Well Helloooo Again....

Dodgy! LTB! How hangs it ye wonderful forumites?

Yep, you've gone and done it again you naughty American. Vintage Old Spice wonderfulness - the olfactory holy grail for nostalgic commoners like me. Not shaving today but when I eventually do deign to enter upon the falling water cubicle, I'm a-splashing some of that glorious cologne on afterwards. Smell like a man, man! If you have any, I'll gladly part with some electronic currency....

Steve, how's the veggies mate? Got a compliment on Mater and Pater's garden (one's permanent residence these days and pottering around their green and pleasant patch keeps me occupied) when the local Scotland's Garden Scheme rep wanted us to open the garden to the public to show it off. I declined as I feel it is not ready yet but lots of visitors who were attending the two open gardens in our street commented on how lovely the garden was and why wasn't it open. They'll be down our way in two years time so I'm under orders to prepare the ground, as it were. Honestly, some folk have no taste.

Anybody seen NotThe Stig and Smallbeard? Them's my buddies (nearly typed biddies instead! :D) and I miss 'em. And the Vinnster. And Chris with the Michael Caine avatar - very clever chap which means I don't understand 50% of what he says and 50 % of that is on the very limit of my shriveled walnut. Hope IanM is doing well and Northam Saint and Cyril Hairsuite too (generous fellow that he is). Anybody seen WiffWaff Steve or has he gone back to his leccy shaver or grown a beard again?

Now stop it you lot, this foruming is hard work and I've get to get back to doing buggerall, I mean nothing.....:D
 
Gairdner said:
Hi folks,

Back again after a lengthy sabbatical but I won't bore you with the details. By 'eck this place looks proper swish now. Too posh for commoners like me but I'll try, I will try. Actually, I am very trying or so I've been told. Right then, several conditions to my return: please don't make me buy anymore shaving crap and no more expensive brogues, watches, etc, etc.

It'll be good to read the wacky thoughts of Messrs Dodgy, Vinny and others of that ilk once more. Ahh, Martin and his monkeys. How are the troop, me old yankee bean?

Good day to one and all and nice to be back. And yes, I will behave......honest. :rolleyes:
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Hi Graham- good to see you again!
 
Thanks Mike, Frankie and ye of Mackem! I went for Compo as my avatar as I thought it would elevate my status to a more sophisticated, gentlemanly level....;):D
 
Hi Graeme, the garden is OK thanks, a few veggies growing. Lots and lots of Fruit. I realised growing onions and potatoes was stupid as they are so cheap to buy, but raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, apples, peaches and greengages taste nicer and are expensive to buy in the shops.

I'm on a fitness drive these days, I have taken up running and cycling. It's helping with my waistline but more importantly helping my brain to relax.

Good to have you back in the fold Graeme.

It would be good to get Sunburyboy back, not least as it must be time for another batch of Bay Rum. I'm alright, I still have a stash :). I see chrisbell has not been around lately, I hope he is doing OK.
 
Yep, I miss Steve of Sunbury fame and chrisbell too. Pair of gents, so they are.

Clever bugger with the fruit and you're right, they ain't cheap. I love my berries but especially apples - proper British varieties like Discovery, Cox's Orange Pippin (not a good doer for the gardener, I believe), Red Falstaff, Red Windsor, Winter Wonder, Egremont Russet, Laxton's Superb, Chivers Delight and many many more.

As to the fitness lark, I've quit the fags, lost just over 5 stone in weight, walk the dog further than ever before, get out in my folks garden as much as I can and have been doing press ups, situps and the like every second night so making headway but still not up to running and a long way to go. Good start though.

Well done yourself, sir. It ain't easy but it's worth just to feel better inside and be able to do all the things you want to.

Stick in, Steve. :)
 
Great work Graeme, quitting the fags isn't easy. I've only lost a couple of stone but I didn't really have much to lose but quite a lot has relocated to become muscle in my legs. I've list 6 inches from my waistline, back to a 32 inch waist again.
I started off running using the C25K ( Couch to 5 Kilometres) plan from the NHS. I didn't think I could do it as I have never been able to run, but a year ago running for 1 minute was impossible, now I can run for an hour and cover about 7 miles in that time. It's taken a lot of time for my legs to be able to handle the impact of running which is why I started cycling as it's kinder to your knees. I did my first 100 mile cycle a few weeks ago.

It's all good, the more you achieve the better you feel.
 
Good to see you back Graeme and well done on the weight loss, my back surgeon "suggested" to me losing some weight might be good for me. I think he was saying fat b*stard stop eating all the pies, so I am right at the beginning and trying to raise some enthusiasm at the moment !!
 
