Music Review & News

Out 2nd March 2009

U2

No line on the Horizon

I love my music, I find it so uplifting and motivational, especially when you can relate to the song or the lyrics or just the beat it has. I look back over the last 15 to 20 years and holidays, marriage, new births, holidays, years, graduating and in general milestones that I have had in my life can be associated to songs of that period.

Three albums that I am listening to at the moment quite frequently are James Morrison, Songs for you, truths for me. Its a great album, quite bluesie, acoustic and really soulful. Three songs on the album that really stand out for me that are on continous play on the Bose system and in the car are track 4 - Please dont stop the rain. Track 5 - Broken strings. Track 6 - Nothing ever hurt like you. Hes got a great voice and is playing in concert at Leeds Academy on the 2nd April which I have just booked so really looking forward to that.

The wife bought me the Kings of Leon album and as time has gone on I still havent tierd of this album. I have been practicing the drumming of "Your Sex is on Fire" from a clip I saw Youtube. Its pretty much there now so just need to get the a band together to play the rest!

Jason Mraz was passed onto me by Ben who lives round the corner. Its just such a great chilling out album. There are so many albums that can be easy listening but the words make you want to slit your wrist. This guy is really uplifting and is great to play on those lazy Sunday afternoons, playing with the kids, reading the papers and having a cup of Nettle and Peppermint Tea, pleasent.

The one musical highlight for me this year is going to be the launch of U2's new album on the 2nd March, No line on the horizon. I really cant wait. Vertigo was such an awesome album for a number of reasons. Each song had really powerful lyrics that were wrote from the heart. Edges guitar playing on the album was as innovative but the same old same old as ever if that makes sense.

The making of the new album from the boys.

Only 44 days to go until the release.......

A visit to the Peak District

This week has gone by so quick yet looking back on reflection their are only two things that I am going to talk about. Work has been really busy and productive this week doing appraisals with my team and some planning for the next couple of months. We have a dashboard that track, ranks and publishes on sales managers performance nationally. This is produced on a monthly basis and tracks your teams core KBI performance then ranks it nationally. I started the job in Spetember where the team were currently performing 23rd out of 34 nationally. I soon implemented and gave the team increased direction and motivation and as a result the full year results for 2008 that came out on Friday showed I moved from 23rd to 13th over three months so I was over the moon and more importantly really proud of the team for the hard work and commitment they had shown in the last quarter of 2008.

I set my training objectives a couple of weeks ago and I must admit these where to quite a disciplined standard. I am however really happy with the start I have made to 2009. Over the last two weeks I have achieved 6 wieghts sessions, 3 1 miles runs and 14 mile bike ride in which I am planning on doing this again in the morning with Nyah on the back. What I am most pleased with is my diet. I have made a real concious effort to eat 5 meals a day, each one with protien and so far I have not been far off this. I have found supporting my training with the right diet is a so important. I burning more callories by training in the gym so its important that I am not only intaking the right amount of callories but the right source of food. Mentally and physically I can tell the difference so I know I am on the right tracks.

Today has been a great day. For me, nothing beats getting up in a morning and heading off somewhere whether it be the coast, the lakes, dales and going on a long walk. Our good friends Dash and Natty (Nyahs new name for Nat!) headed down to Baslow near Chatsworth House for the weekend in their home on wheels. We headed to see them on Saturday morning and arrived down their about 10am to be greeted by sausage and egg sandwiches and a cup of horlicks! After eating mine in a matter of minutes we headed out into the open Derbyshire Dales which was amazing. We followed the road on a long walk to Chatsworth Garden Center were we stopped and had some lunch. After lunch and a short nap Nyah was great, she walked all the way back to the caravan site along the river. Little Ciara was great to, when she wasnt sleeping she was looking around and taking in all the views! I love going to the Lakes because its what we have always done and it is great, but door to door to get to Chatsworth and the Peak District was an hour and it was a really enjoyable day with great scenery, views, history and walks. It is something we will do again, and very soon.

Really looking forward to next weekend as we are visiting the girls godparents Ben and Anoushka which we havent seen since the back end of last year. Think we are taking the girls to the zoo for the day so that should be really good fun.

Here is to another week of good training.

2009 Objectives and Plan

Its bizzare, I talked last week about my training goals and my objectives for 2009 and this chapter was going to look at my objectives and goals for 2009 in general. I buy a magazine at the start of every year called "The World in what ever year it is) and this year it is 2009! Its a great read and makes predictions about the financial, political, cultural and travel issues that we face in 2009 around the world, and this year it is a very interesting read considering the economic crisis we are experiencing not just in GB but across the world.

