Guess Who Game on Twitter #gw99

GUESS WHO ON TWITTER - #gw99

FOLLOW ME and remember to tweet me with #gw99addme to join the list of players.

@Graham_Lay

TO FIND OUT WHERE THE GAME IS AT - type #gw99 into your Twitter search bar....

Stirkes me that this Guess Who Game #gw99 is ideal for people who are new to Twitter!

I was bored yesterday so I decided to start a game of 'Guess Who' on Twitter. Whilst being a very simple, and to many, boring game - it started to become catchy!

I found that some of the players didn't know each other but soon started following each other as they wanted to know what each person was asking and when it was their turn, to receive the answers. In this way, it helped people to connect with each other and build their following. Players would also get their name retweeted, adding to their presence on Twitter.

PREVIOUS WINNERS SO FAR! There is no prize except for the glory of being listed here!!!

When someone wins your game, put the tag #gw99winner in the tweet for me to check.

@Graham_Lay
@jowivipe
@LiamBrown1993
@ThunderThumbs
@no_patients
@sylv666
@SaintChrisD
@Flemmingdoerken
@JuicyJulesRocks
@sad19
@Binnsy29
@Melissaaaaa_x
@Samthebadwolf
@BevStubbs
@vikkiharris1976


TESTIMONIALS

quote: sylv666 @Graham_Lay I'll definately play again, horribly addictive and you don't even need the be in on it from the start! :D #gw99

RT @Thunderthumbs: @Graham_Lay You do realise this is *seriously* addictive? I haven't done a thing pretty much ALL day!!....Nice one :-) #gw99

Binnsy29 @Thunderthumbs I love a bit of #gw99!!

RULES

• Anyone can play
• You ask the 'host' a question that can give a "Yes" or "No" answer to try and establish who the mystery person is
• The 'host' will retweet the questions, adding YES or NO (TweetDeck is useful for this)
  
• All questions and answers should include the tag #gw99 (this enables people to follow the game and see where it is at)
• You can Google / Wikipedia for help - if it makes you feel better!
• The 'host' should choose someone who is famous!
  
• No fighting, arguing, abusing, bullying, etc - Keep it FUN! :)
  
• Any discrepencies / problems - Tweet Me - @Graham_Lay
  

BENEFITS

• Relieves boredom when TV is rubbish
• Connects you with more people
• Builds your following

GUESS WHO PLAYERS

I started a list of people who are playing Guess Who. If you want to be added to the list, Tweet me and include the tag #gw99addme .

Guesswhoplayers (list)

Who knows if this will fizzle out or explode into thousands playing? In any case, we like it!

Have Fun!

Toothache and #savedavina

The annoying thing about toothache is that it hurts!

I'd had a mild toothache yesterday evening so took some panadol and it did the trick for a while. When it got to bed time it was getting a bit worse so I tried a bit of bonjella and off I went to sleep. At around 4am I woke up to severe pain, the kind that makes you all irritable and wish you were somewhere else. Got up to try and sort it out....

Turned on computer and searched for home remedies and there were allsorts of things to try. First one I chose was to chew a whole clove of garlic! For a minute or two the pain went (I think) but it could just have been the overwhelming smell and taste hiding it from me!

The pain came back shortly afterwards so back I went to search for a new idea. The next one was to rub salt in the area of the problem. TIP - before you do this, have a glass of luke warm water handy - it's going to sting like crazy! It works for a bit longer than the garlic idea though, just rinse and gargle after a minute.

I'm still up as I can't go back to sleep, so I'm rubbing salt in every 15 mins at the moment either until I get so tired I can go back to sleep or day breaks and I can call the dentist.

There was another home remedy website that went along the lines of:

Got toothache? (me - 'yes')
Does it hurt? ('yes')
Can you get to a dentist? ('no')
Do you need to alleviate the pain? ('what do you think?')
Here's some people's testimonials on how our trick worked for them....(who cares, give it to me!)
Did we ask you if it hurt? (yes, and it bloody does!!!)
Do you need to sort it now? (um, let me think...)
Here's a few more testimonials, just in case you were wondering if it worked.....(I believe you!)
Are you ready to take the pain away? ('yes')
Here's a clue - you probably already use it in cooking! (garlic? salt? already tried them, what else?)
Anyway, for just $29.99 you can access this tried and tested method. (you're having a laugh!!!)
Pay here and we guarantee the pain will go. (no thanks, nice way to make a mint though, well done)

So I didn't find out what it was, although I guess it was either garlic or salt, or lime or raw onion like the other free sites suggested...cheeky tw@ts!

