Cycling, Recipe #1 and the power of a phone call

Morning all,

Have to type quickly as I've a lot to do today. First, today was the first day I ditched the car and cycled to the tram stop (about 15 minutes uphill - not easy when you're 15 stone and hopefully around 6 lb by now; weigh-in day is Friday so take a look at my blog about 9am to find out if I am euphoric or mega-depressed!). I left home at 7.05 am and opened my office door at 8.05 am which isn't too bad really. At that time (half an hour later than I normally arrive - give me lots of brownie points please Mr Head of Department and VC, lick, lick, let me clean your boots) there is still no-one in the department. The journey was unusual though in that I was the only one on the tram in shorts and a t-shirt (I've changed now into more appropriate gear for the day's work ahead of course). People can't accept someone "out of the box" in Britain - so the whole journey was characterised with the other passengers glancing over towards me no doubt thinking "Oooh! Look at him - he's cycled to the tramstop, ooh ahh......" . When you glance back, they immediately avert their eyes and pretend everything is normal and that their day hasn't actually been marred by the appearance of a semi-nude cyclist. Tomorrow I will distribute leaflets amongst my fellow passengers, telling them to beware of shorts-clad commuters who may be carrying the dreaded Spoke's Disease - a potentially fatal disease affecting people's curiosity.

OK, now to my first recipe for you all - or at least any of you bloaters out there like me who are trying to shed a few pounds ......... or should I say kilograms. Here it is:

Heat one portion of dried noodles (boil for 4 minutes in water). Pour out the water and add a few drops of virgin olive oil, a table spoon of soy sauce, a handful of chick peas (from a tin - they're easier that way). Heat on a fairly hot heat for 3-4 minutes and then .................................................................... my piece de resitance.................. crack open and egg into the mixture, and mix it round while still heating until it's cooked (it just looks kind of "strandy"). Serve in a bowl with 3 Rivitas coated thinly with an LB film of Vegemite. Heaven!

The third topic in this morning's blog is a phone call I had yesterday. Unfortunately I was out but the caller - my great friend Frank G - left a message. In one minute, he managed to make me feel great; just his completely friendly manner, his banter, his jovial light-heartedness were enough to lift the spirits. It made me think how we can all affect each others' lives (difficult positioning of the apostrophe there - not sure I've got that right. Is it the "lives of each other" in which case I would be right, or should it be the "lives of others" in which case it would be "each others' lives"; comments please) so positively in just a few minutes. So today I am going to phone one of you and lift your spirits - of course I'll phone Frank G back as well! That's it until later today. A bientot.