1402.28 SECOND HOME

Once again I find myself at my mother-in-law's in St Neots visiting and generally relaxing. We been coming down here for many years now and as such feel I know the town quite well. I've ascended the church tower, visited the fetes and markets and had a few in a number of the local pubs.

The only thing I've never done here is cycle. Cycling here is strange. Because it is so flat there are old ladies, vicars and tubby blokes out on bikes. So different from what I'm used too, don't think I've ever seen anyone wearing lycra here and there are few, if any proper road bikes.

We rarely do much when we're here. We usually visit town, Morticia is quite well known here (she visits more than me and she has brightly coloured hair). Today was slightly different, we visited a local chilli farm ( www.edibleornamentals.co.uk) which had a lovely cafe. It was empty today but I bet it gets busy in the summer, in fact I bet it would be a great cycling stop off.

I have to rely on my tablet computer heavily for entertainment since the choice of TV by our hosts can be not to my taste all the time (thank god for Netflix).

I usually enjoy my time here (apart from the fact that our hosts are smokers), it's a nice community for a bunch of southerners.

1402.26 THE TARTAN BREAKUP?

The news is awash with the forthcoming referendum in Scotland. Watching the politicians from both sides is like watching a relationship break up on Facebook (we've all seen them). It's embarrassing and quite frankly a little worrying.

I'm not Scottish and don't have any connections with Scotland aside from a short holiday about 20 years ago when Morticia and I drove up to Inverness to look for the Loch Ness monster (we were unsuccessful but had a great break). I do know some Scottish people who are a little peeved that they can't vote since they don't live there anymore. I think they're annoyed because if it's a 'yes' they instantly become 'Scottish' and thereby become foreigners. Maybe since Scotland won't immediately be an EU country they might get deported! 

1402.05 MEXICAN ARM WRESTLE

It's been 103 days since my accident and since I last rode a bike.

For the past 6 weeks or so I've been having regular physio sessions at Rotherham General Hospital. Last week I was told my strength had come a long way (not up to previous levels though) and my movement had 'plateaued' and as such there was little more she could do for me. At that point she discharged me.

So that is it?

Tomorrow I'll be attending the Fracture clinic where I expect the consultant to discharge me. So now I'm on my own, I don't have full movement, I have a loss of feeling in my fingers and a numb spot around my scar. I guess I have to learn to live with it.

1402.04 OFFICE CAT

Since my return to work a month ago I've been confined to the office whilst my wrist gets stronger. I have to say that the office isn't my ideal environment and I can't wait to get back outdoors. I'm hoping I'll get the green light to be out after next week.

1401.29 MOBILE WEBSITE

My website has been around for many years and for the last few years I've toyed with having a mobile version. Everyone seems to have one and even my blog has a special mobile view when accessed via a phone (thanks to Blogger). I'm no web designer, just a tinkerer and have always thought it would be a difficult task for my skill level so I never pursued it.

Today I had a nasty session at the physio which left me feeling sick and in a bit of pain. I ended up booking the rest of the day off work. After a couple of painkillers and a little nap I found myself doing a bit of work on my laptop (proper working from home work). After that I found myself playing with a free service that mobilised your website. To detect a mobile device I had to add some HTML code into my website to redirect to their service. This got me thinking that there must be a bit of code that I could use to redirect to my own creation. I quickly found it and knocked together a simple version of my home page.

I uploaded to my server and after a little tweeking it works. On a phone now (not a tablet)if you go to www.kirt.me.uk you are redirected to a simplified version of my home page. I'll keep working on it but I'm enjoying getting back into my web presence.

1401.19 CHRISTMAS ALES

I had a variety of ales over the festive period. I love the variety of beers that are available these days, all have their own specific charms. I think my overall favourite out of the selection I tasted this year has to be Shephard Neame's 'Christmas Ale', a strong dark and flavourful brew. A special mention has to go to 'Old Speckled Hen' which I had a keg of, it was great to have beer on tap (£13 for a 5 litre keg from Tesco).

1401.13 RECOVERY TIME

Since my accident back in November the only thing on my mind has been my recovery which is plodding along steadily.