#savedavina

Whilst I've been suffering, Davina McCall @thisisdavina has been enduring the worst night of her recent life, stuck in snow blizzards for HOURS. Hundreds of wellwishers from Twitter have been praying for her to get home safely and soon so she can cuddle up to Matthew and get warm, what a pain that must be. Jokes came flooding in to try and raise spirits, most of them corny and rubbish but at least people (me included) were trying!

It's 5.43am and the latest tweet was:

ThisisDavina

Having a welcome coffee wee break at bp garage.....matthew going to try and rescue us again from a different direction!!!!

Hope it gets sorted soon, here's what she's been going through:

Snow

Hey - I just realised! Whilst I have been writing this insomniacal tripe the pain has stopped! Cheers Davina, cheers crappy toothache website - you've both taken my mind off the shooting pain! :)

It appears that Twitter is also down. The web interface is not working whatever that means!

Celebrity Big Brother 2010

So, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Outta Here and X Factor have finished for another year and attention turns to the next 'big' reality show - Celebrity Big Brother.

I wonder what we'll have in store this time? Fading celebrities desperate to get their careers back on track? Of course, that's what it's for.

Will we get a 'big name'?

Well, Katie Price had a go recently so perhaps Peter Andre could have a bash at getting his story across (not that they both haven't in a zillion magazines, papers and TV already). At least he knows he won't be forced to eat worms or have rats crawling all over him if he chose this sedate show (in comparison).

Tiger Woods? His name has been mentioned but of course that will never happen, he'll be too busy joining Bill Clinton on a Save the World campaign or something. Interestingly, there are already betting odds on how much the divorce settlement figure will be:

Tiger Woods Divorce Betting Odds

Robbie Williams? Getting paid to go through Rehab - sounds ideal!

Jedward? My favourite thing to come out of reality TV recently? No - they have other plans:

Jedward Reality TV Show

It says in that article that they rejected a deal to go into Celebrity Big Brother - so they were asked?!

Anyway, speculation will continue for another week or so and then we'll get the big introductions. When they introduce someone, it says a lot when they have to spend a couple of paragraphs to explain why they are a celebrity!

Instead of just "Michael Barrymore" (that's all it needed) it could be "Richard Shoemaker - star of shows such as 'Wife swap reunited, Kent version' and 'How to make your living room look bigger, 1996 show #7'". When asked why he wanted to enter the House, he replied, "I'm thinking of going in a new direction with my career" (would that be upwards????!)

Going back to the show, there'll be the usual moans about who does the cooking, who doesn't do enough cooking, who stole a pie in the middle of the night, who does so-and-so think they are, oh you're a legend let me be your new best friend, and countless stories of who they each spent time with recently - the biggest name-dropping fest of the year.

I hope they get some reasonably famous stars, and some who are game for a laugh (like George Galloway getting dressed up in a leotard and making cat noises). We'll see.


The best bit of the show is always Davina McCall. She knows when something needs a wink, a laugh, a frown or a giggle. It's her commentary of what's going on that does it for me, verbal or non-verbal.



Make it a good one Channel 4 - 9PM on January 3rd here I come!

EDIT - since the original post, the Celebrity Big Brother Fees for contestants have been circulated:

CBB7 Fees

As an aside - when I was a student at Loughborough in 1995 my housemates entered me for a TV show called "God's Gift".

I got a call from someone at the TV production company asking me all sorts of questions about my best qualities and stuff and then got invited to go to the auditions. I bottled it and never went, shame really as I would have met the presenter if I got through - Davina!

God's Gift Video

Indoor Rowing, how it began for me and progress to date

After 12 years of doing no real exercise, gaining weight and feeling lethargic all the time I decided last year to start getting fit again.

Having once trained 6 days a week and competed at international level in athletics (javelin), I remembered how it felt to be strong, fit and competitive and I wanted some of that back. I went to the gym in August 2008 and made a start, a bit of weights here and a bit of cycling there but really just playing at it until I found the indoor rowing machine...




I had a quick go and found that I was fairly good at short powerful bursts so I challenged one of the fitness instructors to a 100m sprint. My first go was 16.6s, or an average pace of 1:23.0 - the time it would take over 500m. The instructor did 16.5s so I went again and did 16.0 as I don't like to lose!

I then wondered how good we were so did a Google search and found this:

Rob Smith - 100m World Record

I quickly discovered that the Concept2 indoor rowing machine is a popular piece of equipment used all around the world on which performance can be directly measured against other machines. The times it produces come directly from your power output. Therefore, someone in New Zealand can race against someone from Canada and their times be directly compared to each other. Fantastic!

I then found that there is an online ranking tool and online communities where 'rowers' can discuss technique, training, competition and just about anything else making it a very sociable community where people are very supportive of each other whilst remaining competitive (to their varying degrees of competitiveness!).

