Greetings All,

Welcome to the fitness edition.  Don’t worry, I haven’t gone all health conscious and boring. Well, not really. It’s just

that it is getting closer to Christmas. The time of year when I over indulge more than usual. Hence my thoughts have started to turn to matters physical and, more importantly, to my already expanding waistline.

The Problem

Lets be honest. I am overweight and very unfit. The problem is, I really enjoy food, especially the unhealthy stuff and I also enjoy a beer or three. Washed down by another beer. Add to this my complete and utter lack of will power and, well it’s a problem.

I used to visit the gym religiously. I’d only go on Sundays.  No, seriously, I used to actually enjoy going to the gym. Once there, I  may have hated it, but I kept going back. On a good week, I would visit at least 3 and usually 4 times a week, spending at least an hour on cardio and then do some strength training.  I’d also go swimming at least once or twice a week.  Swimming is not my favorite pastime.  I never really learned to swim as a kid, so have zero technique. The upside of this is, whilst I may not go far, I use a lot of energy, fighting myself more than the water. Swimming is  really hard work.

The Reward

It’s fair to say, I have an obsessive nature. When I get into something, I tend to go all out for it. Some might say, wifey for instance, that I get a bit carried away.  It becomes all consuming.  So it was with keeping fit.  I got to the stage of really looking forward to the gym, sneaking off at lunchtime for a quick 40 minutes on the cross trainer. Then go again on the way home from work.

After my sessions in the gym and especially in the pool, I would have a nice warm glow of self righteous satisfaction.  I would then blow it by then going to the bar and having a few scoops. Well, I had earned it,  hadn’t I?

None the less, I managed to keep my weight in check and was reasonably fit, meaning I could keep up with small daughter.  Mostly.  This went on for years. I was in a routine, I was fit and my jeans were a comf0rtable fit. All was well with the world.  And then it wasn’t.

The Change

I am embarrassed to say, over the last 14 months,  I can  count the number of times I have gymed on the fingers of one hand.  So what happened?  Big changes, that’s what happened.   Out of the blue and entirely unexpectedly, I was let go by my company.   So, I changed jobs. This entailed moving house and Emirate. The new job was pants. Stupid long hours and an ever growing list of problems. Fortunately, I managed to secure another job, but it has proven to be rather intense too.  Bottom line, I work longer hours and seem to spend more time in the car commuting or in airports traveling.  Oh and let’s not forget we have Snuggles the wonder dog who needs lots of walks. Hence, I simply don’t seem to have had the time to gym.

I know that sounds a pathetic excuse, but pathetic or not it’s the truth. It’s also true to say, the longer you leave it, the

harder it is to get back into the  habit of exercising.  So that’s why today my waist is telling me bigger trousers are required. (I am ignoring it, which is very uncomfortable). I do try.  Walking up the stairs from the car park rather than use the lift and I do walk the dog miles.  But it’s not enough. Which is why this is the fitness edition.

The challenge

It might be a stupid time of year to start, but today is the start of my get fit fight back.  I enjoy my food far too much to diet. Don’t do  vegetables and have never knowlingly eaten salad. So, if I am to survive to a ripe old age whilst not going ‘pop’ over Christmas, I have to burn more calories and get fitter.

I will be publically naming and shaming myself  as a means of encouraging me to keep going. I will publish my stat’s here and if anyone wishes to join me and support me, feel free. E-mail me or leave a comment here and you shall go on the wall of fame/shame.

The Hard Statistic

Obesity and all that goes with it is on the rise. Heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, jogging pants. I want to avoid all these horrors. I want to walk Small Daughter and Big Daughter down the aisle one day. So, I need to increase my chances.

I am going to try to stick to a schedule and work plan and will update my stats weekly here. So here is the, admittedly startling base line:  (don’t judge – I am very tall and big boned 😇)

Height –  6’ 4”

weight – 16 .5 stone

waist 38” (forced into 36” gosh it’s uncomfortable)

BMI  29.3.  That makes me overweight rather than obese. Which I suppose is good.  Anyway, there you have it. Let’s see how I get on over the coming weeks. And I was really looking forward to Christmas 🙄

The Rant

As I hope you all realize, I am desperate to get back to Scotland. It’s where we, as a family, feel most comfortable and the place we have put down roots.  But  recently, even I have started to wonder if perhaps a few more years away might not be a good idea.

