Tag Archives: Alan Fletcher

Why Feb Fast is super annoying…

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Send Grog on a holiday

Send Grog on a holiday

Leading up to the beginning of the month, I was REALLY looking forward to starting Feb Fast. Along with Fletch, we both decided we’d had a pretty indulgent festive season and it was time for a healthy kick-start to the year. Time to give up the grog for a month. I was enthusiastic and ready for the challenge.

Now I KNOW Feb Fast is a great concept – especially because the money raised goes to helping young people and families who are tackling serious alcohol and drug issues – BUT I’ve discovered…

… IT IS REALLY, REALLY ANNOYING!!!!!

For many reasons. Which I’ll tell you about in a minute.

It started out really well. I felt energetic at the gym, was writing more, meeting my deadlines and waking up fresh as a daisy. If you’d like to get a clearer picture of all the benefits, just check out this graphic put out by the Feb Fast group. Of course, some of the statistics also relate to the other things you can give up in February if you’d rather keep drinking grog – like coffee, sugar and social media.

Benefits of Feb Fast

Benefits of Feb Fast

But that self-satisfied smug feeling about saying ‘NO’ to alcohol and being strong wears thin by about Day Four. After a crap day when it’s getting close to dinner time, all you can think about is wanting to crack open that lovely chilled bottle of chardonnay tempting you from the fridge.

So you say ‘NO’ to yourself and go back to sorting through emails or getting on with domestic chores. Then you sit down to watch some TV and again you can hear the chardy singing your name.

Saying 'No' to alcohol

Saying ‘No’ to alcohol

Still you say ‘NO’ but remark to your husband that you might be missing your wine. Just a little. Is he missing his beer? ‘No, I don’t think about it, really,’ he says, smiling. Shrugs nonchalantly. Of course, it’s easy for him. I’m just being silly.

GOD, THAT’S ANNOYING.

 

And I think ‘not drinking’ makes me a little irritable. Just a teeny, weeny bit. After 6pm anyway. It makes me cranky to think about that famous quote from Frank Sinatra – ‘I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.’

He’s right. It’s even worse at social events. Especially because just when you think you’re doing fine and enjoying yourself, someone notices you are NOT drinking alcohol, and wants to talk about it. Really annoying.

Problem drinking

Problem drinking

Then you get some people who look at you strangely when you tell them you’ve given up the grog. They listen for a bit and then nod sympathetically, and throw in a little comment or too that suggests the real reason they think you are doing Feb Fast is because you have a drinking problem.

Seriously? Some people can be VERY annoying. Like it isn’t possible to just want one month of healthy living?

 

But there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Well, halfway through the tunnel in fact. Fletch has decided to buy himself a ‘leave pass’ this Friday night when we go out and celebrate Valentine’s Day. YES!!!! Well, I can’t let him drink on his own, can I? That will still make it TWO WEEKS without drinking which is more than I think I’ve done in about ten years. And we’ll go back to Feb Fasting on the Saturday right through till the end of the month.

Right now I’m feeling quite smug again as it’s the middle of the day and I can feel proud of myself that I’ve lasted ELEVEN DAYS without cracking. But I’m still dreading that witching hour at about 6pm when my mind drifts toward the fridge. Or back to when we were on holidays by the pool and I had this AMAZING passionfruit mojito…. Ah, memories.

Passionfruit Mojito

Passionfruit Mojito

 

 

 

 

A new month and a new diet… using Willpower.

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Hello February!

Hello February!

Don’t you just love the first of the month? A fresh start, a new beginning, new resolutions and in my case, a new diet. It’s also the month that has thousands of Australians taking up the FEB FAST Challenge. Which usually means giving up alcohol. (although you can choose to give up coffee, sugar, caffeine or even digital screens as alternatives.)

Fletch and a few of his Neighbours mates are taking up the alcohol option. He’s already had some generous donations pledged from some lovely friends. If you’d also like to show your support, here’s the link.

http://my.febfast.org/PersonalPage.aspx?registrationID=695522#.Uur251wksok.twitter

Feb Fast

Feb Fast

I’m not quite so brave. I am doing a pathetic half-arsed version of the challenge by ‘saying’ I’m doing Feb Fast without signing up… There’s a good reason for this but I don’t want to go into details. Suffice to say I might have to head overseas soon and if that happens, well, yes OF COURSE I’d be drinking! And I want a practice run before fully committing next year.

