gavinf1980

Here is the 2026 Mindful March Calendar, so this month I will once again try to be more mindful, using the calendar's daily prompts.



I went to church this morning, first Sunday I've made it there in a while. Lunchtime plans had to be cancelled, but I enjoyed the sermon on Habakkuk ("In wrath, remember mercy" - Ch3:2) and I'm going to make the most of an unexpectedly free afternoon at home.

On Strava, I have:
* Logged 48 minutes for Google Pixel, Spring into action (goal: 3 hours and 20 minutes) and the March 400-minute x Runna Challenge (goal 6 hours and 40 minutes);
* Walked 4 of 22 km for Jet2's Chase the Sun Challenge (this will also count towards the Spring Walking Challenge);
* Logged 1 of 10 days for the March Ten Days Active Challenge;
* Not yet made progress for the March 180 Minute Sweat Challenge (needs an activity lasting 3 or more hours);
* Climbed 23m of 2,000m for the March Elevation Challenge; and
* Walked 5,616 steps for the March Walk 100K Steps Challenge.

I finally got around to writing a positive review of the independent supermarket that opened up in town; 4 stars:

Nice shop, easy to find things, friendly staff as well. I'll definitely keep going back.

I was surprised to get a friendly reply to that from management.

I went out to the Toby Carvery for lunch with family; it was filling as ever; very busy, with people rushing about all the time. We went to Mum's house after, and watched the 1% Club Valentines Day Special; the weather was getting quite bad, flashes of lightning visible.

Futebol : The Brazillian Way of Life by Alex Bellos

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


At one point in this book, author Alex Bellos describes football in Brazil as part of the "holy trinity of popular culture", along with religion and carnival. "The violent British sport" arrived in the country in 1894, and this book shows what a big thing it really is.

This was another re-read for me, but it was good to be reminded of what football means to Brazilians, and the unusual cultural things attached to it, including their attitude to the World Cup (they refer to each tournament by numbers, rather than using the name "World Cup").

Alex Bellos did a lot of his research for this book by visiting Brazil, and so I got a really good idea of what the place is like, and the views of the people he spoke to, as I read it. There was a lot about all the politics of football, particularly the fallout from the legendary Pele having broken up a feud with Ricardo Taxeira, a controversial figure for many Brazilian football fans (I had to google him to find out that he was the former chair of the Brazilian Football Confederation), mostly because of a number of bribes he accepted.

Brazilian footballers are also quite well known for choosing one-word names (the former footballer Socrates is interviewed here, and also wrote the foreword), with a detailed explanation, including the reason why they have had players called Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

I would have given this book 5 stars, but how much you enjoy this book probably depends on your interest in football. I found this book to be quite comprehensive, if occasionally dense, with its depictions of Brazilian football and culture.



View all my reviews

I cut it fine this year (again), but I've completed the 50bookchallenge for 2025.

Working from home always feels hectic with the juggling chores and work, and today has dragged. I did attempt to make some inroads into a report I'm doing for Stag Walkers this morning, helped by my barber appointment having been put back. Typically of me, I managed about 15 minutes' work on it, and it was mostly trying to map out all our walks using Google Maps, before realising I had to leave the flat to be there on time.

I had a different barber today; turned out to be a Manchester United fan, mentioned my Liverpool allegiance anyway, and everything stayed amicable. I chatted football to the Spurs fan who always serves me in the coffee shop nearby, before getting back and starting work. I had one meeting, which I volunteered to chair in the absence of a colleague.

Pool tonight; it will be good to get out again.

On Strava, I have:
* Logged 16 minutes of 4 hours for a new challenge: Go Further with Huawei;
* Walked 10km for the October Walk 50K Challenge;
* Climbed 83m for the October Elevation Challenge; and
* Logged just over 2 hours for the October 400-Minute x Runna Challenge.

I did have to look up the definition of a "soulmate" to confirm that they didn't have to be romantic partner, and indeed they can just be a close friend.

1. Do you believe you can have more than one soulmate in life?

I'm sure you can; why not? It's not quite the same as cheating on a partner really

2. Are you with that soulmate now?

Not right now, but we hang out regularly.

3. If not, how long did your relationship with your soulmate last?

Not applicable, though I can probably think of one or two soulmates that I've lost touch with.

4. Do you still think about your soulmate, if you are not together?

Oh, since he's a really good friend, yes; mostly about his cheeky sense of humour.

5. If you're not together, do you think your soulmate still thinks about you?

No idea, really; judging by some of his text messages (many of them jokes), I think probably yes.

There's something unnerving when you're walking along minding your own business, when suddenly a pedestrian ahead of you stops, turns and looks directly at you.

