Journal
Bertie’s journal
Retired teacher. Marking my own homework now.
Just Wednesdays
week 99flat energy 11 reply
A brief account of the week. Nothing happened again. I am aware that is now the fourth month running I have written that, and I have decided it is the best sentence in this…
A1c down
week 78relieved energy 42 replies
Everything stable. She said come back in a year. I have never had a come-back-in-a-year before. A1c down. Bloods back. Unremarkable, she said, which is a word I had never…
Laces
week 55quietly delighted energy 23 replies
Slept flat. Whole night. Flat. Walked the Nidderdale Way in stages. Tied my own laces standing up. I am aware of how that sounds and I do not care. Walked into town and back,…
An hour on the floor
week 40quietly delighted energy 41 reply
A brief account of the week. Carried both bags up in one go. Small thing. Wrote it down. Up the stairs at work twice without stopping at the landing. I stood at the top for a…
Sunday lunch
week 39loved energy 31 reply
A brief account of the week. Somebody asked what my secret was and I froze completely. Still working out what I want to say to that. Starters as a main course, permanently.…
Two lengths, badly
week 38grateful energy 51 reply
Sat on the floor and played for an hour, and then got up. That was the entire reason I started, and I have now done it. Slept flat. Whole night. Flat. Tied my own laces…
Quiet
week 37flat energy 23 replies
A brief account of the week. I nearly did not write this week because there was nothing in it. Then I thought about how much I have got out of other people's boring weeks.…
A printout I cannot read
week 36brisk energy 52 replies
A brief account of the week. A locum who had clearly read nothing. I was polite, I got what I needed, and I have booked with my own GP for next month. Asked the question I…
Both bags, one go
week 35quietly delighted energy 31 reply
A brief account of the week. Full shift on my feet and my knees did not stop me. That has not happened in about four years. Carried both bags up in one go. Small thing. Wrote…
Eight minutes and a chair
week 34tired but good energy 42 replies
Kept the two sessions that matter and dropped the two that were vanity. Fewer, heavier, done. Grip strength has gone off and I noticed it opening a jar before I noticed it…
No news
week 33flat energy 13 replies
Steady. That is the whole entry. Nothing to report. Writing it down anyway, on the theory that a journal made only of eventful weeks would give a false impression of the…
Grip
week 32tired but good energy 42 replies
A brief account of the week. Grip strength has gone off and I noticed it opening a jar before I noticed it anywhere else. Back to loading properly. Chair-based strength work…
The limits of yoghurt
week 31steady energy 43 replies
A brief account of the week. Protein first, everything else after. It is not interesting advice and it is the only advice that has changed anything. Spread it across the day…
Starters as a main
week 30warm energy 11 reply
Somebody asked what my secret was and I froze completely. Still working out what I want to say to that. Starters as a main course, permanently. No explanation offered, none…
I nearly did not write
week 29flat energy 13 replies
A brief account of the week. Nothing to report. Writing it down anyway, on the theory that a journal made only of eventful weeks would give a false impression of the whole…
Sunday night, four lines
week 28held energy 34 replies
My buddy noticed something in my journal before I did and asked me a very gentle question about it. Nobody has ever asked me how I was doing on a Wednesday before. She had a…
Nine minutes
week 28heard energy 52 replies
Asked the question I had been avoiding for eleven years. She answered it in about ninety seconds and was completely unbothered. Left with a printout I could not read and no…
Into town and back
week 27grateful energy 31 reply
Got down on the floor and back up again unaided. I have not been able to do that since 2021 and I did it twice more just to check. Sat on the floor and played for an hour,…
Fewer, heavier
week 26tired but good energy 12 replies
Eight minutes and a chair. That is the whole programme. Tuesday and Friday. I have done it for eleven weeks. Two sessions this week, both short, both done. Ren keeps saying…
Steady
week 25fine energy 53 replies
An unremarkable week. Ate, walked, worked, slept adequately. This is what most of it looks like. Quiet. Injection Tuesday, mild Wednesday, fine by Thursday, and then a normal…