Disclaimer and final thoughts

Disclaimer


As an employee of Diabetes UK and as someone raising money for Diabetes UK I have included information about my work and the work of Diabetes UK throughout this blog, coupled with my own thoughts and feelings. For this reason  I must clearly state:

However intelligent, awesome or amusing the content of this blog may be, all content is the personal experiences and opinions of myself and has nothing to do with Diabetes UK or its partners.


Final Thoughts

My challenge over the past two months really stemmed from a mix of interest in a news item and one man's general boredom. I was and have been told I was an idiot for taking up this challenge, but luckily for me I am also a stubborn idiot and so ignored the ridicule of others (including my father) to continue with my challenge. At the end of the day it has been challenging, at times frustrating, but I am very glad I did it.

The structure forced upon  me by living on £6.25 a day was at times enjoyable. It provided me with a comforting clarity in the process of making choices by reducing my options. It provided me with motivation (to cycle those eight miles a day), discipline (to not waste my money on things that are really unnecessary, this includes junk food, meals out, things you only use once and then never use again). What I am trying to say is that choice is definitely a blessing and a curse. Really we don't need much to live or much to be happy, what's more, if we exercise instead of getting transport, if we cook ourselves instead of eating out, you'll soon realise that you are growing as a person and can improve your life for free.

Thanks in part to the past two months I really believe we can easily fill our time doing enjoyable things without spending money, and I hope this can be a consolation to those that don't have much. For those that do have money, take a second to think before you buy, whether you have time to wait a little, whether there are better and more important things you could purchase if you saved now and bought later, or most importantly, is what you're buying simply something to comfort your own laziness. Maybe if you are a bit firmer with yourself you can realise where all the money goes so quickly, make simple little changes and maybe stop yourself from praying for payday every month.

A simple idea lead me to another country and the opportunity to get something published in a foreign newspaper.   My journey was completely organic and I think it showed that life can be very interesting when you take a step back and decide to do something a little out of the ordinary.

Sure there may be justification in me being labelled an idiot or a little crazy, but I am proud with what I have achieved over the past two months and I feel at least I am an idiot with a great story. Thanks for all those that sponsored me and for those of you that want to read on please do, although I would suggest starting from the beginning.

The final article

As I mentioned before, due to my accidental discovery of the headquarters of Diabetes France, I managed to get an article published in their magazine called "equilibre", similar to Diabetes UK's own magazine called balance. Well the editor of the magazine then sent me a copy:

Front Cover

Note from Editor

Double page spread on Diabetes UK and the Cyclists

My photos of the Cyclists I had sent to Clare

The Shock Ending

So here I am sitting in the Victoria Coach Station, borrowing the iPhone of a girl I just met, but will be spending 8 hours travelling to Parisbyz coach with.

It costs £15 for a ticket to Paris on Eurolines, I managed to find travel insurance on money supermarket, with a pre-existing medical condition for £11.57 and using hostelworld I got a understandably shoddy appartment in the bastille area of France for £10 a night (£40) in total.

I had always planned at the end of my challenge to take my remaining money and see how far across Europe I could get.
Firstly, I had found a hitchhiking website where people posted rides, how many seats where available and hom much if any, they would charge for petrol money. One guy was going to Bulgaria from London for free.
I would then think about couchsurfing to save money on accomodation.

However, as I had to be back in the office Monday afternoon I decided I would need something slightly more structured.

Ironically, there is a diabetes Uk fundraising event this weekend where people are cycling 200 miles from London to Paris and meet at 5pm this Sunday so I will meet them there.

For now Im going to think about how I will save money in one of the most expensive capital cities in Europe.
Living in London on the cheap was doable, Paris is another story, luckily I have a guidebook from the library and 8 hours to kill on a coach.

Alex

Final Week part 1

Monday:

So here it is the final week of my challenge. As promised from the beginning I will finish with a shock ending, to be announced later this week.

