Deck Of Cards

Have a look at this video and see what you think.....

" Deck of Cards" is a recitation that became popular first during the late 1940s. It relates the tale of a young American soldier arrested and charged with playing cards during a church service, and first became a hit in the U.S. in 1948 by country musician T. Texas Tyler.


Set during World War II, where a group of U.S. Army soldiers, on a long hike during a campaign in southern Italy, arrive and camp near the town of Cassino. While scripture is being read in church, one man who has only a deck of playing cards pulls them out and spreads them in front of him. He is immediately spotted by a sergeant, who believes the soldier is playing cards in church and orders him to put them away. The soldier is then arrested and taken before the provost marshal to be judged. The provost marshal demands an explanation and the soldier says that he had been on a long march, without a bible or a prayer book. He then explains the significance of each card..

T. Texas Tyler's rendition went to number 2 on the country charts in 1948.

A version by Tex Ritter later in the year reached number 10 on the same chart.

The highest-charting version was recorded in 1959 by future game show host Wink Martindale, and was performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show". Martindale's rendition (titled "Deck of Cards") went to No. 7 on the Billboard charts and number 11 on the country charts in 1959, attained multi-platinum recognition, and reached No. 1 on many worldwide music charts.

A later cover by Bill Anderson made number 60 on the country charts in 1991. The song was also a UK No. 13 hit in October 1973 for the entertainer Max Bygraves.

The newly published edition of UK hit singles dating between 1940 and 1952 shows the song reaching number 2 for Phil Harris in January 1949.

The version you watched above is my own version, basically done in a van travelling to work and edited together with images from the world wide web.

My love of recitals comes from my late grandfather who loved to entertain an audience with some great renditions.

10K A Day

I have set myself another challenge folks, thats right, Im going to run 10K every day for the foreseeable future. Running is a great way of keeping fit and has many other health benefits. As well as burning calories and keeping weight down it helps combat diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

It is also proven to make you happier. If you’ve been working out or running regularly, you’ve already discovered it. No matter how good or bad you feel at any given moment, exercise will make you feel better. And it goes beyond just the “runner’s high”—that rush of feel-good hormones known as endocannabinoids (This is the great feeling after finishing a run or other excercise which can leave us feeling elated). A study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, researchers found that even a single bout of exercise—30 minutes of walking on a treadmill—could instantly lift the mood of someone suffering from a major depressive order.

Ever heard someone call running their “drug?” Well, apparently, it actually is pretty similar. A study done in Physiological & Behavior showed that running causes the same kind of neurochemical adaptations in brain reward pathways that also are shared by addictive drugs. So running is similar to a drug but so much better as there are no negative side effects.

Finally...

Finally I have completed my long jump and although I did not quite mange 20 feet, I did jump 16 1/2 feet (5 meters) which I'm pretty happy with. It was my first ever attempt at the long jump and was in the middle of my night shift week, way down on sleep deposits. 

My goal now is to complete 7 meters which is roughly 23 feet. So 7 feet to make up. Is it possible? Of Course it is! Slightly ambitious I hear you say but no, in my eyes its not impossible and with some hard training, and a standard long jump technique put in place it is viable. I feel with training, guidence and a positive attitude - determination and dedication I can make 7 meters. 

Here is the jump, apologies on the quality of video. I transferred to a few different devices and so lost some quality.

I have just glanced aside on my work station and see a headline in todays paper refering to Glasgow Cetics football match tonight v  Borussia Monchengladbach, it reads "Home comforts remain central to further progress for Rodgers' 'ego-free' boys"

If in fact the article is accurate and Celtic are ego free at the moment, which is a rarity in todays ego driven game, its really refreshing to see. In my eyes modesty, and humility run hand in hand and are great traits for a sportsperson to have. I do not feel its my duty to say that I have these great attributes but maybe ask someone that knows me and hopefully Im pretty close in that regard. In my opinion no matter how successful you are (or not) as a sportsperson its always nice to be grounded, and not have your head in the sky about your own importance.

Ok I will try now for the next couple of months to update the blog more often, as I have not been getting around to it half often enough. There is a really big push on in my zone now to reach the next level in my plan, and this will take considerable dedication and commitment. I have rejoined my gym after an 8 month lay off so looking forward to getting trimmed up (more about that in the next post).

I still have the opportunity to jump 20 feet, no im not breaking the rules, I own the blog , I make the f***ing rules!!! 

Later..... :)

Steve

Had a wonderful holiday in Albufeira, Portugal. Lovely weather and an amazing place to go and be with good friends. Well worth a visit, if you have time. Back home now and about to give the whole life change a good go. Haven't made any progress on the long jump but might try it over the next few weeks. To be honest as I have said before it was more of a metaphor - illustrating what way my mind is thinking. I hope thats cleared up.


I came across an article a few mins ago whilst browsing the web on a poor guy in northern Ireland who has been given 3 months to live unless he receives a life saving operation that costs over 200,000 pounds. Again its made me realise how short life is and every opportunity must be grabbed with both hands.

