I know what you are thinking (I do, really I do!!!); 'who the hell is Justin Timmins??' Don't worry, he's not famous, at least not to those who did not have the pleasure of watching his perfectly choreographed catastrophe about six yearsish ago.
You will now be correctly concluding that badminton forms a significant part of my social and exercise life (gold star to you!); Justin was the captain of the mixed doubles team I was playing in back in my days in Coventry. Team captain sounds so much easier than it actually is, as you have to deal with all the people who tell you they can't play....usually about half an hour before the match is due to start. He was a great captain and I am grateful to him for that, but for me (as Chris Brass before him) I have another reason to thank him; a reason which occurred during our Friday night away match at Shottery.
To set the scene, Shottery badminton club played (and probably still do) in a church hall, with one badminton court which barely fit inside it. Matches usually finished around about 1:30am. It was however a very sweet club, as the ladies in the team would bring in a proper spread of food that would rival a Famous Five picnic. When Justin took to the court for his second match, I was sat along one side of the court - on one of those gym benches you see in primary schools - about where the net is.
Justin was like the energiser bunny, non stop; very impressive. Then the moment came when in my head everything turns to slow motion. The shuttle flew towards Justin, going out wide. When it reached roughly Justin-head height, he thought it was going out of court. Moving like a panther, he got out of the way of the shuttle, staying outside it and allowing it to drop.
As I said, the church hall was a small one, and there wasn't much room between court and wall; to make matters far worse (or far better depending on your perspective) the bench on which I was sat stretched the whole length of the hall, thus narrowing the gap still further. What I saw next was Justins heels hitting the bench, propelling him backwards. What I couldn't work out was why I then saw his feet fly up in the air, and his body vanish through the wall. Naturally I expected him to sort of 'bounce' back into court. What actually happened as it turned out, was that when his body shot backwards, he didn't hit wall; he hit the panic bar of the fire exit, jettisoning him out of the building (with a loud.....WHHOOOAAAAAHHH!)......and into a puddle.......
I assure you, I was genuinely concerned; but at the same the tears that were rolling down my face were not of grief (I think it was the puddle that pushed me over the limit). Now I'm not someone who is very good at stifling a laugh, and as a result all I could muster to Justin was 'Are you alrigheeehaaaheeehaaahoooheeeeight?!!!' I will give Justin his due, he instantly saw the funny side too.
........and the icing on the cake?...........the shuttle was in...........
WELCOME
Hello there everyone, and welcome to my blog (hats off to 'Blogging for Dummies' for teaching this dummy how to....you know!).
I am overweight; make that very overweight. I think the technical term is 'morbidly obese'....ouch! Over the last few years I have had a few health warning shots, enough to make me realise that although there is nothing going on with my health that can't be reversed; my time is running out to do something about it before something really bad happens.
So this is my journey to health, and the plan is an ambitious one. I want to lose weight, and I want to get fitter; fit enough to run the Manchester 10k in May of 2012, fit enough to run a half marathon towards the end of 2012, and then fit enough to run the London Marathon in 2013, where the blogging journey will end at the finish line down the Mall.
I write this in the hope that the words and thoughts of both myself and readers can inspire me when the journey gets difficult, then hopefully people can be inspired by my story; believing that the most difficult journey is possible.
I make a promise to you that I will be honest - if the wheels fall off and I have six pizzas in two days, I will come clean - and I will do my very best. Share it with me.
......Wish me luck!!
I am overweight; make that very overweight. I think the technical term is 'morbidly obese'....ouch! Over the last few years I have had a few health warning shots, enough to make me realise that although there is nothing going on with my health that can't be reversed; my time is running out to do something about it before something really bad happens.
So this is my journey to health, and the plan is an ambitious one. I want to lose weight, and I want to get fitter; fit enough to run the Manchester 10k in May of 2012, fit enough to run a half marathon towards the end of 2012, and then fit enough to run the London Marathon in 2013, where the blogging journey will end at the finish line down the Mall.
I write this in the hope that the words and thoughts of both myself and readers can inspire me when the journey gets difficult, then hopefully people can be inspired by my story; believing that the most difficult journey is possible.
I make a promise to you that I will be honest - if the wheels fall off and I have six pizzas in two days, I will come clean - and I will do my very best. Share it with me.
......Wish me luck!!
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