Postal Strike

Admittedly this has not exactly affected me. I am referring to the woeful lack of posts I have made recently on my blog. I guess it is mostly because I have felt so dejected by the fall from my bike, which has brought a temporary halt to all my exercise. To be honest, I have felt terrible. Not being able to swim or cycle has probably felt about as bad as not being able to have a cigarette in the early days of quitting. Whilst I am sure I may have put on a couple of pounds in the three week that I will not of been swimming, I feel flabby and unfit. It is a totally ridiculous concept and in all fairness, I will stop loosing weight soon anyway. The jolt I felt by falling from my bike was obviously an emotional jolt too!

I have, however been busy. I have seen several more shows including the wonderful Aladdin at the Theatre Royal Stratford East and I have scheduled a slew of reviews for the New Year. In the meantime there has been Christmas shopping, with some fun gifts for Sean, Moira and Les; drinks at Rory & Marina's; helping trim the tree at Sean's; visiting Paul's gaff in Peckham for a Christmas party; baking and merry making et al. Tonight I am heading to Highgate for a production of High Society with Jack.

Flying Yellow

I came off my bike on Monday night after swimming. It hurts. Seany gave me sausage rolls and kissed me better. Nuff said.

Advent

...from the Latin, Adventus meaning Coming. My artist friend Howard has taken the idea of an advent calendar and applied it to his own cartoon characters. Badger, part of the Cute But Sad collective, has long been a favourite with discerning readers over the last year and Howard has invited all his artist friends to send in images of Badger in their own style. When asked, I offered a ‘review’ of ‘Badger Ahoy!’, a panto-style stage production of Badger’s adventures. Take a look at Cute But Sad, I am sure you will find it fun.

Christmas is Coming

The panto season is upon us now and naturally I have been out and about reviewing all sorts of shows. Here are a few of my favorites..
Dick Whittington - Another Dick in City Hall
Aladdin
Stephen and the Sexy Partridge
I have several more to do before the year is out including my old friends at Brick Lane, new friends at Baron's Court and unknown quantities at The Union. Stratford East has invited me to their celebrity event next week, which I am looking forward to immensely.

Loosing

I have now been on my diet for ten months and generally everybody has been very encouraging. It seems odd to think that I was visiting my doctor in May and asking him why I wasn’t loosing much weight. Dieting is about time more than anything else, and as my flatmate Jules says if it took you a year to put it on, then it can take longer to loose it safely. Anyway, I had been weighing in regularly at my local pool after my Saturday swim and recently my routine changed. Having established that the scales at Clapham Pool matched Streatham, I have now started using those. This week, even after all my Thanksgiving excesses, I have lost 2 more pounds making a total of 57 pounds. That’s 4 stone 1 pound or 25.91 kilos. I now have only 5 more pounds to loose until I reach my goal weight. To be honest, though, I am more interested in toning up more than anything now. I have found a great website, www.twohundredsquats.com to help me. Eight weeks until Oz and Christmas in between…..

Give Thanks, because you're worth it!

It was all a bit chaotic but we got there in the end. Thanksgiving this year catered for a larger group of friends but sadly lacked a visiting American. The closest I could get to that was Dav’s friend Mauricio, from Brazil – Lord knows what he thought of all of this. The decorations were a little more elaborate this year. Aside from the usual cornucopia acting as a centrepiece and a fireplace download on the television....

I had flowers made from dollar bills…

and specially carved pumpkins.


Highlights on the menu included home-made Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup, made with our home grown tomatoes and Julie’s popular Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Noisettes. There was a delicious homemade cranberry sauce to go with the turkey and Sarah made a mighty fine Pumpkin Cheesecake for dessert. Simon supplied and extensive cheeseboard and I made my own After Dinner Mints. Cocktail flowed with regularity and a good time was had by all. A big thank you to all my guests for making it so special – a toast was said to absent friends.

Change In Circumstances

Possibly down to the slightly increased exercise regime I have been following - a pool that's further away and half a meter longer - I have lost 5 pounds this week. A much better result than I was hoping for, as it now means that I have lost 54 pounds in total.

