Endomondo

Months are useful accounting periods, not just for money, and with the aid of the Endomondo app on my tablet I can instantly see how much exercise was undertaken in January, and in particular how near to my target of walking an average of one mile a day has gone; the neat little app (it also accurately measures and maps a walk with its GPS capability) shows 23.5 miles for the month plus another 3 miles on the treadmill, so that’s a respectable 85% of target, to which I can add 27 miles on the exercise bike and 3.75 miles rowing, the latter achieved despite a serious aversion to water through the medium of the rowing machine in the gym.

NFL

Tonight I finally cleared the backlog of American football recorded on the freesat box that had slipped from one week to about four weeks behind over the Christmas period, just in time for the Superbowl due Sunday night, which I have to watch live; and it is good to see the big game no longer cherry picked by the BBC but back on Channel 4, which shows the live games through the regular season and is where I first got to admire the sport in the 1980’s – as for the game, is it a portent in favour of the Seattle Seahawks that the spell checker offers superb owl in preference to Superbowl?

Rice & Noodles

With Chinese New Year at the end of the week the resident teaching assistant’s task today was to procure rice, noodles and chopsticks for the class, and the resident teaching assistant’s husband’s task was to drive her around Middlesbrough in a fruitless search for a Chinese supermarket before in desperation ending up at the European Food Store in Stockton, which maintained its strict geographic identity by not stocking even Asian staples, reserving its limited shelf space for Polish and other East European delicacies (I guess an ex-patriot Pole’s reaction to finding potato flour is similar to mine when I find Yorkshire Tea or digestive biscuits when holidaying in France); it seemed disrespectful to exit without purchasing anything so I settled for some look-alike Waggon Wheels (that turned out to be Turkish and not that delightful) then we went down the road to Aldi for the rice and noodles – shame about the chopsticks. 

Loft Insulation

Among the items extracted from the cubby hole above the bed was a bag of clothing, the only purpose of which for at least ten years has been one of loft insulation, but there were some items that brought back a few memories: one pair of black flared cords, waist 32”, that was my preferred 90’s fashion statement when ice skating with my young daughters and their soon-to-be step mum; one Edinburgh University sweatshirt that, beer and sweat stained, was past its wear-by-date in 1975; a hand knitted (good old Grandma) Swinton Rugby League FC scarf that would serve for any team playing in navy blue and white (and indeed doubled for Tottenham Hotspur in my misguided youth); a similar hand knitted scarf (there was no stopping Grandma) that added some individuality to my Eccles Grammar School uniform, however being green and yellow is of use now only for a very cold Norwich City fan; and three ties with history – school, university, and commemorating Mossley FC’s league and cup double in 1979 (my involvement as a supporter not a player); the pants and sweatshirt, along with assorted other garments kept for no discernable reason, went into a convenient Age Concern charity bag, but sentimentality saved the scarves and ties.

Walk with Frost

The lane out of the village to the mill provides a convenient and pleasant three mile return walk, useful for regular physical exercise but with the views changing only with the seasons it could lose its novelty value quite quickly, so I have decided to add some mental diversion by taking with me a poem to memorise en route; today’s choice was Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” first encountered for my English Lit. ‘O’ level 44 years ago, which ends with haunting lines that I have oft since repeated to myself in times of temptation, tiredness or tribulation – The woods are lovely, dark and deep / But I have promises to keep / And miles to go before I sleep / And miles to go before I sleep.

Loft

Housebound on a wet and windy Sunday, I was reminded of a long-neglected promise to unearth a couple of my wife’s heirlooms that had been stored away in our “loft” which, in our cottage with exposed beams, is no more than a cubby hole above the stairwell that is accessed by sticking my head through a small trapdoor in the wall high above our bed; so in came the extending ladders and with the help of a walking stick I was able to hoik out not only the targeted objects but also a surprising number of bags and boxes containing useless (or at least unused) items, kept for sentimental or ‘may come in one day’ reasons, that remain all over the bedroom floor pending fuller investigation in the next few days.

