Writing to a standstill

You know how it is. You're in the zone, hunched over the keyboard, on a roll, writing away for all you're worth and when you look up hours have passed and you haven't moved from your desk. Great, from a production point of view. Not so great from a health & fitness point of view.

Some while ago, a fellow writer posted on Facebook that they'd bought themselves a Fitbit® in an effort to ensure they moved more often. Not having ever heard of Fitbit® but uncomfortably conscious of my inactivity when in writing mode (not to mention the gentle but inexorable weight gain) I decided this was something I had to find out more about.

When I read about the system, I added a Fitbit® "Zip" to my birthday list and now my little lime-green friend (other colours are available...) goes everywhere with me.





My lime-green friend - showing his tongue
sticking out, because I've been inactive for too long!

As well as being a pedometer - monitoring my step-count and distance walked - it also logs how many calories I've burned, as well as any 'active minutes' I do, such as going for a brisk walk.

When I sync the device to the app on my laptop, the data is recorded on to my 'dashboard' where I can also log my food intake, any other activities (anything from gardening to Pilates) and keep a track of my overall progress.

You can set goals for yourself, including losing weight, when it will automatically re-calculate your daily calorie allowance accordingly, and when you reach your goals it congratulates you and sends you badges! (I'm easily pleased!)

I would like to emphasise at this point, that I don't have shares in the company...




Dashboard showing my mega-steps day!

The set-up works on a weekly rotation so your daily steps contribute to your week's goal of 70,000 (see reference below to 10,000 steps per day). Please indulge me, if I share with you my achievement of last Monday when I clocked up a mammoth 28,685 steps walking part of the South West coast path in Cornwall, which, as you can see from the photograph below, is pretty challenging!

A section of the challenging SW coast path,
Lansallos to Polperro, Cornwall.

My only gripe with the system is that I have to sync my tracker with a laptop computer or PC as Wi-Fi compatibility is limited. Or, to put it another way, my phone isn't sophisticated enough and my iPad too old! (Later iPad versions and other mobile phones do have the appropriate connectivity.) This means when I'm away I can't upload my efforts until I get home. Fortunately the Zip stores up to 7 days worth of data.

Now, here's the significant bit from a writer's perspective. A few years ago there was a buzz in the press about the British Heart Foundation's recommendation that we should all do 10,000 steps every day for a healthy heart (click here to read the BBC article). So it's sobering to discover, that if I get stuck in to a writing task at my laptop, it can get to half way through the day and I might only have managed 300 steps!

I'm amazed at how motivating it's been to have my Zip - it really does prompt me to getting up off my backside and GET ACTIVE! 

... which is fine as long as I don't get so motivated to move, I forget to allocate enough time for writing!

May Newsletter

Welcome!

The blog has been rather neglected of late while I've been in the deep dark tunnel of the "novel-edit zone". So now that I've escaped from there for a while, I thought I'd do a Newsletter-type post as a catch-up.

Port Quin

We've just spent a few days walking the spectacular cliffs of north Cornwall, while staying at a National Trust holiday property, Lacombe Cottage, in Port Quin. 


The area was used as a film location for the original BBC Poldark series.

With excitement mounting for the new BBC series, due to be screened next year, The Western Morning News reported disappointment that filming had started... in Wiltshire! 

But the producers insist that film crews will be arriving in Cornwall at some point in the near future. So will Port Quin feature, this time around, I wonder?

St Enodoc Church

To allow our legs to recover from the rigors of walking the South West Coast Path, the following day we took the more gentle stroll amongst the sand dunes at the end of Daymer Bay, near Polzeath, and visited the delightful church of St Enodoc, John Betjeman's final resting place.

The church sits in a 'trench' in the centre of its churchyard, which itself sits in the middle of St Enodoc Golf Course! From the 16th century until the 19th, the church was completely buried in sand, only accessible via a hole in the roof. The vicar and his parishioners would undertake this bizarre journey to ensure the church carried out its once-a-year service, which they were obliged to do to maintain the church tithes. It was finally dug out and the dunes stabilized in 1864.

Family History Secrets

On the blog at the moment is the story of my great-uncle Tom, Thomas Diggory, who fought at Gallipoli in WW1. His story must reflect that of many. Although he survived, the legacy of his participation lasted for the rest of his life. Read about it here.

Thomas Diggory of The 7th battalion, The Gloucester Regiment

Garden

The sunshine has brought on the garden flowers and we returned from our trip to find one of my favourite Oriental Poppies, Patty's Plum (bought in memory of my mum) had started its stunning display. Not much sunshine today but its beautiful subtle colour is still impressive.

The blue lupins are doing well and for some reason haven't succumbed to the aphids like the yellow version right next door to them. Obviously not as tasty!

We moved the Viburnum placatum last year so are delighted to see it has recovered nicely and is looking wonderful.

There's nothing quite like the froth of London Pride at this time of the year.

Currently reading

I'm about half way through Linda Gillard's latest novel, Cauldstane, the second of Linda's books I've read (the first being The House of Silence, which was excellent). The book's title is the name of a Scottish castle to which the protagonist Jenny Ryan is invited to interview the current owner, Sholto McNab, in preparation to be the ghost writer for his biography. McNab is a former adventurer with many travelling tales to tell but it's the mysterious history and dark secrets of the unlucky McNab family which force themselves upon Jenny in a way she could never have imagined, let alone believed. An intriguing and haunting story which I'm enjoying very much.

News

• Our local Art Exhibition is on over the bank holiday weekend, showcasing some amazing talent from the surrounding district. 
• My beta readers have been given their homework so I wait with baited breath (and not a little nervousness) as to their feedback on my latest Esme Quentin novel. More details to follow... so long as they like it!
• The refurbished Exeter Library opens on Thursday of this week, after a £4.1 million face-lift.