Still Making me Laugh

Lane Drama

It has been quite a week this week, what with one thing and another. Firstly, I spent a delicious weekend with Sean where, by some bizzare circumstance we listened to flamenco guitar and beat poets in the heart of St Luke's parish. I know..weird! Anyway, after my Monday night swim I joined a public meeting about Streatham Leisure Centre. In true Paul Vale fashion, it consisted of myself, three officials from the council and somebody I once went on a date with - nuff said. Without wishing to dwell on the subject too much, the pool has closed until further notice and I am now swimming in Clapham.

I was rather perturbed at going to a new pool. I have been swimming in Streatham for about 6 years now and although I am a member Swim London, and therefore can swim in over 40 pools throughout London, I have only really been to Streatham or Oasis. I guess going to Oasis, with all its beautiful men and outrageous bodies, has made it easier for me to go somewhere new; meaning if I can go there, I can go anywhere.

Anyway, Clapham LC Swimming Pool is really good. I leave home about 20 minutes earlier to get there at 7.00am. It's fairly empty till later and contains three equal lanes, including a fast lane. The water never appears to be too warm and after swimming 5 miles in the latter half of the week there, I am feeling a good deal more relaxed - I think it's due to the fact that the lane is wide and we have plenty of room. I have even reached the point where 2 miles in the morning - before going to work, might not be impossible.

It's early days, but it may be that I make a change for good. Sad, but much more practical.

Two Plays

Finally things have slowed down a little and I am no longer at the theatre five nights out of seven in the week. I am sure, however, that this is a short resting period before the Christmas Season hits and I am busy 24/7 again. So far, both plays in November have had a gay-theme and I will say that both of them were extremely good. Busted Jesus Comix by David Johnston tells the story of Marco, a Tallahassee teenager who found himself the subject of an obsenity trial when he printed off copies of his comic book.

The play, unbelievably based on a true story, is fascinating on many different levels and the production, Above The Stag is well worth supporting. Keep an eye out for Henry Blake as Marco in a wonderfully underscored performance.

The other play, turned out to be a musical (read the Press Releases, Paul!!!) A Man Of No Importance is a musical adaptation of the Indie movie of the same name starring Albert Finney. A big fan of the original, this version is a real gem demonstrating the art of Musical Theatre adaptation at its finest. Sadly it was let down by seriously sloppy design, that in turn provided much entertainment for much of the next day.

Shocked of South London

The landlord finally spent half an hour fixing the gutter. A job that took 30 minutes has taken them 3 months to do. Oh well, at least my guests at Thanksgiving will not be bothered by it, should it rain.

Before & After

I must admit, this picture shows me for the first time, how much weight I have actually lost. It also taught me how to use the timer feature on my camera.

Neighbours - A Rant

Our upstairs neighbours have never been particularly friendly. I find this difficult as I am still friends with both sets of neighbours I have lived next to in London. They have not been rude, they merely have no wish to fraternize with either myself or Julie since we have been living here. Last week, I was rather shocked to hear them vacuuming the stairway. Whilst this might not seem particularly odd to most people, you have to bear in mind that these neighbours have shown absolutely no interest in cleaning the communal areas of the house. When we arrived here, they had been walking over 2 YEARS worth of junk mail to get to their flat. Recently they broke the banister up the stairs and whilst is doesn't affect us on the ground floor, broken plaster was splattered across the carpet of the stairs for about a month - until I hear them vacuuming.

It turns out that they are moving out and presumably this little cleaning ploy is an aid to getting their deposit back. That's all well and good and I certainly shan't miss them, but what is pissing me off is the amount of crap they are depositing in the front garden before they go. Both Julie and I have spent a lot of time making the front garden look halfway decent. Left to The Haywoods Group, a pathetic bunch of cowboys who call themselves Estate Agents, the front garden would be the rotting mess of mattresses, rampant weeds and rubbish that it was when we moved in.

