Monday 31 May 2010

A funny couple of weeks.

It’s a while since I blogged but it’s been a funny couple of weeks.
Weekend before last we went with some friends to Loch Lomond Golf Club. It was a delayed celebration of Mike’s special birthday which he had in January and we invited three couples to join us for this real treat of an occasion. The men played golf around this idyllic championship golf course (the Scottish Open is held here) and we girls indulged ourselves in the fabulous spa. It was the weekend of the heat-wave and conditions could not have been better. But there was more.
On the Friday evening we went to the SECC in Glasgow to see Mark Knopfler. Mike has always been a big fan and it was a memorable occasion shared with 4,500 other folk who treasured the sound created by this guitar-playing maestro with a soft and gravelly voice.
We drove home on Monday to prepare for our trip to Portugal the next day and we are still here. We love this place and it gives us a chance to relax and enjoy the warm sunshine away from the day-to-day demands of being at home and at work – even though some work still needs to be dealt with.
Tomorrow our fellow Directors join us for our annual Think Tank. We started doing this five years ago and it is the most useful, constructive and creative time we have all year. Normally meetings are time-constrained because of more meetings but here we have no interruptions and a glass or two of Pimms in the afternoon helps us to think more creatively and plan for the year ahead. It also gives us some down-time to relax together – something we do too little of in the normal hum-drum of daily life.
I watched the tail-end of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was disappointing. Considering that, as a nation, we are one of the world’s leaders in pop music, how can we get it so wrong at this event?
The Grand Prix on Sunday was eventful. I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall of that after-race de-brief! Still, it was a one-two victory for us with Hamilton and Button heading the podium so good for them.
It’s very hot here in Portugal and soon it will be very hot in England. If you are carrying around some excess weight I strongly suggest that you get cracking with your diet and fitness campaign. Being overweight in the blistering heat is no fun and every lb you lose before the heat-wave, the better you will feel. Check out our website www.rosemaryconley.com for some genuine help and direction,.
Let’s see if we can think of even more ways to help you at our Think Tank this week!

Monday 17 May 2010

Another 'What a week!"

I found last week fascinating. I couldn’t wait for Monday and the ‘soap opera’ of a new government unfolding.

I was born after World War II but I saw enough footage of films showing families huddled round the radio to listen to the latest news to realise how anxious the nation was to hear about every twist and turn of events as they unfolded. Last Monday and Tuesday were like that too. On Tuesday evening I was driven to Buxton in Derbyshire to do a talk at a local Church. I have a driver so that I can work and catch up with my mail or write my columns for my magazine, as well as not have the strain of driving, getting there on time, fearing getting lost, etc.

My talk went well and everyone was lovely. A gentlemen came up to talk at the end and told me how he and his brother had been put into care from birth and that his mother had died when he was four weeks old. He stayed in a children’s home till he was 21. He must be in his early 70’s now and he wanted to send me a CD that he loves because he thinks I will enjoy it. I love those sorts of presents. They mean the world to me.

Back to politics. On the journey home I asked David, my driver, to turn on the 10 o’clock news. It was one of those ‘crowding round the radio’ moments as it emerged that David Cameron and Nick Clegg had reached an agreement and Gordon Brown had stood down. Listening to the comment and opinions on Radio 4 (I’m a Radio 2 fan but when things are serious it has to be Radio 4), there was this real sense of hope that this new government will work. Like the rest of the nation, I really hope it does.

Wednesday was an early start for a drive down to London to meet my book publishers. My Amazing Inch Loss Plan book has done very well and is to be re-packaged for January in a smaller format, with the exercises currently included to be demonstrated on www.rosemaryconley.tv instead of being featured in the book. In addition, we will include testimonials of the many, many folk who have transformed their bodies with this diet. When you write a diet book you are selling hope. If you have heaps of people who have proved that the diet works – because it really does – then it gives prospective dieters optimism and determination to give it a real try.

Thursday was Board Meeting day. I love these days because it enables us to have a catch-up as to where we are at. Our Solo Slim food range has really taken off and people are loving it. I love it when we try something new and it works. We have such a lovely team at Quorn House and working is a total pleasure.

Friday was an Open Day for potential franchisees to come to Quorn House to meet us and get to know about our franchise opportunity. Folk from all corners of the British Isles came along, and with such varied backgrounds too, all wanting to run classes to help folk to lose weight and become fitter. They were a really grand bunch of people and several will, I am sure, become RC franchisees – but only if it is right for them and we feel they are right for us.

