I WILL ALWAYS BE A SOFT, SENSITIVE AND EMOTIONAL MAN. I AM SO GLAD THAT I AM TOO…….WELL, MOST OF THE TIME!

Posted on October 11, 2015 by SCARFMAN

I will always be a SOFT, SENSITIVE and EMOTIONAL MAN.  This is a fact of life that I do not mind one bit. Well OK, at times I wish was a bit harder, bit rougher around the edges but that just is not me and never will be.  I can play the pseudo ‘hard man’ quite well though when I am out and about. I am almost 6ft in height and weigh around fifteen stone with a medium sized build. I can look ‘hardish’ when I want to and I do a brilliant hard strut ha ha, but underneath I am as soft as a little baby kitten.  Those of you that personally know me will recognise this description of myself(the big softie bit).   I just wanted to do a blog to the world where I extolled my sensitive and emotional side.  In the main, I love being like this!

Years ago when my late Dad was alive I can remember at times all the family laughing at him for being sooooo soft and emotional.  He would open up his birthday cards every year and after reading the words inside them, he would then well up with emotion due to being so moved by their meaning.  We did not make fun of him in a nasty way, it was laughter in an endearing way. Bless him for getting so emotional I always thought to myself.  He was the same build and height as me and so looking at him you would not think that he was a softy.  He could be one of the lads when he wanted to be, however he sort of stood out too. He had this ‘larger-than-life’ personality side to him with a good heart. He sort of had this Del-Boy edge to him.  This meant that he was very funny but it also meant it hid just how insecure a person he was deep inside. His insecurities would be frustrating at times.

I think about my personality traits and then so mirror my late Father’s(see a previous Father’s Day blog).  I am really sensitive to the point where it is reflected in the films that I like to watch, the clothes I like to wear and the people that I like to hang around with.  I have NEVER been ‘one of the lads’ and I do not regret this one bit. At University, I hated laddish behaviour…..it just seemed immature to me and so never wanted to hang around with such folk.  My best mate is not as emotional or soft as me but we get on great exactly because we are not your typical ‘pair of blokes’.

I remember being around the age of twenty and really getting into the gym.  I also used to have all my hair shaved off too. On nights out at the weekend I would be there in the clubs with a dead tight T-shirt on showing off my muscles, thinking I was MR.T or The (Mancunian) Incredible Hulk. It makes me cringe now when I think back to those days. In my defence I blame my hormones, what was I thinking argh. Around this time I remember going to a family wedding and I noticed the female relatives looking at me a bit strangely. Later it came back via my Mum that they thought I looked really aggressive with all my hair shaved off. The famous ‘Lloyd thick eyebrows’ next to a bald head magnified this look even more. Upon hearing this I thought to myself ‘right, stop trying to be this fake hard man’. I have never been a hard man and never will be, so thought it was about time I started being true to myself and to everybody else.

First thing I did was to STOP shaving all my hair off.  I entered my ‘Tin-Tin’ phase as I like to call it. You know who I mean right, that fictional comic character who has his hair stuck up at the front.  I then became all metrosexual. I loved going to the sales and buying really fashionable clothes. I loved shopping at places like Reiss and Nigel Hall and buying clothes of striking colours. I loved wearing yellow jumpers but most of all I LOVED ANYTHING IN THE COLOUR PINK………still applies to this day.

I also like to look a bit of an individual(but trendy with it) and so noticed that a few trendy men had started wearing scarves as a fashion accessory. After I bought three linen scarves in a summer Reiss sale one year(orange, green and PINK) , then after this I was completely hooked on them.  The scarves became my little thing that made my look and outfits stand out. I can even remember a lecturer one year mentioning my clothes in a lecture once(really). My clothes now reflected my personality more. I love pink because first and foremost I love the colour. Nevertheless, I also love because it gives me and hopefully others connotations of sensitivity, emotion and vulnerability. All these apply to me and I like this aspect about me.

The films that are my favourites are the ones that have made me cry the most. I love being moved to tears by a brilliant film, I feel a better person for it afterwards. My favourite film is Life is Beautiful and whenever I hear the soundtrack it instantly brings a tear to my eye. The same applies with books that I love too.  A few years ago I read a great novel by Alision MacLeod called Unexploded and upon finishing it, I became very aware that tears were gushing down my face.  Rather than feeling ‘only wimps cry’ like some people think, I was not embarrassed at all. I love being in touch with ‘feminine side’.  I wear my heart-on-my-sleeve and am very open with my emotions…..AND I AM PLEASED I AM LIKE THIS.  Yes, I wish I was mentally stronger but not if it is at the expense of my emotional side.

There are of course downsides to having a soft, sensitive and emotional personality. For example, I worry too much about what people think about me. Sometimes I can be very opinionated and direct with my language. At the time I do not regret my behaviour however hours later when I start thinking things over, l tend to then start feeling guilty how I may have come across(if I offended anybody). I can remember having this massive crush once on this girl in Sixth Form.  I thought she knew that I liked her but that she did not fancy me back.  As result of this ‘supposed rejection’ I behaved like a right immature idiot with her and for years later regretted how I behaved. About two years ago we found each other on twitter. The first thing I wanted to do YEARS LATER…… was still apologise to her for acting like a right nob.  She had forgotten all about it and did not have any idea how I felt about her back then.  My point here is that due to being soooooooooo sensitive I let this rankle with me for years. Other guys would not have given it a second thought.

People I know in life have to make allowances for me due to me being such a sensitive softy. An example of this is how badly I took not doing well at College(the rare, odd time ha). I had a real close relationship with my young female Media Studies tutor and she knew just how sensitive I was. I got an essay back from her once where I had not done that well.  I can still remember her now telling me that she did have to tell me the truth on how I had done, even though it had crossed her mind not too. She knew I would be upset.  I know family members find it hard living with me at times due to my sensitivity.  I am the type that gets frustrated and worried when somebody does not tweet you or text you straight back.  I imagine all sorts for why they have not instantly replied and I wish I was not like this. Usually there is some perfectly rational explanation. I am trying to get better with this aspect of myself because I know it is an insecure character flaw of mine, it is just hard at times though.

I hate confrontation in life. At times I feel like a right wimp for being this way.  I often quote myself as that nervy female character from Only Fools and Horses called ‘NERVOUS NERYS’ argh. I can do ‘fake hard’ like I say and I am not a physically a weakling by any means, but most of the time I feel like one.  I am friends with the UK’s number one MMA/UFC fighter, Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping.  We are both north-west lads who love a laugh and a joke. I just wish I was as mentally strong as him though.  Being a fighter he literally comes across as having BALLS OF STEEL. He does not take any messing from anybody.  I guess that is one of the reasons why I am such a fan of his.  I envy his mental toughness.

In 1999 pop star Lolly released a song entitled, ‘Big Boys Don’t Cry’.  I have never liked this song because I do not think crying is a thing that men should be ashamed of doing.  I am a BIG BOY THAT DOES CRY…….and it is all to do with me being such a SOFT, SENSITIVE AND EMOTIONAL MAN! Would I rather be a ‘hard nut’ than being like this? NO THANKS, I AM HAPPY THE WAY I AM……………….WELL, MOST OF THE TIME!

 

 

 

 

Posted in ANXIETY, BOOKS, COMEDY, DEPRESSION, EMOTION, FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP, MENTAL HEALTH, RANT, social media, SPORT, TRUE STORIES, twitter, UFC, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

GENIUS, LEADER AND FISH PHILOSOPHER – ‘Cantona: Return of the King’ – A Sky Sports Originals story’. A Review.

