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  • bristol half marathon - new job

    Vanessa and George (Dans girlfriend) ran in the Bristol Half Marathon last weekend and both finished in good times.  Vanessa who is 50+ finished in under 3 hours and that is 6+ minutes quicker than 2 years ago - I am so proud of her.  George finished in her first ever half marathon 6 minutes ahead if Vanessa - well done to them both.

    I have put some photos on:  http://www.donaldking.spaces.live.com/

    It is great that so many charities benefit from all the people who participate across the country in a huge myriad of runs from 5k to full marathons, triatholons and other similar events.  It is good so many people are taking the time and effort to help others.

    I have changed my job and given up my Safety Consultancy and as from November 1st will be working for a local company called Smiths of Gloucester - really looking forward to working with them.

    Will keep yu posted.

    Take care and stay safe

  • FRENCH PARTY PHOTOS

    SOME PHOTOS HAVE BEEN UPLOADED - WILL ADD MORE TONIGHT.

    BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO ATTENDED - WE HAD A GREAT TIME.

    TAKE CARE AND STAY SAFE

    WILL WRITE LATER ABOUT LEWIS HAMILTON AND HOW F1 IS BECOMING TOO POLITICAL

    PHOTOS CAN BE VIEWED AT

  • french party

    Weather on Thurs & Friday was lousy with us so we decided to move th eparty from back garden to an inside venue.  We eventually took up the offer from our local pub (THE YEW TREE) who said we could come in and use the bar - we could bring our own food and they agreed we could take our own wine as well.  

    Spence & Lisa made us very welcome and they are excellent hosts in our local which is called The Yew Tree and is in Cam, Gloucestershire.  If you want a pleasant drink/night out with good evening entertainment the pay a visit.  Highly recomended - I understand they also have real ale on site.

    An extra addition to the afternoon was that Spence and Lisa had jusy got a new puppy that morning - an 8 week old Exeter Spaniel and absolutely gorgeous dog.  He certainly was given a lot of attention but took it all in his stride.

    Our friends arrived and very quickly eveyone was enjoying themselves.  Music in the background and we started serving the food.  Menu was:  Couq an Vin, Chicken in white win, Garlic chicken, Ham, Salad and snail casserole.  We had bread for wiping up the gravy and cheeses from many different areas of France.

    We had decked the pub with French flags, banners, posters etc and it looked very good.  Vanessa was dressed as a clown waiter and I was dressed as a French maid.  Sadie our next dooor neighbour was a very sexy French female as was Vanessas friend Grace.  Neighbours Chrissie and Brian also dressed up.

    The night was excellent and it was good to see friends and family having a good time.  Will put photographs on my web site tomorrow night - still very tired and going to bed soon.

    Terry and  Denise very kindly donated £20 to my cycle - it is really appreciated.  Rebecca was also their with her new baby and you can see how lovelly she is at my photo site 

    Photographs will be at;http://donaldking.spaces.live.com/

    Take care and stay safe

  • old age does not come alone

    It has now just been confirmed that I am over 25ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

    1. You leave clubs before the end to "beat the rush" (Worst still you
    don't go to the clubs!)

    2. You get more excited about having a roast on a Sunday than going
    clubbing the night before.

    3. You stop dreaming of becoming a professional footballer/basketball
    player and start dreaming of having a son who might instead.

    4. Before throwing the local paper away, you look through the property
    section.

    5. All of a sudden, middle aged people are not 45, they are only 45.

    6. Before going out anywhere, you ask whether there is anywhere to park.

    7. Rather than throw a knackered pair of trainers out, you keep them
    because they'll be alright for the DIY or in the garden.

    8. You buy T-shirts without anything written on them.

    9. Instead of laughing at the innovations catalogue that falls out of
    the newspaper, you suddenly see both the benefit and money saving
    properties of most of the things that are in it.

    10. You start to worry about your parents' health.

    11. You have more disposable income, but everything you want or need to
    buy costs between 200 and 500 quid.

    12. You don't get funny looks when you buy a Disney video or a Wallace
    and Grommit bubble bath, as the sales assistant assumes they are for
    your children.

    13. Pop music all starts to sound the same.

    14. You opt for Pizza Express over Pizza Hut because they do a really
    nice half-bottle of house red.

    15. You always have enough milk in.

    16. To compensate for the fact that you have little desire to go
    clubbing, you instead frequent trendy bars and restaurants in the
    mistaken belief that you have not turned into your parents.

    17. While flicking through the TV channels, you happen upon C4's Time
    Team with Tony Robinson. You get drawn in. Grand Designs also appeals.

    18. The benefits of a pension scheme become clear.

    19. You go out of your way to pick up a colour chart from B&Q.

    20. You wish you had a shed.

    21. You have a shed.

    22. You actually find yourself saying "They don't make 'em like that
    anymore," and "I remember when there were only 4 TV channels," and "not
    in my day...."

    23. Radio 2 play more songs you know than Radio 1 - and Jeremy Vine has
    some really interesting guests on.

    24. Instead of tutting at old people who take ages to get off the bus,
    you tut at rowdy school children.

    25. When sitting outside a pub you admire their hanging baskets.

    26. You find yourself saying "is it cold in here or is it just me."

    27. You understand the above and forward it to your fellow aging friend.

  • PHOTOGRAPHS - SORRY

    Thanks to seaside man for pointig out that I should provide a link to my photographs that just requires you to click.  My apologies - I thought you could link automatically (silly me)

    The link is:  http://donaldking.spaces.live.com/

    I hope you enjoy all my pictures and hope to be adding more after the weekend.

    Following our holiday in France we are having a French party on Sat and hoping friends and family will dress up!!!  Mind you looking at todays weather it could be a washout!!!

