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Good Friday, Walk All Over Cancer Challenge.

Day 9 Walk All Over Cancer

9th March 2018/0 Comments/in Uncategorised/by Paul

Day 9 Walk All Over Cancer and I decided to get out early again before the rain came and ended up walking more than planned – so 10,000 steps and more achieved – deficit finally wiped out – all before 10:30am.

It was my first 10,000 steps in one walk and also I took a different route which had a lot more hills to climb – so when I got back I really felt it, which just goes to show how unfit I am.

So finally I’ve caught up and I’m over 90,000 steps in 9 days, now all I have to do is keep it up. I’m glad I did it this morning as the weather has been exceedingly damp since then.

All this is part of the “Walk All Over Cancer” challenge to walk 10,000 steps every day this March for Cancer Research UK. I’m not asking for donations but here is the link incase you’d like to give a quid or so ~ PLEASE CLICK HERE.

In my ears for all of Day 9 Walk All Over Cancer has been “Cafe Mambo 20 Years of Ibiza Chillout” which features some great tracks including Lana Del Ray “National Anthem” (Afterlife remix) Razzy Bailey “I Still Hate Hate” (Santiago mix), and Moby “Natural Blues” (Lulu Rouge vs Stella Polaris remix) – bringing some sunshine to a very grey day.

Day 9 Walk All Over Cancer completed and the forecast for the next few days isn’t great but I’m much happier having caught up after the snow and phone problems I had in the first few days of the challenge.

Walk All Over Cancer Day Eight

8th March 2018/0 Comments/in Uncategorised/by Paul

Walk All Over Cancer Day Eight / my challenge to walk 10,000 steps ever day during March. The start of my second week and I still hadn’t recovered the shortfall from the first days when I was battling against the wintery conditions. My total for the first seven days was 66,643 steps ~ 3,357 short of my target. So it was a great relief to wake up to sunshine following a night where heavy rain could be heard on the windows.

I went out for my first walk before 8:30am and did about an hour. Then I was working at home and my good friend Ian turned up to help me with some house clearance. We worked hard on emptying a room for decoration which included dismantling cupboards, worktops and bookcases followed by a trip to the dump (and then a 7Bone as our reward and Ian’s birthday treat). We did also manage a quick walk to Tesco Express bring the total for the day to over 12,000 steps – almost enough to cancel out the infamous shortfall.

The soundtrack for Walk All Over Cancer Day Eight was one of my favourite podcasts – “Dubland” by P.J. Gallagher and Suzanne Kane (who is Chris Moyles cousin) – they are very funny, talk great sense and they are VERY rude. CLICK HERE to find out more. Then it was on to iPlayer and up came “Happiness” by Alexis Jordan which is based on deadmau5’s “Brazil”, so then it was off to the album that track comes from “Random Album Title” and memories os watching his show in Boscombe probably 7 years ago.

That was Walk All Over Cancer Day Eight, the deficit is almost gone, tomorrow … is Friday x

Paul’s Wednesday 7th March Walk All Over Cancer Post

7th March 2018/0 Comments/in Uncategorised/by Paul

Paul’s Wednesday 7th March Walk All Over Cancer Post is todays report on my Challenge to walk 10,000 steps avery day and raise awareness and funds for Cancer Research UK.

I went out twice again today, my first walk this morning was a mission to but a new padlock. So I set off in time to get to the local shop at 9am when they opened – mission accomplished (I even remembered to stop for milk on the way back).

I brought my second walk forward to lunchtime as the forecast for later in the afternoon was sunshine and showers and I didn’t want to get wet. The walk started with a purpose as I had a couple of pairs of shoes to deliver to the Salvation Army bin.

The snow has disappeared completely now … actually it hasn’t if you look at this picture of one of the streams I walked past. All this meant over 15,000 steps!

The soundtrack to Paul’s Wednesday 7th March Walk All Over Cancer Post was very “Paul The Party DJ”. This morning I listened to last Saturday nights edition of Trevor Nelson’s “Rhythm Nation” with included tracks from Ten City, Faith Evans and Gregory Porter. He also played “Rhythm Of Life” by Oleta Adams from her album which I then discovered a copy of in my office while I was sorting through stuff later (maybe it will get a play in full soon on one of my walks.

