My A-Z of 2005

A is for Ashes, naturally. What can I say that I haven't already written? The two best cricket teams in the world lit up the summer with the greatest series of all time. There were some wonderful performances from both sides, whilst playing this most cerebral of games in the best spirit possible. Unsurprisingly the whole nation went cricket loopy and I wore my England shirt with pride. I wouldn't have missed it for the world and will never forget it.

B is for books. I've read some great ones this year. Not as many as I would have liked, or should have read - Stephen King's advice on becoming a writer is "read a lot, write a lot". Brand New Friend by Mike Gayle and Vince and Joy by Lisa Jewell were my joint favourite.

C is for cinema. I've seen some great movies in 2005. Sideways, Million Dollar Baby and, more recently, King Kong form the triumvirate of my favourite films of the year.

D is for Donna. She admits she hated my guts when she first met me (found my sense of humour a bit odd, apparently) but in time we became the best of mates. She, along with Helen, kept me sane on night shifts, encouraged me to keep on writing, and has kept in touch since leaving my company in September. Not many people do that.

E is for Eddie, my uncle, who I met for the first time in 2004. I visited him a few times this year in his South London flat, but to my shame admit I found his loneliness, depression and desperation too much to bear. He has since moved into sheltered accommodation. I hope he'll be a lot happier there.

F is for Flintoff. The man won us the Ashes with 24 wickets and 400 runs, and then went on a 24 hour drinking binge. A true sporting legend.

G is for Graeme. Probably my best friend, I have known him for about 16 years now. I don't see him as much as I'd like, but I know he is always there for me. Has been a great source of encouragement with regard to my writing, and was extremely gracious when I creamed him in the Swindon half marathon. So much so, he invited me round for dinner, allowed me to destroy his supplies of wine and I have no idea how I got home. Great night.

H is for half marathons. Before this year it was always my ambition to run one. Never seriously thought I'd ever manage it mind you. This year I managed not just one but two. Just goes to prove, never, ever doubt yourself.

I is for inspiration. Mine is my mummy, Jean Weedon. She's been gone for nine years now but I still think of her every day.

J is for job. At the start of the year I had one I hated and didn't know how long I was even going to have that one for. Now I have a much better one, doing something I always wanted to do, with hours that allow me to have a life. And as someone said, I don't have to work with muppets any more.

K is for Kriti. That's German for Crete (c was already taken). I love this island and enjoyed yet another wonderful holiday there this year, seeing some old friends, as well as enjoying some great food and wine, and reading some fab books. I haven't given up on my dream of moving there - but right now I have stuff to do here.

L is for London. I've had some wonderful days out there this year and never tire of the place. It'll take a lot more than a few terrorists to spoil this wonderful capital city of ours.

M is for mates. I'm lucky enough to have some really great ones - some I've known for years, some I've met this year, and the ones I'm going to meet in 2006.

N is for Nessa, my sister. Her blog inspired me to set up my own, and she has given me some great encouragement with my writing and running, and was effusive in her praise of my efforts in the Swindon half marathon - something most people struggle to do. And she gave me some great words of comfort and advice when I was shaken up by an accident outside my house. See you soon my dear, I hope.

O is for Oliver, Saint Jamie. My runner-up man of the year, second only to Flintoff. His school dinners programme was a revelation, and he single-handedly shamed the government into addressing the issue (not that they'll admit it). I love watching repeats of The Naked Chef on UKTV food, not for the cooking advice, but because I love his energy and enthusiasm. This year I also bought his series of Jamie's Kitchen on DVD and was amazed. I think he took on that project not just to give a handful of jobless Londoners a chance, but to send a message out to all of us - you can be anything you want if you want it badly enough. I’ve signed up for a trip to his restaurant, Fifteen, in March 2006. Wouldn’t it be something if I met Saint Jamie in person!

P is for Phoutsady, Anna, a.k.a. Spanner. A beautiful young Thai girl I used to work with in my old job. I told her often that she was the only girl I ever truly loved. Sadly she didn't seem to feel the same way. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that my declarations of love usually took the form of text messages, most of which were sent at about 2am on a Saturday morning.. If you’re reading Spanner – I love you!

