ReTyrement

Oops - 7 years! Since last post. In Website tech world, HTTP Became HTTPS and so have had to update settings here. Further before40 tasks have been completed, so will now start the process of updating...... AI (Artificial Intelligence) now quite popular so will be using this to help write the new posts. Now Retired aged 52 ("ReTyred - Think of retirement as re-tyrement, having new tyres fitted to life and going off in a new direction”), so more time to do this, and also create a Bucket List. So current thinking is to combine the before40 site into a "Retyrement" branded blog/website type thing. Watch this space......

One in Ten

Happy Blog Birthday to me!

Been a while (again) eh! - The blog & former www.before40.co.uk website now 10 years old! Who'd have believed it. However, the main website in it's old format is no more! The domain name remains, and that's it here. this blog. THIS IS IT!
I will somehow try & retrieve the old pages of the completed tasks in due course, and post them here, the most permanent of homes.

No more tasks completed since the last update here some 2 (ahem) years ago. So 10 years on, the list is still only 50% complete!
I recently got to thinking though - what would the 'To Do' list look like now if I were to turn back time, compile a list for the first time, yet with 10 years more knowledge, experiences & hindsight?
So, here is a new, more upto date 'To Do' list (with the completed tasks left in).
Maybe this should be the list to aim for? I'll have a think......

Completed:
1. - Grow A Beard - DONE
2. - Give Colonic Irrigation A Go - DONE
3. - Go On The London To Brighton Annual Bike Ride - DONE
4. - Shave My Head - DONE
5. - Eat In A Jamie Oliver Fifteen Restuarant - DONE
6. - Bet £100 On One Colour At Roulette In A Casino - DONE
7. - Make a Vegetarian Lasagne From Scratch - DONE
8. - Meet My Hero Francis Dunnery For A Chat - DONE
9. - Have a Complete Back Wax - DONE
10. - Be Able to Watch Saints F.C. From A Hospitality Suite - DONE
11. - Lose Some Weight (sorry, A Lot Of Weight!) - DONE
12. - Get Myself an Eye Test - DONE
13. - Go To The Summer Solstace At Stonehenge - DONE
14. - Join A Yoga Class - DONE
15. - Run the London Marathon - DONE
16. - Put All My C.D.'s Onto My PC & iPod - DONE
17. - Buy Some Shares, Or Part Of A Company - DONE
18. - Make A Will - DONE
19. - Invite 40 People I Know to Brewfest 2010 (My 40th B/Day) - DONE

New:
20. - LeJog (Cycle from Lands End to John 'o Groats)
21. - Retire Early
22. - Get Married (again)
23. - Move to Brighton/Hove
24. - Write a Book
25. - Visit The Far East
26. - Obtain a copy of 'The Lost Weekend' (Book)
27. - Learn a new skill
28. - Do something different on Christmas Day
29. - Break at least one bad habit 
30. - Compile a list of 40 (qty) 'Forty before 40' blogs (Am certain mine was 1st!)
31. - Volunteer for Charity Work
32. - Goto Holi, The Festival of colours (in India)
33. - See the Northern Lights
34. - Climb a Mountain (Kilimanjaro)

Would/will still like to do these:-
35. - Go On A SkyDive
36. - Fly In A Hot Air Balloon 
37. - A Weekend Away In New York
38. - Drive A Porsche 911 Sportscar (Modern, Not Vintage!)
39. - Join The Revellers At Glastonbury Festival
40. - Visit Amsterdam & Eat A 'Cake

So, these therefore would/will be no more:
Spend A Weekend In A Health Club - (1 day is enough!)
Skinny Dip In The Sea Or A Lake Somewhere (Just Boring now really)
Be Hypnotised To Cure A Phobia (Don't actually have any, except spiders)
Watch TV For A Whole 24hrs Without Leaving The Room (I like sleep too much!)
Ski On Real Snow In The Alps (dunno, just can't see it happening)
Watch An Opera In London Town (Actually can't believe i had this on here)
Be In A 'Live' T.V. Audience (Is there any good live tv shows anymore?)
Have A Real Tattoo Done Somewhere On My Body (Look gross on older people)
Watch England Play Football At A Tournament Final (Can't deal with the heartbreak!)
Visit the Lake District & Cumbria (It'll happen, but so many places to visit)
Complete A Pub Crawl Of All Winchester's 32 Pubs (I drink responsibly now)
Queue Up And Watch A Match At Wimbledon (Not so into tennis these days)
Track Down My Old Friend Laurence Stone (Have tried, and failed)
Go & See A Real Life Formula One Grand Prix (Has become uber boring)
Learn A Language (Just haven't got the brainpower for this anymore)

Whilst researching & 're-compiling' the list, I viewed many other 'To-Do's' & bucket lists and realised just how lucky I am to have completed so many great tasks & challenges in my time thus far, many of those not even listed here.
So here's to continuing in the same vein!

