That’s me just got the Year of the Rat badge on Garmin Connect. Which I got, while walking Cooper, this afternoon.
Please check out my profile over at connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/gsvalentine
UK TV programmes to watch this week : 25/01/2020
How the Victorians Built Britain (Channel 5/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Saturday 25th January 2020)
Michael Buerk discovers how the Victorians spent their leisure time, heading to Blackpool to learn how the seaside mini-break was transformed from a perk of the wealthy to a British institution. He steps onto one of the town’s famous piers to learn how, thanks to architect and civil engineer Eugenius Birch, these humble loading aids became entertainment hubs. Michael also hears how a rivalry between two showbusiness giants resulted in some of the area’s most glorious architecture and how the advent of electricity fuelled the town’s tourist industry, via its world famous illuminations.
Call the Midwife (BBC 1/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 26th January 2020)
Sister Julienne volunteers to put up four trainee doctors at Nonnatus House while they undertake the practical aspect of their obstetrics diploma, hoping the exercise will remind the council how vital the home is to the community and help remove the threat of demolition. There is a lot of excitement about the new arrivals and the doctors don’t disappoint. On his CDC rounds, Fred comes across a street marked for demolition, with one house clearly showing signs of life. Period drama, starring Jenny Agutter.
Top Gear (BBC 2/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 26th January 2020)
Paddy McGuiness, Chris Harris and Freddie Flintoff go on a road trip in a trio of affordable second-hand convertibles. On the test track, Chris puts the new Ariel Atom through its paces, while Freddie goes bungee jumping off a dam in an old Rover.
Fish Town (BBC 1 Scotland/HD & BBC iPlayer only | 7:30pm to 8:00pm | Monday 27th January 2020)
Westro skipper James West and his have been in the North Sea for three days hunting prawns, but so far have struggled to find a catch so he decides to travel 120 miles in the hope of more luck. New recruit Gavin Burnett heads out on Peterhead trawler Ocean Endeavour, with the 17-year-old being given the responsibilty of bringing the fish on board and cooking for the crew. On the night of the Fishing News Awards, James is nominated for Fisherman of the Year, while rookie Gavin is hoping to land the Trainee of the Year award.
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 27th January 2020)
Teenagers messing around in a stolen car collide with a pillar in a multistorey car park. The joyriders escape, but within the smashed concrete, the unmistakable form of a skull is revealed. After painstakingly extracting the skeleton encased inside, Nikki and the Lyell team must investigate a suspicious death from 20 years previously. Meanwhile, Clarissa faces a difficult decision regarding her mother’s care. First of a two-part episode of the crime drama, starring Emilia Fox, David Caves, Richard Lintern and Liz Carr.
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 28th January 2020)
The concrete-encased remains have been identified and the victim’s family tracked down – but the team soon has another suspicious death on their hands when Clarissa’s investigation leads her to a cryogenics facility, where a body has been frozen. A post-mortem is required to discover how the victim died and who is responsible for having the remains put on ice.
Death in Paradise (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 30th January 2020)
Christopher Williams’ body is found on a boat out at sea. All evidence points towards a deadly fall, but Jack is bothered by the victim’s strange appearance and the fact that his car was abandoned miles out into the woods. Suspicion fall on his wife and friends – but with everyone having an alibi, the police drift further away from the truth. Meanwhile, Jack’s daughter Siobhan visits and encourages him to accept Anna’s offer of joining her on her travels, leaving the DI with a big decision to make.
Secret Scotland (Channel 5/HD 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Friday 31st January 2020)
Perthshire is known as Scotland’s `big tree country” and with its lush forest it’s easy to see why. Susan goes behind the scenes with Lady Mansfield at the magnificent Scone Palace, the historical crowning site of Scotland’s kings. She also explores the secrets of the Hermitage in Dunkeld, a purpose-built forest playground for the aristocracy. Then it’s on to the Birnam Oak, said to have inspired the writing of Macbeth. There’s a chance to learn the art of glassmaking as well as meet a colony of bees who create special honey from Scotland’s heather. Susan ends her journey in the city of Dundee.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.