Q is for quickly. This year has passed incredibly quickly. But they say time passes quicker as you get older so I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised. But hey, it’s been a fantastic year. Oh and I was also driving too quickly on my way to the Downton half marathon and got a speeding ticket - £60 plus three points on my licence. Not so fantastic.

R is for races. As well as two half marathons, I've also competed in four 10k races. Can't wait for the next race on 5th Feb. The best thing about this running malarkey is, I've found a hobby I love.

S is for Scarlett. The very pulchritudinous Ms Johansson is the new Monroe, and I have a feeling 2006 will be a great year for her. Can’t wait to see Match Point when it opens in cinemas on 6th Jan. Bit miffed she turned down a role in a West End musical, mind you. S is also for swearing - something I do too much, but not as much as Helen. You wouldn't believe what I have had to listen to this year!

T is for trainer. Yes it has been mainly down to my own determination that I have done as well as I have in my races this year, but it would never have been possible had it not been for Anthony, his guidance, encouragement and sage advice. He thinks I have the mental toughness to run a full marathon - one of the greatest compliments anyone has ever paid me. Make sure you have a few glasses of wine on me over Christmas, mate.

U is for unforgettable. There have been some unforgettable moments this year – such as the euphoria of finishing my first half marathon and the look of pride on Anthony’s face as I approached the finishing line. And of course, seeing Michael Vaughan lift that little urn. But there have also been some unforgettable parties this year – the two that spring to mind are a) the cocktail party at Fahim and Maxine’s house on the eve of my birthday and b) Funji’s birthday party where he amazed us with his magnificent cooking and the wine flowed freely all day long. Cheers guys – look forward to more great parties next year.

V is for vandalism. My car has been the victim of it twice this year, and it makes me sick. What is wrong with these sad people? If you're jealous of the things other people have worked for, it's down to you to earn them for yourself. I want a better house and a better car, and to be able to provide a good standard of living to the woman of my dreams, if she ever turns up. Which is why I'm working to make my dream of becoming a writer a reality.

W is for weight. Now that I'm running half marathons, and am eating and drinking less (due to my more regular lifestyle) it is starting to come off. This time next year you won't recognise me. Well, you probably will. I’ll be as irrepressible as ever.

X is for Xmas. It’s been a great year, so why does something always have to come along and spoil it? No I’m not a great fan of Christmas. I just feel it puts too much pressure on people, financially and socially. But I’m looking forward to a great day at Graeme’s, a drink with my friend and neighbour Anthony on Boxing Day, and a trip to the theatre in London to see Patrick Stewart in Scrooge. And a well-earned break – I’ve worked hard this year.Y is for young. Which I am not, let’s be honest. Even though me and Anthony do get cries of “Go on boys, you can do it!” from girls while we’re out running. But do you know what? I think life actually gets better as you get older. No, seriously. You know what you want, care less what other people think and generally don’t get hung up about stupid stuff. I’ll raise a glass to that over the festive season.

Z is for zzz... Now I don't work shifts any more I am enjoying my sleep like it's going out of fashion. And I feel so much better for it. A corollary of this is I am training harder and writing more. Things are at last starting to come together for me.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, December 2005.

Sports Personality of the Year 2005 - Vol 2

Having paid tribute to Freddie Flintoff's triumph earlier in the week, it would be churlish not to honour another deserving winner, that of International Sports Personality of the Year - the great (how many times have I said that?) Shane Warne.

Today seems especially fitting to do so, as earlier this morning, on the other side of the world, he broke the record for the number of wickets taken in a calendar year. Warne has now taken 87 wickets this year, overtaking the record set by another legend, Dennis Lillee, in another famous Ashes year, 1981.

Warne was, along with Flintoff, one of two superstars who brought joy and entertainment to many in the Ashes series. It was just a shame he was on the losing side. Having said that, had these two been playing for the same side, it is highly unlikely the series would have been as close and exciting!

