I am dyslexic which explains why I haven't seen any weighing matching or been given any dietry advice. So I have no idea whether I am loosing wieght or not I am certainly eating more, I suspect that I am fitter. Last Thursday I walked to the sports club a two mile walk and did it in half an hour. I may walk there today after walking home and walking the dog today a distance of 4.7 miles in total.

As of next week I will be going slimming twice a week maybe 2 1/2 hours we shall see. This week I have had a bad cold probably doing to much trying to beat Stuart last week. When I have a cold everybody suffers

I don't know how many length I swam this week more than 20 and possibly more than 40 spending 40/45 minutes in the pool. Walking home my legs hurt we shall see what I am like tomorrow.

As for rugby who know the weather is a still a bit changable at the moment it is amazing how obsessed you can become with the weather when if affects what you do. Most people talk about the weather for something to talk about the same way most men talk about football even if they are not that interested.

So next week 2 half hour sessions

Today was the first day of the Falcons Training camp at bishop auckland rugby club. Stuart had decided to take two days off as he has plenty of holiday left. So I decided that he should come swimming with me at Bishop at lunch time as that is when they do lane swimming.

So Stuart dropped Samuel off, I purchased some picture frames for a picture I was asked to print for the club. We hung around for a bit, had a cup of tea. Whist chatting someone Steve came out with a brilliant line he said that Bob wasn't a very good geologist as he never made the earth move for his wife. Then went swimming, we were early so I looked round the place for at bit. The 3m high diving board had gone and the pool was shorter and the deepend was only 2m not 12 feet.

So how did Stuart do? Well he swam 40 lenghts breast stoke in 45 minutes. Me, I was better I did 40 and some more waiting for Stuart to do his forty possilby 54ish. 15 minutes to do the first and worst 20. Swimming with someone is better because you have to at least keep up with them if not beat them and you can talk to them.

There was in the pool a big hairy tatooed man who swam faster than me but really smoothly.

So I am thinking at the moment yes I will be able to do it about 90 minutes. And as from the 1st of March I will be swimming twice a week.

I have walked the dog and am thinking of walking 2 miles to the club tonight and yes I am mad.

As the week draws towards Thursday I am thinking do I really want to do this. Do I really want to remove my body hair again. Funny thing is, walking back with my legs hurting it all seems worth while.

For the lads; I swam for 40 minutes one backstroke, back paddle, breaststoke, back paddle. The back paddle lengths took 50-55 seconds the breast stroke was faster and and the backstoke faster still. So I probably swam more than 40 lenths. My plan of action is to go once a week untill March and then twice a week untill the sponsored swim excpt the last thursday. I should probably swim at Bishop, where I intaily learnt to swim, at least once before the sponsorhip.

I find the first 20 or so length the worst then there come to a point where I could go on for ever. I should have taken something to tie my hair up with.

Swimming is a bit like taking the dog for a walk, which I think keeps me sane in that your mind wonders and sorts the world problems out. Who is annoying you who isn't who is growing on you, and at the same time is infurriating, and who is just infuriating you.

The rugby club has two Seniro home games this weekend and two junior home games again with the un16 and u13s. Last weekend I got some pictures of my son beating Consett. The pictures from the under 16s match were lifted from the bishopaucklandrugby website and spread round facebook like a virus. Some of the lads using the pictures as profile pictures. So they are all helping to promote rugby and the club.

And so as next Thursday draws near the less I will want to go.

Walking now there's an interesting concept, it certainly seemed I had forgotton to do it when I had finished my 30ish lenghts. Then I had to (wasn't perpared to spend £1.20 on the bus) walk 1.2 miles home and will walk the dog later 1.5 miles and no doubt when I begin to feel fit walk to the sports club another 2 miles what would that be 4.7 miles, not this week though.

I can not count, it seems silly when I have an MSc in maths, but I can't so I cann't be accurate about the lengths I have beeen doing. I knit socks and it is a problem there as well. So I can't count but my the haze after the swim I am working out the change while shopping. The receptionist at the pool suggested that £32 as opposed to £23 is a saving of 10% --- not quite. I bet you reading this thinking she can't spell.

I wasn't keen to go this morning I am by nature a lazy person and the first 20 length were the worst then after that I got to feel I could go on for ever. I spent 35 minutes in the pool. I am acking that has to be good even my wrist hurts. I have also bought voucher for 10 swims for £23 so I am at least committed to 9 more swims. After next week I will start swimming twice a week.

I would be fitter if it weren't for the snow, I used to like snow but it is preventing me from seeing the people I like. Matches are being called off training cancelled. It would seem that taking pictures is phyical not only standing in the cold and trying to get the best shots but the hour or so afterwards sorting and getting a selection on the web. Oh well the bad weather can't last for ever. It will mean I will be busy between now and May

It turns out that I am not the only person from Bishop Auckland Rugby Club to be doing the swim at the same time for the same reason. I am doing it Friday so that it doesn't interfere with the rugby. I will of course support Butch in his 2.5k swim. His intention is to give to the rugby club with his swim. I don't have a problem with that if people would rather give to bish rugby that marie curie I am happy with that.

So let me see if I am fitter for next Thursday and possibly the following Tuesday at Aycliffe Rec

Today was the first swim. This will be the first swim since my recovery from throwing myself on a motorbike on Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland. I was a little anxious however I managed to swim 22 lengths. Mostly backstroke, backpaddle and breaststroke

If there is one thing that deters women from swiming it is shaving, I am the only woman in the universe to have body hair, I am sure of that. My size 14 swiming costume still fits, now that is amazing as someone suggested that I would have trouble getting down to 18 stone. Maybe it has expanded over the years.

