Gym bunny Reeves - weighing 2kg less today (5kg less intotal)

My weekly session with Richard Kerrigan my personal trainer at the Newhaven David Lloyd gym is now switching to Tuesdays.

My start weight on 16th August 2010 was 128.3kg, at the end of week one I was down to 125.8kg and today I lost another 2.5kg and now weigh 123.3kg.  So, I have lost 5kg or 11lbs in just two weeks.

I am really, really pleased with this.

Last night I did a late evening gym session and a short slow run in the morning!

Today yet again Richard put me through my paces, and today I was so determined not to quit on any of the exercises.  I did downgrade the weights on one rep of my lifts but did achieve everything else this week.

I am using more weights now and even one of the weird vibrating pilates machines while doing press ups - very strange feeling in my hands more than anything.

I am genuinely starting to feel the positive impact of the visits, I am less tired and obviously less fat lol.

I have conference coming up soon and I know this will be a challenge as it is a really busy week of work for me (and many others).  I was a little disappointed this afternoon to discover there is no gym at the hotel so will have to look elsewhere - there are two David Lloyd gyms so need to check my membership allows me to visit them, otherwise I will just have to do some running.

So two week sin, still losing weight, still enjoying it and drinking nearly 3 litres of water per day!

John Prescott, Labour and the truth about NHS Direct

On Saturday I blogged about the breaking news that the coalition government were planning to scrap NHS Direct and asking whether this in fact was the right decision.

Well it looks like the proposed changes will only improve the current service - straight away the new 111 service will be free to call unlike NHS Direct now, you pay for that privilege.

Where NHS Direct can only highlight other services, when you call NHS 111 you will be able to book a GP appointment or go straight through to local out of hours services. If you do need an ambulance the 111 service will cut out the need to go through the 999 service assessment.
Since Saturday the story has moved on a great deal, and I do hope and appeal once again that in future the Minister or Ministry responsible either announce these major policy shifts through parliament or at the very least announce it to the media in a proper manner.

Labour, especially via mouthpiece John "I want to be treasurer of the bankrupt party" Prescott have seized on this and are setting up websites claiming to Save NHS Direct.

In fact yesterday I ended up having a spat with John Prescott on twitter.

Leadership contender Andy Burnham MP said at the weekend of the announcement;

"The health secretary's statement will stun people across the NHS.

"It is yet more evidence that Andrew Lansley is on a vindictive mission to break up the NHS, ruthlessly dismantling services before alternatives are in place."

The reason Andy Burnhams comments, and the argument I used with John Prescott is that Labour are NOT being honest with the voters (again).  Actually they are being complete hypocrites.

That is not a comment I make lightly.

On page 35 of this year's Labour Party manifesto, sits the following paragraph:

"A new, national 111 telephone number will make non emergency services far easier for people to access and book."

Would the Labour government if still in power have had this 111 service running alongside NHS Direct?

Of course not!

Labour were planning to scrap NHS Direct themselves and replace it with a 111 service.

Yet Andy Burnham accused Andrew Lansley of being on a "vindictive mission to break up the NHS" when he would have done exactly the same thing himself.

John Prescott argued with me on twitter that "40% of NHSD staff are nurses - 1400. Your plan = replace them with call centre advisors. Ours was to change number."

What John Prescott omits there in his answer is that 60% of the staff are call centre advisors already.

They are taking people for fools in opposition in much the same way as they did in Government and unfortunately many people are still believing their shameful lies.

Clinton Cards - homophobic or just plain lazy?

As some of my readers know, my partner Roger and I will be holding our Civil Partnership next January.

This has led me into every card and stationery shop wherever I go.

I've been surprised how many companies have embraced not just the wedding market but also the civil partnership market too.

And when gay marriage becomes law, the whole wedding marketing scene will become so much easier.

However, Clinton Cards have not embraced the Civil Partnership aspect at all.

I popped into their branches on Princes Street and in Ocean Terminal and was somewhat shocked to see the photo below.

The advertising banner in the wedding section

So, although the photo isn't the end of the world, in this day and age it shows a major High Street chain very much stuck in the past.

Its a sad day when a major chain cannot admit the world has moved on.

I asked staff in both branches why they didn't have any Civil Partnership products or stationery.

The staff at the Princes Street branch giggled and said what's a Civil Partnership.

The staff at the Ocean Terminal branch said they sometimes do but only a few items.

So my question to the senior management Board of Clinton Cards is this;

Is the decision to not market products aimed at couples about to have a Civil Partnership based on homophobia or just plain laziness?

Either way Clinton Cards you need to change your marketing team.

So, now comes the time for you to help, will you now join me and contact Clinton Cards and ask them (a) why do they not stock any cards, stationery or products for Civil Partnerships and (b) was this a pro-active or homophobic decision or just an oversight and plain laziness?