    Take care and stay safe

  • pictures - apologies

    I am sorry but I have been puting my wrong address for you to see photographs. It should be:

    http://donaldking.spaces.live.com/

    take care and stay safe

  • woooow SOLENT SAILING

    VANESSA (HER INDOORS WHO MUST BE OBEYED) as a present booked me a one days sailing experience on the solent.

    I drove to Southampton and met the crew and my sailing companions for the day - we really looked a mottley crew but somehow hoped that all these strangers would be able to sail the yacht.

    After a short walk we met the yacht. Bluebird is a Whitbread 60 foot racing yacht who at one time, a few years ago held the reecord of most miles sailed in 24 hour sailing. She looked absolutely fantastic. We motoered out of the harbour and then hoisted sail. This means operating the coffee grinder - this is a torture mechanism that has to be used to be beleived - but we took turns (some of us less than others - guilty m'lord) and all the sails were up and with engine off we were sailing.

    Bluebird on shore looked great, but out in the sea she was sex on the sea, as she gracefully tore through the waves and the rushing sea passing the hull, it sounded like an ochestra was accompanying us. I do not have the words to find how to describe the experience. She was like a ballet dancer gliding gracefully around the sea but with the power of a F1 racing car. At times were were sailing at an angle of 30 degrees (my estimation - so not accurate) and this was exhilirating beyon words - all of us were mesmerised at her ability

    I know we only got a taster of what Ocean sailing is all about, but we have new respect for the people who sail around the world as a crew or on their own.

    Our Skipper Jono and the crew of Dan and Helen were very special people - they made us very welcome, boosted our confidence and guided us to sail the yacht correctly so we could get the best out of the day. Thanks to all of them for their help and support.

    I have put some pics on my site at:

    http://www.donking.spaces.live.com/

    and details of bluebox sailing can be found at:

    http://www.blueboxsailing.com/

    Thanks to Vanessa for booking me a great treat. If you have a day to spare and wonder what to do - book this experience, you will not be disapointed.

    Take care and stay safe

  • horse show / sponsorship

    Some time since I last wrote on my blog – will try and improve in the future!!!

    Sponsorship money continues to come in. Mike Goodman who works for McCambridge Group as a Project Director very kindly donated £20. I have known Mike for many years and as well as being a great engineer he is the type of man you would wish to work with.

    Danny my stepson, who had the accident that started this sponsored cycle off for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance has donated £100. This is an extremely large donation and along with all the other money will make a big difference. Thanks Danny it is really appreciated.

    Spent most of this bank holiday working and playing catch up – not much fun but when you are self-employed the client always comes first.

    Vanessa was competing at the Berkeley horse show and was very disappointed that Shannon was not placed. They both looked very good and I thought they did well. I know I am biased but when Vanessa and some of the other competitors were going round the judge was not even looking at them. As a non technical observer I would say that she had already made up her mind who was going to be placed almost as soon as the horses entered the ring, she seemed to spend time looking at them but not the others. It is such a shame that the same standard was not uniformly applied.

    Berkeley castle is a great backcloth for these events – so impressive, plenty of room to park and many tents etc for people who are not 100% horsey.

    Take care and stay safe.

  • olympics

    Today we have seen a great day at the olympics with many medals for Team GB.  Some of the performances were mind boggling and it augers well for the London olympics in 2012.  Not sure how we can follow what we have seen for the opening ceremony but the thought of 10000 Morris dancers is too much to contemplate!!

    Disapointed that one of the commentators said to the 100m gold medalist that his fans in England .......  When will they realise that Scotland is part of the UK and that some of team GB are Scottish and Welsh - check out the medalists.  Still I guess it is what we have come to expect from the very much London orientated BBC.

    Looking forward to seeing Paula later tonight in the Marathon but I do hope she is at her best - not sure after her injury and shortage of training - mind you she will certainly be trying her best.

    Not been doing much cycling recently but hope to get back into the swing of things fairly soon.

    Take care and stay safe

  • ROUSSILLION - FRANCE

    When on holiday Michelle told us to visit Roussillon which has been inhabited since Neolithic time, then later by the Romans who also left their traces. Samuel Beckett lived there during the Second World War.This was certainly worth the 1.5 hour drive and if you are ever going to visit somewhere in France this should be near the top of your list.  Spectacular views of the surrounding countryside make this a very special day.

    In Roussillon, the most memorable feature is not Roussillon itself, but the ochre mines below the village.

    The range of colours in the white-orange-red rocks is extraordinary, and the curiously shaped rock formations add further to the spectacle. It creates to my mind a landscape that you might think was from another world or the moon.

    Roussillon is yet another super-attractive Provencal village. The colour in the mines is mirrored in the colours of the house in Roussillon itself, above the mines - the extraordinary colour of the houses in the village, tinted by the ochre that was once mined here, really does make Roussillon different to the other villages in the region.  It is a spectacular sight walking around the village and being confronted by a range of colours, all different, around each corner.

    I would imagine that to see Roussillon when the first sunshine of the day strikes the village, to see the glowing colours of the houses at their most stunning.

    Roussillon has many beautiful houses, constructed mostly about 300 years ago, and also has its fair share of tourism related gift shops and galleries etc, like all the 'most beautiful villages of France.  Also like many touristy type areas it is very, very expensive.  I can’t help but feel that if they reduced the prices they would sell considerably more.  The day we visited very few people were buying.It is a lovely little village to explore - shady squares, amazing architectural details, faded shutters, cats sleeping on windowsills - everything you hope for from a Provencal village. Take care and stay safe. Pictures at: http://www.donking.spaces.live.com/

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