Concept2 UK

I joined a virtual team - the Forum Flyers. We have members from all round the world - UK, Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Holland, Germany, etc. Each month we compete in a monthly challenge against other virtual teams. The challenge changes every month, sometimes long distance, sometimes a sprint, sometimes interval work which makes it fun and interesting. In the picture, we have Rick, Georgina, Shirley, me, Kris, Debbie and Chris. Rick travelled over from the USA and Shirley came all the way from New Zealand for this competition!


Going back to when I started, the first Challenge I took part in was a 500m sprint in August 2008. Although it is a sprint, times range from around 1:14 (world record standard) to 2:00 plus for beginners, children and elderly. My time was 1 min 29.2 secs. This put me 85th out of 447 entries - not bad for a first go!

CTC - Cross-Team Challenge

From then on, I got more and more into it. For the first few months I didn't really know what I was doing, just having a go here and there and having fun.

I entered the Welsh Championships in Cardiff, December 2008 (open to all nationalities) to have a go. How nervous was I???? A middle aged baldy bloke competing at a national level - what are you thinking you madman?! As it turned out, there were people of all standards there, and it became evident very quickly that no matter what your standard, everyone was welcome to compete and try to beat their own best times.

In my race the World Record holder, Rob Smith, was aiming to beat his previous World Record of 1:15.9 and there was a charity sweepstake set up for the crowds to guess his winning time. He raised over £100 and smashed his world record with a time of 1:14.4. I didn't get to watch him as I was racing, but I did see his virtual 'boat' on the projector screen up front. Each machine is hooked up to a central computer which records times and projects the race onto the screen for people to see what's happening. I saw that there were two boats pulling away from the rest in the first 100m - Rob's boat, and MINE! "Hey - this is easy" I thought, and carried on going as fast as I could. It turns out this was not the best strategy as you can see here:

500m Welsh Championships 2008 Video - Graham Lay

I died badly in the last 150m and had absolutely nothing left. So - time to learn. It's all about pacing. Go too fast and you blow up (at whatever distance), go too slow and you are too slow! You have to know your optimum pacing strategy and be disciplined enough to stick to it.

February 2009 - English Championships in Manchester. By now I had done more training (including my first 30 minute piece of 7222m) and learned more about my pacing. I thought I could get under 1:25 so I planned to go at around 1:23 - 1:24 pace for as long as possible and see what happened. My final time was 1:23.5 and I won Silver (yippee!), mainly due to the race strategy and discipline of sticking to it.

500m Silver - English Championships 2009, Manchester - Graham Lay

Since then, I've competed over 5000m (19m 11s) and 1 minute sprint (380m) at Farnborough, the Mile at Evesham (5:18.6 - 1:39.0 pace) and recently my biggest competition the BIRC, British Indoor Rowing Championships at Birmingham over 2000m (6:38.9 - 1:39.7 pace) coming 12th in my category out of 26 entrants.

It was amazing to meet all my friends there, including a couple of World Record Holders and meet Steve Backley (former javelin world record holder and 3 time Olympic medallist) for a chat before my race. The cameradery between everyone was superb.

The biggest challenge I undertook this year was to row a Marathon for my chosen charity, the Blue Cross. That is 42, 195m sitting on the indoor rowing machine. I did it in September in 3 hours 8 mins and 16 seconds. That was very hard, but with determination it was certainly possible. The kind people who donated raised over £500, thank you.

End of Marathon

I think back to when I started and smile when I remember the first 100m sprint I did, and then the Marathon in September after 1 year of training. I've lost 3 stone in weight and my blood pressure is totally normal again after finding out in March it was very high.

What's great for me is that because it is so measurable, you can set yourself very specific targets. I've achieved two of my goals for 2009 (under 45 secs for 300m, under 7 mins for 2000m) and still have two to tick off my list (under 1:20 for 500m, under 3 mins for 1000m) and am close to beating those targets before Christmas. I'm looking forward to setting new targets for next year and working hard to get to where I want to be. I currently train after work 5-6 times per week, whether it's short interval work, longer cardio work or weights to build strength.

My current PBs (Personal Best Times):

100m - 14.1s
300m - 44.6s
500m - 1:19.9
1000m - 3:01.4
1609m - 5:14.9
2000m - 6:32.8
5000m - 17:54.7
6000m - 21:47.4
30 mins - 8158m
10000m - 37:25.4
60 mins - 15806m
Half Marathon - 1:22:25.0
Full Marathon - 2:59:36.8

My favourite Performance so far:



Me racing against the 100m World Record Holder, Rob Smith in Basingstoke 2010. Rob did it in 13.8s, I did it in 14.9s so a full second and a full stroke behind (although I matched his stroke rate I couldn't match his power!)