A few weeks ago I met up with my good friend Roger for a (long overdue) day out in London. A main talking point was of course, the Ashes series, and we both agreed he had risen considerably in our estimation throughout the summer.

His performances speak for themselves - Flintoff may have been the difference between the sides, but most all-rounders would settle for Warne's end-of-series averages: 40 wickets at less than 20 a-piece, and 249 runs at more than 27 per innings.

More importantly was the spirit in which he played - I'll always remember him applauding Flintoff on his way to the pavilion after another outstanding knock and how he congratulated Kevin Pietersen on his wonderful 158 on the last day which put the Ashes out of Australia's reach. It is well known that Warne and KP are friends, but I still maintain Warne would have done that to any of the other England batsmen had they played so well - maybe not to the established ones (Vaughan, Trescothick) but certainly to any of the other men playing in their first Ashes series, of which there were a few.

As an aspiring writer, I have enjoyed Warne's column in The Times for several years. Recently he talked about whether his dropped catch when Pietersen was on 15. He was suitably philosophical about it: "It just wasn't meant to be,” he wrote. Great, great attitude. There's no point getting hung up about these things - what's done is done.

What is not so well documented is the huge courage of the man. His performances were phenomenal, no two ways about that - but when you consider his problems off the field that only makes his efforts even more remarkable. No matter his talent, or his passion for the game, it must have been so, so hard for him to turn up and play the way he did when part of him must surely have been with his estranged wife and children in Australia.

In 2006 I plan to compete in the Abingdon marathon in October. I'm still not sure if I have the mental toughness, but my trainer Anthony thinks I have it in me (something I take as a massive compliment). I know that the training alone will be hell. To help me get through it, I plan to bear in mind Warne's motto "Never give up. Absolutely, never give up".

There are a lot worse places to look for inspiration than the truly great Shane Warne.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, 17th December 2005

Sports Personality of the Year 2005

Well, what a surprise Sunday night's result was! NOT!!

I of course, was delighted and it goes without saying I was part of the masses who voted for Freddie Flintoff. I'm not really sure what impressed me the most - the fact that during this year's test series against Australia he took 24 wickets and scored 400 runs, or his performance after the series - i.e., staying up all night drinking yet still managing to take part in the open-top bus parade before turning up at Number 10 completely paralytic and (allegedly) being sick in the toilet and falling asleep on the swing. Hardly being deferential towards our Prime Minister, was he?!

I'm joking, of course. What I love about Freddie is the entertainment and joy he has given people, this year in particular. Moreover, he has made cricket fashionable. As I have previously written in these pages, a lot of people have enjoyed watching cricket this year who had never done so previously. Even my massage therapist and friend, Louise, who said six months ago she didn't like cricket, is currently borrowing my copy of "Freddie's Fireworks" on DVD.

His performances were spectacular. The over during Australia's second innings in which he dismissed Langer and Ponting was, to my mind, as good as anything you'll see, easily on a par with Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal to win the Rugby world cup or David Beckham's penalty against Greece to put England in the finals of the world cup.

But it wasn't just what he did that made him a truly deserving winner of the prestigious award. It was the way he played the game - always with a smile on his face, and in good spirit. The way he consoled Brett Lee at the end of the Edgbaston test ushered in a new era for the two teams - one of mutual respect and admiration.

Freddie Flintoff is as nice a man as you'll ever meet. Not that I've met him - I hope I do one day. It's just obvious from the way he conducts himself in interviews. And he has more between the ears than you might think - not many people know this, but as a boy he played chess for Lancashire. And he once beat former England captain and cricketing legend Michael Atherton, a Cambridge graduate, in a match.

There is another aspect to Flintoff that explains his popularity: that of the underdog in him. People don't generally like success. We are naturally jealous and find it difficult to give effusive praise of people who have done well for themselves. What people do like, however, is when the underdog comes good - otherwise, why was Rocky such a success at the box office?

Flintoff has a bit of the underdog in him. It certainly hasn't been an easy ride for him. It is well known that he has had problems with his weight and self-denial is not one of his strengths (something I can certainly identify with!).