I was now

Tuesday: Party Conferences

Today at work I was being filmed for the upcoming party conferences across the UK. I would be filmed asking a pre-scripted question about how the UK would support medical research in the future. It would be posed to panel made up of MPs, Lords and directors of research in charities such as Diabetes UK and BHF. It was quite fun, although it was lucky I had a spare white shirt in my draw as the lines on a pinstripe shirt can confuse the camera (that's what I was told anyway; I was pleasantly surprised nobody made a joke about my face).

After they had finished filming the question they then filmed me doing things around the office. It was quite a strange but amusing experience, they filmed me at my computer, whilst the cameraman was barking instructions; "shake the mouse around", "click with your fingers". Then he said "so what else do you do in the office". I didn't really know how detailed he wanted my answer so I started from the beginning. "Sometimes I walk around and use the photocopier". Therefore, he filmed me walking up and down from the photocopier to my desk. Some of my colleagues were excited because they felt they might get in the shot as I sat down.

Once the filming was done I got back to work before being questioned when my next publicity stunt was being held. There is a running joke between some of the people that sit next to me at work that I have hired Max Clifford to help my public image. However, if it were up to me I don't think I would ever hire Max Clifford. Partially, because I don't think I swim in the same circles as Jade Goody, Jordan and Kerry Katona.

Final week shock ending

My Shock ending to the challenge will be revealed on the eve of the Wednesday the 8th of September.

Thanks to all that have sponsored me so far too:

Ilaria, Huw, Elaine, Joao, Laith, Anna, Michelle, Ryan, Steve, Mum (who I know reads this because I found it stored in her favorites), Dad, Shaleen, Helen, Despina, Juliet, Rose, Jessica, Allan, Vicky, Shaun, Richard, Jennifer, Louise, Will and a few more to be updated and a few more hopefully to be added at http://www.diabeteschallenge.org.uk/challenge/saveme

If I reach my target of £1000 I will be donating £1000 of my own money that I have saved to help fund one of the Research grants held by Diabetes UK.

Challenge day 50-56: Entering the final days

Monday: Notting Hill part 2

It felt slightly strange not to be at work on a Monday, but I wasn't complaining. I woke up later than usual and went to pick up the items of my weekly shop. I then met my friend Matt before heading out once more to Notting Hill. Unfortunately, my travelcard had now run out so I had to purchase a single to Notting hill that cost £1.80 as I went later in the day. I had brought two sandwiches though to cater for my lunch and dinner.

Once again we saw a day of colourful floats, people partying and a fair share of dreadlocks. Me and Matt then met Tal (who had spent the day in Covent Garden without Lauren), before arranging to meet Lauren and her two friends at pub nearby. Whilst waiting by a lamp post for Lauren and her friends to arrive a man (Dan) and his girlfriend (Amy) asked if we wanted to sit down whilst we waited. We explained who we were and I explained that Tal had been a tour guide for my first time in Israel, then when I had stayed on she had let me crash at her place so I was returning the favour. However, before I had time to say I was returning the favour, the girl then said to me oooh you slut! I think she meant to say it in her head and in her mildly drunken state had blurted it out. She then began to apologise, oh I'm sorry I didn't mean that, I was stopping myself from laughing to try and explain on Tal's behalf that we were nothing more than friends. Matt on the other hand was doing his upmost to help me by virtually wetting himself with laughter at the sight of this girl trying to apologise after her slightly misplaced outburst. The boyfriend looked like this type of thing had happened before, and his attitude throughout our conversations, was one of being bothered enough to wince at some of the conversations she had brought up, but not bothered enough to make her change the subject. She was like a cross between the blond dippy one from the Vicar of Dibley and Big Sooz from the Peep show. All in all the pair of them were hilarious without trying, just what you need after a long festival on what felt like a Sunday afternoon. After Lauren and her friends arrived we all sat together and had some more conversations with Dan and Amy from Hackney.