What is going on in Britain?  I am sure the majority of the British Joe Public are thinking exactly the same thing.

Our ruling classes seem to have had a collective meltdown and catastrophic failure of common sense. Being stuck overseas, a few degrees removed from daily life, does give you a different perspective.  From here, it’s not just a shambles, it’s an embarrassing and disgraceful farce.

The B Word

As much as I hate to do it, let’s talk about the B word. Brexit.

David Cameron opened a real Pandora’s box when he ordered the referendum on leaving the EU. The moral being,

‘Don’t ask questions you may not like the answer to.’  But he did. And as far as he and the majority of the establishment are concerned, Joe Public got it wrong.  But a decision was arrived at and the choice  was made to leave the EU.

Regardless of my own beliefs, that was the democratic decision and our elected leaders should be delivering on it.  Instead they seem to be doing everything in their power to block it, reverse it delay it or dilute it.

If this were from  a genuine belief that leaving is a catastrophically bad decision and they are trying to save us from ourselves, I might be more forgiving.  But I believe it’s more for self serving careerist opportunism in the vast majority of cases.

As we grow up, most of  us come to realize through experience, that you very rarely get everything you want. We all learn to compromise and to make do. But where Brexit is concerned, our ruling classes seem to have lost the plot. They seem to be viewing in black or white. We know the world isn’t like that. It’s endless shades of grey.

When Trump was elected, I had American friends coming to me to apologize for what they considered a collective brain fart by the American people.  I find myself reciprocating and now feel the need to apologize for the mess we are making of Brexit.

Vision

Having been handed a democratically arrived at decision, not one of them seems to have a vision of how to deliver on it.  Instead it’s been used as a large stick to bang the drum for whatever particular agenda they happen to favor.

The Conservatives

Europe has long been a devisive issue for the Conservatives.  Didn’t do Heath or Major any favors and totally screwed David Cameron. The man who, after putting us in this position, instantly picked up his coat tails and legged it, which frankly, I view as the ultimate betrayal.

I feel kind of sorry for Mother Theresa. What a poison chalice she inherited. She at least appears to be trying to act with a shred of integrity through all this. Possibly. It was always going to mission impossible, reaching an agreement that kept everyone happy. Sadly she appears to have negotiated a deal that no one likes. And they are all climbing over each other to tell her so.

Party unity?  What a self serving, arrogant, thick headed bunch of oxygen thieves.  Have they the ‘National Interest ‘ at heart? Do they bollocks.  They have their own horribly selfish and partisan interests at heart. I am thoroughly fed up of the lot of them.  Far from listening to what the public want, they don’t care. What they want is far more important. So we should all shut up and do as we are told. That we are being told next to nothing and what we are told is contradictory, is irrelevant.  They seem incapable of accepting  or even considering any compromise from their own polarized views. But worse, they don’t seem to care about the damage they are inflicting on the country.  If it all goes horribly pear shaped, at least they will still have public funded, well paid jobs. For now.

SNP

At home, from day one, the Blessed Nicola saw Brexit as a godsend for stirring up more Nationalist feeling to win

Scottish independence.  It must be really galling to her that it doesn’t seem to have had the desired effect. Personally speaking, her arguments make no sense to me. The argument, as I understand it is this. Scotland shouldn’t be dragged out of the EU against its will. So it should be independent and able to make its own decisions, free of the dictates of Westminister. That means breaking away from an elected body over which we have a fair degree of influence (and from whom we have  received a significant package of devolved powers. ) Then we can, instead, hand over these powers to what is effectively an undemocratic, unelected plutocracy in Brussels.  And as David Cameron ably demonstrated before the referendum, the UK had very little clout at influencing EU policy. So what chance has Scotland got? Assuming they were allowed in, which is doubtful, regardless of what Spain may say.   I understand the passion that Independance can stir. But I don’t believe the majority of Scots hate England so much, they would break apart the Union only to secede power to Brussels?  Joking about England losing to France in the 6 Nations is one thing. But bowing to the latest daft EU ruling to prove a point? I don’t think so. Independance May well come one day. But it won’t be arrived at because of or for the benefit of EU membership.

