Losing it[1]

Two busy days in London, including a visit to the remote outpost known as Wembley[1]. Stayed in a different (but quite nice) hotel - I might try that one again. It was a longer walk from the office, but I like the exercise, so that’s not a bad thing.

Went to my usual branch of Pizza Express[2] and had an early night on Wednesday[3], then a good breakfast and a day of setting things up, moving things around and generally making things work. Not bad. Then headed off to Kings Cross in plenty of time to catch the 18:00 train home.

I think a lot of the usual business travellers must have been on holiday this week, as the restaurant car was only about half full. Quite different from a lot of journeys where it gets full and people are actually turned away. Had a typically good dinner and a wee drop of wine, and a comfortable journey home.

No weight report, cos I didn’t bother weighing myself while still full of dinner and wine

[1] Nice view of the building site of the new stadium
[2] For solo dining, familiar is good - at least some of the staff know me, they treat me well, the food is good and the wine is gluggable
[3] Head down, lights off by 9:30, but woke up and read for a while at about 2am[4]
[4] Worked for me…

Well, despite last night’s extra rest, this morning’s weight was down quite nicely at 205.2 pounds (14 stone 9.2 pounds, 93.1kg). So, I decided to give myself another night off. That means I’ve only done three workouts this week, but I think that’s OK - my informal target is three or four workouts in a week.

Not only that, but I decided to be very naughty and have chips tonight . But I did run part of the way to the chippy . And running isn’t something I do a lot of. Followed that with a couple of glasses of a rather nice Australian Cabernet Sauvignon that Tesco’s had at the bargain price of £4.99 last week.

Next exercise session planned for Sunday…

Well, having had a day of minimal exercise yesterday, it’s no great surprise to find that I’m a bit heavier today at 205.4 pounds (14 stone 9.4 pounds, 93.2kg).

There won’t be any exercise tonight, as I’m currently in recovery mode after having lunch at Blue Coyote[1] and a glass or two of wine[2] with an old friend.

[1] Mexican restaurant in Newcastle: doesn’t seem to have a website
[2] OK, we had two bottles

No weight report toiday, as I’m in London[1]. Had a fairly busy day in the office after the usual trip down[4], then had a quick drink with the London boss and headed to my hotel. I like it there, and it’s my first choice when I’m in London. What’s nice is that the rooms start from the ninth floor, with the lower part of the building being occupied by the BBC. Some rooms have quite stunning views over London[5], but this time all I could see was Barad Dur, ooops, sorry, the BT Tower[6]. Not really a problem, as I had arranged to have a wee drinkie[8] and a meal with my friend Martin, who just for once hadn’t fled the country on learning I was coming to London.

Martin called me when he got close to the hotel, and I joined him outside. I was pretty hungry at this point, so we went straight to my usual venue, the Pizza Express next door. We ordered a bottle of wine and had a nice meal. Martin then suggested we have another glass of wine each, which seemed like a good idea, so we did. He then led me further astray[9] by making me agree to another bottle of wine.

After that, I went back to the hotel and went to bed. Only to be woken up somewhere around midnight by the fire alarm. It didn’t stop, so like all the other guests, I headed down the stairs. Eleven bloody floors of the damn things. Can I tell you that it gets pretty bloody cold when you’re standing around outside a hotel in central London after midnight???

Anyway, a fire engine eventually arrived, some firefighters went into the building and checked whatever had to be checked, and then they left. All the shivering guests were then allowed back into the hotel. Back into bed at 12:30 or so.,

Managed a decent sleep after that, had some breakfast and headed into work…..

Another busy day, then back home on the train. Had a good dinner[10] and came home. Tired.

[1] Well, I say “am”, but I’m actually writing this on Saturday, so it’s more of a “was” than an “am”, but it makes more sense[2] this way, so there
[2] To me[3]
[3] I’m sure the thousands of readers can cope
[4] Usual very good GNER breakfast
[5] Some of my gallery entries have examples
[6] Hey, it’s a tower, it’s associated with the ultimate force of evil[7]
[7] Ask anyone who works with telecommunications in the UK….
[8] Possibly an understatement
[9] He’s a bad influence
[10] Didn’t quite have to use brute force to get a seat in the restaurant car, but it was close…

Hmmm. A pound up this morning at 206.8 pounds (14 stone 10.8 pounds, 93.8kg). Just normal daily variation, so I’m not worried about that.