Posted on October 9, 2015 by SCARFMAN

“When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea” (Eric Cantona, March 31st, 1995).

This has to be one the greatest lines EVER delivered by a footballer.  Eric Cantona, ‘The King’ of Manchester United who was a genius, leader and also apparent fish philosopher.  This Sky Sports documentary is a must see for any Manchester United fan. It marks the time when he returned to the team after that getting a lengthy ban for kung-fu kicking an an opposing abusive fan during a game once. Eric Cantona scoring loads of wonderful goals with the Stones Roses as the main background music, this ticked every box for me!

I have watched this documentary twice now in the last few days and the time flew by on the second occasion. It was twenty-five minutes in length but I got that engrossed in it that it only seemed to have been on for about five minutes before it ended the second time. It flowed brilliantly and did not get boring at any point.  Cantona was an enigma who had this wonderful maverick aura about him. I think this really came across well on the screen.

The documentary first starts off by chronicling Cantona’s move from Leeds United to Manchester United. Hearing from former Man United player Gary Pallister about how Eric was viewed and received by the rest of the squad at the time was really interesting and insightful.  With Cantona providing that touch of extra creativity and genius that the team needed, United went on to win their first league title in twenty-six years. Cantona was an instant hit at United. It was like this perennial nomad had finally found his spiritual and permanent home.

I loved the amusing anecdote told by former United great Steve Bruce about Cantona. It entailed Eric turning up at some team awards dinner in a pair of scruffy jeans, flip flops and some outlandish looking coat that resembled that highly colourful one from ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’.  With the rest of the players all dressed up smartly in team blazers, Bruce apparently went up to Sir Alex Ferguson(the manager) and moaned about what Eric was wearing. I think the punchline from Ferguson was something like….”tell the rest of them that if they can play like he can, then next year they can can all come dressed up as Joseph”….funny!

The next section of the documentary then focused the now infamous, ‘Eric Cantona Kung-Fu kick’ incident. As the film had already highlighted and discussed, Cantona had this dark side to his personality.  When frustrated, this footballing genius was prone to lashing out and making awful challenges on opposing players.  United were playing a league game away at Crystal Palace.  The Palace defenders had kicked lumps out of Cantona all game. In frustration at this Cantona saw red and kicked out at Palace defender Richard Shaw. He duly got sent off for this and as he made his way from the pitch a Palace supporter ran down from the stands and hurled some obscenities at him.  Cantona then launched a ku-fung kick at this supporter followed by a punch.  A media feeding frenzy subsequently ensued.

The brilliant quote by Cantona at the top of this blog is to do with his original two-week prison sentence(for this kick), being altered to Community Service after an appeal.  I have researched what Cantona meant by this. Apparently, he was referring to the press following him around all of the time desperate for a story, the media feeding frenzy.  It made me chuckle in the documentary when Steve Bruce revealed what Cantona had said to him about that line.  Bruce asked him where he had got it from and Cantona replied something along the lines of…’yeah, not bad hey’?  I can remember it happening, the kick and that famous line, and not once did I feel anger towards Cantona at the time. In a way I respected him for standing up to such abuse from this idiot in the crowd. That said, it was wrong and he should not have done it.  I was just a bit aggrieved months later that his ban probably cost us the title that year.

After some brilliant work by Sir Alex Ferguson behinds the scenes, Eric Cantona ‘The King’ did finally play for Manchester United once again. His first game back was against United’s main arch rivals Liverpool. It was like he had never been away. He played a lovely ball into Ryan Giggs who was duly fouled and United were awarded a penalty. Cantona scored the spot kick to make the score 2-2 and Old Trafford exploded……..THE KING WAS WELL AND TRULY BACK!

The last section of the film showed Cantona back to his best. His presence lifted a Manchester United squad that now included the famous “Class of 92″(Butt,Scholes,Giggs, Beckham, Gary & Phil Neville).  Nicky Butt stated how Cantona coming back to the team, was like a ship having its captain back.  Cantona did not lead by his mouth, but rather by his confident demeanor and genius play.  It was clear just how much those young lads respected and looked up Eric.  Cantona’s return saw Manchester United win the league again and he scored a last minute winner in an FA Cup Final against Liverpool. Post-match, the documentary ends quite fittingly with Cantona walking away from an interview smiling and laughing.

To conclude then, I rate this documentary highly and it is an essential watch for all Man United fans out there.  Genius, leader and fish philosopher…………OH ERIC, YOU HAVE NO IDEA JUST HOW MUCH I MISS YOU!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in documentary, EMOTION, ENTERTAINMENT, POPULAR CULTURE, SPORT, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TRIBUTE, TRUE STORIES, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

THEY’RE ALIVE…….I HAVE CORE MUSCLES AFTER ALL. MY DEVASTATING SUFFERING WITH CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN…..BUT HOPEFULLY NOT DEVASTATING FOR MUCH LONGER!

Posted on October 9, 2015 by SCARFMAN

IT IS OFFICIAL, MY CORE MUSCLES DO EXIST AND IT IS NO LONGER A MYTH!

Yesterday was the first time in years that I did not feel pain upon walking.  It shocked me at first if I am honest.  I was there waiting for the pelvic aches and pains to depressingly kick in at any moment……but instead they never came(or else at least not til much later on).  I could not believe it, if anything I expected more pain upon walking not less. I felt like sharing this exciting new feeling with random people that past me by in the street, however somehow I refrained myself from doing so. It had to be down to me doing these those CORE exercises over the past four weeks.  As I walked to the barber’s I thought to myself, ‘I NOW KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO HAVE CORE MUSCLES AT LONG LAST!

Thanks to my late Dad being such a massive sports fan, very early on sport became a very big part of my life whilst growing up as a kid. I loved watching sport on the telly and regularly played lots too.  On family holidays, once we had landed then we would immediately look for the nearest ‘pitch and putt’ place(short golf). Tennis and bowls would often feature too.  No family holiday was complete without us playing cricket on the beach or on nearby playing fields.  Being active and sporty was in my blood from a very early age.

In my early teens, my love for playing and watching sport grew stronger and stronger.  I played football for my Secondary school. I was also captain of my school cricket team.  I played junior club cricket and won several trophies for my individual efforts.  In late my teens and early twenties I really got into the gym.  I loved looking physically fit. I also loved how ‘working out’ helped with stress. THEN DISASTER HAPPENED!

Aged twenty-one, I became really unwell. I started having terrible pains in my abdomen and it hurt like hell to pass water. I was also feeling the need to pass water about every five minutes.  It was literally a nightmare of an experience.  It took me around two and half years to finally get the correct diagnosis.  Thankfully, prostate cancer was twice ruled out after undergoing two seperate investigations. I was diagnosed with a health condition called Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis(whatever that meant, I could barely pronounce it never mind know what it fully meant).  In layman’s terms, it meant I had a prostate infection.  I was told the bladder trouble was thus due to this infection and that I might suffer with an irritable bladder now for the rest of my life.

In time things did improve enough for me to go back to University and complete my degree.  However, this awful ordeal left me chronic pelvic pain.  I was like a pregnant woman suffering from inflamed pelvic joints due to the weight of the baby, but in my case obviously there was no baby. At the start it hurt my pelvis to walk even short distances. With the aid of anti-inflammatory drugs and a herbal remedy called quercetin, I slowly but surely started being able to be more physically active.  Nevertheless, my cricketing and gym days now seemed like a remote possibility sadly.  I channeled all my frustration about this into trying to get my degree.