We then left to get the train home to where my friend was having a party in Balham. I asked Tal and Lauren if they wanted to come to and they decided at the very last minute they did, leaving Lauren's two other friends to get the train back to Sutton together. It was a leaving party for one of my friends who was travelling around China for the year. It was nice to see her and another collection of my friends too. I had my fair share of free booze and crisps before being given a lift home by one of my friends who hadn't been taking such advantages. I also said goodbye to Tal who was returning to Israel the following morning.

Spent £338.64

Tuesday: Back to work

After a few hours sleep I woke up and cycled the 8 miles to work on my little bike. After not cycling for over a week I was a little worried I might not be able to do it, but I managed to get through it ok. I stayed at work until 8pm doing a 12 hour shift in preparation for the Hackney Roadshow of the next two days. I then cycled back home before making myself spaghetti bolognese.

Spent £ 341.23

Wednesday: Roadshow time and a full conference

Wednesday was the first day of the Hackney Roadshow in the Tesco's car park in morning lane. I wondered if I would see Amy and Dan from the Carnival, but unfortunately not. We managed to distribute over 1000 pieces of information (leaflets etc) and risk assess 100 people for type 2 diabetes with 55 being referred to their GP for testing. I also received an email to say that all the delegate places on my conference had been filled. In conclusion, a pretty good working day. Additionally, my travel and lunch expenses, that would cover the next days lunch too were paid for by the Roadshow team. For dinner I had part two of my spaghetti bolognese.

Spent £341.23

Thursday: The softball Finale

Thursday was not just the final day of the Hackney Roadshow but also the Finale of the charity softball season of 2010. It was between Cancer Research UK (reigning champions of the previous 2 years) and Sparks, a charity that funds research for babies born with a medical condition or disability. After helping out at the Roadshow (where we managed to risk assess exactly 100 people once again) Magda and I, headed to Hyde Park. Lauren and one of her friends from the Carnival was in Knightsbridge so I told them to come with and watch. It was a hard fought game with some excellent play and a fair share of high octane moments (including when a man was running to the 2nd base and the women on the base just made the catch to strike him out, unfortunately for her, he couldn't halt his run and completely took her out. Luckily being a charity softball watched by various other charities, including St John's Ambulance we were well stocked up with first aiders. However, despite play being stopped for a good ten minutes she soon came around and play continued). Going into the Last innings Sparks had a considerable lead and Cancer Research were unable to catch them up. Much to the joy of the rest of the softball teams watching, Cancer Research UK were knocked off their perch.

Throughout the match Harris Hill had provided free food and alcohol, but that in no way stopped the spectators from rushing to the Tattersley Tavern (the designated post softball boozing hole) to take full advantage of the bar tab provided. In total I had consumed about four pints by the end of the night and had not paid for any of them. Additionally, I had saved my sandwich for dinner therefore I had again spent nothing.

Spent £341.23

Friday: A nightime cyclist

After the evening before I was not looking forward to my cycle journey in. It was made worse by me witnessing a trucks wing mirror being completely taken out by a bus as they collided with each other. The bus then drove off leaving the truck driver looking rather shaken up. I left my details with him if he needed a witness and waited until he felt better.

I got into work slightly late but was working until 8pm because I was training speaker volunteers in our Camden Office the next day. Speaker scheme volunteers are given training and promotional materials to enable them to talk on behalf of Diabetes UK to groups in their local communities. It is a very effective way of raining awareness about diabetes and the work of Diabetes UK. The training includes advice and guidance on giving presentations and the scheme will give speakers the opportunity to develop their presentation skills to a wide range of audiences.

I then cycled home and had my final portion of spaghetti bolognese.

Spent £341.23

Saturday: Speaker Scheme training

The training went well, the only problem being the projector, which decided mid-way to stop working. Luckily, it fitted well within the "hints and tips" section and in particular the part about always having a plan b if technology fails you. I trained 10 speakers and I am to train another 10-20 on the 25th of September too. I had planned for 12 but 2 didn't show up so the surplus of food bought for the training I decided to take home with me after offering off remainders to the group. I therefore had two salads and enough fruit to last me well into the end of my challenge.

