Friends, Romans, Countrymen; lend me your brolly!

Hello this wet and rainy Wednesday from the East Riding of Yorkshire in the UK.

A special hello to my colleagues, the brilliant and modern mum Gemma, who reads this blog during her very busy life currently looking after two very young and adorable children and to my colleage Emma, the breath of fresh air in the upper corridors - an official welcome to both.

What a busy few days since I last blogged on Saturday night. I spent Monday night in the wilds of Lincolnshire lecturing with a retired colleague on media issues to twenty switched on press office and PR cookies, a throw-back from a former life, but it gets me out twice a year into a different environment and I meet new people and reacquaint myself with old and dear colleagues who run the course. After a very comfortable stay over, I stayed in Lincoln the following morning having decided to take the day off (my diet went out the window, not with the excellent food provided at the college which I was very careful with, but because of the five glasses of free white wine which I was not careful with and which I am not used to since I've virtually cut alcohol out.)

Tuesday night I spent at my psychic circle again with good friends and acquaintences followed by a very late night watching Most Haunted on Living TV and after another meditation circle tonight, I am sitting down to write this with a cuppa at 10 pm ish, just about 'psyched' out.

I remember having an electronic conversation with Magnumlady, a blogger from near Sligo in Eire about friends or perhaps more accurately acquaintences and I certainly have lots more acquaintences than friends, that's how it is, but my goodness how important are both to one's mental well being. What would I do without the rich diversity of character, experiences and uniqueness that those around me provide to life in general? Kindness, generosity of spirit and humility are in abundance and I know they will get pay-back a thousand times for each selfless act, be it just a smile or something tangible that they give freely, it gives me a warm glow.

For some life isn't like that I know, and life isn't completely rosy for the vast majority of us in this modern, pressured, fast moving, reshaping world, but I suppose I count myself luckier than many and I gives thanks for it regularly.

My final chapters are for the diet tonight. I continue to lose weight, but this time, the monthly weigh-in only reveals a loss of 1.7KG or 3.74 pounds. On the positive side, it's a loss, on the negative side, it's not as much as I would have hoped, and that's because of a poorly knee I developed about six weeks ago. The exercise has been curtailed to a much lower level and it's clear to me that exercise is now the key albeit it's just walking and toning with gentle stretching and small weights. Today for the first day in those six weeks I have been pain free and of course what did I do? EXERCISE and I've had to take paracetamol because it's started to ache again, but I have to do it through the pain and fortunately it's just a fraction of what I've had to put up with just aches.

Now the time for the secret I said I would tell you. What did I start out weighing at the time I had the shock back at the end of February? 153Kg or 24 stones. I am now 111.8Kg or 17.6 stones. Still plenty to go. Shhhhh don't tell anyone, just between you and me.

A man says to the lady behind the counter in a loud drunken voice, "FISH, PATTIE AND CHIPS WITH A SMALL SAUSAGE AND CURRY SAUCE PLEASE!"
Shocked, the lady took off her glasses and with a stern look said, "Sir, this is a library."
"My God, I am so sorry," he replied straight away. "Fish, pattie and chips with a small sausage and curry sauce," he whispered.

Chat soon

Ta-ra