When University was over I started seeing two physios about my pelvic pain.  I had one helping my internal pelvic floor muscles and the other correcting my muscoskeletal issues.  Regarding the latter physio, I can remember her saying all the time how much I needed to strengthen my core stability muscles. “You do not really have a big belly” she used to say. Instead, she stated how over the years my abdominal and core muscles have just flopped forwards.  She had me squeezing my tummy in really hard. “Your core muscles are sooooooo important” she kept saying because they help hold you up and help give you balance. I agreed with all what she was saying however frustatingly it absolutely killed me to do these core exercises.  My pelvic floor muscles are currently all too tight and inflamed.  Therefore, whenever I went to tighten up my core, I would also as a consequence end up tightening my already too tight pelvic floor. Result was that I stopped doing any further attempts to help strengthen up my core muscles.  I must have tried about half a dozen times to cope with the pelvic PAIN that tightening my core would bring on, but I just could not cope with it.

Fast forward to about four weeks ago.  I hated the way I looked(see a recent previous blog) regarding feeling overweight.  I had a bit of a tummy on me and I felt embarrassed by it, ashamed even.  Thing is though, I had been feeling like this for ages yet had not really tried to do anything about it.  I have been feeling really depressed with mental and physical health issues so had no motivation. THEN I GOT MOTIVATED and thought as well as dieting, I really needed to try doing those core tightening exercises again.

At first I did them really gently just to see how sore my pelvis would get afterwards.  Yes, doing them did hurt my pelvis a bit but it was pain that I could handle.  Some days I would squeeze my core in too tightly though which would then absolutely kill my pelvis.  I walked a fair way to my doctors about three weeks ago and it felt so painful to walk.  My pelvis was really hurting and I was sure it was down to doing the ruddy core exercises. I nearly gave up doing them about two weeks ago but I carried on because my stomach looked unrecognisable(in a good way).

In the four weeks I have daily done core exercises my tummy has at least HALVED in size. I am staggered by how smaller it looks. I would no longer feel embarrassed if I had to take my top off now in public. A more toned upper body has even given me a bit more confidence as a person. The only downside to all of this is that as well as hurting my pelvis somewhat, the core exercises have really made my sciatica a lot worse. I am guessing it is the increased pressure on my sciatic nerve via the tightening up of my core and pelvis that is the issue.

I have not got run before I can walk though.  My lower back and pelvis are in still a bad way. I need many weeks of physiotherapy on them both.  I hope to re-start the anxious journey of seeing somebody about them very soon. Nevertheless, I am still happy as well as encouraged that my walk yesterday was relatively pain free due to me doing the core exercises.  When I go and see a physio soon then at least they cannot be have a go at me now for having not having any core muscles.  Yesterday, I felt I had more power in my legs. Rather than struggling up hills and feeling like a right weakling with no power, I sort of did a ‘power walk’ up them. Today as expected my pelvis is all achy.  I just hope it does not get too bad because just for a short time there yesterday, I forgot what it was like to suffer with utterly devastating chronic pelvic pain all of the time.

I have FINALLY found that my core muscles do exist………….HELLO BOYS, IT’S SO GOOD TO FEEL AND SEE YOU ONCE AGAIN!

Posted in ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, EMOTION, HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH, NHS, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

THE SHY SUPER STRIKING SCOUSER! ‘ROONEY: THE MAN BEHIND THE GOALS’. A Review.

Posted on October 6, 2015 by SCARFMAN

On Tuesday September 8th of this year, footballer Wayne Rooney wrote himself into the English football history books. He scored his 5oth international goal against Switzerland, thus becoming England’s all-time record goalscorer.  This was the basis of this BBC1 behind-the-scenes’ documentary about Rooney that aired last night.  Somewhat ironically but also very appropriately, it was fronted by ex-England footballer Gary Lineker. Lineker being an ex-England footballing great who some years previously had just narrowly missed out on breaking this scoring record held by Sir Bobby Charlton. Overall, I thought this programme was a good worthwhile watch. Good, but not exceptional is my verdict!

I will start off with the good stuff first then. For all his haters out there, I thought it was great see what Rooney was really like away from the football pitch.  Away from this emotionally charged setting, Rooney at home just appeared like any other normal bloke who loved spending time with his wife and kids. It was great to a more humanized version Rooney. Him playing football with his young boys in their back garden was a really endearing sight to see. I also liked hearing from Colleen(his wife) about the dynamics of their relationship.  Countless rubbish has also been written about her in the past so hearing her talk and discuss things with Linekar was another positive in my view.  I bet Rooney was overjoyed though that she did not know where some his love poems to her were.

I thought the stuff about him playing football as a young schoolboy was quite interesting. For instance, I had no idea that he first went to Liverpool FC for a trial. Him turning up there all kitted out in his beloved Everton strip and being told off was an amusing anecdote to share.  Speaking as a person who has spent a lot of time in Merseyside, I enjoyed all the stuff about scousers and about the City of Liverpool.  The interview clips from his parents were insightful too.  He may now be a millionaire but ultimately at his core he is still this working-class kid from Croxteth.  The only bit that surprised me here was upon hearing that his Mum is still a Dinner Lady at a Secondary School.  You could say this shows a great work ethic on her part, or alternatively you could ask why on earth is she doing this when her eldest son is now a multi-millionaire?

A criticism of mine about the programme is that Lineker could have been a touch more probing in his questions to Rooney.  Although, I guess Lineker was never suddenly going to go all Jeremy Paxman on him.  A few controversies concerning Rooney were covered and that surprised me in some respects, however Lineker could have tried delving a little bit deeper. For example, it was covered that in 2010 Rooney handed in a transfer request to leave Manchester United.  There was footage from Gary Neville giving his account of the story. Rooney’s agent Paul Stretford also gave a few words on what happened.  There was nevertheless nothing from Rooney.

In fairness to the documentary, one controversial story was covered which I thought might be omitted or quickly glossed over.  I was sat there thinking, ‘I wonder if they will mention about him turning to the camera after an England game once and moaning about England fans’.  It was and it was interesting to get Frank Lampard’s and Steven Gerrard’s views upon it.  The episode showed Rooney cared in my book and there is no shame in that.

Barring my last point, I found the stuff about the World Cups and the England Football Team a bit on the boring side.  I used to love supporting England whenever they played. Now, I just find watching them bland and uninspiring.  I can could never care more about England than I do about the club I support. There just is not the same emotional attachment there for me.  Maybe this is because I am a northerner and think the England team ethos is a bit ‘too London centric’ these days(the Nation Stadium being there).  It has also been ages since we did really well in a big tournament so half of me has stopped caring how we do, so as to avoid the subsequent disappointment that regularly comes our way as a nation when we get knocked out early on. It is undoubtedly a brilliant achievement by Rooney to have become England’s all-time leading goalscorer and indeed was worthy of such a documentary being made.  I just find it hard to get excited about anything concerning the England men’s football team these days.

Like I said at the top, this was a good watch without it ever being amazing.  It dragged a little in places, there was the glaring omission of Sir Alex Ferguson not paying a tribute to Rooney, and the England stuff bored me a bit in places. It was insightful though at times and any big sports fan like me should have gladly lapped it up.  It was good to see a more humanized version of Rooney……it was good to get a different perspective on this seemingly SHY, SUPER STRIKING SCOUSER! 3/5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in BBC, BBC1, documentary, ENTERTAINMENT, POPULAR CULTURE, SPORT, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TRIBUTE, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“FATTY, BUM BUM…..” DAY SEVEN OF MY FIRST EVER DIET AND ALREADY I FEEL BETTER FOR IT!