Labour

God forbid this mob ever get elected. They cant even agree what day of the week it is.   Being a socialist is one thing, but this lot seem to be slightly to the left of Marx and think Lenin was a moderate.  Observing their volte faces, contradictions, indecision and bare faced opportunism, it’s obvious they don’t give a monkeys about what’s best for the country. What’s going to get them elected is what’s important. Mother Theresa could have won every concession in the world and they would still vote it down.  Because it suits them to do so. It’s not  the public interest they are interested in. It’s self interest they serve.

DUP

I would mention the Lib dems, but why bother.    So to the DUP.  Another seemingly confused bunch. They don’t like

the Irish back stop and I can kind of see why. If there is a special customs status for Northern Ireland, allowing closer ties with the south. And there is a defacto trade border with the mainland in the Irish Sea, then north and south are more aligned than the north and the rest of Britain. Politically, that sounds like dodgy ground.

But for the farmers and businesses in Northern Ireland, they love the agreement. Nothing actually changes for them. They stay in a customs union with the EU and have relatively soft borders with the mainland that make not a jot of difference. Its the best of both worlds as far as I can see. So they want the deal to go through. But for the politicians, sod that.   Don’t care if you want it. It makes our tenure more precarious and difficult. So if that means pulling the confidence and supply agreement to topple the government. So be it.

The Way Ahead.

So what is the way ahead?  I don’t think anyone has a good or indeed any alternative. Especially not now, at this 11th hour.  I also struggle to understand why they think we, the public believe they could do better, because they say so. That they could wring more concessions out of Brussels, just because they are jolly cross and believe they deserve better?  Coockoo. The EU do not want people to leave the club. So they have to be seen to punish the UK for its temerity for choosing to leave. Anything else would be perceived as weakness. It was a lose lose from the very start.

Reversing Brexit, holding the so called people’s vote, would, in my opinion be a very dangerous thing to do.  It’s against everything I thought we upheld as a democratic country.  The  establishment didn’t like the result, they disagree with the majority decision so they agitate and influence and procrastinate to force a reversal.  Doesn’t sound very democratic. It would weaken our already fragile country and make us an even bigger laughing stock on the world stage. Think things were bad before with the Brussels bullies. We would be in an even worse position.

Not the Answer

But deposing the Prime Minister? Forcing  a no deal scenario? Toppling the government and achieving a coalition of labour and the SNP, with another fun referendum to look forward to? Is that really the best the elected political minds can come up with?

My grandparents and millions of others fought and died in  wars to prevent one unelected power ruling over Europe.  Today, it seems the establishment can’t wait to pay and carry on paying billions for the privelage of one large unelected and unaccountable body running Europe.  Moreover, they seem happy to sabotage our country in order to ensure its continuance.  I find that quite sad and also scary.

My Solution

Honestly, I don’t have one. Once upon a time, I might have trusted the powers that be to work out a solution in the “National Interest”  Not now. I neither trust, nor respect any of them. No one seems keen to do the right thing.

So, my highly selfish solution is to reluctantly stay abroad a few more years and see how the dust settles. At least wait until there is a collective realization that Comrade Corbyn isn’t  the answer, or he surprises me and proves that he is.

I suspect some deal will be struck. It will be a horribly compromised, wishy washy affair. But it will happen.  And if their is no deal? Well, the sun will still rise. Airplanes  will still fly. People will still go to work and Nicola will still be promising a new independence neverendum  ‘when the time is right.’  One way or another we are going to  find out in the near future.

Usually an upbeat, optimistic sort, I genuinely cannot see a good outcome. Not whilst we have a Parliament and Parlimentarians so fractured. So divided around partisan party lines and so bloody self serving.  I also feel particularly frustrated, annoyed and powerless to do anything about it. Perhaps I will write to my local MP, suggesting he stop being a dick and listen to what his constituents want. But I doubt he will listen.  I worry that dark  days are ahead. Not because of Brexit, but because of the talentless, visionless, egocentric, yet clueless individuals we have mistakenly empowered to lead us through Brexit.

Still, at least  I will be a lot thinner and fitter to better tackle Armageddon. So it’s not all bad.

And on that cheery note. See you next time.