I should not mind. The important thing is that their leaving will mean that finally, somebody from Haywoods will have to come in and either
a)Re-decorate for the new tenants or
b)Show new tenants around.

The dumped rubbish will magically find its way to the top of the stairs and it will be Haywoods turn to get off their lardy arses and earn something for the exorbitant rent we are paying them. Why should we have to deal with its removal?!

Don't Try This At Home, Kids.

After a strict Halloween Weekend on a diet of the above, I still managed to loose 2 pounds this week! Yah! I knew that full body exfoliation would budge those last ounces. On a serious note I now have less than a stone to loose before reaching my goal weight.

Gulp!

I weigh in tomorrow morning after my swim and I must say, I am more than a little apprehensive. I did not weigh in last week, as I was in Newtownards and I have lived on a strict diet of Penny Chews, Chips and Gin over much of the Halloween period. Oh well! No one to blame but myself. The thing is, whereas before my aim was to reach my goal weight by Christmas, in actual fact I now have to look fabulous to appear on the beach at Sydney. The new posters at the bus stops for Aussiebum don't help.

Welcome to Oz

Admittedly, there was no foreshadowing this event but on February 8th next year I am going to Australia for 3 weeks. I has happened so suddenly that to be honest, it still hasn’t sunk in - yet. I am not excited – yet. I am not prepared – yet. Kyle is currently out there and has invited his Mother and future In-Laws to join him and his fiancée on Hyams Beach, NSW for his wedding. I have known Kyle since he was 5 years old and I count Rowena as one of my closest and dearest friends. Rowena does not want to travel all that way again alone and she has offered to take me with her.

Three weeks on this beach. In that sea.

Some goals one plans for, others simply pop up as you go. Before that I have Thanksgiving, Christmas, IMATS and The Stage Party! As I say, it’s still, only very slowly, sinking in.

Home Again Home Again

After a fairly smooth journey with swift connections I finally got home last night at about 11.30pm. Travelling to Northern Ireland seemed vaguely surreal this time around. Vince and David were superb hosts, once again and it is always a joy to sit and chat with them. It seems really strange chatting to them, at how much more of a real gay community there seems to be in Belfast. I always find it rather comforting and it never seems to be short of real characters. I am always impressed by Vince's calm sense of self, his charming demeanor and determination to see the best in everybody. David's quiet intelligence and wicked sense of humour compliments this perfectly and together they really are a lovely couple. It's no surprise that I am leaving Newtownards determined to do better, be nicer and work harder.

They were an ordinary couple.......

No. Don't. Come back Toto, come back.

Halloween Fun

Once again, I am in Belfast for the begining of the party season. David and Clare put themselves in my hands once again and allowed me to play with their faces. Vince and I took the easier option and kept the make-up down to a minimum, although the gin flowed until the early hours. Today has been very subdued, with bacon and eggs and plenty of coffee.

A Quinn Martin Production

No Business Like Show Business

As you can see from the date here, I have not posted anything in a while. There are several reasons for this, most of them to do with bone-idleness but to be honest, I have been madly busy. The West End and Fringe is awash with openings at the moment and I am now being invited to shows that I am not even reviewing. This is indeed and honour and a privilege but it allows me no spare time and can get quite expensive – travel, dinks, etc.

The truth is, I guess I shall have to make it worthwhile by reviewing everything I see and posting it on here – except when there is my Stage posting online. I have been thinking about reformulating my blog recently to make it a little easier for me to post and more interesting for you to read – let’s face it, the past year seems to have been mostly weight loss and swimming!

Here below, is a list of where I have been over the past 2 weeks.

The Tobacco Merchants Lawyer – Finborough
Liberace – Live From Heaven – Leicester Square Basement
Marilyn – Forever Blonde – Leicester Square
Hetty Feinstein’s Wedding Anniversary – New End
Frida Khalo – Viva La Vida – Oval Upstairs
The Rise & Fall of Little Voice – Vaudeville
My Musical Theatre Life - Donna Mackechnie - Pizza In The Park
My Love Affair – Above The Stag
Great Pretenders - Gatehouse

More than some people will see in a year. More than some in a lifetime.

