Halleynet Headspace

Over the last few months I have allowed my weight to get a bit out of control. I tend to be a bit wary of this as heart disease has tended to run in my Dad’s side of the family- its what killed him and his sister, my auntie.

When I hurt my arm last year though I slowed down what I was doing at the gym, then the amount of travel I am doing for work increased… and you get the picture- you don’t eat right yadda yadda yadda- fat b@stard!.

I weighed myself about two weeks ago and was 13 stone 4.4 pounds- never been this weight in my life so decided I needed to drop two dress sizes and get down to something more realistic. Did a quick look on the nhs website at their bmi calculator and figure I need to be down to  (at most- preferrably below) 12 stone 3.

So over a stone to lose.

I have been doing the “special K diet”  eating two bowls a day- it is actually quite filling I have to admit- with a bit fruit- strawberries/rasperries etc, and it seesm to eb working. This weeks trip to Dublin did not help-  but i stayed off the Guinness (not that I drink much of anything at the best of times) and had fruit for brekkies  and a salad or sandwich  for lunch. So I did nto expect to lose much but hoped I would not gain any weight while away. I also made it to the gym every day.

So hopefully these results so far come out right, here- lost 5 pounds ish so far, and alledgedly would look better than before in a tight red swimsuit!

Made it through T5 at Heathrow fairly uneventfully this week, going down to London it was very slow getting bags- even though it seemed very quiet in the terminal and the bags only had to come about 100 metres- I could see the plane outside the window to the baggage hall- but at least it arrived.

While I was awaiting, said bag, a guy came in that I was sure I recognised but do you think I could recall his name. Then he was joined by Steve Cram- the former athlete. Fortunately they didn’t spot me so I never had any hassle having to sign autographs.

Anyway it continued to bug me for ages after who was the mystery celeb, all I could tell people was- I am sure he was on the Holiday program on the BBC occasionally as one of those guest celebs who goes on a free holiday at licence payers expense with his family. A few colleagues asked me what he did- that made hima celeb- and then it struck me- I had no idea at all! I knew he had an unusual name though…..

It was about 4 in the morning in bed when it came to me- he was Rowland Rivron- still could not have told you what he did though- just that he was “famous”- had to look it up on the web.

Anyway- on the way back came back through T5- check in was straightforward though have to say the signage round the place while not actually inaccurate is prone to taking you miles round the place - take the signs to the “South Lounge” (BA’s guest lounge) As you come though security its actually on your right but the signs tell you to go left- past all the upstairs shops, then down an escalator and then all the way back again to effectively where you came from a floor lower. Even once you get their its a bit of a maze to get in- you almost think they don’t want you there! Its worth persevering for though as its really rather nice- beats Squeezyjet travel any day of the week.

They even do hot meals and its really huge in the lounge itself- and all free (well in the price of a business class ticket).

An observation though about T5- it has to be the only shopping centre in the world that Aircarft pull up outside at! I have been to Dubai and its world famous duty free and some others- but T5 takes the biscuit for actually looking far mor elike a shopping mall than the rest, it has a Harrods, A Gordon Ramsey restaurant, PC World, Nokia shop, toname but a few- basically load sof high street names but it does not look like a duty free type airport shopping area- its really like a shopping mall.

Anyway was OK, and almost surprisingly my bags made it through to Edinburgh too.

The save Gillies Hill walk will take place on 22nd june 2008, starting at 14:00 in Cambusbarron Park. The Save Gillies Hill campaign has been running for over a year now, following the notice given by the operators of Murrayshall Quarry, that they intended to expand operations in accordance with a licence granted many years ago.

The Gillies Hill area is deemed to have both historical and environmental importance, being that it hosts a large range of flora and fauna on a rocky outcrop overlooking the village of Cambusbarron. Following the march last year, the expansion of quarrying did not take place but there is nothing really to stop it doing so and in so doing destroying what has become a hugely popular wild area for walking, biking, and wildlife watching.

We support the campaign to save the hill and hope you will too. You can learn a bit more about the campaign at the save Gillies Hill website.

As I “develop” in the shares and trading area, its important i keep careful notes on how I perform so i can learn from the inevitable mistakes. This stuff is not really suitable for here so I have created a new blog just for this purpose. Feel free to catch it here.