Jai Ho!

The weirdest thing happened to me yesterday, I went to the gym and I actually had fun! I’m always a bit nervous when I go to exercise classes, because I have a massive fear of being singled out by the super fit teacher at the front for being a complete lumbering incompetent!

   My fear is slightly justified. Many years ago I used to go to a spinning class and I think the guy that taught it thought he was beasting a team of Olympic athletes as opposed to a group of people who were just trying to get a bit fitter. He would march round the class turning the knob up on your bike as high as it would go and if he caught you trying to alter it he would scream at you. He once halted the whole class because my friend stopped for a second because her knee hurt. My last memory of him is him screaming

“STOP, STOP, STOP everyone, Sarah has decided her knee hurts so until SARAH decides to start spinning again we will all sit here”

It was a little bit like that scene from “Matilda” where the Trunchball finds out Bruce Bogtrotter has eaten her chocolate cake. The room shook with fear! After that incident we never returned.

  As a result I’ve always been slightly worried that a gym instructor will single me out and make me “drop and give them 20” if I stop for a drink of water. The reality is apart from one body combat instructor who clearly thought I bought the weight average up to unacceptable level in her class, so therefore didn’t acknowledge my existence, everyone else has been lovely. (I should add I've now swapped gyms)

  I’ve probably tried every gym class going and whilst they hold my attention for a few weeks I’m soon bored. However I noticed that my gym had started a new class; “Just Jhoom” A Bollywood inspired dance fitness class. Well they had me at “Bollywood”

  I love Bollywood dancing, I’m not sure whether it’s the colours, the movement or the sheer noise and jolliness of it all, but I couldn’t not try this! 

  When I arrived everyone in the class was really friendly and most importantly so was the teacher. I was lulled into a slight sense of false security when we started with an eye warm up! I can do the moving them left, right, up, down thing, then optician makes me do it all the time, although he’s never referred to it as a warm up and I'm not sure it earns me any bonus points! That was as easy as it got and before I knew it I was doing hand movements called “the beak” and “lotus flower" and kicking my legs about like Dick Van Dyke had asked me “Step in Time”

  My favourite routines were “Jai Ho”, although I suspect I did not resemble a Pussycat Doll in any way shape or form. I think I liked this one most because there was an element of it being like a Bollywood version of “Tragedy”

  My other favourite was a track that sounded it was saying “Barbara Windsor” and wouldn’t have been out of place in a holiday resort!

  I blooming loved it from start to finish and I can honestly say it was the most fun I’ve ever had at the gym, even though by the end of it I looked like this!

Me at my most sexy!

  As I’ve still got 2 pounds to lose to take me back to the weight I was before I went on holiday, I’m really hoping I sweated some of that off!

Any Excuse for a Cheap Tossing Gag

Anyone who works or has ever worked in radio will tell you that Pancake Day is one of their favourite days of the year. Why? Is it because it’s an excuse to eat yummy pancakes live on air, when eating in the studio is normally banned in case you drop a crumb into an important bit of equipment? No it’s because legitimately you can say the word “tosser” repeatedly on air and even ask listeners if “they’ll be tossing tonight” and no one will phone OFCOM to complain!

  This blog will probably just prove that you can take the girl out of radio, but not radio out of the girl, so there’ll probably be a few cheap tossing gags!

  I really feel like I’m back on track now and even though I stayed the same this week, I am focused and really trying. I’ve been to the gym, walked miles with the dog and started wearing my pedometer everyday. Yesterday at work I earned 7 points just walking around a classroom!

  I’ve also been experimenting with different Weight Watchers recipes, because I felt I was getting into a bit of a food rut. I have inherited many good qualities from my Mum, however I also inherited her inability to cook! 

  At Christmas having seen a picture on Pinterest of a wreath made out of cupcakes, I felt inspired to give it a go. I didn’t intend to eat the cakes, Lucy was going to take them into work, but I felt a Sunday afternoon of baking would be fun and relaxing. Now the cupcakes themselves were perfectly edible, however cake decorating really isn’t a talent and my kitchen looked as though the Incredible Hulk had broken in and had an accident all over the work surface.

  Even 3 months on, this picture still makes me giggle!

mmmmm, yummy Christmas cupcakes, which are meant to resemble a wreath!

  Anyway undeterred this week I decided that rather than buying cooking sauces I would make them! They'd be delicious and point free! With the aid of chopped tomatoes, garlic and a herb rack that's sat unused in the corner of my kitchen for 10 months I got to work.  The sauce itself was successful and I left my dinner happily cooking in my slow cooker so that when I returned from the gym, it was a case of dishing  it up. It however turns out my slow cooker had other ideas.

R.I.P slow cooker

  Despite intensive research, I am yet to discover another person who has burnt off the bottom of their slow cooker!

  You’d think I would have given up, but not me! Every year I promise myself I’ll cook pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and every year I forget and decide I’ll do it next year! Not this year, this year I tossed with the rest of the population! We got off to a slightly shaky start because the Weight Watchers recipe specified blueberries and I had strawberries and I don’t own a frying pan so I had to use my wok. I like to consider myself a problem solver.

  My pancake got off to a winning start.

Looking good!

And then it didn’t.

Are they meant to look like this?

Making pancakes is hard, anyone says differently is a naughty little teller of fibs and warts will grow on their tongues

  Still you didn’t grow up in the Trinder household with chef Pamela without having a cast iron tummy so I ate them anyway and although they looked horrible, they tasted pretty good, but that could have been the strawberries and golden syrup.

It's normal to eat a pancake out of a bowl right?

  You’d think it would deter me from cooking altogether, but I’ve found that my dishes make me laugh so much that I actually enjoy cooking! But a word to the wise, just for now if I invite you round for dinner, suggest we go out instead!

  Oh and instead of giving something up for Lent, I’ve taken something up instead. For the next 40 days I’m doing my own version of the plank challenge, I did start this last year, but on day 20 I went on holiday and it fell by the wayside, so I’m trying again!

Light "cocks" and the Over 50's

So far, so good with my 30 day shred. There’s been body balance, which although I enjoyed I did think I’d broken a rib by Tuesday night because I was in so much pain. There’s been walks with Cyril, which in itself is like the most intense bingo wing walk out you’ll ever do, because he pulls so much and is so incredibly excited by everything.

  Today me and my friend Debbie decided we would dust off our badminton rackets and meet up for a game or two. Debbie and I have been friends for forever and between us must have tried every diet going, also once upon a time we used to play badminton. Deciding it was like riding a bike we booked a court. There were a couple of early issues…

1)     We couldn’t remember the rules

2)     We had no shuttlecocks

3)     Debbie had no joggers

The above issues were resolved in the following way

1)     Google

2)     I bought some

3)     Debbie bought some

Our chosen venue was the Festival Hall, where I played badminton as a child in Mrs Wilkinson’s after school badminton club (it may have had a snazzier title than that, but you get the gist) It was the location of many a childhood party, including Lucy's now infamous bouncy castle one, where my Mum spent most of the party jumping up and down on the bouncy castle!

badminton court

  When we arrived the receptionist said the over 50’s club were just finishing up, which was fine until Debbie pointed out that in 13 years we could join them! (I made a mental note to make new friends, only kidding Debs!)

  As it goes Debs and I may have inadvertently joined them a little bit sooner! As we got ourselves ready and thought we’d just start with a gentle knock about. It was at this moment Margaret and Carol took pity on us and decided that we would learn a lot quicker if they partnered up with us! Before we knew it and with what can only be described as military procession, Debs was partnering Margaret and Carol and I were their opponents.

  Margaret declared our “cocks far too light”, she probably said “shuttlecocks”, but we just heard the word “cock” and got the giggles! To say they had a good few years on us (Margaret told us she was 72!) They certainly gave us a run for our money! Eventually they had to leave as Margaret had another appointment (probably a quick 10K round Mansfield res or something) so Debs and I were left to our own devices.

  To say we hadn’t played in years, I think we gave a good account of ourselves and we both won a game each, even though at points we were so busy gossiping, we kept forgetting to keep score and which side we were meant to be serving from.

  Just as we were in the middle of game 2, Jeff** (**might not be his actual name) asked us if we were joining them next week and if we were to be there at 10, they had coffee at 11 and then continued playing. Before we knew it Debs and I were saying, “yes” in unison! I for one am looking forward to their Christmas do, because if the pictures on their notice board are anything to go by it’s a right laugh!

  On a more serious note I did earn 5 bonus points and have a right old giggle, so we’re going again next week, but with maybe slightly heavier (shuttle) cocks.

Me & Debs with a post badminton glow!