Spent £341.23

Sunday: Happy birthday Nicola

Sunday was the birthday of my mum Nicola and my friend Joao. I wish them all the best and hope they had a great day. My mum went with my dad and sister to an old fashioned railway with a steam train. She likes them because they remind her of her childhood trips to Frinton on Sea, where she got her very first job as a waitress in a tea room.

I on the other hand wrote up my blog for the previous three weeks, whilst also cooking dinner of risotto for the whole family. Final week to go and I will add my rent for this month of £116.25, leaving me with a total of £142.52 for my final week

Spent £ 457.48

Challenge day 43-49: A Tourist in London

Monday: The arrival

On Monday I met my friend Tal from Israel, who was staying with me for a few days. She was staying for a week in London (with me for 4 days) before going back to start studying political science at Jerusalem university (probably once of the best locations to study political science).

After meeting her early in Victoria we went back to my house via Lidl, where there was a deal of two large cheeses for £4.

After eating my sandwich lunch we then took the bus to visit Harrods again.

Now I wasn't with my cousin I felt this was a great opportunity to be a slightly uncivilised consumer. What I mean here is that even though I couldn't possibly afford anything in Harrods, that wasn't going to stop me from trying everything I could on. I got this relatively childish idea from my schoolboy days, more specifically from one of my year 8 (Age 12) religious education lessons.

We had a guest speaker come in to talk about the difference between ethics, law and morality. I remember little about why they needed to bring someone in considering our R.E teacher was called Mr Priestman (I kid you not), however, what I do remember is that he told us this: "technically it's not illegal to go into Sainsburys, fill a trolley with shopping, and then just walk out". I don't think he really judged the maturity level of his audience because a few months later during the summer holidays a few of my friends did exactly that, filling a shopping trolley right to the brim and leaving it in one of the aisles. Unfortunately for them, except one of the four boys who had slipped out the back, the other three were caught, and when the school found out, were internally suspended.

So basically I had to hone my acting skills and pretend like I wanted, and had the financial capabilities, to buy the designer £20,000 watches and £2000 suits from Harrods, without losing credibility. In fairness the suits were pretty easy to try without attention, however the watch provided a bit more trouble. Considering most things in the jewellery section are in glass cabinets I had to go to the effort of asking for them to be removed and then enquiring for me to try them on. However, after trying on three watches littered with diamonds I finally deciding that I wanted to try at the Rolex store in Oxford street myself. I would of felt bad if it wasnt for the fact the salesman there look like they get very little interest throughout the day, despite Harrods having a reasonable collection of watches for only a few hundred pounds too. Anyway, Tal went along to the toy and chocolate section before departing with me to further explore the Kensington and Chelsea area.

We went to the Science museum, National history museum,

Kensington Palace,

Hyde park,

Buckingham Palace,

St James Park

and the houses of Parliament where we just missed out on getting in.

It can be quite a fun experience (one I have done a few times as a tourist and twice as a guest of the house). For more information consult http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/ukvisitors/. We then went home and I cooked macaroni cheese, we ate half of what I made so I could finish the rest tomorrow.

Spent £316.99

Tuesday: Work and play

Tuesday I had to do a site visit of where were holding the Volunteers Conference. I took Tal with me and then as soon as it finished I took her to Covent Garden to show her the Royal Opera/Ballet House, as she is trained in Ballet(after taking a slight detour into Somerset House).

I was looking for tickets to watch a Ballet but unfortunately there were no performances that week. My mum, who is also trained in Ballet told me that you can get some tickets for as cheap as £10 or £5 standing. Obviously to go from £210 seats to £10 you give up a lot on view and comfort so its worth bringing some opera glasses, but it is definitely worth it, just for the fact it is something different.

