Well it’s been an interesting few days at Chez Carl-Nick’s. It all started on Sunday with a humdinger of a sore throat, bought on by my “singing” at the football on Saturday (See last blog post) I spent the day croaking around and generally being a bloke about it. (as you do)
On Monday the window fitters arrived. As some of you may or may not know, since day one I have been campaigning for new windows at home as well as a porch as in my opinion they make a massive difference to the overall look of a house. Well phase one worked as the windows are now in. and very nice they look too!
Here’s a before and after (Excuse the iPhone pictures)
A slight improvement I think you’ll agree! Next stop is operation porch…. Watch this space for developments on that front!
So.. What’s this weather all about? Hottest September since 1884? Forecast for Saturday in the south-east is 92 degrees! That’s ridiculous. I have been truly confused by the heat as has Frankie poor thing. She’s broken out in heat rash again. The long-range forecast see’s it cooling off from next week onward. Personally I don’t mind it being warm and dry whilst I’m on the bike!
So onto winning. The knowledge is back in full force again. Yesterday I completed 200 runs. This means I have 120 to go until I start the knowledge “proper” i.e learning the points of interest and their locations.. Roll on January as that’s my target for completing the runs. That will then give me just over a year to revise enough for my first appearance. Fingers crossed!
Oh, and just because I can, here’s Frankie cooling off yesterday
Evening all.
Been pondering a few things over the last day or so. Namely how I’m such a diverse (Complicated?) personality.. This all started when I went to the football yesterday. Sean me, and some friends of his went up to Wigan to watch Tottenham Vs Wigan. During the match I screamed and shouted and generally abused the population of wigan along with 3,000 other travelling supporters As I have always done). In my minds eye this is all light hearted fun and definitely not meant in a threatening manner. In fact I spend most of the time in tears of laughter at the terrace humour. Now, during one such rendition of a particularly rousing Tottenham anthem, I caught site of a female steward looking at me in absolute disgust. I’d like to add the song we were singing was “Oh when the Spurs go marching in” This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEx9YtiKvvI&feature=related not exactly the most hateful of songs! anyway, I realised I was dressed in jeans and a t- shirt with my cropped hair and tattoo’s this steward obviously thought I was a complete hooligan. This got me thinking about people’s perceptions of me. Am I seen in the light of thuggish tattooed moron? or the family man who cries over his baby whilst ironing his shirts, writes poetry and is there for his friends? Does the fact I can bake a cake whilst knowing with no uncertainty I would protect those nearest and dearest to me from harm with extreme prejudice? Or the man who wants to be a Reiki master? Am I the only person like this? am I a schizophrenic?? Or am I just a bit more rounded? Obviously, this is something that I haven’t been dwelling on too much in the past, but it’s an intriguing thought though.
Anyway, onto the knowledge. I have had a very successful re-entry back into my runs (even venturing out in the rain last week!!) and am now once again progressing nicely. I’m a tad off course for my predicted December finish of the runs, but hey, it’s not a sprint…
A small Frankie update. She’s doing well and getting bigger which is all I can ask for. Here’s a couple of pictures: And people may wonder why I’m smiling a lot lately!
Oh, and Mark, if you’re reading this we haven’t forgotten the draft and promise it will be back with you before the end of the week!
…. It’s been a while. Due to various commitments and illness the blog has been somewhat neglected. As has the Knowledge and anything remotely connected to it. Who said children take up your time then?
This is what’s been happening with me in the last feww weeks.
After the meal with Sean (Vietnamese and lovely) I got home feeling decidely under the weather. I subsequently spent the next week in and out of bed with flu like symptoms and some odd pains under my ribs. After a trip to the docs an inflamed gallbladder was diagnosed. So antibiotics and an aultrascan discovered 3 small gallstones with the swelling down on the gallbladder. As an aside, it was also discovered I have a fatty liver… Who’d have thunk it? an overweight liver! Justwaiting for my docs to advise me as to the next course of action re that.
After the week off we spent a week in Cornwall courtesy of Rosa, Carla’s sister. We had a week in a lovely caravan near Newquay and spent the week exploring the Cornish coastline. Unfortunately the weatehr was pants and it rained every day bar one afternoon where the sun came out just as we arrived at the Minack Theatre what a stunning place. And the views were amazing. 
After an exhaustive week we came back to my work absolutely heaving. I have had to do (gulp) two full day last week! I also came back to discover my bike had been hit at work by person(s) unknown and £200 of damage was inflicted upon it.. So no bike meant no runs meant no knowledge again. Anyway enough of this tale of woe, I hope to be back out on the bike again tomorrow. Watch this space!
Frankie update: She’s growing nicely and is now around the 11Lb mark! Yay! 
Been a bit busy lately, so apologies for my tardy blogging.
Firstly, Frankie went to her physiotherapy on Monday and passed with flying colours (She even managed a little flirt with the physio. Eylashes were batted and giggles and laughs abounded!) the physio will still keep tabs on her and as such, we have been advised to go back in a months time for a progress check. Fingers crossed, she’ll also pass this and be discharged.
