Saturday 30th October

So let me get it straight, this country is skint and introducing austerity measures yet we have to find another £450 million to put into the EU for other countries to take out? And this is a good deal? Am I missing something? Anyway, back to bodybuilding. Just 3 weeks to go to the NAC British finals and the top half is ready with the legs almost there so I did an extra leg session today to bring them on a bit. For inspiration I watched the Australia 'v' New Zealand rugby first. Crikey, those guys make what I do look very easy indeed compared to what they do! Winter is almost here but no one has told Caden, here he is eating lunch earlier today!

Tuesday 26th October

Had another busy weekend! As I am now getting myself ready for the show on November 20th I have decided to train 6 days a week instead of 5 and to make up for this I am eating far more than I usually do. The results are very good but we will see how I look at the show, I honestly think that doing it this way I will be bigger and better than I've ever been. Mentally I feel great, not only because I am eating more but because my life in general has never been better. Had Sunday off to help Martin Duckett at the NPA British finals, he placed third, have a look at the picture of the top 3 and make your own mind up, but everyone at the show felt he was poorly judged. He laughed when I said to him "well at least you know how I feel now!"

Friday 22nd October

Finally got the official photos from the UKBFF British Finals through today. I will ask Steve to upload them to the gallery one day next week, but here is a picture of me posing in a callout with Paul Ehren who won. Please look at the photos and judge for yourself, they are the official show photos, not altered in any way. The whole thing is just a bad memory to me now, I have much better things going on in my life at the moment, not least getting myself ready for the NAC British Finals on November 20th. Preparation is going well and I will be at my best, that is guaranteed, as I have said before. Spent some time with Lilybelle last night, my baby Princess gets more beautiful every day, I will get some new pictures of her and put them on here soon.

Thursday 14th October

It’s good to be back to normal, sorry if I’ve been a bit self obsessed since Sunday, lets atone for that now. Firstly, the tragic news that big Dave Talbot (pictured) died of a heart attack shortly after finishing 6th in the super heavys on Sunday. I saw Dave on Saturday and told him how good he looked, as usual he politely shook hands and smiled modestly, such a nice guy, I can’t believe that he is now dead, it puts my whining about judging into perspective to say the least. On the other side of the coin, all 33 Chilean miners safely rescued, miraculous and heart warming. Also, British Heavyweight champ Derek Chisora is to fight Wladimir Klitschko, that's true bravery, take note David Haye. Finally, yesterday was Colby’s first birthday; he is just the most gorgeous baby boy you can imagine, Natalie had such a difficult pregnancy with him but it really was worth every minute!

Wednesday 13th October

Well things have been moving quickly to say the least! Firstly, thank you all so much for your support and advice, especially Tommo and Perry who have been brilliant. The general consensus of opinion is that the UKBFF are not interested in aesthetically pleasing physiques like mine and that I would be better off moving to another federation where I will be more fairly judged, so I have spoken to Eugene Laviscont who runs the NAC and he has given me an invitation to the NAC British Open on November 20^th, I have accepted this and will get back to doing what I do best at once! This means that I won’t defend my Hercules title this coming Sunday or probably ever compete for the UKBFF again. It’s not a hasty decision; it just seems by far the most sensible thing to do, here then begins a new chapter! Here I am from last weekend with Sean Tavernier, with whom I spent some very useful time.

Monday 11th October

Finally home from Nottingham after a disastrous British finals. I have never before complained about judging (and it wasn't just in my class) but when I get the show photos I will put them on here and you can then see why I am so bitterly disappointed. Firstly though well done to Paul Ehren who won my class, he deserved it, most people thought that it would be between him & me but I did not make the top 6. The picture shows me with Paul and Sean O' Reilly who also placed well. I'm having a serious think about my future at the moment, I don't want to make any hasty decisions, but right now, even though I'm in the biggest and best shape of my life, I honestly wouldn't care if I never competed again.

Thursday 7th October

Well that time is nearly here and I've never been more excited about a show. I saw Eddie on Tuesday night and he was as happy with me as I've ever seen him. I also saw Abs, who owns Body Limits and my good friend Alan Overton, both were very helpful & complimentary and everyone at Body Limits was very supportive, just as everyone always is at Golds. I have needed that, especially during the long depletion, my friends have all got me through the hard part so thanks to you all. I've been carbing up for 24 hours now, I feel great already and just can't wait for Saturday to get here. As you can see from the picture, taken on Tuesday at the peak of my depletion, my back isn't looking too bad either!

Monday 4th October

Just a quick update today. Marc is fully recovered, apparently the combined brains of all the doctors at Milton Keynes hospital , assisted by the millions of pounds worth of equipment that we the taxpayers buy for our wonderful NHS, couldn't spot the fact that he had a blockage in his bowels that has today been cleared by a simple colonic irrigation with a private practitioner. I will see Marc tomorrow and he should be fine for the weekend, thank goodness for that. Im feeling great but out on my feet as the depletion phase of my diet is biting now. I wouldn't normally put a current picture on here when I am depleted but here is one taken today which shows just how hard I have been dieting, and just how much I need to carb up soon!

Sunday 3rd October

Whatever I have ever done in life I have always applied the principle of "The 5 P's" That is "Perfect Preparation Prevents Poor Performance". With just a few days to go before the finals it has again served me well as I saw Eddie on Friday and he said that I am at the biggest and best that he has ever seen me, high praise indeed from my hard taskmaster coach. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Marc who has good and bad days with his abdominal pains; the doctors and hospitals have no idea what is wrong so we are just taking everything one day at a time. I am seeing my sponsor tomorrow and if we do photos I will put one on here, meanwhile here's another one of BNBF champion Martin Duckett, looking awesome.