I hardly ever accept an invitation to speak or present at a function on a Friday night but last Friday was an exception. The Leicester Netball Association were holding a Celebratory Dinner and asked if I would present their Awards, plus they were raising money for my main charity Steps Conductive Education Centre in Shepshed (www.stepscentre.org). How could I refuse? So it was a late night for me and an early start on Saturday to host an 80th Birthday Party for my step-mother in Norfolk. It went really well but by the time I had driven home, and 250 miles during the day, I was spent. But my Step-mum had a great day and it was all worth the effort and, actually, very enjoyable.

Sunday was a rest day but, as Patron of The Laura Centre, I needed to attend a Memorial Service to remember the many children who had died so sadly and tragically. It is always a very moving event but one I won’t miss. It makes me realise how very, very fortunate I am and how some folk have tragic events in their lives that they have to cope with and, despite those shattering experiences, continue to hold their families together. We really should count our blessings.

I have four more days before I have two weeks and one day off! Yes, I am really looking forward to it.

Monday 10 May 2010

What an interesting couple of weeks!

This is the first time I’ve blogged for two weeks. The last fortnight has been a really frantic time with lots of ups and downs to challenge me.

It started with my lovely mum-in-law falling down the stairs at her dentist’s surgery two weeks ago today. She hurt her foot, banged her head and passed out! After visits to the doctor, the hospital, two X-rays and the great news that nothing was broken, Jeanne still couldn’t walk. The old ‘executive-type’ office chair on casters improvised as a good means of transportation to the bathroom, bedroom, etc until we managed to borrow a wheelchair from the Red Cross. In the end Mike bought a self-propelling wheelchair which Jeanne could manage herself to some degree.

What astounded me was the fact that at the grand age of 87 (88 next month), Jeanne has never once moaned. She just says how fortunate she is – even on the day she fell. What a fantastic attitude!

The week, as always, was busy, but with kind friends who popped in when Mike or I couldn’t be there, Jeanne was cared for. And it’s amazing how you adapt into a new routine and how, if everyone co-operates, you cope. Now Jeanne is progressing well, walking a little and getting better.

There has been an unexpected bonus from all this. I have had to walk up those 38 stairs to Jeanne’s flat probably 10 times a day with the benefit that I feel fitter and my jeans are positively loose. Every cloud has a silver lining!

Last Tuesday evening I took a fitness session for around 30 Cubs and Scouts locally. I’d done it last year and I’d been invited back because they’d enjoyed it so much. We had a really fun time doing circuits, hula hooping, stepping up and down off benches, skipping and laughing. The Scout Leader, Adam Tate, at just 18 years old is an inspiration. He ran the whole evening on his own and was brilliant.

Thursday was the evening for the Leicestershire Young Enterprise County Finals at the Leicester Tiger’s Stadium. Six teams from local schools presented their Young Enterprise companies’ activities to an audience of around 400 – a daunting prospect for anyone but particularly if you are aged between 14 – 17! They were inspirational and the excitement when each school won an Award was fantastic. England Rugby star, Martin Corry, was the keynote speaker and he was brilliant. He emphasised the importance of determination and a positive attitude if you wanted to be successful in life. Such a nice guy too.

Then Friday was our Roadshow in Oxford when 250 of our lovely members came together to work out and soak up motivation from Mary Morris, my colleague who is a fitness supremo, and myself. Roadshows are always hard work but always fantastically rewarding. We loved it.

Then Mary and I were off to Portugal for just two days to write a booklet for a social enterprise project we are involved in. So, from having a 5 am start on the Friday to get to Oxford in time, feeling exhausted after the Roadshow, we were up at 4.30 am on Saturday morning to drive to East Midlands Airport. We’d checked in online and were excited about our couple of days away from the normal routine of life to concentrate and create something that we hoped would help a lot of people. As we breezed through the airport to go to security we were told the flight had been cancelled due to the volcanic ash cloud! As we turned around we could see the sad faces of hundreds of fellow passengers queuing at the BMI Baby information desk. Holiday-makers, families so in need of a much-longed-for holiday. It was sad. We were philosophical about it and just turned round and went home. There was no point in waiting and hoping. If we went home now we could work there instead. We did just that and progressed quite significantly. By 5 p.m. we were shattered and were glad to pack up our work and Mary went home. I was in bed by 9 pm.

And then, on top of all this, there has been a General Election. I really shouldn't moan about long hours and lack of sleep should I? I feel for those guys.