Bloody Banks

Tomorrow I fly out to Dubai for my first competition since the World Championships in January. I don’t usually compete this early in the year but me and my coach felt it was a good opportunity to blow some cobwebs away and get a good early marker in for the season to come. There are lots of competitions around Dubai at this time of year and I’m entered in the 1^st Sharjar International Open, which I was invited to by the organisers. The standard is likely to be fairly modest, but I’m looking forward to competing in a different part of the world and also getting a bit of sun on my back.

I’m back to my old frame for this competition as my new frame is being modified by a company in Blyth called Tharsus, I’d like to thank UKSport for their time and effort in making my new frame, and hopefully we can now take it to the next level. It’s an exciting time with London just round the corner and getting the throwing frame right is our top priority. My friend Stephen Hayes did some great analysis of my throw to get angles of release and all that sports science stuff, and I’ve just been down to Birmingham to spend a morning in a gait lab being made into a digitised 3D model. All very high tech stuff, and I’m sure it’ll help me to throw the stick further.

It’s been a funny old month, mainly consisting of bank’s giving me and Rach the run around as we strive to get the mortgage we need, it’s been a eye opening experience but a character enhancing one I reckon. Having to constantly justify your credibility to a bunch of chancers (banks) can be a bit soul destroying, but I think we’re going to get there in the end – otherwise I’ll have to rob one of these bloody banks, if you see someone haring down Northumberland Street in a balaclava with bags of money hanging off their electric wheelchair it’s not me.

This month we’ve had the start of the 500 day countdown to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. It’s hard to believe it’s so close, it’ll be here before I know it and the objective this year is to qualify and qualify well. I helped to launch a couple of legacy schemes in Newcastle and Northumberland, and it’s clear that the games are going to be massive and will leave a lasting impact on the whole country. It’s up to everyone of us to make sure the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are a big success.

See you soon, with a suntan.

Horses Horses

I’d hoped to be in Cheltenham this year but buying a house with wor lass instead – Much more exciting. Someone save a Cheltenham pie for me.

I’m an avid user of Twitter and Robbie Savage was trying to blag that he got 5 out of 7, I don’t believe it at all because the Welsh are pretty much useless at everything. Not like the Irish though, they are on fire, I had a nice double thanks to Mr R Walsh yesterday and am looking for more of the same today.

Getting chin music from me today will be:

Time for Rupert (2.40)
So Young (2.05)
Masterminded (3.20)

Interesting value bets are:

Minella Class (2.05)
Arcalis (4.00)

That’s all. Discuss….

 

A Competition, Sometime, Somewhere

The day was so big!
Much bigger than any normal day, where
things are much of a muchness and
time passes by without so much as a care.
No, this was the day. It was so heavy,
I should know,
I’d been carrying it for weeks, years even.
It had worn me down, down to the ground.

Things were  supposed to happen this day.

Sparks!
Where are the sparks!
I tried and tried, I tried until I died.
Couldn’t bare to watch as
my title flew off with the swift flight of
a club twirling through the air.
Still
I bravely salvaged a souvenir from the battle.
And I felt free at last.

Future battles will be more enjoyable now.