PS - 47 pounds so far.

Fun Times

It has taken me all night to fix the problem that was stopping me from uploading this image. I think it was worth it though. I am looking forward to seeing the boys at the weekend

When Leaving Home

Just to explain to the morons who have purchased cycles:-

Red lights mean Stop i.e. stop cycling

It is against the Law to cycle on a pavement.

Just to explain to the morons who walk on the pavements:-

Cycles do not make a noise like a car and you may not hear them heading towards you at 15 mph whilst you are on you phone, crossing the road whilst not looking.

Parents – set a f**king example when crossing with your children and use the level crossings - unless you don’t want to see them grow up.

That's all.

A Very Happy Anniversary!

Living for Pleasure

Brokeback Blackpool

Sean prepares for a night out at Megawoof.

Photograph of the Mad Hatter with some Alice In Wonderland characters in Blackpool.

An Interlude

The Classier Side To Blackpool

Here are a few pictures and details of the Grand Ballroom at the Blackpool Tower. A frenzy of Victorian opulence that remains the focus of Blackpool to this day.

The Blackpool Party

The annual Stage Party in Blackpool is held to celebrate the work of Light Entertainment Industy in the North of England. This year it was held at the Blackpool Winter Gardens and Sean joined me. We stayed at the Hilton, North of the Pleasure Beach and amongst the partygoers was Seamus Cullen - my own bet to have won Any Dream Will Do. In fact, I stopped watching it when he was eliminated!
Seamus is currently touring, playing Che in Evita and made up the contigent attending the party from The Grand Theatre.

A great time was had by all of us and I danced the night away, even managing to share a smooch at the end with Sean. It all went swimmingly, even if Sean later refused to put on a curly wig and sing Oh What A Circus. Oh well.....

The Burlesque Approach

On Tuesday I went to the opening night of Infinite Variety at the New Players Theatre under the arches at Charing Cross. I have a long standing affection for this venue but unfortunately I have not yet seen a show there, suited to its size and shape. The Players is a relatively small auditorium at 275 seats, but it has an impressive stage and good appointments. The long slender auditorium, complete with its bar at the back has bags of atmosphere but requires brash, showy, bawdy production values to fill the space. Last year’s Burlesque-esque was simply laughable and much was expected of Blokbusta earlier this year, although that too failed to impress. The problem doesn’t so much lie with the shows, the Front of House is also a disaster with the bar staff being outrageously slow – stupifyingly so.

Still I went along to Infinite Variety, a new burlesque mounted by the Whoopee with high hopes. If it was possible to get a professional production any more wrong then I would like to see how. The pre-show drinks at the back bar were generous and yet un-monitored. The PR didn’t network guests and reviewer and whilst Scott and I munched on the nibbles, the stage crew continued to adjust lights and sound in full view of the incoming audience. At this press night, half the seats were empty. For future reference, as any PR knows, you ensure that a venue is overflowing on a Press Night. You create excitement! This was a damp squib that didn’t improve once the show opened, as you will see from my review. Honestly – no talent, masquerading as talent can be monumentally depressing. Please God, let a producer with flair and imagination take over the New Players.

Weigh-hey!

Saturday was my usual weigh-in day and after a painful swim – where I am sure I was actually still drunk – I got on the scales at 14 stone 11 pounds. In total, I have now lost 40 pounds in weight. I must admit, it made me feel great and has really spurred me on to try and get down to a goal weight of 13 stone 3 pounds – a ridiculous (I think) exaggeration but it is the goal my BMI has set me. We shall see…. In the meantime, nothing fits me anymore.