For my afternoon walk I went to my phone iTunes and after flipping around a bit I settled on “Al Green’s Greatest Hits”. What a stunning collection – I’ve posted the cover as part of the “post an album and say nothing” thingy.

So that was Paul’s Wednesday 7th March Walk All Over Cancer Post, I haven’t quite reversed my deficit but I’m getting there.

Day 6 WAOC March 2018

6th March 2018/0 Comments/in Uncategorised/by Paul

Day 6 WAOC March 2018… that’s day six of my Walk All Over Cancer challenge if you haven’t been paying attention.

Like far too many people our lives have been hit by cancer and I’m glad to add my support to the work done by Cancer Research UK.

Finding two hours in a day to walk is proving difficult especially with the recent weather but today (fanfare please) …
I finally managed it and have started to make inroads to the deficit that has built up over the first five days of the month.

I was out this morning earlier than previous days, did some work and dropped off a box of fliers to the PMN Wedding Fayres offices (CLICK HERE to find out more about their excellent fares where you’ll get my brilliant brochure in your goodie bag), saw my daughter and her fiancé, and then went out for another walk. Here are a couple of “out and about” snaps.

As for my listening, today was a podcast day and I listened to two of my favourites. I’m not going to talk about them today, I’ll save that for another time.

That’s Day 6 WAOC March 2018, the day I turned the corner … will tomorrow bring a U-turn, tune in and find out x

Monday 5th March ~ Day 5 of the Walk All Over Cancer challenge

5th March 2018/0 Comments/in Uncategorised/by Paul

It’s Monday 5th March ~ Day 5 of the Walk All Over Cancer challenge.

This is the latest in a series of personal posts about my quest to walk 310,000 steps in March and give some support to Cancer Research UK. To find out more scroll up or down for the other “challenge” posts, they started HERE.

Things still aren’t going to plan and it’s very frustrating! I don’t think I’m going out again today and I’ve only done 7,500 steps – basically I was thwarted by the weather … and lunch, but it’s not the end of the world and tomorrow is another day.

I didn’t stop to take any pictures, it was grey and damp even before the rain came after lunch. The snow had all but disappeared and I didn’t really see many other walkers today, all the children were back at school. Talking of lunch, it was lovely to see Kath and Martyn and visit The Coach & Horses at Cadnam again where we had another great meal. CLICK HERE for the Coach & Horses FaceBook page.

It looks like the weather is going to follow a similar pattern over the next few days (my phone tells me 8 days!) so I’m going to have to “man up” if I’m to get back on track. PLEASE send me some good vibes.

Musically today was all about Shaun Escoffery’s “Evergreen” album which was originally released in September 2016.

It’s a great album and I recommend it to anyone who likes classic soul singers. Today I was particularly taken with “Live Your Life” but as I can’t find a video of that track here’s “When The Love Is Gone” from the album.

So that was Monday 5th March ~ Day 5 of the Walk All Over Cancer challenge. My knees are aching a bit but I’ve been very sure footed across these first five days with no major slips or trips despite the challenging weather, that’s probably down to my Dr Marten shoes – my main footwear of choice for about ten years now. Fingers crossed for a better day tomorrow.

Day 3 & 4 Walk All Over Cancer Challenge

4th March 2018/0 Comments/in Uncategorised/by Paul

Day 3 & 4 Walk All Over Cancer Challenge and I’ve almost found my rhythm. Actually I think I’m there, but once again I’ve failed to master the technology – my phone when flat this afternoon so failed to record the last part of my walk – “stupid is as stupid does”!

Yesterday, 3rd April, was a busy day with family visits and a trip to the football. For anyone who knows me Southampton F.C. have always been my team and, although life took me away from going in my 20’s and some of my 30’s, I’ve been going at least a handful of times a season for many years. The walk from where we park to the ground and back is usually about 8,000 steps so I walked to Mings for our Chinese to top up my numbers and ended Saturday just under the target on 9,711.

I only took one picture on Saturday – this one that tells a rather sad story. I understand HMV’s lease has run out and they can’t agree terms with their landlords. I have lots of memories of HMV in Southampton in three different locations – I wonder if there will be a fourth.

