Thursday 24th December

Well it is the night before Christmas, the family have been round for most of the day and we all had a great time. So now all I have to do tomorrow is to visit two cemeteries to place some flowers on the graves of two very dear people that are no longer with us. That is always the saddest part of Christmas, but it has to be done. Then, with all responsibilities fulfilled, it will be time for some well earned rest. So all that remains is for me to wish each and every one of you a very Happy Christmas, I hope that Santa brings us all the things that we want.

Tuesday 22nd December

Just three more sleeps! Well for once I am fully organised for Christmas nice and early, all of the presents are wrapped and under the tree and everyone has their cards. Most importantly, I am having the whole family round on Christmas Eve, however they will want feeding. I'm not kidding you it will be like watching the Klumps! Thank goodness for Asda, I have loads of party food that will keep them all quiet, then when they have all gone I'll clear up and then head to the airport for some well deserved winter sun. Like the song says, I wish it could be Christmas every day!

Monday 21st December

Only four more sleeps now! I don't know what I like best about this time of year, all the extra food, a few days off from training or extra time with the family, especially the Grandchildren. Or maybe it's the weather, I love the snow but I love even more the stupid and idiotic phrase that is trotted out every winter by some inbred or another "it's too cold to snow". Well if you ever go to the arctic circle it's about minus 30 which a lot colder than it is here and they have bloody tons of the stuff! Give me strength.

Friday 18th December

Only seven more sleeps to go! I love this time of year now that I have Grandchildren, Santa is bringing them loads of nice stuff including matching outfits and Caden's first bike which is the smallest bike I've ever seen. Things are great at the gym, everyone is making the most of being able to eat whatever they like because in January those that are competing all start their clean diets or in some cases their competition diets. Spent some time with Steve and Amy last night, they have a huge year ahead of them next year and I'm really looking forward to being a part of it and helping as much as I can. By the way, all I want for Christmas is the baby girl that I have been waiting for.

Sunday 13th December

Tiger Woods. Instead of saying "I told you so" I will say this. We live in a throwaway world and the more you achieve the easier it is to throw things away and replace them. But one thing you should never throw away is your one true love because it cannot be replaced and moreover it is the thing that underpins everything that you have acheived and everything that is good about the person that you are. Like it says in the song by Neil Young "Yes only love can break your heart, what if your world should fall apart?"

Thursday 10th December

So last night I went to see David Gray, after a 2 hour drive to get there I was surprised to find that all of the stalls seats had been removed from the Hammersmith Apollo and replaced with a mosch pit, which I found myself in the middle of, taking me back 20 years to a time when sitting down at a gig was unheard of. As it turned out, it was, believe it or not, actually a lot more fun than sitting in a comfy seat! The show itself was great, each song rehearsed and performed to perfection with orchestration and production at the forefront every time. I've seen David a few times and he is always excellent, here's to the next time! Finally, a big thanks to my son Steve, who runs the website, for getting the Hercules pictures on and revamping everything. He's great, I'm lucky to have him as a son.

Tuesday 8th December

Well you would think that at this time of year people would be getting ready to relax. Not so at Atlas gym, all the talk there is of next years competitions. I currently have five different friends at the gym who are all competing next year. I am going to help each one of them get ready, two have competed before but the other three are absolute first timers so that will be a lot of work but it will all be worth it if they do well, which they definitely will! The official Hercules show photos have finally arrived and will be on here as soon as Steve has a chance to do them but here's one of them.

Thursday 3rd December

Tiger Woods - my theory. He gets home at 2 in the morning and receives a call from the girl he has just been with (ah deja vu). The wife goes chicken oriental and he tries to escape by jumping into his car and driving off. She chases him and caves in the rear window of the car with a golf club, causing him to crash. Is that too simple or am I just being cynical?