It happened earlier today; makes me feel like:



I've been trying to challenge negative thoughts today, with mixed results; the man out in the street put the wind up me a bit, always makes me think wonder if I sound so much like a mugger when I walk along the street.

For once I've not been just sat at home thinking morbid things about how I am perceived though.

Mum and I did go to the local micro brewery; I wanted to buy a bottle/can of beer (or two) with my quiz night winnings, but we found the place closed, even though it was within the usual opening hours (according to Google anyway).

On Strava, I have climbed 1,240m for the January Elevation Challenge and logged 39 minutes for the Sweaty Betty 'Don't Sweat It' Run Challenge.

From thefridayfive

1. First time you cooked for someone else?

Not sure really - I possibly cooked for family once, or otherwise it was one of the meals I made a friend when he visited. I remember doing macaroni cheese for him, then got worried when I didn't see him at church the next day, thinking somehow macaroni cheese had poisoned him.

2. First time you threw up in someone else's toilet?

Well, apart from throwing up when living with parents, does throwing up in a hotel toilet on holiday count? I probably did the time when we arrived in Florida and I started feeling sick in the rental car. I was immediately told to get out of the car to be sick. Or failing that, being sick in the work toilets.

3. First time you did anything illegal?

Ummm - not sure. Maybe peeing in the street as an adult?

4. First time you saw snow/the ocean (whichever is more exotic)?

I can't remember back that far; I was probably three years old though, most likely somewhere like Great Yarmouth.

5. First thought when I say "crumple-horned snorcack"?

I'd have to say some kind of Lewis Carroll creature. I'll have to do a google image search! (Okay, so it's Harry Potter - I should have known)

Two films I've seen recently that should meet some of the ohnotheydidnt film challenge criteria (yes, I'm still trying to do these).



I watched The Terminator some time ago, and forgot that one of the actors (Lance Henriksen) was in the Scream franchise: Scream 3, a film so bad that it killed the series for me and I didn't watch past this one.

I really enjoy The Terminator though and like to return to it as often as I can, just watching Arnold's first appearance as a ruthless killing machine sent from the future. Some of the special effects are quite wobbly-looking forty years on, but the other thing that makes this film for me is Linda Hamilton's performance as Sarah Connor, as she stands up against her pursuer.



Tonight, I watched a more recent film, Haunt where a group of young people come across a "haunted house" attraction on Hallowe'en. I did google the word "giallo" while I watched, and turns out its an Italian film genre that involves suspense, murders and masked killers, and this definitely counts.

Its guessable that when they see a masked "actor" attacking a bound up woman, this is no acting performance, but that the mask-wearing gang running the haunted house mean to bump off the visitors, one-by-one, in a way that is a little bit like the Saw franchise. The first three quarters or so of this film were quite good, but towards the end I started to wonder if some of the running time could have been cut out, as it turned into a montage of killings, followed by a couple of twists at the end that came in quick succession. Without giving much away, the final scene resembled a gruesome version of Home Alone.

( Outstanding ohnotheydidnt challengesCollapse )

I am hopeless at memorising quotes and was looking for a particular one; Google drew a blank (funny how it often has everything but what I'm trying to look up), so I plumped for this one instead, from Episode 6x22: Grave.

“I love you, Willow.... So if you’re gonna end the world, you’re gonna have to start with me.”



This is one of the few times that Xander is the hero for the day, this quote really sums up his relationship with Willow, and I love in this episode how after Xander annoyed me a lot in Season 6, he makes up for things by ending Willow's downward spiral, and stopping her from ending the world.

So, a day working isn't exactly a good day to be trying to minimise screen time, but I've been trying not to get stuck in front of the computer for too long.

I went out on a couple of walks, including a trip this morning to try out a new cafe in town; Google told me it would open at 8, but I found it still closed at ten past 8, so visited one of my regular places instead.

I bumped into my neighbour as I arrived back, and he told me all about his morning visit to the gym; I told him about how I usually just do my fitness at home now.

I did take some breaks from the screen at work (getting my food delivery helped), and occasionally tried to fill in gaps in the Dickens jigsaw that I got as a present.

I confess, I did take a look at Ben Parkes' review of the new Hoka running shoe; not sure if I'd get trainers like this, after hearing him say they're too narrow. He wears his cap facing forward in a few clips - I always thought he preferred backwards.



Now that I've finished work, I'll try not to watch too much television, though I'll probably tune in to at least the second half of the England v Belgium friendly this evening.

On Strava, I have logged
* 2 of 3 activities for Week 4 of the March Streak Challenge and Chapadinhas de Endorfino, o desafio;
* 1,232m of climbing for the March Running Elevation Challenge; and
* 2 of 10 days for Find Further with lululemon.