I’ve started going to the gym in Chard, Phoenix Fitness. I went a couple of weeks ago to meet with the owner and head trainer Simon. My Wife has been seeing a Chiropractor as she has developed serious problems with her back and neck which is a result of looking after me since my accident in 2011. Her Chiropractor got in touch with Simon to ask if he may be able to accomodate me in my wheelchair at the gym and to see if there was anything he thought he may be able to help me with. I have never been someone with, shall we say, a large belly. That however has changed since I gave up running and if I am honest I am really pretty pissed about it. I have tried eating very little, three meals a day, one or two meals a day. Snacks or not. Stopped coffee as I am not a fan of it without sugar and it has not helped. I would propell myself in my manual chair to Ilminster using the cycle path in the hope of building muscle and strength in my arms and slimming my belly down through the exercise however that did not go according to plan. It put too much strain on my wrists which would leave me having to use my power chair for a few days afterwards, I got punctures due to thorns and worst of all I got my hands and wheels covered in horse shit as someone in the local bright ideas club decided to open the cycle path up to horse riders who are not overly concerned about where their horses take a shit and are obviously not going to kick it in to the grass verges as that would be far too considerate to other path users. So as a result it is not something I have done or have been able to continue with. Simon has got me using a motomed bike for my arms, some weights for my arms and general fitness and some elastics for more fitness. They have got me in a “Rehab” phase for the time being and so slowly they hope to increase the weight but for the time being we are starting on lower weights so as not to risk the wrsits. It’s quite hard work if I am truthful and a little embarrassing with the weight I am lifting but they are working with me on a “rehab” phase which due tot he distinct lack of rehab that I have recieved is a really good place to start.

I am really looking forward to next week as it will be when I attempt the first of the three highest peaks in the UK in my Overlander. The extra batteries have been fitted by Terrain Hopper and it has been fully serviced, all I need to do is go out for a test ride which I sadly and annoyingly have been unable to do until now. Again, I am trying to raise money for some of the charities that have helped me since my accident as I want to give as much back as I can by way of sponsor money/donations so that they may help others in need. If you are able to spare some money then please help me by donating on my page http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Giving-Back I have not set a target as I simply want to raise as much as I am able. After Snowdon I am intending to attempt Ben Nevis and Scarfell Pike in the summer holidays. I am really hoping that it will go well not just for the experience and photo opportunies of the views but also to show how the Overlander allows me to enjoy the outdoor areas that I simply would not be able to enjoy otherwise.

I know that there is always someone or an organisation that is asking for you to part with money but please help me to raise as much as I can for these charities. There are many injured and needy personnel and veterans that these charities need to help, and I can state that the help that they have given me has been invaluable, so PLEASE try. If each person who reads this or knows me were to donate a single pound it would be a fantastic amount, more than a pound would be incredible. Thank you in advance.

Good afternoon all.

Haven’t written for a long time, mainly because I have not known what to write. Nothing has really happened and what has happened has either been something that I would not want to share or things I cannot. One thing that I can put down as text is that on the 31st of April I ceased officially to be part of the British Army. Now the fact that I had not been allowed to parade for a reasonable amount of time did piss me off a little but knowing that the Air Corps wanted me to continue to train their new recruits gave a little light of hope at the end of the tunnel. It was however when I read that my unit had not made an attempt to even request my being kept on which would have meant that I could have applied to transfer to the unit that was my Company before the change that I knew my days were numbered. Knowing this is one thing but when you recieve a call from Battalion to essentially check that you are aware that the next day will be your official end of service date is something else. I will not lie, I am gutted. I am, I guess, upset. But this is not the end of it, there are other emotions and feelings that swim around and pop up at random times. I do miss it. I miss the going away on exercise, the banter, the challenges and the being able to pass on knowledge. My no longer being part of the military has however shown me somethng elese, something which does upset…no….piss me right off, and that is those who I regarded as close friends, I have not seen or heard from since December of last year. A wake up call maybe?

Two weeks ago my Brother drove me to collect my Overlander after it had some modifications, the biggest was my having an extra pair of Lithium batteries fitted to effectively double the amount of time I can run it. In the kids half term I will be attempting to reach the top of Snowdon which is the highest peak in Wales. I hope that some of my actual friends from the Army will accompany me. After Snowdon, later in the year I will be travelling to Scotland to attempt to reach the top of Ben Nevis and then down to the Lake District straight afterwards to attempt Scarfell Pike. Why am I doing this? Well, life is for living isn’t it? And I am alive and in a better position than a lot of other people who physically are unable to even think about trying to reach the tops of the three highest mountains in the UK so I am doing it for them as much as for me. I am trying to raise money for some of the military charities that have assisted me and so I hope that people will donate as much as they can so that the money raised can be used to assist another injured person from the military. If it was dark and you dropped a pound in a car park how many would genuinely try to find it? So if you could lose a pound then please donate one (or more) to my fundraising page. I was set up to do it last year but due to an emergency I was unable to do it. I am not one to say things I do not mean and so this year, instead of last, I am attempting the peaks instead.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Giving-Back

Please give as much as you can.

Goodnight all.