See you soon!

Oh When The Saints (Go Marching In)

Task No. 19 Complete!

So just hours after after my Final Ever House Concert, I find myself heading to the Home of South Coast Football, Southampton FC to watch the Saints Vs Leicester game. 

......Via the Very plush President's Suite.

Unlimited Wine & beer from 12:30PM - 6PM.
A 3 course Buffet.
Live Footy on the TV screens.
Great friends,
Win Win Win!

At The time of writing this Blog, Saint's are under a very good run of form, Second in England's Premier League, with the best defensive record in Europe.

There was only gonna be one winner right?

Read all about it here

Right. On a roll now. What task next......

House Of Fun

It might not come as a surprise to hear that since I Posted the Francis Dunnery task back in 2006 I moved house. In doing so I created this amazing open plan space that meant I too could host a house concert. So I did! Many Times! and with other bands playing too!

Francis first played in my own home! back in June 2011. 

& again in 2012 With Backing singer

Miss Dorie Jackson

Then again in 2013 when I invited none other than Mr Peter Cox of Go West along to catch up with his old buddy :-

So my last ever house concert is next week (at time of writing this). It's only fitting that Francis will be the last act to play at my house.

Inbetween the Dunnery House Concerts I've also hosted some great shows for the following:-

These guys? - 'Twats in Hats' AKA John Mitchell (Lead singer of It Bites) & Songwriter Jem Godfrey playing a very rare and one off house concert. Hat's off to them (Literally!) for a thrilling performance. Very funny & very special, unlikely to be repeated anywhere again. Ever.


& these two? :-

None other than Gary Chandler & Martin Orford from Local Southampton based Prog Rock band Jadis. 

They played twice in June & September '14 with a full electric set up. Very loud indeed. Very bloomin' amazing too. Martin had given up live performances but was pursuaded to dig out the keyboards (& various other unique instruments) again for these gigs.
So there we have it - what was originally a task to meet my hero Francis Dunnery turned into me being influenced to host a House Concert, which in turn has led me to host most of my favoutire musicians in my own damn living room. Most crazy & bizarre, & would've sounded utterly ridiculous had I mentioned such a thing here as a 'To Do' task some years prior.
Along the amazing house concert journey I've met & made some very amazing friends too - fans willing to travel the length of the country to attend these very special & intimate gigs. To all of those I thank-you immensely.
Come November 8th 2014 there will be no further House Concerts. An end of an era.
“It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over”.
– Paulo Coelho, The Zahir
(Unless of course Adam Ant can be pursuaded to play. But that's totally out of the question. Right......?)

Back To Life

Hello!

I'm back. Been a while huh? - There's loads to catch up on, more tasks completed & stories to tell.
the before40.co.uk site is back & about to have a facelift.
Technology has moved on. There's now an app to make blogging here easier (& therefore I suppose more frequent...?).

Social Media. Pah! Blogging is old school & still the best.

So get ready. Check back soon. Real damn soon.

Will you?

6 (six) years on from the start of the 'to do' list things are still happening & tasks are being completed. Two (2) this year alone!! Alas, I thought it only right to share these with you now.
There is a chance therefore that all 40 tasks could be done before i'm fifty. '40 before Fifty' if you like.

So, first up was No.39 'Make a Will'.....
This happened back in March. On the advice of the bank manager bizarrely. Anyone who's made a will knows how daunting & thought provoking this can be. 'Who would look after the kids', 'Who gets what', where to be buried/cremated.
So after a good little think I went along to my local solicitors and met up with the friendly chap there who specialises in this as a living.
Various forms filled out, questions asked and approx half an hour later I leave his office minus £125 for his trouble. 1 week later I return to mull over the draft, sign it & that's it - the will is complete.
So should anything nasty happen a solicitor somewhere in Chandlers Ford has a copy of my Will.
Easy & not so difficult as feared TBH.

