The return of Ming the Merciless...

My hair clippers broke a couple of weeks ago; well, actually, they still work but the comb guard keeps falling off. And a loose comb guard is not very useful if you're looking for an even and uniform finish.

Since they broke I've been using my stubble trimmer to shave my head. This works fine but takes forever. It's a bit fiddly to get right and I'm never convinced that there isn't some tuft I've missed lurking somewhere around the back.

Yesterday, I bought a new head trimmer for the bargain price of £20. As an afterthought, I then had a look online for user reviews (backwards, I know) and dug up these reviews on Amazon's site. Most of them, it seems, are not exactly complimentary. So it was, with some anxiety and fearing the worst, that I attempted to shave my head tonight.

As indeed some of the reviews on the Amazon site suggest, the comb guard is useless and, even at the lowest setting, the trimmer did not touch one follicle on my head. I threw caution to the wind, dispensed with the comb guards and just applied the trimmer to my head for a grade 0 cut.

I have to admit that, with its rotary cutting action, it shaved my head (a wee bit shorter than I'd normally go) in no time at all. Admittedly, the trimmer comes with a little accessory trimmer of its own to edge and finish but I don't think it's very flexible. I evened things off using my stubble trimmer and the whole operation took next to no time and produced a uniform and pleasing finish.

The verdict? If you want a quick and even closely shaved head and you have a stubble trimmer of your own that you can use to edge and finish off, then this unit is useful and worth consideration. If you're looking to buy a trimmer to cut anything above grade 0 and you don't have a stubble trimmer to fall back on, then I'd avoid this; it doesn't do what the manufacturers claim it does.

Victor Spinetti...

Victor Spinetti died yesterday. He was a Welsh actor, writer, director and raconteur. He found fame with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop and in the films he made with the Beatles. He performed for the RSC, in the West End and on Broadway and was a talented mimic.

I was lucky enough to meet him a few times during my time as an actor. He always told a good story:

Victor was working on a play in Paris and his mother and sister were visiting from Cwm. Rehearsals were running late and so he rang up his good friend Marlene Dietrich to ask if she would entertain them at his hotel until such time as he could get there.

After rehearsals had finished and he dashed across town in a cab, he walked into the lobby of his hotel to find his mother and sister sat in the bar with Dietrich. They were dressed identically in homemade dresses, the material having been bought in Pontypool market and there they were; giving Marlene Dietrich beauty and fashion tips.

He had hundreds of funny anecdotes, many of which found their way into his books and into his one man shows. Here's the BBC News obituary. Here's the Guardian's obituary.

R.I.P. Victor Spinetti 1929 - 2012

Get a Garmin...

Tonight's run was a bit of a lardy legged affair. I think I'm feeling a little under the weather; I began to get a sore throat on the last day of my holiday. It has stayed with me ever since and been joined by a headache, spotty skin, cold sore, upset stomach and aching joints. All of them quite mild but fatiguing all the same. Perhaps tonight's run was a mistake?

You may be wondering what happened to the running while I was away. After all, there have been no mentions of any runs and no green inked summaries at the bottom of any post since before I left for my holiday over a week ago. Indeed, it seems absent from the agenda.

I can assure you I did go running every day whilst on holiday; even after 6pm in the evening, the heat was killing and the sweat just poured off me. I would stagger the last kilometer and then dive into the coolness of the hotel pool. Tonight's run, while being a doddle compared to those Canarian runs in 30C or more, was still a bit of a tough slog but that, as I say, I put down to my state of health.

The reason there is no green inked summary at the bottom of each post is because my Garmin Forerunner 610 running watch decided to act up and, instead, play silly buggers with me. It would discharge rather than charge, then it couldn't connect to my foot pod and then it couldn't locate any satellites - a bit useless for a GPS running watch, really?

Again, on tonight's run, it wouldn't connect with my foot pod and did not stop when I pressed the stop button at the end of my run. A teensy bit useless. Get a Garmin - my arse!

What a lovely day...!

What a beautiful day today has been. I cycled around in the lovely sunny weather, went for a refreshing swim, bought myself some new sun glasses and a hat in the sales and then met up with the lovely Jaime F for tea and gossip in the Bay.

When I looked at at the weather forecast yesterday, today was going to be a bit of a wash out but it turned out alright, didn't it; I even put my shorts and some suntan lotion on before going for my bike ride... and the rest of the week doesn't look too bad!

Did I bring some of that Canarian sun home with me...?

GC to UK in 20 degrees...

And so back to dear old Blighty; from 33C to 13C in under 4 hours. From a cloudless blue sky from dusk to dawn to this bland wall to wall greyness we've come to accept as the British summer.

But let's not dwell on the negative things; such as the man next to me on the plane who found fault with every other passenger (from the young girl listening to music through headphones to the man who had to be helped on in a wheelchair) and then the female cashier in M&S in Cardiff railway station who told me off for moving 4 steps away from my suitcase, warning me that it could be a bomb - I assured her that it wasn't but she quoted something about the Olympics and we must be vigilant...!

Despite my anxieties about holidaying in such a commercial resort as Playa del Ingles, I must admit to having a bit of a blast there. There was lots of time to relax on the gay beach during the day (with some lovely scenery to take in!) and lots of cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs to visit at night. All in all a fun and relaxing 7 days. I'd go back.

As much as I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight, I shall shut out the sounds of the June gales and driving rain and picture in my mind's eye the positive memories of my holiday - in particular the abiding images I have burned on my retina:

The two waiters at Construction Bar strutting their stuff up and down the street. Looking so serious, chasing people up and down outside. Guaranteed to raise a smile every time.



Oh and for them that's interested, I've now added images from Gran Canaria into the previous 7 posts.