2011 in review
Jan: And so began the 2011 'Health Odyssey'. After a characteristically boozy Seecharan Christmas get together in Wells, North Norfolk, the scales tipped in at a whopping 13 and three quarter stones (that's roughly 87KG or 190lbs). The Aim? To shed as much as possible, ideally to try and get back down to my cycling weight of 11 and a half stones (73KG or 160lbs). Not just because this was my resting healthy weight whilst being a 60 miles a week commuter cyclist, but also because this would bring down my BMI to below 25 (or below obese according to the science). How? By any means necessary! And thus began 7months of exercise and calories counting. Elsewhere, the NHS announced it's desire to axe incremental pay rises (the nominal near inflation increases built into our low paid salaries). We were asked to provide our thoughts and feedback on the suggestion? Computer said No.
Feb: Panic stations! M's 40th!! Offset by a couple of highlights this month. Purchase of 'Fit at 40' Cross Trainer and M in 'The-atre' heaven, with trips up to London's Sadler's Wells to see an "I was captivated by his dancing, not his thighs in those tight trousers"(your honour) Flamenco show. We also celebrated our 1st Wedding Anniversary with a short spa break to Careys Manor in Hampshire. Too expensive to do when we feel like it, unfortunately, but fantastic food (even for me, the veggie) and some innovative new ways to immerse oneself in steam! Very relaxing. On the home front, large payments start going out of the savings account to pay the Architect and Structural Engineers for their contribution to the"Eden Project" - a plan already 12months into its conception to transform the back of the house and garden into a useable space. The room at this point is a slug and damp infested ice box, and the garden does not exist at all as a functional space (rather a steep chalk terraced hill).
Mar: More sweaty Latino thigh action (there's definitely a theme
emerging here!) with the Ailey 2 dance troupe coming to Brighton's
beating thespian heart, the Dome. Quotes out to Builders for the Eden Project - not surprising with 20:20 hindsight that several of them dragged their feet, clearly not relishing the prospect of taking on a job which would require carting 50 metric tons of chalk down two flights of stairs on their shoulders (and 5 tons of cement, bricks and mortar back up!). Found time to make cosmetic renovations to the bathroom, ticking this job off the To Do list after almost 3 years! Things are really starting to happen on the home front. The Little F turned 9 and enjoyed a Disco party at the local church hall involving his entire class (what little use I have remaining in my right ear was sorely tested that afternoon). My surrogate nephew, Marlowe Finn is born! I am an Uncle ... again!
Apr: A quiet month in Brighton, although elsewhere in the Seecharan Clan, M and D head off to visit Tom in Munich, whilst Miles heads to Japan on business, risking at the very least his reproductive health (no wait he doesn't need it any more, Senor Progeny!) heading to a radioactive Tokyo, post Tsunami. The Brighton Seecharan's enjoyed a brief Easter weekend in North Norfolk visiting M and D. At home, enjoyed my annual end of season subscription to Sky Sports, although I am not sure I would have bothered had I known that Man Utd would get spanked (again) in the CL Final... Jakey came to stay. Builder's quote accepted for a June start.
May: More the-atre' dahhhling - this time a contemporary Australian dance troupe called Circa at the Brighton Dome. Had a really great family day out to Hampton Court Palace (home to King Henry VIII) with F and two of his friends. Running around in medieval gowns and eating packed lunch sandwiches in the gardens reminded me of much earlier years and my own family trips to local priorys in North Norfolk and Castles in Wales. Getting lost in Hampton Court's famous maze was a particular highlight for the boys. On the Seecharan clan family front, Anna, Miles and I enjoyed Tom's generous 2010 birthday gifts of return flights to Munich and spent a long weekend in Munchen drinking beer and sporting Lederhosen (well Tom did anyway) . A fine city and it's a pity Tom returned to the UK not long after as I would have loved to go visit again. Planning permission granted on the "Eden Project" front and the Robinson organisation gene kicks off 'a go-go' with down payments made 3 months in advance, on the Summer holiday campsite, ferry crossing, hotels etc!