Sing A Long A Griff

Tom Griffin – or Griff as he is referred to amongst the cognisant – had his 26th Birthday Party on the following night, celebrating with karaoke at the Windsor Castle in Clapham Junction. I had been rather looking forward to this event and it was great news when Gareth announced that he would be joining Julie and myself. Well…… just when I thought that my karaoke choices could not get any more bizarre – Teenage Dirtbag!!!! – in a duet with Gareth. Oh dear! Still, it was nice to see Jonathan and Howard again and Griff really seemed to enjoy himself. He is a really good singer. Gareth ended up a little worse for wear and we found him lying on the street in Clapham. Lord knows how we managed to get him back to Streatham Common!?

It's One Of The Master's Affairs

Well it’s been quite a couple of weeks and finally I have enough time to sit down and catch up on some blogging. There are currently so many openings at the moment both in London and the length and breadth of the UK and naturally that filters down into the work I do. I have a lot of opening nights to attend and I have gone from mildly busy to madcap in the space of about one month. I am not quite sure why it is so busy and formal critics – those who write for the popular press – are bemoaning the inevitable clash of press nights around town. By the end of September I will have seen about 7 plays and musicals so you can imagine how it must be for a full time critic.
That said, I realise that I have an enviable role that allows me to mix a social life with a hobby and work. Thursday of this week saw me quaffing Kir Royales with Sean at the opening night party of The Rocky Horror Show. It was here that Sean introduced me to Sue Blane, the designer of both the original production in the 1970’s but also this current revival staring the lovely David Bedella. Following this Chris Borg joined us and we headed over to an Italian Restaurant in Wimbledon to catch up over veal and rose.

The Best of Times is Now!

In keeping with my theme of change, last week I worked on a Thursday rather than a Wednesday. Not exactly earth shattering I will admit, except that it worked perfectly with Vince’s time on The Plinth on Tuesday. Sadly the weather didn’t hold and whilst one might expect rain in London, nothing could quite compare to the downpour that happened between the hours of 1.00pm and 2.00pm last week. The heavens opened but even that couldn’t stop me from heading over to Trafalgar Square on my bike and cheering on Vince.

I must say, Vince was a complete hero, championing Gay Rights in Northern Ireland, espousing some of his favourite poetry and promoting safe-sex to London’s youth. All this whilst dishing out Cadbury’s Roses and trying to fix Tom up with a date! Catch it all by clicking to this link.

A huge, wet sloppy congratulations, Vince! You were the best!


That night, I purloined tickets for the gloriously tacky Bathhouse – The Musical for myself, Sean, Vince, Tom and Paul. A fun time was had by all and after several Jameson and Ginger’s (thanks for that idea, Tom) I was more than ready for an impromptu karaoke session at The Stag. Thank God, only about 12 people were in the bar and therefore huge crowds didn’t have to witness mine and Paul’s rendition of the Grease Megamix (Paul was SO the Sandy!) and No More Tears – Enough is Enough (I was SO the Barbra!)

On the good side, Sean is still talking to me.

On the bad side, this wasn’t the end to my karaoke shame this week.

Bathhouse - The Musical

It's amazing who you bump into on an opening night at the theatre!

Too Early For Porn

Tuesday saw a mad change to my generally un-shifting schedule this week. Thom Dibdin, a Stage Reviewer in Edinburgh took part in the One & Other Project on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. He – or I should say his alter-ego Penny Pornstar – took to the plinth at 6.00am and in a show of solidarity, I cycled into town to support him. I had to get up at 5.00am and it was pitch black when I set off.

Bizarrely, by the time I arrived at 06.33.03am it was broad daylight. After that, I did 60 lengths of the outdoor pool at Oasis before cycling off to London Bridge and the office.

PS I know I arrived at 06.33.03am because of this……
I can’t wait to see Vince on the plinth this week. Thankfully, at the easier time of 1.00pm.