Next we went to Leicester Square and we also moved ideas from opera to theatre tickets.

In Leicester Square you can often get half price or discounted theatre tickets from the "Tkts" stall in the centre of the Square. Other tips include phoning up the theatre where your choice of play is being held, as often you can get further discounts from cutting out the middleman. Fringe theatres outside of the centre are usually less expensive than their West End counterparts, typically in the region of £10-£15. However, many offer pay-what-you-can nights, where ticket prices are left to your conscience. Some hand over 50p while other more charitable souls pay the whole price or more.

The Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square has 10p tickets. They are standing tickets and must be bought in person at the box office from 1 hour before the performance, one per person only and their are 8 tickets available. Finally, my last theatre tip is for those under 26. Londoners under the age of 26 are also entitled to free theatre tickets at a variety of venues across the capital up until March 2011. It is part of the Arts Council's "A night less ordinary" scheme (For more info go to www.anightlessordinary.org.uk).

Now back to where I was before, Tal had decided she wanted to go and see a West End production and would decide, which one that evening. We walked from Leicester Square through Piccadilly Circus, up Regents Street (stopping in Hamleys and Libertys on the way)

past Oxford street until we got a bus to Camden. I directed her to the market and told her I would meet her in 2 hours after I had finished some work.

We met two hours later with Tal seemingly to grow a selection of bags for me to carry. We then went back home and had second helpings of Macaroni cheese. My parents bought the ingredients for Apple Crumble, which I made but did not try as the Macaroni cheese had filled me up completely. My mum then took Tal on a tour of London by night, something I recommend to anyone who has the ability, not necessarily with my mum though.

Spent £316.99

Wednesday: Sweet Home Chicago

Wednesday I decided to take Tal around the Southbank area from London bridge along the river until the houses of parliament. We ended going back on ourselves a little bit, as she wanted to see the Tower of London.

We then went past Monument before walking across London Bridge once more. Now one of the world's great metropolises, London started in humble fashion as a small fashion as a smalle settlement that grew up next to a bridge across the Thames. The bridge remained London's only permanent river crossing until the mid 18th-century. The current bridge erected in the 1970s, is a nondescript and almost ironically featureless successor.

I also had to explain to Tal that a Wednesday was an equally bland day for Borough Market, with few sights and sounds available in comparison to a Saturday Morning. However, she was more interested in Southwark Cathedral. She told me before coming that she liked all things Gothic, so where better than London's first Gothic church, which was built over a 200-year period between the 13th-15th centuries (however, it was only designated a cathedral at the beginning of the 20th Century).

We spent a bit of time inside the cathedral before moving past the Golden Hinde (a replica of the ship abroad which Sir Frances Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe in the 16th Century). When I was about 10 my friend had a birthday party on the boat and we got to talk to pirates on the boat, before going to visit the London Dungeon-esque Clink Prison. A prison where one of my relatives (unfortunately not by blood), a Mr Charles Dickens, would gain inspiration for his novel David Copperfield after his father John spent time for not paying his debts. Me and Tal casually walked past both before heading to the Globe.

She took some more pictures before we entered the Tate Modern. I went with Michael Mansfield QC and his son on the day the tate modern opened and I remember being impressed that all the space of the main hall was filled with Louise Bourgeois's Giant spider. However, on many of my future visits there was nothing there, making it feel like a bit of a waste of space. Luckily, that day it wasn't and it was quite fitting for the guest I had brought. The exhibition was a live Ballet class, which Tal watched for about 10 minutes, pointing out flaws in the technique of some of the dancers.

We then went to the OXO tower, which 8th floor views are some of the best in London. The tower itself is owned by the Coin Street Builders, a not for profit organisation that also owns, in August a temporary Lido, where free swimming lessons are available for all ages.

