2017 PART THIRTEEN 25/03 -- 31/03

We kicking off the unlucky 13 week with another disappointing display of control, having got together some money to enjoy a week off next month that all disappeared in the space of a couple of days leaving us not only very sad, but frustrated and unsure what to do with my life. Should be able to survive the next four weeks till another payday, but will be lonely and stressful especially with several birthdays to pay out for too. Seems that nothing changes and even good fortune only lasts for a short amount of time. 

So allowing for that what DID we do on the weekend and how do we move forward one day at a time I guess. Saturday kicked off with some football, it's the International break and while England play Lithuania on Sunday (2-0 home win and nice return for Jermaine Defoe) there are no Premier League or Championship matches. AFC Wimbledon played Southend but lost 0-2 in a lackluster game of few chance, it would seem that having beaten the franchise the other week that the players are already on their holidays and have to pray that the manager and coaches can shake it up a bit before the season really ends. 

At least some good news for the Dons was that the final greyhound races were run at the Wimbledon Stadium and that will now soon close and be demolished so that our new Stadium on Plough Lane can be built, finally the Dons will be coming home. 



Hope you remembered to put your clocks forward, yeah I didn't and had another hour in bed. Still it's only Sunday so doesn't matter. At least up in time to enjoy the F1 in Australia as their new season started and the rest of my Sunday was fairly busy with plenty of little chores to complete that have been on my "to do" list for a while so was great to get them out of the way and now add a few more things onto the list for next week. 

Now waiting on the results of a recent eye test, and then we can move onward and see how to complete April. As I mentioned before I have a week off in May with the original plan to go Racing at Ascot for my birthday. Although I still plan to go along as it's good day out the fact that I have little to no money now will mean it's a different sort of day than originally planned. Though as it stands we WILL be going out and also in May too when it will be Sandown for my older brothers birthday night out. 

This weekend I am out visiting a really wonderful friend so will have to put on my best smile, and make the most of a day out so try and enjoy myself and put all recent events behind me. Life moves on, it's too short to keep failing and complaining about it. Do something about it for Gods sake. Small victories at least as we move into April and that's a quarter of the year gone already. 

2017 PART TWELVE 18/03 -- 24/03

Do hope you enjoyed the Cheltenham week, I sure didn't. Nothing really to do with finding winners it was purely a terrible week of no money, failed opportunities and ultimately failed to use my day off to enjoy the Gold Cup with my brother choosing instead to stay home and be miserable. With a trip to Ascot and Sandown together with them in the coming months I need to get myself together and back on track, this years is only a few months old but I am sliding down into old ways and the darkness that surrounds me is weighing heavily too.

So our week began with the end of the 6 Nations on Saturday as Ireland played hosts to the Champions England in Dublin. Turned into a fairly uninspiring and dull game of rugby though it was a well deserved win for the Irish 13 - 9. England just unable to get into the game and plenty of unforced errors meant that the display was not up there with the last 18 wins however the Irish will take the victory which put them up to 2nd in the table and continue to celebrate after St Patricks Day. 

AFC Wimbledon were also away facing Fleetwood on the back of a wonderful win last week against the pathetic plastic Franchise FC. Hopefully another win for us and a defeat for them will ensure that progress on and off the pitch is continuous. The game ended 0-0 which is still a decent point away against a team in the top four, another point closer to safety this season too.

Had an eye test on Monday which was an annual check up thing, not very comfortable but it's done now and can just on with the rest of the month now. The working week should be ok as we've plenty on and that keeps us busy so the time flies by. At least any worries I had recently about this seem to have been eliminated for the time being. Let's see...

2017 PART ELEVEN 11/03 -- 17/03

Should have been a great week, had plans, money and everything. So what goes wrong hmmm, where to start, well I began with my right foot causing me a lot of pain and discomfort so having taken a day off to have it looked at popped along to Teddington Memorial Hospital. Luckily it's not broken so no cast required but some muscle damage and bruising which means I am walking around like an old man, it's really not helping my mood either. 

Add to that I had been trying to get through this month with money available to go to Cheltenham this Friday with my brother Graham. Still got the day off but the money set aside is diminishing already, plus I need funds for going out in early May which is now looking 50/50. 

Busy weekend of sport though starting with the first of two home games for AFC Wimbledon this week. On Saturday we faced Northampton which resulted in a 1-0 loss (dodgy penalty) but we weren't strong enough in the final third to be honest. So that's the home run over with and although we still mid table there's another BIG game on Tuesday night the first time that the smelly MK Franchise team have visited Kingsmeadow. And what a great night it turned out to be beating them both ON and OFF the pitch in everything and the match ended with a 2-0 victory to the Real Dons. No trouble reported in the ground though it was indeed very hostile, we can go back to normal service now with an away trip to Fleetwood to look forward to on Saturday.


