knew if you could walk to the museum (she must have thought I was local). Anyway I explained I was from England but had a map so got it out and we had a look, as she was deciding whether to walk a train arrived so we got on. But before boarding one of her girls (aged about 7) came up to me on her own iniatitiveand said "Thank you for trying to help us". I thought that was so nice for a young child to do that she was obviously been brought up with good manners.

Monday was my first day in Chicago and on that night I first went to Fado for a couple of Beers and some food got talking to a couple from Kentucky mainly the wife he seemed a little grumpy. Anyway I later went to a Blues Club and suggested they came along she was up for it but he wasn't so I left them argueing and didn't see them again, so I think he won the debate. When I squared up for my Tab at Fado's the barmaid that I'd been having a bit of banter with threatened to shoot me with a squeezy bottle if I left, so I had to duck on my way out and promised to return.

Tuesday and Wednesday I visited to Taste of Chicago and the crowds have been even bigger than last year, star act last night was John Mayer but I left before he came on, you couldn't get anyway near the Big Screen never mind the stage. I've seen some good acts on the other stages its been a lot of fun so far, eaten and drank too much though.

Tuesday Night I got back to the hotel late so I just had a light snack in the hotel bar got talking to a few folk in there, They were a bit upper class Americans and we had a bit of debate about American Independance. Obviously I pointed out if we had our proper army on duty at the time not a few reserveists we would have won. I'll point out the proper army were sorting out the French in Europe at the time.

Last night I found another Irish Pub "The Kerryman" and had a real good night after eating a couple of nice young ladies sat next to me. It turned out to be one of their birthdays so a few shots were going around, I was careful not to have too many though. When the girls eventually moved on I got talking with a couple of Irish lads, one of which was so difficult to understand with his access, apparently they didn't know each other had just met in the previous Pub.
A group of three Irish Ladies came in and one of the Lads I was with saud ask her if she is from Tipperary, I asked how he knew and it was because she had a Tipperary Rugby Shirt on. So I asked and she asked how I knew, of course I said its because all Tipperary Girls have a nice smile, we all laughed a bit and cracked a few jokes the rest of the night.

Today I'm going to hire a Bike this morning and ride North along the Lakeshore for a change then maybe have a couple of hours at the Taste this afternoon. Tonight I'm debating on whether to do another Blues Club or go to a Piano Bar, I'll see.

Hope you are all well I'll catch up with your blogs when I can.

Music Monday - The "G's"

Three all time Classics beginning with "G" and I've left out Guns n Roses "Sweet Child of Mine".

1. Gloria Gaynor "I will Survive" - 1979 No1 in the UK superb song.


2. Marvin Gaye "I heard it through the Grape Vine" - Awesome song reached No1 back in 1969 certainly stood the test of time.


3. Golden Earring "Radar Love" - This Rock classic from this Dutch Group reached No7 in 1974, can't understand why they didn't have any more hits.

Last Day in Boston

This is my last day in Boston and I've enjoyed the City and have a few tales to tell. One its ben a story of coincidence starting on the plane coming over, I got sat with four ladies and got talking, it turned out they were doing a very similar trip to me Boston then a week in Chicago, the only difference they left Boston yesterday. I haven't run into then again since the airport but promised them a drink if we come across each other again, maybe next week they are coming to some of the clubs I plan to visit.

When I arrived at my hotel I couldn't belive the girl on reception was the spitting image of the receptionist I liked when I visited San Francisco last year, she had the same big smile I reckon they must have been twins seperated at birth.

Then the other night I was heading back to my hotel and got off the subway at the south end of Boston Common and a group of pretty young ladies were walking behind me. Now let me tell you outside this particular stop is where all the down and outs seem to be at night and it can be a bit intimidating to some people (but I must add they have been no bother). Anyway I heard one of the ladies I don't like walking out on the street its not like "York". It turned out they were from the York area like me.

Other stories I visited Salem on one of the really hot days and planned to get the 4pm ferry back to Boston. I was really sticky and hot after walking the streets so I decided to grab a quick pint at about 3pm on my way to the ferry dock. Now let me tell you I don't normally drink during the day but that beer tasted so good, it never touched the sides. Well one pint led to another and next thing I realised it was nearly 8pm and thats when the last ferry leaves. I was so close to missing it, almost spent the night sleeping under the stars in the home of witches.

Last night I called at one of the local pubs near my hotel and the lovely barmaid had a sense of humour I think, she set me up with this well dressed blonde lady which I thought was good of her. However it soon became apparent this women although attractive was totally wacko I just couldn't shake her off, believe me she was totally barmy couldn't get an ounce of sense out of her. I also noticed the barmaid grinning at me a lot, to be honest I think she was wetting herself with laughter. I'll have to call tonight and have words. Actually she is a nice lass and actually complimented me for been polite she reckoned she doesn't get many customers that are as polite as me I explained thats what we are like in Yorkshire.

I've seen a lot of Boston and enjoyed the City its been worth the visit but I'm now looking forward to moving on to Chicago tomorrow.

Hope you are all well.