I’m curious to see how I’ll go. And Fletch. I’ve heard lots of good things, so I’m actually looking forward to it.

Apparently you lose weight (YES!) and generally achieve a bucket load more in life, so I’ll keep you posted and let you know.

God knows I need to kick start the diet thing again after falling off the wagon MASSIVELY over the Christmas break. Getting on the scales right now is downright scary.

My juice selection for Day One

My juice selection for Day One

Some of you might remember me banging on last year about a diet I put together myself because I wanted something that was realistic to manage, simple to implement and easy to stick to. I called it the FIT FIX Diet, and yep, it really worked. If you’d like an overview, you can refer back to this blog to see the food plan for the first three weeks.

https://jenniferhansen.com.au/wp-admin/post.php?post=6372&action=edit

This time I’m still going to stick to the FIT FIX Diet Plan rules with the extra kicker – NO ALCOHOL. Plus some strategies from a book I mentioned in the last Blog, called Willpower.

Willpower by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney

Willpower by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney

It’s worth a read. Although I do think there are some contradictions in the chapter about dieting. Basically, the authors say there’s no point attempting to take up special diets because they never work. But at the same time, they say certain ‘rules’ can be effective. Like no sugar. If sugar isn’t an option at all, then you don’t waste time and energy deciding whether to eat the stuff, you just say ‘no’ and be done with it.

But if you implement a new ‘rule’, then you are in effect, creating a new diet anyway, aren’t you? Hmmm…

 

 

The best tip though, is the ‘not now, but later’ theory. The idea is that you never say to yourself, ‘I can’t eat that yummy chocolate ice-cream tempting me from the freezer.’  What you are meant to say to yourself is, ‘I won’t eat that yummy chocolate ice-cream now, but I will have it in two hours.’ Or tomorrow.

And you probably never will eat it, but psychologically, you feel less deprived. Those who do this lose more weight and keep it off.

There are lots of fascinating stories about case studies and psychological tests on groups of people to support this theory, so I’m going to give it a go.

Tapiz Chadonnay

Tapiz Chadonnay

So there you have it. The new diet means no alcohol, sticking to the FIT FIX Diet Plan and using tips from the Willpower book. All sounds good, doesn’t it? But damn, I’m going to miss my chardonnay…

Are you giving up anything for February? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments section too.

 

 

 

Fletch’s new Christmas Song – an interview with hubby

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Awash with the Christmas spirit

Awash with the Christmas spirit

While I do take my journalistic profession quite seriously, I have to admit it to having a bout of the giggles while interviewing my own husband. I mean, it does feel a bit ridiculous, after all, when you’ve been married for more than twenty years – to put a taping device between the two of you to start a process of ‘formal’ questioning…

Fletch wasn’t enamoured with the idea either. He even tried fobbing me off with a press release instead! Are you kidding? His own wife? There isn’t a self-respecting journalist on the planet that would do a story on the back of a mere media release. Well, except for the super-lazy and disinterested. I’ve got plenty of faults, but I’m not those.

This was an interview that HAD to be done properly. It’s all about Fletch’s new Christmas song – If You Want A Happy Christmas – out today on ITunes for a teensy-weensy $1.69.  https://itun.es/i6Fb88M  #iTunes

Christmas single

Christmas single – now available on I-Tunes

It’s an upbeat, catchy tune that will put you in the festive spirit, plus all the profits from the song will go to a wonderful charity, Blue September, to aid cancer research.

Fletch recorded the song with harmony singing sensations, The Pacific Belles, who also feature prominently in the video which can be seen on You Tube. The clip has already had more than 9,000 views. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMeRu-0q8E8

He even called on help from his ‘neighbours’ to take part in the video – with actors and great friends Stefan Dennis, Chris Milligan and James Mason joining in the shenanigans, playing the roles of a rather funky Santa and a couple of cheeky elves.

Christmas Video shoot

Christmas Video shoot

But enough from me. Let’s get straight into that interview. And just for the record, I call him ‘ALAN’, not Fletch in this interview, because I am, after all, a complete professional.