Terriers

FA Cup fourth round day offered matches at Sunderland and Huddersfield and I plumped for the latter as providing a better (if longer) rail connection, a cheap cash at the turnstile ticket deal (£5 for seniors), and novelty value as my previous trip to see The Terriers was to the old Leeds Road ground in 1984; the new John Smiths Stadium is a fine, futuristic sight across the town as the train pulls into the station, and up close, after a twenty minute stroll, it is equally impressive, small but perfectly formed into the hillside with four matching steel-arched stands separated at each corner by three-legged floodlight pylons that resemble HG Wells’ Martians in his War of the Worlds novel, and the crowd are a friendly, enthusiastic lot noteworthy (in a football crowd context) for their complete lack of foul language – only a shame that their team played well but lost 1-0.

Book Stock

I suspect I have a tendency, shared by most book lovers, to acquire books at a faster rate than I read them, inevitably leading to a build-up of unread stock on the shelves, which is not a bad thing in itself as it provides choice for the next read, but a quick stock take revealed a total of 86 volumes unread at the start of the 2014, all remaining as eminently readable as when they were collected; I will keep track of them in the year to see how they match up against new acquisitions in the books read list.

Dentistry

A day back on the minibus ferrying the schoolchildren to and from Shildon to visit a local dentist surgery where they learned the unpalatable truth about teeth, plaque and sugar, although the scariest thing was the oversize set of gnashers used to demonstrate brushing technique; and you’re never too old to learn something new, such as not rinsing out your mouth after brushing your teeth - apparently you should just spit out any excess toothpaste then leave the rest in there to continue working – sounds a bit yucky but I’ll give it a try.

Yard Sale

The barn project has stalled a bit since Christmas, what with visitors, celebrations, cold weather and a cluttered working space, but today my wife injected a bit if vim into it by instigating a clear-out of unwanted stuff that was either piled up for the tip or spruced up and photographed to put on Freecycle (any takers for a giant paddling pool, a table football, a home gym, or a kid’s bike?); either way it looked like an American yard sale was going on in the back garden until half was re-stored in the barn awaiting a new home, and half was crammed into the back of my car for its final journey.

Keeping Warm

A second successive frosty morning promised a cold day with the need to implement some cost-free warming strategies, so after completing my volunteer session with the mathematically challenged I stayed at the college and took advantage of a heated library (sorry ‘learning resource centre’) to work on some lesson planning for if and when the call to teaching action comes; returning to the cold house a late lunch was taken before implementing warming strategy two – energetic housework in the form of a little ironing then pushing and pulling the vacuum cleaner around for about an hour until the heating clicked on.

ID Card

My induction as a maths tutor with the local authority required the acquisition of yet another ID card on yet another coloured lanyard, so I attended the Town Hall today where I was duly photographed; unfortunately my greying (ok grey, but of a distinguished shade) hair, beard and moustache have come out snow white, merging into the white backdrop to produce an image of a rather insubstantial floating head that I hope will not fade with time – if it does they may as well change the surname to Griffin (Google it).

Wet and Dry

A wet day outside with puddles growing under the steady drizzle while inside I took the opportunity to look at our financial prospects for 2014, pouring over last year’s income and expenditure and gazing into my accountant’s crystal ball to estimate what my rag, tag and bobtail jobs may add to the pension, what it costs us just to exist, and more pleasantly how to spend the bit left over; dry stuff for most people but puts me back into a comfort zone for a few hours.

FA Vase

Although football has not had a mention for a while it remains a regular Saturday outing and today the FA Vase was back with the fourth round, and I was at the Brewery Field to see holders Spennymoor dominate their opponents, Causeway United from the Midland Alliance, but only win by 1-0; results from elsewhere showed the continuing strength of the Northern League in this competition with another four clubs getting through to the last sixteen, so the odds look good for one of them to go all the way – which always makes the Wembley visit a little bit more partisan.

