Last day of eating for a while....

And I'm actually enjoying it. Not going mad but I have enjoyed a few last day treats. Had pancakes for breakfast. And chicken pitta for lunch and a slice of flapjack out on my walk. So a bit carbtastic but I don't care....I'll be on the packs from tomorrow so that'll be the end of life as we know it for a few weeks.

I went to meet my new CDC (Cambridge Diet Counsellor) yesterday and she is really nice. A trained clinical psychologist so there'll probably a bit a of actual counselling going on. She seemed very caring and as though the job is more than just a business to her. I felt my previous LL counsellor had gone beyond that point (maybe as it had not worked for her being as she had regained all her weight?) and saw us all as cash cows. This woman is definitely more my type and, sadly, I mean that socially as well as in a more general way.

I always feel a bit bewildered when the knotty issue of class raises its head. I genuinely don't see it as a problem and have friends from all walks of life and always have had. My previous LLC though, clearly felt threatened by me being a middle-class, educated professional type. She often dismissed my contributions and clearly "sided" or ostentatiously had more in common with other women in the class who were a bit more "rough and ready" shall we say. Now that makes me sound like a terrible snob and I'm really not, but it was definitely true.

The weird thing was though, it was only the LLC making the destinction...the rest of the class mucked in according to who we liked etc not according to who did what or who had what accents etc.

Anyway, I suppose I'm dissing my previous LLC because I can now see that there is another way of doing things and my new CDC seems extremely nice and very positive...not a pushover though!

Anyway, I start tomorrow and I'll keep you posted.

Today, I forced myself to stay in this morning to do a load of chores around the house which had built up over the week. I have done 4 loads of washing! And there's only me in the house! I did sneak away for a half hour to sit in the sunshine down by the pond and read my book though. It was heaven. I was wrapped up from the cold but it was sunny and crisp. The birds were yelling their little heads off and the goldfish, who have miraculously survived our neglect, were chomping away on the fish food I shamefacedly gave them. Next door's dog (who I don't really trust and who I feel quite sorry for) was curled up on her side of the fence as close to me as she could get and Shelagh was curled up on my lap. It was a very peaceful scene.

After that I dragged myself out for a walk and headed up Lose Hill. As keen-eyed readers will know, I often go up Win Hill which is the big hill just behind my house. Lose Hill is a couple of miles down the road and faces Win Hill. Centuries ago, there was a big battle between a Celtic tribe from these parts called the Picts (I don't know who they were fighting against - don't think it was the Romans but could been I suppose - probably themselves, they seem the type!) and each side ranged itself on opposing hillsides. The winners were from the Bamford side (my village) hence Win Hill and the losers came from Hope...so not much change there then.... (a bit of small-minded parochialism there for which I apologise).

While we're on the subject of the Picts - the Peak Distict is named after them. I used to think it was a strange name for the area as it is not blessed with craggy peaks or anything so there you go... it could come in handy for a pub quiz I suppose...

It always surprises me how, for such a small place, crammed between Manchester and Sheffield and crowded with trippers, the Peaks can feel so expansive and endless. When you're on the top of what are not really very impressive hills by international standards, you feel as though you are on top of the world! My Canadian cousin agreed. She is from Nova Scotia and goes hiking in endless forests and up massive mountains. She has been to Vancouver and seen the amazing outdoors there yet she said the hills near me "felt" bigger and were in some ways more beautiful. I think it the proximity of real life (roads, railways tracks, quarries, mills) which emphasizes the natural beauty more. Also, the ancient farming practises have moulded a very pleasing landscape, with hedgerows, tracks, moorland, barns and farmplaces dotted around. I love it here and am really going to miss it when we go to France.