Posted on September 29, 2015 by SCARFMAN

“Fatty, bum bum….oi Mister, can you lend us some money? Fatty, bum bum”

These words got shouted at me one evening whilst I was walking home from the doctors in the early part of the summer this year.  They were shouted at me by a group of cheeky kids aged no more than about eight or nine years old.  I had decided to take a short-cut through a rough council estate on my walk home, oh boy did I regret that decision upon hearing this abuse.

I should have turned round to the most vocal one and told him to F-off, but I was crying inside you see. I had just come from my doctors where we discussed me definitely having a lifelong condition in my lower legs called lymphoedema.  I had been incorrectly told I did not have this condition by a Vascular Consultant at the hospital some months prior, only then for another Consultant to rightly correct him. I did have lymphoedema for life and I was really upset about this.  This abuse about my weight though touched a nerve. I did look and feel overweight for the first time in my entire life.  I felt ashamed, unattractive and embarrassed at the way I looked.

I have always been very shy with girls. Growing up,  I thought I looked alright when I looked into the mirror but got the distinct impression not many girls thought that way about me.   I remember then having this sort of ‘eureka moment six months’ at University when women and even men, started paying me compliments regarding how I looked. Some girls on my course said how they could not believe that I did not have a girlfriend for example. I remember another female friend of mine saying how her fella thought I was very good looking. In the space of about six months I had gone from from feeling like Hunchback(ugly) to somebody like Prince Charming(good looking).  I noticed how really pretty girls were smiling at me all of a sudden, I even had one chat me up on a night out once. My confidence about my appearance had never been so high.

Despite my confidence growing about the way I looked, I was however also going through a really tough time with my physical health that not many people knew about.  I had played cricket and football for various teams growing up.  In my late teens and early twenties I massively got into the gym.  I loved working out.  Being a stressful type I found it a really helpful way of dealing with stress, as well as it also making me look good too. Nevertheless, at twenty-one I got diagnosed with a serious illness called Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis(prostate infection).  Physically, I have never been the same since because the infection left me with severe pelvic pain.  It causes me pain to walk never mind run. Sit-ups were completely out of the question due to them making the pelvic pain ten times worse whenever I tried them. I just did upper body weights and with painkillers managed to walk a far bit whilst finishing my degree.  Not being able to run depressed me but all I was bothered about making sure I finally graduated.

When I finished Uni my main goal was to try and get this pelvic pain a lot better. I had read tonnes of research how a specific type of physio could really help it(pelvic floor trigger point release). I made good progress with this physio but I was still in some pelvic pain afterwards. I was told by another physio that I had an inactive and swollen right iliopsoas muscle. Then I got diagnosed with gallstones and that did not get resolved for a year. In the middle of me trying to deal with the pelvic pain I got diagnosed with a lumbar spine problem called spondylolisthesis(slipped vertebrate). One of the discs in my lower back is also compressed, thus giving me persistent sciatica.  I have had to come off the painkillers that were helping my pelvic pain due them stinging a very sore lower right rib issue that I currently have.  Therefore, all this depressingly means that I am currently very unfit and can hardly do any exercise at the moment.

As somebody who has always been very sporty and done regular exercise, not being able to do so at the moment is really destroying me. I know this sounds a bit daft but even just looking at joggers go past my house really gets to me….that I can not go out jogging too. I can not go swimming due to my mild eczema and cycling makes the pelvic pain horrendous.  I want to be able to keep myself fit. I openly admit to being a vain sort of person and so I want to be able to exercise so my body looks good.  I am not FAT even if that little pillock said I was. I am though a bit overweight and it all seems to be around my middle…argh.

Due to all these physical health problems holding me back, I have definitely been guilty of comfort eating. I suffer with mental health issues too and definitely think being depressed has made me sought solace in food at times.  Eating gave me pleasure in a life that seemed pretty bereft of any other kind of pleasures.  I had no motivation to keep a slim figure. No girlfriend to try and impress for example.  I am off work ill at the moment so have no workplace to where I want to go at look my best at.  I have sort of felt hidden away from the world a bit whilst I suffered with my physical and mental health issues post University.  I hated the way I looked but there seemed to have bigger things to deal with. I definitely knew one thing for sure though, no pretty girls were ever going to fancy me again if I carried on looking like this!

A few ago weeks ago though I suddenly started to get a bit of fight back in me. I got talking to this person on social media and somehow it kind of just flicked a switch somewhere inside me.  They were telling me all about their exciting life over the next few years and as a result I started to get motivated again about mine.  Over the past few years I had gradually lost that fighting spirit that has always been with me up til now. I had seemingly accepted my fate.i.e An unlucky victim of loads of health problems that had got unmotivated about life…AND ONE THAT HAD PUT A TAD TOO MUCH WEIGHT ON. Nobody is just going to come to my front door and wave a magic wand and hey presto, all my health issues are sorted. I have to get out there and fight for them. The same applies on the job front too, a brilliant job is not just going to land at me feet without lots of effort from me.  Regarding me looking a bit overweight, then only I can do something about this.  If I want pretty girls to like me and not feel so body conscious when I go out in public, then I need to get some motivation and discipline back in my life no matter how hard.

I have never dieted in my life before, primarily because I have never felt the physical need too.  For the last six months I would regularly mention that I needed to diet but never actually did so.  As a type one diabetic dieting and altering your food intake does take a bit of thought and pre-planning, so I guess I used this as a bit of an excuse if I am honest.  They mentioned at my last diabetic clinic how I was using too much insulin. The implication here that I was therefore eating too much.  I scoffed at this suggestion but looking back now, I know what the Diabetic Nurse was saying was indeed correct.  I was eating miles too much white bread, biscuits(especially plain digestives) and crisps. I tried a few times eating more alkaline veg but having no gallbladder meant the green vegetables just upset my tummy….argh. What I needed most of all though………WAS TO START EATING LESS(sounds simple I know ha).

The first thing I have done in the last few weeks to try and start changing my body image for the better, is tummy core exercises. This must sound like no big deal to anybody else but to me this is massive thing. Until I hopefully have physio to help mend my pelvis, currently my pelvic floor muscles are all too too tight and swollen due to having those prostate infections years ago.  Therefore, up to now it has always killed my pelvis whenever a physio has told me to tighten up my core muscles.  I have steered away from doing them as a result but I knew deep down my belly was not that fat, it was just that the muscles had kind of just flopped. I started off doing very gentle core exercises at first just in case they absolutely killed me.  You know, gently bringing my tummy in on a breath and holding it for say five seconds before then breathing out.  It hurt a bit, however not too much so I started doing them daily.  Each day I did them I upped how tight I was squeezing my core in.  Only after a few days of doing this I felt so happy at the results. My stomach felt firmer instead of being flabby and it nowhere near looked as big. In a matter of days I had STOPPED LOOKING LIKE A PREGNANT WOMAN. I began feeling less ashamed and embarrassed when taking my top off and looking at my body shape. Granted, I am nowhere near the shape that I finally want to be but it is a good start nevertheless.

I finally started my first ever diet eight days ago and it is one of the best things that I have ever done.  I can be a very determined person when I put my mind to it and so a little bit of me is enjoying the challenge of it….the sacrifices I have had to make.  I am eating nowhere near as much as I was doing. Looking back now, I cannot believe the amount of food I had eating on a daily basis. I must have been having about four bags of crisps a-day every day of the week. Now, I am having no more than one a day and I feel a bit guilty when even eating them. You times four bags a day by seven days a week and it is no wonder I have been looking like a fat Gary Barlow(a girl once said I looked like him….I repiled “hope you mean the slim version”? In reality she was pissed, very flirty and I don’t look like him at all…unless she meant my Mancunian accent haha)? I was having almost a full packet of plain digestive biscuits a day, as well as one white loaf of bread daily.

