HEALTH UPDATE: One Small Step For Man

Balancing on one leg is still not easy!

Although this wasn't the last week of Biscuit Club, it was time for our final assessment.

Individually, the three members of our exercise class were put through a short series of challenges, to measure our walking speed, sit-to-stand capability, balance, confidence etc

These were then compared to earlier assessments (when we started, three months in, and six months in) and I'm delighted to report that - even though my single-leg balance still isn't great - I've made improvements across the board.

Rachel - who stayed for the class - shot, and edited, a short video of me being assessed, which you can watch on YouTube Shorts here.

As I've been on my new "no snack" diet for a couple of months - and several people, who see me regularly, have commented about me visibly losing weight - Rachel found my weight from when I was weighed at the doctor's at the start of the year and then I weighed myself on our bathroom scales.

And I seem to have shed seven kilos - about a stone!

I have to confess, I don't feel lighter, but I have noticed my t-shirts are looser, so perhaps it is working.

Hopefully, this also means my blood sugar levels are dropping and I'll be fit enough to have the steroid injections in my back to help me cope with my osteoarthritis.

Part of this extra fitness push has also been our weekly "tree safari" walks, but those have rather taken a backseat of late due to Cavalier and Geek Mania (both of which involved a lot of walking anyway).

However, this weekend, Rachel, her parents, and I went out for a meal to celebrate Rachel's mum's birthday and last night I, once again, found myself on the bathroom floor, feeling really poorly and in great pain.

I'm sure it wasn't the food per se, but my body reacting to a major backslide (a "cheat day") in my new, healthier diet. Thanks, stomach!

I feel a lot better today, but still totally washed out. 

"We Are Gathered Here Today To Geek Out!"

Me with The Real Kent Ghostbusters at Geek Mania in Tonbridge

Today Rachel and I attended the first Geek Mania show (convention? gathering?) at the Angel Centre, Tonbridge, and it was magnificent.

There were stalls selling books, games, artwork, badges, dice, LARPing gear, and trading cards (so many cards), as well as participation tables for 5e Dungeons & Dragons, various shades of Warhammer, card games (so many cards), Beyblades, figure painting, a lightsaber training academy, and probably other things I missed.

A selection of the amazing props brought along by The Real Kent Ghostbusters

Rachel and I posing with Slimer

I'd really hoped to get Rachel into an "introduction to Dungeons & Dragons" session, but we were there around 11.30 and the tables had proved so popular that the first available slot was 2.30pm... and it was unlikely we'd still be around then (as I have limited reserves of stamina).

The participation tables were packed from the moment we arrived, and just got busier

These were the lightsaber tutors, but they mainly ran classes for younglings through the day

The vibe of the whole show was very welcoming and everyone we spoke to was incredibly friendly, delighted we were there, and happy to talk about whatever geeky niche was their forte.

There were cosplayers - always happy to pose for pictures - and LARPers, with a vast selection of costumes, masks, and boffer weapons for sale. 

I achieved a lifelong ambition and purchased my first pair of elf ears! 

Incredible array of costuming and weaponry from Gem's Trading Company 

"You've made an old man very happy," I told the lady who sold me these ears!!!

I strongly suspect I was one of - if not the - oldest people there (knocking on the door to sixty this year), but it didn't matter. There was a youthful, positive atmosphere that I hope translated into cash in the pockets of the organisers so that this will become a regular event.

Geek Mania was the brainchild of Planet JJs Geekery, which, in very real terms, is close to being at the bottom of our road (although too far for me to walk there and back, sadly).

I really must try and get signed up for regular RPG events at the store, which I have to confess we've only actually been in once. Rachel is supportively offering to be my taxi to and from the store if I join their "club".

I also believe that Geek Mania being organised locally is a massive plus for the future of the show, as there's an automatic community investment here.

Either side of the Pandemic, there were several attempts to make "comic-cons" a thing at the Angel Centre, but they never really took off.

Run by travelling groups who organise such events around the country, there was no great incentive to come back if they didn't rake in the cash they had been hoping for at the first attempt.

That said, Geek Mania was definitely busier than any of the "comic-cons" I've attended at the Angel Centre over the years.

Overall, Rachel and I stayed for about an hour-and-a-half, which wasn't too bad by my usual variable health standards, only having to have a single sit down and cookie break.

Even though Pokémon is an alien language to me and seemed to dominate every other stall, I still managed to pick up some mighty treasures (as well as my ears) from the traders:

My Geek Mania haul

My first purchase of the day was a He-Man Funko Pop (because, like dice, you can never have too many Pops). Sadly, they were all out of Frieren-related Pops.

I was excited to find a couple of boxes of old 60s/70s pulp sci-fi anthology magazines on the floor of a bookseller's stall.

She very kindly picked them up and put them on the table so I could sort through them properly.

My main guiding principle here was looking for authors that Michael K Vaughan had mentioned on his Booktube channel, so that it appeared as though I knew what I was doing.

And finally I bought a cute little pocket zine from local artist Katherine Burgess, whose style and obvious talent made me wish I was producing a game - or a supplement - so I could hire her to illustrate it.

"Tonbridge. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."