Day 3 & 4 Walk All Over Cancer Challenge and we come to Sunday and I’m determined to complete the days 10k and start reducing the shortfall from the first three days. The temperatures are rising and the snow is disappearing fast.

I went out in the morning and did over 6,000 steps and then in the afternoon only for my phone to fail me again so as I type this my total is 9,923 ~ I could go out again now my phone has charged but I won’t. Here are a few snaps from my day …

As you can see there were no polar bears in the paddling pool at Hangar Farm, no wolves roaming the parks or penguins in the stream, it looks like the cold snap is over.

As for my soundtrack on Day 3 & 4 Walk All Over Cancer Challenge … no albums, just conversation with friends on Saturday and the iPlayer on Sunday when (here come the Guilty Pleasure of your favourite Hampshire Wedding DJ) I heard what had been happening in Ambridge with The Archers Omnibus form Radio 4 in the morning and Johnny Walker’s Sounds of the 70’s in the afternoon.

Tomorrow the catch up begins!

(again) x

Walk All Over Cancer ~ Day 1

1st March 2018/0 Comments/in Uncategorised/by Paul

Happy month everyone! Please excuse this series of rather self-indulgent posts, I’m blogging about this to strengthen my resolve to complete the Walk All Over Cancer challenge.

I signed up for the Cancer Research UK ‘Walk All Over Cancer ~ 10,000 steps every day this March’ campaign – and then the weather did THIS!

Don’t worry, I’m not going to pester you all for donations (well not every day, but I will post a link in future posts). I am going to try and get 310,000 steps done across the month. You can find out more about the excellent work Cancer Research do by clicking here.

I’ve also got this thing in my head about sharing what I’m listening to every day as I do the bulk of my walk – and then there was the FaceBook “post an album picture but don’t explain it” thing that Mark nominated me for!

That’s a Facebook thing so I thought I’d share a few notes about the album here on my blog. Ian Hunter’s “The truth, the whole truth and nothin’ but the truth” is an excellent live album recorded at The Astoria in London in 2004 and released in 2005 (CLICK HERE for more). Ian Hunter was one of my heroes when I was at college, I even based my A Level art project on a portrait of him. His book “Diary of a Rock N Roll Star’ (CLICK HERE) is one of my favourites and I was lucky to finally see him in June last year.

Anyway, I went out for a walk in the snow with the album playing on my phone, I stopped to take this picture of the stream and my phone shut down – so my steps weren’t actually recorded! I only got about four songs into the album so I’ll finish listening to it this afternoon.

I walked for about an hour, met another gentleman who walked with me for a while and saw Michelle and lots of children trying to find enough snow to really enjoy themselves. I’m home now and it’s started to come down heavier so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

https://www.thepartydj.co.uk/creating-wow-wedding-20th-february/

Sheena’s 60th Party at The Ageas Bowl

16th February 2018/0 Comments/in Uncategorised/by Paul

What makes a great party? Well, Sheena’s 60th Party at The Ageas Bowl last month is a good example.

From the moment the guests arrived to the moment the last one left, Sheena and I had made a plan to ensure something was happening. We squeezed a lot in but made sure nothing was rushed and that everyone felt a part of the celebration.

I arrived at The Ageas around 4pm to load in and set up in the first floor Robin Smith suite. By the time Sheena and her family arrived I was suited and booted with the music playing and a slideshow running on my big projector screen with over 400 pictures from the family album. Everything was ready for Sheena’s Party at The Ageas Bowl.

Once we had everyone seated, I introduced Sheena’s Uncle Pete who presented a brilliant quiz. When Sheena and I met to plan the party I mentioned a quiz and she told me all about her Uncle who is an excellent quizmaster and has done my family events in the past including her 50th. I had my colleague John with me who run quiz nights and we were both very impressed with Pete’s quiz. There were 9 tables of guests and the winners were invited to go to the warm buffet table first, runners up second, etc … the table that came last had to wait a while longer!