In addition to this I ran a briefing day with my team on Wednesday and within it I ran a training course on Planning and Preparation for 2009 and putting the ownership on the team to take responsibility for their own development. An example I used was that I will support and coach them but They have to take it all onboard and work on this themselves. I could spoon feed them but this would achieve nothing. I couldnt go into their promotional interviews with them and answer the questions, they have to do that themselves with the knowledge they have.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that when I started to update the blog I noticed that my good friend Ben had also done something similiar about setting goals and plans for 2009 in his blog! Ben and Sarahs little daughter Evie has not been to well recently and had to go into hospital. She is home now and the May family hope she gets better soon.

Onto the Plans and Objectives for 2009.

Travel

I love traveling, experiences new places, new cultures, meeting new people from around the world and tasting the local cuisine. Its something me and Nikki havent done as much of in recent years due to a number of reasons. Home improvements and our daughters have been the main reasons but I wouldnt have changed any of these for the world. We have booked our first holiday to Lanzarote which we are really looking forward to. One main reason for booking this was to take Nyah, seeing her in a warm climate, on the beach playing in the sea will be magic so really looking forward to that. (And my Mum and Dad are going so they might even babysit one or two nights so I can take the wife out for a lovely romantic meal and skinny dipping!)

We visited Centre Parcs in 2008 and had a fanatstic time. The place is so perfect for families and Nyah loved it when we went so we plan to visit their again.

Me and Nikki have said that we would love to try and get away on two long weekend city breaks. Barcelona and Dublin are two that have been highlighted so hopefully we can plan those in soon.

In addition to this me and Nikki really want to book weekends away with the girls to go tourist attractions such as Chester Zoo etc.

I highlighted in my Road Racing Chapter that I wanted to visited the IOM again for the TT. Other road racing dates I would like to visit are the NW200 and the Ulster GP. I really want to get as many quality pictures of these races as possible so I can start to put my book together. Me and Nikki started thinking of names to day for the book. "Open Roads" was a favourite??????

Use our garden!

After nine months spent last year doing our extension the garden was a right off for the majority of it. Me and Nikki have spent some great times in the garden, not just in Selby but in Leeds aswell. BBQ's, late night chats and entertaining in the garden are certainly a big plan for summer!

Training

I talked about my training objectives for 09 but one thing I didnt mention was a long ambition that hasnt yet been fulfilled and thats to do the coast to coast. I hope to carry this out this year over three days and do it with my Dad and best buddy Dr Ben. If anyone fancies, just shout!

I also love taking Nyah out on the bike which I want to do as much as possible this summer.

Drum Lessons

I have started back with the drum lessons and have now had 4. I have really enjoyed each one. When im there and then driving home I always feel that I have been overloaded with too many routines and I struggle to remember them but then as soon as I get on my kit at home later that week I seem to pick them up straight away! I really want to maintain my lesson once a week with a view to do doing some jamming sessions at some point in the year.

Alot to fit into a year, but aim high and you will achieve alot!!

Bring on the good times

My Training - Qtr1 2009

In terms of training, 2008 has seen up and downs and no real consistent focus to my training. The main reasons for this are having a house extension done which took nine months, a new arrival in Ciara and the start of a new job at work. All are very big milestones in my life and a significant amount of time has been taken up with these, and some will continue too!

In my training, routine is everything. My main focuses at the start of every week is planning and preparation. This way I know where I am, what I am doing, when I am doing it and how I am doing it. I did this to a certain extent in 08 but as you can imagine with a new baby and job, routine can change.

Sport and training has always been a big part of my life, from playing Rugby for Hessle RU, Football for Hull City Boys, Tennis for Yorkshire, Cricket for Humberside or whether it be training with my best buddy Ben at Haltemprice Sports Center at 10 at night or in my garage smashing lights with the punch bag!

I want 2009 to be a year of sustainability and taking it to the next level in my training. Words sustainability and taking it to the next level don't necessarily go in the same sentence but for me I feel I have the routine and resources. eg the gym and routine with the girls and work and in terms of taking it to the next level, with this is a number of things. As mentioned above, planning and preparation is key. With this in mind, I have wrote down a plan below. I have done something similar before on a number of occasions but never really stuck to it and don't think it was necessarily the best way of training.

The Focus. The below routine encompasses weight training, cardiovascular training and puts emphasis on the diet as well.

Taking it to the next level via a plan and sticking to it!