Had a planned lazy evening. Lots of Star Trek: Voyager on DVD, a very tasty steak mince pie and a glass[1] of a very gluggable Chateauneuf du Pape. This may have led to me falling asleep in my chair and waking up at a little before 3am [2]

[1] OK, a bottle
[2] Which might lead you to think that the time and date of this post doesn’t necessarily relate to when it was actually posted[3]
[3] Who’d a thunk it?

Now if there’s one thing I really love, it’s coffee. When I’m at work, I quite often don’t get round to drinking much of the lovely stuff, as I keep getting called away from my desk which means that if I make a jug of real coffee it often gets cold before I can drink it.

I’d seen these Senseo machines when they first came out, but held back from buying one as there seemed to be a distinct lack of shops stocking the special pods that they need. Well, it seems that these little beasties are catching on, as there are now at least two shops in central Newcastle selling the pods. That was enough to convince me to buy a tasteful blue Senseo coffee maker. I got it yesterday and rearranged my desk to accommodate it. It’s not at all bad. The coffee, even from the darkest roast available is nowhere near as strong as I get from my Gaggia at home, but it’s quite acceptable. The speed and convenience means that I’ll be drinking a lot more coffee at work now.

The extra coffee seems to be getting my metabolic rate up a wee bit, which might be contributing to the slight drop in my weight of late. And even if it isn’t, I like it anyway!

Sorry, had to be done. Morning weight: 206.2 pounds (14 stone 10.2 pounds, 93.5kg).

Quiet day, had the mandatory turkey, a nice glass[1] of wine[2] and some damn fine chocolates from those nice Hotel Chocolat people.

[1] OK, OK, bottle
[2] My last bottle of the 2001 Wolf Blass Yellow Label

There should probably be a law against this. Walkers have brought out a range of peanuts in crispy coatings. There are several flavours, including the dangerously addictive “Mild Chilli Spice” variety, made with paprika, onion, garlic and chilli. Mmmmmmm. Peanuts can be addictive enough on their own, but these are deadly. They come in a resealable tin, so they should keep for several days, but once they’re open, they aren’t going to last long….

OK, I admit it. I’m very partial to the odd bit of chocolate[1]. Before I started eating more sensibly and generally taking better care of myself, I used to eat the stuff by the truckload[2]. These days, I eat a lot less of it, but I still appreciate it.

So, when I saw a brochure advertising the Chocolate Tasting Club, my interest was aroused. They were offering an introductory selection of seriously good chocolates for £9.95. Now that’s a lot of money for a fairly small (less than a pound) box of chocoaltes, but these looked like an interesting selection of very high quality chocolates indeed. So, I filled in the form on the website, and within a few days the box arrived[4].

I’ve now tried at least one of each of the varities in the box - there are fifteen different chocolates in this selection, and they’re all of excellent quality. Only one isn’t really to my taste (it has a heavy dose of Amaretto, an almond liqueur that I’m not really keen on), but the rest range from “good” through “very good” to “it’s a good job I haven’t got a big box of this one, cos I’d eat the lot”.

The ongoing deal is this: every month (or less often if I choose[6]), they’ll send me another selection of chocolates of similar quality. The price is more than the introductory offer, but based on this package, it’s worth it.

I’ll also have the chance to buy other selections, and I’ll get a discount on chocolates from the club’s parent company. Seems like a good deal to me.

I’m working on the theory that if I’m going to eat less chocolate, I might as well have the seriously good stuff, and this is a good way of trying a selection of seriously good chocolates that I wouldn’t normally get close to.

[1] That’s another one of those understatement things I come up with now and then
[2] Possible exaggeration[3]
[3] But not by much
[4] Well packed in an outer box designed to fit through the letter box, which is a Good Thing[5]
[5] Not that I’d object to a trip to the sorting office for good chocolate
[6] Not very likely

Take your minds out of the gutter, please. I had a rather nice footlong sarnie from the Subway shop across the road from the office. This was described as a Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki and consisted of a large chunk of Parmesan Oregano bread[1], some nicely seasoned hot chicken, cheese, several kilos of salady bits[2] including sliced jalapenos and a very nice sweet onion sauce[4]. Rather bigger and more expensive than the usual cheese ploughman’s or cheese savoury, but very nice indeed.

[1] 12 inches of it, in fact
[2] Possible exaggeration[3]
[3] But not by much
[4] Hence the name