————————————————————————————————-

JEN: So tell how you came up with the lyrics for your new song?
ALAN: I’m happy to, but I’m only going to give you one shot at this because I know you’re very, very unreliable with recording interviews. So have you got a back up plan here?

(Okay, so maybe there have been technical glitches with a couple – just a couple – of interviews I’ve recorded on my IPhone that have had to be re-recorded…)

JEN: (laughter) Ah, only my fantastic memory.
ALAN: Okay then, we’ll see how you go.

JEN: So, the lyrics?
ALAN: The lyrics? Oh yes, right. Well, I personally am not a huge fan of the commercialisation of Christmas and so when I came to write a Christmas song, I wanted to do something that was fun but I wanted it to have a little bit of a message as well, and to shift the focus away from present-giving and back on to connecting with the ones you love.

JEN: Is this just a really elaborate way of you saying you’re NOT going to be buying me a present this year?
ALAN: Yes. Yes, you’re getting nothin’ but a big, big smooch right under the mistletoe.

JEN: But what about the diamond hoop ear-rings I really want? (much laughter as of course, I would never expect something so expensive from my very un-materialistic husband)
ALAN: Well, there’s plenty of rich bastards out there who will buy their wives diamond hoop ear-rings but that won’t get them anything. And you’re not going to get any.

JEN: Well, that’s just mean.
ALAN: Move on.

JEN: Why were you reluctant to be interviewed by me?
ALAN: Because you’re too invasive as an interviewer and you have a reputation for running with sleaze.

JEN: Rubbish! Give me an example.
ALAN: Your cosmetic blogs. They’re full of sleaze.
(I have no idea what he is talking about…)

JEN: Well, what about your song with the line in it about kissing under the mistletoe with a MERRY HO? What does that mean? You want to pash a drunken whore under a green leaf?
ALAN: Would you stop wasting my time?

JEN: No, this is my interview and I’m running it so just answer the question. Do you really think it’s appropriate we should be singing about drunken whores to our children at Christmas time?
ALAN: Well, it’s better to sleep with a drunken whore than a sober one.
JEN: Why?
ALAN: Because they won’t remember you the next day.

JEN: Time to move on. So what measure of success do you need from this song to make all the hard work worthwhile?
ALAN: I’d like it to have widespread distribution and recognition over the years – not just this year – and that I don’t make a loss.

JEN: So you want it to be played in shopping centres, at carols nights etc..?
FLETCH: I would like it to be played wherever people feel festive. I think it’s a festive song with a really good hook and I think people will enjoy it.

The Daily Mirror

The Daily Mirror

JEN: It’s already being touted by the Daily Mirror as a potential Number One hit. That’s a good start, isn’t it?
ALAN: That was very kind of them and if reaches Number One on the charts, I will be sending them a massive crate of French champagne.

JEN: Will I get any French Champagne?
ALAN: You never said it was going to a Number One Hit. You told me it sounded like a Wiggles song.

JEN: The Wiggles are very successful. Do you think it would sell better if you’d made a whole album of Christmas songs?
ALAN: And where the hell would I have found the time and money to do that?

JEN: Good point. It’s a very catchy song. Do you find it stays in your head?
ALAN: I can’t stop singing it. I wake up singing it, I go to sleep singing it…

Alan and The Pacific Belles

Alan and The Pacific Belles

JEN: Does it haunt you?
ALAN: It haunts me.

JEN: Do you hate it now?
ALAN: I don’t hate it, but it haunts me. And everybody I have played it to has had the same reaction.

JEN: That’s called an earworm. Do you know that term?
ALAN: I think you mean brain worm.

JEN: No, it’s an ear worm.
ALAN: Okay, it’s an ear worm. Nice. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

JEN: I suppose you have to put the challenge out to everyone.Can you listen to this song twice without it being stuck in your head?
ALAN: So that’s going to be the focus of you blog?

JEN: No, it’s going to be ‘Is he Mr Scrooge or Mr Christmas?’
ALAN: (laughter, rolls on the couch and falls off)

That’s the end of our interview. I quite enjoyed it. I should also mention that If You Want A Happy Christmas was performed by Steve Purcell’s Pearly Shells, written by Alan Fletcher/Tim Smith, produced & mixed by Robin Gray, and recorded at Allan Eaton Studios in Melbourne, Victoria.