Done yours yet?

5 Years time

Hello! - It's abeen a while. How are you all?

The www.before40.co.uk is no longer mine, & i'm currently thinking of re-launching the "To-Do" list, most commonly called a 'bucket list' these days.
I feel there's no need to change the actual "To-Do"'s, but more have no limit on the timescale involved in completeing them.
So I need a name for it:
'DearLiza' (There's a hole in my Bucketlist) ?
'TDBID'
'Before40mk2"
"Before40 or 100"

Any suggestions most welcome!

I'll update this blog as there's some others to add on that have been completed.

Solsbury Hill

21st June 2009 = Summer Solstice & the longest day of the year.

Mega. Shame about the sunrise, and the tiredness the next day - but what an event!
So that's another task done.
What one next?

Starting Over

As luck would have it I kind of fell into the next task due to this recession thing.
- I'd had a little project on the backburner for a while evolving around a website, a logo, a brand & some ideas & the industry that i've worked in for the past 20 years.
Anyhow, during the Xmas break/New Year holiday I really had a good think and a breather and ensured that it would be one of my new years resolutions to start up this company & GO FOR IT!
.....& then I went back to work, and got caught up in the hussle & bussle of everyday working for a large worldwide company.
Move onto March 24th '09 and would you Adam & Eve it - I'm up for redundancy & my branch is set to close!. A branch I'd spent the past 20 years at (on & off).
Seizing this opportunity, & potential void in the marketplace it was all systems go - The project went LIVE!.
A similar minded individual to myself (yes, there is one out there!) also up for redundancy had the same idea, & so with our unique dynamic & mutual inspiration a company was born!
Click Here to take a peak at our website.
Click Here to see the task on the site.

I'm a company director. How Bizarre. But not like one of those that you'd see Here on Google.
Other things:-
Big bike ride - http://www.cycleisland.co.uk/ been training properly for months.
& so I've seen a sight not uncovered for over 12 years. - The '13' stone number on the scales.
That's 2 stone lost in 2 years. 1 to go.

Lifted

The Great Recession stopped play (so at last I have an excuse!). Before 40 will therefore become "Before 50", and therefore there remains less pressure to cram 30 tasks into the remaining 18 months. There will be a new expiry date of 13th July 2020 posted on the site soon!
It would be inappropriate to carry out some of the tasks during this horrible crappy climate, but rest assured the affordable ones will get done soonest.
So, the plan is to freshen up the site a bit. Maybe a new logo? - I'm still getting 50+ hits a day, the site is Google friendly & high on rankings and searches. Lot's of people email me with nice comments (& bad ones!).
Also 'Vlogging' seems tobe the new 'Blogging', but it's not my style, so this Blog survives to see another day.
In the meantime, I think this clip needs a few more hits. Then maybe it'll get seen on Channel 4's "Rude Tube" or something. The one I posted on You Tube where I shave my head has had over 13,000 hits (Mainly thanks to the website?), so here goes:-


I'm Back!

Have I Told You Lately?

So here we are at Half-Way point of the Before40 project. Just eight (and a half) tasks complete out of forty. Not good progress is it. Just 20 % of the way there & should really be 50 %.
- So i got to thinking about this, & looking at some options my current thinking is:

1. Turn Before40.co.uk into maybe something more honest like 'before40 (+1)' & if all tasks still not completed by 2011 then maybe extend it again into 'Before40 (+2)'? - If you match the time taken to complete the eight tasks so far, it is more likely to be 'Before50'!! in the year 2020.!!
2. Change the tasks. This would be a slightly more controversial choice as the whole point in a "to Do" list was for me to complete the 40 things that I'd always wanted to do! - Some, however are proving just to difficult to plan & organise. For instance, will the England football team ever qualify for a Tournament? + Laurence Stone is improving impossible to track down.
However some tasks that i have achieved i would've never believed I'd have completed! - i.e. the London to Brighton & "Meet Francis Dunnery tasks". Now, After completing L2B twice(!) I have applied for the 2009 London Marathon via the The Children's Trust. I no longer desire to stay awake 24hrs. Not sure I even want to go to Glastonbury now.
3. Abandon, or put the site on hold?

