Danny Watson---thanks mate! ZB Talk Back gave me a boost!

I am no longer a 'talk back virgin.' Today I was listening to Danny Watson on Talk back radio as I was driving. He had the topic of dieting/'exercising, versus pills and surgery to lose weight. He asked for people to ring in. I rushed home (no I didn't get a ticket!) When I arrived home I immediately rang the radio station and got through to the producer. Hell, I hear some people saying they have been trying for hours or days to get through, so I guess I struck it just right. The guy told me they would ring me back after the news. True to his word a few minutes later I was talking to Danny Watson. I always thought that I would be nervous, but I did not feel that at all. Danny was lovely and he encouraged me to tell my story and half way through I reminded him that I had sent him some copies of my three books. He remembered and then let me push them along with my story. I put my website over the waves and he repeated it later. I thank Danny very much for his kind and generous reception. I shall ring him again, to comment, much like I do on my blogs. OMG---has he unleashed another monster inside me. Watch out talk back radio!

'A top' of Mt Roskill, whereupon I froze my tits off! OH the life of a 'model'---yeah right!

When MiNDFOOD asked me for some 'before and after pictures' for the upcoming article re my bariatric surgery journey, I asked a good friend form Grey Lynn to help out. He has a camera that has the required capacity to take such photos. As the book I am pushing, ROSKILL (Even the article has a few mentions of it)is centred in MT Roskill, it seemed to be logical that we include the said Mountain in the pictures. So off we went and off came my jacket. OMG---the wind just about blew what little hair I have to the next suburb but thankfully I had glued it on well that morning! My friend proceeded to instruct me to assume various poses while my nipples slowly froze and my eyes watered as if there was a sack of onions being peeled nearby.IN fact, I felt like a sack of onions! He didn't want just one picture---oh no---it had to be about a million and by that time I thought that if I had not lost so much weight, I would have transformed into a glorious fat kite and flown off to other regions. Finally I was allowed back ion to the warmth of the car and we left the summit and as we travelled down the narrow road, I was reminded about some of the 'scenarios' from ROSKILL, the characters almost visible in the trees and slopes of MT Roskill. Later that day, I revived an email with the pictures attached. They were 'well taken,' but when I sent them to the magazine, they said that I looked a 'bit windblown,' but they thought that they were 'fun pictures.' They may use one of them but we agreed that they would use a more sedate setting to take some more and that I could drop in to the office, with Perdy, my jack Russell, and they would take some more at a nearby less wind-devastated park in Parnell. BUT---In shall keep these pictures. They tell me much about my journey! Maybe they will take them on the Prime Minister's lawn. I'm sure he wont mind! Thanks Martin. www.authorneilcoleman.com