English Championships 2010 - Manchester

I went back to 'defend' my silver and go for gold last week. I'm in much better shape and was dubbed favourite before the race which put even more pressure on. My closest rival was Sergey Suvorov who had posted a time of 1:21.4 prior to the event, my best being 1:20.6. When we set off, I pushed far too hard for the first 25 seconds in order to get the average speed down where I wanted it. I paid dearly for it after 60s and my legs just gave up! Lots of shouting form friends encouraged me to keep going but my power had well and truly gone. Managed to limp home for another Silver in 1:22.9. Faster than last year, but not my best race!

I'd recommend anyone having a go on the Concept2 indoor rowing machine, not only for the fitness and health gains you will make, but also for the sociable aspects within the online community and at competitions where you will meet people you have been talking to. It's a fantastic way to relieve stress and gives you a feel good factor, so try it - you won't be disappointed!


Here's a great tutorial on technique: 










INDOOR ROWING GUIDE

Welsh Championships 2010

500m Open - Bronze with 1:22.9 behind Sergei Suvorov and Eugeni Trofimov

Open Relay - GOLD! Rowing with Jon Goodal, and the two Russian above.

English Championships 2011

500m 30-39 Heavyweight - Bronze with my first ever sub 1:20 clocking! 1:19.9 very happy

Open Relay - Gold - same team as in Cardiff for the Welsh Champs.

Medal Honours at National Competitions:

Gold

Open Relay - Welsh Champs 2010

Open Relay - English Champs 2011

(Senior Boys Javelin - English Schools Champs 1994)

Silver

30-39 Heavyweight 500m - English Champs 2009

30-39 Heavyweight 500m - Welsh Champs 2009

30-39 Heavyweight 500m - English Champs 2010

Bronze

Open 500m - Welsh Champs 2010

30-39 Heavyweight 500m - English Champs 2011

(U17 Javelin - English Schools Champs 1992)

(U17 Javelin - British Schools International 1992)

PB Progression

You can follow progress on non-smoking, or recommend friends to join our friendly "Stop-Smoking-Together" community here:

STOP SMOKING TOGETHER

My weight-loss story - including 14.5lbs in 6 days and 47lbs in 9 months is here;

LOSE WEIGHT TOGETHER

My general waffling is here:

Twitter - @Graham_Lay

PLEASE CLICK A POLL BUTTON BELOW IF YOU FOUND THIS FUNNY INTERESTING OR USEFUL, THANK YOU!

Jedward in The Jungle

Following the sad departure of my favourite duo at the moment from ITV's X Factor, I've decided that it's the people's turn to speak and get them back on the box.

I set up a fun Campaign Group on Facebook for people to share and show their support to get Jedward on "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Outta Here!"

JOIN THE GROUP

Let's face it - they would be the biggest names in there and they'd make it more interesting. I can't help but feel that the 'Celebs' would feel aggrieved about a couple of kids who struck it lucky on a talent show taking over their domain!

OK Magazine have voiced their support via Twitter:

OK_Magazine

We wish, how amazing would that be?! RT @Graham_Lay: @OK_Magazine "Jedward in the Jungle"...work your stuff OK! 12 minutes ago from TweetDeck

So come on, join the fun and let's get the dastardly duo Down Under and on the box again......

Tuesday 24th Nov 8am - I texted Chris Moyles about the boys but he didn't reply, wonder why?

"Chris, use your power to get Jedward in the Jungle, it's been missing a couple of tits since Katie Price left!"

Tue 24th Nov - 9.35pm - our group is steamrolling out of control with an unbelievable 52 supporters! Surely more people would want the boys back on the box????? haha

Wed 25th Nov - 8.24pm - the magic 100 members! the internet will break at this rate - steady on!!!

Quit not quitting!

Well, the month of silence is due to not being able to carry through the commitment to stopping smoking and the subsequent shame...

I struggled after 5 days and had a lapse which put me right back where I was before. I can't make any excuses for it, I found reasons to delay stopping which is not good enough.

I'm currently trying to cut down to a position where I can stop from when I am ready again.

In the meantime, I'm still going to the gym 5-6 days a week and keeping fit. Weight is under control, 95kg down from 114kg in March. Blood pressure is totally normal. All of that means nothing though - smoking is a killer, end of story.

Day 5 - Non Smoker

I didn't post yesterday for a couple of reaons:
1/ I couldn't log in to the edit facility from work....
2/ I didn't think about smoking much at all yesterday - yipee!