A lot of people say this all turned around when he received a talking-to from one or two people around him. I like to think it all happened a bit differently. I think the turning point in his life was meeting his wife, Rachael. It's often said that behind every great man is a great woman, and that's certainly true in Freddie's case. She is not only pulchritudinous, to say the least, but extremely driven - when she met Freddie (or Andrew, as she prefers to call him) she was running her own company. I think it's safe to say she has had a lot to do with the turn-around in Freddie's fortunes.

The couple were married a few months before the Ashes series and are now expecting their second child. So you see, the story of Freddie Flintoff is just the same as all the other great stories. In the end, it's just a love story.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, December 2005

Bad day

This has been a bad day for me. Or at least the first half of it was. When I dragged myself out of bed at 7.30 this morning I could not have comprehended what a terrible morning it was going to be.

I discovered last night that I have a severe plumbing problem. There was damp in my breakfast room and a hissing noise coming from one of the pipes. Fortunately (there is some good news) I managed to get someone round quickly (a friend who installed a new bathroom for me a couple of years ago). He had to take up the floorboards (typically, it had to be in the room I use as a storage room for junk) but did manage to locate and replace the broken piece of pipe.

As he was doing this however, I went to fetch my car from the garage (there is nowhere to park in Old Town nowadays after a certain time of night). As I was parking up I heard a collision behind me and saw a young man had come off his bike (motor bike). At first I thought he had hit the kerb but then I saw that a car had been turning out of one of the side streets onto our road.

It was immediately obvious that he was badly hurt. I started to call for an ambulance but someone else got through before me. Fortunately they got to the scene within minutes. All I could do to help was two things: firstly help some other men lift the bike off him (his leg was trapped underneath it), and secondly, comfort a girl of about 10 who had seen the accident and was quite distressed.

I hope he'll be ok. He was able to move his legs so no spinal injuries I assume. He was severely concussed however and I imagine there'll be some broken bones, even if it's just his ribs.

The accident upset me for the rest of the day. It was very difficult to focus on anything else when I got to work. I guess it just came as a reminder of how fragile we are, and how life can change in an instant. It certainly put all of my problems in perspective.

In Her Shoes

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388125/

It's not often these days that I go to see a film more than once. The reason for this is twofold: Firstly with the Cineworld Unlimited Card it seems a shame to see the same film twice - I prefer to see something else, happy in the knowledge that if it's rubbish, it didn't cost me any extra.

Secondly - and this may seem a contradiction to the above - I really don't have time. That may sound pretentious, but I'm so busy with my job, my training and my writing (of which reading plays a huge part) I really don't have as much time on my hands as I used to. God knows how I'm going to manage when "Just Like Heaven" with Reese Witherspoon and "Match Point" with Scarlett Johansson come out - maybe the cinema will give me a bed there?

I was determined though, to make time to see this film twice. I saw it a couple of weeks ago, and wasn't really sure if I was going to enjoy it. I didn't know too much about it. I find that's usually the best way to see a film.

At first I certainly enjoyed seeing Cameron Diaz in various skimpy outfits. But the storyline was a lot deeper than I expected.

I love stories (be it books, cinema or real events) that are journeys of self-discovery. My favourite book of the last five years, One Hit Wonder by Lisa Jewell (separate article to follow) is one such example. In this film, you get two. When Maggie (Diaz) seduces Rose's (a role played with aplomb by Toni Collette) boyfriend, she is thrown out on the street and so heads to Miami to meet a grandmother she has only just discovered she has. Rose gives up her job as a lawyer and starts dating a former colleague. Eventually the two sisters are reunited but find themselves two very different people.

I don't want to tell you too much more about the plot - I've probably spoilt it for you as it is. But I will say this film has a lot going for it. It has wonderful warmth and a very mellow humour. There are some cracking one-liners (e.g. "We're a couple. Like Sonny and Cher". "Only they split up".)