I chose to go on Thursday morning so I can get a lift to the recreation Centre as Stuart(my partner) goes to work. It was called a shoppers swim it was mostly men though swimming in lanes. So I dived in. I don't believe in just getting in the water too much time to think. It took me a while to get used to the situation and no doubt them to me. I kept bumping into people because I can still swim quite well and overtook them quite easily.

The town centre is 1.2 miles away and the bus fare is £1.20, so better off putting it towards chocolate, so I walked home and will no doubt be walking the dog 1.5 miles later.

So next week let me see if I can loose count of the lengths I am swimming and not need to stop at the ends. 2.5k is 100 lengths of a 25 metre pool and that should take less than 100 minutes

The trouble with computers is they cause you to press buttons sometimes without fear of the consequenses and sometimes via paths that are unfathonable to others arround you. So today I ended up sighning up for a 2.5k swim at Bishop Auckland on 16 April 2010.

So there I was eding the code for the bishopaucklandrugby website I have discovered that using tinyurl has many advantages such as adding map locations from google maps to the rss file that makes up the front page of the website. This also has advantages updated twitter. So when I finished working on the code I looked up other rss feeds I am sighed up to from igoogle and found the Durham events feed from which I found the swim.

So why swim because I can and I could with getting fitter. I haven't swam since just after I broke my wrist. Anyway, it gives me something to look forward to and a challenge as for the charity if they benifit it is a bonus.

So I intend to dive in the pool sometime late next week. watch this space...

Yesterday was not a Super Monday.

The morning started off unusually early as my partner had to be a work before 8am to drop a tripod off. A large thing 5ft tall and about 1ft in diameter to go in a diesel ford fiester. My partner doesn't do mornings. My youngest(12) then forgot to take the front door key school partially because nobody had remembered to tell him that it might be necessary.

The plan was to take my middle son(20) to Newcastle to put him on the train to Hexham where he stays during term time as he is at a Mencap college in Corbridge. He has learning difficulties and is on the autistic spectrum.

Living with someone with Simon isn't easy as some of the things he does do not make sense. When a teenage child behave annoyingly it nearly always makes sence.

I spent the morning processing the pictures I had taken on Sunday an unplanned (for me) mini's rugby match at Barnard Castle, this has to be the coldest pitch on the planet and a well atteneded colts match at the club. Fortunately there had been some blue sky and taking the pictures was relativly easy especially as the colt played well and scored plenty of tries. I visited facebook to find out my eldest(23) thinks I am an alien and I am the person who most annoys him. What are parents for.

Meanwhile Simon's nurse came to give Simon his medicine, I shouted several times for Simon to turn his music down knowing that it was too loud for him to here. Simon's taste in music is 80s which I didn't like the first time round. I received assurances via email that a that I need not worry about a technical issue on the rugby website. as of this morning doesn't work so now I do not have a website to work on anymore. Simon has a tantrum because his new phone is "broken" that is he can't send texts because hasn't the mental facilities to do that. Anyway he seems to have managed to send one to my partner saying he was being bullied at college and was feeling unhappy.

So at 2:15 I decided head off to Newcaslte a two hour journey by public transport and yes Simon has left his bus pass at college so that is an extra £4 for the bus fare. Only my phone is running out of charge so I decide to delay the journey to get some charge on my phone. So arriving at the bus stop at 3pm the bus arrives at 3:07 to break down at the stop fortunately there is a bus every 15 minutes to Durham. Oh I can't use my debit card for the train journey between Newcastle and Hexam and Newcastle and the Heymarked because I have forgotton my pin.

Anyway we arrive at Newcastle railway station and I put Simon in the train to Hexham and ring the college to tell them when to pick Simon up from the station. Make my way via WH Smiths to the Heymarket which because of building work closes at 19:45. Newcastle is a city therefore distances are short. I did some window shopping BHS Primark got some unhealthy food killed time for a bit.

Meanwhile Simon arrives at Hexham and there is no-one to meet him. My phone is not on full charge but I am ringing the college his house trying to get an answer. I then ring my youngest and parnter to get them to ring. Samuel is on the way to rugby training and his dad is driving so it makes sence for Samuel to ring. Simon is ringing back I suggest he makes his own way to his house but after two years living in Hexham he is not confident to walk the mile back himself.

So there I am lost in Newcastle forgetting which bulding I should be in for SuperMondays, Simon is still ringing. I meet someone going to the same event at am escorted to the building full of unfamiliar faces. Of course I am still concerned about Simon so after a coffee I leave the room to get a better signal and get locked out. I get locked out and the room is sound proof, there is no internal phone system in order to get help, I don't know the phone number of anyone inside. It is amazing how much swearing and cursing in these situation dosn't actually work. I did manage to leave a message on twitter which relayed to facebook. Someone was late and also couldn't get in the room. anyway someone eventually needed the toilet and I got in and held the door open for the other gentleman. I did eventually get through to Simon's house and he was safe. Still running out of power on my phone though.

I managed to hear two of the talks one about offline computing, applications not used by a computer but phones with gps and the other talk on scientific cloud computing. We then went to the pub where the beer was £2.65 a pint. there the conversation was about twitter and what a great thing it was and I got some ideas for my now non-existent website. Using pictures to illustrating stats that are according to the rugby club are wrong.

It is occasionally nice to be in company where you might not always understand all of what is being said but you know that most of what you say is understood and is not to technical for those you are speaking to.

This morning my eldest son has answered my comment saying is that why you are not here them.

I think quite a successful day.