After the two course buffet it was time for the formalities. I introduced another of Sheena’s uncles, Malcolm, who had travelled from Canada to join in the celebrations and he gave a lovely speech. Then I had video messages I’d collected from friends and family who couldn’t be there – messages from Thailand, Hong Kong, more from the family in Canada and many other places – over 6 minutes of snippets! Finally Sheena said her thank you’s – with many lovely insights into her family and friendships.

Then we gathered everyone together so that the official photographers could get a big photo of everyone together. Two of the guests, Thelma and Jacob, were also celebrating birthdays and Sheena had cakes for both of them. Then, birthday girl, Thelma sang “Ain’t Missbeahvin'” acappella with everyone singing and clapping along.

Finally it time to get the dancing underway and it wasn’t long before the floor was busy and it stayed that way until the end at 12:30. I had plenty of requests from the birthday girl which I had in advance and I was able to add requests from the guests as the evening went on. We were also entertained with an excellent version of “Never Gonna Give you Up” by Gerry who sang over a backing track I had ready for him.

There were a few other things that we did to make the evening special – but if I tell you everything people will just copy and that wouldn’t be right 😉

That was Sheena’s fabulous Party at The Ageas Bowl, truly a night to remember.

Creating Your WOW Wedding ~ 20th February

7th February 2018/0 Comments/in Event, Uncategorised/by Paul

The next Creating Your WOW Wedding ~ 20th February, that’s just a few days away!

I announced this a couple of weeks ago but the venue has changed and spaces are limited. We are now at The Ring Studio in London Road, Southampton. CLICK HERE for more about The Ring Studio.

The evening is just a chance for me to explain how your wedding day will probably run and what are the key moments and how you can make the most of them. It’s an informal, fun event and there is no awkward audience participation – don’t worry I won’t pick on you! In just a couple of hours you’ll have a much better understanding of what to expect so that you won’t be stressed just excited.

I’ll go through the wedding day time line and tell you how to add simple touches to make it better by utilising my “WOW Wedding” philosophy where you …
Weave yourselves into the day.
Get Others involved
and explain Why.

If you haven’t read ‘Your WOW Wedding’ let me know and I’ll send you a link – it’ll take about 30 minutes to read and will really help you create a day your friend and family will love.

You don’t even have to be one of my clients, this FREE event is open to anyone who’s getting married and you can even bring friends or other members of your family if you wish.

There is a form below if you’d like to reserve places or ask any questions.

This will be the only Creating Your WOW Wedding event this spring.

Creating Your WOW Wedding ~ 20th February ~ The Ring Studio – reserve your places NOW or just ask questions via this form.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Looking For Recommendations

5th January 2018/0 Comments/in Uncategorised, Wedding Tips/by Paul

Looking For Recommendations should be a staple element of early wedding planning ~ FACT

BUT how should you be looking for recommendations? The thing I want to highlight here is something that became more and more apparent in 2017, and that is the “Looking For Recommendations” facility on FaceBook – what a brilliant idea … NOT! Well “not” if you don’t use it correctly.

The thing is people are lazy, and that includes me. We ask for advice and …
1) we don’t really ask the right people and then …
2) we don’t follow it up properly

Let me explain. Somebody is getting married and they are looking for a great DJ to play at their wedding or a brilliant photographer to capture the memories of this once in a lifetime event. So, they go onto a FaceBook Group like Southampton or Hampshire Weddings and type in “Looking For Recommendations for a great wedding DJ”. This is seen by lots of DJ’s who the reply “Hi I’m a DJ please take a look at my site”. They are also seen by lots of other suppliers who have DJ friends who reply with “check out DJ so-and-so”, the post frequently attracts dozens, sometimes hundreds, of replies. Let’s be honest, it all looks a bit desperate and at that this point the original poster has a huge list to look at and they often haven’t said what date and venue they are holding their wedding so many of the DJ’s may already be booked.

They have recommendations, but from who? People who they know nothing about – so what use are these recommendations?

As I said right at the start, looking for recommendations should be a staple element of early wedding planning but get them from people you know – initially your family, your friends and then talk to the suppliers you’ve already chosen ask them. There’s a video on my last blog post that covers this topic so PLEASE CLICK HERE to see it.

So, when you go looking for recommendations make sure they are credible and relevant, ask the people you know who have real experience and can make real recommendations.