WEIGH-IN WEDNESDAY
Unfortunately I seem to have hit a bit of a wall. After doing so well - I seem to have lost my Mojo.
I've come back from a trip to Prague with a 2lb gain. Perhaps the Terrine de Foie Gras
wasn't such a good idea - but at the time it was delicious. Yes, I know, I'm going to come
in for a bit of stick this week- but I have to man up and take the rough with the smooth.
Look out for THE EVIL ONE'S COMMENT this week - it's going to be a corker!!
A SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR ANGUS
(Angus Birthday Card)
THE RULES for your BIRTHDAY SURPRISE!
1. You will need to bring your Passport with you - Don’t
Forget - Very important
2. You must be at 14 Dorey House, Brentford by 11:00pm
or 23:00 hours on Monday the 13th October to stay
the night ready for early departure the following morning.
3. You will need to bring 4 clean pairs of briefs, boxer
shorts, Y-Fronts, thongs or what-ever is your Skid-
Protector of choice.
4. You can make plans to re-visit old or young friends in
London from 10:00pm on Friday the 17th October.
5. Please bring your Computer - incase you need to Skype.
6. Weather will be the same as London - so pack clothing
accordingly and bring a coat.
It wasn't until we got to HEATHROW TERMINAL 3 and sat down in
Prêt a Manger for a cup of coffee that Gussie sussed out where we all going:
PRAHA - PRAGUE - in the CZECH REPUBLIC. Un-be-known to Angus we
were going to visit his Australian Best Friend Joe's parents - the painter -
David Hinchcliffe and his ex-wife Meg who were on a European Tour of
Prague and Budapest. Angus was instantly excited as he had never been to
Prague and always wanted to go.
Cindy had found this amazing apartment in the Old Town Square very close to the famous
Astronomical Clock which dates from 1410. It is the 3rd oldest in the world and the only one
that is still working.
(We first heard about AirBnB from Maisie and then David Hichcliffe used them to find apartments
to stay in both London and New York. It's certainly a whole deal cheaper than staying in a hotel -
plus you get so much more room.)
This apartment was quite spacious and luxurious:
The only drawback - it was up 3 flights of stairs and NO LIFT!!
Still that would look good on my Fitbit Records - as did the amount of steps I did a day!
MY FITBIT REPORT IN PRAGUE
During an normal week in Brentford on a walking day (Syon Park or Golfing) I would
normally average between 5-6000 steps. In Prague on the Tuesday I did 10, 409
on the Thursday 13,481 and on the Friday I did 10,085 with a total of 21.82 miles.
But once I was back home in Brentford - exhausted after my trip - I collapsed in front
of the telly catching up on EastEnders, and The Apprentice and managed a paltry
428 Steps walking to & fro from kitchen for cups of tea!!
CHEZ MARCEL
The first night we were there we went to an old haunt of mine called CHEZ MARCEL.
This was a french bistro in the middle of Prague that I used to go to every night whilst I was
filming:
Baron Harkonnen in "Dune"
Czech food is not the best - so this little Bistro was a saviour during my Dune Days.
When we arrived I got the warmest welcome from one of the staff who remembered me.
A warm welcome from "Marcel" the owner of the bistro - you can tell
that my Jet-Lag is creeping up on me!
With the Australian's Meg & David.
The next day we took in some of Prague's incredible sights.
On Charles Bridge
Gussie was fascinated by this guy
You can watch and hear him play a little when you go to:
http://vimeo.com/109616841
Our new Czech Best Friend.
There was a little visit paid to the SEX MUSEUM and Yes! They did have a Gift Shop.
Well Christmas is just around the corner!
"Angus search for a Beer Hall in Prague."
"WHERE'S THE BEER?"
Some of you have already seen this Video - for those of you who
haven't - I beg you to watch it - it's hilarious - and for those of you
who've seen it once - do it again - you won't be disappointed!!
http://vimeo.com/109565029
One of my favourite Prague Photos.
