“Where’s tha bin Stevenson?” I hear you cry, especially if you’re from Cumbria (the pronunciation you see) for that is where I have been for a portion of the time I’ve not been blogging recently. Yes, Ange and my good self have been to the glorious Lake District for to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary. Come on now, you can’t expect a bloke to sit blogging and Substacking on his anniversary. Have a heart!
We had a wonderful time of it too. A three-course meal, boat trip, excursions to local landmarks and, naturally, some serious R&R in between; and by which I mean Rest & Relaxation not Rock & Roll. One of the nicest mini breaks we’ve been on for a long time.
We stayed near Keswick, which anyone who has visited will know just how incredible the scenery there is. Yes, there was a little low cloud and a not insignificant amount of rain over the week but there was also sunshine, cappuccinos, chocolates and a rather successful vinyl safari to boot.
On our last full day we drove up to Castlerigg stone circle (I couldn’t walk there) and all I can say about that is that the views nearly reduced me to tears. The kind of views to make even the hardest-hearted atheist believe in God. And yes, I was snapping photos like a bloody tourist for all I was worth. Well, who wouldn’t?
Since that wonderful time we’ve got the decorators in to paint the East Wing of Blessham Hall and so the whole place is in a chaotic uproar at the moment. There’s stuff everywhere; stuff we never even knew we had, and we’re finding things we’d forgotten we had. Sometimes it takes a little chaos to get things back in order though. The painting should reach completion on Friday and then we’ll turn our guns to the West Wing. It’s bedlam, sheer bedlam I tell you. Although Ange took a car full of stuff to the charity shops earlier today so that’s a bit less to deal with.
What else has been happening since last time?
Oh yes, I nearly forgot, I received my stone and a half award from Slimming World, and it feels bloody good. I’m 22 lbs lighter than when I started in the back end of July and I’m noticing a real difference now. My XXXL T shirts are getting embarrassingly roomy now and I have to keep adjusting my shorts as they keep threatening to slide down to my knees and cause me further discomfiture.
Also, and this is really good, my alcohol intake has diminished to a fraction of what it used to be. I’ve decided that I’d much rather be thin than tipsy. Mind you, thin might be stretching it a bit but “thinner” perhaps.
And again, I always equate weight loss to bags of sugar, which used to be 2 lbs before we went metric and so if I’ve lost 22 lbs now then that’s the equivalent of 11 bags of sugar. Imagine if you had to carry 11 bags of sugar around with you every day, you’d soon get fed up with that but that’s what I’ve been lugging around and more besides. They do say (whoever they are) that for each pound of weight you lose it equates to 4 lbs less on your joints. I don’t know how the science behind that works but if it’s true then my poor old hips, knees and ankles have got 88 lbs less pressure bearing down on them now. And that, gentle reader, is something that I am highly aware of, especially my knees.
Now, about the next novel that I had embarked upon. Well, it’s kind of come to a temporary halt due to other things taking up my time. What I need after the decorating is all done is a week or maybe three where I can sit myself down in front of the old monitor and just bloody well go for it. Try to bash out 5-6000 words a day for a fortnight or so. Consistency is the key when writing a novel and believe me when I say that it is no fun whatsoever having to keep going back on yourself every time that you switch on the computer to refresh your memory of what you wrote over a month ago.
Anyway, normality will resume shortly and I’ll be doing my damnedest to get the darn thing written. In the meantime, it will be Halloween and Bonfire Night in a matter of days and so there’s a good reason to a) be out for the first one and b) stay in for the second one. And remember the old saying – trick-or-treat and fireworks don’t do so good in the pissing down rain so pray for it to happen. Actually, it’s not an old saying at all, it’s one I’ve just come up with but I think it works rather well.