I'm finding my lungs are clearing out nicely and the cravings aren't half as bad as they were in the first 2-3 days. It's going well, and a large part of the willpower has been forged by the support from everyone reading and commenting on the progress.

Here's how many I've NOT smoked now, and £24.00 saved too!


Thank You!

Non Smoker - Day 3

That's how many I've NOT had so far, and now saved £9.60!

So it's day 3 and I've been managing well so far. Have been getting cravings that usually last about 60 seconds or so. Once they've gone, I'm back to normal so it really is just a question of fighting and beating each one as they happen. I am telling myself that I am strong and I can beat them, especially considering how relatively easy it is to fight a craving compared to other things.

I do a lot of indoor rowing on the Concept2 rower, and every time I do a session it is 10 times as hard as fighting off a craving so it comes back to becoming a matter of choice.

Thanks for all the support I've had on here and through Twitter, you all remind me to stay strong at times when I need it.

Smokeless - Day 2

So, it's Day 2 (the first full day though) and I'm getting ready for work.

I had a moment of mini-panic earlier when I realised that I would never be having a cigarette again. The panic came from knowing that the 'satisfaction' of the first couple of drags wouldn't be felt again. However, swiftly told myself that the only satisfaction was from the fuelling of a chemical addiction. The craving passed.

One of my freinds reminded me this morning that I can do it, because I am stubborn.
She's got a good point!!!

Looking forward to the sense of taste coming back. My wife cooks wonderful food (she's Singaporean) so I'll get to savour it even more when my taste buds are back on board!

Money-wise, that's £4.80 saved from not buying a new pack.

Here's how many fags I've NOT smoked in the last 24 hours:


9.47pm - I've found it quite hard this afternoon, but it helps to know there's a lot of support. I find it enables me to draw on an inner strength and move on from the cravings... thank you!

Stopping Smoking Commitment

I started smoking when I was 18, when I went to an interview at Cambridge University - can't even think why I did, perhaps due to being so nervous at the time. I was an international standard athlete as well (javelin) so looking back, it was so stupid of me to make that decision in the first place.

Now, 15 years later and having tried about 4-5 times in the past to stop, I've decided:

IT IS TIME

In January this year, I stopped and did pretty well. I didn't use any products or hypnosis, just cold turkey and will power. I got to 7 weeks and was finding it surprisingly manageable. It broke down when I was sat outside in the sun over a coffee with my wife. I asked her for a drag as I remembered how nice it used to feel in the sun with a coffee. That was that and I was back on it...grrrr.

In the meantime, I've started going to the gym again since August 2008 after years and years of doing no formal exercise apart from walking at work (which reduced as I progressed to management). I've lost 3 stone and my Blood Pressure has reduced from 150/100 ish, to 120/80. I followed a 6 day diet in March during which I lost 14.5lbs - if you want to have a go, here's my blog about that: 6 day diet

I've also become competitive at indoor rowing, which is a fantastic way to get fit and lose weight. I won a Silver Medal at the English Championships over 500m, and am currently ranked 4th in the world for 30-39 year olds. As you can maybe tell, I am competitive, and when I set my mind to something, I have to win!

So, I decided this week that today I am stopping smoking forever, no lapses. I wanted to make a public commitment to what I'm doing so I tweeted Duncan Bannatyne earlier to tell him I'm stopping (he's a great anti-smoking campaigner as well as everything else).

To my surprise, he replied with some words of support for which I'm grateful as it has only consolidated my resolve to do this:

"@Graham_Lay Please please don't falter YOU CAN DO IT!!!!"

"Please do RT @Graham_Lay @DuncanBannatyne I'm stopping smoking today By tweeting you about it I have no choice but to stop now. Cheers Dunc!"

When I stopped before, I compared rowing 30 minutes to beating a craving. Now, I can compare the experience of rowing a Marathon to beating a craving. Having done that, and remembering the pain and determination it took to do that for a charitable cause, how hard can a 30 second craving be to fight off for my life (and finances)?!

For anyone reading this who wants to commit to stopping smoking too, simply add a comment below or tweet me with your commitment and we can help each other with common goals, support and motivation.

I won't say "Good Luck", instead I'll say "Good Choice!"

P.S. - just calculated how much smoking has cost me in financial terms - £19,912!

Thanks for the link from @patsion : Smoking Calculator

Baldy's Bolognese Blaster!