So why not buy it today, help Fletch reach Number One on the charts and help a great cause at the same time? Oh, and let me know if you DO think this song really is an ear worm!

 

Getting Neighbourly with ocean guardians, Sea Shepherd

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Feel like saving the planet this weekend? Okay, that sounds like I’m asking you to be a super hero, but I’m not. You really can contribute just by visiting the Sea Shepherd ships which are dockside in Melbourne at Williamstown and open to the public for tours this weekend.

Three ships dockside at Wlliamstown will be open to the public

Three ships dockside at Wlliamstown will be open to the public

A stall for souvenirs

A stall for souvenirs

 

Donating helps too. Not just money – long-life food stocks that Sea Shepherd can take on its missions are greatly appreciated because it’s an organisation that relies completely on the generosity of supporters. There’s also a stall where you can buy Sea Shepherd t-shirts and souvenirs.

 

Fletch and I finding our sea legs...

Fletch and I finding our sea legs…

We went along for a tour of the ships last weekend and it was a real eye opener. Fletch’s fellow Neighbours actor Saskia Hempele and her partner, TV presenter Kayne Tremills also joined us.

Just in case you haven’t heard about Sea Shepherd, these guys put their lives on the line trying to prevent the illegal poaching of protected whales and dolphins. We were also shown a couple of videos of clashes with Japanese whaling ships and I can only imagine how terrifying it would be to be caught on one of their smaller boats, being deliberately rammed by these massive vessels.

The Bob Barker being rammed by Japanese ships in February

The Bob Barker being rammed by Japanese ships in February this year.

We were given a tour of the Bob Barker by Quarter Master Ben Harris who explained Sea Shepherd’s background. ‘It was founded in 1977 by Paul Watson,’ he said. ‘Watson was one of the original founders of Greenpeace but left Greenpeace to found Sea Shepherd because he wanted a much more direct action organisation. We’re a marine conservation organisation but we use direct action tactics to directly intervene in the poaching of whales.’

This ‘direct action’ is heavy stuff. The Australian arm of Sea Shepherd makes an annual pilgrimage to the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary every year. ‘That’s been a whale sanctuary since 1994 and whaling has been banned since 1986,’ explained Ben. ‘But the Japanese whaling fleet continues to whale illegally – under a legal loophole which allows them to whale under the guise of scientific research. They go after either Humpbacks, Fin whales and Minkes which are endangered or close to being endangered.

TV presenter Kayne Tremills with Neighbours actors Saskia Hempele and Alan Fletcher hear about the serious business of saving whales

TV presenter Kayne Tremills with Neighbours actors Saskia Hempele and Alan Fletcher hear about the serious business of saving whales

The Bob Barker played a huge role in the last campaign. ‘We used this ships as a wedge,’ said Ben, ‘because they were refuelling inside the whale sanctuary which is breaking another whole load of rules. But we put this ship between the Japanese factory ship and the refuelling ship. The factory ship is 5000 tonnes and our boat is 500 tonnes. We were nearly squashed but we stopped them from refuelling.’

It was this bravery that made February’s intervention the most successful Sea Shepherd campaign yet. ‘We saved 932 whales,’ said Ben. ‘They had a quota of 1135 whales but because they couldn’t refuel, they cut their season short.’

Was anyone hurt in this campaign? ‘No, we’re aggressive but not physically violent. We’re not out to harm anyone. They’ve never lost anyone and we’ve never lost anyone. The only injuries that have been caused happened when some of our crew was pelted with large nuts and bolts from the whalers. They also swung a grappling hook at us,’ he said.

Next stop was a tour of the dining quarters. If you want to volunteer to be part of a Sea Shepherd campaign, make sure you’re happy to go vegan. After hearing about the horrific slaughter of whales and dolphins all day, it’s something I’m going to have to seriously consider.

Checking out the dining quarters

Checking out the dining quarters

Ben says that less and less of the Japanese population eat whale meat now, as awareness about the plight of the whales grows. ‘People have gone off the idea. They’re also aware there’s a lot of mercury in the meat, so they’re getting better educated, but the industry keeps pushing it, trying to get the next generation to eat it but putting it in school dinners. But now less than 4% of their population actually eat it.’