Chinese New Year’s Eve badge on Garmin Connect
That’s me just got the Chinese New Year’s Eve badge on Garmin Connect. Which I got, while walking Cooper, this afternoon.
Please check out my profile over at connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/gsvalentine
Previous unseen photos from 2002
Just been looking at old photos of myself from 2002! Here are some, that up till now, have never seen posted on this website 🙂
Really can’t believe, just how good looking I was back then!
More photos from 2002 can be found at www.gordon-valentine.com/zenphoto/me/2002/
That’s me now done 55,000 miles of cycling!
That’s me now done 55,000 miles of cycling, since April 2003. Which works out, doing an average of 3,235 miles each year! Of course, some years done well less than that. Others way more! The most in single year, was back in 2013, when I did 6,118.4 miles!
Here is the total number of miles for each year.
- 2003 – 1,148.7 miles
- 2004 – 1,585.6 miles
- 2005 – 2,091.8 miles
- 2006 – 2,166.3 miles
- 2007 – 1,072.7 miles
- 2008 – 1,807.5 miles
- 2009 – 2,685.9 miles – did the End to End cycle (JOGLE).
- 2010 – 4,001.3 miles
- 2011 – 5,066.0 miles
- 2012 – 5,289.5 miles – longest ever cycle – 101.62 miles.
- 2013 – 6,118.4 miles – most ever in a single year.
- 2014 – 5,334.9 miles
- 2015 – 2,341.4 miles
- 2016 – 4,583.8 miles
- 2017 – 4,147.5 miles
- 2018 – 3,158.5 miles
- 2019 – 2,357.9 miles
- 2020 – 44.8 miles
Here are some of my favourite cycling photos, during that time 🙂
Vlog: 55,000 miles of cycling!
That’s me now done 55,000 miles of cycling, since April 2003. Well at least, I will have done, once I’ve cycled home after doing this vlog!
Still think the best cycle I’ve ever done, is of course cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End back in 2009! Do check out www.endtoend-cycle.com
Now done 8% of #walk1000miles – 2020
That’s me now done 8% of #walk1000miles. So 77.90 miles down and 920.10 miles left to go!
Keep up-to-date with all my cycling and walking adventures over at www.strava.com/athletes/gsvalentine
Passed my driving test 16 years ago!!
WOW! I passed my driving test 16 years ago today! I was very late starting, did not start learning till I was 23 and passed when I was 24! But most people, now learn the second they turn 17. Back then, I had no interest at learning at all! When I was 17, I was way, way to busy coming out and going out on the LGBT scene in Glasgow!
During them 16 years. Only owned two cars, the first being a Seat Ibiza Hatchback 1.4 SXE 5. Then my current car, which is Hyundai i10 Style, which I got back in 2009.
UK TV programmes to watch this week : 18/01/2020
How the Victorians Built Britain (Channel 5/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Saturday 18th January 2020)
Michael Buerk looks at the building of bridges around the nation during the era, visiting Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol to reveal the secret construction masterpiece that lay hidden in the structure’s core for more than a century. He also discovers how the Tay Bridge disaster led to huge leaps in technology and how a new metal emerged as the bridgemaker’s building block of choice.
Call the Midwife (BBC 1/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 19th January 2020)
Lucille is seconded to St Cuthbert’s when a ward sister is off sick, but a lift malfunction sees her spend the evening with mother-to-be Connie instead of her planned rendezvous with Cyril. Nurse Crane tries to help a woman who is newly arrived from East Pakistan, while Shelagh enlists Violet, Trixie, Sister Frances and Valerie to put on a charity fashion show to raise money for the incubator fund.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Monday 20th January 2020)
Michael Portillo explores the east of England in the inter-war period, with the first leg of his journey beginning in Canterbury and ending at Alexandra Palace in London.