Jun: Whilst M and D labour through their retirement with yet another holiday, this time to Spain with Uncle Brian, Auntie Valerie and Mark, the Brighton Seecharans enjoy a family outing to London to stay with Anna and Christos and visit Tower Bridge (for the first time, even though I lived nearby for almost 10 years! most impressive and highly recommended despite the £13 odd entrance fee). Despite earlier agreement, "Eden Project" does not start in June at all, but is pushed back to September! Health Odyssey going great guns, with only 1KG (2.2lbs) left to lose in the last of 7 months deadline I set myself.Woo hoo! Have been teetotal, mostly abstinent all year to date, bar a few beers in Munich but not drunk at all in 2011. Got my first (of many?) introductions to The Wirral's famous Crocky Trail on a barmy summer weekend with Miles and family in Manchester. Happy 10th Birthday Ottie!
Jul: First hangover in 2011! My physio pal Rob's Stag do, in Brighton so completely unavoidable (your honour). This will turn out to be one of only 5 hangovers in 2011 - to only have got drunk 5 times in a year is a revolutionary act for me and a significant contributer to the success of the '2011 Health Odyssey'. A couple of mid summer trips to London; firstly to see a private screening of Jake's first documentary, which was a fantastic first attempt; secondly to see the musical "Fela!" about Nigerian dissident musician Fela Kuti. A fascinating spectacle which, you guessed it, involved quite a lot of swarthy dark sweaty thigh action (Martha, please!)! Annual appraisal passed without incident at work, meaning paltry incremental pay rise approved. Shouldn't complain however, because 'in the current climate we should all feel lucky just to have jobs' (inspirational stuff from my arch tory team leader cheers boss!). Deposit paid down on Bifold sliding doors for the new back room. Ouch! Health goal achieved. Now weigh 11 and a half stones (73KG). Inspirational stuff. Shame the exercise stopped from this point on. Partly lost motivation, but mostly having to move the cross trainer out of its usual place (it appears I exhibit a little autistic tendency in this regard) for the next 4 months whilst building work is going on.
Aug: HOLIDAY! Annual road trip to S. France & Catalonia. Blissful. Spent a week on EuroCamp site for first time since doing it with my own family back in 1992. Enjoyed it so much we threw caution to the wind and pre-booked with deposit for 2012 - let's hope they are still in business by then! Last time at M's folks place in Languedoc-Roussillon? Very possibly with plans afoot to sell up. Boo. Came home to mad dash to protect the house from incoming construction works.
Sep: The "Eden Project" Begins! And so begins almost 4 months of dirt, hassle, intrusion and prject management stress (aren't they supposed to provide the foreman??). Scheduled end date? Oct 29th. Actual end date ... still counting, 1st week of January promised, weather allowing! Being accompanies by a student every moment of my working day till mid October doesn't help and holiday relaxations vanishes into the ether even more quickly than usual. F returns to Year 5! Boy that boy is growing up fast! My surrogate niece, Kavya Conger, is born! I am an Uncle ... again! Yet another work trip abroad for big Sis, Nina - this time on her birthday, to Pakistan. Cool job or what. Well it looks like it anyway.
Oct: TiVo installed. And took Jake to see a Cool Hand Luke theatre production in the West End, starring Mark Warren (the guy who advertises TiVo coincidentally!). Great performance, followed by revolving sushi bar and copious amount of Japanese green tea. Purchased Ubbink's 'Brighton' water feature (a dream realised!) ready for when building works allow it to be installed. It's now been 3 months since I stopped exercising or calorie counting and - thanks mostly to my new relationship with alcohol (or should that be non-relationship) my weight is holding steady on the whole at small post holiday gain of 4lbs to 75KG. No dramas.