Apologies

Apologies folks,

I haven't been on for a while, but not to worry - things may have been on hold for a while - but everything is about to take a decisive turn as today I begin the "big change" that will alter my path in life forever. I'm excited and elated and glad my decision is made. Suffice to say the break that I had has made my mind stronger and more determined to succeed than ever. Grasp every opportunity with both hands and make  the most of everything and anything positive that enters your life. Live every day like its your last.

Lets Begin....

Get out and do it!!!!!

Hi guys, I've been thinking again and have again become inspired, I think its time I showed you guys what im talking about when I say " anything is possible " Its actually true and I'm delighted that I have realised. If you put enough hard work into anything - serious blood, sweat and tears you are truly capable of almost anything in this world and to be honest I think ( I hadn't really realised up until now) this is where my blog is going.) Kind of similar to my 20 foot challenge Its just to show and prove to you guys that anything and everything is possible when you put the sacrifice in.

 Again I know I'm probably repeating myself from previous posts but I want you guys to be inspired by this. Read it AGAIN -- You can do it! believe in yourself. You can make the change / difference in your life, that thing that is holding you back, overcome it! Beat it! When your seventy years of age and you look back at yourself and you'll realise , yes I could have done it, why was I so afraid? Look how beautiful I was, look how fit/strong/energetic,hopeful,kind etc etc the list is endless. Im here to give you hope - after this challenge I will continue to challenge myself. You should try the same, join me in my quest to live life to the full. Here is a fantastic portion of a speech given by Jim Carey: Its excellent!

Now On Snapchat

I am now on snapchat - add me folks to get all the latest info on my daily routine, pics, videos and progress on my 20 foot jump challenge. Send me some feedback and let me know what you think. Cheers everyone, should have a pretty good post up sometime tomorrow on my activities for this coming week. All the best for now and please remember : Believe in Yourself!!

Where its come from

For a while now I have been threatening to change things, every couple of days or so I would find myself overcome with inspiration and say to myself " this is it" " I'm going to change my life from now" only to find myself not acting on my impulses, staying rooted to the ground , and carrying on with my usual Mundane routine. Nothing was happening, nothing was changing.. The inspiration wud appear for that moment and then disappear into the oblivion. This was where I wanted things to change, I wanted results, I wanted progress and to be able to track my progress. For this reason I set up the blog : an answer to my demons , the ones who didn't believe I could change, the same ones we all have. Now I could chart my progress, write about my feelings, my struggles, my demons, the times when we all can think :- is it possible ?? Well it IS possible - you just got to believe in yourself and believe that you have what it takes. It sounds like a cliché and I suppose it is, what I mean is - that your willing to have the courage to change, possibly the courage to tell people that your changing. Maybe consider a blog. I haven't actually went public with my blog yet - as in nobody knows who I am but that will come in time and I'm looking forward to that. I write in paragraphs and they don't seem to be working... Can anyone help me with this???

Stay on Track...

Hi There, Hope everyone is well and you are all thinking about (which is better than not thinking about) getting your life on track. It may think time to turn everything fully around but if you set this as one of your top goals, then you really will make that goal. Take charge of your destiny and stop rolling with what you've got. You can change things and do a lot better for yourself, it just takes a bit of determination and some positive thinking!! Be inspired, be successful, be popular, be kind and generous and inspire yourself which will in turn inspire those who come in contact with you. ( This is all Im doing )

What Else Am I Doing????

Part of being the new me has been to set a few challenges for myself so Im just going to give a short list: 1. I have decided to learn Spanish and I am using a great new app called Duolingo. Its pretty simple to use and you can set the amount of time you want to spend using it, so if you only want 10 mins a day then thats what you can do.

2. Im learning to play the banjo. My Late Mother gave me a banjo as a Christmas present some years ago and I had never really bothered with it. Maybe picked it up a few times a year and go at it for 4/5 weeks then forget about it for another few months. At the moment Im making a very concious effort to practice most days and attend lessons when I can. It is a truly magnificent instrument capable of such amazing sounds and notes!! I still marvel at the music that can be played and hope and believe that one day soon I will be able to do likewise. The goal I have set with the banjo entails meself travelling to a particular city in my country to spend an afternoon busking on a street. Really looking forward to this!!!!

3. I spoke of my Long Jump challenge in my last post but this is probably my most challenging as in, with the others I know I can overcome the odds and succeed if I put the work and dedication in, but this one I have never jumped in my life so Im not so sure if the target I've set myself is a little out of reach... I am a determined person however and I'm going to make it my business to give it a right good go. Im going to organise to give it my first shot next week, I shall see how much work I have ahead of me - so watch out next week for some updates.

4. Exercise daily, in the morning preferably, a combination of Gym Work and 10 mile run. This really is so important to me and will give me the zest and craving for the fit life I need. At the minute I go to the Gym and am reasonably fit but I intend to increase this gradually as the days and months progress. There is such a feel good factor in going for a decent run and the endorphins released in doing so is a Kin to getting an injection of "Feel Good Juice" - Trust me folks - any of you who have never run please go try it, dont say you cant your not fit, just do a small bit everyday even if you have to start off with walking briskly. Get on it. There are so many things for us to do out there: In life : and we can all do them dont forget: Embrace life, live it , love it, dont waste a single second of it and your attitude like mine must be "Yes Im able, Yes I can, Yes I will" There are so many more things to tell you all about but all in good time...

