Well hello there. It’s another week and finally January is behind us!

I’ve not had the best week on plan if I’m honest as I spent most of the week in Scotland with the amazing Alex. Lots of delicious food, some beers and quite a bit of walking will have had an affect on this week’s results, however it was all well worth it. 

Friday

Having flown up to Edinburgh on the Thursday evening it was planned to head to Glasgow on the Friday for some sightseeing and to experience the city at night. 

The train from Falkirk took about 20 minutes. The express service thundered along and it was incredible to see that it was going at about 163kph. Not bad and quite a comfortable ride. 

We arrived at about midday and had a wander around the city center. It’s an old city and much like Cardiff, they’re pulling the old down and building loads of new blocks. However, there is still a lot of the old city left. 

We visited Glasgow Cathedral, (St. Mungo’s Cathedral) is an impressive building and well worth a look see. The money that it must have taken to build must have been massive and it seems to be lined with memorials to Glasgow’s elite and leaders of industry. 

Attached to the Cathedral is the Necropolis. A hillside full of monument, crypts and graves. They reckon there’s about 3500 monuments there. 

I must admit that it’s not really something to laugh at but at the side of the Necropolis is the Tennant’s Brewery! That is just brilliant. 

Next door to the Tennant’s Brewery is Drygate brewery. We stopped there for a drink and a bite to eat. I had currywurst and fries. Alex had Bao Buns with pulled pork and some Poutine. The beer was rather nice too. 🙂

On to the hotel then to check in and freshen up. Back out then to find somewhere to go and watch France kick the proverbial out of Wales. A rather sad day for Welsh Rugby but not even the result could dampen my spirits. 

We ended the evening in a cool little rock club talking to some random Scots guy who was off to the Caribbean the next day but still in the pub at midnight! 

The step count for the day ended up at 16,000 all told! 

Saturday

Not feeling too hungover this morning but can admit to being absolutely knackered after yesterday’s explore around Glasgow. A cracking breakfast at the hotel followed by a wander and a ride on Glasgow’s Tube! 

Time for a good look around a very busy Riverside Museum.  Well worth a look around but perhaps go midweek when there aren’t so many kids and families around. Loads of exhibits to see and it’s all free!

We headed to the Glasgow’s West End and had a few scoops of Ice-Cream and Alex bought some Portuguese Custard Tarts. I must admit that I was a bit whacked and so we decided to head back to Falkirk for a lazy afternoon. 

After a few hours with the feet up, we went to meet Emma and Kaz for a few beers at the Falkirk Bus Station. The Rock Bottom Bar is a little bar that has been set up in the Bus Station. The Station itself is mostly abandoned and looks like it’s about to be demolished so it’s likely that the bar will need to find somewhere new quite soon. Despite that, there were 29 beers on tap and while I couldn’t get around to sampling them all, they were very nice!

From there, it was over to The Wheatsheaf to round the night off. 

Sunday

It was a day for just lazing about, however Alex had different ideas! A quiet walk was planned at the Canada Wood where we had walked last year in the snow. 

Scotland was lashed by some really strong winds the week before my visit and I was amazed at the amount of trees that had been felled in the storm. 

A cracking walk along the banks of the canal and then a climb back up to the car. A stop at M&S on the way home, then back for some food and an evening of Curb your Enthusiasm. I’m not a massive fan but watched “Palestinian Chicken” and an episode with Michael J Fox and laughed so much! I need to give Larry David another chance. 

Alex made a steak pie for dinner and it was stunning. Beef ‘n ale with mashed tatties and veg. She’s a good un! 

Monday

It was the day to be heading home and that was something I didn’t really relish. However there was another trip to do before heading to the Airport. 

We were to head to Cupar to see Alex’s mum but we made a few stops along the way. The first stop being South Queensferry and the Forth Bridge. An incredible piece of Victorian engineering that’s impressive in a photograph but even more impressive close up and in person. 

We had a nice stop at Anstruther where we had some award winning Fish n Chips. A cracking if not slightly expensive meal but worth it. Two pieces of haddock (cos cod is for softy southerners!), bread and butter, mushy peas and a can of Irn-Bru! (what else!)

The final stop of the day was in Cupar. A quick visit to Tesco and then an hour or so with the Mothership! I’m told that I passed the test! 

On to the Airport and home. There was a slight detour around the M49 again (it’s never straight forward), then home at about 11:30. 

The Tale of the Scale.

Given the weekend then I felt that I had put on some weight. The food and the beers over the weekend was really more than I’d had in the last month.

Pizza, fish ‘n chips, copious beer and stouts too. Chocolate Tiffin (raisins soaked in Barti Rum!), Ice-cream, Currywurst, Steak Pie and a couple of cooked breakfasts, there was no way on earth that I was going to lose anything this week. 

However…

Stepping on the scales of doom, I registered a 2.5lb loss. Two weeks in a row now Slimmer of the Week. I’m hoping for a hat-trick next week!

Not only Slimmer of the Week but after months of trying, I finally crossed the three stone mark! 

Clearly the walking has helped and the plan to stay sober for most of the month has really helped. 

I’m chuffed to beans and will do my best to continue this into February. Here’s to stone four.

Next time…

This week should be okay. I’ve got nothing planned that’s going to cause an issue. My weekend will be down in Somerset and Devon visiting Rosie, Roger and Fiona. 

The food will be good food and no doubt there will be a couple of short walks with Fi so I’m hopeful that if I stick to plan that things should continue on that downward trajectory.

Wish me luck.