(The Museum of Communism next to....)
I found out something sweet about my Son - when people ask me my name I tell them
MAX because they have problems spelling IAN. I discovered that my Son has similar problems
with ANGUS - so he tells them to write down PETER!!
On our Little Trip to the Lennon Wall we overheard the Guides saying that the Beatles
had never been to Prague. Our Taxi Driver - who went out of his way to
show us the wall - said he preferred The Monkees anyway!!
Next we went to:
The Memorial to the Victims of Communism
THE FINAL NIGHT
On our final night we ended up at the HEMINGWAY BAR. But just like the Beatles we found out
that Hemingway had never been to Prague. still that didn't stop us sampling several versions of his popular drink, Absinthe.
"A Short Video on How to Make Absinthe!"
(cut & paste below)
http://vimeo.com/109642227
"Absinthe makes the heart grow Fonder"
And finally some great views from the Astronomical Clock Tower:
"FAREWELL TO ANGUS!"
Angus has now gone back to Chile for a few days before joining his Girlfriend Lizzy
in Uruguay where they will both work in a Hostel on a beach for a while. It will be
sometime before we see him again - so these few days in Prague will be seriously
cherished memories:
"WHERE'S THE BEER??"
We love you Gussie...xxx
COMMENTS
Thanks for reading The Blog!
Please feel free to leave your Comments:
Good or Bad
They're are all welcome!
What an amazing birthday surprise for Gus! Fab blog this week and hilarious video. Now, stop eating so much and lose some weight! P.S My birthday's in January and I've never been to the Maldives. I'm sure we could find some Australians to meet there ��
ReplyDeleteThis utterly delightful Comment was made by the utterly delightful Mrs Jimmy Roberts - AKA - the utterly delightful EMILY.
DeleteNo, never been to the Maldives, and Yes, I hear it's crawling with Ozzie Folk - it's a must!!....xxxx
awwww can't be cross after such a great blog. love love love the pictures but next week I will be at my most tiranous so beware. Loss loss loss loss and make it a god one. No ounces only pounds will do. Love you lots and I watch the beer video far too much. I must get a life. Already missing Gussie with an aching. Xxxxxx
ReplyDeleteThank you Kate - I promise to make it a "GOD ONE" next week,
Deletejust keep on "Praying" for me to lose. Missing our boy so much too. xxxx
Comment from DAVID HINCHLIFFE
ReplyDeletePart ONE:
Trip home has actually been wonderful -- apart from our initial problem with the Lufthansa strike. We loved our time with you guys -- easily the highlight of the trip...and for me in particular meeting Angus and having those great conversations over ciggies out in the street. Especially important for me as I'd never met Joe's best mate and it was so good to talk to someone who knows him so well. We will always have. Very fond memories of Chez Marcel....and to think that our favourite little cafe in Budapest (Spinoza) was where you filmed! It really was a "Tour of Ian's Favourite Cafés"!
Best head off to the plane now as. They're boarding g and we're on our last leg(s) home to Oz.
Part TWO:
As privileged participants in this week's blog activities in Prague, Meg and I want to say how much we enjoyed sharing this special time, particularly the precious time you had with Angus before he headed off to South America and the fact that it was your birthday week (you kept that to yourself you sly dog). We treasured our trips to Chez Marcel (we now consider ourselves locals) our absinthe orgy at Hemingway's, our long leisurely lunch by that river that runs through Prague whose name I've forgotten and the mad, frenetic rush to the top of the Astronomical (no, David, not gastronomical) clock with Cindy. That we all didn't add 20 pounds to our waste,bites after all our indulgences is nothing short of a Czech miracle!
Love
David and Meg
It looks like a great trip! 2 pounds on is no success story, but Prague is so beautiful and interesting, you can't lose (pun intended).