Im eager to hear from anyone reading my posts or anyone that has any questions for me. Dont forget I am exactly like you, I work, I worry, I sweat, I smell, lol and I shower but what Im saying is that Im just going for it. There are only obstacles in your way if you let them be in your way - you jump over them and you're on to the next one. Comment and give me some feedback, I'd be delighted to hear from you.... Bee

20 Feet

Can I jump 20 feet? Well can I ? I dont know, but over the next couple of weeks Im going to find out. At the moment its not a metaphor for reaching my goals or making my ambitions (it may possibly develop into this as time goes on). Its quite literally what it says on the tin!! A Long Jump challenge that will test my ability to jump a covering distance of 20 feet? I dont know how I've come up with the idea but its a challenge to me now and Im grasping it with open arms.... The distance 20 feet is 6 metres which is quite a substantial distance. I have been trying to strengthen my legs for the last few weeks with squats and some Deadlifting. I have absolutely no previous experience of The Long Jump and have never attempted it before but now that my decision is made and I have talked about it here and put it on paper - or in this instance electronic form, its somehow making my re solve stronger and myself more determined to at the very least take up the challenge and then hopefully overcome/beat it. I have looked at some Long Jump results in competition close to home and there are athletes jumping 5/6/7 metres in competitions around the midlands. The tricky part for me when setting the distance was to somehow come up with a pretty realistic goal. Now I cant say whether Ive done that or not but the great thing about life is that I can surely give it a good go and see how close or how far I get to the 20 feet. Bear in mind the world record for this event in Elite competition is 8m 95 set by Mike Powell in 1991 (29 ft 41⁄4).

I will post some pics of training, progress and results as I get them to hand. Apologies for lack or paragraphs, for some reason they dont seem to work.... :)

Where/When/how?

Where has this all come from I hear you ask? Well the honest answer is ... I don't know! But for a long while now I have realised that I haven't reached my full potential as a human being. This potential ( that we all have by the way ) is burning away inside me, roaring to get out and time is ticking, life is short :-so it's high time I jumped off off my ass and got the ball rolling in the right direction. There are so many ways, routes, avenues,and channels I am about to explore on this journey and I hope you will come with me and be able to feel it from the blog with me. The quality of my writing hopefully will be good enough most of the time to convey exactly what is happening, and I will endeavour to do my best on the structure and context of everything that is being writtin - the road is long so make sure to bear with me as I go. I have gained a lot of inspiration recently from two well known people : Tim Ferris - a best selling author, podcaster, and investor among many other things. Please check him out www.fourhourworkweek.com. Also Rich Roll a vegan Sportstar who took control of his life on his 40th birthday and has now become a fitness and health and well being promoter as well as one of the fittest men in the world. www.richroll.com - his story is particularly inspiring and his journey most notable. There are other names including a book called ' The Slight Edge ' by Jeff Olsen which my brother recommended to me. Tony Robbins another.

It was the first anniversary of my mothers death yesterday so we had a mass for her in the local Church followed by some tea and sandwiches in my fathers house. There were plenty of friends and relations on hand and though the house is small we managed to chat , drink tea and have a bit of a laugh. My mother would have loved being there, meandering her way through the crowds introducing different people to each other and having a great chat and kind word for everyone. I think some of the reason I have changed my outlook on life, and decided to make a change is down to both my mother, and her death. I have kind of .. we'll say waddled through life so far and been content to breeze along. But In the last few months I've been thinking a lot, how short life can be and how unfair it can be. So while I'm still young - 36 - lol it's all relative, I'm going to give this a right good go. There are so many people who are out there unable to change the position they find themselves. I still have the power to change so that's what I'm about to do.

Please follow me and my story and hopefully you can gain inspiration, change your attitude and create a path for yourself in living the life you crave and gaining all you want from it. Don't forget , anything is possible and believe in yourself...

What a bad morning out there! The rain beating down on the pavement as I look out into the darkness, these dark January morning are very hard to motivate ones self, because of the usual bad weather and the winter time effect of the Clocks mainly. Not so easy to say to ones self "Oh Im going for my early morning run". Its just not appealing, cant see where you're going, getting splashed, getting wet and generally feeling like shite! Give me a lovely sunny bright morning in Spring or Summer - instantly your head is in a different place. You look out and see the sun rising over the hills and the clouds forming perfectly with birds singing in the background. Its a lot easier to rise early from that cosy bed, don the runners and go for that 10 mile run you've always been promising yourself. Not happening today anyway - and heres why:

Believe

Hi there, Welcome to my first blogpost. Im writing this blog because Im about to change my life and I want you to come on the journey with me. Who knows how long it will last and where it will lead, but its sure to be very interesting and maybe you can take some inspiration from it. There are a few different tasks and goals I have set for myself for this year and going forward, and I will add and take away from these as I see fit. I have become tired of my life the way it is at present and I want to experience more. Chat soon! Im excited ... And it feels good !