Yes I am dying… as are we all…it’s never to early for a Bucket List… in fact, Sensei Steve Cattle said that to me once, in not so many words many many years ago.

but… for the first time in years I find myself with a fair bit of time on my hands. Sure I’ve got life admin stuff to do, but I’ve decided to also try and do all the things that I’ve not managed to get around to up to now. The last time I had time off I decided to visit all the Royal Parks in London. I didn’t know that there were in fact in fact 10 Royal Parks dotted around London with one of them being Brompton Cemetery. Now why go and visit a cemetery, well it turns out that that not only is it a beautiful place, there are some pretty interesting people buried there, to include Dr John Snow and Emily Pankhurst.

I actually hadn’t heard of Dr Snow and I remember thinking why so many people were taking pictures of his grave. So there I am, in the middle of a cemetery with my phone out trying to find out about this guy. Anyway, it turns out that back in the day, he was a physician who felt that the miasma theory that cholera and bubonic plague were caused by a noxious form of “bad air” was bonkers. Instead, he started to look at how the infections were being spread and identified a water pump used by the public on Broad Street (now Broadwick Street). Germ theory had not been developed, but he did examine the water and provided a pattern of infection to persuade the local council to disable the well pump by removing its handle. A genius move at the time… no?

Snow later used a dot map to illustrate the cluster of cholera cases around the pump. He also used statistics to illustrate the connection between the quality of the water source and cholera cases. He showed that homes supplied by the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company, which was taking water from sewage-polluted sections of the Thames, had a cholera rate fourteen times that of those supplied by Lambeth Waterworks Company, which obtained water from the upriver, cleaner Seething Wells. Snow’s study was a major event in the history of public health and geography. It is regarded as the founding event of the science of epidemiology.

Then there is Emily Pankhurst. Now as a woman you might think that I’d straight away put her on a pedestal and honour the sacrifices she made as part of the suffragette movement. Bear with me. Today for the fourth time, protesters have closed the M25 to focus on climate change. Do I agree with them, absolutely, do I condone their actions, absolutely not. This is why I have a wee bit of a problem with Emily Pankhurst. Please do some further research, these were not women who were standing quietly demanding a vote etc, they were not just chaining themselves to buildings etc… no they were going beyond selfless suffering and were terrorising to fire their cause literally, they were also into arson. You could compare what they were doing to the IRA and in fact they were committed to a bombing campaign across London and the UK. This was a campaign that lasted over 2 years… I will say, it was not just bombings but arson as well, so whilst I totally support the thought process I really don’t like the methodology. See here for more. Little known fact, they also invented the letter bomb. I don’t like to start political arguments and there are those that mention she also intended for no lives to be lost… but love, you posted letter bombs…

So, what is the plan for this week… well, in the last 12 hours so much has come into focus.

Tomorrow Tuesday is Karate day, morning Peloton training then Karate. Slight side note, today my Masters thesis title was accepted. Internet Sweat- it’s not all virtual.An evaluation of the connected fitness offerings of Peloton in the UK: A pandemic necessity or a gateway to better health and social engagement? 

Wednesday I am doing a recce from Haywards Heath to Balcombe and I want to get my picture of the viaduct! The brochure is below.

Thursday is another double Karate day.

Then, Friday, one thing off my bucket list, I’m going to see (Mrs Timoney, my English teacher in secondary school, who hated me, would be shocked) Romeo and Juliet at the Globe! Very excited. I’m totally going to make this time matter and form memories I will never forget.

*Steve Cattle was a Karate Sensei from the UK who once said at a Gasshuku I attended… “get as much life experience as you can handle, make sure you have stories from those experiences and life lessons that set you apart. Never be afraid to venture out of your comfort zone, you never know what you might find.”. He was one of the most influential people in my life.