So is the Mid-Life Crisis at an end? - YOU DECIDE!

Other Stuff:-

- In Feb I changed jobs after 17 years in the same company. I went back as a Manager to the place where i completed my engineering apprenticeship in 1990. I started back full of happiness & with a good feeling but after 1 month I started to get doubts. After two months I hated it. But leaving my previous employer made me (& them) appreciate each other more & has enabled me to gain a promotion back there that may never have existed otherwise! So now i just think of it as a 'Lost Weekend' or a Four Month holiday!

- I want a Nintendo Wii

- It Bites have a new album out! - First new release in 18 Years. MEGA!

- Sky+ is quite good innit

- Training for the marathon to begin in August. I now own a pair of Nike's for the first time in my life. That means i am taking it seriously!

- I intend to start a campaign to ensure that the BBC use Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" as the theme tune to their Formula 1 coverage that starts back again on the beeb in 2009. Remember when they tried to change the "Match of the Day" theme tune?

I'll post here again soon. Promise

Tour De France

....(Or London TO Brighton to be exact)

After 6 months training on every Saturday Morning (bar 1 due to a serious hangover), and a grand total of over 900 miles cycled, 3 punctures, four inner tubes, 8lb weight loss, muscle/bottom toning, and a mass love handle reduction, i finally took part once again in the London To Brighton bike ride 2008.
As readers of the blog will know, 2007 was my first time at the event, and after that i said never again. But the truth is last year I was "Beaten by the Beacon"! - Yes I never recovered from the fact that I didn't cycle up Ditchling Beacon in one go, without stopping etc. I'd got about half way up before i almost passed out with exhaustion. (Please 'Google' DitchlingBeacon to see all about it - In summary it is hard enough to walk up, yet alone cycle. Harder still when you consdier it is located 46 miles from the start line of L2B, and only 6.5 miles of downhill/flat remain after it).
Back to the point, After much consideration I posted my "Priority" application back in December & was delighted? in March to receive a 06:00 start time for this years event.
Damn I trained hard for it this time. The highlight was completing a 100km ride around the IOW at the annual IOW Randonnee. which on the day totaled 81 miles as i'd cycled to the So'ton ferry & then home again after the ride was complete & the ferry had docked back at So'ton.

So all the preparation was done. I don't think infact i had been as fit in maybe 10 years.

To get over the mental, psychological side of cycling up Ditchling, I took the 'Clever' step of driving to the foot of the hill the day before L2B, I got the bike out of the car & then went for it.

- 9 Minutes later i was screaming with joy at the summit. I'd done it and celebrated by cycling down again in just over a minute! MAD!!!!!!!!!. Then i drove onto Brighton, parked up at the Marina & then cycled back into Brighton town Centre & caught the Train to London, Clapham.

I stayed in exactly the same place as last year, the Eurolodge, Clapham. Cheap, cheerful but right next to the start line. My Bike was kept in the courtyard & an early night was had ready for the 5:00AM start (Didn't really sleep as Clapham high street is incredibly noisey!).

-SUNDAY 17th JUNE-

I'd Got to the start line in good time and joined the first group, eager & ready to go. It is worth noting that the sort of people that start at this time know the score. They are serious cyclists, they know the streets will be empty & they are on a mission to get to the finish line ASAP!! That said there is still lots of banter & good fun to be had.

06:00hrs exactly & we're off! The weather was perfect & the pace was fast.

Through the whole London part i managed to get through every set of lights without stopping. Once I entered Surrey the roads became very empty & hardly a cyclist in sight - the fast ones had peddalled off into the distance, the slower ones left behind. No one really on the streets to wave us on at this time of the morning!

Turner's Hill is the first serious hill that comes along, but thanks to some great hill training throughout the Winter months it didn't pose me a problem at all.

- The ride did become quite lonely from here on. On the plus side I had the iPod on Shuffle and some great random 80's tunes were coming through the ear phones!

Two & A Half hours in, I still haven't stopped, my average speed was over 16 MPH and then there, lurking in the distance, was the grand sight of Ditchling Beacon.