When I checked out the website to confirm the contact details and to see the board members I also searched on there in the wedding section for Civil Partnership products and got this message;

Search Results for civil partnership

We're sorry but there are no matching results for your search this time.

Please select a new search and try again...

However, if you search for gay cards you get a selection of just 30 items mostly semi naked men, if you search for Civil Partnership in the general categories you get a pathetic 3 items.

So, if you are happy to ask the two questions I posed above the online enquiry form can be found here or you can do it the old fashioned way by writing to Customer Services (Website), Clinton Cards, The Crystal Building, Langston Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 3TH.
 
Let us see if we can achieve a success story and change the mind of the Board of Clinton Cards.

NHS Direct to be scrapped

So, finally one of the most expensive parts of the NHS is to be scrapped, but is this the right decision?

The problem with NHS Direct is without very intense follow up telephone calls and research it is hard to monitor its effectiveness both from a cost perspective and effectiveness.

I used the service once when I still lived in England and I was given bad advice and different advice from the two telephone calls within an hour of each other.

No one ever called me back to ask my opinions or how I found the service - I ended up going to my GP so actually on that occasion it cost the NHS more because of the failure of the two staff to listen to what I was saying.

How is the service NHS Direct provides actually measured and assessed, if you visit their website it isn't easy to digest or find the information?

Apparently the NHS Direct service is actually to be replaced with a cheaper option, a 1-1-1 service which is currently being piloted in the North East of England.

I wonder on what basis Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has come to the decision to scrap NHS Direct?

Given that NHS Direct is currently tendering for Usability Experience Pre Qualification Questionnaire service providers with a closing date of 1st October, I wonder what Andrew Lansley will say to any of those companies that have spent money and taken time to prepare a tender, never an easy thing to write?

Will he be offering any compensation to those companies involved in the tendering process?

How will the transformation from NHS Direct to 1-1-1 take place, will all the staff keep their jobs or will they all be made redundant and then invited to apply for jobs in the new scheme?

Well let us await an announcement from the Health Secretary rather than jumping on a bandwagon as Andy Burnham MP has done, see here what he tells the BBC News website;

He said:

"The health secretary's statement will stun people across the NHS.

"It is yet more evidence that Andrew Lansley is on a vindictive mission to break up the NHS, ruthlessly dismantling services before alternatives are in place."

Honestly, what a load of crap these Labour leadership candidates talk sometimes, let's wait and see first what Lansley has to say.

One thing that annoys me though is yet another major decision by a government Minister done through a visit or the media rather than through Parliament.

Labour were bad at this during their thirteen years of government, I sincerely hope that Nick Clegg holds the Conservative partners in the coalition to account on things like this.

Major decisions such as this should always come via Parliament.

Thursday's gym session with Richard Kerrigan, the David Lloyd Personal Trainer

Yes, this week was always going to be a challenge because of having two sessions in the one week with Richard Kerrigan my personal trainer, I realise most of my readers will actually have more sympathy for Richard's challenge having me as a customer rather than me, but you can't blame me for trying now can you?

I came away a little disappointed yesterday as there were two tasks I didn't see through to the end and actually conceded defeat, which really annoyed me.

Both were new challenges in Richard's attempts to get me fit and it has made me more determined to achieve these next time but also my main goals - losing the flab and staying fitter as I get older, given I am 42 this is not an option I can give way on.

My stretches and warm up were fine and today (okay, I know, yesterday now) I actually got to go on one of the bikes used for spinning classes, bloody hell they are just that bit harder and therefore push you more, especially when you also have a PT on your shoulder insisting you sprint as well - yes, sprint, I know.

I managed that one.

The shoulder press was one I failed on and didn't manage my usual three reps of 15.  My left shoulder is weaker than my right, something I wasn't aware of until I started at the gym last year and it is something I need to strengthen and ensure I don't concede defeat again.

The second failure was more of a semi failure and although I finished the three reps, the final one was without the 8kg weight.  Holding the 8kg weight to my chest, I have to step up onto a block, about 10-12 inches high and then thrust the other leg upwards at the same time as thrusting the weight above my head twelve on each foot, three times.

I am sure there is a more technical way of explaining this but hey, you will for now just have to imagine me thrusting legs and arms in an upwards direction.

I was knackered, no other way of putting it.  I was assured by Richard that anything above the heart is always harder, so although this was my first time, I know that next time, I have to do this.

Then there were a couple of my old favourites which were all pushing me but I did them, I know the saying goes no pain, no gain but yesterday was bloody painful.

Richard has a knack of asking if the weight is okay, if I say yes he adds more weight on - I do wonder what he would do if I said no, I suspect he would add more weight on as well.

I have a day off today, Friday and then will be back over the weekend under my own steam and then next Tuesday for my next PT session with Richard.

Seriously, if you are struggling at a gym talk to the staff about having a PT, it does cost money, but currently I do not begrudge a penny of it.

