LEJOG 2017

Nerves Every LEJOGer I've followed this year has successfully completed LEJOG. Hat's off, guys - Jimmy, Santosh, Mike, Paul N - I'm impressed. In twelve days it's my turn. Now I'm getting nervous. Cardio training went well until the weekend (15th/16th July) when I came down with a cold, training is therefore on hold until this has cleared up. It's my fault; increased training without my usual fresh lemon juice drink every morning has weakened my immune system and not given it the tools to fight. Fortunately it's happened now and not during the walk. Every cloud... Why the nerves, though...? This experience might change me in ways I cannot foresee. I might not want to come back and resume my old life. I might want to keep going. Day 2 of LEJOG (30th July) is my 35th birthday. To date this is the only thing of any merit I have ever attempted - how many years of realistically thinking about projects like this are left in me? There's a chance it mi...

Why becoming a writer is a bad idea When I'm not working or walking I'm writing. Writing begins as a dream. A vanity project. A hobby, a passion...a chore. You read a lot and have ideas and those ideas create characters and plots and spark stories. You write them down, connect the dots...and one day, far into the future, you present your friends with a bloody awful PDF containing your magnum opus, your re-working of The Bible. "I've written a novel! I want you to read it and tell me what you think!" You leave them to it with a self-assured smile. You're a writer now. Job done. That triumphant smile lasts as long as it takes you to figure out what lukewarm responses and the oft repeated phrases 'It's very well written, well done" and "I'm sure you'll find a publisher" really mean. They mean "Christ, I hope he doesn't ask me any questions...I'll actually have to finish the damn thing!" That's when you...