This year seems to be going very quickly maybe that is because we can actually go out and do things again unlike this time last year. Next week the clocks go forward meaning the evenings get lighter and we can pack even more in to our days. It will be summer before we know it at least I hope it will as my Jamaican sun tan is now just starting to fade a little.

I am massively clumsy and always catching my arm on things or quite often knocking my knee somewhere. I also seem to hit my head more often than you would think. Personally I feel that may be due to my lack of hair as I have no early warning system when I am getting a bit too close to something. Anyway I managed to hit my head on holiday on the door frame of a minibus as I was getting out of it. The reason I did it was because I was too busy thanking the driver and not paying attention to where I was going.

At the time it hurt a little on impact but I just about managed to style it out and carry on as normal. A month or so later I was still getting a headache from time to time, so just to be on the safe side my doctor sent me for a MRI Scan. If you have never had one before they feel like the kind of thing that a “Bond Villain” would use to torture 007. They are very small and compact, your head gets fed into it on some kind of moving board. Then for the next ten minutes it makes some of the weirdest noises you have ever heard. They do give you ear plugs and play music to try to mask it but it is still very strange.

The medical Staff were great and made it very simple and straight forward explaining exactly what was going to happen. It takes about a week for the results to come through. I am just hoping that they do find at least a trace of a brain in there somewhere. Joking aside it will be nice to know that everything is fine in that department and the headaches are not being caused by anything sinister or concerning.

My girlfriend Lynda is a great cook who enjoys experimenting with meals that she has not made before, which I benefit from hugely. She has recently got a new cook book and it has loads of recipes in it that she is very keen to try. At the moment she is basically working her way through it. In the week doing fully gluten containing dishes, but at the weekend trying anything that is or can be made gluten free for me to enjoy, due to my special dietary requirements with me being Coeliac.

The other weekend she made us some Malaysian Sticky Spicy Ribs which I must say were amazing. The meat just fell off the bone they were really sweet and came with a nice hot kick from the spices and the chilli. That was just the starter. For the main she produced these chicken satay burgers which she had made from scratch again from this new book. These were spectacular and so tasty she has already promised me that she will do them again for us.

The division of labour when it comes to meals is such that we both play to our strengths. She prepared and cooked all of the food. While I supplied the shop bought gluten free desert and on this occasion at least did the washing up. By which I mean I loaded the dish washer and turned it on. She does enjoy creating new meals and I very much enjoy eating them so as an arrangement it works perfectly as far as I am concerned. I do cook occasionally but the menu I tend to offer is a little simpler to say the least.

After we had eaten we decided to settle down and watch a film. This is rarely my suggestion and anything we do end up seeing is usually as a result of a Dragon’s Den style pitch by Lynda pointing out why we should spend the time doing this. To be fair to her nearly all but one of the films we have watched together have at the very least kept my attention. She suggested we watch the latest Ghostbusters film called Afterlife. I had seen and enjoyed both of the original films as a child so agreed to give it a go.

I really liked it as it kept very true to the originals in fact it even had the same style and character to it. There are some very clever links to the first and second instalments from the eighties. Yet at the same time they have made it more modern and up to date. I do not want to say much more about it in case I give anything away. But if you did like the originals and want to hear a bit of the Ray Parker Jnr theme song then I would recommend you see it. The cast are great and it is just an easy to watch fun film.

I went to the Cheltenham Festival on Wednesday. I like to go every year but I ended up having a couple of years off for obvious reasons. It is a brilliant day out for the horse racing enthusiast where you get to see the best horses from the UK and Ireland go head to head at one of the most challenging courses. The atmosphere is always great at the event and the standard of the racing is unbelievably high.

It was even more special this year as one of the horses I have a few shares in Stage Star was running in a big hurdles race on the day that I was there. It was fantastic to be there and watch him run in person for the first time. I had previously been to visit him before he started his career at the Equiprep Facility that the Owners Group have. I got to see him in the parade ring and then chilling out in his stable. I have of course followed his journey very closely ever since and this was the biggest moment for him so far.

I managed to pick the one day this week when it rained all day at the Cheltenham Festival. But it did not matter we still had a great time there. The racing was exceptional despite the challenging conditions. The occasion and weather got to Stage Star a little bit I think and he set off a bit too quickly and was not really enjoying the conditions so very sensible the jockey Harry Cobden pulled him up before the end. The important thing is that he is fine and will learn from it. I do think that if it was a drier day he could have fared a bit better but that is horse racing for you. The well being of the horse is of course the most important thing.

Stage Star set the tone for my day as I did not have any winners while at the track which is quite unusual. We did however see the racing journalist legend that is Brough Scott and the maverick that is Matt Chapman. I did also manage to wear a coat that was more like a sponge than a shower curtain so had that nice damp feeling for a bit. It was as ever a fantastic day out we met lots of nice and interesting people. I am already looking forward to going back next year and hopefully seeing Stage Star or another one of my horses run there.

I did apply for the London Marathon Ballot for this year’s race. I am not totally sure why if I am honest. I entered it when I turned forty as I thought it might be a nice thing to do while I could still run a bit. I did not get in then and as a result stopped trying. But I guess after the lockdowns of the last couple of years I thought it might be good to give myself a new challenge and see if I could test myself and my glass ankles and knees to the maximum. However I was sadly not successful this time either, so I have now decided to accept that I will never do it and I am totally at ease with that decision.

I have been enjoying the current series of Saturday Night Takeaway. Ant and Dec are still brilliant at what they do. That show is shaped around them perfectly. You can tell that they are heavily involved with every aspect of it. They have been doing live television for so long now I honestly believe there is nothing that can trip them up. I think they have had some very strong end of the show, shows’ once again this year. They just seem to highlight how annoyingly talented they are, whatever they are doing in that segment they seem to pull it off perfectly even if that means they are being Drag Queens!

I have lots of good friends who support Everton and I have been to Goodison Park on many occasions. I always enjoy it when Spurs play them normally they are close and often exciting games. I seem to remember us winning more times than not but I always have a good time up there with my mates. I went to the match at the Tottenham Stadium the other week. It does of course give me bragging rights when we win, which we did by five goals to nil.

I did not think it was a good game and I personally did not think that we were that brilliant. However it was a very easy victory and it was possibly the worse Everton team I have seen for a very long time. I have a soft spot for them and would not like to see them relegated. The best bit about the night was giving Frank Lampard some stick. When he was at Chelsea they beat us I think two-nil at our place and he celebrated with their fans after like they had won the Champions League so we gave him both barrels while we were thrashing his new team! 

Not that Tottenham’s current form is much better. We seem to have fallen into a routine where we win one game and then lose the next one, so they give a little hope that a corner has been turned and then remove it straight away. Something Spurs have been doing on a fairly regular basis since I started supporting them as a four year old, who at that time it is fair to say did not know any better. That said they are my team and I support them no matter what. The thing with football is you cannot win every game so celebrate the victories and accept the defeats it is all part of the charm. Enjoy the journey and the end destination for one season at least may hopefully make it all worthwhile.

A quick reminder that you can listen to me every Saturday afternoon between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/ 

I have not been to see live comedy for quite a while but I am happily going to put that right tonight as I am off to see a gig in Covent Garden. I will of course let you know what it was like next time we speak. Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.