Adrian Phelan

Post 19

Welcome to 19 | Girly saint| 50/50| I’ll be there for you| Give blood, look out for cancer| To physio or not to physio| Goodbye and thanks| Links to previous posts

Welcome to this week’s blog  

I’m forever connecting scenarios to music, so I have to say welcome to blog post number n n n n nineteen. A nod to Paul Hardcastle’s 1985 anti-war song. Just one more to go to the ripe old 20. I’m going to be reflecting a bit next week because I want to talk about where we go from here, now we have thousands of words of content under our belts. Anyway, for now, welcome again and come on in.  

Hope springs from Bridie  

It was remiss of me not to acknowledge St Brigid’s Day last week, which was on Monday. I know everyone loves a bank holiday, but I also love the fact that Ireland now celebrates its most prominent female saint in the same way it does St Patrick. I’m not sure The Hudson gets dyed green for the day, but it’s a step in the right direction. I read in a book (yeah right) that St Brigid’s Day aligns with Imbolc (your word of the week), one of Ireland’s ancient fire festivals marking the first signs of spring. Imbolc symbolised hope, renewal, and the return of light after winter. I’ll take that all day long.  

A half century break  

The first ‘50^’th gatherings of the year are coming this February. A flurry of 50ths as you were. I’m only 49 and a third so a whippersnapper compared to some of this old lot. I get to see one more World Cup in my 40s and that will do me. Here’s hoping Ireland will go on and win it for me. 

I’m however looking forward to seeing lots of friends and family over the year and regretting somewhat my decision to go modest with gifts, given most of the recipients will be invited to whatever I do in September. I’ll need new runners/trainers by then, just saying.  

The heading for this section wasn’t by accident and as we’re reflecting for a moment, I want to mention snooker player and commentator John Virgo, who passed the other day. I met him once and he was lovely. He was somewhat of an institution and will be missed. I hope he’s now found out where the cueball is going.  

That’s what friends are for  

One of my friends turning 50 is an old university friend who I met on Thursday. We don’t see each other very often but an hour and a half passed by like 5 minutes. We had a lovely chat. This is a short section but I’m doubling down on my piece from a few weeks ago. A meaningful friendship doesn’t need reassurance to last. It will survive on its own. If you’re thinking about it, do it. See that old friend for a few hours. You’ll thank me for the nudge, I promise.  

Do good well – The Bloody Big C 

I gave blood again this week, getting my fix of post-donation Seabrook cheese and onion crisps. I was told it was my 31st donation so that’s not bad going. I should find out in a few days where it will go; a good home no doubt. My type is B- which is rare, so they’re always happy to have me along. I was a big baby (Hello Roy) again with the finger prick and needle insertion though. I’m in danger of slipping below beta male status if I’m not careful. But it was worth it  Find out more about donating if you’re interested. You won’t cry taking the big plaster off in the evening, I promise.  

It was also World Cancer Day this week, and I know cancer charities get the lion’s share of coverage and funding, but I have close and not so close family members affected by it so I’m giving it a nod. The strapline is ‘united by unique’ which is pretty cool. And remember, like me you might not have the cash to donate to everything, but you can help to raise awareness.  

Physio exercises ticked I promise  

So, does anyone else have a ‘how many units of alcohol do you have a week’ poker face? I’m not a prolific liar, but I’ve mastered this.  

I have a third physio appointment imminent, and I’m supposed to have been doing exercises every other day to strengthen my tendon. This includes a balancing thing where I stand on one leg while I rotate my head from side to side. Try it. It’s impossible. I have two choices; fib and say I’ve been sticking to the routine or be honest and say I haven’t and my ankle is still occasionally very painful. I’m not going to open a poll but let me know what you would do. The future of the NHS could depend on it.  

Goodbye and thanks  

So that’s post 19 done. I remain on the job trail so I’m still pedalling my CV. Take a look. And thank you thank you. The readership stats are encouraging so I roll on.  

I hope you enjoyed this post and I’ll see you next week for milestone 20.  

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