I have quite possibly just invented THE BEST bolognese ever by accident and thought I'd share the magic:

After a heavy gym session I was more than a bit peckish so I decided to cook something filling. Looking in the fridge, I had a large pack of mince which I was going to use to make homemade burgers with, but it looked good for today's mealathon. There was a large jar of tomato and herb bolognese sauce in the cupboard, so bolognese it was. It would have been boring just to use the sauce and the meat so I added the following usual add-ons to fill it out a bit:

800g Minced Beef (Ground beef for the leftpondians)
700g Tomato & Herb Sauce
1 Onion, diced
3 Mushrooms, chopped
Worcestershire sauce

boring so far huh? well, I was that hungry I was snacking on some cracked black pepper cashew nuts while I was browning the beef so I thought - what the hell, chuck em in!

200g cashew nuts

Then I decided to give it some kick, so added 3 large pinches of dried chilli flakes.

And the final ingredient, just to give the cheap beef and sauce a luxurious aftertaste - a large splash of port (pour it round the pan, be generous).

There was no spaghetti, so I decided to have a go with some Basmati rice instead for now (there's plenty left over so I can freeze or fridge it for when I have spag).

End result - THE most tasty, filling, memorable bolognese ever - TRY IT! :)

Shopping Bag Etiquette

Before you read my note, please bear in mind the following point:

I totally agree with taking responsibility for our planet and think that recycling and re-using shopping bags is a great way to conserve resources and prevent animal cruelty. I do re-use shopping bags and I am a practitioner of recycling and promote it at work and in the community.

...............................................................................
Now, here are some observations from the past year which I have just realised this week following a recent trip to the supermarket:

If you do not have a re-usable shopping bag with you when you get to the checkout, BEWARE!

The questions the checkout people have been trained to ask will make you feel anything from slightly embarrassed to feeling guilty of a major crime (if you have any caring bone in your body).

"Have you GOT a bag?" they will ask in an assumptive way - emphasising the fact that you should have....and they can see you haven't got one....

"Erm, no, sorry, I left it at home, I usually bring one but I forgot" (apologetically, I make my excuse, feeling rather ashamed!)

They have a nack of making you feel about 2 inches tall. I am not a snob, but as a manager, and a paying customer, I am totally disarmed and reprimanded by a teenager with spots who is on probation for shoplifting or drug dealing or something - how is that right?!!!!!

12 months ago, if they had said that to me I wouldn't have even flinched, I'd have said "No, can I have some please?" without a care in the world.

So their plan is working - I have been educated in the new subject of shopping bag etiquette without realising it! Months of TV adverts and new signs being placed in the shops and new training methods with the checkout people, etc have accumulatively built up my knowledge to the point where I now know it is wrong - very, very wrong of me to use a fresh plastic bag!

They have also hidden the bags so that if you don't have one, they have to get them out from under the counter and in an unfeasibly large gesture, usually accompanied by a groan or exhalation of air, they ensure that the whole supermarket is made aware of the fact that you are an irresponsible, animal hurting, wasteful, arrogant person who nobody should acknowledge except for with a raised eyebrow or a tut! They will also check and count your shopping items on the conveyor belt first and give you what they deem to be an appropriate amount of bags - God forbid you can't pack as efficiently as they suggest because you will be forced to ask for more!

So, as they get you to confirm the absence your own bag, the checkout person has now gone from sporting a welcoming smile and a "How are you today?" to a sideways glance out of the corner of their eye every so often. They do this with full backing of their managers and the collective social conscience of the other shoppers around you.

Instead of placing the food near to your hand to make packing easier, they toss it half way down the slope, or worse, they mix up frozens with tinned food to confuse you and make extra work!

Some shops charge you for the privilege of taking one of their portable adverts out into the street, others reward you with 'points' for using your own!

I asked last week - "Do we get taxed if we haven't got any?" she laughed - "No, but you get points for every bag you bring and use"

"AHA! - Gotcha!" I think....

....my plan for the next trip is to bring in 20 bags and buy 20 items and put 1 item in each bag and tell her I used 20 bags, therefore earning 20 reward points! Is there a limit to how many bags I can claim, do I have to place a certain number of items in each bag to qualify? Huh? Where's your rules on that one Sainsbury's?!

Anyway, as I was trying to catch the food as it was thrown at me I thought I'd take a sneaky peek at the other people at the end of the other queues - what were they doing?

The bloke next to me had a huge re-usable Morrisons bag and was neatly packing about 20kg of items in it like a sensible, considerate tree-hugger. The problem was - we were in Sainsburys! It made me think - what is the supermarket policy on supermarket adultery? That bloke was blatantly 'cheating' on someone....was it Morrisons or Sainsburys?

Another thing I noticed was the variety of bags, styles, sizes and materials. Some people quite clearly see it as a fashion thing, bringing their Gucci holdall along to show that they don't NEED to buy the 'Sainsburys Basics' range, but choose to do so! Others have a ropey old hessian sack that looks like it's about to rip, because they have re-used it since before the war (don't ask which one, there's been that many now...).

