Every little step goes a long way
AS we step into May, and with the promise of brighter skies on the horizon, there’s no excuse not to get out and enjoy the fresh air with some healthy activity.
Seeing as it is National Walking Month, I will definitely dig my boots out and get a few miles in. It’s a great way of keeping fit and taking in the beautiful scenery we’re lucky to have on our doorstep here in Carmarthenshire.
Not so long ago, my wife Gwenda and I took part in the Three Peaks Challenge and did all our training in our magnificent countryside and along our coast.
We took plenty of inspiration from the Discover Carmarthenshire website which has a section full of suggested walks across the county for people of all abilities – if you haven’t already taken a look, it’s well worth a visit to plan a good day out that won’t hit you in the pocket.
Within the council, we’re encouraging our staff to look after their health and wellbeing with a range of activities, including a team challenge to track the highest number of steps during the month, and encouraging officers to leave their car at home and walk to work on at least one day.
I’ll certainly be doing my bit – every little step goes a long way.
CMANY comedians, after they’ve established a rapport with their audience, like to interact with individuals.
Using charm and persistence, they can get them to reveal what they do for a living, where they live and even details of their love life – which, of course, amuses the whole audience.
However, if the comedian insults the audience to the point where they get embarrassed and offended, then such performers are guilty of “biting off the hand that feeds them”.
Now perhapss Lord Julian Fellowes, pictured, could be accused of biting off the hands of British audiences . . . right up to the shoulder!
An actor before he wrote Gosford Park and won an Oscar for best screenplay, Lord Fellowes, never one to shy away from self-promotion, has been touring America to plug his new film.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or laugh even louder when I read he’d complained to the American press that, while the USA is a forwardlooking society, the UK is “living in the past”.
The nerve of the man!
As far as I recall, everything he’s written has been set in previous eras, and he’s made a lucrative living from it.
He’s probably best known for creating Downton Abbey, which, you may or may not for
give him for, depending on how forgiving a nature you have . . .
The long-running series has come to an end, but he’s written the screenplay of a film version which will be released later this year.
Although not a huge fan of his work, I do admire his work ethic – he’s a one-man script factory! He never stops.
Apart from writing countless episodes of Downton Abbey, he wrote The Young Victoria; Vanity Fair; and a TV version of the story of the Titanic tragedy; and he has written a new series called Belgravia set in the 1930s.
I should also mention the film he’s been promoting in America, The Chaperone, is set in the 1920s.
You’ll note that none of them are futuristic science-fiction epics.
I don’t for one minute believe us Brits are “living in the past”.
But I think I know someone who is!