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..............................

Seasons Greetings

Well what a great week its been. I broke up on Wednesday 17th December and dont start back until Monday 5th January so that gives me a good two and bit weeks off to spend some quality with the family. Nikki was working on the Thursday and Friday and thats one of the reasons I took the holidays so I could after the kidlets.

I had been in touch with an old work colleague on facebook Claire, who had left the business about a year ago and I havent seen for some time. She interviewed me for my first job and I worked for her for about 3 and a half years. We met at the designer outlet for a coffee and good catch up. The girls were really good and we enjoyed a good session on the activity area for the kids as well.

In the afternoon we headed out for a walk doen to the canal to feed the ducks. Nyah is so cute, whenever I give her bread to the feed the ducks she always eats it instead of throwing it to the birds!

Friday, me and the girls visited my G&G. My grandad had fallen off his bike a couple of days ago in the ice and at the ripe old age of 82, as you can imagine this shook him up a bit and caused a some danage to his knee. I was surprised when I saw him that he was in really good form and his knee was making a really a good recovery. Saying that, I wouldnt expect anything else from my Grandad! My Grandma was on really good form as well and looked well. They love seeing the girls. It must be one of the most amazing feelings when you are young, having a family and watching that family grow to become bigger with a son in law, then to see it grow further with grandchildren and to see it grow even further with great grandchildren must be an amazing sense of achivement, satisfaction and been very proud of your family. Its great to see them both looking so well and I love visiting them whenever we can.

Sunday saw a very special day in the christening of our latest arrival. We had Nyah's christening at Brayton church then at Monk Fryston. As much as Monk Fryston is like a second home to us, we were inviting quite a few kids and we thought it would be too formal so we had the christening at Brayton church followed by food and a wetting the babies head at the community centre. We had a great day and it was great to see everyone, the Tarriers, Weltons, Mckenzies, Wilsons, Inmans and inparticular my best buddy and the girls god parents Ben and Noush. Ben had done a night shift the previous night, finished at 09:30am, drove from Coventry tothe christening then headed back to start another night shift at 08:30! Amazing Guy!

Monday I had arranged to meet up with some old school friends who I hadnt seen for quite a few years. Mikey P has moved down to London now with his partner and has been there for a year or so. Wwe also met Helen and and Louise V who again I havent seen for years now. We all met at the big coffee in Anlaby and it was great to catch up and find out what everyone was up to. We spent a good couple of hours drinking tea and reminising about the good old days, Our boyband, Boys R Us!, teachers, holidays etc. Its really was good and we are planning to do it again at some point in the new year.

By this time, five days had flown by and we were getting closer and closer to santa visiting!

Tuesday Nikki had finished work and we headed out with the girls at 9am and walked into town. We didnt really stop walking all day and having been shopping, eating at Frankie and Bennys and having a few cocktails we eventually got home at about 4pm. The girls were worn out but we had had a great day and Nyah had loved walking all day!

It was great spending time with them over the last 5 days. They really are great. Nyah is just coming on so much and little Ciara has changed so much since she was born. The girls really are my world.

With the hectic past few days I started to come down with a bit of man flu on the eve of xmas, not great timing. Xmas eve soon came round and my mum, dad and sister came round about 3 and we started on the xmas spirit. Dash and Nat came round about 7 for an hour so it was great to see them. Nikki had done a lovely meal of Salmon and veg and that was washed down by a few glasses of wine and beer. I retired early (about 10:30) on xmas eve as the cold had really kicked in and I felt my bed was calling me. When I wake up, will santa have been????

Some snaps from Xmas Day 2008

Xmas was great! My mum and dad and sister had stayed xmas eve and were there to see the girls wake and open their presents, and boy did that take a long time! They were both really spoilt from everyone and it seemed to take forever to open the presents then all we did was play with them all day. The girls loved it and so did I! Mummy did an amazing xmas dinner which we all promptly eat far to much off then finished off by eating xmas pudding.Aanother good thing that came out of xmas day it was my motivation for getting back in the gym had increased massively. By the end of the day, I was already thinking of my goals and action plan for getting back in the gym. I will come onto those in the next update.

Boxing Day saw us head over to Leeds to see the wifes family. Our first stop was to see great grandad who has recently moved into a home. Although his memory is not what it used to be he still has his wit and sence of humour. He enjoyed seeing the girls and even helped them with Nyahs drawings!

We then headed onto the mother and father in laws for brunch with Mel, V and Al. It was good to catch up with them all and again Ciara and Nyah had been spoilt with lots of presents, in particular Dora. We even had time to have a competiton between the boys on the rowing machine which was fun. We then left there and last minute decided to stop off at Monk Fryston for tea. Me and Nikki love it there and we are made to feel like its our second home when we go. We sat in the bar area by ourselves and had tea while me and Nyah played hide and seek behind the curtains.