I have 4 training sessions to do a week and If I am pushed for time one particular week then I can reduce this down to 3 sessions. Each session focuses on CV first to get the heart rate up then weights on a particular muscle group. This means by the end of the week a full body workout will have been carried out.

Objectives for training - QTR1 2009

1. Carry out a minimum of 3 weight training sessions every wk

2. Carry out a minimum of 3 CV sessions every wk

3. Maintain the diet across the week with one treat day

4. Train til I fail pushing harder than before

The great thing about the bog is that I will be able to update on my performance every week on how I have done versus the the Plan. I feel really motivated about the plan and training in 2009. I know that there will be times when I don't feel like training or could have a lapse but the difference is that this time is that I have a plan in place, I know what I am doing, and I have the motivation.

Let the training begin..................

Road Racing Season 2009

Looking back at the road racings season in 2008 saw me and dad make visits to the IOM for the fifth year to see the best road race event on the planet, the TT. The two main favourites for the TT in 2008 were John McGuniness and Guy Martin. John eneded up winning the big race of the week, the Senior with a titanic battle that went down to the last lap with Cameron Donald. This really was one of the closest races contested at the TT in recent years. Guy on the other hand was plagued by mechanical problems in nearly every race and and left the TT with still no wins at the IOM to his name. Cameron Donald and Brue Anstey were the main men at the TT in 2008.

We also made the ususal trip up to Olivers Mount at Scarborough to see Guy Martin join some of the elite riders that have riden their. He is the only rider in the history of racing at Olivers Mount to win the Gold Cup five years on the trot. The most successful man around the 2.5mile course is Welshman Ian Lougher with a tally of over 100 wins at the circuit.

We also made the trip to Dundrod on the outskirts of Belfast for the Ulster Grand Prix. For the first time in its history it was called off on the day due to flooding. This was a real shame as the Ulster is the faster road circuit of all of them and some of the viewing points looked amazing. Maybe next year!

We also had the sad loss of two top riders in Rober Dunlop, the most successfull man at the North West and Martin Finnegan, one of the most promising riders to come out of Ireland in recent years. It really looked like 2008 would have been a good year for Finnegan following the good start he had to the season.

Most importantly in 2009, i want their to be safe racing with no fatalities. Road racing is the most dangerous sport in the world and the riders dont get the financial or emotional reognition that they deserve. A quote in one paper shortly after Martin Finnegan died said Ronnie O'Sulivan had just won the snooker masters. A weekends work had given him the championship but also the grand prize of £250k. The race Finnegan won before the tragic accident saw him recieve a cheque for £200! There is something wrong here. You could probably take the money away and the riders would still race. They do it for the love and the passion of the sport and thats why road racing still remains such an attractive sport for riders and spectators because over the years, the sport hasnt really changed that much apart from the bikes getting much quicker causing the sport to become more dangerous.

I would really like to see Guy Martin get his first win at the IOM. He deserves it. At such a young age he is very talented rider and is one of the fastest riders around the circuit. I am a strong believer you make your own luck but Guy didnt really have any in 2008. He really needs to ensure that all the bases are covered to have the success in 2009 and Im sure he will. John McGuiness is one of my favourite riders for a number of reasons. I love his passion for the sport, the knowledge he has of the TT, the circuit, the history, the riders and what he needs to do. John wears his heart on his sleeve so you get to see how he is feeling on the inside, on the outside. Because of his knowledge and love of the sport you can see how much winning means to him when he come into the paddock.

My objectives for this year are to again visit the IOM for the sixth year in a row, probably for 3 days to see the Senior Race. Scarborough is a must as its an hours drive away. I would really like to visit Skerries which is on the outskirts on Dublin. This is said to be one of the scariest road racing circuits in Ireland so I would like to visit here. Despite the weather and no racing me and my dad had a great time at Dundrod and if possible I would really like to visit for the racing in 2009.

I am really looking forward to documenting the racing I see onto the blog. This will be a great way of looking back in years to come. I now have my new SLR camera for the 09 season so I will post plenty of pictures from the events I visit. In a few years Id love to be able to have enough quality images to put together a book / compliation based on my experience and love of road racing.

Guy Martin Quote:

"The TT is the best thing in the world - ever. You could win a BSB race and I guess your phone would be red hot for two days and then what?

Win a TT and people remember that. I dont want to go to my grave not having won a TT. I want to win 5 TT's in a week but I have got to win a 6 lap TT if I do nothing else.

Thats passion for you..............................