Me and Tal then walked to the Southbank to view the skateboarders, a place where I spent a lot of my childhood. Then the London Eye before finally taking Tal to a place every tourist comes to London to see, one of the most favourite parts of the river.....that's right.....St Thomas's hospital. I told Tal I was taking her to the hospital, she in all fairness seemed rather perplexed by such an announcement. However, without breaking my stride I walked in the entrance of the hospital, past doctors, nurses, sick patients and waxed floors. By this time Tal was looking slightly perplexed. However, I knew exactly what I was doing, because at the entrance of the Hospital walking in the direction of the Evelina children's hospital there is a grand piano. It is completely free to play and left in a small hallway for patients to play. I let Tal sit down after walking all day and began to play her some pieces I knew: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wijcN__y6EI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7BRpmbfPk0 . After playing these two pieces I was in a rush to buy tickets for the theatre. Tal had decided she wanted to see Chicago, and despite getting a good discount from the tckts hut in Leicester square it was still a bit too expensive for me.

She didn't mind though because she was able to see it with one of her other friends from London, additionally, I didn't mind too much because I had seen it a few years ago with my sister (even before the film with Catherine Zeta Jones had come out). Instead I went home to make myself spaghetti bolognese and then picked her up after the play had finished. She seemed very impressed with the dancing and happy to of seen a real West End show in London.

Spent £316.99

Thursday: A Stand and a Tour

Thursday I spent most of the day staffing a stand at Alcatel Lucent in Woolwich. They were holding a fun day for workers and it was basically my job to hand out leaflets to staff about diabetes. I got a free lunch and when it was time to leave they even gave me a free dinner too, in the form of leftovers that is. It was also the leaving do of a guy who is head of the Roadshow team and has worked at Diabetes UK for 7 years. I treated myself to a pint for £3.25, which I thought was fair considering I had spent nothing on food for the day.

I stayed for a bit. but I had planned to go on a walking tour with Tal. I had done it myself about 6 months previously and loved it. It was a tour of the dark history of London, a sort of whose who, or sordid behaviour, serial killers, murderers, thieves that take place on the streets of London. It is called the Blood and Tears Walk and is a 2 hour walk starting at Barbican tube and ending at Holborn, taken by am Irish ex-actor. As I had done it before he only charged me £7,but Tal and our mutual friend David (himself a Londoner) it was £8. If you book online you can get a ticket for £7.50. He also does Shakespeare walks too. For more information consult here http://www.shockinglondon.com/ I really recommend it.

Spent 327.24

Friday: My First Ever Giant Cheque

We had been made Charity of the Year with Sainsbury's in Alperton over a year ago and it was about time to pick up the years fundraising total. Therefore, I got to pick up the giant cheque, my first ever giant cheque, with the remainder of the Diabetes UK merchandise left at the store. It answered many of the questions I had pondered as a young boy.

1. Is there a giant cheque book. Answer: no it is just a big cheque made of cardboard, at the same time as receiving a giant cheque, you get a normal size cheque which is the one you give to the bank.

2. Is there a giant bank that accept giant cheques. Answer: No!

after receiving the small cheque the manager at the store asked if I wanted the giant one too. I said "oh okay if it's not to much trouble". Inside my head I was saying something like this: "YES YES YES YES YES", "Where am I going to put this giant cheque in my house?, how many people are going to look at me funny on the tube home.

Then answer was my kitchen and too many to count. I also was carrying it around another branch of Sainsburys whilst picking up Chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce for my risotto.

Spent 329.24

Saturday: A party in Plumstead

Saturday I spent some of the day watching Wolves vs Newcastle (My dads team vs my team). Then after that I went to a party in the new flat of my friends Stu and Jade from University. As I had a travelcard I get free buses throughout London. Therefore, although it took slightly longer it was still free to make the effort. There was free drinks at the party and a free place to stay, which consisted of the floor and a pillow I had taken from the sofa. It was great to see my university friends and it only seemed fitting that I would wake up the next morning, with smells of alcohol, close friends nearby, a lack of sleep and a good time had by all.