So far this week rain has definitely stopped play. No run’s or pretty much anything knowledge related due to the weather and looking after Ruby. I hope to rectify this ASAP, but as of this moment the rain continues.
Yesterday I went to lunch with some of the bpard at TWC and two of my clients. We went to Simpson’s in the Strand. A lovely old school English restaurant famous for it’s carvery (Where they bring the roas to your table and carve it for you) I had the renowned roast beef with all the trimmings and we managed to polish off 4 bottles of wine! all in all a succesful day was had by us and the client.
This weekend see’s me back in London for dinner with Sean (A treat from him-dinner at a vietnamese restaurant) Carla’s Mum will be doing baby sitting duties…
And on Monday it’s our 2nd anniversary. where has the time gone??
Anyway I hope you all have a great weekend!
Had a busy busy weekend. It started on Saturday morning with an invite to Kelly and Simon’s son’s first birthday party. Unfortunately Darren Kelly’s brother was ill so Carla and I picked up her parents and delivered them to the party. Spent an enjoyable if hectic day in the rain and sun (British weather vagaries) until I managed to let Jenson’s birthday balloon go… His FIRST birthday balloon I may add…. I was then forced to take a picture to remind me of the heinous crime I had commited as several children looked up in awe and horr at what I’d done!
If you look closely you can just make out the black spec in the distance.. That’s his balloon..
After dropping Kelly’s parents off we finally got home with a tired and worn out Frankie.
On Sunday it was over to Carla’s Mum and Dad’s for lunch as it was Carla’s Dad’s birthday last thursday. Frankie had a spruce up before we left and I couldn’t help but
laugh at her afro:
Looks like she’s going to have curly hair!
On Sunday evening we then went and picked up Ruby for her second stint staying with us (She’s back home tomorrow evening) so my runs are on hold until Wednesday afternoon. But all in all an enjoyable weekend. I hope you all had a good one too.
Well the weekend saw some mails and texts exchanged between Mark and me re The Camino, and as a result the flights are booked (My flight to London as yet unconfirmed, will be booking this in the near future) I leave London on June 20th and fly to Oviedo were Mark and I will commence The Camino. Oviedo to Santiago De Compestella. I can’t wait! More updates as I start to trawl through the permutations of this walk to come!
The weekend just gone has been a busy one (For a change!) we spent Saturday lunch at friends near Gatwick and then moved onto Rye in Kent to stay at Kelly and Simon’s caravan for the evening. After watching a couple of films we settled down with Frankie in her new travel cot, and had a nice restful night’s sleep. (Well I did, Carla did the two feeds…!) in the morning, Frankie and I had a little cuddle before breakfast 
We then went to Kelly’s brothers pub for a bit of Sunday lunch and Frankie was once again in good form enjoying herself in the pub!
We left the pub around 4 and finally arrived home around 7 last night. Tired and ready for bed!
On to matters knowledge. After a busy week of distractions, today see’s me back on the bike and back on track to get this book finished by Christmas. Note to self. Procrastination may be nice but it gives you headaches!!
Well it’s been (another) hectic few days. We currently have a house guest-Ruby, Kelly’s daughter. She’s staying with us for a week of the school holidays as Kelly and Simon are having to work, so Carla volunteered to look after her this week. And what a pleasure she is to look after. 7 going on 37 and as funny and intelligent as you like. Yesterday we went to Colchester zoo as a treat (Hence the red panda’s in the title) and had a great day out. Pictures to follow.
But before that Frankie had a couple of milestones. Her weight has gone up despite having an inconsistent week of feeding. She’s now 8lb 15 which if she follows that trend will up her to the 50th percentile (basically, she’ll weigh the same as 50% of babies or average if you like) her length and head measurements are already there so she’s basically tall and skinny! She also had her first set of jabs yesterday. Which was by far less painful for her as it was for me (Holding her) and Carla (Crying her eyes out!) once it was done she was fine and spent the day at the zoo with us, mostly asleep. She has been referred to a pediatrician for her fist making as they want to keep an eye on her. Needless to say I’m in bits and Carla is telling me I’m being a wuss. Ah well the joys of parenthood!
Onto the knowledge. As it’s been so hectic I have only completed two runs this week and no call overs…. That needs to be rectified, but at the moment other things have taken precedent. I hope to complete 2-3 today, but one of them takes me very close to one of the areas were rioting has been taking place and I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to get down some of the roads.
Onto the riots. To say I’m sickened by them is an understatement. All this rubbish about political gestures and demonstrations following the shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham is a load of tosh. It’s an excuse to steal as much as they can whilst the police stand back for fear of being labelled as thugs and being heavy-handed. The government fail to see or are reluctant to face this as the crux of the matter. Take away the police’ power and you have anarchy. It’s not difficult to work out is it? Watch any footage of any riot on the continent or further afield and not one policeman is standing back. Attack the police? expect to be attacked back. One of the kids on the news last night claimed he couldn’t eat so therefore he was rioting… This while organising his riotous pals on his Blackberry and wearing £100 trainers.. Makes me wonder what Frankie will see in years to come and to be honest it scares me.
