On probation?

As well as my regular daytime gig at the Welsh Assembly Government, I’m also a Board member of South Wales Probation Service. We’re currently in the midst of bidding to win Trust status, so it a very nervous time. I guess they wanted to use my experience of going through the move to trust status during my time at North Glamorgan NHS Trust. I’m on their Audit and Finance sub-committees too.

Just to prove that change is a constant, it’s been announced that North Glamorgan is to merge with Pontypridd and Rhondda to form Cwm Taff NHS Trust from 1 April 2008.

Running Notes

First serious run in ages this week, and ached for a couple of days as a reminder to not let this stuff slide. In previous years the target has been the Swansea Bay 10k. But this year it doesn’t look as though I’m going to be able to attend, there’s the small matter of Lou’s 40th birthday party up Stourbridge way.

So my sights are now set on the Weston Christmas Cracker 10k race, which starts and finishes on the beach. I know, when the tide is out a 10k race could be held from the top of the beach to the waters edge. Anyway, it’s tentatively in the diary for Sunday 9 December.

I always hate filling in the form to enter these races though, because once you’re past 40 you’re a veteran!

Associated to the running is the pedometer challenge which I’m currently taking part in. The aim is to wear a pedometer and record the number of steps you take each day. Most of this week has been over 10,000 a day, which I’m told should be the daily target.

This website gives the step equivalents of a whole range of activities.

Fantasy Baseball Notes

My team, the Ponty Red Sox are in third place in the league, with a chance of pinching second place as the season goes into the last couple of months. This is a miracle really, since I’ve had no pitching whatsoever for the whole season. My batting line up would take on any team in the world, but my pitching staff has been dismal.

A few nifty trades may perk up the team as we enter the home straight.

Fantasy Football Notes

No, not soccer, NFL. Just drafted my team Joey’s Steelman. The team looks pretty strong at quarterback (Carson Palmer) and running back (2 from 3 of Larry Johnson – if he stays healthy, Jamal Lewis and Maurice Jones-Drew). This year though, I might be OK at wide receiver too (Lee Evans, Donald Driver and Terry Glenn).

TV coverage has started already on Sky Sports with a preview show from the NFL Network. Clearly they have reacted to the pressure that NASN has brought to improve their coverage here. The problem is that we here in the UK still get the inane musings of Nick Halling and Kevin Cadle rather than shows like Chris Berman’s PrimeTime from ESPN.

But I guess we really shouldn’t complain when Sky is set to show three games each Sunday as well as the Monday Night Football game.