Spent 331.24

Sunday: Notting Hill Part 1

After waking up on the floor in Plumstead I got the bus home, ate my porridge, had a power nap and then after eating lunch of a sandwich, packed an additional sandwich in my bag ready to head out to the Notting Hill Carnival with some of the friends from last night. It was a great day to be at one of the biggest street parties in the world. The first day being the children and parents day, was one of relative peace and safety said the reporter on the radio the following morning. How peaceful and safe is relative I hear you ask, well 70 arrests and only 3 stabbings.

Luckily no harm came to me or any of my friends. I finished the day with Tal and her friend Lauren who she was now staying with instead of me in Cheam (even further south). Another week down, only two more to go!!!

spent £331.24

Challange day: 36-42 a week of change

Monday: A sunny day in Epsom

Today I was working in the South East regional office in Epsom. I started work at 11 which gave me time to get my weekly shop done in the morning. It was a beautifully sunny day and I was there to discuss the shared London and South East Volunteers conference. After the meeting I stayed at the office for a bit before heading home. For dinner I had spaghetti bolognese.

Spent £280.56

Tuesday: Hello Alan Rickman

After work I got home and received a slightly surprising phonecall. It was Alan Rickman on the phone asking if my mum and dad wanted to stay in his villa in Tuscany. Before I go on I must make clear that Alan Rickmans partner and my dad were friends so it wasn't completely out of the blue, I'm pretty sure hes too busy to operate a one man call-centre. Thanks to him I got the chance to be an extra in Harry Potter 2 when I was younger. I also got a tour of the set with him at Leavesden film studios, including the actual chamber of secrets itself, which had been built and placed in the car park. I took a message and wondered whether I could live in Tuscany on 5 euros a day.

Spent £280.56

Wednesday: Bye bye bus pass

Today I had to prepare for my first cycle ride in to work. I therefore brought a towel, my work shoes and suit trousers into work to leave in my draw. Work went relatively quickly and at I was looking forward to meeting my friend Karen after work, who I had not seemed for a while. I therefore bought 17p sainsburys basics tomato soup for lunch and had brought in some vegetables and bread to dip. All in all it was pretty disgusting (not helped by the hot sauce Anna had told me to put in). I met my friend Karen who had had a slight falling out with some mutual friends and was planning what to do with her life next. She was working as a waitress/barmaid in a cocktail bar, when I first met her. I was an office volunteer within the research team and on my first day had found the tapas bar she was working at. For £3 I would have a slice of spanish omlette with tapwater every time I went in. I quickly made friends with her and the other waitresses and the barman Joao and before long I had developed the name Tortillia boy. Since my challenge I hadnt been for a while, and despite my nickname, was coping well without the regular intake of tortillia. Karen was half Portuguese and half English speaking both and Spanish fluently. She had decided that she was bored of the city and wanted to runaway to Cadiz in spain to start again. She felt she needed £3K to afford rent, driving lessons and a Tefl course so she could be an English teacher in Spain. Whilst talking it reminded me of all the things I wanted to do to, as I had saved up almost £3K I decided I might join her in learning how to drive and taking the Tefl (teaching English as a foreign language) course. I had always wanted to go to Brazil and my cleaner Rosa was soon to move back to setup a language school. She had promised me a job and if I had a tefl course it would fit nicely. Anyway, it was getting late and I wanted to get home before my first day of biking into work. However, as I was falling asleep on my last bus for a while I noticed something strange was happening in the window of the Levi's store on Regents Street.

The band the Magic Numbers were playing a free live set in the window, I had seen them before and really liked them, so I decided to get off the bus and listen to the set. I found a review a week later (http://planetmusicreviews.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/the-magic-numbers-levis-store-regent-street-18th-august-2010/). I then got the bus home before getting to bed.