Amazing stuff, Steve. Truly inspiring. I might not get to that stage but I know I'm on the right track. Need to get my old bike fixed up but I reckon old Toby dog will take the huff if I could out a-pedalling without him. He's fit for nine and a half but he has a wee bit Arthur in his left leg and too much running aggravates it.

Thanks Northam. Yeah, I'd like nothing more than to see Sunbury Steve posting again - he need never make another drop of his legendary elixir, it'd be enough just to have the fella back. I'll try to get in touch with Smallbeard as he's a good lad as has always been kind to me

Cheers to you too, missingskin. It ain't easy but you have to start somewhere. I started by just trying to get through two days whereby I didn't eat between meals i.e. crisps biscuits, cake, chocolate bars and any old shite. That was really hard but I felt good after it then thought right, let's do another two days and don't think beyond that. Slightly easier that time given I was bolstered by the first two days success. Then I slowly but surely tried to watch my portion sizes which again wasn't easy especially as I've never met a single other person that could put away as much as me in a single sitting or over the course of a day.

Although my depression and anxiety hold me back severely, I vowed to get out walking my dog Toby more. I had been guilty of just going to the garden gate and throwing the ball along the street to keep him exercised but again slowly but surely the walking has got better with me going further and faster and even, heavens above, jogging up the odd set of steps although I have to go less travelled routes where I stand less chance of meeting people. Even if it means popping a few of the stronger diazepams, I'll do it just to get out.

Being a keen gardener has helped as weeding the borders, cutting the grass, trimming the hedges (I only use hand shears as power tools and I don't get on) and planting helps keep me active, burning a few calories and it's therapeutic too.

Now, here's a thing that might sound strange: a few months ago I started making my bed really vigourously. Sounds daft but there's a cover at the bottom to protect the duvet from the Tobster so every day I shake that madly for as long as I can, then I shake the duvet like a man possessed for as long as I can. I batter seven bells out of the pillows in order to plump them up and I have four cushions in my room each of which I plump up as vigourously as possible for as long as I can. By the time the bed is made, I'm sweating profusely and breathing heavily so I know it must be burning calories and helping me get my wind back. Also, anytime (apart from first thing in the morning when I'm dead groggy) I go up the stairs, I run up them two steps at a time. None of this sounds like much but if you keep doing it long enough, it makes a difference I can tell you. Another thing is showering. Because I'm a large chap fatwise, I sweat a lot so now when I shower I go super vigourous by rubbing myself everywhere (not there, mate, too much risk of injury!) like a tasmanian devil and dry myself the same way i.e. till my arms and shoulders ache. Yep, helluva unorthodox but it helps, trust me.

Then I started doing some press-ups. At first I could manage ten and then only just. That went on every second day for a wee while till I built in some situps but only managing fifteen of those which was also a struggle. I've been keeping that up for a good while now and last night I managed a total of 128 press ups (7 sets), 105 situps (4 sets), 66 leg raises (4 sets), 150 calf lifts where I stand on my toes and lower my heels to almost but not quite touching the ground and back up again (1 set), 20 squats in a single set where I stand on my toes, keep a straight back and bend my need then push back up again. I also bought myself a grip trainer which is rated at 150lb. I thought I had a pretty decent grip with all the gardening but when I first got this infernal thing I could only close it with my right hand and only 3 or 4 times whereas now I manage 85 with my right hand over 4 sets and 80 with the left over the same. I can almost close it every time with my right hand but my left lags behind. I hope to buy the 200lb version soon. That wee workout was on top of an afternoon gardening and trying to help my dad repairthe summer house - me brawn, hims brains!

Little steps lead to bigger ones and its ok to have a bad day or even a rough week as long as you get back at it. I've gone from nearly bursting out of stretchy 46" waist jeans to having room in size 40". XXL and some XXXL has now become a roomy and comfortable XL whereas my shirt collar has gone from 18.5 to 17. I eat more fruit and veg and don't bother with biscuits or crisps at all. Mother complains that I eat all the carrots because when I'm hungry, I go peel one and get all Bugs Bunny with it. I try to eat foods with less fat and less sugar but I don't go mad as its about portion control really.

I've a way to go yet and I want to get properly fit so I can have fun with my daughter, running around daft and live longer so I can be there for her.

Yer can do it because I said so, right?
 
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missingskin said:
Good to see you back Graeme and well done on the weight loss, my back surgeon "suggested" to me losing some weight might be good for me. I think he was saying fat b*stard stop eating all the pies, so I am right at the beginning and trying to raise some enthusiasm at the moment !!
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Beware! I took such advice and the gym exacerbated my back problem to the extent I went from running to hobbling on two sticks in a matter of a couple of weeks - or four. Not long. On the bright side, I now know my back is inoperable which I didn't before the gym. Running and dodgy backs don't mix!
 
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