Hopefully my next blog will end on a happier note!
On Thursday evening after completing my call overs I felt decidedly funny.. You know how it goes.. sore throat and a cough and an ache here and there… By Friday morning I was in the throes of full on Man Flu : ( Or Ebola..! So that meant no runs on Friday as I was home. So I spent the majority of the day in bed trying to solicit some sympathy from Carla. Needless to say none was forthcoming! (Though bless her she did let me sleep for nigh on 13 hours) On Saturday it was much the same, but I managed to drag my arse out of bed to complete a walk through Thorndon Park approximately 4 miles was covered by Carla, Frankie and I. (Frankie nicely ensconced in her buggy I might add!) it was a nice little preparation for The Camino which is next year but which Mark and I have been exchanging numerous emails about. He has also been writing for Espana over the last week or two. His Camino memoirs are coming on a treat and promise to be a really valuable tome. More of that to come in the forthcoming weeks.
Today saw the three of us in the park again. This time looking to complete 5 miles. The weather was looking a bit threatening during the drive to Thorndon. When we arrived the sun came out full on and a lovely walk was had until mid way through and this was seen on the horizon:
Just to the right you can see some clouds forming.. As we were about 1/2 mile from decent shelter we proceeded to try and outrun the rain.. A race you will never win believe me! Within 10 minutes we were pretty much soaked, with Frankie as snug as a bug in her buggy with rain cover on it! This was the view from the cafe we sheltered in:
So we thought we’d wait it out. One coffee each later and the sun was shining again. Upon our exit from the cafe we enquired as to the best way to go to the car park and was duly given directions and an approximate walk time of 30-40 minutes. This was followed by “Have you got an umbrella”? To which our reply of no was met by “Oh”! Seems they were rangers in the park and knew it would start raining again by the way the crow was flying backward or something.. Of course it did rain again and this time we were ABSOLUTELY soaked thorough. I can’t enforce ABSOLUTELY enough, so see the aftermath below:
Whilst Frankie slept cuddled up in her blanket!
Well I couldn’t let this blog go without some music and what more appropriate than: Raindrops…. !!
I was going through some of the hundreds (!) of photo’s of Frankie yesterday when I came across this one:
It was taken on the day she left hospital to come home. As we were just popping out for a bit I grabbed this photo for comparison:
What’s amazing is I spend most of the time moaning to Carla that she isn’t growing fast enough when under our noses she’s doing it by stealth! I’m a bit more comfortable with her progression now….
As for the knowledge, I’m going great guns. 170+ runs now and fluently calling over 60 per night (With the occasional hiccup) well on target to finish them by December. Having said all that, I have just looked outside and the heavens have opened! Looks like it’ll be revision only today!
Quick edit* This is the view from work as I type:
… Apologies for the delay in getting this up and running. It’s been hectic at Chez Brennan over the last few days. Frankie has been suffering with colic for a week or so which translates into “Oh look Mummy and Daddy, it’s 5pm time to scream for 4 hours”! Bless her, I’m totally ok with it, just amazed that A) something so small can make such a BIG noise, and B) how on earth she know’s the EXACT time each day it will start and the EXACT time it will finish!
On Saturday I ran into London to meet up with Sean after doing some running around at home. After a whirlwind visit to Canary Wharf for some shoping and lunch I dropped him off and wnet back home. On arrival the laaaaadies were gagging to get out so we went to a local market for a an hour or so, but it was a bit too hot for Frankie so soon went back home and arrived at 5PM…. just in time for Frankie’s colic!
On Sunday Tony came round with Sharon and Ollie my Godson. A small BBQ was planned but I managed to use the wrong charcoal and COMPLETELY smoked the house out! It was hysterical. Every window and door open in the house and it still took 30 minutes to clear. My neighbours were enjoying there own BBQ at the time and fortunately saw the funny side of it as they choked there way through dinner! After buying some new coal we finally sat down to eat at 6PM with Tony and co leaving at 10PM. All in all a nice day though.
On to matters Knowledge. Yesterday I completed runs 165 and 166 (which was my largest one to date.) Queensway to Pimlico, 40-odd roads and I only knew about 15 of them so some real learning was done. Add the heat to that (Yesterday was a scorcher as The Sun like to tell us whilst showing some fat bint in a bikini at Margate) and it was quite an enjoyable experience. Today will see me tackling another large one (Fnaar!) Victoria Station to Liverpool St station. 40 plus roads again!
As I haven’t added any songs for a while, I thought I’d throw this one into the mix. It’s an old Detroit Spinners song, It’s a shame.
NickTB 