Fish Town (BBC 1 Scotland & BBC iPlayer only | 7:30pm to 8:00pm | Monday 20th January 2020)
The return of the documentary about life in the port of Peterhead, following the people working on land and at sea to put fish on the nation’s plates. Skipper James West heads out in search of prawns in his new £2 million trawler the Westro, while in nearby Fraserburgh, scientist Aisling joins the crew of the Zenith to collect data for the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation. James Cosmo narrates.
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 20th January 2020)
The body of a woman is found on train tracks in London, badly damaged from electrical burns. On the mortuary slab, the woman’s recent and historic injuries suggest years of abuse, likely within the home. It is a difficult post-mortem for Nikki, as it stirs up troubling memories from her childhood. First of a two-part episode of the long-running crime drama following the work of the Lyell Centre’s team of forensic pathology experts, starring Emilia Fox, David Caves, Richard Lintern and Liz Carr.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Tuesday 21st January 2020)
Michael Portillo explores the east of England en route to Lincolnshire, discovering how the Crossrail project is helping to conserve birds and taking a gelato cart to Southend.
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 21st January 2020)
Part two of two. The investigation into Jenny’s murder grinds to a halt when it emerges that she was dead before her body was left on the tracks, but the women at the refuge demand answers. Thomas makes some friends in high places who offer to help him achieve his political ambitions – but there is a price to be paid for their support.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Wednesday 22nd January 2020)
Michael Portillo’s railway journey through 1930s Britain from Canterbury to Skegness reaches Witham in Essex, where he visits the factory of the world’s oldest supplier of metal-framed windows, which became popular in the Thirties. Crossing into Suffolk, he alights at Ipswich and discovers the story of a group of child refugees whose history is intertwined with that of Michael’s family.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Thursday 23rd January 2020)
Michael Portillo’s journey through eastern England takes him to the Snape Maltings music and arts venue, the Norfolk seaside resort of Great Yarmouth and the city of Norwich.
Death in Paradise (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 23rd January 2020)
There is great excitement in Saint Marie when the Tour des Antilles cycling race comes to the island but the event turns sinister when the favourite, Xavier Prince, is found dead halfway around. All evidence initially points to Xavier having crashed on one of the most dangerous sections of the course, but Jack suspects it has more to do with the discovery of a piece of fabric torn from a cycling shirt. However, one of the riders is keeping a sensitive secret. Whodunit, starring Ardal O’Hanlon, with Nina Wadia.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Friday 24th January 2020)
Michael Portillo completes his rail journey through 1930s Britain, beginning in Norfolk at the headquarters of an international horse welfare organisation. In Peterborough, he visits a tidal defence barrier that helped save the city from flooding, while in Lincolnshire crosses the point at which the Mallard broke the speed record for a steam-powered locomotive in 1938. After a spell in the coastal town of Skegness, Michael’s journey ends at RAF Coningsby where he sees some iconic Second World War aircraft, before witnessing a dazzling display featuring the RAF’s latest combat aircraft.
Secret Scotland (Channel 5/HD 8:00pm to 9:00pm Friday 24th January 2020)
As her journey around her homeland continues, Susan visits the Isle of Skye, where she embarks on an exclusive tour of Dunvegan Castle, which has been home to the McLeods for over 800 years. There, she learns all about clan warfare and discovers a ceremonial horn that has been passed down through generations of clan chiefs since the 14th century. Next, the comedian takes to the seas to operate the world’s only turntable ferry, before trying her hand at the accordion. Finally, Susan gains an insight into the workings of a modern-day croft and finds out how to shear a sheep.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.
Now done 7% of #walk1000miles – 2020
That’s me now done 7% of #walk1000miles. So 71.44 miles down and 928.56 miles left to go!
Keep up-to-date with all my cycling and walking adventures over at www.strava.com/athletes/gsvalentine