Mutterings for the Minority

Yeovil Town v Swansea

At last the Huish Park bogey has been laid to rest and I was there! The Swans had failed to score or even get a point on our previous visits to Yeovil, but today the 1,400 odd travelling Jack Army saw that duck broken with a 2-1 win.

Once again I was part of the much travelled Dieters Bar Jacks contingent as we headed off to Yeovil at around 8:30 am. The initial mood in our affectionately named ‘bang bus’ was as subdued as the misty and drizzly conditions that greeted us all this morning. In no time at all we reached our first pit-stop (or p*ss stop in Helmut’s case) at Sedgemoor Services (southbound). After a very brief stay - long enough for me to stain Lance’s bang bus with blackcurrant juice and Helmut to grab hold of Sven Jacketts nuts (as in magazine) - we were on our way again and duly arrived in Yeovil at around 10:45.

Contrary to popular belief we hadn’t turned up early looking for some Yeovil Yoof to go dancing with - it was purely for the sake of going shopping (which I hadn’t instigated for once). We were looking for the well reknowed triathlon shop Tri-UK and after some 45 minutes or so of cruising around Yeovil town centre we got there. Now anyone who’s been to Yeovil will know that it takes like 3 minutes to go around the town centre (by tractor) in traffic. Anyway, we found the shop and the lads bought some cycling and swimming gear. After seeking the advice of the main man in the shop on where was best to eat - we headed off in search of the Half Moon in Mudford.

Westons traditional scrumpy was the order of the day (all 6% of it) and within 3 pints I was deep in ciderspace.

More to follow…

The Body Shop - 20% discount

Being the caring sort of chap that I am - especially when it comes to the ladies (and yes Mrs DDWT does read my blog) - I thought you’d be interested in this 20% discount code for The Body Shop.

What’s even better is that The Body Shop are also chucking in FREE delivery as well - now that’s what I call a bargain. The only downside is that the 20% discount is for this weekend only - Friday 26th October 2007 to midnight Monday 29th October 2007 - so you better be quick.

So to get your 20% Body Shop discount, simply enter this following promotional code at checkout: DHAD000335.

Happy shopping!

Bowl of cawl

Oww what a lovely warm taste and feeling I had, as I devoured my first bowl of home made cawl this autumn/winter. Bizarrely I used to hate the stuff as a kid, but somehow miraculously Mrs DDWT converted me back some 5 or so years ago - and I haven’t stopped making the stuff since!

Not that I’d eat cawl all year round of course, but come the cold winter snap you simply can’t beat it - as I’m sure any Welsh person would agree. Try it with beef or lamb, either way it’s simply sublime.

I gave my trainers a workout lunchtime today - especially now I’ve signed up for the Reindeer 10k. My 24 minutes 54 seconds stint was somewhat weird as on the way out I was faced with a biting north-easterly wind (a la yesterday) and on the way back it was shirt off time and running vest weather. Probably because I’d worked up a sweat and was like a beetroot by then!

RNLI Reindeer 10K

With the RNLI Reindeer 10k in Margam CountryPark on December 2nd now having been confirmed, I quickly made sure of my place by sending off the race entry form - which I have made available for download from here.

It’s another event with a Christmas theme, but this time it’s all about wearing antlers as opposed to dressing up as Santa - as per the BHF Santa Jog which I’m also doing. So apart from these events being lots of fun and raising money for worthwhile charities, it also gives me some focus with regards to my training

Talking of which it was the turn of the bike this lunchtime as I once again headed off to Gowerton for the usual 14 mile loop. It was very noticeable today that even though it was mild, there was a strong north easterly wind blowing - which I felt the brunt of on the return leg of the ride. My time today was around 55 minutes with an average of 15 mph and a top speed of 21.5 mph - so it was slightly down on last week’s efforts.

Unfortunately, DDWT Junior was off school today having caught the dry cough/cold that seems to be doing the rounds in school these days. A quick trip to the doctors this morning - in an attempt to nip it in the bud - saw him have some mild antibiotics so hopefully they’ll do the trick.

It’s amazing really how comical kids can be at times, as according to Mrs DDWT it was a treat just to see his excitement at his name being called by the doctor - he went running into his room, plonked himself down on the chair and actually opened his mouth and started going ahhhh in readiness!! I wish I’d be there to see it.