I am not a fool though, I know this dieting malarkey is going to be really hard at times to contend with.   The winter months fast approaching us will make it tricky(eating warms you up a bit). I find winter and the festive period rather depressing on numerous levels, so I know this could make me vulnerable in terms of slackening off the diet a bit. I have to be strong though.  The weight is not going to drop off me overnight so I have to stick at it.  If I cary on consuming miles less calories like I have been doing then I must start to look differently and a hell of a lot better in the near future.

The next stop is me seeing this woman about helping me with the lymphoedema.  I feel so acidic all of the time and am confident her helping me remove some of the excess fluid in my legs should make me feel better. Once the lymphoedema starts improving then I aim to see a physio to help me with all my physical aches and pains, notably my pelvis, ribs and right shoulder.  Only when I have had physio and these areas are fingers crossed a lot less sore, will I then be able to do more exercise that I crave.

I am only eight days into this diet but already am I proud of myself in what I have achieved thus far.  If I am honest, I depressingly thought I was stuck with that big tummy forever. I thought being able to do core exercises might always be beyond me pain wise. Furthermore, I truly doubted whether I had the self-drive, motivation and discipline to stick to a diet.  My life sucks as the moment but just doing these small things has made such a huge difference to my mental state(let lone my physical one).  Only I could do it though and I am so happy that I decided too.

I am going to keep this diet up just you mark my words……no doubts.   I want to feel attractive again, want to be that man at University that pretty girls liked.  “Fatty, bum bum….” What rude little fuckers………………..BUT I AIM TO PROVE THEM WRONG!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, EMOTION, FOOD, HEALTH, LYMPH GLANDS, LYMPHOEDEMA, mens health, MENTAL HEALTH, NHS, OCD, RANT, social media, TRUE STORIES, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

STRICTLY STILL IN LOVE WITH IT……BUT NOT AS MUCH AS I ONCE WAS! First Week Review of Strictly Come Dancing!

Posted on September 27, 2015 by SCARFMAN

Last Friday and Saturday night Strictly Come Dancing returned to our screens for a brand new series and I think my verdict is…..STILL IN LOVE WITH IT BUT NOT AS MUCH AS I ONCE WAS! Now granted, as I write this blog I need to openly declare that I am in a bit of a grumpy mood today regarding the rugby last night e.g England threw away a massive game against Wales and lost. Only after tweeting five angry tweets about it this morning could I then start to feel my anger finally start to dissipate somewhat. Anyway back to Strictly.  Yes, I enjoyed bits of it but then again other parts irritated me like they never have done so before!

I guess like when the new series The Great British Bake Off recently started, one of my first views of this new series of Strictly is that it all just felt a bit samey to me last night. Samey in a perfectly enjoyable entertaining way, but at the same time this ‘sameness’ irked me after the long marathon watch.   The intro-VT clips started to wear me down after awhile. Watching how they trained in the week is interesting(the Kirsty Gallagher footage for example), but whoever writes the jokes in them DEFINITELY  needs a new joke book.  I think the corniest being Peter Andre having a ‘hip-hop gangster…OFF’ with his professional partner Janet Manrara.

I think the judges are good bunch and sooooooooooo much better than that other lot over on X-Factor who all have massively inflated egos, however even Len and his witticisms started to get on my goat last night.  It was when he said something like, “hold me upside down and smack my bottom”…..not just randomly I should add, I mean when he was giving his critique to a performance.  His infamous “pickle my walnuts” line from previous series really made me laugh. This new line with the over-the-top hysterical reaction from the studio audience, it just made me frown and groan rather than making me laugh.

I am not sexist AT ALL but I am also still not sure that having two female presenters works that well either. I like Tess when she just does the straight presenting stuff but she is too comedy as what I am to origami. i.e. hopeless. Claudia Winkleman will say something to make me smirk, then the next minute irritate me by trying too hard to be funny. I still believe they should have had say a Graham Norton, Vernon Kay, or even a naturally witty Paul O’Grady presenting it alongside Tess instead. Oh and when Tess overly fusses it absolutely does my head in. I refer here to her Mothering that hairy guy from The Wanted. Gee wiz, if you had closed your eyes you would have thought she was talking to a toddler not a grown man!

I know I am moaning but I still enjoyed watching it.  I initially thought Kirsty Gallagher would rub me up the wrong way much like MS BIGHEAD(aka Gabby Logan) did some years back.  Gabby also a TV sports presenter, took it too way too seriously and then when she did not do that well in a routine, would then say how good she was….’not bad for a mother with two kids’ Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Kirsty was a lot more vulnerable and sensitive than I thought she would be. She is gorgeous but without seemingly having that big of an ego.  I even found it quite moving that to help calm her nerves, her Mum had been regularly popping into training to help reassure her and calm her down a bit. I was surprised she did not ace-it last night but her nerves unfortunately got the better of her. I just hope she does brilliant next weekend and stays in the show for awhile(I do fear not many women will vote for her though).

The couple I  have warmed too the most though is ex-ITN newsreader Katie Derham and her pro partner Anton Du Beke. Like all men my age I guess, I have always had this massive crush on Katie Derham.  She just oozes class, intelligence and tonnes of sex appeal in my view.  The banter between them is funny to watch and it looks like they have known each other for years. Anton is renowned for getting partners that are rubbish dancers, Kate Garraway and Judy Murray being two famous examples.  This time however in Katie, he finally has a celebrity partner that ‘CAN DANCE’. I thought she was brilliant doing the jive in her first dance and I would love to see her and Anton win the show this year.

I somewhat unexpectedly found the beautiful Helen George a rather ditzy and amusing character on the show,  and I also found Jeremy Vine enjoyable to watch too. I love my boxing and so like Anthony Ogogo but I do not get him being allowed to do the show already carrying an injury before the dance training had even begun. I know it sounds ridiculous but as I watched him dance,  all my attention was focused on was on how little he was moving his bad arm rather than watching the overall dance.  He has a sore shoulder after having a shoulder op some weeks ago. Apart from Bambi with the beard(the guy from The Wanted), the only other contestant that irritated me a bit was  FORMER MR ICELAND himself…Peter Andre.  We are only one week in and already he has won one award in my opinion. He is the new unofficial STRICTLY ‘VERBAL DIARRHOEA’ CHAMPION.  He is not as irritating to watch yet as Mark Wright was from last year but he definitely has the potential to be so. He does not seem a bad bloke really overall I guess. He is just already taking it miles too seriously and when he opens his mouth he just talks absolute gibberish.

As the show ended I had enjoyed watching it but at the same time it just felt like we had all been here before. You know when you love listening to a new piece of music but you play it that many times that in the end you end up growing a bit tired of it? Well, this is how I feel a bit about Strictly right now.   I AM STRICTLY STILL IN LOVE WITH IT….JUST NOT AS MUCH AS I ONCE WAS!

 

Posted in ANXIETY, BBC, BBC COMEDY, BBC1, COMEDY, EMOTION, ENTERTAINMENT, POPULAR CULTURE, REALITY TV, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NEVER FELT SO ANGRY, FRUSTRATED AND DEPRESSED AS I DO RIGHT NOW….ESPECIALLY ABOUT THE OCD!

