I am determined to do something in 2021 I’ve never achieved before… keep my New Year’s resolutions.
I’ve made various commitments before, like the time I was determined to do Dry January and made it as far as Burns’ Night.
Well, it is your duty as a Scotsman to toast the Bard with a dram, is it not?
For the record, it was also our Rabbie that ended my 10 years as a non-meat eater. I kept on scoffing haggis for the same reason as above. That and the kebabs after a few beers. Eventually, I got to the point where it was cheerio Quorn, hello splendidly rare bit of rump steak.
Other January 1 promises of the past included getting more exercise. In fairness to myself, I did actually keep some of those, sort of.
When I started my on-off love affair with running, I was actually covering 10km and half-marathons on a reasonably regular basis. But it was a bad run at the Aviemore half that dealt a near-fatal blow to those shenanigans.
I won’t bore anyone with the details, but let’s just say the grannies at the start line – of whom we said “awww bless” – beat me over the finishing line.
So one of my pledges this year is to run more – the process has started, bar the festive interruptions for fine food and drink. And sometime this month I will find out if I’ve made it through the ballot for the London Marathon.
Gulp.
I’ve also made inroads into cutting out the Pringles and Gold Bars – well, during the day at least.
I mean, you’ve got to pop a tube of crispness when you’re having a fine ale of a night.
Which brings me to the issue of booze. It’s tricky, isn’t it? If you say you’re cutting down, there’s an assumption you have some sort of problem. Knowing looks are exchanged. But those looks need only get as far as my waistline to see where the issue lies. Rather bulkily at that. But if you carry on regardless, you do have the issue of all those empty calories you’re loading when you’re trying to watch your weight. See also curry.
What is it with the fates that they make the stuff that turns you into Jabba The Hutt so darn tasty?
I am a firm believer if you do everything in moderation, you’ll be just fine. Then along comes Friday and Saturday to persuade you that’s all very well during the week, but you’re not a monk – unless it’s one of those monks that brews rather excellent Belgian Trappist beers. So, let’s get to the nub of my resolutions for 2021.
Specifics don’t work, so I’m going for some sweeping generalisations with a three-word slogan. Do more better.
That takes in getting the scampering back up to speed, the waistline back in control (bigger breeks is not an option), the diet healthier.
Am I giving up beer, curry and crisps? Hell no. Life would be far too dull.
But I do plan to get to the end of 2021 having moved more, eaten better and enjoyed myself while I’m at it. Hope you can, too.
Scottish Tory party has quite the nerve
The Tories in Holyrood are just trolling us now, aren’t they?
I mean all that guff about “No Deal Nicola” and decrying the SNP for voting against the Brexit deal at Westminster.
Hmmm, let’s see if I’ve got this right. The majority of Scottish people voted against Brexit, the majority of Scottish people want to stay in Europe and the majority of Scottish people returned SNP Members of Parliament.
So Ruth Davidson and her merry miscreants think the SNP must back measures that will leave Scotland poorer, isolated and damaged – while selling fishermen down the river – because she says so?
This would be the same Ruth Davidson who crossed so many of her own red lines about Brexit that I doubt even she can keep track.
Doublespeak and slogans can’t mask the fact Scotland was lied to repeatedly and ripped out of the EU against its will.
This is a Tory mess, this a Tory act of harm against all four nations of the UK and it’s theirs to own. No one else’s.
Of course, Scotland will have its say on how they view the Scottish Conservatives come May.
But then, Baroness Davidson won’t be around for that judgement because she’ll be yukking it up in the unelected House of Lords.
And that is all that you really need to know about the state of the Tory party in Scotland today.
A ticket to ride – and I intend using it
I’m planning on doing a fair bit more travelling later in the year.
It’s not a sense of growing wanderlust, but rather my innate grippiness that is driving this urge.
You see, in August some rather nice people are going to send me a bus pass. And I intend to make good use of it.
I have, of course, in the past avoided both public transport and wrinklies. But now I’m joining the latter, I might as well start using the former.
After all, who can resist the lure of a free trip down the A90 to see Dundee on a wet Sunday afternoon? Oh, wait a minute…