Noise Pollution

Part of my rent includes a very small garden, which I am very fond of. Summer nights are few and far between in London so there is nothing better to get out there and relax in the sun. The problem has recently arisen that our neighbours have also had the same idea, but unfortunately cannot relax unless they are playing their music at a ridiculously loud level in the garden. On a hot day, it is terrible that we have to sit inside or suffer the thud-thud-thud of an over-amped bass. This happened on Bank Holiday Monday last and again last night. Rather than bother the police I decided to do the gentlemanly thing and ask them politely to turn it down. The American woman who answered the door immediately took the defensive insisting that it was not too loud and that her grandmother was having a party. Hmmm… Needless to say they took no notice whatsoever so anybody attempting to sit outside; put their kids to sleep or even sleep themselves would have to wait until these thoroughly inconsiderate morons decided to go out themselves. Thankfully I was going out but I now have the phone number for the Noise Police, who have the power to remove offending equipment if it becomes necessary. I don’t want it to go that far, but I am – probably stupidly, I know – actually rather surprised that people can be so obtusely offensive, caring not who they abuse or in what manner their arrogance manifests itself. Their upbringing I should imagine!

Slimmer of the Week

Well would you believe it? This week I didn’t really do a full quota of cycling; I abstained from all alcohol and swam about 2 miles less in the week that I normally would. All that and I have managed to loose 6lbs this week. That’s the type of weight loss you normally see at the beginning of a diet. I am now 15 stone 1 lb or 95.8 kilos having lost a total of 36 pounds or 16.36 kilos.

Byron & Felix Moxey

I received a lovely e-mail from my old flatmate Byron this week. His little boy Felix is off to school this week, just like Axl, Don and Celine’s little boy. Byron sent me a photo of him and it was so funny to see how alike they look.

First Impressions

Finally, after much um-ing and ah-ing I have finally made a proper start on my latest painting, my friend and neighbour Dr Murphy as the martyr, St Marina. Here is the first transfer to canvas 70cm x 50cm.

What Happened Next.

Needless to say, the week that followed with Ralph and Tyron in town and myself on holiday I practically lived on chocolate cake and vodka. This week I ate Mexican in Covent Garden, Oriental in Soho, French at Waterloo, Fusion at Camden and British in Kingston. Come Saturday I thought it might be possible that I had maintained my weight again, although it was a pipe dream and I weighed in at 15 stone 7 lbs. I had put on three pounds – but my God it was worth it. I really have my work cut out if I am going to get back on track.

An Interlude

My Actual Birthday

Well – to say that I went woke up with a sore head was an understatement. A late dinner at Balans accompanied by lots of Cosmo’s and a delicious desert and I was fairly wacked. What kind of a nut job then plans a Buffet & Cocktail Party for 3.00pm in the afternoon?

Thankfully Julie and Sarah were around to help and I had made a wonderful pate to go with the cooked chicken, potatoe salad, sausage rolls etc. Sarah had also sneaked me a MASSIVE chocolate cake which was quite lovely and I planned it as my ‘going to bed treat’ – (as Sean wasn’t stopping over )

Jack, Vince, David and my lovely Sean all turned up too. David and Vince bought me a beautiful couple of mugs that are so pretty. Jules bought me a Microphone for my computer and a gorgeous Honeysuckle that should smell lovely in the garden next summer. Gareth paid me a visit earlier in the day – it was his birthday too – and he bought me a bottle of Jacques Cider. Awww. Sean bought me the most beautiful silver necklace from Swag. It shines so brightly and makes me feel quite special.



10 Champagne Cocktails, 2 Blue Hawaiian, 6 Cosmo’s, 4 White Ladies and a Purple Motherfucker later, I was feeling no pain! Rory, Marin and Radha dropped by and left in the early hours and Chris Borg turned up too. We were all in the garden until the early hours, having fun, gossiping and chilling out.

Ralph and Tyron finally arrived at 11.30pm and it was such a pleasure to see them. Thankfully there was plenty of food waiting for them and we saved them a bottle of champagne to make some gorgeous cocktails.

Such a mad, happy day.

What Vincent Said Next

Maybe a prize for the best answer!

My Party Night

I warned Jack that they could smell fear.