It also has a certain amount of sadness. Again, I don't want to ruin it for you but the scene that really brought a tear to my eyes involves a box of books.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised I enjoyed the film so much. It was based on a book by an American author, Jennifer Weiner. I find that women tend to be my favourite authors. Some people have expressed concern about my penchant for "chick lit". I just find women like to write about real things, people, relationships, sad things, happy things, day-to-day things, you know what I mean.

I haven't got a copy of the book. I must get it though - maybe it would make a wonderful Christmas present from someone.. (Hint hint!!)

Try and catch it while it's in cinemas. If you don't get a chance to do that, buy or rent it on DVD when it comes out. (Or, if your name is Graeme Reynolds you'll doubtless wait for me to buy it and then invite yourself round to demolish my supplies of wine while you watch it). One thing is certain; I'll definitely be adding "In Her Shoes" to my DVD collection in the New Year.

Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, December 2005.

Just another half..

Last weekend I competed in my second half marathon, at Downton, near Salisbury. I reserved my place online, via the runners world website.

The idea at the time was to get another half marathon in before Christmas (God how I hate the c-word) to keep the momentum going. I have my places for the Bath and Reading half marathons next year, but that won't be until March/April.

My final training session was on the Thursday beforehand, a fartlek session with Anthony. As always, it was tough but I thoroughly enjoyed it (although he did make me feel tired even thinking about the training he has planned for me next year to get me ready for a full marathon).

For some reason, though, after that I really couldn't get motivated for the event. I sort of wished the weekend away. Not being able to enjoy my wine on a Friday and Saturday night was a big part of it, and I kind of had things on my mind.

But I guess the real problem was the event was never going to live up to the excitement of the Swindon half marathon. I had had that date in my mind for so long, so much so I could hardly sleep the night before, and in my nervous state was cracking my usual bad jokes on the start line (e.g. "I'm more frightened than Charlotte Church when she is told the restaurant is non smoking").

To try and take my mind off things I went to see "Flightplan" at the cinema on Saturday night on my own. Good, but hardly worthy of an in-depth review. But I will forever be dreaming of Erika Christensen as my in-flight attendant..

Anyway, back to the race. I awoke bright and early, had a good breakfast and set off on my way. By this stage I was feeling strangely optimistic. I had a good drive down and found the place quite easily.

The race was obviously a small affair, I estimated about a couple of hundred participants (I later found out there were 163 finishers).There wasn't even a horn - we were just off.

For the first three miles I felt awful - my legs felt heavy (despite two days' rest), and I generally felt out of breath and, well, knackered. About the five-mile marker, however, I really hit my straps. I started to feel comfortable with what I was trying to achieve and with my surroundings.

The scenery was indeed beautiful. We were on the edge of the New Forest and at one point I even saw ponies on the track. The weather was also good - cold and crisp, but dry at least and no ice underfoot. This, I thought, is what it is all about - out in the open air, enjoying miles of beautiful countryside. Now I know what my mate Pete was on about when he said being in a spinning class could never match the great outdoors. Amen to that.

The race was tough - some of the hills were challenging, to say the least. But I took it at my own pace, aiming for a 2hr 10min finish. At no point did I feel faint, as I did in the latter stages of the Swindon half.

In the end I was very happy with my 2hrs 5mins time (a lot more so later when all the boys from the running club concurred it was a lot tougher than the Swindon half marathon).

So after a well-earned cup of tea and a bun I picked up a copy of the Sunday Times and headed home. I decided not to undo the good work and only drank diet coke when I got home.

You didn't REALLY believe that last sentence did you??!! Have a word with yourself!! I of course enjoyed my beer that afternoon like it was going out of fashion. And I think I had every right to. To do a race like that, when you are revved up for it, physically and mentally (like I was with the Swindon half) is one thing, but to do it when you are not looking forward to it and are praying for snow so you have an excuse to not turn up, is quite another. At the end of the day it's all in the mind.

More importantly, it proved the Swindon half was not just a "one-off" and I am getting comfortable with the distance.

Marathon training in 2006?? Bring it on!!