In any case, whilst I totally agree with the sentiment and practicality of re-using shopping bags, I STRONGLY object to the way in which it has been done to me!

I am a grown man with my own mind, but I have been subliminally forced into this. Give me a choice, and remind me from time to time and I will gladly change my habits, in my own time, because I am stubborn!

So, Tescos, Asda, Sainsburys, Morrisons, et al - I have noticed, and my car now carries about 12 re-usable shopping bags, and more often that not I remember to take them into the supermarket with me.

When I succeed, I can smugly raise my eyebrows at the bloke before me who forgot or chose not to bring one.

When I forget, I try to find the quietest queue, in the remotest part of the supermarket and slink out without getting 'caught'!

London 2012 Olympics - Help!

The London 2012 Olympics are fast approaching, and I've still to choose which sport to try in my last chance to become an Olympian!

I used to throw the javelin, international standard up to the age of 20 and then injury and career put paid to any further progress. Recently I've been indoor rowing to get fit and healthy again, and have made good progress (4th in the world for my age group over 500m) but rowing is not going to be an Olympic option for me.

So I'm stuck! What else can I try? Any suggestions are welcome!

I am powerful, but not enough to shot putt my way there.
I'm pretty quick, but Usain Bolt is safe. I'm not very good at endurance, at all.
My hands aren't steady enough to do shooting or archery.
Unless it's the Med or Carribbean, I don't want to get wet on a boat - so sailing is out.
I am good at logical games that require fast decisions, so what can I do - any ideas?

Anyway, Chicago lost out to Rio de Janeiro in their bid to secure 2016, thank goodness!

About time someone else had a go at hosting the Games, especially a South American nation. Beach Volleyball will be high on the agenda I can imagine, and a carnival atmosphere should prevail - fantastic!

Derren Brown's Control the Nation Show - Reaction

I was looking forward to watching the show and eagerly anticipating a ground-breaking television experience where Derren Brown promised to stick us to our chairs!

Watching the build up to the main event, as I thought, there was reference to the subliminal films of the 50's and 60's, then a couple of demonstrations of subjects being influenced by PWA (perception without awareness). This helped to build anticipation and set the scene.

Shortly before the film, there were a couple of flashed pictures that I could just make out to be someone sat in a chair, but I couldn't recognise the expression or posture very well. I think this was simply to add to the placebo effect that something was about to control me.

The phrases and words Derren Brown used before the film were probably the most important part of the whole programme. He flattered us by saying things like "If you are talented at ebing susceptible" and making out that it would work only on the 'special people'. I'm sure it was all about us wanting to believe and accepting his suggestions about our body parts becoming heavy and that the more we try the less energy we have.

I reckon the film had very little to do with the side-effects, apart from getting us to focus on one thing - sticking to the chair. I don't think there were any hidden images or messages played to us at all, instead, a white screen with parallel lines swirling around to get us to focus and believe that something was happening to us.

After the film, when he suggested that we should try to stand up, for a moment I didn't want to and almost pretended to myself that I couldn't move. When I put my mind to it and made the decision to stand up, I did. I felt a little let down, but at the same time understood it for what it was.

I was glued to the chair more before the commercial break as I wanted to get up and get my fiancee to come and join in, but I couldn't move for fear of missing the start!

I decided to watch the show again on Channel 4 + 1 to see if I sat more directly in front of the screen and really let myself go with the flow whether it would work. It didn't! What I did notice though on the second show was that Derren Brown said "After you've watched the film, I'll explain how I did it". Unfortunately, he didn't, hence the speculation like in this blog and on countless thousands around the globe and amongst the twitterati - great publicity, although for many people this is the second let-down in 2 shows. The next show about psychic spys portends to give us psychic powers - something that Derren Brown has always refuted. It'll be more suggestion, misdirection and illusion, but that's what is great about him!

I'd like to meet the people who did stick - and have some fun with them, suggesting things for them to do! I bet Derren Brown has a great lead bank of suggestible types from those 50,000 calls that were made for his next series.

6 Day Fat Loss Diet

In March 2009 (this year) I weighed in at almost 18st, within 6 days I lost 14lbs...

My personal trainer suggested I try a 6 day diet to try and get some fat off so I thought, 'OK, can't be too hard to stick to a diet for 6 days, let's give it a whirl'.