Debut at the dentist

DDWT Junior made his first visit to the dentist today and despite us fearing the worst, he actually sat like a statue for the entire time he was in the dentist’s ‘magic chair’ - as we’d called it.

There aren’t many (any?) people who I know that like going to the dentist, so we were amazed to be honest that it went so well. Let’s hope his second visit - post Christmas - is just as much of a success.

Early Learning Centre - 10% Discount Code

With Christmas just around the corner (64 shopping days to go apparently) I’m sure that this 10% discount code for the Early Learning Centre will be a great help for those of you - like me - who are looking for kiddies toys!

Simply enter the code BC1007 at the checkout when shopping at www.elc.co.uk and you’ll get 10% off. Please note that the above discount code expires on October 31st 2007.

So make the most of your Early Learning Centre discount until then

What a difference…

… a day makes. The warm (’ish) autumnal sunshine of yesterday has gone and been replaced by overcast, blusterely winter like weather.

Given that it was rather windy, I decided to go for a run as opposed to a bike ride - as I’d much prefer battling the wind on foot rather than the saddle. As you can imagine my 25 minute jaunt was a rather hard going affair!

It wasn’t like that first thing this morning though, in fact we looked set for another sunny day - as the rising early morning run produced the most amazing orange glow over the hilltops of the Swansea Valley.

As for DDWT Junior well he enjoyed his usual Monday stint of cooking in school - with diwali sweets being the order of the day this time around. In case you were thinking that’s an odd thing to make in school, well it was simply because this week they’re studying Hinduism.

Sunday cooking

The house of DDWT is fast becoming the equivalent of Ready Steady Cook on Sundays’ as the Mrs and I take it in turns to conjure up something new and by that I mean different in the kitchen.

This Sunday it was my turn and I decided to try and rustle up some sausage and mash fritters at lunchtime, and stuffed chicken breasts (herbs, cheese & carrots) with sliced green beans for dinner/tea/evening meal/supper - call it what you wish. The fritters were quite tasty but needed a little more cheese if I’m being hyper critical (which when it comes to cooking I am!). As for the chicken breasts, well they were a major disappointment as it were simply overcooked - the result being that they were very chewy. The panel of judges (well Mrs DDWT to be precise) gave the fritters a thumbs up and a “cook that again Sam”, but as for the chicken breast - forget it!

The rest of our day was spent down the beach overlooking Swansea Bay - which is always a great place to be when the sun is out, as you can see from the pictures below.

I also found a little bit of time to do some jobs around the house, such as re-assembling the rocking chair and putting up a new bike rack in the garage - to create some much needed room!

NEXT - Free Delivery Code

Here’s one for the ladies or maybe even the fella’s looking for a gift for their lady friend - a free delivery code for NEXT (saving you £3.75).

Just quote one of these codes L0007 or F0707 or F0708 when shopping online at www.next.co.uk or when ordering by phone.



I can’t say I shop there myself, but Mrs DDWT does and she gets the NEXT directory - which incidentally is where the free delivery code came from.

Happy shopping

Amazed? I am

I’ve amazed myself the last few days, especially as I’ve now been training 3 days on the trot! I can’t even begin to think when I did that last - but regardless of when it was it’s great to be back in the groove. Now, hopefully I can stay there.

It was the turn of the bike today and once again I opted for the Clyne Valley cycle path and what I call the ‘Gowerton loop’. The sunny dry weather of the last few days - not to mention a Council path sweeper - meant that the cycle path was a lot less precarious than it was on Tuesday.

Thank God I didn’t have slicks on that’s all I can say or I’m sure I’d have ended up in the hedgerow. Perhaps what was more surprising though was how quiet the path was, with hardly a walker or jogger in sight - depsite the glorious weather.

The ride was a couple of miles longer that Tuesday - 14 miles, which took me 52 minutes 52 seconds at an average speed of 16 mph and a top speed of 22 mph.

DDWT Junior has had an action packed day as well what with gym in school and then a 4th birthday party in Toots - the children’s indoor activity centre in Neath.

All of the kids had a great time, even if they were somewhat out on their feet by the end. But the sight of the lucky bags with balloons seemed to fuel them with further energy!