…has been a very busy boy.

I can tell you this, hitting 48 weeks of treatment sucks. You think you have done a year but of course its just 11 months, “making up” those extra 4 weeks really drags, its like a waste of 4 weeks.

Apart from that I have been just great! Putting the tiredness aside [which you have to as you can't beat it] I have felt better than at any point since being on treatment. To say I’m feeling strong may be an exagration, but not by much, and I must admit to feeling more optimistic about the future than I have since the beginning, SVR or no SVR. Its come at a good time too, with the kids back at school and those after-school activities starting again I need to feel strong, its hard work!

In other news I have lost my hospital car parking space. It was only a matter of time as I have been parking in a nearby Pub car park the past year but the last time got captured. I had just parked up when the Landlady came over, attitude in tow, and said “you can’t park there”. I was flaggergasted as I just had. Of course I pointed this out, only trying to help her fine tune her use of the English language, I’m just too nice for my own good. She shot back with a “move the car or get a £60 fine” line, so summoning up all of my maturity I said “I’ll take the fine…slag” and walked off to my appointment. Now here is a little tip, if you are the sort of person who goes through life with an attitude you need to make sure you back it up, put some meat on the bones of your idle threats. Otherwise people like me come back to their car expecting to find it clamped only to realise you were all mouth and no trousers. Still it was probably for the best, I would have burnt the Pub to the ground otherwise, didn’t think she was smart enough to have seen that in my eyes.

The biggest bit of good news happened last week, Wednesday about 8pm. From nowhere a rage, the like of which I haven’t felt since beginning treatment, washed over me. The wife and kids were in the house at the time which was the only thing that stopped me from going loco and smashing the place up . It was wonderful, like being alive again, feeling the testosterone coursing through my veins, the adrenaline surging…..just wonderful.

Now for some bad news. The sad news that a legend of the entertainment world had died, no not that Aussie twat, a true legend, a giant of a man, Charlie Williams MBE. For few reasons I’ve always kept an eye out for Charlie over the years. He was a favourite of my grandparents, the spitting image of my grandad and a miner like much of my family. Also he was in many ways an inspiration, a mixed race child growing up in a Yorkshire mining village in the 1930’s, going on to become a professional footballer and then a top comic and TV entertainer. That doesn’t sound like the easiest course you could take through life.

I think our Charlie isn’t held in too high an esteem by todays chattering classes, I think his act would be considered a little old school by modern standards. Thats a great shame and a mistake that I think will be corrected over time. I think it was his gags like replying to a heckler with the threat “If you don’t shut up, I’ll move in next door to you.” that garnered him that reputation. Its a shame because that was a funny line in its day, funny because it was true, not funny today because its no longer true.

The main reason I kept an eye out for Charlie though was because he gave one of the greatest replies to a question I have ever heard. He was asked if he was any good at playing Football, he pondered and replied “no, but I was good at stopping those who were”. I like that quote, a lot!

So thats about it, 18 and a bit weeks to go and getting fitter, faster and stronger as time passes. Hopefully a bit nastier too as I have been too much like Rocky Balboa at the beginning of Rocky 3, I need to be a bit nastier if I am to beat Clubber Lang.

So onto your inspiration for this week, apart from Charlie Williams of course, a double header to make up for the last few weeks.

First up Derek Redmond, a great example of finishing what you started. Its good but I can only give it 8/10. Minus 1 for crying, don’t get me wrong I’m not a neanderthal, I accept that its fine for a man to cry in public but only in certain circumstances. Tweaking a hamstring ain’t one of them. Minus another point for failing to dip at the line, unacceptable

And finally this may be a little upsetting but it puts things in perspective, helps focus the mind on what we are fighting for. Read the first post here, just a fragment of a sentence but more moving for that.

Keep the faith, kill the virus.

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