Nov: My 40th!!! An almost unique (these days) coming together of the entire Seecharan Clan at Cart Lodge. Low key get together with pub lunch and party games. Thanks so much to everyone for making the effort. Other highlights include another 'theatre' trip to Sadler's Wells to see Zoo Nation's "Some like it Hip Hop", followed by an evening with Roy (Harper) at the Festival Hall - a one off gig to celebrate his 70th. Inspirational stuff, and an opportunity to catch up with Miles, Mum and Anna. A delightful evening, until trying (and failing) to catch Mum as she stumbled in Anna's high heels and hit the deck. Absolutely not the alcohol Mum I know (only joking!). Please don't wear those kind of shoes on cobbled ground in the dark again though - I got terrible flashes of my working life in elderly care - I get hip fractures daily in the workplace, please let's not risk one in the family too! Can't wait to spend my Amazon voucher (probably on said Camera, but the electrical section, particularly 'Home Cinema' is I have to admit rather tempting ...). Also can't wait to trial my Kayak (with accompanying wet suit, life jacket etc) when the weather permits. A cornerstone of my 'Well-Being Odyssey 2012', I hope - kayaking along Brighton's sea-front. Thank you all. No end in sight of the building work. Had a loft ladder installed and boy has this made a difference. Used to up and down garden to shed to get step ladder, carry through house a real chore. Now it just pops out of the hatch. A bit pricier but a real 'quality of life' enhancer. Whilst savings accounts haemhhoraging cash to builders etc, this was money really well spent and appreciated.
Dec: So here we are! Have been blessed to make it to the end of another year, with all my nearest and dearest intact and apparently healthy. A blessing indeed. My year in review is of course rather facile, given momentous events around the World like the Japanese Tsunami and the ongoing death and destruction in the Arab world and elsewhere. It is however, only intended to be my record of my own little corner of the earth, for posterity. I appreciate how lucky I am to have food in my belly, a roof over my head and a small but loyal group of people who love me. To the higher power, I thank you for the life I have at this moment. Long may it continue. A low key Christmas enjoyed with the in-laws, whilst the Seecharan Clan converge on South Wales for what looked like another excellent get together (thanks for the pix Anna).
Hugs, Besos, Amities (or something like that). Happy New Year. Bonne Annee. Feliz Ano Nuevo. S Novim Godom.
Peace and Love in 2012 please x
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Monday, December 05, 2011
Sunday, December 04, 2011
This Year's Effort
Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays! Say hello to Norman, the Nordman pine. A folklore blessing is surely in order, to let Norman know his sacrifice is appreciated, and not in vain for the joy he is already bringing us now and over the next month. Until I find one, I found some legends around the origin of the Christmas Tree:
1) According to legend Saint Boniface, an English monk who organized the Christian Church in France and Germany, came upon a group of pagans around a great oak tree, about to sacrifice a child to the god Thor. To stop the sacrifice and save the child's life Boniface felled the tree with one mighty blow of his fist. In its place grew a small fir tree. The saint told the pagan worshipers that the Fir was the Tree of Life.
2) Another legend tells us that Martin Luther, founder of the Protestant faith, walking through the forest one Christmas Eve, was awed by the beauty of the stars shinning through the branches of the evergreen trees. He cut a small tree and took it home. To recreate the same starlight beauty, he placed candles on all its branches.
3) Yet another legend tells of a poor woodsman who met a lost and hungry child on Christmas Eve. He gave the child food and shelter for the night. The next morning he found a beautiful glittering tree outside his door. The hungry child was really the Christ Child in disguise. He created the tree to reward the good man for his charity.
4) The origin of the Christmas tree can be traced back to the ancient Romans who during their winter festival decorated trees with small pieces of metal. Some say the origin of the Christmas tree may be the ~Paradise Play.~ In medieval times most people could not read and plays were used to teach the lessons of the bible all over Europe. The Paradise Play, which showed the creation of man and the fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden was performed every year on December 24th. Since it was performed in winter, apple trees baring fruit couldn't be found so a substitution was made. Evergreens were hung with apples and used instead.