Kelso 2014

After a couple of panicky days looking for accommodation for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and finding nothing in, near, or even not very close to the venues for the necessary nights, apart from ridiculously priced Travelodges and Premier Inns, we widened the search deciding that for the same money we could get a cottage nearby and make a week of it; it still was difficult to find anywhere within 100 miles for what will clearly be the most populous week in South Scotland’s history, but finally we secured a property just within that radius near Kelso, which will turn a couple of trips to the Games into an enjoyable summer holiday - provided the Scottish weather obliges.

Animal Accounts

A day spent doing what I do best: a set of accounts, these for my sister and brother-in-law who have a small business in the picturesque south-west of England making and selling hand-made pottery animals, of which we have quite a selection – maritime (seals, dolphin, puffin and even a whale), woodland (badger, owl & hedgehog) and farmyard (cow, pig, sheep and a shepherd bearing an uncanny resemblance to me); as ever we are close to the 31 January deadline for submission of the tax self-assessment, but with no competing employed activity and a process honed over the last 21 years it will be turned around in a couple of days, earning no fee but knowing a week’s bed and breakfast in sunny Cornwall will always be available.

Exercise

If not exercise then at least activity took place throughout the day from the morning stepping up and down a ladder to take the tree line between us and next door down to what is hopefully an acceptable (to them) level, through a brisk afternoon walk into Darlington and back from my car parked a mile from town (incidentally saving a pound), to an evening session in the gym, albeit foreshortened (due to a prior meeting over-running) to 30 minutes on the bike; how that stacks up against a supper of fish and chips followed by four chocolates I don’t know, but let’s call it a draw.

Weight

I don’t often step onto the scales and to do so in early January is unlikely to result in anything other than bad news, and sure enough the festive food has taken its toll and the pointer settled the wrong side of the 12 stone marker; so time to cut back on the snacks and step up on the exercise regime – watch this space (or waist) for progress.

Home Alone

After three weeks of company I reverted today to term time normality of being home alone while spouse and son attend their respective schools, and though the two cats are present they are only noticeable between nine and five from the heavy breathing emanating from whichever warm spot they have settled into to sleep for the day.

Diary

Twelve days into the new year and I have just about got my 2014 diary up and running with standing data transferred and dates put in for meetings, appointments, school holidays and sporting events; the more efficient alternative of a Filofax has been considered but rejected as a bit posy and overpriced, and now a tablet app is an option, however there is something about the sensuality of pen and paper that suits the personal nature of a diary (even one as unsensational as mine).

Recycling

The annual perturbation of refuse collection days over Christmas and New Year has finally come to an end and from net week normal service will be resumed on the traditional Thursday; the final recycling collection of the holiday period cleared our bottle box, the contents of which this week will have boosted our party animal credentials with the neighbours, consisting instead of its usual couple of empty pasta sauce jars an impressive collection of beer, lager and cider bottles – such is the effect of three twenty-something year-olds in residence for  week, not to mention my father-in-law visiting for an afternoon.

Bon Voyage

Set my daughter off on her way back to Mongolia by driving her down to Manchester (from where she flies out early tomorrow morning) giving us a chance to visit her granddad and grandma and be treated to a lovely home-cooked meal before heading for the Airport hotel; dropping one of your children off to fly half way round the world is still a wrench, even when they are 25 years old and probably better equipped than you to cope.

Oil

The delivery of heating oil, needed two or three times a year, is a major event with the storage tank being at the bottom of the garden, the tanker being parked on the road, and our cottage sitting in between, with the only way for the 3” hose to get from one to the other being through the house; preparation for the operation involves clearing a hall passage of its resident clutter, laying a pair of thick old curtains over a small carpeted area, unearthing from the barn and installing in front of walls and doors, at a zig-zag in the route, two protective guards of my own manufacture (old carpet nailed to a frame of 2x1 and still going strong after 15 years), all of which takes several times longer than the 10 minutes or so needed to actually pump the stuff in, after which it all has to be done in reverse to get back to normality.