Posted on September 22, 2015 by SCARFMAN

ANGRY, FRUSTRATED AND DEPRESSED…….this is how I feel right now.  I have been feeling like this for at least the last three years if I am honest, but last night as I went to bed these feelings were utterly overwhelming me like never before.  I have suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder since the age of seventeen and yesterday I had a terrible flare up. Today, I just needed to tell the world how crap I have feeling because in a way it is a cathartic experience for me.

I need to point out that my mental and physical health issues have never defined me as a person as much as they do today. My OCD had always been there but it has never domineered me as much as it does today. For example, I had a dog dirt phobia whilst living away at Liverpool as a student.  I had other contamination phobias too whilst there but NEVER did any of them stop me leading the life that I wanted to lead.  Life was tough with the physical health issues and they caused me lots of heartache, but FINALLY I achieved my dream of graduating.

I then moved back to my Mum’s to try and sort out my long standing pelvic pain condition.  My life has never been the same since moving back though. I have had to have sinus surgery, gallbladder surgery, was diagnosed with a slipped vertebrate in my lumbar spine(spondylolisthesis) and within the last six months have been told I have a lifelong condition called lymphodema in my lower legs.

My physical health issues were really getting me down. I desperately wanted to get a career going. For years I had fancied becoming a Careers Counsellor for example. I just kept on fighting and believing that my pelvic and back pain would finally improve when I saw the right physical therapists. However, my world changed when I had an horrendous OCD contamination do about three years ago.  It contaminated all of Mum’s house and had such a devastating impact on my life.  I thought about suicide and about self-harming but some how got through it.

Since last January I have been really, really, really struggling with the OCD. All to do with this massive contamination incident that happened at my Mum’s house three years ago. I still believe the house is contaminated and that I have been smelling various nasty smells periodically.  I thought I was over the worst of it but for the last eight months I have been going further and further into myself. This is not real me and I truly despise the OCD for making me feel so worthless and depressed about things.   I am a clever funny guy(and modest ha ha) and just want the ‘old me’ back. I am fed up of feeling like this scared little kitten most of the time. I worry I’ll never become that confident lion once again(not sure where my small cat/big cat analogy came from so apologies ha).

In the last eight months my depression about my physical and mental health issues has gradually been getting worse like I have said.  I guess the latest thunderbolt about me having lymphodema in my legs for life really hit me hard for some time. I had been told I did not have lymphoedema by one Consultant, which then devastatingly proved to be incorrect by another.  I knew I needed referring back to the hospital about my mental state but I was scared I guess.  I kept putting it off, worried to ‘rock the boat’ in case it made matters worse.  The fight in me had gone a little bit I suppose. All I was too trying to do was to get through each day without having a massive OCD flare-up. I had lost sight of the bigger picture. The OCD felt that overwhelming that pursing a writing career and potentially meeting somebody, well that just all seemed a million miles away!

This all changed a bit when a certain unnamed person entered my life via social media. Their support has been lovely and I love talking to them.  They make me really laugh and the ‘Andy wacky banter’ is always in full force when we chat(a side of me that I really like).  The greatest thing though about speaking to this person is that without them even knowing, our chats have kind of given me the proverbial ‘kick up the backside’ that I think I needed.  I had accepted being the victim far too much in recent times. I would not say I had completely given up on life, but at the same time I did not seem to have much FIGHT left in me in terms of trying to get myself better anymore.

Our chats got me thinking about the future a lot.  I started getting really frustrated about my current life situation. I started getting ANGRY how shit my life is. I mean angry in a good way though, anger that breeds motivation and drive. I had some FIGHT back in me at long last. It prompted me to finally go and ask my GP to refer to me a hospital for therapy/help regarding my mental health issues.  I can not carry on like this and I know now that should have gone a sought help again much sooner than this.

It depresses me greatly thinking about all the bad stuff that has happened to me in my life thus far and not being able to get on with my life as I want.  I worry endlessly that things will not improve enough for me to have the kind of life I want to have in future years. ie good job, wife and maybe kids. Nevertheless, speaking to this person has got me chomping at the bit again.  I felt that motivated that I even said to Mum that I think I should try and see this lymphoedema Manual Lymphatic Drainage therapist soon.  This was a big statement because up to this point my OCD contamination worries have prevented me from going.  I need lots of physio for my pelvis and back and need to see this lymphoedema massage woman first.  I need to start the ball rolling soon because I will need many sessions to greatly improve my symptoms. Therefore, I have been this big bundle of frustration up to now about the OCD stopping me from going. I have been feeling stuck, trapped and even claustrophobic at this frustrating situation that I found myself in.

I had a bit of an OCD wobble two days ago, and then yesterday I had this HORRENDOUS OCD contamination flare-up.  It was a 10/10 on the anxiety scale, I was all over the place.  I was full of panic and despair. I was also full of much self-hatred and self loathing too. In a matter of just twenty-four hours I had gone from feeling more positive about things, to then wondering how I was ever going to get better and have a life. In my depressing view, going for this lymphoedema help was now going to have to be delayed for the time being.  I reckon it was possibly the worst OCD flare-up that I had experienced in about two years.

I went to bed last night feeling so wretched and despondent about things.  I guess the OCD turmoil of the last eight months has kept a lid on the general frustrations that I have about my life right now.  I am just worried how things are going to turn out.  I need to get better as soon as possible because my life is just feels like an existence at the moment.  I need to get to back enjoying life once again. I need a purpose and direction in life. I NEED TO STOP FEELING AS ANGRY, FRUSTRATED AND DEPRESSED AS I DO RIGHT NOW!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I

Posted in ANXIETY, COMPLIMENT, DEPRESSION, EMOTION, HEALTH, LYMPH GLANDS, LYMPHOEDEMA, NHS, OCD, skin infection, TRUE STORIES, twitter, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

COMEDY, ROMANCE AND SOME DOWNRIGHT THUGGERY……CORRIE BACK ON FORM! Coronation Street – A Review.

Posted on August 23, 2015 by SCARFMAN

In recent times life has been pretty boring and bland on the famous cobbles of Coronation Street.  Take away the big fire in the flats a few months ago and nothing else much has happened in the past year or so. The storylines and episodes have not been dire by any means, they just have not been that exceptional either. The teenage pregnancy storyline with Faye Windass was a good social comment piece that would have resonated with many out there I am sure. I also want to applaud the recent Steve McDonald mental health storyline. Mental health still has a stigma attached to it in society and so a storyline such as this one can only help serve to further reduce it.  However, did any of these storylines ever have me eagerly tuning in to watch Corrie during the week, then I am afraid I have to answer this by saying no!

They say a week is a long time in politics and I think this saying could equally be applied to the world of Soap Opera. This is because I think last week Coronation Street was back to it’s brilliant best.  There were three separate storylines going on and they all seemed to beautifully compliment one another.  The was an abundance of COMEDY in the shape of  Beth, Kirk, Chesney, Sinead, Fiz, Tyrone(and kids) …………….all going away together on a camping holiday.  The comedy arrived primarily due to them sharing their campsite with a Bear Grylls wannabe, namely Dougie played brilliantly by Paddy McGuinness. I think my favourite joke was when Dougie disgusted Tyrone, by saying he had a regular mistress on the go.  By mistress, Dougie was referring to ‘the great outdoors’ of course.  When done well like it was here, Corrie does comedy so much better than any of the other soaps. When a soap takes it’s characters and viewers away from their original locality then often because of this, the episodes are less enjoyable to watch.  This camping trip worked however because of the other two storylines being back at ‘the street’.