ReplyDeleteCindy, that apartment looks amazing, great find! I'm happy to see in pictures you were at least able to locate some beers, and absinthe, even if the beer hall proved elusive (Angus you're adorable).
I'm so happy you could go traveling together, what a treat! I had noticed your fitbit numbers soaring and was inspired to pick up the pace this week. I hope you can keep that momentum going back in Brentford.
I'm already looking forward to next week. What is your next mile marker in this journey? What prize do you have your eyes on next? We must know so that we can prepare your next poster...
Lots of love,
Jenny
OK where the **** do I start? Number one, look at that photo of you in Dune... Right there, that should tell you Chez Marcel is NOT your friend. Shouldn't even be a ****ing acquaintance. Chez Marcel does not like you. Chez Marcel and all his pals? Kick 'em to the curb. Oh and don't think I'm going to cut you any slack for this being 'a big week and oh such fun with Gus,' etc., because there's an excuse every week. And this week - hello - we can see the damned slip and if Chez Marcel wasn't bad enough let's look at the day with 428 steps. How can you ONLY DO 428 steps in a day? Be being a lazy ****, that's how. That's the day you should have pushed yourself out to walk off some of that Czech beer and buns. If I laid in bed all day, I'd do more than 428 steps just waggling my feet... My eyes are bleeding with rage as I write this. There had better be more than a two pound loss next week or dominatrixes will be employed.
ReplyDeleteEvil 1
PS Good to see that Gus managed to reinforce the Czech's stereotype of the cultured UK tourist...
a PS from Evil 1: Tough Love Baby, Tough Love
ReplyDeleteSuch an incredible surprise. Loving the modeling pics on that rather disturbing crawling child statue. We all with you in the highs and we should all be with you on the lows, I am sure you will be losing again soon. Love and miss you, oaks xx
ReplyDeleteFirst of all what a great surprise you and Cindy put on for Gus! And the pictures look amazing. Made me miss you and become endlessly jealous. So all that is good news... Normally I am the first to defend you from the Evil Ones lashing tongue, but sadly for you I have to side with him on this one. It has been a while since we had a really good loss. I think it is time to shake things up. Jenny and I watched a interesting and fun documentary called "Fat, sick, and nearly dead". See trailer link below.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv3vEXy_EwU
It inspired Jenny and I to do a week juice cleanse. I know it sounds weird but it was actually kind of fun and we felt great afterwards. And maybe something that your body would benefit from?? Whatever you decide I am really hoping for a big loss over the next month. Don't get discouraged, we are all still really proud of you, it's just one of the many bumps in the road. I mean look at the pictures of you in Dune and the ones now. Incredible! Keep it up. Love you, Trav
Comment from JOANNE BRIAN:
ReplyDeleteWho gives a fuck about weight loss? Your lifestyle is where its at, baby. Who fucking lives like this? Its madness. Each week I feel worse and worse about my American day-in-and-day-out lifestlye. I'm ready to pop some pills and be done with it. Thank god the Royals are keeping me going. That's the Kansas City Royals, not the Brits. Big sigh, lotsa love to you and Cins. Mrs. Brian
Dear Father,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late response, but this is only the second time i´ve sat down at a computer for a whole week, and the first time I´ve seen the blog. Very embarrassed not to have replied earlier considering the whole thing was about me!
I cannot in good conscience criticize you for a weight gain after the incredible time you showed me in Prague (plus The Evil One has given you enough tough love for the two of us).
It was such a massive highlight of an incredible trip back home, I can´t thank you enough. Chez Marcel, the absinthe, the epic search for beer, wandering through the streets, the flat (thanks Cindy!), meeting the Hinchliffe´s - what a privilege.
I´m in my new home in Punta del Diablo looking at the ocean as I write this, so life continues to be pretty fucking great. Lizzy says hello and that she is looking forward to meeting you - she also looks fantastic in that yellow sarong that you gave me Cindy!
Now, get back on the crisp bread and start shedding the froie gras!
So much love , Gus x