Worldwide support for Sea Shepherd is growing rapidly. It was fascinating to hear how so much has been donated by the US celebrity set. The Bob Barker ship, for instance, is named after the US games show host from The Price is Right, who donated a whopping FIVE MILLION DOLLARS to not only buy the ship, but a helicopter as well. Actor Pierce Brosnan is on the board of directors.

And I loved the story about how Sea Shepherd purchased its latest boat, the Sam Continue reading →

When is a good age to have babies?

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Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster

Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster

So Zoe Foster and Hamish Blake are having a baby! I offer my sincerest congratulations to them both – this gorgeous and much loved-up ‘IT’ couple of our local celebrity culture.

I’m sure Hamish will make an excellent dad. I can say this with some authority, as son Tom (who has just turned 16)  is a HUGE ‘Hamish and Andy’ fan. This means he has spent thousands of hours over the past five years walking around our house listening to pod-casts of these guys with ear-phones glued to his head and ignoring me. Hamish, in particular, is his favourite. Which means I’ve battled to get a word in.

But I’m fine with that. I get it. Hamish is funnier, wittier, younger and a bloke. No wonder Tom would prefer to hear his banter than my nagging him to pick up the clothes from his bedroom floor. But as a result, I believe Tom has absorbed much of Hamish’s take on life and he’s turned out pretty well. (In fact, he’s close to damn perfect… ) So Hamish, if you do read this, you should recognise and take a pat on the back for the great influence you’ve had on the thousands of young men (and women) who’ve grown up listening to you and feel confident, as you await the arrival of your first born, that you WILL be a great dad.

It’s none of my business WHEN people decide to have a baby, but I do admit to feeling a tad concerned when I read more than a year ago that Zoe was in no hurry to have kids. There was a quote where she said ‘I’m only 31 and I don’t want a huge family, but we do want kids, but we’re in no rush. I want to be a fun, married couple for a while.’ Which is cool – I just hoped she wasn’t going to wait till she was forty.

Now, OF COURSE, that was probably a line for the media because why should she tell us what they are planning anyway? But it reminded me of myself when Fletch and I had been married for a few years and I’d said exactly the same thing to friends. In fact, I was having so much fun with just the two of us, that every time Fletch suggested starting a family, I’d laugh it off and say, ‘Next year, honey. Just another year.’

Then the crunch came when he sent me a card with a picture of an adorable chubby baby on the front, and he drew a word bubble out of it’s mouth where he wrote, ‘When, oh when, will you let me be born?’ Yeah, not much pressure, huh?? So I relented, thinking it would probably take a while, but in a matter of seconds I was pregnant.

Veronica at 3 months

Veronica at 3 months

Veronica arrived not long after my 30th birthday and I was one of the first of my friendship group to have a baby. That made it hard for the first few years when I felt like I was missing out socially, but in hindsight, I’m so glad Fletch put the squeeze on for us to start a family when we did.

I still don’t think there’s enough in the media, encouraging younger women to have babies at an earlier age, because there still seems to be a common misconception that it’s all good and dandy to get pregnant in your forties. While many women do, and it works out brilliantly, there’s many more who spend years struggling to conceive and the long-awaited miracle never happens. For many, there isn’t a choice – some are still waiting to find a life-partner – but for those who do, but are like me and are hesitant – this is why I’m writing this piece.

Our second child, Tom, arrived two and a half years after Veronica when I was thirty-two. Even at that age, it was an exhausting time. Especially as I returned to reading the news when Tom was a mere five-weeks old.

Tom as a newborn. Photo by Fletch

Tom as a newborn. Photo by Alan Fletcher

The younger you start, the more energy you will have to cope with the incessant demands of parenting. Your body will bounce back more quickly and you are less likely to suffer from post-natal depression. I wish I’d started even younger!

As well, the earlier you start a family, the greater your chances are of becoming pregnant. After the age of 36, a women’s fertility rate declines at an alarming rate. Only two in five women over the age of 40 are able to conceive.

I know this is a sensitive and complex issue. I have another friend in her forties who is only now, considering having a baby. She says she hasn’t felt ready until now. Everyone is different and that’s all good. I’m just saying – if you’re like I was in my late 20s and think you have all the time in the world – think again. Look up the statistics and decide whether it’s really worth waiting. And to Hamish and Zoe, I’m thrilled for you both.