Call me a big old romantic softie but at the end of Friday’s episode I was grinning like a Cheshire cat.  For weeks we have seen Nick and Carla develop a kind like forbidden love for one another.  Every time it looked like they would ‘get it on’, something would happen to get in the way.  Erica falling pregnant with Nick’s baby being the biggest one.  Good old chap Nick promised to stick by the old bird(frustratingly), and so it seemed this Nick and Carla love story looked doomed forever.  Then Erica lost the baby and caring Nick felt duty bound to stay with her.  Nevertheless, with Carla threatening to sell Underworld and jet off to America for a new life, Nick was being cornered in having to tell Carla how he really felt about her. At the end of Friday’s episode when Nick and Carla had this very emotive heart-to-heart with one another, I nearly welled up I felt that moved by it. I thought Alison King’s(Carla) and Ben Price’s(Nick) acting was superb.  When she got teary at finally finding this unexpected happiness, I just thought it was an incredibly moving bit of acting.  Again, call me soft but I am so happy these two characters have finally got together.  Everyone loves a good love story and the Corrie writers need congratulating for writing it so well.

The most dramatic storyline centred on bad boy Callum arranging to have Jason Grimshaw beaten-up.  On Monday, Jason had to come the aid of a frightened Sarah and Bethany Platt after Callum had threatened them. I thought Sean Ward as Callum acted his ‘psycho’ part brilliantly.  When Jason threw beer over his pants and roughed him up in the street, then you knew there was ‘going to be consequences'(a favourite phrase of Callum’s). On Wednesday, Jason was duly left badly beaten up by Callum and his dodgy mates.  On Friday, one minute it was revealed Jason might never ever be able to walk or talk again, then the next minute that was altered to him being expected to make a full recovery.   Bit of a fast turnaround I thought but hey maybe he had tasted the hospital food and realised he could not take anymore of that crap! On a serious note, it was a good dramatic storyline which was aided by quality acting.

Oh and I nearly forgot, at the end of the week we saw somewhat faded pop star Shayne Ward come into the street.  As Aidan Connor, he is somehow related to Carla and it looks like he will be her new business partner.  I was praying his acting was not going to be as ropy as Girl Aloud’s Sarah Harding’s was a week or two ago(I think the reaction has been over-the-top about her not so great acting skills though). Overall, I thought he did alright. He was not terrible or totally unconvincing, although neither did I find his performance that convincing either.  I would give him seven out of ten and bet he improves the longer he stays in the show.

To conclude then, it was definitely a week to remember on the famous cobbles.  Comedy, Romance and some downright thuggery…………just how I like my Corrie!

 

 

 

Posted in COMEDY, EMOTION, ITV1, POPULAR CULTURE, STEVE MCDONALD, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TV, TV REVIEW, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘CLASSY CAMPBELL AND ROBUST ROSE REIGN SUPREME IN HULL’!

Posted on August 2, 2015 by SCARFMAN

If I can go all Jeremy Clarkson on you for a moment, then in car terms you would have to describe boxers Luke Campbell and Brain Rose as two very different vehicles. I would describe Campbell as an old Ford Capri.  In its day this car was flashy, easy on the eye and could easily get you very excited just by watching it move.  Rose on the other hand I would best describe as a Rover. It does not instantly excite you as much as the Capri, nevertheless it does have lots of redeeming features. It will go down as a proud British product that is unashamedly sturdy. When I think of a Rover car I think of it’s reliability and honesty. It tries it’s best even though it is never going to turn many heads.  My point here with this boxing/motor car analogy is that that Campbell and Rose were two very different winners last night.  Campbell used his boxing skills whereas Rose relied on his guts and big heart!

‘Golden boy’ Luke Campbell last night faced local rival and friend Tommy ‘BOOM BOOM’ Coyle, at the Craven Park Stadium, Hull. It was an eagerly anticipated match-up which had been in the works for many months.  Campbell was the big favourite going on into this contest but Coyle had been doing his best in the pre-fight build up, to convince the non-believers that he actually had a chance of knocking Campbell out.  I predicted prior to the fight that that Campbell would put on a very convincing win and so it proved.

Coyle came out giving it everything he had and credit must go to him for that.  His direct marauding style was not that pleasant to watch, however I guess he saw that as the only way he was going to the win the fight.  He tried desperately to rough Campbell up, pose him problems that up to now we had not seen him face in the professional ranks.  These roughhouse tactics proved pretty ineffective though. Campbell by and large coped brilliantly with them.  As many thought prior to the fight, he just had too much speed, power and class for Coyle to contend with. Very early on in the fight he put Coyle down on the canvas with a peach of a body shot.  The fight nearly ended then but for the always courageous Coyle to somehow get back to his feet.

The fight ended with Campbell stopping Coyle in the tenth round. Coyle was out on his feet and totally exhausted.  This brave warrior had given it everything he had but sadly for him this fight was all about levels. Campbell showed again why I believe one day he will win a world title. He oozes class and his shot selection is second to none. Coyle in my opinion is rather a good domestic fighter with a massive heart.  His somewhat kamikaze style he will always make him an exciting fighter to watch.

I thought Coyle spoke brilliantly in the post fight Sky interview afterwards.  He was clearly devastated at the loss but he spoke with immense grace towards his victorious opponent.  He flowered Campbell with compliments and I thought this is how boxing should be. He took the defeat so graciously.  For Campbell, the future looks incredibly bright like I have said. For me,  I would just rank Anthony Crolla above him right now in terms of British lightweights(due to experience), however it will not be long until he ranked the British number one.  I would love to see Luke fight Scotty Cardle next for the British lightweight title.  This would be a cracking fight because I rate Cardle very highly.  They have spared together so this further adds spice and intrigue to this contest.

The chief support bout saw Blackpool’s Brain Rose face brash American Carson Jones in a rematch. Their first fight was controversially stopped too early by referee Ian John Lewis, Rose on the wrong end of the bad decision.  Rose in this second fight was fighting for his career.  If he lost again to Jones then it seemed for sure he would be facing imminent retirement. He came out like a man fighting for his career though, he put his whole being on the line to get the vital win.

Beforehand, I thought this fight was too close to call. I could see a determined Rose winning on points but at the same time I could also envisage Jones stopping Rose again.  I edged pre-fight towards Jones stopping him again and such a prediction was nearly proved right early on in in the fight.  Rose was looking in control with a razor sharp jab just for Jones then to really rock again.  I really thought it could be curtains for Rose but he hung on in there and weathered the storm.  As the fight wore on Rose was clearing winning it on points due to being the far busier fighter.  He fought at close range too much for my liking which was where Jones wanted the fight to take place, however in the end it did not matter that much.  Rose gave the performance of his career just when he needed it. It was all about guts, determination and how much he wanted it. All the scorecards at the end gave Rose a very deserved wide points win.

The only thing that concerned me in the post fight interview with Rose, was his Promoter’s words that Rose now planned to move up a weight and fight at middleweight.  Rose’s main weakness at light-middleweight was his lack of punching power.  Therefore, surely if he moves up a weight then this is going to count against him even more so is it not? I can understand him wanting to refresh his career by moving up a weight however this seems a strange decision to me.

It was not an event that will go down in the boxing history books as ‘amazing’, nonetheless these two main fights certainly did make for an intriguing watch.  In the main event the atmosphere of the whipped-up crowd really gave the fight a pulsating, electrifying edge.  It was the night of two British victorious cars…….THE CLASSY FLASHY CAPRI, AND THE STURDY ROBUST ROVER!

