Day: September 5, 2025

Classic Fit

jeans

The good news is that my new Rohan jeans which arrived today fit me perfectly . . . which wasn’t the case two months ago when I tried some on in the Rohan Harrogate shop and discovered that the next size up felt much more comfortable.

Forty years ago, when I was 34 years old, I remember I had a 34 inch waist and a 34 inch inside leg and I’ve been that ever since, so I decided that it was time for a bit of a challenge.

Goat Gap sketch of hills
The view from the Goat Gap cafe, Newby, this morning, our coffee stop on our return home from our short break in the Lake District.

The No-Scone Diet

I set out on a series of slightly more energetic walks than my usual pace – more of that in a later post – but also cut out on anything extra between meals so no:

  • cream scones or flapjack with our morning coffee
  • the odd handful of crisps
  • and no red wine at the weekend 😮

No one said that this would be easy!

However, it’s worked as I’m pleased to be back to my regular waist size and I’ve lost half a stone, that’s 7 pounds, around 3 kilograms.

Maybe I can now allow myself the occasional scone . . .

Green Matcha Scones at the Cafe Vie

scones and coffee

Green scones are a new one for me: scone of the day at Cafe Vie this morning was matcha and white chocolate.

Lamy pen

I’ve just started working through the ‘100 prompts for inspired sketching on the go’ in John Gillard’s Coffee Break Sketching. In prompt number 2, I find that I can’t work fast enough to complete onr quick observational sketch between each sip of coffee in a single break, so this morning I’m continuing where I left off from a few shaky sketches I made at the Hepworth last week.

My new favourite pen for everyday drawing is an old Lamy Nexx with a broad nib. The broad nib flows more freely than my fine and extra fine Lamys, which might explain why, unlike them, it hasn’t clogged up. The broader nib gives a bolder, varied line, perfect for a coffee break sketch.

It’s loaded with DeAtramentis Document Ink which is waterproof as soon as it dries, which is a good idea as several of my sketches were partly washed out after one of my sketchbooks got soaked around the edges in my haversack during a Lake District downpour on Tuesday.

I’ve occasionally picked up a sketchbook when my hands are wet, blotting any drawing I happen to touch.

Link

John Gillard on Instagram

Cafe Vie, Thompson’s Yard, Ossett, on Instagram

My wildyorkshire Instagram account