What a difference a year makes to that long three-day weekend
A year ago a typical long Bank Holiday (public holiday) weekend here in the UK if we were staying at home would have seen me doing the following; enjoying a long lie in, late breakfast/brunch, catching up on box-sets, sitting on the laptop to do a bit of work and maybe a walk around the garden if the weather was nice. Since undergoing gastric surgery, losing over 140lbs (60kg), and becoming far more physically active all that has changed and how! So this Bank Holiday weekend I did the following;
- Saturday (Charity Day) – Up at 5am, drove to Walsall to take part in the Midland Langar Seva Society (MLSS) Annual 15 Mile Charity Walk to raise money to feed the homeless in cities across the UK, Europe and India. MLSS is as amazing charity and I was humbled to meet the founder Randhir Singh Heer and the MLSS team. They cook and serve over 20,000 hot meals per week each and every week to the needy and homeless, and even have a big red bus so people can sit inside to eat their food out of the rain and cold. I filmed the walk for my Sikh Channel chat show Late Night Banter and I walked the 15 miles with the MLSS team and around 50 other people, raising money and awareness as we walked from Walsall into Central Birmingham and back. Please check out the MLSS website and do donate to this amazing charity. After the walk I still had a bit of energy so I did a 6 mile jog, clocking up a total of 21 miles of walking and running that day - all good marathon training for my own charity QHF Marathon challenge.
- Sunday (Grandchildren Day) – As my legs were like lead after the exertions of the day before I did have a lie in on Sunday but as my wife Jas and I were minding 3 of our grandchildren I was up and about making breakfast and then building a play den, playing hide and seek and even dancing to Instruction by Jax Jones ft. Demi Lovato with my granddaughter – my wife got this on video, and if it ever gets out there I’m finished J With the grandchildren going home Jas and I had a nice meal and watched the movie Cargo on Netflix – good film and Martin Freeman is fast becoming a national treasure …..Jas thinks I’ve got a bit of a man crush. Rounded a lovely evening off watching Florence and the Machine performing live at BBC Biggest Weekender….Jas knows I’ve got a thing for Florence – such a strong, powerful and stunning lady, can bash out a tune too.
- Monday (Wife & Mother Day) – Spent a lovely morning with the two most important women in my life, my mother and my wife. My mother who is recovering from a severe chest infection having spent most of last week in hospital. We had some quality time remembering my late father and tripping down memory lane. At the age of 79 she has some memory issues whereby she can’t remember the cup of tea she had 20 minutes earlier, but she can remember incidents, events and people from 70 years ago with perfect lucidity. I’m still enthralled by her recall and her stories, and the fact that she sometimes even corrects my recollections is a worrying sign for me. Shopping is most definitely not my favourite activity but as Jas and I finally got around to selecting our new kitchen and just as in the past I got excited when looking at a new car her face was a picture like a little girl in a sweet shop looking at all the kitchens types and styles. Back home in time for an evening bike ride even though my legs were still aching I managed an hour on my bike in the sunshine.
Without wanting to sound too philosophical if there is a moral it has to be to do more to help yourself and others and staying active is so much better than being sedentary. Probably the best long weekend I’ve had in a long time, all play and no work....and no laptop. Roll on the next Bank Holiday weekend in August.