Now it was 'Ditchling preparation time'. Get the energy snacks in, get the last bit of energy drink down whilst trying not to choke or crash. Catch my breath, slow the pace, only 1 mile to go before the foot of the hill. There is a deadly silence. We (total strangers!) all wish each over good luck. There are signs at the side of the road wishing us good luck. This is it. This is the moment. I have cycled 45 miles at an amazing pace without stopping & now I have slowed my pace to almost a crawl. I'm in the lowest gear at the lowest part of the hill. Only 1.5 miles to the top. No rush just make it up there without stopping.

I'm now Half way up. Some people are allready on foot, pushing their bikes, beaten, breathless & almost in tears. Not me. Me & my £300 bike from Halfords are as one, we're gonna do this.

Three quarters up. Nearly there, but it's tough. Tougher than last year. At this point I've allready made it much further than last year and now i'm struggling. The pace is slow & for the first time in ages i'm breathless. I'm high up a hill and i'm struggling. My body is seizing up. But come on, pull it together, it's not much further now surely?

I turn a corner, this hill has levelled off a bit. This is it, I'm almost there. I must be. It didn't seem this long yesterday?

I look up and i'm beaten. There is one last further incline. I'm drained. In cycling terms i've hit the "Bonk", "the wall". There is nothing left in me. It's either pass out or get off & push.

I'm off now on foot & pushing my bike the final 50 yards to the top. Angry & sad. For the second year running i'm beaten by the Beacon. I console myself in the fact that I did manage to cycle it the day before without stopping, but that was different, i'd had fresh legs.

No time to dwell on it. Back on the bike & now it's all down hill to the finsh. I manage an amazing 46 MPH going down the final hill into Brighton, THE ultimate buzz. Damn dangerous but great.

Then I join in with a group of Pro's and we sprint the last two miles into Brighton, through the town centre and onto the finish line.

It's now 09:19hrs & i've crossed the finish line. Total time of 3hrs and 19 minutes. There are crowds allready cheering us through & it feels great!

I've burned something like 150g of fat, 1800 calories and actually feel not too bad. There is free water to be drunk, and then a mile or so onto the Marina & find the car parked up from the day before (Thankfully no parking ticket!).

Yet to have breakfast, I find myself an hour later in a McDonalds off the A27 eating an egg McMuffin, and then it's home to enjoy what remains of a very different kind of Father's Day!

This year i made no demands on people for sponsorship. I have created an online sponsorship page, and if on reading this you feel inclinded to want to do a kind of 'post' sponsor type thing and give to a good cause (BHF), then here is the link to my online sponsorship page :-http://www.justgiving.com/pbrewer

Next post coming soon, and some good ideas about the damn tasks i've yet to complete!

My Heart Will Go On

It's that time again.....

Click Here to see !

Current things happening:-
Sky+
Training Hard in prep for L2B
My Broadband is back on (5 weeks on 56k is not good)
Exhausted with new job (but it's acually OK)
Played on a Wii for the first time (Good innit)

Current things not happening:-
tasks on www.before40.co.uk

Oops

Road To Nowhere

So here we go again, the early 'pre' application was succesful & training for the BHF London To Brighton Bike Ride 2008 has begun in earnest. Event date - Sunday 15th June 2008.

I was in two minds whether or not to go for it again after last year, but i just gotta "Beat The Beacon" & so will be focused not only on getting to the finish line, but also climbing the Mother of all hills, Ditchling beacon without stopping to get off & walk (It's very, very steep).

You may also note the ridiculously early start time this year. Those in the know however would say "Well Done" - No issues with traffic & bunching up at junctions etc. me thinks.

Talking of all things 'Bike', here's me from a 1982 local press cutting (I'm the one in the middle with the dodgy blonde hair)

The guy doing the "Bunny Hop" is none other than Andy Ruffell - BMX Freestyle champion of the 80's era, & in a later life, founder of the MoBo Awards no less.

See more about him here AndyRuffell.com

So just when am i going to complete another task......................?

Motorcycle Emptiness

As is the norm at the moment, not much happening at Before40 towers in terms of tasks completed. No rush, I've still got 874 days to go = 1 task a month.
The new house decorating is progressing somewhat slowly, and has become my current distraction. Every room has it's own unique challenge. The living room is virtually done. Spotlights have been installed (12 in total; that gives you a rough idea just how god damn big the living room is!), just a fireplace to go in & a bit of sanding & polishing on the parquet flooring.
Whilst that is going on, the wallpaper is off on the hallway (Well the downstairs part anyhow). That in itself has allready presented problems. Underneath the anaglypta wallpaper is lining paper. Under that is a layer of paint that is flaking off, & all needs to be scraped off bit by bit. 6 months work to finish the hallway decor is my early guesstimation.