I'm back at work on restricted duties playing it by ear. I've started physio at Rotherham General Hospital which is quite painful but I know to be necessary. I have quite a lot of exercises to complete.

Obviously there is no cycling. This coupled with the excesses of the previous season means that I feel that I'm banging on a bit of weight. I'm considering dusting off our old exercise bike that serves as a clothes horse (before anyone suggests it I can't afford a turbo trainer) to get through some virtual miles.

1401.01 HAPPY NEW ONE

So it's 2014. The New Year's celebrations were pretty much the same as previous years down in St Neots with the Mother in Law and her partner Dave. 

Before we set off on New Year's Eve I had a hospital appointment with the consultant regarding my broken wrist. I was basically an x-ray and a check up. I was signed off work for the rest of the week with a recommended phased return to work following. I'm back on the 7th (Monday is my day off). 

I'm ready to face the year with hopefully a more positive outlook. My life is far from perfect, I miss my eldest daughter more than anything and I'm not about to pretend that I can mend my broken heart. All I know is that I can move forward now and get on. 

1312.30 MOVIE - HOMEFRONT

Captain's Movie Review in Seven Words...

STANDARD ACTION FLICK THAT FAILS TO SHINE

⭐⭐⭐⚫⚫⚫⚫

Homefront on IMDb

1312.25 THE CAPTAIN'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

Merry Christmas to All

Christmas again. It's been 12 months now since I saw my eldest daughter and the pain of that almost broke me this year. Every aspect of my life was effected by this loss and the damage will, I believe take many years to rebuild. It was sometime in September or October (I think) when something clicked inside and I started to pick up. I feel so much more positive than this time last year. A place will always be available to her in our home and our hearts should she decide to come home. The same cannot be said for my parents who turned their backs on us and refused to support us when we need them the most, the hurt I feel runs deep and I can't see a way back.

Like many, we have felt the pain of austerity imposed on us by the Tory coalition government. No real pay rise coupled with rising costs put paid to our annual holiday this year. All we managed was a day trip to Llandudno, it's the first time in 10 years that we haven't got to our beloved New Quay (Cei Newydd). I'm hoping something can be sorted out for next year, I can't imagine not going back again. We also visited Warner Bros Studios, Harry Potter Tour in Watford earlier in the year.

A new phone back in January changed my mobile window into the online world. The Nexus 4 converted me to Android in a big way and within the time I've had it (and my Nexus 7 tablet) I've learned so much about the art of customisation and automation, I now have brilliant LCARS styled Star Trek devices. They have given me so much fun this year.

My little girl started secondary school this year, I am so surprised at the way she has adapted to life at 'big school' and is doing really well there. I am so proud of her as she grows and becomes more indepenant. She has an active after school life and is at some extra curricular club most afternoons after the school day. She has been involved in performances and concerts over the festive period bringing joy and cheer to local people, shoppers, the elderly and even local dignitaries.

Cycling has always been a large part of my life. I credit it with keeping me together during the dark times. Watching pro cycling also gives me loads of pleasure too and I was thrilled by the 100th Tour de France, the whole race was amazing and topped off brilliantly with the victory of Chris Froome for the 2nd British Yellow Jersey in a row. I restored a vintage bike for use as a commute / hack bike to take the pressure off my Boardman which I spent quite a bit of money getting roadworthy. I signed up for a coast to coast ride for next year which is one of the biggies on my bucket list.

I was involved in two cycling accidents this year, the first was a minor fall whilst at work giving me a bit of soft tissue damage to my knee, I was back up and riding within 2 weeks. The other was about 6 weeks ago where my commute bike was hit by a car and my wrist was broken, the road to recovery promises to be hard and painful.

So what lays ahead for the up and coming year? Lots of physio, that's all I can foresee for the moment. The future is pretty much unknown to me. The ashes of my life lay around me and I have no idea what I need to do to rebuild and I am not giving it too much thought at this moment. I'm getting through a day at a time for the moment.

Merry Christmas to everyone, hope your day is spectacular.