Monday February 23rd 2026 "Friends, do YOU keep a mad little diary about YOUR fitness goals?"

Yes, Friends, it's a temptation isn't it, at the gym, to make brief notes about how you think you're doing! We've all been there, I think!

If not, why not "take a leaf" out of local man Philip Keller's little notebook - no pun intended !!!! Keller's super-fit torso was plastered all over the sports pages of today's local Onion News for East Hampshire, in case you didn't notice!!!

"Kudos, that man!!!" is what my wife Lois and I are saying this morning, reading the Onion News piece here in rural, semi-subtropical Liphook, Hampshire, although some, locally, are calling Keller "a bit sad", which we think is grossly unfair!

my wife Lois and me - a recent picture

And reading Keller's story brings a knowing smile today, to my lips in particular, because I've been stung into action about my own fitness, now that I'm 79, would you believe, and will be an incredible 80  in just one month's time, even though I've been described, in my own blog, no less, as "marvellous for my age", which is some comfort, to put it mildly!!

Having read on a website last year that old codgers need to take in more protein than younger people, just to stop themselves literally "cracking into pieces",  I recently upped my protein count by instituting a daily boiled egg into my breakfast so-called "routine" (!). 

Having been informed that older adults need to take in 1.2g of protein for every kilogram of their weight, I laboriously, and selflessly, translated those metric figures into "imperial", figuring that others could benefit from my maths skills for once (!). And I concluded that, as a fully paid-up "old codger" weighing 10 stone 1 lb, that I needed to take in 77g of protein day (2.7 oz), and that an egg a day would contribute a vital 13g (half an ounce), or about one sixth of my daily requirement - something of a breakthrough at the time, even though I say it myself!

flashback to August 2025: the original notes from 

my now famous "egg breakthrough" discovery

Don't take it on trust, though, you do the maths! And let me know about any errors (postcards only!!!!).

All well and good, you may say, but I've now read this week that the protein you ingest isn't the whole story; apparently you also need to exercise your muscles, which is a bit of a blow!!!! And what madness, too!!!!!! So today, I find myself more or less compelled to blow the dust off my old standby, "Executive Fitness for Men", which, according to my blog, I haven't looked at since 2009, would you believe - to my shame!!!!

(left) me today, dusting off my old copy of "Executive Fitness for Men", 

and (right) flashback to February 2009: me as a fresh-to-freshish-faced 62-year-old,

posing for a picture to illustrate the Hungarian version of my blog. What madness!!!! 

And even today, in 2026, I certainly need to be strong, to help Lois by getting the tops off her little containers of bouquet garni and other challenges! [You lazy bastard, Colin! - Ed]

But there's another possible use for my muscles, I learn today.

Could I also try on my old football boots, and help our poor struggling local football team, Liphook United, in their hour of need? As you may have read, "the lads", as they're known locally, have had another miserable month this February, with their usual tally of "played two, lost two", and they're still "languishing" in the relegation zone of the local Hampshire Premier League, which is an utter disgrace, and brings no glory to the town, that's for sure!

Losing 2-0 away to Bishop Waltham Dynamos was bad enough, but then losing 2-4 at home to Hedge End Rangers - that really "sucks" !!!!

(left) what's believed to be the approximate position of Hedge End in the UK

and (right) the village's bustling shopping centre

How are "the lads" of Liphook United ever going to crawl their way out of the Hampshire Premier League's shameful "relegation zone" with those kinds of averages?

And it begs the question, "Could I personally do anything to help them?" [You ARE joking, aren't you, Colin? - Ed] 

Because, with my now soon-to-be-beefed-up muscles, I'm beginning to believe that I really could make a difference, as the side's potential "exciting No. 2 shirt", maybe? What do you think?

I wonder.....!

And today, partly as a "recce", Lois and I decide to take our daily walk over the team's "hallowed turf", to check out the lads' latest popularity ratings, as posted on the windows of their disused-looking, so-called "clubhouse", and to check out the vibes generally, prior to my offering the team my services, maybe later next week? What do you think?

[Don't bother, Colin. I can't see you making it out of the clubhouse without tripping over your bootlaces and falling down the steps, to be frank! - Ed]

Lois and me taking our daily walk this morning over the "hallowed turf" of 

local soccer heroes, Liphook United, checking out the exotic birdsong

as well as the team's disused-looking so-called "clubhouse" - what madness, isn't it!!!!!

Yes, I have a dream! Liphook United has just got to believe in itself, and with my encouragement, success is going to be a dead cert, that's for sure!

Remember how another lowly amateur club, Neasden FC's fortunes rose to glory (although sadly without avoiding relegation) back in the 1960's, after another "old codger", own-goal specialist "Baldy" Pevsner, was recruited for a then-record (for Neasden FC)  negative-£5 transfer fee?

Miracles happen - so let's not forget that! And we have to thank that tireless football-journalist E.I. Addio for chronicling the team's giant-dodging exploits back in the day!

Veritably the club's "glory days", weren't they. And the same thing could happen to Liphook, I believe, given my own participation and encouragement! [???- Ed]

Will this do?

[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzz!!!!!