Want to know the Best 80's T.V. programme?
&, definately the best T.V. theme tune? (IMO):-

Nailbiting stuff:-

+
Let's celebrate! - Mercury is no longer in Retrograde! (Ended Feb 18th) - Bet you all feel better now? Maybe I'll be cursed now? - I broke the rule of this that says "Do Not sign Any Contracts". Oops. I also sarted a new project during retrograde. Double Oops!
Also,
Loving this blog by the super talented Jem (From the band Frost) http://www.thenewcube.blogspot.com/ - Why can't all bands do this sort of thing?
Finally, a Quick hello to my friends over at www.before30.co.uk Go check 'em out.
I have now counted at least 40 x "Forty Before 40" lists/blogs on the net. Seems like Google loves me the best still though! - Type in "Forty Things to Do" or "Forty Before 40" or "The Big 40" or "40" & you'll find me there, right there waiting for you at the top of the listings. Go on, Come & find me!

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.before40.co.uk

I Predict A Riot

Well, if only i had a task as one of the 40 "Change my Job"!. After 17 and a bit long years i finally got out of the rut & got myself a new job. A big decision to make, but to move on & move forward definately the right one.
I'd been dreaming about handing my notice in for many months, and how i'd do it etc., but in the end once i'd received confirmation it was just a quick drive upto HO with a letter, a hastily arranged meeting with my boss, a quick explanation of why & where i'm off to & then drive back home. (Definately won't miss that horrible drive on the M3 & M25 motorway that's for sure.!)
I'd got an agreement/arangement that i would not announce the resignation until Tuesday 12th, as it would be best to announce it to all my reports (17 in all!) in one go.
So there is a prepared statement just waiting to be read.
The new job is back at the place where i started in 1986. Some say you should never go back, but 21 years on & now i go back as the big boss!
..........Just need to sort out this ridiculous 3 month notice period. I mean, just how do you keep focused in a job when your mind (& career) is somewhere else?

The Way I Are

......More apologies for not updating the site recently. I could list here many reasons why i've not been able to complete some more tasks recently, but that would make boring reading.

The main reason however would be the energy that moving into this place has taken out of me. It has all been worth it though as the peace & quiet here is something else!
I am currently writing from the new abode, again with illness (Man Flu). That means time of work, & a chance to update this!
2007 has definately been one for illness & aches:-

• Frozen shoulder
• Man Flu (x 2)
• Wrist injury
• Back Pain
• Migraine (4 weeks!)
• Sprained Ankle

On refelction it looks like i have spent half of the year in some sort of discomfort. What a waste!

So 2008 will have to be better!. The main cause of injurues = 5-a-side football, so that means i've obviously passed my peak & need to retire from the beautiful game! On the plus side, i've never been fitter than i am now, & my weight/diet is under stricter control than ever before!

I've had many emails from 'fans'? of the site, & it's been an inspiring pleasure reading these; I always try & respond where possible, so please keep the comments coming (Good & Bad).

The site also got a mention on a popular blog in Italy. Grazia.blog.it I tried to translate the site using the google translate service, but it made no sense to me. If anyone knows of the site, or can translate Italian into 'proper' English or indeed know of the blogger, please drop me a line!

I am getting loads of spam mail, not sure if that means i'm popular (likely), or i have been a little lazy in my filtering of such trash (unlikely)?

That reminds me:-

Saw a guy promoting his book on TV recently. It's all about his annoyance of spam emails & how he got revenge by "Spamming the Spammers" - Brilliant!. So if anyone is after a good Xmas gift idea for me this year here it is:-

Available at all good bookstores. & Amazon.com i'm told.

The 'Secret Website' Task continues to baffle all. If the truth be known, it hasn't quite worked out as expected, so plans are afoot to replace this back to a completely different task that was part of the original '40'. As alway's if you want to know where the website is email me (no Spam eh!) & i'll send you the link.

Updates on previous blog posts:-

Remember how I waffled on abouth the Wispa bar coming back to our shelves? (Wispa Blog) Well, they finally came out in October but it took me ages to finally source one locally. In November i got to taste one again having found them in a local newsagent. Brilliant. Had about ten of them since, but now i'm bored.

I had a "Top 10 Crisps" (Crisp Blog) blog where i told you all of my top 10 crisps of all time. Well i'm sad to say that No.10 in the list, the Pom Bear crisps have cheated us. Slightly.

There are less crisps in the packets now. Approx 30% less. My kids are quite upset by this. So am I.

In August's blog i mentioned Justin's site one red drawing pin & his ambition to trade up from a red drawing pin to something much more useful.
Well it seems he hasn't progressed very well. Not well at all. Done nothing. But it transpires the idea isn't that unique. Searching round the web, it seems there are quite a few similar themed sites. Looks like we're all out of unique idea's these days!

Talking of which - John Boileau, the main inspiration of the Before40 website has vanished! - He hasn't updated his thoroughly enjoyable beforethirty website for what seems a lifetime. Let's hope he's well & that we get an update soon. Email me if you know his whereabouts?

It's been a pleasure. Be safe this Xmas & see you in 2008 somewhere!

Purple Haze

With everything in my world at 100 MPH at the moment (House Move, Car change, Work projects, School Holidays etc.) it's very easy to forget what's been achieved over the past year since this whole Before 40 thing began. So let's take some time out & have a quick refresh......

Cycling/Fitness - Last September, i upgraded my 'daily' 2 mile ride to work & back to include a Sunday morning ride around my local village, approx 5 miles. I was so proud of my achievement! Each Sunday i would then cycle a little further. Then i brought a 'proper' bike. By Xmas i did my first 25 mile ride - Then completed the amazing & emotional London To Brighton Bike Ride under my target time 0f 4 hrs. 10 months on, I ride 75+ miles every week, and can manage a 100km sprint in under 4 hrs. The spare tyre round my waist has gone, belly is reducing, Bum is super toned & I've lost over 18lbs in weight & no longer use an inhaler. Generally, i feel a lot better & sharper mentally & quality of sleep has improved. Above all this I realise that cycling really is great for self esteem and motivation, it rewards the effort put in too. I have found an exercise i really enjoy.

Poo - The Colonic Hydrotherapy has help me discover that in fact i eat quite healthy after all & most of the time my Veggie poo is good poo. Even if it does stink a bit.

Eyes - As feared, i need to get glasses or lenses. Six months on from my test i still haven't sorted this. Will my sight get worse if i don't get this sorted?, or now I'm aware of the situation will i be able to strengthen my eyes & train them around the problem? We Will 'See'.

Hair - I have less of it now. Barbers are a thing of the past. Annual saving = £100 (35 pints of lager) as i simply shave it myself once a month. It feels quite liberating, I have one less routine to adhere to & I spend less time in front of the mirror = more time to watch TV/sleep/facebook etc. Most people have got used to it & the jokes have ceased.

Charity - Got a real sense of pride & achievement out of raising loadsa cash for charity on some of the tasks. Gonna make this a new feature of my life from now on, helping out others & raising cash for others more needy that me.

So - even if the task list ended now 3 years early, I feel that I've achieved so much mentally, physically & emotionally that it has all been worthwhile. That said, i don't plan to give it up & so watch this space for some more completed tasks coming soon!

Peace and love to everyone, no matter the colour of your nose!

99 Red Balloons

Come across an interesting website recently; simple, but one of those great internet type ideas.

- It may not be original, But looks like a bit of fun.

So i've added my two penny's worth, so let's see how it goes from here. (& remember where you heard it first!).

www.onereddrawingpin.com

Other news from Before 40 towers:-

• Bust my ankle playing footy. Looks like the Bristol to London ride will be a no go, but there is another 100mile ride coming up in Sot'on in September! - www.tourpourlamer.com


• Before 40 towers has been sold, & looking to relocate (After 14 years!) to a bigger place nearby (Let the stress begin!).


• Planning the next task for September - Winchester Pub Crawl.


• Weight loss task going very well.

Happy Holidays!

Do The Bartman

I have been turned into a Simpson!

Before

After

Have a go too:-

http://simpsonizeme.com/#