5) Modern Christmas Trees are a vestige of the pagan practice of bringing evergreens into the home to symbolise life in the dead of winter.
Xmas 2011
Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays! Say hello to Norman, the Nordman pine. A folklore blessing is surely in order, to let Norman know his sacrifice is appreciated, and not in vain for the joy he is already bringing us now and over the next month. Until I find one, I found some legends around the origin of the Christmas Tree:
1) According to legend Saint Boniface, an English monk who organized the Christian Church in France and Germany, came upon a group of pagans around a great oak tree, about to sacrifice a child to the god Thor. To stop the sacrifice and save the child's life Boniface felled the tree with one mighty blow of his fist. In its place grew a small fir tree. The saint told the pagan worshipers that the Fir was the Tree of Life.
2) Another legend tells us that Martin Luther, founder of the Protestant faith, walking through the forest one Christmas Eve, was awed by the beauty of the stars shinning through the branches of the evergreen trees. He cut a small tree and took it home. To recreate the same starlight beauty, he placed candles on all its branches.
3) Yet another legend tells of a poor woodsman who met a lost and hungry child on Christmas Eve. He gave the child food and shelter for the night. The next morning he found a beautiful glittering tree outside his door. The hungry child was really the Christ Child in disguise. He created the tree to reward the good man for his charity.
4) The origin of the Christmas tree can be traced back to the ancient Romans who during their winter festival decorated trees with small pieces of metal. Some say the origin of the Christmas tree may be the ~Paradise Play.~ In medieval times most people could not read and plays were used to teach the lessons of the bible all over Europe. The Paradise Play, which showed the creation of man and the fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden was performed every year on December 24th. Since it was performed in winter, apple trees baring fruit couldn't be found so a substitution was made. Evergreens were hung with apples and used instead.
5) Modern Christmas Trees are a vestige of the pagan practice of bringing evergreens into the home to symbolise life in the dead of winter.
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Thursday, December 01, 2011
The 11 month (end of year) weigh in
What a year, what a project. Ended it 3kg over target weight, but more importantly have kept my weight pretty stable since July, when I stopped exercising and counting the calories - result! So I end the year under 12 stone, and well within reach of 70-73kg weight holy grail come 2012.
One particular highlight - making my 2010 Christmas present bottle of Scotch last an entire year (finished it last night)! The changing pattern in alcohol consumption has undoubtedly helped keep the weight stable. And when the X-trainer goes back into finished study, I will be able to reintroduce exercise to the mix (have realised I appear mildly autistic when it comes to changing my routine, and have not been able to contemplate using the equipment since it has been moved to a different part of the house).
Goals for 2012? Well-being, in whatever form that takes. Weight and Physical health will of course play its part but will be less of a focus. Well-being is going to have to try and address the dreaded 'W' word - Work. Making it satisfying, fulfilling, more successful. meaningful, blah, blah etc.,
Hope it goes as well as the 2011 Health Odyssey. Peace and Love this time of year (and beyond) x
What a year, what a project. Ended it 3kg over target weight, but more importantly have kept my weight pretty stable since July, when I stopped exercising and counting the calories - result! So I end the year under 12 stone, and well within reach of 70-73kg weight holy grail come 2012.
One particular highlight - making my 2010 Christmas present bottle of Scotch last an entire year (finished it last night)! The changing pattern in alcohol consumption has undoubtedly helped keep the weight stable. And when the X-trainer goes back into finished study, I will be able to reintroduce exercise to the mix (have realised I appear mildly autistic when it comes to changing my routine, and have not been able to contemplate using the equipment since it has been moved to a different part of the house).
Goals for 2012? Well-being, in whatever form that takes. Weight and Physical health will of course play its part but will be less of a focus. Well-being is going to have to try and address the dreaded 'W' word - Work. Making it satisfying, fulfilling, more successful. meaningful, blah, blah etc.,
Hope it goes as well as the 2011 Health Odyssey. Peace and Love this time of year (and beyond) x
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