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Glasgow

I went to Glasgow a couple of weeks ago for a friend's wedding. I had spent the weeks leading up to this in various states of anxiety. I'm not entirely sure why but going away leads to me being worried over every tiny detail. To start with I needed a new suit as my old suit was eaten by moths. I probably spent more time researching suits than I did planning my own wedding! I even learned about pocket squares (and bought one too). I had the honour of being an usher, and more through luck than judgement the other two ushers had similar colour suits and shirts.

Then I had the practical things to worry about. I was flying up on my own and meeting friends at Glasgow Airport, then we were hiring a car and driving to our accommodation. We were all flying from different airports which meant I was going to arrive in Glasgow at 8.50am whilst the others would get there at 5.30pm. So I spent a lot of time researching things to do in Glasgow, how the buses and metro system worked, bike hir…
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Recent posts

So much to catch up on

It's been a long time since my last post, I've been pretty busy and haven't had much free time recently. I'm in a better place mentally at the moment but that can change pretty quickly.

Last month we saw Frank Turner at the Cliffs which was excellent. The support acts were probably the best I've ever seen, normally they are rubbish but this was an exception. I was expecting The Homeless Gospel Choir to be a) a choir made up of more than one person b) singing gospel music and c) homeless, but he turned out to be a single non-homeless non-gospel person. He was excellent though, the sound system wasn't working at first so he came into the crowd with his guitar to do a few songs unplugged. They finally fixed it and he went back on stage to sing a few protest songs!

After that we thought the Arkells were going to struggle but they were also excellent and enjoyable. They pulled someone from the crowd to play a few chords on the guitar, the bloke looked like he enjoye…
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Not so great

I wasn't feeling so well mentally last week. I can't think of any cause for it but for a few days I was very anxious about things. I managed to work and exercise as usual but part of me just wanted to go back to bed for the day. I'm feeling better this week thankfully.

Things seem to be getting back on track with training for RideLondon - I managed an 80km ride last week and 100km this week. My legs are suffering a bit so I've booked myself in for a bike fit and physio session next month which will hopefully get things back to normal.

Yesterday marked 16 years since Anna and I first met - I don't think either of us remembered (I thought it was today!) We went to see Avengers: Infinity War yesterday which was really good, but the year-long wait for the sequel is going to feel like a long time.

Got a busy week ahead - I went out last night for a meal with my brother, tonight I'm going out with some friends for a curry, tomorrow I'm meeting another friend for …
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Center Parcs

We had a great weekend at Center Parcs - it was probably the most successful holiday we've had as a family so far.

We got to Elveden Forest at 3pm on the Friday ready to check in, there was a small queue but it didn't take too long to get our entry bracelets (keys are so last century). Once we had unpacked everything and taken the car back we were ready to explore the pool. It's fair to say that the kids thought it was amazing! We spent a lot of time in the wave pool, going down slides and getting splashed in Adventure Cove. We then went back to the lodge and had a quiet evening, although the kids were excited about seeing the various wildlife at the patio doors!

On Saturday morning we took part in the Treasure Trail activity, which required cycling across site to find various clues. Rory was on his scooter and soon got tired, which meant I was giving him a backie for most of the event which was not very comfortable for my knees!


We ended up doing the clues out of order bu…
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Nottingham, Wembley and more illness

I had a great time in Nottingham for my friend's stag do. On the Friday evening we went white water rafting at the National Water Sports Centre which we were all apprehensive about. This was not helped by the staff telling us not to swallow the water as the bacteria could make us quite ill(!) But once we got going it was really good fun, we all got wet (although I managed not to fall out) and got some experience of the rapids. It really makes you appreciate just how good the Olympic canoeists are! Rowing for an hour and a half really takes it out of you.


After that we went out for a meal and then had an evening wandering around Nottingham - not entirely planned it must be said, for the club we had planned to go to wouldn't let us in due to some people not having ID. We eventually ended up in a pretty good place called The Bodega, where there was the random sight of a woman wearing a Mapei cycling cap (she managed to pull it off, it must be said).

I barely slept Friday night bu…
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Horrible Histories

I've not been too well recently - Kitty was sick last Saturday but had fully recovered by the Sunday. I then got the same bug last Wednesday and am still not feeling quite right over a week later. I spent all of that Wednesday in bed feeling terrible. Needless to say, my training for RideLondon has not been going too well! I was able to manage the gym on Tuesday but must have pulled something in my leg because I woke up yesterday with a bit of pain in my hamstring. It's not too bad but just annoying when I know I need to get back on the bike for some long rides. On the plus side, at least the sun has come out again, hopefully this is the actual start of spring!

On Sunday we went to the Museum of London to see a performance of Horrible Histories. I must admit that prior to last week I hadn't heard of the museum but I saw that they were offering two free performances of Horrible Histories to celebrate their new 'Fatberg' exhibit. Luckily I was able to get tickets - w…
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Snow and a weekend away

Last weekend Anna and I had a much needed night away in London. We went to see Dry Powder at the Hampstead Theatre starring Hayley Atwell. We had front row seats and a great view!


We also revisited a few Sam Smiths pubs with a view to updating the Sam Smiths Challenge website which desperately needs an overhaul! On the Sunday we had a quick look around Forbidden Planet, a shop where I could very easily spend a fortune. I say a quick look but we were there for at least an hour!

Last week was pretty stressful due to the snow, the kids' school stayed open as long as they could but they were off Thursday afternoon and all day Friday. I took the kids into town on Friday so they could exchange their World Book Day vouchers - they took it in turns on the sled:


I think I've hurt my knee a little from pulling the sled so much, similar to an old injury from a muddy Glastonbury where I was pulling a wagon around. Hopefully it will clear up in a few days.

I'm glad the snow has finally…
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