6 Nations Rugby continued this week with England winning the Calcutta Cup against Scotland in a 61-21 thrashing, that's the championship sorted for this season but also sets up this weekend when the final round of fixtures take place. England will travel to Ireland with a chance to secure back to back Grand Slams. 

Cheltenham Festival took most of our focus during the week and we will enjoy our Gold Cup day regardless of funds. A few winners will be nice, but spending time with my brother and few others will also be a welcome change for me. I spend far too much time alone, not sure it's something I can break away from now and do not believe I have that long left in me. Who knows, I got through the winter and with the spring and summer now on the horizon if I can make some decent plans to see people and have some long weekends away that could just be the lift I am looking for. 

2017 PART TEN 04/03 -- 10/03

Started off with a decent weekend for a change, kicked off by following AFC Wimbledon's 1-1 draw with high flying Bolton Wanderers which keeps our good run of form going and now safely in mid table. Later that evening had the David Haye v Tony Bellew fight on which was incredible and a great result for Bellew. Also showed what a class act he is given all the bad mouthing that Haye had been using during the build up to the fight. 

Had been in a bit of discomfort since Friday as something has gone wrong in my foot, not in acute pain but now walking really slow and it's feeling sore or numb. Hopefully just a tendon or muscle problem that will pass with time, uncomfortable rather than painful maybe it's old age. Praying it gets better, slept ok and doesn't seem to be getting worse so will have to work through it. 

Sunday as always was my peaceful day, had some football to listen to but generally watched the indoor athletic championships while doing my ironing and other chores. Also managed to have another look at a couple of trains which my sister wants to try and sell, have been able to get them both running though they would do with a longer run on a decent test track however the Hillingdon Railway club next open day is not until April 8th so a month away. 

LNER 0-4-4T CLASS G5 

Good that they still run, and took plenty of pictures initially to help identify them since information is a little hard to come by. Overall a decent weekend for a change, even though not been out very far, I got a lot done, and next weekend is another round of the 6 Nations Rugby with England playing Scotland at Twickenham. And of course starting next Tuesday is the Cheltenham NH festival when I will have the Friday off for Gold Cup day. 




Monthly goals and updates - March 
As per last year we will take regular measurements of my stats and see that we are making inroads to our goals for this year too. Managed to drop a few of the pounds that I put on over Christmas, so almost getting back on track with a couple of months gone already, once Spring arrives will feel better and able to crack on with some swimming and more exercise during 2017.

Opening Weight at 1st Jan 2017 -- 22st 5lb 
Measurements (inches)
Neck -- 21
Chest -- 52
Stomach -- 56
Waist -- 46
Thighs -- 24
Biceps -- 17

Current Weight at 4th March 2017 -- 22st 4lb 
Measurements (inches)
Neck -- 20 (-1)
Chest -- 52 
Stomach -- 53 (-3)
Waist -- 46
Thighs -- 24
Biceps -- 17

Will update this again in early April and try to set some further goals looking ahead towards April-May.

2017 PART NINE 25/02 -- 03/03

Last Saturday was my Mum's birthday or at least would have been had she still been with us. Still think of you and so sad that you had to be taken from us at such a young age. 

Should of made a trip to the crematorium again however the wind and rain didn't make that a sensible option and I WILL make sure I get down there soon once more I promise and we will have a chat Mum xx

The rest of the weekend was a fairly quiet affair with more 6 Nations rugby on Sunday [England 36 -- 15 Italy] at Twickenham, and we are still be on for another Grand Slam. It was a difficult game for sure with some interesting tactics applied by the Italian side in the opening half but having come out fighting in the second half managed to put a decent score on the board as well as picking up the bonus point too. Now looking forward to taking on Scotland in the next game in a couple of weeks time. 

AFC Wimbledon won narrowly against Walsall 1-0 so that halted a run of games without a win, keeps us in the middle of the table but with two away games coming up against Scunthorpe United and Bolton Wanderers this week we will need more displays like this to ensure we don't start looking at the bottom four. 

I am looking forward to March and having some time off to enjoy the Cheltenham Festival especially Gold Cup day on Friday 17th where I will meet up with my brother Graham. Just about have enough money for this and will have to get through the next few weeks but all being well could be a fun day out. Then we look further ahead to April / May and the annual birthday fixture at Ascot.

Delighted to get a call from my "ex" too on Saturday, she sounded well and I do wish I was able to put things right here but I believe that wouldn't be fair on her and I split because I felt it was the correct thing to do at the time. Neither of us are 100% well but at least we still talk, would love to see her again and I definitely owe her dinner or something like that. For now I will just have to settle for being happy and not hating one another. 

Next time I write will be into March and so will have an update on my health progress and weight. Haven't been too good lately so not expecting to see any progress although either way I need to keep an accurate record for the year. Even if the start of the year doesn't go great we can move onwards with the rest of the year. 



Aims for 2017. 
Be happy.