 

 

Posted in BOXING, ENTERTAINMENT, POPULAR CULTURE, SPORT, TELEVISION, THE ARTS, TRUE STORIES, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘CAPABLE CAMPBELL TO CONQUER COURAGEOUS COYLE’! ‘RUMBLE ON THE HUMBER’ Campbell vs Coyle – A PREVIEW.

Posted on July 31, 2015 by SCARFMAN

Craven Park might be more used to rugby league players showcasing their skills on its hallowed turf, however the headline act this coming Saturday night(August 1st) is a hotly anticipated boxing fight between two local heroes in the form of Luke Campbell and Tommy Coyle.  In one corner we have golden boy Campbell who won an Olympic Gold Medal for his outstanding boxing exploits in the recent London Games.  In the other corner there is wheeler dealer, former market trader Coyle.  Both are working class kids done good from boxing and when they meet it is promises to be a perfect clash of differing styles.

Since turning professional Campbell has a trouble free career thus far.  His career unfortunately has been a bit stop-start due to his Father being seriously ill. However, he has looked many levels above the opponents he has faced up to now.  He has been too quick, too technical and too powerful for them all.  Nowhere was this better illustrated in his demolishing of Argentinian hard nut Daniel Brizuela.  This coming after Brizuela nearly beat Coyle in a barnstormer of a fight some months previously(Brizuela floored Coyle several times).   Coyle is definitely a good fight for Campbell because it is without doubt his toughest test to date in the pro-ranks. His level of opponents needed stepping up. I now hope we will see his career gather some momentum.

Coyle on the other hand has had the more ‘eventful’ career passage so far…….TO SAY THE LEAST! I first remember talking note of Coyle when he fought Liverpool’s Derry Matthews in 2013, again this was on Sky Sports cameras at the Craven Park Stadium in Hull.  Coyle will be hoping that lightening does not strike twice because after putting on a brilliant boxing display, Matthews against all the odds shocked the crowd by delivering a huge devastating knock-out blow.

His fight against Matthews epitomizes what Coyle is all about.  When focused he can box great and not leave himself wide open to getting cleaned out on the counter.  He put on such a brilliant display against former world champ Michael Katsidis, knocking him out in the second round. He is never going to be as skilled a boxer as Campbell but he is better than the average performances he delivered against Brizuela and Martin Gethin.  Gethin not known as a big  puncher brutally floored Coyle early on into their fight.  In true warrior spirit Coyle got up and ended up winning the fight somehow(Gethin retired on his stool due an ear problem).  There is no doubting the size of Coyle’s heart in the ring, however you do have to question his ability to stick to game plan.  He has shown he can put the perfect fight together as I referenced in the Katsidis fight.  Nevertheless, he has also shown his tactical boxing brain can go alarmingly elsewhere when in the heat of battle.

My prediction for this world title eliminator lightweight fight is that I see Campbell coming out a relatively easy, if not very easy winner. Coyle’s kamikaze style at times has been thrilling to watch but I just can not see him having enough to trouble Campbell with. Campbell is too skillful a boxer for Coyle in my view.  I see Campbell as a future world champion one day whereas as I do not see Coyle ever reaching this level.  I struggle to envisage Coyle ever progressing past domestic level.  I think Campbell will be too quick for him and I can see him stopping Coyle by the 5th round, or at the very least winning by a landslide points win. For me, this is a stepping stone fight for Campbell, for bigger and tougher tests ahead.

PREDICTION – Campbell to win by TKO.

The other fight on the card that I want to discuss at some length is the one that is acting as chief support to the Campbell Coyle main event. This sees very the likable Blackpool boxer Brian Rose take on the very brash American, Carson Jones(at light-middleweight).  This is a rematch of a fight that first happened in Brian’s hometown earlier this year.  It was shrouded in controversy because the ‘infamous’ boxing referee Ian John Lewis, clearly stopped the fight too early in the favour of Jones.  Jones for sure was pressuring Rose and he caught him with a few decent shots but in no way whatsoever did it deserve to be stopped when it was.  Rose quite rightly was outraged afterwards.  It was a big bitter pill to swallow for the Blackpool man who some months previously had been taught a tough boxing lesson at the hands of WBO Light middleweight champion, Demetrius Andrade.

With regards to their first fight, I clearly remember tweeting to people hours before it that I thought Carson could cause an upset here.  I just had this feeling in my gut that Jones was a bad match-up for Rose.  Jones delivered a great performance against Kell Brook in their first encounter and so I thought if that Jones turns up, then Rose could be in a whole heap of trouble.  I then read others say that Carson was over-the-hill and his last performance before this fight was poor.  I hoped they were right because as I say I saw it as a banana skin of a fight, and sadly I was proved to be right(from a British fight fan perspective).

The stakes do not get much higher for Rose in this rematch.  He just cannot afford to get beat, otherwise I am not sure where his career is headed.  If he loses he is not fighting for a world title again anytime soon that much is clear to everybody.  He will be back down to domestic level and his career at a major crossroads. However, if he wins we can all put that last result down to bad referring and aim for bigger and better assignments ahead.  Incidentally, before I forget I must just briefly comment on referee Ian John Lewis. I really think he is a poor referee. He jumps in far too quickly, gets involved when he does not need too, and he is too hesitant to be a good boxing referee in my opinion.  Such an view of him was compounded when he made a shocking error/s in the recent Rocky Fielding vs Brian Vera fight. He makes Howard Foster(the infamous Froch vs Groves I ref) look like a superb official.

I think this fight is a real fifty-fifty fight. I can easily envisage either fighter winning for different reasons.  Rose will be super motivated to win this for the reasons I have just outlined, so I am sure he will have left no stone unturned in his recent training camp.  I could see him edging a close points decision. I also wonder if Jones might come into this fight taking Rose too lightly, given what happened in their first encounter.

Nevertheless, if you really had to push hard me for a prediction then I have this nasty feeling that Jones is going to win again.  My heart says Rose but my head JUST says Jones.  I think Brian comes across like a lovely bloke and as a fellow Lancastrian I will be cheering him on, but if I am completely honest then I am just not sure how much I rate him as a fighter. The guy can clearly fight but he will always struggle at the very top level in my opinion due to a lack of punching power. Jones on the other hand can clearly whack a bit and I just fear he may catch Rose again, thus forcing another stoppage.

PREDICTION – JONES BY TKO.

On the undercard I expect another impressive win from young Martin J Ward. He faces Sergio Blanco for the WBC International Super Featherweight title.  It will also be interesting for me to see British heavyweight Dillian Whyte for the first time on the telly.  He faces a guy I have never heard of in the form of Irineu Costa.  Whyte is returning after being out for some time with an injury as well as having the recent ordeal of his trainer Chris Okoh being seriously injured in a hit-and-run car accident.  It is being billed as a warm-up fight before he faces his fierce domestic rival, London Olympic Super-Heavyweight Gold Medalist Anthony Joshua. We need to see an encouraging performance from Whyte to help sell the Joshua fight when it happens before the end of the year.

It should all make for an interesting nights viewing. Granted, not a stellar line up like the amazing Manchester event was from two weeks ago(featuring Scott Quigg and Anthony Crolla), nevertheless the fights here should definitely be an intriguing watch.  I love chilling on a Saturday night in front of the box watching the boxing drama unfold.  Coyle will give it every thing he has got and be at his COURAGEOUS best, that I have no doubts.  I just see Campbell being too CAPABLE though….and I fully expect to see him CONQUER his old amateur team mate by the end of Saturday night!

 

 

 

Posted in BOXING, DRAMA, EMOTION, ENTERTAINMENT, FRIENDSHIP, POPULAR CULTURE, SPORT, TV, UK TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment