This time we managed to get the cars home before the snow could cause us any trouble.  However getting up early meant that we were able to create a snow sculpture before heading off to work…

Zach edited the snowman just after this picture was taken….  11 Year olds imaginations, need I say more.

It is done!  I have completed the challenge 400 sit-ups each day for 400 days.  I have lost 20kg, (3stone 2lbs or 44lbs for my American friends) and have reduced my waist by 10.16cm or 4 inches!

The result is that I have almost got a 6 pack, however I suspect that my lack of a consistent diet means that the remaining fat will have to be removed with a different training regime. (lots more cardio)

The result has proved to me that I can maintain a program for an extended period of time regardless of what else is happening.

Has it been good for me?  I suspect that it has not been the best exercise as I have suffered some hamstring injuries this year and while I have a fantastically strong core I could have been achieved another way.

So what is next?  I am planning to undertake the Tough Guy challenge at the end of the month, hamstring permitting.  And I expect to complete a number of triathlons this year.

However the biggest goal is to fix my calf and hamstring issues so that I can remain healthy this year….

Having broken my snow chains this week I went looking for some new ones.  I have found a site that is worth a visit: RoofBox

As you will see on the site it is the simplest thing to find the kit that you need.  Simply enter the car make and model and it will provide you with the products which fit.  For about £60 I can have some new snow chains that will fit my current car.

They also have a really neat product called AutoSock which is used “to give road tyres the grip they need on ice and snow”.

I think that I will be getting some of these, just in case this “global warming” continues…

Having had some decent snow in the last couple of days we are looking forward to it staying until tomorrow so that we can have a white Christmas.  At the moment it looks like that will be the case.  Fingers crossed!

Yesterday morning we were treated to some fascinating winter scenes and some interesting ice formations.

Ice thorns on a rose bush, these seemed to form independently of the actual thorns.

Next to the Church in the village is an amazing tree that looks fantastic when covered with ice…

More ice crystals on ivy

The turkey fence in the dean with extra spikes!

Iced web….

How is it in England that we have collective amnesia every time it snows.  It would appear that drivers suffer this more than most.  We forget the basics of the road, the simple maneuvers and how to park.

Last night we had some really sticky snow and cold conditions, nothing out of the ordinary for most countries, however in the South East of England it as if we had never seen this stuff before.

A simple 15 mile journey became a 6 hour epic battle of wits, fortune definitely favoured the brave. 

Having left the M40 motorway to avoid a major jam that was developing on the southbound approach to Stokenchurch we discovered that the “B” roads were not too bad and reasonably free flowing.  However at the slightest incline the world of driving changed.

Imagine being in motion and knowing that once you stop that getting going again is unlikely.  Now imagine that you are approaching a hill and things are going well, when you suddenly round a bend to discover that the cars ahead have decided to stop for no real reason…..  Agghhh!

At least snow chains work, once you have managed to get them attached.  However they work best if they fit your wheels!  After a few hundred yards they broke, but we had managed to crest the first hill!

There were many moments during the “short distance” when we were not sure that we should be driving or if we should look for a place to deposit the car.  However this was not really going to happen with two guys feeling like caged animals looking for an escape.

After thinking that we had found a clear route involving a trip down the Marlow road for about 3 miles.  We then discovered a bus blocking the road on the Medmenham Hill so it was back again to Henley, (the whole think taking 1 hour to travel 6 miles and go nowhere).  Upon returning to Henley we discovered that the town was deserted.  We carefully followed another Saab over the bridge and up Remenham Hill.  As we gingerly rolled forward we were both willing the car onwards and upward. 

Remenham Hill is quite steep, however when covered in ice and without our snow chains it was quite an experience.  Upon reaching the top our spirits soared and we had images of arriving home to a plate of spag bol in no time.  Not a chance!  How cruel this brief moment of achievement can be.  Having crested this huge hill we were confronted with a line of cars and articulated trucks waiting to go over the next obstacle!

Never-the-less, with a bit of careful traffic management (like leaving lots of space ahead of us, early braking and letting the car in front get clear of a small rise in the road, as well as telling the guys in the cars behind what we were going to do) we managed to make some progress. 

Getting to Rose Hill found another queue with a tractor pulling cars up the hill as we waited for 2 hours to get past, dodging abandoned cars and fallen trees.  The whole area looked like a war zone. 

We picked our way though and by 12pm we finally arrived home.  6 hrs for 15 miles, what an experience!

I am very proud of my parents and how they have provided for me over time and always been there for me.  I have just been sent this picture from Remembrance Sunday when dad was laying the wreath at the war memorial in Horsell. 

Both Mum and Dad served our country and I am very proud of them.

A couple of weeks ago I was saying how much I love the mornings in winter when you wake up to bright blue skies and a crisp cold morning.  It was one of those days.  The view from the window looked like this:

Roll forward a few days and this was the view from the office window yesterday as I was about to venture out for meetings:

Fortunately it did not get any thicker and the snow has gone, typical!

It was my first visit to Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport and I parked in the short term car park while attending a meeting at the Sofitel luxury hotel next door.  While waiting for the lift I saw this machine:

It gets you to insert your parking ticket in to the slot and then type in your car registration.  normally this is a challenge however I noticed that my registration was printed on my ticket! 

Once over coming the shock that I was already being tracked I figured that they could not know where my car was as I parked it twice in the car park, moving it to be at the end nearer the hotel.  Surely this would have confused the system….

But no.  When you type in the registration on the screen, the display rotates the schema of the car park and then identifies the section in which you have parked and provides guidance on how to find your car!   We tested it with a colleagues car and it works.  This is an interesting use of technology and really quite helpful.

What struck me was that there were no obvious bits of equipment to make you think that this system was in place and tracking your car.  The whole system is very discreet and makes you wonder what else they are spying on!

I will have to go back for a better look.

It was announced yesterday that the £6 per year per land line tax to fund rural super fast broadband would be going ahead.

The idea is that this tax is spent on providing broadband for the 30% of homes that experts think will be by-passed by commercial fast broadband plans.

Interestingly this appears to relate to the outlying rural areas which have few people, yet deserve to be connected.  I have no issue with that.

What I am curious about is areas like the one I live in where the speed of connection in our property is often less than 500Kbs on a line that should support a minimum of 2Mbs.  We live in the middle of the UK Silicon valley, it just appears that it is up some deserted side alley!

So the Government imposes more taxes and yet again fails to deliver anything.  It really is time for a major change.  This labour government should be taken to the knackers yard.

The Annual Cookham Dean pantomime took place this weekend and was once again a rather funny affair.  The story was based loosely on the tale of Jack and the bean stalk, mixed with Goldilocks and the three bears.  Combine this with a theme from the Dean, the post office in the pub and the gravity grand prix, it lead to a very funny evening for all.

Opening – set the scene, cut to the “post office”

Bridging scene – Jack and the beans

Scene 2 – Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Scene 3 – Thriller

Final scene – Up bean stalk with the giant

That’s all folks!