The diet is:

Breakfast - half a grapefruit, 6 egg whites scrambled, multivitamin tablet

10 o clock - black coffee, no sugar or milk

11 o clock - protein shake

1pm - half a roast chicken (no skin), 1/4 pepper, 1/4 onion, 1/4 cucumber, 2 mushrooms, 1 tomato, stick of celery

3pm - protein shake

6pm - salmon steak, 6 asparagus stalks (no sauce, grilled)

7pm - black coffee

(repeat for 6 days)

The only addition permitted is water, about 3 litres per day and as and when you want. Nothing to be removed.

You have to be disciplined with this, as the results from other people I know who tried it varied according to how much they cheated! Most who followed it, and had fat to lose in the first place, lost about a stone in 6 days.

Total Weight loss in 6 days = 6.5kg = 14.5lb

From 17st 7lb to 16st 6.5lb

Try it if you want to lose weight, I promise that you will if you stick to the plan....I'm now just over 15 stone as I've been losing weight ever since I kick-started it.

Here's me in December 2007:

And here in December 2009:

TESTIMONIALS

Ask them yourself how they managed and what they achieved!

_____________________________________________________________________

~Maryanne (@minmouse) said...

Great diet plan - it worked for me!! I'm 8lbs lighter than I was 6 days ago .. WOW! Thanks Graham

_____________________________________________________________________

@tattylashes123 said....

@Graham_Lay graham i got weighed this morning YIPPEEE, 10lbs lost, thankyou so much for this, it's brill...start again next week, (smiling)

_____________________________________________________________________

Usain Bolt - How low can he go?

The man is a phenomenon.

It's hard to say how long it will be before someone else with his talent, stature and power will come along and break his world records.

I remember thinking that nobody would ever beat Michael Johnson's 200m WR at the time, but they did...

How low can Usain Bolt go for 200m in the World Athletics Final? 18.99, 18.98......?

Baldy's Take On It:

18.99 has got to be the target, but is he ready to do that yet? No.

Will he get there next year? Depends on whether the recent success, fame and money affects his motivation to train - World Records don't just happen, they require total and utter dedication.

I'd like to say yes, but Baldy says no.

UPDATE - 19.68s to equal the Championship record...not as fast as he used to be in his younger days!

Serena Williams - Opinions?

Serena Williams lost in the Semi Final of the US Open after an outburst at an official following a foot fault call. Earlier in the match she had already had a code violation for smashing her racket at the end of the first set.

Ms Williams was shouting at the lineswoman and jabbing her racquet towards her. There is speculation about what she said to the lineswoman initially but microphones heard "I never said I would kill you, are you serious?"

Baldy's Take On It:

I'm glad she lost.

It may send out a message that this type of behaviour is unacceptable, not only in public, in the streets, but especially at such a high profile event that is televised and shown round the world. Ms Williams gets paid millions to play tennis, not make threats and behave like a spoilt teenager. It is one thing to be passionate about your sport, it is another to hurl abuse and make threats. Her lack of respect and loss of control was punished, and she lost the opportunity to play in the final. Will she did it again? Who knows...

Read more at the BBC
What do you think?

Marathon for the Blue Cross Animal Charity

This week I did a Full Marathon on the indoor rowing machine to help raise funds for the Blue Cross animal charity.

42,195m or 26.2 miles in 3 hours 8 minutes and 16 seconds. The last hour was very painful, and I was so glad to get over the finish line!

Here's a video clip from the end!

And a picture of me afterwards...















The sponsorship page is open until the 30th September if you would like to donate.

So far, over £528 has been raised for which I am most grateful. Thank You

First blog - Derren Brown

I already blog about the training I do on the Concept2 indoor rower so I thought I'd start a general blog for ramblings about this that and t'other as an when I feel the need.

Today's hot topic seems to be about Derren Brown and his Lottery Numbers' Prediction, not so much the prediction but the mass feeling of being 'cheated' that is being tweeted and blogged about everywhere.

When I say 'cheated', what I mean is that a lot of people seem to feel aggrieved that they tuned in to find out how he did it were still left feeling confused at the end.

Baldy's Take On it:

Derren Brown is out to promote himself and that's just what he's done. He generated the illusion of predicting the Lottery Numbers and along with it a million and one conspiracy theories and a corresponding number of internet blogs, tweets, posts, links, etc - job done!

I enjoyed the show. I stil don't know how he did it, but it looked impressive and that's what counts for me. I'm looking forward to the next show where he tells us that we won't be able to get up off our chairs - a challenge that people will want to try and test, especially those who feel aggrieved after last night!

Like him or not, he is a fantastic showman (which he happily admits to being).

When I manage to acquire a new laptop I intend to spend more time pondering t'is, t'at and t'other. In the meantime, thank you for visiting and feel free to follow my blog.

Oh, and those videos to the right are of me on the rowing machine at competitions if you want to see what it's all about!