Afternoon Tea

To provide an enduring taste of England for my daughter ahead of her imminent return to Mongolia, we treated her to afternoon tea at Wynyard Hall; I would place the setting somewhere between imposing grandeur and faded elegance, and the food somewhere between dainty and trencherman, with us each getting four (albeit crust-less) sandwiches, two scones (one fruit and one cheese), four fancy cakes, and as much tea as we could sup in the two hours we took to clear most of the tiered plates – and what we could not manage came home in a box for supper.

Jigsaw

Doing a jigsaw at Christmas is a bit of a tradition but my daughter’s choice of the fiendish ‘Santa Claws’ puzzle bordered on the masochistic, consisting as it does of the heads and shoulders of 37 cats wearing Santa hats and robes; my input has been minimal – mainly trying to match up 74 cats’ eyes into pairs before adding noses and whiskers, with some seriously scary erroneous results – but she has soldiered on regardless and it is almost complete with a couple of days of her holiday to spare.

Timber

As twelfth night approached it was time for my daughter and me to fell the mighty (if artificial) spruce, stripping it of lights and ornaments, dismantling the component branches and trunk, and packing it all away in storage boxes for another eleven and a half months; as ever some novelties attempted to keep a low profile and escape their incarceration (Tinkerbelle managed it last year) but all were rounded up and packed off - we thought – until a Santa snow globe turned up, which will provide a potentially unseasonal presence on the plate rack throughout the year.

Muddy Boots

Although we don’t have a dog to exercise, we do have a teenage boy who periodically needs to be jemmied out of his console/tablet/TV room and taken for a walk to air him thoroughly, today to Wynyard Woodland Park (aka Castle Eden walkway), where recent rain made it damp underfoot and where unfortunately for us a cross country race had been run earlier, churning up the path in places to a squelchy mix of mud and leaves; nevertheless it was good to get out and rack up a couple of miles, and I will get even more fresh air tomorrow while I am cleaning several pairs of boots.

Ringer

Cricket club quiz night and our team was enhanced by my elder daughter who has a capacity for remembering useless facts while completely forgetting the essentials of everyday life; despite her input the team failed to threaten the experts, possibly hindered by the musicals round being scuppered by a dodgy CD, but a solid third from bottom was achieved, earning £4 for the kitty.

Cup Tickets

A quiet day, but took the opportunity to nip to the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough to get tickets for tomorrow’s FA Cup 3^rd round tie against Hull City, for which there appeared to be no great demand; this is no surprise with so many managers, players and owners rating Premiership (or even Championship) cash higher than cup glory, and fielding weakened teams as a result, but for me I would rather see a team have a good go at a cup - it is the giant killing acts and occasional trophy wins that provide the fans’ memories, not years of struggling mediocrity.

3 x Table

The first steps to restore the house to post dinner party normality were taken today by returning the furniture to the correct rooms, apart from of course the broken legged dining table which remained, forlorn, in bits, in a corner, and the banqueting table being too large for everyday use, the only option was to bring the patio table out of its winter hibernation in the barn; this did actually start life as our temporary dining table while we sourced its hand-crafted (but design-flawed) successor so after a reconstruction and rubbing down it took up its old position and I am sure we will soon get used to the umbrella in the middle (actually it’s just the hole).

Purple Cabbage

New Year’s Day dinner for nine was always going to create apprehension (is the beef joint big enough? have we enough carrots? is the swede too puny?) and the dining table’s wonky legs suffering a catastrophic failure on New Year’s Eve racked the level up a notch, however the old folding banquet table (kept for pasting wallpaper) was pressed back into service and the food was looking just about sufficient before, in clearing some space on the work tops I took what I thought was a bowl of vegetable peelings outside and emptied it into the compost bin, then stood in horror as the carefully prepared and copious purple cabbage slid inexorably into the heap; reckoning the five second rule applied, I was able to rescue about 75% of it (leaving a thin insulating layer to the slugs) and give it a good rinse before steaming and serving as part of a very successful evening meal.