Labour's Jack McConnell to quit as an MSP

Scotland's former first minister, Labour's Jack McConnell, is to quit Holyrood at next year's Holyrood election.  The MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw and life peer said it had been "the greatest privilege" to have served as an elected member since the parliament was established in 1999.

Jack McConnell was recently made a life peer, taking the title Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale.

This announcement today will end the speculation that Jack was considering a return as Scottish Labour leader following next May's election.  As recently as May when he was made the life peer the questions of whether he would re-stand were unanswered.

Only last year Jack McConnell announced he had decided to seek re-election as a candidate in the 2010 Scottish Parliament election.

Despite being named a future British High Commissioner to Malawi immediately after he resigned as leader of the Scottish Labour Party, three months after losing the 2007 election by one seat to the SNP, Jack McConnell never got the chance to take up the appointment, following Labour's UK general election defeat.

But he has said that Scotland's partnership with the African country would continue to be at the heart of his work once in the House of Lords.

Lord McConnell told the BBC:

"I have been an elected representative for most of the last 30 years and it is time to move on.


"I have been involved in national Scottish politics, including the creation of the Scottish Parliament and serving in government, for most of those 30 years, and it is time for others to take Scotland forward now."

"As I enter the next decade - my 50s - I look forward to new challenges.

"I will continue my work on peacebuilding - across the world post conflict reconstruction is the single biggest development challenge of our time."

Whatever the political differences with Labour's Jack McConnell, he still stands as Scotland's longest serving First Minister and he commanded the respect from people across the political spectrum, although it should be said, not all of the time.

Jack McConnell has courted controversy in his years as well.

Here is the full statement by Jack McConnell MSP:

I have tonight told the members of Motherwell and Wishaw CLP that I will not be putting myself forward for election at the May 2011 Scottish Parliament elections. My successor in the Constituency, and the Scottish Labour Party campaign, will have my full support in those elections.


I will be forever grateful to the many people locally and nationally who have helped me in the causes I have promoted, and the decisions I have made. Together we have made Scotland, and the constituency, better than they were on my election in 1999.

I have been an elected representative for most of the last 30 years and it is time to move on. I have been involved in national Scottish politics, including the creation of the Scottish Parliament and serving in Government, for most of those thirty years, and it is time for others to take Scotland forward now.

In my application to become a Labour candidate for the first Scottish Parliament elections I wrote that devolution would be judged not simply by the creation of the parliament, but by the ambitions we set out for Scotland and what the Parliament delivered for the people of Scotland.

It is that focus on ambition for Scotland, and on making a real difference, that has driven me over the last 30 years and will continue to drive me as I seek new challenges beyond the Scottish Parliament.

As a young councillor and political activist during the 1980s I argued for devolution, because I believed then, as I do now, that democratic renaissance would be good for Scotland.

In the 1990s, I worked alongside people from across the party divide to make the Parliament a reality, and for the last decade I have been proud to serve my nation - and the people of Motherwell and Wishaw - as a member of our young Parliament.

As Scotland's longest serving First Minister I focused my efforts on creating the right conditions so that the people of Scotland could flourish.

Growing the economy was my priority - moving Scotland on from the devastation of the 1980s to prosperity.

I knew we had to tackle Scotland's terrible health record - and that banning smoking in public was the right thing to do.

I challenged outdated prejudices - such as sectarianism, and stood up against anti social behaviour.

I put the future of our young people at the heart of our policy making - through the biggest school building programme our country has seen, the creation of the national youth volunteering programme Project Scotland and our efforts to support vulnerable youngsters.

And I wanted Scotland to look outwards, away from the introspection of the past, to find our place in the world as a modern entrepreneurial and multicultural nation.

When we left office in 2007, Scotland had more jobs, more people, and more confidence than could have been imagined a decade before. Services were better, economic investment was increasing, health was improving, our reforms were reducing crime and Scottish education was competing with the best in the world again.

Older Scots were warmer, more mobile and better cared for. Younger Scots had more choices and more chances. And in building a modern multicultural nation, we had refreshed our international image, and our population was increasing not declining.

As I enter the next decade - my 50's - I look forward to new challenges.

I will continue my work on peacebuilding - across the world post conflict reconstruction is the single biggest development challenge of our time.

The partnership between Scotland and Malawi will remain at the heart of my work - the link between our two countries is precious and shows that people united under a common moral purpose really can change the world.

I will continue to campaign to improve the life chances of vulnerable young people, whether here in Scotland or elsewhere.

And I will promote the vision of a modern multinational and multicultural United Kingdom, and speak up for devolution and diversity in the House of Lords.

I do not see this as end of Part One, more as the start of Part Two.

Throughout my career - from the classrooms of Lornshill Academy to Bute House, I have always tried to do the right thing.

I have made mistakes - we all do - but I believe I have served my country well and will continue to do my best in this new phase of my life.

It has been the greatest privilege. Thank you.