On Sunday we headed up to Filey for the day. we met my mum, dad and sister up. We went to a lovely little modern coffee shop for tea and teacakes then a lovely long walk down to the beach. As we were walking down to the beach we could hear a helicopter but couldnt see it. Then between the trees I saw it hovering over the sea. As quick as I could I got my camera and ran to get a view of the helicopter. Just when I got the chopper in view it tilted forward and flew away. 10 minutes earlier and I would have had a great picture of the helicopter hovering over the lifeboat which had just come back to shore. I still managed to get quite a few of the lifeboat and their crew bringing their vessell back into the yard.

Visiting the coast wouldnt be the same if you didnt have fish and chips so we went to Browns and had the best britain has to offer, wonderful.

What a fantastic xmas i have had spending it with my girls and family. Its how xmas should be. Only 363 days left til santa visits again................

Serious amount of updating needed!

My last update was on the 6th of November which is 24 days ago! How time flys and with that in mind I best writing about the events over the last 24 days.

I feel I am really starting to settle into the new role now. As with any new job there is alot to take on board and implement so the team are really starting to make some good strides into their KBI's.

Little Ciara is coming on an absolute dream. She really is amazing, sleeping through the night, mumbling under her voice, content during the day and she is now starting to give us some cheeky big smiles. The smell of those temples and cheeks are divine, I could spend all day smelling them. She will be 9 weeks old this Sunday!

Nyah is also been a little star as usual. Her speech and communication is coming on massively. She is now stating to put together the words she has learnt into sentences such as, "come on mummy," "I love you," "Where is Mikki?" Its amazing how she is now starting to pick up on everything we say (need to be really carefully what we say!)

I have started back with my drumming lessons in which I have set my kit up in the garage and have been going to a place in Selby called the Ore House. I was really lucky to find this place as its the only place in Selby that dose drum lessons. I got such a buzz after my first lesson back I couldn't wait til the following week so I re arranged the garage and got my kit set up. Not to sure if the neighbours are impressed with the noise I am making. The guy who gives me the lessons (Oli) is a cracking drummer and in just a couple of weeks he has really pushed me to learn new styles and beats. Its just a case of practising now until I'm not concentrating so much I'm pulling really daft faces like the man Vinnie Calluata! I'm really going to keep at it because I look at the way Oli plays and I think god, "I have got alot more to learn and I really want to get to that stage!" Watch out Larry M Jnr!

We have spent a two great times going shopping. Last Sunday we went to Leeds for the day to meet up with Pam and Mike and Vanessa and Alex. We had lunch in Cafe Rouge then I walked the girls around the German market while Nikki went to see her Grandad who is in hospital at the moment. The German Market is amazing, loads of stalls selling curry wursts, authentic items and chocolate. We then had a really good look around the shops. Don't know if its a man thing or just me but the thought of going to Leeds shopping and having a really good look around excites me. On the way there I was like a little kid, walking to the shops I was then as soon as i walk into a shop a just freek out! I cant find what I'm looking for, The cheapest pair of jeans I saw where £13 from Primark which where so tight around the crotch I may aswell have been wearing tights, then the next pair were near to £100! I must be getting a tight git in my old age but I cant bring myself to spend that money on a pair of Jeans. Needless to say we drove home with me not buying anything!

Then last night we got the girls wrapped up and headed down to Meadowhall to do a bit of shopping. Again, so excited about walking around and seeing what bargains I could find but I just couldn't see anything I liked and everything was too expensive. It even got to the point were I felt dizzy at the end of the evening from going in and out of shops, funny!

Its great, one of Nikki's best friends from school has moved back with her mum and dad round the corner from us. They have been seeing each other about 3 times a week and its great that they are back in touch again. We even set up a blind date for Donna and Kieth, (even though Nikki wont admit it) and they have hit it off really well. I don't want to say anymore as I don't want to tempt fate but I hope it works out for them. Watch this space...................

I have had a couple of sessions back in the gym now Nyah is settling more when she goes to bed and feel alot better for it.

Well its now Thursday evening and Nikki has gone shopping with Donna and the girls to White Rose, (wish I was with them!). It had been snowing really bad this morning and luckily I had only to go to Hull so not to far.

Really looking forward to Saturday night as we are hitting Leeds for a few drinks and bit of a disco dance with Dash & Nat and Kieth and Donna so really looking forward to it. Hopefully going to meet Barry and Lisa later on in the evening if they can make it.

9 more days left at work, then 2 and a bit weeks off. 21 days til Santa comes, HO HO HO HO