Aside from Tyron and Ralph missing their flight from Berlin, my party night went with a bang. Sarah, Julie’s sister arrived and we all got ready before heading into town to The Village where we were supposed to be meeting the rest of the party. Vince and David had come over from NI and it was lovely to see their smiling faces. Jack joined the group which was great as he had never been to JoJo’s before. Mel and Paul came too although they couldn’t hang around. I think the pictures say it all though.

Julie has just got the bill for the champagne!

Mdm Terri puts me in my place.

Paul and Kirsty rave on.

The delightful Newtownards Massive.

All The Fours!

Taking elevensies on my birthday.

Where Do I Begin?

OK – so I have been a bit crap about posting recently but life, as it were, has been pretty hectic. Anyway, I shall start with the weight loss as it has been fairly consistent. I am currently weighing in at 15 stone 4 lbs. That’s a loss of 2 stone 3 lbs since I began dieting in February. My goal was set to loose a certain amount for my birthday and I guess this has been achieved. According to the machine I weigh in on at the pool, my upper ideal weight for my height is 13 stone 3 lbs. Whilst I don’t really imaging that to be particularly healthy or attractive for me, I am thinking it would be fun, at least once in my life to be the correct weight for my height. Generally I am aiming for 14 stone, which I think is what I weighed when I used to go to the gym with Don, four years ago.

I have pretty much peaked on my swimming, regularly hitting a mile in about 30 minutes, twice a day. I need to adjust this a little to include other exercise such as sit-ups to help tone up a bit more.

Imagine My Surprise!

I weighed in last Saturday and lost a grand total of three pounds. In total I have lost 30lbs or 2 stone and 2 pounds or 13.64 kilos. Whilst this is obviously a good thing, balancing a healthy diet with plenty of excercise, it also means that I am rapidly running out of clothes that fit me properly. Can't bloody win!

Flower Power

I cannot begin to describe how happy the colours in the garden make me when I look at them.

The Power of Googley Eyes

Stick 'em to anything and they'll bring a smile to your face. Thoroughly recommended for Down in the Dumps Days.

Pushing 28

It's probably preposterous bad luck to mention it but I am 1 single pound away from having lost 2 stones, since I have been on my diet. For the tens of you out there who may read my blog, it started in February and I have gradually lost an average of a pound and a half per week since.

According to the slips that get printed from the weighing in machine each week, I am still overweight and have a good 2 stone 9 pounds to loose before I reach my ideal BMI. BMI, my arse!!!

Swimalot!

It is now only Thursday and I have already swum 7 miles this week. This has partially been due to the fact that I have decided to take full advantage of my Swim London Membership - £26 per month - that allows me access to any of 40 council pools in the London area. As I was going to The Stag twice this week, rather than hanging around waiting in a pub spending money, I decided to brave visiting a new pool - namely the Oasis Leisure Centre on Shaftesbury Avenue. Going to a new pool is a bit daunting for me and I knew that Oasis might be really popular, ie full of gorgeous hunky men.

It is actually true. Oasis is full of gorgeous hunky men and it is really odd to suddenly go from being one of the youngest people in the locker room (Streatham Common) to being one of the oldest. There is a choice of two pools to swim in, one indoors and the other outside and after the usual game new people play in a locker room - the "How Do I Get To The Pool" dance - I was rather surprised. Both pools seemed really small but I opted for the outside.

I realise we are blessed in Streatham with a 30m pool but even at 27m it seemed tiny - and very full. Very fit guys were hanging around doing very determined lunges and pools-side stretching whilst others appeared to be doing specially measured strokes up and down the pool. I tentatively dipped my toe in and prepared for the worst. Further surprises! It was REALLY warm. Warmer than Streatham Pool. In fact, it took me all of about 5 minutes to work out that the muscle guys who were lapping the pool were not doing special excercises - they were simply slow swimmers. Pretty to look at but a bit slow and even slower to get out of the way for a turn. Still it was great fun swimming outdoors in the centre of London and I look forward to doing it more often in the future. Hurrah for Swim London!