Spent £280.73

Thursday: First day of biking

Now that my bus pass had run out it was finally time for me to bike to work. I woke up early, had my porridge and got ready to go. I was taking the route of my friend Huw at work, who had suggested I go past battersea park > Sloane square > Hyde Park > Marleybone > Regents park and then arrive at work in Camden. There was a few things I needed to make sure I had before I set off, helmet, lights, I also had to test my blood sugar level to make sure I was ok before going on the road. For people without diabetes you r blood sugar levels are controlled by a combination of the pancreas, liver and the food we eat. People with diabetes can't produce insulin as their pancreases have often stopped working efficiently or working at all.

Therefore, people with diabetes need to constantly test their blood sugar levels to make sure they are not at risk of a hypoglycaemic attack (too little sugar) or hyperglycaemia (too much sugar). Either states can cause the whole body to not work efficiently. People without diabetes usually have a sugar level in the blood between about 4-7mmol at all times (below 4 is hypoglycaemia and above 10 is hyperglycaemia). People with diabetes can sway up and down on this scale so before driving, exericising, eating etc it is very important to test to make sure you are fit to do the different tasks required. For someone with diabetes, you should test your sugar level and make sure it is above 5mmol (Americans and other parts of Europe use a different scale) before driving, so you don't have an accident whilst on the road, as I was cycling rather than sitting behind a wheel this seemed even more important. However, exercise makes sugar levels rise due to the influx of adrenaline realised. Anyway, I set off at about 6:40 thinking that it should take about 1.5 hours to get from Clapham to Camden (about 8 miles) on my little fold up, single speed bike. However, I was slightly wrong it only took 50 mins, so I arrived at work at approximately 7:30 in the morning. Despite, it being a bit silly being at work so early, the roads were quiet and the office was peaceful so I thought it was quite a good habit. Additionally, it meant I could finish slightly earlier and once again escape the rush hour traffic. It had also made me quite hungry so I made the first of a massive three portions of risotto.

Spent £281.73

Friday: First day of Michaela

My second day of biking into work seemed to go even quicker. Once again I came in early but I had learnt my lesson from the day before and got in at about 8am instead of 7:30. It also took me only 45 minutes to get into work, so I felt like I was improving. Then I got home by five because my cousin Michaela was staying with us for the weekend. We watched a film before my mum gave her a tour of London by night in the car. I finished off round two of the risotto and quickly fell asleep.

Spent £281.73

Saturday: Harrods part 1 the sensible visit

My Mum and Sister wanted to take Michaela shopping at Harrods and I said I would go and visit as I like seeing the Toy section. Additionally, I thought maybe I would run into the girl who I met on the bus a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to be working there although I didn't have much time to search for employees as the female members of my family were moving from one shopping area to the next. Whilst in the toy section I saw a Lion worth £660, more than all the money I had for the 2 months of my challenge. Additionally, the 6 foot bears at the entrance were each worth about £1000. Next we moved to the shoe section where there was actually a seating area specifically for people trying on Jimmy Choo's, this was crazy and after feeling a bit tired after cycling to Harrods I was starting to lose patience.

£281.73

Sunday: 6-0 to the Geordies

On Sunday I watched Newcastle play Aston Villa and much to surprise of myself and most people we managed to win 6-0. I said goodbye to Michaela before going off to do my weekly shop. I picked up bread for the week (47p) along with cucmber (29p), apples (£1), celery (25p), cabbage (10p) onions (£1) and milk (69p) pesto (1.66) and a travelcard for 25.80.

Whilst I was shopping my mum, dad and cousin were visiting the Brazilian festival on the Southbank. My mum bought me a programme, which sounded quite fascinating. There were: dancing, martial arts, singing, samba, football, music, art etc.... more can be found herehttp://festivalbrazil.southbankcentre.co.uk/events-archived.

For dinner I had some spring onions, cucumber with pesto and pasta before getting ready for my friend Tal who was arriving from Israel. I had taken Monday and Wednesday off to show her around and for that reason felt the 25.80 travelcard was a necessary.

Spent 312.99